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November marks the beginning of Diabetes Awareness Month, a time dedicated to reflection, awareness and education about this global health concern. At ROSETTE’S, our commitment to promoting healthier lifestyles through our low-carb and sugar-free baking mixes compels us to share valuable information supporting this cause.
Diabetes affects millions globally, with over 34 million people in the United States having diabetes, predominantly type 2. Alarmingly, about 8.5 million remain undiagnosed, underlining the critical need for awareness and early detection. On a global scale, the International Diabetes Federation reports over 463 million adults living with diabetes worldwide.
The complex story of diabetes in America involves factors like lifestyle changes, dietary habits, genetics, and healthcare practices. Understanding risk factors—genetics, unhealthy eating habits, lack of physical activity, and obesity—is crucial.
Changing dietary habits poses challenges for individuals with diabetes. It entails altering established routines, confronting social and cultural influences, and breaking emotional connections to food. The struggle to adapt to a new diet is particularly evident in cultural food preferences; for example, in Armenian and Middle Eastern diets, many beloved dishes contain sugar and high-carb ingredients. Emotional ties to food are strong, but finding low-carb alternatives helps mitigate the sense of deprivation, making the transition easier without feeling restricted. This is why we began to create a variety of low carb and sugar free baking mixes that are versatile, enabling individuals to replace what they can't restrict – all while savoring the flavors they love, without compromise.
Navigating the complexities of accessing resources, understanding a healthy diet, and sifting through overwhelming information on diabetes diets can be challenging. Fortunately, both community support and accessible resources play a crucial role in helping individuals face these challenges.
For instance, Rosette's husband, Dr. Tro Kalayjian, leads a metabolic health practice called 'Dr. Tro's Medical Weight Loss' with a mission to reverse type 2 diabetes, obesity, and food addiction. His dedicated team and exclusive app are valuable resources aimed at equipping individuals with a community and the necessary knowledge and guidance for effectively managing diabetes through lifestyle changes. To further support this initiative, and in conjunction with Diabetes Awareness Month, Dr. Tro and his team will host a free 4-week educational series on diabetes within their app. This series offers a valuable opportunity to learn from individuals who have successfully reversed Type 2 Diabetes through lifestyle changes, providing real-life inspiration and extremely helpful insights.
When managing diabetes, perseverance and a supportive environment of people who support you are important. Be nice to yourself and remember that even small changes in your diet are good progress. Over time, these small changes add up and make you healthier and feel better.
]]>Imagine gracing the cover of Woman's World Magazine, not just for a moment, but for a journey that truly inspires. Meet Health Coach Amy Eiges.
Struggling with weight her entire life, Amy's story mirrors battles many face daily – the ongoing struggle between health and temptation. But she didn't surrender; she seized control. Opting for lasting change over quick fixes, she paved the way for a remarkable transformation.
In a world where diets and health fads come and go, some individuals have discovered the power of low-carb living. One such advocate is Amanda Decker, FNP-C, whose journey into the realm of metabolic health and carbohydrate restriction has profoundly impacted her life. Through this interview, Amanda shares her personal experiences, struggles, and triumphs on her path to discovering the transformative benefits of a low-carb lifestyle.
Discovering the Power of Low Carb
For Amanda, her interest in low carb began as a result of her personal health journey. Fueled by a desire to take control of her well-being, she started exploring various resources such as books, podcasts, and articles on the topic. What started as curiosity quickly evolved into a passion, leading her deep into the rabbit hole of low-carb living.
Stumbling Upon Low Carb
Amanda's introduction to low carb could be described as serendipitous. Inspired by her great grandmother's timeless wisdom, she initially embarked on what she calls "the grandma diet" - cutting down on cookies, cakes, and breads while embracing wholesome foods like meat and vegetables. To her surprise, weight loss became a welcome side effect of this simple approach.
From Weight Loss to a Lifelong Journey
The Evolving Low-Carb Lifestyle
Over the past 14 years, Amanda's version of the low-carb lifestyle has evolved. She started with a simple diet of meat and veggies, avoiding many low-carb treats or processed products. However, as time went on, she added some low-carb treats to keep her eating plan interesting. Cycling between low carb, keto, and carnivore diets, Amanda tailors her approach based on how she feels at any given time.
Challenges and Joys of Low-Carb Living
While Amanda now finds ease in her low-carb journey, she admits that doing it alone initially posed challenges. However, when her husband joined her on the path, the journey became significantly smoother. Today, many of her family members embrace the low-carb lifestyle, and together, 14 years later, they inspire and support one another.
Amanda's favorite aspect of low carb is its simplicity; she appreciates not having to count or track anything, allowing her to focus on enjoying delicious, wholesome meals without restrictions.
The Impact on Amanda's Career
Amanda's belief in the power of low carb has had an incredible impact on her career. As a medical practitioner, she initially experienced burnout in primary care, feeling like she wasn't making a meaningful difference in her patients' lives.
However, as she started incorporating low carb into her practice, everything changed. Now, Amanda runs a thriving medical weight loss practice with low carb at its core, empowering patients to reclaim their health and wellness.
Taking it a step further, Amanda started the "Low Carb for Better Health" conference in 2022. This initiative allows her to share the message of healing and inspire more people to embrace the benefits of a low-carb lifestyle. The “Low Carb for Better Health” Conference will be returning to Tennessee this year on August 26th with guest speakers Neisha Salas-Berry RN, Dr. Ken Berry & more.
Facing Social Scrutiny and Advice for Newbies
Although Amanda has encountered minimal social scrutiny for her dietary choices, she advises newcomers to be prepared for challenging situations. She recommends keeping a stash of low-carb treats on hand to navigate moments when options are limited.
Empowering the Next Generation
Raising a low-carb family has been a learning experience for Amanda. While her son initially resisted the changes, with a little bit of compromise, he eventually embraced the lifestyle, especially after contributing to meal choices. Her daughter's journey was smoother, given that she was introduced to low carb early in life and has a wheat sensitivity. Both children have learned to make informed choices and understand how food impacts their well-being.
Proud Accomplishments
Above all, Amanda's most significant source of pride is her children. Witnessing their growth and knowledge of the low-carb message fills her heart with joy. On the professional front, she takes immense pride in opening DMA Weight and Wellness, where she continues to transform lives through the power of low carb. Additionally, the success of the "Low Carb for Better Health" conference stands as a testament to her dedication to spreading the message of healing.
Amanda leaves us with a powerful piece of advice: the responsibility for our health lies within ourselves. “No one is going to fix your health for you. You have to and you can. You have the power to be sick or well, and I hope you choose to be well.”
Through Amanda's journey, we are reminded of the transformative power of low-carb living and the remarkable impact it can have on one's life. Her story serves as an inspiration for all those seeking to take charge of their health and well-being, one wholesome meal at a time.
Last weekend, we had the incredible opportunity to attend the Nourished Festival in Secaucus, NJ (basically, our backyard). This festival, also known as the Gluten-Free & Allergy Friendly Festival, offered not only education, products, and services but also a chance to connect with like-minded individuals and an overall new audience.
