Making My Own Food

DIY or do it yourself is a big thing right now. One of my goals in living is to reduce and hopefully eliminate processed food in my family's life. One of my problems with making my own food is that I get bored. I wish I knew more about how to make up recipes as I go that are exciting and flavorful. When I make something new or something that I haven't made in a long time, I get inspired to continue. The problem is I find myself making the same things all the time. The other night, I had a craving for lentils. I almost didn't make them because I felt like its summer and I should be making a light summer dish, not a heavy comfort food dish. I did add grilled pineapple and a caprese salad with fresh basil and fresh mozzarella which I do think lightened up the meal. What it did though, was to inspire me to make more foods that I don't usually make and to actually listen to my cravings when they are healthy cravings. I think my next goal is to learn about different spices and how they work with different foods. We, unfortunately, did have store bought canzone for food today and I bought an egg sandwich at a small local bistro today for breakfast. I am not really hungry for any other food today, but I plan to start tomorrow with making my own foods and experimenting with different foods and spices to feel more inspired to eat healthy, flavorful, inspired foods. One of the things that inspires me is to watch cooking shows as well as to go to my local farmers market. I love seeing all the different foods, some that I have never heard or cooked with and some are just inspiring even though I have eaten them many times before but maybe in a different way. What really inspires me is my friend Holly, at thesoulchef.com, who cooks every week and always inspires me to use new and different ingredients. I love trying new foods and foods that I have had, but cooked in different ways of with different flavors. Today, I promised my oldest son that we would make granola. He loves granola and yogurt and he loves to help in the kitchen. I want him to help and learn new foods that are healthy, especially since he is on the autism spectrum and I feel that he really needs to watch his diet to help with some of the symptoms of his autism. That in and of itself is enough for it's own post and more. Later tonight, after I find a good recipe, we will make our own granola so that we can add it to our yogurt which I want to become a staple grocery item in our house. Here's to some good, healthy, DIY foods to help kick the processed food habit and save money at the same time! Amy

Just A Quick Post

Today was day 5 of my 21 day sugar detox. Things have bee going ok except that today was my oldest's 7th birthday. I ate potatoes, BBQ sauce, a roll, and cake. After my bagel Friday, I should really start day 1 tomorrow. One thing I am learning is not to feel guilty because of these set backs. Life happens, and I wasn't going to not have cake with my child. What changed though, was that I had 1 roll,1/2 the potatoes, 2 ribs, and a small piece of cake, as well as a 6oz sirloin and Caesar salad. Previously, I would have had more like 4 rolls and a huge piece of cake, I would also have had loaded fries vs loaded mashed potato. Not a huge difference in the potato choices, but at least it was only 1/2 of it. This needs to be a lifestyle change for me. I need to be healthy. Tomorrow, we are having salmon. I'm not a huge fish fan, but I'm trying to be better at eating heartily fish. I just need to keep moving forward with my journey to be healthier. Another piece to this journey is making sure that I am eating mindfully. I want to make sure that what I put in my mouth is really what I want. I want to stop mindless eating. Overall, I want to look at food as fuel for my body, as a way to keep me running for many, many years! Here's to living a healthy, happy, and long life. Amy

My Journey

Now that I have decided on a path that I want to take my career, I figure I should start my own journey towards health and document it. Not that I haven't attempted this journey before and I even tried to document a whole new blog towards my health journey, but I think I am an a better place to move forward on this new health path that I have chosen and document it here and as well as document my creative attempts. Since this blog is meant to be about the balance of living a handmade and natural life, it is the perfect place to document both. This journey is going to be at least two fold. It will consist of me journey toward bettering my own health as well as my learning how to help others on their journey. I'm sure that my experience will help me understand what others may go through when they make the journey toward better health. I know that I am going to face issues with food addiction, stress, frustration, trying to get my family to eat healthier, and I'm sure others that I'm not even aware of right now. My journey is going to be eating a clean diet. I am not going too count calorie, points, fat grams, etc. I am going to eat fresh, home cooked, non processed meals and snacks. I am going to increase my daily movement. I am going to decrease and maybe even eliminate gluten, dairy, and sugar. I need to eliminate soda and artificial sweeteners and increase my water consumption. I am not prepared to share my starting weight, but suffice it to say, I need to lose about 20-30 pounds before I am happy with my weight. I am going to try not to focus too much on my actual weight, but it is a way to measure my progress. I'd like to be able to come to terms with the fact that I am almost 42 and will never be 120 pounds like I was when I was 20. I don't even want to be that skinny. I want to be comfortable in my own skin. I want to look at myself and see a healthy strong woman. I am going to start being more adventurous with my cooking ands creating my own recipes. This weekend, I make a mix of asparagus, spinach, peppers, and garlic cooked in butter and coconut oil with a touch of lemon juice added at the end. It was really good different than the basic greens and olive oil and garlic that I usually make, but not too crazy. I am really looking forward to this journey. I can't wait to be able to feel healthier and stronger. I hope that sharing this journey helps others to start on their own journey towards health and wellness. With this focus on food and exercise, I will not be forgetting the creative piece of my life. I want to make sure that I follow all my dreams and passions, both personally and professionally. Welcome to my journey! Amy

Happy New Year!!!

