Reading Food Labels 101

I used to read food labels & Nutrition Facts posted on the back of items merely to look up calories or carbohydrates. This was back in my early 20's when I had no real grasp on health, or what I should be eating. I read this fantastic book during Chiropractic college however, that gave me a totally new perspective on all things food related, but we'll get into that later. Anyway, to begin reading food labels we'll keep things simple. Let's start by looking at this nutrition label that I took from the coca-cola website.  http://www.coca-colaproductfacts.com/en/coca-cola-products/coca-cola/  This is for the coca-cola classic soda in a 12 ounce can. 

Ok, so to start most people look at calories, 140 calories, and then they look at fat because everyone is afraid of fat for the most part. So it all looks pretty good to the average eye, and then you get down to carbohydrates (which also scare people) and it says 39 grams...ok...and sugars are also at 39 grams. So...using basic science & math let's break this down. For 1 gram of carbs that = 4 calories. So, take 39 grams and multiply it by 4 and that = 156 calories. Which is actually more than what is on the label, but what's more interesting is that this can of coke is 100% sugar and nothing else. If you read my blog about the way our bodies use food to fuel us in the nutrition 101 blog, you know that we need food from all sources to live, yes. However, is it absolutely necessary that we get 156 calories from pure sugar? What if that's your beverage of choice to wash down pizza, or a sandwich, or popcorn? So you think your body is really going to need all of those carbohydrates & store none of it as excess for later, or simply put, as fat? Also the FDA recommends keeping added sugar to 50 grams per day, the WHO (world health organization) recommends limiting added sugar to 25 grams per day, and that's also the upper limit for women according to the American Heart Association.  

Let's dig a little further now, because let's say you're reading this like, yeah but it's only 156 calories (technically the can labels it 140 because it's approved by the FDA to do so) but what's the big deal, I can work that off. Ok, let's now look at the contents of what makes this "140 calories" of happiness we're meant to share with the world.

INGREDIENTS

Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Caramel Color,Phosphoric Acid, Natural Flavors, Caffeine. 

Again, I took this directly off of the Coca-cola website, link provided above. Let's break this down. Carbonated Water: water that's had carbon dioxide dissolved into it, so your basic club soda or seltzer water. High Fructose Corn Syrup: is a sweetener made from corn starch that has been processed to convert some of its glucose into fructose. It's super cheap to make, and it's in almost EVERYTHING that's processed. (I could honestly make an entire post about this one ingredient, but I will wait for another time.) Caramel Color: is a water soluble food coloring made by heat treatment of carbohydrates, either alone or in the presence of acids, alkalis, and/or salts. Caramel color may be derived from a variety of source products that are themselves common allergens, so people with known sensitivities or food allergies are advised to avoid foods with generic caramel coloring. Phosphoric Acid: is a syrupy acid used in preparing phosphates (as for fertilizers), for rust proofing metal, and especially as an acidifying agent to give colas their tangy flavor. Sounds corrosive right? Well there is mixed literature out there showing that it is linked with leaching calcium from bones leading to osteoporosis. Natural Flavors: according to the FDA website, "the term artificial flavor means any substance, the function of which is to impart flavor, which is not derived from a spice, a fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, root, bud, leaf or similar plant material, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof." ...kind of leaves you scratching your head as to what the heck it is then huh? They had a list under a section on this site and you're more than welcome to look into it.  http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=501.22   Caffeine: is a central nervous system stimulant, it is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive drug, it is legal and unregulated in nearly all parts of the world.

I saw this circulating the internet and it made me laugh but sadly it has some truth

So, to recap, Coca-cola is nothing but a sugary drink, derived from HFCS not even real sugar, and it's loaded with other ingredients that contribute absolutely NOTHING good to your health. So, am I saying I've never had a coke before? No I can't say that, although I generally don't drink any soda at all. What I am saying, is everyone knows AT LEAST one person in their lives that drinks multiple cokes per day or week. I would be willing to bet that that person is not completely free of pain, aches, maybe some weight issues, or other overall health issues including digestive problems. I don't want to totally single out Coke either, because honestly, no soda is 'good' for you, and certainly nothing in excess other than water is doing anything to help you get healthy. (And yes I am including milk, fruit juices, gatorade, V8, and any other liquid other than water that is sold commercially on grocery store shelves.) Don't even get me started on diet soda, that'll be a whole new post!

What I hope you take from this information is how to look at what you are actually putting into your body. To me, more important than reading the part of the nutrition label that shows calories etc. is the ingredient list underneath. We are so far removed from what we are actually putting INTO our bodies, and yet, we expect them to completely run well, under stress, under sleep deprivation, and most certainly under nutrient deprivation. There is a widely known saying that goes "Garbage in = garbage out" and it's as simple as that. I definitely have cake at celebrations and 'garbage' food once in awhile, but the problem is when that becomes the mainstay of your nutrition, and not a special occasion food. 

