Busy busy bees!

Just wanted to pop in today and let everyone know we are doing great and keeping very busy! I'm not posting as much as I use to and want to, but I will get there! :)


The Embark studies are going great! My son was really reluctant to using a mouse at first, but he is doing just fine now. He's a little pro! What helped me to encourage him to learn how to use the mouse was to go to his favorite TV show websites. Most of the kid shows will have online games for them to play. This is how my son started learning the mouse. At first he wouldn't do his online lessons because he was frustrated with the mouse. Not anymore! We used the website for Peep and also the Disney Junior websites for his other favorite shows. IT WORKS! :)


With all that said, I'm still a firm believer in limiting technology for the kiddos this young. He is now 4 years old and gets about 1-2 hours of TV and Kindle time. I still sometimes feel this is a bit much especially after adding in the 15 min. Embark lessons. So we shall see how that goes. If need be I will cut back somewhere. The good thing is that he will still prefer playing outside or with his toys over the TV or the tablet.


I'm still working very hard at eating healthier. We have come a VERY long way in the last year. I read about 2-3 books a month just on nutrition and health. I also follow a few pages on Facebook that encourage nutrition. I also watch many videos on Youtube when I have the chance. For me this keeps my health and awareness to the foods I eat front and center. It keeps it in front of my face so I am constantly reminded to take care of myself. If not I will slip back into my old habits. For me this works. I encourage anyone who is looking to become more healthy to do at least one of these things. It really helps to keep it in the forefront. Here are a list of the newest books I've read on nutrition. Click here for other great books I have read and recommend. As always check your local library first before you buy! Free is always good! :)

Get Naked Fast

Simply Raw Kitchen

Longevity Now

I have about 6 more new books other than these, but these I have read front to cover and I can easily recommend. I'll add the rest as I go through them.


I hope this helps and encourages you to look more into what you and your family eats. It's a slow journey, but well worth it! Plant those seeds of knowledge now by reading a book!

Graze Box Deal!

Have you heard of Graze Boxes? They are only $6 a month for 4 different snacks. Right now they are offering up your FIRST month FREE and if you like it and stick around you also get your fifth month FREE to! So two free months FREE! SWEET! Simply use this code: N921KY5LP

Hope you guys enjoy this as much as do! :)

Take Time For Yourself!

Calling all busy Moms!!! This is for you!

So I know how it is. We are so busy these days that it is hard to just slow down. There is so much to do in such a small amount of time. I just want to let you know that it is SO very important to STOP and take care of yourself. I know that this can be a challenge. It has been for me. I will run myself a nice soothing bath and get in only to start thinking of all the things I "should be" doing instead. If you are like me and you have ever felt this way, then it's time to change the way you think.

We are so busy taking care of our house chores, our kids, our husbands, our pets, but when it comes to ourselves we tend to put ourselves last. Why is this? I don't have an answer for that, but I can tell you that this is not good. If you keep putting yourself last then you are going to burn out! So do not feel guilty for taking out some time for yourself! You need to refresh your mind and your body so that you can do everything there is to do to the best of your ability. It's no fun to burn out and then do things half heartedly only to have to turn around and do it over "the right way". Been there, done that!

So here is my challenge to you. Take some time for yourself if you are not already. The more you can do this the better, but let's start slowly for those who are new to this. Every two weeks set aside a full hour just for you! To pamper your mind and your body and totally just refresh yourself. It's like hitting a reset button and it can totally change your perspective! You will feel better about yourself and you will have more of yourself to give to your family. More focus and more patience, yes please!

Here is my suggested SPA DAY layout. This routine works great for me and it really helps me to slow down and relax! No guilt is allowed! This is your time! I do this every two weeks after little one is in bed.

