Immunity Boost

I have been so sick the last few days! It began on Friday as a little tickle in my throat, so I started on my DoTerra OnGuard essential oil and then Saturday it seemed like it was going away. Sunday I woke up feeling awful and Monday was the worst of all! I didn't do myself any favors over the weekend by indulging on every comfort food I saw fit. So my husband says to me, "I guess your oils didn't work" but what he doesn't realize is that oils are just an additional remedy that can help fight illness and symptoms. They can certainly treat an isolated symptom in many cases, but actually work better as a holistic remedy when you care for the body as a whole, starting with nutrition. I truly believe that the right food can boost your immunity and help the healing process, so yesterday I kicked myself into gear and ate a ton of healthy alkaline foods. Alkaline versus acidic foods is something I've only just started to research. Basically it has to do with the PH balance of your body and the research indicates that disease and illness cannot live in a body that is PH balanced. Its not about the acidic content of the actual food but rather how that food is absorbed by the body, for example lemons are an acidic fruit but are very alkalizing to the body. I found a decent webpage HERE that briefly goes over this topic and lists some of the foods. With nothing fresh in the house yesterday I had to drag myself to the store and grab a bunch of fresh alkaline fruit and veg! When I got home I started with this refreshing drink..

1/4 orange sliced, 1/2 lime sliced, 6 slices cucumber, 4 drops lemon essential oil (the store had no lemons what the?!), purified water

I also tried a garlic sandwich for the first time. My sister Lucy swears by these or just garlic in general when you are sick. The bread and mayo are not alkaline but it helps the garlic go down. I probably could have just eaten plain garlic since I could not taste a darn thing! I can only imagine what my breath smelled like when Ethan got home.

4 cloves garlic chopped, bread, mayo

5 minutes after eating this sandwich my sinus pressure went away and my nose cleared! I continued throughout the day with more alkaline water, another garlic sandwich, watermelon, fresh carrot/orange juice, and for dinner a chicken barley vegetable soup (not an entirely alkaline soup but still really healthy and felt so good on my throat!). By the end of the day I was feeling a little better but tired. Woke up this morning feeling AMAZING! I know that my diet has really been lacking the last month, but I haven't been gaining weight either so I've justified indulging more than usual. Note to self: weight is not an accurate indicator of health!! Hopefully this has gotten me back on track, if for no other reason than to avoid feeling that sick again anytime soon!

Sprouting

First of all let me just shout out a special thanks to Lucy Hansen for showing me how easy it is to sprout your own grains and for buying me my first sprouting tray and seeds for Christmas! Honestly she knows way more about healthy living than I do, in fact if I ever want to know about natural remedies or anything health related I go to her and I appreciate the many thought provoking conversations we have about health!

Ok now onto the topic of the day, SPROUTS! I remember as a kid my mom would occasionally buy alfalfa sprouts and we would put them on sandwiches or just eat them straight out of the package and I loved them! It was kind of a novelty that we really didn't buy that often, probably because they were a little on the expensive side, but everyone in the house would gobble them up. What I didn't know back then is just how healthy this little superfood is and how easy they are to grow! (seriously those alfalfa sprout farmers must be raking in the dough). Here are some facts about sprouts...

• Sprouting activates food enzymes in the grain and increases its vitamin, mineral, fatty acid, protein and fiber content. It really is amazing that simply adding water causes the genetics of the grain to do this!
• Sprouts are an alkaline food which promotes good heath
• There is a wide variety of beans and seeds that can be sprouted
• Sprouting is a convenient way to grow your own fresh salad year round.
• If you keep grains and beans for food storage, it is a novel way to use that storage, either in rotation or in a time of need.
• Sprinkle in any soup, salad, or dish for added flavor and nutrients!

I recommend buying a sprout tray (easier and more effective when using one) and there are all different types but it doesn't really matter what kind, just something that will allow you to rinse and drain the seeds in the pan. I use a single tray Sprout Master. 

Soak the seeds overnight. I used about 2 tablespoons of alfalfa seeds with about 1-2 cups water.

 The next morning dump them in the sprout tray and rinse. Soaking helps release some of the toxins so you want to rinse them real good. Then spread out fairly evenly in the tray. I don't fuss too much over how even it is, they will grow straight up either way. I also keep the lid on the tray for the first couple days.

By the end of the 1st day they already look like this. Make sure you rinse again before bed.

 Day 2 - Rinse morning and night again, making sure to drain thoroughly.

 Day 3 - Rinse/drain morning and night. I keep the lid off all day and the light turns them more green.

Day 4 - I can't keep my hands off them! I usually rinse/drain that morning, keep the lid off all day, then by the end of the day when they are fairly dry again, put them in a container and in the fridge. 

The tray I use also has a divider to sprout different grains at the same time. On the left is alfalfa sprouts and on the right is a mixture of adzuki, triticale, mung beans and green peas. 

The grain/bean mixture is actually ready to eat while you'll notice the alfalfa is obviously not ready yet. Different grains and seeds will have their own germination time so at this point I would just put the grain mix into a container and in the fridge and keep sprouting the alfalfa a couple more days.

And that's it! SOOO easy and a great way to add some nutrition to your every day diet! 

Sprout Sandwich

I seem to have a lot of favorite lunches but this one is right up there.

 Fresh, simple and delicious!

Toast 2 slices Ezekiel Bread.

Spread one side with avocado and the other side with onion and chive cream cheese.

 Place tomato and any other veggies you like in the middle and don't forget the star of this sandwich - alfalfa sprouts! 

Stayed tuned for my next post all about SPROUTING!

Why Detox?

I think a lot people look at detoxing as just something heath "freaks" do to make themselves feel like they are taking care of themselves...at least that's what I used to think. What does it mean to detox and why? I found an article a while back that really reinforced by beliefs about food and how food contributes to health and what detoxing really does. The body is made up of millions of cells that are constantly regenerating themselves, and how those cells regenerate is based on age, genetics, environment, and food. There is a science behind how the cells in our body grow and react to what we feed them. I have always been so interested in people who fight cancer and other health problems with detoxing, natural remedies, and change in diet. One of the most intriguing things I have learned is that cancer is simply a defense mechanism of the body. Cancer is how the body contains toxic cells and prevents them from shutting down the rest of the system. So when someone cures their cancer from drinking vegetable juice....this makes sense to me! The body can regenerate itself, it just needs the right ingredients. I am not against medical intervention and I certainly believe it is needed in some cases, but it just makes sense to me to first look that what we put into our body that might be causing cells to react in a manner than causes chronic symptoms, illness such as diabetes, and abnormal cell growths like cancer.

If you follow this blog you know my husband is on a 100 day sugar fast where he does not eat more than 30 grams of sugar per day. As a soda addict this has been really hard for him, but he has done amazing and seen amazing results. What you may not know is that before this sugar fast my husband had chronic cold symptoms every other month. Most of the time not severe, just a runny/blocked nose for a few days to a week or longer which he would quickly medicate with sudafed until the symptoms eventually went away. Im sure he really thought nothing of it and he probably doesn't even realize it was that often. Since being on the sugar fast I have not heard him complain about this once! It is not a coincidence that his chronic nasal issues have subsided since depriving his body from sugar. Anyway, I could go on and on but I won't. The link I have is posted on a man's website who fought cancer with diet and he has a really interesting story if you care to browse around his website. At the end of the article you can download the full transcript of Dr. Tilden's research. The eBook is free, fairly short, and easy to understand (not all scientific jargon etc). If you are interested in detoxing, natural remedies and taking control of your health, this information is a great place to start!

Article: Toxemia Explained

Juice Pulp Crackers

 Great snack made out of those leftovers from juicing!

Added a little of this to some natural plain yogurt for a yummy dip. You could use any kind of dip mix or create your own using dried herbs and spices!

Juice Pulp Crackers

1-2 Cups leftover pulp from juicing (today I had used kale, carrot and apple)

1 egg

1-2 Tbs Flax Meal

1-2 Tbs Chia Seeds

1 Tbs Garlic Powder (I use the one from Costco that has parsley in it)

1-2 Tbs almond or coconut milk

1-2 Tbs water

Poppy Seeds

Nutritional Yeast

Mix the first 7 ingredients together until it forms a dry paste. All of the measurements listed on this recipe are approximate since it depends on how much pulp you have to use. Add more water if its too dry or more flax meal if its too wet but just try to get a paste consistency. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with olive oil. Then thinly spread the paste out onto the sheet and sprinkle with poppy seeds and nutritional yeast. I baked at 350F for 20 minutes then peeled it from the foil, flipped it over and toasted the other side for another 10 minutes. If I were to do it again I would use non-stick baking paper instead of foil and I would turn the oven way down to maybe 275 and cook for 1-2 hours. This would dry it out better I think without toasting it too much. I still really liked it even though it was more brown than I expected (left it in a little too long)! Next time I will experiment with the temperature and with different spices!

