Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Our family's journey to better health - Part 1

Our family's journey to better health has been a slow and steady process - one that we are continually trying to improve. Shortly after we got married, my husband and I decided to try and do a "lifestyle makeover." This included changing our eating habits, exercise habits, spending habits, pretty much everything. Turns out trying to change everything all at once just doesn't work. When you're trying for such a dramatic overhaul in so many areas, you get burnt out quickly and it all falls apart.

So after we figured that out, we decided to start with our eating habits. They weren't horrible, mind you, but our produce intake was pretty pathetic and we had pizza more often than I'd care to admit... I started doing some research and wanted to figure out what would be the best and healthiest way for us to eat. I was already leaning towards a more organic based diet after watching food documentaries such as Food, Inc. and Food Matters, but organic junk food is still junk food. I was interested in eating less processed food because it just made sense to me that that would be a healthier way to eat.

I came across the idea of "clean eating" after stumbling through a few blogs and really embraced the idea. I went out and purchased a book all about this new-to-me way of eating and we did a major grocery overhaul and changed our ways pretty much overnight. We were loving this new diet of fresh produce and good-for-you dairy and meat, and my husband even lost something like 8 pounds the first week (what is it with men and easy weight loss??) But a couple weeks into our new eating plan, work called him away for several days and without him there, I lost a lot of motivation to cook such lovely meals just for myself, and he didn't stick to the plan at all while he was away. We tried to get back on track after his trip ended but after a few more attempts we just kind of followed that eating style very loosely.

I continued to read blogs about health and nutrition, and started coming across more and more articles about "real food" which was slightly different than our "clean eating" plan. But it really struck a chord with me. I started to realize how even lots of the foods I was eating as part of the clean eating plan were still pretty processed. We had been eating lots of "low fat" dairy for instance, thinking it was so good for us, all while not knowing that skim milk has things other than just milk in it, and low-fat anything just isn't good for you. The more I thought about it, the more I realized - if God wanted your milk to be low-fat he would have changed it's fat content! Why are we messing with the perfect gifts that God has given us? 

Since doing all this research, I've started buying more items as close to nature as I can. We only buy organic whole milk now (although I wish we could get raw milk here in NJ!) and I'm working on finding better sources for grass-fed meats (that's a whole different post). Thankfully our local Costco carries some organic grass-fed meats, but I'd like to find a local farmer to buy from in the near future. We are getting ready to join a local CSA for our produce (which will save us soooo much money on our grocery bill!) and I try to make as many things from scratch as possible (including some of our cheese!) which helps us to avoid preservatives and artificial ingredients. It's a slow process, but I've learned that's the best way to sustain positive change around here. And as long as we're seeing positive changes, we'll stay motivated.






Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Real Food Shamrock Shake!

A few weeks ago my cousin posted a link about how unhealthy those delicious shamrock shakes really are. It wasn't really much of a shock to either of us, but it got me thinking about figuring out a way to make my own, healthy version so I wouldn't be so tempted to run down the street and grab a sweet, minty, chemical-laden treat on a whim. I decided to try creating a similar shake today, and I'm pleased to announce that I've created a tasty version, full of real, healthy foods! Here's the recipe, which will make 1 serving:




1 very ripe banana (peeled, cut into chunks and frozen ahead of time)
1/2 an avocado
8-10 oz of whole, organic milk
1 drop of pure peppermint essential oil*
honey to taste (I didn't add any because I thought the banana added plenty of sweetness)

That's it! Throw all of that in the blender and blend well. We have this ninja blender which comes with single serve smoothie cups, so you can blend right in the cup and I LOVE them. I only just recently started using them for smoothie making instead of using the large blender and I don't know why I waited so long, because clean up is so much easier and I never make too much smoothie on accident, which used to be a big, wasteful problem for me. I'm horrible at "guestimating" measurements. 

A few tips:

I always keep ripe, peeled bananas in the freezer. They're the base for my main smoothie addiction (a chocolate protein smoothie that tastes like a frosty! Watch for that recipe soon) and I seem to run out of them pretty quickly. I buy the largest, ripest bunches of bananas I can, wait for them to get to peak ripeness, and then peel them and put each one in a plastic baggie or small plastic container and pop 'em in the freezer. It makes the smoothie super creamy and almost like ice cream and it eliminates the need to add ice, which I think tends to water down a smoothie too much. I prefer a creamy smoothie, not a watery one. 

*If you're using essential oil for this recipe, please make sure it is of high enough quality to safely ingest! You will know this because it will state right on the bottle that it can be used internally or be ingested. For more information about this and why it's so important, click here. You could probably use peppermint extract for this recipe as well, but I didn't have any on hand so I opted for the essential oil. If you're using peppermint extract, start with just a small amount - you can always add more if needed and peppermint is a strong flavor!

Enjoy!





Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Essential Oil Purity and Why It's So Important


As with most things in life, quality matters. Essential oils are no exception! In fact, quality and purity are of the absolute utmost importance if you're going to be putting them on your skin or even taking them internally. 

Did you know that there is no industry standard for essential oils? They are not currently regulated and there is no industry agency to make sure everyone is on the same page. Lots of cheaper essential oils are cut with additives to make the oil more affordable or just to cut down on production costs. Common additives include carrier oils, and synthetic fragrances. In some cases you may be getting a nice dose of pesticides and other chemicals too! And of course those pesticides will not be listed on the label since they're not technically considered an "ingredient." That is definitely not safe!

The plants from which an essential oil is derived should be grown organically (to avoid pesticides and other nasty chemicals) and should be grown natively in order to get the strongest and most pure essential oil possible. When a plant is grown in it's native environment, the plant is at it's "optimum health" - it's growing where God intended it to! 

So where can you get truly pure, top grade essential oils??

Thankfully there is a company out there committed to providing the best essential oils on the market! doTERRA was formed by a group of individuals who were very experienced within the essential oil industry. They weren't satisfied with the quality of oils that was already available, so they created their own company so they could produce oils that had a quality surpassing anything else on the market. All doTERRA oils are grown natively - they aren't grown in a greenhouse, or on a farm in the middle of the desert, they're grown where they grow best! The oils all undergo strict third-party testing (5 different tests to be exact) just to ensure that they are completely pure and free of any pesticides or chemicals. Because there is no industry standard and because doTERRA wanted a way to distinguish their unparalleled testing methods, they created the term Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade ®  . You can read more about this distinction here.  

The bottom line: make sure your oils are pure & therapeutic grade! Nothing less is safe for topical or internal use!