Videos

Easy Instant Pot Bone Broth

Easy Instant Pot Bone Broth

This is my gut healing bone broth recipe.  It is very basic and does not have all the added veggies that many people choose to add to bone broth both because it keeps it clean for those who have inflammatory responses to a lot of 

Keto Chocolate Stout Cake (Flourless & Gluten-Free)

Keto Chocolate Stout Cake (Flourless & Gluten-Free)

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day!  What could be better than a Guinness?  Well, when you’re keto, maybe a slice of keto chocolate stout cake. This cake was first introduced to me in Scotland and served up by a lanky Swedish man. I’m fairly 

Why I started Beautycounter: A Story and a Hot Mess!

Why I started Beautycounter: A Story and a Hot Mess!

So hey!  I’ve been doing Beautycounter for about a month now and have loved every minute… probably too much?  I need to set some better boundaries so I sleep more but it’s been a wild and wonderful ride!  I was asked to be part of a team meeting last night that was opened up to anyone interested in becoming a consultant so I feel it’s okay to share that here.  I appear nearly half way through the meeting but if you’re interested at all what the business looks like from the inside it is worth watching the whole thing.  And there is free enrollment with purchase of a startup set until the 8th.  So definitely worth looking at, or crunching the numbers if you like the products.  So… here is what I meant to say but the video shows the nervous nellie side of me a bit more!   Also, I was so nervous I threw my husband under the bus, who actually is a very capable and helpful husband who not only folds laundry, does clean up with me and is compassionate but takes care of our children’s whole morning routine because of my illness.  What I meant to say was that if I died there would be concerns for his health… Lol!  So, apologies, my love.  You are AMAZING!

I have always had health issues, food and skin sensitivity issues and was that granola girl in High School telling everyone that their makeup was going to age them.  I didn’t know much about the microbiome or autoimmune issues then but I knew that pretty much anything I put on my face burned my skin. A few years ago I very obviously developed Autoimmune disease but I only had it diagnosed last year.  I was doing a Hashimoto’s Protocol and some things had improved but I could only eat bone broth and select organic meats and fish and any slip up was dangerous.  I ended up in the E.R. for tachycardia and that’s when I threw up my hands and had to give my life and health over to God and look at the possibility that I might not be there for my family, and if I was, it might be a life very different from what I had imagined.  The next I day began to have insight into the root causes of my disease.  I did a 2 week environmental liver detox, which meant using no personal products and then reintroducing safe ones and starting supplements and… I felt better. This is when I first really looked at Beautycounter as it was one of the safe products listed in the protocol.

The thing that first caught me about Beautycounter is that all the women I saw applying it looked naturally beautiful instead of made up.  I finally pull the trigger on a few items I had had my eye on to replace the products I had THOUGHT were clean. The Environmental Working Group’s EWG Skin Deep Database helped with that, of course. I also saw Mary Darnall, the healing cave lady, on the consultant page and bought from her because I had been doing a version of her gut healing protocol and knew I could trust her.

I was impressed with the products and started reading more about Gregg Renfrew and the company.  What stole my heart was just how transparent and truly honest Beautycounter is as a company.  Accuracy is very important to me and I felt I could get behind a company that doesn’t make claims to things it has no control over, but does everything in its power to make safe products and bring about change.

I reached out to Mary and then her mentor, Heather, to see if becoming a consultant would be something I would like to start come summer when I had more time.  At this point we were in a very tough position and my husband’s company, which is a startup, had not been able to pay us—and still hasn’t since the end of last year.  We overdrafted our account and I thought, there is NO way I can start into this now.  But my spirit was not settled about that and I felt a pushing to keep pursuing it.  At about this point Heather Holland rocked up to my house with a basket of Countertime and left for vacation for a week.  On day four I could see a dramatic difference in my skin and I was sold.  I am not a salesperson by any means but I am an evangelist by nature and training and I knew I could sell this product, if nothing else.  I put a fleece of sorts out to God that went like this: Okay, if the money comes in randomly and not from our normal budget I’ll sign up.  I needed $98 and in the next couple days I had some friends and acquaintances contact me asking for my cultures and kefir grains and I had a random sale on Poshmark totaling $105.  I didn’t get it until I put the kit in my cart and the shipping brought it to $104.95.  Okay.  Words from on high.  This was definitely God’s doing.  Which leads me to my next point: overcoming fear.

My first fear was the time I have, which is not a lot.  I have the pickup lines at school, a couple mornings that do double duty with laundry, study, house cleaning and food prep, and I have the social times I spend with other moms at kids activities.  That has to be enough… and apparently it is!

