Taking Care

5 out of the 9 of these little monkeys are mine. They are all adorable. I love them all to pieces. I want them to keep growing strong and healthy and free from all the disease in the world. Problem is....they are making choices. One of them even drives. Many of the others have bikes and can ride to the store themselves with their very own money.


What that means is that I don't have control. They are going to buy treats. They are going to go to lunch at fast food places. They are going to break all the food rules I have at one time or another. That is just the honest truth.


I have been thinking about that today and wondering what my defense will be. How will I counteract that? 


Two things:


Education  
&
Overcompensation


I was talking with a mom today with two very young children. She was talking about this lingering cough the 2-year-old had , his rounds of antibiotics and confusion over what to do. She was tired of always being in the Dr.'s office. It reminded me of my early days with my first child. I did the same thing. I didn't know what to do and I relied on the Dr. for all the info regarding this child's health. Boy have I come a long way. I have been "educated" and my children have been greatly blessed for it. The antibiotics stopped with the first one and my eyes were opened from that point on. I want to do all in my power to shed all the light and knowledge I have  upon my children so they will make good choices because they realize it is what they need to do for their body; not what their mom wants them to do.


I had to chuckle inside the other night when I was talking to my son about some acne on his teenage face. I was telling him we should do a liver cleanse to help clear it up a bit and he said,


    "It is just because I ate real bad this weekend; my acne is related to what I eat."


Why this is so funny is because I have told this to him for years and he wouldn't believe me at all. Now, it was like it was his idea! The brainwashing is working.


Now onto overcompensating. I am going to fill them to the brim with all the fighting power of nutrients I can while they are in my grasps each day. I will arm them with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals so when they are chugging down the illegal 32 oz or dish of fast food Orange chicken, they will be armed to get it out of their system. 


I love the smoothies as you know and do them pretty regularly in the morning but after really reading the "Green Smoothie Diet", I am committing to morning and night green smoothies and as much raw goodness in between. It is my defense system. I just finished reading this book and every one really should read it. It is full of information that makes you want to change your life to eating better and downing the green drinks. Thanks Green Smoothie Girl! It is the best $10-$12 dollar purchase you will make this week. Check out Amazon for the best deals out there. See my previous smoothie post for a link.


I am amazed at how many children are allowed to not eat their veggies. It is truly an act of love to make them eat those greens. They will learn to like them but only if you persist. 


I had my grandparents over last night and served a big salad with our pasta. My grandfather is 89 and still will hardly eat a veggie. My grandmother told my mother today that she was amazed that all my children ate salad, like it was some Christmas miracle. 


Be the mean mom and make them eat what is on their plate. 


If you also have a problem getting down the veggies, take the Green Smoothie challenge: 30 days of 1 full quart of green smoothie daily. You can drink it anytime during the day but you must drink it all. After the 3o days, see the difference in your life. Use all different sorts of produce with at least 50 percent veggies. No sugar. For the kids, 1 pint a day will work. 


The new year is coming. Time to reevaluate and change the paths of life. Arm the kids with fighting power and knowledge. Arm yourself with energy and vitality. What better thing is there? 


Say no to drugs. Say yes to greens. 

London's Run

If you sign up today for London's Run, the 10K price is only $20!! Prices go up on December 1st. They also have a half marathon and a 2 mile fun run. Love to see you there! Who's in with me? 


Sign up here:  http://www.londonsrun.org/registration.html

Drink it up

This is what should greet you each and every morning. This should be your "go juice", or as we call it in our family; our "Super Juice." It is a glass full of all you need to get the engine running and the immune system pumping. It is enough vitamins and minerals to kick the daily FDA out of the park. It is so very easy but so many just don't do it. 

We are talking green smoothies. You can change the green to pink with some berries so the kiddies don't even know your little green secret. You can put just about anything you have in the fridge into this concoction and make it as healthy as you like. The important thing is that you make it a daily routine. 

I love supplements but supplements should be exactly that: a supplement not a replacement. You should do your best to get your nutrition from food, not a pill. The pills are used when you are lacking nutrients or need to catch the body up when the system isn't working right. If you use fresh, organic veggies and fruits in abundance each day, your body will praise you by supplying you with health and vitality. 