Good-bye 2014, and welcome 2015! Thankfully, unlike some of my friends, 2014 wasn't a bad year. My big accomplishment was testing and passing my LICSW test. This was a huge accomplishment and one of my major goals that I had set for myself. Another thing that I started was the 100 mandala challenge. I am loving creating these different mandalas. I finally learned what the zentangle method is. Since starting this blog more than 5 years ago, I have been trying to live a healthier, more natural, handmade life. I have had some ups and downs while I've been working on that. As much as I hate to admit it, there have been more downs than ups, but that is going to change this year. With the start of 2015, I am planning on putting forward my intentions for the new year and beyond. I am not going to make resolutions. I think using the word intention sets you in a better frame of mind and is a more positive way to embrace change. Within the 100 mandala challenge, I am also choosing a word of the year. I am hoping that my word/s of the year will help me with my intentions. Without further ado, here are my intentions for 2015: 1.) My word/s of the year are balance and passion: I intend to figure out my passions and how to follow them both personally and professionally. I think I know what they are and I will write more further down, I also want to have balance in my life, again, both personally and professionally. 2.) I intend to continue to create mandalas and go beyond 100. Creating these mandalas is my form of meditation. Along with creating my own mandalas, I want to learn more about the practice of mandalas. 3.) I have decided to join a 100 days of real food challenge. I intend to get rid of the processed foods that I still have in my life. One of the goals that I had when I started this blog was to eat healthier and more natural foods. I have had some great moments and some really not great moments. I intend to learn more about how foods affect out mind/body/spirit as well as taste good and also how our food and how its gown/raised affects our environment. I want to see if there is a way to use food in my professional career as a social worker. 4.) I intend to treat my body the way it deserves to be treated. I intend to start looking at my body as a whole and look at it from the mind/body/spirit connection. 5.) I intend to make being creative a priority. One of my friends started a Facebook group called "make art everyday" and asked me to join in it. I intend to make time every day to be creative and make something handmade. My intentions for 2015 follow along with my intentions of this blog. I am hoping that I 2015 will be the year that I start making changes and start following through with what I see as my life goals and dreams. I plan to share what I learn about food, mandalas, creativity and the mind/body/spirit connection, and my journey through this year. Amy

June, Summer, and New Things

June 1st, I embarked on a huge challenge.  Ok, it's a huge challenge for me.  My fellow blogger Iris, at http://thedailydietribe.com, asked me to take part in a gluten free challenge.  I think I've mentioned here that, according to an IgG blood test (some say it's faulty), I am sensitive to many food items, including gluten.  This is one thing that I have had a hard time eliminating from my diet.  I wasn't sure that I was going to take part in this challenge, mostly for the fear of failure and the fact that it was 6 months long.  I ended up deciding that my health was important enough to challenge myself, and I thought that this would be a great way to have support through something that is so difficult, at least for me.  Day 1 was great.  It was hard but I had a gluten free day.  Day 2 was really good, but we went to a graduation party, and I couldn't say no to cake and corn bread.  What was good is that I only had a very small piece of both of those things.  What is also good, is that I didn't go back for more. In the last 2 1/2 days, I have had less gluten then I ever have in even just one day.  Though it hasn't been horrible, it hasn't been easy.  I am hopeful that I can follow though and be healthy.

This is also important since I have that crazy gene mutation making me more at risk for breast cancer and I don't plan on having preventative surgery.  I just found out that my mom's cousin was diagnosed with breast cancer and the gene mutation and she is not yet 53.  She is the youngest diagnosed that I know of, 13 years older than me.  I have met with doctors and nurse practitioners and I think my food sensitivities are something I need to focus on so that I don't put more stress on my body.  I am also hopeful that going gluten free is going to help with my weight issues.  I am hopeful that it will help me know my body and what my body needs.  I am hoping that I will lose weight as a side effect of eating healthy.

As I've mentioned, I turn 40 this year.  Sometimes, I have a hugely hard time with this, other times I am absolutely fine.  This weekend someone actually asked me if I was mom or grandma to my kids.  Yes, I could have a grandchild, but I am only going to be 40.  I didn't think I looked that bad.  I actually went out and colored my hair after that comment.  I was thinking about not coloring my hair again, but with how I've been feeling and then that comment, I decided that I needed to color my hair.  I mentioned that I was thinking about doing 40 creative things to donate during the year I turn 40.  I got the idea from 36 quilts in 12 months (http://dailydog.typepad.com).  What I haven't decided is when I should start.  Do I want it to be 40 things within the calendar year I turn 40 or a year from  when I turn 40?  If it's the calendar year, then I can say that I have started, but I only have 6 months to finish 39 more projects.  I made a quilt square for the Boston bombing victims.  If I wait til I turn 40 I have a full year to go to complete this project.  I'm leaning to being able to finish before I turn 41.  Maybe, to make things easier, I can have it be 40 projects before I turn 41, starting the calendar year that I turn 40.  That means, I can count the quilt square and have a little more than a year to complete the rest of the 39 projects.

Now, I've written about Wishcasting Wednesday and putting out your dreams to the universe.  Well, a facebook friend of mine (friends literally from facebook alone) and an artist, is actually starting one of my dreams here in my town.  In the next month, she will open a gallery and studio in the center of town.  She has asked me to teach a class or two, and I am so flattered, but so nervous.  My introverted, shy self is having a hard time thinking that I can do this.  I will probably take hep up on this offer some day, but I need to work up the courage.

