Yeah, yeah, I know. Those two statements don’t even go together… or do they? The holidays are here. We are eyeball deep in them. All around us, at home or work, are delicious things. Cookies! Cakes! Pies! (Yay Pie! Yay Pie!)
Unfortunately, after every holiday season, someone seems to sneak in my room and replace all my pants with other pants that LOOK EXACTLY THE SAME but are one size smaller. SO WEIRD. (Ok. This is what denial looks like, people). But seriously, keeping your waistline in check can be tricky during the time of abundance.
So, what can be done to help our body keep up with the extra intake of carbs? How about intermittent fasting. (Noo! Stay with me! Don’t stop reading now!)
Intermittent fasting can allow our body to recover from the heavy dosing of sugars and sweets we just consumed and dig into our reserves a bit to help rid some of the excess. Obviously, I’m massively simplifying this, but this blog isn’t a pathophysiology lesson. I actually wanted to focus on the experience of intermittent fasting from one of our patient’s firsthand experience with fasting for 2 consecutive days and eating a low carb/normal diet the 5 other days.
He/She shall remain anonymous due to HIPAA regulations; per our conversation here is the synopsis. It was reported that initially it was daunting. We are programmed to eat on a routine schedule since we are children, so breaking this pattern is difficult. Our patient had to figure out what to do with themselves when they got home. However, after getting through the first day, the second was not as bad as they had thought. There was an issue when someone brought some delicious aromatic food to work, but otherwise, there was very little issue with feeling hungry.
There were some issues that occurred with loose stool. They found that after 36-48 hours of fasting their intestinal habits were out of the norm for them. Diarrhea symptoms also lasted a little after the fast had ended. They also want to be very clear that when you do start eating, do so slowly. They recommend it is best to take it easy and start with bone broth and maybe a smoothie with protein powder. Overall, intermittent fasting was found to be a pretty easy way to control the amount of calories consumed in a week.
So, there you have it. It seems you can have your cake and eat it too after all…just on separate days.
While fasting is considered safe for most people, please consult with your doctor before initiating any type of timed eating/intermittent fasting diets.
~ Brooke Rieth, NP & Action Medicine team
We are including 2 recipes:
Bone broth, from Nourishing Broth, Sally Morell
Ginger spice cookies, from Once Upon a Chef, Jenn Segal
Liquid Gold, Bone Broth
Emma Watterson, Hayes, Virginia
The turmeric in this recipe gives not only flavor but also a beautiful yellow color to
the broth: oregano adds a south-of-the-border taste.
Makes about 4 quarts
Ingredients:
About 4 pounds chicken bones and pieces
2 to 4 chicken feet (optional)
¾ cup apple cider vinegar
About 4 quarts cold filtered water
1 large onion, ends cut off, quartered, with skin left on
1 head garlic, sliced in half (no need to peel it)
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
-Place the chicken bones in stock pot with enough water to cover bones and vinegar over medium heat
-Bring to a bare simmer, uncovered.
-Add the onion, garlic, turmeric, and oregano
-Return to a simmer, then lower the heat to low.
-Cook at a bare simmer with the lid off or slightly askew for 4 to 6 hours, occasionally skimming scum from the top as needed and checking to ensure that the bones remain covered with water and adding more water as needed.
-Remove the bones and feet with tongs with a slotted spoon (when cooled, pick any
meat off the bones and use in soups, casseroles, and other dishes).
-Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer into 2-quart glass containers
-Allow to cool to room temp and store in fridge for 5 days or many months in freezer.
-Season individual servings with salt and pepper.
Old-Fashioned Ginger Spice Cookies
Soft and chewy with a crackled sugar crust, these ginger spice cookies have just the right balance of spices to please kids and adults alike.
- 2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup molasses, such as Grandma’s Original
- 1/2 cup raw sugar (also called turbinado or demerara sugar), for rolling cookies
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and black pepper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or beaters), beat the butter and the granulated and light brown sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and molasses. Add the flour mixture and mix until combined. Chill the dough in the refrigerator until firm, a few hours.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F and set two racks in the centermost positions. Line two 13-by-18‑in baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Form tablespoons of dough into balls and roll in the raw sugar to coat generously. Arrange the dough balls about 2-1/2 in apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back midway through, until puffed and set. Let cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The Cookie Dough can be Frozen for up to 3 Months: Roll the dough into balls, let set on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) To Freeze After Baking: Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
- Serving size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 97
- Fat: 4 g
- Saturated fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Sugar: 9 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Sodium: 70 mg
- Cholesterol: 14 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
