Simply Natural Homestead

"My Revelation": New Podcast Tonight on "Real Health Revolution"

2011-08-07T18:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's been a long lonely time since I posted here or did a podcast on Real Health Revolution. Worse--the last episode didn't record correctly, so I have to re-do it. Oh yeah, and I didn't write down most of my notes for that episode. *sigh* So I have to re-record a three month old episode about "my revelation" and hope I remember all of the revelation.

The good news is, I have a lot of information to share. Some of it will be a little different from what I've shared before. I also will be announcing possible plans to make changes to the show, including the possibility of leaving Blogtalkradio. They severely limit my time there, their lowest priced premium level is $40 a month, which is a lot for someone like me who, last time I checked, isn't making any money at all off the show. Plus, they did a bunch of funky things while I've been away, like setting me up to receive updates from a bunch of radio shows so that I had 250 reminder emails in my email box, and somehow deleting my intro music which I know have to scrounge up an old copy of from my old computer and re-upload.

I'm considering options, such as using 100mikes.com or just recording the podcast myself and editing and uploading it. I'd love to have the ability to edit my podcasts, but I'm afraid it will never get done, and so never be uploaded.

So tonight I'll be asking--no BEGGING--my 2000+ lurking listeners to pipe up and share some feedback, so I know how they feel about the changes I'm contemplating.

I hope you join me for my "revelation" and other fun stuff tonight! Check out the blogtalkradio box in the sidebar to listen to old shows or subscribe to the podcast.

"Crystal Bowl Meditation" Review

2011-03-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend I was looking at a display in my local supplement store that carried relaxing music. I was able to listen to "Crystal Bowl Meditation" (see link at the bottom of the post) that had Tibetan Singing Bowl music. If you've never heard a Tibetan Singing Bowl, it's really unusual. If done well, it has a very relaxing effect.

The singing bowls are like a musical instrument. They are played by striking or rubbing the bowls with a striker. They are used for meditation, clearing, chakra alignment, feng shui, spiritual workshops, and healing.

It is said that the tones of the bowls can be both heard and felt. When you listen to a good recording with good headphones, it seems to be true. Some tones make me feel uncomfortable, and others are very pleasant. It seems like the bowls can really "speak" to you on a physical level, and a lot of research has been done on soundwaves and healing, so it wouldn't surprise me if the singing bowls actually can somehow help in healing.

The bowls can be made of metal or other materials, but a lot of New Agers really like the crystal bowls because they like the energy of the crystals. I just think the crystal bowl tones sound nicer. ;-)

On soundtracks, the sounds of the bowls are usually accompanied by other instruments to create music, especially with woodwind instruments.

Normally I don't care for most singing bowl CD's, because often the musician feels the need to put in distracting or startling sounds. For me, I'm mostly using this music to relax, so annoying percussion music or other distracting noises only serve to irritate me. But this wasn't the case with this CD. The Crystal Bowl Meditation music was much more enjoyable and relaxing. There were two tracks that I didn't care as much for, because it featured someone blowing into a woodwind instrument without making a tone...it sounded like someone blowing into a bottle as the bottle was being filled with water. I found that irritating. But other than that, the music was really nice.

There was something about the tones that I found really relaxing and yet...somehow...I don't know...interesting? Hard to explain, but I can see how someone would find this music perfect for meditation.

Here are a couple of links: one to a beautiful (and pricey--eek!) set of bowls, and another link for the Crystal Bowl Meditation CD. I'll have to settle for the CD, myself! :-p

Make a Your Own Mini Greenhouse--Cheap and Easy!

2011-03-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

This post was written in July 2010, but never made it onto the blog due to the craziness of moving. And of life, LOL. Oh well, better late than never!

When you are dealing with a short growing season, a cooler climate, or an unseasonably cool or short summer, a greenhouse can be a real lifesaver. But what if you are temporarily cashless, or living in a condo, or are a renter with a landlord who won't allow you to build a regular greenhouse? Enter the mini greenhouse!

This is a picture of a makeshift greenhouse that I have set up outside my front door. It is about 3 feet wide, 6 feet tall, and 2 feet deep. It was extremely easy to assemble. I bought it at Home Depot for around $60. It breaks down easily for moving, and although it is fairly lightweight when the shelves are empty, I've found it to be very sturdy for a plastic shelf.

If you wanted to make it more moveable, you could buy the heavy-duty metal shelving units on wheels that I've seen at Sam's Club. That way, if you're using it for seedlings in early spring, and there's a forecast for a hard frost, you can wheel it into your garage.

Make sure the wheels can be locked, and that the shelves can hold a LOT of weight, in case you end up doing heavier potted plants in the future.

The plastic cover is a thin mattress protector bag meant to protect your mattresses when you are moving. I'm not sure what size it is, but it has to be either a king size or a twin...I'm thinking it's the twin. It just barely fits over the shelves. Ideally, if you could get ahold of greenhouse sheeting, that would be the longest lasting and most efficient...and also the priciest. I had planned on using 6 or 8 mil plastic sheeting from Home Depot's paint department, until I came across the mattress cover.

If you use a roll of plastic sheeting, you'll need some way to attach it to the "greenhouse". You could use some kind of clamps, or duct tape. The way I have it configured, the top shelf can't be used, but if you could come up with some way to raise the plastic off the top shelf, it could be used. The total cost for this greenhouse was about $60, the cost of the shelves. If you buy the plastic sheeting, it will cost about $10-20 extra, depending on how small a roll your store sells, and what their prices run. If you have the plastic already and can scrounge up some cheap used shelves, it could be as little as $5-10. Or free, if you use free wooden pallets and build your own shelves!

Eventually I'm going to build a greenhouse in a panelized fashion, so it can be easily disassembled and moved. In the meantime, this seems to be working very well. Check out the video for more details, and how my seedlings are doing in the greenhouse.

If you enjoyed the video, please leave a comment, and feel free to let me know what subjects you'd like to see covered in any future videos!

This unit is similar to mine:

Remember, you want heavy duty shelves that hold a lot of weight, even if you're not using it to capacity.

Here are some choices for plastic covering:

Here is a complete mini-greenhouse, but it's not sturdy, so I wouldn't recommend it except maybe for a sheltered porch or balcony, out of the wind:

Here are some clips to keep the plastic wrapped around the shelves:

But it's better if you can scrounge these components for free, from what you already have. Good luck!

Spring is So Close...

2011-03-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

Yep. It's that time of year. The horrendous ice-packed country driveway has now given way to a six-inch deep mud pit. It's spring!

Well, almost. Where I live, we're still at risk for having snow dumped on us at any second. Our frost date isn't until at least the end of May. (Fortunately for us, we should be moved out of here by then, and have an earlier last frost date of mid-May...tee hee!)

Speaking of which, please pray for us, send positive thoughts, etc. that we find a good place to live. We've applied for a FABULOUS place that we found, that is perfect for us. Not on acreage, but other than that it's great (nothing good on acreage is available right now that isn't in the boonies). I hope we get it, because it will be a great place to shoot all my garden videos. And we'll actually be able to get into our own driveway without getting covered in mud, stuck in the snow, etc. What a concept!

I really hope we get it, because I can't wait to show you how cool it is. Plus, I've started my seedlings, so I need a place to plant them!

Attack of the Giant Pumpkin!

2011-03-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

Eat the Yard has a post about his plan to grow an 800 pound pumpkin for his daughter this year.

He states: "This Halloween she’ll be 17 months old, so logically she should have a pumpkin 200 times her weight that can only be moved by a forklift she can’t drive and that can only be carved with an ax she won’t be allowed to handle."

Click image for credit

Of course! LOL

But since he only owns a 1/5th of an acre residential home, I doubt he has a forklift to transport his freakish pumpkin gift. And why leave such a glorious pumpkin in the backyard garden? I commented that he should grow it where he wants it to be displayed, and as it gets a little big, he should build a level, solid wood platform that he thinks (hopes) will hold an 800+ pound pumpkin. Then he should set it in the center. That way it will grow a nice flat bottom and be ready to carve and display at Halloween, right where it sits.

Click for image credit

He could surround it with hay bales with normal size pumpkins and stuffed scarecrows, all with painted-on faces gazing up at the monstrous pumpkins with horror! LOL that would be a sight. That sends a message to grass-worshipping nosy neighbors: "Screw your lawns--I grew my kid an 800 pound pumpkin! YEAH!!!"

Try to out-do that!

But I'm left with just one question...

What do you do with an 800+ pound pumpkin once Halloween is over?

;-)

Why Your Food Costs Will Double in 2011 and What You Can Do About It

2011-03-12T01:49:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching an excellent You Tube video of Marjory Wildcraft giving a talk about the expected rise of food costs in 2011. It is a four part series, and it is a must-see. Here is the first part:

She gives examples of how our food reserves are depleted, how we as a country are importing more food than we are exporting, and how we are consuming more than we are producing.

She talks about how we are 12 meals away from anarchy, and that most US stores have only about 4 days worth of food reserves. And of course we all know how fast those shelves clear off in an emergency, such as an expected severe storm.

Over 30 countries now have bans on exporting food, because of their own food crises. Global food prices have risen 26% in the last six months, and extreme weather around the world has dramatically impacted food supply. Oil prices are projected to go as high as $5 a gallon, which will greatly affect food prices. You may have noticed that the prices at the pumps are already outrageous.

But Wildcraft doesn't just preach the perils of our precarious food supply situation--she gives solutions, with basic information on how to get started. Naturally, the first solution is to grow your own food.

