We are actually still alive. Can't believe it's been a month since my last post. Spring is my busy time of year with work and other life events, and as a result my blog has been neglected. We are still here though and moving forward with our organic way of life. In the beginning, my goal was to add new foods every month, in a very structured way (haha)-however, things have not completely gone as planned. The first month we switched to all organic dairy and are still going strong with that. The second month we switched to all organic or grass fed meat and are still good there. The third month (March), we decided to gradually start bringing in new fruits and vegetables since produce is the most vast food group to make the change (and the most expensive overall change!). We have kept up with that commitment, but the biggest incentive for new foods is that Carter (my 13-month old) is all about trying food that is on my plate, but not necessarily if it is on his! So...my plate needs to contain "Carter-appropriate" food almost at all times-at least for the meals where we are in the same room! That has caused us to make more of a change with different foods that weren't part of the regimented plan I originally came up with :)   After all, if I am not comfortable giving him the food that I am eating, why on earth am I eating it!?!!? Just one of the beautiful things about being a parent.

I promised to send out the list of the produce that doesn't need to be organic (and why), so I commit to getting that info out by the end of the week. My apologies for letting life distract me for so long.

The other new thing I am going to do is start strictly tracking exactly how much money we are spending on our groceries this month. Starting Sunday (May 1st), I'll collect my receipts all month and report to you at the end how much we spent and update you throughout the month on good buys, etc. In the past, I've had difficulty coming up with a true grocery total since I often pick up household supplies when I get my groceries; however, this time, I will dissect the receipts and give you the true amount spent on food items. I am setting a goal of $500 for the month (we are a family of 3) and hope I come close to it. Prior to going organic, I would estimate that we would spend around $500 a month, so I want to try and do the same with organic food. Generally speaking, majority of our food comes from Costco, Trader Joe's and Earthfare (with a few items here and there from Harris Teeter, Food Lion & Wal-Mart). Watch out though because Charlotte is getting a Whole Foods and I couldn't be more excited!!

I look forward to keeping you posted on how the month is going and giving you a lowdown on the food I buy...if I get really crazy, I may even take pictures of my grocery buys with the total amount spent! We'll just have to see about that :)

Have a wonderful evening!

Well, apparently I am a blog slacker. I think when things are going great, I am much more motivated to write and when things aren't as great...I am unsure about what to say or what attitude to have. Regardless, it has been too long and you are due for a much-needed update.

We are still "participating" in the nutritional typing diet, but definitely not 100% the way it was intended to be followed. The main reason why (which I may have addressed last time) is the degree of preparation involved. It requires pairing freshly cooked protein with lightly steamed or raw veggies at every meal. That can be really tricky and also hard to have variety (which is an absolute necessity for me) with as much preparation as it takes. We do try to eat mostly whole foods and at least pairing appropriate protien and veggies at breakfast and for most dinners. I had no idea it would be this hard when we first decided to try it! Anyway...I can't say that we are getting the true effects of how the diet was intended unfortunately, but we've definitely learned some things and applied them to our diet.

On a brighter note, going organic is going well! We are eating all organic dairy. Our meat is all grass-fed, hormone free (sometimes organic) and our fish is wild (not farm raised). We are probably eating 50% organic for our "snack" food and 30% of our fruits and veggies are organic. March has kinda been a random month as far as what foods we've added to the organic list (if you can't tell already, March has been a CRAZY month in our house), but for April we are adding all of the "dirty dozen" foods to the list. I will write those up for you guys as well as the rationale behind why going with those foods is a good idea if you're going to just eat some organic foods.

We feel really healthy-that is for sure. No one in our household has been sick-hallelujah! I have had allergies, but not a whole lot can be done to prevent that. Carter had an ear infection at Christmas, but other than that, no illness...and Jude has also been healthy. With all the germs that Jude and I must bring in from working in the schools, it is truly amazing that we have managed to avoid all the sickness. I feel that our healthy diet has to be a factor.

So many more things that I could write about that I've been thinking lately in regard to eating healthy and living healthy...but I don't want to overdo it in one post :) I will try and pick back up the blog pace and keep you all engaged with what's going on in our life and the things we've learned.

Diet Update

We have officially been on the Nutritional Typing Diet now for 3 weeks! There are definite pros and cons to eating this way, but without hesitation, I would say that we will continue eating this way indefinitely. The main premise to the "diet" is being sure to pair protien and vegetables and follow them up with fruits/carbs as needed, but as minimal as possible. The diet also encourages excluding gluten for 60 days in order to help you determine your tolerance to it.

The best part about the diet that Jude and I have discovered, is the satisfying feeling of eating whole foods 90% of the time. We eat a lot of real, unprocessed foods and that feels really good. The goal is that the meals should be pretty filling and not leave you too hungry between meals. I am still getting hungry around mid-morning, so I'm guessing I should be eating more at breakfast...I just find that I feel full at the time,  but it doesn't seem to hold me more than about 3 hrs or so. And afternoons are another story in and of themself....who doesn't want something chocolate at 3:00???