I implore you to start reading nutrition labels as you pick up your usual items at the grocery store. You're going to be blown away by how many foods contain high fructose corn syrup as one of the top three ingredients. It's in almost everything that's processed. Also, caramel coloring is in quite a few food items. Even if you are only beginning to be aware of those two items, start there. The best things to put in your body as I've posted before are whole food items, or minimally processed food items. The middle aisles of the grocery store, for the most part, have all processed foods that are full of things that are not contributing in a positive way toward better health, ESPECIALLY when it's labeled 'diet, low-fat, health food' etc.

If you are interested in learning more about food additives, reading food labels, or nutrition, the book I mentioned at the beginning of this post is, Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman & Kim Barnouin. It's a fast read, and has a ton of great information. My one disagreement after more years of reading and studying nutrition, is that they are proponents of soy...and I disagree strongly with the so-called benefits of soy. But it's still a great book. 

www.beachbodycoach.com/DRJENNCHICOINE

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs!!!

I have been super busy with an amazing baby shower in our honor last weekend, work, and both kids are playing soccer right now and everything is in full swing! So, I haven't posted for a while, but I thought I'd kick this week off with another recipe...mostly because that's the one constant in my life is cooking for my family. My kids totally love spaghetti & meatballs...why? Idk, there's not too many kids that don't, I guess it's the infrequency that they get it? Anyway, last weekend I planned on making homemade meatballs in the crockpot because I threw some together a few weeks ago over my lunch hour after sifting through some Pinterest recipes, and they ended being a real hit with the fam.

I personally like any meal that's easy to make, and uses ingredients that I generally keep on hand. I have had some serious food aversions to tomatoes though in the last two weeks, it's causing immediate heartburn & indigestion, but it sounded so good I had to go for it!

Italian Meatballs

Ingredients:

- 2 lbs of ground italian pork sausage (you could substitute any ground meat)
- 2 eggs
- 3/4-1 C panko bread crumbs
- 1 TBSP parsley flakes (or you could use fresh)
- 3/4 C shredded parmesan cheese
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 TBSP minced dried onion
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning

Method:

I'm pretty fancy, so I dump all of my ingredients in a bowl and then manhandle mix them with my hands. You could slightly beat your eggs first, and use a kitchen utensil to mix these together, but honestly because you're going to be rolling the meatballs together with your hands anyway, I just like to skip the middle man! Once everything is evenly incorporated, I just grab the amount of mixture to fit the size of meatballs I'm going to make. I generally make mine so that 2 meatballs is a serving. After I form my meatballs I start lining the bottom of my crockpot with them, and I don't usually prep the inside of my crockpot first. 

Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

- 28 oz can tomato puree

- 1 stem & leaves of fresh basil chopped

- 1 TBSP Italian seasonings

- 2 tsp onion powder

- 2 tsp garlic powder

- 1 tsp sea salt (I ran out of my beloved himalayan sea salt)

-1 tsp black pepper

* Note: I would probably use more like 2 tsp of sea salt if I used ground turkey or ground chicken for my meatballs, but since I used pork and it's naturally saltier, I didn't feel the need to do more than my 1 tsp. of salt :D

The reason I make my own sauce, is two fold. For one thing it's super simple, that's only 8 ingredients, and most likely you have 5 of them on hand at any given time. Also, most spaghetti sauces are either filled with some sort of canola oil, or soybean oil, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and other nasty fillers that my body doesn't need. SO...I find this just as easy, and with the slow cooking method the flavors mingle together and it is absolutely rich tasting & delish!

Method:

I usually use the same bowl I mixed my meatball ingredients in to cut down on dishes, and because everything is headed for the crockpot and will be cooked thoroughly! I just empty my canned goods, sprinkle in my seasonings, and chopped basil, give everything a good stir and then pour it over my meatballs in the crockpot.

I cooked this in my crockpot on low for 4.5 hours, and then mine automatically switches over to the 'warm' setting, and that gave me time to throw together a quick salad, steam some broccoli, & boil some brown rice spaghetti noodles. The meatballs were amazing, perfectly cooked, not dry, the sauce was rich, and let me tell you, I spent the whole night NOT sleeping due to the fact that I had some serious heartburn & indigestion! Apparently baby A did not feel like spaghetti & meatballs in a red sauce on Sunday. However, it was a hit with the rest of the family. My recipe ended making 15 pretty big sized meatballs, so of course the kids made plans to pack meatballs in their thermos for Monday lunches :D

Give it a try and tailor it to your needs, if you can't eat pork, use chicken or turkey like I suggested. It probably took 15-20 minutes total start to finish to get everything in the crockpot...not too shabby for a delicious homemade dinner that's still healthy!

