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

Consumers BE AWARE!!

Good read for all! We must be conscious in our decisions at the grocery store and control ourselves. Do not give control to someone else in any circumstance! You have total control over your choices and YOU only

http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/are-junk-food-makers-worse-than-tobacco-industry-giants--how-fritos--coke-and-lunchables-vie-for-addicts--210753546.html

Happy Wednesday!

My sister is in town for the week so I will probably be behind in my posts until this weekend and early next week. So...


I wanted to post a few recipes that can spice up your dinners!

Here is an enchilada sauce that you can add to just about anything "latin" inspired:

2 tablespoon extra virgin cold pressed olive oil
1 small onion diced
3 garlic cloves diced
3 tablespoons chile powder
3 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon dry oregano
28 oz canned whole tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoon raw honey

Heat oil with onions until translucent
add garlic, chile powder, cumin, coriander, and oregano and stir together until well combined and heat for 1 minute or so
add tomatoes and stir until well combined
season with salt and pepper and add honey
simmer on low uncovered for 45 mins stirring occasionally

when done process it in a blender or food processor for a smooth, flavorful sauce that is good on almost anything :)

I got this recipe online somewhere at some time though I no longer remember where. I cannot take full credit for this recipe though I have made adjustments.

(Also taste as your sauces progress...knowing how your food tastes before certain spices and after is important in developing a "chef's palate" so taste and adjust seasoning, salt etc to your taste buds. This is the secret to full flavor full!)

This recipe is great to toss with pasta and chicken or salmon and loads of vegetables:

Lemon cashew basil pesto

3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 garlic cloves minced
3/ teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons extra virgin cold pressed olive oil
1 cup + 2 tablespoons cashews
2 1/2 cups fresh basil with stems included

Blend first 7 ingredients until well combined then add last to and process until smooth


And one more tasty dressing to add to a kale salad or any other fresh veggies:

Curried almond dressing

1/2 cup almonds
2 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2/3 cup water
minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon curry seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

add all ingredients in a blender and or food processor and blend until combined.


I actually found all of these recipes online though I have used them for a couple of years and do not have the links written down. I always tweak my recipes and taste as I go to make sure we are creating something full flavored and yummy and I recommend doing the same EVERY time you cook!

Happy early Valentines!

LOVE

BIG NEWS!!

Well it isn't that big! But for me it is a big deal!

This weekend I bought some new jeans...and they were the same size as my pre-pregnancy jeans!! WOW! I can't believe it! I am within 7 or so pounds of pre-2 babies and it feels great! So watch out! ;)

We had a good weekend! A couple of field trips and ate well. Burgers one day and curry veggies another. We are really working on our budget so we will be eating the same things for a few weeks rotated so that we can get a full budget down and see where we can make adjustments. So I won't have many new exciting things to discuss over here in terms of recipes but that will give me time to share other info I have accumulated over the years of healthy living. I will also share recipes from the web that I have tried as well!

I am currently reading a book on curing dental issues from within. When you really think of your body as a perfectly healthy vessel you realize that things like dental decay are just not normal. This book details how un-normal it all is! Do you know that our teeth actually clean themselves from the inside out! They are totally able to take phenomenal care of themselves when provided with the correct nutrients. I will share more as I learn.

The book is Cure Tooth Decay by Ramiel Nagel. It is definitely a must read for ANYONE that treats their body in a holistic manner.

Check it out at your local library!

I will post again later today. I have more to share :)

LOVE

No-Knead whole wheat bread

Happy Friday Eve!!

Have you ever tried making bread???

I made my 1st load 2 Thanksgivings ago. It was rugged! So dense and barely edible. My yeast wasn't good and it didn't rise much in 4 hours. I didn't know what I was doing then though so I just went with it. Luckily I wasn't feeding a bunch of folks and everyone who tried it was very comforting :)

But I kept trying new recipes and kept kneading. It is extremely satisfying to make your own bread, cut a warm piece and buttering it up!

