Big Announcement Today!

[NOTE:  It is my understanding that there is a weight loss plan out there using the phrase “food freedom” in promotion.  Unaware of this, I chose the name “Food Freedom with Coach Barb”.  The two are in no way connected. Just providing clarity for my readers.] 

I’ve been looking forward to making this announcement and sharing my journey with you.  If you’ve been with me from the beginning, you know that health is a top priority in my life.  I have shared part of my health story here on the blog, and though some of it is scary, I really haven’t told the whole story.

Years ago (I’m thrilled to say) a cancer diagnosis played a part.  If you’d like to catch up on that part of my life, you can read about it here and here.

There are things more difficult to endure than a cancer diagnosis and its subsequent surgery and treatments.  Stage 3 (I’m talkin’ in the pits, folks) Adrenal Fatigue is one of them and I can honestly say that a couple of times during that awful phase I found myself fearful of not making it through the night. 

When I talk to people who seem to care little about taking care of themselves, I sometimes find myself thinking (not sarcastically), “Well, maybe you just haven’t been sick enough yet.”  I have. 

Now back to chemotherapy.  I knew then, but have really come to understand since, what a hormone disrupter that is – as if we women needed another one – right?  As I sat in the chemo room trying not to watch the drip, I’d hear the other women talking about how much weight they’d gained during chemo.  Frightening tales of up to forty-five pounds had me shaking in my blue vinyl recliner!

I didn’t gain forty-five pounds, but I did gain fifteen – the fifteen that would not budge – the fifteen that kept trying to turn into twenty.

I’m tall, but small boned, and excess weight on my body hurts.  It pulls me down.  Because of my height, no one really regarded me as “fat” because I gained it all from the waist down.  This whole new world of walking past a loaf of bread and gaining five pounds was foreign and frightening territory.  I’d spent my whole life eating whatever I wanted and not gaining an ounce.

I joined that group that measures everything and counts “points”.  I stuck to it for years.  It worked – twice, in fact.  Still, at the root of the matter was the fact that I love food.  I may have left the farm, but I took my farm-girl appetite with me, if you know what I mean.  I want seconds – possibly thirds.  I eat.  The portion control police were after me all day long and in the long run, my blood work showed that the plan did me no favors.

When adrenal fatigue showed up and my holistic doctor advised me to give up sugar and grains, my family (the supportive little darlings) told me I couldn’t do it.  After all, they did know me as the Bread & Pasta Queen.  I did do it.  I lost a few pounds, too!  Then it began to creep back on again.  Was there no end?

Then, a couple of years ago, a friend of mine started losing weight.  What struck me most was the fact that she seemed deliriously happy doing it.  Normally, the first thing a dieter loses is their sense of humor.  She’d bring food to gatherings that tasted SO YUMMY and she’d lost over thirty pounds!  When I asked about the recipe, she’d name off a string of ingredients that fit my doctor’s recommendations to the letter.  So, why was she dropping pounds while I couldn’t wait to get home and get the too-tight jeans off?

That’s when she told me about Trim Healthy Mama.  Later, I borrowed her THM book and tip-toed in. It all made such logical sense and avoided extremes.  It didn’t take away food groups.  It simply showed me how to stop duel-fueling my body with fats and carbohydrates at the same time and how to feed my body what all those hormones needed so I could not only walk past the bread, but stop and sniff it and even have a slice!

After a year of baby-stepping and learning how the plan was ideal not only for weight loss, but for those who wanted great cancer prevention like I did, but is ideal for people with diabetes, insulin resistance, cardiac and any number of other issues, I bought the books, including cookbooks and jumped in.

The first recipe I tried in my “Trim Healthy Table” cookbook was Creamy Garlic Spinach Spaghetti Squash Bake.  Oh, my goodness!  If I could eat like this and trim down, I was in!  Smuffy gave it the thumbs up, too.