There are so many reasons to grow your own food. Saving money, eating healthier, and knowing where your food comes from and what's in it are just the tip of the iceberg. It also provides for much security. If you know how to grow food, and you have the supplies needed and the seeds saved, you will be better off in precarious socio-economic situations than 99% of the country.

I will be covering more and more topics in the near future as the growing season gets going, both in blog posts here and YouTube videos. If you tune in to my Real Health Revolution podcast, I'll be covering it there as well. Because one of the best things you can do for your health is to eat more organically grown fruits and vegetables, especially if they are raw. And nothing tastes like homegrown.

(BTW, I've included some links for seeds below. Always get heirloom, non-GMO, untreated seeds and avoid big seed companies that usually get seeds from Monsanto or one of Monsanto's subsidiaries. If you can afford it, get organic. The can rotators below are nice for organization, but not necessary for storing food. Better to spend more on food, than on buying gadgets. The germination station is handy, and it's a good deal--my set-up cost a lot more. That Gardman greenhouse is a cheap greenhouse solution, but isn't heavy duty, so use in a sheltered spot, out of the wind, and don't try to use it year-round.)

Living the Small Life

2011-03-03T02:10:00.000-08:00

Nothing about our life is small.

We do everything big, it seems. I'm big. My husband is big. Our family is big (six children). Our car is big--it has to be, to fit a family of eight! So naturally, people expect our house to be big. And it usually has been. Until, perhaps, now.

We are looking for a new place to live. (Yes, again. Long story. Short version: awful landlord.) Unfortunately, finding a home to rent for a family of eight isn't easy. We want to keep our expenses down, so that we can achieve a truly debt-free life, and be able to afford healthy foods and products for our family. To do that, we need to minimize expenses. One of our biggest expenses is rent.

To rent a home with four or more bedrooms can be very expensive. Now that our children are old enough to share a room without the younger ones waking everyone up, we can put the three girls in one room and the three boys in another. Unfortunately, the landlords of the world don't see it that way.

When I tell a landlord on the phone we have six children, there are usually two reactions: silence, or an instantaneous "oh-this-house-wouldn't-work-for-you." I've even had jerks tell say "Six? Oh, that's too many."

I've tried explaining how I am strict with my children, that they are better behaved than 95% of the children I see today, that they aren't allowed to run wild with crayons and color the walls, or run the neighborhood unattended, etc. I ask them to please meet my children and see how nice they are. I tell them that people nowadays think every child needs their own bedroom...but bedrooms are for sleeping, so what does it matter if there are three sleeping bodies in one room? So shouldn't it be more important to have a larger living room? But alas, to no avail.

How did this happen? Fifty years ago, most families lived in two or three bedroom houses, no matter the family size. And families were definitely bigger then! I read that back then, in America, we lived in an average of 300 square feet per person. Today, it is 1000 square feet per person. Keep in mind, that the average family has LESS than two children now, and there are more people choosing to stay single and elderly widows living alone out there, than 50 years ago. When you think about that, the fact that we are still averaging 1000 square feet per person is staggering. Because that means there are a lot of people out there living with multiple thousands of square feet per person in their home.

Now I'm not going to say that's a bad thing. If you can afford it and choose to live that way, that's your choice, and I support your freedom to choose it. But why do I have to modify MY choices to fit the narrow-minded viewpoints of others?

How did we go from a society where the American dream was a nice little tract house and a car in every driveway, to a society where each person in the household has their own bedroom AND their own car AND their own tv, so that mealtimes take place in separate rooms in front of separate televisions or computers, and communication between family members is limited to "when will you be home?"

Does it make sense that families have gotten significantly smaller while, at the same time, homes have gotten exponentially bigger? Does a four year old need a 14x16 room with a double bed and a walk in closet, all to themselves? Bedrooms are for sleeping and playing, not running laps!

My children don't want to sleep in separate rooms. It's no fun for them to be all alone at night, or to wake up and have no one in their room to play with. Heck, I don't even want to sleep alone! Nighttime noises sound pretty creepy when you're alone.

My children don't even play in their rooms, except in early morning. They prefer to play together in the living room most of the time.

So then, why should I have to pay $300 more a month for a bigger home that will take more work to keep clean, when a small one will do? We have a four bedroom home now, and one room is kept for storage. (Which of course means that I, like most Americans, have too much stuff.)

And guess what? My children put less wear on a home than the average family with two children, because I watch my children. I've even had a landlord remark once that we had less wear and tear than he'd ever seen in any of his family rentals.

Since no landlord will rent a smaller house to us, we have considered buying a mobile home. But even that is problematic. Some parks obviously don't want larger families, and they quote a federal law (which I've had repeated to me by several park managers and landlords, but haven't seen myself) that says that you can't have more than two people per bedroom.

Excuse me? What the heck is the government doing telling families how many bedrooms they have to have? So even if a bedroom is 20'x20', I still can't have three children in it? That's insane! And what about families that have lost their jobs and their homes, and can't afford a four bedroom home no matter how bad the neighborhood? There are plenty of families like that around today. I guess they should live in a cardboard box? Or turn their children over to the state? Please, Uncle Sam, get out of our bedrooms!

If we did find a small home to live in, would our neighbors try to find a way to cause us trouble, simply because they disagreed with the way we choose to live?

Families shouldn't have to face this kind of discrimination. You should be judged on the kind of person you are, not on the lifestyle choices you make, even if those choices are different than the mainstream. Especially at a time when so many good families are in trouble.

Right now we are looking at an older home with four bedrooms and one bath. I'm not crazy about the one bathroom part. It's easier to live with three bedrooms than it is to deal with sharing one bathroom. Because while three people can easily share a bedroom, you can't share the toilet seat! (Okay, I may have one child goofy enough to try, but I certainly don't want to see the aftermath!)

This home, while having four bedrooms, is still small. So you may have the opportunity to see posts in the future about downsizing and living a more simple life. Which is what we've been wanting to do, anyway! After all, if a family of eight can modify the way they spend and the way they live, that takes away most excuses that a typical family might use! Right? ;-)

I think this topic is one I should cover in a future podcast. Click on the Real Health Revolution banner in the sidebar to check out my podcast and subscribe!

In the meantime, here are a few links to some websites that extol the virtues of small home living:

Small House Living
Small Living Journal
Living Large in Our Little House
Tiny House Blog
Life in a Shoe: Big Family in a Small House
Quintuple Bunk Beds: crazy design for five nested bunk beds and a home with NO bedrooms designed around their use (intended for African shelters).

Links for Food Storage

2010-12-07T21:02:00.000-08:00

On tonight's episode of Real Health Revolution, I talked about food storage. Here are a few links to videos and websites that will give you a great introduction to the subject.

Wendy Dewitt's Food Storage Seminar - They don't get better than this. There are 9 parts. This is the link to the first part. This is a must-see.

Getting Your Food Storage - One woman shows you her stash, and gives tips.

Everyday Food Storage - Another woman's food storage. Her other videos show you how to cook with food storage. Not always the healthiest recipes, in my opinion, but not bad, and she gives good information.

Mrs. Survival - The be-all, end-all, best place to get started learning about food storage and other survival/preparedness/self-sufficiency topics. These ladies know their stuff. They have a forum, a "Best of" section, and more.

Captain Dave's Survival Center - A more man-oriented site. This was one of the first sites I turned to, fourteen years ago when I started looking into food storage, preparedness, etc. Very comprehensive. Their food storage info is right to the point. You can't ask for more information.

Eating Healthy When You're Broke

2010-12-02T15:35:00.000-08:00

It saddens me to say this, but I am watching more and more people around me succumb to the current economic crisis. Relatives who were doing well and living on credit three years ago are nearly as broke as we are. In my area, we can't sell anything on Craigslist, because everyone wants you to give it to them on payments, trade for something they own (and of a lower value), or give you pennies on the dollar for it.

I've come across quite a few people who are dangerously close to losing their house. Although my husband is employed now, he went over a year without a job, and we are still suffering financially because of it. We can't seem to catch up, and things are getting worse. We're about to lose everything if something doesn't change...and we're not spenders. We're barely getting by.

I know there are many people out there going through the same thing, and worse. So I've decided to try to solve my own problem, and hopefully help some of you out there in the process.

Anyone who knows me, knows how important it is for me to feed my family healthy food. But how can you afford organic food when you can barely afford conventional food as it is?

I know there are ways, and I'm determined to find them. I recently did two podcasts on this topic for my Blogtalkradio show, Real Health Revolution. It was a basic overview of tips on how to improve your health without spending a lot of money. But I want to do more than that.

My goal is to come up with healthy recipes and ingredient lists that the average person on a tight budget can afford. It will be based on making items from scratch, from whole foods. This may be a challenge for those who are busy, but I think the average person can do it, if they really want to. That's the key...you spend time on what matters to you. If you're spending time watching tv, on the computer, or doing anything that isn't absolutely necessary, but say that you "don't have time" to cook from scratch, you're fooling yourself. I should know.

I have six young children, and I homeschool. But the fact is, I find plenty of time during the week for the internet. I don't really want to give that up, but I know I need to. How can I say I don't have time to feed myself or my family well, when I still have time to be on the computer? I can't.

So here's my challenge: spend less time on unimportant activities, and more time coming up with a cheap healthy food alternatives and recipes that I can afford...and then implement them!

I plan to come up with a full menu for one week, complete with grocery list and assemble it into an ebook format. If you have any suggestions or tips, I would love to hear them! When it is done, I will assemble it into an ebook format, and share a few recipes with my readers.

