The Functional Rd

We had a holiday party last weekend and three more this upcoming weekend so this is probably the timeliest post I will ever write! It is amazing how we have SO many holiday parties when we get older. Everyone is ready to celebrate and some people genuinely hold it against you all year long if you do not show up to their party. This has happened to us on several occasions. So now we go to every party we can, which typically means relay marathon nights where we hit 2-3 differen

Read any blog, article, magazine out there and they are all pushing ways to make yourself thinner, prettier, shinier, whatever. Some tips are decent and some involve putting some smelly gunk on your face in order to have perfect skin. Well, I have my own tips that I used, but not to be prettier or thinner, but to be truly healthy. I am all about doing whatever I can to optimize my health. I start with diet, but truly there are so many things that you can do to make yourself j

I love pot roast so much I think it deserves its own food group. It was always the top of my request for my birthday dinner growing up (with a side of bread and brownies for dessert – I had a serious love for the carbs!) Surprisingly, as an adult I have never felt overwhelmed with the urge to cook pot roast. I’ve craved it plenty of times, but I suppose I never thought that I could make it like mama does. So, after I went home this weekend and got some good, home-cooked food

My favorite restaurant in San Antonio called Josephine Street & if you ever find yourself in San Antonio in need of some delicious steaks (& whiskey), this is your place! Their food is seriously unreal, but since I cannot spend all of my money dining out I had to learn to make my own versions of their best dishes in order to satisfy my cravings.. and since appetizers are always a good place to start, I decided to give their beef tenderloin Anticuchos a try. Now, what the hec

I. Love. Burgers. I think this is pretty unanimous among most Americans. Everyone has their own personal anecdote when they can imagine a certain food and how it made them feel during a certain point in time. When I was in elementary school I was addicted to a little burger joint in my hometown called "Dippity's". Keep in mind that my mom was also a dietitian and a wonderful cook; however, once a week my mom would order me one of these burgers "plain and dry" while hauling me

Bone broth. A nutritious & delicious soup that can used for 100's of recipes to add depth and flavor to your food! Not only that, it also has numerous health properties such as: - Healing a leaky gut - Boost immune system - Collagen for joint health Bone broth gets it's name because it requires utilizing the carcass (bones, as well as ligaments) of an animal in order to extract certain nutrients. It derives it's benefits from the loads of collagen, proline, glysine, & glutami

My first job out of college had me in an office with a Chinese & Thai food restaurant within walking distance... and nothing else! Sure I could have ordered Jimmy John’s freaky fast delivery or got in my car to pick up a salad from Chipotle, but I became slightly obsessed with this quaint little Thai restaurant. Especially the red and green curry dishes. The coconut cream with the all the spices made it such a unique dish that my Texas taste buds were hooked! When I learned a

Every time I visit my parents house I eat gluten.. but not necessarily by choice! I am very.. consistent.. when it comes to eating out with food sensitivities. I plan the event in advance, read menus, and ask an absurd amount of questions to make sure that I am not getting hit with any of my laundry-list of food sensitivities. This, unfortunately, does not translate well when I am visiting my parents... It's likely a mixture between the comfort of being home and the assumptio

When I first moved to San Antonio with my sister, our favorite hang-out spot was right next door to a Chinese restaurant and they would frequently bring in egg-rolls for the patrons. That was always a major score. Beer and egg-rolls went together insanely well. Turns out I am extremely sensitive to both gluten AND eggs – no wonder I would feel hungover for days! The warning signs were really all there. I assumed I would never have beer and egg-rolls ever again, and I guess I

I love soy sauce. I find that is one of the best ingredients that can kick up an otherwise boring marinade. Unfortunately, there are numerous reasons why I avoid soy sauce. Most pre-made soy sauces in America contain gluten which cause a lot of obvious issues for me. If it’s not the gluten than it’s the MSG (Mono Sodium Glutamate) that can cause issues. Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain – which sounds fun, but it really isn’t. It can be an excitotoxin w