I don't really go for taste anymore when I make smoothies because my gang will drink anything I throw at them now but if you are still trying to win over the masses, here is a basic smoothie recipe that can be altered any way:


Frozen berries or fruit, try to use organic as possible or fresh frozen yourself.


Raw spinach, a good handful


A banana or two for creaminess and sweetness


chunk of cabbage


Flax seed meal or oil


Any other fruit and veggies you want


Add some ice and some natural juice like orange, apple or pineapple; no sugar added, organic if possible.


Blend up and drink right away!


You can also add some Kefir or yogurt if you like to cream it up. I love to make mine really green with kale, bok choy, cucumbers, etc. I also add some carrots sometimes and lemon.  Possibilities are endless. Whatever it takes to get them down.


I love the info given by the Green Smoothie Girl
on her website and love what she does in her home. She drinks a quart a day and fills up a pint jar for each of her kids in the morning. They have to drink it by the end of the day. Of course, drinking it right away is best for the nutrition factor but get it down anyway you can. I just bought her book with ideas on amazon.



It is a great place to start. 

Smoothies should be a part of every ones lifestyle. When I do classes with moms just starting out, they always tell me there is no way their child will drink it. I make some up and without fail, every single child there will drink it and usually ask for more. You can't taste the spinach and with the berries and a good blender, you can't even see the green at all. 

Juicing is also a great way to start the day and a good way to use up garden leftovers. It uses way more produce but it also gives you more nutrients per cup. We rotate around here depending on what we have on hand.

Use produce in season. Use fresh and organic. You may spend a little more on produce but  you will save at the Dr. You are so worth it! 

Drink up!

Being Thankful

It is Thanksgiving week, my very favorite holiday of the year. I get sad at the fact that it is so covered up by Christmas. The stores are full of "Christmas" way too early thus, cutting us short of the Thanksgiving season. I don't like to even touch Christmas until I have celebrated my Thankful season, even if that means I get to cram gift buying into a few weeks. 


Thanksgiving is family, relaxation, food, gratefulness. No stress of gifts or fitting in all the parties. It is just a perfect week and I am already daydreaming about sleeping in and pumpkin pies.


Gratitude is so very important and I think that it is something that many of us don't pay enough homage to. Sometimes I think we get caught up in the hard times of this world; job issues, financial strain, our political system, family issues. We forget how really wonderful we have it. We are blessed simply by living in American, if nothing else. There isn't a morning I don't come down my stairs and think what a beautiful house I have. It isn't very big or decorated perfectly, but it is a beautiful home to me. A home that feels like a home where my children love to bring friends and hang out in. I am blessed indeed. I don't want to ever not be thankful for my life.


I want to remember some of the things I am thankful for this year and hope you are all taking a moment to write some of your "thanks" for the year. Here's a bit of my list:


My children
My husband who serves me daily 
My parents, in laws, great SIL's and brother in law
Grandparents
Eating lunch with my grandparents on Wednesday
My new toaster oven
Green smoothies
My garden
My house
My friends who lift me up and teach me to serve
My great visiting teachers
The Internet
Living in Gilbert
My children's good friends
The new LDS temple being built in Gilbert
My scriptures
The gospel of Jesus Christ
My savior
The opportunity to serve
My brain still able to learn and retain
My strong, healthy body
My husband's job
Ability to buy organic food and local produce
All my kitchen gadgets and cookware
Flip flops
Endless recipe's online
Being able to stay home with my children
My children's healthy bodies
That Tate can now say, "No thank you, mom" clear as day.
Az weather
The Backyard Farmer delivering organic produce to my door.
Church leaders
Personal revelation and inspiration
Natural Medicine
The beauty of nature
Clean windows and floors
Mulled cider candles
Sweet potatoes
Liberty Market restaurant
My cute preschool kids
Good Jeans
My blogging friends




......That's just a touch of it. I am just so thankful for life. What a blessed person I am. 


Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have lots to share but will just have to wait until after I celebrate my Thankful days.


Be grateful. 

