Tag Archive for: Food Sourcing
I’m really excited to introduce you to an awesome product – Serenity Kids – nutrient dense baby food pouches that offer many AIP elimination stage compliant selections. Now, if you know me, you know I don’t have kids … so you might be wondering why am I so enthusiastic about this product!?
First of all, I’ll tell you I keep referring to them as Serenity FOODS instead of Serenity KIDS, because while they were initially created for babies and kids, they’re actually suitable for EVERYONE! I’ll tell you more about that, including why Serenity and these adorable food pouches resonate with me personally (keep reading to find out) … but first let me share a little about the Serenity Kids and their line up of products!
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Nutrient Dense, Simple Ingredients
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Ethically Sourced Pastured Meats
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Sustainable Organic, Non-GMO Vegetables
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Healthy Fats
- NEW Line with Gut Friendly Bone Broth!
- Low, Low Sugar Content
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AIP Compliant (many of their offerings are elimination stage compliant)
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Shelf-stable BPA-Free Pouches (recyclable lids and a free RECYCLABLE POUCH PROGRAM since most city recycling programs don’t accept them)
- Winners of the Clean Label Project Purity Award – Kind of a BIG deal!
- In addition to making babies healthier, they’re committed to leaving them a healthier planet
Where to Shop:
If you’ve been following me for a while, you may have noticed that the coupon from Serenity kids is no longer available on my coupon page. I had previously partnered with them to promote their products, but they’ve recently switched tracking platforms again—without any notice, and NO coupon for my followers. Unfortunately, that means my promotional efforts have continued to go unrewarded for an unknown length of time, and since this has happened more than once, I’ve decided not to keep rebuilding all of my promotional materials each time they make a change. Instead, I’ll be directing you to their products on Amazon, where most people prefer to shop anyway. You’ll find them conveniently organized in my AIP & Paleo Babies and Kids section of my Amazon shop. (As always, thank you so much for supporting my work—purchases made through my Amazon shop help me earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.)
Why Serenity “Kids” is for Everyone!
First of all, they’re an extremely convenient way to carry a healthy, nutrient dense snack with you (they’re meant to be consumed at room temperature but you could warm them a little by immersing the pouch in a cup of hot water if you prefer).
For adults – Really? Yes – absolutely! Check out the nutritional value on these products … their simple ingredients make them perfect for AIPers (think grab-n-go breakfast, snacks, if you’re in hospital or dealing with medical procedures), backpacking, camping, road-tripping, camping and get this – even dogs can use ’em (my dog eats a whole food, homemade diet and would wrestle me for these)! And, since they’re shelf-stable for up to 18 months, you can easily stock up so you have them on hand when you need them.
Why Serenity Resonates With Me
When I first started researching Serenity I was extremely excited by the possibilities for adults! Why? Because the first autoimmune disorder I was diagnosed with was Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis (EGE/EGID) – a rare inflammatory disease that effects the entire digestive system, starting at the esophagus all the way through the colon and intestines. (A similar condition, Eosinophilic Esophagitis or EOE for short, a disease of the esophagus also exists and is most often diagnosed in children.)
What’s so scary about EGE/EGID/EOE? 1) You very often can’t swallow food without extreme pain, panic or choking which can lead to extreme food fears, 2) This often leads to extreme malnutrition and/or is accompanied by nutrient absorption issues, and 3) Traditional medical treatment protocols include liquid steroid concoctions and can involve horrific liquid or elemental diets containing synthetic vitamins or in some cases tube feeding!
After being hospitalized a number of times and finally receiving my diagnosis I was completely depleted. I had ZERO energy to prepare foods and was extremely malnourished (massive hair loss, all of my fingernails and toenails fell off, an abrupt 40lb weight loss, incredible rashes and more). The smell of food prep created extreme nausea and vomiting and the stress and anxiety of simply sitting down to try to eat brought me to tears before I even began. I soooo wish I’d known about Serenity Foods back then – it definitely would have made life a lot easier.
I’m thrilled to say that the AIP has helped improve my condition tremendously, and I’m no longer in a position to need a product like this for meals, but I will tell you that these are amazing to keep on hand when you’re needing a nutritious snack on the go. They’re perfectly tasty at room temperature, but I personally prefer them heated – simply immerse a pouch in a cup of hot water for a few minutes and you’re good to go. (You can read more testimonials, and how Serenity is helping adults and kids alike on their blog – click here)
Before I wrap up, I want to suggest one final demographic that also resonates with me for this product – the elderly. All too often older ones fall into the horrible belief that meal replacement shakes are great, fast options to give them all the nutrients they need when they’re too tired or don’t feel like cooking for themselves … because after-all the labels tout how many “wonderful” vitamins they contain and the doctors recommend them! YIKES! I won’t get into the details about these products, but rest-assured that we did a TON of research on them and their contents when the doctors handed me my diagnosis and a six-pack of these things and tried to tell me that I might have to rely heavily on them. (If you don’t believe me about these meal replacement shakes, feel free to do a little digging on the internet about them if you like – and read this cancer patient’s blog, it’s staggering and will stick with you.) Now, I’m not recommending that Serenity Kids is going to replace every-day adult meals, but they can certainly be used in confidently as nutrient-dense snacks or the occasional meal replacement.
Disclaimer: Serenity Kids was kind enough to provide me with samples of their product. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Learn More About Serenity:
Visit their website where you’ll quickly learn about the nutrition behind their products, where they source their ingredients, their environmentally focused mission and how they’re giving back.
This post contains affiliate links. Click here to see what that means.
