The Surprising Truth About Egg Yolks

Most meal plans you buy from trainers or online all have one common tip: egg whites only. Sound familiar? This is because the majority of the fat in eggs is all contained in the yolk. There has also been a lot of bad talk about yolks being high in cholesterol. Sounds legitimate.

The truth is, in the '70s, cereal companies spent big bucks convincing Americans that eggs were too high in cholesterol and were associated with heart risks- this fact did not come from well-meaning nutritionists. What you SHOULD know is that there is a huge difference in bad cholesterol, and dietary (good) cholesterol- which eggs are full of! The real problem- NOT eggs- with diabetes and obesity is the intake of too much processed food.

What I really want you to know is I eat whole eggs every day- usually 3- and you should too. When you realize how good they are for you, it’s hard to pass them up. Although the yolk only contains 43%  of the egg’s protein (which is why so many lean towards the egg whites only as a source of breakfast protein),  the yolk is also a smaller portion than the egg whites- making it more protein-rich in actuality. 

What’s Inside

To put it plainly, the yolk of 1 large egg has 2.7 g protein, 210 mg cholesterol,
0.61 g carbohydrates, 4.51 g total fat.

Egg yolks are undoubtedly one of the richest sources of the B-complex vitamin choline- which is associated with better neurological function and reduced inflammation. Not only that, but choline breaks down into bethane, which is used during the methylation cycle. To speak plainly, this helps produce ‘happiness’ hormones such as serotonin, dopamine, and neorephinephrine. To top it off, choline helps fetal brain development when eaten by pregnant women.

While the egg whites contain a great amount of protein, it is a fact that all the vitamins and minerals are solely in the yolk.  Minerals include calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, copper, manganese, etc.

Egg yolks are high in Sulphur- this is an indispensable nutrient that helps with vitamin B absorption and liver function. Sulphur is also necessary for production of collagen and keratin, which we all know is vital for creating and maintaining shiny hair, strong nails, and glowing skin.

Color

While the actual color tones varies, it does not directly affect the nutritional value. The yellow color characterizing the yolk is due to lutein and zeaxanthin, which are yellow or orange carotenoids known as xanthophylls. Lutein and zeaxanthin protect again vision loss- ever hear the old sayin about eating carrots for better vision? This is the truth behind the joke- yellow and orange foods contain carotenoids and are great for your vision health!

The color is wholly influenced by chicken feed. As you may imagine, the better the chicken is fed, the higher egg quality is produced. This meaning using a feed comprising  a large component of yellow, fat-soluble pigments. A good example of this is alfalfa- a dark green plant.

If I haven’t totally convinced you of while I so highly regard eggs in whole, here’s a fun fact for you! The yolk is often used to make liquors like egg nog. The yolk can also be extracted for egg oil to be used in various cosmetic, nutritional and medicinal uses.

I hope you’ve found this information not only interesting, but highly useful. Enjoy! 

Pizza Salad

Enjoyed my dinner al fresco, tonight! 

So two quick facts: 1. Most everyone loves pizza. Right? And 2. Most everyone hates salad? I know I'm right on that one. 

But here's the thing. Any nutritionist or trainer will tell you how important it is to have a big green salad every day. Not to lose weight (although it is a plus to it!) but because the leafy greens have so many good nutrients in there, it's a no brainer. 

So now, the trick is to come up with more tasty combinations than your average, boring house salads. Since going strictly paleo, my mom and I have stumbled upon enough different ways to make a salad, it's not only different every day, but now we crave them and can't wait. 

Tonight's salad was no exception. And it's so super simple, too! Start with whatever greens you want (spinach, kale, etc), now add pepperoni, olives (I love both kinds!!), mushrooms, green peppers, onions, and lastly, grate some fresh Parmesan or asiago cheese. Easy! And you don't even need dressing. But as with most of my salads, I added a sprinkle of salt and drizzled a little avocado oil. 

Enjoy! 

Oil Pulling with Coconut Oil

I find it a little ironic that an old Indian practice dating back over a thousand years ago is making its way back around and becoming trendy again; and yet still there are many people who have never heard of it: oil pulling. 

If you stand with a group of friends and bring it up, maybe only one or two of them have heard about it or tried it. The benefits though, are rewarding enough to make you wonder why you haven't been doing it all along.

So what is oil pulling, exactly? The most common oil is coconut, but sesame and sunflower oil also work well. 