Groupon deal of the day

If you haven't looked at Groupon yet, go check it out. I get all sorts of deals by clicking on the daily deals. Last week  I bought coupons to Iruna in Scottsdale: spend $20 get $40 in food, a groupon to a new gourmet sandwich shop in Mesa for $10, getting $20 in food and today I just bought a groupon to Nordstrom's rack for $25, getting $50 in merchandise. Super deals. They have a groupon for different states. Great Christmas presents! 


For today's groupon, click here:http://www.groupon.com/r/uu6393115


It's Christmas shopping time! 

Thanks to all who called

Thanks to all who made calls and sent emails yesterday on the Tester-Hagan amendment. It passed and was attached to the bill. Our small farms are a bit safer but we still need help to defeat the whole bill. See Terri's post today for additional details. Fight for our food rights. Don't let America keep going down this road to total food destruction. 


Terri's post at here

Need your help....Call AZ senators today.

Terri posted this today and we need to take action so we can protect our small, local farmers. Please....take a minute today.

Help protect small farmers and growers

There is legislation that is being negotiated today that, if passed without this amendment would severely cripple local growers. I for one am much more comfortable buying my family's food from local growers whom I can meet, ask about their growing procedures, etc. than I am the giant food producers who see our food simply as dollars going out the door. Our food supply should be diverse, as it was intended to be, and we should have local options available to us. Consumers should make the choice to support small, local growers if we want. Legislation should not mandate unrealistic requirements suited to large scale producers, it would effectively shut down most local growers. If legislators want to "protect" our food supply they should focus on things like removing the hidden sources of MSG (a known neurotoxin and chemical designed to addict people to their food) and other chemicals that most consumers don't even know about rather than shutting down the local farmers who are producing the real, healthy food we should be eating. Call your senator today and ask them to support the Tester-Hagan Amendment!! Here are links explaining the issue more.

Letter from an organization supporting the Tester-Hagan Amendment.

Information on what the existing legislation would require and what the Tester-Hagan Amendment would change.

For those in Arizona, our Senators are:

John McCain (602) 952-2410
Jon Kyl (602) 840-1891

Nuking

years ago when we were poor college students, we lived in apartment without a microwave. With little money and little kitchen space, we decided to not get a microwave. I wondered how we would thaw food. It amazed me how very little I missed it and somehow we made it for 2 years without a microwave. It took a little planning ahead for meals sometimes but it worked. 


We have one now and it is used to reheat and thaw on occasion. I have never cooked in it and would never treat it like an "oven" to prepare meals but, I put in a frozen muffin or thaw butter now and then.


However, thanks to one of my great friends, Terri, who knows lots and lots, she has reminded me today on her blog that I need to quit the microwave altogether. Take a moment and read her post and listen the the video. Ignorance will never save us. I love to hear how other countries ban things and in America we keep it around. The Soviet Union banned the microwave in the 70's. Why do we insist on killing ourselves in America through indulgence? Listen also closely to the information about heating up baby formula in the microwave and what it does to the ingredients. Funny how they have always said to not heat up breast milk as it will kill the nutrients. Why is it any different from any other food?


Many of us are trying really hard to have good foods in our home. We go through the effort to buy organic, grow it, cook it and learn what our bodies need and then we nuke it. We destroy what is good. I love these little reminders and although some days I wish I didn't know anything, I am sure glad I have ladies out there to remind me. We all need support groups. We all need pep talks. 


Nuking is out. Guess I need to go get a toaster oven again. Maybe I will tell Santa.


Read Terri's post here:thirning.blogspot.com/2010/11/dangers-of-microwaving-food.html


From another reader, Earth Mama, read here:http://aspiringearthmama.blogspot.com/2010/09/microwave-free-living.html


Few minutes later.....




Since I am one to dive in all the way when I learn and decide to make changes, this is what I just bought: (love the internet, couldn't wait for Santa.)

Don't really know where I am going to put it but I am excited for that brown box to come, nonetheless. You can even dehydrate in it! It has a defrost feature so that is my main draw and a way to heat up some left overs without heating up the whole oven.Had to have it....for the kids health, you know.

