Mixed Messages

I found this billboard and just had to post it.  Our society is sending so many mixed messages to families and kids.  I was reading a message referencing someone making a trip to eat fast food that day.  A friend  commented "get ready....you will be taking your kids there all the time."  Really?  Do we have to make that the norm for us personally?

If we do, we will certainly pay the price at some point in time and our family will as well.  The way you can get serious about obesity and the health crisis our nation is entrenched in is by considering everything you choose to put in your mouth and allow your kids to eat.  Will it bring life and health to your cells or are your feeding a disease just waiting to come forth in your body?

What brings health?  Real fruits and vegetables and whole grains; water; exercise; and proper sleep.

I am certainly not talking about the occasional run through a fast food dive or ice cream after a movie.  I am talking about what you are CONSISTENTLY doing to take care of your cells.

I started to say, "Shame on the company for producing food that is slowly killing people."  But really it is shame on us for being poor consumers.  If we did not eat the food, they would not stay in business. WE DO HAVE A CHOICE!

What is your "kinda shoppin' spree"?

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna

I wanted the taste of Eggplant Parmesan, but it was just not the right dish to cook tonight, so I decided to turn it into a lasagna.  My neighbor JoAnna gave me some eggplant from their garden, and Ed & Renae Morgan shared amazing tomatoes from their garden. They inspired me to create something I had never fixed before.

After I had the taste for this meal in my mind, I realized I did not have canned tomatoes or bread crumbs.  I decided I would just have to try to make homemade breadcrumbs and make a fresh tomato sauce both of which really surprised me! (See the next postings for making your own breadcrumbs and tomato sauce.)  It was more labor intensive than most dishes I make but worth every minute!  Since I wrote the recipe just as I created the dish, I highlighted all the ingredients in red, so you could make a list.

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna

Sauce Ingredients:

4 large homegrown tomatoes

1-2 cloves garlic
1 medium white onion

1 T olive oil

5 fresh basil leaves

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Directions: Place all ingredients in the food processor (you could use a blender as well), and puree into a sauce the consistency your desire.  I left some small chunks in mine.  Keep in mind, you are using fresh tomatoes and the sauce will have more liquid than a canned or jar of sauce that has been stewed.

Eggplant Parmesan Ingredients:

3 medium eggplant

4 eggs

2 cups breadcrumbs

1/2 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated

12 T extra virgin olive oil (using 3 T at a time)

Directions: Slice eggplant lengthwise into 1/4 inch pieces.  Place them in a colander and sprinkle a small amount of Kosher salt onto them and place a plate on top to press them down.  Leave them in the colander for a couple of hours.  This will allow some of the excess water to drain out of the eggplant.  Mix eggs in a bowl large enough to dredge your eggplant it.  Divide breadcrumbs & parmesan cheese in 1/2.  (When you place your eggplant on your breadcrumbs they will get soggy after a while.  When you divide them in half, you will have a fresh set of breadcrumbs halfway through the process.) Place your breadcrumb/parmesan mixture on a medium sized plate.  Heat a large skillet to medium heat with 3 T olive oil. Dredge eggplant on both sides through the eggs.  Place the eggplant on each side in the breadcrumb mixture.  Place in the skillet and saute until eggplant starts to turn clear and breadcrumbs are lightly browned.  Flip and repeat the process on the other side.  Place on newspaper or paper towel until you are ready to place it in layers in the lasagna.  Repeat until all eggplant are lightly sauteed adding fresh olive oil as needed.

Cheese Filling Ingredients:

12 oz Ricotta Cheese

12 oz Cottage Cheese

2 t. basil

2 t. oregano
1 t. salt

Directions: In a medium bowl, mix the above ingredients.

I also used 2 cups of Monterray Jack cheese; you could certainly use Mozzarelo or another combination to your liking!  Add more cheese if you like it heavy on the cheese side!