Creamy Garlic Spinach Spaghetti Squash Bake  www.midweststoryteller.com

Today, I have the troublesome weight off.  (Actually, I think I may go ahead and drop another three to four pounds.)  I feel great and this may be my biggest announcement of all today – I’m eating!  I eat seconds.  I eat thirds.  I try to avoid out-and-out calorie abuse, but I don’t measure my portions.  I eat butter!  Repeat after me – B U T T E R!  I pour olive oil on my salad and top it with cheese and nuts.  I eat carbs.  I was made for fats and carbs and am so thankful THM has shown me how to eat them in a trimming way.  It’s so sensible and safe that pregnant and nursing moms can feel free to jump right in! And guys, just call yourself a Trim Healthy Papa (or Dude) because this plan works for you, too.

Knowing that I could be of help to so many others, I decided to become a certified coach through Trim Healthy Mama.  I’ll be sharing lots of recipes and information here on the blog and should you need more, I offer group and private coaching, cooking demonstrations and more.

Click here for a printable information sheet to see if Trim Healthy Mama is right for you.  (It’s also available on the right sidebar.) I can help you via phone and email if you live outside my area.  For dates and times for group meetings or for private coaching, send me an email at barb@midweststoryteller.com

For pricing and discounts, including your first session of coaching absolutely free, plus available discounts, click here

If your church group, homeschool group or organization is located in my area, I would be happy to speak to people who are ready to find food freedom, get their health back and if they need to lose the weight – get trim!

Trim Healthy Mama originated when two moms (originally from Down Under and now in the hills of Tennessee) found themselves DONE with diets.  These sisters wrote a book for their friends that became a best-seller because the simple science and healthy guidelines worked for so many people. They now have the #1 health podcast out there, plus books, curriculum and their own line of healthy food and other things that will make your body better!

Meet Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison in this short video where you’ll learn a little more about THM.

That’s my big announcement!  Coming up, I’ll be sharing healthy recipes and providing notations concerning recipes that have already appeared on the blog and whether or not they fit the Trim Healthy Mama plan.  I’ll be making recommendations from THM recipes and providing lots of information on my new Food Freedom Facebook page where I’ll share THM knowledge, recipes, tips and all sorts of other goodies.  Please “like” and “follow” at https://www.facebook.com/Food-Freedom-THM-Certified-Lifestyle-Coaching-100703354727086/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Most of all, Happy Eating!

How’s your New Year’s Resolution coming along? Was it, once again, to either lose weight or eat healthier? Why do you think you fail? I’d love to hear your comments!

Trim, Healthy and Tasty!

Today I want to take a moment to make a confession.  I have fallen in love. 

After decades of self-study in the area of health in order to understand my own issues and do the best I can for my family, I have, at last, found a resource that seems to be custom designed for me.

Trim Healthy Books www.midweststoryteller.com

I’ve never struggled with obesity.  In fact, aside from a couple of photos of me as a chubby toddler, I spent most of my life in the string bean category.  Well, maybe a string bean with hips.  That is, until I went through something that is just about the biggest hormone screwer-upper ever – chemotherapy.  You can find more about that part of my story here.

As I sat in the chemo room listening to the others chat, I heard women saying that they’d gained as much as forty-five pounds during treatments.  Forty-five pounds!  The patients and their care-givers blamed it on the steroid anti-nausea drugs.  At that point, I didn’t care as much about the cause as I did the result.  The idea of that type of weight gain stayed in the forefront of my mind and at the top of my prayer list for the next four months.

Well, I didn’t gain forty-five pounds, but I did gain fifteen and in the following years, that fifteen has tried it’s best to turn into twenty.  As is my body’s tendency, it wanted to pack itself disproportionately below the waist, which may have paid off if I’d lived during the Renaissance and cared little for my modesty.  In those days, there was a demand for those who would, at artists’ requests, recline on couches with a bunch of grapes in one hand and a dove perched upon the other.

