Wow!  Well apparently, we ended up taking a bit of an unintentional blogging vacation but now that we’re back in the swing with school again and Fall is around the corner we’ll hopefully be back to some regular posting.  Hope you didn’t miss us too much!

Today I’m going to be sharing with you our favorite homemade pizza dough recipe.  This recipe is great because there aren’t many ingredients to contend with so it should be friendly for most food sensitives/allergies, and it only takes about 40-50 minutes in total.

Photos are our’s but the recipe is adapted from this lovely blog right here: http://rumbleinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2009/01/homemade-pizza-crust.html

Pizza Crust

2 1/2 c. reg. flour (any combination of white or whole wheat.  I recommend King Arthur brand for WW.)
1 packet (1/4 oz. or 2 1/4 tsp.) dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 c. very warm water
2 tbsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously grease pizza pan(s).  I use a rectangular bar pan or you could use 2 small round pans.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup of the flour, yeast, and salt until well blended.  Add very warm water and olive oil. Whisk by hand until almost smooth.

Gradually stir in remaining 1 1/2 cups flour to make a firm dough.  (I use my Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook at this point.)

Cover with a warm, damp towel. Let rest for 15-20 minutes. (At this time I used an additional tbsp of olive oil to coat dough.)

Divide dough in half if using 2 round pans. Press dough into pizza pan. Generously prick dough with fork.

Pre-bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges of crust begin to turn a light golden brown. Remove from oven. Top with favorite toppings (make sure meats are pre-cooked) and place back in oven until cheese is bubbly which should be about 10 minutes.

You can see here where I allow for a dairy-free piece for our son.

Notes:

-Crusts can be combined to make a thicker or “deep dish” crust. Pre-baking may take a little longer.

-This recipe also works great if dough is divided into individual pizzas. No pre-baking necessary but can be done if you like a crispier crust.

Enjoy!

Nikki Seesholtz
www.seesholtzchiropractic.com

     In honor of Earth Day (which is Sunday, April 22, 2012), I thought it might be fun to share with you changes that we’ve made in the Seesholtz household to be friendly to our Mother Earth.  These are things that we’ve incorporated gradually over the past few years but I would encourage you to pick one to try out.  Every little bit helps!

• Reduce- Think about every purchase you make and answer the question…”Do I really need this?”
• Reuse- Before going out to the store or logging onto amazon, see if you don’t already have something in your home that you can reuse to fit the need or buy pre-owned items when you get the opportunity.
• Recycle- A concept that needs no explanation I’m sure
• Plant a garden- If a vegetable garden seems to intimidating or you lack the space, try out a herb or container garden instead.
• Compost
• Chemical free cleaners- There’s not much that some white vinegar, water, and baking soda can’t clean.
• Un-paper towels- Use kitchen towels and washcloths instead of paper towels.  We keep a stack for the kitchen and another for cleaning.
• Eliminate reusable products- Use Pyrex and bpa-free plastic containers instead of Ziploc baggies, etc.
• Natural personal care products- Switch out your traditional shampoo and conditioner with one that is free of artificial fragrances and SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate).
• Cloth diapers- If you haven’t seen what the modern cloth diaper looks like you should really take a minute.  They are so cute, safer for baby, and much nicer on your wallet. (Vintage Evan pictured right.)
• Be mindful and try to consolidate as much driving as possible.
• Line dry- Hang clothes out on the line when possible.  The sun is a magical, amazing stain fighter!
• Organic food- If you are limited by resources and funds, consider buying organic for the dirty dozen list as a starting point.
• Homemade food- Ditch the convenience and fast foods and cook as much from scratch as possible.  It doesn’t have to be an elaborate meal.  This is a great time of year to throw some chicken on the grill with homemade BBQ sauce and serve with steamed broccoli and brown rice.  Super easy!
• Whole food- Try to steer clear of processed foods with all those sneaky additives and sugars and get back to the basics.
• Meatless meals- Focus on adding a meatless meal into your rotation like ziti or black bean burritos.
• Dryer balls- I prefer my wool dryer balls over dryer sheets any day of the week.
• Energy star- Make sure any new appliance or electronics you purchase are energy star rated.
• LED light bulbs- Replace slowly as old bulbs burn out.
• Natural laundry detergents- Look into brands like Planet, Country Save, or Maggie’s Soap Nuts.
• Buy local and handmade whenever possible.
• Conserve water and electricity as much as possible- Turn off the water as your brush your teeth and keep lights off in un-used rooms.  If our little Eli can do it, so can you!

