Something Scary, but True!

Had a friend recently post this YouTube video on her Facebook page http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe-CxnU-hFE

The speaker doesn't really share anything that I didn't already know. The problem for our family now is implementation...on a tight budget!

Some examples of changes we've already made:
1. No more tap water!
We've been refilling water bottles at any available source (usually Meijer or Wal-Mart) for about 7 years now. And now, we've even purchased a counter top water distiller. While I'm confident that removing the chlorine and fluoride from our drinking water (not to mention bacteria, lead and pharmaceuticals) is one of the best things we've ever done for our health, you can't always control this completely.
Just in the few years since we've made this change, a LOT has come out about toxins released in plastic bottles and metal bottles also contaminating your pure water that you're drinking. I don't know about you, but I find it difficult to take a glass bottle or cup to drink from when I'm out running errands or going for the day to an amusement park, etc. Plus, if you go out to eat anywhere (at least here in Northern Kentucky where we live), you're most likely going to be given tap water to drink when you request it.

My solution- They're pricey, but we're buying Klean Kanteens for each member of the family. Do your research, there may be cheaper brands that are just as good, but what you put your clean water in is just as important as the quality of water. Also, the counter top distiller price of around $300 seems steep. But the amount of money we were spending on refilling water from the machines at grocery stores (which honestly from their cleaning records visible on the machines are sometimes months behind in cleaning and maintenance!) was about $350 a year. The distiller saves us money within the first year!
Here's some links to these products:
http://www.amazon.com/Kanteen-27-Ounce-Classic-Stainless-Bottle/dp/B0010EMTU4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302005542&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Waterwise-4000-Water-Steam-Distiller/dp/B002DQCMY6/ref=sr_1_cc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1302005594&sr=1-2-catcorr

2. GIVE UP THE POP!
Honestly, this is one we're still working on. There's something about that fizzy drink when you're eating out somewhere or with certain foods that we just can't quite overcome! YET, we have completely given up diet drinks and when we buy some for a treat at the store, we buy Hansen's with natural cane sugar or Sierra Mist which is now also with sugar only. (no High Fructose Corn Syrup) Additionally, if we eat out somewhere, we can easily pay an extra $10 just for drinks!
Why is this so difficult to give up even though it's costly?? Exactly as the video says...it's addictive. I regret ever letting my kids have pop...now it's too hard to say no!

A solution we're working toward: In my plan for transition this year, I'm going to be purchasing some water kefir cultures within the next month. [The delay is due to my work schedule. When tax season is over, I'll have more time for this kind of stuff.] Water kefir produces a "fizzy" water that is full of great digestive bacterial cultures and you can add fruit juices or whole fruits to it for flavor. You can also adjust the sweetness by the amount of additional sugar you add. So we can start out fairly sweet and over time, reduce that sugar intake. My plan is to juice our own lemons and limes (which we can get fairly cheap) for a Sierra Mist alternative. Or my husband has made his own ginger ale a few times too.
For water kefir culture information, visit Cultures for Health http://www.culturesforhealth.com/

3. No more fluoride!
Again, easier said than done. When you can get a tube of Colgate at the store for $1 or less and Tom's of Maine costs $4 or more and you have four kids (+ 2 adults) brushing their teeth at least twice a day...this one is difficult to do! Also, even if I successfully remove all fluoride from our home, I take them to the dentist and what does the hygienist do? Gives them a fluoride treatment!! [Don't even get me started on amalgam (mercury filled) fillings!]
Yes, I'm looking for a holistic dentist. But I'm fairly certain our insurance won't pay for one. And when you live at two times below the poverty level for a family of 6, money for a holistic dentist just doesn't compete with putting food on the table (or now, gas in the car when it's almost $4 a gallon!)
***Funny side note--just noticed the first three letters of fluoride spell FLU!***

