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