The difficult part about the diet is the preparation that it takes. When you have a household as busy as ours with working full time (plus Jude working extra at night) and taking care of a 1 year old, it is hard to get all the food prepared all the time. There is always a lot of chopping, cleaning veggies, packing up lunches, washing lots of dishes, etc. Never do we just pour a bowl of cereal, eat it in 6 minutes, wash the bowl and call it a morning. Our breakfast routine is easily 30-40 minutes. I would say that the preparation component is what keeps me from following the diet perfectly. I still eat all the foods I'm "supposed" to, but maybe not always in the right order at the right timing....oh well, I have something to aim for in the weeks to come ;)  Here is our typical daily menu:

Breakfast:
-2 hard/soft boiled organic eggs
-2 slices of hormone free turkey bacon or 2 organic chicken sausage links
-steamed cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, tomatoes, etc

Snack:
-Vitamix shake (fruits/veggies)

Lunch:
-Salad with organic lunch meat, veggies, cheese, avocado, etc
-Fruit (apple with organic peanut butter, strawberries, etc)

Dinner:
-Grilled fish, organic chicken or turkey burger
-Steamed vegetables
-Sweet potato, acorn squash or brown rice

That's pretty much it...ocassionally we throw in some organic chips and salsa or some other snack, but that's the basic gist to our meals.

We both agree that we don't feel that we react negatively to gluten. After 3 weeks, we don't feel any different and when we "cheated" Sunday and had thin pizza crust, we didn't feel bad afterwards. We've decided to still try and limit our carb intake because we simply feel better without them, but gluten doesn't seem to make a huge difference for us as long as it is in small quantities. Despite this realization, we have still eaten gluten free the entire time, except for this past Sunday. Hey-you gotta give yourself  a break sometime!!

So there's where we're at with this aspect of our life! Jude is looking amazing! He was already in pretty good shape, but he is the thinnest he has ever been and feels the healthiest he has ever felt! He is such an inspiration :) I continue to follow his lead and attempt to follow his self-discipline with exercise and self-control with "treats", but I still have a long way to go in my efforts to achieve total health for myself. When I get bummed at times that I am not achieving the success at the rate that Jude is, I have to remind myself that we didn't start this journey at the same place and won't continue it at the same pace...but the important thing is that we keep going, not turning back and always aim for something bigger and better for our life. It's a beautiful feeling to be heading in the direction we're going and I love it!

New Challenges

It is amazing where the time goes between posts. Every day I have the intention of writing and then life gets in the way! Hopefully with the new challenges I've started, I'll have more motivation to get online and blog about our adventures :)

As I mentioned in my last post, Jude and I planned to start our Nutritional Typing diet on Valentine's Day...and we held true to our commitment! Don't worry though, we ate plenty of delicious food over the weekend during our "time away" while my sister kept Carter for about 24 hrs. We're back in the saddle now. Nutritional Typing is a concept coined by Dr. Mercola, whom Jude and I have come to respect a lot. The basic premise behind Nutritional Typing is eating food combinations that work best for your body. It helps you select foods that help you stay full and maintain good blood sugar levels throughout the day. Eating this way has excellent effects on the way you feel, the way you look and your overall health. Jude and I decided to give it a shot for the recommended 60 days to see how we like it. The main commitment you have to make is going gluten-free the entire time. You have 10% flexibility a day to eat things that aren't on the "list" but you still can't eat things that contain gluten. This may be one of the harder things to do as it is something I've never eliminated before for longer than a week (raw cleanse in January!). One of the best things about the "diet" is that it focuses on raw, organic, whole-food eating. I know to many of you, I lost you at raw, but when I tell you what a daily menu is like, you may change your mind. Here's an example of what we ate yesterday:

Breakfast:
-2 organic chicken sausage links with 2 organic soft-boiled eggs over sliced tomatoes & baby spinach, topped with fresh basil and olive oil. (We could have had 1/2 cup of oatmeal with cinnamon and vanilla, but we were stuffed).

Lunch:
-Salad with organic deli meat (turkey & ham), mushrooms, tomato, cucumber and hard boiled egg
-Handful of blueberries

Snack:
-Vitamix shake (mix of fruits and veggies)

Dinner:
-Baked salmon with Italian seasoning and lemon wheels
-1/2 cup of cottage cheese with fresh chives
-Steamed asparagus and red pepper with fresh avocado
(We could have had a sweet potato also, but we were full enough)

It really was a tasty day. It takes preparation, for sure, but we are learning that preparing fresh food is the big difference between eating for health and eating for convenience. I dare say, it's worth the extra time.

If you go on Dr. Mercola's website, you can take the Nutritional Typing test and find out what type you are and then you'll be sent info on your type, foods you can eat, meal ideas as well as a link to huge cookbook of tons of recipes. Best of all, it's completely free! Here's the link in case you're interested:

http://www.mercola.com/

I'll write tomorrow about our exercise challenge and progress...time has slipped away and I still need to get food ready for tomorrow!

Have a wonderful night :) Until tomorrow.....

Questioning Gluten...

Things in our house are going pretty well health-wise. We have been eating pretty well- probably about 50% raw on average and sticking to our organic dairy and meat so far. I think we are actually starting to notice a big difference in how we feel. For the most part, we've been feeling "good" for about a month. Sometimes you don't realize how you feel until you don't feel that way anymore...does that make sense? Here's an example-We had a Panera gift card from Christmas, so we decided to go there for dinner Friday night. Given that I eat an average of 1.5 salads a day, I did not opt for a salad. I totally could have, or even the healthy vegetable soup. Nope, didn't go that route. Instead I got broccoli-cheddar soup with a french baguette and 1/2 of a chicken panini. I know you're thinking "No wonder you didn't feel good after eating that!". Really though, I have eaten this meal several times (prior to this diet change) and have never noticed anything different about how I felt afterwards. Eating that way was always a "treat" and not the norm, but even so, I don't remember any changes in how I felt.  Now that we are preparing for the Nutritional Typing meal plan, we eat very little carbs, and most definitely not simple carbs like white sourdough bread. After eating that meal, I was sick for about the next 24 hours. I won't go into details, but the result was enough to deter me from eating such a carb-laden meal for a long time. The funny thing is, I am sure it was better than a "fast food" meal, yet I ended up feeling just as bad, physically. Jude also felt nauseated for the rest of the night after eating his meal (similar to mine) and chalks it up to the white bread and oil in the soup. It's amazing what consistent healthy eating will do to you-and how you feel when you attempt to return to eating the way you used to.

