Empower Her Health Coaching

I feel the need to say this every year when it comes around, but… It’s fall ya’ll! 

I began my 36th trip around the sun yesterday, and enjoyed my birthday with the beautiful fall weather and my family! I hope you’re enjoying the cool fall weather, walks, and change of pace and season! Now, get ready to cozy up with a warm drink and blanket, and enjoy your latest health mail!

We are going to dig into fall recipes, I’ll let you in on a new FREE opportunity I have for you to level up your health, and we’ll chat about a challenge I have for you on sticking to some very basic, but fundamental habits this upcoming holiday season! The main focus, though!? Stress: how it creeps in and how our reactions (especially those we don’t like) are something we can change!

Harnessing Our Nervous system:

How to purposefully chill out instead of blow your pumpkin top!

Stress management. Sometimes we hear it and laugh because it seems impossible to control. Other times we wonder if it’s just us that feels so overwhelmed. Maybe some of us even feel as if we have a handle on it. But, if you aren’t being purposeful about it, chances are you have some reactions to stress you aren’t proud of… regardless of how at peace you generally are, or how stressed you “feel”. 

The thing about stress? We usually just accept our reaction to it as a part of who we are vs actually trying to improve it and realizing that we CAN change it.

I recently started diving deep into research on stress, and by extension the nervous system, because it seemed to be the next terrain to examine after I jumped into hormones, nutrition, and exercise. And I also noticed, I really didn’t like how I reacted in certain situations because I didn’t feel like my words and actions reflected who I wanted to be, so, in I dove!

Here is where I’m going to get a bit scientific, but hang with me because it’s for good reason! 

We have 2 parts of our autonomic nervous system: our parasympathetic nervous system (or our “rest and digest” mode) and our sympathetic nervous system (or our “fight, flight, or freeze” response). We want to spend a lot of time in our “rest and digest” and less in our “fight/flight/freeze”. However, most of us get into our “fight/flight/freeze” and have no tools to get back to our “rest and digest”.

But, the coolest thing ever (to me anyway)?! We have an actual NERVE (or bundle of nerves) that’s actual function is to connect our brain and body. It is called the vagus nerve, and it is the embodiment of the mind-body connection. So, all of those negative effects of too much stress (ulcers, hormonal imbalances, sleep issues, numerous diseases, poor digestion, high blood pressure, etc)? It is the actual physical response that our body is having to our “fight/flight/freeze” being overactivated.

First of all, do you know what it PHYSICALLY feels like when you’re in this mode? Because our bodies will physically react- stomach tension, tightness in your chest, a lump in your throat, tunnel vision, raised heart rate, some even cry… What is it for you!? 

I also want you to acknowledge the fact that not only is it okay for us to have this reaction, but it is natural. Our bodies are wired to react this way- it kept us alive and running from the bear in cave times. And right now? Our body doesn’t know the difference between that bear chasing us and..  us getting lost on our way somewhere, listening to our child scream or complain, being frustrated over a bill that’s wrong, being stuck in traffic, having an inconvenient change of plans at the last minute, being hungry, cold, tired, or having someone make a comment to us that we don’t take well…

And, we have to help our body notice the difference by purposefully activating our “rest and digest”. Because the reactions we have that we don’t like? They have become automatic, and we need to bring awareness to them in order to create new automatic reactions that are more aligned to who we want to be.

Find yourself snapping at a loved one, stress eating, shutting down, getting foggy thoughts, lying, using retail therapy, having racing thoughts, or trying to appease others when it’s absolutely the opposite of what you want?! (The long version of it is fight, flight, freeze (racing thoughts), shut down, or fawn (please others) in case that explanation includes something more identifiable to you.)

These are great examples of UNHEALTHY ways we deal with stress, and, believe it or not, we can actually change these responses if we choose to and are willing to try.

The good news is, once you are able to recognize your physical reaction and be aware of it in the moment, you can use a REACTIVE technique before an unhealthy reaction occurs, which I’ll get to soon. But, keep in mind, AWARENESS is the most important part of truly changing your response!

