Saturday, July 30, 2011

Random Thoughts for the Week!

I have a new recipe for you all!  I made this awhile back, but since we used RAW apple cider vinegar, it overpowered the food.  I recently tried it again with less acv and it was WONDERFUL.  The recipe is for Cabbage Roll Casserole.  It can be somewhat time consuming if you choose to chop up the cabbage.  Oh, and if you use rice make sure you COOK it.  Our casserole was a bit crunchy :). 

On another note, this week has been somewhat of a trying week for me.  My youngest has been teething (that's what we think it is anyway).  He's had a fever for the past 2 days and has been super fussy for the past 3.  Before I could pin-point what was wrong with him, I thought he could be getting ill.  Both kids, and myself, doubled up on Juice Plus, probiotic, and fish oil.  I've been giving Jack zinc to help his immune system.  I HATE illness (mainly, because of what little sleep I get).  I now think it's just teething, but hey, a little extra "good" stuff couldn't hurt!  I'm just curious what YOUR family does to boost the immune system?   I could always use more ideas!

This week a new company, Wildtree, was brought to my attention.  Has anyone else ever heard of this? They sell all natural products.  For those of you that are eliminating processed foods, you are aware that so many products contain hydrogenated oil, MSG, GMO's, high fructose corn syrup, etc; THEREFORE, convenience foods are out.  Even products like taco seasoning packets, dry onion soup mix, bullion cubes and MUCH more are included.  These were convenience items for me that I can no longer use.  Well, Wildtree brings those convenience items back.  Their products contain only NATURAL ingredients.  From the research I've done on this company, I have been very impressed.  For me, it's a one stop shop for everything that I could need.  I'm tempted to have a tasting party.  Would there be interest if I would hold one at my home??  Here's the thing, I'm not a big party person, BUT if people wanted to try this stuff, I'd love to have a party - I don't want people to feel obligated to come, especially if they don't see the importance of natural foods in their diet.

Lastly, I've been thinking about giving a class on the American diet, processed foods and tools on how to cut processed foods from our diets. I'm not sure what the response would be, but apart of me thinks, GO FOR IT.   I don't claim to be an expert, I just want to educate people in a loving way.  If this would be an interest to anyone, let me know!  If no one response, I think I may do it anyway!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Friday, July 22, 2011

Juice Plus -Why You Should Take It Too

For about 8 mos my family and I have been taking Juice Plus.  What is Juice Plus you may ask?  Juice Plus is fruit and veggies in a capsule (or gummy form for kids).  That's it!  Juice Plus has been given a WHOLE FOOD label.  What does that mean?  It means when you take a veggie capsule of Juice Plus you are EATING carrots, tomato, spinach, kale, broccoli, etc. AND getting all the benefits!! When you take Juice Plus you are getting the nutritional benefits from 17 fruits and veggies.  Juice Plus bridges that nutritional gap between how you eat and how you SHOULD eat.  Did you know, we are supposed to consume 7-13 servings of fruits and veggies everyday?  How many of us meet that requirement?  I know I don't and that is why we take Juice Plus and why my husband recommends them to his patients.

If you want more information about Juice Plus, please check out these videos. 



My mission is to make people healthier and I believe Juice Plus does just that.  I've talked a lot about wellness and creating health.  One way to achieve that is by consuming good food.  Remember great food creates great cells.  When my children are getting sick, Juice Plus is a free for all!  Since they're fruit and veggies, you cannot overdose!  You cannot overdose on fruit and veggies.  I want my kids to get the BEST stuff in their bodies if they are getting ill.  Juice Plus is not a replacement for fruits and veggies, it just bridges the nutritional gap (like I stated before).  It also brings peace of mind. It is very hard to get my youngest to eat veggies.  Even though Juice Plus is not a replacement, I know my son is getting something good for him!!  As a mother, that means a lot!

Juice Plus offers a kids study program.  With an adult order, your child will be able to recieve Juice Plus for FREE from ages 4-18 when entered into this program. How cool is that?!  If you want more on the kids study program click here. There are also TONS of peer reviewed clinical research done on Juice Plus from top universities.  If you want to see all the research on Juice Plus click here.

Other supplements we take are fish oil and Probiotic.  Not a day goes by when we're not taking Juice Plus, fish oil and a probiotic.  This creates health and wellness (along with eating right, of course!).  Too often we wait for ourselves to get sick before we take action.  We get ill, go to the doctor and THEN we take something.  I want preventative care and that's why I eat the way I eat and take what I take.

If you are interested in Juice Plus for you or your family, let me know! You can also visit Kevin's Website.