Within the dream/passion piece of things, I am still thinking about doing something at my farmer's market with regards to crafting for charity.  Again, I need to get up the courage to do this.  I would love to have a table and collect things that people create and donate somewhere locally.  This will help go along with my goal of creating and donating 40 items before I turn 41.  How cool would it be to spend a Saturday morning creating and collecting things to donate to others to make them more comfortable or so that they know that someone is thinking of them.

These are just a few of the new things in my life.  Here's to completing the goals that I have set forth for myself.

Amy

Trying To Be Healthier and Product Review

Over the last few months, my healthy lifestyle has given way to laziness and unhealthy eating.  This is partially due to the fact that I had months of back pain that resulted in treatment for a herniated disc.  Over the past 6 months, my pain has caused me to have the inability to exercise and even cook the way I like to.  As I write this, it feels like just a bunch of excuses, but I really was in a lot of pain.  About 1 month ago, I was treated for the herniated disc and now only have slight pain here and there.

Now that my pain is pretty much gone, I am trying to regain my healthy lifestyle.  One of the things that I have done is limit my coffee intake and increase my tea intake (I wasn't drinking any tea and I was having multiple cups of coffee and cream a day).  Recently, I had a single cup of coffee and decided to try some VanGogh Caramel Vodka with some NuNaturals chocolate liquid stevia.  This was the first time I tried it and it was really good.  Along with the chocolate stevia, I was given (by NuNaturals) a bunch of other products to try.  I love the liquid Stevia.  I love using the vanilla, lemon, orange, peppermint, and chocolate in my tea.  I also love using the lemon or vanilla liquid stevia in sparking water with some lemon juice to make a healthy "soda".  It's the best drink to have when you need your thirst to be quenched especially in the hot weather.

My husband and I have been using stevia for years as a healthy way to eliminate sugar, yet have some sweetness in things that we enjoy.  I hope to be able to try out some of the other NuNaturals products in baking.  In the past baking with stevia was difficult as there was always a horrible after taste.  I haven't experienced  any after taste with the NuNaturals products that I have tried.  Other than the liquid stevia, the other products that I have tried and love are the fast dissolving stevia tablets and the individual stevia packets.  The tablets are great even in iced drinks.  I love keeping a bottle in my car or purse and using it when I get iced tea out.  I use the individual packets in my husbands tea every day.

I am working on changing my eating habits so that I can lose some weight.  I have never been this heavy and I don't want to get this heavy again.  I am having trouble with making changes, but it will happen.  I need to eat less food, eat healthier food, and start exercising.  I am working with PT and need to get better at actually doing my exercises.  I am doing better, but need to do more.

I will continue to use NuNaturals in my tea and hope that I can eliminate coffee.  I need to limit my caloric intake and start eating healthier foods.  I need to increase my exercise and strengthen my back so that I don't hurt myself again.

Amy

NuNaturals Giveaway!

Last year, I was lucky enough to win a giveaway from http://www.thedailydietribe.com for stevia products from NuNaturals.  I had been using stevia for years at that point, but had not used the NuNaturals product before.

Stevia is a sweetener from the stevia plant that is not supposed to raise your blood sugar like other sweeteners.  After using stevia for years, I know that there are certain products out there that are better tasting than others.  Some people think that stevia gives a bitter taste to things that they use it in.  I have to be honest and say that I haven't really used stevia in anything other than sweetening my tea, but it is all I use for sweetening my tea.  When I won the NuNaturals giveaway, I was a little uncertain how it would taste since I have had certain stevia products in the past that were not good at all.

So far I have used their liquid drops, their powdered stevia, their packets of stevia, and my favorite their stevia tablets.  All of their stevia products that I have tried are really good.  There is no after taste with any of the products that I have tried and that has been one of the complaints that I have heard from people who have tried stevia and have had negative reactions.  I have found that their stevia tablets are great to put in my bag and take on the go.  I used to use an artificial sweetener (usually Splenda) when I ordered tea out since no one ever had stevia, which I would have preferred to use.  Now that I know that there are these tablets, I just throw the bottle of the tablets in my bag and go and I always have stevia on hand!

I was recently sent their new lemon and orange liquid stevia.  I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I am looking forward to trying these new products.  NuNaturals has offered to give 4 of my readers one bottle of each of the lemon and the orange liquid stevia.  If you don't win (or if you do), NuNaturals is offering discounts placed on their website:  www.nunaturals.com.  When you get to the checkout page you should enter the DISCOUNT CODE ;  BLG0612  and you will receive - 15% DISCOUNT on your ENTIRE ORDER. This discount remains  EFFECTIVE UNTIL  JUNE 30, 2012 .




Online ordering customers may also receive FREE SHIPPING to the CONTINENTAL U. S. on all orders exceeding  $ 35.00 after discounts.

How can you win?

1. Leave me a comment about your experience trying stevia.  Did you like it or not?  How have you used it?
2. Go to the NuNaturals Facebook page and like them.
3. Blog about this giveaway, tweet about it, and/or Facebook about it.

Leave a comment for each of the things you do as well as your address so that I can contact you.  This contest is only open to readers in the Continental U.S. Sorry, my Canadian readers!  This contest will close on Wednesday June 20th and I will pick and post a winner Thursday June 21st.

I hope that you try stevia and enjoy it as much as I do.  I am looking forward to trying more recipes with stevia, especially since I want to try to cut out as much white sugar as I can for me and my family.

Amy

End Of The Week

It's the end of the week!  My husband is on vacation next week and I can't wait.  I am hoping that we can take some day trips and just plain hang around and relax and have fun!