I tried various diets and joined the well-known support group that counts points. Since points were much simpler to count than calories, this worked for me.  In fact, it worked for me two or three times.  There seemed to be two issues.  They declared that “points are points” and we could consume them in any combination.  After a while, I learned that some foods’ points stuck to me like glue while others slipped off effortlessly after a period of over-indulgence. The other issue – and this one bothered me most – was that while this farm girl had been taken off the farm, the farm appetite hadn’t been taken out of the girl.  I wanted more food, dagnabbit!

After a prolonged period of stress, Stage 3 Adrenal Fatigue showed up, stayed much longer than I preferred, juggled my hormones even further and, if I may cling to that comparison, dropped all the balls.  My holistic M.D., along with treatment, advised a diet that would go easier on the glands and I gave up sugar and most grains.

A couple of years later, a long-time friend of mine lost around thirty pounds.  I had to admit that she maintained more joy than anyone I’d ever known on any type of “diet”.  She absolutely glowed and was enjoying herself.  I asked about it and she told me about Trim Healthy Mama.

Further inquiries led me to understand that the food on the THM plan was nearly identical to the recommendations of my doctor.  The only thing – and it seemed such a logical thing – that they recommended to people who wanted to trim away the pounds would be to separate carbohydrate fuels from fat fuels at mealtimes.

After toying with the idea and reading bits and pieces of their plan for a while as I was coming out of the adrenal struggle, I took their plan and began stepping into it at the beginning of this year, studying it and putting it into practice one day at a time.  Finally, I have enough food to eat!  I promised to grant myself grace to go off plan from time to time and to feel no guilt should I decide to go ahead and use up some off-plan ingredients along the way instead of throwing them out.  I think they’re all gone now (if you don’t count Smuffy’s cheat stash).

I needed to make friends with a few new special ingredients to help me in separating fuels, being kind to blood sugars and getting the extra protein I needed in my diet.  I’ve embraced a lot of new ingredients over the years, so it didn’t rock my world much.

I now have their plan books and cookbooks and since I have a big yard with lots of weeds to pull, have listened to over 130 Trim Healthy Podcasts (or, as we call it in THM Land, “The Poddy”) as of this date.  I feel like I’ve completed a crash course in getting to know the authors, Serene and Pearl.

I have lost several pounds and as my hormones steady themselves further, I’m sure the  number on the scale will continue to drop as I feast on real food and avoid even some of the healthy ones that are known to spike blood sugars and set off hormonal chain reactions.

In case you haven’t had the realization yet – hormones are everything! Messin’ with those will make you ugly inside and out, if you get my drift.

The best part, or what is referred to as a “non scale victory”, is that I feel good and do not feel the slightest hint of deprivation.  In fact, “junk” tastes like junk and I know that’s hard to believe if you’re still addicted to the SAD.  What a perfect name for the “standard American diet”!

I’ll post more about my journey with Trim Healthy Mama in the future, but today I wanted to share with you some of the great meals and treats I’ve discovered on this plan and give an honest review.

THM Mama's Famous Meatloaf and Mashed Fotatoes www.midweststoryteller.com

Today, for lunch, I made “Mama’s Famous Meatloaf” (page 157 of the Trim Healthy Cookbook) and topped it with a sauce made from “Trim Healthy Ketchup” (page 482). It had great texture and was moist with good flavor, just as you’d expect from an old-fashioned meatloaf like Grandma used to make.  However, we tend to like things with a bit more “zip”, so next time, I’ll probably make it my own by adding a bit more spice.  I’m not sure why the topping is more orange than red as I did follow directions, but it was tasty!

The ketchup recipe can be called a tomatoey sauce, but it is not ketchup to me.  However, I had already developed my own recipe without any refined sugars and it tastes just like Heinz.  As soon as I take the THM one and marry it to mine by having one of my kitchen lab brainstorms, I’ll post it here on the blog.