If you want to hear about my frugal adventure with low-budget, health, natural food, sign up to follow me so you will know when my project is ready to share!

Update: Still planning to do a healthy recipe book, but it will likely contain a large amount of raw food, as we are eating primarily raw right now. But the biggest thing you can do to eat healthy on the cheap is to start growing your own food!

Real Health Revolution Radio Show

2010-10-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

Real Health Revolution. It is a podcast radio show recorded via blogtalk radio. The show begins at 8pm pacific/11pm eastern time.

It will be broadcast live, and anyone can listen. Those who sign up for blogtalk radio as members will be able to participate in the chat room if desired. There will also be a number for listeners to call in, although I may not have the time to actually take calls tonight.

Segments will include Reiki, various types of natural, healthy exercise, gemstone therapy, natural ways to alleviate depression, health news, etc. For now, the show will be only 30 minutes long, so be sure to get to the show page early. The reason is that it costs $40 a month to upgrade to a longer show. With a large family, that's a big chunk for me. So I do hope to increase to at least a one hour show, but that will have to wait until I know that there is enough demand for the show. Until then, I will try to schedule two shows a week. Episode two is scheduled for this Friday, October 29th, in the same time slot.

If you like Real Health Revolution and want to hear longer episodes, you can help by spreading the word. You can even grab a link from blogtalk radio to put a BTR player into your sidebar that plays my show episodes. Blog about it, tweet about it, mention it on facebook and other social networking sites, link to the show page and the Real Health Revolution blog, to this blog, and to my Reiki website, ReikiRenew.com. There are also really great links in the sidebar of this blog for really great products, which I receive a small kickback on if you click and buy them, so that's another way to help support the podcast. The more revenue I can get, the better information and services I provide (as of this writing I've made nothing, but invested quite a bit of time between all my websites and prepping for the podcast). I plan to start how-to videos on YouTube in the future, as well.

Also, if you miss the show, blogtalk keeps archives of old shows, which I've heard are usually available within a few minutes of the show ending, and at some point they are uploaded to iTunes as well. There is a link to subscribe to the iTunes podcasts on the show page.

Please visit the RHR blog. Feel free to leave comments about the show, and if you have any questions, comments, or topics you'd like to suggest, please contact me at simplyZZZnaturalhomestead@gmailZZZ.com. (Copy and paste the email address into your address bar, then delete the ZZZ's and hit enter.)

Toxins in Toys and Safe Alternatives

2010-09-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

Unless you've been living under a rock (or tv-less like me, lol) you've probably heard the growing controversy over the last couple of years over lead, phthalates, BPA, etc. in toys and other products.

It makes me really angry that the government wants to regulate the heck out of thrift stores and second hand children's stores (thereby putting them out of business) over the lead issue, and yet major companies just somehow are accidentally letting lead-filled toys slip into this company.

These money-grubbing, child-endangering bastards need to be taught a lesson...and if the government won't do it, then we need to. How? Hit them where it hurts--their wallets!

Stop buying plastic crap for your kids. (And if you just have to, buy it used. That's right, used.) I know, natural toys cost an arm and a leg. But here's something I'm coming to find out...buying your child one or two expensive but well-made toys is more rewarding than buying her a bunch of plastic junk. Here's why...

1. It doesn't break a week later. I have six children, and they can be hard on toys. Doll beds and carriages--aren't they made to hold five-year-olds? No? My children don't seem to get that. I've given up buying plastic doll strollers that break. I'm saving up for a really good one.

2. Children seem to appreciate the quality. Really, they do. I think they can sense when a toy is made well and looks good. I bought Penelope Peapod dolls, and worried that they'd tear up the basket cradles. Nope, still going strong. They're reasonably careful with them, and treat them as they deserve (sort of). Of course, I also made sure to tell my girls that they are expensive toys, and that they're special and need to be taken care of if they want more of them. ;-)

3. With fewer toys, children appreciate them more. One Christmas we gave our children quite a few toys. Then relatives gave them more. It was a present-opening fiasco. They just wanted to play with one or two items, but we had to make them keep opening, and they just got crankier and crankier from over-stimulation. Most of the toys were forgotten right away, in favor of the one or two favorites. What a waste of money. Fast-forward to another Christmas: one quality toy given to each, plus two toys from relatives, for a total of three toys per child. Best Christmas ever. Calm, peaceful, and the children loved their toys.

4. Less worry over toxins. If you choose your toys carefully, they are safer for your children, and you can feel good about them playing with them. With the plastic toys we still have, I am forever telling them "get that out of your mouth!" I need to ditch them. (By the way, does anyone know if the Schleich animals are safe?)

5. Less clutter from cheap, broken, unused toys. We have tons of toys in boxes, half of which are broken, missing pieces, or rarely used. With Christmas and six birthdays every year, it's an exponentially increasing clutterific nightmare! Now we're paring back, giving only a few, good-quality toys for presents, and slowly crawling out of the clutter.

I hope this gives you some food for thought, as Christmas approaches. You can avoid the traditional binge of consumerism, while still giving gifts to your family, by choosing fewer, high-quality, natural toys.

Send a message to greedy conglomerates that we will NOT stand for them poisoning our children to make a fast buck!

"Voting" with our dollars by buying safe toys is the most important way to make sure that in the future, more safe toys are available.

Future posts will tackle toys and toy companies that put your child's safety first. My goal is to post reviews of good, natural toys, but that will have to wait until my budget permits me to buy more toys. I only have a few good toys so far, and I may be able to review those...if I can find the clothes that have been torn off the dolls. ;-)

Below are a few fun toys that are healthy alternatives for your child. As a former teacher, I can heartily recommend natural wood blocks, but I recommend that you consider getting two or three sets, particularly if you have multiple children. The more blocks, the higher you can build! But you can get by with just 100 blocks (and that's a good price for that many.)

Food Inc. Review

2010-09-13T02:55:00.000-07:00

Oh. My. Gosh.

If you haven't seen Food, Inc., you need to buy it, rent it, borrow it, whatever it takes. I'd heard sooooo many people say how good and how important this documentary is, but I just couldn't justify the $25 to buy it.

I was an idiot.

Seriously, this will change the way you look at food and at your family's health. I was already into eating healthy. And I'm pretty well-informed about the food industry. However, they put it into such a neat little package, that I think it's really easy for anyone to follow and really "get it."

They condensed an amazing amount of information into it, and kept it interesting. And I have to say that I'm impressed with the quality of the graphics they used, particularly with the opening credits. It's not a blockbuster or anything, but I felt the quality of it was a step above the typical documentary.

One thing that will really impact you is how our food industry treats animals and the planet. I do not consider myself an environmentalist or animal activist by any means, but I do believe that God gave us the animals and the planet to sustain us, but with that sustenance comes responsibility. Plus, to be frank, you just don't poop in your nest. Meaning that if we want the animals and plants to sustain us, we need to sustain them.

Don't worry, there aren't any overly graphic scenes, a la PETA undercover videos. The producers did an excellent job of walking the fine line between lifting the veil on the inhumane treatment these animals get, without going to the extremes of grossing people out and making them tune out. It was just sad, really. My heart ached for those poor creatures. And the workers aren't treated much better.

For me, it was really an eye opener, because I've gotten really lazy with my eating lately. One thing I've learned is that the healthier you eat (at least in my case), the harder you fall "off the wagon". Then it becomes REALLY hard to get back on. This movie was just the push I needed, to remind me how bad the SAD (Standard American Diet) way of eating is. It's not really food, people. It's chemically processed fake crap that will kill you.

Which explains why I've felt so cruddy lately. Which I already knew. But the film really brought it home for me. I'm spending the next few days coming up with an affordable meal plan. I am the absolute worst meal planner in the history of mankind. Which means I spend too much on stuff I want (but don't need) and forget to buy what I do need...leading to waste. Not to mention the convenience foods I eat when I'm not eating healthy.

So I will be doing a series of posts about eating healthy, what we can do to change the system, frugal recipes and menu plans, as well as addressing common complaints about why we think we "can't" eat healthy.

Please leave a comment with your suggestion of what your own complaints or challenges are to eating organic, local food, and I'll try to address them and/or come up with solutions. I'm also considering doing a one-time linky party for cheap, easy organic recipes. Let me know if you'd be interested in that.

In the meantime, buy this movie! Or at least rent it. I rented it, but it's so important that I feel I really need to buy it now, to be able to watch it on occasion when I need a kick in the pants!

Borders and Barnes and Noble stores usually carry it, and I think Netflix does. I also believe you can rent it off of iTunes.

Please Note: One of the links below is a regular DVD, one is a BLU-RAY, and one is the paperback book that followed the movie. Be sure you're choosing the right one.

Antique Dining Set

2010-09-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

Labor Day weekend I scored an entire antique dining set, including table, six chairs, buffet, and sideboard...for only $250! What's the catch? Wellll...

The table is kinda in pieces. Oh yeah, and the furniture is all water damaged, with the veneer warped and peeling off.

Still a deal? You betcha!

The six chairs are very sturdy. They could use some re-gluing as they are squeaky, but they can hold my weight--which is saying something! Usually I see chairs like this for $40 a piece and up at yard sales, and they're falling apart. The guy only wanted $300 for the chairs, and threw the rest in for free. I talked him down to $250, and he threw in this chair...

and a wooden office chair on wheels (to be featured in an upcoming before/after post) for free. Cool!