This week, I've written about a couple of goals that I have.Thanks to a couple of comments, I am more motivated to follow through.  First of all, my and my family's health is something that is really important to me.  It's always difficult to make changes, but I think in our case, slow and steady wins the race.  We have started our plants from seed tis year and so far so good, they are growing.  I have started our cold weather veggies in the garden, but we still have more to plant.  I am hopeful, that this year, we will be eating veggie from the garden, which will help with being healthier.

My other goal is creating to help others.  One thing I am going to do, thanks to a comment, is push myself more to create things for my twins group.  I have wanted to be a part of this, but I wasn't sure what to make.  I just sent an e-mail to find out some more information so that I can start making things that will help a group that I belong to that has been helpful to me.  I am also thinking that if a specific selectman gets re-elected, I may approach him about the farmer's market idea.  I'm not sure how much I want to commit, but it's definitely something to think about how to make that idea happen.  I have a bunch of ideas, I just need to get things together and clarify how, what, when, and where.  It may be a project that I have to work on and maybe start next year, but at least it is a goal.  I can get my goal of being creative and helping others taken care of all together.  I just have to see if the farmer's market is some where I can start this idea.  I'm sure that there will be more thoughts about it here, so that I can get some feedback and ideas on my thoughts and plans.

Amy

Juicing

My husband and I watched "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead" this weekend and I am again, totally motivated to continue to make changes to my health.  Joe Cross, the guy who did the documentary, is an Australian guy that is about my age, but a little older and was about twice my weight.  He also had an autoimmune disease that I do not have.  After a 60 day juice cleanse, he had lost weight, was off all of his medications, and was on his way to a healthier lifestyle.

I am not ready to do a 60 day cleanse, but I am thinking a good couple of days of juicing and not eating solid food may be just what I need to get me over eating the crap that I crave, but is bad for me.  I am hoping that maybe a 3 day cleanse will help me to clean out my system and maybe then I can start trusting my body to tell me what it needs.

This morning, I made my normal smoothie.  I gave my husband his and then I strained mine though some unbleached cotton muslin.  This morning, I used half of a cucumber, some parsley, some kale, a green apple, a red delicious apple, a banana, and some blueberries.  It was a little messy to strain it, but it wasn't too bad and I don't have to buy another appliance or find room for another appliance.  The best part, is that it actually tastes good.  The hard part for me is going to be not eating solid food.  For now I am going to have a goal for 3 days, but I am also going to take it one day and maybe even one meal at a time.  I am not going to kill myself, but I am also not going to give in easily.  If for some reason I feel like I need solid food, I am going to make sure that it is healthy.  I am really going to try to only have juice though!

I am actually looking forward to seeing how I feel.  There was lots of talk about having more energy.  I can only hope that that will be a result.  The other thing that they talked about was cleansing your system.  I have wanted to do a detox/cleanse for some time and maybe this is the time to actually do one.  I need to find some recipes, so that I am ensuring that I get the nutrition that I need, but I am thinking that I can also figure it out on my own.

Wish me luck, and if anyone has any feeling on juicing or recipes, or success stories, please let me know!

Amy

Getting Back Our Health

I always have these goals, dreams, desires, wants and never seem to actually follow through.  My goal of being healthy and having a healthy family is not something that I can afford to not follow through on!  I need to get back to buying healthy foods, cooking healthy meals and snacks, and not giving into temptation.  I need to not give into the kids' wants for unhealthy foods.  I need to make sure that we have healthy snacks that can take care of certain cravings that we have i.e., salt or sugar.  I need to have healthy juices and mostly give the kids water.

My health, my husband's health, and my oldest son's health depend on me, my shopping, and my cooking. My twins health also depends on me to, but they are healthy and I just need to keep them that way.  My husband has high blood pressure, I have had issues with pregnancy induced and stress induced blood pressure as well as food sensitivities, and my BRCA2 positive status, and my oldest son has food sensitivities that seem to cause him to have spacey, behavior issues as well as sleep issues, skin issues and others.  Sometimes, I think I may have spacey issues related to food.  I want to make sure that my twins have a good foundation with food so that as they get older and have more temptations, they will have a good foundation to know what choices to make.

My goal is to start to research what food does to all of us.  I know that we need to have gluten out of the house, sugar out of the house, and dairy out of the house.  I am fearful that my oldest son has signs and symptoms of autism and I really want to make sure that what we eat is not contributing to those signs and symptoms.  I want to teach my children how to make healthy choices as well as re-teach myself and teach myself some new ideas on health.

This is not going to be easy on any of us, but it is something I need to do.  One of the hard things is going to be to allow my kids to refuse meals because they want to eat unhealthy foods.  My biggest issue with this is that they are all on the low end of the weight scale.  I don't want them to lose weight, but I don't want that to be a reason that they have poor eating habits.  They say that kids will eat and will not starve.  I just need to remember that I need to stay strong and offer healthy foods for all of us and deal with some of the potential withdrawal symptoms so that we get to the healthy place that I want us to be and crave healthy foods, not foods that are bad for us.  I want to be able to listen to my body and give it what it needs.  I want my kids to be able to learn this too.  Day by day and even moment by moment, is how I need to look at this.  I need to get us all on track so that we can move forward and be healthy!

Amy

Wishcasting Wednesday: What Do You Wish for Your Health & Wellness?

It's Wednesday once again and this week Jamie asks: "Wishcasting Wednesday: What Do You Wish for Your Health & Wellness?"

