Flax Granola with Cranberries and Walnuts (The Plan)

No matter how much you psych yourself up, think a happy thought, and hope for the best; the first few days of

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a detox can still prove rather unfortunate

Alas

Have you heard of The Plan?  I admit I hadn't, that is until Hawthorn University hosted Lyn-Genet Recitas as a guest speaker this past month.  A part of their incredible ongoing series of webinars, covering all topics related to health.

I was fascinated.  Lyn's life-long passion for nutrition and food began over thirty years ago, working as a baker immersed in San Diego's health food scene.  Inspired by what she saw, she began a life-long study into such fields as herbology, homeopathy,  Shiatsu, other body healing arts, as well as traditional Chinese medicine and its approach to food theory.

The Plan embodies her career up to this point, and the knowledge she's gained from working with thousands of clients.

“Why is it” she wondered,  “That when eighty-five percent of my clients eat such foods as black beans, salmon, Greek yogurt, or oatmeal, they immediately gain weight?  Not only that, but their other health issues are exacerbated

Could it be, that certain foods can trigger an inflammatory response?  That our weight should simply be thought of as a chemical response to food?  Could it be that we're not meant to suffer with whatever our conditions are?  That it can all be reversed if we discover the foods that are low-inflammatory

Based on our own unique chemistry?”

I'd describe The Plan as a method of finding foods that cause inflammation in the body, as this can then lead to weight gain, and hasten the aging process.  We're not talking the obvious culprits, the friends of potato chips and Snicker bars

Nope.  In fact, it turns out even healthy foods can cause a chain reaction, and when it does, our hormones, thyroid, and immune systems will all be affected.  This reactive response isn't finished quite yet, as it can negatively impact our weight as histamine and cortisol levels are raised

A completely different paradigm

This isn't a debate about whether foods such as salmon and oatmeal are healthy, they most certainly are, but only if your body can tolerate them.  The reality is we're all chemically unique.

The other reality is,  we're not what we eat, but what we digest, and the way our bodies handle digestion changes dramatically as we age.  The foods we ate in our twenties and thirties aren't guaranteed to work for our bodies in our forties, and beyond.

Production of digestive enzymes slows way down, stomach acid and saliva decrease (all of which are critical for our digestion).  Not only this, but imbalances in our hormones can trigger yeast flare-ups, that change the flora in our gut, as well as our hormones.

Lyn offered the plan to a subset of students at Hawthorn, I'm fortunate enough to be one of them

Flax Granola is on the breakfast menu for this first week, served with half-cup blueberries and Silk Coconut Milk, or Rice Dream (until I've tested other milks).  I admit, I wasn't so sure, but turns out it's absolutely wonderful.

I made a batch for me with dried cranberries and chopped walnuts, and another for my husband with the additions of honey and unsweetened coconut flakes.

Rich in omega 3's and calcium, flax is very digestible, as well as inexpensive.  You'll want to use a slight bit of caution though, because if eaten too often it can begin to alter one's hormonal levels.  Therefore, it's recommended that the granola, delicious as it may be, limited to twice a week after the first couple of weeks

(much more about The Plan in the days to come .. )

Enjoy!

xoxo

ps:  Curious?  Learn more about The Plan from Dr. Oz

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~ Adapted from Lyn-Genet.com