My solution (again...still working toward for the family):
I make my own toothpaste and have been for about 3 months. If you just google "homemade toothpaste", you'll find lots of sites. I've even adjusted mine from my original recipe. It's very easy to make and the savings over natural brands is huge. So I won't go into a lot of detail here about the recipe other than to put your concerns at ease. Every recipe I've found uses three basic ingredients...coconut oil, baking soda, and essential oil.
Coconut oil- has natural anti-microbial and anti-bacterial properties. This stuff will not mold in the container even with touching my toothbrush to it everyday. Granted I am making just about the equivalent of one tube of toothpaste each time so it lasts only about 4-6 weeks per recipe.
Baking soda- Use aluminum free only. You don't want to eliminate the health benefits by scrubbing your gums with Alzheimer's causing aluminum byproducts! Also gives my teeth that dentist clean feeling every time I brush.
Essential Oil- Actually not essential to the recipe! I've made my toothpaste with just some peppermint flavoring (a few drops) before I had the oil. Use any flavor you want, I prefer peppermint, but you don't even really need it. If you're worried about bad breath, then go for it. Honestly, since I gave up meat, coffee and dairy, I don't have bad breath anymore!

4. Eliminating Aspartame, High Fructose Corn Syrup and Genetically-Modified Foods (GMO)!
Even if you can't afford to buy organics/natural foods, just avoiding convenience foods (like box potatoes and other box mixes) will go a long way toward eliminating these from your diet.
My solution:
Bake and cook at home from scratch as much as possible...difficult to do in our busy culture. But I'm convinced slowing down and taking the time is one of the best things you can do for your health!

5. Other stuff mentioned in this video:
I'm not even addressing the milk and meat hormones because I don't use either. But for my family, I only buy organic or for milk we actually use coconut or almond milk now. Yes, this means meat is more of a treat ...not a necessity. The Simply Delicious coconut milk is even organic! http://www.sodeliciousdairyfree.com/products/product.php?p=so_delicious_beverage_hg_original If you click Like on FB for So Delicious, you also get links to great recipes that others have posted on the Internet.

6. Other stuff not mentioned in the video:
Deodorants with aluminum- Naturals are too expensive with 5 of us now using it. I'm in the process of converting to homemade. Again...lots of recipes on the web for these. Best thing I've done is give up meat and dairy! I've experimented and can actually go up to three days without deodorant. The key is what I eat. The minute I have something fried (Usually my weakness is fast-food fries...probably fried in oil laced with lard or other meat byproducts. Yuck!) or something with dairy in it, I begin to smell. I know, TMI...but true!

This also leads to the next one. Keeping my insides cleansed- God made our bodies with an amazing capacity for healing. I've done colon cleanses for years but only began to feel healed internally when I discovered the Gerson Therapy. I hope to blog more about this soon. But the thing to remember is...if my insides are backed up with the SAD food (Standard American Diet) that we all consume, how can my body heal with all of that poison inside? Again...this is an entire post by itself so I'll come back to this later.

Bottom line- While watching things like this or other documentaries I've seen (A Beautiful Truth, Food Inc, The Gerson Therapy, Food Matters, Super Size Me) can make me scared or lose hope that the task of healthy living is impossible because we're being sabotaged...the Truth is that the God who created our bodies knows exactly what we need and how to heal us. And the magnificent thing that He provided...again, before we ever knew we needed it...was a plethora of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains that contain everything we need for health and healing.

While you're doing your research and changing your ways...ask Him what changes He wants you to make. After all, He's the One that has told us to "run the race" and He's the Great Physician as well as Counselor. Doesn't it stand to reason that the Creator knows what's best for the creation?

Have peace and know that He is God!

A Great Vegan Slow Cooker Website

It's been awhile since I've posted, but life is slowing down and I hope to get back to it really soon. In the meantime, I wanted to post a link to a site for some new recipes that at least a few of my family love.

I have two that LOVE banana peanut butter sandwiches...fried is best (they say!). My daughter, Rebekah, had one at Graceland when she was 4 and has loved this sandwich ever since. She doesn't get it that often, so I was happy to discover Slow Cooker Vegan Elvis Oatmeal- The "Don't Be Cruel Oatmeal"
http://healthyslowcooking.com/2011/02/18/slow-cooker-vegan-elvis-oatmeal-the-dont-be-cruel-oatmeal/

I left off the vegan bacon bits, because frankly, that sounds disgusting and the sandwiches Dale & Bekah had at Graceland didn't include bacon anyway. But they both love this oatmeal. Peruse the website...there are tons of others to try.