This question is near and dear to my heart.  As I've written, I've tested positive for the BRCA2 gene which means I am more at risk for Breast and Ovarian cancer.  It was crazy to think that I wouldn't be positive.  My mom has had breast cancer, her mom,  her mom's twins sister, and my mom's grandmother.  There are a lot of decisions I need to make, but thankfully I don't need to make them right now.  Do I have surgery?  Do I pass on the surgery and try to just eat healthy and exercise and try to deal with stress better as well as have my preventative tests every 6 months?  Do I just take a wait and see approach and make the decision as time goes on?  Oh, and this gene also places me at higher risk for pancreatic cancer, which my grandmother's sister died of as well as melanoma.  These are not a really high risk , but definitely higher than the general population.  

What do I wish for my health and wellness?  I wish that I will make the right decision for my overall health, including my mind, body, and spirit.  I wish that no matter what decision I make, regarding this as well as any decision in my life, I make an informed decision based on facts and not fear.  I wish to have a healthy mind body and spirit.  I wish to make time to make this wish a reality.

What do you wish for?

Amy

Change The World Wednesday (a day late)

This weeks challenge is a really appropriate challenge for me.  Zero Waste Week 2011 started September 5th and the goal over at http://myzerowaste.com/ is how can I reduce my waste away from from home.  This challenge is really appropriate since I have been rediculously horrible about eating out, wasting food, and buying coffee/tea out.  When I look in my recycling bin, and the fact that I recycle is the only saving grace for me, I cringe when I see how many plastic cups are in there.  That means I have wasted a ton of money by buying coffee/tea out instead of making it at home and I am using way too many plastic containers.  I have tried to make this change earlier in the summer, but I haven't really succeeded.  My new goal is to either make my drinks at home or at least being a reusable mug with me instead of using a "disposable" cup/mug.  I have also been buying too much soda and since I want not only reduce my soda intake, but actually eliminate it, I will make sure that I bring at least one of my many water bottles that I fill at home from our filtered water system.  I will also make sure that I continue to buy healthy frozen juice concentrate for the kids to help reduce plastic waste.  I have been horrible about eating out also.  This means that I use disposable products more than someone who eats home more often.  I will be planning better so that I don't feel like I have to eat out because I don't have a meal planned, there by reducing my waste and saving money.

Since the above goals will take some planning on my part, I will be forced, in a good way, to plan my meals and my liquids so that I don't feel the need to stop at a store/take out place to get either food or drink.  I will be forced to plan my grocery list there by saving money, eating healthier, and hopefully reducing my food waste.  I am totally guilty of buying food that I forget about and then have to throw it away because it has gone bad. 

I am hoping that these zero waste week 2011 goals will not only help reduce waste, but increase my wallet and help to make me healthier.  Hopefully is will also help with my stress since i will have my meal planning done and I will be saving money as well as helping the earth!

Amy

Going Green (Smoothie)

With my desire to start being healthy, I have started to look at the raw foods world, at least for the summer months.  One thing that I noticed is the whole green smoothie "revolution".  Ok, so maybe not a revolution, but it;s certainly a popular concept.  A few years ago, my husband and I started to make green smoothies.  We bought a book by Victoria Boutenko, who has been promoting green smoothies.  Basically, it is a much easier and tastier way to get in your fruits and veggies, almost like a V8 fruit drink but better and probably better for you since you make it yourself.  Green smoothies basically consist of fruit, a green leafy veggie, and maybe some water and protein powder if you wish ( we've used protein powder in the past but I have used it recently).  I like my greens, but there are only so many I can eat at a time.  I can drink these smoothies and feel like I am being healthy and getting in my fruits and veggies.  Most recently, I have been adding in my homemade kefir with some stevia to sweeten the kefir.  I had some last night for a snack and even when my husband wanted ice cream, I was a little more able to hold off and not be persuaded as easily as I usually am.  I am hoping that one positive impact for me will be relieving me from my cravings.  I don't see it or expect that it will happen overnight, but I am hoping that these small changes I am making will help me with my overall health and in time I'll be able to listen to my bosy and really trust what it is telling me.

Last night, as I was researching green smoothies, I went to a blog I have been following for some time now, www.choosingraw.  One of the things that I read, which totally resonated with me was making small changes.  For along time now, and with many things, I often feel like I have to be perfect right away or else it is a failed attempt.  I am slowly realizing, I can make small changes to my diet that over time will accumulate to large very positive changes.  I am also realizing that it really isn't an all or nothing idea.  I can have some meat even though I want mostly to be a vegan.  I can have dairy even though I don't want to have it every day.  The healthier I get, the more I can listen to my body and the more I can trust it to tell me what it needs..com

Earlier in this post, I mentioned that I have been making homemade kefir.  I am making both milk and water kefir and am loving both.  I love water kefir.  It is fermented water that has some small bubbles in it.  Often I will drink it in a champagne flute or a wine glass just for the fun of it.  I love drinking out of fancy glasses even if it is just water.  I haven't really experimented with flavors yet, but I plan to do that soon.  I haven't really been drinking the milk kefir, but I have been using it in mainly my pancake recipes and have made butter out of it also.  I have strained the kefir and made "kefir cheese" and then used the whey in my pancake batter.  I have started (just yesterday) to add kefir to my green smoothie.  I really enjoyed it though I did need to flavor it with stevia, since straight plain kefir, like plain yogurt, is a little too tart for my taste.  I'm loving my kefir grains!