For the Christian reader, I like to draw a line from this “automatic response” that we have and don’t like to what the Bible calls a “stronghold”. And the very eerily cool part about this research is that my pastor did a sermon on this the day after my first draft of this article was done. He was literally talking about our nervous system and how we can change it. God has pretty awesome timing like that! And the verse he shared that I felt the need to add in here too was this:

“On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:10 4b-5

The part I underlined is exactly what nervous system research also directs us to do- bring awareness to our actions so we can then change them!

How?! There are two ways to go about it, and both are helpful. The first type of tactics to have at the ready are called REACTIVE. These are the practices that we do in the moment when we recognize that our “fight/flight/freeze” system is activated.

Reactive techniques include:

1. Deep breaths
2. Clenching your fists until you feel fatigue, then take a deep breath in and release the clench as you exhale (my favorite because my default is “fight”)
3. Prayer or affirmations (taking it captive and making it obedient to God)
4. Slowly scanning your surroundings
5. Shaking your hands, rolling your shoulders, or wiggling your body in some way to help you “snap out of it”
6. Walking
7. Hand over your heart w/ a breath
8. Sensory stimulation- noticing the sounds, smells, feels, and sights around you- the clock ticking, smelling essential oils or something with a strong aroma, noticing the ground beneath your feet or weight of your body in a chair, petting your dog, listening to birds, etc

Another thing to note? Some situations may elicit different responses. For instance, if my immediate family makes a comment I don’t like, I tend to fight. But, a friend or more distant family member makes a comment, I’m more likely to freeze, have racing thoughts that I’m unable to process until later, and not say anything.

It is also good to note just how activated you are and responding accordingly- it is the more intense situations where I feel the need to clench fists, while it’s the less intense, but still triggering situations where a deep breath will do.

To start? Choose just ONE of the techniques above to start. Having just one to start will help you practice it, create consistency. and see if it works for you. Just choose a response that best fits your most common reaction, and as you get better at this, you can choose a different technique to meet the response depending on the situation and degree to which you feel triggered.

Keep in mind that this will take time and practice before it becomes a more natural response, so keep after it and you’ll make it happen!

The second type of tactics are PROACTIVE. These are the things that we can do as a natural part of our daily routine to activate our “rest and digest” system and help our resilience to stress become stronger. 

1. Exercise
2. Get in nature
3. Gargle
4. Laugh
5. Connect with others
6. Hum/Sing
7. Take probiotics
8. Massage
9. Breath work (purposefully taking deep breaths w/ a longer exhale than inhale)
10.  Cold exposure via ending your shower w/ 30 second- 3 minute on cold or submersing your face in ice water for 15-30 seconds 3-5x.

Some of these seem intense. Others, we can easily do as a part of our routine. Gargle for 30 seconds after you brush your teeth. Hum while you make breakfast. Make a point of stopping in to check on a co-worker on your way out of work. Or take the plunge and turn the temp to cold as you end your shower!

Already doing some of these? Great! Pick another one. And yes, again, I recommend to everyone just choose ONE to focus on to start because then it’s more likely to stick. And it’ll also be more likely to stick if you “habit stack” or add it to something you already do, like brush your teeth!

For those of you who are loving what you’ve heard about this, make sure to check out my last video/podcast on my Empower Her Health Pod on YouTube (and subscribe while you’re at it if you want to support me and help my company grow!): Tangible Tactics to Improve Your Stress Responses by Tapping into Your Nervous System!

Now onto the Challenge…

This November, I am challenging my Empower community to a “Fall Foundations” challenge. This challenge has 4 daily tasks for you to complete, one from each Empower Pillars of Health: Stress, Sleep, Movement, and Nutrition

1. Movement: Hit your step goal
2. Nutrition: Hit your protein goal
3. Sleep: Get 7+ hours of sleep/night
4. Stress: Incorporate some sort of PURPOSEFUL, proactive stress management technique into your daily life

Freebie!