Stay cool this weekend!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Kids "FUN" Foods

Yesterday, I spent my afternoon cleaning our condo (which we are trying to sell, so if anyone's interested let me know!).  The entire process, along with being on the second floor with no a/c, was exhausting!  I used my power of persuasion to talk my hubby into letting us eat out for dinner.  We decided to eat at Applebee's because they have many gluten-free options.  My husband and I both decided to get a salad.  We than began looking at the menu options for our kids (which BOTH eat food now).  Our options were Mac n' Cheese, Chicken Fingers, Sliders and Pasta with Alfredo sauce.  Wow.  These foods may be fun for kids, but they are far from healthy.  Needless to say, we decided to order off the adult menu to feed our children.

Is it any wonder why children are so unhealthy?  As parents we want to make our children happy.  One way to achieve that is buy feeding them these "fun" foods.  What child doesn't get excited at the sight of Mac n' Cheese?  As an adult, I still love Mac n' Cheese; however, my kids have yet to experience this over processed product (notice I didn't say food).  Everywhere you go to eat, "fun" foods are readily available for kids.  As my mind set is changing, I am looking more at these fun foods as a food product rather than real food.  If we began to look at food in that way I think most Americans would feed themselves and their children differently.  Wouldn't it be great if food came with a labeling system?  Such as, real food like lean meat, veggies and fruit would have an A label while fake foods like mac n' cheese would receive a D.  Wouldn't most parent's strive to feed their kids the BEST food?  Doesn't it make sense that in order to get the BEST result from our children, we need to feed them the best food out there?  In the book, "What's Eating Your Child" Kelly Dorfman, MS, LND writes:

"If a child's neural network is lacking nutrients, it cannot be expected to work optimally.  If the components are not there when they are needed, a weaker system is built, and the person compensates accordingly.  For example, if a child consumes the wrong kind of fat (the fat that comes from mac-and-cheese, chips, or fired foods in stead of fish, whole grains, and lean meats), the cells incorporates the less suitable fat into the membrane.  The nerve membrane now is less able to process and interpret incoming signals, resulting in changes in the sensory system capabilities,  Multiply this problem with foods devoid of nutrients (sugar), and a child will be functioning, emotionally, mentally, and physically - at a deficit."

Doesn't that put things into perspective??  We cannot expect to get optimal results from ourselves and our children if they are not eating the right foods.  It's so easy to feed our family out of a box or can, but that's not food - it's a food product.  If your family is ill all of the time, you may want to question the food your eating...even your milk (which I believe is a processed food as well).  You can see my earlier post on milk, which I'm planning to edit soon as I have learned more. :)

I'll let that be that for now!!  Wishing everyone much health and happiness!  Oh yeah, if anyone wants to buy our beautiful condo, I will give you a wonderful deal on it! ;)

Saturday, July 16, 2011

New Adventures

Right now I have a HUGE box of lovely red and yellow tomatoes sitting on my counter.  We found this lovely Amish produce stand, right off of 300 (by Vera Cruz).  A cute little Amish lady told me these tomatoes would be perfect for canning...Before I knew what I was saying, the box was purchased.  Now, I have this box of tomatoes waiting to be canned; however, I have zero canning equipment and zero knowledge in this area.  First time for everything, right?!  You cannot beat the cost savings when canning your own.  I've been purchasing organic tomatoes and pay, close to, $2/can.  I paid $5 for the entire box of tomatoes!  I'm hoping I find the canning experience somewhat enjoyable so that I'll continue doing it.

Another new adventure I'm embarking on is switching all our plastic containers to glass.  Recently, I read another blog about the dangers of plastic, even BPA free (which I cannot find, otherwise I'd give you the link!).  Every time you heat food in that plastic container, chemicals are seeping into your food.  Cost wise, it is rather inexpensive to make the switch.  You can purchase a 7 piece set of glass storage containers for $20.  I also want to limit the amount of plastic bags I use, but that may be a little harder.  My life seems to be lived out of plastic bags, especially when we're on the road with my two young boys.  Like everything, this will be a learning experience.

I also decided to switch over our suntan lotions.  Commercial suntan lotion is generally a concoction of chemicals that, inevitably, gets absorbed by your skin.  Natural suntan lotions contain zinc oxide, a natural ingredient.  If you'd like to know more about the danger of chemical laden sunblock, read this article by Kitchen Stewardship.  The same blogger goes on to give a review of the natural sunblocks she tried - read this.  I know many people think they are using a natural sunscreen because they are labeled as such.  Be careful!! Just because the suntan lotion says natural, does not mean it is.  The FDA has yet to set regulations for this.  I decided to go with Kabana Green Screen.  We have yet to use it, but I'm anxious to try it out.  I've been told that these natural lotions stay on the surface of your skin, so it'll leave a white tint.  If it doesn't work out well, I'll let you all know! 

Lastly, I wanted to give you all some recipes I've been trying.  The first is Baked Shrimp in Tomato Feta Sauce.  This was amazing!  We loved it and I wouldn't change anything about it!  Another recipe I've used in the past is Veggie Lentil Pottage.  I thought corn was a key ingredient.  This is time consuming recipe with everything that needs to be chopped up, but it is worth it and I often freeze left overs.  Lastly, I make Sausage Zucchini Bake  about once every 2 weeks.  I often take this to new moms.  I haven't gotten any feedback on it, but it is a family hit!  My boys always clean their plates!