Part of the Nutritional Typing meal plan is to go Gluten-Free for the first 6o days and then re-introduce gluten to find your tolerance. I have been finding lately that whenever I do eat bread, I end up feeling a little queasy, so I wonder if I've had an issue digesting gluten all along and just didn't know it. It will be a challenge to be gluten-free for 60 days, but it seems that there are a lot more gluten-free options available than there used to be-in grocery stores and in restaurants. Plus, I have several friends who eat gluten-free due to other medical issues, and they are doing just fine with the adjustment. I am very curious to see how I feel and if it will be something I will completely eliminate. I doubt it-I just can't imagine going without it FOREVER-but I have a feeling I will cut back significantly when all is said and done.

Jude and I have been generously gifted 24hrs of baby freedom from my sister this upcoming Saturday and are staying downtown, going out to a nice dinner, etc. Knowing that it will be near impossible to stick to the Nutritional Typing diet during that time, we are opting to start it the following Monday (Valentine's Day!) so that we can commit fully to it and reap the true benefit. I will be sure to follow up with you often about what we're eating, more info on the diet, rationale behind it, etc.  Looking forward to continuing to share all of our experiences with you!

Back on the Saddle

Whoa. It has been a crazy time in the Johnson house lately-thus the deviation from my usual blog posting schedule. I find that when I am able to blog, I feel more on top of our nutrition and health-almost an imaginary accountability system. It's good to be back.

So, we made it through our first "organic" month. As many of you may remember, we are taking it slow by adding one food group a month throughout the year until we are 90% organic eaters. To give you an idea of where we were before this lifestyle change, we had already taken the 3 big danger substances out of our diet: artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils. We also aimed to buy most of our meat and eggs as hormone-free, anti-biotic free, etc. We drank organic milk, ate organic yogurt and fed Carter a 100% organic diet (minus his formula). While we like processed food as much as the next person, we have tried to buy less of that and more "real" food over the past year, but we aren't as successful at that as we'd like to be.

Anyway, January was "dairy" month. It was an easy food group to start with since we were already used to buying organic milk and yogurt. The main things that were new purchases were the organic cheese and eggs. From what I can tell, it seems that these items generally run 1.5 times more in price than the non-organic brands. When you're paying $4.00 for a block of cheese, you go through it a LOT slower! I think that I have uncovered what will come to be a common trend: When you have to shell out more money for an item, you tend to savor it and make it last-especially when it is a non-staple, such as cheese. I can't really tell how, or if, our grocery bill changed because we spent the month cleaning out our fridge and pantry and eating on food we had, in order to save money. I'll be able to let you know what our total grocery bill was at the end of February though. I am still a supporter of organic milk, yogurt, cheese, etc; however, I haven't had time to do much research on the egg debate I brought up a few weeks back. I am still going to look into that and report back what I find :) Part of my desire to go "non-organic" with the eggs is that we have a local farmer friend who sells his eggs-they aren't organic, but they are free-range chickens and eat a good diet. Again-I will be looking more into this area as it is of definite interest to me.

February is "meat" month. This will be a big change I think. We don't eat a whole lot of meat as it is, but still, the cost of organic meat seems pretty steep. I also want to research the difference between "grass-fed" beef and organic as well as free-range, all-natural, chickens vs. organic. I want to do what is best for my family, but also what makes the most sense money and convenience-wise. I know that I will have a much easier time buying local meat if I'm open to the "non-organic" grass-fed beef, so I want to really dissect the differences and make a good choice.  We also eat a fair amount of fish and have transitioned from the farm-raised fish to the wild caught fish-definitely a price difference, but well worth the health benefits.

After Carter wakes up from his nap, we are off to EarthFare and Trader Joe's for our first real grocery trip since Jan 1st! How great it will be to have food in the house again! Just a preview of the next few posts to come:

• Information on Jude's and my new exercise challenge
• Starting the "Nutritional Typing" diet
• A breakdown of the cost and health benefits of making your own organic baby food (I just want to educate parents and explain how easy it is, so that moms can decide for themselves if it's worth it!!).

Hope this finds you all doing well!!

Until next time :)

Fasting

Don't get all excited-we are not getting ready to fast. Although, we have contemplated it. I am reading this book entitled Hunger: An Unnatural History by Sharman Apt Russell. It is really fascinating.  The book discusses the role that hunger plays in our lives and how hunger, in and of itself, has had the power to heal and inspire.

Fasting is the main focus of the book so far...there was a story about a man who weighed 456 pounds and decided to complete a fast under medical supervision. He ended up fasting (going entirely without food) for 382 days and lost 276 pounds! I can not imagine how someone could go that long without eating. Apparently there is some truth to the idea that the more "padding" you have, the longer your body can survive without food. You actually start to break down the stored fat in your body and your body, in essence, lives off of it. Crazy.