I wanted to let you know about an extra layer of support I have in place for you while you’re working through this challenge: My EMPOWER HER HEALTH GROUP on Facebook has RELAUNCHED! I have added a lot of goodies, the best of which is my new FREE Workout Program with options for 2/3/4 days/week and they can all be used with dumbbells at home! I have the PDF’s including free form videos I created as well as an 8 page guide on lifting, cardio, nutrition, and weight management as well as guidance for menstrual cycle syncing for cycling females. 

This Facebook group is solely for women, and there are things included in our group for any age and we have 20 somethings to 70 somethings in our community, so don’t hesitate to join! There are a couple questions for you to answer upon joining just to ensure the safety of our members, but you are welcome to join here.

By the way, we’ll be doing our annual Thanksgiving 5K this year too! I hope you and your family will join:

Not on Facebook? A great way around this is to create a “ghost account” where you don’t have to friend anyone, but you can still have access to the group for accountability, recipes, and access to all of the resources I’ve included.

A man or not interested in joining the group? No problem. I just uploaded the workouts onto my website on the Free EHHC Workout Program page!

Just email me with any questions, and I would be happy to help! Why? Because my goal is to EMPOWER you to live your healthiest life possible by giving you the tools to confidently navigate your journey!

I’m excited to take on this “Fall Foundations” challenge with you! 

But now, without further ado, I give you a few of my favorite fall recipes!

Take care and stay healthy, friend!

RECIPES!

Apple Pie (Gluten and Dairy Free)

Ingredients for the Crust

• 2 cups blanched almond flour
• 1/2 cup cassava flour
• Heaping 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup cold butter or shortening, cut into small cubes
• 3-5 Tablespoons ice cold water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• optional 1/2 cup brown coconut sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a pie plate and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, cinnamon, cassava flour, sweetener (if using), and salt.
3. Add the egg and mix until combined.
4. Add the butter and pulse until it’s roughly the size of peas.
5. Add the water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together. You may not need all of it.
6. Gather the dough into a ball and place between two pieces of parchment paper.
7. Roll out into a thick disc, then transfer to the prepared pie plate and use the heel of your hand to press the dough up the sides of the pan. Crimp the edges between your thumb and first two fingers.
8. Bake for 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS FOR THE PIE

• 1 gluten free crust
• 7 cups apple slices, (about 6-7 semi-tart apples peeled, cored, and sliced)
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped dried apples
• 2 Tablespoons tapioca flour
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• Pinch fine sea salt

INGREDIENTS FOR THE CRUMB TOPPING

• 1 cup blanched almond flour
• 3 Tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1 Tablespoon coconut flour
• 1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 pinch fine sea salt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

INSTRUCTIONS

MAKE THE FILLING

1. In a large mixing bowl, toss together all of the ingredients until well combined.
2. Pour the filling into the pre-baked and cooled pie shell and use a spatula to spread it into an even layer. Set aside.

MAKE THE CRUMB TOPPING

1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut sugar, coconut flour, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil and maple syrup.
3. Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture and stir to combine.
4. Use a spoon or your fingertips to drop dollops of crumble all over the top of the pie, covering all of the apples.  Note: the crumble will be wetter than you may expect before it has baked! That’s normal.
5. Bake for 30 minutes. Then loosely cover the edges of the crust with tinfoil (or a shield) and bake for another 30 minutes or so, until the top is golden. 
6. Cool completely (or mostly) before serving. 

Enjoy!