Additionally, you will need to cook 12 lasagna noodles.  I used an organic jerusalem artichoke pasta.  Be sure too cook them ONLY 1/2 the time on the directions from the package of noodles.  The reason being, they can absorb the rest of the extra juice the fresh tomatoes produce.

Then just layer your lasagna in a 9 x 13 dish or whatever dish you want to use:

A little sauce on the bottom to keep your noodles from sticking

3 Lasagna Noodles

1 cup Ricotta mixture - spread over the noodles 

Eggplant Parmesan

1 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup cheese

Repeat!  

On the top of the last layer of noodles, add one cup of tomato sauce.  I went ahead and added the last 1/2 cup of cheese.  I should have waited until the end of the cooking time to add it because I cooked the dish at 425 degrees for 40 minutes without covering it to allow more juice to cook away.  Because I did not cover it, my cheese was a little more brown than I would have liked.  I let the dish sit for 15 minutes on the counter before serving to allow it to set.  It was a big hit with everyone!

Oh and thank you to Brad and Mandy Sartor for delicious garlic from your garden!  You all continue to inspire me press on to have more homegrown food!

Vinegar & Honey Drink

Many drinks that we consume on a daily basis in America taste good, and we desire them often but have a detrimental effect on our health.  Here is a drink that actually benefits the body and provides balance and healing.  You can make it one glass at a time, but we have found it more effective to make a quart and keep it in the refrigerator.

Apple Cider Vinegar & Honey Drink
1/4 cup Braggs Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup Raw Honey
30 ounces of filtered water

Pour the Raw Apple Cider Vinegar into the jar along with the Raw Honey.  Shake until blended well.  Add filtered water and refrigerate.  If you are used to drinking sweeter drinks, add a little more honey until you develop a taste for the original recipe. (We actually double our recipe in one jar and just fill our drinking glass with 1/2 Vinegar Drink and 1/2 additional water.  That way we do not have to mix it as often.)

This recipe is similar to the one on the www.bragg.com website except I multiply it by 4 to make it last longer!

Because of the amount of white flour, white sugar, and processed foods that many people eat, their bodies do not have the live active nutrition you get from real living foods.  Our bodies thrive on living nutrition which is not found in the S.A.D (Standard American Diet) consisting mostly of dead foods.

Thus our bodies become very acidic.  Disease thrives in an acidic environment.  What this drink does is helps to turn your body more alkaline.  Disease cannot however thrive in this environment.  Raw Apple Cider Vinegar has living enzymes and nutrients that the body is craving.

Now for many people who eat and drink based on what they initially like the taste of, this drink might not suit them at first.  When we are changing to a healthier way of living there will be many times that we have to eat and drink things that are not at first what we would normally like until we come to the point where we develop a taste for new healthier options.

I look back and think about times I refused to eat foods that were "different" and did not taste like the feel good foods I had been used to eating.  I was not doing my health any good with that attitude!  It was not until I started being open to understanding what was actually in the food before I made a decision whether I was going to eat it or not that my health began improving.

On a side note, my grandmother drank this drink every day and lived to be 97!  I am not saying that this will do the trick for everyone (other lifestyle choices are very important as well), but I do think it is a testimony for keeping your body alkaline on a daily basis for the long haul.

Hummus & Fresh Local Tomatoes

This morning we went to our local Farmer's Market in Oxford.  We purchased the most delicious red and yellow tomatoes.  I decided to use them as our afternoon snack with homemade hummus.

Hummus
16 oz cooked garbanzo beans
1/4 cup organic extra virgin olive oil
1 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 t. cumin
1 large clove minced garlic

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until creamy and smooth.

For a variation add 3 T. sundried tomatoes packed in oil or rehydrated in hot water.  I added a couple of chopped fresh basil leaves.  You can cook your own garbanzo beans or used canned.  This recipe is easily doubled if you have a larger crowd.

Serve with raw veggies or pita wedges as a snack or appetizer.  You can also used it as a spread on a sandwich or pita pocket with cucumbers, sprouts, fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, a little balsamic vinegarette dressing, and anything else that sounds good to you!