Step 1: On an empty stomach, take 2-3 teaspoons (I just grab a spoon from the drawer and eyeball it) of your oil (most grocery stores are carrying organic now, but if you can't find any, I love Tropical Traditions brand and you can order it online!) and start swishing it in your mouth. 

Step 2: Do not gargle and do not swallow any. When you have finished, there will be bacteria and toxins pulled into the oil and you will not want to swallow any of it! This should take you 15-20 minutes. If this is too hard for you, try doing it for a few minutes and work your way up. 

Step 3: Once you are finished, spit it all into the trash can. Rinse your mouth out and brush your teeth and gums really well. 

My favorite time to oil pull is when I'm showering, while no one is talking to me! 

To get even more out of your oil pulling, you can add essential oils. Here are some I've found to be great additions:

Peppermint: Known for its cool, minty flavor, this is great to combat bad breath. If you're doing it in the morning, it will also give you a little boost of energy to start your day.

Purification Essential Oil: This is a blend of citronella, lemongrass, rosemary, melaleuca, lavadin, and myrtle. This has many cleaning benefits. 

Melaleuca: Better known as the popular Tea Tree Oil. This oil is undoubtedly great for your teeth and mouth, as well as leaves your mouth feeling extra clean and fresh. 

Frankincense: Surprised? I guess the wisemen wanted baby Jesus to have great oral hygeine! haha! (ok, you don't have to laugh at that....sorry....) But seriously, this is great for keeping germs at bay and helps with any mouth discomfort (think dental work!). 

Thieves: This is a powerhouse oil made up of close, lemon, cinnamon bark, rosemary, and eucalyptus radiata. Theives has numerous attributes, among them relieving bad breath and ridding the mouth of germs. 

Lemon: Just like when you drink water with lemon, this is a great cleansing and detoxifying agent. 

Besides being able to cut out the dyes, flouride, SLS, triclosan, and artificial flavors of the common mouth wash, oil pulling has tremendous benefits.

• Helps with skin issues
• Migraines and headaches
• Sinus infections
• Hormone problems
• Arthritis pain
• Allergies
• Increased oral health
• Reduced plaque on teeth
• Reduced bad breath
• Decreased joint pain and suffering
• Chronic pain
• Increased mental awareness
• Acne
• Elevate Mood
• Energy
• Hangover cure (so I hear! Anyone want to test it?!)
• Reduced bacteria in mouth
• Reduced Sensitivity
• May help with gastro-enteritis
• Improved vision
• Reduce insomnia
• Reduced liver and kidney stress
• Reduced chemical load
• Reduced gum disease
• Whitens teeth
• Increased overall phyiscal health
• Immune health

After all this, how could you not want to try this? It's totally relaxing and the time seems to fly by. For those who are skeptical, just give it a shot. Comment below if you try it and let me know what changes you find for yourself! I highly recommend it! 

Diva Talk

I'm a little late on posting about my race- no surprise there. Planning a race two days before market started for me maybe wasn't my brightest idea. Market is over, and I've logged 130 hours in the last 10 days.

But back to my race. I got 3rd! Out of... 160ish in my age group? I can't remember the actually number. And I got 22nd out of like 1500. So. Happy. My official time was 25:35. The girl who won finished with like 22 some minutes. This is the first race where I've not felt any regret for not trying my hardest. I set myself up with all the things I knew to do, and it paid off. God is so amazing. He gave so much much strength I never knew I had. 

I heard a quote I really liked yesterday watching "Unbroken." They said "if you can take it, you can make it." No one made me do that race it go through all the struggles and sacrifices I went through. There's always going to be things we can avoid to make our lives easier. Being an athlete, starting a new business... Although things we put ourselves through aren't necessary, struggling for a little while can open your life to many more amazing opportunities than you ever thought possible. 

I can't wait to race again. I really wanted to break into 24 minutes, and I came so close. So now I know I can come even closer next time. I haven't run since my race. The second day of market I sprained my ankle pretty badly, and on top of the sprain, I was carrying a really heavy box called a cambro (we use them to transport hot food and keep the food hot) and it fell on my ankle. Needless to say, over a week later I'm still pretty bruised. It really sucks having to go through market injured and being on my feet all day, but I can't tell you how grateful I am that I got to race the week before. 

I know I'm never going to the Olympics, break a world record, or even run the Boston Marathon. The races I enter are still fairly small and don't actually mean anything. But to me, knowing that I can push myself to be better and beat my own times means everything to me. I was never an athlete in high school. I've found something finally that I'm relatively good at. You have to use your talents. For what's a sundial in the shade? 

The Bread of Life

"I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believe in Me shall never thirst."  -John 6:35

One thing I have learned from running is that your conditions are rarely never ideal. It's either too windy, too hot, too cold, or raining. If the weather is perfect- you probably didn't get a good sleep last night. Or maybe you had to skip lunch and won't be able to eat enough before your run. Maybe your knee is still bothering you from your long run a couple days ago. A big part of learning to run for me is how to condition my body to prepare for my next run. 

What I take from the verse tonight as I read my devotion is that we cannot concentrate on our problems. As runners, or just athletes in general, how many times have we heard that it's all a mental game? It's all in your head. So why not focus on the Father? Let Jesus be our strength. Let Him fuel your run. Sure, you need your water and your carbs and your sleep. But the next time you feel tired on your run, remember that Jesus is your fuel, and you'll never run out. 

Today's run was 3 easy miles in the park with a friend. Nothing amazing, just good social time. 😄 

Pictured above 👆 my Brooks Mach 14 Spikelss shoes- if you've ever thought about trying minimalist shoes- I highly recommend it! They are great for anyone who has feet/knee injuries, shin splints, blah blah. But listen to me when I say to break them in slow! They advise to build up slowly to your normal running mileage- walk a lot! I didn't listen and the only way I can describe the pain in my feet would be in a car wreck/blender. Seriously. 

Oceans

I'm a few days late on this, but I had the most incredible run the other morning. And the crazy thing is, it was on the treadmill. I'm sure I'm in the top percentile of all runners when I say I hate the treadmill. It hurts my knees, and when I run at home, its even worse than the gym...instead of watching my treadmill TV, I stare at the tractor because its in the workshop. Borrrrrinnnnnnggggg.

For this run though, I tested out running to a new song. Its been a favorite for a while, and I thought it would give me strength to press on. I'm a little less than a month from my race now, and I'm hungry. Starving, really. I WANT this win. I've wanted it for a year now. A lot has changed since last year. I'm not moved in my house yet like I thought I would be- which is actually why I thought I could sign up for this race- because I would have plenty of time to train. ....Surprise! I thought I would have extra time to run since I was finished giving my free time to painting and pulling up floor and....whatever else has taken my time to renovate my house. (COMPLETELY restore it, I may add!)

So this run, though. I'm trying to figure out how my negative splits can time out for my race. The more I run, the better I get at racing. I don't mean that as in, 'I'm getting in better shape.' Well, duh. No, I mean I need to stop going out too fast and wearing out too soon in my race.

So for this run, the song is "Oceans" by Hillsong. Part of the lyrics are- 

• "Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders

  Let me walk upon the waters

  Wherever You would call me

  Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

  And my faith will be made stronger

  In the presence of my Savior"

This really pushes me when I'm feeling weak. Yes, I run and work out as much as I can, and I would say I'm in pretty good shape. Yay for me. That's me pushing myself to succeed. But none of this could be done without my Savior. I am nothing. I am a lazy couch potato who loves pizza. I pray for strength and perseverance. 

I'm pretty stubborn by nature, but I'm also weak. If I haven't had enough sleep, I'm hungry, its hot, its windy.....those all also pretty good excuses for a walk break. If you catch me in the right mood, I can push on. If not....oh well. Its too hot to really run this much, even if it is a race. 

Everyone finds inspiration from different things. I'm happy I've found that this song pushes me more to be stronger and better, and remember to rely on the Lord for strength and stamina. 

I ran 3.1 this day, and my splits were 9 minutes, 8:30, and for the last mile, I ran at an 8 min pace for the first half mile, and then each .1 mile, I increased the speed by 1. For the last .2 mile of my "race" I ran at 7:30 pace until I was done. I love finishing my runs pushing myself every now and then, to know I can do it, and to prepare myself for when its actually a race. 

With all the knee pain I've suffered in the past and having to taking breaks from running to rest my IT band, I'm so thankful I can run without hesitation now. I could say my clean diet with paleo and drinking plenty of water is giving me that, but I know its also a gift from God. Thank you, more than I could ever express.

First Run of March

With last week's snow in the ground, I felt so overwhelmingly happy today to be running in a T-shirt. I wish it would last all week- tomorrow is going to be a high of 35. Glad I got a warm run in while I could! 

Today I ran just over 3 miles, and walked home the last mile. The headwinds were insane the first two miles before I turned around, but wouldn't you know as soon as I finished my 3 miles the wind completely died down. I think overall I had a pretty good run. I think my average pace was 8.53 per mile. It's hard to tell on my Nike app- doesn't always seem accurate. 

The other day when I ran, my splits were 10 mins, 9.22, and 7.57.  I'm happy with these two runs. For my race, I think if I finish in 25 minutes that should put me in a good position to take my age division. Last year's winner finished in a little over 26 minutes, and I think she was 28th place overall. My race PR is 26:24, and that was October 2013 and I was sick and my breathing was off. I think I took 5th out of like 800 In my division, and 71st overall. You never know who is going to show up and give you some competition, but I really want this. I want to earn this win.  

Yoga Strong, Yoga Fast

My next race is 7 weeks away. Two of my friends and I are doing the Diva run 5k in April in Myrtle Beach. We did the same race last year- except it was the half marathon. This year we are opting for short and fast- my style! 

Last year the winning time in my division was 26 minutes. If I train and put in my time, I know I can kill that. 

So here we go. Hopefully it starts warming up soon! Working so many doubles at work is really killing my running- and just my routine in general. This is still fairly new to me since taking my promotion to being the restaurant manager and catering coordinator. Love it, but getting home at 10pm and back up to work in the morning really hasn't let me do too many early morning workouts. Yes, I'm one of those sissys who needs her 9-10 hours of sleep to feel perfectly rested! 

I've been doing yoga almost every day now, and really enjoying it again. I've gone off and on the past few years- doing it 4 or 5 times a week for a few months, and then quitting almost a year. But tonight I'm doing it at night for the first time- just to really make myself get it in. As part of my race training, I still want to do yoga- even if it isn't long- every single day- and if I don't run that day, make sure part of my yoga is geared towards asanas that help runners. I WANT THAT MEDAL! 

Tonight, my poses are 

• low lunge (anjaneyaasana)
• downward facing dog (adobo mukha svanasana)
• squat (malasana)
• boat pose (paripurna)
• dancer's pose (natarajasana)
• upward facing dog (urdhva mukha svanasana)
• head to knee pose (paschimottanasana)
• Cow face fold (gomukhasana)
• Leg drains or legs up the wall (viparita Karani)

My flexibility has like... Vanished. The 9 year old gymnast-Erin really wants to kick 26 year old Erin right now. But another thing I want to bring into my life from yoga is meditation. I read the other day that 20 minutes of meditation is equivalent to... Oh I forgot. Sleep. You need less sleep. Or 1 hour of yogic sleep?? Is the same as 3 hours normal sleep. I could definitely go for that! 

Paleo Sausage Biscuits

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed my breakfast this morning! Over the course of 2014, my parents and I all made the choice to change our diets to gluten free and then later, paleo. My parents went hardcore from the beginning and noticed significant changes in their health (more on that in a different post!) while I.... Had a few more cheat meals. Unfortunately for me, being a restaurant manager where we have some of the most AMAZING (aka, unbutton your pants fattening!) southern food makes it that much harder to eat right. 

This month, I am doing NO cheat meals, just to completely get gluten and toxins out of my body... And then I can reintroduce "cheat" foods later to see how my body reacts. 

The misconception with paleo (or gluten free too if you only wanted to make that change) is that everyone thinks you will be horribly limited in what you can eat, or it will taste bland and boring. NO WAY! This is the first time in my mom's entire life where she has enjoyed cooking- and it's because she's finally using real, fresh ingredients, and it tastes amazing. 

I want to keep sharing our recipes- but to start off, this is one of the most simple foods you could think of. And on a "diet" too! 

I can write another post later going into more detail, but animal fat IS good for you if you aren't also taking in processed fats! Seriously- my mom eats either sausage or bacon with her breakfast every morning and has lost 30 pounds she didn't even know she needed to lose. That's so contradictory to anything we've ever been taught. 

www.primalgirl.com

Click above- this is a link to the biscuits- we use tapioca flour! It does taste different, but I really prefer this to anything with refined flours! I also use this to make "yeast" rolls, crackers, and pizza dough... Yummm!! Paleo is only restrictive any boring if you don't do your homework! But as for me, I'm eating the most delicious food I've ever tried, and it's healthy! 

Hope if anything actually reads this hehe, you enjoy it!