ROSETTE’S began with a focus on offering low carb and sugar-free options for health-conscious individuals, primarily the diabetic community. However, we soon realized the demand for gluten-free alternatives and the positive impact our products had on those with gluten intolerance, like Natalie. As we saw our own audience expand to the celiac community, we wanted to use this in-person experience to help others by sharing our gluten free options with them.
Setting up at the Meadowlands venue, we were filled with inspiration as we saw booths featuring familiar everyday brands from big box markets. It made us feel like our small business mattered and had a role to play in making a difference, regardless of its size. We realized early on that there were not many other gluten-free exhibitors that were also low carb, sugar-free, and grain free.
We were fortunate to be positioned next to Aleia’s, a well-established participant showcasing gluten-free products such as breadcrumbs, stuffing, and croutons. Our booth neighbors, Linda and Josh, were kind and welcoming, creating a supportive atmosphere.
We also connected with the team from Crispy Green, whose sugar-free dried fruits caught our attention. We had pleasant discussions with Craig and Alejandro, and we eagerly look forward to finding a way to incorporate their products into our baking mixes. Stay tuned for new recipes!
During the festival, we sampled our Classic Yellow Cake Mix, Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, and Protein Brownie Mix. Many of the attendee’s at the event weren’t familiar with sugar-free products that did not contain Stevia, Malitol, or Splenda. The response, particularly from children accompanied by their families who were eager to discover food options that met their dietary restrictions, was truly remarkable. For kids with food allergies, having safe and delicious treats like bagels, pizza, cookies, and cakes is a significant achievement.
Hearing event-goers say "this is delicious," "this is really moist," and "I can't even tell this is gluten-free", validated our commitment to providing quality baking mixes with minimal ingredients while preserving the flavors and textures that we all grew up loving. A few event-goers were not shy to describe most gluten-free product ingredients as "sh**ty” and were excited to learn that there are other options out there. We met a nutritionist who immediately turned over the bag to check the ingredients and was surprised to find “clean ingredients”. We encouraged everyone who stopped by our booth to do the same. It is important to understand what is in the food you are consuming and not blindly go by a label on the front of the bag.
A theme we heard over and over was that finding replacements can be difficult and expensive. For this reason, we are grateful to Tina, Michelle, and Jen for organizing the Nourished Festival to enable individuals to explore new brands and sample products, helping them make informed decisions about which ones align best with their preferences and needs.
As the festival came to a close, we recognized that we were part of a collective journey toward a healthier and more inclusive lifestyle. We wait in anticipation to hear from our new community members as they prepare the mixes they took home.
We welcome you to share your experience with our mixes via a review under the product page – we look forward to seeing and hearing about your experience.
]]>Amy found her way into the low carb space, almost 20 years ago, to lose weight. She explains "I’ve battled my weight for most of my life – when I was a kid, my parents owned an ice cream and novelty shop, so I was literally “a kid in a candy store.” Amy explains that growing up she wasn’t particularly active either. As a child, she explains that “my favorite thing to do was sit in a comfy chair and read books – and that wasn’t exactly a recipe for a slender, fit child.”
She explains that as she got older she got more serious about diet and exercise but she quickly noticed that the weight never budged no matter how hard she worked or what she did … until, of course, she found low-carb.
Her life was so greatly impacted by carbohydrate restriction that she changed careers to become a nutritionist, over 20 years ago. She explains that now that she’s been eating this way for almost twenty years she is not only fascinated by weight loss but also with “all the other things low-carb and keto diets can do, like reversing type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and PCOS; getting rid of heartburn, joint pain, and skin problems; and possibly even helping with neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s; and psychiatric issues like bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression.” For reference, see our previous article on keto and mental health.
Amy explains that she found low-carb the good old fashion way “long before Twitter, Facebook, IG, and YouTube even existed.” “My mother bought Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution at a yard sale!” Amy believes “it’s one of the best books to read on the topic. Dr. Atkins was a brilliant clinician and WAY ahead of his time.” We, of course agree with Amy!
Although many have heard Amy on podcasts like Low Carb MD, and seen her talk at conferences, few may realize that her first time really sticking to the low carb lifestyle was in 2003. She explains that she “needed to lose weight to enlist in the Air Force. I was above the maximum weight for my height at the time and absolutely, positively, needed to get the weight off if I was going to get in. I knew low-carb worked and now I had a stronger motivation to actually do it. I’ve been low-carb ever since.”
And 20 years later, she keeps things simple. “I’m always low-carb; sometimes keto, sometimes not. I don’t weigh and measure my food or do any kind of tracking... I eat mostly animal proteins – whatever’s on sale or whatever I’m in the mood for.” When she can, she does like to support local small business, “I’ve worked at small local farms and like to buy meat and eggs from local farms when I can, but that’s fairly expensive so most of my food comes from the regular store with occasional things added in to support the small farmers in my area.” We appreciate the small business love Amy!
She also explains that she doesn’t keep too many treats in the home whether its sugar-filled or keto she won’t stock it “its best for me to not have those things on hand in my home on a regular basis.” Alas, some of us are abstainers while others are moderators!
When it comes to pork rinds, guacamole, sour cream, nuts and nut butters, Amy was quite clear. She is an abstainer, “We all have to know our own individual trigger foods. Most of these things weren’t a problem for me when I first got started, but they are now”
She explains that even though she has maintained her diet for 20 years, she still struggles. Amy has been open about her struggles with night-time binging and her depression. She explains that while the ketogenic diet has helped her, she has still had to use some conventional approaches to tackle both of these issues and addressing her hormonal issues have helped her improve her mental health.
Amy answered a few more questions for us which we have decided to share with you:
Best advice you received (and from whom)?
I am massively indebted to my co-author on the book End Your Carb Confusion, Dr. Eric Westman. It’s a privilege to learn from one of the keto “OGs” – someone who’s been in this space for over twenty years and has more clinical experience than so many people claiming to be “experts” or authorities these days. There isn’t one single “best” piece of advice I’ve gleaned from him, more just his overall approach of keeping things simple and uncomplicated. The more you ask people to micromanage and control, the less likely it is they’re actually going to stick with this and do it for the long term. Getting a little more granular, both for my own personal diet and my work with clients, probably the best thing I’ve learned from him is that if keto “isn’t working” for someone, look for the most obvious reason first: they’re probably just eating too many carbs! Sometimes it can also be too much fat, but the bottom line is, go to the most likely culprits first. Eight times out of ten, that’s all you have to do – adjust the diet a little. Don’t worry about the microbiome, thyroid, meal timing, stress, and things like that when it’s more likely someone is simply eating too much carbohydrate. (Once the diet is corrected, if someone is still struggling, then you can look to those other things, but don’t start there.)
What advice would you provide for low carb newbies?
KEEP IT SIMPLE!
Tune out the noise. It’s great to be interested in the “latest and greatest” with this way of eating but I see so many people completely psyching themselves out and getting totally overwhelmed because they’re listening to fifteen keto podcasts every week and watching twenty videos and following a ton of people on other social media and they’re all saying something different. You’re going to be confused and frustrated and end up giving up because there’s too much conflicting and overly complicated information out there. Master the basics of just keeping your carbs very low – that alone is going to take you pretty far.
