If I Can Do It, Anyone Can

You CAN feel better than you do now.  How do I know?  I used to feel like many of you feel now.  I used to be tired all the time.  I made excuses on why I didn't have time to work out.  I ate whatever I wanted and continued to eat past the point of being satisfied.  I used to feel overwhelmed about nutrition and food choices.  I used to feel guilty about the food choices I was making.  I used to feel horrible after my meals.  I used to make some good choices and some really bad food choices.  I was looking at food in a completely wrong manner.  I used to look to food to make me happy when few other things in my life gave me the pleasure that food did.  I was on a downward spiral of deteriorating health. 

As I mentioned above, food used to be one of the only things that made me happy.  I will be the first to admit that I was a food addict.  My life revolved around eating food in XXXL portions. At restaurants I used to order 2 entree items plus a salad or appetizer. Casie made me stop because she was embarrassed, but I would just make a sandwich before or after we went to 'fill me up'. The food I was eating was destroying me, sapping me of the life I wanted and deserved. I felt ashamed and disappointed that I let myself go. I was eating moderately healthy, but I was eating a lot of nutrient poor foods in large quantities.  For awhile there, I lost the will to make a difference in my own life.  I knew what I was doing to myself was not only unhealthy, but was killing me. 

Over time, I began to realize a number of things.  I started to appreciate that even though I exercised that I couldn't just eat anything and everything that I wanted.  I realized that I was setting a horrible example for my patients and my children.  I learned that I had to incorporate exercise AND healthy eating for my body to respond the way I wanted it to.  I had to reverse many years of bad habits and doing things the way my stubborn self wanted and thought I should do things.  I did things my way for decades and I realized that "my way" was taking me down the path of self-destruction.

 I needed to make a change, a transformation.  I had to make a stand and commit to complete alteration in my thoughts and actions.  I drew a line in the sand and told myself that enough was enough.  I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.   I thought about what I needed to do, I committed to a dramatic change and put a plan into action in a short period of time.  My approach was aggressive in that many things that I used to eat were not just to be eaten in reduced portions or in moderation, rather a good portion of my dietary menu needed to be eliminated.  I elected to make changes that allowed food to be my medicine and not my poison. 

The food I eat now enables me to enjoy a lifetime of happiness and health.  I just had to flip a switch in my brain to accept that what I was doing to myself was harm and that I deserved better than that.

You deserve better, too.  Start today by accepting that you need to change.  Create a plan and stick to it.  Come back to this blog daily for motivation, recipes and ideas of how to transform your life.  If I can do it, anyone can.

What a Difference 15 Months Can Make!

This post may appear that it is about us, but it isn't.  It's about you and how you can achieve the same results as us by making changes in diet and exercise and being committed to a healthy lifestyle.

The changes you see in the pictures are only a part of the story.  The early pictures don't show the depression, acid reflux,  restless leg syndrome, hypertension, borderline diabetes, insomnia, fatigue, sleep apnea, shame and fear of an early death from heart disease, stroke or cancer.

The recent pictures only capture a fraction of the happiness, increased energy and confidence that we feel.  Most of the symptoms/issues listed above (prior to our lifestyle changes) are no longer being experienced or of concern. 

We made a commitment one night in 2011 and we have remained dedicated to our plan.  We have fought the battle every day and now we feel like we are in charge of our own destiny.  If we can do it, there is no reason you cannot do the same.  We love food...we did then and we do now.  We just make much healthier decisions about each meal, every day.  We also include exercise into each day's schedule, drink plenty of water, take time out for ourselves and try to provide our bodies with plenty of sleep (we are still working on getting more sleep). We sacrifice in some areas yet we eat more flavorful foods now more than we ever did in the past. 

We will continue to share with you the foods and recipes we include in our daily dietary routine.  You don't have to try them all, you just need to be open to trying a few and finding which ones you can introduce into your meal/snack plans to replace your current unhealthy ones.    

Our transformation in progress:

One journey.

Two people.

Fifteen months.

One hundred and twenty combined pounds of weight loss.

...and we are just half way to our goal. 

Here is a look at where we were and where we are now:

This picture was taken May 25th, 2010

This picture was taken September 18th 2010

This picture was taken August 28th, 2012!

February 2010

 August 2012

February 2010

July 2012

What a difference 120lbs. makes!!!!

You should give this whole healthy lifestyle a try....what's the MOST you could lose?

