Belief and Cheeseburger Soup

The hate for my body began 22 years ago when I traded playing sports for waitressing, then gained 20lbs. Immediately I turned to marketing, media, and what was trending for weight loss to take action and make drastic changes.

There were many reasons I eventually got very unhealthy with stress fractures, allergies, asthma, a crampy gassy bloated belly, anxiety, GERD, and panic attacks.  At my rock bottom; chronic sinus infections and illness.  My focus on the outside did not address what was in need of attention on the inside or my lifestyle as a whole–the root cause. It wasn’t until 7 years later, a new mom, desperate and suffering, did I begin to challenge my beliefs and question everything I was doing with my nutrition.  In searching, I learned how crucial it was to switch my focus to health.

My options were weighing, counting, measuring, math, drugs, habits, behaviors and mindset? Or did I need something in between? It was all so confusing.

The human body was created, formed, grown, and nourished on nutrition that never required much thought for the vast majority of its existence.  It was breastmilk for growth and development along with; water, plants, and animals for fuel to gain energy and health. 

In America today nutrition is a heated topic of debate. There is no shortage of advice being given from uneducated health professionals with zero hours of nutrition education, to teenagers on TikTok, to the most science based logic driven, to the nature based holistic centered.  There are multiple ways to find information on food. Most of which are centered on profit.

What do you choose to listen to and believe?  What have you questioned? What have you taken on as the truth?  What guides and influences these thoughts?

If getting and staying healthy is a struggle, chances are; the deeply held beliefs about nutrition, preparing food, and how your body thrives are getting in the way.  

Afterall, consistency with action that is sustainable and supports healing and thriving is the only nutrition that truly “works”.  If it’s not working today, it was never the best for health in the first place! 

One of the details discovered for my unique body was the benefits of adding in beef and eliminating dairy. It’s been an incredibly healthy and thriving decade creating and choosing meals like this soup!

What beliefs need to change for you as mine did for me?

Dairy Free Cheeseburger Soup

By Audrey Byker Health Coach

-1 batch cashew cheese

-1 onion, chopped

-1lb. Ground beef(grassfed, know your farmer)

-1 ½ Tbls. steak seasoning blend

-1, 14oz. Can diced tomatoes

-8 medium potatoes, chopped

-2 qts beef stock

-1 lb. green beans, frozen

Saute onion and beef on medium heat. Brown meat then add seasoning. Stir to combine. Add remaining ingredients(not cashew cheese yet), bring to boil, then simmer on low, covered, until potatoes are cooked through. Stir in prepared cashew cheese before serving. Store chilled in an airtight container up to three days or freeze in mason jars filled ¾ full up to 6 months. 

Audrey Byker Health Coach is an experienced and professional nutrition and health coach who offers free 30 min. consults in person at her private office or online for anyone 13 and older ready to change!

From Diet to Healthy Lifestyle

The alarm goes off.  5am. Instantly, the snooze button is tapped like the send button on a passionate Facebook reply.  “Nope. Not today. I’ll start tomorrow.” Why? Why is “not today” our reflexive response? Simple--it’s what’s always been done, it’s habitual behavior.  

However, the relief of the “not today” finds itself mixed with “But, I really do want to change! I’m ready!  But, I’m not a morning person. I don’t like vegetables. There’s no time to cook healthy food. And, I can’t do it-” all in the same string of thoughts.

Here. This is where I lived, and it was misery. At 17 I gained 20 lbs in one summer due to a dramatic, yet sneaky, change in my lifestyle and habits.  Feeling puffy, depressed, exhausted, and incredibly frustrated, I turned to extremes rather than reflection. Taking a single moment to reflect on the major changes in my life: quitting basketball, taking on two jobs, and partying the stress away-why think about that? 

Instead I turned to the most logical, given RESULTS is what I was after and as QUICKLY as humanly possible: the Slim Fast Diet! Calorie and fat restriction-- like it’s 1999!  As someone who gives 110% of herself to every commitment, this diet is no exception. In about 8 weeks, the weight was down, while running was constant. The “success” of it fed my unhealthy desire to control things in order to avoid the root cause of gaining the weight in the first place.  While red flags signaled me all the way, the one that flapped the loudest was the belief that the only way to stay thin(and therefore healthy) was to stay addicted to the control of the diet.  And the diet consumed me like a full-time job. When not followed perfectly, the resulting guilt and shame became overwhelming and would even determine my value and worth. The result was an odd and unbalanced attachment to food.  It was all I could think about--I was either on it or off it--both were very extreme and unsustainable.  

It took far too long to realize that the diet didn’t and couldn’t change my unhealthy habits--the root cause to my weight gain in the first place.

