Oh Dear...

**warning, this is a long post**

So... we have 6 months and counting until the big 3-0, so we're supposed to be on about #15 right?

HA!

Okay, I have been busy, but since I have only documented up to #3 (that's right, three!), let's see if we can check some more things off the list!

Okay, so one of the biggest things I have wanted to do/become before I turned 30 is to eat healthy, cook healthy, and feed my family healthy stuff so that we can all do all the things that we need to do.  I have always had an interest in this, but, let's face it, there is an ocean of misinformation out there and every little magazine you pick up at the Dr. office has advice on nutrition.  It IS difficult to sort through all this information and find the truth, which is why I've never really done it before.  It takes TIME!  (and who has time these days?)

But when it got to the point where it was affecting the health of my family, and my energy levels in trying to be pregnant and take care of the craziness that has been our life for the last few months, it was necessary.

So...I started with reading.

Shayla's item #4

Pretty much The-Best-Book-I-Have-Ever-Read-And-It-Changed-My-Life... 'nuff said.  I recommend it to anyone, whether you have kids or not.  It's just good information on how to live a long, healthy, disease free (including cancer free, diabetes free, asthma and allergy free, heart disease free, etc.) life and have the energy to get the most out of it.  Maybe I was just ignorant before, but I've always thought that cancer especially was not anything you could control whether you got it or not...such a stupid idea.  The book is very research based and it's almost frightening what we do to ourselves with our "western diet".  It gave me the kick start to get in gear and initiate major changes in our lives, and we've already seen some great results.  It has a lot of recipes in the back too.

We've been working with a specialist who has been saying a lot of the same things that I've been reading, so I asked him for some book recommendations.  He recommended the next 2 books.

Shayla's item #5

The specialist we've been working with warned me about the language of the book, but he thought the content was good enough to recommend.  I think he was right about most of the content. Obviously, they were marketing it to appeal to a certain type of person... and that person is not me.  So I didn't LOVE this book.  Good information, yes.  Bad language, yes.  And let's just say, not everyone is interested in eating healthy to have a sweet a**.  I just want to live a long and healthy life... so I don't necessarily recommend this book.  Also, there was a huge section of the book that was about animal cruelty, and while I think it is an issue, I don't think you have to scare people into not eating meat any more.  People are smart, and we can make informed decisions.

Shayla's item #6

This book was also recommended by that specialist.  It had a lot of really fantastic information, but it was not very well written at all.  It has a lot of information how hydrating your body properly actually can take care of a lot of common illnesses like colds, migraines, etc. and can help with bigger issues like diabetes, etc.  It jumped around a lot and read a lot like a medical journal in some parts, but again, good information.

Shayla's item #7

This also goes into the category of The-Best-Book-I-Have-Ever-Read-And-It-Changed-My-Life.  And I'm not even finished yet.  Why is this information not public knowledge?  If it was...I can't even imagine how life would be so different.  So good!

And I still need to get to:

and

and

So, I have been challenging myself to learn about a new kind of healthy food (or actually use a food I already know to be healthy) and use it in my meals.

Shayla's item #8

Quinoa.... a super food and one of the best protein sources on the earth.  I have had some mild success with this.  I made a good pesto quinoa tomato salad and it was pretty good as a hot cereal in the morning, but I need to continue to work on it.  I just found some good looking slow cooker recipes for it.

Shayla's item #9

Kale...Dr. Fuhrman's website sells a bumper sticker that says "Kale is the new Beef".  I thought it was funny, but I'm not sure I'm buying it yet.  But, I did make a Kale-apple smoothie this morning that was deelish.  Click here for the recipe.

Shayla's item #10

Bran...I've found some good recipes for this and need to keep experimenting.  The best so far has been homemade raisin bran. yumm.

Shayla's item #11

Flax seed...I know a lot of people that are really good about putting flax seed in everything, but I've never known what to do with it before, nor why it was so important, though I've bought it a few times.  So now, ground flaxseed goes in everything at our house.  Everything.

Shayla's item #12

Agave...meaning 100% raw organic agave in place of white sugar.  We have not used any white sugar at  our house in 2 months and already seen huge improvement.  Cory had 2 sebaceous cysts that have almost disappeared completely.  And yes, I've read the debate about agave.  I'm still doing some research and looking into stevia and other natural sweeteners.

Shayla's item #13

Almonds... I always knew they were good for you, but I've been trying to eat some almonds every day.  I put them in all smoothies I make and you can't even taste them.

Shayla's item #14

okay, this isn't really incorporating a new thing, but eradicating an old thing.  We haven't used a stitch of white flour for a few months and I gotta say, I don't feel like we're missing anything.  good riddance!

Shayla's item #15

Lentils...I just made the best lentil soup the other day.  I've been trying to incorporate a lot of other types of beans too, especially black beans.

Shayla's item #16

I'm just going to throw all of the little changes we've made into one.  Things like Almond milk instead of Cow's milk.  Raw peanut butter instead of the "regular" kind... plus this provides entertainment too: Jocelyn loves watching the machine smash the peanuts.  Our snacks are now mostly nuts and seeds and raw fruits and veggies.  I'm trying to buy organic more than I used to when affordable.  No cheese, etc.  Just little things that have added up.  And I'm not even going to count our failures... that's right, homemade brown rice milk IS as disgusting as it sounds, as is Burger King's Veggie burger (puke).

I'd love to start incorporating avacadoes, kefir, buckwheat, millet, amaranth, rye, barley, kamut, and spelt more... but line upon line, I guess.  Also, I need to be a lot better about when we eat away from home.  At this point, we are eating really well when at home, but when at others' houses and at restaurants, it's been harder to stick to.  Let's face it, I've always disliked those people who, when then come to your house, look down on your food and ask "well, what's in it?". 

So... there you have it.  A journey towards better health that will continue.  And if any of you have any great healthy recipes, send them to me, please!  I am starting to build our repertoire little by little (the first month we pretty much ate the same thing over and over)

 And...I'm caught up!  Here's to the next 6 months!