Day in the Life | Week 10

Happy Valentine's Day!  Life is soo sweet. As most of you know we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our baby girl in late March.  I have been feeling amazing and keep saying I would have 5 more kids if I knew pregnancy could feel this good (it's the part after birth that gets tough right?).  I attribute this to nutrition and the use of essential oils.  It feels great to have not once used an over the counter drug during this entire pregnancy.  Also feels great knowing my little peanut also has not been exposed to gluten either.  I'm not going to lie though, I have had a craving through this entire pregnancy for a Subway seafood sandwich and Tombstone pizza.  That is soo not like me!  I haven't given in though. 
I have been nesting like crazy!  My dear friend Carole finished up our nursery this week and I am more than blessed to have had her put this together.  Pretty cute huh?  Check out her Facebook page, her stuff is incredible!

Continuing to stay busy in the kitchen. Making Maria's famous peanut butter eggs tomorrow for the boys but in heart shapes.  I love to wrap them up in cute little bags and it makes them extra special.  I also have some yummy Dr. John's xylitol (birch source no GMO corn) candy to give them.  The boys are taking these suckers to school in their Valentine's.  We know they will get a fair share of candy at school but it will be like Halloween at the Chrest's...enjoy a few pieces and then it gets put away.  I know I am blessed that they never ask for it again.  Out of sight out of mind. On that subject....

Maria Emmerich posted this question this past week "What are your biggest hardships when it comes to your kids eating healthy"...here was my response.  
Social settings. We always avoid wheat 100% because of true health issues but have learned to follow the 90/10 rule when it comes to sugar and other grains. I'm ok with that though cuz I've learned it's about balance and I NEVER want my kids to have resentment and go off the deep end when away from me and our home. At a very young age they are learning proper nutrition and that this 10% is just that. Our bodies won't function well if we didn't follow good nutrition 90% of the time. I also am quick to point out any negative health consequences from not following our regular nutrition (constipation etc) so they make their own conclusions. When I first began this journey I would freak out in social settings, ended up with crying kiddos (even when bringing along healthy fun choices) obsessing how awful the choices were, and it completely stole my peace. I've found a good place for our family with this 90/10 rule. I believe they will take what I am teaching along with them in life doing it this way.

Day in the Life

 

9 am
Protein shakes with Jay Robb, peanut butter and banana along with some pumpkin bread.  I love all things pumpkin and so last night I decided to crack open a can of pumpkin I have been staring at for a couple weeks.  This morning I made a glaze for it with just some butter, Swerve confectioners. vanilla extract and a little milk.  So yummy. Who says pumpkin is only for the fall season.

12 pm
Grocery shopped all morning long. Aldi (if you haven't been lately, you should as they have a great selection of organic products)  Same brand of cherry tomatoes as Whole Foods and $3 cheaper!! Costco, and then Cub (only cuz I needed full fat greek yogurt and that can be tough to find sometimes).  Costco keeps increasing the amount of organic products they have and now they have green signs for anything organic.  It makes shopping a whole lot easier.  I have an awesome new source for organic produce though and I promise to get you that info in my next post.  If you live by like minded people that are interested in getting discounted organic produce this will be perfect for you!

6 pm
So I vowed I would not waste any of the organic produce I am getting.  Broccoli....ugh not my favorite.  Ended up whipping up broccoli cheese soup in my Vitamix for dinner and had grass fed minute steaks with it.  A cut of meat that can be tricky but not going to waste it.  I dipped it in egg and then almond flour and spices and fried it in butter on cast iron.  Was pretty yummy.  That's it for dinner.  I'm exhausted! Been battling with Sam lately on dinner time and I thought this was a great article.  We adopted it this week.  It's not putting a stop to him wanting a bedtime snack but those are easy and I don't mind.  Who can complain about peanut butter on a spoon. His favorite, and easy for us. Me on the other hand, I'm hungry at 8pm...my bedtime craving is luckily easy to fix as well. (I know I shouldn't use the microwave and you can use the oven if you have the patience) It's delightful with fresh strawberries on top and some heavy whipping cream dumped over it.  MMMM

Worst and Best

Worst was having to choose not to be offended by someones comments about my birthing choices for my baby.  I have adopted the philosophy that it is my choice to let someone offend me or not.  This has proven to be very difficult especially with pregnancy hormones!

Best was folding a couple little outfits we have for baby girl.  They are just soo tiny and I can hardly wait to meet her.  I feel so bad that I had such a hard time accepting the news that we were going to be blessed with another child.  It just wasn't a part of my plan at all but I now, can not imagine her not joining out family.  God is soooo amazing and he sure does work on our hearts if we let him. 
Blessings!
 