I have tried countless recipes but the easiest and cheapest recipe I have ever used is a no-knead recipe! Kneading your dough is the most difficult part of making bread. This recipe DOES NOT require kneading! You use time to do your kneading.

You want to give yourself a day to make this. Plan on starting it the day before you need it. I recommend using whole wheat BREAD FLOUR. It makes for a really good finished product.

Also you need a dutch oven. Most kitchens in America do not have this now a days but it used to be a common piece of cook wear. You can spend a lot on some but we have LODGE's from Walmart. It was under $50, which seems like a lot to spend on a large pot. But they are AMAZING! Cast iron is one of the best cook wears you can use. What you cook in is SO important! Stainless steel and cast iron is what I use. Nothing else. Teflon left our kitchen years ago and will NEVER be seen again. I recommend looking into what you are cooking on. AND get a dutch oven! You will not be disappointed.

Here's a great starter kit

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Stansport-Pre-Seasoned-Cast-Iron-Cookware-6-Piece-Set/10902898

Try this recipe out. You do not need a dutch oven either. It makes it super easy but you can also use a pizza stone that you can buy for $10 at Target. When using the pizza stone you would pre-heat the stone as you would the dutch oven in the recipe. But you would also have to add a shallow pan filled with water at the bottom of the oven. The dutch oven creates a moist environment for the cooking bread. Putting the water bath in the oven is another way of creating this environment which is needed to create a crunchy crust.

http://www.steamykitchen.com/168-no-knead-bread-revisited.html


There are so many bread recipes out there to try! I have made sourdough bread, stuffed bread, many pizza doughs, calzones, sandwich bread, baguettes, loaves, english muffins, hamburger buns and many more! Every bread product that you can buy you can make! And once you get the hang of it or get a good food processor or blender that also kneads dough it can make it even easier.

I will post a recipe for tortillas soon too! :) Whole foods can be turned into processed foods right in your own kitchen!

LOVE

Tooth Decay??

Awesome article on preventing tooth decay holistically!


http://www.mothering.com/community/a/healing-teeth-naturally-a-guide-for-getting-started?utm_campaign=website&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email

I'll be posting our recipe for toothpaste soon! We have been using Uncle Harry's toothpaste for years

You can find it here

http://www.uncleharrys.com/store/index.php/mouth-care-tooth-paste-c-48_56

But recently I started making my own. I will share that soon!

LOVE

Hello!! Happy Tuesday! Happy week 3 of our whole foods charged challenge!!

I am eating a bowl of some really good oatmeal now! Let me tell you that cooking oatmeal in fresh almond milk is divine! It creates such a smooth, creamy texture! It is a must try.

Last night we had coconut curry veggies over basmati rice and a sweet potato. It was yummy and filling. I made the coconut milk in the Vitamix and strained it in a nut milk bag. It turned out really good! A more runny than the milk you buy in the can but it is my goal to stop using canned goods of any kind. I was using canned coconut milk and canned tomato paste. I will be making my 1st homemade tomato paste this weekend :)

I have been making green smoothies instead of juice in the morning. This is a picture of what our green smoothies are looking like now with the Vitamix. They are more earthy than the juice but super filling and the kids are enjoying them too.

I am juicing still but at night right before we eat dinner! I am calling it kitchen scraps plus an orange juice. And it is beautiful! What a way to close a nutrient gap!

This is a picture of our kitchen scraps

I really like this so far! It is a little nutrient boost just before dinner. SO save your food scraps! You never know what you can do with them!

PLUS It can help keep our air and environment cleaner!


LOVE

We had a nice weekend. Mom got a little personal time which I am finding out I need more and more of as they get older. But there is nothing better than coming home to the faces of my kids! NOTHING

We had pizza Friday night. I made a buckwheat crust and it was so good we made it for dinner Saturday as well!

This was super tasty! I think I may have converted dad to buckwheat pizza crust too! Which is HUGE!

We had plenty of veggies with the pizza as well. They were also topped with shredded mustard greens with a drizzle of 4% acidity balsamic vinegar. On the side we had brussel sprouts, kale and carrots steamed and japanese baked sweet potato.