My Veteran's Day

I didn't have anything on the calendar for Veteran's Day since the little ones were home and I needed to be available to meet their every desires. However, turns out they didn't need me. Other than Tate, they had friends they wanted to hang with and had the day already planned out. On some occasions this would make me a little sad that I was second to friends but this day, I was a bit glad that I was going to have a day to get to some things I was itching to conquer. First thing: Cheese. I have wanted to make cheese. I have the kit in the pantry already to go. I read the instructions, I picked up my goats milk. I just needed time. Today was the day and magically....it happened. A total success. Take a gander:

Now before you are too impressed with me, it was so incredibly easy. The total time from milk to cheese was maybe 30 minutes. It is mozzarella cheese but since I used raw goats milk, my husband calls it "goatsarella". Cute. It has perfect texture and melts beautifully. I can taste a little hint of "goat" on it but when paired with flavor, you loose it. The best thing about it is that since you only heat the milk to 105 degrees, you are still keeping it raw. Unfortunately it takes 1 gallon of milk to make one pound and that makes this little pound a bit expensive. But, nonetheless, I made it. It is as healthy as it gets for cheese and it was great with some sun dried tomato pesto and crackers or paired with some Bruschetta on the french bread I made with the goats milk whey leftover from the cheese making process. Didn't want to waste that good nutrition. It was equally as easy to make and quite tasty. Only downfall is that I used more white flour that I would have if I had some more sprouted flour on hand. I am sure it was better with the white flour anyways but my gut would have appreciated more wheat. 

I then made some yummy salsa from my produce delivered from the Backyard Farmer to my doorstep. It was divine. It felt wonderful to stay in my kitchen and get some things done without being so rushed.


I then had the privilege to be able to clean about every surface in my house with my very favorite new cleaning mixture. You need to come smell my house...really. I am just about out of the Spice of Life oil I use to clean with since it is still on back order so I had to concoct something new. I put about 10 drops of grapefruit seed extract and 10 drops of peppermint oil in a 16 oz spray bottle of water. I gave it a good shake and went to town. It smells like a peppermint stick around my house and when paired with a microfiber towel, every surface was clean. It works on windows better than anything out there. Best part is that you can drink it and be a better person for it. I use it on my preschool kiddos hands at snack time to disinfect without harming them. No antibacterial gel around my house. Total harmful stuff. 


It was a good day. I got to end it by attending the Mindy Gledhill benefit concert with my sweet daughter and SIL and her daughter. I love days when you are not rushed and get to stay home and just do what makes you smile. I guess cheese does it for me and  clean windows. I am a simple woman.


Hope you had a fun day as well! 


Business notes: My morning classes are full. I have some openings for the Tuesday afternoon classes only.


I am ordering supplements on Monday evening so I can get them in before I head out of town for Thanksgiving. Please email me asap if you will want something for the next two weeks. If you want to try the peppermint oil and Grapefruit seed extract, prices are $16 for peppermint and $12.50 for GSE. Grapefruit seed extract is a wonderful thing to add to your kitchen cabinet. 


Some applications:


Throat gargle
Face wash
Produce wash
sanitizer
helps to kill yeast problems
Works to help kill nail fungus
Nasal and ear rinse


****Check out today's groupon for a great new sandwich shop in Dana Park in Mesa:


http://www.groupon.com/r/uu6393115


$10 for $20 worth of gourmet sandwiches. Great lunch date. Just click on "recent deals" for all of today's selections. 

2011 Playtime Classes

I can't even believe we are talking 2011 already but it is around the corner. Crazy. 

Anyways, just letting you all know that I will have one more afternoon playtime class opening up starting in January if I can get it filled.

The new class is Tuesday afternoons from 12-2pm. It is for little ones ages 2 1/2 to 4. I will take a little younger if they do well away from mama. The fee is $35 per month with a $20 supply fee.

I also have one opening in my Thursday am class and one in my Thursday pm class.

Let me know asap if you are interested so I can see if this class is a go! I am in Gilbert on Higley and Elliot. Your child does not need to be potty trained. If you want to know more about what "Playtime" is....just shoot me an email at goodman-7@cox.net.

Thanks! Hope you had a great Veteran's Day. I will show you what I did tomorrow. 