The second fear was selling me: I have let fear hold me back with this food blog, thinking if I weren’t “put together” then I shouldn’t be making videos to post… which meant it never happened.  I decided that I needed to do this business as 100% myself, give it my all, and I had to push aside my discomfort with being in front of the camera instead of behind it and not try to be just like all the beautiful ladies who always look so lovely and put together.  Because 90% of the time I am NOT put together.  I am a sweaty messy bun mom and I live in leggings hoping for a 20-30 minute chunk of time in the day to get in a workout, because that is one of my key things to staying healthy and sane.  I am NOT the picture of the perfect skincare and beauty consultant.  I am a farmer and academic’s daughter and was raised not to give credence to beauty, even though I love beautiful things.  So my niche is health and my potential clients are like me: people with skin issues and autoimmune diseases and people concerned with health.  Knowing that, I made the decision fairly quickly to invest in the biggest consultant startup kits and in my first party I stocked up on everything else my most sensitive potential clients were interested in.  I had to press into the fear to do this because frankly I was worried about how long it would take me to pay it off.  But knowing who my people are made me realize it was the best avenue.

I felt like if I didn’t go all in it would be like a slap in the face of this gift.  I am a big introvert but a connector and spent a lot of years on the mission field getting over myself and choosing to push past my fears of speaking to peopleI am constantly making the choice not to listen to fear but to listen to my heart’s desire for people to be educated.  I am well acquainted with ‘NO’ but I take it as a seed planted that I can come back to.  Not everyone is ready to swallow the whole truth of toxic beauty. But if I continue to educate and speak the truth in love, I believe that my care for them will come through and the rest is up to them.  For this month I don’t know how I will do, but I keep reminding myself to do the tasks in front of me and to lean on the wisdom of the women who have plowed the way before me in this company, and to TRUST.  “Because neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God gives the increase.”  1 Corinthians 3:7

So that’s me… if you are interested in becoming a consultant please check out my beautycounter page and get in contact with me.  The new promo only lasts until Sunday, March 8th!

 

Peace, love and joy in who we are made to be,

Brenna xo

 

 

 

 

 

Using Beautycounter to Treat and Cover Melasma (Hyperpigmentation)

Using Beautycounter to Treat and Cover Melasma (Hyperpigmentation)

Hey folks, This is just a quick video about treating my Melasma with Beautycounter products followed by the makeup products I use to cover it up safely and effectively. I wish it were quicker but I’m learning… Feel free to ask questions about the products 

Trying an LED Light Beauty Mask!  Crazy pants.

Trying an LED Light Beauty Mask! Crazy pants.

Hey Party People! This crazy contraption was given to me by a very lovely and generous friend.  I have been a little intimidated to use it but this morning I gave it a go and it was really fun. This is just a quick video 

Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies (keto, paleo, vegan)

Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies (keto, paleo, vegan)

Alright my friends.  This is a recipe that I have posted before but it has undergone a subtle but very important change.  If I’m honest I was literally terrified to post it at first because I have imagined in my loopy introverted world that someone might steal my idea.  Okay… forgive me please as I was dealing with 38 years of built up toxins that my body could not purge.  After figuring out this “subtle” egg replacement and finally getting this recipe as I wanted it, my gut and health issues took a drastic turn for the worse. More on that here if you’re bold enough to read it.  I couldn’t eat coconut flour without experiencing some terrible inflammation so I had to take a break.  Months of bone broth and nearly carnivore/pescavore diet later my gut is in much much better shape and I can eat some vegetables again, but mostly only the “fruit” of the plant: green beans, asparagas, squash etc and the occasional sweet potato!  But it’s FOOD!  So I’m happy and grateful that I’m at least in part back.  But friends, I had a dear friend over and the last time I saw her this recipe was in it’s beginning process and it has come so far!  So I decided it was the day to try it again and guess what!?!  NO INFLAMMATION!  I’m so happy. (Saying that in a whisper with my hands together… so excited I don’t want to jinx it.)  Laugh. Out. Loud.

Gaaahhh they are so yummy and chewy.  First of all, I have a small obsession with tahini… I had to give it up for a while so having it back is a real treat!  I use the Pascha Organic 100% Cacao Unsweetened Dark Chocolate Chips if I’m going for super dark or Lily’s for a bit sweeter.  Now, for a while I was worried about Lily’s because they used soy lecithin in their chips.  To be clear, if you have a soy allergy, don’t go for their dark chocolate option.  They have since I originally posted this however, changed to sunflower lecithin for all their chips but the dark.  But on that note… soy lecithin and soybean oil are both absent of soy protein, which is the part that contains the estrogen mimicking isoflavones that can cause so much trouble.  So worry not my fellow Hashimoto’s folks!  If you like sweet chocolate and can abide soy then go with the Lily’s Sweets Stevia Sweetened Dark Chocolate Chips. But of late I have started using Whole Foods 365 Sugar Free Dark Chocolate Chips and really like them.

They are not overly sweet, but keep in mind that ones tastebuds change after one has been keto for a year or so.  So they are not for the faint of heart.  My kids like them though and I have found that health conscious people tend to really like them.  And to be honest, I have fooled your average American group of children with them as well on more than one occasion.

