Greg is in the process of completing his course work in Community Health Education at UW-La Crosse.  In addition to that required course work, he has done extensive side study and personal research on nutrition information you will recognize if you have worked with me in any capacity.  Greg is very familiar with names like Ray Peat and Weston A. Price, as well as terms like “balanced blood sugar” and “healthy fats.”  As you can imagine, we get along wonderfully.  He will receive his degree upon completion of this internship.

Greg is originally from Onalaska, WI and he considers himself to be a bit of a non-conformist.  Greg has always been interested in nutrition and health but it has taken him a little time to understand that this is his passion.  Much like me, Greg spent some time traveling and tried out a couple of career paths prior to committing to the nutrition and health profession.  Prior to enrolling at UW-La Crosse, he studying in computers and business. His passion for nutrition was finally ignited as he learned more and more about the food industry and the impact it had on the health of those around him.

According to Greg, “I discovered Sean Croxton about four years ago.  At the time he was The Food Dude on YouTube, which is now known as Underground Wellness.  It was the first time I had heard anyone talk about nutrition information that went against the status quo and it made me curious to learn more.  Through studying and seeking out like-minded people, I found other nutrition professionals with similar ideas, who were writing about their own thoughts and skepticism. Along the way, I heard about Dr. Ray Peat and his work.   All of those things made me rethink health and nutrition in the same ways that Tracie does.  In particular, Dr. Peat’s article on ‘The Great Fish Oil Experiment’ made me look at things differently and pursue more alternative theories and research.”

Greg initially discovered me through a blog post that was posted on Facebook.  He contacted me last February and we have been talking ever since.  We enthusiastically decided that it would be great if he came to Madison to do his internship with me.  Greg says that, “one of the things I really appreciate about Tracie and her practice is her low-key style and her compassion for all of her clients, wherever they are on their own journeys to health.”  It’s a mind-set he connected to right away and he feels lucky to be working with Tracie Hittman Nutrition.

I am thrilled to be working with Greg also.  He has independently come to the same conclusions on nutrition, health and wellness that I have.  We share an interest in looking into the roots of the health problems facing our society and we both have curious and skeptical minds.  We want to take a holistic approach to personal health with an emphasis on the impact of food and nutrition. .

Please be sure to introduce yourself to Greg and offer him a warm hello.

Greg and Tracie at the Well Expo January 2012

She learned about Tracie Hittman Nutrition through a friendly long-term client.  “We’re sort of on the same track, if you know what I mean.  We’re about the same age, have kids about the same age, so we’d talk during her appointments.  She looked great, and one day I asked her how she did it. She told me about Tracie.”

Colleen, who suffers from Hashimoto’s – a thyroid disorder – and dealt with gestational diabetes during her pregnancy, visited the website and read through a lot of the information there.  She found Tracie’s “before” picture and saw herself in it.  “I recognized the puffiness.  That really hit me.  But everything posted there made sense.  I called Tracie up and had a long conversation with her.  I was struck by how knowledgeable she was, but also how passionate and generous.  I signed up to work with her one-on-one, and I’ve simply never looked back.”

Colleen jumped in right away, and with both feet.  “I brought a lot of dedication for taking care of myself with me, so it was easier than you might think.  Like I said, it made sense.  I gave up gluten right away, and I started following all of her advice and guidelines.  When I first started, it was a little confusing, because it was so different than anything I’d learned or even heard before.  But honestly, as much as I wanted to make better choices, I also really, really wanted to know the best way to nourish my daughter.”

As is the case with many of Tracie’s clients, Colleen saw some immediate effects.  “At first I was sleeping better and had more energy, though pretty soon after that, things took a big turn for the worse.  I talked to Tracie about it, and she recommended I have my doctor check my thyroid levels.  Sure enough, the nutrition program was actually boosting my metabolism, and my thyroid was functioning better naturally.  So the problems were caused by my medication.  I was overmedicated! Once my doctor reduced my meds, everything started feeling better again.”

As is also the case with many of Tracie’s clients, Colleen has been surprised by some of her experiences with her doctor and the traditional medical community.  “For one thing,” she notes, an incredulous lilt to her voice, “I don’t understand why I’ve been dealing with thyroid issues for six years, and not one person I’ve ever talked to even mentioned gluten.”  Even more frustrating to Colleen is the complete lack of attention her doctor paid to her results.  “When I requested new labs, and they came back with indicators that my thyroid was functioning better, there was no recognition that this was in any way connected to my gluten-free choices.  In fact, my doctor’s exact words were that, ‘I could go ahead and continue with the gluten free diet,’ as if she was convinced that going gluten free wasn’t doing any harm.  As opposed to, ‘Wow, look at those numbers.  I wonder if that gluten free diet is having some positive impact on this situation?’ It can be really amazing, and not in a good way.”

