About Me
My name is Ann Marie and I’m a mother to my first born girl, Kate. We live with her daddy Seth and our two cats Rita and Blackberry, in Los Angeles.
I am a slave to cheese.
Especially artisanal raw milk cheeses. I could live on freshly baked sourdough bread and cheese. With lots of butter.
And ice cream. We can’t forget about ice cream.
I’ve been eating butter and cheese and foie gras all my life. Eggs Benedict has always been my favorite breakfast.
It was only recently that I learned how healthy these REAL foods are. Cholesterol is good for you!
As I always say to my daughter, “Eat your butter. The fat is where the vitamins are.”
I’ve never bought a tub of margarine, and I plan to keep it that way. I consider skim milk a sham of a mockery of a travesty of two mockeries of a sham.*
I believe it’s the modern pseudo-foods like margarine and soy milk and convenience foods full of additives, pesticides, and MSG that are making us sick.
Full-fat dairy and other traditional foods have been sustaining humans for millennia. And that’s good enough for me.
Explore the Blog
Click here to browse the archives.
Click here to browse my recipes.
Click here to contact me.
Find Me Online
In addition to my blog, here’s where you can find me online (listed in order of how much time I spend there):
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Follow me on Twitter
*Fielding Melish: I object, your honor! This trial is a travesty. It’s a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery of a travesty of two mockeries of a sham.”
DISCLAIMER: Information found on this site is meant for educational and informational purposes only, and to motivate you to make your own health care and dietary decisions based upon your own research and in partnership with your health care provider. It should not be relied upon to determine dietary changes, a medical diagnosis or courses of treatment. Individual articles and information on other websites are based upon the opinions of the respective authors, who retain copyright as marked.
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Greetings, Anne Marie. Thank you for your website. I was wondering if you could answer a few simple questions regarding the sequence of symptoms I’m experiencing since I’ve been on the GAPS diet, about 2-3 weeks now, although the 1st 2 weeks were not strict as I was just learning about it.
This week I decided to go on stage one of the diet as strictly as I could stand it. So, starting on Sunday, I’ve mainly ingested home made chicken broth, beef-bone broth, or pig feet broth and fresh organic carrot juice. Some of this carrot juice started to ferment because I didn’t know that cold was not reaching a crisper drawer in my frig. I drank it anyway because I figure the good bacteria would be fine.
Yesterday, however, I started experiencing extreme fatigue and weakness. So I drank a lot of juice from different organic fermented veggies. I felt better but was still hungry. So I fried a couple of eggs in some organic kidney fat and ate only the yolks. I also ate a little boiled pork and boiled chicken meat thrown in to the same pan of fat because I was still hungry and weak after eating the egg yolks. I had no reaction except for a little discomfort momentarily in my lower left abdomen. I was fine the rest of the evening.
Since I started GAPS diet 3 weeks ago, I went from constipation to very infrequent but regular bowel movements except…
about a half-hour ago, I had a normal stool + diarrhea for the first time. Maybe I had too much fermented carrot/veggie juice? Everything was orange.
Do you think I’m beginning a new ‘stage’ of detox and about to go through a lot of diarrhea or do you think this was caused by drinking too much fermented veggie juice too soon?
Thanks for any input and for all that you’re doing to help people.
Kind Regards
Serena
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I found your Web site on a search for pickles and the art of fermentation. Like what I have seen so far including the article of yours I found. I’m a new subscriber I like what I have seen so far. I think I might just learn a thing or two.
Thanks for your site.
Joan
Wonderful! I did the same when I had my children, we all moved into the forest and turned to old-fashioned style of living. The best thing I ever did. Today all the children (4) are adults and extremely healthy. They stick to healthy clean eating and living because it’s habit. They have all tried the crappy stuff and it made them ill. Your daughter will live this legacy from you and give it on to her children. Nice to “read” you.
Can Kefir be frozen without nutritional damage (or major damage) making it useless/dead?
Thanks for the great info on your blog…love it! Quick question, I am pregnant and have been reading a lot about the benefits of raw milk for the development of our unborn child. However, to be honest, I am a little nervous at the thought of the possibility of introducing some illness via the raw milk. Thoughts? What was your experience? Would you recommend raw milk during pregnancy? Your help is greatly
appreciated.
@Jennifer
I do recommend raw milk during pregnancy but if you are nervous about it, don’t do it.
Make sure you eat plenty of grass-fed butter and cream.
I’m sorry to dive into debate mode, but this is frightening advice. The human immune system can be defined into two components – intracellular infection fighting (viruses, some bacteria, some fungi) and extracellular infection fighting (parasitic bacteria, fungi, worms, prokaryotes, etc). During pregnancy, a woman’s immune system ramps up the intracellular functions but scales back the extracellular functions (this prevents your immune system from attacking baby, because the uterus is still protected by the immune system and babies have all the fun immune system triggers that parasites do).