What is your favorite low-carb hack (if you have one)?
If you’re having trouble sticking to a low-carb or keto diet and gaining any long-term momentum, it can help to temporarily forget about any specific weight loss goal or staying within any specific amount of protein, fat, and carbs, or eating only a certain number of meals or within a certain period of time each day. Eat as much as you want, as often as you want – just make sure it’s all very low in carbs. You can adjust the quantity of what you eat and how often over time, but the first step is just to get your body accustomed to being without sugar & starch. People get too caught up in the details and “advanced techniques” before they’ve even mastered the most basic, fundamental thing.
What books are on your coffee table from this space?
My favorite books are a mix of the ones that I think are the most educational about the science of how low-carb diets work (so that you know it’s absolutely based in fundamental human physiology and isn’t some crazy wacko thing someone came up with out of nowhere) and the ones that give the most helpful advice on how to actually do low-carb/keto in the real world. My top few are Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution, The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living and End Your Carb Confusion. (Am I allowed to mention my own book if I think it’s genuinely helpful? Haha!) I also think Dr. Jason Fung’s books, The Obesity Code and The Diabetes Code, are fantastic.
Which accomplishment are you most proud about?
I’m honored that my book about low-carb/ketogenic diets for Alzheimer’s disease (The Alzheimer’s Antidote) has helped so many people. Research continues to emerge that Alzheimer’s is a fuel problem in the brain – and the fuel shortage is specific to glucose. Increasing evidence also makes the case stronger that insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes are major risk factors, and that Alzheimer’s might be a candidate to be added to the already long list of non-communicable diseases that are metabolic in origin. (In fact, some people call Alzheimer’s “type 3 diabetes.”)
I also love that people see me as a voice of sanity, reason, sensibility, and simplicity in the keto world. I’m honored when people tell me that they look to me for rational, down-to-earth advice about this way of eating and that something I said or wrote helped them get clarity and understanding.
Is there anything else you want us to know about you or share?
Start by doing one thing: just keep your carb intake very low. That’s it. See how far that alone takes you and then add in some “bells & whistles” later on if you want to take things to another level. And above all: don’t give up on yourself! If you slip, just get right back on plan at your very next meal. Don’t wait until tomorrow. Don’t wait for Monday, or until after the holiday or some social event. One of my mentors says, “Don’t blow the day when saving the day is an option.” No guilt, shame, or self-loathing. It’s just food, and you’re always only one bite away from being back on plan.
We are so honored to feature Amy Berger. Her military service, her academic accomplishments, her publications and down-to-earth recommendations make her an invaluable addition to the Low Carb & Metabolic Health community. Check out her website here along with her YouTube channel.
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Listen to an interview with Rosette and Dr. Tro on Boundless Body Radio with Casey Ruff where they discuss the contributions they are making to the low carb and ketogenic community.
From Boundless Body Radio:
Dr. Tro Kalayjian, also known as Dr. Tro, which is easier to pronounce, is a board-certified Internal Medicine & Obesity Medicine Physician. He is the medical director and founder of Dr. Tro’s Medical Weight Loss and Direct Primary Care in New York. Dr. Tro’s therapeutic focus includes diabetes, obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, metabolic syndrome and PCOS, and his approach is informed not only by the medical literature, and his own experience losing 150 pounds (68 kg) on a ketogenic diet. His intensive lifestyle changes for patients include diet, exercise, improved sleep hygiene, as well as stress management and mental health. He has been a huge influence in the low-carbohydrate movement, advocating for the proper human diet. He is the co-host of the Low Carb MD Podcast, along with his friend Dr. Brian Lenzkes. And today we have the absolute honor of interviewing Dr. Tro's better half, his wife Rosette, who is the founder and CEO of a low-carb baking mix company called Rosette's!
]]>Every mix we produce is intended to make baking better and easier for our customers while supporting their low carb lifestyles.
We prepared a short video to show you how simple the preparation is the Cracker Mix.
This mix is:
Net Carbs: 3g | Yields 15 crackers*
Ingredients: almond flour, flaxseed meal, Redmond Real Salt®
*The amount of crackers you get per batch really depends on how thin/thick you roll your dough. We have consistently baked up 30+ 1"x1"crackers per batch, not including corners!
Please share your experience with us and leave a review on our website. Your feedback goes a long way!
Rosette <3 Natalie
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When ROSETTESMIX.COM went live on March 29, 2019, we didn’t have a long-term plan. We knew we wanted to make low carb and sugar free desserts available that tasted good! Our focus was on low carb and sugar free because that was the lifestyle we were implementing in our homes at the time and could not find alternatives in the market to support our journey. Much has changed now, where you can find keto products at your local market, but many of them still fall short to our standard. We set out to develop new recipes that use ingredients that are said to not affect glucose levels or cause inflammation. We always aim to keep our ingredient list short and comprehensible!
We often get the question why we chose to produce baking mixes and not ready to eat products. We believe there is a sense of calm, accomplishment, and accountability when you are preparing your own meals. We wanted to create a mix for all of life’s moments, where replacements are available to help you address your cravings while remaining in control of your health goals and making memories in the process.
We know how difficult it can be to be the one changing your diet AND the one that is supporting someone changing their diet. With our baking mixes we wanted to make the transition and process easy for everyone. With every recipe we ask ourselves, “will this make it easier for someone to get healthy and stay the course”.
We launched with 4 cookie mixes back in 2019, and with every mix we aim to create a replacement to those foods that we are familiar with, those foods that trigger us and whisper, “eat me”. We are proud to have created a versatile and classic lineup of flavors for you. As we celebrate 4 years we asked ourselves, what more can we do to help? Our answer is always, find a mix to make the journey even easier and sustainable so we prepared not one, but 2 new mixes for you to incorporate and enjoy.
The first one will be a Cracker Mix; hooray! We have been testing this one for months and are pleased to say that everyone, old & young, low carb and not have enjoyed this recipe! We hope you know that we are listening to you and we may not be able to create a mix for everything but we have an intensive list of recipes for you to pull from. Crackers were an item many had requested and now it is available for your charcuterie boards, dips and more!
For a second mix we wanted to create a new cookie flavor you wouldn’t necessarily have thought of. We also have received a lot of feedback that you guys love shortbread cookies and so we knew this Salted Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookie Mix would be a win. We love the simplicity in preparation of a shortbread cookie and the marriage of salty and sweet flavors this mix brings was hard to pass up. This was a nice bonus that we thought you would enjoy.
Every mix we develop is thoughtfully selected and takes into consideration common flavors to help keep you feeling motivated with your lifestyle. We welcome our customers to contact us with requests and ideas; be it new products or recipes using our current offerings. You can explore our current recipes here.
Thank you for being on this journey with us–we are grateful to be part of yours. Here's to four and beyond!
]]>Dave consumed 1 ½ cookies and describes the cookie as “not soft per se but just a hard chocolate chip cookie, they are pretty legit.” Keto cookies, with an almond flour base, can easily be over baked whereby they get crunchier. If you would like it crispy on the edges and moist on the inside, bake it 10-12 minutes.
