Why Bother?

http://www.flickr.com/, photo by M. Gifford

Why choose a salad over a burger? Why eat grapes instead of Whoppers? Some people really just want to be skinnier, not healthier. If that’s the case with you, there are certainly easier ways to go about it than breaking a sugar addiction, searching for raw cheese, and avoiding hydrogenated oils.

Do you remember Brach’s Gum Dinger candy? They were kind of like blow pops without a stick, and I think they were cherry flavored. The grocery store across from my junior high school used to carry them in the bulk candy section, and we’d buy them by the bagful.

Believe it or not, I actually had friends who went on a “Gum Dinger Diet.” Since the candy had a wad of gum inside it, they would suck on the candy as long as they could, then they’d chew the gum as long as they could in place of breakfast, lunch, snacks, etc.

So, could a person really lose weight eating nothing but candy? I suppose it’s possible, but can you imagine how unhealthy that would be?

Likewise, a person going on a diet just to get skinny is going to miss out on some great health benefits. Instead of suffering through yet another diet, you could actually change your lifestyle in order to really reach a point where you experience great health, feel good, have more energy, and greatly reduce your risk of a ton of illnesses and diseases.

You must have a reason to make this kind of shift, though, because we all know it requires a lot of effort. So, I'm asking you: Why do you want to be healthy?

Personally, I have a huge list of reasons for our family getting healthy: For starters, I don’t want my husband to be a prisoner to prescription medications, I don’t want my daughter, who has a fever condition, to have to spend her childhood in bed, I don’t want to dread getting up every morning because it just feels so much better to lie around...

Even more than any of those reasons, though, is that I know God created me with a specific purpose, and I don’t want to miss out on the life He intends for me to live because I haven’t taken care of myself.

What is your reason? Do you want to be in great health so you can take more mission trips after you retire? Do you want to be there to see your grandchildren enter this world and grow up? Do you want to be able to play with your children without feeling exhausted?

Unless you have at least one real, tangible reason for wanting to take control of your health, you probably won’t take it seriously. Looking hot in skinny jeans is not going to be enough. If that’s all you want, try the Gum Dinger Diet!

Our Monday Challenge today is for you to make a list of your reasons for wanting to live a healthier lifestyle. You might only have one really big reason, or you might have a lot of different ones. Write them down, share them with your spouse or best friend, print them out, and put them up someplace where you will see them every day.

When living a healthier lifestyle seems too hard to maintain and that chocolate cake looks too good to resist, refer back to your reasons for some extra motivation.

Check out the video, Your Big “Why" about a doctor who found his big "Why" through his grandmother's failing health.

I’d love to hear about your big “Why!” Email me at lifeunrefined@gmail.com or include your big “Why” in the comments below!

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Smoothies for Breakfast!

http://www.flickr.com/, photo by Calvert Cafe & Catering

When we changed how we ate, I totally expected to have to give up Cocoa Puffs and Lucky Charms. What I didn’t expect was for Cheerios to be off limits. (Yes, even multi-grain. Check the ingredients. Boo!)

This seriously limited the breakfast options for this cereal loving family. We started eating eggs, but we couldn’t handle that every day. I’d rejected the idea that a healthy smoothie could actually taste good, especially if it included ingredients like spinach and kale.

When I went to a nutrition class at 180 Chiro, however, they made chocolate strawberry smoothies for us to try. (No greens included. Whew!) It tasted fanstastic, and it looked easy to make, too! This would make a great to-go breakfast for those days when we had to be out the door, or just didn’t want to eat eggs…again.

Our first few attempts at smoothies were kind of failures, though, and I got discouraged. The kids thought they were gross, and I had to admit, they didn’t taste nearly as wonderful as the ones Casey had whipped up for us.

I didn’t want to eat eggs every day, though, so we kept experimenting and looking for recipes that we would like, and I’m happy to report that after just a couple of tries, we discovered how many strawberries were just sweet enough, and how little milk kept it to a milkshake consistency. Now, we really do just toss a few ingredients in the blender, hit the button, and have breakfast.

To make your own fruit smoothies, start with these basic ingredients, then experiment to find what tastes just right for you.

Unsweetened coconut milk: Use about ½ to 1 cup. Almond milk works fine, too.

Protein: 1 scoop. Whey protein powder is the easiest, but if you don’t want to use that, consider adding cottage cheese, nut butter, like raw almond butter, or another protein source. If you do go with protein powder, check the ingredient label! A lot of these powders add artificial sweeteners that are terrible for you.

Sweetener: 4-6 drops of liquid stevia is plenty, since you will also be adding fruit. One of my kids prefers just a little apple juice instead.

Unsweetened chocolate (optional): My husband, Dale, actually puts chunks of extra dark—like 85-90% dark—chocolate bar in his, but I just throw in a scoop of unsweetened cocoa powder.

Frozen fruit: Toss in about a handful. Using frozen fruit keeps the smoothie cold and thick. You can buy your fruit frozen, or cut it up and freeze it yourself. We actually peel and freeze bananas individually on a cookie sheet, then cut them up and throw them in the kids’ smoothies. We also buy frozen strawberries in bulk at Sam’s. Dale finds a variety of fresh, organic berries there as well, and he freezes them on a cookie sheet, tosses them in baggies, then adds them to his smoothies. Use whatever fruit you want, although anything ending in “berry” is the best.