The guy is a furniture refinisher, and showed me how I could fix the veneer and refinish it. He said he got it from an insurance company. It had been damaged when the owners were away, and the sprinkler system in the house malfunctioned. The owners kept the china hutch and the insurance company replaced the rest...and the refinisher bought it from them. He's had it four years, and hasn't found the time to do it. He had several projects he was selling. He said it would be a $3000 set if he re-did it himself. He and his wife were really nice...they loaded the set up for me (twice, it took two trips) and he gave me his phone number and said to call if I needed any advice. People are so nice around here.

Now I'm no fool...I don't have his talent and experience. It would take a lot of work and know-how to make this set really shine again by refinishing it. But I'm not planning to...I'm going to paint it. I'm starting with recovering and painting the chairs one by one this week (tutorial coming soon). I think the pieces look worse than they are--the damage is all to the veneer. So it's not as bad as it looks. It should be a real learning experience. I'm looking forward to it!

Here's the buffet (the sideboard is hiding behind it)....

Here is the neato silverware insert for the buffet top drawer...

Be sure to sign up as a follower to receive updates on my crazy dining set experiment! If I can do this (oh, I hope I can do this) SO CAN YOU! ;-)

New Posts in the Works

2010-09-08T10:28:00.000-07:00

Fall is here!

Sorry for my blogging absence. It's been sooo crazy. We were spending tons of time looking for a new house to rent, packing our gazillions of possessions, and then moving. We're all moved in, so look for some new posts very soon!

I still have to unpack, but I'm excited, because this house is nicer than most we've lived in. Others have been bigger, with more potential, but this one already has painted walls (yes, other than "builder white")! And though, as a renter, I'll be limited to what I can do, I have great plans.

I'll be transforming some old furniture and repurposing things, all on a very tight budget, so look forward to some really neat low-budget re-dos. I just scored a water-damaged antique dining set for $250, and I plan to post pictures of my progress with it. If I can find my camera usb cord, I'll post "before" pictures today.

So sign up as a follower to be updated on my latest achievements!

The Depression Series, Part 1: Why Are We So Depressed?

2010-07-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

I am starting a new series of posts, focusing on depression. It has literally become an epidemic in America, and is rapidly spreading across the globe. The posts will cover the causes of depression, natural remedies, the dangers of anti-depressants, and more.

Why are so many Americans suffering from depression today? What is so different about our society that almost 10% of our adult population are depressed?

Some may say that our society is more accepting of someone seeking treatment, so fewer people are hiding their struggles. But is that true? Studies show that 41% of depressed women are too embarrassed to seek help. 80% of depressed people are going "untreated". 92% of African American males do not seek treatment.

But the problem doesn't end there.

The rate of increase of depression among preschoolers is 23%! Preschoolers? Do you remember being depressed before you even got into kindergarten? I don't. And none of the kids I knew seemed the least bit depressed. Assuming a child had a "normal" life (i.e., isn't facing abuse, poverty, etc.) the most depressing thing that happened to the four-year-olds that I knew is that they didn't get the toy they wanted for Christmas, or they got a swat for their misdeeds, or their big brother broke something that belonged to them. What is there for the average preschooler to be depressed about?

Yet the preschool population is the fastest-growing market for anti-depressants. Over a million preschoolers (at least 4%) are considered to be clinically depressed. What the heck is going on?

By 2020, depression is expected to be the leading cause of death after heart disease, and the studies show that depression is a contributing factor of heart-related deaths.

There are many theories as to the causes of depression. Some point to genetics, or to environment, to a history of abuse, to traumatic events in a person's life. These are all factors that could predispose a person to depression. But not everyone who faces these obstacles will become depressed. So why do some of us become depressed, and not others?

Are there other causes that are yet unknown, or are not yet accepted by the profit-driven depression industry? And make no mistake, it is an industry. Anti-depressant sales alone garnered almost $11 billion in 2008! That doesn't even take into consideration the profits from hospitalization, therapy, treatment programs, and other products, which have questionable rates of effectiveness.

Why am I writing a whole series of posts on this subject? Because not only am I disturbed by the increasing effects that depression is having on our country, but I am infuriated at how women's lives are being slowly destroyed not only by this affliction, but also by the very industry that purports to be helping them. They have become the targets of greedy corporations and so-called "professionals", and now they have their financial cross-hairs fixed on our children.

It is time we put a stop to the madness, and take control of our own lives, and find real solutions to the problem, instead of expensive treatments that only make the problem worse, and create even more health problems.

All this and more will be discussed more in the upcoming installments, along with my own story.

Update: As of 3/21/11, I still need to continue this series of posts, but in the meantime, I've used Carlson's Vitamin D drops, they help, and getting some exercise (the rebounder is easy, just start with five minutes--or go for a walk, it's cheaper) can help a LOT. Also St. John's Wort is supposed to be very effective, but I keep forgetting to take it. But one of the best things you can do is eat more raw organic food, especially green smoothies (the more greens, the better). Raw food works WONDERS!

Old Post # 11: Book Review: Living on Live Food

2010-07-06T14:52:00.000-07:00

This post is the eleventh in a series of posts taken from one of my old blogs. It is a review of a book I still own and use to this day.

Living on Live Foods - originally posted July 22, 2007

This week I finally found Alissa Cohen's Living on Live Food book at my local raw food restaurant.

This book has it all. Most raw books I've bought or seen are little more than recipe books with a couple of chapters of very basic information about the raw food diet in the beginning. Alissa's book has very good information about the science behind the diet (but in a concise, easy-to-read format), the hows and whys, the benefits, success stories, before and after pictures, and much more. Plus all the recipes, which look really good. I'm really enjoying reading this book.

There are two negatives to the book, however. First is it's price. At first, I didn't mind the $30 price tag because it is a very large, high quality book. The pictures are great, the pages are glossy, and the layout keeps the reader's attention. But after reading the book, I realized quickly that this book didn't NEED to be so big...which brings me to negative point number two: the size.

This book is HUGE. It is very heavy. I feel like I'm carrying around a dictionary. It doesn't make for easy transporting. The easiest way to read it is to lie it flat on a table, or possibly in your lap, if you don't mind the weight. Laying on your side in bed is impossible...it is forever sliding off the bed, or slipping out of your hands. I dropped it spine-first onto the side of my foot while sitting in bed--a six inch drop--and it HURT!! Really hurt!

Also, the words on each page are in narrow columns, with one column per page. Only half of each page is used. Then, each chapter uses one whole page just to display the chapter number on it. And many of the chapters have less than one page to them...and remember, only half of each page is used! While this does make for an easy-to-read format, it goes too far. I think the book easily could have been condensed into a smaller, easier to carry book without sacrificing quality or readability.

I do like the heavy, glossy pages, as I think this will be a book I will read and use often, especially in the kitchen. But when so many people in the raw food movement are environmentally conscious, the amount of wasted space in this book seems to be a bad business decision. I think the size and weight of the book could be reduced enough to lower the price to $25 , which would make the book easier to sell to people on a limited budget.

All that being said, I'm still glad I bought it. I'm sure it will prove very useful. There is also a companion DVD available on Alissa's website. The price of that seems extremely high to me...$29.95! There is a discount if you buy the book with it, but again, people like me might not be likely to buy such an expensive DVD without reading the book first to see if they like Alissa's style. But having read half the book so far, I would like to check out the DVD someday, when I can afford it.

Alissa carries other products on her site, such as raw food items and appliances. Be sure to price shop, though. I think a lot of her prices seem to be okay, and she's running a really great special on the Vita-Mix right now. Her raw food forum is a great resource as well.

I haven't finished the book yet or tried any recipes, but based on the first half of the book, I'd give it at least four stars, maybe five. Definitely a great introductory book for those wanting to go raw.

UPDATE: Some of her recipes I really like, and others I don't. But the info and the before and afters you simply must read. One great recipe is the regular salsa. It's really good--even my husband likes it, and he hates fresh tomatoes. The one thing is that the garlic is super strong to me. Since the garlic is raw, you should keep that in mind when it's called for in recipes, and consider cutting it in half. Or try elephant garlic, it's very mild.

Note: The first link pic is the book, the second is the DVD, and the third is another book of Alissa's.

I've Lost My Mind

2010-06-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went for my second run. I don't know if it was my new sneakers, or the fact that I was too lazy to warm up (I know, I know, don't beat me up for it), but I was hurting as soon as I came back. I bought Asics Kayano Gel running shoes in red. I'm not crazy about them so far.

I know they were hurting my feet when I was standing around in them. I don't know why, they just were. Walking in them was fine, and running felt okay, except that I was noticing some pain in my shins. Again, it could be the lack of a warm up. I'm going to give them one more chance. I hope they're okay. They were expensive, to me, even at 50% off.

On the bright side, I actually went out walking even though I was tired, sore and REALLY didn't want to. I had already decided not to go. Instead, I put on those military cadence songs to motivate me, and managed to scrape up enough motivation to get out there and do 2 miles (which is all I should be doing at this point). I was shocked to find out yesterday that a 5k race is 3.1 miles...exactly what I did my first time out the other day. Wow!

I figure if I can do a 5k here on the mountain, I can easily do a 5k race in town on a flat surface. There are a couple of 5k races in a month or two, and I think I will be in good enough shape to run them, or at least do half walking, half running.

For those of you out there who haven't exercised in years (or ever), I would really encourage you to think about doing it. I know when you're morbidly obese, just the idea of doing your daily duties can be overwhelming. I never wanted to exercise before. Even now, it does take effort...but not nearly as much effort as it used to. Once I started drinking green smoothies once or twice a day, that started to change. My energy and motivation went way up.