Carrot Cake

Ingredients for Carrot Cake

• ▢5 large eggs separated
• ▢1 cup maple syrup or honey
• ▢1/4 cup mild tasting oil Like avocado, melted coconut oil or butter, light olive oil
• ▢1/4 cup any milk
• ▢1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• ▢1 tbsp cinnamon
• ▢1 tsp baking soda
• ▢1 tsp baking powder
• ▢1/2 tsp salt
• ▢3 2/3 cups super fine blanched almond flour
• ▢2 cups carrots grated
• ▢2 cups pecans or walnuts divided
• ▢1/2 cup + 2 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes divided
• ▢1/2 cup + 2 tbsp raisins divided
• ▢Coconut oil or avocado oil for greasing

For “Cream Cheese” Frosting:

• 8 ounces dairy-free butter (Miyokos) softened
• 8 ounces dairy-free cream cheese (Miyokos)
• 2–3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest OR vanilla extract, optional (I recommend omitting)

Instructions 

Bake cake:

• Place 2 cake pans bottoms down on parchment paper, circle around with a pen and cut out each circle with scissors. Place cut outs inside each cake pan and grease the bottom and sides with butter really well. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and position one rack just below the middle of the oven and another rack closer to the top.
• In a large skillet, add pecans and cook on medium heat until toasted and fragrant, stirring often. Transfer to a cutting board.
• Return skillet to low heat and toast coconut flakes, stirring often. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Set aside.
• In another large bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Add maple syrup, oil, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk very well until no lumps.
• Add almond flour and stir gently until well combined. Add egg whites and stir gently until incorporated.
• Chop toasted pecans and add 1 cup (half) to the cake better. Also add carrots, 1/2 cup toasted coconut flakes and 1/2 cup raisins, stir gently until well mixed.
• Divide batter between 2 cake pans evenly. Bake for 30 minutes on lower rack then move to the top rack for additional 5 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and cake springs back. This method prevents almond flour from burning and helps cakes to cook through.
• Remove from the oven and let cakes cool off for 10 minutes. Run knife around the edge of pans, flip cakes upside down on a cooling rack, carefully peel off parchment paper and let them cool off completely before frosting.

Make frosting:

• Beat the butter and cream cheese until well combined and smooth. 
• Slowly add the powdered sugar with the mixers on low, until there is no more dry sugar visible. Add in the orange zest or vanilla, if using. 
• Turn the speed up to high and beat for several minutes or until the frosting is smooth. 

Assemble cake:

• In a small bowl, add 1 cup reserved toasted pecans, 2 tbsp toasted coconut flakes and 2 tbsp raisins; stir with a spoon. Set aside for decor.
• Place one cake top side down on a cake platter. Add 1/2 cup frosting and spread evenly. Then place second cake top side up on top of frosted first cake, topping with almost all frosting and reserving about 1/3 cup for the sides. Spread frosting evenly on top, then frost sides with remaining frosting just to cover them, filling the middle gap and bottom gap where cake is touching the plate.
• To garnish, place spoonfuls of nut/flake mixture around the edge on top and bottom of the cake.
• You can serve cake immediately or chill for a few hours. Cut into 12 slices and serve.

Beef Bulgogi

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons soy sauce or coconut aminos
• ¼ cup chopped green onion
• 8 oz mushrooms
• 2 chopped red bell peppers
• 2 ½ tablespoons white sugar
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pound flank steak, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Whisk soy sauce, green onion, sugar, garlic, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and pepper together in a bowl.
2. Place flank steak slices in a shallow dish. Pour marinade over top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
3. Quickly grill flank steak slices on the preheated grill until slightly charred and cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
4. Meanwhile, sauté peppers and mushrooms in large pan
5. Serve over rice if desired

Lamb Cutlets Greek Style

Ingredients

• Rack of lamb
• 2 zuchini
• 2 bell peppers
• 2 onions
• 3 potatoes
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Mint
• Basil
• Oregano
• Garlic
• Onion

Instructions

1. Grill lamb to desired internal temp, then sprinkle spices on before cutting
2. Meanwhile chop all veggies into large chunks
3. Toss potatoes in olive oil, then place potatoes on cookie sheet with all spices and roast in 425F oven for 45 minutes
4. Sauté remaining veggies on medium -high in large pan with olive oil until tender crisp
5. Combine all ingredients and enjoy!

Happy Fall!

Jess

“Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.”  

― Mahatma Gandhi