Contact Lens on the Eye

Here is a picture using the biomicroscope camera in our office showing the edge of contact lens (look to the left of the blue iris) as it sits on the eye. 

When we are evaluating a contact on the eye, we are looking at the lens movement, lens position and how it is affected by blinking and looking in different directions.  We determine if the eye is showing irritation from the use of the contact.  We also inspect the contact lens to make sure there are no defects, tears or rippage as well as making sure the contact is not accummulating cosmetic, protein or other debris/deposits.   

A walk with my daughter, a memory forever.

I came to the understanding a few years ago that if a father doesn't provide his daughter with an appropriate amount of attention that she will either find less than preferred ways to get my attention or she will replace me with some other guy that gives her the attention she is seeking.  I will do anything in my power to make sure neither of those two latter options ever to happen.  My daughter will always have as much of my undivided attention as she requires.

When it's father-daughter time each night, I like to create an experience for her that combines as many of the these components:  love, personalized activity, discovery, discussion, education, teamwork, movement/fitness, respect, communication(speaking and listening), creativity, music, laughter, wonder, decision making skills and memorable moments.  One of my favorite activities to involve all of these concepts is.........a walk. 

Tonight, Sophia and I went for a walk.....with a candle-lit lantern in hand.  We talked about school, her classmates, her teacher and her lunch she brings to school.  We talked about music and songs.  We talked positively about her mom,  brothers and her grandparents.  We complimented a homeowner on their flowers and landscaping.  I had her decide where to walk, how far to walk and I let her lead the discussion topics.  We greeted other walkers with a confident hello and offered other pleasantries in passing.  We walked for almost two miles without her realizing we were even getting any exercise.  We laughed and sang, we looked for stars in the dark blue sky and we stopped to close our eyes so we could listen to the sounds of the world around us.  We interrupted our walk twice to exchange hugs.  We held hands.  We planned and promised each other we would go for many more lantern walks, flashlight walks, silly outfit walks, morning walks, rain/umbrella walks, snow walks and glow in the dark jewelry walks.  We talked about Halloween and Christmas.  The lantern even prompted a discussion about life before electrical technologies as she asked me what people used lanterns for. 

I had the most amazing evening and by the look of happiness on my daughter's face when we arrived home, I am certain she had the same experience.   No one can ever take this evening away from either of us and this priceless night cost us one tea light candle. 

Make time for your children and go for a walk with them.  Lantern and matching clothing optional, however discussion is required.  Provide an experience like Disney does, one that is magical and memorable.

   

Eye Candy

 Look at these gorgeous heirloom tomatoes! They were so pretty. Almost too pretty to eat....almost!

 I made a pasta salad the other day for lunch. I just chopped up and threw in pretty much every vegetable we had in the house (fresh and frozen). There was celery, carrot, broccoli, corn, edamame, tomatoes, black beans, & black olives. I added muli-colored pasta, some Italian dressing and Nutritional Yeast. I was out of onion or I would have added that too!

 I think we have every color of the rainbow represented, except blue. So pretty!

Lifestyle

CORNEAL ARCUS

Corneal arcus is a very common diagnosis that optometrists see in their practice every day.

 

 (Figure 1)

This is a typical eye without cholesterol

Before we get to what corneal arcus is, let's review some basic anatomical structures.  There are the upper and lower eyelids/eyelashes.  The whitish area of the eye with the blood vessels travelling throughout it is called the conjunctiva.  The colored portion of the eye is called the iris.  The pupil is the center dark area in the middle of the iris.  The cornea is a clear front window of your eye(in front of the iris and pupil).

Corneal arcus is the accumulation of lipids (cholesterol) in the cornea.  It looks like a hazy ringlike area that begins in the lower area of the cornea (Figure 2) and can eventually continue 360 degrees around the outside of the cornea (Figure 3).  Because the cholesterol initially deposits in an arc-like pattern, it is called arcus. 

 Cholesterol comes from the food we eat and travels in our bloodstream.  Individuals with high cholesterol levels in their blood can be blame genetics and increased consumption of foods with cholesterol.  Cholesterol is a large molecule.  The cholesterol molecules can leave the blood vessels in the eye (conjunctiva) but because of it's size, it isn't easily reabsorbed by the veins, leading to the accumulation of the cholesterol, or arcus, on the cornea.

Figure 1 shows an eye without corneal arcus.  Below are a couple of photographs showing corneal arcus using our biomicroscope cameras we have in our office.  The corneal arcus in Figure 2 is very faint and would only be seen with a biomicroscope.  Some corneal arcus in Figure 3 can be seen with the naked eye.     