Back to Dave’s results. The video is edited to show Dave’s 1-hour glucose reading at 108 quickly followed by his 2-hour glucose reading at 91. He seems surprised with the results but concludes that he was “looking for a strong signal” and this suggests a “fairly low glycemic impact.” Overall, it seems that ROSETTE’S chocolate chip cookies “were a legit hit with the Feldman Fam”.
If you are looking to better understand the benefits of stable blood sugar levels and overall metabolic health, the Doctor Tro App is a great tool with hundreds of self-guided resources to help!
]]>It was so much fun sharing a sample of two of our mixes, the Pistachio Shortbread Cookie Mix, and the Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, and experiencing the first time many of the attendees and speakers tasted our product!
When I stop to reflect about the event, the immediate feeling that rushes through me is about belonging; belonging to a supportive and active community that genuinely cares about their wellbeing, and that of others! Everyday felt like I was waking up to attend class with friends. While we were among esteemed scientists, published researchers and many well-known clinicians, everyone was down to earth, approachable, and seemed to be wholly immersed in the benefits of a low carb lifestyle, community and its success. Doug Reynolds and Pam Devine put together an excellent weekend where everyone from “The Unwin’s” to little old me could connect and feel like they are a part of such an amazing and supportive community.
I was looking forward to connecting with several people whom we have followed for several years, such as Dr. David Unwin and Dr. Jen Unwin, who I refer to as low carb hero’s! Their work on food addiction, obesity and diabetes reversal through a low carb diet is extraordinary and they are an inspiration to me and my husband!
Always a pleasure, I was able to reconnect with Nina Teicholz, a fellow New Yorker and the author of The Big Fat Surprise and executive director of the nutrition coalition. Nina gave an amazing lecture on the bias against saturated fat in the medical literature and the government guidelines.
Other amazing lecturers including Dr. Ben Bocchicchio, who I won’t deny I was initially intimidated to approach and who turned out to be extremely kind and down to earth. It could be because we are both from New York City, but nevertheless, I am happy to have introduced myself and the opportunity to make a new connection!
I also had the opportunity to meet Dr. Ben Bikman, who wrote the book “Why We Get Sick,” and reconnect with Dr. Eric Westman who gave an interesting talk about the last 30 years of research on low carb and ketogenic diets.
Of course, Dr. Tro’s team was present, where Amy Eiges and Dr. Tro set up a successful bonus clinical workshop on Food Addiction the day before the event kicked off–a first of its kind! Brian Wiley welcomed patrons to the Dr. Tro exhibitor table, and Dr. Laura presented two poster presentations with her husband Dr. Matthew Calkins showcasing data on food addiction and CGM’s in group settings.
Today, we would like to highlight Teresa Mealy, a Family Nurse Practitioner and owner of Teresa Mealy Total Health and Wellness, in rural Missouri, with a busy, flourishing practice and bustling family life! A few years back, in an effort to lose weight she decided to try low carb and was surprised when she was also able to not only lose weight, but resolve a host of other medical issues. She transitioned her family to a low carb lifestyle and has gone on to use low carb as a therapeutic tool with her patients.
Teresa has been low-carb and at times keto-carnivore for 4 years. She explains that she has used this lifestyle to overcome food addiction, noting that at first it was a challenge to prioritize health with eating but that overtime it has become easier. “I can’t tell you enough how great it is to be on the other side of food addiction. It never goes away but it does get easier.”
She explains that she had suffered from weight issues and food addiction and happened to come across a facebook group during her search for a way out of yo-yo dieting purgatory. At the time, she was eating dessert “disguised as breakfast” every day. Teresa recounts her old life, of fake oils, low-fat cream cheese, and endless oatmeal. But none of these foods helped her maintain satiety and she found herself always going back for more. She explains that she would eat cereal, smoothies, muffins, pastries and of course the “healthy” yogurt parfaits with granola and “fat free” pop tarts. But after educating herself more thoroughly into nutrition and transitioning to low carb, it was “easy to keep those 30 pounds off”.
She explains that these foods were spiking her insulin and causing her blood sugar to go up and crash leading to hunger yet again, despite having just eaten. “I was hungry because my blood sugar was up, down, up, down, no wonder I could never concentrate, no wonder I always needed a nap!” These crashes, and the resulting hunger, anxiety, sleeplessness and brain fog all relieved with some simple steps.
Breakfast became “eggs and bacon most days” and her meals were “mostly meat, eggs, and some occasional brussel sprouts and cauliflower”.
Teresa reports that getting started was “rough and with many mistakes”. Like many, she began with dirty keto, a term used to describe a ketogenic diet that includes replacement strategies and low carb versions of modern hyperpalatable foods. She explains how over time, and as her relationship to food improved, she naturally transitioned to a more real-food diet. Over the years, she no longer relies on “hacks” and sticks to mainly meat and veggies.
One of her continued struggles is managing her cravings. But with the improvements in her sleep, mood, blood pressure, depression and anxiety, she is in a much better place to tackle them and stay ahead! Her diet and lifestyle helped resolve it all.
Teresa’s tips to tackle those late-night crunchy cravings include dipping some pork rinds into sour cream or cream cheese. She also recommends bringing a dessert with you during holiday gatherings. “Just bring a low carb and sugar free dessert and nobody will even know at your gatherings.”
When it comes to sweet treats, even if low carb, she recommends keeping treats to as little as needed and mainly for when transitioning to the lifestyle and during holidays.
Be wise and proactive. Figure out what you need to survive. Remember, it’s just another meal. Choose wisely.
Since experiencing this transition for herself, Teresa has helped countless patients. It has completely changed her practice. And her best advice for her patients who are just starting, is to get support, support, support. She recommends finding and joining a support group just like she did when she started. We cannot agree more with Teresa. Natalie and I (the sister duo behind ROSETTE’S) also get support from a community and are actively involved with the community on the Doctor Tro app.
Over the coming months, we will highlight other female powerhouses in the low carb, metabolic health space. People like Teresa Mealy are changing lives and we are proud to showcase her journey and the impact she has on her patients. You can find more information about Teresa Mealy at the following social handles.
Website: Total Health and Wellness, LLC
Instagram: @teresa_mealy_thw
Twitter: @teresamealythw
Facebook: Teresa Mealy Total Health and Wellness, LLC
If there is an inspiring voice in your life that you would love to see featured in our WLC series, please email your suggestions to rosettesbakedgoods@gmail.com
]]>Our very own Founder, Rosette and husband, Dr. Tro, who heads up Dr. Tro's Medical Weight Loss practice joined Brian Lenzkes, MD for an interview on Life's Best Medicine.
Dr. Tro and Rosette get personal and take it back to the beginning and share their story on how they met and their journey as they experienced a decline in their metabolic health through Med and Law School respectively. More importantly, they talk about what matters in life and how they were able to put a stop to the decline and make positive lifestyle changes for themselves while balancing work, family and starting a business.