Tonight we had burgers in swiss chard wraps with mashed purple potatoes (the 1st organic ones I have been able to find in years!) with brussel sprouts, kale and carrots steamed.

I also tried using kitchen scraps a little different tonight. We have two compost buckets going on the balcony. They are both doing fine but cannot take any more new food scraps. So we normally put our food scraps in the garbage disposal and not in the trash. Though I just learned that garbage disposals send the pulverized food to the water treatment center where they sift it out of the water and send it to the landfill too! So food scrap juice is helpful. Though you are still tossing the fiber down the drain.

Food scraps account for a huge amount of methane gas when they sit in covered landfills! Whole foods are meant to decompose in oxygen rich environments to support the life of the good bacteria that decompose the nutrients and make them available to the soil to grow more food. So put your FOOD SCRAPS in a compost heap or save them to add to stews or soups! Find a way to reuse them. It's worth the extra work.

Tonight I tried juicing the scraps of our veggies and got about 12 oz of nutrient rich juice...and I added an orange ;)

I also made some almond milk, with almonds, water and 2 dates, and used it to cook our oatmeal this weekend and it was the best oatmeal I've made in some time! The milk added a creamy, nutty experience that oatmeal should have.

I plan on making a raw chocolate cake tomorrow for the week and we are going to have coconut curry as well.

I have taken a break on running. I will be a runner one day. I have to take care of my body to do this. My shins were causing me more and more discomfort so I am going to stop until they do not hurt anymore. I read as soon as 2 weeks and as long as 6 weeks. It's ok though. I am going to be back to it and will be practicing my stride with the barefoot model of running during my down time.

But the challenge is going very well. No wheat cravings. Very little dairy. Minimal and shrinking processed foods. Losing inches and hopefully inspiring you too!

Staying focused and calling what I desire into existence.

VISUALIZE

LOVE

WOW! WOW! WOW! I got a Vitamix today!! :)


I am so excited! This is going to be fun and adventurous. I will be posting many recipes that I use with this power blender and if you don't already have one, maybe they will inspire you to check it out for yourself! It is worth the investment. People have been saying this for over 30+ years! I am now too a believer and a proud owner of one of the best home kitchen appliances there are.

My 1st day with my new Vitamix I made a eggplant mushroom soup straight in the blender!, and a couple of smoothies. I am in love :)

We had pizza tonight! It was a successful pizza night indeed. I made a buckwheat dough instead of the regular whole wheat dough I would have made before and it was amazing! I mean it was really good. It can easily permanently replace the wheat dough for me. Here is the recipe!

http://thischickcooks.net/2012/08/09/gluten-free-pizza-crust-made-with-buckwheat/

It was a home run. A little messy to work with but once cooked was light and even a little chewy. Pizza was a challenge for me in breaking my habit of wheat. But with this recipe "I can see clearly now the rain is gone"...I may just be able to do this... ;)

I will post a few pics of the Vitamix tomorrow as well as new things I have tried because I will be trying just about everything in this bad boy! Nut butters and milks, soup, juicing, ice cream etc!

Happy Saturday! LOVE

60 minutes special on food additives!

This really is a must see! Watch it and research more on your own! You will be surprised how much is invested in food additives!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Wh3uq1yTc

ABC article on worst food additives

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/scariest-food-additives/story?id=17049716


This article has some good news for those of us that don't really understand why food additives are so bad!

Thank you Ryann for bringing to my attention and inspiring this post!

Condiments make so many dishes so much better! Most of the condiments, including many "organic" options, are filled with natural and artificial chemicals, sugar and many other things that hijacked our taste buds and make us think we are eating something we are not.

This does not mean that we cannot enjoy our condiments! We can make everything that you can buy on a shelf right at home, for a fraction of the cost and in very little time. Best thing is you control what goes in. NO CHEMICALS, NO PROCESSED INGREDIENTS, NO SUGAR JUST FOR SUGARS SAKE!

