It's the New Year!

I have always loved the fresh start of the New Year.  In years past it was always the start of a new diet, coming off of the sugar-laden fest of the holidays.  But because diet has been something I have worked diligently to change over the past few years, I no longer have this up and down.  I stick with my healthy diet through the holidays, maybe eating a few more natural sugar grams than I would have, but afterwards I make a small course correction and I am back, good as new.  It feels good to be steady and stable in this area after working on it for most of my life.  However, because I am not nearly perfect,  I continue to find other areas desperately needing my attention.  

This year I am working at becoming more consistent at daily exercise and daily scripture reading/meditation.  I involve myself in these habits throughout the year, but they definitely come and go more than I would like.  And when I add these practices to my morning, my day and my life go soooo much better.  So why would I do anything different?  Why would I NOT do them?  Who knows, but probably for the same reason I used to eat poorly and always feel badly and still go up and down with my food habits.

This life is a time to work on our weaknesses and imperfections and, in line with my religious beliefs, make an effort to become more like our Savior, Jesus Christ everyday.  If I don't work on strengthening my physical, spiritual and emotional self, I won't become more like Him.  And, believe me, I have got a loooong way to go! :-)  So here is to a fresh new start!  Let's resolve to be in a better place at the end of 2013 than we are now!

Difficult Behavior in Children

Have you ever thought that your child's difficult behavior might be caused from a food allergy or sensitivity?

If you have a good discipline system, if you are trying your best to teach good principles in the home, and your child continues to not comply, diet may be a good place to turn before you worry that your child is lost forever.

I have been through this with my children at varying levels.  One of my daughters goes into a rage when she drinks milk.  All four of my children exhibit more difficult behavior after eating anything made with sugar or white flour.  We have varying sensitivities with certain other dairy products.  My three-year-old will be extraordinarily oppositional only if she has eaten the foods she is sensitive to. 

Has it taken a lot of work to figure out these sensitivities and change our food choices?  Yes!  But has it been worth it to have greater compliance and happiness in the home?  Most definitely! 

Here is an excellent article by a lady who teaches parenting principles that I thought explained the behavior/nutrition link very, very well.

Top tips for navigating holiday food!

I have posted this the past couple of years, but I think it is ALWAYS worth re-visiting.  Our diets are a work in progress.  Every year that we practice wading through the holiday treats we get better and stronger!  It is almost impossible to expect that we will be able to bypass every single treat and not-so-nutritious food out there for the holidays.  But there are some things you can do to make it a little more successful - so you don't have to make such a huge New Year's Resolution to lose weight, or get back on your food plan, or whatever the goal.  And so you can simply feel good and more peaceful over the holiday season.    My holidays are so much more happy now that I don't overeat or eat sugary, fat-laden treats.  It took me a long time to get to that point, but it was worth the hard work!  Here are my top tips for navigating holiday food...

1.  Have a plan for what and when you will eat.  Without a plan it is impossible to navigate the food.  For example, eat a healthy meal before you go to a Christmas party or somewhere where there will be lots of treats.  Or instead of buying Christmas candy for stockings and having it around the house where you will graze on it all day, buy trinkets.  Or if you can't stand the thought of not having candy in the stockings, buy it at the last moment so it's not sitting around.  Another example (that I used in my last year's post) was to find other yummy crunchy treats, such as nuts, to put in bowls around the house rather than candy.  Now, of course you can overeat on those too.  But I can stop eating those much easier - yet get my crunchy fix!   

One of the most helpful things I did when I was trying to kick the sugar habit was to make a rule for myself that I had to eat my sugar at the end of a meal.  No eating it as a snack or snacking on it between meals.  You wouldn't believe the difference it made.  I didn't feel deprived because I knew I would be getting my fix.  But I had to eat it as a dessert after a meal.  After a while I ate less and less sweets, and eventually the treats just faded away because I stopped craving them.

2. Find some new recipes for tasty, healthy treats so there are things you can enjoy without the guilt.  Finding new recipes is super helpful in the quest to substitute old habits for new.  And there are lots of healthy treats you can make that taste good too and that use natural sweeteners. 