***Update 4/28/16 I made these last night with ground turkey instead of pork, they weren't as 'spicy' naturally, but they tasted amazing! I used a little extra salt like I mentioned, but they turned out great! ***

www.beachbodycoach.com/DRJENNCHICOINE

What's For Dinner??? (recipe for turkey quinoa taco bowls)

If  you're a mom, you know this is the first question out of your kid's mouths when they get home from school, or when you first get in the door from work. What's for dinner? It's exhausting sometimes trying to please all of the appetites in your household, while keeping things healthy, affordable, & time efficient. As I've mentioned before my crockpot is seriously my bestie, we go way back...she's always there to help me out, and just when I think I can't perk up one more day to cook another damn meal for everyone, she's shiny & optimistic and magically turns a few items I have on hand into a delicious meal! That being said, I usually like to plan out my week's meals as mentioned in my meal prep blog, but sometimes even the best laid plans get altered. I had planned to make Spaghetti & Meatballs on Wednesday, but I didn't get done with work over the lunch hour until later than planned and was missing a few ingredients. SO...plan B materialized in my head as I was driving home. I still wanted to use my crockpot because I knew it was a busy afternoon at work and I wouldn't feel like being on my feet afterwards to make dinner, & I had to take my son shopping for soccer cleats. Anyway, I gathered up some ingredients I had on hand and made the most of it, and you know what, that magic crockpot turned those ingredients into a healthy tasty dinner that everyone enjoyed!

Turkey Quinoa Taco Bowls

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Jennie-O ground turkey

1 pint cherry tomatoes- washed & chopped

1 can black beans (drained & rinsed)

1 cup quinoa- dry

1 handful fresh cilantro- washed & roughly chopped

1 TBSP cumin

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp minced dried onion

1 tsp chili powder

5 shakes of Frank's Red Hot sauce

1 tsp himalayan sea salt

2 tsp black pepper

2 limes- juiced

2 cups water

*2 sliced avocados- to add on top of your bowl when serving (optional)

Method:

Wash your produce and roughly chop it. Throw everything together in the crockpot, give it a stir, and cook on low for 5 hours. This turned out delicious. 

This is clearly before I stirred everything, because it was prettier like this :D 

If I had salsa on hand, or canned diced tomatoes I probably would've added those. However, the slow cooking method gives all of the ingredients a chance to cook & fuse together resulting in a much yummier robust flavor than just cooking this altogether on top of the stove, in my opinion. The other great thing about crock pot cooking...it's really tough to mess up. Honestly, you can take this basic recipe and add all kinds of things, corn, veggies, salsa, cheese, make it your own. I didn't take a picture of what it looked like when it was done, because we dug in & I forgot :/ But, another night of home cooked meals that please the crowd, so it was a win!

www.beachbodycoach.com/DRJENNCHICOINE

What's All the Fuss About Meal Prepping? (includes a few easy recipes)

If you've ever looked into a new diet plan, or tried a new way of eating you've probably come across the concept of meal prepping. Now this can mean anything from cooking tons of food on Sunday so you have everything already made and ready to go all week, or just looking a meal ahead, or anything in between. I have found that no matter what your nutrition plan looks like; whether you're trying to clean up your act and eat less processed foods, count macros, count calories, lose weight, or gain muscle mass...meal prepping is what makes the difference between someone who successfully stays the course, vs. someone who falls off the wagon. It can mean putting in that little extra time to plan the weeks meals, or wash your fruits & veggies and have them readily available, so that when you're STARVING you have set yourself up with plenty of healthy options to grab quickly on the go!

Personally I think I've tried every route, I first tried making a bunch of chicken breasts, veggies, and sweet potatoes to last through the week, but honestly living with two hungry men can sometimes sabotage my best laid plans. I have found what works best for me at my household is a few simple things:

1) ALWAYS have plenty fresh & frozen fruit available

Why? Because one, it's just as easy to grab an apple or banana as it is to grab that bag of chips or a candy bar, and it's obviously doing a much better job nourishing your body. Also, having frozen fruit around makes it easy to throw together a quick smoothie for a sweet snack, and you can add some protein or greens to it to up the nutritional value!

2) ALWAYS have carrot sticks, sugar snap peas, or cucumbers around, something crunchy

Why? Because when we reach for something like chips or pretzels and mindlessly munch by the tv, we are consuming mega calories, and they are mostly empty. If we have a healthy crunchy option around, our brain is satisfied with the crunching it takes to consume these snacks, and the calories are nil and very nutritious...so go nuts! If those don't trip your trigger as snacks, use a little hummus to go with them, or make a super healthy dip, my favorite recipe as follows:

Healthy Veggie Dip:

-1 container of cottage cheese
-1 packet of organic dill dip, OR ranch dip 
(with no MSG, GMO's, or high fructose corn syrup)

Method: put your cottage cheese in a food processor and run on high until all of the chunks are gone and it's nice and smooth like sour cream. Then add in your flavoring packet and run for 1 minute on high until it's completely mixed through. 