So just give green smoothies a try, and contemplate the possibility of starting some kind of physical activity. I think you'll be surprised at what happens. One reader commented that it sounded like I was losing my mind (but in a good way). LOL. I suppose it might sound that way. At least, I've lost my old mind...the one that said "I can't, it's too hard, I'm too fat, nothing will ever change." That mind is rapidly fading into the distance. My new mind is the one that says "I can, I will, I am the master of my own destiny, everything WILL change because I deserve better, and I can do it!"

Losing your mind doesn't sound so bad now, does it?

Update: The Asics were awful. I hurt myself running in them. (Partially my fault...I should have eased myself into running, especially at my weight.) They felt awful even just standing in them, after a while, before I tried running. Now I know why...feet aren't meant to be cushioned and coddled. God designed our feet well! Now I wear Vibram Five Finger shoes, and I love them. I read about a lot of people who had problems caused by shoes, no matter what they tried, which eventually was rectified by wearing Vibram Five Fingers. Haven't run in them yet, but tons of people do, including marathoners! They look a little weird, but are so comfortable once you get used to them, because they mimic the feeling of bare feet...except you're protected from glass and dog poop, LOL.

A lot of people use them barefoot, but I prefer to wear the Injinji toe socks with them.

Consider getting the FLOW for colder weather,

or the KSO to "Keep Stuff Out", like sand.

I have the Women's sprint: (in black)

I Hate Running...I Think

2010-06-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

Recently I've heard some interviews with Tim Van Orden, a raw runner. He started running in his late thirties, as an experiment to see how well someone could perform on raw food. He does mountain running and tower runs (running up the stairs at places like the Sears Tower). Now in his forties, he is winning races and beating guys half his age. At forty, athletes are considered "washed up". But raw athletes are showing tremendous success at "advanced" ages.

I found this really inspiring. I thought about how fit I was back in basic training, and about what it was like to feel fit. I remember the day I looked over my shoulder, and couldn't see my behind. Cool!

Before I went in basic training, at 145 pounds, I couldn't run far without gasping for breath. In fact, I'd never run for anything except to catch a bus!

I hated running.

But this past Saturday night, remembering how it felt to get up in the dark and cold and go running at 5:30 am, singing cadence (it stunk, and I hated it, but I felt good about myself afterwards), it made me think I really should start walking. "Just walking," I thought. "Maybe a little running once I'm skinny...but I really hate running, so I'll never want to run up a mountain or a tower like Tim. Forget that! But a walk sounds good." So that night I started looking up cadences on iTunes, and listened to some. Eventually I found a few sites that offered free cadence downloads (legally). I was so motivated by them that if I'd had a reflective vest and a big flashlight, I would have gone walking right then, at midnight. I started thinking maybe I should do some running, when I can.

The next day, I did some stretches, took my iPod (and a cell phone just in case I collapsed!) and went for a run. Up a mountain road. 3.1 MILES round trip!! Wow!

I suppose it wasn't technically a run, because after less than a block, I realized I was going to kill myself if I started running UP a MOUNTAIN at my weight, without at least easing into it. But I did run about 1/3 of the way down the hill, taking some walking breaks a few times. I stopped when I felt I'd hit my limit. You'd be surprised how hard even running downhill is at my weight. I think I really overdid it, but I was so proud of myself! I haven't been able to even walk more than two miles, even if I'm not tired, because my right foot always starts to hurt really bad. I've had that problem for years, even before I got very heavy, and it's made trying to exercise extremely difficult.

But when I did my run/walk on Sunday, I didn't have any trouble with my feet at all! Which was incredible, because the edge of the asphalt in many places was rounded down a bit towards the dirt runoff along the side of the road. So my feet were sometimes at bad angles as I walked. I was definitely sore the next day, but not even close to as sore as they should have been...would have been, if I wasn't eating green smoothies. And I was still eating cooked food at that point. I get stiff when I sit or lay down for too long, and my heels get really sore (they feel bruised...poor babies weren't meant to take a 246 lb. pounding), but after I walk around a bit, I'm fine.

I should mention I did this in 5 year old cheap Reeboks with the sole peeling away in places. ;-) It's all I had. I'm buying new walking shoes today. I'm also buying a full album of U.S. Army cadences, because it was extremely motivating. It made me really want to do better, and be able to really run. Maybe even in a race.

Even though I hate running.

I think.

I'm confused.

Old Post # 10: Coconut Butter - An All Natural Moisturizer

2010-06-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

This is number 10 in a series of posts taken from an old blog of mine.

Coconut Butter - An All Natural Moisturizer- Originally posted July 22, 2007

Not long ago I purchased some Raw Organic Coconut Butter by Artisana. I had wanted Raw Organic Coconut Oil, but they didn't have it raw. I wasn't sure if Coconut Butter is the same thing or not, but decided to try it. It is made from the whole flesh of the coconut, instead of just the oil.

I know I've heard of the many health and beauty benefits of coconut oil. Since Coconut Butter is made of the whole coconut flesh, rather than just the oil, I figured it would be just as good if not better.

So last last night I tried using it on my feet, which lately have been very dry, especially on the heels. My left heel especially has had stubborn dead, dry skin on it, and nothing seems to work. I worked in some of the Coconut Butter on my feet and ankles, and also my elbows, where I have some dry patches of skin that I think are psoriasis.

It is amazing! Today, I would have to say there is at LEAST a 50% improvement both on my heels and my elbows. NOTHING else has worked, but this is working overnight! I tried it today on a few more places, including some little spots that tend to appear on my sides...not sure what it is, possibly smaller breakouts of psoriasis? Those tend to heal up after a while, but the spots on my elbows are always there, to a lesser or greater degree. They seemed to clear up a bit when I first went on raw, but maybe the coconut butter will speed up the healing process.

I'm sure coconut oil would probably work good too. But whichever you choose, I would recommend you buy RAW organic. Conventional or plain organic may work fine, but I would be willing to bet that the raw organic works a lot better, because it still has living enzymes and extra nutrients in it.

I don't know if Artisana is the best brand or not. I know Alissa Cohen says on her website that she tested many coconut oils before choosing the Coco-de Creme brand that she carries. I bought my Coconut Butter in my local health food store. I don't remember the price, but I'm thinking it was ten dollars or so for 16 ounces. Compare that to the chemical-laden synthetic moisturizers out there, that can go for a hundred dollars for only an ounce or two, and don't even work nearly as well!

Another thing to think about, for those of us who are pro-life: did you know that there are many beauty products out there, moisturizers in particular, that contain collagen from aborted fetuses? I was shocked to learn this. Just one more reason to stick with something all natural, so you KNOW where it comes from!

I'm also trying this on my face, to see how it helps. Being overweight, I've neglected to moisturize my face, because I don't have many lines yet (they're all filled out with fat). Now that I'll be losing weight, I need to think about taking care of my skin. Although going raw is well known as a remedy for aging skin, I think using a natural moisturizer is still a great idea.

[Edit: While coconut butter may have even more "good stuff" in it than coconut oil, the coconut butter can sometimes be a little bit gritty from unblended coconut bits as you get deeper into the jar. This isn't a big deal, but if you want to avoid this, use raw organic centrifuged extra virgin coconut oil. I also use the coconut butter in my smoothies (about 1 T for a 1/2 to a full pitcher), which is yummy! Coconut oil is also good in smoothies.]

Old Post # 9: Sugar is From the Devil!

2010-06-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

This is the ninth post in a series of posts taken from a blog of mine, written in 2007, two weeks before the birth of my fifth child.

Sugar is From the Devil!- originally posted July 22, 2007

As you may have guessed from my lack of posting, I fell off the raw wagon for a few weeks. Boy, am I sorry, too! Not only did I rapidly gain back almost all the weight I lost, but I started having back pain, fatigue, pubic bone pain, lethargy, and a general bloated feeling. My rings started getting really tight again, and I was not a happy camper.

There are two main reasons I went off the diet. One is, I was getting tired of all the chopping and peeling, and really wanted to do some different type of recipes, which I don't yet have the equipment for (saladacco, Vita Mix). Then, I started having some weird nausea and abdominal pain. I wasn't sure if it could be from the diet, though I didn't think it was. I just started eating anything convenient. The pain didn't go away, though. It progressively got worse, til I ended up in the hospital for a few days for some tests and observations. The tests were all negative--no gallstones, liver problems, ulcers, etc. It wasn't acid reflux, round ligament pain (obstetricians think EVERYTHING is round ligament pain) or morning sickness. [Edit: It was during this hospital visit, a CT scan showed I had a huge aneurysm above my aortic heart valve. However, for some reason no one thought this was important to mention to me. I didn't find this out until a year later. I could have died. Get a copy of and review EVERY test you get done. The actual report in your medical file. If I had, I would have seen what they wrote about the aneurysm.]

The only thing they can figure out is that it's probably adhesions from a previous surgery. It's the only thing that makes sense. They say since I didn't have a problem with adhesion pain before, I should be better after delivering, when I'm no longer all stretched out (I sure hope so). Until then I'm on Percocet, but I'm trying not to take much. I hate taking any kind of drugs, but in this case, it's necessary. After two weeks of this nauseating pain, I can't function without some kind of relief. [Edit: They may have been right, it eventually went away before delivery. I don't think it was a symptom of the aneurysm, since it wasn't an abdominal aneurysm, but who knows.]

Meanwhile, it took me over a week of false starts to get back on the wagon, after two weeks of eating processed cooked junk. The last straw was after three days of eating sugary stuff (mostly ice cream). All of a sudden, my sugar and chocolate cravings came back with a vengeance (they were controllable before that) and my back pain and pubic bone pain were awful...even while on Percocet!! I have no doubt it was the sugar. That just goes to show you how much of a poison refined white sugar is.

