Chocolate Zucchini Muffin Recipe

Today we are looking at Paleo Grubs Chocolate Zucchini Muffins. Click on the link here:Chocolate Zucchini Muffin Recipe to see the full recipe and article in all of its original glory.

1. Ingredients needed:
2. 
   

1. 1 cup almond butter

1. 2 eggs

1. 1/4 cup maple syrup

1. 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Pinch of salt

1. 2 tbsp coconut flour

1. 1-2 tbsp cocoa powder

1. 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1. 1/2 tsp baking soda

1. 1 cup shredded zucchini

1. 1-2 tbsp paleo approved dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Step 2 (optional): Peel the zucchini. Some recipes I take the skin off the zucchini, sometimes I keep it on. It just depends on your mood!

Step 3: Shred the zucchini and squeeze any extra moisture out. I grabbed the zucchini, held it over the sink, and just squeezed it like a sponge. It worked beautifully. 

Step 4: Mix in the almond butter, eggs, syrup, vanilla, and salt. (It looks a little strange.....if you know what I mean.)

Step 5: It's all right, we fix that with step 5. Add in the coconut flour, cocoa powder, vinegar, and baking soda. Then fold in the zucchini. I had no idea what that meant, so I just very slowly added the zucchini and switched to a spoon to slowly stir it, rather than the whisk. 

Step 6: Line a muffin tray with cups. Add about a 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin cup. This is where the directions can be interpreted differently. Are they saying to pour the batter in until the muffin cup is a 1/4 full, or are they saying to place a literal 1/4 of a cup of batter into the muffin cup? I went with the latter. I believe that was the correct choice.

Step 7: Lower the oven heat to 350 degrees. (I really hope someone comments on why it was necessary to put it at 375 degrees in the first place.) Bake for 20-25 minutes. They are wonderful warm, but just as good cold!

These were absolutely delicious and everybody loved them! Between the almond butter and maple syrup, the sugar count and carb count get a little higher than I would like, so the next time I make them, I might try taking out the maple syrup, adding in a little extra water, and see if they still hold together. Nonetheless, they were very yummy and overall healthier than any chocolate muffin you will find in the store. Good luck!

yours in health

dr samantha boldt

Tuesday Trivia: How much vitamin C can our bodies absorb at once?

How much Vitamin C can our

 bodies absorb at once?

A. 100 mg

B. 200 mg

C. 500 mg

D. 1,000 mg

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The answer is B, 200 mg!

I am a huge advocate of vitamin C and generally take close to 1,000 mg a day. Not only does vitamin C boost your immune system, but it also helps with collagen repair (found throughout your body), acts as an antioxidant, and decreases blood vessel fragility! 

When people get sick or start feeling a cold coming on, it is common for them to start upping their vitamin C intake, sometimes taking 1,000-2,000 mg a day, and usually all in one dose. While there is nothing harmful with this amount, our bodies are only able to absorb so much of the vitamin at once. Since vitamin C is water soluble, the excess that we’re unable to absorb is flushed out of our system. 

Studies show that up to 200 mg of vitamin C can be absorbed at 100 percent. After 200 mg, absorption greatly decreases and most of the vitamin ends up getting discarded. To make the most of your vitamin C, take 200-250 mg at a time, 3-4 times/day. This will allow your body to retain the maximum amount of vitamin C for the longest time!

yours in health, 

dr samantha boldt

Levine M, Conry-Cantilena C, Wang Y, et al. Vitamin C pharmacokinetics in healthy volunteers: evidence for a recommended dietary allowance. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1996;93(8):3704-3709.

Look Up! Decreasing Neck and Shoulder Tension

This week’s goal…….look up!

We spend so much time looking down; at work, on our cell phones, computers, reading books, etc. Rarely do we give our necks a break and look up. The normal weight of our head is about 10-12 pounds. Our spines and bodies were made to easily hold this weight up. The further we move our heads forward and the more we look down, the more force is placed on our spine and surrounding muscles. 