I have been making our condiments for a couple of years now. I admit that I did not used to do it 100% of the time! If we were making potato salad and I did not have any homemade mayo we would run to Whole Foods and buy the best one we could find, for $5 bucks or something crazy. But I am re-dedicating myself and my time to making sure all of our condiments are homemade, for my children's sake!

I am going to include a bunch of recipes under the conversations tab on honor system.weebly.com under the recipes forum that I have tried and used. Try them out! You will be surprised how good homemade BBQ sauce is or homemade mayo. You may need to grow accustomed to the change in flavors but not in a bad way. I thought the adjustment was more whole and accepting of what food really tastes like without the added chemicals to preserve and or heighten the flavor.
Relearn what food tastes like! I saw a GREAT 20/20 special that I am going to search for now on the chemical flavoring companies that will blow your mind! Look for it in the next post, hopefully!

Condiment recipes I have tried and love!

Mayo
http://paleodietlifestyle.com/paleo-mayonnaise/

Ranch dressing ( use the mayo from the previous recipe for the mayo called in this recipe!! )
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/homemade-ranch-dressing/

BBQ sauce ( with this I would use coconut sugar instead of regular granulated sugar and would make my own ketchup )
http://bbqpitboys.com/recipes/bbq-sauce-country-style#.UQnCZKV5420

Ketchup ( I would use coconut sugar in here too and Apple Cider Vinegar instead of red wine vinegar )
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/homemade-tomato-ketchup-recipe/index.html

Italian dressing recipe ( I would use honey here and all olive oil )
http://www.pennilessparenting.com/2010/07/perfect-homemade-italian-dressing.html

Godess dressing ( I would use coconut sugar and Tamari sauce instead of the soy sauce )
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/saucesdipsspreads/r/goddessdressing.htm

Raw caesar dressing ( This isn't exactly a caesar taste but it is very close and just good in general! )
http://lowfatveganchef.com/the-best-raw-vegan-caesar-salad-dressing-recipe/

Carrot ginger dressing
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2010/04/avocado-salad-with-carrot-ginger-dressing/

Another idea is to add half an avocado and a whole tomato diced, and just squish it all together in your salad bowl. You will get a creamy avocado/tomato dressing that is super light and really tasty! Sprinkle the top of the salad with a little salt too ;)

This is a good running list...Do you have any requests for more dressings you can't live without?? Also let us know if you try any of these!

LOVE

Beautiful new day! Inspiration and positivity! Something is brewing inside :)

Yesterday we finished up the day with some chili which I use ground grass-fed beef liver instead of ground beef! This increases the nutritional content of the chili a huge amount without changing the flavor or texture! Liver is an AMAZINGLY healthy and nutrient dense food choice! Our hunter gatherer ancestors would have eaten many if not all of the animal organs and may have even preferred them to the muscle as they are super nutrient packers! Liver is one of the organs that I personally image was a delicacy of sorts and given to pregnant women and children...
I have many "images" of what life would have been like 20,000 years ago! I've always felt I was born in the wrong time!

For dinner we had a bbq chicken kale salad. This is really yummy and is quickly becoming something I desire! The BBQ sauce just goes really well with the kale and with the chicken you can eat such a large amount of raw greens and get really full because of the chicken! We also had our fav japanese sweet potatoes!

My son is 18 months old now and has been very slow to solids but he loves these potatoes! He is eating at every meal now though so he is acquiring a taste for many foods now! It's amazing how much you can trust your babies! It was challenging to not worry about him not eating solids like "every other baby". He is 18 months old! Most babies start between 6-12 months. I had to focus and keep thinking of what it may have been like when mothers nursed for 3+ years. Would babies be totally content with milk and eat when they were really ready?? My time with my son has proven to me, yes and I trust my kids :)

For breakfast we had our juice, some fresh fruit and quinoa oatmeal! I think we will have leftovers - BBQ chicken kale salad - and for dinner we are having breakfast! I will make coconut flour pancakes with blueberries, and over easy eggs on top of rice and veggies. It is one of our favorite things to eat!

Haven't ran today so we will be going to the park soon and get active! I have NO miles recorded this week!! But I will get my 3 miles in before Saturday. By March my goal is to be able to increase it to 5 miles. I still feel a stress in my shin so I want to take it slow and build my legs up to it.