If you'd rather start with more specific recipes, check out our family’s three favorite smoothie recipes at Kid-friendly smoothies.

Go ahead and blend up a protein-rich breakfast to go this week!

Lunchables You Can Feel Good About



Lunch shopping. Photo by Ben+Sam, Flickr.com



Admittedly, most of us know that Lunchables (or their generic counterparts) do not give our children a healthy lunch, but the truth is, they’re cheap, they’re convenient, and our kids will actually eat them.

The problem is that they’re overflowing with sodium, sugar, preservatives, and refined flour.

So, what else can you send with your kids for their lunch?

Nearly any kind of lunchable that you can buy, you can make yourself. You’ll still be giving them the fun of lunchables, it will still be semi-convenient for you, and you’ll feel better knowing your kids are actually getting a nutritious lunch.

Check out these homemade options for some of the most popular Lunchables:

Meat, Cheese and Crackers

Slice up a chicken or turkey breast instead of using deli meat, which is filled with nitrites, nitrates, and sugars. If you really prefer deli meat, check out Applegate—no added sugars, nitrites, or nitrates. It also costs a lot more. If you live in the Nashville area, Publix, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's carry it.
Cut up some cheese into squares, or for added fun, get some mini cookie cutters and cut it into fun shapes.
Add some 100% whole grain crackers, such as Ak Mak or Mary's Gone Crackers.
Pair this with canned mandarin oranges (in their own juice, not light syrup) or unsweetened applesauce.

Pizza

Cut slices of pizza crust, place some sauce in a sealable cup, and shred some cheese to place in a baggie. For lunch, your child can assemble the pizzas. (Make sure to include a plastic spoon for spreading the sauce.) 

Hint: If you don’t have time to make pizza crust, consider toasting slices of Ezekiel 4:9 bread (found in the refrigerated or frozen section of your favorite store, possibly in the health food section), cutting off the crusts, and cutting in half diagonally to make a crust.

Tacos

Make your own taco meat and/or refried beans. Add salsa (no sugar added) and corn chips. (Target has some organic blue corn chips with whole flax seeds made with sunflower oil that run about $3.00 per bag.) Shred some cheese, place in a baggie, and let your child put together his or her own taco lunch.

Wraps

Food for Life has both corn and wheat tortillas made from sprouted grains. You can usually find these frozen or refrigerated in your grocery store's health food section. They're actually pretty good, and pack a surprising protein punch. Use these tortillas or make your own, then wrap chicken strips, sliced turkey, or your child’s favorite ingredients inside.

A few tips for busy families:

Make several lunches in advance over the weekend. Package them up, set them in your fridge, then grab them throughout the week for weekday ease.

Prepare one type of lunch in bulk. Make an entire pound of taco meat, separate it into single servings in snack size baggies, and freeze them. Pull out as needed for lunches. Do the same for pizza sauce, shredded cheeses, or even wraps.

Enlist your child’s help. Even if he or she isn’t old enough to stir the pizza sauce, your child can probably use child safe cookie cutters to shape the cheese, or drop 5 crackers into each baggie. Your child will also be more likely to eat a lunch he or she helped prepare.

To save money: Purchase items like unsweetened applesauce, yogurt, or mandarin oranges in bulk, then divide up into small reusable containers. Also, utilize the make-it-yourself options above for big savings. Most of them are very simple, like throwing a bag of pinto beans in a crock pot with some water and letting them cook overnight.

For some additional lunch ideas, check out 21 Ways to Plan Ahead for School Lunches, Real Food School Lunches II, and Real Food School Lunches III.

Break Your Sugar Addiction

http://www.flickr.com/, photo by Windell Oskay

Last Monday, I asked, Are You Addicted to Sugar? I challenged readers to look at the ingredient labels in their own kitchens. If you did that, I bet you discovered that sugar is hidden in more foods than you realized.

Some of you may be thinking, Yeah, I know I’m consuming sugar, but so what?

I’m going to avoid getting scientific here—I’m certainly not an expert, so I’m going to offer several links to articles written by people who are. However, I will say this: God created our bodies to burn fat for fuel. When the USDA introduced the low-fat, high carbohydrate food pyramid in 1992, their recommendations sounded reasonable. Eat less fat, be less fat, right? The problem was that by taking away the good fats along with the bad, our bodies were no longer receiving adequate fuel. What we were taking in, however, was extra amounts of sugar and refined grains (which turn to sugar almost immediately upon consumption). Our bodies began burning sugar instead of fat. 

Why does it matter which fuel our bodies burn? 

Since Americans have cut back on good fats and ramped up their sugar intake, we’ve also ramped up on health problems, like cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, obesity and more. In fact, the more sugar you burn in place of fat, the shorter and more filled with health problems your life is likely to be.

Please, don’t take my word for it. Read what the experts have to say:

Fat Burner or Sugar Burner

Be a Fat Burner

Are You a Fat Burner or a Sugar Burner?