This usually keeps for as long as your cottage cheese date says. I like to make this and keep it on hand for raw veggies, then you're getting a healthy dose of protein & flavor with your veggies, without the guilt of a traditional veggie dip! Give it a try!

3) ALWAYS have healthy treat options on hand for when you get that sweet tooth craving

If you're at all like me, you have a sweet tooth whether it rears it's ugly head once a day, or once a week, most people can appreciate my condition. There are TONS of healthier snack recipes on Pinterest that you can both satisfy your sweet tooth with and not derail your healthy eating plan. My go-to because I am a HUGE chocolate fan, is a really nice dark chocolate. It SHOULD be at least 70% cocoa or more. These bars are found in the health aisle and are a little more spendy, but that helps keep me in check by just having ONE serving, instead of the whole bar!

4) I sit down and plan our weekly menu to coincide with our weekly calendar

I like to sit down and schedule out what I'll be making, and what nights my husband will cook while looking at our schedule for the week. When I know I have a busy day, kid's activities, a late meeting, I can schedule our menu taking all of that into consideration. My best friend most weeks is my crock pot, because I can usually throw some ingredients together in there over my lunch hour, or in the morning, and then we all sit down to a healthy meal together at night. When the kids have practices, or games and we have a midwife appointment to boot, I like to make sure that we'll all have access to a healthy meal so I don't end up picking up some fast food because everyone is STARVING by the end of the night. I usually reserve weekends, or less busy nights for a more elaborate meal, and fill my weekdays with things I can prep ahead, or just pick menu items that I know will take 30 mins. or less to prepare. I like to get the kids input too so they feel like they get to have some say in our dinner options for the week. Once I have all of this set, it's easy to put together my grocery list for the week based off of what ingredients I need, and what other staple items we're out of. 

5) Give yourself a break once in awhile

Usually on the weekends we have a night where we order in, or we go out to eat. Not every weekend, but it's nice not to have to prepare all of the meals, ALL of the time! Sometimes we're invited to my parent's house to eat, and we always offer to bring something, but that's a nice reprieve from cooking as well, just being in charge of a side dish always seems easier! You can still make healthy choices when eating out or ordering in, and it feels like a treat enough not to have been the one to make anything!

A day in the life...

So, my weekends are a little less organized because I'm usually home, but M-F I work full time so I prep my meals as I go depending on appointments, or if I'll be able to get home for lunch. But, here's a typical day.

Breakfast: Two eggs sometimes w/leftover veggies & an english muffin w/almond butter or organic jam & for sure my ONE cup of coffee

(I rarely prep breakfast ahead, BUT if I'm in a hurry, I opt for a fruit smoothie with protein, shakeology, or piece of fruit & some overnight oats that I've made ahead) 

MY EASY OVERNIGHT OATS:

I use a mason jar, but you can use a tupperware, whatever works. 

-1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats

-1/2 banana mashed (this will sweeten it)

-1/2-1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (regular milk works too)

-1 TBSP chia seeds

-1/2 scoop of protein* (completely optional)

-1/2-1 cup of frozen blueberries (because I love them)

Put the lid on and shake everything up, stick it in the fridge & it'll thicken up overnight. In the morning you'll have a grab and go healthy delicious breakfast. You can figure out what amount of almond milk you want depending on the consistency, if you like your oats super thick, stick to 1/2 cup, if you like them a little thinner add from there. The base recipe is the oats, banana, milk, & chia seeds- from there you could try all different kinds of fruits, or flavors. You can add in a little greek yogurt as well, especially if you like a specific flavor and that will add protein & thickness. You could add apple chunks & cinnamon. The sky's the limit, and they have like a million different recipes on Pinterest, check it out!

Morning Snack: I usually opt for plain greek yogurt (about 1/2 cup) with a tsp of raw honey, and 2/3 cup frozen blueberries. I leave this on my desk and by about 10:30 the blueberries are thawed, but everything is still chilled. I add in homemade/or organic granola, or muesli for some crunch. OR if I'm running behind, I'll grab a piece of fruit usually an apple, or orange, & a hard boiled egg or two.

(I sometimes make this the night before, but it literally takes me 2 minutes to throw together in the morning before I leave for work.) 

Lunch: I generally just eat leftovers from dinner the night before for lunch, so my only prep is re-heating it. If there aren't any leftovers, or I don't feel like eating them, I'll make a quick salad. I like to keep hard boiled eggs in the fridge for this purpose, & as quick snacks.

Afternoon Snack: Lately this is something I'll pack ahead, a piece of fruit, or carrot sticks/cucumbers & 1/4 cup of raw nuts. Very simple, crunchy, and easy to eat at my desk in between patients, or on my way home from work before I make dinner!

