We all know the story of the Pilgrims, a group of people escaping religious persecution in England because of their separatist views with the church.

These Pilgrims were able to secure passage on the Mayflower to begin the second, permanent English colony in the Americas.

Since this is Thanksgiving week, I thought I would take a moment and write about what was considered state-of-the-art healthcare at the time the Pilgrims were setting up their colony in Plymouth.

The state of healthcare at that time was interesting, especially in New England and the Plymouth Colony.  In fact, about 50% of the Plymouth colonists died within the first year in what is now Massachusetts.  There were very few doctors and, even if there had been doctors present, it is highly unlikely they would've been able to do much to save or slow down these deaths.

Pastors or politicians mostly provided what medical care was available.  These men were probably the best-educated people at that time; it would be nice ...

Paleo Chicken Thai See Ew

Every recipe I have ever cooked with coconut aminos seems to turn out amazing! This paleo chicken Thai see ew was no different. Every time I use coconut aminos I’m amazed at how much I really do prefer them over soy!  Coconut aminos are the aged and naturally fermented sap of the coconut tree.  Think of it like the maple syrup of the tropics.  They are much higher in some amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and much lower sodium than soy.  Plus it doesn't have all the potential allergic side effects of soy.  This makes it a great soy substitute.  Personally, I like the slightly sweeter and less salty taste of the coconut aminos over soy. This really was super easy and amazingly delicious Paleo Chicken Thai See Ew.  The carrots were an amazing replacement for the noodles.  The hardest part, which wasn’t really that hard was making the carrot ribbons.  Make sure you move fast after adding the broccoli, they get overcooked and soggy pretty quickly.  Hop...

I feel like our healthy eating patterns can take a serious fall starting in October thanks to all the filled candy bowls leading up to Halloween.

It's always interesting to me that people only begin questioning how to stay healthy once Thanksgiving starts gearing up.  If you take a step back and look at it, the month of October will likely be spent eating incorrectly every day; Thanksgiving is a one to two day period filled with gluttonous punishment to our stomachs!

Nonetheless, we as Americans and celebrators of so much with food tend to look at Thanksgiving as our healthy living downfall.

So, how can you stay within your healthy eating options over Thanksgiving?  There's so much bread, stuffing, and sugar!  So many pies!  Your mom/wife's feelings will be hurt if you don't eat every last bite!

It can be especially difficult to eat properly when you're not in charge of what's being served.  You have to tread the waters carefully and make conscientious choices when it comes to fill...

It is often debated if this quote was actually said by Thomas Edison.  The people over at Snopes tracked it down to an interview that Thomas Edison gave about what his predictions were for the future in 1902.  

This quote seems to be tailor-made for the chiropractic profession because it really hits the heart of what chiropractic should be!   Chiropractors should address the human frame and look to what might be causing the dysfunction of the spine and, to properly do this, we need to look to the diet. The interesting thing to me is that Edison was talking about diet even before Upton Sinclair wrote: “The Jungle” exposing much of the abuses in the processing of the food consumed then and today. 

And, the sad part to me, is that the modern processed food movement that has taken hold of our gastronomy is much more destructive to our health than in Sinclair’s time.  

The impressive part was that Edison knew even then that mass production and processing of food were screwing us up! C...

Gorgonzola Stuffed Chicken Breast with Balsamic sautéed asparagus

This was an amazingly easy primal meal that we threw together last week.  I loved the Gorgonzola stuffed chicken and the combination between pan frying and baking.  You have to be very careful when you make the sauce, which was amazing by the way, because the handle is going to be really hot!  Hope you enjoy this primal meal. 4 chicken breast.

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 pound chilled Gorgonzola cheese crumbles
• 4 tbs. butter or ghee
• 4 tbs garlic
• 3 tbs Onion Toasted and dried (Penzey’s)
• 1/3 cup water
• 5 tbs. balsamic vinegar
• 1 lb asparagus spears  

Preparation:
Gorgonzola Stuffed Chicken Breast

1. Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle. 
2. Cut a deep pocket in the chicken breast.
3. Mix 2 tbs Garlic, 2 tbsp Onion, and Cheese.
4. Fill each pocket with one-quarter of cheese mixture.
5. Season chicken all over with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
6. Heat ½ of the butter in an ovenproof heavy skillet over medium-high hea
...