Watch here: Episode 125: Dr. Tro Kalayjian and Rosette Kalayjian
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Natalie and I love the holidays! We are heading towards another new year, one holiday is down and Thanksgiving is around the corner. I call this time of year the Bermuda Triangle of holidays, sometimes my ideal lifestyle gets sucked in and feels exceedingly hard to start anew. But alas, not anymore.
During our grade school years, we are taught that this is the holiday where we must actively show gratitude through words and/or actions. Kids make cute crafts where they write all the things they are grateful for on a cut out turkey made from construction paper and hand it over to our parents and watch them get teary eyed and let out a big “Awe!” over our small childhood achievements. Fast forward a few years and we now realize that Thanksgiving represents a key pivotal moment in the year. Will our lifestyle make it?As we have aged crafts have morphed into lots of desserts made to look like turkeys!
There is no denying that Thanksgiving will be filled with carb loaded and sweetened sides for dinner and the same for dessert. The purpose of this article is to give you hope. There is a way out. We are here in hopes to provide some guidance on how you can enjoy this Thanksgiving, with gratitude, no sugar and less processed food! We want you to have a successful gathering where your hearts and tummies are full without any food coma, regret and FOMO!
There are some very simple tips that we practice that we believe can be extra useful during any social gathering, especially Thanksgiving. Dr. Tro Kalayjian reminds us to “set yourself up for success”. How I put this into play is to find out what food is being served where I am going. I realize this is not always feasible, so in such instances, I make sure to eat a full meal that will keep me satiated enough where I won’t be tempted. It’s like saying, never go to the supermarket hungry!
Another way you can set yourself up for success is to take along a low carb and/or sugar free dish or dessert that fits into your lifestyle that you can enjoy! A host has never turned down my offering to bring along a dessert, which has worked extremely well for me considering I have a huge, sweet tooth! When hosting, it is much less stressful as you have control over the menu. I am going to share our low carb Thanksgiving menu so that you too can serve a full low carb Thanksgiving meal without anyone feeling deprived and hungry!
Let's get started.
Appetizers (that can also double up as sides): Charcuterie boards are perfect for a party pf 4-40. A quick google search can guide you to the perfect plating. There are also companies that you can order from such as Charqute, who is out of the Los Angeles, California area. For our board, we like to include black Moroccan olives, marinated and spiced green olives, and/or jalapeño and garlic stuffed jumbo green olives. Can you tell we love olives? We add prosciutto, salami, mortadella, and/or turkey alongside a variety of cheese; usually parmesan, gouda, manchego or goat cheese. A separate plate for falafels, raw veggies and homemade dip are also crowd pleasers. See our simple sour cream dip recipe below.
Main dish: For the main protein, pick your favorite one or two (or three)! It is customary to make a Turkey or Ham, but you can absolutely prepare a slow cooked brisket or roast in its place if that's what you enjoy. Natalie usually hosts Thanksgiving and prepares the turkey with our parent’s recipe, which we are sharing below for you!
Sides: Our go-to favorites are Boureg, roasted broccoli, brussel sprouts with bacon bits, cauliflower mash, keto corn bread and a kale salad (see recipe below).
Dessert: You can't go wrong with oranges and fresh berries on a table with a classic pumpkin pie keto-fied, cranberry bars, Italian rainbow cookies, pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese...these are a staple at all holidays. OH, and there's always a good old fashioned cheesecake, which I will be preparing this year. The best part? You would never know that all the deserts fall into your lifestyle plan if we didn’t tell you!
In summary, Thanksgiving is usually celebrated with a lot of food, desserts and drinks. Prepare yourself by eating beforehand so that you are not so hungry that you lose control and/or take along a low carb option you will enjoy while sharing with others. Set yourself up for a successful and thankful celebration!
RECIPES
Ranch Dip: ½ container sour cream, mix in ranch seasoning and salt, to taste.
Sour Cream and Chive dip: mix ½ cup sour cream, 2 garlic gloves, salt, to taste, ¼ cup finely chopped fresh chives (dried will work too), ¼ cup mayo is optional.
Cream Cheese Glaze: mix 4 oz whipped cream cheese with ¼ cup softened unsalted butter, 1 tsp vanilla, and ½ cup powdered sweetener (or more to taste).
Kale Salad: We do not have an exact recipe for salads. Usually we add a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Our friend makes amazing salads on the whim which are easily turned with a few omissions. She shared this super simple and quick Kale salad with us.
Use chopped kale as your base. Add olive oil and lemon juice, massage and toss until every leaf is fully covered. Let it sit a few minutes while you prepare the rest. Add sliced red onions, crumbled goat cheese, kalamata olives, and chopped pecans. You can also add marinated chickpea (optional). Dress with the green goddess dressing to make it creamy, or a balsamic vinaigrette. Mix it up and enjoy!
Roasted Turkey:
Ingredients
Cooking Directions
Speakers also included big names like Nina Teicholz, who talked about the various influences and agendas that have found themselves intertwined in our nutritional policy. She emphasized the lack of scientific rigor when it came to incorporating the hundreds of studies on low carb nutrition into the policies of our dietary guidelines. Cynthia Thurlow, talked about the benefits of fasting and other lifestyle interventions.
Temple Stewart, better known as @The.Ketogenic.Nutritionist spoke about reversing PCOS with a low carb and ketogenic diet. She was motivated to help women after successfully reversing her own PCOS and losing 40 pounds.
Dr. Tro Kalayjian gave a powerful speech on Food Addiction highlighting the needs to recognize binge-eating and food addiction prior to starting a nutrition program.
Dorian Greenow, also known as Mister Mojo, gave a riveting talk about the various ways to measure ketones, including the pros, cons, and costs. He spoke about the future of metabolic treatments and the need for multi-disciplinary approaches in healthcare.
You can learn more about the complete lineup of speakers by clicking their names or visiting the Keto Symposium website.
In between speaker sessions, we shared our low-carb baking mixes with the attendees and speakers! It was nice for our business to be a part of such an amazing event, in our home-town, with keto-famous professionals! We were proud to be able to introduce our low-carb baking mixes to a new audience and in turn hope they will take it back to their communities.
Our mission at ROSETTE’S is to empower people to sustain a low-carb, ketogenic lifestyle with versatile baking mixes that can (re)create all the foods people crave.
Some background:
To understand why some sweeteners are better than others on a low-carb diet, it is important to talk about Glycemic Index (GI). This is a system for ranking how quickly and the degree to which blood glucose levels are impacted by foods after being eaten. Foods with a high GI will cause massive glycemic changes and those with a low GI will cause less dynamic changes. Those looking to keep their blood sugar levels low (or avoid dramatic glycemic fluctuations) would typically look for lower GI foods.
The Bad:
A quick look at this GI chart of some of the more commonly used sweeteners/sugars shows which ones to avoid, but often, in real life, it’s not so simple.
It is fairly straightforward to see that based on GI, the first six items on this list are best to avoid – they will create big blood glucose fluctuations and with it, increased hunger and cravings. If you have diabetes or insulin resistance, these shifts in blood sugar have additional negative implications.