She is looking into a doctor that has a more holistic approach, especially when it comes to thyroid issues.  Until then, she’s very happy that, as she puts it, “Tracie likes working with crazy thyroid people.”

No matter what her current doctor thinks, Colleen is convinced that Tracie knows what she’s talking about, and understands health and nutrition in a way that few people do.  She’ll bring anyone to a Nutrition 101 class who’s willing to come.  As far as she’s concerned the information is spot-on and life-changing.  “My family has a history of diabetes and I already have thyroid issues.  I believe that the steps I’m taking now, with Tracie’s help and wealth of knowledge, are putting me ahead of the game and making me healthier and more informed.  My husband is very supportive, and I’m excited to be able to start my daughter out right, and teach her these important lessons from a very young age.  I feel better, physically and emotionally, and I know this is the right thing.  I’m a better wife and a better mother, and my whole family is benefiting from what I’m learning and doing.”

This idea seems to touch Colleen more than anything, which makes sense for the mother of a toddler.  “What a gift for my daughter,” she muses. “Tracie refers to it as ‘exposure equaling preference’ and I understand.  When I think about it, I was thirty-three years old before I ever thought about the true food chain, and how what I was putting in my body was affected by what it had experienced before it got to me.  My daughter will know everything from an early age, and why it matters.”

 Ingredients:

• 3½ c carrots, coarsely chopped (about 1½  pounds)
• 3    c  parsnips, coarsely chopped (about 1 pound)
• 1¾ c turnips, coarsely chopped and peeled (about ½ pound)
• 2 T coconut oil, melted
• Sea salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Combine ingredients in a shallow roasting pan; toss well.
3. Bake for 1 hour, stirring after 30 minutes.

C = 22g   P = 2g   F = 5g    Cals = 130

4 C of juice (I used black cherry and orange juice)

6 T water

3 T gelatin (non-hydrolyzed gelatin from Great Lakes)

½ c of honey

2 c of berries or other fruit, fresh or frozen (I used cherries and blueberries)

Directions

1.      Put the water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Leave for 5 minutes to soften.

2.      Meanwhile, heat about two cups of the juice and the honey on the stove and bring to a boil.

3.      Place the gelatin/water mixture in a medium size bowl and add the hot juice and honey combination, stirring for one minute and the gelatin   is thoroughly dissolved.

4.      Then, add the rest of the juice.

5.      In 8 ramekins or a small casserole dish, place your berries and pour over the gelatin/juice mixture. Place in the fridge overnight, or for at least 3 hours to set.

C = 25g   P = 3g  F = 0g  Cals = 110

A public school music teacher and church organist at St. Raphael’s Cathedral Parish, Glenn was feeling old before his time.  “If I sat in a chair for any length of time, I’d be so stiff I’d have a really hard time getting up.  My grandmother had problems with arthritis and she had the same issues.  But I remember thinking I was only in my early fifties.  I was too young to be having massive joint issues.”

Glenn also suffered acid reflux for five or six years.  When he had to have polyps removed from his vocal chords a couple of years ago, his doctor told him the acid reflux could have been the cause of the polyps.  He’d been on high doses of Prilosec for ages.  “Tracie said that if anyone is on such high levels of those drugs for that long, every day, then he’s eating food his body is reacting to.  Makes sense, doesn’t it?  Drugs don’t solve the problem, they just keep us from producing acid in reaction to it.”

Finally, despite a good workout regimen, and thinking he was eating well, Glenn had gained weight over the past few years, and couldn’t get rid of it.

“That first class I went to, everything Tracie said made sense.  She’s so obviously knowledgeable, about nutrition, food consumption and all the things that happen when we consume food.  I just gobbled it all up! (No pun intended.) I made a one-on-one appointment right away and started working with her individually within a couple of weeks.”

At the initial appointment, Glenn and Tracie agreed that there might be gluten issues, and she encouraged him to give gluten up immediately.  “She said it could take as long as a few weeks to start seeing results, but I swear I felt better within four days.  It was incredible.”

Four months later, Glenn says he feels better now than he has in years.  “My acid reflux is completely gone.  My join pain has subsided significantly.  And I’ve lost twenty pounds.  But, honestly, it doesn’t surprise me.  I was raised on a farm.  We had a huge garden and our own supply of fresh meat.  So when I heard Tracie say for the first time, ‘If your great-grandmother didn’t eat it, then you shouldn’t,’ I thought, ‘Of course!’  That’s how I was raised.”

Glenn notes that not all gluten free items are created equal.   “Tracie taught me there are lots of chemicals and gums and other binders in many gluten free products on the market.  Just remember to pay attention to everything you put past your lips, and know what’s in it.  Gluten free may be good for you, but if the product is made up a bunch of chemicals that aren’t, you still might want to make different choices.”