Officially soup time

I stepped outside this morning to water my crops and felt the unfamiliar chill of cold cement. When did this happen? It was truly overnight. Even though I have been making soup all summer, it is now officially soup weather. I love soup. I use it as a way to clean out the fridge. Anything goes in soup. There are really little rules to go by. Just chop it all up, throw it in some broth, add some spices and maybe some cream and dinner is done.

I love the Zuppa Toscana soup at Olive Garden and this recipe pretty much nails it. Other than the fact that you must use sausage; it is healthy and warms the soul. Pick your sausage well. I haven't been able to find organic sausage but at least Sprouts makes theirs fresh from natural ingredients. I haven't made my own yet and probably won't since I rarely use it. This soup is worth eating sausage. My kids thought so too.

Zuppa Toscana Soup

1 lb ground Italian sausage

1 1/2 tsp crushed red peppers

1 large diced onion

4 T. crumbled bacon

2 tsp garlic puree

32 oz. chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

1 lb sliced red potatoes, peels on, sliced about 1/4 inch thick and cut in half if too big

1/4 bunch of kale

Cook sausage and red pepper in pot. Drain fat and remove the sausage. Set aside. In same pan, saute onions, bacon and garlic over low-medium heat until onions are soft. Add chicken broth and heat until it starts to boil. Add potatoes and cook until soft. Add more water if needed. Add in cream, sausage and Kale and heat through. Add salt and pepper as needed. 

****I did this in my pressure cooker after I sauteed the onions. I added the broth and potatoes and pressure cooked for 1 minute. I then added the sausage, bacon, cream and Kale and heated through. Saved about 20 minutes.

Slow Poisoning

I know many of you who come to my blog are just beginning to take the journey into healthy eating. You want to change but aren't ready for sprouting and culturing and all that goes with the next steps.

For those of you still on the very beginning of the learning curve, and we have all been there, you can start by just stopping some of the things you are doing first before starting the things you aren't doing.

    This conversation is going towards the picture above. The enemy. The thing some people call a "kids meal". Please, I beg you, stop it. Stop it now. 

     If you need motivation to stop the lunch time drive thru's and to ban the chicken McNugget from your loved ones, just read a bit from Dr. Mercola's article today. Attention grabber. I was glad we haven't had these in years.

    " Do you put dimethylpolysiloxane, an anti-foaming agent made of silicone, in your chicken dishes?

How about tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), a chemical preservative so deadly that just five grams can kill you?

These are just two of the ingredients in a McDonalds Chicken McNugget. Only 50 percent of a McNugget is actually chicken. The other 50 percent includes corn derivatives, sugars, leavening agents and completely synthetic ingredients."

    Still think that should be in a kids meal? How are kids even surviving anymore? Why are we slowly poisoning them? WE are doing it. They don't drive themselves to McDonald's. It is our job to protect them. 

   Make little changes in your life daily and you will get to the place you want to be nutritionally. It doesn't happen overnight. Once you start to read and stop living in food ignorance, there is no turning back. A little of the bad now and then won't kill us, it is what we do regularly. It is what we do 80% of the time that will save us...or kill us. 90% would be even better. 


   Save the kids. Feed their minds. No more nuggets. Well... unless you like foamy chicken.


To read Dr. Mercola's full article, click here.

Falling for it?

I read labels. Always have. But, even if you are a label reader, do you know what you are reading? Do you believe what "they" are telling you? I have read a few this week that made me shake my head about the deception going on.

My organic cheese package had a statement right on the front: 

     "The FDA states that no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from cows treated with artificial hormones and those not treated with artificial hormones."

Apparently, the FDA doesn't know where to look for it's data. How come the use of hormones are banned in other countries with it's livestock? How come we have countless studies of how the artificial hormones in our livestock is correlated with the increase of early puberty? Who knows what other problems it causes but other countries have seemed to figure it out. Come on FDA! Really.

    I then read the label of a Yoplait Light that a little one was eating and it said right on the front:

     " With Aspartame & other Sweetener!"

It was in big letters like it was a celebration! It really should have read, 

     "Now, with new cancer causing , artificial sweeteners that may have less calories but have side effects linked from everything from arthritis to brain tumors." 

    Once again, aspartame is banned in most countries. Lucky America. We can get it in everything.

      One of my very favorite labels are those dawning the cereal boxes. Cereal doesn't take up residence in my pantry but today apparently was "cereal day" at the High School. Pretty sure that was made up by a few kids but nonetheless, my High Schoolers went out the door with some plastic bowls, spoons and a container of milk. Ugh. At least it was organic, raw milk but the mere idea that it was going to be poured over sugar cereal took real self control for me. They are big, I can't make every decision for them. One bowl won't kill them but really......lunch? Anyways, my son had Froot Loops. How could he? 

    
Well, right there on the box, it let him know he was making a "Smart Choice." The green check mark reaffirmed that. Good to know. I had no idea he was making a good food choice when he drove himself to the store to pick out this box full of "essential minerals and vitamins". Glad the "Smart Choices Program" is watching out for him.  Are you falling for it? 

The world is deceiving us. America is the center of it. Did you know that the Italian government requires that the school lunches are organic? They even get mozzarella made fresh daily. Another reason I want to move there. American school lunches are ridiculous. Uncrustables....a lunch??!!! What the heck. White pasty, chemically processed bread, crust removed and pasted together with purple high fructose jelly and plastic, sugar filled peanut butter. Yum. That's brain food right there. You could also choose the yogurt cup. Trix. It is packed with sugars; the fake ones, food coloring; a variety of those also and hormone filled milk. Another great choice.  Wonder why we lead the world with ADD, ADHD and autism? 

Bottom line: The government is not looking out for us. Money rules these agencies. YOU must take control. Grow it, make it, buy organic, buy local. So very worth it. You get one body. Real food for Real People. 

The benefits of Probiotics

What are Probiotics? 

     Probiotics are the good bacteria that help our gastrointestinal system work properly. Because of the overuse of antibiotics, the drugs we subject ourselves to, toxins in our world, pesticides and the diet that we eat today, many people are greatly lacking the "good" bacteria in their systems. The good bacteria helps to boost the immune system and crowd out the bad bacteria. It helps to create healthy and regular bowl movements and strengthens the stomach linings so we can absorb the nutrients in our food. It helps our systems to be balanced. If we are unbalanced with the bad outweighing the good bacteria, we have a much higher risk at having allergies, infections, diseases and inflammations. 

People who have chronic diarrhea especially need probiotics in their system to get everything back on track. If our bowls are not regular, we are not getting the nutrition we need. Even if you are eating well, if your stomach is not working properly, you cannot absorb what you are taking in. The stomach lining needs to be healthy for us to be healthy.

If you have been on antibiotics recently, it is especially important to be on a good probiotic for a while to make up for the damage that was done. This is the same for treating for yeast/candida. Probiotics should go hand in hand to combat our illnesses. 

There are many different probiotics out there with different strains and counts. It is a good idea to rotate your probiotics as with all supplements to give your body the best opportunity for recovery. Kefir is a good way to get some probiotics along with homemade yogurt, if you can handle dairy. Culturing for 24 hours is optimal as the proteins are broken down. New Beginnings has some great probiotic supplements that are usually only available through the Dr.'s offices. We   love the Probiotic Support, VSL #3 and Ther-biotic Complete supplements around here. I know many of the Coscto's sell the VSL #3 behind the counter without a prescription if you ask. 

Healing our bodies takes time. It takes understanding of how the system works. You can't take a drug and be done with it. You have to heal it from the inside out and at the grassroots. The goal is to be able to not have to take supplements and to get what we need from our food. Tate used to be on about 15 supplements a day. Today, we are down to about 7. His body is being healed and someday I have hopes he won't need any, except what we want to give him for normal everyday health. It was well worth it. 

Stay healthy. You have one body. Don't abuse it. You will pay, now or later.

Supplement orders are Due Friday for this next order. I can now order the Probiotics so shoot me a quick email if you need some. I am also trying to get the orders together for the kefir and yogurt cultures. Need a few more to make the group amount. Super easy to do! Don't be shy. Click here to see the Probiotic list at the Apothecary Shoppe.