What America Really Needs

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With all of the controversy going on about the Affordable Care Act, I have been thinking a lot about what our country actually needs when it comes to health care. Health care reform will never be successful when it originates in Washington, but it can be successful when it happens inside the walls of our own homes. Until Americans are willing to make permanent changes in their individual lives and families, nothing about our nation's health is actually going to change (well, except that we'll all continue to get sicker). Taking care of our health (health care) involves a heck of a lot more than money, doctors, hospitals, medical insurance, and pharmaceutical companies. Of course our medical system does a lot of good, and helps many people. There are definitely illnesses and diseases that are out of our control, and we are lucky to have the advancements in  technology and medicine available to us today. I'm not naive enough to believe that every illness will be improved by better diet and lifestyle choices. My point is that the focus of our nation's health care system should be on preventing illnesses or diseases, rather than treating "symptoms." True health care will require individual action; it is an effort that we as individuals, not the government, have control over. 

I came upon this post today, written by Dr. Fuhrman, on the blog Disease Proof. 

The article, and the following quote, sum up my thoughts exactly:

"Regardless of whether we are required to purchase medical insurance, know that we can only buy real health insurance in the produce section of the local supermarket."

Amen!

Golden Austrian Cauliflower Cream Soup

This recipe is one of my favorites from the Eat to Live book/program.

I could honestly eat this soup every day and never get sick of it!

I like to double the recipe, freeze some, and have the rest available throughout the week.

Golden Austrian Cauliflower Cream Soup

Serves 4-6

1 head cauliflower, cut into pieces (I just threw in a bag of frozen chopped cauliflower for this last batch, and it was much easier and saved a ton of prep time!)  

3 carrots, coarsely chopped

1 cup coarsely chopped celery

2 leeks, coarsely chopped (If you've never cooked with leeks check out this page on how to prepare them.)

2 cloves garlic, minced 

2 tbs no-salt seasoning (I like Mrs. Dash seasoning, especially the garlic & herb mixture, for this soup.)

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 cups carrot juice (Rather than actually juicing carrots, I blend about 3-4 carrots with 2 cups water in my Blendtec. It's quicker and a much  easier clean-up.)

4 cups water

1 cup raw cashews

5 cups chopped kale or baby spinach (I use baby spinach without chopping it)

Place all the ingredients except the cashews and kale/spinach in a pot. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just tender. Steam the kale until tender (if you are using spinach there is no need to steam it; it will wilt on it's own). In a food processor or high-powered blender, blend two-thirds of the soup liquid and vegetables with the cashews until smooth and creamy. Return to the pot and stir in the steamed kale or raw spinach. 

Serve and Enjoy!

Time to Dance Again

While searching for exercise programs, strength training routines, 
diet plans, and working towards "fitness,"

I am realizing that what I really want is to SIMPLIFY! 

In a world saturated with all things physical, I'm feeling so overwhelmed and anxious to fit the "ideal woman" description. I think a lot of women feel this way, especially mothers. If we don't regularly run 5 miles, do pilates, yoga, P90X, weights, half-marathons, Zumba, etc, then we can't possibly be in shape or be healthy. I want to be healthy and active, and I certainly want to feel good about my body, but there's definitely a limit. I don't care if I have a six-pack, I definitely don't care about being tan, and I don't believe living an active lifestyle means I have to spend 2 hours a day at the gym. 

Is anyone else completely overwhelmed by 

the saturation of all things "fitness" in our world?

With that being said, I have been feeling a serious void in my life, 

and I'm almost 100% sure about how to fill it . . . 

Have you heard of this?

I wish there was one in Utah

Our current Netflix instant queue

I  mentioned  in one of my last posts that lately I have so much to say about food. My desire to learn and  implement permanent changes in the way we eat still occupies many most of my daily thoughts. As silly as it sounds, I have felt like this health journey is going to be one of the most fulfilling and worthwhile endeavors I will have, and I think it is going to be a very significant part of my life (and my family's of course).

If you haven't seen these, watch them. 

All of them.

