longevity

Dr. Cowan’s Garden Vegetable Powders on SALE!

November 24, 2020 By Kristen Helmstetter

SALE!

CALLING ALL DR. COWAN’S GARDEN VEGGIE POWDER FANS!

🥳 And it’s a meaningful discount! 🥳

It’s time to stock up because it’s their yearly Thanksgiving sale. 🦃

Tuesday, November 24 through Monday night, November 30.

Customers will receive 25% off when they enter the code: THANKSGIVING2020

I’ve written in past years about my love of these powders for adding veggies easily to everything from soups to smoothies to desserts to breads to sauces to EVERYTHING. (See here for how I’ve used them.)

And? They travel well! Camping? Going in an airplane? (maybe not during this pandemic, eh?)

If you’re a veggie lover, then you will absolutely love these. They give you variety in all the different products they offer, plus all the many ways you can use them.

When I went to a carnivore diet and stopped eating vegetables a couple of years ago, I still kept this product on my page because some people love veggies and would never stop eating them. And some people might eat a meat heavy diet and want a little when it comes to veggies. In either of those scenarios, I’m a fan of this company for adding veg to your meals.

They put out such a beautiful, high quality product. I realize not everyone is carnivore, and heck, some people do it for a cleanse diet and then add veggies back in. If that’s you, then check out this super easy way to get veggies in your meals. That’s why I’m an affiliate of this product, it’s a great company with great founders and that means if you buy using my link, it’s no extra cost to you but I make a small commission.

Am I full carnivore now?

Some days yes! Some days no. I usually start my day with steak or ground beef. Lunch is typically carnivore, too. But dinner? Not always.

Sometimes I dive into a whole pizza. Sometimes I make chicken roasted with onions and fennel. Sometimes I eat yogurt with dried cranberries and dark chocolate chips. It’s all about listening to your body and being flexible.

Right now I live in the land of olive oil, and my neighbors regularly bring us a bottle. I love that!

Trying a special diet and staying on it if it’s right for you, making changes as you go, is the way to approach food. Sometimes I crave a high fat and protein diet, and I eat carnivore for a week, and I love it! Sometimes I have a day that’s mostly carbs. Some days I drink a lot of chaga and reishi drinks (traditional chinese medicine drinks of medicinal mushrooms).

So long as I feel good, I’m happy… because it’s more than food that keeps us healthy. I recently read the book Ikigai and it was great to read about the many centenarians and supercentenarians in Okigawa. They’re not following any particular diet.

But do you know what they do for health and longevity?

-> They move! They don’t sit on their butts.

-> They have a supportive community with friends.

-> They don’t overeat!

-> They have an ikigai… a purpose. It’s basically a hobby they love waking up and doing every day.

So! Happy Thanksgiving to you all from Italy. We are celebrating it here in Italy, and I’m roasting a bird with veggies, having stuffing with locally made sourdough bread, and making pumpkin pie from a huge pumpkin my landlord gifted to us from his garden (the crust I’m experimenting and using biscotti to make it!). I’m drinking wine and giving thanks for being alive, being able to move my body, and being with my husband and daughter.

Gorgeous Olive Oil from Italy to You!

November 11, 2020 By Kristen Helmstetter

When we first moved to Umbria, our wonderful landlord knew we’d be arriving in quarantine, and he stocked our place with staples, including plenty of red wine, and olive oil from his own orchard! Talk about grateful!

Fast forward three months… I recently blogged that we were interviewed on CNN about getting dual citizenship.

As a result of the interview, we have new friends!

A fellow American with dual citizenship saw the article, searched for me on Instagram and reached out to say hi and share that she, too, lives in the same town where we are. Turns out, we’re close neighbors!

My family became fast friends with Ellen, and her Italian fiancé, Arrigo, and this brings me to my post today.

They have olive tree orchards and produce some of the most gorgeous olive oil! Lucky me! And? It’s available for purchase because they ship to countries outside of Italy! Lucky you!