The Sugar-Cancer Connection

Why You Can't Lose Weight

(Good) Fat Doesn't Make You Fat

So, how do you break your addiction to sugar and start burning fat instead? It’s simple, really, though it won’t be easy for the first week or so. Cut out all sugar and anything that turns to sugar—grains, even whole ones. (This isn’t forever! You will eventually be able to add back in some whole grains and natural sugars, like honey, in moderation.)

You will quickly realize just how many things you consume that contain sugar or ingredients that turn to sugar. Don’t give up! Keep searching for great recipes (we’ll have some on here, and you can find even more at Maximized Living) that you like, and make sure to eat a lot of vegetables!

Take note: If your body is used to burning sugar, and then you suddenly stop giving it sugar, it’s going to resist. For a few days, you will feel sluggish, cranky, perhaps experience headaches, and possibly other symptoms. This is because your body is still trying to burn sugar, and you aren't giving it any. Don’t give up. Your body will switch to fat burning mode, and when it does, you will know it. You'll begin to feel energized, your cravings for sugar will minimize (or even disappear), and you'll have a lot more endurance.

So, how about it? Want to become a fat burner?

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Who Wants Popcorn?

Popcorn. Photo taken by Ayelie, Flickr.com

Popcorn has been a staple snack in my family for as long as I can remember. As kids, we’d snack on it while we played board games, watched movies, or just hung out. My grandparents always munched on it while they watched the evening news, and it was a standard treat at sleepovers.

Back in the day, my parents made it using their West Bend hot air popper, but eventually, they bought a microwave, and we were introduced to the wonderful world of microwave popcorn. It was convenient to pop, we could make it ourselves, and it tasted fantastic.

The only problem was that it was terrible for us.

If you have a box of microwave popcorn, check the ingredients. Odds are, your popcorn is filled with artificial coloring and damaged oils, just like ours was. This meant that when our family cut damaged fats this year, we could no longer enjoy our favorite snack.

It’s just not the same watching a movie with a bowl full of…fruit. I don’t know about you, but movies and board games are just more fun when I’ve got a giant bowl of fluffy kernels sitting in front of me.

I kept checking the ingredients of the different brands of popcorn at the grocery store, somehow hoping one of them would magically change and become something we could have. None of their labels ever changed, but I did discover a plain microwave popcorn. Newman’s Own Pop’s Corn has a variety with no added salt or butter. (I found it in the health food section of my grocery store.) To make it, pop the bag in the microwave just like you would pop any other bag of microwave popcorn. When it comes out, you can either eat it plain, or add your own toppings. We like it with a little bit of organic butter and sea salt.

This worked for a little while for our family, but Pop’s Corn was expensive. A dollar a bag, to be exact, and with a family of five who could easily consume 2-3 bags in a sitting, it didn’t always fit into our budget.

I hadn’t bought plain popcorn kernels in years, but I picked some up at the store and brought it to my parents’ house when we visited. We pulled out the good ol’ West Bend hot air popper, and we popped…and popped…and popped. That 28 ounce bag, which had cost me $2.00, popped countless bowls of popcorn. We added our favored toppings of organic butter and sea salt and enjoyed tasty popcorn to our heart’s content.

Although we still find ourselves coming down with a case of the snackies from time to time, no one misses their chips and salsa, cookies, or ice cream sundaes when we bring out the freshly popped corn.

What if you don’t have a hot air popper? No problem! Just pop the corn on the stove in a healthy oil, like olive or grapeseed, or try popping it in the microwave using a brown paper bag. Yes, it really does work!

Next time you find yourself craving a salty snack, pop up some popcorn! Just remember, although popcorn is a whole grain, it’s still a grain and should be consumed in moderation. Even whole grains turn to sugar once we consume them.

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The Benefit of Shopping Around

Photo by: Ruthanne Reid, Flickr.com

If you’re on a budget and you want to buy natural food instead of pre-packaged junk, you’re going to have to use some ingenuity to make it work. You may already be using coupons and sales to save on regular food, and that’s great! The benefits you’re already seeing from being a smart, frugal shopper can be multiplied several times when healthy food is involved. Not only can the prices on some of these items be, well, astronomical, but the difference in prices between stores could blow your mind. Shopping around can save you a huge amount of money.  

Let me illustrate. Almond flour at the store where I shop most often was a whopping $11.00/pound! I love almond flour, and it packs extra protein and good fats into a lot of hidden places, but that was just plain out of my budget, so we went without. In the meantime, however, I began checking around at other stores. After awhile, I scored big time by finding some priced at $4.00/pound.

Another example: vanilla. A lot of vanillas contain added corn syrup, so I began looking around for a pure vanilla. Here's what I found: Store #1: 2 ounces of pure vanilla for $10.00. Um, that would be a big fat no. Store #2: $5.00 for 4 ounces. Better, but still not good enough. Store #3: 16 ounces of pure vanilla for $6.88! Now, that’s more like it!

These are the kinds of price differences you might find if you do your homework and take the time to compare. The problem is, who has time to drive around between a bunch of stores comparing everything, especially ingredients that might be unfamiliar? This chore gets even more time consuming and frustrating when you have to drag one or more children with you through the stores. It’s enough to make a person just give up!