We've also had the PB&J Oatmeal...also a huge hit! Admittedly, I have to add a little more sweetener than is recommended, but hopefully my sweet tooth will diminish someday.

Some Good Eats

You can read about my fasting failure on my other blog. Don't want to rehash it here. But I've recently had a few good, Vegan things that I wanted to share.

I purchased the Skinny Bitch Cookbook and last night tried the Curried Chickpea Fritters and Curried Roasted Cauliflower. Both where delicious! Can't wait to try a few more. The fritters did call for breadcrumbs and what I had on hand where Panko, but gluten-free crumbs could be substituted with no problem.

Also, I'd purchased Bragg's Liquid Aminos a few weeks ago and have hesitated to use it. You can look up the info on this item at their website (register & get FREE samples too!) but essentially, it's a soy sauce substitute (still made from soy, but guaranteed Non-GMO!) that is chock full of aminos every Vegetarian/Vegan needs. But the last 2 times I've used regular soy sauce, I've thought it tasted nasty...I mean nasty! Probably owing in part to it being in my fridge too long because our whole family prefers teriyaki sauce over soy.

Yet, last night I cooked up some veggie stir fry for the kids because I knew the fritters wouldn't go over well and guess what? It was delicious. I did cook in a little extra garlic with the veggies and added sesame seeds at the end to add some flavor, but the Braggs' Aminos was smooth, blended with the other flavors much better than regular soy sauce and was NOT obscenely salty! All to say, I highly recommend Braggs. (I like their nutritional yeast too.) And maybe next time I won't be such a pansy about trying something new.

Officially Declaring 2011 as the "Year of Conversion"

If you've ever clicked on my other blog, you know I'm a Jesus follower. So no, I'm not converting to a different religion or even another denomination. What I'm hoping to convert is my family...and honestly, finish converting myself.

I'm still really struggling with the complete elimination of dairy (mostly butter) and eggs. There are some recipes that just aren't the same...like the pumpkin pie that just came out of my Christmas baking oven. For a while, I've told myself "I'll just make this for the family", "I'll just let them have this (insert bad food or drink item name here)" or even "I'll work on them later, after I've gotten it all down pat". Tonight, I'm just telling myself I can't have any of the pie. But by this time next year, my prayer is to have an entirely Vegan dinner for all of us! I don't really want to fix turkey, ham or even chicken for anyone else. If I don't believe it's good for me, why should I cook it for them??

So here's to getting more creative, positive and determined! I never make New Year's resolutions, because I don't like to knowingly set myself up for failure. But these are changes that will only bring positive results.

The tricky thing is...I just can't announce to them that I'm doing it (unless I want a minor rebellion)...it just has to happen & a few weeks down the road maybe they'll realize that they haven't really missed the butter, eggs and excessive sugar anyway!

Thanksgiving Update

I'm a little late getting this out, but Thanksgiving wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I went prepared and did okay. I still ate too much and did have some dishes that included eggs & dairy, but I just couldn't get my brain around only eating fruits, veggies & bread for Thanksgiving. There were a few odd looks at the mention of my bringing baked beans, but I didn't care...they were good!

Later found out two of my daughters also had no meat for the Thanksgiving dinner...and I think the youngest one only had a bite or two of some turkey. Converting them wouldn't be as difficult as I think it would be...I just need to give them time to process & let their taste buds change.

Interestingly enough though, as much as I felt like I overate and got down on myself for overindulging, two days later, I'd not gained any weight. But I did get what I call the "fuzzy brain" syndrome which I think is caused by dairy or too much sugar. (Still can't place my finger on why this happens, because it's started to happen at Chipotle some also...and that frightens me that I might have to give up my favorite indulgence!)

So another lesson learned...I can eat Vegan at a holiday/family gathering if I arrive prepared. And really, it wouldn't have been that much of a stretch to stay away from the eggs & dairy if I'd been better prepared mentally. Now, back to the daily grind of trying to stay away from these two...they seem to be the most difficult to purge because of all the baking I love to do!