I don’t know if you know this–there was a time that I didn’t–but all olive oil is NOT created equal. There are many reasons for this.

A fascinating book I read years ago, Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil, details why it’s so imperative to buy from a source you can trust. (Today, I share a source you can trust!)

It was through this book that I learned how to properly taste test olive oil for its levels of polyphenols. You basically suck/slurp it in while sipping (slurping sounds galore), with sort of relaxed lips, and letting it spray the back of your throat. Then, you wait a moment and see if there’s a burn. If so… good oil! Rich in polyphenols.

Talk about “green juice!” My new friend’s gorgeous DOP olive oil.

But first!

One of my favorite things about olive oil is the ability to easily cook with it, like roasting vegetables, because it stays liquid at room temperature. Ever try spreading solidified ghee or coconut oil over your veggies before roasting? Impossible. And I can’t be bothered with warming it first.

And if you were under the mistaken assumption that you shouldn’t cook with olive oil, as I used to be, check this out. I share here about how you can happily sauté, roast, and cook with extra virgin olive oil! Don’t be scared!

I’ve even added it to my buttered coffee, like here.

During my carnivore days, I went without olive oil, and although I eat a very meat-heavy diet, full carnivore on some days, olive oil has found its way back into my life. I tolerate it well.

After all, I live in Italy now. I eat pizza every few weeks, too. :)

OK, I’d like to introduce you to Ellen and Arrigo, our new friends. Here is what they say about their legendary olive oil.

ABOUT RIPALTA!

Ripalta, our highest quality 100% Umbrian DOP extra virgin olive oil.

While several Italian regions produce olive oil, Umbria produces one of the very highest quality oils. Our olives come from Umbrian hills owned by a storied, aristocratic family for many centuries.

The name of the oil, “Ripalta”, takes its name from the castle of our family, the Marchesi Misciattelli Bernardini. This is a land full of Etruscan tombs, Roman ruins, fertile soil for vineyards and olive groves in a staggeringly gorgeous countryside. We are deep in the Umbrian countryside and use no pesticides.

Our olive varieties include frantoio, leccino, and moraiolo. We press them almost immediately after they are harvested from the trees, which is critical for a pure and salubrious product.

Ripalta has a small, boutique production grown at a high elevation compared to most producers. Our output per tree is smaller but the quality much higher.

Ripalta is in limited production and supply will not last past Christmas.

Ripalta, unlike many supermarket olive oils, has the following characteristics:

100% of olives sourced from one place. 100% Italian (or 100% Spanish or 100% Greek), but never a mix. Beware of European Union oil mixes. Also beware of “Tuscan” oil that actually uses Tunisian olives but processes in Tuscany – sadly you may never really know the truth as they are not required to put this on the label. With our oil, we personally pick the olives off of our trees here in Umbria. It’s our guarantee to you.

DOP olive oil, which is even more specific.

This is like DOC for wine. It means in Italian “Protected Designation of Origin.” The olives come not just from one country but a very specific zone within an Italian region. Our olives are DOP “Colli Orvietani,” which means the Hills above Orvieto. Every olive grew in the Italian sun and wind and rain on those hills.

Extra virgin olive oil, not just olive oil. This means that the olive oil can have a maximum of 0.8% acidity.

Polyphenols. These naturally occurring olive compounds have significant health benefits towards digestion, diabetes, heart health, and cancers. Did you know that olive oil is classified as a medicine by the FDA? This is due to its extraordinary health benefits.

“First Cold Press”. What does this mean? Two things. One, the olives were processed once, not run through the mill multiple times. Two, the temperature cannot exceed a maximum of 25 degrees Celsius, because higher temperatures result in lower quality oil. Look for this on the label.

Why our oil?

Our Ripalta oil has all of the characteristics mentioned above.

Our oil is shipped directly to you, not stored in customs warehouses for months. We guarantee quality.

