Welcome Back Green Smoothie

Hello All

I hope you forgive me for my looooong absence. We welcomed our third baby just a few weeks ago. I had a tough pregnancy so I decided I needed to cut something back so I could function and take care of my other two little people so I took a break from the blog!

But- our third little is here! He is an angel and I am excited to be back to inventing some fun healthy food. 

I have had some thoughts as I've been continuing to do research on what I believe is the healthiest way to eat. I have thought about this a lot in these last few weeks especially as I've been concocting my plan of attack on how to drop the baby poundage. 

I continue to believe that an 80%-90% plant based diet is the healthiest. These are nature's foods for our bodies. They are chuck full of so many nutrients and low calories so we can eat our fill without counting calories (which is totally exhausting in my opinion!) I, however, believe that having small amounts of animal products is not going to kill us. I feel fine giving my little people eggs, yogurt, and lean meats. We continue to cut out red meat it tastes disgusting to me at this point unless it's a good old home cooked hamburger at a fourth of July barbecue...am I right people, there isn't much better :). 

We don't eat a lot of pork either. We stick to lean poultry. 

However I feel most protein should come from plant products and grains for example:

Black Beans

Quinoa

Broccoli

Nuts and Legumes

So many people worry about the fat content in nuts, just remember that you are putting healthy fats into your body. Instead of worrying about fat count...worry about types of fat! Now do I suggest grabbing a spoon and eating half a jar of peanut butter, no. However a handful of almonds or a spoon of peanut butter is a great way to get some protein and healthy fats into your system. 

So my plan of attack for weight loss (I invite anyone to join in this plan with me and we can all give each other suggestions and help each other...support is key)

I begin my day with a huge Green Smoothie! (I am nursing so I do need more calories so I also might add some peanut butter or oatmeal with my smoothie)

For lunch I stick to plants, a large salad with beans and nuts on top and low fat/low cal dressing

Then for dinner I have been preparing the lean meats with fruits and veggies for the whole family to eat. 

So far I've been losing healthy weight loss and I'm on my third week post baby, I've been dropping about 2-2.5 pounds a week (well not counting the huge amount of water weight) and I have to report I truly feel that this style of eating is helping me function when I am seriously sleep deprived and have two wild munchkins to entertain all day on top of baby! 

So anyways I wanted to post a yummy green smoothie recipe that is chuck full of goodness, but low fat! This green smoothie by the way is not green...it doesn't have to be green to be considered a green smoothie, most of mine turn a disgusting brown color!

Energy Lovin' Green Smoothie

3 HUGE handfuls of spinach, kale or collard greens (or all of them)

1 cup frozen berries

1 1/2 Banana

1/2 apple, chopped

Water 

Add spinach to blender. Add water to help blend spinach. Blend until pureed, about 90 seconds. Add banana, then berries, then chopped apple. Blend until completely incorporated and smooth. About another 90 seconds. Serve chilled! This has incredible amounts of fiber and nutrients to help you get through your morning! I pour mine in a bottle and carry it with  me, for my nearly hands off breakfast! Good with kids!

Enjoy

What are your favorite healthy breakfast recipes? What is your plan of attack for getting your ideal body weight?

It's time!

This week is the week!

 

We are releasing our Ebook this Friday Oct. 12!

 

 

 

 

I can't believe that it is really time to put our hard work out there! I am so excited and feel so passionate about what we have written I want to share it with everyone!

 

Why would you want to buy this book? Well think about these questions...

 

 

Do you worry about your children's health because of the standard diet?

 

Have you ever been at a loss on how to feed young children healthy?

 

Do you think that eating truly whole and natural is too expensive?

 

Do you think that eating healthy consists of eating birdseed?

 

Do you want to improve your overall health and your family's?

 

Do you want to cut back on doctor visits?

 

Have you wondered where fitness really fits in?

 

If you have thought or wondered any of these we discuss it in the book and much more! I may have been MIA the last little while on the blog because this book has been so important to me. I want it to go smoothly so I have been making sure that it will!

 

Here are some awesome reasons to be surfing this blog on Friday...

 

1. You get to buy a super cheap Ebook with a wealth of health knowledge
2. There are going to be awesome prize drawings
3. You have the opportunity to gain valuable information to change your family's health and your own!

 

Thank you for all the support we've been given from everyone! I can't wait for Friday! Spread the word

 

The Grand Prize by the way is going to be a $100 value! So make sure you get entered...details to come on Friday! Get out there and tell your friends and family...Their health and happiness means something too right?

Plant based...some hard things



I have found it can be a hard thing to live healthy and plant based in this society. There are some key nutrients that we need that aren't always easy to get the proper amounts without eating certain animal products. So why don't I eat them? Well I weigh the pros and cons of each food...do I really want the good product so bad that I'd let the not so good stuff into my body?

Some of this that I'm going to write today may be controversial to some and how they view things. This world would be pretty boring if we didn't have different opinions right!

One of the greatest nutrients that is hard to get adequate amounts of is DHA. DHA is the brain building omega-3 that comes from breastmilk for our little babies. It should be in children's diet as well as adult diets. A healthy brain can truly prevent disorders like Alzeihmers and Dementia! I work with people everyday who suffer from these diseases and I don't want them. It's miserable for the family as well as very confusing for the resident at times.

DHA supplements are primarily fish oil. How many of you take a fish oil supplement? I think if you can down them it's better than nothing, however the fatty fish they use for the supplements also supply us with the mercury. I read here that if we take the recommended supplemental amount we will be getting too much mercury in our bodies as well. You've got to weigh the pros and cons. I'm in the process of finding a new DHA supplement for my kids. They have been taking a DHA supplement that is fish oil...its a gummy and they love it. I scoured my nearby stores for a plant based DHA, I've seen them advertised but to my frustration none of my stores chose to carry them. There was flaxseed oil, but it didn't say on the ingredients that it contained DHA...so I moved on. You can recieve DHA from plant food--just not the serving that is recommended. Foods to eat are walnuts, chia and leafy greens. Hemp seed and flax also give us the omega-3s. So what should we take if we aren't fond of the idea of the pollutants in the fish oil? Well I'm looking for a clean algea supplement- or I may order these drops from Dr. Furhman's website. What do you think about DHA? Have you even thought about it? Sometimes I feel like it is the forgotten supplement.

The next one is the one that I think is going to get the buzz going. Folic Acid! How many of you who have been pregnant before were told to take folic acid in your prenatal vitamin to prevent neural tube deffects like spina bifida? I sure as heck did...I wasn't going to risk the health of my baby. But was I risking my health? So over this past year I've done a lot of research on my family and the best way to eat. The past four years really is how long I've been bouncing back and forth with plant based eating. Awhile back I read an article about folic acid and how your chances of breast cancer increase if you take the synthetic supplement.