3. Don't beat yourself up if you do eat a few treats.  Just move on to the next meal and make a better choice next time.  This may take some practice...at least it did for me.  I was an "all or nothing" person.  So I had to learn how to be gentle and accepting of myself when I ate something that I hadn't planned to eat or when I ate more than I had planned.  I had to erase the thinking that if I "messed up" at one meal, then I might as well mess up for all 3 meals.  The minute you eat something outside of your plan, just renew your efforts for the next meal.

4. Try to center your activities around things rather than food.  There are so many fun things to do over the Christmas season, that it is entirely possible to center your traditions around everything but food.  We do.  Of course we have a few things that the children love that they look forward to eating.  But for the most part the fun comes from things like the nativity set that the kids play with all season long, decorating the tree, the advent calendar with little trinkets to look forward to everyday, the music, the lights, and, last but not least - the real reason for the season.  There are soooo many things to fill your season with fun without the food.

Believe!

As I have helped people with their health the past couple of years, I have thoroughly enjoyed helping people find the beauty of natural healing.  It makes so much sense.  It is gentle, noninvasive, and it works!!!!  Maybe not overnight.  But it is a wonderful process and creates permanent healing. 

HOWEVER, I have struggled with one blaring thing.  I have been working on letting go of it, because it is not my issue.  But it is a blaring thing, nonetheless.  And it is worse with people you know and love.  This is it...no matter how much you say you will try anything, no matter how much you want something to be better and feel better -  if you don't truly believe that it can happen then it won't.  Simply put. If you aren't quite sure that essential oils will work better than tylenol or other pain meds, if you aren't quite sure that a supplement like ASEA can heal you starting with every little cell in your body, if you don't believe that changing the way you eat will dramatically improve your quality of life in every way, then dabbling in it and trying it and doing it for a little while and then saying it doesn't work - that's just a formula for failure.

I challenge you to believe that there is another way!  Believe that you can figure out a way to relieve your pain, believe that you can reverse diseases like diabetes and heart disease, believe that you can let go of your weight and leave it by the wayside.  Get to the root of your problem and truly HEAL.  FOREVER!  Believe that there are tools that God has given us in this world, to naturally heal us!  Believe that there are solutions.  I can't wait to build my business and guide more people to heal naturally.  My life has been greatly enriched and continues to be enriched as I find new ways to heal and feel GREAT.  Not just good, but GREAT!  It has been a long journey for me and taken a while to navigate and figure out what really works best for my own body.  But it has been so worth it!  I don't miss eating what everyone else eats, for I have found food that makes my body sing that tastes wonderful to me.  I don't miss going to the doctor's office to get antibiotics.  I don't miss relying on doctors to tell me what is wrong.  I feel so empowered to have learned how to be the healer in my own home.  I challenge each of you to look deep inside, see what is missing, and BELIEVE that there is a solution to your problem!  And if you need help, I am here!  Email me at wholefoodswholelife@gmail.com for pricing and coaching programs. We will be Certified Health Coaching soon!  But for now check in with Whole Foods Whole Life.

Welcome to Certified Health Coaching!

We have created Certified Health Coaching as a means to help strengthen families.  We believe that the importance of a strong family in today's society is paramount and many of the societal ills today can be cured by the collective effort of strengthening families.  Enter life's stresses, unhealthy food, lack of exercise, and all-around lack of time, it is hard for parents to help in creating this change.  Our hope is that through this coaching, we can help transform you, and in turn you will help transform and strengthen your family!  There is nothing better than a happy home.  We are here to help you attain that goal!

These are some changes you can expect to see through the work you will do with us at Certified Health Coaching...

Increase in energy
Increase in mental clarity
Decrease of stress and overwhelm
Increased immunity (i.e. milder and less frequent illnesses)
Decreased cravings
Weight loss 

Cravings

Do you have cravings?  For sugar or carbs or even things like cheese?  Are they strong and irresistible?  Strong, hard-to-beat cravings indicate that something in our body is off-balance.  If you explore where they are coming from, you will be taking the 1st step to getting rid of them.  And, believe me, life is much more peaceful without those nagging cravings! 