Our olives are grown without pesticides

ABOUT US

Our agricultural company is “Azienda Agricola Girolamo Misciattelli Bernardini”. Under the name Bernardini, the family company has produced sizable agricultural output for at least two centuries. And the Bernardini have been in Orvieto since at least 1200. We are an ancient aristocratic family who has had an agriculture business on these same lands consistently for over many centuries.

Shelf life

Olive oil lasts 2-4 years. This summer at our house we ran out of last years oil and opened up some from 2 years ago and it was delicious. But oil is not like wine, it does not improve with age. So best to use it within a year or so.

Americans consume about 1 liter per person per year. (Contrast that with about 14 liters per person in Italy!)

So I believe it will be used if it is a household that cooks with olive oil.

Price and Payment Details

The price is 35 euros per 750ml bottle (same quantity as a bottle of wine) including shipping with a minimum order of 6 bottles.

(Note from Kristen here: They make great Christmas gifts!)

Order direct through us via PayPal

In paypal you can pay the following vendor, or if you prefer we can send you an easy payment link.

girolamomi@tiscali.it

Your order will be processed by Azienda Agraria Girolamo Misciattelli Bernardini, our family agriculture company.

210 euro today is about $245 USD

Sincerely thank you!!!

www.umbriaabove.com/olio (they are currently redoing their website so if you’d like to buy some olive oil, please email them or call directly.)

umbriaabove@gmail.com

+1 (419) 343-9938 (American phone number)

(Please note, the Amazon links above are affiliate links. The olive oil links are not.)

My Carnivore Dieter’s Desk

October 5, 2020 By Kristen Helmstetter

My Carnivore Dieter’s Desk… laptop, coffee, and steak

An example of how I start my day… with local Italian red meat (a fine steak full of protein and fat). 🥩 🇮🇹 It’s about 400 grams (about 14 ounces), and I cooked it in the air fryer, my new favorite way to cook steak so it gets the fat around the edges deliciously crispy and melty.

I’m not all carnivore these days but I tend to stay that way most of the day at least during the week. Now that we’re settled and have a stronger routine, steaks are calling me.

And frankly I still feel like an unstoppable, limitless woman when I fuel this way (and I like not being bloated! 👙). It works for us. Big time. (Read about my carnivore diet adventures in my book, The Carnivore Diet Handbook)

My new experiment for the next couple of weeks will be steak 🥩 for food and honey 🍯 (plus tea and coffee of course, and I like heavy cream in my tea lately). I’ll call it my steak and honey 🍯 🥩 diet.

Or my 🥩 🍯 ☕️ 🍵 diet.

When I decided on my butcher of choice in our Italian hill-top village, it was a funny first encounter. Of course, I was buying a lot of meat, many kilos which I don’t think is common. He looked at me, not speaking much English, and my Italian leaving a lot to be desired, I realized he was inquiring if I had a lot of friends I was cooking for.

Ha. Nope, just me (well and Greg and Kamea, though I eat more meat than them).

Learning Italian in Italy Is Easier Because…

September 27, 2020 By Kristen Helmstetter

Learning a foreign language in-country is easier… not by osmosis, but because you make mistakes you’ll never make twice. Like the time I asked the old lady how old she was when I meant to ask the age of her dog. Or the time I thanked my landlord for the eggs when I meant to say grapes. The look on his face told me I’d blundered, but then he just laughed and figured it out.

Walking away I smacked my palm to my forehead! Duh! Eggs… I meant grapes! Uova vs Uva.

I have story after story like this. At this rate I should be fluent in a century. :) That’s cool I plan to be alive then, too.

Coffee Self-Talk Book Now Available!

August 31, 2020 By Kristen Helmstetter

Coffee Self-Talk Is Here!

My newest non-fiction book is NOW available on Amazon.com! Only ebook for now (the print version will be available in 24 hours).

It’s Time to DANCE!

I remember the day I told Greg about my daily Coffee Self-Talk routine I was doing every morning. We were in our tiny Italian kitchen in Rovigo, Italy, where we were pursuing my dual Italian citizenship.

He loved it and said, “You need to write a book about that!”

He was right.

