Cancer

Most probably know that my grandmother has cancer.  She has lived with it for 6 years.  Unfortunately, it looks like the end of the road may be closer than we initially thought.  This week my grandmother went to Mayo Clinic and found the tumors have grown and she has a large mass in her abdomen.  We still don't know what the mass is and they will be making the long journey back to Mayo next week to get more answers.  My grandma is in her early seventies...young in the grand scheme of things.  I hate cancer and the thought of losing her makes me oh, so very sad.

Here's the thing.  I don't believe we are destined to get cancer.  Our environment, the things we eat, the things we come into contact with all play a role.  We are all just one mutation away from cancer.  I don't know about you, but I want to keep my odds low so I am going to do what I can to PREVENT cancer.  This is a huge reason why I do the things I do.  I want my cells to be working FOR ME not against.  It has been proven time and time again, fruit and veggies are SOOO good for us, yet we don't eat them.  We know that working out is good for us, yet we choose not to. We know we need to drink more water, yet we drink sugary soda.  We are looking for other, easy ways to get "healthy" or to loose weight and it's not working.

Let me tell you there is NOTHING my grandma wants then to be well and to have her health back.  She's not ready to leave this word or to leave us.  I don't want her to leave us either...because I love her and she's a wonderful person.  Cancer has motivated me to DO better.  I am going to do what I can to PREVENT this from happening to me.  I'm going to only eat whole foods (God made foods), I'm going to drink more water, eat more fruits and veggies, I'm going to work out, I'm going to cut out house hold cleaning toxins, I'm going to get adjusted regularly, I'm going to make the switch from plastic to glass...all these things I'm going to do because I want to be around for my children.  I want to be around for a long, long, time.  Hopefully, I'll be able to read this post when I'm 120 year old with my husband and we can say, we did the best we could to lead healthy happy lives ;).

Let's Get Healthy!!

Let's Get Healthy!
Let's get healthy America!!  I am totally stoked to get the word out to EVERYONE about the crap they are eating and they don't even know it!  I was at the car dealership today and I would say 90% of the Dealers were obese.  At the dealership they offered free soda and there was a McDonald's right beside them.  A family of four came into the dealership after they grabbed a "snack" of 2 large fries.  The family looked far from healthy.  I say this NOT to judge.  I truly felt sorry for them because I don't think they have a clue what they're doing or know what exactly is going into their bodies - most people think potatoes and oil, but little do they know all the toxins that go into the making of fast food fries.  Well people it's time to get educated!

What Should I Do First?

• Go into your cabinets and anything you find that says Hydrogenated Oil on it - throw it out.  (Yes, partially hydrogenated oil is the same thing).
• If you are not buying natural peanut butter, it's time to make the switch! 
• High Fructose Corn Syrup must go!
• ANY and ALL artificial sweeteners need not enter your mouth
• Buy whatever you can locally - if not locally then try to go organic
• If you don't know what an ingredient it is, or a 6 year old can't pronounce it you shouldn't buy it
• And my fave, if your great-grandmother didn't eat it you shouldn't either.

Shopping

If you have very young children and you are implementing this lifestyle change, you will want to leave them at home when you shop for the first time.  You will be AMAZED at the food you can no longer buy.  Some that surprised me were: taco shells, taco seasoning, rolls from the bakery and Ritz crackers.  If you cook with any premixes (cakes, cookies, brownies) or use Hamburger Helper, you are going to have to say bye-bye!  These are LOADED with preservatives.
You'll want to make sure you shop the perimeter of the store.  All the processed food are in the aisles.

Buy TONS of produce.  Buy a variety!  Kale and collard greens are soo good for us.  Pick out an exotic fruit to take home to your kids.  On a side note - if your kids are use to processed foods, they are going to MISS processed foods.  Expect to go through a detox period.  You can gradually take them off as well.  Early this summer, I banned Cheerios's from our house.  Jack STILL asks for them.  He'd rather eat processed product than real food.  Your kids will eat what you available to them.  If you don't have processed food, then they can't eat them and either can you!

Getting Healthy

Can you believe I have the key to getting healthy and loosing weight?!  I sure do.  Today, we have traded WHOLE foods for processed products.  Let's see...who was healthier, our ancestor's or us?  Well, it most certainly is NOT us.  By 2030, it is predicted, that fifty percent of Americans will be obese.  Something is not going right! It's time to go back to whole foods - and that means all the calories and fat that come with it.  Fat doesn't make us fat...artificial food is making us fat...REALLY fat.  Artifical foods are driving our cravings and they are out of control! 

Challenge
I would like to challenge you, my dear readers.  I want to challenge you to a whole food diet.  When your at the store, ask yourself, "Did God make this?".  As a friend of mine told me, "there are no fruit rollup trees".  I believe we are at a very pivital point.  We are fat, unhealthy and walking around blindly.  Time to WAKE UP!  Time to eat better.  We deserve it and our children deserve to have there parents around...oh wait, we are projected to out live our kids (for the first time in history).  Okay, so our children deserve to have LONG healthy and happy lives.

Have a wonderful weekend!! My local readers...enjoy the Fair!

Hello Fall, Goodbye Fresh Produce

Wow!  Where did our summer go?!  It seems just like yesterday I was so excited about the prospect of Spring, now we're starring straight into the barrel of Fall.  Don't get me wrong, I love fall and all it has to offer.  I love the cooler temps, sweaters, camp fires and especially the thought of the holidays...BUT it's the thought of WINTER that comes AFTER Fall that I don't care for. 

With the end of summer also comes the end of Farmer's Markets and all that wonderful FRESH produce. I was talking to my grandma the other day, and she was telling me how she used to can EVERYTHING...like, everything.  It's hard to imagine not going to the store and having fruit and veggies at your finger tips. And that's how it was back then.  I think canning is somewhat of a lost art.  I wonder how many people actually can today?

Many people may be wondering what the purpose of canning would be.  After all, we do have access to produce year round, PLUS you can buy produce already canned.  Well, I would have to say that locally grown produce is...better.  For example, let's look at tomatoes. Tomatoes are a fairly common fruit to plant for a lot of Americans.  Have you ever picked a tomato straight from the vine?  The full flavor does not even compare to a tomato you'd by at a store.  Or how about a strawberry?  They are SOOO much better if you buy them from a local farmer!  The quality of food you get from a local farmer surpasses anything you could purchase at...ummm, shall I say...Wal-mart? :)  Also, you want to be careful when you buy canned fruit.  Make sure you see what's accompanying the fruit.  Sometimes high fructose corn syrup is added. 

Therefore, friends, I have canned tomatoes, froze 30 pts of  peaches and have 2 bushels of pears riping on my counter.  I have to believe it'll all be worth it.  I want to put away more tomatoes and some green beans, and, come fall, we will be doing applesauce.  I have far from mastered the art of canning, but I hope to soon.  I need a pro to come over and help me!  I do so much better SEEING and DOING rather than just reading!  This desire to can and freeze coincides with my quest to eat better, live better and be healthier.  Sure it's a little more (okay, a LOT more) work, but when it boils down to what's better and HEALTHIER for us, I think the effort is worth it.  After all, convenience foods have only gotten us into trouble...but I don't want to get on that right now! 

This summer I have thoroughly loved eating melons, sweet corn, tomatoes from our plant, and all the fresh produce summer brings...ahhh, I will miss you summer!  It's not over yet though!  Enjoy the delicious-ness of summer dear readers!   Have a happy and Healthy weekend!

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!

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!

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! ;)

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 :).