So, how can busy families actually find the best prices without making grocery shopping become an unpaid second job? Below are some tips that have worked for our family. They’re by no means exhaustive, and you’ll have to find what works for you, but hopefully they’ll give you some ideas to get you started!

Start small. When we first started buying different food, we only shopped at two stores. It was fairly easy to compare prices between the two. If a particular item was too much at both stores, we just didn’t buy it. If it was a necessary ingredient for a particular recipe, we either found a substitute or didn’t make that recipe. There were a lot of times when I came out of the store with several items not checked off my list, because the price was simply more than we could do. Later, we added more stores and began to increase the amount of healthy products we could buy as we continued to find better prices.

Use online options. I’ve been really surprised at the amount of grocery items I’ve been able to buy online for very competitive prices. Sometimes Amazon beats my local grocery stores’ prices and sometimes they don’t, but it’s very little effort to just look up a few prices online before you head out to the brick and mortar grocery store.

Check the buy-in-bulk stores, like Sam’s and Costco. I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find several items for fabulous prices at Sam’s, like organic berries, raw almonds, organic spinach leaves, several spices, and pure maple syrup.

Work shopping into your schedule. Instead of planning a giant shopping trip where I have to stop at multiple stores, I now plan shopping into my week and enlist my husband to help me. It only takes a few minutes for him to stop by one store on his way home from work. I also plan trips to different stores based on the places I’ll already be going that week. The longer you do this, the more natural it will become. You'll probably find, over time, that most of your items can be found at one main store, and then you'll have a few items sprinkled around between several other stores. It's not really that inconvenient to quickly stop by one of these stores to pick up one or two items if you'll already be going past it.

Watch for sales. At first, I thought I would never again be privy to great sales because I was buying more “alternative” food, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Even organic and natural food goes on sale! When I hit the store, I always swing by the organic produce section first. Whatever is on sale is the fruit we get that week. I also quickly run through the health food aisles and watch for unexpected sales. If I see a product on sale that I know we’ll use, I go ahead and stock up.

Use store brands. Again, big surprise for me when I noticed that some of my favorite stores carried their own generic brands of things like organic kidney and black beans (with no added syrups or sugars), organic tomato paste, whole wheat pasta, organic dairy products, and more. These options definitely keep me within my budget, and they often don’t cost much more. This weekend, the price difference between a bag of regular baby carrots and organic ones was 20 cents. No sales—those were just the regular prices.

Give yourself time. You’ll eventually memorize which items are the best buy at which stores and will fall into a routine of stopping by to pick them up, but at first, it might be inconvenient and seem overwhelming. As with anything else, be patient, take it one step at a time, and don’t give up.

Looking for additional ways to save? Check out Ten Tips for Eating Healthy on a Budget.

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Maximized Living Makeover

Perhaps you want to experience a healthier life, but you're not sure how to get started. The first thing you need to decide is what your goals are. Do you want to lost 20 pounds? Finally get off some of those medications? Get rid of your chronic fatigue?

The next thing is to decide what plan or system you want to use to get there. Some people cut out gluten. Others cut out any foods that have been processed, i.e. they eat absolutely nothing out of a box or can or they go vegan. Still others cut out toxins from their water and hygiene products.

Our family chose the plan, Maximized Living. It involves exercise, nutrition, the elimination of toxins, and more. It affects our total health, not just one area.

If you're interested in learning more about Maximized Living and you live in the Nashville area, you can attend a Maximized Living Makeover this Saturday at 10:00. Our family is going to be one of the featured testimonies!

This event does cost $30 but includes their book and other valuable information. They do not want finances to be a reason someone can't go, so if you really want to attend but need a scholarship, please email Casey at info@180chiro.com or call 615-595-9063.

GET TOOLS FOR WEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS IN 2012!
 
The Maximized Living Makeover is a life changing event coming right to our clinic! Learn how you can lose weight and live a life of amazing health just like hundreds of thousands have across the world.

*Quickly lose 10 pounds without feeling hungry
*Remove the toxins that prevent you from losing weight
*Get in the best shape of your life in only twelve minutes per week

You become who you surround yourself with. Find someone to lift you up: a lifting partner or group! Whether it is your friends, family, church group or co-workers, impact the people you care about and bring them with you to this transformational weight loss event! The admission fee for the Makeover is only $30!

Bring 1 guest: 1/2 off admission
Bring 2 guests: Free admission

Location:
Christ Community Church
1215 Hillsboro Road
Franklin, TN 37069

Date: Saturday, Jan. 21

Time: 10:00 A.M.-1:00 P.M.

Chiropractic & Wellness Center 4091 Mallory Lane, Suite 114, Franklin, TN 37067 615-595-9063 www.180well.com

I must admit, I was very skeptical when I first went to one of these events, but listening to the testimonies of others and hearing the plan described in detail helped convince me that this was the plan our family needed to implement for a healthier life. I'm not saying this is the only way to go, but this is the one that has really helped us understand about sugar burning, how harmful toxins are, and how to finally take control of our health.