• Start off your spa day with some dry skin brushing! If you can, do this every night before bed. You only need 3-4 days in a row to convenience yourself that this is worth while! Your skin will glow and it will be silky smooth! It also helps with detoxing and will help you to feel your best the next day! I use this one by Earth Therapeutics. It's under $10 and will last you a very long time! It earns it's keep! Just be extra gentle on your tummy and back until your skin gets use to the brush. :)

 

• Next give yourself a nice manicure and pedicure. Now I'm not the kind of girl that will usually do this. I don't normally paint my nails, but I do for this. I don't paint my fingernails since I cook a lot, but I do paint my toe nails. I feel so girly and pretty after! I really recommend this! Give your hands and feet a good massage as well!
• Next run yourself a nice warm bath. I like all natural baths so I use Epson salts (for detox) and essential oils. This is is my favorite thing to add to a bath for sore muscles:

And this to distress:

 

They are definitely my splurge items since they run around $15-$20 a bottle. It is all natural and they are worth every single penny! If you cannot afford to try this stuff out then you should add this to your Christmas list!

 

 

• After your relaxing bath try rubbing on a soothing body oil. This is great anytime after dry brushing as well. This is my favorite coming in under $10 and it will last you quit a while to!

 

 

• Now snuggle up in bed with your favorite book until you are ready to drift off into a peaceful slumber!

 

Start making time for yourself! You will not regret it! :)

My Library Run!

You can save so much money going to the library! I checked out about 8 books that valued over $100 and I got to read them for FREE! As stated in a previous post, I am on a healthier food journey and was going to the library to get some books. You can also read my Healthy Eating Series to see why I am changing my diet. Also besides all those fun facts in the series, I am mainly looking to boost my health and my immune system. I was recently diagnosed with Asthma at age 33 and RX meds are not working and have horrible side effects. I believe true health starts with a healthy diet. That all being said it's HARD to change your diet. At least for me it is. I've been living on processed foods, meats, and diary all of my life. So this is a hard change for me. I have a huge book of go-to recipes that we all love and that I can whip up easily, but most of them contain ingredients that lack true nutrition.  So it's back to the drawing board for me! New recipes are in order and new education on diet is also in order. So here are the books I have read and I will outline which are good and which ones to skip. My goal for healthier eating is cutting out processed foods and cutting my meat and dairy intake by 75% or more. My ultimate goal is to be a vegan, but I'm taking it slow! :)

First up is "The Kind Diet" by Alicia Silverstone.

 

This book is REALLY good! It is in line with all of my research on healthy eating. The best thing about this book is that she talks in a calm non-judgmental manner. Some books I have read in the past give you a feeling of "eat this way or die a slow horrible death". This book is not like that at all. She also gives you 3 options to start the diet. Flirt, Going Vegan, and Super Hero. So you do not feel the pressure to be "perfect" right from the start. That's awesome! The only downfall to this book is the Super Hero section does have a lot of hard to find ingredients.

 

Next is "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" by Mark Bittman

 

 

Okay people, this book is HUGE! I mean REALLY! There is no way I could go thru this entire book. There is so much information in here! This is one of those books that you are going to want to keep on hand for a good reference. The recipes looked pretty simple as well.

 

Next is "The Flexiterian Table" by Peter Berely.

 

 

This book is really good for those who are not aiming to become a vegetarian or vegan. For me this book had to many recipes that centered around animal products. I am not aiming to cut out all animal products at this time, but they are not going to be the center of my meals. I will only use them in extreme moderation. This book had to much of an emphasis on this for me. I feel others who are not worried about this will enjoy this book.
 

Next, "Deliciously G-Free" by Elizabeth Hasselback.

 

 

This is a great book for anyone who is gluten intolerant. I for one don't think I will be using this book. I was hoping for some recipes to use up some coconut flour I bought. This book is for those who are looking to strictly cut out gluten. It does use eggs and diary in a lot of the recipes which is the only reason I passed on this book. I did read thru some of it though and it is an easy read and the recipes did look tasty.

 

Next, "Eat To Live Cookbook" by Joel Fuhrman.