What is less obvious are the artificial sweeteners aspartame, saccharin and sucralose, commonly known by their brand names, respectively, Equal, Sweet n Low and Splenda. While these three sweeteners in their pure form often have little impact on blood sugar, a quick look at the brand packaging we are most familiar with shows that the sweeteners are mixed with higher GI fillers. Dextrose is the first ingredient listed on each of these packets – meaning there is more dextrose in each package, with a GI of 100, than any other ingredient. If you use any of these sweeteners, the best bet is to purchase the pure form of them rather than the more readily available packets that abound. The same can be said for the product Stevia in the Raw. While the name is evocative of a healthy, natural product, a quick look at the small print on the back of the package shows the deceptive nature of food manufacturers. The first ingredient here, too, is dextrose.
In addition, some of these high GI sweeteners can bring extreme gastrointestinal issues when consumed in both large and small quantities. After eating the sugar alcohol maltitol, many experience stomachaches, gas and bloating. It has also been known to cause diarrhea, so proceed with caution.
The Good:
Monk fruit has been used for over a thousand years and comes from a small fruit called Luo Han Guo that is part of the gourd family. It is native to China and was nicknamed monk fruit after the group of monks who discovered the sweet properties of the plant. Monk fruit has a negligible impact on blood sugar.
Other low GI sugar substitutes, like erythritol, belong to the class of sweeteners called sugar alcohols. These are usually derived from plant sources like fruit and berries and are converted to glucose slowly by the body, so they generally do not need the body to release insulin to be metabolized. This means they will have very little impact on blood sugar. Food manufacturers also use sugar alcohols because they act as a bulking agent in a similar fashion to sugar but with about one third less calories. The one drawback is that sugar alcohols can also lead to some gastric issues, so it is best to try them in small amounts before adding them into your diet in any quantity.
Monk fruit and the sugar alcohol erythritol are often combined because together they give the most sugar-like feel and taste “When formulating our recipes, we experimented with a number of sweeteners and ended up using an erythritol and monk fruit blend. Other sugar substitutes did not bake very well, but this combo blend was easy to work into our low carb and sugar free recipes because it best matched the flavor of sugar and was closest to a one-to-one substitution ratio to sugar,” explains ROSETTE’S founder and product developer Rosette Kalayjian. “We were also happily surprised that with this particular combination, our palates were not hit with the bitter or cooling aftertaste that is common with sugar replacements. Best of all we have never had a spike in blood sugar after eating any of our no-sugar confections!”
In Summary:
Rule of thumb with all sweeteners, either artificial or sugar alcohols: context is everything. Remember what they are replacing and decide what is the best you can do in any given circumstance. If weight loss is your primary focus, then the use of these products may impact your goals because all sweeteners, no matter how much they affect your blood sugar, can lead to cravings and stoke the desire to overconsume them. If you find yourself regularly overeating low-carb sweets it is a good idea to reevaluate your relationship with them and decide if it might be necessarily to eliminate them temporarily or long-term.
Also, always remember that individual mileage may vary and to view yourself as a science experiment: if you notice you have cravings or a stomachache every time you eat sweeteners, use that information to help inform your future decisions. If eating something sweetened with sugar alcohols or monk fruit is going to give you cravings, but keep you on your low-carb path, then it should be viewed as a big win.
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This past weekend ROSETTE'S, including myself (Rosette) and Natalie, attended our first keto event as a vendor to showcase our line-up of low-carb baking mixes and connect with the low-carb/keto community. Ketofest was organized by Carl Franklin and Richard Morris who are co-hosts of the 2 Keto Dudes Podcast. They have been hosting Ketofest for the past several years and it was inspiring to meet them both. This year they again gathered an impressive group of speakers whom we were super excited to connect with!
The speakers were Dr. Eric Westman who spoke about how keto reverses heart failure, Dave Feldman who shared about the Lipid Energy Model on a ketogenic diet, Siobhan Huggins, who shared about Lipedema, L. Amber O'Hearn gave us an insiders guide to living a Carnivore lifestyle; and Nina Teicholz's presentation reviewed "the ways in which major advancements in the science on nutrition and health have been ignored by policy makers in government".
Ketofest was not just for learning, but there were also cooking demonstrations and taste testing consisting of crispy pork belly, chicken tenders fried in lard, and mu shu pork – all keto of course!
We were honored to be one of the three main vendors at the event and shared mini cupcakes made with the Classic Yellow Cake Mix! We tasted Keto Chow's smoothies, pudding and electrolyte water, which was refreshing with the day's heat and were stoked to meet Julie from Fox Hill Kitchens and snack on their crunchy keto croutons!
We are very proud to be a part of events like this, to connect with other companies who share our passion for low-carb living, and connect with amazing speakers who have devoted their careers to making this way of life easy for the masses. Above all it was great to meet so many people who use and enjoy our products, and thanked us for helping create products that help keep them on their keto journey.
]]>Let's start with condiments! Condiments are a must have in our households! Condiments are clearly not meant to be consumed as your main food, but highly enhance the flavor of your favorite dishes. A few of the keto-friendly condiments that we always have stocked are a variety of hot sauces, G-Hughes BBQ sauce, Heinz no sugar added ketchup, and Primal Kitchen avocado mayo. The latter is perfect for your tuna salad or chicken marinade (recipes below)!
Now let's heat up the grill and talk about protein! We grill beef, chicken and seafood regularly in the summer and these are perfect proteins to keep you satiated and nourished. Hamburgers and hot dogs are especially popular at most BBQ's, probably because they are kid friendly and easier to bulk when serving to a large crowd, unlike ribs. We say, skip the buns, opt in for a lettuce wrap which won't leave you feeling bloated, or serve up low carb bread as buns or pigs in a blanket.
Summer is a great time to also visit your farmers markets and get fresh meat, eggs, dairy and produce. Nowadays there are also amazing local farmers that will deliver high quality protein straight to your door. Walden Local Meat Co. is a local meat share we are checking out that offers 100% grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork and chicken, and wild-caught fish that is raised in New England and New York.
With the right protein, you usually do not need sides, however we all can appreciate how awesome a great piece of grilled [low-carb] bread, roasted vegetables or a light and refreshing salad (see recipe below) can be. When in large groups, preparing a lot of sides also limits the amount of protein you need to prepare.
Most of all it is important to stay hydrated through the summer heat. Skip the ice cold soda that is filled with 39 grams of sugar and enjoy plain or flavored seltzers. Our favorite has been LMNT and Re Lyte electrolyte powders.
Last, but not least, let’s talk about dessert! It’s probably best to keep it simple with seasonal berries and fresh whipped cream which is refreshing and low glycemic. If you enjoy baking or need something more for an occasion then your options are endless with our low carb baking mixes. We like to present both simple and elevated desserts and have curated a website full of low carb and keto friendly recipes for you to try out! Check them out here!
RECIPES
Low Carb Tuna Salad - This is a classic comfort food that is simple to make with very few ingredients and can be enjoyed in a lettuce wrap or sandwich made with ROSETTE'S low carb bread.