Green Smoothie Recipe #2

1 apple
1/2 C frozen blueberries
1/2 C frozen berries
1C frozen mixed fruit
1/2 C sunflower seeds (magnesium)
1 head of green leaf lettuce (from my neighbor's CSA share)
water to blend to consistency of your liking
1/2 C kefir/yogurt (optional)
stevia to taste (optional)
 (for the first smoothie of the day, I added the kefir at the end and just stirred it in with about 7-8 drops of liquid stevia.  Later that night, I re-blended a glass of the smoothie with some kefir and stevia and I think blending it made it more amalgamated and I really enjoyed it much more)

I usually blend the fruit and water and then add the greens.  You really can use any leafy greens you want.  My husband is lacking in the magnesium arena so I added the sunflower seeds to help increase the magnesium for him.  Blend to your favorite consistency and enjoy.

I am looking forward to trying more combinations as well as using veggies from our garden.  I will post more recipes as I make them.  I am hoping that, in time, these green smoothies with help me get my health back and as I've said, I can start trusting my body!

Have you had green smoothies?  Do you have favorite recipe?

Amy

On My Way

I am starting to think that even though it is going to be a huge undertaking and I will have many set back (trying to use words that make less of a negative impact) and also times that I do good, I am ready to make some major changes to my diet.  I think it is time to start eliminating certain foods to see if they are things that I have a reaction to.  I know that I can't tell if I have a reaction unless I actually eliminate them, but I am ready.  My husband needs to follow a similar diet that I want to follow, only he doesn't need to be gluten/yeast free.  We will be pretty much be a vegan family.  He needs to cut out meat and I want to.  I need to cut out dairy and so does he.  The kids don't eat dairy. 
For dinner tonight, I made this recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/chickpea-quinoa-pilaf-vegan-295639 and substituted amaranth for the quinoa.  It turned out pretty good.  It will certainly be in my dinner rotation and fits the diet that I want to be eating.  I really need to get my cookbooks/diet education books together so that I can prepare my meal plan based on the foods I should be eating.  I love my iPad.  I look up recipes, most often from blogs, and use the iPad as my own little cookbook.  I love it, but I also still love having actual books, not just the internet.  I may even start to put together binders so that I can keep hard copies of recipes from the internet, like the one above, so that if the recipe goes, I still have a copy.

Any vegan/gluten free/ yeast free websites, recipes, blogs are very much welcome.  I have a few favorite blogs that I visit and try recipes from, but would love any and all suggestions!  I will be certain to post what recipes I am trying and where they come from.  I am loving trying out new healthy recipes, I just need to maintain my health and my resolve!

Amy

Health and Wellness

I can't believe that I am writing again about how much I am sucking at this eating healthy thing.  I really want to do this for myself, yet I can't seem to find the strength to actually eat healthy.  I can't seem to find the strength to actually give up meat and soda and dairy, and all the other potential allergens that I need to give up to find out if they truly make me feel worse.  The worst part about meat is that I seem to be able to give up good quality meats, just not the junkie fast food type meats.  I have to say that as of right now I need to put into place some simple straight forward goals into place and then work on meeting those.  I will pick 3 simple but important goals to work on this week and then I will add 1 more goal each week so that by the end, I will be living my life the way I want to.

Goal 1: go for a walk for at least 30 minutes with the kids 3 times over the next week (this should be a little easier now that Michael is in school for almost 3 hours a day and I'll only have to push 2 kids)

Goal 2: eliminate all soda.  (No more diet coke, or any other soda at all, unless it is sparkling water, but even then, I'd want to limit it)

Goal 3: eliminate dairy (no more going back and having just a taste, because a taste turns into more and more and then I can't stop)

I think these are simple goals that will help me get to my final goal of living a happy, healthy life.  I will start to include eliminating other foods that showed up as potential allergens and all forms of sugar.  I will increase my activity level as I start to get in better shape.  One goal that I have to male work from now until forever, is not eating out at fast food restaurants for me or my kids.  I need to cook at home so that I know what is going into my foods and so I don't give someone else my hard earned money for crap!  If you read this and are tired of hearing about all my attempts and failures, just know that this is a place where I can be honest about my failures and hope that noone will jusge me for not making my goals!

Amy

I Really Can Do This

I feel like I am pretty passionate about wanting to live my life a certain way.  This biggest problem is that I can't seem to follow through with my belief system.  I really want to stop giving my money away to the places that don't do anything for my health and well being.  For some reason, I keep giving it away.  My goal is to stop buying processed foods.  What I need to do is make my own convenience foods.  I need to make certain foods that freeze well so that I don't have to worry about making dinner every night.  If I can get a good stockpile of healthy foods in my freezer, than I can just plan my week around what I made on the weekend and pull from the freezer.  I know I can get this eating under control!

Our washer, as well as many other appliances seems to have broken.  We are no longer able to keep up with cloth diapering while it's broken and my husband's friend who was supposed help us has more on his mind now that his son was in a car accident.  I really like cloth diapering, but there is no way that I can go to the Laundromat everyday, nor do I want to pay for that.  I actually hate disposables.  Even though it is a little easier, I can't wait to go back to cloth.  I have how I am contributing to the landfills.  I hate using that stuff on my babies skin.  I miss using cloth wipes too.  I hate that I am having to use all the chemicals in disposable wipes.  The good news is we may have a loaner til we are able to get ours fixed.  Given that it may take some time to get ours fixed, this will be so helpful!  Then I can go back to cloth, get myself back on track with my laundry and just overall be happier about having a washing machine and not having to rely on others.