SO THE SECRET:

Okay, if you decide to do this and blog it PLEASE give credit where credit is due because this came from a lot of research and thought and a late night epiphany brought on my my Naturopathic Doctor informing me that I am allergic to eggs.  BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS!  Alright… (breathing) a long time ago I started using konjac root (glucomannan) powder as a replacement for xantham gum in gluten free recipes because… xantham gum is pure evil.  Lol.  Okay, that’s extreme but it really is NOT good for your gut!  Konjac root gels nicely and after so much disappointment with so many vegan egg replacements which are fine in breads and some baked goods but NOT fine in cookies in my opinion.  I was laying awake mourning the loss of eggs and I had an epiphany about konjac root eggs.  I got up… at 11pm at night, and went to work in my little kitchen and the result was just… perfect.  Now, konjac powder is a very common ingredient in many asian countries and has been around for a very long time so for now I trust that it is safe.

If you are vegan and don’t want the collagen, I found an amazing chewy substitute after months of trial and error.  I sub with gelatinized maca.  My favorites are The Maca Team‘s Red Maca (great for women!) and their Black Maca, which is great for men and flu season.  I’ve tried other maca’s and they don’t perform the same nutritionally OR with baking.

So give this a shot and tell me what you think!  And if you like it please share it!  Since changing my hosting and becoming ill I have lost a lot of my followers so I’d love the help getting them back. 

All my blood, sweat, tears… and love,

Brenna xo

Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies (Keto, Paleo, Egg-Free, Vegan Option)

Brenna May
A soft & chewy keto chocolate chip tahini cookie recipe. I have been developing this recipe for a couple years now and I love it. It is not for the uber sweet tooth folks. When you have been no sugar for years your taste buds change. These are a clean cookie with no gut disrupting sweeteners, no eggs (but you can sub them in just fine), no nuts and no flour. I use collagen for flour and it yields a chewy texture and allows the tahini to shine, but for the vegan option I have found that straight maca powder bakes into a lovely malt flavor. I will sometimes do a blend of sacha inchi, maca and pea protein as I've found everyone's preferences are different. Depending on the size of scoop you use it will yield 12-16 cookies.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine egg free, keto, nut free, paleo, Vegan
Servings 12 cookies

Equipment

  • Medium Sized Bowl
  • Whisk
  • Spoon
  • Oven or toaster oven

Ingredients
  

Keto Version

  • 3/4 cup tahini
  • 3/4 cup collagen peptides I use Thrive Market or Myers Way
  • 1/3 cup coconut flour
  • 1.5 tsp konjac powder (glucomannan) (in 1 cup water = 3 konjac eggs)
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp pink salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
  • 1 tsp pure monk extract powder
  • 1/2 - 3/4 cup keto/paleo chocolate chips Current Faves are ChocZero, Goalz & GoodSam

Vegan Version

  • 3/4 cup tahini
  • 3 tbsp maca powder (or blend of sacha inchi, pea protein & maca)
  • 1/3 cup coconut flour
  • 3 konjac eggs (1.5 tsp konjac powder in 1 cup water | 1/2 tsp in 1/3 cup water = 1 egg)
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp pink salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp ceylon cinnamon
  • 1 tsp pure monkfruit extract powder
  • 1/2 - 3/4 cup keto or paleo chocolate chips I use Pasha 100% cacao chips or Lily's dark chocolate chips depending on who is eating them.

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 325°F
  • In a medium bowl, pour 1 cup water, sprinkle the konjac root powder and whisk. let sit for 2 minutes to thicken.
  • Add tahini and whisk together with the konjac eggs.
  • Add monkfruit, baking soda, pink salt, vanilla, cinnamon and stevia (if using) and whisk until creamy.
  • Add coconut flour and either collagen peptides OR maca powder/maca blend and fold together with a spoon.
  • Add paleo/keto chocolate chips or organic raisins/cranberries/dates of choice.
  • Use cookie scoops or an ice cream scoop with a bit of coconut oil to form balls on the cookie sheet, and then with coconut oiled hands press them down a bit with your palms to flatten them. They do not flatten on their own.
  • Bake at 325°F for 10-13 minutes. 10 min for the bite sized cookie scoops and 12-13 for the medium scoops. If you make bigger cookies you may need to bake them for longer, depending on your oven.

Notes

Now, some people can handle the flavor of stevia and some cannot.  I find it makes little difference in the sweetness when baking but on occasion (such as when serving these to children) I will add a couple tiny scoops of the vegan concentrated stevia powder from Trader Joe's.  But know your audience.  My husband and another friend seem to be able to taste it from a mile off and my own personal preference is to leave it to the monkfruit powder to work it's magic.  And the monk is a concentrated powder rather than something like Lakanto which has erythritol in it.
Keyword chocolate chip cookies, cookies, keto, paleo, tahini, vegan
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

 

 

Fermented Fennel, A Simple Adaptation (vegan, paleo, keto)

Fermented Fennel, A Simple Adaptation (vegan, paleo, keto)

I have been fiddling around a lot with baked goods of late, to the chagrin of my insides, I think. I have had a few Fennel recipes in the works but this week I am posting an adaptation of Sorella‘s Fermented Fennel, which is featured