Kale Salad

Kale is my new leaf of choice for salads. I love the taste, I love the texture and I love the nutrition! Kale works especially well for making meals ahead of time because you can dress the leaves and let it sit in the fridge for a day or two and it won't go completely soggy.  I am obsessing over this salad I made the other day and had to share.

Kale and Butternut Squash salad with Feta and Caramelized Onions

1 Bunch Kale - washed and torn into bite size pieces

1 Butternut Squash - peeled, seeds removed, and cut into large chunks

1 Yellow Onion, sliced

Feta Cheese

Sliced Almonds

Dressing:

1/2 lemon

1TBS Honey

Drizzle Olive Oil (maybe 1-2 TBS)

Preheat oven to 400F and place the onions and squash in a large baking pan. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper then place in the oven for 45min-1hour (or until the onions are nice and caramelized and the squash is soft). Meanwhile place the Kale in a large bowl, drizzle with the dressing ingredients, and massage together until evenly coated. Don't just toss it but really work those leaves with your hands! Kale is very sturdy so this trick helps it to relax a bit and makes it taste amazing! Once the squash and onions are done, cool slightly before plating - Kale, squash/onions, then sprinkled with feta cheese and sliced almonds. Serves 4. 

Free-Range Eggs

I made the best discovery yesterday that I am so excited about....a local lady who sells free-range eggs! This is fantastic for me considering I have a goal to eat organic/free-range meat this year and especially because we eat so many eggs at our house! Its actually one of the most ethical forms of protein since there is no killing of the animal and yet they are so rich in protein and nutrients. I have seen signs for these "fresh" eggs on a road that I frequently drive near my house, but never really thought to investigate it. Then I saw a good recommendation for her on a community Facebook page that I am apart of, so I thought it can't hurt to just check it out and see how much she charges.  For anyone who has never seen backyard eggs before you probably think what is wrong with those hens?!...

You can see I have a whole range of colors here, blue, green, brown and white, something you most definitely would not see in the grocery store. It simply has to do with the genetics of the bird. If you are interested in a more in-depth look at how eggs get their color check out this ARTICLE. 

Not only is her price very affordable ($3 a dozen) but the color and taste of these eggs speak for themselves. The yolk is a rich dark orange and very thick and creamy, compared to commercial eggs that are a pale orange or yellow and no where near the same texture. Besides the obvious nutritional difference in these eggs, the thing I like most about them is the integrity of where they came from as well as supporting a local farmer. Yes you can buy free range eggs at the grocery store, however there is always a little skepticism in the back of my mind as to just how "free" the hens are and without visiting the farm myself I could never be sure. These hens are super happy! They are kept in a large pen with tons of room to run around but she even lets them out a few times a week so they get to scratch around the yard for a bit. Contrary to many of the industrial egg farms who still use wire battery cages with 3-4 hens per cage, among other abuse. The hens are barely able to stand up let alone flap their wings, build a nest, perch, and perform other activities that are in their nature to do. There is no watchdog for these places. The only information that even comes out is from undercover animal rights activists. The worst part about it is that for all that suffering the eggs are not as good quality. It's all about the company maximizing their resources to make a bigger profit.

I am not against the consumption of animals and I do believe animals were put on this earth for man to use, but I also believe there is a right way and a wrong way to treat every species on this earth, no matter how simple or powerless they may seem. A large part of my organic meat goal is about opening my eyes to how the industry really is instead of ignoring it for the sake of convenience and price and realizing that I do not need to contribute to the problem. One day I would love to have my own chickens, but until then thank you local egg lady!

Health Goals 2014

Who doesn't love a new year and a fresh start?! Now that we are home from our amazing 5-week Australia vacation, I am ready to get back on track with my health. I think we did pretty good while we were away. We ate whatever we wanted but stayed really active and even worked out a little over the 5 weeks. We had an amazing time and as fun as it was to be free those 5 weeks, I am ready to get back into our routine. It is so much easier for me to be heathy in a routine! Learning about health is a continuous project for me. I am constantly reading about or hearing new things that challenge my ideas and shape the way I look at health. As such, I have created 3 goals for this year to help me enhance my healthy lifestyle journey.

1. Juice detox 3 times a year. 
The juice detox I did last November gave me an incredible insight to what detoxing can do for the body. I lost 5lbs doing that detox, which doesn't seem like a lot, but for me, this was 5lbs I had been struggling to lose for about 6 months. I was very happy with my weight, appearance, energy, etc, but I just had this number goal in my head that I really wanted to reach. That last 5lbs would not budge no matter how strict I was on my diet or how hard I worked out. After the detox I was happy to see I had lost the 5lbs, but didn't think much of it and assumed it was water weight that would quickly resurface within a week or two. As weeks then months went by the weight never came back. The crazy thing was I was not eating perfect either. It was smack in the middle of holiday season and I was happy to indulge where the occasion seemed fit. Even with more indulgences than usual that 5lbs still never came back. This is what detoxing does. It allows the cells in your body to let go of the toxins they are holding on to and as a result allows the body to function more efficiency.This in turn contributes to how well the body fights infection and decease, hormone regulation, emotional health, as well as energy, vitality, and longevity.