So why is raw milk especially bad during pregnancy)? Because cows are common carriers of infectious bacteria, fungi, and other extracellular parasites, particularly on their exterior mucus membranes (teats!). Ingesting these during pregnancy places you at a much higher risk of infection. Raw milk may (but does not always) contain heightened levels of these pathogens, increasing your risk of infection.
Pasteurization was invented and is widely practiced for a reason. In a normal, healthy adult, raw milk probably won’t be harmful provided the collection is a sterile as possible. In a pregnant or immuno-compromised person, raw milk can be quite dangerous to their health.
Please at least consult a GP or obstetrician before embarking on any raw milk diet during a pregnancy.
Agreed. Unless it is, or almost, your own cow or herd, and you are 100% satisfied with practices used, (as in, you have seen these for yourself), pasteurization remains an important safety measure.
Ah. I see the comments go straight downhill – even to the bizarre – after this. Cheeseslave might better serve her intention by discontinuing them..
This is a most excellent website, and I am again reminded that I have no idea where my happy family poster captioned, “They’re happy because they eat lard,” has gotten off to.
Hello, I own and operate a licensed raw milk dairy. We are required meet and or exceed pasteurized milk standards for bacteria. Our milk meets the same standards as pasteurized without destroying the vitamins and enzymes. Commercial milk needs to be pasteurized because of all the filth. We are routinely tested and are an accredited TB and contagious disease free herd. Nearly all commercial dairy farms are not. And there are bacteria that survive pasteurization. So wouldn’t it be best to drink milk that is clean and healthy from the start rather then milk that has to be made safe?
Albert
Pereirapastures.com
Pereira pastures dairy on Facebook
I can’t believe in this day and age people are still supporting dairy products. Cows milk is essentially white blood cells, puss to be exact. Impregnating cows and taking their baby’s from them so that the milk can be extracted for human use and consumption is the farthest thing from natural. Humans are the only species on the planet that drink another animals breast milk. Cows milk is not even a complete source of fat. It does not contain any of the 8 essential amino acids. The calcium is completely unavailable to the human body. Cows have 3 stomachs and we have one, why are we drinking their breast milk?!
Aaron, you are also comparing raw milk to store milk. Raw milk has many benefits, and store milk (pasturized milk) has NO benefits…
http://www.realmilk.com
What you state is simply not true. We don’t need more misinformation.
I have not stated any misinformation.
Aaron is the misinformed one here.
Aaron seems to think that cows have 3 stomachs so they can digest milk. That is incorrect on all counts.
Raw milk has many benefits.
http://www.realmilk.com/safety/real-milk-powerpoint/
Jane, having just read down a few comments, I have to agree with you. Wow. No wonder people’s health is going to hell in a hand basket. So long as it’s a sterile hand basket…people don’t seem to mind! “Milk is puss” ????
Stay asleep people, stay ignorant. Just please stop imposing your safety on us.
I can’t believe in this day and age people are still supporting non-traditional foods.
(And I am beyond confused that you apparently think your own white blood cells are made of pus. Do you really think that’s what’s flowing in your veins?) I’m sorry that human nature doesn’t live up to your high standards for ‘natural’, but this is what humans have been doing in their natural state for many thousands of years. I’m sorry that you feel disappointed by what we’ve evolved to eat, but the simple fact is our ancestors were not herbivores, nor did they have three stomachs, yet we get along just fine. I’ll stick with eating as my ancestors did and thrived on, and I’ll leave experimenting with our diet and nutrition to you and yours.
Your comment is extremely odd. Please consider attending some classes.
PS And that thing with the faucets on a cow is called an “udder.”
This is an almost verbatim statement (they usually say “rape the cows”) made by vegans and in PETA literature over and over. As someone stated, white blood cells are not pus. You would not live very long without medical intervention if you were circulating puss.
I have my own cows and love the fact that I know were milk comes from. I don’t think raw milk is a magical food but it does have many benefits over heat treated milk. That being said, it is of utmost importance to know the condition of the cows and handling practices of the milk before you buy. If you do that you will certainly know more about your raw milk than the gallon you pick up at the store.
Hello Anne Marie, I have read your article “Tips For Balancing Hormones Naturally” – I have tried increasing my roughage with flax seeds and also using mother wort for insomnia and stress – this has really made an improvement. Both are cheap and easy to find.
This blog is the best thing I’ve found since “godairyfrree.org”, which is hilarious. I am a dairy LOVER, but that website just has lots of YUMMY vegan and vegetarian dishes. That’s funny, too, because I am a CARNIVORE. I just love wholesome super-healthy food along with my wholesome super-healthy meats and dairy. I am a strong believer in milk, cheese, and ice cream myself. Ann Marie, you’re my new best friend! Also, I am from LA. I now live in AZ in a town that prides itself on its high rate of obesity and scoffs at us “Californian health nut weirdos”. LOL!