In working with people and also from my own self-experimentation, I've uncovered a golden truth.  Filling our bodies with nutrient dense foods calms our bodies' "screams" for the non-nutrient dense foods.  Seriously, it is that simple.  Most of our bodies are SCREAMING for nutrients!  Good nutrient dense food.  That is often where that craving is originating.  (There are other reasons that can be explored in another post, but this is the most common.)  Sugar and processed foods are going into our bodies and our bodies are then craving more of the same.  Once we fill them with nutrient dense foods, we discover that the "screaming" slowly goes to yelling, then even to talking.  And eventually it turns into a whisper or doesn't even have a voice at all!  And that is when we have a greater ability to by-pass the same nutrient void foods we were once craving.

I have a friend who decided to get some nutrients into her day by making a green smoothie every morning.  She included lots of fruit to calm the bitter taste of the greens. And that helped her to enjoy and look forward to the smoothie every morning.  After a short while she experienced amazing results.  She said that there was a large cookie sitting on the table that would have normally called to her until she ate it all.  This particular morning she started eating a few bites of it and set it down - surprising herself that she didn't want to eat the rest of it!  She was so grateful that the cravings were settling.  And it was all because she answered her body's call to balance itself with some good nutrients.  Our bodies have a language.  They literally speak to us - through cravings, through aches and pains, etc.  If we are experiencing these things, it is our bodies' attempt to tell us, "Hey, something is off. Something is out of balance.  Help me!"  We can re-balance our bodies and feel better as we listen to what they are saying to us.  It takes some practice, it takes some effort and some true listening.  But once we become more in tune, we will be able to find solutions to our problems and be on the path to greater physical and emotional health.

How I found ASEA

I don't get into product hype.  I've been introduced to many products through attending the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, as well as from my personal quest for supplements or products that would help me when I was ill.  I felt compelled to turn down things that sounded too good to be true and made promises of healing.  Not that they weren't decent products, just that they weren't the right thing for me to be taking at the time.  At the time I was focusing on how I could heal through dietary interventions. It required a lot of experimentation and trial and error.   And I wanted to do everything I could do before I took a "magic pill" or the like.

Along the healing path there were certain practices that were clearly helpful to me.  Taking digestive enzymes, exercising, increasing my consumption of greens and raw foods, to name a few.  It's now been over 2 years since I started healing.  And, recently, I literally hit the dietary wall - so to speak.  In other words, the optimal diet for me (high on the raw foods) was no longer working in all respects.  At this point I would call my health issues minor, but there are still some there.  So I switched some things up with my diet (eliminated a few problem foods and lowered my raw food consumption) and the problems I was having disappeared...but other problems came.  It was a little disconcerting, because they were problems that I had said good-bye to quite some time ago.  They had disappeared when I increased my consumption of green smoothies and salads.  As I thought about the fact that I might just have to settle for one set of problems, I prayed to know if there was something else that might help.  I had exhausted all possibilities with my diet.  I had studied nutrition and diligently applied the principles to myself and my healing.  I had really done all that I knew how.

Enter ASEA...I had read about this amazing supplement quite a few months ago when a former doctor of mine introduced it into his holistic practice.  But on this particular day, when I was "searching", I came across it again.  I started reading about it and was convinced that this was the missing link for me.  Fast forward 6 weeks, and the benefits that my husband and I are receiving from this "signaling molecules" supplement are truly amazing.  It has already reversed some of the problems I mentioned before.  My digestion is improving, some intermittent fatigue has gone away, tendonitis in my left arm is gone, and even my nails are getting stronger!  I expect to see even more improvement as I stay on the supplement.  The greatest result for my husband so far is that his weight has budged - downward!  He had tried everything (cleanses, diets, exercise) and it was clear that he had some metabolic issues that were preventing him from losing weight.

That said, we have decided that this product is worth sharing!  We hope it can benefit your lives as it has ours.

Please visit our website:
wholelife.teamasea.com

If you are interested in more information, you can fill out a form on the website, you can contact me directly at wholelife@teamasea.com, or even leave a comment here.