So, if I see corneal arcus on the eye, what is my biggest concern?  Well, that depends on the patient's age.  If a patient is over the age of 50, I am not as concerned as they have had more years for normal cholesterol levels to accumulate on the cornea.  The younger the individual with corneal arcus is, the more concerned I am about their blood cholesterol levels.  If I see a patient under the age of 50 with corneal arcus, I will write a letter to their medical doctor to rule out high cholesterol.  I am also very concerned if the patient with corneal arcus has any known family history of heart disease or if a patient has not had their cholesterol checked over the past 12 months.

Just because I see corneal arcus does not tell me that the individual currently has high cholesterol.

The diagnosis of corneal arcus just tells me that either now or in the past, this patient may have experienced high blood cholesterol levels.  Once the cholesterol in trapped in the cornea, it will remain there.  Even if a patient improves their cholesterol levels, the arcus will remain. 

Because of the typical American diet, I have been diagnosing corneal arcus on younger and younger patients.  I see many patients in their 30's and some in their 20's that already have this diagnosis on their eye.  Despite what you may think, it is not always someone with a high body fat percentage.  Most of my younger patients with corneal arcus look healthy and lean.  Typically the younger patients with corneal arcus work jobs where they burn a tremendous number of calories (lawn care, construction work, etc.) but eat unhealthy drive thru meals that are high in fat and cholesterol.   These individuals look healthy, but they really aren't. 

High cholesterol is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke.  Changes in diet and exercise can reduce your cholesterol levels.  Medical doctors can also prescribe medication to assist in the reduction of blood cholesterol levels. 

Optometrists do more than prescribe contacts and glasses.  Optometrists are an integral part of your health care team because they can diagnose and treat most eye diseases and disorders.  They also have the education and training to diagnose the ocular manifestations of diseases that affect the entire body, such as high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure. 

Ask your optometrist if they see corneal arcus on your eye at your next eye exam.  If they diagnose corneal arcus and you don't know what your blood cholesterol levels are, then make an appointment with your medical doctor to have your cholesterol levels evaluated.

 

Cool, huh?

(Figure 2)

This eye has some cholesterol starting to form on the bottom (that little band of white).

(Figure 3)

This eye has significant cholesterol deposit all the way around.

Election Time!

This might be the most important election of your life.....and I'm not even talking about politics.  

What if every cell in your body had the opportunity to vote on what you would eat at every meal instead of just a small percentage of cells in your body(brain) making the decision what to eat, how much to eat and how frequent to eat?   Where's the democracy in that?

Have you ever thought about this?   If not, now you will.  Do you think your liver wants you to eat drive thru food?   What about your skin starving for water from within?  Do you think your skin/pancreas/kidney/intestinal cells want you to drink that soda or energy drink?   What about your blood vessels, your brain, your kidneys, your eyes, your bones, your nervous system, your stomach lining, your pancreas, your bicep and YOUR HEART?  What do they all want you to eat?  Do you know how much each and every cell in your body would celebrate if you ate better at every meal?  Just think of your arteries not having to deal with the stress of damage occurring at the lining of the blood vessel wall, how happy your liver would be to not have to detoxify everything that comes into your body and what if your skin received all the nutrients from your diet that allowed it to protect you from the world, could heal as efficiently as possible and stayed hydrated without the constant use of body lotion?  What if your heart didn't have to pump so hard to get blood through your cholesterol filled arteries in order to get oxygen and other nutrients to all the organs of your body?  What if your pancreas didn't have to work to exhaustion trying to break down all the sugars in that pasta, pastry, soda and candy bar you had today?

Let's not stop at just food.   Do you think your eyes appreciate you sleeping in contacts that are not getting cleaned everyday. What about you wearing those 14 day contacts for 1-2 months?  Do your eyes really deserve that abuse?  Do your lungs deserve the constant barrage of toxins that you take in with every inhalation of smoke from that cigarette or from someone near you smoking?  Do your skin and eyes appreciate all the harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun and tanning beds that you expose them to?   Does your liver look forward to yet another unnecessary alcoholic drink that it has to deal with?  Do your kidneys celebrate when they have to filter all the extra toxins in your body because you are not drinking enough water, are consuming too much salt and other unhealthy foods?  Do your intestines get excited when you consume a high fat, high calorie, low fiber and low nutrition meal and now it has to try and figure out how it's going to digest all of this?  

What if you started eating so healthy that your medical doctor decided you didn't need all those medications that you are currently taking.  What if you were able to reduce your blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, stress hormones, etc. by eating healthier?  

If you are the one ordering, shopping or cooking for your family then you are voting for more than just one person.  Realize how much of an impact you are having on your children's health by feeding them the food you currently are.  Take a moment before you make a food decision and really think about what the majority of your body and your child's body is really craving.   Let there be a democracy in your body.   Would we let 1% of the our population elect the president.   Um, no.  We see what happens in other countries that take this approach, then why are you doing to your body what other countries do with their government?   

If you continue voting for your food the way you have been, are you maximizing the potential for living a long healthy life or are you doomed for disease, discomfort and early death because you couldn't ever say no to the typical American diet.  Are you willing for some change?  Are you?  Let your body vote for what it really wants and I promise you that you that you will have a great next four years(and many, many more).

I voted today......did you?

 

Pedometer

I believe too many people are intimidated by exercise. In the view of many individuals, exercise means a membership to a gym or an elaborate and expensive set up at home. Exercise is assumed by many to be uncomfortable, a chore and requires many hours of time per day.  Too many people put off exercise to the tomorrow that never comes or always has an excuse for not working out today.  I've heard them all and I've even used a few myself through the years.

 

 

Exercise comes in all forms and I like to create a mix of exercise options that combine cardiovascular and strength training.  I try to avoid performing the same workout routine each and every night.  I like to give my body a multitude of exercise routines that vary each night and challenges my body to become stronger, leaner and healthier.

 

 

I love to walk, so it is very easy for me to incorporate this activity into my daily routine.   There are some days that walking is the only form of exercise that I will get.  But walking is still better than just sitting on the couch and watching television.  Is walking as good as running or other cardiovascular activities that are going to increase your heart rate more?  Probably not, but for many people, walking may be the only form of exercise they are able or willing to perform. 

 

 

I wish everyone would own a pedometer.  Pedometers measure how many steps you take each day and allows you to better achieve a set goal of steps taken each day.  I have used a pedometer for a number of years now and I love being able to keep track of how many steps I walk per day.  There is no better motivation to work out than when I look at my pedometer and it shows I am nowhere near my daily goal.   There are many companies that manufacture and sell pedometers and they are rather inexpensive.

 

 

I would recommend that you use the pedometer every day.   Pedometers are about the size of a pack of gum and can be placed in your pocket.  They provide a display that can show many measurements like steps taken, distance travelled and some have memory settings so that you can recall recent steps per day.

 

 

There are many references online regarding how many steps to walk each day.  If you perform you own search, you will find a common recommendation is to walk 10,000 steps per day as a minimum goal, which is approximately 5 miles. These may seem like intimidating numbers, but start out with goals of 3500 or 5000 and work your way up to 10000 steps.  I promise you will be amazed on not only how few steps you take on some days and how many you walk on others. 

 

 

If you are just beginning to get into a workout routine, I would recommend getting a pedometer and using it each day for a couple of weeks and averaging your daily steps. Then make increasing goals each week until you meet the 10,000 step goal.  

 

 

If you are already working out on a regular basis, I would still recommend a pedometer, too.  If you use a treadmill, elliptical machine or you run outside, keeping track of your daily steps is another way for you to keep motivated.   For awhile, I was trying to achieve 15,000 steps per day.  The only way I could achieve that with my schedule was to use an elliptical machine or treadmill.  It forced me to increase my speed during the workout to achieve these numbers in the limited amount of time I had to work out.

 

 

There are many ways for you to increase your daily steps. You can park far from the entrance to the places of business you are shopping.   You can set aside time for a walk in your neighborhood.  You can go to a nearby walking trail, lake or mall.  Find destinations like mailboxes or stores that are a distance that you can walk from your house instead of driving.  Call a friend or family member and go for a walk together instead of going out to eat.     

 

 

The bottom line is that the pedometer gives you an objective measurement to meet your daily exercise goals.  If you combine healthy eating and at least 10,000 steps per day, you should see results rather quickly.  You may be shocked at how few steps you walk per day if you are not measuring it.    You will be surprised at how much this device will change your daily routine and how creative you will become at finding extra steps to walk.

 

 

Click HERE to view the Amazon.com information for the pedometer we use.

 

 

 

Great Article!

Here is a great article I came across by one of the physicians, Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD,  featured in the documentary "Forks Over Knives" and the seminar, "Farms2Forks".   The trailer for "Forks Over Knives"  is in on our Recommendations list above.

 

Q&A with Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD

Click HERE to view this informative article.

A Great Song By Paul Simon

Whenever we want to get the kids moving, all we have to do is play this song:

 

Stevia

In some of our recent posts, I have referred to Stevia as a sweetener option.

Click here for more information on Stevia. 

Easy Frozen Blueberry Treat

 

Click here to find out more about the nutritional benefits of blueberries.

 

Enjoy!

Vernon

Stress

Iced Coffee I

Here is one of my iced coffee drink recipes I wanted to share.  Cheers!

I Love You Part II

Last week, I talked about how to express your love to your child through nonverbal communication.  Tonight, I wanted to talk about ways you can let your spouse or significant other know how much you love and care for them.  I can tell my wife that I love her multiple times a day, but they are just words.  Hugs, cards and flowers go a certain distance, but I'm wanting to head towards daily actions and words of kindness that REALLY show how much you love that person.

For instance, have you ever thought about all the things the other person does each and every day that goes unnoticed or unthanked?   How often do you expect the other person to perform a task or chore and yet you rarely or ever perform the task/chore instead?  Does one person in the relationship make all the meals, give the kids their baths, shop for groceries, vacuum, do laundry, get the kids ready, dust, etc?  When is the last time you helped out?   I mean REALLY helped out? Here are some ideas for starters:

Ask what you can do to help.  Wash the clothes.  Fold the clothes.  Iron the clothes.  Wash the dishes. Put the dishes away.  Clean all the bathrooms.  Go to the store to get groceries.   Ask what you can do to help.  Clean the floor.  Dust.  Pick up toys.  Organize areas that are cluttered.  Clean the garage.  Clean your closet.  Make at least 3 evening meals per week (ordering out or picking up something on the way home doesn't count).  If you don't know how to cook, then learn to make at least 5 meals really well...and make one of these meals each week.   Set a day that you take off work and YOU take the kids to their doctors appointments.  Clean the windows.   Ask what you can do to help.  Make an inventory of anything that needs repaired or replaced in your house.  Call to schedule a massage for the other person while you watch the kids.    Don't start eating until the person that made the meal has a chance to sit down.  Have a drawer or place where all the financial/password/budget/income/tax/investment/insurance information is kept in case anything ever happens to you.  Make an effort to get home from work early on at least 2 or 3 work days per week to spend time during the whole meal together as a family.   Come home from work and leave all your work drama and stress at work...don't bring those issues home.   Ask how THEIR day was.  Ask what you can do to help.  Ask for a list of 5 realistic tasks, repairs or chores that the other person would love for you to get done within the next 2 weeks.  Make a will.   Take them out on a date and go somewhere you know THEY want to go, even if you don't want to.  Vacuum the steps.  Iron some clothes.  Coordinate with their best friend a night for the two of them to go out and enjoy some well deserved time together while you hold down the fort at home.  Write a note about how much that person means to you.  Make a CD of some songs they can listen to in the car.  Give a foot massage.  Bring home their favorite tea, coffee, dark chocolate, etc.  Suggest you both go out for a walk.  Suggest a game of Rummy.  Understand that just because you were at work all day and you are the bread winner that you can't just come home and call it a day, your role as a husband/father/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/significant other is just beginning.  While at work, email/text/call and say that you were thinking of them.   Schedule a night where the family can just sit down and play a board game, go to the park or sit at the table and talk.  Make a meal together.  Take a day off work in addition to your regular days off and spend a day-cation with the family.  Go for a bike ride together.  Get them a gift certificate to their favorite store.  Write them a homemade thank you card.  Take pictures/video of the family/kids and have it developed and framed.  Ask what you can do to help.  Become a better person.  Spend time with their family.  Don't make it seem like it is always a chore to spend time with their side of the family.  Show an interest in their activities or interests.   If you are into sports or a sports team, make sure during that season on days/nights where there are no games you spend extra time and attention to your family....don't consume all of your time with the sports instead of your family and offer your family as much energy, devotion and passion as you do your favorite sports team.     That should be a good start for you.   I promise if you do just 5 things I listed that you don't already do, that you will show your love in a new dimension.   Be a better person to the ones you love the most.  Don't assume you are doing everything you can to help out.   Go above and beyond and they will do the same for you.   Appreciate your family members....they do way more behind the scenes than you probably give them credit for.  Try it....it will provide you with amazing results. 

Cleaning Party

Here is my idea for getting areas of the house cleaned up in an efficient manner.  This requires just a little teamwork,  a kitchen timer and some music everyone in the family enjoys.  Decide on the room or area you are going to clean and put 20 minutes on the timer.  Cue the music and work aggressively as a team to clean, pick up and organize as much in that 20 minutes as possible.  It is interesting how much can be completed in such a short period of time when everyone works as a team.   

The 20 minutes will go by very fast, much will get done and you will build teamwork skills.  With everyone contributing, no one person will feel like they are solely responsible for the burden of cleaning the house themselves.

Husbands and children can really show appreciation towards their wife/mother by helping out around the house.  Show your love by helping out whenever you can.  I promise your contribution will not go unnoticed.  Also, don't wait to be asked to do this, rather be the one to suggest it.  This will be one less stressor your wife/mother will have to worry about. 

Turmeric

I often find myself conversing with patients, friends and family about the anti-inflammatory benefits of turmeric. Here are some interesting articles from Dr. Andrew Weil's website on this amazing spice:

1. http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART03001/Three-Reasons-to-Eat-Turmeric.html

 

2. http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA142972/Anti-Inflammatory-Herbs.com

 

 3. http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400838/Turmeric-for-Arthritis.html

Lenses

Hidden Veggies

I'm going to show you how I 'hide' veggies in sauces for the kids.

 Sweet potato chopped small ~ it will cook faster.

 Onions and garlic, chopped

 zucchini chopped

 mushrooms chopped

Saute all to soften. Add some Italian seasonings if you want and salt & pepper.

 After softened a little I put it in the blender. I also chopped some basil and threw that on top.

 I also had about 3/4 jar of spaghetti sauce in the fridge and threw that in.

 Added some greens to the blender. Kale and spinach

 Blended it all up. Now, if you didn't want to use this right away and wanted to save it for another night, all you have to do is pour this right into an ice cube tray and freeze it. Once frozen, pop them all out and put them in a freezer baggie or plastic container back in the freezer. Once you are ready to use those, just put however many you want into a pan and thaw them out and add your noodles that night. 

 Poured it with cooked noodles. This is how I use up a bunch of veggies that are on the brink of going bad or just to incorporate more veggies into the kid's diet. They loved it. I also try to have veggies on the plate also.

 All of them loved the entire dinner and ate it all up.

 Vernon started a fun game called 'Broccoli Cheers' and we cheers broccoli or any other vegetable we are having like we would a glass of champagne (well, us....not the kids...anyway, you know what I mean). They think it is so fun and after you cheers you take a drink or in this case take a bite. They love it, and it works every time! Plus, when two of them are doing it, the other one always wants to also. It's really cute.

 What about me guys?

Your Only Car

This is not my analogy and I am not quite sure where I first heard it, but it really connected with me so I wanted to share it with you.  

Let's talk about two potential situations. In the first situation, you are given a car to drive age 16.  At any time in your life, you could get another car should the one given to you break down, should you want another color or model or if it was lost or stolen, etc. How would you treat this car? Would you take the best of care of the car knowing you could get a replacement car at any time? Would you worry about dents and dings? Would you worry about regular car maintenance? Would you concern yourself with spills on the floor or tears in the upholstery?

What if there was a second situation where you were given one car at age 16 and that was the only car you would ever be able to drive for the rest of your life. If anything happened to the car, you would not be able to get a new one. You could get some replacement parts over the lifetime of the car but the point is that the car had to last you the rest of your life. How well would you maintain that vehicle? Would you treat it the same as the first situation above? Wouldn't you take the best care of this car that had to last a lifetime? Wouldn't you only put the finest fuel and oil to keep the engine and mechanics working at their greatest potential for the short and long term? 

You probably know where this is going....and you are right. You only get one body. Sorry, there are no returns or trade ins. Why aren't you feeding yourself with the highest quality of foods that allow optimum performance for the rest of your life? And why are you feeding your children the best for their tiny bodies?Think of some of the healthiest foods: Kale, spinach, broccoli, beans, berries, nuts, cabbage, tea, onions, garlic, raw chocolate, eggs, etc. and ask yourself why you are not consuming at least some of these on a daily basis. I'm not talking about drinking the drainage of canned asparagus. I'm talking about easy to incorporate into your diet foods. And we are going to talk very soon about how to sneak these items into your diet, whether hidden or in plain sight.

Fuel yourself with only the best. You will find that fast food is really good for you because the fast food I am referring to isn't found in a drive thru or something you pick up at a convenience store. The fast food I am talking about is raw food, food that doesn't come in a package. Look at a head of broccoli and look at it's ingredients.....um, it's broccoli. One ingredient, that's all. Have you ever thought of broccoli as a fast food? I do. I spend less time making my lunch than someone sitting in a fast food line and I guarantee you I will never feel guilty eating my "fast" food. Here is a video of what I bring to lunch every day. It's healthy, super convenient and full of many vitamins and minerals that your body has been deprived of for a long time. I put you to the challenge to make this meal for at least 3 of your work days. Let your children watch you prepare this and have them watch you eat it, too. Next thing you know they will be requesting to eat or take this same lunch to school.  

Remember, take care of yourself.  Eat healthy! If someone looks at your plate or the lunch you bring to work or school and doesn't comment "You're going to eat that??????", then you and/or your children aren't eating healthy enough.  

"Tuna" Salad

 This is our "Tuna" Salad. It doesn't have any tuna in it. It is made from one can of drained chic-peas, little bit of carrot, some celery, little bit of onions, little bit of dill pickle relish, little vegonaise (vegan mayonaise), some mustard (your favorite kind), dill seasoning, salt & pepper. Throw it all the things that need to be chopped up in the food processor and mix in the rest. That's it. Put in a pita pocket, sandwich thin, bread or just eat plain.

Your kids will love it and you will love it! Give it a try! 

Farm 2 Forks!

Find their website HERE. 

I could not have said it better! 

These are all the concepts that encompass our philosophy of nutrition and diet to a 'T'. I Invite you to take a moment to have an open mind in considering the ideas in this video. We definitely will be attending one of these immersion weekends (if we can get in before they sell out) in the future!

Relaxing Music

Check out Calm Radio HERE!

Apple Crisp

 Since my generous neighbor shared some of his apples from his apple tree with us, I decided to make some apple crisp. I need to take this time to tell you all that I am not really a recipe follower. Most of the time I make my own concoction and I also mix a bunch of recipes together (I will do a search on the Internet of what I am wanting to make. I will read through a bunch of the recipes and basically combine them all together. Like lets say one doesn't include vanilla, but another does. I will just use everything everyone is using from all different recipes). I know it sounds weird, but that's how I roll. I also don't usually measure. I just start throwin stuff in. I will try to take my best guess as to how much I use of ingredients when I am sharing recipes. 

 So I had about ummmm maybe 8 or 9 apples (sorry I didn't count them). I took the skins off with my Pampered Chef apple corer and peeler. I love it! I bought mine off e-bay a long time ago and only use it about 4-6 times a year, but when I need it, I need it and I love it! So I squirted one lemon juiced over all the apples while I made the rest. I also added a little bit of Splenda brown sugar in and around the apples.

 I forgot to take the butter out of the fridge to come to room temp early, so I defrosted it in the microwave for a couple seconds to soften it up, it doesn't take long, so don't walk away just stay right there for like 5 seconds! I mixed one stick of softened butter with about 3/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar and 1/4 regular white sugar (mine is organic cane sugar). Then I threw in about 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats (I love them so I put a lot in). I added about 1 cup of chopped walnuts chopped up in the food processor. I added about 1/2 cup flour (mine is 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat mixed). I threw in a dash of salt and a splash of vanilla extract. I also sprinkled in some ground flax seed, about 2 tablespoons). Mixed it all until it got crumbly and evenly distributed.

 Kept mixing everything together until I was happy.

 Poured it in a lightly sprayed 11x13 Pyrex dish. 

 Threw it in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes. Well, actually I set the timer on the microwave for 20 minutes and somehow in the process of cooking dinner at the same time, my timer got shut off (I don't think it was by me though, I think it was the hubs). So, I was smelling DONE, getting-too-crispy apple crisp and ran over to take it out. It was at least 30-35 minutes that it was actually in there. I would have preferred just a little less time, but it turned out really good anyway and wasn't burnt or anything. I HAVE TO HAVE A TIMER SET on every thing I make. If I don't I will almost always forget about it and it will be over cooked. Timers are my friend (unless someone shuts it off on me)! 

Vernon and the kids LOVED it. And it's already gone...