These were a big hit with everyone!  I would have added in a few shallots to mix up the flavors a bit but we used parsnips, turnips and butternut squash (yeah, I know, not really a root but it added a different color and flavor to the dish).

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs assorted root vegetables, peeled and diced
• 1 c apple cider (no added sugar)
• 3 tbsp Ghee or butter, melted
• 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup of chopped pecans
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix together cider, 2 Tbsp coconut butter, salt and pepper in a bowl.
3. Add root vegetables, mixing until coated. 
4. Transfer to a baking dish
5. Bake 20 minutes, uncover and stir vegetables. Leave uncovered and continue cooking, stirring every 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender – about 1 hour more.
6. While the vegetables are cooking, place the nuts in a cast iron skillet and cook over low heat, stirring frequently to avoid scorching walnuts. 
7. Re
...

I have never been much of a stuffing fan but this recipe is making me a bit of a convert!  It has all the great flavors of stuffing but none of the guilt if you are gluten or grain free eating.  I was really impressed with this meal and I can see it becoming a holiday staple at my house.

1lb ground pork sausage or ground beef
1/2 Sweet Potato, Chopped
5 pieces of bacon, diced
5 stalks of celery, diced
1 onion, diced
2 apples, diced
2 cups walnut pieces, very finely chopped/ground and soaked overnight (rinse several times before using)
or 1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup cranberries dried
1 container of mushrooms, diced
2 teaspoons sage leaves, freshly chopped
1 teaspoon thyme, chopped fresh
¼ teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped fresh
½ tsp garlic powder
2 eggs
⅓ cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil, throw diced sweet potatoes/yams on it, toss with olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or u...

We made the parsnips with and without the nutmeg and I have to say that I personally like the ones without much better.  I could still taste the parsnip but other than that the texture and consistency were the same as regular mashed potatoes.  If you are looking to avoid nightshade vegetables (potatoes) then this is a great option! 4 pounds parsnips, peeled and cut into small chunks

3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup cream, optional
butter and salt to taste
optional: 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and cinnamon

Combine parsnips with chicken broth and 3 cup water. With a lid, simmer until very tender (about 20 minutes).

Drain off broth. Mash parsnips with a fork or potato masher (a stick blender or food processor save time and effort).
Add enough broth back to the parsnips, and cream if you’re using it until desired consistency is reached.
Add salt and butter taste.  Enjoy!

This makes a great substitute for the typical ho-hum green bean casserole that we all grew up eating at the holidays.

1.5 lb. green beans
2 Tbs. Ghee
1 small onion diced
2 cloves garlic
8 oz mushrooms chopped
18 oz Coconut Milk
1 – 1/2 Tbsp Tapioca Starch (Flour)
Sea Salt & Pepper to taste
Fresh pepper
3/4 cups of Almond Meal

Clean and steam green beans.  Boil green beans for 1-2 min then quickly strain and put in cold water to stop cooking once al dente
Put green beans in medium size baking dish arranging them neatly (makes serving easier)
Cook the onions, mushrooms and garlic until soft in the ghee or grass fed butter.  Add to the green beans and arrange evenly
Mix Coconut milk and Tapioca Starch
Pour the mixture over green beans, which should cover them about halfway
Add salt and pepper to whole dish

Bake on 350 for 30 min, add almond meal to top then heat for 3-5 more min.  I turned the broiler on to brown and crisp the Almond Meal
Let dish cool 10 min before serving

It has officially started!  The season of gluttony, late nights, early mornings and way too much sugar and stress.  Thanksgiving is a mere 4 weeks away and keeping true to the diet is next to impossible.  So, I thought that I would take the next couple of months and post paleo/primal meals that can help mitigate some of the damage done by the normal holiday staples.  Here are some of the better paleo holiday Thanksgiving side recipes I've prepared:

1.  Paleo Stuffing - I have never been much of a stuffing fan but this recipe is making me a bit of a convert!  It has all the great flavors of stuffing but none of the guilt if you are gluten or grain free eating.  I was really impressed with this meal and I can see it becoming a holiday staple at my house.    

2.  Paleo Sweet Potato Casserole - I really couldn’t tell the difference between non-paleo and this paleo casserole.  It really did taste amazing!      

3.  Paleo Green Bean Casserole - This makes a great substitute for t...