Day in the Life | Week 9

It's not very often that a single great recipe can be motivation for me to blog.  I am a huge breakfast eater and my bestie sent me a biscuits and gravy recipe a few weeks ago and I finally got around to making it (see below).

 

I hope you all are staying healthy.  It seems like back to school brings a season of nasty viruses and bugs.  We have been hit lightly but the use of Young Living essential oils has deceased our sickness time and kept a couple of us completely healthy.  Because this blog is about grain/sugar free eating I will not bore those of you that aren't interested in natural ways to cure disease.  Hey, wait a second you are here because you are trying to better your health and I'm pretty sure 99% of you have naturally cured ailments by changing your eating styles.  Anywho, if you are interested in hearing more about our little journey with oils I'd love to share.  I have an awesome mentor that introduced me and takes all my texts asking how to cure certain things. (thanks Chelsey)  These oils are amazing!!!  It's my new medicine cabinet! 

 Nutrition goes along with healing and I'm hear to admit that I finally made my own homemade chicken broth.  Seriously, I can't believe I haven't done this sooner.  You can do it with a leftover rotisserie chicken for pete's sake, it's so easy and the health benefits you get are superior to any store bought broth and cheaper!  Here is a great article on the benefits and how to make.  Another plus, your house smells amazing!

Day in the Life

 

9 am

Are you ready....o.k. so the picture isn't glamorous but we all know that biscuits and gravy is never pretty (and everyone knows, that I desperately need some new dishes if I'm taking food pics :-).  Jon, my great eater even turned his nose up at the appearance but because he is a trooper, he tried it and loved it.  I think this recipe is better than any wheat biscuits I ever had.  Now some of you may question the use of arrowroot powder.  Many Paleo recipes call for it.  Yes, it's higher in carbs but I haven't hesitated using it in recipes that call for very little.  Trust me, this recipe is worth experimenting with it.  Make sure you eat this hot though because the gravy can get goopy fast, reheating solves the problem easily though so don't worry :-)

12 pm

Posting Jon's lunch.  I honestly am not hating making Jon's lunches these days.  This facebook page has been a great resource however, not all the meals are gluten free. If you haven't invested in a Planet Box yet, you should.  They make lunch packing soo much easier! Organic cucumber slices, yummy pumpkin bars (because all my friends know, I'm all about the pumpkin, you can sub Swerve or Nature's Hallow honey if you don't use raw honey)

Jackson's Honest Potato Chips (ps. if you live close to me and are interested in ordering a case of these let me know as I can get them at a discount if ordering a large quantity), Ham roll ups: Applegate ham, cream cheese and a Bubbies pickle.  I like to try to include fermented foods into my kids meals as often as I can.  You too, should be trying to get them into your diet.  Here is why. 

 

I chose to get my fermented dosage in with sauerkraut. This Reuben was fabulous.  I made my own homemade thousand island dressing. Soo good.  Here is the bread recipe I used.  It was super easy and tasty toasted on the stove slathered with butter.  This was from my friend LaToya.

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup yogurt
1/4 c melted butter
3 large eggs
2 Tbsp honey (I skipped it)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line parchment paper. Spread a couple tablespoons of the mixture on parchment paper (I fit 6 on the cookie sheet). Bake for 13-15 minutes. I added garlic and onion powder to mine to make it a little more savory, but you can season however you want. Herbs or whatever.

6 pm

Off to flag football and I'm exhausted tonight so the hubby is picking up Chipotle.  As you know, there are few places, that you can eat fast at these days.  I feel like Chipotle is one of the most benign choices.  P.S. have you seen their new ads, kudos to them for making a great effort on using Real Food! Take a second to watch, it's pretty powerful. I order the burrito bowl, double meat, no rice or beans, lettuce, fresh salsa, extra cheese, sour cream and guac.  Sometimes I splurge on the corn salsa even though it's probably not the greatest for me. 

 

Worst and Best

 

Worst part of the day was trying to get Isaac to take a nap.  He turned 2 last week and decided on that day he no longer needed naps.  We all know he is completely wrong.  I let him cry for longer that I care to post today and he still didn't give up. My afternoons have just gotten a lot longer without that time to myself or time to just hang with Sam when he is home from preschool.  I'm not giving up on this issue.  He will understand he is going to nap again!!! 

Best  part was sitting down to my Reuben sandwich after the kids had finished eating and spending some time talking with God.  I'm totally good with eating alone in my adult life.  I think I could even handle going to a restaurant or a movie alone.  I remember when I was younger, I felt so bad for people that were alone.  Are you kidding me, that sounds amazing right now!!!!  Blessings!!

