Aspartame in milk??

I don't know if you realize this but milk has been hijacked! Like most of the food industry, even the wholesome, childhood staple in so many homes has been taken over by profits and big business.

There is so much information on milk and sugar in milk, especially in schools. There are movements happening in many school districts now to serve milk that is milk, not a chemical mixture of refined sugars and other stabilizers. Here is an article tells that big business is not backing down easily, or at all for that matter.

Sometimes big words that sound scientific or foreign make people disconnect with the information that is being shared with them.

Aspartame is one of these words. What could it possibly be??

It is an artificial sweetener and it is used in things like Diet Coke to keep it zero calorie but still sweet.

The diary industry is trying to add this to milk without needing to add it to the label.

We all need to to our own research and see what makes sense to us. I am a firm believer in this. When presented with new information, we must use our brains and experiences and deeply ponder what we are understanding.

But we need new information to be able to do this. So here is an article to read and think about.

Many say aspartame is perfectly safe others claim it has many detrimental side effects. Do your own research and see where you side.

But no matter where you land, I think we can all agree that ANYTHING that is added into a processed food that we, especially our kids, are going to be eating needs to be on the label!

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/dairy-industry-wants-to-sneak-aspartame-in-to-milk.html


What do you think??

LOVE

Need local organic farm's to shop at??

This site is super cool! It links you to local farms in your town where you can buy wholesome, good, organic, seasonal foods!

Check it out! Support your local economy! Close the gap in your food miles!

http://www.localharvest.org

LOVE

Masanobu Fukuoka

I have a true love for the land. It is sort of crazy to say that because I have never actually lived on the land, per se. I have been in the city my whole life. Yet I know that there is land somewhere that is just waiting for me to come and care for it. :) When it is time it will be.

So I watch farming documentaries late at night! I have tried finding a place to volunteer but they haven't worked out yet. As my children gain more independence though I will have to create an opportunity. But for now...

This is one of my favorite. It is an hour long or so but Masanobu Fukuoka re-introduces us to the realities of healthy life. It is worth your time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft0ylk4sU5M&list=FLeT712izjhLshUwfV-BXCFw&index=14


LOVE

Jillian Michaels

Good article by Jillian Michaels of Biggest Loser. She covers some of the largest challenges of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Preparation and planning are the keys to eating well and staying active. We really have to look at our day and see where we spend our time. If there is any "free" time like TV watching, then we have time to live a healthy lifestyle! And the best thing about being tired from being more active is we get more energy when we eat and live well! So it all balances out.

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/weight-loss/photos/jillian-michaels-weight-loss-tips-work#0

Jillian shares many great solutions!

Check it out!

LOVE

And I have some pretty good results! I posted a picture of myself, hesitantly, a little over a month ago, of my midsection, which has been the main problem area for me since giving birth. I think many mothers would claim the same thing. It seems like after you give birth, your abdomen just does not want to work with you and wants to hold onto weight until the last minutes!

Well it seems I have approached my last minutes...

Here is my before photo taken and posted a little over a month ago...



Man I look super rough! lol

Here is today!!...

The 1st picture was pretty difficult to post! But now I am so happy I did because now I can show the results of whole foods eating!


And I have not been running the last 3 weeks because of pain in my shins. I am going to try again after 1 more week off, but this loss is almost totally based on my diet! And the last 10 pounds or so are infamously the most difficult!

How can whole foods eating change your body and your life??

How can I help you change your body and your life??

I am creating an opportunity that I can help people with more focus to lose and re-learn the habits of a healthy lifestyle! I will post information in the following weeks.

LOVE and Happy Saturday!

Fast food marketing insight...

Or that is how I see it at least. I have found the Mc Donald's ads that have some R&B soul music playing and an entirely black cast so very interesting. I often think that if the actors in the commercial knew what Mc Donald's food is likely doing to some member of their family, would they still participate....I am almost scared to know the answer.

Here is an interesting article on who eats the most fast food.... young Black Americans eat the most, percentage wise.

http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/ap/adults-get-11-percent-of-calories-from-fast-food

Mc Donald's is the largest buyer of most foods in this country. The largest of factory farmed beef and also of apples. Interesting how much influence one company can have over an entire country. Mc Donald's has also been a huge influencer in the way we process our food in this country. The concept of one person to do one job in an assembly line set up was first brought to food processing by Mc Donald's. Now this is the main approach to mass food production in America and is one of the major issues with our food system. Yet when you know that they are also the #1 buyer of multiple food products, then we can understand that we are the only ones that can make a difference! We have the power! Our dollars, in our pockets have the only power! Just don't buy the food! (They will not make changes based on the true needs of their consumers. Business is about profits. PERIOD. They are legally bound to profits. If we effect their profits they will make changes. This approach is the answer for most unfair or unhealthy/insane business practices.)

Organic, whole foods seem to be more expensive but that is because we have been conditioned to think that food costs are only on the front end. Food costs are cyclical and effect our entire planet. Support local, organic businesses that are trying to do it right! They are faced with so many obstacles to produce the best quality food for the market. They are put through ridiculous legal hoops and do not receive government subsidies that most large scale, dis-eased food producers receive. These subsidies are a conversation all on their own and I will discuss these at more detail later.

Make conscious choices at every meal! Honor your body and your environment.

LOVE

Been away from this for a while...

Had an awesome visit with my sister last week! We really miss each other. There is nothing like hanging out with your family that you spent your childhood with. The kids got to bond with her and I was able to help her get some ideas together to change her lifestyle! She sounded very inspired and ready for change! Go sister :)!!

ALSO......I have taken multiple opportunities over the last week to eat processed foods!! I know! How sad but chocolate had been a close friend and also white cheddar popcorn! SMH...But I am done now. The weight keeps coming off so I need to conscious of that and not be doing things that will totally negate my goals. Also I committed to a whole foods challenge and need to stay focused. I wasn't hard on myself and throughly enjoyed each and every bite. My body has responded well and I am not worried about it. But going forward....no more.

We haven't been doing any new recipes here recently. We did make a lot of food for my sister but I focused on things that she could take home with her. Mostly I showed her how to incorporate more veggies into each meal.

We did have some amazing results while she was here! The first day she had a pretty serious breakout on her face. I have never seen her with such a bad breakout and told her lets see if we can get rid of this this week!

Here is a pic of her face on day 1




Here is day 3





I did not take another one before she left but it was totally gone by day 5 or so! She said she was eating A LOT of sugar recently. During her week here, the 1st 3 days she had no processed sugar. She did end up getting a few Starbuck coffees while she was here to help with withdrawal symptoms, but it was very minimal. And it worked! Her face totally cleared in less than a week! What exciting results!

Here are a few other pictures from our week. We went to Casa Grande and visited the National Monument Casa Grande. It is an example of the cliff dwellings of the American southwest. We have been to many and wanted to show my sister the beauty.



We also went to South Mountain in Phoenix and witnessed a beautiful sun shift (aka sunset). We also did a little hiking in the mountain. It was a beautiful afternoon up there!




I also had to take back my size 4s! but for more size 4s! lol I bought 2 pairs that were a fit that was already a little too big and the weight is just falling off so I had to go get a trimmer fit! It is very exciting! I am almost totally back to pre-baby me :) And it feels good! It took some time but it is happening!

I will post some new info in the following days that will help you stay on track with your challenge!

LOVE