Other positive side effects to his new diet, as far as Glenn is concerned?  “I’ve had colleagues tell me that my attitude is much better now than it used to be.  I think I’m just all round healthier, physically and emotionally. Despite working in an elementary school where kids simply drip germs, I haven’t been sick all year.  Not even a tiny cold. I can’t remember the last time that happened.  And my skin usually dries and cracks during the winter.  I haven’t experienced that at all.”

His new attitude toward nutrition and diet had an interesting affect on his relationship with his doctor, too, and will likely lead him to make new choices in that aspect of his health in the coming year.  “As far as my doctor is concerned, the whole ‘gluten thing’ is a sort of fad, and there’s nothing to it.  Despite the fact that I’d suffered for years from acid reflux and practically overnight I didn’t need an antacid at all, my doctor doesn’t believe my going gluten free has anything to do with it.  While he didn’t explicitly use the words, in essence he told me I was crazy.  It made me realize two things about my doctor, and probably the traditional medical community.  First, doctors are trained to prescribe medicine.  And second, they really don’t believe in or know much about a nutritional, holistic approach to health.”

As for Glenn, he’s a believer, and he recommends working with Tracie to anyone who wants to feel better or know more about health and nutrition.  “You won’t regret it,” he promises. “And don’t hesitate to take part in the classes.  I liked the fact that people asked questions and had discussions based on their own experiences, so everyone learned a lot from each other as well as from Tracie.  Overall, everything about working with Tracie has been beneficial and informative.  She’s the whole package, and you won’t waste a minute or a penny working with her.  I know I don’t.  In fact, it’s changed my life.  I feel younger and better than I have in years.”

I hope you all had a lovely holiday season, full of family, friends and good cheer!

I know that for many people, the New Year is a time for resolutions and goal settings, and if this is your way, then I am here to help you in any way I can.

However, I hope you realize that making good choices and deciding to follow a healthful path doesn’t take a momentous event such as the turn of the year.  We can make these choices any day.  More than a change in the date, it takes the realization that change is possible, and that the tools are within your reach.  We aren’t suddenly able to lose weight or get healthier simply because December is over and January has begun.  We are able to make such changes because we’ve decided that the time has come to make them.  Our motivations are in place and we are prepared to do the work in order to become healthier, happier, and more resilient.

Whether you’re the type of person who faces January with a scroll of resolutions, or you’ve just come to the conclusion that you might like to feel better, I have a number of ways to help you this month. (Check out the Events Page to see them.)

You don’t need 2012 to become a new you.  You can do that anytime.  But isn’t now as good a time as any?

Orange Tree Imports is offering 20% off original Butter Bells in December (1 per client with coupon in the newsletter), so pick one up soon and see how easy it is to keep soft, fresh butter at your fingertips – and on your food.

For more information on Butter Bells and how they work, visit: http://www.butterbell.com/page/how-it-works.

Ingredients:

• 2 large sweet potatoes, roasted, peeled and pureed until smooth
• 1 leek, sliced
• 4 T of butter, melted
• 1 c ricotta, drained
• 4 eggs (whites and yolks separated)
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. Grease bottom of a 9” pie plate with butter or coconut oil.  Set aside.
3. Melt 2 T of butter in a skillet over medium heat and add leeks.
4. Sauté until tender and fragrant then set aside.
5. Beat egg whites until stiff (stiff = stiff peaks form and hold their shape) in a mixer. Set aside.
6. In a medium bowl, mix the sweet potato puree, remaining butter, ricotta, egg yolks, salt and pepper.
7. Stir in cooked leeks, mixing well.
8. Fold in egg whites, very gently.
9. Spoon into prepared pie dish and bake for 1 hour, until puffed and golden.
10. Serve immediately and enjoy.

C = 12g  P = 8g  F = 12g,  180 calories per serving

Recipe from Willy Street Co-op Reader Volume 38 – Issue 11

Chariti, who feels like she’s had weight issues as far back as she can remember, also had a friend die too young of breast cancer.  “She came to believe that her diet had a lot to do with her illness, and it made me rethink my own choices.  So much of what Tracie said made sense.  ‘Healing and boosting the metabolism.  Eating real food. Combining food so our bodies are processing things in the best possible way.’”

After her initial consultation, Chariti took the 8-week What’s On Your Plate? class, and is starting one-on-one work with Tracie this month.  “I’m a believer,” she says.  “I’d done a little work with it over the past few months, and didn’t realize how much even that little bit impacted me until I went on a long-week-end visit to my mother’s house, where nothing was what I’d consider ‘Tracie approved.’  I felt awful after that trip, and that’s when it really hit home how great Tracie’s program really is.”