So, what makes  living a healthy lifestyle so different than dieting?  Here are the top twelve signs I noticed as I ditched the diets and healed my body and mind, then sustained for more than a decade:

1. Food is no longer good or bad. Everything is consumed without guilt. My body responds to true hunger.

2. Food choices are made out of a strong desire to feel physically and mentally AWESOME which are natural, whole foods, in balance, when hungry.

3. In life situations where I have no control over the food, I just eat what is available, appropriately responding to hunger and making the most balanced decision possible.

4. My meal plans, grocery lists and home are filled with food that makes me feel awesome.

5. Junk food cravings and consumption is rare because of the physical and mental side-effects.

6. The eating experience is pleasurable every time.

7. Exercise is habitual, treasured, planned.

8. I crave real food, especially vegetables.

9. Total elimination of allergenic foods is non-negotiable: for me, that means no gluten, no dairy, shellfish…

10. Quality sleep, 7-8 hours, is a top priority.

11. When an emotional or physical need is not being met, I find ways to fill that need in a non food way (non-food nourishment or NFN)

12. Cooking from scratch is always the norm alongside meal planning

    It took some time to relearn my body’s signals and what it was originally created to do.  This is the case for people who struggle as I once did. Society sent the lie-filled messages long ago: “Food is love! Treat yourself! You deserve it! You earned it! You can’t resist! You can’t trust yourself around food!”  WRONG: food is food. It is a pleasure while also necessary to sustain life, but not to fulfill non hunger or thirst needs. The quality of life that comes from making healthy choices every day is, truthfully, one of the most loving actions we can take for ourselves and anyone we care about!

Six weeks of bowl meals: Roasted Comfort Bowl

With temps in Michigan hovering in the 80s, forcing me to spend extra hours in the sun, water and everywhere else I can take it all in, the kitchen and the creation of a bowl meal for this week was successfully avoided at-all-costs. Mainly, the family, along with myself, has been surviving off salads, burgers on the griddle, avocado toast, apples with drippy nut butter or hummus with raw veggies and organic tortilla chips: All of our favorite staples for a busy life. By Friday I was feeling over it[bloated and uncomfortable] and craving something grounding that would keep my kitchen clean with friends, fun and all the paddle boarding calling my name for as far as the weekend would stretch.

Holistic health and nutrition says[rule of thumb] to eat locally grown seasonal produce as much as possible. When it’s hot outside bodies tend to crave light, watery and cooling foods. I agree with all the things and consider each one, but real life argues raw veggies everyday are boring while also tough on my pure bred Dutch gut. When your body and all it’s cells were literally created and duplicated from boiled root vegetables, roasted meats and all the variations, the rules of the seasons are a fleeting expectation. Also, there are rules and then there are facts. Facts are not rules.

Fun fact: Friday, Saturday and Sunday kicked ass.

Minutes before the kids were released from the school bus to start the weekend, this roasted chicken with root veggies was tossed in the oven. My favorite cold weather ingredients, with the exception of the potatoes—just harvested in August—were inhaled all weekend long with a simple gravy ladled on top. I’m not really sure why I hesitated to share this when the truth is living a healthy lifestyle by dedicating as little effort as possible is one way to make it sustainable for the long-term which is everything I stand for.

Roasted Comfort Bowl

By Audrey Byker, Health Coach

Serves 6-8

For the veggies fat and protein

-1 3-4lb whole chicken, organs and gizzards removed

-6-8 carrots, scrubbed and roughly chopped(large pieces)

-Drizzle of olive oil

-Sea salt

-Fresh ground black pepper

For the carbs and flavor

-6-8 medium russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

-2 Tbls Stubbs BBQ seasoning or preferred seasoning—sugar and preservative free

-1/2 cup chicken stock or homemade bone broth

-2 Tbls corn starch(non GMO) or arrowroot

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large dutch oven or ceramic crock pot insert, add potatoes and carrots. Drizzle with olive oil then toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add whole chicken on top of veggies then sprinkle seasoning onto chicken then massage into with both hands. Be sure to rub seasoning into chicken cavity and under skin as much as possible for the best flavor. Add a little salt and pepper. Add lid to dutch oven or cover crock pot insert with foil then put in oven. Roast for 2-2 1/2 hours or until chicken leg is easily pulled off the bone.

Remove chicken, potatoes and carrots from the pan. Add remaining juices to a medium saucepan. Place on a burner on medium heat. Meanwhile mix chicken broth and cornstarch in a mug or liquid measuring cup. Stir well. Slowly whisk corn starch mixture into the chicken juices and turn heat to med-high. Whisk until liquid comes to a gentle simmer. Turn to low and simmer for a few minutes until desired gravy consistency is reached. Add more chicken broth and corn starch if more gravy is needed. Serve in a bowl, layering potatoes, carrots, chicken, then gravy.