Wishing everyone a a weekend full of love, good health, and laughter :).

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

My Opinions

Like anyone, I have a lot of opinions in regards to natural living.  When it comes to Facebook I try to filter myself, but occasionally, I'll post or write something that I shouldn't.  I feel very passionately about living a healthy, natural lifestyle.  Social media is a wonderful way to express your thoughts and opinions about these issues; however, you have to be careful about offending people.  Sometimes, in the heat of the moment you post, it's out there, and you feel that once people read that article their thoughts on that topic are going to change.  We all know that doesn't happen. 

Today, I read an blog post by Keeper of the Home.  She wrote about how she utilizes facebook and her blog.  Her facebook account she keeps neutral so she will not offend anyone.  Her blog, is her voice/her opinion and people have a choice to read it or not.  I do not want to offend ANYONE or make anyone feel that I am better then them because of the choices we make.  Sometimes I'll write short sentence remarks on facebook and those can be misconstrued; THEREFORE, I am going to keep my facebook account neutral and my blog with be my thoughts and my opinions. 

When you choose to live a lifestlye outside of the norm, people always question your sanity along with your beliefs. I believe that my family is moving in the right direction, but NEVER do I want to come across as snotty or superior.  I NEVER want to turn people off.  My goal is always to educate and I'm very passionate about it.  Everything I do, I want to do in Love.  I will be backing off facebook and blogging more on, not just nutrition, but living more of a natural lifestyle.

If I've ever offended anyone, accept my apologies.  My mission is to educate and create healthier people in a loving manner.  Until next time!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Grain Free Challenge

I have about a million other things to do right now, but I feel compelled to blog. Now that our family has been grain free for 3 weeks, I can honestly say we will not go back to the average American diet (after all, the American diet has brought us nothing more then illness, right?). I must confess, we have had our falls from grace, BUT when we decided to eat off our diet it was a conscious decision made by both. For example, we decided to get a pizza this weekend after the kids were in bed. My husband and I were both soo very excited about the prospect of pizza we were almost giddy. After we ate the pizza; however, we were left with a very uncomfortable feeling. As we were laying in bed, we agreed the thought of pizza was much more enjoyable then actually partaking of it.

 Now, I don't make it a point to announce that my family is grain free. People just notice. Why doesn't she have a bun with that hamburger? No cookies for dessert? People then ask what we're doing.  When I tell them we aren't eating any grains it's always followed with a "why".  If I could give them the feeling I have (not tired, no more cramps - overall a better feeling) I would.  But I can't.  So most people say, "I could NEVER do that".  What I want to say in return (but would never, mind you) is if you feel like you could never give up grains then you are addicted to grains and that my friends is a problem.  If an average American gave up grains could turkey, they would crash just like a drug addict.

Since I've been eating this way, I have learned just how bad grains are for you.  Really, I had no idea.  After all, grains are apart of the food pyramid and the government would NEVER lead us astray, right? (sarcasm in that last statement).  I really wish, in all my wisdom, that I could give you the science behind why you should omit grains from your diet, but I can't.  So here is a guy that can.  Read his blog.  If you want more information about going gluten free, may I recommend learning more about the GAPS diet or the Paleo diet. My small knowledge of both tells me they are very similar.  For those that are unaware, there has been success in REVERSING autistic behaviors with these diets along with other ailments.  Fertility issues have often been resolved by omitting grains from diets.  To me, that speaks volumes.  Like my husband says, "If you put crap in your body, how can you expect to be anything less than crap?".  Oh, the words of a wise man :).

Who doesn't want to live up to their optimal health?! I don't mean to make this blog about going grain free, but I now feel so passionately about it that I feel it's a lifestyle everyone should lead.  My husband gave me something to think about yesterday.  He asked me if I knew what the first signs of a heart attack were.  I'm sure you're listing off some of the warning signs, right?  Well, for 40% the FIRST symptom is the heart attack that kills them.  WELLNESS people, that's what I'm preaching.  How to live WELL and stay WELL - to be better than an Average SICK American.  We don't ask our doctor, "how can I not get sick".  When we see our doctor, it's because we already have an illness and we want a cure.  That is sick care, not health care or wellness care.  Often we wait until the first symptoms comes before we take action.  Seems a little odd, right?  It's like waiting to brush your teeth until you feel that cavity coming on.  (I have to note, that I'm stealing a lot of this from my I husband).

I'm not asking everyone to go grain free.  The little things make all the difference.  Those little thing will then lead to BIG changes.  If you feel like you can't give up grains, may I implore that you do a 30 day gluten free challenge.  If you need help, may I suggest purchasing a book or doing research ahead of time so you don't feel completely overwhelmed.  See how good you feel after those thirty days.  It very well may change your life... :)