What is meat loaf without mashed potatoes?  Well, it’s fabulous if you serve up “Mashed Fotatoes” (page 264 of the Trim Healthy Table Cookbook).  Who needs all those starches and carbs?  Not me!  I’ll never be sorry I left white potatoes behind after seeing how easy it was to whip of this cauliflower version in the food processor in a matter of seconds. 

I found them heavenly.  Smuffy requests that they have a little less garlic next time.

Smuffy’s been growing okra in his garden, so I served it up alongside just the way we like it.  I stir together my own “baking blend” with equal parts almond flour, golden flax meal and coconut flour.  After slicing the okra into half-inch pieces, I tossed it in about three tablespoons of this mixture and stir fried it in a skillet I had pre-heated on medium-high heat with a tablespoon of refined coconut oil and a tablespoon of real butter.  It’s browned and beautiful in no time at all. 

All this made a delicious Satisfying meal.  (The THM plan defines “S” meals.)

I struggled with whether to assign this post to my “Thrive!” page because of the health benefits of Trim Healthy Mama, to my “Feed Me” page because it is good food or to my “Reviews” page because I can’t say enough good things about Trim Healthy Mama.

I have tried many recipes from their books and have only found a couple that I considered “duds”.  Pearl and Serene, I don’t know what you were thinking.  Perhaps they are a hit in Aussie culture, but “Slender Slaw” (page 266, Trim Healthy Table) and “Tzatziki Cucumber Salad” (page 266, Trim Healthy Table) are both odd.  Not horrible – just odd – and not a hit at our house.

To give a completely honest review, I must make one negative comment on the cookbooks. Pearl and Serene, I love you, but whomever is compiling your indexes needs to be assigned to a new job. You’ll notice how many flags are protruding from the books in the first photo. That’s because, once you find a recipe, you’re going to have a dickens of a time finding it again, and I know how to use an index. Recipes need to be listed by under categories, by actual name and by featured ingredients. Just sayin’.

I’m loving “Wonder Wraps” (page 251, Trim Healthy Table) and the first recipe I made from this cookbook, “Creamy Garlic Spinach Spaghetti Squash Bake (page 135).  That one got me off to a good start and I couldn’t wait to share it with friends.  However, the day I attempted to do so tried my soul and you might want to brace yourself before reading about it here.

I have only two words to say as I prepare to go downstairs and sneak a couple out of the refrigerator – “Superfood Mounds”, people!  Forget about those candy bars we grew up with.  Stir up a batch of these (page 424, Trim Healthy Table) in a saucepan and get ready for awesomeness!  Another super-easy treat is “Two Minute Truffles” (page 422, Trim Healthy Table).  I’d make extra if I were you and skip dusting them.  They are better when smooth.

In case you haven’t met them, Serene Allison and Pearl Barrett are sisters from “down under” who have ended up in the hills of Tennessee along with their husbands, children and extended family.  After writing a book to share with friends and acquaintances who asked them for the science and “how-to” on how they stay so trim and healthy, they found themselves on the best-seller list!  Now their sensible, scientific and doable approach is available to us all.

Thanks, Serene and Pearl!

Are you a Trim Healthy Mama? Are you toying with the idea? Never even heard of it? I’d love to chat about it so leave a comment!

What’s all the fuss about eating healthy?  We shouldn’t just survive, we should thrive!  Check out my Thrive! page.  My Feed Me! page offers recipes with free printables.  Not every recipe there is THM compatible, but most can be altered to work and I’ll try to make edits in the future to help you with that. 

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you’ll receive an email reminder each time Midwest Storyteller has something new.

Did Someone Say Chocolate? 2 Ways to Indulge Year-round Without the Guilt & Pounds!

As Valentine’s Day approaches, I can’t think of a better thing to discuss than chocolate. I love chocolate! It dominates the candy aisles in stores on a regular basis, but at this time of year, people purchase more of the stuff than ever. I’d venture to say that it puts the fall pumpkin rush to shame.