The Vibrams work muscles that you never knew you had! Have you looked into barefoot running??

Check this out

http://zenhabits.net/barefoot-running/

I will talk about my experience with minimalist running and what I did to prepare my body for the change and the changes I see in my body soon!

LOVE and Happy Wednesday!

Week 1 of the challenge is done!! I have been doing pretty good with my goals! NO WHEAT all week and no wheat CRAVINGS! This is the big part! OK...I did smell buttered toast and it smelled amazing! But I didn't feel that I must or even wanted to eat it!

I am approaching this attempt to cut wheat with the attitude "I can have it but I don't want it". It has changed the way I look at these products! It really is helping with my attitude and control with infamous bread products! The challenge continues....

Nothing super new with recipes this week. I am lacking inspiration in the kitchen and didn't try anything new this week. Which is ok. Though next week will have to be shaken up a bit. I did make some raw brownies over the weekend and I have a pizza planned for Friday. The dough will be a raw recipe that I will make on Thursday. I will post info on it when I try it out. I hope it works. It calls for a dehydrator and we don't have that so a really low oven will have to suffice and hopefully it will!
I am constantly noticing my waist shrinking! Last night I looked in the mirror and almost recognized myself from the many years in my pre-baby body. It is exciting! I still have work but I think I will be in my favorite jeans by the end of this challenge! This summer I will wear a bikini and feel comfortable again :)

I came across an AWESOME site and challenge a family did last year. They attempted to do a 30 day whole food challenge on a $500 budget and they did it! A family of 3, shopped at Whole Foods exclusively and spent under $500 for the whole month! Here is the link to what they did, in detail!

http://truefoodmovement.com/30-day-whole-foods-thrifty-challenge

This is really inspiring! I am going to be looking at the details of what she spent and ate and figure out if I can cut some off of our grocery bill too.

Check it out!

AND Check out Hungry for Change on Netflix or at http://www.hungryforchange.tv.

A lot of info here that can help with understanding why whole foods is SO vital!

LOVE

All is well here and on track! I didn't cook yesterday at all except eggs in the morning! Had a bunch of leftovers from the week so we had leftover rice pasta with the raw fettucini sauce and kale and carrots for lunch and had lentil stew with a large kale salad with avocado dressing and a sweet potato. All yummy. Nothing new. Tonight I am making chicken fajitas, minus the tortillas, mashed potatoes, corn, and kale/carrots sauteed. We will also have some juice since I made a smoothie this morning with fresh apple/orange juice and some kale and collards. Not the full juice though so I will make one for before dinner to start the meal off right! We have been going to the park about 3-4 times a week and I run most of these trips. I am doing about 3 miles a week and my goal is to be up to 5 in the next month. I would love to do 10 miles a week long term. We have talked about running a marathon, like the Boston or New York, in the future! So if 10 miles can become normal a full marathon will be easier to prepare for. For lunch today we are having bbq chicken kale salads! This is soooo tasty and fresh! The bbq sauce is homemade and almost perfection and having it tossed with the kale and other veggies is really, really good! We hope you are making the best choices that are available to you! LOVE

Factory farms map

PREPARATION


I am sorry I did not get this out this weekend! We had an extra day together as a family this weekend due to the MLK holiday so I am set back a day. I thought tomorrow was Tuesday! Hey baby brain is real even with a 1 1/2 yo and a 2 1/2 yo!

SO......... preparation! What have you done to prep your life to support a whole foods diet??!!

The 1st thing I say you MUST do is decide it is YOUR time! This is really it! We make decisions all day long and execute them without a second thought! You must do the same with your decision to create a healthy lifestyle for yourself and your family! It can be executed just as easily as say going to check your mail or washing your dishes. There is no difference except WE EAT ALL THE TIME!

This is where it can become really easy or more challenging. We eat more than we do anything else in our conscious lives! We eat 2-6 times or more a day! The most amazing part of this is we have SO many opportunities to eat well! SO many choices and with each one we can make the decision to make a health promoting decision!