This routine of mine is one of the vitally important parts of transforming my life in Happy Sexy Millionaire magic. (Read about that here!)

And it was time I shared it with everyone.

So here it is!

What the Heck Is Coffee Self-Talk?

Coffee Self-Talk is a powerful, life-changing routine that takes only 5 minutes a day.

Coffee Self-Talk transforms your life by boosting your self-esteem, filling you with happiness, and helping you attract the magical life you dream of living. And, very importantly, it creates feelings of wholeness and worthiness. All this, with your next cup of coffee.

What if you could wake up every morning feeling more incredible than ever before… in 5 minutes? Living the most epic life! Your mind mastered! Your life on a path to shimmering happiness!

Live your legendary life
Learn to love yourself, finally
Love, money, and health
Happiness, resilience, confidence
Manifest Your Dreams Faster
Create a new magical You

Are you tired of living a dull, uninspired, (or heck, crappy) life?

Do you want to live a life of sparkling adventure and kicking butt, while reaching all of your goals?

What if you were excited to bounce out of bed, living with verve and gusto because you had purpose, unrelenting resilience, and targeted direction? No matter the current circumstances!

What if you were able to attain goals you never thought possible? Think about it… is there something you thought you could never do but always secretly wanted to?

I share how I used the techniques in this book to find the man of my dreams, travel the world, move to one of the most beautiful hilltop towns in Italy, and become a romance author!

And what if you had all this possibility from a simple program that took only 5 minutes a day to do? You can and you will!

Coffee Self-Talk is the super easy, 5-minute program to rewire your brain and help you attain any goals, whether they’re for glittering happiness, shining self-esteem, superior health, money, tranquil peace of mind, or unstoppable grit.

Includes Coffee Self-Talk programs to help with:

Living a magical life
Changing habits
Losing weight & getting fit and strong
Achieving health & longevity
Finding wealth, success & prosperity
Finding an awesome mate
Being an amazing parent (fertility, too!)
Self-Talk for kids

Or maybe you want to stop a bad habit, like over-eating, or to start good one, like meditation. From specific goals to peace and happiness, the sky is the limit. All with your next delicious cup of coffee. You can do it!

Best yet? You’ll love Coffee Self-Talk because it’s not some boring-ass “to-do.” It’s fun and effective!

So if you want to wake up grinning from ear to ear, happier than you’ve ever been, and living an incredible life, then Coffee Self-Talk is for you.

If you have things you want to do with your life, but you don’t know where to begin, then Coffee Self-Talk is the answer.

And if you have dreams you thought were too big, or you didn’t know how to make them come true, then Coffee Self-Talk will help you.

The days of rolling out of bed feeling down and shitty are over.

Now is the time to live your best, most magical life ever. No matter how old you are, or what your circumstances, Coffee Self-Talk will work for you!

It’s time to wake up and take control of your mind and your life.

Join me!!!

Get Coffee Self-Talk today!

We’re Going Back to Live in Italy (Travel Update)

August 5, 2020 By Kristen Helmstetter

We’re packing 4 large suitcases and moving back to Italy.

We booked our flight.

It was canceled.

Cuz. Covid-19. And America’s very, very uncool response.

We rescheduled.

We’re now leaving earlier, August 17.

We came to Arizona to visit Mom Feb. 3 for a 1-month visit. Here we are, six months later, not leaving until mid-August.

Why wait so long?

Initially, we waited as Italy fought to control the virus.

But by the time May rolled around, and it was getting under control in Europe, America was going downhill. Fast. At the time, I didn’t know if we could even get back into Italy (I have Italian citizenship, Greg doesn’t).

And…

Who in the hell wants to fly at a time like this?

We have not left my mom’s house since March. Greg, Kamea, and I have stayed home (only going outside to swim and walk and bike) but NO contact with the public since MARCH! (Greg suited up to buy a WiFi router when ours konked out, but that’s been our only foray outside the hermetically sealed compound.)

Funny, it’s totally fine. I fucking love it!