2. Buy 100% of our meat from grass-fed/organic/free-range farmers by the end of the year.
This goal came to me after coming home from Australia and eating American meat again. The quality of food between these countries is so different! And I'm not talking about organic versus normal (in fact very rarely do I buy organic) my comparisons are of the cheapest you can buy. All the food tastes better in Australia but I noticed the biggest difference between meats.  I've actually known for a long time what the meat is like in America, just chosen to ignore it. I've watched several documentaries and read many articles about it and I basically have accepted what the companies are doing in order to maximize their profits. This information never stopped me from buying those meats before. My lazy/cheap side overruled my healthy side and I would rather get what was cheap from my local grocery store rather than drive all the way to the organic store just so I could pay more. But it's not worth my money anymore and I feel more willing now to give my support to farmers who actually care about the quality of meat and better treatment of the animals. These ideas run parallel with my belief that our society eats way too much meat, but I'll save that in-depth discussion for another post. Knowing what I know, its quite sad I haven't attempted this goal before, but I guess sometimes it just takes time and baby steps to really make a change.Want more info on this subject? Watch Food, Inc or Forks Over Knives, two very eye-opening documentaries about health and the meat industry.

3. Exercise Consistently
No doubt this will always be a goal of mine every. single. year. Exercise has so many health benefits its not even funny! It does so much more than help you reach weight loss goals. It improves your immune system, burns off toxic cells, aids in digestion and simply makes you happy thanks to endorphins! And these are just a few of the benefits! I know without a doubt our bodies were meant to move and be active, however technology has made it way to easy for us to just sit back and relax, hence why we must organize time to get moving.

If you have time for Facebook or TV, you have time for exercise! It doesn't have to be hours of lifting heavy weights or running 5 miles, just a 10 minute stroll around the block can give massive benefits to the body. The hard part is being consistent, and consistency is the key to really reap the benefits. I find when I set small reachable goals throughout the year, it helps me stay focused and motivated. First small goal this year is to complete P90X-3!

What are your goals for 2014?

Vaccinations

I have seen this topic spring up several times in the last few weeks. The feeling I get is that most people who choose to vaccinate cannot fathom why you would choose not to?! Why would you risk contracting a potentially deadly virus if you can prevent it? So I thought I'd give my opinion on the matter as best I can in a nutshell. I personally have two children who are partially vaccinated, and one that I chose to not vaccinate at all... so far. This is not a decision that I've taken lightly, nor is it a decision I made overnight or based on a single article or opinion. This decision came from an accumulation of ideas and connections I have made over the last five years.  This is why I rarely debate or try to convince people why I am against the current vaccination schedule, because it's near impossible to explain 5 years to someone in one conversation and if you want hard evidence, I can't exactly site all of my sources. Vaccinations do in fact help prevent the spread of these viruses, there's no disputing that. However some questions to consider are at what costs are we preventing these viruses and is there a better way to prevent them and gain immunity? I am not against vaccinations nor do I think that people who do vaccinate are making a bad decision. However there is information I believe to be true that has made me rethink the decision to impose the rigorous mainstream vaccination schedule on my own children.

1. The standard vaccination age is too young in my opinion. I understand the 0-5 age is a more vulnerable stage of life where their tiny immune systems are not as developed and therefore more susceptible to disease. But that is exactly why I feel they shouldn't be exposed to partially live viruses and artificial additives at that time either! 0-5 is by far the most delicate and fragile stage of development in a human's entire life! Their little bodies are growing and changing so rapidly on a daily basis and all the more vulnerable to a negative reaction.

2. I feel like the ingredients in vaccinations should be explained in detail to parents before a child in injected. I don't think physicians are trying to hide this information on purpose, but if you are injecting my child with any substance through a needle, that would seem like an important routine thing to do. Im sure they have that information available, I just wonder why it is not routinely provided when a vaccination is given? Especially knowing that the majority if not all vaccinations contain preservatives and/or toxic metals.