Sugar is evil, people! It is an unnatural poison that pollutes our bodies and ruins our emotional and spiritual well-being. Sugar turns you into an addicted, fat glutton. Sugar makes you depressed. God did not make sugar. God made honey and sugar cane, but not refined table sugar. I kid you not, sugar is straight from the Devil! [Edit: I have realized since writing this 3 years ago that many products I assumed were sugar-filled were actually High Fructose Corn Syrup filled. HFCS is worse than sugar! Read your labels. I found HFCS in PICKLES! Sheesh.] (Okay, Evil Sugar rant is over.)

When I finally had enough of the pain, I went back on raw food, last Wednesday. I started by making it easier on myself, and buying pre-cut fruit trays and pre-made salads at the grocery store. They weren't organic, but it would be an easy start. Thursday I went to the raw food restaurant to bring home a couple of meals and goodies. I also stopped at the health food store for some raw trail mix, Larabars, [Edit: Larabar ingredients aren't always raw, and they're not organic, just so you know] and various fruit.

My husband wasn't too thrilled at having to throw out all the organic produce that went bad during my three week "slip". Neither was I--all that money, and good food! But I'm back in the game now, and so excited.

My body is taking a bit longer this time to shake the symptoms...possibly because the toxins I ate were more of a shock to my system this time, after being raw a while. Or because I'm on the pain medicine. The good news is, I started losing weight right away, over a pound a day. I had been back up to 287, but now I am 283.6. My rings are looser already. I'd love to be no more than 280 when I have my c-section, which is in 2 1/2 weeks.

Today the back pain is mostly gone, the pubic pain is almost gone, I think, and I'm a lot less sleepy today...which is big, because this medication makes you sleepy. I'm actually feeling pretty jazzed up right now.

One of the best things about going back on this diet is that I can stuff myself on raw to overcome any temptations, which makes going back on the wagon much easier. Really, the first day was the toughest. Today I've just been eating like crazy. But I don't have to worry about it, or even feel guilty, and that is awesome! I made up a dessert, with cashew butter, crushed macadamia nuts, a mashed banana, some raw agave nectar, and some ground raw cacao nibs. It was pretty good. And I felt great about eating it, because it is GOOD for me!!

I know once I have the baby and shift into weight-loss mode, I may have to watch my intake of nuts, avocados, bananas, etc. But since I'll be nursing I don't think it will be a real issue, unless I go totally crazy.

I am so committed to this way of eating. I really do enjoy it. I can't wait for my taste buds to continue to change, so I can enjoy even more different kinds of healthier foods. When I eat raw, I feel like I am eating the way God designed me to eat, and that my body is functioning the way it was created to. Finally!

Old Post # 8: How Do I Get Started?

2010-06-24T12:17:00.000-07:00

This post is the eighth in a series of old posts taken from an old blog of mine, from three years ago.

How Do I Get Started?

Everyone is different. For some people, they need to quit cooked food cold turkey, otherwise they'll never do it. If you can do it this way, that's what I recommend. Less temptation. We are truly addicted to cooked foods.

I've noticed even when I'm not that hungry, if I give in and have a bite of cooked food (say, when I make my kids lunch), I have a sudden and uncontrollable urge to shove it all in my mouth, like an addict in withdrawal! I never feel that way when I eat raw, even if I am starving. I rarely stuff myself with raw food, whereas I will now fill myself to discomfort when I eat cooked...and I was never prone to binging before. Overeating, yes, but not binging. So cold turkey is best.

If you can't do it all at once, then start by eating raw fruit in the morning, a salad and sandwich for lunch (using only organic, whole foods when eating cooked food), and a big salad with raw veggies for dinner, with a very small amount of brown rice and organic chicken breast. That's how I did it the first few days. You'll still feel a difference right away. [Edit: I would now recommend starting with smoothies, working up to as many greens as you can tolerate, taste-wise, as quickly as you can. That will get you craving other raw foods.]

If you are going to eat things like whole grain breads and rices, look into the Nourishing Traditions book, and websites online about this way of eating. They recommend you soak or sprout all grains, nuts and seeds before eating. This is because grains, nuts and seeds are protected by phytic acid, which keeps the grain or seed from breaking down until it is planted. By soaking or sprouting it, you have broken down the phytic acid and made it more digestible and safer to eat. Many people who can't eat wheat can eat it if it is sprouted or soaked first. It is the phytic acid that they are reacting to. [Edit: This is one reason why there are so many people nowadays with irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, etc. Eating grains, nuts and seeds with the phytic acid still intact isn't good for you.]

Try to minimize the meat and dairy you eat. When you do eat dairy, eat raw dairy. It can be hard to find. Try realmilk.org or ask around at health food stores, or advertise that you are looking for sources of raw milk. Be sure that it is both unpateurized and unhomogenized. Laws vary from state to state. Find out what your state laws are. Don't just listen to what someone says. I had someone insist raw milk is illegal in my state. That person is ignorant. Our laws clearly state that raw milk can be sold, but only from the farm it is produced from, the farmer cannot advertise it publicly (which is ridiculous), and the buyer must bring his own sterilized container (also silly--if the farmer's container isn't already sterile, it doesn't matter if the customer brings her own sterilized container).

Check out the place you buy your milk from to make sure you are comfortable with the farmer's operation, especially that it seems sanitary. I can almost guarantee that commercial dairies are probably worse. Also ask what the cows are fed, if they are fed grain, if the grain is organic, and if the fields they eat on are treated with chemical fertilizers or pesticides. If they eat supplemental hay, ask where that hay comes from, and if it is treated in any way ("certified weed free" = sprayed with poisons). Also, is the field located next to or downhill from a conventional farm? If so, the grass may be soaking up pesticides and fake fertilizer. The field may also be watered from a well that shares the same water table/aquifer as the conventional farm.

As I said, though, cold turkey is better. The first day I felt a bit of hunger throughout the day. Not an "I'm starving" feeling, but more like "I could really go for ___". After the first day or so, it went away. I made sure that I stuffed myself with as much raw food as possible, to avoid temptation. At the slightest sign of hunger, I ate. The second day I already felt so much better, physically.

The first two weeks I kept it simple, eating plain fruit, or cut-up fruit salad, or green salads. When I ate a sandwich, it was usually a whole grain pita, some egg salad, and as many veggies as I could stuff into it--baby spinach, red onion, cucumbers, red peppers. I burst the "seams" of the pita a few times, lol. I really looked forward to adding those veggies in. It made for great flavors. My tastes started to change, too. I started getting braver, and adding fresh tomatoes. I don't usually care for fresh tomatoes, but I tried it. I'm starting to kind of like them.

After two weeks, I knew I had to mix it up or get bored. I wanted a Vita Mix badly, but they go for around $400. Don't buy expensive stuff til you've been on it at least two weeks, and know you will continue. The Vita Mix is great, and you'll probably always find it useful, but it isn't necessary right away. The biggest tip I can give is to sit down one evening while you have someone to talk to, or a tv or radio program on, and spend an hour or two leisurely cutting up fruits and veggies and putting them into baggies or containers. This was a tremendous help to me. One night of chopping, and I had about four days of veggies ready to go. I put the chopped veggies into mini Glad containers, and stacked the containers in larger plastic baskets--one basket for salad veggies, one for cut fruits, another for uncut fruits that were washed and ready to eat. It keeps your fridge much neater and helps prevent "losing" stuff in the fridge and having it go bad. Want to make a salad? Pull out the salad veggie basket, and you're ready to make it! Perfect for the lazy person (like me).

After a week or two, be sure to start experimenting. At first all you need is a sharp paring knife, a vegetable peeler, and a large kitchen knife. A blender is helpful if you want to make smoothies. I bought a good quality smoothie maker with ice-chopping blades on sale for $30 at Target. [Edit: I ruined those blades after just a few smoothies. They won't hold up. Get a BlendTec. If you absolutely can't afford one, then remove the tough stems of kale, etc. before blending, and just add more water and blend in smaller batches while you're saving for a real blender.] Long-term you'll want a Vita Mix, it makes much smoother smoothies, and is pretty necessary for green smoothies (you really need to make sure greens are well blended), but you can wait a little while for that. Try ebay, craigslist.org, or your local classifieds to find a used Vita Mix. I wouldn't get one more than a few years old. [Edit: I HIGHLY recommend getting a Vita Mix model with the dial in the middle, which allows you to control the lower speed of the blender--or other high speed blender with an equivalent feature. Otherwise when you add powders like cacao, they will puff up when you turn it on, and it ends up all over the lid, wasted. You can try to put the cacao in first, but trust me, you'll forget sometimes. Then, poof.]

The first gadget I want is a Spiral Slicer, formerly known as a Saladacco. It is inexpensive, and seems to be a favorite amond raw foodists. You can use it to turn zucchini, carrots, and other veggies into "pasta". I had a dish like this at our local raw food restaurant (I'm SO happy we have one of these). It was a bed of spinach, with cut strawberries, walnuts, and balsamic vinegar, with zucchini angel hair "pasta" and a spicy sun-dried tomato marinara. The first bite I wasn't too crazy about it, but by the third I LOVED it! So I want the spiral slicer so I can create a similar dish. [Edit: Got one. It only does angel hair and spiral slices. Spend a little more and get one that does other sizes, like linguini noodles. I'm sorry I didn't spend the extra dough.]