Yogurt, Fruit, & Granola

Breakfast, lunch, snack, light supper, or dessert, this combination will fit the bill!  It is simply yogurt, fruit, and granola.  We like to make our own yogurt and granola but you certainly can find great clean brands at most grocery stores.  We use plain yogurt.  Other variations have so much sugar that it is really counter productive to eat it!  Once you add the fresh fruit and granola, you have the added sweetened touch needed.  Yes, sometimes it takes getting used to a new taste but you will adjust and probably realize when eating the other later how sugary it really becomes!  If you need to,  add a little raw honey.  

Now is the perfect time of year to find fresh fruit at your local farmer's market!  You can even purchase ones such as blueberries and peaches and store them in your freezer for use later on in the year.  You will be glad you made the effort.

Wild Berry Tea

Summer is the time to beat the heat!  We love making our own special beverages together.  Sure it's easy to grab a package or container of an artificially sweetened and dye colored drink to add some spice to the day but the health detriments far outweigh the pleasure.

Instead, check out the tea selection at your local grocery store or better yet your local farmer's market might have loose leaf teas!  Read the labels and pick some flavors you might like that are just natural tea leaves.

Brew the tea according to the directions on the package and add the amount of sweetener you like.  We add 1/2 of a cup of sweetener such as Agave Nector or Local Honey to a gallon of tea.

It's easy to get a glass jar and let the sun brew your tea!  Just add your tea bags to a jar of filtered water.  Set it out in the hot sun for a few hours.  Then add your sweetener if you would like.

In our house this takes the place of store bought juice.  The color is unbeatable and the flavor is amazing.

Homemade Peach Preserves

The ingredients for these preserves were simple - peaches and agar agar.  Now what on earth is agar agar you might ask?  It is a sea vegetable that serves as an emulsifier to thicken the preserves.  It keeps you from having to add a gelatin product to get your preserves to gel together.

Homemade Peach Preserves

4 cups fresh peaches

2 T Agar Agar flakes

1/2 cup turbinado or another natural sweetener (if you want a sweeter preserve; if not, leave out the additional sugar)

DIRECTIONS

Step 1:  In order to get your jars to seal your preserves, you need to heat the jars.  Here is one way to do that.  Heat four 1/2 pint jars in the oven by placing glass jars in a glass baking dish.  Fill the dish 1/2 the way up with water.  Add the 4 flat jar canning lids to the water so the rubber seal will heat as well. Turn your oven on 350 and place the pan of jars in the oven while you are preparing the peaches.

Step 2:  Cut peaches into small pieces.  Take one cup of peaches and puree them in the blender.  Pour puree into a small stock pot.  Stir in Agar Agar flakes.  Add additional 3 cups of peaches.  Allow mixture to come to a boil.  Turn down the heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes.  Stir often.  Then turn the stove off.

Step 3:  Remove the glass dish from the oven.  Fill the jars with the peach mixture leaving 1/2 an inch at the top of the jar.  Wipe the top edge of the jar to make sure it is "sticky free," so it will seal well.  Remove one of your jar lids from the water with a fork and place it on top of the jar.  Add your sealing ring.  Place jar in the refrigerator to cool.

Local Summer Breakfast Burrito!

I opened the refrigerator this morning to make breakfast and decided to just take what I had leftover and make a burrito.  Many of the veggies came from our local Farmer's Market in Oxford, MS.

Summer Breakfast Burrito
1/4 cup local white onions
1/4 cup corn from the Farmer's Market
1/4 cup local tomatoes
1/2 cup spaghetti squash from my neighbor's garden
1 small clove of local garlic minced
1/4 cup local farmer's cheese
Dash of pepper
2 local eggs

I sauteed the vegetables & garlic until tender and most of the juice had evaporated.  Then I added the eggs and scrambled them together with the veggies.  At the end I sprinkled the cheese on top after I had turned the stove off.  Finally, I put it inside the whole grain tortillas.  It made enough for 2 servings.