The healing power of fasting is what amazed me even more...there are so many stories about people who fasted and rid themselves of a variety of diseases and medical conditions. Studies done on a number of animals, from mice to rhesus monkeys, showed that when given a limited amount of calories (though consuming all essential nutrients) animals programmed genetically to develop Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, developed the disease more slowly. The study also showed that calorie restriction inhibited the growth of cancerous tumors in animals genetically designed to have cancer.

I remember participating in a 30 hour fast for several years with my youth group as part of World Vision's effort to raise money for famine relief. It was pretty hard to get through those 30 hours, but we spent at least half of the fast in a lock-in, doing fun things with others going through the exact same thing...and then of course we pigged out when it was all over. If I were to do it now, I would be most motivated by the health benefits-and I hate to say it-but it is probably something I would only do for a lengthy amount of time if I was actually sick. In reading this book, apparently the first 2-4 days are the worst, but then the hunger feelings dissipate and you begin to feel very "alive" and energized with the fresh feeling of fasting. I wonder how I would manage to get through those days and still manage my daily responsibilities as a mom and school psychologist...not to mention my role as a responsible citizen and driving a car. Hmm... you never know where life may take you-the things you thought you may never do, may not seem so unreasonable after all.

If only I ate as well as my 10-month old...

It's true...our child eats way better than we do. If we ate what he ate, we'd be the epitome of health. It's funny that I make it a priority to ensure that my child eats a 100% organic, healthy diet, yet I don't do the same for myself. Hopefully this year that will change. I was listening to the radio this morning and I heard a pretty cool idea...they were talking about the "highlights of 2011." You read right, I didn't make a typo...highlights of a year that has just begun. The idea behind it is to think, plan and believe that the things you want to happen, will. I really love that idea. I've been thinking about it all day, what my highlights of 2011 will be. One will definitely be to achieve the 90% organic goal that I originally set, but also to conquer this "Sarah vs. Food" battle I've been fighting all my life.

Have you all seen Food, Inc? If not, it is a must see. We saw it a year or so ago and would probably say that it changed our outlook, maybe even our life. It is a documentary about food...how food is made, what is in our food, how food production has changed over the years, etc. It is eye-opening. One thing I was remembering today is how they talked about food being a drug. Not all food, mind you, but specifically salt, sugar and fat. Processed foods that contain high levels of these things keep you coming back for more...like a drug. There is a commercial out right now (maybe for yogurt or something) and the message it is trying to get across is that one good eating decision leads to another good decision, and so on....same for making a bad eating decision. It's not so much that the "bad" decision is a deal breaker, it's just that the bad food item you ate likely consists of things that trigger negative responses in your body that then make you crave more and before you know it, your whole day is shot. In my experience, if you're not careful, one bad day can lead to another bad day....your plans to exercise lose their importance, the salad you planned for dinner doesn't sound nearly as good as a pizza, and there you are, at the end of a week...wishing things had gone differently. I envy my child who doesn't have that salt, sugar and fat addiction going on in his life. I want to fight to get it out of mine.

Farmer's Market Flop

In the winter, Matthews Farmer's Market is open every other Saturday for a few hours, selling winter produce, eggs, meat and other treats. With our decision to go organic, the initiative to buy local seems to go hand in hand. Going organic, but buying locally as well, is a way to support local farmers and also control how far your food is traveling before you purchase it. A farmer's market, in theory, is a healthy eating-environmentally-conscious person's dream! Unfortunately, our experience today was a bit of a let-down.

We bundled up to brave the 30 degree weather around 8am this morning and headed in to the Farmer's Market-hopeful to purchase some winter produce, organic eggs, etc that we could incorporate into our meals this week. There were probably about 12 vendors and majority of what we saw were bakers (selling bread and treats), a vendor selling some radishes and a few other things, a guy selling mushrooms, a pick-up site for co-op participants and a vendor or two selling meat and eggs (there were some other things there, but nothing that we had gone there to purchase). None of the eggs were organic and a dozen eggs ran between $4-$5. Now, I am not knocking the non-organic eggs....I am still in the research phase to discern the difference between cage-free, hormone-free vs. organic, but $4 to $5 for  non-organic eggs seems like a heck of a lot of money!  I really do want to support local farmers and when prices are close to grocery store prices (or even a tad more), I will do it, but we are on a budget and have to go with the best deal we can find, and unfortunately the eggs at the Farmer's Market were not it. On a side-note, we did get organic eggs today at Wal-Mart (remember, budget shopping) for $2.97 which made me super excited!

Perhaps it was a flop because it was FREEZING this morning and it was the Saturday after the big ice this week...but we were disappointed not to see more winter vegetables being sold.  We may head over there again in a couple weeks and see if there is more to choose from, but in the meantime, we'll have to stick with the grocery stores in the area and do the best we can.

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend and staying warm :)

Until next time...

A long week...