I also want an Omega Juicer. I have a cheap one, but the Omega can do wheatgrass also. Wheatgrass Juice is an amazing thing, SO healthy for you. Though I warn you, it is disgusting. I usually chug a shot of it and chase it with a whole smoothie. But I've heard after you start having green smoothies, the wheatgrass juice isn't too bad. The green smoothies are supposed to make you crave raw foods, and I had my first one the other day. It wasn't too bad!

I'm also hoping to get an Excalibur Dehydrator. [Edit: Had one, loved it, highly recommend it. Had to sell it for the money. I could cry.] It comes highly recommended, as it has a controllable thermostat. You can use this to make "breads" and "crackers" from things like nuts and seeds. I had some spicy crackers from that restaurant. They're actually pretty good...and REALLY spicy! Another item I'm wanting is a separate fridge. My husband and I have talked about this before, since we have a big family anyway. We want to get an all-fridge refrigerator...no freezer. I plan to use that for my raw foods, and maybe overflow from the main fridge. That way, no hunting for hidden produce that has rotted in the back! I'd like to keep most of the produce in the fridge to keep it longer, but right now ours is too small.

It may sound like this is an expensive proposition, but you don't have to have all this stuff. I'd say just the spiral slicer and the Vita Mix would make your life a lot easier. As for organic food, it is becoming easier to find...shop around. There is a lot of advice to be found on the raw food boards as to how to find produce cheaper. Even eating conventional raw food is better than eating a SAD diet. Though there are TONS more nutrients and less toxins in organic produce.

My husband, I'm sure, was worried at first that this diet would be like the others, and anything I bought would go unused. But after two weeks of seeing me happier and healthier, and controlling my weight, he is now all for spending whatever it takes to keep me on the diet. We plan on using tax return money for the stuff we need to buy. At some point soon we hope to be able to put the whole family on raw food. He's not sure about giving up meat and dairy (he's a big meat-and-potatoes kind of guy), but neither was I at first. He's open to it, though. I told him it's his decision. If he wants to go only 80% raw and still eat a little meat and dairy, that's his choice. But I know he'll feel so much better on even just 80% raw.

Just remember to keep it simple the first couple of weeks, eat cut fruits and salads, maybe some fruit smoothies (good for on the go). After that, start experimenting, and find ways to make it more convenient. Get rid of your old food, or if you can't, such as if you're a wife or mother, be sure to eat BEFORE you prepare food for others. Keep raw snack food on hand, and DO NOT let yourself get hungry. Hungry brains don't think straight! I think after a few days on raw, you won't want to go back to your old life. It's just not worth it!

Comfrey: The Great Healer

2010-06-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

Comfrey, known also as Knitbone, Knitback, Bruisewort, Boneset, as well as other names, clearly has been historically considered a valuable herb in healing. The roots and leaves contain allantoin, a protein that stimulate cell proliferation. It has been used for speeding the healing in broken bones, sprains, burns, sore joints, wounds, helping with dry skin, and reducing swelling in fractures.

Use fresh, clean Comfrey leaves in a poultice for external application, if you have access to it. You can also find Comfrey salves at health food stores or online. You may find Comfrey in large, tea-bag-like poultices, or in the dried bulk section, but you will not find any Comfrey tea bags, as it has been banned for internal use in the U.S. (But the SSRI drugs that induce people to shoot up schools and kill their whole family...those are still fine. Yeah.)

This Comfrey-phobia comes from studies done in the 1970's and 1980's done on rats, that indicated that Comfrey use can cause liver cancer and disease. The problem with these studies is that they were done on rats, which process poisons different than humans, they were done with high dosages, and in some cases, Comfrey itself was not used, but instead just the active compounds in Comfrey. Personally, I find these studies highly questionable, and I would not be the least bit surprised if I found out the studies were paid for by the drug companies. (You know, the people who say herbs are dangerous, but aspirin, which kills 5000 people a year, and causes internal bleeding and sub-arachnoid hemorrhaging, is perfectly safe. Yeah, you can trust those guys.)

So, while I would use caution in taking Comfrey internally, I personally don't think a little Comfrey tea once in a while is going to hurt me. But I am not a doctor, nor a scientist, so any use of Comfrey should be done with the advice of your licensed health care practitioner, and at your own risk.

It is generally considered to be safe to use topically, as it is said the alkaloids will not penetrate the skin. However, I would use caution in this as well, as the skin is the largest organ in your body...anything you put on your skin gets into your system. Never put anything on your skin whose bottle is labeled "not for internal use". Just my opinion. So my personal choice would be to use Comfrey topically when needed, on occasion.

I have used Comfrey in a poultice to treat what I believe was pink eye. My eye was starting to look inflamed and infected, overnight. I made a Comfrey tea bag, soaked it in just enough boiling water to soak the bag, but not float it, then squeezed out the excess liquid just until it wasn't dripping. I applied it close to my eye, but not close enough to get liquid in it (wasn't sure if that would be bad or not...you don't want to mess up your eyes). I don't know how long I kept it there, but at least ten minutes. My symptoms were gone the next day.

Comfrey has also been used as fertilizer. Since it has high levels of potash, it is perfect for tomato, cucumber, pepper, and potato plants. One of the links below can give you instructions on how to do that.

I hope this inspires you to consider planting Comfrey in your garden, or at least keeping a stock of dried Comfrey on hand. It is also a plant that grows in the wild, so if you learn to properly identify it, you can harvest wild Comfrey. For those into preparedness or self-sufficiency, Comfrey is a must.

Resources:

Turning Comfrey into a natural fertilizer
Botanical info on Comfrey.
Safety of using Comfrey topically.
Information questioning the testing done on rats that led to the banning of internal use of Comfrey.
How to grow and preserve Comfrey.

Jumping in With Both Feet

2010-06-19T23:36:00.000-07:00

I'm almost afraid to say this...worried I might jinx myself! But here it is...

I'm going 100% raw. As of today. After a couple of days eating more cooked food and less smoothies, and feeling some pain coming back, I decided that's it, I'm done! I ate all raw today, making myself some great smoothies all day. I even withstood the tempting smell of my husband's homemade pizza that he made for the kids. (It smelled reeeeeeally good, and I'm proud of myself for grabbing my jar of pre-made smoothie instead--one big reason for always keeping pre-made treats and meals or prepared meal components on hand!)

I also got on the rebounder for 25 minutes today, then did another 5 minutes of sit-ups, push-ups, crunches, and leg-lifts. I can't believe I did all that! Okay, they were "girl" push-ups (knees resting on the ground with the ankles crossed in the air behind you) and I only lowered myself half-way (what can I say, my stomach gets there before the rest of me does!), but who cares! Really, I did almost as well today as I did the first time I tried doing push-ups two weeks before I went into basic training...15 years ago...and I was thin back then!

Another reason this is so exciting is that, as I've mentioned before, because of the aneurysm and then the surgery, I did virtually no physical activity for most of the last two years. I rarely lifted anything at all. So my arms have somewhat atrophied in all that time. And yet today I did 10 push-ups in a row...TWICE...and I weigh 244 pounds!! How many of you could do any push-ups at all with an extra person sitting on your back? Not too many, I bet. Yes, I have a right to be proud! I just know it's the green smoothies. I wish I'd tried this two weeks ago, before the smoothies, so I could compare. But then again...before the smoothies, I would never have had the energy or the motivation to try. I love greens!

You know, I might just get brave and do a YouTube video of part of my workout, to help motivate others who are in similar physical condition to me. Leave a comment if you would be interesting in a video like that!

The "What" and "Why" of Eating Raw

2010-06-19T22:52:00.000-07:00

This is the eighth in a series of posts taken from an old blog of mine, documenting my first experiences with raw foods.

The "What" and "Why" of Eating Raw - Originally posted June 21, 2007

Raw food, also known as live or living food, is any food in its natural state that is not heated to over approximately 115 degrees (sources vary, some say 108, some 118, depends on who you ask). Any food that is cooked, steamed, boiled, roasted, microwaved, pasteurized, or canned (such as any produce in a can or jar on the store shelf) is not raw. It is dead food. Dehydrated food is considered raw ONLY if it hasn't been heated too high (over about 110 degrees). Many commercially dehydrated foods have been dehydrated at too high a temperature.

Why not cook food? Cooking destroys the living enzymes in food that our bodies need to digest that food. If the food has no enzymes, our own enzymes must be "called away" from their job of eliminating toxins and healing our bodies to do the digesting, then those enzymes are lost as they stay with the digested food and are eliminated with our bowel movements. It is estimated that by age 40, most people have only 30% of our natural enzymes left, and those enzymes do not replenish themselves.

Many nutrients and vitamins are also lost in cooking. And if you compare people to chimpanzees, the animals that are closest in physical design to humans, you'll see that their natural diet consists mostly of fruits and greens, some pith and bark, and some vegetables and seeds. Insects and the meat of other animals are a rarity, and those chimp troops who eat more meat don't live as long. Now, I do NOT believe in evolution, and chimpanzees are NOT the same as people, but looking at it from a physical perspective only, they have similar bones, teeth, etc. Our diets shouldn't be all that different from theirs. If you read Genesis in the Bible, it talks only of food naturally growing in the garden, particularly tree fruit. That is what God designed us for...produce. In fact, man's punishment for his disobedience was to toil for his food...to grow it. Produce. Nuts, seeds, plants.

