From the category archives:

health and nutrition

homemade mocha coffee

I gave up coffee for 10 days. Then I decided I was smarter and nicer when I drank coffee and that I could kick the caffeine love when the baby was 5. Or 18. Whatever.

We have eliminated all processed food, refined sugar and anything with corn syrup from our house. I can actually hear my body thanking me. Then I decided I was smarter and nicer when I had chocolate. And that I’m never giving that up.

So I made up my own mocha coffee. I like to call it the The PMS Helper.

Ladies. This drink makes the world a better place. If you aren’t a coffee drinker, just use hot water instead.

The ingredients:

Recipe for mocha coffee:

1 heaping tablespoon of powdered cocoa (don’t be shy)

1 tablespoon cane sugar

a dash of salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Brew a cup of coffee right into the powder mixture. I use the second the largest setting on the Keurig which is about 10 – 12 ounces. (Or a cup to cup and half of boiling water) Whisk until blended. Stir in the vanilla. Top off with a little milk. (We use raw milk. Straight from the udder.)

Enjoy!!

homemade fries

We like to eat in our house. If you stop by, you’ll be fed and fed well.

And whole foods is where it’s at. Everything tastes better if it’s made from scratch.

After you make these fries, you’ll never want to buy a bag of frozen starch sticks again.

Recipe for homemade fries:

1. Pour about 3 inches of canola oil into a deep pan and heat on high
2. Slice Idaho potatoes into fries (in our house, one person can eat one potato’s worth of fries)
3. Once the oil is hot, put enough fries into the oil so that they are covered with oil. Cover with a lid. (You might need to do it in shifts)
4. While the fries are cooking, line a large bowl with paper towels
5. Cook until the fries are golden brown
6. Toss the fries in sea salt

YUM!

Enjoy!

food

Sometimes I feel like my entire day is just a series of snacks and meals.

Maybe because it is.

I was daydreaming the other day about how when children are in school, there’s an actual staff of people who’s only job is the prepare, serve and cleanup the meals for the kids. Really the only thing the kids do is toss their wrappers and such into a ginormous communal trash bin.

Those are some of my goals for 2012.

My own snack and meal prep staff and the setup of a 55 gallon trash bin right in my kitchen.

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when words just aren’t enough

I refuse to give up on gaining control of my diet and lifestyle and nix the carb and sugar addiction.

But man is it ever hard. Especially when hormones are raging and all I want to do is sit on the sofa with my ginormous bowl of ice cream slathered in chocolate syrup.

TMI?

Mmmmmmm….ice cream…..

But that would only guarantee a quick temporary band aid to my mood and then I’d wake up with a massive headache and the overwhelming desire to eat 6 donuts.

Mmmmmmm….donuts…..

So I’m just pushing through. Dreaming of all the sugary goodness that makes me feel like shite soon after. (Sorry, am I allowed to say that?)

I guess I’ll just go munch on some cashews. Or maybe I’ll make some bacon?

feeling healthy : a confession

Here we go.

I have a weakness.

It takes on many shapes and forms. And flavors.

Mmmmmm. Chocolate. And cookies. Oh, and donuts. Powered cream filled. And Reese’s peanut butter cups. King size. Not those little dinky two-fer packs.

Sweets haunt me. I’m talking: if there’s nothing in the house I can find, then I’ll go straight for the pantry to find the semi-sweet baking chips and shovel a handful in my mouth kind of haunt me.

There was a cookie party after church the other day, and once I got that first cookie in my belly, the beast was unleashed and I wanted to house a cookie from every single platter. Great for the tastebuds, but not so great when I feel like a giant whale for the next two hours and my brain explodes in mush.

Graphic, I know.

The genetics passed down from both sides are slender in body type, but that does nothing for my bad diet choices and the way I feel.

If given the option between a piece of fruit or a giant piece of cake, I’d choose the cake hands down. And then ask for a second.

I’ve been trying everything under the sun to combat this confusing fatigue that always lingers. The achey muscles and headaches got old a few years ago too. I’ve come to realize that my sugar addiction is ruining my life, and potentially the kids’.

Of course it doesn’t show in their little bodies now physically, but I don’t want to create in them this idea that sugar and sweets should be consumed every day because they had a mom who couldn’t function without indulging in a mound of sugar cane.

So today marks day #3 of no processed sugar. I’ve been putting honey in my coffee and saying no to my usual habits.

But I have to tell you that my body is raging. Like for real. Raging big time. I feel like a drug addict.

I have an intensive nutrition appointment set up with our chiropractor to find out how to drop kick this problem and find out how to feel fabulous.

I’ll be doing some fasts and cleanses to get rid of all this nonsense I’ve been eating and reprogram my brain and body into some better choices.

Maybe you can join me?

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