To find out more information or to register for this event, contact 180 Chiro.

If you don't live in the Nashville area, find a Maximized Living Makeover in your area by clicking here.

Are You Addicted to Sugar?

Photo by: Uwe Hermann, flickr.com

You’ve probably been told your entire life that sugar is bad for you, but really, what’s so bad about it? We all know that it can cause tooth decay and spoil your appetite so you don’t eat healthier foods. It can also cause weight gain if you overindulge.

But is that all? Sounds like something to consume in moderation, right?

Actually, more and more research is pointing to sugar as a bigger health threat than saturated fat, high cholesterol, and even trans fats (Natural Health, vol. 42, issue 2, 79). And for Americans, that’s really scary news, considering our sugar intake. The average American consumes about 180 pounds of sugar a year! That breaks down to about a half pound of sugar per day.

But that’s not you, right? I thought that it wasn’t me, too. I tried to avoid sugary foods as much as possible, but the problem is that 2/3 of our sugar intake comes from hidden sources (Cruise Ship or Nursing Home, 59). Translation? We don’t realize we’re consuming it. It’s cheap, and it makes everything taste better, so manufacturers put it in almost everything. Go ahead, take a look at the “healthy” foods in your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. You’ll probably find sugar in your whole grain bread, your ketchup, your deli meat, your cereal, your seasonings, and a whole lot of other places you might not expect it. (Don't forget to look for alternative sugars and labeling, such as high fructose corn syrup, fructose, dextrose, etc.)

You’re probably consuming massive amounts of sugar, all while you’re doing your best to avoid it, because it’s hidden in nearly everything! If you’ve been purchasing low fat alternatives, it might be even worse. Guess what they’re using to replace the fat?

So, the question still remains: Are you addicted to it?

Have you ever tried to stop eating it, cold turkey? I mean, completely. Not just candy and sugary snacks, but anything with refined sugar in it. My family did, and I can assure you, we all experienced withdrawal. It hit us all in different ways, but it was very real. After going through that experience, I will never again believe that sugar is harmless. Interestingly enough, the longer our family goes without regularly consuming sugar, the less we crave it. The reason people typically keep craving sugary foods when they diet is because they don’t ever completely break their sugar addiction. They continue to consume it, oftentimes unknowingly, and so they continue to crave it.

Do I still love chocolate chip cookies? Of course! But I don’t think about them all the time or feel like I need to have one. I honestly can resist, without much effort at all, foods that used to be my downfall.

If you eat typical American food, you are almost certainly addicted to sugar, which will make it really, really hard to succeed at eating natural foods unless you break that addiction.

This week, our Monday Challenge is for you to do some research…in your own kitchen. Look at the ingredient labels of your dressings, condiments, bread, meat, packaged foods, anything you have. Then, when you go to the store, check out the ingredients labels of the foods you typically buy. See how many items you can find without sugar. Start thinking about whether or not you’re willing to take the step of saying goodbye to it.

If you do decide to break your addiction to sugar, it will probably be the single toughest, and yet most rewarding, part of a healthier lifestyle.

Next Monday, we’ll talk about why sugar addicts burn sugar instead of fat, and why this is a really big health concern. Then, I’ll challenge you to take the leap and break your addiction!

Success Story Saturday

For this week's Success Story Saturday, I hope you will read Our Family's Journey.

I'd love to hear about your journey as well! Please send an email to lifeunrefined@gmail.com or include your story in the comments below.

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Beef Tips

Commercially manufactured red meat can be bad for you, but who doesn’t love a juicy steak, tender pot roast, or big, fat burger once in a while? Buying locally raised, grass-fed beef is a lot healthier, but trying to find affordable beef that’s actually good for you can be a challenge! Our family is on a tight grocery budget, so we completely understand the strain of wanting to eat healthier beef, but not always being able to afford it.

A couple of years ago, we started buying Collins Farm Fresh Beef. Not only did we save money on steaks, roasts, and ribs, we even saved money on ground beef! We buy a half cow at a time and keep the meat in our standing freezer. Our beef has no added hormones, and it comes from cows who have been out grazing in the pasture, right here in Tennessee.

Not everyone has a big freezer, though, to store all that extra beef. If that’s the case for you, consider finding a local meat co-op or a local farm co-op. Sometimes these co-ops will give you a share of different kinds of meats, vegetables, and even dairy for a weekly or monthly fee.

If you can’t find an affordable co-op in your area, watch for sales on healthier meat at the grocery store. Certain brands abstain from adding hormones.  You might even be able to ask your grocery store’s meat manager for tips on when they mark down their meat. When you do find a great sale, stock up!

One delicious dish we like to make with beef is Beef Tips. The original recipe, which I’ve adapted from Simply Delicious, calls for beef tips (thus, the name!) but I cut up sirloin strips, round steak, or just about any kind of beef I have on hand. The slow cooker makes it so tender, it really doesn’t matter what kind you use.

We serve ours over whole-wheat egg noodles, but you could also serve it over brown rice or even faux-tatoes for a delicious meal.