Looking all the way down at your phone or tablet can cause your head to weigh about 60 pounds! It’s no wonder so many people today are wandering around with sore upper back, shoulder, and neck muscles. Walking around looking down is like trying to walk around while supporting the weight of an eight-year-old on your head! This leads to degeneration in the bones and discs of the spine and is harder to correct the older you get.

One of the best stretches you can do for your neck is what I like to call the collarbone hold. Take both of your hands and place them on your collarbone and pull down. 

Now, try to look up. Certain muscles attach to the collarbone, and when they are too tight, our collarbone travels upwards when we look up. In order to stretch those muscles, we have to hold our collarbone in place. Once looking up is less of a stretch, try tilting your head to the left or right and jutting your chin out. 

You will notice different muscles being stretched this way as well!

Luckily for you, there are also some great things to look up at! 

The Perseid Meteor Shower just passed, but Venus will be stationed in the lower western sky soon after sunset this week and the full moon will hit Wednesday night.  

So whenever you get the chance this week, look up. Even if it's just for a few seconds, developing this habit will help to stretch out the front neck muscles. This will decrease the anterior pull on the head and you will automatically be able to keep your head further back than before! 

yours in health,

dr samantha boldt

Recipe:

Easy Flavored Water

Water is absolutely essential to our health. One of my first questions to patients is asking how much water they drink a day. Once we take out all of the coffee, juices, soda, and energy/ sport waters, it is astounding how many people drink less than 2 glasses of water a day! Most of these people are so dehydrated that they have even completely lost their thirst reflex (the craving for water when the body is low).

When I ask why......WHY AREN'T YOU DRINKING MORE OF THIS PRECIOUS LIFE AND HEALTH SUSTAINING FLUID.......the common answer from patients is that they don't like it all that much. I love water, and it's been a hard concept to wrap my head around, but there are people out there who either do not like the taste or find it bland.

If you are one of those people, or you just want to spice up your water life, than this recipe is for you!

I want everyone to understand just how easy it is to make flavored water. I have brought different flavors to parties and people always want to know how it was made. It's this simple.

Take a cup of anything (although I normally suggest fruit or cucumbers.....but hey, go wild), cut it up, put it in a pitcher of water and let it sit for an hour. That's it! You have just made flavored water! Now you have a drink that is good for you, not full of sugars and additives, but doesn't taste like just water!

For some of you less creative or experimental ones out there, my three favorite "recipes" are below.

1) Cucumber Water

-Cut up a cup of cucumbers into circles (like the kind you put over your eyes) and throw it in the water.

2) Fruit Splash

-Cut up a 1/3 of a cup of strawberries, a 1/3 of a cup of blueberries, and a 1/3 of a cup of pineapple and throw it in the water.

3) Ginger Water

-Cut up a 1/3 cup of fresh ginger, and you guessed it, throw it in the water. Careful! Ginger can be potent. This is a change from the cup of anything rule. Lemon can also be added to this one for a nice variation.

Simple, easy, delicious! If you have other great water recipes, I'd love to hear from you!

yours in health,

dr Samantha boldt

Leg day

Thursday Humor

The Day After Leg Day

Why I Walk Backwards.......and Why You Should Too!

Why I Walk Backwards.....
And Why You Should Too!

Every time I go to the gym, I spend at least 5 minutes walking backwards on the treadmill. It's not a common sight, (and every once in a while I get a strange look) but it should be! Walking backwards is GREAT for the body!

     As a chiropractor, one of the biggest complaints I get from patients is that they are suffering from low back pain. It seems like everyone deals with it at some point in their lifetime. Our current lifestyle of sitting for hours every day only to add in set periods of "exercise" is not conducive to the health of our muscles and joints. However, this lifestyle is also inescapable for many of us. So we must ask the right questions. What is happening to our body when we sit for long periods of times that is causing pain? And, is there a quicker and easier fix than quitting the 9 to 5 and taking up a job as an outdoor enthusiast? 