- 2 cans/packs of tuna
- 2-3 tbsp mayonnaise, to bind the ingredients
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 2 tbsp red onion, diced
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- salt, to taste
- 1/4 avocado, optional
- 1-2 tbsp diced jalapeño, if you like it spicy
Drain the tuna and mix it with the mayonnaise, celery, red onion, salt and any personal favorite add ons in a bowl. Season all the flavors to your liking. Break up any large pieces of tuna while mixing. Enjoy!
Grilled Chicken Marinade - This should be adjusted to the amount of chicken you are preparing. Unlike with baking, we don't usually follow measurements when cooking. When asked, Armenians typically respond by saying "achki chap", which translates to measure with your eye. This recipe is for a family pack of chicken.
- 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup lemon juice or avocado mayo
- 3 tbsp Oregano or Parsley
- 2 tbsp Pepper paste, hot
- 1 tbsp of Sumac
- 2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Allspice
- Salt, to taste
- Avocado Oil, drizzle
Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, add the chicken and marinate for at least one hour, the longer, the bolder the flavor.
Cucumber-Tomato Salad - This salad is light and refreshing and consists of tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs. Combine all of the following in a bowl and serve as mezze (first course) or a side.
- mini cucumbers, chopped
- tomatoes, chopped
- scallions, thinly sliced
- parsley, chopped
- mint, chopped
- avocado oil
- lemon juice, to taste
- salt, to taste
Here we break down what to look for when reading the back of nutrition labels by comparing the ingredients on some seemingly low-carb friendly products on the market.
Cauliflower Pizza Crusts
“If Cauliflower Can Be Pizza, You Can Be Whatever You Want to Be.”
Cauliflower is often used in low-carb replacement foods because it’s mild and will pick up the flavors of whatever it’s combined with. But like many products in the low-carb space, the packaging on these products can be incredibly misleading. Case in point, these two cauliflower pizza crusts, readily available in many markets. Take a look at a side-by-side comparison of the nutrition and ingredient labels of these.
The first one, CauliPower, has 28g of carbohydrates per serving and many ingredients that are not keto friendly. For instance, the second and third ingredients are brown rice flour and rice flour, then corn starch, tapioca starch and sunflower oil, and further down the list? Sugar.
This misleading wording on the front of the box says: “…made with real cauliflower as the first ingredient.” But with ingredients listed on the label based on the quantity within that product, CauliPower does not include on the front of the box that the next handful of ingredients, brown rice flower, rice flower, corn starch and tapioca starch are all exactly what they sound like – grains, sugar and starch. These carbohydrate sources can cause significant glycemic (blood sugar) responses and in return residual hunger and cravings. Sunflower oil, a seed oil commonly found in processed foods, can cause inflammation, and also increase blood sugar fluctuations. With those on a ketogenic diet looking to keep their total carbs to under 30g a day, just one third of this moderately-sized crust contains nearly a full-days allotment.
Compare CauliPower to the brand Cali’flour – a nearly identical looking product, but the latter has only 3g carbs for the same size serving and what most would consider healthy and keto-friendly ingredients. Psyllium husk is the only ingredient on this list that may not be widely known – it is a soluble fiber often used as a grain substitute in low-carb baking because it has a low glycemic index, meaning it will have a relatively small impact on your blood sugar.
None of the ingredients on Cali’flour’s list are known to cause a glycemic response, and unless you are dairy-sensitive, will mostly likely not cause any inflammation.
Many low-carbers purposely choose cauliflower crusts because they believe them to be a good bread-like option and don’t turn over the packaging to check the ingredients and nutrition information.
Lesson learned… not all (cauliflower) products are created equal…
(No) Sugar Cookies
If you just looked at the front of the Lakanto Sugar Free Cookie Mix, you might think this is an optimal choice for a ketogenic lifestyle. Boasting just “1 Net Carb” and “Sweetened with Monk Fruit,” it seems like a perfect option if you want to indulge. However, the ingredients list tells a different story. Tapioca fiber, sugarcane fiber, chick pea flour and brown rice are all known to cause extreme blood sugar fluctuations. So, while the net carbs may be low, sugar and grains are very much present and can wreak havoc on your diet, hunger, cravings, and inflammation.
Compare that to ROSETTE’S (No) Sugar Cookie Mix which has a similar net carb count as Lakanto’s, but a much different picture in terms of ingredients. Not only is the total carb count 3g less in ROSETTE’S, but the ingredients list is significantly pared down. Whey protein isolate (an ingredient used in many protein powders) and guar gum, the only two ingredients that may be unfamiliar to some have not been known to cause blood sugar fluctuations or inflammation in most people and are often added in low-carb confections. They serve as a substitute for gluten because they improve the texture and consistency of baked goods, giving the dough a springy feel and bite like those made with wheat flour.
Low-Carb Bread
No product demonstrates the misleading nature of many food manufacturers more than low-carb bread. Here we present a few different options. Both Arnold’s Keto Bread and Thin Slim’s Zero Net Carb Bread are guilty of presenting near truths, but arguably, very deceptive packaging. The front of their products state one thing, but the ingredient lists show another. Modified wheat starch, wheat protein isolate, vital wheat gluten, oat fiber, soluble corn fiber? These are all grain sources with high glycemic indicators. While the total carb counts are all manageable on a limited basis, they are also likely to cause blood sugar spikes especially in those with diabetes or insulin resistance. Additional ingredients like soybean oil, similar to sunflower oil described above, can be highly inflammatory and detrimental to health.
Net carbs = total carbs minus fiber
By abusing the principles of net carbs, manufacturers boast a low calculated net count by adding in extra fiber to bring the net carb count down. But the body responds to the net carb count of this highly processed food very differently than it does to, for instance, green vegetables with their naturally occurring fiber.
Base Culture Keto Bread is another brand that is becoming more readily available in the marketplace. Base Culture contains arrowroot flour is a gluten- and grain-free powder used as a thickening agent.
The total carbs in all of these breads are similar and certainly within range to be consumed on a low-carb or ketogenic approach, but what is inside makes all the difference in terms of health and our body’s response to eating them.
Pancake Batter Mix
The huge disparity in ingredient quality and carb counts can be seen dramatically in comparing Lakanto’s Pancake & Baking Mix, King Arthur’s Carb-Conscious Pancake Mix and ROSETTE’S Batter Mix.
The Lakanto and King Arthur products are both marketed to keto and low-carb customers, and yet the total carb count for just 1/3 of a cup of mix is around half of one’s daily allotment on a ketogenic diet. The ingredients lists are filled with high glycemic index foods: pea protein, sugarcane fiber, tapioca starch, wheat gluten, chickpea flour, soluble corn fiber. Compare this to ROSETTE’S with a lower total carb count and short, easily identifiable list of clean ingredients.
The biggest takeaway here is how crucial it is to turn every package over and read both the nutrition information and the list of ingredients. If you are concerned with your health and maintaining blood sugar control, the ingredients are nearly as important as the carb counts. While many of these products are not necessarily weight loss foods, sticking with non-inflammatory and low glycemic ingredients will enable your body to heal and give you safe ways to indulge without derailing your weight loss and health goals.