I’m so busy writing steamy romance books I wouldn’t go anywhere anyway. No distractions, no choices. (My mom does all the shopping, and well, Amazon.)

Italy right now… with Covid-19

With daily new cases hovering around a very manageable 250 for the entire country, and mask wearing mandatory in all indoor environments, the borders have opened to EU and Schengen area visitors.
An American in Rome

With their robust contact tracing and testing, they’re keeping it under control.

So I thought, fuck it, let’s book flights and get home. To our beloved home, Italia.

We’ll have to quarantine for 2 weeks

Once we arrive in Italy, we are not allowed to use public transportation to get to our home in the medieval hilltop village where we rented an apartment. We would normally take a train from Rome, but that’s not an option. So instead, we’re paying $400 to hire a driver with a Covid-ready (?) van to transfer us.

At least it’ll have room for the 4th suitcase. I have things to bring:

Eye Armor, RAD RED NIGHT GLASSES, non-toxic water-based nail polish, collagen protein powder, new clothes, new beauty products, and lots of books on writing!

Upon arrival, we are not allowed to leave our apartment for two weeks!

How will we get food? Oh, and toilet paper?

For starters, we have been over-the-top blessed with the most amazing landlords. Although we haven’t moved into the apartment yet, they live upstairs from it and have been offering us all the help we’ll need.

Plus? The Beehive Hostel People

The amazing people who own The Beehive Hostel in Rome (Americans who have lived in Italy for about 20 years, I think) also live in the same little town we’re moving to. They’re getting groceries for us and will have our home set and ready for us to move into when we arrive.

This means I don’t need to pack toilet paper in my suitcase!

And during our quarantine, they’ll shop for us every couple of days. How blessed we are! God I love Italy – the hospitality is so glitteringly heartwarming.

We haven’t stayed at that awesome hostel yet, but we plan to many times over the next year, as we explore every nook and cranny of Rome. I can’t wait to write steamy romance novels set in Italy. Mamma Mia!!!

What about airports and flying during Covid-19?

We opted to fly Delta Airlines domestically as they’ve been touted as the airline taking the best precautions for Covid-19.

I’m approaching it with masks (N95 with cloth on top, because N95’s only protect the wearer), face shields, and hats. I’m bringing bleach wipes with us. I’m bringing hand sanitizer. My family is taking elderberry before, during, and after travel (apparently one of the BEST forms of protection), this zinc, and glutathione (all Chris Masterjohn Covid-19 recommendations).

No sugar (easy for this naughty, dirty carnivore gal).

Plenty of rest before, during, and after travel. (My rad red glasses ensure that!)

And? Meditation, filled with shimmery, golden thoughts and visions for health, happiness, and longevity (you know, Happy Sexy Millionaire sh*t). I mean, like, here’s why I’m so happy despite a pandemic.

I’ll update you from the ground in Italy!

longevity

SALE!

Am I full carnivore now?

But do you know what they do for health and longevity?

Similar Posts:

But first!

ABOUT RIPALTA!

DOP olive oil, which is even more specific.

Why our oil?

ABOUT US

Shelf life

Price and Payment Details

Order direct through us via PayPal

Similar Posts:

My Carnivore Dieter’s Desk… laptop, coffee, and steak

Or my 🥩 🍯 ☕️ 🍵 diet.

Similar Posts:

Similar Posts:

Coffee Self-Talk Is Here!

It’s Time to DANCE!

He was right.

What the Heck Is Coffee Self-Talk?

The days of rolling out of bed feeling down and shitty are over.

Get Coffee Self-Talk today!

Similar Posts:

We’re packing 4 large suitcases and moving back to Italy.

Why wait so long?

Who in the hell wants to fly at a time like this?

Funny, it’s totally fine. I fucking love it!

Italy right now… with Covid-19

We’ll have to quarantine for 2 weeks

Upon arrival, we are not allowed to leave our apartment for two weeks!

How will we get food? Oh, and toilet paper?

Plus? The Beehive Hostel People

What about airports and flying during Covid-19?

Similar Posts: