Wednesday, September 25, 2013

A guest Post

Go check me out on the  Grain Crazy blog today! I did a little guest post.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

If I were 90.....

     I get the privilege of spending lots of time with my 92 year old grandparents. I love them. I love to hear their stories. Sometimes we forget that they were young and vivacious and did something other than watch Fox news. Now, what intrigues me is what 80+ year olds talk about.  I used to work at an insurance office across the street from Leisure World retirement home. I had many elderly folks walk in the door for business. I can truly say that I enjoyed the conversations. I would play a little game as they began to talk. I would visually try to smooth their wrinkles back and see what they may have looked like when they were younger. I then would listen to their life stories and get to know what memories lasted for them. It was intriguing. As I sit weekly with my grandparents and hear their stories, I have realized that when you are 90, there is a common thread of what memories are the most important and what really mattered in your life. 

     

     I cannot tell you how many times I have heard the story of how my grandpa caught this fish in Hawaii. I know the very details and the emotions involved. His face lights up as he recounts the events of the day. 



     

     The hunting trip to Alaska...another story that I can recount like I was there. I know that the meat was delicious. I know that you had to field dress it and get it off the land quickly. There were rules to follow. The country was amazing. The air was crisp and full of life. I love the way his eyes beam just like they are in this picture after he retells the story. Each time like it is the first time. 

     Rarely does he talk about his career. I hear about certain people he worked with but not about the millions he made, and lost, his cars and other material posessions. No. I hear about adventures and life being lived. He LOVED his hikes to the top of the highest peak in Utah on several occasions where he signed his name in a ledger in an old mail box at the top. (someday I want to climb it and see if his name is still there) He had gentleman duck hunts in the south where they wore suits and had waiters bring them gourmet meals in the field. He played in a big band at the Rainbow Rendezvous in Salt Lake with some famous musicians when he was in high school. He was and is a fantastic Sax player. I love these stories. My grandmother has the same good stories of playing in the creek in Pine, AZ and life in the mountains. It is still her happy place.

     This makes me think, If I were 90, what stories will I be repeating to my grandchildren? What will I have to tell? What will be important to me? I can tell you, it will NOT be about posessions. It will be about family and experiences. 

     I tell my children all the time, life is made up of experiences. Don't let them pass you by. Get out and see life. Don't spend your life on auto pilot letting it live you. It will be over before you know it. You never know when illness strikes and you have missed the opportunity for adventures. Make them happen now. 

     The outside magazine for this month is inspirational. Get a copy. I have devoured it! I read several passages to my children and husband tonight at dinner and now my hubby is deeply immersed in it's pages. The basis is "get outside" at all ages and LIVE! 

     As Tate and I spent a couple hours on a bike ride yesterday, we went to 4 different neighborhood parks. The neighborhood is packed with little kids and the saddest part was that in 2 hours, there was not one child outside playing! Not even in their yards. I didn't even hear kids. It was 3:30-5:30. Where are the kids? The weather was perfect. Are they all in classes, playing video games inside? What? It made me sad to think that they were missing such a beautiful day. We saw a turtle sun bathing by the lake and chased several ducks into the pond. We went down slides and crunched leaves. I had several "important" sticks in my purse when I came home. We rode our bike to the store and bought dried ice to play with at home. There are lots of cool things to do with dry ice and and soap. Hours of fun. It was a nice day. Some days are rushed. Somedays we can ride bikes. We should ride bikes more often and spend less time with scheduled classes. 

    Today Tate made mud pies in the garden. Mud pies are always fun.
  
     
 We found this very cool guy on the pepper plants. Biggest caterpillar I have ever seen. Super cool find for Tate. Just think, we would have missed it if we were inside playing computer games. 




    We all need to get out and live life. Life should be less scheduled, less confined, less boring. We work too hard to buy things we don't need. Kids are much happier, and adults, playing in the dirt and water. 

    Make memories now so you will have a great story to tell your grandchildren. I would hate to have to listen to boring stories over and over again from my grandpa. I am so thankful he has some good stories to tell!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Another gluten free way to start your day.....


     When going gluten free, to me the hardest part is breakfast. I have lots of gluten free recipes but this was my very first one I tried 7 years ago. It is my "in a pinch" recipe as I always have the ingredients on hand. I am sure many of you have this recipe but for those who don't, enjoy!  There is not a easier recipe than this and it is so mild on the tummy! I pile it high with fresh berries and leave it at that. Even if you aren't gluten free, it is always great to use moderation and not have grains all the time. That is how we keep ourselves healthy! Moderation in ALL things. 

Grain free Banana Pancakes

1 banana
1 egg
pinch of salt

Mush banana or puree. Add egg and salt and mix until combined. Cook on griddle. Increase the recipe as much as you like! I would eat this batch alone. 

Blueberry compote: frozen or fresh blueberries and a touch of real maple syrup. Heat in pan until berries burst and get saucy. It is just fine without the syrup as well! It just helps to make it a little thicker. 

Friday, September 6, 2013

Before you complain about your health.....


     Did you ever even hear of gluten/dairy free diets when you were a kid? Did you have classmates that were bringing dry,gluten free breads to class and had to sit out on the pizza parties? There was maybe one kid in the whole lunch room that had to sit at an allergy table, if at all. Times are different and you want to know why? Because we have messed up EVERYTHING. Food is not the same as it was. A Ding Dong is not even the same. It used to be sugar and other real foods. Now it is plastic and preservatives. Since our food has now been genetically altered and laced with pesticides and synthetic ingredients, our bodies don't even recognize food as food. If you buy processed foods, you are eating genetically modified corn and soy that destroys your gut. Pure and simple. These "foods" or really "poisons", actually punch holes in the gut lining creating destruction in numerous ways. When you have these holes, the proteins from the hard to digest gluten and dairy don't break down and "digest", they absorb. They absorb into the blood stream and wreak havoc on your system. Inflamation will begin. Mucous will form. Allergies will abound. These proteins can actually become opiates to the brain actually acting like a drug. I have sure seen the affects of that on many kids on the spectrum! Our gut is the pathway to our health. If you mess that up, stand back and get ready for a breakdown. 

     More and more studies are linking auto-immune diseases to gut disorders . MS, Thyroid issues, Autism, ADD, ADHD and the list goes on. When you mistreat your gut, your body will yell back with things like yeast production, bacterial infections, the inability to produce the proper chemicals and poor immune responses. It won't just sit back and take it. Now my pet peeve is when people will torture their bodies repeatedly and then complain to everyone about their health problems. If you abuse, you will suffer the consequences. Take back your health. Tell your body you will treat it with respect and that in turn, you want it to treat you with respect. It is hard work but so very worth the reward. You have to live in this body. Hopefully that will be a very long time with a very pleasurable experience. Being sick just isn't fun.

     Now I won't go into a lengthy discussion on why you need to change your diet and remove processed foods, that should be obvious. I could go on and on about sugar, artificial food dyes, overuse of antibiotics, and so forth but that is for another day. What I will tell you is if you have health problems or your children are often sick or have stomach and earaches, before you go off to the Dr. to complain, do some work first. Remove all dairy, gluten, soy and sugar if you can. Try it for a month, even a week if that's all you have at first. Don't cheat. See how you feel. Eat real food. Now if you have been in a health crisis for a while, you won't be healed in a month but it is a start. This is the first step, not the last. You will loose weight. Your bowels will be much happier. Allergies usually calm down a bit along with a clearer complexion. Eczema can go away. Energy can return. It isn't the cure all but it is definitely a piece to the puzzle. Try it out. I try to do a gluten/dairy/sugar cleanse every few months to help my body be where it needs to. If I am ever feeling not quite right, it is the first thing I do before I go to a Dr. So far, I haven't needed the Dr. 
     Treat your body well and listen to the little complaints before they become big ones. Take note of  your children's minor complaints as well. A regular stomach ache is a sign of a problem. They are not happy with what they are eating. Please, please, feed them a good breakfast and lunch. Stay away from boxes and get back in the kitchen. Enough of my soap box. Here is a little breakfast item I made this morning. Easy as pie.

GF/DF Banana Waffles



In a blender, add:

1/2 cup organic millet
1/2 cup organic brown rice
1 cup almond/coconut milk

Blend until smooth.

Add to the blender mixture:

1/2 ripe banana 
2 eggs
1/4 cup coconut or avocado oil
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 T. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla

Blend until smooth. Add more milk if needed. Cook and freeze the leftovers! I eat these with applesauce or a little real maple.