'Tis the Season

So it's time in the season that we are about sick of being sick!  Bring on the warm weather! :-)  Many people are dealing with so many illnesses right now.  It is heart wrenching to see everyone go through it, not to mention how miserable it makes everyone feel and how much it interrupts life.  I just got two notices from my daughters classroom that there are multiple children with strep throat and pink eye in the class.  Good news for us, we've never had strep throat, and I don't think this year is going to be the year.  I don't have to worry about those notices.   How is it that I don't have to obsess about the germs and worry constantly that my kids will contract things from other kids?   I don't say this to boast at all, I share it because I want you to be able to find the same success!  Last year I shared some helpful info in this post.

There are many factors as to how well a family will resist severe illness.  But one major factor in determining how many viruses we catch is DIET.  Yes, I know, you hate to hear that word.  It seems like it should be much more complicated than that.  But it really isn't!  Think of this...what we put into our body affects the health of our body.  And certain substances and foods actually lower our immune system's ability to function.  So if we feed our bodies with nutrient-dense foods, then our immune systems will be strengthened.  If we are eating processed, non nutrient-dense foods, then there is nothing to help strengthen our bodies' defenses.  I heard someone once compare the inside of our bodies to a pond.  If the pond is dirty, it becomes a swamp and attracts bugs and all kinds of ugly things.  If the pond is clean, the bugs will stay away.  They are simply not attracted to the clean environment.  Same with our bodies.  If my inner terrain is healthy and "clean", it will not attract the same amount of viruses as someone's inner terrain that is unclean and unhealthy. 

There are other steps in addition to diet that will help.  (Vitamins, exercise, etc.)  But diet alone will eradicate a good part of the illnesses.  If the thought seems overwhelming, just do one thing at a time.  The change will not happen overnight...we have been getting milder illnesses as the years have gone on by the small changes we have made each year.  But for a first step, try, for example, taking the sugary cereal out for breakfast.  If that's too big of a step, start to combine sugary cereal with a less sugary cereal.  It takes a while to change the taste buds.  Then start eating less-sugary cereal with fruit on top.  And, ultimately, replace the processed cereal with a true, bonafide, whole grain like oatmeal!  The biggest thing to remember is that it starts with YOU, the parent, or the mom.  You will start to change your own diet, and the family will follow in time.

Here's to a healthier 2012!!!!!!

Fruit Salad Heaven

My 5 year old's kindergarten class has snacks everyday.  Each child brings in a snack for the whole class once per month.  There is an approved snack list because it's a peanut-free room.  The only snacks on the list that we eat are fruits, veggies, cheese, and unsweetened applesauce.   Otherwise the foods look like this: Rice Krispie treats,  Go-Gurt, juice boxes, fruit snacks...you get my drift.  Foods with little to no nutrient value and high sugars.  Fortunately I was able to sign a waiver form so that I can bring in my daughter's own snacks for when the snacks aren't on the healthy side of the list (which is most of the time). 

Usually I just send in some unsweetened applesauce or cheesesticks for the kindergartners.  But in an effort to do something different, I made a fruit salad and took it in to the school yesterday.  Simple - just some cut-up apples, oranges, grapes and bananas thrown together.  And the kids loved it.  It was such a big hit and I was so pleased!  I didn't put anything on top or bring any sort of dip.  It was plain 'ol fruit and all but two of the children eagerly grabbed a bowl and starting chowing down.  Another two of the children came up to me afterwards and told me it was the best fruit salad they've ever eaten.  So cute.  And the teacher was thrilled as well.  She said it made her day to have a healthy, fresh, homemade snack brought in.

I am so grateful to have been able to make a difference that day.  I just wish I could make it everyday!  I feel strongly that it is not helping those 5 year old children to learn or pay attention any better to stop for a break of highly processed and refined snacks.  But this is our culture saying that it is OK.  What our "culture" does not know is that, within time, it is going to affect these kids negatively - if it's not already affecting them.  I know my kids would be different kids if they were partaking of those foods on a daily basis.  Now we just have normal kid misbehavior.  But, from personal experience and experimenting, I know that if they were eating those foods it would be more severe kid misbehavior.