Whew...it's been a long week. Even though I've only been at work one day, thanks to the ice, I still feel exhausted from the week anyway. So glad I'm not eating strictly raw this week :)

I have to say that I am pretty obsessed with the Nutritional Typing that I blogged about a couple days ago. I truly find it fascinating. If you have 20 minutes to spare, I sincerely think you'll find it worth it to take the quiz and read up on your Nutritional Type. You also get the free cookbook to download and the first 50 pages (before the recipes) are absolutely fascinating. I am really curious to hear what you all think about it and if it  strikes a chord in you like it has in me. Jude and I are both the "mixed type" and are planning to start following the plan in the near future. Here's the link if you want to check it out:

http://products.mercola.com/nutritional-typing/

One of our goals to save money and prepare for all the food changes we are about to make, is to clean out the fridge and pantry. It's time...we have a lot of food in this house. We are going to go through and decide if there is any food that wouldn't be a healthy choice and give it away, and then for the rest of the food, we are going to get creative and make meals out of what we have. Of course, we'll be having to make trips to the store to get produce and milk, but hopefully we'll manage to eat through the rest of the stuff within a few weeks and save money while we do it. After we "clean house" I'm going to start reporting to you how our grocery bills are looking by gradually adding in more organic items.

Just so you know...we have started January out with dairy....all dairy we buy from here on out will be organic. We were already buying organic milk and yogurt, but eggs, cheese, sour cream, etc will all be new purchases. I want to spend time this month looking into the cheapest ways to purchase these items, the difference between hormone free dairy and organic dairy and try and come to a conclusion about what seems the most logical route to go for our family.

Hope this week is treating you all well!!

Sarah

Revelation

So I have to confess about what happened last night and tell you where I found myself at the end of it.

After Carter went to bed, Jude headed out to get us dinner for my birthday...we had previously decided on soup and salad from Panera-delicious, but not too guilt producing. For those of you around the area you are aware of the icy conditions...apparently, Panera didn't want to risk endangering their employees, so they closed at 1pm...as did all of the other restaurants in the area, unbeknown to us. So, here it is, 8pm...we are starving and we are limited to basically Taco Bell or Cook Out. Such a depressing set of circumstances. In hindsight, we should have postponed getting dinner out and just eaten something at home, but since we were starving and it was my b-day and I didn't want to have to cook, we went with Cook Out. Gross, gross and gross. A month ago, it would have tasted good. Last night I felt sick. Yes, the physical effects of eating some onion rings (I know, I know) and part of a BBQ sandwich were nauseating in and of themselves, but what I didn't expect was the emotional effects it had on me.

A month ago, I would have felt bad for eating that meal, but would have gotten over it shortly after I finished eating. Last night, my guilt lasted for hours. It took a lot of thinking (and talking to Jude) to figure out why I was having such a hard time. I think that for the first time in as long as I can remember, I went 7 entire days feeling fantastic about every piece of food that went into my body. Then, in one moment, I felt like I ruined it. Yes, the circumstances weren't planned and Cook Out wasn't something that we usually took part in; however, we could have made a better choice, despite the circumstances. I think what scared me more than anything is that I would wake up this morning and start craving bad food again, losing the motivation to continue on the road that we had started a week ago. I didn't want to fall back into the traps that I had fallen into over and over again with this food drug. So, more than anything, I was scared that I wouldn't be strong enough to counterbalance a poor decision.

Luckily, I have Jude. While he was in the same boat I was in, wishing we hadn't eaten that greasy food, he was ready to do whatever it took to jump back on the wagon this morning...and that's exactly what we did. We decided to eat raw for most of the day and throw in a few other healthy foods (non-raw) when needed. It ended up being a great day and I do feel motivated to press forward with this healthy eating journey. In a way, I think eating Cook Out may have been a good thing because it caused me to have a revelation that my life has changed, my outlook towards food is different and I am not interested in returning to a lifestyle I wasn't proud of. So there you have it: my confession, raw and unfiltered. I am all about putting myself out there-after all, what is this life, if not utterly and completely real.

Last night I told you guys that I would pass on info about nutritional typing.  The information comes from a program by Dr. Mercola, a well respected physician in the area of health, diet and nutrition. This is not a gimmick to get you to buy anything...trust me, I wouldn't have looked into it if it was. It's basically a way to discover the types of food that work best for your individual nutritional type-all for free!  As noted by Dr. Mercola:

Your body responds uniquely to food -- your fuel -- based on your genetics, biochemical makeup, family history, and your own interaction with your environment. That's why you will advance your health by discerning your Nutritional Type .

The science of Nutritional Typing is the only system that customizes nutrition based on the way your body reacts to food. Your Nutritional Type determines your individual nutritional requirements and dictates your individual responses to what you eat and drink.

Last night I went online and answered some questions about the type of food that satisfies me, how I feel after I eat certain foods, etc and it then told me what Nutritional Type I was and provided me a lot of information about what foods I should eat, recipe ideas, etc...all for free. It is a lot of great information and explained food in a way that I had never thought about before. It's definitely worth checking out if you're interested. Here is the link to follow:

http://products.mercola.com/nutritional-typing/

Let me know what you think! I definitely found it helpful and hope that you do too!

Until next time :)

A bagel for breakfast :)

Aaahh....real food.

I'm sure many of you are wondering if I stuffed my face today with all the foods that I couldn't have last week...well, I definitely wanted to, but managed to restrain myself to some degree. Now, keep in mind, it is my birthday, and there are different rules regarding food when it is your birthday...but overall, I did okay. I had been craving a bagel from Panera for about 6 days straight ever since a friend (who shall remain nameless...cough, cough Fiona) went into a 5-minute monologue about how delicious a particular bagel shop was and got me wanting a bagel like nobody's business! So, yes, my lovely husband ventured out into the snow this morning at 7:30am to get bagels :) I tried to keep it tame for the rest of the day eating salads, soup, some fruit and two small slices of Amy's Organic Pizza...though I will have to have a small piece of birthday cake before the day is over...I mean, come-on,  you only have a birthday once a year.