Okay so what do I mean synthetic? Folic acid is the synthetic version of Folate. Folate is found in green vegetables. If we eat our spinach and broccoli and romaine lettuce we will get ample supply of folate...we won't need the folic acid supplement. Isn't the natural version better than the synthetic one? I want to link the article here that talks about the increase risk of breast cancer. I am a mom and I will do anything for my children and that includes any future unborn children, but it got me thinking about the miracle supplement folic acid.

It made sense to me that adding the natural, raw nutrients would be just as effective as the man made version...if not more effective because it wouldn't add anything harmful to my body.

I am not a doctor or scientist. This is research I've done for myself. I would talk with your doctor about these things if you wonder...I would most definetly do the research on my own as well and try and educate myself so I can better understand what is available to me!

here is another article I read awhile ago that talked about plant based eating in pregnancy--it discusses folic acid a little bit it was very interesting and really got the wheels turning!

What are your thoughts? Is there a supplement you like to use?

Teaching Our Brains New Habits

I just got back from a conference discussing how our brains learn habits. The lecture was given by the Institute of Brain Potential and the presenter was Dr. King, Ph.D. He has a strong background in Neuroscience.  It went into a lot of insightful information about how people get into bad habits and how they can change their way of living. I took this course for continuing education as a health care worker, but the whole time I was in the lecture I kept relating everything he said to food, diet and healthy living!

He used obesity and overeating as an example a lot so it wasn't that hard to compare the two. He gave a statistic about obese individuals and dieting. He said that only 20% of people maintain a 10% weight loss over a period of five years.

How can this number be so low? How is it that with so many diets in the world that we continue to get larger and larger?

This is where the word habit was dissected and explained to us how we can really train our brains to learn new habits.

Most dieters simply do a diet to reach their weight loss goals. This is the first clue for failure, a habit change needs to be a lifestyle change. You will not be as successful if you simply do it to meet a short term goal then return to your old habits. This seems obvious, but I myself have done it before. I have met weight loss goals then I think magically the pounds will stay off if I return to how I used to eat.

Another interesting point he made was habits are not formed by repetition, they are formed by reinforcement. We have an area in our brains that subconsciously makes our choices for us. The Prefrontal cortex of our brains has the ability to override our decisions-this has been termed "willpower". This obviously takes a conscious effort, if you've ever been in a mental battle with yourself this is what is going on. The idea of reinforcement changing our habits comes from the idea that we will the majority of the time choose the option that has the greatest return with the least amount of effort.

He compared this to choosing a piece of chocolate cake to a plate of celery. Instantly most people will feel that is is the same amount of effort to eat a plate of celery or a piece of chocolate cake- but the chocolate cake will in most cases beat the celery, because the sugar in the cake gives us a stimulant which our brain does not soon forget from past experience!

So....how do we stop this vicious cycle of junk food always winning against health food. This is where you need to find the benefit of health food and fight the brain against choosing the junk food. Soon your brain will start to see the benefits, like a leaner body, less sugars and refined carbohydrates so your brain can function at a normal level. He explained that certain carbs like refined sugar can heighten our dopamine receptors in our brain which gives us a level of pleasure- this is why it is so hard to change your food habits. Your brain loves the pastas and candy bars!

It takes time, I know this from experience. It is very easy to fall off the horse. I know that if you give it longer than a week- I'm talking a month or more you will start to feel a difference and making healthy choices will become just what you do! It will become second nature. Can it change back to old habits in no time at all? Yes it can- I myself am still struggling with my chocolate chip addiction- but my brain knows the difference now. I can't eat a plate of cookies, cake or ice cream without knowing it isn't good and feeling a level of guilt. Because my brain knows. A habit has been formed and it will always know what the benefits of healthy eating are compared to the benefit of a delicious, dangerous sundae!

My suggestion on trying to change your habits- stop doing short term diets! Make a commitment to change your life! Fight those mental battles for a few weeks, until before you know it you will make the good choices without even thinking about it! It isn't easy- I've been there. I think people forget that I have since I'm the author on this blog- I have been there...remember I've said before I'm the cheese quesadilla girl!

It isn't easy, but it's so worth it to feel what real normal feels like! You can do it! I'd love to help anyone anytime, just message me and you have yourself a cheerleader!

Guest Post Series- Don't miss it!!!

I wanted to add some different thoughts on this blog instead of just my ramblings all the time, so I reached out to my good friend Michele who I've shared many healthy living discussions with. I asked her to share how diet and food choices have affected her own life and her family. She is an excellent mommy, chef, and lady!She is a blogger and posts her awesome recipes at her own blog! Lucky enough you all are going to get several posts coming your way to help see how diet affects someone else! Enjoy

Hi, I'm Michele and I'm so excited to share with you today!  Healthy living is something that is very close to my heart and something that I love to inspire in others as well.  I hope what I share with you can in some way be an inspiration in your healthy living journey. 

Food is about as controversial as religion, from what I’ve experienced.  The way people eat, and their thoughts about food, is ingrained in their brains.   It is very difficult to persuade anyone to eat differently, even if it may be a better way.  I believe there is more than one way to achieve great health.  I don’t think the “it’s my way or the highway,” kind of approach is beneficial to anyone. That’s why it is important to become educated when you embark on any kind of journey.

So, with that I’ll give you some great resources as you begin:

The Green Smoothies Diet, by Robyn Oppenshaw (Check her website, she does free seminars all over and she is also Utah-based.)
In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan
The Original Fast Foods, by Jim and Colleen Simmons
The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell

Stay tuned for upcoming posts where I’ll talk about the changes we’ve made in our diet at home.

What's The Problem?

I've been thinking about some things for a few days that have got me asking questions to myself and thinking about others. Some things I notice about myself, others, and society in general:

1. People want to eat healthy
2. People want to eat healthy, but they don't want to give up their favorite foods. They want a fast, magic pill to do it.
3. There is a huge industry of health advise and many conflicting theories
4. Generally people understand that fruits and vegetables are the healthiest foods for you.
5. There are a lot of politics in public nutrition information
6. Most parents want their children to lead healthy, happy lives
7. Most people don't believe their kids will like healthy food
8. There is a fear of failure with healthy living

Does anyone agree or disagree? People I have talked with, in general understand that plant food, aka fruit and vegetables are the healthiest for us. Most have not researched about dairy and how many doctors and studies are now explaining that yes, dairy is hard for our bodies to handle. If you haven't noticed dairy is one of the top allergies in children. A lot of people disagree with the fact that you can get healthier protein through beans and plants, meat isn't the only food that has protein. You can get it elsewhere with fewer calories.

I'm not writing this to say my way of eating is best, or judge anyone else for how they choose to eat! No way, no judgement right? I'm writing this because so many people have been in the situation where fear sets in. Whether it's fear of gaining weight, fear of unhealthy children, or just confusion on all the diet plans available to us.

I want to really share what I know, what has worked for me, and to explain that my insides are healthy! I have adequate calcium and protein! A diet rich in vegetable carbohydrates is essential! It will take time to get your kids used to it, if they aren't already. Accept that fact and move forward. Adding tons of fresh fruit and frozen fruit is needed as well. Lettuce, spinach, and greens have protein! Did you know that? Add these with beans and nuts you will have enough protein!
Calcium is everywhere. Almond milk has more calcium than cow's milk. When my kids had to go to a home day care, my day care lady was provided food by the state for the child care center. She told me the state was changing the regulations on cow's milk. After age two they will only provide skim milk because they feel the milk was assisting in obesity in children. Whole milk is given to infants for fat reasons. They need fat for their brains. Want to know how I gave my son fat? Avocado, blended seeds and almond butter. We blended avocado in smoothies for him. He drank almond milk. This is nasty- but one of his favorite sandwiches when he was about 9 months old was mushed avocado, almond butter, with a little applesauce! Yuck, but whatever it had the good fat he needed. The cow's fat was tough for me to let go of with my son (my daughter, I didn't really understand better so she got cow's milk). I worried that I wouldn't provide him with enough fat so his brain wouldn't develop properly. Well so far the pediatricians have said he's just healthy as can be, trust me he's not a little guy...he's my little chunk :)!
I don't like red meat! I like the taste, but I feel it isn't healthy for our bodies in calories and types of fat it puts into us. If you're a meat eater I think a healthier route is white meat poultry. I don't think using olive oil and other oils for cooking everyday is healthy! Oil is fat, no matter what oil it is. I think using very small amounts every once in awhile is okay. I have experienced massive, healthy weight loss eating a plant rich diet. I never felt tired, I never felt sick or that something was wrong inside.
 I suffered from chronic headaches, they disappeared. On a personal note, I had a screwy monthly cycle....a problem for a lot of women...it regulated! These are beliefs and passions I have, that have proven themselves to me. My kids have adapted, it's not perfect eating all the time. Just last night I explained that I had to persuade my kids to eat dinner, but they are beginning to understand a base for healthy living!

I love the way I eat because it will sustain weight loss, I won't be constantly fighting against my weight if I keep it up. That is a relief to some of my fears as well!

Do I believe that I will never be at risk for disease? No, I don't always eat perfect, but I'd like to help my preventative chances any way I can.

How do you live? What are your concerns? Do you feel a difference when you eat a certain way?



Plateau & Challenge

I feel as if I've plateaued at my weight, and I'm still not where I'd like to be. I think I've been eating healthy, but I still have probably been eating too many carbs, like pasta and bread carbs...not enough fruit and veggie carbs. I was skimming over my Eat to Live book last night just to reread some things and I'm all pumped up again. The amazing thing about eating, whole, natural, and a lot of plant based food is the potential weight loss you can have without feeling hungry. You can eat AS MUCH  as you want according to Eat to Live and you'll still lose weight.

I've done it. I don't know if I've ever really talked about how much I lost after having my first baby. After my daughter is when I first read Eat to Live, I wanted it simply for weight loss not a lifestyle change. Guys I followed that baby to the T! My starting weight I remember was 175- Yikes! My lowest weight was 132! That was a period of 3 months- 3 months...yes I repeated it! Amazing...3 months- sorry one more for good measure! Over 40 lbs and I felt amazing...you'd think I'd get a clue, but I fell off the band wagon a few years after and by the time my second baby was born I was just as heavy and man I can tell you it really does get harder to lose the weight after each one :)

image source: www.drfuhrman.com

So anyways this week I'm still going to be making delicious crock pot dinners but I'm also really going to hit the Eat to Live eating because I know that I'll automatically have some pounds shed by the end of the week, I won't even have to exercise if I don't want to, I will but I don't have to to lose some weight.

So for those of you who haven't read Eat to Live- it is tons of plant food...especially green vegetables. You can eat as much as you want with fruits and veggies, then add a lot of beans and seeds and just cut down on rice and things like that-

For breakfast I have with me

1. 1 banana
2. 1 nectarine
3. 1 apple

For lunch I am going to have a huge salad, with raw broccoli, carrots, and sunflower seeds. some beans on top, or maybe a small bowl of my vegetarian chili with my salad and I'm going to make my orange chia dressing to go on top. Tonight, I'm going to make crock pot enchiladas I believe, that will have tons of beans, peppers and veggies like that in them! So- my challenge for any of you trying  to lose some weight with me, try to come along this week and see if you have any results. Some rules if you want results are try not to drink soda- try just water, avoid meat, eggs and milk for the week, really stick to dark leafy greens, beans, fruit and nuts! See if you've lost anything by the end of the week. It's going to be fun! It seems hard, and when you first start it really isn't easy to give up some things, but you'll become addicted to the results.

If you'd like to see the full weight loss plan read Eat to Live, it's a 6 week plan, remember over 40 lbs for me in 3 months....yes I really want that to sink in! Amazing!


Contact me this week and let me know how it's going or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you.

Channel Your Emotions into Something Healthy

Wow today has been an emotional roller coaster. My brother has left the state for two years and we won't be able to see him! We had an emotional good-bye this morning and it was not fun watching him kiss my little kids good-bye for a little while. My sister and I and our families made our way down to our parent's home last night to spend time as a family before he left. It is crazy we would be laughing, then I would start crying or my mom would or sister, then we'd be laughing and teasing each other again! I have an amazing family, and I will miss my little bro!

Last night my brother was able to pick whatever meal he wanted for his last night at home for awhile and he had Philly Cheese steak sandwiches. I said I was going to enjoy whatever he picked and eat up...I did. I didn't feel good in my stomach that night, but I enjoyed the meal with my family. It got me thinking on emotional eating. Have you ever been an emotional eater? I have. If I was feeling down, I'd eat...usually something sweet. For date nights that were filled with fun and excitement we always had to have buttery popcorn or cookies. When I was stressed I'd eat. Well I have found a good way to channel emotions so I avoid the emotional eating....fitness. I'm not a guru on fitness, I try and be active. My main focus has always been my diet. But I find that fitness is an awesome way to blow off steam, take your mind of issues or de-stress. I wanted to write out a simple guide to starting a fitness routine for those who may find it difficult to be consistent with fitness

- First I find it very important to assess your fitness levels. You don't want to over-do it. If your like I was you'll have a hard time starting up again

-Assemble your fitness equipment. Running shoes, weights, arm bands whatever. At home you can use just about everything. I've used a huge dictionary before that was stinkin' heavy for a weight.

-Write out your plan. I stick to a plan where I integrate Cardio and weight training. If I do an intense cardio day I do weight training the next day. I try and do 4-5 cardio days with 3-4 weight training days

-Have a goal in sight. I have found if you have something your reaching for it makes it soooo much easier to work hard. Whether it's training for a race or trying to get to a certain weight keep your goal in sight.

- Find a work out buddy. It is so much easier to stick with it when you have another person there to cheer you on.

- Just get started. It seems simple to say, but sometimes not so simple to do. Instead of watching a movie one evening, go for run or pop in a workout video. You'll be glad you got started.   

Develop your routine and you will be so much closer to a healthier lifestyle!

New SPARK challenge & Eating Healthy Eating Out!

I am really excited for a NEW review! A friend of mine who is a representative for advocare   asked me if I would be willing to participate in a 31 day challenge to promote one of their products called SPARK. Spark uses vitamins and minerals to give you energy and focus.

As a "re-covering pop-a-holic" I understand what it means to need your caffeine energy for the day. Soda gives you so much yuck at the same time as giving you your boost in energy. One time I was watching a show, I think it was The Dr.'s or something and a lady was on there discussing soda. She said if you are a regular soda drinker, like every day, if you cut it out you had the potential to lose 40 lbs a year! Just for cutting out soda! It's pure sugar and just flat out not good for us! If anyone knows how hard it is to give it up, it's me. When I decided not to drink the stuff anymore I remember how hard it was to come off the addiction. It was an addiction for me. I remember going into work and seeing other employees with their huge 44 oz mugs of Diet Coke and I would just salivate...literally. I felt like I was in AA I needed co-worker support and intervention to not let me run to the vending machines to get a bottle of pop! 

I currently do not crave soda or any type of drink like that. I agreed to do this challenge since I understand the need for a pick me up. For any friends or readers who struggle with "needing" their soda fix or coffee or whatever you need to pick you up, I wanted to find a healthier option for you to wean off the liquid sugar that soda is. So what does the challenge consist of:

So for 31 days replace all other drinks with one package of SPARK a day and TONS of water. I'll journal about how I'm feeling and then at the end I'll let you know what I think. 

I want to note that I believe that we can get natural energy from eating a diet rich in plant foods, however I realize that many people are not quite there in their road to health or maybe don't feel the same as me, so this may be just what you're looking for! 

Okay- So I also wanted to show you how it is possible to choose healthier choices when you eat out. We decided yesterday to take our kids to the park and have a picnic. We have the cutest, cheapest, and tastiest bakery in town. We love it! So we decided to get some dinner from them. My husband was in charge of going and getting the food. He is very supportive of my decision to not eat animal products! He did so good, this is what he came back with for me

Just a pure veggie sandwich. He did have them put fat free mayo, but he tried and I was very grateful! It's nice to have support! It may take some creativity, but eating out can still be fun and healthier for you. I still believe it's healthier to eat your own food, but every once in awhile it is so much fun to go out with friends and family! Meatless meals, whole foods, and gluten free foods are spreading like wildfire and a lot of restaurants are integrating these foods into their menus. I was a waitress through college so I get it, all you need to do is ask. It's okay to work for tip :)

*If you'd like to order some of your own SPARK and do the challenge with me, email me or leave me a comment with your email and I'll put you in touch with my friend! 

 

Product Review and FIRST GIVEAWAY!

I am so excited to share this post with everyone! I found Navita's Naturals about a year ago and I always buy their seeds (chia and flax). I love their products. So a few weeks ago I contacted them and asked if they would be willing to let me share some of their goodness with you! After surfing their website for awhile I had no idea all the awesome products they have! I can't wait to try their chocolate kits!

Anyways they contacted me within a few hours and said they were going to send me whatever samples I wanted! I was so excited. I've never been so pumped about a product, yes I love it that much!

They sent me some delicious Cacao Powder and Cacao Nibs! If you have ever had good quality Cacao Powder there is no comparison to store bought brands! It has more fiber and antioxidants and the flavor is amazing! I have the same to say about the Cacao Nibs, pure dark chocolate is far superior to other processed chocolate. They were delicious and I can't wait to try them in some recipes.

They also sent me some dried white mulberries! I had never tried these before and was so excited to see what they held for my mouth! They are a Turkish superfood, filled with vitamin C and antioxidants. Okay, now onto the taste. They were really great! I'm not much for dried fruit or raisins, but these were so much tastier! My son devoured half the bag before I could even stop him! They are odd looking, but they will make an awesome addition to salads, breads or smoothies! Yay for Turkish Superfood!

Now onto the GIVEAWAY! I'm so excited for one of you to try this! This is organic, vegan, gluten free, and healthy!

Blueberry Hemp Power Snack! This is jam packed with goodness. You get all organic product shoved into one healthy bite size snack! Talk about a helpful companion to curb the midnight cravings! Awesome! These can be enjoyed by numerous people, they do contain cashews so if you have a nut allergy I'm sorry :( 

They are a great source of protein they contain no refined sugars, nothing fake about these little babies and they are full of antioxidants!

Okay so here's what you do~ 

          Click the Join This Site button to follow my blog 

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      Like my facebook page! 

http://www.facebook.com/naturallyhealthyandhappy

Have you ever used Navita's Naturals? What's your favorite product! Leave me a comment below!

 This will close Saturday 8/18

*these products were given to me not purchased through Navita's Naturals

10 Reasons Why I'm Choosing Plant Food

It is a decision that isn't reached lightly. It's tough when you will be the only "different" person in your circle. It can be stressful to think about others adapting food for you when you come over for dinner!  It's overwhelming in the society we live in! What could be stemming all this concern? Choosing a plant food diet. I've been stewing over this for a long time now. I believe and know that plant foods are the healthiest option. I've sat and worried that I wouldn't be able to "let go" of the old foods I so enjoyed ; I've been worried I would fail. 

Well after all this time I've decided to do what I've been wanting to do for awhile now, but was too hesitant or concerned what others would think of me to do it! I'm dropping what little meat I had left in my diet and going to be plant strong! This decision was not reached lightly. I've researched, prayed, yes I prayed about it, discussed it with my family, and really analyzed my reasons for doing so. I'm not pressuring anyone else in my family to join me completely. My husband informed me after my announcement to him today that he is just a few steps behind me! He supports me, but isn't ready to give it all up himself and that's okay. He did want some praise for not wanting bacon anymore though, which I freely gave!

10 Reasons Why I've decided to Go plant strong:

~Plant based diets have had a plethora of studies given showing how they reverse and prevent numerous diseases. Diabetes, heart disease, MS, depression, anxiety, these are only a few!

~I've felt the difference between the way my body feels when I eat a "normal diet" and a plant diet! It is night and day. I don't get stomach cramps, I don't get headaches, when I'm full it's not unbutton my pants full it's an Oh, my that was so good, full! My skin is better, and I've lost a lot of weight without counting calories or limiting my food intake

~I want to age comfortably. Research has shown that obesity causes so many problems in the elderly (as well as the young). After working in the geriatric population with occupational therapy, I have seen how much being overweight can affect healing and happiness. I don't want to be lifted by a machine, or need assistance to roll in bed. Not for a reason that I can control such as my weight. I want to keep my mind; food choices have been shown to either increase your risk of Dementia or decrease your risk (eat your blueberries and spinach)

~It has been shown that vegetarians and vegans are among the most fit people inside and out. They have slimmer bodies as well as lower cholesterol and blood pressure. 

~It's not as hard as I thought. I promote the fact that baby steps are incredibly important. In our eBook we will be publishing this is our theme. I've been eating a 90% plant based diet for so long now, I asked myself...why not? You eat chicken and turkey sparingly, you've given up the hardest thing for you...cheese. Is poultry really that amazing to the taste buds that I couldn't let it go? Not really. I do find it tasty, but I'd survive without it.

~I can get ample calcium and protein from plants without saturated fats and calories that animal products bring. Beans are comparable to meats in terms of protein. Quinoa is a staple at our home and it is a complete protein which brings the omega fatty acids into your diet as well. Nuts and nut milks have more calcium at times than cows milk!

~It has helped me with budgeting! Buying more produce has actually proved cheaper for my family and I. We don't stock up on tons of meats that can be $5 or more for small amounts. It's also helping us support our local farmers.

~I want to keep things flowing! I have experienced how nice it feels to have good intestinal movement if you know what I mean...let's get personal. It's better to have them flowing than to not, am I right?

~Overall I just feel better. I want that feeling always. I enjoy a plant based diet, I love knowing that less animal products help the environment and I love that it's a healthy route!

~ All these are wonderful reasons, but my number one reason for doing this, is my children! I have seen how they have adjusted their tastes and their food choices. My three year old was offered a store bought rice krispie treat the other day, she politely gave it back and said "I don't want it, it's not healthy!" She's three! I want them to have the knowledge to make their own choices and to give them the best opportunity for health that I know possible. They are my reason, above anything else. They adapt and do love plant foods too it's not a myth that kids will eat broccoli...they will but parents need to set the example first!

There are a lot of critics on this way of eating. That's okay. I welcome it. I have done my research, and I've had experience with it. I don't judge other's for their eating habits, I feel this is the best move for me and I encourage others to find out if it is a good move also for yourself and families

Some good sites to research

diseaseproof.com

http://www.livestrong.com/article/466538-top-ten-health-reasons-for-plant-based-diets/

http://www.forksoverknives.com/

http://www.thechinastudy.com/

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4304/7-Reasons-Why-You-Should-Eat-PlantBased.html

The Epidemic and Our Kids

Here is some food for thought whether you're single, married with no children or have 6 kids. I've been shuffling around the PCRM site reading articles and learning more about healthy living and plant foods. I have found a lot of interesting and disturbing facts. Most of the facts are things I've read previously, but it never ceases to get me to stop an evaluate how I'm feeding my kids.

I am easy to feed. I know what I like and I am willing to branch out and try new things. My husband is a big boy, he knows what is healthy and he can decide for himself. My little ones, are not always so easy to feed yet they should be my primary focus!

I'm not a perfect mom when it comes to many things, and feeding my kids is one of them. I try very hard to incorporate healthy, plant foods into their diets. It doesn't always come without a fight though. My little boy has found his throwing arm! He also has discovered he gets a reaction from mom and dad when he throws a fit (mom and dad are working on that ) so he has become a little bit of a challenge. He will eat nearly any fruit I place in front of him, but vegetables can be a different story! He did enjoy the Garden Vegetable Soup last night which made me shout for joy! So we handle a lot of this with smoothies typically. He loves a smoothie with avocado and spinach mixed in with delicious berries! It's a work in progress. My daughter is able to reason with us now (thank goodness) and is soaking up all the information she can about why we eat this or why she needs to eat that! It's been a big relief to see her fall in love with healthy foods. It doesn't always happen, she still loves a good sweet and there are times when we allow it. When we are at Grandma's house, we let Grandmas be grandmas! But....she can still recognize that it's not healthy for her, and she will say "this is not healthy" right before she devours whatever she's eating!

I've learned that 1/3 of our children today are not only overweight but obese! It makes me sad not only for their physical health, but mental health as well. I remember middle school, kids can be mean to each other! Some think before they speak and it's not easy to forget harsh words.

Dr. Benjamin Spock, pediatircian and resarcher said that it isn't neccesarily the amount of food that kids eat it is the types of food they are eating. When you need to have your child involved in a weight loss plan add more plant foods and many times you will acheive the weight loss you need without going hungry.

It's not always easy feeding kids healthy, it can be a long and frustrating road, but I can tell you from personal experience, watching your child go from wanting boxed crackers and cookies to asking for celery, bananas and grapes for snack is a feeling that I personally treasure in my top 5 best feelings ever box!

We're shaping our children's future in most everything we do. In the values we instil in them, the time we spend with them, their education, let's not forget we're also shaping their health future by what we are feeding them now! Keep trying and don't give up on some foods with your little ones, it takes time...not a few days it can take months! But the satisfaction in seeing your child's tastes change just like yours is overwhelming!

Eat Yourself Healthy and Happy

Cookin' Maniac- and Freezer Meal

Okay wow, I don't even want to look at my stove, oven, kitchen for the rest of the night. Okay, I really do enjoy cooking, but it's been a cooking day!

First, I whipped up the Rumbi Voodoo Salads for Lunch, Now, well lets just say I've been making cashew cookies and trying not to enjoy eating them too much while I'm making them. I also made a freezer meal out of my Quinoa Garden Burgers. 

I found a tutorial on a blog for a good way to freeze and reheat garden burgers, so I thought it would be awesome to have a quick meal when we're having a busy day. After you make your burgers, you place them on a cookie sheet,

Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for about an hour. Then remove them and place them in a plastic bag. Be sure to separate them with parchment paper and to suck out the air! Awesome.

My little brother has chosen to serve a mission for our church (we're very proud of him). On Sunday we are having a huge farewell party. My mom who has Celiac, requested the cashew thumb print cookies! I made a lot of these little babies! I tried to get some different varieties to make them really fun! 

Some of the changes were:

Peanut Butter Chocolate

Cinnamon Spice

Raspberry

and Blueberry! 

I really hope everyone enjoys them, the Cinnamon Spice one I think is my new favorite. You simply add cinnamon and nutmeg to the dough, then sprinkle cinnamon on top before you bake them! Easy!

To get started I got ready, by getting ready I mean getting the kids to sleep, hopping into my comfy pajamas, 

getting my entertainment, thank you Harry Potter going at it! 

I believe I used every mixing bowl I own tonight, but I had so much fun, experimenting and I feel very much prepared with a freezer meal ready to go~ 

It makes eating healthy so much easier if you take a few hours and prepare ahead of time. Freezer meals are so awesome! If you have a healthy meal waiting for you in the freezer it can help decrease your temptations a  lot! 

I hope you all can develop a passion and love for healthy meals, that's when daunting baking days, like today turn more into a fun time than something I have to do. I really had fun giving the cookies some fresh spins, because I love making wholesome things! 

However, my dirty dishes.....they'll just have to wait until the morning :)

 

Healthy Eating, Turned Passion. My letter to you

I feel so grateful to so many of you for sending me emails letting me know how you are trying recipes and finding that healthy, natural foods can taste wonderful and that your families will also enjoy them! I was smiling for half the day yesterday because of them.

When I first read Eat To Live and when I first began focusing more on a natural diet I never expected to share it with others. I felt I would be laughed at. I felt that no one would be interested in how I ate or how I acheived weight loss since it did require effort, study, changing ALOT of habits. So I never really did talk about it. However, when it became a family journey I became slightly more open about it, most of the time it was due to the fact that my husband liked sharing it with people. He liked to have people use vegan margarine and then spill the beans that it was vegan. He inspired me to have fun, to be passionate about how we were eating.

I felt like I was developing a platform of who I was and how I ate. You can see from some of my recipes I eat meat from time to time. I personally only eat poultry. I don't eat pork, red meat, or sea food (just because I hate the taste of sea food). I think it's okay. I eat about a 90% plant based diet and so do my children typically, my husband has a little bit more meat from time to time. So I feel we eat a very healthy diet. Others have disagreed since they believe we don't get adequate protein. Through my researching and experience I know we get our protein each day in adequate amounts. So that is what I promote, healthy eating with a balance! I found and believe that this health pours over into emotional health and can lift stress and health burdens off your list!

I've discovered as soon as I showed my passion about natural foods and eating healthy people don't tease as much, they don't say "you don't eat meat every day! Your crazy." They say encouraging things like,
 "good for you"
 "that's awesome" or things
"like wow, you really eat like that and you like it?"

 I like this question since it lets them wonder about it and build curiosity. It helps give a desire for someone else to try a recipe that they wouldn't have otherwise.

When I decided to start this blog I did it because the passion inside was spilling over! I wanted to just share it with everyone. I was tired of hearing other's around me saying their kids don't eat healthy foods or they wanted to eat healthy but didn't know where to start. I also wanted to let critics out there know that you can enjoy your food without it smoothered with cheese, dairy and meat ALL  the time! I wanted to show that my kids aren't deprived of sweets and neither am I, I've enjoyed my delicious raspberry freeze drops numerous times today :). I am overwhelmed at the response I've received and the support. I've met some other bloggers who share the same passion and it has been so exciting.

I am so grateful for your support and your questions. It lets me talk about things I love :). I'm excited to launch our eBook. I'm writing the last section as we speak then hopefully we can get some marketing going, get some designers! I am thrilled for your questions since we will be breaking down how we started in the book!

Thank you again for following me and helping me share my passion! You all are wonderful and keep trying to change your habits...it will change your life!

Much Love,

Emily

Bootie Building!

Okay the focus for me this week is the rear! It's summer and a lot of us wear swimming suits, so I would like a toned up booty! Some of the best work for your backside are squats and lunges! Here are the exercises on my line up today and throughout the week that I found from here.

Tip-Top Toner

Stand with feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes out, hands on hips. Squat until thighs are parallel to floor, then lift both heels. Lower heels for 1 rep. Repeat.
Works butt, thighs, calves
More: The Ultimate 10-Minute Butt Workout

Rear Raiser

With feet shoulder-width apart, squat all the way down, fingertips on floor slightly in front of feet. Keeping fingertips on floor, lift hips, extending butt toward ceiling with knees slightly bent. Return to start for 1 rep. Repeat.
Works butt, thighs

Soccer Sculptor

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, hands on hips. Squat, then stand and forcefully bring right leg across and in front of body, leading with heel, as if kicking a ball, left arm swinging in front, right arm behind. Return to start. Switch sides to complete 1 rep. Repeat.
Works butt, thighs

Bicycle Buffer

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, hands behind head. Squat, then stand, lifting left knee across body toward right elbow at center. Return to start. Switch sides to complete 1 rep. Repeat.
Works butt, thighs, abs, obliques
More: 4 Workouts to Sculpt Your Abs

Get-Lean Lift

Stand with feet hip-width apart. Squat deeply, extending arms behind torso. Stand, then raise left leg and lower chest until parallel to floor, extending arms forward. Hold for 1 count, then return to start. Switch sides to complete 1 rep. Repeat.
Works butt, legs, shoulders, back, abs

Wall Whittler

Squat with back to wall, feet together, thighs parallel to floor, hands on hips. Maintain back and butt contact with wall as you lift left knee toward chest. Return to start. Switch leg to complete 1 rep. Repeat.
Works butt, thighs

The Perfect Squat

Perfect your form with these tips from Kim.
Go Low: Drive butt back (as though sitting on a chair), keeping thighs parallel to floor and knees over toes.
Get Grounded: Position feet shoulder-width apart and slightly turned out with your weight on heels. You should be able to wiggle toes.
Open Up: Place hands behind head. Lift chest, and draw shoulders back and down.
Stay in Line: Keep a neutral spine without arching your back; engage your stomach.


It's nice to add a variety of workouts that you can integrate into your routine. With the ab workouts from the ab challenge and now some back end work I'm hoping to be feeling toned and awesome by the start of the new school year!!!  I've integrated the ab routine into my workout on top of my cardio, I usually run or do a cardio workout video, and then I do lower body and upper body workouts with weights, now bring on the butt!

Planning Shopping Trips

I wanted to add more to my budget posts for those of you who find it difficult to find the finances to buy healthier foods. To get started I'm going to show you how I plan my shopping trip before I even go to the store. I'm actually going to write out my list of meals and how I did this today.


Column 1
Weekly Meals
Butternut Squash Lasagna
Homemade Rumbi Voodoo Salad
Veggie Burgers
Quinoa Salad
Red pepper Pasta (freezer meal)
Tai Chicken Lettuce Wraps (freezer meal)
Raspberry Chocolate drops
Vegan Fudge
Cinnamon Crunch

Column 2
Ingredients I already Have (cupboard look through)
Black Beans
sunflower nuts
honey
quinoa
peanut butter
garlic
cocoa powder
almonds
frozen berries/and fresh
lettuce
onion
soy sauce
agave
cumin
avocado
Tomato paste
seasonings (eg: basil, oregano, parsley, Italian Seasoning)

Column 3
Ingredients I need to buy
Butternut Squash
ginger root
2 red peppers
crushed canned tomatoes
vegetable broth
whole grain pasta
carob chips
carob powder
broccoli
tortillas
tortilla strips
almond milk
cinnamon
spinach
fruit (apples, bananas etc)
shredded carrots
Silken tofu
nutritional yeast
chicken
turkey sausage
oats
green onions
crushed red pepper flakes

Okay now at this point I see if I have any coupons for any ingredients that I need. Then I set my budget and I stick to it! If at all during my shopping trip I feel I'm going to go over I drop something. I always try and drop something that is the least healthy and I just get creative with my meals. You'll find recipes still can taste good with missing ingredients :) Today I had one coupon for the Almond milk. Next I'll decide which store I'm going to do the majority of my shopping. I recommend shopping at a regular grocery store that has a bulk natural foods section first before you hit the health food stores. You can get a lot of your organic health food products for cheaper sometimes at a normal grocery store. I had pretty good success with my list at my one store, except for the carob powder and nutritional yeast, but I'm super lucky the health food store is right across the street :)

Here was my total at Smith's

Now I spent another $10.00 at the health food store for the yeast and carob powder, now even I think that is a lot. Now for me I need my nutritional yeast, it can be pricey though. So some advice for all the more expensive items with healthy shopping. DON'T LET YOUR STOCK DEPLETE! Like I did with my nutritional yeast. I had to completely stock up again. If you can fit these items into your budget get a little more each trip, and it won't be such a huge expense.

Also, use your ingredients wisely! If you think you're ready to cut back on some sweetener and sugars than do it, use LESS! It'll save you money and inches :)

Try to shop in bulk sections, the cut oats I bought today were about $1.00 cheaper per pound when I bought them in the bulk section as opposed to the Quaker tub of oats!

Use the freezer! I have two freezer meals planned. I am planning on using them this week, but you can take a day and make healthy freezer meals. On days when you don't feel like a lot of prep work you have a meal waiting to thaw out, or maybe there is a time when you wallet is a little tighter, you already have groceries stored in your freezer!!!!

If you find yourself to be in a super tight budget, buy produce. Veggies and fruits for snacks, and maybe skip out on some meats and dairys. If you couple the veggies with grains and pasta which are less expensive you have a nice one dish dinner for the night without spending a ton of money! Here are some one dish dinners I've made:
Quinoa Bean Medley
Vegan Mac and Cheese
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
Creamy Asparagus casserole
Tangy Apple Coleslaw
Nutty Crunch Salad
Banana Cinnamon French Toast

Another thought is, try your best not to eat out very often. It's more healthy to eat at home, and it is cheaper!!!

Again I'm going to say, it is expensive to start up initially if you buy everything all at once. It's okay to slowly add healthy items into your cooking. Before you know it they just become part of your regular grocery trips and you don't even think about. Feeling healthy is worth the time and effort, to me, to plan and prepare for some more expensive items in my shopping!!!! You can do it, it's all about prep, planning, and small steps!

Whole Grain Blender Waffels (Gluten Free)

Good Morning!!!!!!! It's Saturday and there is no where else for me to go this morning except lounging around eating AMAZING food with my sweet little family! The weekends are when I usually try and make a larger breakfast, obviously because I have more time in the mornings!

A few days ago my husband told me he was craving some big, syrupy, waffles or pancakes...I think he wanted a lot of butter included in that too :) well I couldn't help him with the butter but I could help him with the big, syrupy waffles!!!! I found these tasty little things here and I only changed one ingredient since I didn't have any concentrate juice and I was out of dates! So what did I add....honey. Super simple but I think they tasted wonderful, they're gluten free so I think that's saying something!

Whenever we'd stay over at my parents house and we had pancakes or waffles my mom always had her "special" pancakes or waffles that were gluten free! We never tried them, since they were sure to be nasty (even though she just loves them) well if they taste like these gluten free waffles I think I may just battle it out over the gluten free "special" waffles with my mom :)!  These are quick and easy and ready in a matter of minutes. You throw everything all at once into your blender (you need a high powered one, I've got some links for blenders at the bottom) and a minute later you have your waffle batter! These are wonderful served with either maple syrup or my strawberry syrup that you can find here Easy Peasy!

Whole Grain Blender Waffles

2 C water

1 T honey

1 C oats

1/4 C millet or corn meal (I used corn meal)

1/4 C ground flax seed

1/4 C raw cashews

1 T cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

Place all ingredients into blender and blend on high for one minute or until everything is very smooth and blended together.

 Pour batter into a heated waffle iron. They are done when they are very brown and slightly crispy on the outside! Serve warm with fresh or frozen fruit on top!! Enjoy!

Whats the right way to eat?

What a confusing question! With information available on almost any subject and from almost every point of view I have found it to be quite overwhelming trying to decide what diet to follow. I myself lately have been seriously considering following the Vegan diet, or a completely plant based diet. However, my food post tonight is chicken. That's my problem, I feel I can give up cheese, yogurt, dairy, since I've already done that. I can give up red meat, pork, and even turkey, but I think the hardest one will be chicken. I really do enjoy the taste of chicken every once in awhile. I don't eat meat every day, I only eat it about twice a week so it doesn't seem like it should be such a big deal, but it still is a challenge. So I decided to research some pros and cons of different diets. I know that I haven't researched all of them, and I don't know a lot about different ones, also there may be many pros and cons to different diets, I just can't name them all. I would invite people to leave a comment and open this up for discussion. I'm interested in how you eat, what's worked for you, or if you have any questions I would love to talk about it with you!

Vegetarian/Vegan Diet

Pros: Thinner bodies, lower blood pressure, lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, lower levels of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and stroke, excellent source of antioxidants from plants and healthy fats from nuts and seeds, higher vitamin K volumes (protects against osteoporosis), good source of Folate and omega-3 fatty acids through seeds, nuts and dark leafy greens.

Cons: insufficient vitamin B12. You need to take a supplement in order to prevent an insufficiency. Vitamin B12 is found mostly in dairy and other animal products. It helps prevent early onset dementia and cognition deficiencies, so it's a biggy!

Paleo/Caveman Diet:

Pros: stable energy, greater weight loss, helps build lean muscle and with exercise can decrease body fat, includes lots of fruits and vegetables, doesn't allow dairy cheeses, no fake foods or refined foods.

Cons: can be expensive to purchase grass fed, organic meats, a lot of debate on what is true paleo, you can't eat whole grains or legumes (I think with a certain degree of moderation these are very healthy)

Atkins Diet

Pros: weight loss, eliminates bad carbs

Cons: can cause burdens to the kidneys, miss out on nutrients through fruits and vegetables, those who return to eating carbs usually gain all their weight back.

The Standard American Diet:

Pros:  uh........

Cons: diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, the list goes on and on!

Okay that last one was just for fun, yes the fast food diet is obviously a killer, but for some reason many people seem to continue to do it.

So now for my personal opinions, I feel that our diets need to contain tons of plant based, natural foods...hence the name of my blog. I do feel it is okay to include healthy whole grains, such as whole wheat, quinoa, and buckwheat. I do think beans and lentils are a great way to get protein and nutrients. I think if anything meat should be eaten sparingly, (I'm still deciding if I'm going to take it out completely) I do not feel that cheese is a health food, yes it has protein and calcium, but it is full of saturated fats which cause heart disease and raise LDL cholesterol levels. I feel you can find your calcium and protein elsewhere, dark leafy vegetables, nuts, and seeds have both in them! I don't think cow's milk is suitable for our bodies. My kids and I personally live on almond milk as a favorite, my husband branched out a little while ago because he just "missed" his 2% milk. He told me today that he would no longer be buying cow's milk. He said that since he's been drinking his gallon his skin has broken out and he has congestion...I found this very interesting. I feel it is so important for our disease prevention to avoid refined, artificial and processed foods, which is why I like the Paleo and Natural Vegan diets. I have found learning about other diets interesting. My husband and I, together are writing and eBook (more on that later on) and we are really excited to gain as much info as we can so we can better pass along to others what we feel works and what we feel doesn't. I'd be interested to know your opinions, let me know on facebook/naturallyhealthyandhappy, email me@ emilymchilds@gmail, or leave a comment!!!

Health Shopping on a Budget

Over the passed few weeks I've had several emails and conversations with people about how they would like to eat healthy, but they feel it would be out of their budget. Well I'm going to bring you into my shopping world and maybe give some insight on how to shop for healthy foods on a budget!

My family is in no way rich. My husband is still a student and I work part-time, two kids require a lot of expenses so, yes I still live on a budget! I am spending more than I originally was on groceries because I'm constantly inventing and trying new recipes! And unfortunately sometimes my creations don't turn out how I'd like them too, for example yesterday :(

These were meant for "J" day jelly filled brownies, they sounded sooo good to me, I had thought them up, made them healthy, but the end result was blah...garbage here we come! And that is a peak at what my kitchen looks like on a regular basis! I'm really hating dishes lately :) So when mishaps such as the brownies happen, I do end up wasting some food. The good thing about this blog though for you all, is the recipes I post have been tried and tested, so hopefully you won't throw food out and waste your money!

So I've explained to people that in the beginning when you are building up your stock of foods, such as chia seeds, flax, quinoa, flours, nutritional yeast, and other grains it may be quite expensive. I couldn't wait to start trying food in this lifestyle so I remember it was quite the dent in the wallet. If you are more patient than I am, every time you go grocery shopping add a health food item to your list from a bulk section and stock up on that item, maybe Spelt flour, or maybe you want to start with Quinoa, whatever it is you can always go slow then it won't be such a financial burden!

Okay, today was grocery shopping day, I plan weekly meals since it's easier for us to set up a set budget for each week, if you enjoy doing two weeks of food at a time, by all means go for it, just make sure you adjust your budget! One of the most important things I like to do to help me stay within our budget is first, use cash for groceries if you can...discipline yourself to know when the cash is gone...no more groceries! When it comes to that point you need to get creative with meals, eat salads, or leftovers, or PB&J's for a few days.

 The next tip I can give you is never, I repeat never go to the grocery store without your list, and maybe don't go with your husband :) On one side of my list I plan my meals. I try and make meals that I can incorporate leftovers into another meal, for example tonight we made veggie kabobs, I made sure to save some extra vegetables for my mini veggie Shepard's pie's in a few nights! Neat right! On the other side of the list I write down the grocery list. I always scan my cupboards first to see what I already have, it's not fun to come home and realize you have about 4 cans of tomato paste, especially when your living on a budget! So check your cupboards first!

Okay so we headed to the store! Something I really try to do on my grocery trips is...

I take my kids! I know it's not always a joy to bring the kids to the grocery store, but I find it such a valuable time to really teach them about healthy foods vs. unhealthy foods! My daughter wanted to pick something out...we didn't run to the cookie section...nope she picked a cucumber! Yes, a cucumber! I didn't encourage it, it was all her, (because to be honest I'm not the biggest cucumber fan) anyways my point is over the last few months my kids have always learned at such young ages what is healthy and what isn't. I find that has been my greatest accomplishment with this, and no amount of grocery bill will take that away from me!

Okay, so we've established that some health food is expensive, here is a health food that I didn't buy, but love to have on hand for my desserts, Raw Cane Sugar

I bought this exact bag a month ago and still have half of it! That's the beauty of it all, your taste buds adjust to not using so much sugar and sweets! So yes this bag may be smaller than a refined white sugar bag, but it takes me just as long to use it! And it's not very expensive.

I'm not sure if you want me to write out my whole receipt, but the grand total for our grocery trips was
$69.76

As you can see I bought 36 items, which will give us 7-9 meals, and 4-5 snacks and treats! I used two coupons for two half gallons of almond milk! I love it we get so many of those since that's the only milk we buy at Smith's!

I bought some Agave today and it was $4.00 for a 24 oz bottle!!! Most of my list today consisted of produce with some chicken and 1 lb of turkey. And the milk of course. I had a few other things on there as well! If you feel this is still a high number for a week's worth of food, remember I'm making meals each day for blogging purposes, I don't eat a lot of leftovers, we might have them for lunch so they don't go to waste... you can cut this number down if you plan maybe 4 healthy meals a week, leftovers a night or two and then whatever meal you want another night! I've got some cookies planned, sweet breads, and muffins planned with this list as well! I used to use a lot of coupons for food all the time, I saved a lot of money, but fruits and vegetables weren't my main food, we ate them of course, but I also had a lot of boxed food, and my kids hated vegetables. They weren't picking cucumbers out at the store! This budget is not far off from what I was spending before healthy eating. This number may increase when I stop in for my nuts and nut butters, they tend to be some of my most expensive items I buy!

I hope these tips help you! It's very much so worth it. Just do what you can. Start slowly and plan, plan, plan your meals! It will save you money if you write them out!!!! Good luck and keep it up!