 

Day in the Life | Week 8

School has begun and with that comes a whole new set of nutritional challenges. As you probably have witnessed, so many of the treats given at school are sugar packed and not much nutritional content.  Many ask what I do.  At the beginning of the year I pack a bag of snacks that are still quite special cuz we don't have them often at home, I send this bag of goodies to my childs teacher.  If someone brings a snack with wheat in it I ask that the teacher share one of the options I packed.  I pack things like, organic rice peanut butter bars or Kids Cliff fruit ropes.  Like I said, not things I typically give my kids so it's still a special treat for them and I know they may be getting more sugar than normal but at least it's not high fructose corn syrup or a bunch of dyes etc.  Because wheat is such a huge health issue with them that I tell people to please just make sure and give them "gluten free".  So occasionally my family does get a gluten free pizza from a pizza joint, or has a box of rice pasta organic mac -n- cheese.  These are once in a blue moon treats and not something that is fed to them often!!  It's amazing how conditioned kids are though. I used to give my kids Kraft mac-n-cheese multiple times a week.  A few weeks ago I went totally outside my nutrition box and purchased a box of rice pasta mac-n-cheese I served it to all three boys.  Isaac spit it out and was totally grossed out by it.  He has never had mac-n-cheese so the texture and flavor was just yuck to him.  The other boys were pretty excited to have it because my attempts at grain free mac-n-cheese have been anything but successful. I bought the Annie's brand that seemed pretty benign other than the high carbs. I won't be serving it often but once in awhile it would be an ok substitute.
 I do not take for granted that my children are young and have pretty easily adapted to this lifestyle.  I know those of you with older children get a lot more push back.  Baby steps and education.  You will get there.  Don't beat yourself up on not doing everything perfectly.  If you have young kids, start now.  I can't tell you how great it feels to have my youngest child want nothing to do with something that comes out of a box! Another reason he will not see these boxes on my shelves at home :-)

Thank you to all of you that entered to win the Weber grill and Swerve. Congrats to Christa Edin Blaser!   A super fun contest and great feedback.  P.S. Swerve Confectioners is FINALLY back in stock and on sale!  Use code JOY10 for an additional 10% off your order.

Day in the Life

 

9 am

Here is where prep work pays off on school mornings.  On the weekend I make a double batch of muffins so that eggs and muffins can be a staple on rush mornings.  I love to do pancakes and waffles when I have a little more time.  I apologize I haven't tried freezing our favorite waffles yet to see how they hold up.  I got a lot of great feedback on the waffles I posted a couple weeks ago.  They are a must make! 

12 pm
I make lunches at night because it is just easier.  I have told you about Planet Box's and I can't stress enough how great they are and that they truly make lunch packing more enjoyable.  They are not cheap but they last forever and no more plastic bags or containers.  I pack a thermos with homemade lemonade (water, ice, liquid stevia and fresh lemon juice) or farm fresh milk and we are good to go.  Looking over the school menu made me pretty glad I pack my kids lunches every day.  Ugh!  Here are a couple great resources for lunch ideas for your kiddos. 

3 pm
So I am really big on listening to hunger cues.  This means that sometimes I don't eat till 3pm in the afternoon.  Since my family has switched to this way of eating they too have relied on hunger cues and my boys don't snack as often as they used to (unless they are at grandparents, what is with that?).  Take out the addictive opiate stimulator in wheat and it's amazing that your constant desire to eat goes away.
My friend Nichole sent this article to me this week about 80% of the worlds population will soon stop eating wheat.  Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing.  Watching those around me struggle with all the negative side effects of consuming it is hard.  It's not a fad!!!  It's being recognized by top medical professionals in this country but more important than that are the people with real life stories about how cutting it out has transformed their health.  Please share with me your testimonies big and small, they encourage people. 
  So, as I said at the beginning of the blog, new challenges arise with school starting.  Sam goes to preschool for 6 hrs a day.  Within this 6 hour window he is required by nutritional program to be fed 2 snacks and a meal.  That is a lot of eating in my opinion.  It's not a habit I want my kids getting into but when you utilize outside education there are some things that you just have to accept.  I am not ready to take on educating my kids at home at this point in my life :-)  God bless those of you that do!
We have instructed him that he can skip snacks whenever he wants to.  I'm telling you if, you feed your kids a protein, fat rich, breakfast the chance that they will want anything to eat before lunch time is pretty slim.  So when people talk about how expensive it is to eat this way, I respond with how much money they will save by cutting down on all the snack stuff you buy. 