Chariti feels so strongly about it, that she wrote her own recommendation for Tracie (Thanks, Chariti!):

Tracie Hittman…WOW! What can I say. There are few professionals I’ve met in my life who’ve had such a profound impact on me personally in so short a time. Tracie is one of them. What makes Tracie so special?

1.     Passion. If you’ve ever had a chance to talk with Tracie, you know that “clean eating” is not only something she practices but she really PREACHES it, too (to those with willing ears, of course!). By that, I mean that Tracie truly, sincerely believes 180% in what she advocates with regard to taking control of and taking care of our health and bodies—from how we’re treating it to what we’re putting into it. I find that passion so igniting and inspiring, and it makes me want to learn more and do things nutritionally “better” – both for myself and for my family.

2.     Knowledge. Tracie is a wealth of information about all things nutrition and health. Her knowledge is based on research, sound reasoning and straightforward logic. And her “teachings” are simple and easy to learn: never eat a carb or protein alone; never eat it if your great grandma didn’t; and never eat anything you can’t pronounce. Of course, there are some nuances and subtleties to all of this, but by and large Tracie lays out an information-rich platter of content for you chew on and then gives you choices for how you want to proceed, depending on your overall health goals.

3.     Approach. Tracie’s approach to good health and clean eating is novel and fresh. As a die-hard Weight Watcher for nearly 10 years, I am now converted to Tracie’s way of eating, which is TRULY more of a lifestyle than a diet. I don’t count calories, track points, or weigh fat grams anymore. I simply make sure that I’m eating in a way that is healthy, whole, clean, and balanced. Many of my struggles with weight are due to underlying hormone issues. Tracie is teaching me how to increase my metabolism (i.e. my hormonal system) slowly over time so that I don’t re-gain the weight I lose. She has recently pointed me toward seeking medical attention for conditions like hypothyroidism, and she gives me solid support for trying to understand my emotional connection to food (i.e., my food addiction). This is something I’ve never been able to tackle while following traditional weight loss programs and “diets.” Ahhhh…it’s so refreshing.

Overall, Tracie Hittman has truly changed my life. I am forever grateful to her for helping me to understand the importance of “what’s on my plate.” I have never eaten cleaner or felt better about food choices for myself and my family as I do now. Thank you, Tracie. I look forward to working with you more in the months to come.

As I mentioned in last month’s post, I believe I have a lot to be grateful for, and this month, I wanted to mention that I also believe in giving back.  It is my personal and spiritual philosophy that the more we are blessed, the more important it is to extend blessings to others.  If you know me, you know it is not my style or intention to tell anyone how they should live their lives, but I do hope you’ll consider expanding your spirit of generosity this Christmas.  I truly believe that charity is a gift to the benefactor as well as to the recipients.

So, in the frenzy of packages and shopping and putting presents under the tree, please consider a charitable donation.  Better yet, perhaps consider a gift to a loved one that supports, educates, aids or feeds a child or family elsewhere.  There are a number of local and worldwide charities that offer these kinds of services, but I’d like to share a couple of my favorites.

I’ve mentioned The River before, and it’s my local favorite.  Consider a donation on behalf of someone you love.  Or, if you’re feeling particularly generous and prosperous, visit their site (www.riverfoodpantry.org) and fill the wish list at the bottom of the front page. (Hey, a girl can dream!  If you’re upgrading your PC this season and are replacing a relatively new one, a little bird told me they were looking.) Food pantry items are always welcome, but especially in this season of need, and please remember that a cash donation of $10 converts to $100 worth of food for them.  (As a nutritionist, I am always in favor of making sure hungry children and families have food.)  The River also maintains a FREE clothing room for its clients, and at this time of year, winter wear donations are particularly welcome, especially for the kids (coats, scarves, gloves and boots).  Finally, The River is run on an all-volunteer basis on Tuesday and Friday nights through December, so the gift of time is priceless during this season.

My favorite international charity is World Vision, a global humanitarian organization devoted to helping communities worldwide by tackling poverty and injustice.  Through World Vision, you can help children and families around the world.  Sponsor a child – consider using your birthday, or your child’s birthday, to match with a child from another country.  Learn about his or her culture and experience, while creating a unique, life-enhancing relationship.  Invest in small businesses through microloans, or invest in a family through gifts of animals (which provide both food and income!).  With World Vision, 85% of donations to the organization go directly to outreach efforts. You can learn more about them at www.worldvision.org.

These are my own personal favorites, which I recommend and offer as suggestions. Of course you should follow your own hearts and feelings as to what charities you’d like to support.  Just please consider supporting something.

Merry Christmas, everyone.  May your season be bright and full of joy.