I will admit that part of me missed the raw eating today...isn't that weird? I almost felt like I shouldn't eat that bagel this morning, even though I knew it wasn't something I commonly did or would be doing again anytime soon...but I think I feared how I might feel afterwards. Most of the day I felt fine...although shortly after lunch, I did feel nauseous for about an hour or so. Not sure if it was the lunch (salad and pizza) or aftereffects of the bagel. Nonetheless, there is definitely truth in how foods impact the way you feel.

So what's up next, now that I don't have raw food to blog about? I have so many thoughts and things to explore....tomorrow I want to tell you all about  nutritional typing and will provide you a link to find out what your nutritional type is...very, very cool!!

For those of you with snow outside, stay safe and warm and cuddle up to someone you love :)

The Last Day

We've just eaten our last raw meal...a big (very big) part of me is ridiculously glad that this diet is over; however, I have learned so much by eating raw for a week that I truly think we will add more raw food into our daily and weekly meals.

Understanding the health benefits to eating raw is one of the most important parts...once you realize how good raw food is for your body, it makes it a little easier to stomach the changes. There are a lot of websites and books that outline the benefits of raw food, but in a nutshell, these statements give a great overview:

Fruits, vegetables and plant foods are packed with nutrients, including vitamins, minerals and other health-promoting phytochemicals. Heating, however, destroys a fair bit of them. Vitamins are destroyed, proteins are structurally spoilt, and minerals are converted from their organic and absorbable state to a state whereby they are not easily assimilated by the body.

Dr. Ann Wigmore, one of the most well-known proponents of raw diets, even suggests that over 80% of the nutrition in food is destroyed via cooking!

Raw foods contain high levels of enzymes, which assist in digestive processes as well as contribute to good health in other ways. By eating raw foods, we reduce the need for the body to produce its own digestive enzymes. This frees up energy which the body can then use to carry out other important work, such as healing, cell repair and rejuvenation, fighting off foreign invaders, etc. More enzymes would also be available for various uses by the body, including healing and the regulation of metabolic processes in the body.

On the other hand, since enzymes are killed by heat, cooked food is virtually devoid of them. The consumption of a largely cooked diet thus hampers digestive processes in the body, causing the production of excessive amounts of toxic by-products. Excess energy usage, poor digestion and excessive toxin production – these are the reasons why we often feel tired, sluggish, and lethargic after a heavy meal of cooked food, while we would feel light and energetic after having a salad and a glass of fresh juice.
                                         http://www.all4naturalhealth.com/eating-raw.html

Jude and I would agree that we definitely feel better-cleaner, healthier and having more energy than we would typically feel with our regular diet, which did consist of a good amount of cooked food. My personal goal is to try and have 40% of my daily diet be raw on a regular basis. Now that I've learned some good recipes and ways to prepare foods, I don't think it will be as big a challenge as I once thought. Even for the average joe, I think if you could try and eat a good portion of raw veggies (either through a big salad or lots of cut veggies for snacking) and fruit (at least 1-2 raw pieces a day) you would be steps ahead nutritionally than not eating anything raw at all.  So just keep that in the back of your mind....when you can grab a handful of raw fruit or veggies...do it!!

I do have to share with you one last raw recipe we made for dessert tonight: apple crisp with a banana vanilla shake. Yum!! The apple crisp was made of sliced and chopped apples mixed with lemon juice and cinnamon and then topped with a crumble topping that consisted of chopped walnuts, maple syrup, dates, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice. It was no baked apple pie, but for a raw dessert...not bad at all! Our banana shake was made using our Vitamix and consisted of almond milk, banana, ice and a splash of pure vanilla extract.  Great way to end out this diet!

                                         

Thanks for your support through this week-long eating adventure!! I am looking forward to continue exploring health and nutrition with you and learning how to best adapt my lifestyle to the things I learn. I promise to keep things interesting :)

And she threw her donut away....

So when I got to work this morning and checked my email, here is what I had waiting from one of my best friends in Durham:

"I just had to write to let you know that your blog made me throw away my donut this morning."

I think I have laughed about that all day today...not quite sure why she threw her donut away...perhaps the discussion of all my food grossed her out to the point of nausea, or perhaps she is such a devoted friend that she couldn't imagine indulging in such a tasty treat when I was suffering through a veggie shake at the same moment. Maybe though, my blog is fulfilling one of the purposes I set out for it, and my lovely friend felt a bit inspired to make a healthier choice this morning :) As a side note, I do have to say that my friend is a very healthy person and eats amazingly...the donut was probably just one of those occasional indulgences we all allow ourselves from time to time :)

So we've made it to the weekend...Jude and I actually think it is going to be harder to get through the next 2 days than it has been to get through this past week. Being at work provides a fabulous distraction for at least 8 hrs of the day to where you don't have to focus on your hunger or what you'd rather be eating. The upside is that we can play around  with some of the recipes and mix up our menu a bit.  We actually started experimenting tonight and made quite an interesting meal.

Our Friday night entree consisted of Portobello Mushroom Caps stuffed with Sunflower Herb Pate and Moroccan Spiced Carrots on the side. Not bad and I actually feel pretty full right now. The Sunflower Herb Pate was made by mixing soaked raw sunflower seeds with parsley, lemon juice, garlic, green onion, salt & pepper in the food processor until it forms a spread...put that in the mushroom caps that had been marinated with Tamuri sauce, add a side of spiced up carrots and..Voila, dinner is served!