3. Speaking of negative reactions, the numbers speak for themselves as far as healthy children in this country and adverse reactions are more commonly linked to vaccinations than most people think. Asthma, allergies, frequent "mild" illness (cough, runny nose, fever), autism, vision impairment, deafness, and cancer are some of the conditions you become more susceptible to when you are vaccinated very young. And it is my opinion that vaccinations as well as a diet lacking in nutrients are the main contributors to the dramatic increase of these illnesses in the last 50 years. Autism is a perfect example of this. In the 1940s the number of autistic children was 1 in 10,000, in 2008 it was 1 in 88. Many people will have no side effects whatsoever, more frequently will have the first few I mentioned and even less commonly are the latter. This is because everyone has a different biological makeup and will not respond the same way as someone else.

4. Vaccinations did not act alone in reducing the spread of these viruses. In fact clean water, sanitation, and nutrition awareness around the same time period were MAJOR contributors, and still are.

5. Vaccinations do not provide true immunity, but rather herd immunity. Herd immunity basically means that a weakened version of the disease still exists but without the extreme reactions we used to see before vaccinations. You could very well have measles but you wouldn't know it since your symptoms would be very mild and flu-like. This is why immunized people still get sick when there is an outbreak and also why people need booster vaccinations their entire life. Alternatively if you were to contract a virus and fight it on your own (i.e. no vaccination), you would have actual immunity.

Again, none of these realizations came to me over night, and I've really only scratched the surface here. These ideas have been reiterated to me over and over in the last few years through my own personal health research, as I have strived to increase my understanding of the body and the physical effects that any food or substance has on it. Last week I stumbled onto an article about vaccinations that gives a pretty comprehensive explanation (from an expert) on many of my concerns. To me I don't think you can make a well informed decision until you've looked at what both sides have to say. You can read that article HERE. At the end of the day I know that good parents choose to vaccinate and good parents choose not to vaccinate. I feel fortunate to live in a time and place where information is shared so easily and I have the opportunity to research and decide for myself.

Breakfast Oats

I eat this almost everyday for breakfast. 

Favorite Oatmeal

1/3 Cup Rolled Oats

2 Tbsp Sliced Almonds

1/2 Tbsp Raw Coconut Oil

1/2 Tbsp Honey

couple dashes of Cinnamon

Cook oats according to directions then mix in remaining ingredients.

Simple, clean and yummy!

Juice Cleanse - last day

I did it! Now that its over it felt quick, but I do remember Monday and Tuesday feeling like they would never end. This cleanse was definitely more difficult that the fruit and veg fast where I could eat the whole food. The difference between that and juicing is you are able to get a higher concentrated dose of nutrients. The millions of cells in our body are constantly regenerating and building new ones with the materials that we feed them... FOOD. So a cleanse or detox allows the body to flush out the toxic cells and replace them with healthy cells that are built with nutrients. In addition to the benefits on a cellular level, here are a few other benefits I noticed over the last few days...

• Remembering what hunger feels like. Most days I eat/snack whenever I want without feeling any hunger (aka necessity). Food tastes amazing and is more satisfying when you physically need it! 

• Re-focusing my mind on nutrition and breaking away from some habits I have started to notice worming their way into my diet (like snacking late at night when I really don't need to and and having treat foods everyday). My palate is also more easily satisfied with healthy food since cutting it off from those rich roods.

• I feel much lighter and notice my stomach is definitely flatter and less bloated.

Except for extreme cases where people are treating disease (like cancer and obesity) I don't think a long term juice-only diet is necessary or even that effective. Our bodies were designed to digest the whole food and there is definitely a role that plays in digestion and health. Three days seems to be perfect for what I wanted to accomplish. Gave my body a little rest and recovery, I appreciate food more, and am once again motivated to keep myself on a healthy track. Just in time for Thanksgiving!:/

Juice Cleanse - Day 2

Well I'm at the end of day 2 and have to admit this cleanse is both mentaly and physically harder than I thought it would be! Firstly, juice is just not filling. No matter how much I drink it doesn't seem to quench my hunger! And on top of that I've been fighting the urge to give up. My mind puts up a pretty good fight too with thoughts like "one day is still a great accomplishment" and questions like "is it really worth all the effort?" Another very difficult thing about this cleanse has been continuing to provide food for the rest of my family. I still have to prepare 3 meals a day plus snacks, all of which I cannot eat! To help me stay on track I have been taking advantage of 1 vegetable meal a day as outlined in the Joe Cross cleanse. I really felt like I needed to incorporate this to help me keep going and it has worked. I look forward to that meal and it helps satisfy my hunger a little better so I can sleep at night. Here's what I've had today...

Morning juice - 4 carrots, 2 apples, 1 slice ginger

2 glasses Gazpacho Juice (made the night before, recipe HERE)

2 glasses green juice (kale, cucumber, orange)

Dinner - roasted onion, beets and butternut squash