I continue to be thrilled with my deodorant.  I love that it is coconut oil, cornstarch, and baking soda as well as a few drops of essential oils.  I have started to use baking soda as my toothpaste again and am so happy to use it reather than commercial toothpaste will all sorts of additive that don't do anything for the health of your teeth.  I have added some peppermint essential oils as well as cinnamon and love how my mouth feels even when I first wake up (though I'm sure I still have horrible morning breath!).  I am still mostly no shampooing.  I really love how curly my hair is, yet it is not frizzy.  Once in a while, I do shamppo, but I use a vegan, no sulfate shampoo that do not strip my  hair and make it dry and frizzy.  I haven't gotten my hair cut since September, close to 6 months.  This may be the longest I've ever gone with out a haircut.

I still need to get myself to a thrift store to play with some up-cycling.  I love seeing what the blogger from new dress a day does. What a way to save money, be creative, not buy into chain store fashions, and jsut plain have fun.  I haven't really bought myself new clothes, not that I really need them.  Though it woudl be nice to have something new, even if it is just new to me. 

I am so glad that Spring is on it's way.  I can't wait to get some spring cleaning done, get the kids and me outside, get the garden started.I really need to start exercising and getting in shape.  The kids need to be able to run and play and get rid of some of their energy.  We just need to be able to get outdoors and get some fresh air.  Maybe, some spring cleaning will help with the desire to get organized and I'll actually get there.

Happy soon to be Spring!
Amy

The Binge Monster Is Back

My binge monster is back and it is totally rearing it's ugly head.  Since last night, all I've wanted to do is eat.  Not only do I want to eat, I want to eat junk.  Not only am I wanting to eat it, I am giving in to it.  I can't keep doing this.  I really need to sit down and maybe attempt something that I've seen used in psychotherapy meetings.  I am going to literally try to talk to an empty chair and visualize that my binge monster is sitting there.  I am going to tell him how I feel about him and what he is doing to both my physical health and my psychological health.  This may sound a little crazy, but I've heard that if you basically personify the issue, it will help you to overcome your issues.  I am going to say good bye and tell my binge monster never to return. 

This may be an excuse, and I tend to be good at justifying things in my life, but I am wondering if I am starting with some PMS type symptoms.  If this is the case, it's even more important that I deal with these food issues now, before things get out of hand.  There are so many reasons to change my eating habits.  First and most important is my pre-eclampsia history puts me at greater risk for blood pressure issues and I already have cardiac issues in my family, second is my breast cancer and other cancer risks, third is my potential allergies/intolerances, and fourth is just my overall health and well-being as well as needing to lose a good 25-30 pounds.  Add onto that list with PMS issues and skin issues.

There is no reason for me to give into my binge monster.  This is going to be quite a fight I'm afraid, but I know in the long run, I will win!

Amy

Lent: Giving Up Things So I Can Be Healthy

Lent started today, and though I did not go to church and get my ashes like I should have, and even though I have already started the day on the wrong foot, I think I may actually give something up for Lent.  When I was a kids, we always went to church and we always had to give up something for Lent.  I used to give up ice cream, candy, cookie, that sort of thing, not really thinking it was a great thing to give up except they were things that I wanted as a kid.  Thinking about it now, I am going to use Lent as my way of really kick starting my health journey.  I am going to give up foods that are processed, full of sugar, not in their whole form, and not refined (I'm sure that there are other things that I am going to be giving up, but I just can't think of them tight now).  I am going to start treating my body like the important structure that it is.  I am far from a religious person.  I have not really followed any real traditions of my faith for a number of years and for a number of reasons that I won't go into here, maybe another posting.  But, with the Lenten season upon us and Spring rapidly approaching (I can only hope), I think it is perfect timing to start living the way that I dream of living with regards to my and my family's health and wellness.  I won't go into details about exactly what this means to me, other than what I have already stated.  Unfortunately, my son's 3rd birthday party is Sunday, but I don't think that I will partake in any cake.  I will be making sure that I have food there that I want and can eat, like my kale and white bean soup and maybe even my Indian spiced beans and rice.  We will have the meat sauce and macaroni that is a stable at any party in my family or my husband's.  I really need to make this a true life change and not just change for a couple of days and then go back to my bad ways!

I will start treating my body the way I should be treating it.  I will be fueling it with foods that will help nurture and support it.  I wrote, in a previous post, that my mom has breast cancer and now I want to start taking care of myself since she is the 3 generation in a row to get breast cancer.  I don't want to be the fourth generation.  The good news regarding my mom is that her lymph nodes are not involved.  Hopefully that helps with her prognosis and maybe there is a chance that she doesn't carry the gene.  I am not holding my breath on that last one.  For me, it doesn't really matter if the cancer is genetic or not.  I need to start taking care of my body and protecting it from any sort of invaders.  I have enough illness in my family to know that I need to change my bad habits or else my body will not be protected!

I will try to post more details about what I am doing as time goes on.

Amy

Cleaning House

Friday night I went home, and no I didn't clean the kitchen or the living room, because I needed to find something in the bedroom. That meant that I needed to clean the bedroom. I actually got a lot cleaned out. I still need to do more, but I am really impressed with how it looks in comparison! I now need to make sure that I keep it this way and I don't let it get bck to the way it was! The biggest difficulty with this is, I am sick again! This time not only do I have a cold, but now I have laryngitis. Even tough I'm sick again, I still need to maintain what I have already completed!