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Hi Ann Marie,
I am confused by this blog. I too love natural foods. I have been eating “Primal” I suppose for almost three years. I say I suppose, because I did not start on anyone specific plan. My rules are to eat food that for the most part existed before about 1880, at least somewhere in the world. I do not avoid naturally ocurring fats and oils, but I do not eat grain-derived oils. I had not heard about Mark Sisson until I had been basically eating primal for several months. I do like his website very much, and I appreciate that he has an open mind. What I don’t understand is all of the railing on your blog against primal or paleo diets. A primal diet is really about eating normal food. It isn’t radical. I avoid processed food, particularly sugar and grains, but I eat lots of veggies and all the fruit I want. From my point of view what is radical is eating industrial food-like substances found in cereal boxes and energy bars, etc. Do you really love cheese? Then why not eat cheese. It is perfectly acceptable as a primal food. Some Paleo/Primal eaters shun dairy, but I certainly don’t. I also love to cook. In fact, the only reason I could think of why someone who had actually tried eating primal didn’t get along well with it would be if they really hated to cook. Primal eaters do generally get along better if they cook their own food. I am confused. Has a cereal company started advertising on your blog? What is going on here? What do you really think?
This is off-topic, but I think Garth and Wayne were referring you to, in the movie WAYNE’S WORLD:
Garth Algar: She’s a babe.
Wayne Campbell: She’s a robo-babe. In Latin, she would be called “babia majora.”
Garth Algar: If she were a president, she would be Baberham Lincoln.
Just caught your post on camels milk…Ive been periodically looking for sources of camels milk for a few years with no uck. Do you know of anyone in California that can help me track this elusive treasure? I’m also looking for Donkey’s milk but that seems to be even harder to find. For the most part its only available as a uber-expensive cheese or in beauty products. Any help would be wonderful. Thx
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I see on your site a recipe for making magnesium oil. I would love to find a recipe
for making magnesium gel. I have been buying a brand called Health and Wisdom Inc.
It’s very expensive. It’s magnesium mixed half with water and seaweed extract added.
It is a gel, so the magnesium does not separate from the water. Do you have a recipe for
this? Thanks.
Anna
Hi! My entire family is on a low-carb diet right now, and I am just learning how to use coconut flour. We don’t have to be gluen-free, but wind up eating “mostly” gluten free due to the low-carb diet. We also have to be nut-free, because both my husband and daughter are allergic to all nuts and legumes (no nut flours, no chickpea flour, no soy flour).
I have a challenge for you: a relatively low-carb cheesecake that doesn’t use nuts or legumes. My husband’s birthday is coming up in 10 days and he wants me to make a cheesecake!
The problem is: all of the low-carb cheesecake recipes I’ve come across use nuts for the crust. We can’t do that. I’m thinking of making the crust with a combination of coconut flour, flaxseed meal, and maybe just a tablespoon of graham cracker crumbs for that “regular” flavor.
As for the cake itself, I refuse to use artificial sweeteners of any type. I just don’t think it’s good for you. We’d rather take the hit on carbs using sugar or some other type of real sweetener (not stevia — i think it tastes bitter and don’t like it).
So, can you help me come up with a relatively low carb cheescake? (Let’s just call it “reduced carb!”) If you don’t answer me within 10 days, I’ll of course experiment with this myself and let you know how it turns out . I’m an experienced cook, but I’ve only made cheesecake once before (and it turned out great!)
Thank you,
Lynn, Rob, and Danielle – fellow cheese slaves!
Hi Ann Marie!
My name is Carla Hernandez and I am an Integrative Nutritionist. I love reading your material and would love the chance to write a guest post on your blog! The topic would be about weight loss as a symptom rather than the main focus, as it is typically addressed. I would be addressing how to lose weight naturally by focusing on getting the body healthy by finding the root cause of weight issues. My focus is not on counting calories and exercising as a means to lose weight, but rather on finding other concerns that may be present that are preventing one from losing weight (which is why so many people struggle with this).
You can learn more about my practice by visiting http://www.wiserootsnutrition.com
Thanks and let me know what you think!
Carla
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WiseRoots
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WiseRoots
Blog: http://wiserootsnutrition.com/category/blog/
I agree with you completly regarding food. Thanks for the great info. Glad I came across your site, and have signed up for your e-mails
Love this. Love your blog. Look forward to reading more.