6 pm

Dinner is all about dessert tonight friends.  I had some time while Isaac napped today to make this delicious peanut butter pie.  It did not disappoint, but I would let set overnight next time.  It was even better the next day.  This is a dessert you could easily bring to a get together and please even the pickiest of eaters.  Next was on to homework.  Jon is in first grade this year and with that comes homework.  This may be the death of me.  I'm not big on rewarding with food but I wish I would have waited to serve the pie till after he was done with the homework.  Maybe would have been some motivation. The picture of the fries below is a weekly treat at our house. If you can tolerate the extra carbs and weight loss is not a goal then I think that these organic sweet and white potato fries are an extra special treat :-)

 Worst and Best

 

Worst was having a total recipe flop.  I made "gummy worms" for kiddos and they were really yucky.  Worst part is I wasted expensive ingredients.  I love my Great Lakes gelatin and I ended up throwing this entire recipe out.  Thumbs down from everyone. Within that same breath, I am so grateful for all the grain/sugar free recipe creators.  This is not my forte. Ill make them and pass onto you the winners, I can handle that but creating, ill leave up to the experts. 

Best was Sam coming home from preschool and saying he didn't miss me, two minutes later I hear "hey Mom, I think I just need to sit in your lap for a few minutes." Yes, honey I think you do. 

 Have a blessed week and thanks for doing this journey with me!

 

 

 

Day in the Life | Week 7

Excited to be starting this blog off with a great giveaway!  I am giving away a BRAND NEW Weber 22.5” Silver One-Touch, Kettle Grill and a 3 pack of Swerve!!  This will go to one of MY blog followers! 

This is a great Labor Day promotion!  Here in MN it's starting to actually feel like summer so it being a last bbq hurrah isn't really true :-) But who wouldn't love to win a new grill and some of my all time favorite natural sweetener.  All you need to do to enter is to make a comment here for an entry.  You will also receive an additional entry by liking my new Facebook page and another entry by sharing my page.  You could have a total of 3 entries.   Please make sure that I have your email address so that I can contact you if you are the winner, so don't leave an anonymous comment :-)

Sweepstakes ends September 8th. I will pick a winner on the 9th.

 You will want to get in on the sale price of Swerve right now as well.  Hurry, cuz this sale ends September 3rd. Oh and you can enter the code JOY10 for an additional 10% off!!!  That is a crazy steal!  Stock up now!!!! If you aren't familiar with this natural, zero calorie, non GMO product I encourage you to go to their website to read more about it. (you know I was a salesperson before my SAHM career change, but I would never sell something I'm not passionate about so take my word :-)

16oz Bags of Swerve = $9.99/each

Six Pack of Sweetness = $49.99 ($8.33 each) + free shipping

Because my hubby is the grill master I wanted to come up with something that I could prepare on the grill.  See my delicious recipe below inspired by this sweepstakes!


DAY IN THE LIFE

9 am

I started this new cleaning and organizing program at my house where you clean in zones.  This morning was my pantry.  Many people ask me what I keep in my cupboards.  Here is a photo. When switching to this way of eating I sure did gain a ton of pantry space.  I now use my pantry to store my ice cream maker, waffle maker, griddle and noodle maker. So below you will see a few of my favorite staples. 
I don't know about you but once you start reading labels and realize that most ALL of your shopping is done on the outside area of the supermarket you simply can not believe the aisles and aisles of nasty products.  I am guilty of picking up a "new" product on the shelf to check the label just in case it is something that I would actually consider giving to my family.  I too, love convenience but it usually comes with a cost, a health cost :-(

 

12 pm  

Speaking of being excited  when you do find a decent product...I normally buy full fat Greek yogurt and sweeten and add fruit myself but I think this is a pretty great product for kids lunches occasionally.  Siggi's yogurt tubes. Yes it has 5 grams of sugar but that is pretty minimal in comparison to other products.  I love that it's milk from grass fed cows too!  I found these at Super Target.  I emailed them asking to make them full fat and they gave me a courteous response that they are growing and that could come in the future but right now it's 2%.  I can live with that for an occasional treat. 

3 pm
I skipped lunch toady because I just wasn't hungry but I am now and so I'm reheating lunch.  The boys had breakfast for lunch and so I reheated these amazing waffles.   They are by far our favorite.  I'm going to try to freeze them this weekend and see how they do reheating for school mornings.  Speaking of school, I'm trying to organize and start meal planning for packing school lunches.  I hope to be diligent in posting good ideas for you guys cuz I know that can be a challenge.  O.k. back to my waffles, I slathered them in grass fed butter.  Do you remember being a kid and eating butter by itself.  Kinda seemed gross as an adult, but taste grass fed, and you will probably find yourself doing that again!  I love the Rumiano I get from Azure Standard. If you aren't familiar with Azure you should check out their website and find out if there is a drop spot near you.  Great prices on organic products. 

6 pm

OK, hold onto your shorts for this recipe I created.  It's amazing! Crazy easy too! Some of you are saying, you are eating peaches Joy?  Well I have had a bit of a change of heart on the whole fruit subject.  There are many very wise guru's who warn against it because of the fructose levels.  They have very valid points, however, I like to educate myself so I did a TON of research on fructose and basically found that you have to consume a large amount of fruit to get your levels high and if you aren't drinking fruit juices and consuming processed foods you are probably not getting too much fructose.  For a healthy individual keeping fructose under 50 grams is healthy. After adding a modest amount of fruit back into my diet a couple weeks ago I actually dropped a couple pounds, but better than that, I just felt better.  I want to go on the record that that was my experience!  If you are trying to lose weight by being in ketosis then you will not want to add additional fruit to your diet.  Some people can't handle it. Some people may also find that it triggers cravings for sugar.  I found this article though and it was probably my favorite to the "why".  You can google this subject and find many different opinions but I was surprised to find most opinions weigh on the side that whole fruit consumption in moderation is healthy, excess fructose in your diet IS NOT! You have to do your own research and do what you feel is best for your body. 

Grilled Peaches
3 peaches
1/2 cup butter room temperature
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons of Swerve
Coconut oil for grill coating

Cut peaches in half and take out pit.  
Oil both sides of the peaches.

Combine butter, cinnamon and Swerve in a bowl.

Place oiled peaches on a medium heat grill and grill about 4 minutes on each side. When done, slather on the butter mixture.  These would go great on homemade ice cream as well!

 

 

Good and Bad

Bad: I have a bit of a summertime cold and I simply did not want to get out of bed this morning.  I wished that this SAHM job came with sick days.  Once I got up and inhaled some R.C essential oils and had my lemon water and coffee I felt a ton better. 

Good: After doing my zone cleaning I headed outside with the boys and sat in a chair while they played with squirt guns and the hose.  I had an aha moment that I needed to get off my butt and participate because in only a few short days they would be back to school :-(  I'm one of those parents who IS NOT looking forward to my kids starting school.  I'm gonna miss them.  Anywho, I got the hose of course (I'm the parent :-) and they attacked with the squirt guns.  It was a blast.  I feel so blessed to have these crazy boys in my life!  At one time I didn't know how I would be a mom to boys and now I couldn't imagine it any other way :-)!

Thanks for reading along and don't forget to register for the grill and Swerve!  I'm super excited that one of you reading this will be the winner!!  Great odds :-)

Official Grill and Swerve Sweepstakes Rules

1. No purchase necessary
2. Open to all US residents 18 years and older.

3. Sweepstakes starts August 28th and ends September 8th, 2012 at midnight central standard time
4. Winner will receive a 3 pack of Swerve and a Weber 22.5” Silver One-Touch, Kettle Grill

5. I will choose one winner at random

6. To enter sweepstakes leave a comment on my blog at www.wechosethis.com, LIKE my Facebook page, share my Facebook page. 3 maximum possible entries per person. 1 entry given per act above. 

7. I will contact winner within 48 hours of drawing. Winner has 3 business days to respond with address for shipping. If winner does not respond I will draw a new winner.
8. Odds of winning: The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
9. Rights to post the name of the winner
10. If technical errors occur with website or Facebook, sweepstakes will be cancelled and no prize awarded.
11. Swerve will be fulfilling and shipping the prize to the winner
12. General Release. By entering the giveaway through this website, you release www.wechosethis.com Blog from any liability whatsoever, and waive any and all causes of action, related to any claims, costs, injuries, losses or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the giveaway or delivery, misdelivery or acceptance of any prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses and damages related to personal injuries, death, damage to or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory of contract, tort (including negligence), warranty or other theory.
13. Void where prohibited by law

 

Day in the Life | Week 6

Summer slacking on the blog, sorry.  I have spent weeks getting this post down.  Silly.  I've been struggling with mom guilt lately in the nutrition department and I have finally found some peace and a solution.  But let me share how I got here...
I spend a lot of time reading nutrition guru's information and have a few boards and FB pages I belong to where a lot of information gets thrown around.  It's here that I sometimes walk away feeling like a bad mom.  Or I have jealousy of what another mom portrays her family's nutrition to be.  She gets asked a question and responds that her child has never even had that.  Ugh, well mine just did yesterday, guess I have failed.
I don't know about you but when going down this journey of nutrition you are so overwhelmed with all of the information.  All the things that are so horrible for you and what they are doing to your body.  You can feel flat out depressed about it.  You love your family so much you want to protect them from every bad thing.  I am not saying this is wrong but when you start to idolize nutrition it's gonna steal your peace and it's not what God wants for our lives.  Good intentions can end up ruling your life and stealing your peace.  Many people at this point say "forget it, I can't control what they eat," or "this is so hard I could never keep up with all this baking and reading labels", or how about "they have been healthy up to this point so, I'm done". 

Please don't listen to those messages though! That isn't where you want to be.  You did not end up on this path by accident.  You knew that change needed to happen and it does have to happen if you want health for yourself and family.  I want to encourage you to shoot for any changes you can do now.  I also challenge you to research why you are making the choices you are.  I am discovering daily that there is no "right way" to do nutrition.  Just because one guru says "never eat fruit it has too much sugar" doesn't mean that is an accurate statement for everyone.  Some people don't have damaged metabolisms and can handle it ok.  You will find an expert on both sides of the fence.  Can I ask you to pray over it?  Really, pray for what God tells you? He blesses the air we breathe so asking him to bless our food is also necessary.  He will!

Well I have found a solution for my family.  We are following the 90/10 rule.  I can control 90% of what goes into my kids bodies at home.  I choose what kinds of foods to have in the house, buy, and prepare.
10% is going to be somewhat out of my control.  We have a social life and I won't lie that I don't want to end up in the boat where my kids feel "deprived"(I hate that term though, because I truly don't believe they feel that way) of certain foods so that when they do go somewhere they gorge on non nutritious foods.  If we are at a picnic and my kids want some GMO, soybean oil filled Doritos I'm not going to tell them "no".  Are they gonna have the whole bag, I don't think so :-)  I feel good though that I have begun to educate my children as to why we don't choose those things on a daily basis.  I also am quick to point out the tummy ache that often times comes along with an overdose on sugar and junk :-) I try to make sure their plate consists of mostly good but sampling some foods we don't have at home isn't going to steal my peace for the day. 
I don't budge on wheat because you know I think it's the devil :-) but more importantly my kids feel sick from it.  Jon, has a true intolerance to it, so letting him have that would just be ignorant.   He knows how sick he gets though so he will ask if something has wheat in it or not.  I love that he has taken his health into his own hands.  His little brother follows right in his footsteps asking the questions. 

 

DAY IN THE LIFE

9 am
Donuts for breakfast, yes please.  What kid doesn't like waking up to these in the morning. We were lucky enough to eat those with a big glass of raw milk.  Because I'm a short order cook, eggs were also on the menu. 

12 pm
I need to grocery shop desperately and we are headed to the park so I throw some eggs on the stove for hard boiled eggs to go with our fruits, veggies and Jacson's chips.  I also throw in juice boxes.  You know, the occasional  picnic treat :-)
'Speaking of grocery shopping...the new Whole Foods in Maple Grove is amazing.  It's a good thing I have a food budget or I'd be in BIG trouble!

3 pm
Boys are all napping and so I'm going through some text's.  I have to share this one (this is from a friend who started her family wheat free when experts recommended medications for their sons learning)...

 

Was just reading this and thought of you.  Thanks again for opening my eyes!!  A side note Alex's MAP test scores at start of the school year around 20% for both reading and math end of year (wheat free eating) 80+% well over the avg.  Matt and I were so happy I think I even cried!   Lots of love and blessings to you and yours - hope your summer is off to a good start.  

 

 Isaac up from his nap and loving a strawberry push pop.  Bought them on Amazon and just used fresh strawberries and some Swerve.

 

6 pm
Grassfed hot dogs and parmesean green beans from CSA for dinner (these beans are a must make and super easy).  I can't tell you how relieved I was when my boys gave me a thumbs up on the hot dogs we got.  They were made with our beef and have the casings on the outside.  Nitrate free and definitely not like the Applegate ones they were used to.  Yay, they will be eating all the packages :-)

Best and Worst

Worst part of my day today was feeling the sadness of one of my boys being gone. We lost our 14 1/2 year old lab mix this past week.  Bear was one of our boys and I am missing him being at my feet constantly.  He passed in his sleep and we didn't have to make the decision on when to end his life.  For this I am grateful.  He was one of our "kids" before we had kids.  Watching my other dog Parker lay by his grave has been heart wrenching.  He is too, missing his best buddy.

 

Best part of my day today was the gorgeous weather.  It has been so beautiful lately and I thank Jesus for the blessings. 

Day in the Life | Week 5

I apologize that I'm so behind on these posts. If I could have a computer by my bedside I'd be blogging daily as there are so many things that go through my head I think that I want to write about.

Back from vacation and here to admit nutritionally I went a bit on vacation too.  I had real sugar for the first time in a LONG time (other than a small amount in a restaurant dressing or something).  I had some of my son's ice cream at a favorite ice cream shop in Hayward.  I can honestly say I felt so yucky afterwards.  I can't even explain the yuckiness I felt.  I also had some organic corn tortilla chips and a few cocktails while on vacation.  After being grain/sugar free for so long and knowing what eating those things does to my body I never thought that they could so easily sneak back into my life.  Eating this way is a conscious decision made daily.  Not one of convenience but of choice. Feeling how I did was confirmation that this way of life is the only way for me.  It's honestly not even about weight it's about health emotionally and physically.  ++3

  I forgave myself, detoxed with much lemon water and am now having a great week. But what a slippery slope!  I think a big mistake people make is forgetting that these foods can be straight up addicting.  Sugar is best left to the hummingbirds :-)
 

On a positive note I found some great products that were awesome to take for convenience on our vacation.  You need a bank roll to afford but sometimes you don't feel like baking or cooking and these are great choices.  We know that this country doesn't make eating healthy cheap! Here is a great read on that.