I'm not saying eating meat is wrong. I have nothing morally against it. I love it! Chicken is my favorite. However, I must reluctantly report that I feel better without it...and more so without dairy. I haven't gone completely without dairy (I can't seem to kick the habit of adding shredded cheddar to my salads) but the less I eat, the better I feel. It is true what I've heard...dairy does produce excess mucus. When I eat less, I have less mucus. A few days on pizza, and my nasal mucus tripled! [Edit: Please note that I was talking about commercial dairy, not raw organic dairy. I have not yet experimented with how I feel eating raw vegan vs. high raw with some raw, organic dairy.]

Does one have to eat 100% raw? I believe for true health and weight loss, yes, you do. But eating even 50% raw will help you, and improve your health noticeably. If you ate fruit for breakfast, a big salad with a small sandwich of organic deli meat [edit: I would avoid even organic deli meat--too processed--try homemade organic chicken salad] and cheese on whole wheat bread for lunch, and a big salad with fresh salad vegetables with a very small amount of organic chicken breast and brown rice for dinner, I think that would be a very big step in the right direction. If you just couldn't part with meat and dairy, try to minimize it, and only eat meat from organic, grass fed animals, and dairy from the same animals, but raw (unpasteurized and unhomogenized). I have read a lot about the harm pasteurization and homogenization has done to our health. Raw milk products have natural bacteria that help our bodies fight off disease, plus many other benefits.

There are so many reports from people who have cured "incurable" diseases by going 100% raw. There are retreat centers around the country for those who want to break their bad habits and go on a raw retreat to heal themselves. Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, food allergies, heart arrhythmia, arthritis, gout, IBS, celiac disease, obesity, diabetes, and even cancer...these are all diseases that people have freed themselves from by simply eating living foods as God designed us to eat. These are all amazing stories, but the cancer is the most convincing to me.

Did you know the cause of cancer was discovered back in the thirties? There was a doctor [edit: Otto Warburg] who received a Nobel prize for discovering that cancer is caused by an anaerobic environment in the body. From what I remember, it starts with abnormal cells in your body, that do not get enough oxygen. Then those cells multiply, and the cancer spreads. This is a poor explanation, but the important part to remember is that your body needs to be in an alkaline state for your cells to be getting the oxygen they need. Most foods in the SAD (Standard American Diet) today are acid-forming. It is no wonder we are so sick! One hundred years ago, cancer was as rare as obesity. Sure there were fat people around...but not anywhere NEAR as many, or as heavy as today. Today with all our nutritionists and cancer research, we are fatter and sicker than ever.

Why? We eat unnatural, cooked, processed foods and sit on our lazy butts all day in cars or at desks or in easy chairs. If we all ate completely natural, unprocessed foods that are at least mostly raw, and worked in our gardens, went for walks, and kept busy all day, the oncologists and bariatric surgeons would almost all be out of a job!

I won't try to bombard you with facts and figures. Either you're intrigued at this point, or you're not. I would recommend you do some research on raw and living foods, and reach your own decision. Just try it for two weeks. Heck, even one week! If you stick to it for that long, you won't need any evidence...your body will be all the evidence you need!

Some sources I can recommend are: Raw Food Talk, Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko (an excellent read, taught me the importance of getting greens in my diet), the book Raw Foods for Busy People (ideas and recipes for quick raw meals) and any raw websites you can find. There are different mindsets out there about what raw is. Some people believe in eating raw meat and dairy as part of their diet. Some are partly raw. Some are "high raw", around 70-80% raw. Most hard-core raw foodists are 100% raw and vegan (no meat, fish, or dairy products at all).

I am shooting for the latter. I plan to aim for about 90% raw right now, because I was told not to go 100% while pregnant. Going 100% will eventually result in a "detox" period, where your body eliminates the toxins from itself all at once. It can be unpleasant for a while. You can feel like you have the flu, or re-experience some symptoms of illnesses you had in the past as your body releases the stored toxins. It is temporary, and for some people it can re-occur in short bursts after a year or two on raw. But they say afterward you feel better than ever. Unfortunately, pregnancy is not the time to be going into detox, and really you should avoid it when nursing, as the toxins could come out in the milk. Since I'm always nursing or pregnant, it seems, I may never get to 100% raw. But I hope to one day, and for now I want to go 90%.

The Homestead Blessings video Giveaway!!

2010-06-18T23:35:00.000-07:00

This giveaway is a fun one! If you've given up the tv, or at least given up the useless, morally-questionable, time-wasting programs, then you might sometimes find yourself wishing you had something practical and enjoyable to watch. This video series might be the answer, particularly if you are into homesteading or old fashioned skills.

FBS Books, which carries homeschooling curriculum and homesteading resources, is doing a giveaway with Keeper of the Home for their series of 5 Homestead Blessings Videos , which teach you about Herbs, Gardening, Bread Making, Cooking, Quilting and Soap Making (and more). There are trailers for the videos at the link above.

I've actually seen these videos on sale before, and they have been on my list of "homesteading wants" for a while now. It would be really fun to have them, and I think my children would really enjoy them too. Check them out!

Excalibur Dehydrator Giveaway Info!!

2010-06-18T17:13:00.000-07:00

I am SO excited about this giveaway. I had an Excalibur dehydrator up until last year. We had to sell it because my husband was out of work and we needed the money to move. I have been so sad about it lately--since I'm going back on raw foods, a dehydrator would really come in handy. Not to mention all the garden produce I'll need to dehydrate come fall!

I loved my Excalibur. It was so big, you never needed to shuffle trays or work around a big hole in the middle of the tray, like with the cheap round dehydrators. You could even incubate raw yogurt in it. It was fabulous! The best part was the thermostat, which was a big deal for raw foodists. I always kept mine set at 105F. The one thing mine didn't have was the timer--and boy was I sorry I didn't spend the extra to get that! I thought it was a silly, unnecessary expense. I later realized that when it was time for bed, but my raw gourmet treat needed two more hours before it was time to flip them over, I sure did wish I had a timer!

Well, the giveaway Excalibur DOES have a timer. And it's also white! I like that better than the black color I had. I really, really hope I win it. I should do a full review sometime, because I really did love it, it was an awesome product.

Oh, did you want to sign up, too? Of course you do! Go to Keeper of the Home and click on the "CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY" link at the bottom. Follow all the steps and check them off as you do them. Good luck! (But not really because I hope I win don't hate me.) :-)

Organic Eggs...Dipped in Bleach or Lye???

2010-06-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

I read a horrifying (though not truly surprising) post on Homestead Revival today, regarding organic eggs. Apparently, according to Dr. Mercola, "some states require that all eggs receive a chlorine bath and mineral oil coating before they are nestled into their cartons."

I'm sorry...WHAT?!

Why am I not surprised? Oh, that's right, because our politicians are paid off by the "food" (and I use that term loosely) lobbyists, and cowed into submission by a bunch of germ freaks that think that feces-laden, pus-tainted, hormone-laced cooked milk is safer than natural, raw, organic milk from grass-fed homestead cows. Yeah, it makes sense now.

Oh, and mineral oil? That's a petroleum product. Yum.

The post says that egg companies are allowed to use the following to "clean" the eggs:

-Chlorine

-Lye

-Ozone

-Hydrogen Peroxide (wanna bet it's the drug-store, toxin-lace kind, not the food-grade kind?)

-Peracetic acid (peroxyacetic acid-- vinegar and hydrogen peroxide)

For those of you who don't know, eggs come with a protective layer that seals off the pores of the egg, keeping the contents inside clean, and keeping the egg fresh longer. Remove that "bloom", and the egg can absorb stuff (um, like bleach and petroleum products?) and will go bad sooner.

And another fun fact: the USDA only requires that eggs are processed within 30 days of being laid.

Eeeew.

As the article mentions, organic is still light-years better than conventional. But if you weren't convinced to or raise your own chickens before, maybe this will convince you. And if you live in a city too barbaric to allow a few harmless, quiet chickens, then either it's time to move, or time to get active changing the laws. At the very least, find a local homesteader who really free-ranges their chickens, and feeds them organic.

You have a right to healthy food!

Be sure to read Homestead Revival's full post, for more information.

Old Post #7: My Stats...and today's lunch

2010-06-18T01:09:00.000-07:00

For those just joining us, this is the seventh in a series of old posts taken from two other blogs I had back in 2007, journaling the first time I went raw. I was about six weeks away from the birth of my fifth child.

My Stats...and Today's Lunch - Originally posted June 21, 2007

My weight when I got pregnant was 260.
My weight when I started raw was 288.8 (yikes)...and I was only around 28 weeks along, too!
[Edit: Um...yeah...and that wasn't even close to the most I'd ever gained in a pregnancy.]

Yesterday I hit a low of 275.8...yay!

That's 13 pounds lost since I started raw. I'm trying not to lose more weight, and to prepare myself for the possibility that I may gain a few. But the best thing is that I know now that I will NOT see 300 pounds on the scale, which I was terrified was a certainty, at the rate I had been gaining. I'm just amazed that at 33 weeks pregnant, I'm only 16 pounds above my start weight! My doctor is happy too, he is surprisingly supportive of my new way of eating, and pleased with all my test results and "numbers".

I do have my measurements from right around the time I got pregnant, but since I'm pregnant with a growing belly, I'm not worrying about my measurements right now.

My aches and pains are still better, but I've noticed that since I've been eating cooked food more often lately (up to 50% some days) that some are coming back. The stiffness and pain in my back, and worst of all the pain in my pubic bone area (a pregnancy thing) is coming back. Before I started raw, it had been so bad that any trip to the store required taking one of their motorized scooters through the store. Anyone who is overweight can tell you that is humiliating. