Exercise!

I'm feeling good!

When I first started this journey, I could barely walk to the car or carry one gallon of water at a time.  I clean my church and an hour of light cleaning would send me to bed for two hours. 

This weekend The Good Shephard Lutheran Church is having it's 10 year aniversary party.  I stripped the wax off the floors and rewaxed them!  First, I swept and mopped the floors. To strip them I applied the stripper with a mop, then removed it with a mop, then rinsed twice with a mop.  So, I mopped the entire fellowship hall and kitchen four times!  Then applied the wax with a dust mop.  I worked two hours a day for four days.  I also worked nights at my "real" job.  I am so sore all over from all the mopping.  I'm also thrilled that I could do all that! 

I'm startting to get feeling and strength back in my right thumb!!! 

This blog is moving to www.lifefitnessandfood.com. Please join us there!

NutriBullet!

I got my NutriBullet! And, OH MY, this thing is AMAZING! It's a super blender that liquifies whatever food you put in it! I had spinach, apple, banana, cashew, raspberries, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and water. Even the raspberry seeds were gone! Clean up is one container that you blend in and drink from, and the blades. Easy!

Healty Living, here we come! :)

This blog is moving to www.lifefitnessandfood.com. Please join us there!

Comments Welcome

I'd love to hear from you! 

Is there something you'd like to know or discuss?  I"m good at looking things up and finding answers. 

LilyPad and I were discussing living green.  She said, "But, Mom, what can I do?  I don't have money and I can't stop them from cutting down the Rain Forest."  I told her we can use less electricity, grow some of our own food, and educate ourselves so we can do more in the future. 

Please, use the comment section to add your thoughts about what each of us can do to Live Greener.

If you know of a local business or individual with a product or service, let's add them!

Let's get talking and growing :)

This blog is moving to www.lifefitnessandfood.com. Please join us there!

Now, that's healthy!

My mother moved closer to me, an hour away instead of twelve hours.  Little Monkey and I went to visit today.  Amy and LilyPad are at a Lutheran Youth Gathering for the weekend.

For lunch we had wilted kale and spinach over Barilla pasta with a few raw baby carrots for color.  Barilla brand pasta has protein and Omega 3 and 6 in it. 

To Wilt Kale, simply heat a couple tsp Olive Oil in a pot, add a shake of garlic powder and a bit of sea salt.  Use your hands to pull off the leafy part of the kale.  (Mama kept the stems to cut up small and put into stock later.)  Put kale and spinach in pot, and cook over medium about 3 minutes, just until wilted. 

Dinner was easy.  Steam in bag brocolli, cauliflower, and baby carrots.  With a drizzle of Ranch dressing, half a Gala apple (with skin), and a small handful pine nuts. 

Juice.....

I juiced a pomegranite in the blender, then strained out the seeds with a metal strainer.  In batches I blended a small seedless watermelon and 6 satsumas.  Mixed all the juice together and have been drinking it all day. 

I am so very thankful and happy to have my mother near again!  Little Monkey was saying "MamMa" and signing "Grandma" all day.  Great company, great food, beautiful weather....all in all a Blessed Day!

This blog is moving to www.lifefitnessandfood.com. Please join us there!

Pomegranates!

I tried something new :)  Pomegranates were on sale at WinnDixie, so I bought two. 

Then this morning there was a nice post on one of my raw food newsletters saying Pomegranates are high in iron.  When you combine Vitamin C with iron, the iron is absorbed better in your body. 

Local Satsumas are high in Vitamin C. 

I looked up "Can you eat Pomegranate Seeds", and found out that people have been eating the seeds for hundreds of years.  In other countries, they dry the seeds then grind them into a powder that they use as a thickening agent.  The seeds are a great source of fiber.

Here's a nice webpage showing how to Cut and De-seed a Pomegranate

 

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_cut_and_de-seed_a_pomegranate/

 

So, Lunch was a Pomegranate, including the seeds, and four Satsumas, which have no seeds.  Blended well.  I drank half and was so full.  I'll save the rest for my overnight work smoothie.

 

For Little Monkey, I put the juice in a bowl and added baby rice cereal.  She loved it.  Then she came back to me and drank more out of my cup and smacked her lips and said "yummy". 

 

 

Amount Per Serving
Calories 104.7 Calories from Fat 3.9 Fat 0.46 g 1 % Saturated Fat 0.059 g 0 % Polyunsaturated Fat 0.097 g   Monounsaturated Fat 0.071 g   Cholesterol 0.0 mg 0 % Sodium 4.6 mg 0 % Potassium 398.9 mg 11 % Carbohydrate 26.4 g 9 % Dietary Fiber 0.92 g 4 % Protein 1.5 g 3 % Alcohol 0.0 g
Vitamin A 3 % Calcium 0 % Vitamin D 0 % Thiamin 3 % Niacin 2 % Vitamin B6 8 % Phosphorus 1 % Selenium 1 %	Vitamin C 16 % Iron 3 % Vitamin E 5 % Riboflavin 3 % Vitamin B12 0 % Manganese 0 % Copper 5 % Magnesium 1 % Zinc 1 %

This blog is moving to www.lifefitnessandfood.com. Please join us there!