Dinner: I'll use last night's dinner as a reference. Our power was out for the majority of the day yesterday (not sure why, but apparently so was 1150 other MidAmerican users on the north side) but it was beautiful and 76 so that means grill weather at our house. I whipped up a super quick marinade with what I had on hand for some chicken breasts I had. Then I washed & cut up zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, & pre-cut kale and set it aside in a bag to throw on the grill when the time came. I also washed and sliced up three sweet potatoes & seasoned them and set them aside in a bag that would also be going on the grill later. My husband cut up a watermelon, but total time prepping dinner was about 10 minutes. When we were getting hungry & ready to eat, Randy fired up the grill and everything was ready in about 20 minutes. Pretty easy peasy. 

Honey Lime Marinade:

- 1/4 cup olive oil

- juice from two limes

- zest from 1 and a 1/2 limes

- 1 heaping TBSP raw honey

- 4 shakes of Frank's Red Hot

- 1 TBSP dried cilantro (bc I was out of fresh, otherwise 4 TBSP fresh)

- 1 tsp onion powder

- 1 tsp garlic powder

- 1/2 tsp chili powder

- 1/2 tsp himalayan sea salt

Whisk it all together, and pour over your chicken breasts or fish and let it sit for at least 1 hour, up to 3 hours and grill when ready!

This was fast & delicious, and would've been even faster if I had prepped my veggies by washing and cutting them up the day before. I like to leave my weekends less planned though, and we didn't have anywhere to be, so the 10 minutes prep time was super easy to fit in.

After Dinner Snack: I've been drinking my shakeology at night because this is when I want something sweet like chocolate, or ice cream, or whatever this pregnant lady is craving at the time. SO, I've been doing better about keeping myself in check with opting for my superfood at the end of the night. The cafe latte flavor is by far and away my fav, and if I'm really craving sweets, I'll put a little dark chocolate in the blender when I mix it up, so it's like a mocha frappuccino from your favorite coffee shop. :D

Thanks for reading this post, I hope it helps give you some ideas for your own meal prepping. It's different for everyone and every scenario. My brother is a bachelor so I know he likes to grill up a bunch of chicken breasts, steak, & meat, and cooks rice, potatoes, and veggies ahead to portion out through the week. And for some people this is a fantastic option. Like I said, at our house, it's no holds barred, and the men are always hungry, so I generally cook so our whole family is included and on board because that's what works for us. Leave comments to let me know what works for you! OR if you like any of the recipes I posted.

www.beachbodycoach.com/DRJENNCHICOINE

The Countdown Is On!!!

32 weeks and counting...

So I'm in the 8th month of pregnancy, I'm 32 weeks + 3 days but who's counting :D As I'm nearing the homestretch of this experience I'm overwhelmed with an array of different emotions. I can't wait to feel more 'human' and like myself again, and I can't wait to meet this little baby. I'm also a little nervous about how this baby will impact the dynamic that I have with my 14 & 11 year old children and how they will respond to this. I know my husband will be an amazing father, and a huge help and support. I have no idea how our dog will react to no longer being the baby (fur baby) because there is someone smaller than him who has even more needs. I realize all of these emotions are very normal, and I know everything has a way of working out...but I think at times the hormones take over and I start to get a little anxious. I was early with both of my other pregnancies, but in the world of pregnancy & babies...there are NO rules or guarantees with delivery dates! My son graduates 8th grade on May 25th...which is literally one day after my due date, so that also creates a touch of anxiety. He said he understands if I can't be there, but honestly that's a huge day in a middle school kid's life, and I want to be there for it! And seriously this pregnancy brain is taking over, I had a hard time keeping track of my score at bunco last night!

Anyway, I know that everything will work out, and obviously most of these emotions are over things that are completely out of my control anyway. I know I felt a lot of the same emotions when I was pregnant with my daughter, and I was worried about how my son would respond to that changing dynamic. It seems funny now to have worried about it because it was such a natural progression once she was here.

 I do however, have a difficult time with my mind-body disconnect. What I mean by that is, I have tried to remain active, and for the most part I've continued doing everything I would normally do...but in these last few weeks, I have had to start modifying certain exercises, or ask for help with certain tasks. During my first two pregnancies, I didn't exercise, I continued for the most part with my daily activities, but I also gained 55-60 pounds. So, this round my goal as I've mentioned before was to remain active and really stay as fit and healthy as I can throughout this pregnancy. In doing so, a big part of my routine has been to exercise 3-5 times each week. So, I finally realized in recent weeks that a lot of my hip pain & soreness was related to some of the exercises I was doing. Now I have begun modifying those movements, which is difficult because in my head I'm thinking...I should be able to do this! I've come to the realization however, that I can't compare myself to women who are able to run or do box jumps up until the day before they give birth. I think that's amazing and I'm proud of those women & their accomplishments, but if I'm honest with myself, I am not in that category. However, that doesn't mean that I can't still get a good workout & push myself to work hard within my own capacity.

Our Home Birth Decision...

We also had an appointment with our midwife this week, which is ALWAYS exciting! We get to listen to the baby's heartbeat on the doppler and I just love that part. We are not finding out what the baby's gender is, mostly because my husband has never gone through this experience and he said he wants to be surprised. We had decided we wanted to have a homebirth experience actually a long while before we ever got married or pregnant. Now, depending on where you're from, or where you live, homebirth is either something well known, or something that sounds crazy to you, it seems there is no in between! Where we live in Sioux City, Iowa homebirth is not as well known, and midwives are not contracted in our hospitals & we don't have any birth centers. The biggest cities north & south of us have birth centers and hospitals with midwives in them, but they are about an hour and half travel time. 

I had my first two children in a hospital, with very different birth experiences. I was very young when I had my son, 19 at the time of delivery, and towards the end of that pregnancy I was very ready to just hold him in my arms and I was ready to be done being pregnant! I tried all sorts of old wives tales to try and get labor started around mother's day that year, although my due date was technically June 2. What I remember most vividly was drinking castor oil (because it was absolutely disgusting!) a couple of people told me they swore by it that it helped their labor start. Well, my water broke on May 15th in the middle of the night, but no labor started. So, I checked into the hospital around 9 a.m. the morning of May 15th, and still nothing had started on it's own. They admitted me & started me right away on a pitocin drip and re-broke my water with a pretty long scary looking needle. I was not in a room at this time but out in the hall in a makeshift room because the hospital was so busy with deliveries that day. I was rolled into a room about an hour later and I labored all day with no real significance. I had my mind set that I'd like to deliver my son without any pain medicine or epidural. After about 8 1/2 hours of labor, I didn't think I could take it anymore, the contractions were right on top of each other, and the doctor said there was no telling how much longer it might be before the baby was here. I was exhausted, scared, and reaching my breaking point, I ended up opting for an epidural. I can't remember exactly what they told me, just that because of how far I had progressed the epidural could still be administered, just not a full dosage or something to that effect. They gave me the epidural around 5:30 p.m. or so, I calmed down a little and was much more relaxed and breathing through the contractions and I couldn't feel them much at all. Around 6:00 p.m. I felt a sudden urge to have to 'push'. I was told to wait until the doctor could come back into the room to check me, and then we could see if I was ready to push or not. She came into the room, and I was given the green light to start pushing. I pushed for about 20-25 minutes, at some point I felt the 'ring of fire', I had an episiotomy, and Keaton was born at 6:27 p.m. I had stitches, they used a syringe in each of my thighs to give me something although I have no recollection of being asked or told what it was, and then a nurse started to 'massage' (more like do handstand on) my uterus to get it to start contracting down. His APGAR score was fantastic, he was wrapped up like a burrito and they handed him to me. I looked down at this tiny little human & my whole world changed, I was absolutely without a doubt unconditionally in love. About twenty minutes later they were moving me to a regular room, no longer the delivery room, and I told them I was going to be sick, I threw up about three times before they got me to the recovery room. I felt sick the rest of the night. The nurses kept bringing Keaton in to breastfeed, but he wouldn't latch on, or if he did he'd fall asleep almost immediately. I had a very difficult time in the first few days trying to get him to nurse. Finally after contacting the La Leche League, questioning every nurse, and my mom, miraculously Keaton got hungry enough to figure out that he needed to eat, and on day 8 of his life, he had it figured out! 

With my daughter the experience was very different. I was just as anxious to be done with the pregnancy and move onto having this new baby, but my labor started on its own. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect because my body hadn't naturally gone through the labor process on it's own before, and I didn't know when I would need to go to the hospital. I didn't want to go too early & get stuck lying in a bed if nothing was progressing, but I didn't want to wait too long and deliver my daughter in the car either! I decided to head to the hospital when my contractions were regular, about 4 minutes apart, and to the point where I would have to stop doing what I was doing to take a little break and breathe through the contraction. I was admitted to the hospital around 10:30 a.m. on January 5, 2005, and went right to a room. I had the sweetest nurse and she kept asking me how I felt. I told her I felt fine, as soon as I had sat down in bed the contractions were very manageable still, and easy to breathe through. I told her my birth plan was to deliver this baby without any pain medication. The protocol at the Las Colinas Hospital in Texas where we lived, was to get every patient set up with an IV in the event that they needed to administer meds or prep for surgery. So, they started me with a saline drip. I sat in bed and watched tv for a while, and then the contractions started to get more intense around noon. I was still doing fine with managing the pain on my own, and my nurse warned me that the window of time to have any pain medication was closing because of how my labor was progressing. I still felt very capable of managing the pain at that point. At around 12:30 I had an exorcist moment where the pain became very intense and I said maybe I might want some sort of pain meds. My nurse said I had passed the point of it being safe to administer and so I was left staring straight down the barrel of what felt like a loaded weapon as I assessed my options out of this predicament. I kept breathing and laboring and about 15 minutes later I said I felt like I needed to push. The doctor came in to check me and said I needed to wait a few minutes until he could get prepped. That felt like an eternity because every nerve ending in your body is on absolute edge and you feel like the only relief will come from pushing...and then you are told to wait! Finally I was given the 'ok' to push, and at 1:12 p.m. Reese was born! Immediately after she was born, I felt a rush of endorphins, the pain was over, and the contractions ceased. The nurses had to 'massage' my uterus like before, but this time I knew what I was in for and although it was uncomfortable, it seemed to go by faster. They laid Reese right on my chest so I could meet her, wiped her down, then cut the cord, checked her APGAR, and finally gave her back to me. She had no trouble at all latching on and was nursing within the first half an hour after delivery. I felt really good too, a little sore, but more so I was wide awake, felt ALIVE, and I was ravenously hungry! 

It is my personal assessment with reading various studies, talking to other professionals, hearing other women's stories, and speaking with my midwife that these differences in labor & delivery are very common given the cascade of events. A lot of babies born via c-section, or with the mom being induced & given an epidural have trouble nursing in the first few days to weeks of life, when compared to a normal unmedicated vaginal delivery. Why? It comes down to biology, the hormone released naturally by the body during labor is oxytocin, and it starts an entire cascade of other interactions and hormone releases between mom & baby that forms a bonding process, milk let down, and uterine contractions postpartum, just to name a few. When women are induced during labor they are given pitocin which is synthetic drug designed to mimic the naturally produced hormone oxytocin, and while it is very good at producing uterine contractions, it doesn't have all of the same effects on the body. Also, the induced contractions from pitocin are often harder, longer, and more intense than those naturally built up during labor that is brought on with oxytocin. Pitocin can statistically triple the chance of needing a c-section, and at the least can cause more stress to mom & baby during labor that it leads to other medical intervention. ***Disclaimer*** I'm not saying one is more 'right' than the other because every situation and circumstance is different, I'm merely pointing out the differences as to how they affect the body during labor & delivery.

For me, I had a much better experience with my daughter's birth, when compared to my son's. Both labors had their own pain and difficult stages, but the biggest difference to me was the personal recovery time, and the ease of breastfeeding with my daughter compared to my son. This is largely part of the reason that I have chosen to go through a homebirth. I also feel comfortable with my ability to manage the pain, I feel very comfortable with my midwife Sarah and her professional experience, as well as being in the comfort of my own home environment during the whole experience. No interns coming in to watch, no strangers wandering into the wrong room, no beeping and prodding and uncomfortable hospital beds. My husband will be right there with me, and once the baby is delivered and Sarah has done an exam on the baby and made sure all is well, we'll get tucked into our own bed and she'll check on us once more a few hours later. If something should go wrong, or not progress correctly and she thinks we need to go to the hospital, she will make that call and we only live about 3 minutes away from the nearest hospital. My nurse practitioner/midwife lives in Sioux City, and I'll attach the link to her website here: http://serenityhomebirth.com/ in case anyone is interested to learn more! 

This is my personal story and experience, everyone has their own, and no two are exactly alike! The most powerful thing is that women have been birthing babies since the beginning of time, it's what sets us apart from men because it's something they'll never be able to do. It's why being a mommy is so special, because it's such a huge role to bond with your baby from those first little movements you feel early in pregnancy, to those big movements that make your belly look like an alien is trying to escape, through labor & delivery, and every moment afterwards. I realize that many women have different birth stories, and everyone has their own preference. I'm not saying any 'one' kind is better than another, it is my opinion that each woman should be able to choose what her birth plan ultimately looks like. I have many friends who are terrified of the notion of home birth, I have family members and cousins who prefer hospitals, and then other women find our choice very empowering. Ultimately every woman needs to go with what she is comfortable with, or what her circumstances allow, because at the end of the day, no matter what you choose, you'll end up holding that precious little bundle in your arms and your entire world will be just a little brighter.

www.beachbodycoach.com/DRJENNCHICOINE

Paleo Zuchinni Bread & The Easiest Breakfast Casserole Recipes

As promised, I thought I'd make a quick post about my two Easter dish contributions to our family gathering. I found this blogger 'Detoxinista' a couple of years ago and I just LOVE her recipes. I made her zucchini bread once and it was a hit at our house, even with my kids, so I've kept it as my go to for a breakfast bread. I found the crockpot egg casserole on Pinterest and added my own twist. I've now made it for Thanksgiving morning (because who wants to cook breakfast when you've spent hours in the kitchen baking pies and preparing side dishes!) Christmas morning, because again, I don't like to be missing out on the kid's fun, but everyone is starving after unwrapping gifts, and now Easter!