Beef Tips

Ingredients:
1 pound cubed beef (beef tips, sirloin strips, round steak, etc.)
2-3 carrots, chopped, or 5-6 ounces shredded carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1-2 cups beef broth
2 tbsp. (or so) arrowroot
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Thicken to desired consistency with arrowroot. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or until vegetables and meat are tender. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add more arrowroot, if necessary, to thicken. Pour beef-vegetable mixture over whole-wheat noodles and serve.

Note: See the post, Chocolate Pudding, for a note on using arrowroot.

Plan Ahead

Imagine a morning where you oversleep, discover you’re out of cereal AND coffee, your kids can’t find their shoes, your clothes are rumpled and your iron quits working, and the car won’t start.

Complete and utter frustration.

I’ve got to be honest with you. If your family leads a busy schedule and you try to eat natural, unrefined foods, but you don’t plan ahead, you could feel like the person in the above scenario every single day, and you’ll probably give up.

I felt that way at first. A lot. I’m not the world’s best planner, and so there have been plenty of instances in the past where supper would roll around, and I’d pull a bag of nuggets out of the freezer and toss them in the oven or stop by Papa Murphy’s for a bake-at-home pizza. It was convenient, and I was a busy mom.

Then, we changed how we ate, but I still wasn’t a stellar planner. Dinner time would creep up, and I’d have nothing to serve. When you eat natural, there’s no pulling a frozen Stouffer’s lasagna out of the freezer or asking your husband to pick up McDonald’s on his way home. You’re on your own.

I quickly learned that if I was going to make this thing work without going insane, I was going to have to learn to plan. Menu planning was a must, of course, but that still left me spending hours in the kitchen making every meal from scratch. I was exhausted and burning out fast. What good is a healthier life if you spend all of it in the kitchen?

So, if we’re going to make this work, we’ve got to find shortcuts. I’ll try to share with you what has worked for our family, and I really do want to hear what works for you as well.

Today, take a look at your schedule. Begin thinking now about small pockets of time you can set aside to make a few items ahead each week so you’re not scrambling every night to get it all done. For me, it’s first thing Saturday morning. Even though it is somewhat inconvenient to get up on Saturday morning and mess up my kitchen, it is totally worth it on weeknights when the veges are already chopped, the meat is already cut, and the time-consuming homemade parts of my meals are already done.

When you set aside time to do it all at once, you seem to get more done in less time, too. You can cook more than one thing at a time, you only have to pull out all of your supplies once, and there’s just one giant mess to clean up, instead of a big, time consuming mess every night.

Please, don’t get discouraged and give up if you’ve been trying to eat natural but the meal preparation has been too much. Let’s continue to find shortcuts and quick, easy meals to fix that will make healthy living a reality for the busiest of us.

Slow Cooker Broth

In my opinion, the slow cooker is the MVP of the kitchen appliances, hands down. I use mine instead of my oven in the summer to keep the kitchen from overheating, I simmer soups in it all winter long, and yes, I have even made Thanksgiving turkey and Easter ham in mine. Well, in one of them, anyway. I have three, and as I sit here, I have two of them cooking away, preparing my supper.

My two favorite (and easiest) things to make in the slow cooker are roasted chicken and pot roast. They’re nearly foolproof and turn out tender and juicy every time. The only problem is that when I’ve finished cooking these items, I have no use for all those leftover juices and bones. Until now.

Today, I’m going to give you a recipe to make your own beef, chicken, and turkey broth using ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. You’ll save those leftover juices and bones, you’ll save money by not having to buy it, and you’ll save your family from the many toxic ingredients found in a lot of manufactured broths. It is possible to buy broth without all those additives, but it costs a lot more than regular broth, and who won’t feel an amazing sense of accomplishment from making their own broth? (You don’t have to tell anyone that it was nearly effortless.)

After you’ve made a chicken, turkey, or roast in your slow cooker, pull most of the meat off, then leave the bones, drippings, fat, etc. right in the slow cooker.

Add the following ingredients (based on Better Homes and Gardens' broth recipe):

3 cut up carrots
An onion, cut up
2 celery stalks (leave the leaves on)
1 Tbsp. basil
1 ½ tsp. sea salt
10 whole black peppercorns
1 Tbsp. parsley
4 bay leaves
Clove of garlic

Once everything’s in there, add enough water to cover everything, then cook on low overnight (or for about 8 hours). Pour the broth through a wire mesh colander or a regular colander lined with cheesecloth into a large glass bowl. Refrigerate until all of the fat rises to the top, then scrape it off the top.

Pour the broth into ice cube trays, freeze, then dump the broth cubes into a large baggie to pull out as needed. You can also freeze it in 1 cup containers to pull out a cup at a time.

Check out the article, Ditch the Package: Taco Seasoning, Chicken Broth, and More for an alternative list of ingredients to add to chicken or turkey.

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Chocolate Pudding

Until recently, the only pudding I had ever made was the kind where I added 2 cups of milk to the packaged mix. I absolutely love chocolate pudding, but I didn’t even need to read the ingredients of my beloved mix to know it wasn’t going to be something we could have anymore.