Each time I find (or re-watch/read) a book, film, or blog that is based on a whole, natural, 95% plant based diet, it's like a heavenly witness that God truly is all-knowing, and all-loving. He has blessed His children with incredible physical bodies that have amazing capabilities. And He has also blessed us with all the substances our bodies need to be healthy. The more I learn, the more convinced I am that we can live long, vibrant, healthy, disease-free, lives. 

We all think we need to have nutritionists and doctors tell us what to eat. 

I just cannot believe healthy eating is that complicated. 

But it actually is, for most of us, because society, our government, and our individual family traditions have engraved in us certain beliefs. And questioning those beliefs is really uncomfortable for a lot of us. Most of the time we say. . . 

oh that sounds good, but that's not for me

my doctor said ______ is good for me

that film is biased

you only live once, why not enjoy it

that's too hard, I could never eat that way 

I've eaten ______ my whole life, I'm not giving it up now

my ________ ate _______ and lived till they were 90

You get the picture. 

Why are we so defensive? 

Shouldn't we jump on the chance to be healthier?

Don't we want to live longer, disease-free lives? 

But the idea of change most always makes us immediately defensive of our ways. 

Change is hard, isn't it?  When we've all grown up accustomed to a certain way of eating, it's really hard to change. Old habits die hard. This journey is overwhelming at times. I feel like I don't know very much. But, at the same time, I think we all already know a lot more than we think we do, because eating whole, natural plant-foods JUST. MAKES. SENSE.

So, as each day passes and I learn a little more about why I'm trying so hard to eat better, I'm willing to be patient, and to do what it takes to make these changes permanent. This is a learning process, and not an item to check off on my "to-do" list. 

We only get one body, and one life. 

I, for one, want to make them count.

Eat to Live Update

Mike and are starting WEEK 3 of our

Eat to Live six-week plan. 

Thoughts so far. . .

It's not as hard as I expected, but at the same time it's a lot harder than I expected! The easiest thing, for me (probably not for Mike), has been giving up dairy products and meat. I've never been a big meat-eater, and most dairy products make me stuffy. The hardest thing for me has been limiting salt and ranch dressing on my salads (although he gives a vegan ranch recipe that is pretty good). 

Easy for me. . .

-Not eating meat

-Not eating dairy

-Eating lots of fruits and veggies

-Making new recipes

Hard for me. . .

-Limiting added salt

-Finding good salad dressings

-Eating 3 meals (not snacking)

-Planning meals and shopping 

Overall, both Mike and I have had great results in only 2 weeks on the plan! I have lost 4 lbs and Mike has lost 10 lbs. Both of our BMI's have lowered, as well as our % body fat. I have also had more energy, and had a greater desire to be productive. I have really enjoyed learning new ways of cooking (without oil) and it has been very rewarding to have successfully made some great, very healthy, meals. 

Our daily eating usually consists of. . .

-Breakfast: Green smoothie, fresh fruit, or oatmeal with almond milk, berries, or raisins

-Lunch: Homemade soup, and/or salad with beans, raw veggies, raw nuts, and homemade dressing

-Dinner: Same as lunch, and/or brown rice, sweet potatoes, or other ETL main dish (recipes in the book)

The following chart is the Eat to Live Life Plan. 

It is clear, simple, and definitely do-able. 

Dr. Fuhrman recommends that the *limited and *twice/once weekly foods make up 

less than 10% of your total daily calories. 

In my opinion, for those who are LDS, 

 this recommendation is 100% in line with the Word of Wisdom.

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On top of ETL I have been exercising very consistently for the past 2 weeks. I usually rotate between  cardio (jogging, biking, or elliptical) and other strength/toning exercise (pilates, yoga, ballet, or free weights). I am really interested in beginning a dedicated weight training program, but by golly it's scary! Every time I go to the gym (the Orem rec center) the weight room is full of men. I seriously only saw one woman in there once! I wish they had a separate women's weight room (like the University Golds does). 

If you have any advice on starting a strength training program PLEASE let me know! We can't afford to hire a personal trainer, and I seriously just need a written plan that I can take to the gym and follow every week. There are tons online, but they are always so different, and I have no idea which one would be best for me. 