 

 

WOW! The BEST BOOK I have read since the 80-10-10 book!! I love this book so much that I want to buy a copy for everyone in my family! Very practical advice! I was thinking this was just going to be a cookbook, but the start of the book has TONS of important information. It explains why we need to eat this and why we need to stay away from that. Lots of research is shown to back up the claims and is also in line with a lot of books I've read for healing yourself with diet. It gently nudges you toward a more vegetarian diet. It is full of recipes with EASY TO FIND ingredients(hallelujah for that!).

 

Next, "Ani's Raw Food Kitchen" by Ani Phyo.

 

 

I love this book! Great information about eating raw foods. I do not ever plan to go fully raw (though I did enjoy 80-10-10 very much), but I do plan to include LOTS of raw foods into my diet. They are the most nutrient dense, cleansing, and healing foods that we have! Raw food recipes have intimidated me in the past, but these are super easy and also include EASY to find ingredients.

 

Next up is "Eating Well Comfort Foods Made Healthy" by Jessie Price.

 

 

Okay, I couldn't find some other books on my list to check out and came across this book. On a whim I checked it out. Not what I am looking for at all! Lots of animal centered recipes. Some of the recipes are high in calories and lack efficient amount of nutrients to meet my goals of clean eating. If you are not worried about that, then you might like this book. I would definatly check it out from your library first and skim thru it and be sure it is a fit for you and your family before purchasing.

 

Last is "The Conscious Cook" by Tal Ronnen.

 

 

GREAT BOOK! I love this book very much! Lots of great information and cooking tips for eating healthier. The recipes are YUMMY and easy to follow. My only warning with this book is TO READ your recipe thru and thru before starting it! Yes, you should do that with any book. True, but this book requires you to soak some of your ingredients over night. So you will need to plan ahead.

 

So that is it! That is my library round-up! The books I love the most I am buying so I have a hard copy in hand. Those books that are true winners for me are:

-The Kind Diet

-Eat to Live

-Ani's Raw Food Kitchen

-The Conscious Cook

 

Hope this helps to save some of you time and helps to point you in the right direction. :)

COOKING!

So, as you may know by my Healthy Eating Series that I am trying to avoid processed foods. Furthermore I am now exploring a flexterian style diet. Flexterian? Is there such a thing? Yep, I didn't just make it up! It's a "mostly vegetarian" that sometimes eats meat. Okay, now this is something I can work with! I tend to have issues when cutting out entire groups of foods. I do however hope to become a vegetarian some day, but for now I seriously need to take baby steps! Like I've said before, when learning a new habit it's best for me to take it slow. I get overwhelmed to easily if I don't. Mainly because I put so much pressure on myself to get it "just right". Well, this flexterian thing is made just for me!!!!

Why a diet change?

Well, if you don't already know I have asthma. Can you imagine coming down with asthma at age 33? I knew for the past few years that I have had trouble breathing and finally got tested. Did you know processed foods and GMO foods can cause asthma? What has my diet over the past, I don't know, 33 years consist of? Processed foods! Now I have to admit my mother was great at cooking from scratch, so my diet was much better then than it is now! So back to the drawing board! It's time to get healthy!!!!

Also, my husband who is also 33 has high cholesterol. I don't want him to have to go on prescription meds for so many reasons. So we need to get that down. We did it before with exercise and diet, but we've slipped up with our busy life. Time to get back on board and stay there!

Tip for those with high cholesterol: Use a product called Benecol Smart Chews to lower your number fairly quickly. This stuff is AMAZING and it is worth every penny! Just know that with any supplement you will need to incorporate diet and exercise. We lowered his cholesterol before using this, 30 minutes cardio a day, and cutting out red meat (you can have chicken and turkey in small amounts). We used it for 2-3 months and stopped using it. We then were able to stabilize it with diet and exercise alone. The doctor was VERY impressed! No RX required! Also I do not recommend using sterols. Stick with a supplement that uses stanols. Sterols have been known to weaken blood vessels over time.