I served it with local peaches and blueberries I got yesterday at Cherry Creek Orchards in Pontotoc, MS. They were a hit, and I was able to just use the leftovers of what I had in the refrigerator.  There are LOTS of great combinations you can use and stick in a tortilla.  Try your hand at finding your favorite combinations!

Refrigerated Tangy Cucumbers!

My neighbor JoAnna brought me some cucumbers from their garden.  They were delicious raw!  I decided to spice one of them up a bit and add a few ingredients to it.  I filled a mason jar with sliced cucumbers, then added a few cloves of sliced garlic (you could mince it) and white onion (purple is excellent as well) with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Then I poured Bragg Raw Apple Cider Vinegar over it, filling the jar one third of the way.  I filled the rest with filtered water.  I put the top on and shook it then refrigerated it.

Nutritional Value: Cucumbers have vitamin C & A, manganese, potassium, & fiber. They are low in calories.  The silica in cucumber is an essential component of healthy connective tissue, which includes muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and bone.  And since they were straight from JoAnna and Jeff's garden there was NO wax coating that is often found on grocery store cucumbers - YUK!! 

We ate some a few hours later, and they were wonderful.  They will continue to season in the refrigerator as time goes on and taste even better!  Just add more cucumbers to the liquid when they are gone.  Simple delicacies of summertime.......

Eat Local!

This morning I made a trip to our local Farmer's Market in Oxford, MS.  It was so refreshing to be purchasing produce that had been grown only miles from where it was being sold.  Much of the produce was grown without harmful chemicals.  No, every piece of food did not "look perfect and uniform" as it often does in the grocery store.  But that's okay with me!  In fact, I prefer the inconsistency that you often get with food that is not mass produced.  There is something comforting to me in knowing that that the seeds are not genetically modified for perfection and disease resistance.  I don't mind the occasional worm in my corn!!

The taste was beyond comparison!  We had tomato sandwiches for lunch and are having a vegetable dinner with lentils tonight.  I am so thankful for our local farmers who put so much work and love into bringing us food with powerful nutrition!

Support local farmers - your cells will thank you for it!  The food filled with powerful antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and living enzymes will help you fighting disease and building a healthy immune system.

Not Just Any Mexican Restaurant!

Today I had the pleasure of going with my dear friend Katie to an amazing restaurant in Memphis called Los Torgugas.  It was simply amazing - not because of a grand dining room or fancy napkins or special plates.  It was amazing because the food was comprised of simple fresh ingredients which were perfectly blended to create an explosion to my tastebuds!  The owner is absolutely overjoyed at telling his valued customers that he goes to the market each morning to hand pick the ingredients they will be using for the day.  No food distributor truck pulls up behind the store to deliver boxed and bagged ingredients that have inevitably absorbed some of the odor of their container as they lose their nutritional value.  Only fresh ingredients are good enough for Los Tortugas!  

So what are you serving on your table?  I was truly inspired today, not only by the taste and quality of the food but the value that went into my body.  I will be even more conscious about what I serve on my table and make sure I include more fresh and homemade items.  Those whole food ingredients are what bring life and health to our cells.  In America we tend to equate value with low cost and high quantity.  That kind of value comes with a high price to our health - maybe not today but over the long haul!

Oh and we also enjoyed fresh lime and mango slushes - no chemical laden syrup and dye - just real fruit, natural sweetener and ice!  What a real treat!  And thank you Katie for introducing me to Los Tortugas!  Just another reason I truly appreciate you.

Green Smoothie

Smoothies are a great way to include lots of power packed nutrition in a fun drink!  We make smoothies several times a week and enjoy them for breakfast or snack.  This smoothie really surprised me!  My friend Margaret told me she put kale in smoothies for her girls in the summer.  She said they could not taste the kale.  I thought I would try it with an existing recipe I use. 

Banana Nut Butter Smoothie

1 cup almond milk

1-2 frozen bananas

2 T. Nut Butter (almond, peanut, sunflower, etc)

1/8 cup Juice Plus Vanilla Complete

2 T flax seed meal

1 stalk of kale

Blend well. Add ice if you would like it thicker. (This recipe is easily doubled!)

We were all surprised that we could not taste the kale.  It turned it a beautiful green color!  Since then we have added kale to lots of smoothies we make.

Jamie Oliver is Back!

Jamie Oliver has no idea who I am, but I could not help but feeling like a long time friend was coming home when he returned to America for the show. Even though we do not know each other we are kindred spirits when it comes to being passionate about helping families change their eating habits.  

Now, I know that there is obviously drama related to any reality TV show, but still I get excited at how Jamie Oliver exposes poor habits that are developed in and encouraged by the typical school system in America.  Granted there are schools are doing it right in regards to nutrition, and we highly applaud them!

My kids were completely groused out by the way a processed chicken nugget was made in the series last year.  It continued to open their eyes to the sad unhealthy state of most fast foods our society so frequently scarfs down.  

Use this time watching Food Revolution with your kids to start some great conversations about what is really in food.  Ask them what changes they would like to make in your household based on what they learn.  Let them LEAD and watch what happens!  

Many times we as adults do not want our kids "telling us what to do."  Let this be a time for your kids to tell you what to do:  Allow them to choose something after each show that they want to remove from or add to your family's nutritional routine.  They can be a part of throwing something unhealthy away and going to the store to purchase a good replacement.

Let your kids take the LEAD and watch what happens.............

Clip of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

Nature's Packaging

My kids eat snacks during the day, and my goal is for what they eat to count for something significant in their bodies.  I want them to enjoy it and know why it is good for them.  I try to stay as homemade as I can.  Prepackaged snacks often times have lots of artificial ingredients and fillers to increase their taste and shelf life.  Seriously, a package of goldfish or graham crackers is going to taste the same 5 years from now! That should speak volumes to us and stop us for a minute to consider what is in that "food like substance" as Michael Pollan calls them, that allows it to remain the same so long.  I like to reduce their exposure to prepackaged snacks to occasionally.

Today, we limited our partaking of prepackaged snacks and helped the environment by eating fresh tangerines.  The kids love pealing them by themselves,and the taste is unbeatable!  They are packed with vitamins and minerals that are bioavailable - ready to be absorbed into their bodies and get to work!

Now, I cannot change the shelf life very much of the snack we had today, but I can guarantee that the packaging is perfectly designed to go back into the ground and create new life after it decomposes!   And, the effect of what is inside the snack will beat anything you can buy in a man-made package!  We can thank our Creator, God, for creating the first snacks for on the go- perfectly packaged!

It's School Time! What's For Lunch, Mom & Dad?

When my oldest daughter started Kindergarten, I carefully packed her a healthy lunch each day.  I was so thrilled to be able to do this for her.  It only took a few days of her observing what most of the other kids were eating for her to come home and express her disdain at having to bring her lunch from home.  She described wanting to be able to go through the line in the cafeteria, get a tray, and eat what they other kids were eating.  "How could she possibly want this after all the effort I was making?  What did I do wrong?"  I thought.  It is natural for kids to see what their friends are doing and want the same.  And it starts way before Kindergarten.

Our job as parents is to educate our children as to the "why" behind the importance of making healthy food choices.  After all, isn't "why"one of the first questions our kids begin to ask us anyway?  So what is the why behind good nutrition?

Our bodies were designed to grow right and prevent disease.  They cannot however just do that all on their own.  We have to partner with our bodies and give them the fuel that they need to do this.  Our fuel is the right kind of food and plenty of water.  When we choose to allow our kids to eat food for lunch that is full of additives, preservatives, sugar, dye, and for the most part devoid of whole food nutrition, we are not giving their bodies and brains what they need to grow right and prevent disease.  Without protein, "good for you" carbohydrates and vitamins/minerals that come from fruits and vegetables, fiber, and a whole host of other nutrients that whole foods provide, their brains will not be able to function at their greatest achievement level and their bodies will not have the sustainable energy they so desperately need to run, jump, play, and have more consistent mood patterns.