_________________________________________________________________________________

I am really excited about making permanent changes in my life, and for my family. The more research, praying, and reading I am doing, the more urgency I feel to implement changes. I have tons more thoughts about all this stuff, but I'll save them for other posts. :) 

Here we go WEEK 3! 

***This weekend Mike and I had a few cheats for Father's Day. By "cheats" I mean we ate what a normal person would eat in a normal day. This morning I woke up extremely tired and clogged with nasty mucous, a sore throat, nausea, AND a headache. If that's not motivation to get back on track I don't know what is!  

Eat to Live

This is the author/doctor of the Eat to Live program. 

Lengthy, but definitely worth watching!

The Best Way to Store Greens

The person who designed refrigerators to have a freezer on the top and the veggie and fruit drawers all the way on the bottom probably didn't eat a lot of fruit and vegetables. They probably at a lot of frozen TV dinners and ice cream. Otherwise they wouldn't have put the most important things on the very bottom of the fridge, hidden from view!

Luckily, newer models have the freezers on the bottom and the crisper drawers within easy reach. 
This is probably the thing I'm most looking forward to getting when we buy a home someday!

Green Smoothies: My Favorite Recipe

I don't think it's a secret that we've been on a green smoothie kick lately. 

Image Source

For Christmas we purchased a Blendtec Total Blender, and it is seriously the best thing ever. 
Mike and I say that it often seems pointless to get Christmas presents because 
a month later we hardly even remember where the Christmas Fund went. 
But not this year! We will always remember this gift! 
Okay moving on. 

Healthy Habits

Remember THIS post, and THIS post, 

about my journey to a healthier me? 

Yeah, that got put on hold after becoming pregnant.

And now it's back.

We are starting another "Healthy Habits" challenge with the Kitto family. We did one back in 2010, and the results were awesome. Basically you get points for eating right, going to bed early, and exercising daily. On top of that you get extra points for your total % weight loss. 

We've been going for almost 2 weeks now. I'm feeling good, and I can tell my body is grateful. I've really made an effort to get outside and get moving! I've been taking long walks, jogging, trying new classes, taking ballet, and bike riding. I'm also really trying to make good food choices. And I'll be honest, imagining myself looking good in a swimsuit on the beach is helping, a lot. hahaha! You'll understand if you know my family!  

Favorite Blogs

To go along with my previous post, I thought I'd list a few of my current favorite blogs

These have really helped me with many areas of my life!

thankyourbody.com

simpleorganizedliving.com

younghouselove.com

purenaturalmom.com

Fitness Friday

Read about my weekly fitness progress every Friday. 

Read it HERE

Fit for Life

Posted on CREATING SIMPLE

Read it HERE

Simple Body

Here we go. 

I am beginning the journey towards a Healthier Lifestyle. 

I will be recording my thoughts and progress on my personal blog:

CREATING SIMPLE

See the first post HERE

Motivation, where are you?

Do you ever have realizations that hit you in the head like a brick? 

I do.

The annoying thing is that it's so hard to find the motivation to change habits.

Lately I feel BLAH. Yes, blah. Know what I mean? 

Here's a list of things that need to change....

1) Get the heck outside and exercise! 

(I was doing so well until my jogger tire went flat...2 weeks and I've yet to fix it)

3) 10 lbs off (15 would be ideal, but 10 will do) 

4) Stop eating junk (okay, so realistically just cut back)

5)  Get out of the house and do stuff

It's funny how everything in my life seems to be connected. Once I stop exercising I get lazy, then I eat junk, then I gain weight, then I just want to sit inside and eat more junk, then I'm too tired to study the scriptures and have sincere prayers, then I get depressed and I don't feel like getting out of the house because getting out of the house in 90 degree weather means going swimming, and I don't want to get in a bathing suit when I don't feel good about my body, and that means that Curtis and I stay inside all day and we eat more junk, which makes me gain some more weight, and then the whole thing starts over again. I truly believe that, for me, it all starts with exercise. If that doesn't happen, nothing happens.

At the end of the each day I tell myself, 

"TOMORROW WILL BE DIFFERENT"

But it never is. 

Come on motivation. I would really appreciate your company right now.

*How do you motivate yourself to make healthy lifestyle changes?