(I write this as my almost 3 & 4 year old daughters sit near me eating lentil soup.  Start getting those good foods in them early.  The early start makes a huge difference! :-)

Top tips for navigating holiday food

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I wrote a post last year about planning for food and the holidays and I wanted to re-visit the issue for this year.  It is almost impossible to expect that we will be able to bypass every single treat and not-so-nutritious food out there for the holidays.  But there are some things you can do to make it a little more successful - so you don't have to make such a huge New Year's Resolution to lose weight, or get back on your food plan, or whatever the goal.  And so you can simply feel good and more peaceful over the holiday season.    My holidays are so much more happy now that I don't overeat or eat sugary, fat-laden treats.  It took me a long time to get to that point, but it was worth the hard work!  Here are my top tips for navigating holiday food...

1.  Have a plan for what and when you will eat.  Without a plan it is impossible to navigate the food.  For example, eat a healthy meal before you go to a Christmas party or somewhere where there will be lots of treats.  Or instead of buying Christmas candy for stockings and having it around the house where you will graze on it all day, buy trinkets.  Or if you can't stand the thought of not having candy in the stockings, buy it at the last moment so it's not sitting around.  Another example (that I used in my last year's post) was to find other yummy crunchy treats, such as nuts, to put in bowls around the house rather than candy.  Now, of course you can overeat on those too.  But I can stop eating those much easier - yet get my crunchy fix!   

One of the most helpful things I did when I was trying to kick the sugar habit was to make a rule for myself that I had to eat my sugar at the end of a meal.  No eating it as a snack or snacking on it between meals.  You wouldn't believe the difference it made.  I didn't feel deprived because I knew I would be getting my fix.  But I had to eat it as a dessert after a meal.  After a while I ate less and less sweets, and eventually the treats just faded away because I stopped craving them.

2. Find some new recipes for tasty, healthy treats so there are things you can enjoy without the guilt.  Finding new recipes is super helpful in the quest to substitute old habits for new.  And there are lots of healthy treats you can make that taste good too and that use natural sweeteners. 

3. Don't beat yourself up if you do eat a few treats.  Just move on to the next meal and make a better choice next time.  This may take some practice...at least it did for me.  I was an "all or nothing" person.  So I had to learn how to be gentle and accepting of myself when I ate something that I hadn't planned to eat or when I ate more than I had planned.  I had to erase the thinking that if I "messed up" at one meal, then I might as well mess up for all 3 meals.  The minute you eat something outside of your plan, just renew your efforts for the next meal.

4. Try to center your activities around things rather than food.  There are so many fun things to do over the Christmas season, that it is entirely possible to center your traditions around everything but food.  We do.  Of course we have a few things that the children love that they look forward to eating.  But for the most part the fun comes from things like the nativity set that the kids play with all season long, decorating the tree, the advent calendar with little trinkets to look forward to everyday, the music, the lights, and, last but not least - the real reason for the season.  There are soooo many things to fill your season with fun without the food.

Meals plans to help the holidays go smoothly

I really enjoyed this post from the Simple Mom blog.  It talks about planning meals for the holidays in order to lessen the stress of the season.  I have been inspired.  So I am going to have a planning session this weekend and follow her suggestions.  I hope it inspires you too!

Whole Foods Kitchen Challenge #1

I did promise this.  I didn't forget.  We've just gotten back from a wonderfully blissful stress-free vacation (to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary coming up in a couple of weeks).  Now I can get back to work with renewed vigor and focus!

Challenge #1 - Devise a menu plan

I need this challenge too!  I do it, but I always need new motivation and focus.  Whether it be dinner, or all 3 meals.  Whether it be for one week at a time or 4 weeks at a time.  If you don't already have a plan, get one!  I'm telling you, I have never been consistent with menu planning.  Obviously that is not ideal.  But since I've been doing one, wow, do things go more smoothly!  Much less stress and last minute standing at the pantry wondering what I will make tonight.