Yes, it is many times easier to say, "Fine, buy your lunch. Have what 'everyone else is having'."Or, "Sure, take a pre-prepared lunch meal we bought at the store."  But this would be cutting your child's educational potential and good health short!  You would never say,"Sure, quit doing your homework, or just do it a couple of days a week."  The same should be true with their food intake at school.  We should never allow them to settle for second best when great fuel for their bodies and brains is just a brown paper bag away!

So how do you begin?  Honesty and Education!!! Sit down with your kids and explain to them that you understand their desire to do what they other kids are doing. And you understand that you have helped them develop a taste for foods that are not going to take care of their body, but you want to help them now develop a taste for foods that will give their body life and health.  Tell them that their cells need certain nutrients in order to help them think well and prevent them from getting sick.  Think of examples that relate to their world and what they are interested in.  For example, if they play soccer, ask them what would happen to the game if the coach showed up for practice without the ball?  The same is true for their bodies.  If they show up for school without good nutrition, they will not be able to perform to maximum capacity! Ask for them to help you in providing them with the best food to feed their growing body - making a list of healthy lunch options, shopping for the food items, helping you prepare the lunch, having a positive attitude, etc. 

Getting kids (and adults too!) to eat healthy is a process.  Just DON'T GIVE UP!  Stay consistent. Keep educating your children as to the why behind what is driving you to help them become and stay healthy!  Before you know it, they will be the ones reminding you to make those healthy choices.

Water - it affects every funtion of your body.....

Did you know you can live 5 to 7 weeks without food but the average adult cannot last more than 5 days without water? It is one of the Building Blocks to a healthy life. Water plays a vital role in regulating our body temperature, transporting nutrients and oxygen to our cells, removing waste, cushioning joints, and protecting our organs and tissues to name just a few. For the most part, your body is about 70% water!!!

So why don't we realize it's importance? Why do many of us just drink coffee, sodas, juice, tea, etc? Why do we say, "Well I don't really like the way water tastes?" It seems that many times we are more interested in feeding our taste buds than we are feeding our cells. God designed our bodies in amazing ways to thrive, grow, and resist illness and disease. But guess what? It cannot do it if we are not willing to give it what it needs to function properly!

Do you want to be healthy? You must have enough water on a consistent basis to maintain your health for a lifetime. Today, stop making excuses for why you don't drink water and just drink it! You should be consuming 1/2 your body weight on ounces per day (ie - 150 pound person should drink 75 ounces per day). Don't try to do it all at once though. Just take a gallon jug and fill it up with the ounces you should drink per day. Just drink a little more per day until you reach your goal.

Did You Know....

• Once you feel yourself getting thirsty you are already on your way to being dehydrated.


• When the body is mildly dehydrated, it may restrict blood flow to nonvital areas in order to concentrate it on the vital organs? When you drink enough water constricted blood vessels usually begin to open up, lowering blood pressure.


• Without adequate water, the whole digestive system goes into emergency mode that can result in heartburn, indigestion, constipation, hemorrhoids, etc. The mucous layer of your stomach that protects against stomach acid is 98% water. Without a thick layer of mucous, you may have chronic burning when you eat.
• Water is the main lubricant in the joint spaces and helps prevent arthritis and back pain.


• Water increases the capacity of the immune system.
  

Those are just a VERY few of the things that water does......... So what do you need to do? Get to drinking!!!

February - The Month to Think About Your Heart.....