Dr. Georgia Ede, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist specializing in nutritional and metabolic psychiatry, has spoken widely about the powerful connection between a psychiatric or medical diagnosis and diet. Her practice focuses on utilizing a ketogenic diet approach because she believes that “what we eat is by far the single most important factor in our mental and physical health.”
Another noted psychiatrist, Dr. Christopher Palmer, spoke with Drs. Tro Kalayjian and Brian Lenzkes on the Low Carb MD Podcast about his experiences using a ketogenic diet for treatment-resistant depression in his practice.
At ROSETTE’S we get emails and social media messages daily from people letting us know how and why they have benefited from a no-sugar approach. Wrote one of our regular customers: “I had noticed my young kids would get grumpy and low-energy after eating sugary snacks after school, but when I started quietly subbing in some low-sugar treats (because I was on a low-carb diet to lose weight and didn’t want to keep sugary stuff in the house!), they started to have less lows. I slowly replaced everything in the house with the low-sugar stuff and now they complain they don’t feel great when they eat the ‘regular’ treats at birthday parties. But what really surprised me is how my own mood improved going low carb. I’ve always had low-level (sometimes more) depression and a few months into limiting carbs I realized I hadn’t had any serious lows in months. How come no one really talks about this?”
The use of diet and lifestyle interventions has often been called into question by evidence-based proponents, but there is data that using a ketogenic diet can reduce depression scores by about 20%. Another study confirms the adverse effect of sugar intake on long-term psychological health and suggests that lower intake of sugar may be associated with better mental health. And yet another study indicates that an almond-based low carbohydrate diet can improve depression symptoms.
While no diet can cure the impact of childhood trauma or take away your daily stressors, a well-formulated low-carbohydrate diet can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, setting you up for optimal well-being.
]]>I’ve suffered from migraines since early adulthood. Migraines are debilitating headaches that are often associated with nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, and sometimes vomiting. These headaches can last for days, making it hard to work or just be a functioning parent. I had suffered from migraines for several years and was surprised to discover that when my family adopted a low-carb lifestyle, these symptoms began to improve. Could the food we consume (or dont) really help reduce migraines?
When I brought this up to my husband, we both did a deep dive into the medical literature. We were aware that the ketogenic diet had a long history of being used therapeutically for seizure control in children with epilepsy, and is still utilized today for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. What we learned about migraines proved to be even more interesting to us, as it was something I was personally battling.
There was overwhelmingly convincing data that a low-carb, ketogenic diet significantly improves cluster headaches and migraines! In fact, there were several clinical trials showing that a ketogenic diet helped decrease symptoms of headaches even in people who suffered despite being on multi-drug regimens.
While many of us know about the positive impact low carb can have on diabetes and weight management, some may not be aware of the countless other ways that are less talked about. We at ROSETTE’S have personally benefited with significant reductions in migraines and in other ways.
In future blog posts, we will discuss many of the other health improvements seen with a low-carb lifestyle and explore creative ways in which to successfully implement and sustain one.
]]>Cookies may arguably be the most favorable dessert due to their convenience. It’s an instant gratification. You pick one up and enjoy it. For this blog, we’re going to use Girl Scout Cookie season as an example for how we can still enjoy cookies we love without sabotaging our health.
Girl Scout cookie season lasts for about six to eight weeks, but many purchase enough boxes until the following season. Even though Girl Scout season is centered around a noble cause, who really needs a year’s worth of cookies? Sure, it is a fun way to support family and friends in helping raise money for community projects and teaching children about life topics such as leadership and money management, however, as advocates for healthier lifestyle choices, we encourage not feeling bad about finding new ways to support family & friends while maintaining our health requirements.
It can be challenging for many who work hard to live a healthier lifestyle, especially those who struggle with diabetes, food addictions and intolerances. This is why we (ROSETTE'S) are focused on creating low-carb, sugar-free and gluten-free recipes for your favorite eats.
All that said, there is no need for FOMO! You can make your very own [low carb, sugar free, gluten free, & grain free] Tagalongs & Samoas aka Caramel Delights at home using the [No] Sugar Cookie mix! Use these recipes to avoid the momentary indulgence and keep your Girl Scout memories alive!
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Everyone involved with ROSETTE’S has a profound and personal reason for why they are so passionate about living a no-sugar life. In 2015, when lawyer Rosette Kalayjian and her husband Dr. Tro found out they were expecting baby #3, Rosette gently challenged Tro to address his lifelong struggle with weight, concerned for his health and the future of their young family. Tro scoured the scientific literature and learned about the advantages of a low-carbohydrate diet, and over the next few years went on to lose 150 pounds. Rosette began her own research in an effort to support her husband – looking for ways to help him replace the foods he had difficulty restricting. “I’ve always loved cooking and baking, so I began exploring low-carb options to help keep him on track. I started by simply looking for substitutions for the ingredients in traditional family favorites.”
“We grew up in New York surrounded by the best bakeries and bagels in the world – going cold turkey was not realistic! A few months after our family started low carb, we celebrated a birthday with a recipe I had been testing. It was a hit! That cake was the predecessor to what has become the Classic Yellow Cake Mix, and the seed of an idea for ROSETTE’S was planted.”
The lifestyle changes Rosette and Tro had undergone soon made an impact on the rest of their family. Rosette’s sister, marketing executive Natalie Jourbadjian, had always had an interest in health and wellness. In 2018, “I became a certified trainer and health coach, and was able to help my clients with their health goals, but couldn’t understand why despite making mindful choices with food and exercise, my own energy levels were low, and I had terrible stomach pain after high-carb meals.” Natalie was inspired by Rosette and Tro to cut sugar and processed carbs from her diet, “and just like that my stomach pain was gone, and my energy levels were up!”
In those early days, Rosette would pack mixes for Natalie to whip-up at home: “I was newly married with a high-pressure job and was just not a baker like my sister. I didn’t have the time or desire to figure out a pantry full of expensive ingredients, so Rosette would drop off pre-measured mixes for me to prepare a batch of sweets in minutes. They were so helpful!”
Natalie quickly saw the value and real opportunity to help others who may be facing the same challenges. “We looked for mixes out in the marketplace, but couldn’t find any that weren’t full of garbage…packages with long lists of mysterious, unpronounceable ingredients. Now that I have two young children, this is even more important to me,” explains Natalie.
In March of 2019, ROSETTE’S was officially launched with just 4 mixes: Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, Peanut Butter Cookie Mix, Pistachio Shortbread Cookie Mix, and [No] Sugar Cookie Mix.
Says Rosette, “I traded my ESQ for CEO, and became partners with one of my favorite people, my sister Natalie! Together we are busy moms, sisters, daughters, wives, and friends with an honest desire to make eating healthy both delicious and easy. Life can be hard – your baking shouldn’t be.
Our families, our company and our journeys have grown and evolved tremendously over the past few years, and we are beyond excited to continue expanding our line with new products that support you and your family in meeting your health goals. Thank you for your trust in our small business and welcoming ROSETTE’S into your homes.”
Make it yummy. Make it healthy. Make it easy. Happy baking! 🖤
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