DAY IN THE LIFE

9 am
It's a bulletproof coffee kind of morning but not before my warm lemon water.  I have read some info about bulletproof coffee fasting (if you try this, PLEASE give me your feedback).  Might be something to try if you have a few stubborn pounds of fat hanging around.  I'm a huge fan of intermittent fasting.  If you have been following this way of life you probably fast often and don't even know it.  Skipping meals because you simply aren't hungry.  A beautiful thing, not needing to gnaw your arm off :-)

12 pm
Picnic lunches are here and I love packing them in our Planet Box's.  Great investment for yourself or your kiddos.  I just got one for Tom because I get so sick of all the Tupperware containers, baggies, etc. P.S. the dark chocolate covered almonds from Trader Joe's are an awesome treat in moderation.  That is what is in the lunch below.

3 pm
Snack time, however I will say that my kids don't snack much since eating this way.  I was telling a friend how much money we save by not having a pantry full of snacks.  I may have created a monster with these Skinny Crisps though.  They are AMAZING.  Best price is at Netrition.
 Then I found a store bought chip!  I know some of you don't eat potatoes and they are a rare treat for me because of carbs (hint: always load with mega butter if you are going to indulge) but my kiddos can handle more carbs so they love these! I ordered a case. Jackson's Honest Potato Chips.

6 pm

Dinner time humor....Check out the ad below. Really, Rachel Ray, you won't give your dogs grains because you know they aren't healthy but you will push them on your viewers.  Oh well.  Gave us something to laugh about as I cruised through the coupons.  Every notice how little coupons you can clip living this way.  Oh well, I'll take my health instead of savings.  And speaking of health, check out my friend Devon's photo below.  This winter I spoke to a group of women at our church about this lifestyle.  Her heart was inspired to try this way of life. Her and her family are doing amazing.  Her picture shows her ditching that bag of wheat for weight loss and health.   

 

WORST AND BEST

 

Worst part of my day today was having to pass up the awesome strawberries from my CSA because I'm detoxing from sugar this week.  Temporary Joy, temporary Joy. 

Best part was Jon's Dr. removing asthma from his permanent medial chart and writing in Gluten Intolerant.  What a success. He refuses (and us too) to put Jon back on gluten just for some tests to prove he has an allergy/intolerance. Even he said how inaccurate these tests can be. Real life exposure has shown symptoms come roaring back.    He was so happy to hear a clear set of lungs. He recalls always hearing raspiness coming from Jon even in the middle of the summer. Jon was diagnosed with pneumonia 5 times in his life already. We now know it was asthma induced but really just the gluten.  Praise God for the revelation!  No steroids for my child the rest of his life. 

 Stories like this make me wish that friends with health problems, or kids with health problems would just give 30 days of elimination to see how they react.  The tests just aren't always accurate and Dr.'s even admit that.  Why do you need a test when real life and how you and your child feels could be the true test.  Prayers for those people because I know that this way of life seems overwhelming for people.  I get that. Truly I do.  I'm here to help in any way I can. I promise the rewards are worth every second put into it.   Much blessings, and I'll try to keep up to date on my posts. 

(picture of Jon with a "real" Bible he received, he is loving reading it.  So cool for this mom to see.)

Day in the Life | Week 4

Sorry this post is a little late.  I know my die hard followers were wondering what happened to my typical Thursday post. HA :-)
 I have been too busy reading about GMO's, our government, and the decline of the bee species in the US.  I am more than outraged.  My close friends and family are wondering who this woman is writing this :-)  Isn't it amazing how God changes our hearts and our passions.  I'm blessed to have had my eyes opened to nutrition.  I was once the lady who just trusted that everything on the grocery shelves were safe.  If it was fat free or low in calories even better!!  I was purchasing it.  It's a whole new ball game though.  Knowledge is power and knowing what I know now I refuse to not share with you here on this blog or social media about what this country is eating and what our government is allowing into our food system.
 You all know I am passionate about living a grain free/sugar free life but if you aren't there with me yet, that is ok (I have hope for you ;-) I am still going to challenge you to start reading labels and stop buying the GMO's and High Fructose Corn syrup. Take a few extra minutes at the store this week and read the labels.  Still don't know what I'm talking about (it's ok because a year ago I had no clue what any of that meant) here is a good read about how this is effecting us globally. Here is another article that should concern every single American.  The discovery of GMO wheat in Oregon a couple days ago.  UGH!!  Rant over.