                         

And for dessert (since we had so much extra time on our hands), we made Chocolate Mousse...a bit of a stretch once I tell you what's in it (and please do not throw up...don't worry I almost did when I read the ingredients): mashed avocados, maple syrup, unsweetened cocoa, vanilla extract, water and soaked dates. It was actually pretty good-would have been better had it been blended longer and there weren't pieces of dates randomly dispersed throughout, but I just dodged those and ate the "mousse" part...

                         

By the way, does anyone else see the resemblance between dates and cockroaches? I seriously can not just take a bite of one of those things...I just can not! Eww!! The only way I will eat one is if it's been blasted to smithereens like in the above tasty dessert, but even then, I'd rather not think about them. Dates or cockroaches that is.

Over halfway there!

Not to give myself a pat on the back, but I am absolutely thrilled (and shocked) that I have maintained willpower and self-discipline for 4 whole days eating all raw food. I think I lasted like 6 hrs on South Beach. I'm not much for eliminating foods from my diet, whatever the purpose may be, and no matter what...it always ends up backfiring and I end up eating foods I never would have eaten like hot dogs or oatmeal cream pies or something. Anyway, I think it helps that there is an end in sight and the light at the end of the tunnel keeps growing larger with each passing meal. Not to mention that this is something I've never done before, so it's kinda like a game or a challenge, if you will.

Today was not a bad day at all. I really feel good about the food I'm putting in my body. I can't think of the last time that I went 4 days without having a regret about at least one thing I ate. That's a pretty cool feeling, I have to say. I'm not going to say I wasn't hungry, but I think I'm getting a little more used to it. Something like this helps you realize just how often you eat without really feeling hungry....begins to beg a deeper question about hunger and what purpose food is really serving in our lives.

On the menu today was a lot of repeats: Smoothie, Muesli with Almond Milk, Salad, Banana with Almond Butter...but Jude did make some California rolls tonight (minus the rice) that were pretty tasty! They didn't stave off the hunger but for a couple hours, but tasty none the less. Dipped in a some organic Tamuri sauce..mmmm. Here's a picture I took before I devoured them:

Tomorrow is Friday...hooray! Since I don't know when Jude and I will revisit the Raw Food lifestyle, we're planning on trying to make some of the better looking recipes over the weekend when we'll have a little more time. I'll keep you posted with what we make and how things are going...



A surprisingly delicious dish!

We've made it through 3 days of raw food (minus Jude's manipulation to eat roasted pistachio nuts today-thank you very much Rachel!) and we are feeling okay...definitely still not ready to throw all of our "non-raw" food out and join the raw food militia, but we're not throwing in the towel either...I think we'll make it another 4 days.

Jude and I both went through, what we can only guess was, carb withdrawal yesterday as we went to sleep with awful headaches. However, today has been headache free and we're feeling good! In case you're wondering what was on the menu today, here you go:

Breakfast: Muesli with Almond Milk (this is definitely becoming my favorite thing of the day!)

Snack: Raw nut mix with dried cranberries

Another Snack: Vitamix shake with Raw Protein powder

Lunch: Salad with walnuts, goat cheese & chopped pear with balsamic vinaigrette

Snack: Oats with pear (other 1/2 from lunch), few walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, little bit of pure maple syrup and almond milk-delish!

Dinner: No meat "meatballs" with marinara sauce and zucchini pasta-yum yum and yum.

Let me just tell you about this dinner! The "meatballs" were made of walnut pate, basically consisting of soaked walnuts, onion, parsley, garlic powder and a couple other things-blended all together and formed into balls. Then I made the marinara sauce from a tomato, half a red-bell pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, oregano, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. The "meatballs" and marinara sauce was then served over a bed of shredded zucchini. Jude and I agreed that this was the best thing we have made yet. I really need to start taking some pictures of this stuff....I'm sure we'll make this meal again before the week is through, so look forward to pictures over the weekend.

Thanks for all of your comments and support-I think keeping this blog and knowing that a few of you are actually reading it keeps me sticking to the detox and not breaking down and eating that grilled cheese sandwich that I know would absolutely melt on my tongue and send my taste buds into a frenzy.

Until tomorrow :)

I've figured it out...

I have uncovered the secret of temporary raw food eaters...compared to what you eat on a raw food diet, anything sounds good when all you are eating is vegetables. I am craving brown rice and lentils, cottage cheese and hummus, even dry Grape Nuts sound appetizing right now..and if you've ever had dry Grape Nuts, you know the point of desperation I'm at.

Kidding aside, I know that there are tremendous benefits to eating raw. I have nothing but admiration for those who have committed to a raw food lifestyle. The discipline and creativity you have to channel in order to keep up with eating a select group of foods day after day is nothing short of amazing. I think that you have to change the way you look at food and view it as something to sustain you and not as inanimate objects you have a relationship with.

And oh what a relationship I have with food...I love to eat it, cook it, smell it, even look at it...sometimes I even dream about it. While I know I'm not cut out to "break up" with food and eat it only for sustenance, I am committing to learning how to foster a healthy relationship with the foods that will best serve my body. I think it's going to be a good year.

