I was supposed to have written an email newsletter yesterday, but I didn’t.
Really, I was supposed to have written it several weeks ago and edited + scheduled it for yesterday. But again, I didn’t.
Do you ever have weeks, or months like that? I tend to have them fairly regularly in February, at least. But this will be the last February newsletter, which means I might finally stop talking about the weather. Even if it is all happening a day later than promised.
Anyway, here are some updates:
New Year’s Resolutions: a rolling start
We’ve been making a lot of bone broth, so that habit has stuck. I’m curious how things will play out as we get into the warmer months when soup stops being a staple, though.
We have been grinding many of our own grains. Not all. But many. I’ve also reached out to a grain sourcing company to hopefully get a discount on organic, non-GMO wheat berries for my audience if any of you want to try them. We are using the NutriMill Harvest (affiliate link) and while many on ye olde Instagram have mentioned it’s out of stock, I plan to reach out to the company to see when they’ll have more inventory. Stay tuned. (Meanwhile, there’s also the Classic Grain Mill which could be a viable option for your family’s more urgent grain goals.)
Eating breakfast? I’ve done it maybe 50% of the days in 2026 so far and have been (sort of) documenting my efforts on Instagram stories. I feel physically better when I eat a good breakfast but, paradoxically, sometimes psychologically worse. It remains to be seen whether this habit will continue, though I may need to do some soul searching. Or maybe I need a therapist.
I have liver in my freezer, and alas—there it has stayed since I bought it however many weeks ago. Le sigh.
In other news...
I’ve slowly been getting to the hormone health topics y’all have inquired about on Instagram. The app deleted half of my archives, so I can’t do the direct responses, but I have them in screen shots on my phone so I will still plan to address all the major themes whether in Instagram stories, or in newsletters. I shared this on stories recently, but the vast majority of them are covered in detail in Go with Your Flow. This isn’t really a sales plug (even though of course it is), but more so paying homage to the fact that I wrote the book to be the most comprehensive hormone resource available outside of an individualized, one-on-one appointment with a functional medicine doctor. That being said...
Have you read Go with Your Flow? If you have, and if you found it helpful, will you PLEASE leave a review on Amazon? And then send me a message that you did? It would make my day. And would be a huge help in spreading the word about what I hope and pray is a helpful resource. Right now the book’s ranking in numbers looks more impressive than the number of reviews. Leaving reviews would be a huge help to me, so won’t you please? Pretty please?
I might take a break from formal articles on my website because I am trying to figure out the best way to bridge educational writing with the sort of humanized version I do on this newsletter. I also am in the early stages of writing the manuscript for my next book and with that, I crave a deeper and more reflective outlet because the book-writing one is so academically focused. Let me know…do you read the articles on my website?
On a personal note...
I got three dental fillings today, the first since I was 17. It was not my favorite life experience. And my mouth hurts way more than I anticipated. As I’m writing this, the fillings are about 5 hours old, and I’m being a total wimp about it. Like, full-blown feeling sorry for myself and wondering how I came to be blessed with such deep grooves in my molars. The dentist said I couldn’t have done anything to prevent them and I’m not sure I believe her. But then again, I’m not sure what else I might have done. So, here I sit, with my red light laser held against my jaw.
We got a wave of warm weather last week and my husband and I, a little impulsively, started our seeds. We may regret this decision in April/May. We shall see...
I’ve been feeling kind of nostalgic lately. The spring is, and will be, such a season of newness and renewal for me. This year I find myself on the precipice of a lot of change, and these sorts of things make me very reflective. (See also: wanting to write personal-esque essays as opposed to academic articles.) I’ve been enjoying reading this book, which was interestingly given to me about 10 years ago by a family I was nannying for while in graduate school. I didn’t read it until now. It’s funny, I acquired several books in college that I’ve kept over the years but never read, and something about the past few years has made me interested in them. That, or maybe this is the first time I actually have the time. Maybe both.
I made brownies from a box on Sunday and I just have to say…even though they’re filled with total ultra-processed nonsense, I love the unique flavor of boxed brownies. I have yet to find a from-scratch recipe that captures that particular boxed essence. I don’t crave ultra-processed foods all that often (thankfully) but every couple of years I get a taste for boxed brownies. This particular batch was Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix and while the ingredients certainly could have been better, they also could have been much worse. (IYKYK).
On that topic above, I found out recently that my son was given a Cosmic Brownie at his AWANA club. I just have to say…oh my word, there seems to be quite a lot of sugar involved in children’s ministry. Don’t get me wrong, I want my kids to love Jesus and love going to church/AWANA/youth group but do they have to include Cosmic Brownies? I try not to be a tee-totaler, and I also don’t want my kids to feel “weird” or “different from other kids” because of our family’s food rules. So, I usually let them have what’s offered when we’re out because we buy healthy food to have at home. But I almost, almost drew the line with the Cosmic Brownie. Or rather, I think I probably would have had it not been already consumed by the time I learned about it. I mean really, what’s wrong with blueberries? Or raisins? Or a cheese stick? Or BYO-snack? (It’s possible that my near-visceral reaction to Cosmic Brownies is biased by the fact that even as a sugar-obsessed child who binge ate processed foods at every opportunity, I still never liked Cosmic Brownies because they’re just so icky.) I’m curious what other parents think about this. Leave a comment. Let me know. Respectfully, please.
More updates, this time in photos…
Clockwise from top left:
I’ve been OBSESSED with this salad. Like, eating it for breakfast. Arugula, spinach, roasted beets/butternut squash, goat cheese, candied walnuts, balsamic vinegar +EVOO
I made this for my Valentine and am more proud of it than I probably should be.
Seed starting shenanigans.
My pickles got moldy. It turns out that manifesting sterilized jars doesn’t work, and you actually do need to boil them first.
Pickles, take two (this time with properly sanitized equipment…so far, so good)
Petri dishes for a science class I’m teaching for our homeschool community. This is my life now.
Next week you can expect some more announcements related to my work in functional medicine, and after that it will (probably) be back to regularly scheduled programming. God willing.
In health,
Dr. MacKillop