DAY IN THE LIFE

8 am
Boys up crazy early this morning and they are done with cereal and plopped in front of the TV watching Wild Kratts.  I am going to take my time sipping coffee and make an omelet.  I discovered that I love jalapenos in my omelets.  Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.  I used to skip breakfast because, hey, think of all the calories I wasn't eating.  How dumb.  I just ate like crap the rest of the day. 
We bought a big griddle and now Saturday morning breakfasts are a highlight at our house.  We turn on our ipod, have dance party and cook.  Tom is the master pancake maker so I secretly triple batch the protein pancakes and have them for the coming week.  We cook a pound of bacon in the oven.  I like to avoid the grease splatter clean up.  MMM Bacon!!! These moments I treasure, my kids still think my dance moves are cool and Tom's singing is good. 

12 pm
I'm having fat bombs for lunch.  Yup, fat bombs.  They are a great source of energy.  I laugh when I eat them because back in the day I would have been appalled at consuming this much fat purposely (however I had no issues consuming it in the form of McDonalds food).  But deliberately trying to increase my fat consumption, heck no!! I love this way of eating! For those of you who are not eating this way, don't fret that my cholesterol is out of control or anything like that.  Here is some great info on the cholesterol lies we have all bought into.  Hey, even good old Dr. Oz. talked about it on this show.
The boys are having pizza.  We have this once a week.  I make crusts ahead of time and freeze them. Way easier this way.  I have many pizza crusts that I love.  You have to try a few to see what your family prefers.  Google grain free crusts.  There are recipes from cauliflower, to cheese to flax and almond flour. 

3 pm
I spent nap time today researching about essential oils.  Very interesting stuff.  A new subject that I am totally intrigued by.  It's crazy how your eyes are opened to so many different things when you are searching out total health for yourself and family. I won't lie, sometimes that is just overwhelming and I have to take a step back and say, "I am already doing x.x and x. For right now where I'm at in this very moment, that is good enough".  This isn't about perfection and I refuse to let health and nutrition steal my Joy :-)
 I ordered some oils and I'll keep you posted on A. how the homeopathic remedies work for us and B. If I actually get my children to try them. 

6 pm
Vidalia onions.  Seriously I am a vidalia onion addict.  If you don't love onions, you have to try these, I would bet you would change your mind! In my hometown of Baldwin a family friend sells them for Shriners Hospital.  I bought 50 lbs worth.  That is a lot of onions but I'm incorporating them into every meal.  I am going to chop, and Food Save them next week so that I can enjoy these sweet things year round.  Fried in butter is a favorite but we tried one wrapped in foil on the grill and it was super great.  Tom normally doesn't like onions but he is digging these too.  Many people find that eating this way changes their tastes.  Foods you never used to like all of a sudden taste amazing.  Your palette is cleansed and you are able to experience food differently.  My friend Jenna says she feels like the rat in the movie Ratatouille.  Next up, is bacon wrapped vidalias on the grill. 

Speaking of bacon...

.we spent last Saturday at Snake River Farms in Becker, MN   We went out to meet the farmer of our grass fed cow we are buying and the pig.  What an amazing place!  Bringing my kids to the farm for them to see how animals should be treated and experience what this type of farming looks like was priceless. They host this day for all of their customers.  Horse rides, wagon rides, great food, rope making and I got to pick the owners daughters brain about making homemade soap.  She sent me home with everything I needed.  I'm excited to give it a whirl.  I won't lie though, there are some things I think I'd just rather buy at the store, we will see if this is one of them.  Now, chickens, I want my own chickens. You will see in the picture below I would have some great helpers.  Tom, I know you are reading this!!!

WORST AND BEST
Worst part of my day was having grief hit me like a ton of bricks.  I was so lonesome for my Dad that I just wanted to pick up the phone and call him.  So many things can just trigger these waves of sadness.  Today it was watching Isaac sniff puppies in a book.  My Dad had taught Jon (my oldest) to do that at that part of the story.  I just wept that my Dad doesn't know my Isaac.  I know they will meet in heaven some day but it didn't change the way I was feeling.  My heart remains heavy and I just can't seem to shake the sadness.  I know joy comes in the morning. 

Best part of my day was my breakfast.  That really sounds crazy.  But really, I enjoyed taking my time in the kitchen alone and preparing my meal for no one but myself.  I made everything just the way I wanted it.  As a busy mom, I can say that I treasure the moments where I get to just take care of me.  The moments are few and far between and I wouldn't change that for the world, but stopping to appreciate them makes me a better mom.  Counting our blessings period makes us better people.  Thank you Jesus for every single person reading this blog.  Blessings to you right now, wherever your heart may be. 

 Thanks again for reading along.