Zucchini Bread 

(credit to Detoxinista.com recipe)

Here are the ingredients you will need:

3/4 cup coconut flour
6 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini, tightly packed

Method:

Preheat oven @ 350 degrees, and prepare a loaf pan, glass works best. I prepare my loaf pan by just using a cold stick of butter and coating all sides and the bottom of the pan really well. Real butter is much better for you than all of the crap that's in Pam spray, but that's a whole subject in and of itself. So...just prepare your pan. ***Note: Detoxinista suggests using parchment paper, I forgot to this time and it came out fine, but she says sometimes it sticks like crazy *** Next whisk together your eggs, add in the maple syrup, melted coconut oil, coconut flour, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda, and whisk until all of the lumps are gone. Then with a spatula, fold in your shredded zucchini. Your mixture will be thick, similar to cake batter. Pour your mixture into your prepared loaf pan, smooth out the top, and pop it into the oven for 45-60 minutes. The loaf won't rise much, but jiggle the pan to make sure it's cooked through the middle. It will be golden brown, and this bread is very *moist (my least favorite word) so I'd err on the side of baking it a little longer if you're not sure that it's done. Cool on a wire rack, and then store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week. (Although I doubt you'll have it around that long!)

I had to make myself pause to take a picture because it was delicious

This bread is delicious alone, or served with butter, honey, or whatever you like on top of your breakfast breads. It has a nice texture, and the maple syrup & zucchini alone make it sweet, but you don't feel like you ate a donut afterwards. Win win if you're trying to eat healthier!

This is the beautiful picture from Detoxinista.com but this is exactly what the loaf should look like

Crockpot Egg Dish

So, if you're like me, you like good homemade food, but you like it to be fairly easy to make. We love breakfast at our house, and it seems with most holidays that we eat some form of eggs, or egg casserole for breakfast or brunch. I'm usually making quite a few homemade food items around the holidays, and breakfast seems like the last thing I want to stand on my feet in the kitchen to make, but the first thing I want to dig into after a late night! Anyway, I came across this very basic egg dish recipe for the crockpot on Pinterest. I honestly don't even remember what site I found it on, so I wish I could give credit to whomever saved my life with this recipe. But, alas, I cannot. I also don't have any pictures for you, but I'll be making this again later this week, and will update this post! 

The original recipe calls for:

12 eggs

1 bag of frozen hash browns

1 16 oz. roll of sausage

16 oz of shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup of milk

Salt & Pepper to taste

My version...because we love eggs, and leftovers, or if you have a big crowd to feed!

All of my ingredients ( I like to use block cheese & shred it myself- less additives)

18 eggs

1 16 oz bag of all natural hash browns, OR 3 cups of shredded sweet potatoes

1 lb of mild sausage

2 1/2 cups of frozen roasted corn, black beans, onion, & green pepper mix

6 shakes of Frank's Red Hot (or to taste-this amount won't make it spicy)

2 cups of milk

1 TBSP onion powder

1 TBSP garlic powder

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp. himalayan sea salt

8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Method:

In a medium pan, brown your sausage, then set aside. In a large bowl whisk your eggs until thoroughly beaten, add in the milk and whisk again. Add in your Frank's Red Hot, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, salt, and whisk together. Next, add in your hash browns or shredded sweet potato and use a spatula to mix together. Add in the sausage and mix thoroughly, and lastly, add in your cheese and mix until everything is evenly incorporated. Now, get out your crockpot, again I use a cold stick of butter to prepare mine, and make sure to prepare the bottom and sides of the crockpot all the way up! Then dump in all of your egg mixture, put on the lid, and cook for 5 hours on low. If you have a crockpot with a timer (the absolute best kitchen gadget) then it will automatically switch over to the 'warm' setting after 5 hours. If not, you'll want to be sure to set an alarm so you turn it over to warm, unless you're ready to serve it that point. 

All of my ingredients mixed together & ready to go in the crockpot!

I usually start mine around midnight or later on Thanksgiving or Christmas, only because I'm still up doing something in the kitchen at that point. For Easter, I made this ahead, leaving the last step for 5 a.m. so, I set my alarm and dumped my egg mixture into the crockpot and then it was ready to go when we were heading to my mom's in the morning &  I just plugged it back in on the 'warm' setting when we got there because we weren't going to eat breakfast for another 45 minutes or so. It's always a hit, it's super easy, and I have to make more this week because everyone took some home & we didn't have much for leftovers!

Our delicious hot & ready breakfast, just get a spoon & dig in!

www.beachbodycoach.com/DRJENNCHICOINE