Your heart is considered the Wellspring of Life for many reasons. Physically it is the “main engine”. It nourishes our tissues with blood and sets our rhythm with a pulse. Spiritually it is to be guarded because of the life giving nature of it (Prov. 4:23).
On the American Heart Association website there is a section entitled “Heart Attack, Stroke and Cardiac Arrest Warning Signs.” Yes, it might be helpful for us to be aware of these things but wouldn’t you rather do what you can today to DETER this from happening? YOU CAN! The question is will you make the changes necessary for this to occur?
A few simple things can help you get started:

1) Start eating more raw vegetables each day. An easy way is to eat a salad full of raw vegetables each day. Add nuts or seeds. Sprinkle your favorite seasoning instead of adding lots of dressing. Why raw? Anytime you cook, can, process, or freeze vegetables, they lose much of their nutritional value. The enzymes that are needed for digestion are killed! Your body is begging for these nutrients in order to function properly.
2) Don’t think about a no fat or low fat diet…Think about a right fat lifestyle! Your body needs fat to absorb vitamins such as A, D, E, and K. But all fats are not created equal. Some are much better for you than others. What are the right kinds of fats? It is best to reduce saturated fats (primarily from animal foods) and increase monounsaturated fats (olives, avocadoes, almonds, peanuts) and polyunsaturated fats (soybean, safflower, sunflower, corn, and cottonseed). It is also important to increase Omega-3 fatty acids (fish such as tuna & salmon, flax, soybeans) and decrease the consumption of Omega-6 fatty acids (land animals and polyunsaturated oils in processed foods.) It is best to eliminate all hydrogenated oils knows as transfats from your daily routine!
3) Drink more water. All body functions depend on water and the lack if it plays a major role in premature disease and aging. The heart is a muscle. Muscles consist mostly of water! Water is essential for our hearts if they are to function long-term to the fullest capacity. How many glasses of water do you drink a day? (coffee, tea, soda, and juice don’t count J!) Begin today adding an additional glass of water until you are drinking half of your body weight in water each day.
4) Exercise. Exercise is a key to proper metabolism. We are able to burn fat and calories, increase our circulation, and it helps us have more energy, stamina and mental clarity! Exercise boosts the supply of oxygen to the heart muscle by expanding the existing arteries and creating tiny new blood vessels. It may also prevent blood clots or promote their breakdown. Exercise helps to regulate blood pressure. What kind of exercise is best?……….Whatever you will commit to do. The best thing is to just get moving…………

Don’t forget: You may think that you are far from the onset of

heart disease but remember:
Diseases usually start to develop in your body MANY years before the onset!
That is why it is vitally important to change your habits today.
They will determine your future…………

What are Phytonutrients?

We now hear the word "phytonutrient" used frequently. What is a phytonutrient, and is it helpful to you? The term "phyto" originated from a Greek word meaning plant. Phytonutrients are certain organic components of plants. Fruits, vegetables, berries, grains, legumes, nuts, and teas are rich sources of phytonutrients.
What do phytonutrients do in the body? The following are commonly proposed ways by which phytonutrients may protect our health.

• Serve as antioxidants


• Enhance immune response


• Enhance cell-to-cell communication


• Convert to vitamin A (beta-carotene is metabolized to vitamin A)
• Cause cancer cells to die (apoptosis)


• Repair DNA damage caused by toxic exposures
• Detoxify carcinogens

So, yes they are VERY helpful to you! They are a must if we would like to reduce the cell damage that goes on in our bodies each day and reduce our. Start today adding more phyto's to your daily routine through eating fruits, veggies, nuts, whole grains, beans, and berries!

Cancer Prevention

The American Cancer Society website states that “today the evidence is even stronger that a diet high in fruits and vegetables can help prevent cancer over a lifetime”. www.cancer.org

Allyson's interesting health facts....

Did you know:
1500 people die from cancer every day
1 in 3 and 1 in 2 men will have cancer in his or her lifetime
1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer
1.1 million Americans have a heart attack every year
500,000 heart attack victims in America die each year
Americans spend $330 billion per year on heart disease
64% of U.S. adults are obese
Diabetes will increase 165% over the next 50 years
33% of Americans suffer from Arthritis

Why settle for being part of these statistics? Start today taking control of your health by eating more raw fruits and vegetables and drinking lots of water! What you do determines what will happen with your health.....