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Dan
Hi Ann Marie,
I wanted to ask your advice on Group B streptococcus. It’s been routine previous years to simply go in during labor and get antibiotics for the baby to not be affected.. however I think for a baby this is probably really harsh to the newborn intestinal tract, and having recently learned about a healthier lifestyle, I just wonder if there’s really a risk, and if there’s anything else I can do, or maybe something I can take to counteract the antibiotics. I would really appreciate your input or anyone who has dealt with this, thanks!
Hi, have you heard of Progurt? Just wondering your thoughts on the products.
Thanks Debbie
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Fermented dairy from from unpasteurised milk of grass fed animals is one of the most healthy traditional foods for some people, especially for those who have type B blood group or lactase persistence.
Hello, there! I have enjoyed your website for a few years now and want to thank you for putting it out there for so many of us who are on our own quests to raise healthier kids.
I have been searching for mayonnaise recipes for a couple of years now. I’ve made mayo with just about every oil you can name. While I know that olive oil is the healthiest oil to use for mayo, my family doesn’t like its strong flavor. I have even tried different brands and different regions of olives and it is still too strong. I have found a recipe for grapeseed oil which tastes quite good, but I have been reading that grapeseed oil contains too much omega-6s, so I have been questioning even this.
Do you have any alternative oils to use for mayonnaise that are both healthy AND mild in flavor? My family thanks you in advance.
Thank you!
AnnMarie Deis
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Hi Ann Marie,
I live in L.A. (South bay) too. I was wondering where you purchase your organic meats, dairy and fruits and veggies from. I would love to start buying locally more. Thank you,
Ashley
Hello, I am new to GAPS, and I am so overwhelmed when buying food! Meats, cheese, butter and yogurt are so hard for me to understand, as far as the ingredients go.
Any samples of ingredients I should be looking for? Or even specific brands of any of these?
Thanks in advance!
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Have been enjoying Cheeseslave. Learning a lot and feeling better – good stuff. I’m following a suggestion from another blog, which came by way of your blog — not sure which one. In any case, the suggestion is to include coconut oil in your coffee (if you won’t give it up) to help with hormone imbalance. I’ve been surprised to recently realize that I quite enjoy coconut oil in my coffee. However, when my coffee gets cold, the coconut oil hardens. I remember reading some time ago (like 5+ years I would guess) that one should avoid coconut oil, because it is bad for the heart. I don’t quite understand why coconut oil is good for me and yet not bad for my heart. Can you explain this for me? I haven’t found a direct answer in my other online research. Thanks in advance!
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We share two very important and similiar values: chesse and education. I am a mom, teacher, blogger, tech geek – I think, and would like permission to share your titile and link for your post about, “Why We Don’t Limit Screen Time”. I think it is very important to get two sides to every story…. Thanks
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Teachers With Apps
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This is just being particular, but “artisanal” is actually not a proper word. It should just be “artisan” cheeses and milk. It’s a common mistake that’s getting more popular…but it’s incorrect. Love your blog!
Artisan is a noun. Artisanal is the adjective.
Either word is horribly overused and very trendy right now. I’ll be glad when it goes away!
Hi Ann Marie! I have been an avid reader of your blog for a couple years now. I have learned so much from you and from your readers. Now I have a friend that needs your help. She is suffering from terrible IBS (just recently diagnosed), and her doctors have ruled out any other possible causes. She’s only 32 and generally healthy aside from that. I have been telling her to take probiotics for years now, but any time she tried them she had such a bad detox reaction she stopped. I tried to explain that this meant she needed them very badly but she was not willing to feel sick. Unfortunately she is now very sick and can only eat white rice, saltines and oatmeal without getting sick (diarrhea, nausea, stomach pain and heartburn). I know she should be avoiding gluten so I don’t know why her doctor told her to eat saltines. She’s taking fiber and prebiotics. Can you or your readers offer any advice? Should she see a gastroenterologist? A naturopath? Should she be tested for parasites? They did put her on a strong course of antibiotics when she got an irritated stomach lining/pre ulcer a few weeks ago…Do you know of any doctors or Naturopaths in LA that specialize in IBS or Gut problems? She has been calling me crying and she’s terrified!
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Hi Cheese Slave! I LOVED the Healthy Life Summit. Thanks for doing that!
Question….isit ok to do water kefir made with sugar on full Gaps?
Are you a doctor, or a dietician or nutritionist? OR is your background as a concerned and thoughtful, well-read layperson?
I don’t discount the latter at all, but it would be nice for you to state this up front.
I am a lay person. Just started gaps to heal gut from years of antibiotics treating Lyme. Also nursing 3 month old, who is already having GI issues ( green, mucus stools). I am not doing dairy for this reason and thus thought water kefir would be good, yet I am concerned about all the sugar.
Thanks.
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Oooh, I fully support your opinion. All these skimmed milk imargarini, owls and other products such MSG are absolute garbage. Most healthy people for centuries have consumed milk and dairy products.
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