This is obviously not an all-inclusive list, and I’m just focusing on the broad idea instead of giving you all the rationale or research but I think it’s a good starting point.  If you have questions, please email.  I’ll be happy to give you brand recommendations and resources for more information.  Maybe your question will prompt a new blog post!

Happy Earth Day!

Nikki Seesholtz
nikki@seesholtzchiropractic.com
www.seesholtzchiropractic.com

          Blog post number two!  (I have to admit my webmaster, i.e. lovely wife, has been posting as well and a big help behind the scenes.) So here it goes- I want to share today about glucosamine and chondroitin.  These are two of the most widely talked about and researched supplements in the area of arthritis.  This is because they have helped many people and animals alike.  You read that right animals and people.  Veterinarians first used glucosamine and chondroitin on horses with great results.  Dogs were tested successfully next.  Eventually people began taking them; and as the trend predicts, they showed positive results as well .

Let’s talk a little about glucosamine.  Glucosamine as the name suggests comes from combining a sugar or glucose and the amino acid glutamine.  Consequently, diets low in carbohydrates don’t have enough glucose to properly fuel the brain or make glucosamine.  If you are on a low or no-carb diet like Atkins, you may notice not only a brain fog but also achy joints.  Interestingly glucosamine is found in different body tissues including tendons, ligaments, cartilage, synovial membranes, blood vessels, and heart valves.  As it relates to arthritis, the most significant area is the articular cartilage found within body joints.  The articular cartilage glucosamine is used to synthesize macromolecules which become a major component of the articular cartilage.  Glucosamine works to help bring building block nutrients into the articular cartilage to help repair degenerative damage and build new cartilage.

  Glucosamine’s partner in fighting the evil force of arthritis is chondroitin.  Like glucosamine, chondroitin is a sugar; however, it is a mucopolysaccharide.  This means it’s a long chain of natural sugars and is much larger than glucoamine.  Chondroitin is also found in all organ systems of the body including the soft tissue and has the ability to help joints.  Chondroitin helps articular cartilage to imbibe or absorb water.  By doing this it irrigates the cartilage, and the sponginess it creates protects the joints from pain.  In addition, chondroitin has been shown to help prevent abnormal movement of blood across blood vessel walls in the bladder and helps reduce edema or swelling during rehabilitation.

To summarize, glucosamine helps repair damaged cartilage and build new cartilage, while chondroitin helps the cartilage absorb water so the joints can maintain the cushion they need.   I know I have you all excited about glucosamine and chondroitin now but alas I must sign off.  Stay tuned for the next post about the difference between glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and HCL and to find the best sources where you can get these supplements.  If you can’t wait or have any other questions on arthritis and nutrition support, please call me at 570-784-2529.

Dr. Lance Seesholtz
drlance@seesholtzchiropractic.com
www.seesholtzchiropractic.com

When my wife Nikki and I discussed developing a website and the possibility of starting a blog, I got excited.  It took me back to the days of the Seesholtz Chiropractic newsletter and those fun tid bits we would report each month.  One of my favorite parts was the section “Nutrition Corner” where I would dispense information on food, vitamins, and herbs.  For this reason I decided that my first contribution to the blog should be an excerpt from my favorite installment of Nutrition Corner.  I hope you enjoy!

What is…?

• The herb Hippocrates called the most important medicine and the “medicine of the future”.
• Grown extensively in California and to you wine connoisseur’s no it’s not the grape.
• A herb that is related to chives and onions and one that many of us use in cooking.

GARLIC!!!!
I can hear the monstrous applause now!

The popularity of garlic has blossomed in recent years.  The production itself increased from the late 1990’s to early 2000’s 12,000 fold; and this is all due to good reason.  Garlic his been shown to help atherosclerosis, Chronic Heart Failure, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and chronic yeast infections.  Although garlic has shown a recent explosion in popularity people have known “it’s good for what ails ya” since 400 B.C.  This is echoed by the fact that the father of medicine and the coiner of an extremely recognizable oath, Hippocrates loved garlic.  Let’s stop and ponder this for a moment the FATHER OF MEDICINE says the garlic was the most important medicine and the medicine of the future.  Man I bet he is rolling over in his grave over the state of things in the pharmaceutical industry.  But we don’t have enough time to talk about that today.