The other thing lurking on the candy aisle, however – that troll hiding under the bridge waiting to ambush you – is sugar. If you haven’t figured out yet that sugar takes a toll on your body in more ways than just the addition of unwanted pounds, you’ve got your sweet head in the sand.

This spring, I’ll begin my fourth (Really? Wow!) year of feeding my body all kinds of wonderful things except for sugar and grains. If you’re not humming “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” with your fingers in your ears, you might want to learn a little more about your body and my journey here.)

Yes, I still eat my chocolate (of course) birthday cake. Yes, I still have a big slab of pie at Thanksgiving and cookies at Christmas. Once a week, if that often, I might eat something on a bun. However, my former lifestyle as the Bread & Pasta Queen is over and SURPRISE! – I don’t miss it.

One of the first things I had to figure out was how on earth I was going to get my chocolate – and plenty of it! Chemical sweeteners, such as aspartame (Equal), sucralose (Splenda) or saccharine (Sweet ‘n Low) were not an option. I’d learned enough to realize that would be akin to exchanging strychnine for cyanide. Stevia seemed the only option and, though sweet, sometimes it just didn’t taste “right”.

Dedicated and determined because I had a health issue to conquer, I plunged in, reminding myself that Thomas Edison had far more failures than he had successes and yet, he kept going until he finally got a bright idea!

Today, I’m sharing two recipes that you can enjoy not only in the current chocolate season, but all year round. And, with the FREE printable at the end of this post, you can get started right now!

I have stated in previous blog posts that when it comes to stevia, you get what you pay for. My favorite brand has always been Sweet Leaf and, of the store brands, I still prefer it.

Last week, however, my friend, Sarah, introduced me to the Pure Stevia Extract Powder by Trim Healthy Mama. Again, you get what you pay for, but I found that instead of using a tablespoon of Sweet Leaf in a recipe, I could use ¼ teaspoon of THM stevia! It has no bitter aftertaste and I think I’m in love!  It’s available in one ounce and four ounce bags.

It’s February! What are we waiting for? Let’s have some chocolate!

Not Apologizin’ Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate Ingredients www.midweststoryteller.com

12 ounces milk

2 Tablespoons Dutch Process Cocoa Powder

¼ teaspoon Trim Healthy Mamma Pyure Stevia or 1 Tablespoon Sweet Leaf Stevia

1/8 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon heavy cream

In a Pyrex measuring cup, heat the milk in the microwave until hot but not boiling. While it is heating, mix the cocoa powder, stevia and salt in a small custard cup with a mini whisk.

Pour an inch or two of the hot milk into the bottom of a large mug. Add the cocoa mixture and whisk until fairly smooth. Add vanilla.  I call this my “sludge” – a rather unsavory name for something so wonderful.

Cocoa Sludge www.midweststoryteller.com

Continue to whisk while adding the remainder of the hot milk. Add the heavy cream, stir and enjoy!  To make my experience complete, I scoop up Phoebe June and settle into my favorite chair.  Since you don’t have Phoebe June, you’ll have to make do with your own kitty, borrow one or just pretend.

Hot Chocolate and Kitten Time www.midweststoryteller.com

Traveling Version:

When I’m away from home, I don’t like to miss out on my hot chocolate, but toting milk around becomes a problem. I’ve tried using powdered milk in the dry mix so that I could “just add water”, but it failed to give me the texture and flavor I wanted. I’m being nice – it was nasty. I’ve discovered that adding 1 ½ scoops of Reliv Delight makes a wonderful dry mix.

Reliv Delight, a whey-based milk substitute and nutritional supplement, provides the benefits of milk — plus additional nutrients — in a delicious low-fat formula. It supplies your body with a good source of protein and an essential nutritional balance of vitamins and minerals. And at only 90 calories per serving it is also a great way to help maintain a healthy weight. Mix Reliv Delight with water and use it as an alternative to milk — while cooking, in milkshakes, with cereal or simply as a refreshing, creamy beverage. It’s a healthy choice for adults and kids alike.