If you do have a plan, does it work?  Is there something that you can do to change it to meet your needs better?  There are some meal planning templates over at Money Saving Mom, http://moneysavingmom.com/downloads/meal-menu-planners, that I have found helpful.  There are so many options, I am sure you will find one that will work for you.

My goal is to have one month planned at a time, but I've been working up to that.  I have been doing 2 1/2 weeks. (Because I originally started when a particular month had 2 1/2 weeks left.)  I think I am going to try for one month this time.  I will report back.

Now get to work!  There are many, many wonderful blogs that have wonderful dinner recipe ideas.  I, of course, lean towards the whole foods blogs.  If you desire to start making some healthy changes, check out these websites for recipes.  You will find many great ideas...

www.weelicious.com
www.peasandthankyou.com

www.nourishingmeals.com

www.simplysugarandglutenfree.com

www.gnowflins.com

Pumpkin Waffles (plus some homemade dairy recipes)

I wrote this post a few months back when we were buying some dairy straight from the dairy farm.  That experiment was fun, but unfortunately (as I've mentioned) we ran into some major dairy sensitivities, so our fresh dairy products are no longer.  But since a friend was asking me for my pumpkin waffle recipe and I remembered I had posted it and never published it, I thought I'd pass on the info about the dairy with the waffle recipe at the end.  Such a great fall twist on a favorite breakfast!  Here is the post:
 
I promised to post some recipes for the homemade dairy I have been trying lately. Here we go...plus a bonus waffle recipe!

Butter

Mix fresh cream with a hand mixer for a few minutes (time will vary, 8-12 minutes), or until you see the liquid starting to separate. It will look like whipping cream first and then start to turn into butter/buttermilk. Once it separates, pour out the buttermilk. Use buttermilk in a pancake or waffle recipe. I'll post one here that we like! Then press out the rest of the buttermilk using a spoon, pressing the butter against the bowl. Press until most of the liquid is out. Then salt (optional). Form butter into a fat log (or loaf) and wrap it up in some parchment paper. It will be pretty soft, but upon refrigerating will set-up.

Yogurt

Put 1/2 to 1 gallon of milk in a pot and when it scalds (starts to boil up and out of pot) immediately take it off heat. Leave it off the heat and cool to room temp. Once you can stick your finger in it for 10 seconds without having to pull it out, it should be ready. Then take 1/4 to 1/2 cup of starter (yogurt from a previous batch or yogurt you have bought from the store) and stir it in a separate bowl with a little bit of the cooled off milk. After mixing, stir it into the whole batch. Then warm the oven at 350 degrees and turn it off after it has been pre-heated. Leave the milk in there for at least 8 hours, and then you've got yogurt! Now this isn't a "raw" recipe. If you are using raw milk, there is another recipe which will keep it raw if that is important to you.

Pumpkin Waffles

(Makes 12 4-inch waffles)

Adapted from a recipe found at www.weelicious.com

2 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/3 Cup Light Brown Sugar 

(We don't use sweetener anymore because the sweet topping does the trick for us.  But as a natural sweetener alternative, use honey, brown rice syrup or agave. Use 1/2 to 3/4 as much honey or agave, or the same amount of brown rice syrup.  You may also need to add a bit more flour to off-set the fact that you are using a liquid sweetener instead of a dry sweetener.)
2 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 Tsp Ground Ginger
4 Eggs
1 Cup Milk (can use milk substitutions such as almond/rice/or soy)
1 Cup Buttermilk (from the butter you just made!)
1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
6 Tbsp Butter, melted 

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Sift first 7 ingredients into a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl whisk the remaining ingredients.
4. Whisk the dry ingredients into the liquid mixture and whisk until smooth.
5. Pour about 1/2 cup of the pumpkin batter into a waffle iron that’s been buttered or greased and cook according to manufacturer’s directions.
6. We serve with a fruit sauce (just frozen fruit mixed with water & stevia sweetener), but you could also serve with maple syrup or make into sandwiches, filling with cream cheese and whatever other fillings you desire.

*Allow to cool, place in a ziploc bag, label and freeze. When ready, place in toaster oven or oven at 300 and heat for 10 minutes or until heated through.

