Week Two: How to get healthy one week at a time

So is everyone spending more time in the bathroom?  Hope so!!  Keep up the water drinking!

Okay, are you ready for the next challenge?  Here goes...

What did your mom always tell you growing up when you were having dinner?  Yep, you guessed it.  "Eat your veggies!".  Well, mom was right!  Vegetables are a crucial part of our diet and most people don't get nearly enough.  They are PACKED with important vitamins and minerals that we need to function at a healthy level.  Another part about eating veggies though is that eating them raw is the most nutritious way to take them in.  Once you cook anything it begins to break down the nutrients.  Cooked is good, raw is best!

So here is the challenge for the week (I can hear you all groaning!):

Add one, yes I'm only asking one, serving of RAW veggies to your food intake each day.  A salad, a handful of carrots, some sugar snap peas (yum!), broccoli...whatever you want it to be.  Just chomp down a handful and you are good to go.

Here's a tip-have a small salad with your lunch or if you have errands to run throw some veggies in a baggie and eat them while you drive around.  It's that easy! Another great way is to throw some kale or spinach into a smoothie each morning.  Sounds gross, I know, but it's actually really good!  Throw in some frozen berries, your veggies, a little juice and water.  Blend well and go!  Just keep your fruit/veggie ratio to at least 40% veggie.  Oh, and make sure your juice is a good quality-no added sugars or high fructose corn syrup!

Good luck this week!!!!

And PS...if you have a hard time getting your kiddos to eat veggies, the smoothies are awesome for that!  I feed Aiden a smoothie every morning and he LOVES them.  He goes nuts as soon as he sees me start making it.  Try it out!

Real Joy

I was at the gym this morning and there was a commercial on TV for Sears.  It showed families wrapping and giving each other gifts for Christmas.  At the end it put the words on the screen "Real Joy".  That got me thinking.   I know that I have experienced "real joy" in my life.  Kneeling in the temple with my husband as we were sealed together for time and all eternity.  The first time I held Aiden and looked at this chubby little face.  Feeling our Savior's love for me when I read the scriptures.  Being with my family as we gather from all across the country.  And even all the little things too.  Aiden wrapping his arms around my neck and giving me kisses.  Going for a walk with my family on a beautiful evening.  Sitting around the dinner table with good friends, just eating, laughing, and talking.  All of that is "real joy" too.

So how is it that "real joy" has now been equated with giving your wife a treadmill for Christmas?  Or Uncle So-and-So the Kinect Zumba game?  Why when we walk into Walmart the week after Halloween are we bombarded with pictures of glowing faced children receiving gift cards or the latest rock and roll Elmo doll?  

Don't get me wrong, I completely recognize that it is a lot of fun and brings a lot of happiness to give gifts.  Even our Savior received gifts.  But it just made me sad to see something so special as "joy" degraded to receiving a drill for Christmas.  

Not to sound cliche, but let's remember the real reason for the season.
It's not that flashy new Light Sabre.
It's Our Savior, Jesus Christ, who makes REAL JOY possible.

Big

I really can't believe how big Aiden is now.  I was uploading pictures from my camera and was looking back at older stuff and it was just earlier this year that he was a butterball rolling around on the floor.  And now he's a little boy.  Where has time gone??

Yummy...

So growing up my mom always made the most AMAZING Pot Roast.  Nothing takes me home more than a roast cooking in the crock pot, yummy rolls, and my family sitting around the table.  BUT..my mom's recipe has always had dairy in it and since my family and I have gone dairy free (milk allergy) I have been searching high and low for a good recipe.  I have tried many and none were that great.  So yesterday I decided to wing it.  I read a bunch of recipes, took what I wanted from them, threw it all in the crock pot and hit go...

And 10 hours later, voila!  AMAZING!  Seriously delicious stuff.  And I am one happy camper that I have a recipe now!  So in honor of my wonderful discovery, I am going to share my recipe.  Try it out-it's delish!

Chuck roast (you want about 1/2 lb. per person-more if you have a big eater)
4 large yukon gold potatoes
1 lb. baby carrotts
1/2 large onion

Sauce:
1 1/4 c Beef Stock
1/3 cup Red Cooking Wine
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Dice potatoes and slice onions.  Mix all veggies in crock pot. Pour sauce over veggies.  Generously salt and pepper the roast, patting the seasoning into it.  Place on top of veggies and cook for 10 hours.  The time you spend cooking your roast is CRITICAL.  You need at least 9 hours to have it tender and falling apart.  Any less and you will have a tough roast.

After roast is done remove roast to cutting board and "slice" (it will mostly just fall apart into chunks-that's what makes it good!).  Spoon veggies out with slotted spoon onto serving platter and top with roast.

To make gravy, pour juices from the crock pot into saucepan and turn on high.  In small bowl or cup add 2 tbsp. flour to about 1/2 cup water and whisk together.  Whisk the flour mixture into the saucepan and continuously stir until well incorporated.  Let bubble, continuously stirring for another minute or two.  Add salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.  Serve!

Next time I will take a picture!  Enjoy!

Week One: How to get healthy one week at a time

I've been thinking a lot lately about everything I've learned from my husband and on my own about nutrition and how to get to a healthier point in my life.  Not just healthy as in not being sick, but healthy as in really feeling good, energetic, clear minded and taking care of my body the way it's meant to be taken care of, as the temple of my spirit.  Our bodies are an incredible creation, created after the image of our Father in Heaven.  They are a gift in this life, and we will be reunited with them in the next.  Knowing this, I have a firm testimony that we should take care of our bodies as best we know how.  Now I will be the first to admit that I don't do everything right, currently I'm still working on getting better at exercising.  One area I'm really proud of though is the way my family eats.  We are doing a lot of things right and I can feel a big difference.  So, I decided that I want to share what I've learned.  Most people when I start talking about all we do get overwhelmed and think it would be too hard to get where we are.  But what I always say is that it's been almost a 2 year process...changing one small thing at a time.  It was not an immediate switch.  So if you decide to follow my blog and want to try some things out, I'm going to give one task a week for you to work on.  Some things I'm already doing, some I'll be giving as a challenge to myself as well.  Some weeks will be pretty easy and others will be more challenging.  The biggest thing is to remember that even if you mess up, don't give up.  Just keep going and it'll get easier, I promise!

So (drumroll please), here is your challenge for week one:

As soon as you wake up in the morning drink 20 ounces of water before you eat or drink anything else. 

Yes you heard me, 20!

My tip: Buy a cheap big cup at the store, fill it before you go to bed and put it next to your bed.  As soon as you get up it's right there and you can chug it down!  I usually drink half, then make my bed, and then drink the other half.  If you don't make your bed...not sure what to tell you :)

Why?  Water is a critical part of our diet and most people are not getting enough. It helps flush waste out of our body, will give us more energy, and provide important minerals and other nutrients to our bodies.

And just a heads up...yes, you WILL be going to the restroom a lot more, but as your body grows accustomed to the added water you won't have to go as much.  So just be prepared for more bathroom breaks!

Have a great week!