As promised in the disclaimer on this blog, I’m disclosing the fact that this product must be purchased through a Reliv distributor and that I am a Reliv distributor who may receive monetary compensation should you decide to purchase the product through me. You may do so by contacting me at barb@midweststoryteller.com

This is a great way for me to take a travel mug while on the road and stop for some hot water so that I can have my chocolate fix. All I have to remember is to never leave home without my pre-mixed little baggie of dry ingredients, my little bottle of vanilla and my mini whisk!

Are you ready for no-guilt Valentine treats?

Almost everyone seems to love those beautiful chocolate-covered strawberries that cost an arm and a leg. We all indulge without too much guilt because, after all, strawberries are fruit and fruit is good for you and therefore, legal – right? Those sold in stores or special ordered are most likely made with shortening. (Repeat after me: “Shortening. Is. Evil.”) Not only that, but the chocolate coating is loaded with that ever-present, ever-enticing culprit – sugar!

I came up with this recipe to remove the culprits. The results were fabulous and I’ve served them up several times to people who tell me how yummy they are. I usually make them to share, so this recipe makes quite a few! The ones in the photo were gigantic berries and I had enough coating to do twenty-five berries. If they had been “regular” sized strawberries, I think I could have done about forty! What could be easier than dipping whole berries into chocolate sauce and letting them dry? This, combined with the fact that you get to lick your fingers and that your recipients will think you’re oh, so special ought to get you going on this recipe.

Oh, you weren’t going to give any of them away? Well, just be sure and wipe the chocolate off your chin before anybody sees you.

Eat ’em All Chocolate-covered Strawberries

2 pounds fresh strawberries

½ cup extra-virgin unrefined coconut oil

1/3 cup Dutch process cocoa powder

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons heavy cream

5/8 teaspoon Trim Healthy Mama Pure Stevia Extract Powder

½ teaspoon vanilla

Scant ¼ teaspoon Celtic sea salt

Shredded unsweetened coconut for garnish

Wash berries and pat them dry with paper towels or allow them to dry completely on a drying mat.

Washed Berries www.midweststoryteller.com

In a double boiler, small ceramic coated saucepan (or a Pyrex bowl over a small saucepan), melt the coconut oil and butter over low heat. Add cocoa powder, heavy cream, stevia, vanilla and salt, whisking until smooth.

Grasp each berry by its stem and dip into the chocolate mixture. Be sure not to cover all the lovely red part! Allow the excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl before placing the berries onto waxed paper-covered cookie sheet. Place the berries far enough apart so they do not touch.

Dipped Berries www.midweststoryteller.com

Leftover chocolate? Consider re-dipping!

If desired, sprinkle some or all of the berries with shredded, unsweetened coconut while the chocolate coating is still soft.

Do not attempt to rearrange the berries on the waxed paper until the chocolate coating is completely hardened.

Refrigerate until ready to serve or give as a gift. Remember, the chocolate coating will begin to soften at about 76 degrees, so be sure to store your beautiful berries properly. I did, with good intentions to take most of them to some cherished friends. But then, we had this icy weather and didn’t get out and, well, you know how it goes…now you know why they’re called “Eat ’em All Chocolate-covered Strawberries!”

Chocolate Covered Strawberries and a Cup of Tea www.midweststoryteller.com

You can share more than chocolate with a friend. How about sharing this post? You can do that through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest!

Enjoy your chocolate and don’t forget your FREE printable recipes. Just click on the banner below.

Free Printable Chocolate & Berries www.midweststoryteller.com

I invite you to join me for true confessions! Tell me about your favorite chocolate obsession and how often do you indulge.  Scroll back up to the top of this post and “Leave a Comment”.