Fitness Goals

As I am about to start my new fitness goal I thought I would reflect on what I have been doing for fitness the last 9 months post baby.

September 2012: Baby Sawyer is here and we were just over the moon to have this baby finally here! But after feeling so heavy the whole pregnancy (and gaining nearly 60lbs) I was beyond ready to get active again and get my body back! I could hardly wait to get started however I took it easy the first month and let myself really recover and adjust to having the new baby around. The second month I started walking/jogging 2-3 times per week and it felt so good to just breath hard and sweat again!

Nov 2012-Feb 2013: Driveway Bootcamp/Group training
In November I decided to join my friend who had been doing a driveway bootcamp in her neighborhood. I prepaid for 3 months so I would be forced to stick with it that long! I would go to the night class after Ethan got home 4-5 times a week and this was a fantastic way for me to get back into fitness. Having an instructor there really helped push me and show me how strong I could be. It was so hard at first! But I loved having the accountability that someone was going to notice if I didn't work out so thank you Amber at Physique-Ed! Also special thanks to Heather for inviting me to go with her and pushing me through the workouts too. It was so fun having a friend to work out with! I ended up doing 4 months of that then decided I really wanted to start working out from home for convenience and cost reasons.

March 2013: Insanity
The bootcamp really showed me what I was capable of, so I knew if I was going to workout at home I'd want to have another program to help me set goals and push me at a certain level of intensity. I investigated the Beach Body programs and went with INSANITY! Really great cardio and I love the motivation and workouts. I lost another 10lbs on this program and reached my goal weight.

April 2013: Chalean Extreme
By the end of the Insanity program I was ready for a change and really wanted to start weight training to build some lean muscle....enter Chalean Extreme! I think it is my favorite exercise program I've ever done. Chalean is motivating and I love the variety of the workouts that span over 3 months. I definitely feel strong and overall more toned. I will definitely do these workouts again but for now I want to change up again and try something new which brings me to my latest fitness goal...

July 2013: P90X
Not gonna lie, I completed the first workout this morning and didn't like it. The video/workout style of it is totally different than the Chalean program, it was too long, and I'm not really motivated by the trainer. Not to mention the majority of the first workout was pushups and pull ups, my least favorite exercises! But I'm not going to give up so easily and will really try to stick with it at least the first 4 weeks. Who knows maybe I'll learn to love it. If not I'll find something else because it is not worth sticking with something if you dread doing it. That is exactly how I have failed in the past! And that is why I now set goals and frequently changes things up so I don't get bored with the same old routine.

Oct: Sprint Triathlon Training
As I've said before, I usually have my next goal lined up well in advance. If I finish P90X that will bring me to October which is when I will start training for the Casa Grande Sprint Triathlon. This is a 100 meter swim, 10 mile bike, and 3 mile run. I've done it once before with my sister Lucy and had so much fun training and performing in it, so we are planning on doing it again with more of our family members this time.

Wow October seems right around the corner, I cannot believe how fast this year continues to fly by! Another reminder of how important it is to start your goals TODAY and then remind yourself every day why it is a goal and how you will achieve it. Time will pass whether you are accomplishing your goals or not, so you may as well do it and be living the life you want!

Motivation Monday

Staying motivated is the hardest part when it comes to health and fitness for me. There are just too many yummy things out there to eat! That is why setting new goals and constantly working towards something is so important. For example my current fitness goal is to finish Chalean Extreme and I already have another goal lined up after that once I finish. I have also decided to try to finish the sugar challenge with Ethan. This came after Saturday where it felt like I had particularly binged on sugar (and a girls night party the previous night didn't help either). I just keep thinking if Ethan can do it so can I! And I would love to be able to support him these last 2 months of 30g or less per day, Although it doesn't seem he needs any support, he is doing so good! It almost killed me yesterday saying no to ice cream because I had already met my limit (thank you cherry ripe), but it felt so good at the end of the day to have met that goal. Making goals public is also a good way to stay accountable (which is why I usually keep them to myself lol). So there ya have it! Set some goals and re-motivate daily!