So, to help me along my journey I am renting TONS of cookbooks from the library this week. I will come back and let you know how they went and maybe even post some videos for you to! So stay tuned! This is going to be exciting!

Eathing Healthy #3: Easy Switches to get you started!

Here are a few simple changes we have done to eat healthier. EASY PEASY switches! You can do it to! :)

Please check out this awesome FREE website: http://cronometer.com/ You simply put in what you eat and it tells you EXACTLY what kind of nutrition your body is getting and what your missing! Ex. today it showed me I didn't get any B12 in my food at all. So time to supplement. Very handy and for $3 you can download it on your IPhone. :)

White pasta -Wheat pasta: Really simple and by the time you put the sauce on it you never know the difference. No blood sugar spikes! YAY!


White Bread - Whole Grain Bread: If you don't like whole grain try "Soft Wheat". Again, no blood sugar spikes! WOOT!

 White Rice - Brown Rice: You'll certainly not taste the difference here! Cooks the same as white rice to!

Regular Milk - Organic Milk or Almond Milk: Healthier to go organic than regular. It's cleaner and taste better to. Only about .50 cents more here. Almond milk is great, but get unsweet or you'll be getting a ton of sugar! Almond milk is great in smoothies! :)

Margarine - REAL Butter: Organic is hard to find. I finally found one at our local grocery store that is really good. It was $5 a tub though! OUCH! But it lasts a while. Anyways, stay away from fake butter! Get the real deal if you must use it. Put some margarine out in the yard for a month and see what happens to it. NOTHING! It doesn't rot and I promise you nothing is going to eat it! Should tell ya something huh? LOL! It's just a big tub of chemicals and nothing more. BLAH! No thank you!

Table Salt - Sea Salt or Pink Himalayan Salt: White table salt is refined and actually damages the body! Sea salt and Pink Himalayan Salt are loaded with natural minerals and taste just the same! YUM! Pass the salt please! :)

Vegetable Oil - Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Sunflower seed Oil, Grape seed Oil: Not all oils are created equally. Vegetable Oil?? PLEASE just don't!! I can't even go there, so gross! Olive oil is cheapest and holds up to the highest heat. Coconut oil adds a great flavor to your stir frys but use no more than 2TBL of this very healthy fat (your body will love it!), and Sunflower and grape seed oil are great for salads! So is Olive Oil. Just take some oil and crush up some garlic into it with a squeeze of lemon and voila! Healthy dressing that is full of flavor! YAY! :)

Fruit Juice - Make your own or buy fresh cold pressed organic:  Who's got time for that right? Well, it takes about 5 minutes to whip up your own fresh juice! Just get a simple juicer from Walmart for about $50 and your good to go! To much work? Look for some fresh organic juice in the juice section. Ours ranges from $3.48 for a large bottle - $4.50 depending on brand. All that other juice is FULL of refined sugars! You might as well be drinking a soda! Natural cold pressed juice has simple natural sugars that you body can use and process quickly. You'd be surprised how ymmy it is to drink your veggies!


Chips - Natural Chips: Just look at the ingredients. It should say something like potato, sunflower oil, spices, sea salt. The less the ingredients the better. Look for the healthy oils listed above and you should be good! No need to deprive yourself! :)

White Flour - Wheat flour, almond flour or coconut flour. Wheat flour will be the easiest to substitute. The others you'll need to look up recipes for. They don't all cook the same. Hard switch? Try halfing it to start. Instead of 1 full cup of white flour do 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat! You won't notice the difference and it makes the switch easier. White flour = white sugar in the body! Bad news! With any of the white flours, pasta's, and breads, your body will turn it into sugar in the body. Then it will store most of it as fat. Then it will cause huge blood sugar spikes and crashes leaving you cranky and feeling even more hungry! BLAH! Horrible roller coaster! Get me off this thing! LOL!

Soda: JUST SAY NO! Soda is the legal drug of America. Instead drink water, fresh juices, and herbal teas. Not that sweet tea either that is full of sugar! LOL! Get you some good green tea and sweeten it with some organic stevia or some honey. YUMMY!

Eggs: Just be sure it says free range organic. You should be good! :)

Meats: Grass fed beef and cage free birds. Always wash before you cook! :)

Fruits and Veggies: Organic when you can. It's hard sometimes to find organic. Just wash it for a good 30 - 60 seconds! Scrub scrub scrub! LOL! Also check this out:


So there you have it! EASY PEASY ways to eat a bit more on the healthy side and feel better to! Making these switches are not only easy but after the 2nd shopping trip it just becomes second nature. You won't even have to think about it! Eating healthy is feeling healthy! Because after all YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!

Eating Healthy #2

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Found "Hungry for Change" FREE on youtube! PLEASE watch! New page up top or follow this link:
WATCH IT HERE!
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So here we are! Second edition of eating healthy! Can I get a woot woot!?

I want you to ask yourself this question each and every time you put food or drink into your body.

Does this build my health or does this build disease?

Our bodies are never at a stable "stand still" of either of those. What we CHOOSE to put into our bodies and the choices we make determines which direction we are going. It's either or and there are no in betweens. It's really just that simple.

So let's review of what builds disease.
*Anything processed! If you cannot recreate in your own kitchen, it's not good for you. If you cannot pronounce even one word, it's not good for you.
*Hydrogenated Oils
*High fructose corn syrup! It's so so so bad for you for so many reasons! Funny thing is that companies even made a commercial about this trying to prove it's safe! They just want your money, they are not concerned with your health. This stuff is in everything! Ketchup, mustard, syrups, breads, sausages, hams, you name it! Read those labels! More on this on next page and why it is so important to avoid it. :)
*Sugars! You know it's bad for you! The only good sugar out there is natural sugar in plants. If you want to sweeten something try some honey. That way you get an added kick of antioxidants to! And don't forget sugar feeds cancer cells! Lots of us have cancer cells in our bodies already. A lot of it is genetic. So will you leave those cells dormant? Or will you give them the sugar they need to thrive? Our bodies can only fight off so many cancer cells at a time. Work for your body not against it. (Yes, our bodies most definitely have the ability to fight off and kill cancer cells, doctors will not tell you this! It's top secret I guess! LOL!)
Grains: are high glycemic. This means it weight gain and poor hair, skin, and nails. I cannot at this point say to cut out all grains. The Paleo Diet cuts this out and I'm not 100% sure I can agree with this. I understand that it can be harmful, but in my research (and I've done a lot and it's on going every single day!) I have not seen any harm in keeping this in your diet at small quantities. You can get some great proteins from grains and grains can be a great substitute for other things. Like whole grain breads and pastas. So for now I say enjoy it in moderation. :)
White flour: This is bad guys! I know you don't' want to hear this. I didn't either. Do you know what flour turns into (in most cases) in your body? SUGAR! Yep, so when your making that cake and you measure out all that sugar and think "Man that's a lot of sugar!" Well glance over at you 3 cups of white flour and say the same thing! It's not good period.
MSG: Oh man, this bad news to people! Hubby knows the effects of this one. MIGRAINS! And really really bad ones! It has so many side effects it's insane. It also slows your metabolism and makes you retain weight like crazy. And of course weight gain has it's own list of disease! It's just one of those things companies put in their products as a filler and most importantly because it's addictive and you'll always want more of it! Just like sugar and high fructose corn syrup. You don't think they put all that in there because they are trying to nourish your body? Nope they are trying to nourish their wallets! Where do you find MSG? See page two! They are sneaky with this one!
Aspartame: Anything with this in the label AVOID like the plague! It kills brain cells, causes a chemical reaction in the body that produces something similar to formaldehyde, causes migraines, vision problems, and directly linked to cancer! Tell me now why is this even allowed in our food! UGH!

So before we get into a lot of why's and the sneaky ways MSG is allowed to label itself as...... I just want to wrap this up by going back to the question "Is this going to build my health or build disease"

And here is some GREAT NEWS! You don't have to be perfect to achieve a healthy lifestyle. As long as your avoiding those highly dangerous items listed above you should be fine. Think of it as 80-20. As long as 80% of your diet is healthy the other 20% doesn't really count much. Leave this 20% for a cheat dinner once a week. Go out and treat yourself to one of your old favorites! Your body will be so healthy from the other choices that one single meal will not throw you off! So don't put yourself in an "All or nothing" state of mind. That's not how this works. Once you educate yourself and start a healthy lifestyle eventually your body will CRAVE healthy things.

See more info click "Read More" below under my name! :)

Why is high fructose corn syrup so bad!? Well think of it this way. It's not natural is it? Can you recreate this in your kitchen or pick it from a garden? No you can't. It is not natural it is man made and loaded with harmful chemicals. YUCK! What is this stuff anyways??? Well, it's corn that is chemically broken down into it's finest form. I'm talking broken down to just about one molecule! Then those molecules are then (even more) chemically compressed into one another.

Think of it like this. The leaf that cocaine is made from is perfectly safe! It can even be used as a tea. But when you chemically break it down to it's finest molecules and the chemically compress them even more you get cocaine..... eh... not so good for you! They do the same thing with corn!

Why do companies use this? It's HIGHLY addictive and also enhances the flavors of foods. It's similarly addictive as nicotine in a cigarette is. Once that nicotine leaves the body (normally 20-30 min. after you smoke) you want more! Once this high fructose corn syrup leaves your body, YOU WANT MORE! And companies hope that you go right back to them and buy more from them! How rude!

Some companies are now using and enzyme process to make this healthier, but no matter how you slice it or dice it, it's bad!
Orginal Commercial

Great counter video:


Don't let the companies fool you!

Lastly lets talk again about MSG. Read the labels. There are many names it hides under. They are so sneaky!! Ingredients like hydrolyzed protein, autolyzed yeast, and sodium caseinate are all pseudonyms for MSG.

Eating Healthy Update!

Well, so far so good. The unprocessed foods give me energy. I'm in transition now and sometimes feel  hungry, but combat that with fruit and water. It works nicely. I splurged last night and had some restaurant food. Yes, French fries were included! I felt so sick after and woke up with a bad migraine today. BLAH! So only a couple of days of better eating and my body is already knowing the difference in good food and bad food.

Did you see this Yahoo article today?

25000 US deaths linked to sugary drinks!

Well, doesn't surprise me much. From my research sugar increases risk of heart disease and sugar literally FEEDS cancer cells. Eat smart people! :)

Eating Smarter!

So we've all seen the new petition for Kraft Mac & Cheese. If you have not please read about it here and sign the petition. Basically the USA allows lots of weird chemicals into our food. Overseas is a different story. Kraft has deemed some of it's ingredients as unsafe and pulled them products overseas. Even linked to some cancers! However they left these ingredients in the USA products. Why? Simply because they can.

It had me thinking what else is going on in our food that we do not know about? I have always been curious of this question, but to afraid to seek it out. I am so busy with life that I don't have time for a diet change! I was afraid of what I would find out and of course afraid of change. Who isn't? I like my comfort zone and don't care for change! LOL!

Well, with a 3 year old I know I have to be worried. So a diet change would be hard, yes, but who said you had to do it all at one time? After all slow change is easy change and slow change is lasting change! I took a good hard look at how eat and how I felt. I eat lots of processed foods. LOTS! I'm busy and it's just convenient. But now let's look at how I feel:

*Fatigue all the time
*Foggy Headed
*Joint discomfort
*Get sick easily
*Post nasal drip going on 4 months!
*Insomnia

Just to name a few! So, something has to change right!? RIGHT! I don't want to live life just trying to get by one day at a time just hoping I have enough energy to get to the next hour. So, I thought "Well maybe it is our diet!" I have done lots of research on how nutrition can heal our bodies, but never really applied it until I needed it. Why not use good nutrition to PREVENT it and even ENHANCE life? Yea, that sounds good!

So I braved it out! I chose not to turn and look away any longer. I chose not to be fooled! WOW! The things I have learned about what is in our food!! It is ridiculous! The food market place THRIVES on people like me. People who just do not have the time to cook from scratch and people who just do not have the time to educate themselves. They count on nearly all people in our society to be to busy to take responsibility for our own health. They will even throw pitches at you on the front of cartons such as "FAT-FREE" or "Low cholesterol". Lots of lies! Those sales pitch's are just that.... SALES PITCH'S! Do you think they are worried about our nutrition level? Nope, they want us to buy, buy, buy, and will say and do anything to get the next dollar from us.

If you see something that says "Fat-Free" I can bet you that it is loaded with sugar! Do you know what happens to sugar in our bodies when we eat a lot of it? Insulin turns it to   *drum roll please*  FAT!

Not only that, but we have sugar in EVERYTHING now! Even some taco seasonings and crackers have sugar!

I highly suggest that if you do not want to be in the dark any longer to do some research of your own. I personally did not have time to read books on top of books to educate myself. And I'm sure many of you are the same way. I highly suggest everyone to watch "Hungry for Change " on Amazon.com. You can watch it right on your PC screen! Just PAY ATTENTION! You don't want to miss what these people have to say! LIFE CHANGING! Then if you are a Prime member of Amazon like myself I highly suggest watching "Forks over Knifes" Which is free to watch for Prime members. Others it is $3.99 to rent. It is very eye opening! Forks over knifes deals more with animal products and the effects they have on our health. It also talks about how the food industry has us all thinking we HAVE TO HAVE animal products to thrive. Even if you do not want to go vegan (I don't plan on it as of right now) it will give you motive to cut back on your animal product intake.

Back to the blueberry muffins. I get these for my son for breakfast a lot. He loves them! I either get the mix or buy them made already in the snack aisle. SHAME ON ME! Do you know what those little "fake" blueberries are made of? They are made of a product called Propylene glycol and they also contain partially hydrogenated oils! More on that in a later post. :)

So why is Propylene Glycol bad? It breaks down protein and cellular structures in the body. It's so bad that factory workers have to wear special gloves to handle it. They are told to NOT let it come into contact with the skin! It can cause brain, kidney, and liver damage. It is also the main ingredient in Anti-Freeze. You know that stuff is bad for you! LOL! You won't just find this stuff in your muffins either! You can find it in:
Anti-Freeze, Brake fluid, Paint, Floor Wax, Laundry Detergent, Pet food (yes, pet food!), Toothpaste, Shampoo, Deodorant, Lotion, and MANY processed foods and personal care items.

Now, I'm sure your thinking "A little bit won't hurt". Well, look at how often we come into contact with it. Look at how much we will absorb into our bodies over a lifetime. Don't you think by the time we are  in our 50's and 60's we will start getting the effects of this? A time where we should be enjoying life and grandbabies we will be dealing with illness and disease. What about our kids? What's going to happen to them when they get older? We all want our children to live long and healthy lives. So it's time we start taking charge of the things in this world that we have control over. I believe it starts with making ourselves healthier thru nutrition and avoiding these types of toxins as much as possible. This is only ONE toxin! There are many more and there are so many EASY ways to avoid them. Join me on my journey to be healthier and eating smarter, just a regular gal trying to do what is right for herself and her little family. :)

Lemon Water!

 

I'm just going to come right out and say that I was never a huge fan of lemon water. That was until I discovered all of the health benefits you can gain from this simple drink!! Now it's an everyday drink for me. I have a glass of lemon water as soon as I wake up. Then later if I still feel the need for coffee, I'll have some. It's amazing how much energy lemon water can give you! But it doesn't stop there! This wonderful drink does so much more including:

 

*Boost metabolism

*Helps your digestive system work properly (when you drink warm)

*Gives your skin a natural healthy glow

*Balances your body's PH

*Aids in respiratory conditions

*Helps cure a sore throat infection (you can even gargle 50% lemon juice with 50% water to speed things up!)

*Helps with high blood pressure

*Helps detox the body

 

So why not drink this? I like mine in a cup of warm water with a small amount of raw honey. It's actually very yummy!!! Bottoms up!

 

 

 

 



I made butter!

Yes, you read that right! I made my own butter and it was DELICIOUS!!!! I'm here today to show you how you can make your own butter to! It's crazy easy and it will not have all those additives found in store bought butter. One ingredient is needed and that is it! HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM! So make it organic if you can! You want your butter free of all those additives so read those labels! The simplier the better!

So here is what you do with your heavy whipping cream (I used a cup, but you can use more as needed):

Put your heavy cream into a blender or food processor. Watch it close! Once you notice that it is getting thicker or that your blender or processor is slowing down you are going to want to stop! This usually takes about 2-4 minutes, depending on your machine. I have a vitamix and it only took about 2 minutes.

Then pour it off into a canning jar and close it tightly. Then all you have to do is SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE!!!!! It will only take about 3 minutes of shaking and you will see a ball form in the jar. Pour off the liquid and give it another shake for about a minute.

Pour off the liquid then plop your ball of butter into a glass bowl. Now you are going to want to wash your butter with cold water and squeeze out any liquid left. This helps it from spoiling quickly! Use the spoon to fold the butter over onto itself. Do this until the water is no longer clear. Then pour off water and repeat 3-4 times. Once you are done drain your new butter ball in mesh strainer and put it in a tightly closed container. It's is YUMMY!!!!

I separated my batch into two small cups. One batch I added a dash of cinnamon and about 1/2 tsp honey. My 3 year old LOVED this on his pancakes and toast! You can make other flavors as well so don't be afraid to experiment!!! Have fun making butter and get the kids involved! They will be amazed to see the heavy cream go from liquid to solid!!

VITA MIX!

So on my path to get healthier and take better care of my health and the health of my family, I decided to SPLURGE and buy a vita mix! I got it in red and it's just beautiful!

 

Staying away from processed foods can be tricky and I think this bad boy is going to make some of that bit easier. After looking more into the ingredients of our everyday foods, I knew we had to make a change. You don't have to have a vita mix to follow me along my journey! So don't be afraid to try this change out with me. Here are just a few benefits of cutting down or cutting out processed foods from your diet.

 

*More energy! Get rid of that sluggish feeling!

*Combat colds and flu naturally!

*Prevent cancer and many other diseases linked to processed foods!

 

When was the last time you read the back of margerine or butter for the ingredients? YIKES! Did you know half the stuff in margerine causes cancer! A 50% increase risk! It's only a few %'s away from being plastic! ICK!

 

That being said, my first project is to create butter!!! I will keep you posted! :)

Get Healthy Step #1: Build a foundation

Hello everyone! This post goes with my "Get Healthy With Me Challenge". You can find this in one of the top page tabs. I urge you to join me on this journey of getting fit! :)

Step #1 (Educate yourself! Build a foundation!)

Energy! This is the main reason most of us do not work out. I won't get into finding time. You know your schedule and I promise you that you can squeeze in a workout if you wanted to. Why don't we want to? Again (at least for me) it's lack of energy! I am a SAHM and run 2 online businesses, so my energy is shot by the end of the day. It's time to banish those energy zappers once and for all! Also when we get to actually working out (baby steps people!) we might want to pick a time of day that we actually have the most energy. For me I'm slow at waking up in the morning and my energy is zapped by night time. So For me I would choose before or after lunch. Lets get on to this list of energy zappers shall we? What things can zap your energy?

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