As for Detox day #2, I'm not going to lie, I'm hungry as all get out. I can't put another marinated vegetable in my mouth without gagging so I've settled for not eating as much as I should have today. And I have a headache to prove it. I am going to go and prepare a big salad and smoothie for dinner to hopefully satiate this hunger a bit. I was looking through the raw food cookbook tonight while playing with Carter and if I just had the time and energy to make some of the things in there, I think this diet would be a lot more enjoyable! There are recipes for apple crumble and no meat meatballs-yum! However, when you work all day and then take care of a 9-month old, there isn't much time left to get everything you need to get done in addition to spending a couple hrs preparing food.

Well, hunger calls...blessings to all of you enjoying your meat and potatoes tonight :)

Detoxing it up

So I am nearing the end of detox day #1...hallelujah! Seriously, this raw food thing is no joke. I feel like I've eaten my body weight in vegetables today. Amazingly, I haven't been starving like I thought I'd be...I mean there was a moment where I almost ate Carter's baby food, but I restrained myself. Curious what was on the menu today? Well, let me humor you...

Breakfast:
Vitamix smoothie (kale, apples, carrot, spinach, blueberries, green tea, organic raw protein and who knows what else Jude put in it)...Vitamix, fyi, is the crazy powerful blender we have to make these delightful concoctions.

Snack:
Mix of raw sunflower seeds, brazil nuts, almonds and dried cranberries

And another snack:
Marinated raw broccoli, carrots and mushrooms in a balsamic vinaigrette

Lunch:
Sandwich consisting of two romaine lettuce leaves, onion, avocado and tomato with a lemon dressing that I totally forgot to put on!

Snack:
Banana with some raw almond butter

And yet another snack:
Muesli-raw oats, walnuts, almonds, honey, blueberries and almond milk

Dinner:
Gazpacho-tomatoes, bell pepper, garlic, green onion, cucumber, salt, pepper, olive oil, etc

Dessert:
Some shake that Jude is whipping up as I write...probably something with almond milk and fruit

So really, that doesn't seem too bad, huh? Let's see how I feel after 7 days....

I think the biggest revelation that Jude and I have both come to is that eating raw is a LOT of work! Just the preparation of all the food for each meal takes quite a bit of time-more than we expected. Well actually, I thought I was just going along for the ride here, but I felt so sorry for Jude trying to figure out how to prepare all the food tonight that I just had to jump in and help him. Only 6 more days to go...

Wanted to let you know the exact name of the cleanse that we're doing as well as the name of the raw food book we're "cooking" out of. The cleanse we got is from the Vitamin Shoppe and is called Perfect Cleanse by Garden of Life and it is the 10 day system. The book is entitled Raw Food Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbleet. Jude and I are big about organic protein and trying to avoid the synthetic or soy protein, so the powder we are currently using is called Organic Raw Protein (also sold at the Vitamin Shoppe) and is made completely of vegetables and sprouts and contains 18g of protein per serving.

So, have I inspired you to go eat your vegetables?! I am sure that my body is going to be thanking me soon enough, but I would kill for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich right now.

Until next time :)

The Diet of Champions

Okay, yes, two posts in one night is a bit much. Don't worry, I'll never keep up this pace. However, I had so much to say tonight that I thought breaking it into two posts may keep your attention longer...

So guess what my precious, health crazed husband has convinced me to do with him?!? A raw food detox diet for a week starting first thing tomorrow morning! What have I gotten myself into? We started this all-natural cleanse tonight that consisted of 3 "puirfy" capsules before dinner, a "capture" powder mixed with water (that tasted like horses) after dinner and then 3 "remove" capsules before bed.  If any of you have done this particular cleanse and it didn't work, please don't tell me...we've already opened the boxes and can't take it back and I'm willing to go with the placebo effect as a worst-case scenario. So, yes..a raw food detox for 7 whole days...yum. I definitely did not eat enough junk prior to this diet to make it worth it. Oh well...too late now. There is something in my body already "capturing" up all my toxins. Hooray!

We are hitting the ground running in 2011 with all of our exciting efforts to achieve true health-if that is even possible. We will certainly give it our best effort! I can hear Jude (my husband) downstairs chopping up all of our veggies for our meals tomorrow. No way would I have ever done any of this if it wasn't for him...not quite sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I'll save our menu for tomorrow when I give you the lowdown on detox day #1. 

Happy eating!

Starting Out

I am obsessed. I have been working all day to figure this blog design thing out...being the perfectionist that I am, it will take me the rest of the week before I have this thing looking the way I want it to, so I am going to end the design obsession for the night and get to writing...

Welcome to my very first blog post! I have to tell you, I am really excited about this blogging journey we are about to take together, even if my mom is the only one who reads this. My goal, however, is to let you into our world of health inquisition and experimentation and potentially entertain you, inspire you and share this experience with you, for as long as you stick around.

So why blog? Why now? Well...let's see...I have this dream to get our family eating 90% organic food by the end of 2011 and I am hoping that by doing so, I'll be able to shed some light as to why we're doing it and possibly address the myths, issues and debates surrounding organic food along the way.  I also want to promote health and wellness for my family and for yours, so let's sit back and see where this ride takes us...

I battled with what to call this blog, struggled with what name would encapsulate my goal for this writing journey...and after much thought, "Roots" seemed to be the perfect fit. Our family is looking to return to nature to find the truths about food and overall health and I guess, in a sense, find the root of how we were intended to nurture ourselves and build our lives around it. I think that going deep into where life really began is where we find what it is we're looking for in the first place. So here goes....thanks for joining me in this journey!