Delishious!

My Pantry

I went shopping todat at Camillia City Produce.  All the fresh foods on the table are local grown either in Louisiana or Mississippi.  The orange fruit in the upper left corner are the persimmons I love so much.  Little Monkey took a bite of one while I was setting up the picture.  The canning jar in the front is a holiday jam.  The food on the shelf is what was in my pantry. 

The owner and I were discussing the Persimmons. These are Asian "Apple" Persimmons.  They are called Apple because you can pull off the stem and eat the rest just like an apple.  You can eat them hard, or if you leave them out a few days they get soft and sweet.  He said if you pull off the stem, you can freeze the entire fruit.  That's what I will do and take one at a time to put into a smoothie. 

Locally we grow a smaller Persimmon.  My neighbor has a tree and he lets me have as many as I want.  They are ripe around August.  They are about the size of a large marble.  Inside are 4-5 large seeds, so there is not much fruit.  You remove the stem, then put the rest in your mouth, chew the skin and suck the fruit off the seeds.  Because of the seeds, they are not very good for smoothies.  I was told today to freeze them whole, then defrost and eat later.  Also that some trees are not ripe yet.  He will call me when he gets some. That makes me very happy, because I love them!

The three squash I will cut in half, put in a shallow pan with a bit of water, and bake until soft.  I was told you can eat the skin if you like it, but it's tough.  After baking, spoon out meat and enjoy with butter and cinamon, or plain.  You can freeze the meat.  Or, you can wrap it all in foil and freeze to eat the entire thing later.  When I get the NutriBullet, I'll try it that way. 

Dinner tonight was Salad:
Baby greens
Jimaca
Cucumber
Tomatoe
Pistachio nuts
Ranch dressing

Dessert:
Two Soft Persimmons
1 cup milk
Blended

We were still hungry, so we had CousCous.

I get hungry overnight at work (or I get bored and the food smells so good?) so I have been bringing a raw drink.  Tonight it is:

Pumpkin Coconut Milk

1 can Pumpkin
1 can Coconut Milk
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Vanilla
Water

I put it in the freezer to cool off, and forgot it there.  It should be nice and slushy by 2 a.m. :)

Ah, the little pleasures of Life like fresh produce! 

God's Blessings!

This blog is moving to www.lifefitnessandfood.com. Please join us there!

Wooo Hooo!

11 Pounds Down!

This blog is moving to www.lifefitnessandfood.com. Please join us there!

Happy Saturday!

Hi, Friends!

It's going to be a great weekend :)  I'm starting to feel better since I added more raw foods to my days.  My feet still ache, but they don't hurt like they did.  My muscles are starting to feel better.  I have more energy.  It was hard to just stand up for more than five minutes.  Now, I can stand AND hold the baby for longer.  I can do more before I get winded.  I slept 6 straight hours last night!  No carpal tunnel waking me up with my hands hurting! All in all, I'm encouraged to continue.

It's been 4 days without a Coke!  I do still drink coffee which has sugar in it, one cup a day.  I think that I'll always love my coffee.  I will do more raw, less dairy, less meat, very little sugar, and I don't drink or smoke.  I know that one cup of coffee can be my treat. 

Halloween night I did binge on Tootsie Rolls.  I was doing good with only 5 from LilyPad's stash.  Then there was some at work, and it was hard to leave them alone. Besides that night, I have not had candy in 4 days.  I used to have some every day. 

By cutting back on the sugar, I expected to feel worse.  With the extra raw foods, I am feeling fine :)

I take suppliments for health.  I try to take them daily. 

1. MSM
2. CoQ10
3. B-Complex
4. B-6 (for the carpal tunnel)
5. Garlic (odarless softgels)

----------

Coconut Persimmon Smoothie

1 can coconut milk
1 cup Persimmon
1/4 tsp Cardamon
1/4 cup Raw Food Powder
Kentwood Spring Water

----------

Persimmon -- I got them at the local Farmers Market.  At the end of the day, she didn't want to take them home, so I got about 30 for $7.  To freeze them, take a very ripe fruit, slice skin with a knife about an inch, then squeeze out the pulp.  It's messy!  My 30 fruit made 6 freezer bags of fresh fruit. 

----------

My Raw Food Powder -- I don't remember exactly what is in this.  I had a bunch of containers with a little bit left which I combined.  I know there was lucama powder, a fruit juice powder, maca, some soy baby formula, and maybe something else.  It adds smoothness to my smoothie.  It's light taste compliments anything.

----------

This blog is moving to www.lifefitnessandfood.com. Please join us there!