   

1. What happens to our bodies when we sit for 

long periods of time?

    Sitting for long periods of times with no reprieve is bad for us. Period. We have studies showing the negative effects that sitting too long has on our brain, our mood, our organs, and even our digestion. But what exactly does it do to our muscles and joints to be the culprit of such widespread back pain? 

    First off, many of us sit slightly on our tailbone (or completely on our tailbone for some of you slouchers!) rather than sitting straight up on the bony part of our butt like we're supposed to. We lose that nice little arch (lordosis) in the low back, tilt the pelvis backwards, and now our hamstrings are in a constant state of contraction. When the hamstrings lose their flexibility, we are no longer able to tilt the pelvis forward. This then causes an increase in low back muscle and ligament tension, and you guessed it, pain. (1)

2. So is there an easy fix?

     I never like to say anything is easy, but if you have five minutes a day, you can start retraining all of those muscles in your lower back and legs to activate properly and become nice and healthy. All you have to do is walk backwards. 

     While walking backwards, hip extension and knee extension are greater than in forward walking. Greater hip extension opens up the spine and decreases the compressive forces on the spinal discs. Greater knee extension allows more range for the hamstring, increasing it's flexibility, and allowing the pelvis to tilt forward. Again, this forward pelvis tilt decreases compressive forces to the spinal discs. (2)

     Walking backwards is also easier on the joints of our lower body. Many people with low back pain tend to have issues in their hips, knees, or ankles as well. When we walk forward, we use a very heavy heel strike (the moment your heel touches the ground first). This puts a lot of stress on these joints and too much walking can be quite painful for people with arthritis of the hips, knees, and ankles. (3) While walking is normally seen as a good rehabilitation exercise, many overweight or arthritic individuals are unable to benefit from it due to too much stress on their joints. Walking backwards relieves some of this stress and can be a good way for people with pain in their joints to increase or keep the muscle strength in their legs.

Bottom line!

     Numerous studies have found that no matter who you are, walking backwards is beneficial to your body! It stretches out your hamstrings, reduces pressure on joints, has a greater cardiovascular benefit, activates your core muscles, and helps to train new neuronal pathways in your brain - keeping it healthier. Move forward with your health goals by walking backwards today!

yours in health,

dr samantha boldt

1) Phalen GS and Dickson JA. Spondylolisthesis and tight hamstrings. J Bone Joint Surg Am 43:505-512, 1961.

2) Journal of Exercise Physiology April 2011, Volume 14, Number 2.

3) Nor AM, Lyn KS. Effects of passive joint mobilization on patients with knee osteoarthritis. Sains Malays.2011;40:1461–5.

Which two exercises should you avoid if you have low back pain?

Tuesday Trivia!

Which two exercises should you avoid if you have low back pain?

A. The Superman

B. Bird-Dog

C. Roman Chair Extension

D. Side Bridge

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The answer is A and C! Both the superman exercise and the roman chair exercise put a lot of force on the low back discs. If they are already not happy, these two moves will only aggravate them further. Low back forces should be kept below 3300 Newtons to avoid compressing the vertebral disc and bones of the vertebrae. This may not be something you feel immediately, but overtime, these compressive forces add up. 

Here is a list of common exercises and the 

compression load they cause:

Sit-Up (bent knee)       3,300 N

Sit-Up (straight leg)     3,506 N

Curl-Up feet anchored     2,009 N

Curl-Up feet free     1,991 N

Quarter Sit-Up     2,932 N

Bent Leg Raise     1,767 N

Isometric Side Bridge     2,585 N

Roman Chair Extension     4,000 N

Back Extension (arms and legs)     6,000 N

Bird-Dog      2,000 N

McGill S, Low Back Disorders: Evidence Based Prevention and Rehabilitation. 

Human Kinetics. 2002.

The bolded exercises exceed the force limits we should be placing on our spinal vertebrae and discs. The bird-dog exercise, pictured above, is actually one of the best exercises you can be doing to help train your back and core muscles and relieve low back pain!