Then, my precious daughter got me a healthy cookbook for Christmas, and it contained a recipe for chocolate pudding that we could eat! The best part is that I had all of the ingredients on hand, and it was super easy to whip up. Well, actually, the best part was how good it tasted! My family is so excited to be able to enjoy this creamy treat again…guilt free.

One ingredient you might not have on hand is arrowroot. I would definitely recommend buying some—it was a little expensive, but it lasts a really long time. I purchased it in the baking aisle at Whole Foods about 6 months ago, and I’ve only used about half the package. If you’re not ready to purchase arrowroot, however, you can substitute cornstarch for it in the recipe.

Another ingredient you might not have is liquid stevia. I absolutely balked at the price when I first shopped for this, but again, it lasts forever. It comes with a dropper, and most recipes call for just a few drops--it's very potent.

One other note worth mentioning: Although honey is a natural ingredient, it must be consumed in moderation. It’s still a little high on the glycemic index and can affect your blood sugar level. Anything with honey in it is still, as the characters on Sesame Street say, a “sometimes food.”

Chocolate Pudding(adapted from the Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free cookbook by Amy Green)

Ingredients:
2 cups milk, divided (I used organic whole milk. If you still can't bring yourself to use whole milk, skim milk will work.)
2  Tbsp. arrowroot
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. honey
1 ½ tsp. vanilla (I recommend Tone’s vanilla—it has no added corn syrup and is very reasonably priced.)
¼ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. liquid stevia

Directions:
Mix together ½ cup milk with the arrowroot and set aside. Combine 1 ½ cups milk with the rest of the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. When tiny bubbles form around the edges, add the arrowroot-milk mixture and continue to cook. When the pudding thickens and boils, remove from heat and pour into a glass bowl. Place plastic wrap directly over the surface of the pudding and chill, then serve.

To change it up, try making the pudding next time with almond milk! You’ll add in great protein and amazing taste! Just add an extra tablespoon of arrowroot, and you’ll be good to go!

Monday Challenge: Toxic Toothpaste

Could your toothpaste be doing more harm than good?

Toxins, which we take in through the water we drink, the food we eat, the cleaning and personal products we use, and even in the air we breathe, build up in our bodies and cause a lot of health problems. We can improve our health by minimizing the toxins we put in our bodies each day.

One place toxins show up is in our toothpaste. As you brush away plaque, you may be bringing harmful toxins into your body. So, let's see how your toothpaste measures up. Go ahead and grab your tube. It’s okay, I’ll wait.

Once you have it, look at the list of ingredients and see if any of the following toxins are onboard:

Propylene Glycol
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Polyethylene Glycol
Sodium Fluoride

If you have a moment, go ahead and click on each of the above listed ingredients to see what health problems they might cause and why we'd be wise to avoid them. If you have a little more time, go ahead and type each of them into your search engine. Their confirmed and suspected dangers are numerous.

The good news is that we're not limited to toothpastes filled with harmful toxins. We do have other choices.

One option is to drive over to your local health food or grocery store. Believe me, you can find an alternative. It might cost more than an entire cake from their bakery, but you can find something. Just read the ingredients and choose one that doesn't contain the harmful toxins listed above.

However, if you’re like us and budget is a huge issue, you do have less expensive alternatives. If you have a Trader Joe's in the vicinity, consider purchasing your toothpaste there. They have a great store brand toothpaste that isn't filled with toxins. I think we pay about $2.25 per tube.

You can also watch for sales at your local health food or grocery store. You might be surprised at the deals you can find if you just watch for coupons and discounts. You can also visit online retailers for some better deals.

Super Saver Option: Maybe your budget is even tighter than this. If so, you're still not out of luck. Check out Natural Health Restored for some additional, money saving alternatives. I'm going to warn you, though. Their ideas are a little out-of-the-box. However, if they keep costs at a minimum, aren't filled with harmful toxins, and actually keep your teeth and mouth clean, they're worth a try! If you do decide to try one of these economical toothpaste alternatives, I'd love to hear about your experience!

So, this week, do some shopping around. Check the ingredients. Compare prices. Watch for sales. Decide now what you'll do when your current tube of toothpaste runs out. If you don't, you'll undoubtedly just reach for another toxic tube when the time comes. Make a plan now so you don't continue to brush with toxic toothpaste.  

Success Story Saturday: Trying New Things

Welcome to Success Story Saturday, where we can encourage each other by sharing ways we succeeded in our family's health this week, big or small.
Do you have a child who is a picky eater? Perhaps it seems that no matter what you do, they just won't try new things. I have one who basically refuses most sources of protein. I have to sneak it in through protein smoothies, almond flour, etc.
This week, I'm pleased to report, that after months of refusing any and all dishes with protein in them, that she tried not one, but three different meat dishes! She liked 2 and disliked 1, but she was willing to try, and I consider that a success.
How has your family succeeded this week? Don't think about the failures. We've all had those. What went right? Share it in the comments below, so we can celebrate with you!

Lacking Motivation to Exercise?

Now that the most wonderful time of the year is over, my motivation to exercise seems to have gotten boxed up with the Christmas decorations. Getting to the gym has really felt like an uphill battle this week. Know the feeling?