The flip to this is we also have so many opportunities to make non health promoting decisions...but another is soon on its way so the time for change comes again quickly! So quickly that you cannot even stress on the bad choice. Focus on telling yourself, "hey self, that wasn't the best decision we had available. Let's make sure that the next time we make a better, more conscious decision." Be easy on yourself. Life is full of so many stressors. We do not need to create a new stressor with food choices. Be easy but be aware. Be conscious. Be in love with yourself and always strive to create a better relationship with yourself, in yourself.

There are many things that make whole foods eating easier. Here are a few:

A good blender - If you cannot afford a high end blender like the Vitamix invest in a Ninja or another good quality blender. If not that's ok too just have a blender! :)

A juicer - Not necessary at all as you can make whole foods smoothies/juices in a blender but it can make getting the nutrients in easier, especially in the beginning of your healthy lifestyle swap.

A good knife and or knife set

Good cook wear - say bye bye to the teflon, no stick stuff of your carcinogen yesteryears and say hello to stainless steel or to cast iron!

A food processor - If you do not have a high quality blender a food processor is a must! Makes veggie prep a breeze

A plan - a weekly meal plan, a grocery store plan, a in a pinch plan, a no food in the fridge plan, an eating out plan, a vacation plan, a visitors in town plan, a low on funds plan! Try to think of all the times that you make the lower quality food choices and make a plan on how to make better choices in the same circumstances.

A weekly shopping trip - This is the minimum and necessary, period.

A date with your kitchen - To get re-aquainted. You will be spending a lot of time together :)

Or you can try this....

Have faith in yourself!

Be in love with yourself!

Be thankful to be here and to be a witness to the beauty that is existence

Live with that thankfulness in your heart and energy daily!

Healthy eating will then come naturally!

LOVE

WHOA!!! SO this is a little hard putting out here! LOL! I still for some reason think I am as small as I was before I had babies! Though I have come a long way. My heaviest was 190 and that was after 2 pregnancies back to back. My smallest has been 125, in my adult years. I know I still look small to many but for me this has been a HUGE difference. I found a way to still see me through it all and that has helped. Though I will be in my pre-baby body again. I know it.

I am about 147 now. My goal is to lose another 10lbs to bring me to the 135 range, which is where I was right before my daughter. WOW! That stomach just looks so odd! Like the fat is just sitting on top of me yelling to be burned! LOL! Don't you worry fat I will grant your wish! hehe

Here are my goals again...

1. To break my addiction to wheat

2. To restore and prevent further tooth decay

3. To eliminate processed foods from our diet, with a few whole exceptions

4. To lose 10 lbs and find myself back in my pre-pregnancy body again!

5. To learn the basics of sprouting grains

6. To incorporate more raw foods into my families diet

7. To inspire YOU to meet your personal goals!

LOVE

BIG LOVE and hello beautiful people!

I want to post a few things here on our first day of our charged challenge! First I missed the opportunity to talk about prep. Prep is really one of the most important parts of living a healthy lifestyle...that and the decision to, which is the most important part! SO I will be posting on the blog shortly my ideas/advice of prepping yourself for a whole foods lifestyle.

Second I want to post my personal goals for this challenge.

1. To break my addiction to wheat

2. To restore and prevent further tooth decay

3. To eliminate processed foods from our diet, with a few whole exceptions

4. To lose 10 lbs and find myself back in my pre-pregnancy body again!

5. To learn the basics of sprouting grains

6. To incorporate more raw foods into my families diet

7. To inspire YOU to meet your personal goals!

I will be posting a before picture of myself on my blog shortly, which is a bit on a painful decision to make, but hey I got to put myself out there to inspire so it's all good! ;) And it's the truth! This is who I am! I always strive to create a better me so it is all good ;)

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know what I can do to help you stay focused and achieve your goals! If you need me to walk you through making a certain meal I will try my hardest to make myself available to you! If you need more recipes, to talk, where the best deals are in your town this weekend etc whatever PLEASE reach out! I cannot make any grown person do anything! I am here to help! Hopefully you will find yourself in a similar position soon and will offer your help to the group as well. We need more people to join too! SO keep spreading the word! Today is the "official" start date, but we all know someone who needs a healthy make over! And there are some who need it way more than others. Talk to them. Inspire them. Charge them! 

