What Goes in Our Bodies

Last night, I was once again reminded about the importance of what goes into our bodies.  I feel that, overall, my family has been progressing towards the lifestyle (unprocessed, natural diet) that we want to live.  We are still taking baby steps.  I know in a earlier post, I wrote that I was going to give up my pretzels.  Well friends, I couldn't :).  My issue with pretzels is it's my "drug" of choice.  Nothing tastes better to me than a handful of pretzels.  So, I put a limit on how many pretzels I can eat per day.  I also only buy pretzels that are made from whole wheat.  Someone told me that when you eat regular pretzels it's like eating handfuls of white bread....so basically no nutritional value. 

Recently, we went to Fresh Market and stocked up on snack items that Bluffton just doesn't have (and no, you can't buy whole wheat pretzels in Bluffton - not that I've found anyway).  Let me tell you though - you will PAY for anything healthy/organic. 

My criteria for snack items are:

• Contain ingredients that are natural
• No artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives
• No hydrogenated oils
• Organic or Natural product
• Basically, no garbage in our food :).  I want to be able to look at the ingredients and say, "I know what that is".  So I know what is going into our bodies.

Something’s I really like that we purchased were:

• Barbara's Snackimals - Animal Cookies
• These "cookies" are 100% natural. 
• Fresh Market Pretzels
• Frontera Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
• Ingredients: Organic Blue Corn, Corn Oil, Sea Salt, Trace of Lime -AND THAT'S IT! 
• Terra Exotic Veggie Chips 
• This is a great substitute for potato chips...they are delish! 

We went so long without snack food that we kind of binged that night after we got home.  We were literally only eating fruits and veggies for snacks because that was all we had!  Which was probably better, but this at least gives us a little bit of variety. 

On our Fresh Market trip I noticed they had various vegetable chips (carrots, green beans, etc) sitting in the center of the store.  I thought that was kind of cool.  They were packaged in such a way that it looked fresh.  I then looked at the ingredients and there it was...hydrogenated oil!!  This is just another reminder that food may look healthy, and it may even say it's healthy on the package, but you must ALWAYS look at the ingredients!

Kami's Soap Box Moment

I think Americans have become very lackadaisical about food.  I know I certainly was.  Five years ago, if I was reading this blog, I would have thought this person was crazy.  Not so long ago, I was consuming 2-3 cans of diet coke a day (no water) and I never made veggies or fruits with any meal.  I thought I was healthy because I was thin.  Going back to my first post...are you eating food or stuff?  I don't think our bodies were meant to consume all the junk/processed food we eat.  That is why we are sick.  I know I say that a lot, BUT WE ARE SICK!  Think about how many times your kids go to the doctor.  How many times have your children been put on antibiotics?  If we're sick all the time, maybe we need to look at what we're putting into our bodies rather than the medicines we need to take. 

As I stated at the beginning of the post, I was reminded last night of the importance of proper nutrition.  Did you know that 70% off all illness has occurred before we see any symptoms?  Cancer rates, autism rates, diabetes have skyrocketed!  Some of this has to do with the toxins we come into contact outside our bodies, but it's also because of the toxins we put into our bodies.  We are what we eat.  If we eat fast food, we crave fast food.  If we eat fruits and veggies...believe it or not, we crave fruits and veggies and I am a living testimony to that.  Eating plant food/raw food will give you great cells and great cells will lead to better health!

Eating right is something I feel so passionate about because I think American's have a skewed perception on health and food.  I know it may seem like I repeat myself a lot, but I'm just trying to drive home my point :).  I want people to be healthy because I care! I'd LOVE to hear from others who are trying to make changes in their home as well!

Wishing you much health this week! Until next week... :)

Importance of Planning

Since I've begun this adventure I have found that planning is essential!  Last week, I made up my weekly menu, went to the store, and bought all my food for the wonderful suppers I had planned.  I had also planned to make chicken stock that week so I made sure I had all the ingredients for that as well. 

Here was my menu in no particular order:

• Chicken Soup
• Chili Soup
• Chicken Wraps
• Sausage Spinach Pasta
• Chicken Fajitas

The week started off well (okay, MONDAY started off well) and then, Tuesday I decided to make the chicken stock.  I made tons of it and it was very labor and time intensive.  That night, I had planned to make chicken noodle soup with the left over stock; however, the stock was really fatty so I had to let it cool that night; therefore, chicken noodle soup was out.  I ended up making chicken fajitas instead.  No big deal, right?  Well, the chicken noodle soup was supposed to be lunch for the next day.  Usually I'd just make something else for lunch, but Wednesday mornings I'm not home... I didn't have time, I didn't have a back up plan, and I didn't have any freezer meals on hand.  We ended up doing Wendy's for lunch.  On occasion, I know that fast food drive thru's are going to happen.  I personally felt like I should have been more prepared.  That night we ended up eating supper out (which was not planned, but hey, we just bought our first house!) and the following morning (Thursday) I went to a Mom's group.  So again, I had nothing for lunch.  My husband grabbed lunch for a second time and I ended up making scrambled eggs for my son and I.  That's when I began thinking I need to have back up meals available.