We’ve all just had an incredibly busy time of year. You’ve probably been baking, cooking, shopping, wrapping, and perhaps entertaining, all on top of an already packed schedule. You may have slipped in some extra holiday indulgences, and with the family’s entire schedule thrown on its ear, you’re now dealing with cranky kids who won’t go to bed at night or get up in the morning. They don’t want to get back to school, they don’t want to do their chores, and they don’t know where to put all of their newly acquired clutter.

By the time you finish motivating your kids to get their chores and homework done, you may not have enough motivation left for yourself. So, how do you keep from slipping into winter hibernation with all of these factors working against you? What if you could combine some of these challenges for a win-win?

Check out these tips, and feel free to add some of your own in the comments below.

1. Exercise for Fun

What exercise do you and your kids enjoy doing together? Make a list of physical activity your family enjoys. It might even be as simple as jumping on the trampoline together or playing XBox Kinect or the Wii. Perhaps your kids like to go bike riding or rollerblading. How about a game of touch football? If you’re not sure what your family would like, ask them! Instead of trying to add exercise onto an already overwhelming schedule, consider using your family time to engage in fun, physical activities that you can all enjoy together.

But it’s cold outside!

All the better. Exercising in the cold can actually increase the amount of fat you burn, because your body is not only exercising, but also working to keep itself warm. Make sure to dress in layers, so you can peel down as you warm up.

2. Get Accountability from Your Kids

Our local rec. center has an indoor pool, and my kids absolutely love to swim, so to hold myself accountable, I promise to take them swimming right after I exercise. Because they really want to swim, they make sure I get to the gym so they can have their fun. What if your kids don’t want to swim (or you don’t have access to a pool)? Offer them some other benefits, such as a few extra minutes playing video games or participating in an activity they love if you make your goal of going to the gym. Kids can provide surprisingly effective accountability if they’re motivated!

3. Keep It In Order

If you’ve provided ample motivation for your kids to want to get out the door, set some goals for them to meet before you can go. Use this as an opportunity to accomplish those tasks you constantly have to harp on your kids to finish. If their chores are done by a certain time, then exercise and swimming (or whatever activities you’ve chosen) will happen. If not, they’ll have to stay home and finish. This can get frustrating for you if you really want to go, because sometimes, they might not finish and you might miss going. However, sticking to the same plan consistently, and providing activities your kids really want to do, should increase their motivation. When this happens, it’s a huge win for you. The chores get done, you get to exercise, and your family gets some quality time together.

Getting your kids to work with you instead of against you is an incredibly valuable process, but don’t forget that it is just that: a process. Some days will go better than others. As I look around my living room today, I can see we’re going to need some extra motivation to get this place back in order and my feet back at the gym. I think I’ll propose some swimming this evening…

Big Bird and Wild Rice Soup

Winter is here, I’ve got leftover turkey in my freezer, and I’m craving my favorite soup:

Big Bird and Wild Rice Soup

Isn’t a healthy family supposed to eat low fat? Not if they’re eating good fat! The low fat diet phenomenon has been proven to be a huge flop, and yet Americans continue to buy into it. Stores continue to overflow with products that boast claims of little or no fat, while they’re hiding a dirty little secret: many of them are stuffed to the gills with processed sugar, sodium, and other unnatural ingredients. Check out the article, The problem with low fat alternatives for more reasons to avoid low fat packaged foods.

Those of us who grew up in the 80’s were completely indoctrinated with a fear of fat. We were told that if we ate fat of any kind, we’d be fat. Even now, after I’ve read a ton of information on the benefits of good fats in moderation, I still catch my breath sometimes when I reach for whole milk instead of skim.

Of course, not all fats are good for us. We should avoid damaged fats as much as possible. Damaged fats, such as hydrogenated oils (trans fats), margarine, and vegetable oils aren’t able to be recognized or metabolized by our bodies. They contribute not only to weight gain, but also to inflammation, heart attack, and stroke (Maximized Living Nutrition Plans, 16).

Natural is almost always better, so go with organic butter and whole milk. Think organic is too expensive? Grocery stores are beginning to come out with their own store-brand organic items, such as butter and milk, which are much more affordable than the name-brand organic items. More and more people are insisting on healthier foods, and grocery stores are responding, offering increasingly competitive products and prices for this ever growing market.

So anyway, on to the recipe already! Yes, it is full fat, and yes, I consider it healthy, if eaten in moderation, because it’s made from minimally processed, natural foods. Of course, if you eat four bowls of it at 8:00 p.m., that’s another story.

I got the recipe from an old church cookbook, and made just a couple of small changes.

Big Bird and Wild Rice Soupby Jean Baker

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked wild rice
2 cups pulled pieces of cooked turkey
2 tsp. onion powder
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cups of shredded carrots
1 stick of butter
½ cup whole white wheat flour
4 cups turkey broth
2 cups half and half
Parsley, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Melt butter in a medium to large saucepan, then sauté the celery and carrots in the melted butter until the celery is transparent. Blend in flour and cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is bubbly (don’t let it brown). Using a wire whisk, blend in turkey broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add cooked wild rice, half and half, and turkey. Season with salt and pepper and simmer 20 minutes; do not boil. Garnish with parsley before serving.