This is a 90 day whole foods charged challenge charged with love, health, inspiration and all the positive energy we can find within!! Spread this charged energy to others even if it isn't their time! You never know how they will respond or what seed you may have planted!

A wise woman told me once that "It isn't what you to that makes people remember you, it's how you make them feel"! Make yourself and the people in your energy field feel good! Give all love and your true self and inspire. It is our intention here! It is our intention.

LOVE

Juice this morning ::::::: carrots, collards, kale stalks, chard, parsley, ginger, oranges, apple, diakon, sweet potato, cucumber, rutabaga and radish. I made a mistake and didn't peel 2 oranges and it wasn't a good idea! had a weird taste to it. Peel your oranges!! :)

Also I tried some raw oatmeal this morning! You soak your steel cut oats (I also used buckwheat groats) in water with raisins over night. In the morning you add a banana and blend it all together. Niyah loves it! I thought it was ok...not as good as regular oatmeal or even quinoa "oatmeal" but good, whole and raw. Here's the link for it

http://www.therawtarian.com/raw-oatmeal-recipe

LOVE

We had a good long weekend! 3 day weekend so got a lot accomplished.

Friday night we had grass fed burgers wrapped in swiss chard instead of buns since we are wheat free for this challenge. This was the burger here

For desert I made a raw banana cream pie which was to die for!!! So delicious!

I used Saturday mornings juice pulp to make crackers. I will link a recipe that I based this on under Our Conversations in the recipe forum. I adjusted it some adding red onions, some of my sprouted lentils, sunflower seeds and some curry seasoning. 

This was our Monday night dinner. The wrap is a salmon wrap with red peppers, red cabbage, carrots, cucumber, spinach and a nut pate spread that I made. I will link the recipe to the nut pate in recipes as well. This was really good! I have never enjoyed the tasted of fish but have incorporated into our diet since last May and am learning to eat it. This I actually enjoyed! For all the moms who think their kids won't eat their veggies, this was Niyah's plate and she ate it all except the collard wrap which I think was just a little tough for her to chew. I will steam her wrap next time or wrap it in chard, which she has no problems chewing.

I took a break from running this weekend. My shins were feeling a little off from last week and still being a newer runner in my Vibrams. I looked up a video on barefoot running and change my stride and felt it that next day so I let my legs rest. I am going to start back today though. My goal is 3 miles a week now. 

All is going good here! I did cheat!!!! I ate about a cup full of ice cream last night! I needed to clear out the freezer and it was taking up room! Instead of throwing it away I just ate it! :) It is against our challenge because it is processed with regular sugar. I am going to make some ice cream this weekend so we can enjoy our favorite desert! BUT....I think this is a good lesson! We have to be easy on ourselves and accept our total selves. Sure, I could have thrown it away and it would have been a better choice for my body, but I didn't and that is ok! I am ok with it! It was a special treat and that was it. The rest of my life compensates for that one treat so it is OK! 

Give yourself a break and just keep on going!!

LOVE

Look at the beauty of collards being juiced! 

I used all the greens, carrots, radishes and 1/4 of the diakon, sweet potato and zucchini and the rutabaga. The lentils are sprouting in the background!

Red beet juice

This is our juice for today! It was delicious! 

Last night we had sauteed Kale with red bell peppers and carrots steamed with the kale. It was perfection. Kale is something that is just as good raw as it is steamed. We had grass fed beef burgers, wrapped in swiss chard instead of a bun and a baked japanese sweet potato!!! AND LET ME TELL YOU...if you like baked sweet potatoes you will LOOOOOOVE japanese sweet potatoes! WOW! I tried them for the 1st time in Hawaii and fell in love. I was on a japanese potato kick my whole pregnancy! We finally found them at Whole Foods and they are the only potatoes that I eat baked now. (I juice the regular orange sweet potatoes).