I'm not big on freezer cooking, but I know a lot of mom's who are.  I feel like I barely have time to make daily meals let alone, extra meals to freeze.  From now on, I need to have quick and easy back up meals in place where there's not a lot of prep work.  If I don't have a plan in place, I feel overwhelmed and my family doesn't get the best.  I'm hoping to freeze some meals in the near future.  I also plan to have at least 1 to 2 back up meal a week.  When cooking without processed foods it's hard just to have ingredients on hand and/or ingredients that will stay good for an extended amount of time - that is why back up meals need to be planned out on a weekly basis.

I have found that making extra meat and freezing it is very helpful and can be a life saver!  Chicken is super easy.  I just purchase chicken breasts; put them in a crock pot, shred, and then freeze. If your on a budget, cooking a whole chicken can save some $$$, but make sure you're okay with the dark meat (which I am not a big fan of ;)). If I'm ever making ground beef or sausage, I cook at least 3 pounds at a time and freeze the rest.  Freezing meat has saved me quite a bit of time.

Planning is so very important.  I find it very helpful for me because I have 2 very young kids.  I can't go to the grocery store everyday and get the food I need.  I also think planning helps us eat better because I know what we're having that day/night so I don't have to rely on fast food or frozen pizzas.

This is such a learning process for me!  I'm definitely learning something new every week!

"When diet is wrong medicine is of no use.  When diet is correct medicine is of no need." Ancient Ayurvedic Proverb

Honored Prairie: Great Place for Meat

A friend of mine just introduced me to a WONDERFUL place to purchase meat that is somewhat local.  The place is called Honored Prairie.  They have everything from grass fed beef to farm fresh eggs...not to mention "natural" ketchup that doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup.  I have heard others mention this place before, but never did any further research.  I am so glad I went to their website today!  Thank you Leslie Morris for the link!  For anyone in the area interested in meat free from antibiotics, hormones, etc. you will love their website.  Another added bonus about this place is you can order online and have it delivered!  This is what I have been looking for :).

On a side note, I have yet to make my chicken broth.  I'm going to purchase whole chickens today and I would like to at least get it started this afternoon.  With two little ones running around, I'm not sure if that will actually happen!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

How Far to Go?

Now that my family has started to eat better, I find myself asking, "How far should I go with this?".  As stated in my last blog, I still have bagels sitting in our house and after DAYS (which seemed like months) of not having pretzels, I finally cracked and bought some at Wal-Mart just the other day.  Many of you may be asking, "what's wrong with pretzels and bagels".  Well, to be honest, I really don't know.  All I know is when I look at the ingredients list there is "stuff" in there that I question if I should intake on a daily basis.  Store bought bagels aren't made up of pure ingredients (flour, eggs, etc).  As I look at the label now I see momo and diglycerides, wheat gluten, maltodetrin, algin...to name a few.  I don't even know how to pronounce this stuff let alone what this stuff is!  Shouldn't I know if I'm going to be eating it? 

I think moderation is key.  We live in a world where chemically engineered food is readily available.  Of course I'm going to eat a store bought bagel at some point.  Who knows, I might even have a hot dog :).  I won't however, purchase those items and let them be a temptation to us.  So, I guess I just answered my own question.  I'm really going to miss my pretzels though!

I have a feeling some of you may think I'm falling of the deep end, and that's okay!  It has taken me YEARS to get to this point.  Just last year I was feeding Jackson cold meat turkey and green beans from a can.  I would not feed him that today.  For those that may question why - cold meat, hot dogs, sausage, etc all have nitrates in them.  There is a link between nitrates and cancer.  My love for Panera and Subway have been squashed a little, but I will survive! :)  (If I've sparked some questions, please look this up for yourself!  I feel that when you do your own research you get so much more out of it.)  As for canned veggies, pretty much all the nutrients have been cooked out, so really, what's the point in eating them?  Anyway, I don't want a factory to cook my veggies, I'd rather do it in my own kitchen.

My big mission this week is to make my own chicken broth!  I bought a 34 quart pan (and for those who are space dumb, it can fit my 9 month old in it).  This pan is HUGE.  I plan to make a lot so I won't have to make it for awhile!  I roasted a WHOLE chicken last night for the first time and plan to use the bones.  I'm going back to the store this week to buy 2 more chickens and hopefully, I will have broth by Friday.

I would like to leave you all with this request...please educate yourself.  Read the labels, and figure out what you and your family are consuming.  In case you haven't figured it out, Americans are not healthy.  We are sick and overweight.  It's time we take back our health and our lives.  One small step always gets you closer than where you were before!