Your Secret Weapon for Gut Health – Pique Tea Crystals
If you haven’t heard of Pique yet, or you’re a little confused about why I’d consider promoting tea while for those on the AIP, allow me to explain.
- First of all, black and green tea (read my post about Matcha vs. green tea here on the blog) are allowed in moderation during the initial elimination stage of the Autoimmune Protocol
- Secondly, finding quality beverage options on the AIP can be a challenge. Sure we may find some good herbal, green or black tea options on the market, but often times they’re not as pure as we might think. Some are laden with pesticides, toxins and artificial flavors, additives and even gluten!
- Pique Tea crystals are free of sugar, grains, dairy, gluten, artificial additives and fillers.
- Pique Tea is TOP QUALITY and TRIPLE TOXIN SCREENED for pesticides, heavy metals and mold (all things that those with autoimmune disorders have to watch out for)! Pique Tea contains TWELVE TIMES the antioxidants of regular tea in tea bags … that means WAY more healing power!
Gut Health:
When it comes to autoimmune disease, you’ve likely heard it over and over again that immunity starts in the gut, and without a healthy gut, it’s pretty much impossible to start healing.
Your gut contains over 100 trillion bacteria that play a vital role in your overall health. It controls 80% of your immune system, mood, metabolism and more.
Since we’re trying to heal our gut, it won’t surprise you to hear me say that Quality Matters – not just of the tea itself, but in the delivery method – so you’re not going to want to drink just any old tea!
Did you know that a recent study found that those silky, fancier-looking tea bags/sachets release approximately 11.6 billion microplastics in a single cup of tea! Crazy, right!? How about paper tea bags? Well, they can be a problem too because of the chemicals used to keep them from breaking apart (aka glue).
Pique checks all the boxes again – no bags, just powders!
Recommendations:
Not only have I done my own research about Pique Tea and tried it myself (BTW, it’s delicious and so convenient – soluble in hot or cold water, no bags, no loose tea and tea ball messes – just convenient single serving completely dissolvable tea crystals in packages you can take with you anywhere!), I HIGHLY trust the opinion and advice of Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, The Paleo Mom who’s the expert behind the science of the AIP. She has this to say about Pique Tea:
“There’s emerging evidence that tea polyphenols can improve your gut microbiome by supporting the growth of probiotic strains like Lactobacillus and suppressing the growth of pathogenic bacteria like C. difficile, even reversing obesity-related changes in the microbiome caused by high-fat diets!
But, not all teas are created equal – Pique Tea delivers up to 12X the antioxidants of regular teas and are also triple toxin screened! That’s why I am absolutely in love with the superior quality and taste of Pique Tea!”
You Get What You Pay For:
As you might expect, top quality tea with this kind of healing power doesn’t come at bargain brand prices, but you can save with bundles, collections and purchases of 5 boxes or more.
Important Note: Not all Pique tea varieties are suitable for the AIP Elimination Stage (and Pique is continually adding new products), so keep an eye on this – stick to herbal offerings: things like Mint, Ginger, Hibiscus, Oolong and Rooibos and watch out for adaptogens like Chaga, Reishi and fermented teas to name a few (these might not be right for you during eliminations, but they’re great options to add as you reintroduce more foods and beverages back into your life).
Learn more about our affiliates at Pique Tea on their website – click here – and read additional testimonials from the health experts.
Your Health Is Worth It!
Is it possible to do the AIP on a budget?
I won’t lie, it’s a challenge, and you have to choose your battles when you’re doing the AIP and trying to stick to a budget.
My number one piece of advice for all things AIP … KEEP IT SIMPLE!
Don’t try to get fancy with complicated AIP Recipes, baking, treats and using specialty ingredients.
Since there are already great articles on this topic I won’t reinvent the wheel, but in a nutshell concentrate on simple meat and veggies with a focus on nutrient density. Prioritize (choose organic ingredients for the worst offenders – click here for the EWG dirty dozen and clean fifteen food list – but it’s not the end of the world if you can’t afford it), meal plan (check out the best app for those on a healing AIP diet – click here for my review of the RealPlans app – it’ll help you schedule leftovers and choose recipes using minimal ingredients), batch cook and/or cook extras for left overs and avoid food waste. If you have a small yard or a balcony you can even consider growing some of your own food (leafy greens like lettuce, kale, chard and herbs are easy to grow in the smallest of spaces).
Check out the following resources and learn that budgetary restrictions really don’t need to cramp your style on the AIP.
Looking for AIP ingredients? Visit our Food Sourcing page for reliable AIP shops.
Looking to save money? Of course you are ~ Grab some coupons here!
Want to try meal-planning but not sure where to start? Try this 10-day meal plan challenge for FREE!
Like a good book? Check out “Dinner for a Dollar” – an 11-step system that will help transform your food life. It’ll slash the amount of time, money and energy you spend preparing nutritious, delicious, whole food – even when you’re on an allergy friendly-diet. Buy it on Amazon in my AIP Storefronts – USA / Canada / UK
Great Resources from Autoimmune Wellness
Part I: Three Tips for Eating AIP on a Budget
Part II: Five More Tips for Eating AIP on a Budget
Part III: Budgeting Tips for the AIP
Accessible AIP: When a Healing Diet Isn’t in Your Budget
AIP is a Plant-Based Protocol
Sourcing AIP Food 101 – Favorite tips for sourcing the highest quality ingredients for the best price
Food Storage Basics – Tips so you don’t waste precious AIP ingredients
PODCAST: Food Budgeting & Prioritizing
Other Resources
5 Ways to Save Money on the AIP