Juice this morning : ginger, kale, chard, collards, cucumber, daikon, apples, oranges, spinach, parsley, cilantro, zucchini, sweet potato, red beet and I think that was it. I took a couple pics of it. I don't know how to post pics yet but I am going to try to find out right now!!

:)

LOVE

You know the day never goes quite as planned BUT U have gotten some stuff done! Coco's pulp treats are dehydrating, the chili is done, the lentils are sprouting and when they are done probably tonight, I will put the stew on. I am waiting for a banana to thaw and will then make the raw banana cream pie!! Yummmm can't wait to try this! I am also going to make a cashew cream cheese for our collard wraps this week, and some kale chips for a snack through the week for the kids so they can dip them in hummus and also going to make babaganoosh tomorrow for dipping as well. I will post that recipe when I do it. I do not like eggplant but looooove babaganoosh! Especially with pita chips, but we are staying away from wheat for our 90 days so....kale chips and pulp chips instead which sounds delightful!

Preparing to go shopping for the weekend and next week. Planning my meal plan for the week and shopping list. We do this every week. Sometimes Friday night before Saturday shopping, most of the time Saturday in the parking lot of Whole Foods! :) Hey it gets done!!

Things I am planning on making for this week
liver chili - lunches for kids and me
sprouted lentil stew - lunches for the kids and me
chicken burgers - dinner
stuffed portabellos - dinner
chicken fajitas on rice - dinner
kale chips - for snack for kids through out week
collard wraps - dinner
pasta dish - with brown rice pasta
hummus - snack
juice pulp crackers - snack
pulp dog treats - for Coco :) (we have so much pulp its hard to find something to do with all of it!)


Not sure what else. I just found a new recipe for a raw oatmeal that I think I am going to try as well. You soak your oat groats over night with raisins and a few other ingredients and then just puree it. I think my daughter will like it.

I'll update with the recipes I use for these dishes

Happy Friday!

Breakfast:::::

juice, leftover steamed veggies, quinoa cooked in coconut milk w berries and coconut sugar (which we are cutting down on)

Now headed to the park to get active!

No wheat in 3 days! Hahaha

Morning juice:

Bunch of kale, chard, gold n red beets, garlic, ginger, sweet potato, carrots, apples, oranges, kiwi and chia seeds.

I'm saving my kale stalks from dinner and juicing these too!

Dinner last night:

Sustainable fresh caught salmon with brown basmati rice, steamed kale,  brussel sprouts and carrots. I still have to have something on my fish...I'm a recovering fish hater lol! So I topped my salmon with kale/basil pesto and also had a Japanese sweet potato baked. This is what my daughter ate too! She does not have the fish issues like her mom did thankfully! My son nibbled on some rice and kale

My (and the kids) 90 charged whole foods challenge plan!

Our diet is mostly whole foods now. Though my main goal, short term is to eliminate wheat and long term grains in general. Dairy is also something that I want to eliminate long term, for myself at least, but in the short term I will be switching any dairy we use to raw milk, cheese, yogurt, sour cream and just keep it very minimal.

I am focusing on  increasing our raw veggie consumption. We juice daily and have a kale salad daily but I think we can add a little more. My end goal is to be a "primal" eater, 80% ish raw, with high quality animal meat and fats. So.....step by step right ;)

Will update this weekend our shopping trip and what if any new things we get this weekend to help with our charged challenge!

Love

Morning juice:::::

apple, orange, kale. swiss chard, ginger, gold and red beet, spinach, sweet potato, 1 garlic clove, carrots, kiwi and oranges! Kids loved it.

1st day of 90 day charged challenge! I hope more join :) Happy Wednesday!

Had scrambled eggs with spinach for breakfast with a multi vegetable/fruit juice, lentil veggie stew and kale salad and chicken kale salad for dinner. Next time I will sprout the lentils before I make the stew. Everything else was on target today.

I also ran 2 laps around the park. Feeling good though my son is up crying now! lol toddler years are fun ;)