Day #3 and my twist on the 21-day organization challenge

Tupperware cabinet (Hold your excitement!)

Before:

After:

Computer desk challenge continued - more "after" pictures of the desk

I bought organizers for my desk drawers after posting my desk results, so thought I'd share those pictures now. The kids' drawer still needs some help, but overall I'm pleased with how much more functional my desk area is!

(Is there a reason one needs so many black Sharpies?  Seriously.)

What I love about this challenge is that it has changed my focus.  Even when I'm not working on part of the challenge, I'm thinking about what needs to be organized when I'm doing tasks around the house.  Mostly in the kitchen because that is where I always seem to be.  So today while putting away clean dish rags and dish towels, I re-organized 3 of my drawers and even washed them out.  The sad part is that I had a drawer full of baby bibs and baby washcloths and my youngest will be 3 in February.  (Out of sight, out of mind, right?!)  I also had the thought to organize my recipes and I even put them on the counter so I would remember.  And then I eventually put them back because I knew I wouldn't be able to get to it right away.

On that note, I am going to twist this challenge to meet my more immediate needs and the purpose of this blog better.  There are so many things to organize when it comes to food.  Meal planning, grocery lists, recipes, cupboards, pantry, the list goes on. So sometime next week I will post my version of the challenge, with the focus being on the "Whole Foods Kitchen".  I will still be doing the old challenge as I can, but the organization with the food and kitchen needs to be a priority for me, and I found myself straying from those priorities as I did other projects.  In the meantime, if you want to follow someone who is doing the 21 day challenge as it is written and will be consistent with it, go over to momHow and join Katie as she progresses through the challenge!

Raw Pesto

I made this today and it was super good!  I adapted the recipe a bit because it just needed a little more something.  I added olive oil and lemon juice and sea salt and it tasted MUCH better.  I ate it "stuffed" in half of a red pepper.  But it is also great as a dip for raw veggies.

Pesto

Adapted from a recipe by Dr. Gabriel Cousens, found in his book "Conscious Eating". 

1 1/2 cup walnuts, soaked
1 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup pine nuts, soaked
3 large cloves garlic or 1/2 tsp sun-dried garlic
1 tsp. sea salt
1-2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup water

Blend all ingredients in a food processor with the S-blade.

Back to the Food

I am loving this organization challenge and taking it seriously. It is, however, taking over my focus when I have some pressing food and menu organization to accomplish. Also, I am finding 10 more projects that I need to accomplish with every challenge that I do. (Little things, like magnets that need to be glued together, game pieces that need to find their homes, a box full of things that I have cleared off that I need to find space for somewhere.) So in order to give myself time to be thorough and REALLY get everything done, not just halfway done, I am going to continue with the challenge at a slower clip. I will post when I do one, but in between we'll talk about organization in the area of food - which is my expertise and the reason why I'm writing this blog anyways.

So tupperware, I'll get to organizing you tonight, maybe tomorrow. But today I will be mopping my floor, buying some desk/drawer organizing tools, looking for some new raw dinner recipes, and planning my family dinner menu for the month. And I will be voted Superwoman of the Year if I get this all done today. Especially with a sick kid at home, a husband out-of-town, and dance lessons tonight :). So we'll see...but I'm on a roll. More on the dinner menus tomorrow!

Day #2 - Computer Desk

Today's challenge was only supposed to be the top of the computer desk, but I went ahead and did the whole thing (drawers, plus the top where I have some shelves). It wasn't a fast project after all. It gets addicting...once you see one space looking so clean, you want the rest to look just as beautiful! My drawers weren't too bad from the beginning, but the rest did need a little help. I feel like I'm always straightening/cleaning this space, so my challenge now will be to keep it more consistently clean and uncluttered.

Before:













After:













Whole computer desk before:


















After:


















The next challenge is the tupperware cabinet. I have to laugh because if there is one place in my house that is halfway organized, it is this cabinet. I don't know why. And when I was sick and had no energy and had different people in and out of my kitchen helping, on more than one occasion someone mentioned how organized my tupperware was. Now if I could just be that organized everywhere!