I could talk to you all day about all the biochemistry of why garlic works but I won’t bore you with these details now (ask me at your next appt!).  Instead, I will focus on how to prepare garlic so you can get the most out of this “medicine of the future.”  First of all, it is best to use fresh sliced or whole garlic.  This is due to the fact that the active ingredient in garlic, Allicin, is released as you chew the garlic cloves; and therefore, chopped garlic loses its strength.  Another interesting point is that the elephant garlic (the extremely large cloves you may see at the grocery store) is actually less potent than regular garlic.  So if you want to get the most out of your garlic, buy the small cloves and slice them just prior to eating them.

A few more fun side notes on garlic.  There were 250 studies performed in 1998 alone on garlic’s benefits to the circulatory system (all the studies were medically or scientifically based as well).  Garlic works to lower cholesterol by decreasing platelet stickiness; therefore, dangerous plaques form less readily in your arteries.  It also has shown to have antimicrobial, antiviral, and antifungal properties.  It also works as a weak antibacterial not necessarily getting rid of bacterial infections but does aid to prevent them.  It has also been shown to decrease the risk of stomach, esophageal, and colon cancers.

A normal dose of garlic is one clove chewed per day.  But therein lays the problem for some of us.  Garlic does have side effects that most of you are aware- bad breath and/or mild indigestion.  For those of you that have this sensitivity to garlic a 400-500 mg tablet each day will do the trick.  However, the natural source is always better.  If you are the sort that is sitting there thinking, “I would love to eat a clove each day but I can’t just sit down and chew garlic”, here are a few ideas on how to prepare it.  Chop a few cloves up, and add it to your pasta sauce.  Combine it with extra virgin olive oil and thyme and add on top of any dish.  My personal favorite is to sauté garlic, basil, and extra virgin olive oil with any vegetable.  First, start by getting you pan warmed up. Then add the extra virgin olive oil, then the veggies, let it cook for a minute at which time you add the garlic and basil.  Mix it all up and let cook for another 15 seconds or so and perfecto. (Note please defrost or steam your veggies first!)

Note for those of you that are currently taking blood pressure meds or coumadin (or other blood thinners) please seek the advice of a medical professional prior to starting a garlic regiment.  As garlic’s effectiveness has shown to greatly improve hypertension and thinning the blood.

Blog you again!

Dr. Lance Seesholtz
drlance@seesholtzchiropractic.com
www.seesholtzchiropractic.com

It’s true!

We try to eat relatively healthy- focusing on whole, unprocessed, and organic food.  However, we do love our sweets.  Everything in moderation!  Even so, it still took me years to try my hand at Black Bean Brownies which was a big mistake because they are actually delicious, very easy to make, and have some nutritional value.  I’ve already made my old brownie recipe and had my husband then be disappointed that they weren’t the Black Bean Brownies.  True story!

I used this recipe from the blog “Living Peacefully with Children”. My notes and substitution options are in parentheses.

• 1 can black beans or 1 2/3 cup cooked dry beans, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup sugar (or organic cane sugar)
• 3 eggs
• 3 Tablespoons canola oil (or other oil like vegetable or coconut. increasing oil amount will make them fudgier)
• 1/4 Dutch processed cocoa powder (Hershey’s cocoa.  I increase to 1/3 or 1/2 C.)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• half a pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup dairy and soy free chocolate chips (or chocolate morsels like Nestle)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional- I omit)

You can mix by hand but I find it easiest to use my food processor.  Mix beans and eggs first.

Add remaining ingredients (except the chips and/or pecans) and mix well.

Pour into a greased 8 x 8 pan (if you double the above recipe it fits nicely into a 9 x 13 dish) and add your toppings.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Enjoy!

I look forward to sharing with you some of our other favorite family recipes in the posts to come so stay tuned!

Nikki Seesholtz
www.seesholtzchiropractic.com
nikki@seesholtzchiropractic.com 

We’ve created this blog as a way to share with you tidbits about wellness and healthy living.  You will also be the first to know about any exciting Seesholtz Chiropractic news and special offers!

If there are any topics that you would like to see featured or questions to be answered, please email info@seesholtzchiropractic.com.

Welcome to our blog…enjoy!