I have had a pretty horrible last few days with regards to my eating! I stopped eating my raw green smoothies for breakfast. I really need to get my ass in gear and start eating healthy again! The only good thing is that we had ice cream tonight, and it made me sick! I couldn't even come close to finishing it. The only reason it was good, is now I have no desire to have it again, anytime soon! Tomorrow's breakfast will go back to a raw green smoothie, vegan style meals, and healthy snacks. I really need to focus on being healthy so that I can hopefully prevent a lot of family illnesses getting passed on to me.

I'm off to go grocery shopping tomorrow so that I can follow through with my meal plan!

Amy

Back To The Whole Reason I Started This Blog

I started this blog about a year and a half ago to talk about my struggles and triumphs of balancing living a handmade and natural life.  I feel like this blog has gotten a little away from that, probably partly because I have gotten away from living my life like that.  I have been struggling to follow through with some of my beliefs that got me started writing this blog.  I feel like lately all I have been writing about is my diet, and even though that is part of what I had hoped to talk about on this blog, it is not all I wanted to talk about.  I guess, in order to remind myself why I started this blog, I want to write a few bullet points on what living a handmade and natural life means to me.

1. Diet:  I want to eat as seasonally and as locally as possible.  I know that there are going to be times that I can't or won't do this, but in the long run, eating this way is a much healthier way to eat.  I want and need to find recipes that are based on eating local/seasonal foods.  I know that there are a few books out there, I just need to find good ones.  Currently, I have "Clean Eating" and am looking to get "Clean Start" by the same author.  I am also working on moving toward a vegan diet.  I have been starting my day off with raw green smoothies.  I feel like I do so much better if I start of the right way.  I am going to try to plan a menu for the month of March up front instead of flying by the seat of my pants and trying to figure out what to make each night.  This has been a goal of mine for a while now, but I just never seem to follow through.  My other goal is to finally eliminate all of the potential allergens that cam back on my blood test.  Again, I've attempted to do this, but lack the follow through.
2. Handmade Things: I want to start to make more things myself.  This includes food, but so much more.  I don't want to always rely on going to large stores to get what I need.  There are going to be times that I need to do this for financial reasons, but my goal is to buy supplies to make the end product, not by the end product out right.  I also want to make sure that I find time to create.  Making things myself will force me to find the time to actually make the things I need.  I guess that would be the other piece of how I want to live; I only want what I need.  I don't want to have that feeling of needing to have something just because I want it!  I also want to use what I have, not go out and buy more supplies.  The only way I want to buy more, is if I run out of something or I absolutely need to buy something to make a project.  I would rather choose a different project than buy new supplies adding to all the stuff that I already have and then I can save money too!
3. Living Green: I am trying to live as green as possible.  Some of the things that I have already mentioned fit this, but there are many other things that I can do.  I need to make sure that I continue to recycle.  I need to use my reusable bags more often.  I try really hard, but sometimes I go shopping and I don't have them.  I need to start composting again.  I try to reuse ends of veggies to make veggie stock.  I feel like this way, I am using all of the food not just part of it. Since I pay for it all, I should use it all.  Also, why buy veggies to make stock and then throw them out when I can use veggies that I would have thrown out if not for the stock.  And then, Why spend money on stock with who knows what type of ingredients, when you can make your own and now what is in there.
4. Exercise: I want to start exercising and including my kids in the process.  Hopefully, with March starting tomorrow, the weather will start warming up and we can get out for walks.  Even if it doesn't so much warm up, I need the snow o be gone so that I can push the double stroller safely.  What I really need to do is find some good DVDs with mom and kid exercises that we can do together when the weather is bad.  I think it will be a good thing for the kids to do to get out some of that pent up energy that they have not being able to go outside.  I also want to add in some yoga for me and for the kids!  When the weather gets better, I want to start bringing the kids to Breakhart and places like that.  I will definitely need another adult or two with me, but I want to add being in and enjoying nature to the exercise mix.
5. Living a Wholesome Balanced Life: I want to incorporate everything that I have written here as well as continuing to use natural body products and home cleaning products.  I want to continue to use more natural remedies for the different things that ail me.  For example, this weekend, I felt the beginning tingle of a cold sore.  Since I was up at 4am, I started my lysine regime right away.  I am amazed that I neer got the traditional blister that i aways get.  I must have caught it at the right time because two days later I do not have a cold sore!  I have been using my own deodorant (baking soda, cornstarch, coconut oil and essential oils).  I want to get back to making my own toothpaste (baking soda, salt and maybe some essential oils).  I will continue to try to not use shampoo when washing my hair, but if I need shampoo, I will use those without sodium laurel/laureth sulfate.  I want to start making my own soap (I need to get my husband's cousin to do it with me so I can learn the right way).  I want to start making more of my own cleaning supplies.  I know that I have a bunch of recipes printed out, but now I need to start making them. 

I'm sure that there is a ton more that I can write.  I won't bore anyone that reads this with more things that I want to do to change my life.  This is really an outline for what I want to do with my life so that I can start living the way that I want to live.

Thanks for reading this lengthy post.  This felt really good to write and I think I need to do this every so often so that I write down my goals of how I want to live.  My next posts won't be nearly as long and won't be nearly as boring.

Amy