Mental Well-Being

I know that taking a 21-day organizing challenge may seem unrelated to this blog, but I really do think it is relevant. I advocate healing through not only diet, but lifestyle. Uncluttering our physical spaces automatically clears up some mental space. We naturally feel better when our houses are in order. I have to admit that organization isn't one of my strong points. I feel good when I'm organized and I am constantly trying. But I have a ways to go. I've always known if I broke it down into manageable pieces, I could make much more progress. And this challenge does just that, along with giving me specific instructions to follow. I am excited about it! But not so excited to show you my before and after photos. Please don't lose respect for me. My diet is one of my strong points. My organization skills, not so much :-) Thanks, Katie at momHow, for the inspiration!



Day #1 - Junk drawers

Before:

After:













Oh my goodness, I feel so much better! See you tomorrow for Challenge #2 - Cleaning off the computer desk-top. This will be a much faster project for me!

Healthy Halloween Treats

I'm so excited to make this to take to my daughters' classroom Halloween Parties on Monday...
Babybel cheese for the head, green apples for the body, fruit leather for the legs and antennas (Costco sells Stretch Island fruit leather which has no additional sugar in it), & a little bit of white cheese for the eyes. I'm not sure what the green is on the eyes, but I'll probably use some green grapes - or maybe even green apple for that part.

And here's a recipe for some cookies that I'll be making as well. I made them without dates the other day because I ran out of time to grab them at the store before I needed to make the cookies for another Halloween party. I thought I could get away with it because we are used to our dessert being sweetened with just fruit. I wasn't surprised that the other kids wouldn't touch them. But even my daughters didn't like them. So I'm going to add back in the dates and I'm sure they'll be a hit again.

Banana Nut Cookies

1/4 cup pitted dates
1/4 cup almond milk (or other milk of your choice)
1 cup walnuts
1 cup pecans
1 cup grated coconut
4 ripe bananas
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Cover dates in almond milk and soak overnight. Place the nuts and coconut in a food processor with the metal S blade and grind to a coarse meal. (I used a Vitamix.) Add bananas, dates (with the soaking almond milk) and cinnamon and mix to form the dough. Take the thick mixture out of the food processor and spoon onto a nonstick cookie sheet. Bake in the oven at a low heat (250 degrees) for 30 minutes.

Zucchini Pasta

As I've mentioned, I have been experimenting with many raw dishes lately. I am going for all raw, with a few tiny exceptions. So 95% raw, I would say. I seriously feel soooo much better eating this way, and my diet was healthy before. In the meantime, I am finding some kitchen tools that are in order to have in my raw kitchen. So the other day I ordered a veggie spiralizer to be able to make raw "pasta" dishes (amongst all the other things it can do). It came in the mail today and, oh my, we had fun playing with that little kitchen tool! Not very expensive and hours of fun. I made the recipe below and it was YUM! Too bad I didn't catch this recipe in time to use my over abundance of zucchini and tomatoes from my garden. And the fresh basil. This will be a GREAT summer dish. But it is still super good now!

I took a picture of it because I know my blog is lacking pictures, but when I post this picture you will know why the lack of pictures. I need to learn some things about taking pictures of food, so bare with me! At least you'll get the idea of what I mean by pasta. Doesn't that spiralized zucchini look just like pasta? And can I mention again that it tasted wonderful?!

Zucchini Pasta

www.thedeliciousrevolution.com

Ingredients:2-3 zucchini (spiral cut)
2 ripe tomatoes
1 cup sun dried tomatoes
½ red pepper
10-15 fresh basil leaves
¾ to 1 teaspoon sea salt
fresh cracked black pepper
½ cup olive oil

Directions: Start by using a vegetable spiralizer to transform the zucchini into gluten free pasta. Drizzle with olive oil and a dash of garlic powder then toss to coat well. Set noodles aside.

Make marinara by putting all ingredients except olive oil in the Vitamix and blend. Once mixture is smooth add olive oil through the top of the blender while the blades are turning. Blend well.

Top spiral cut zucchini with marinara and chopped fresh basil. Serve.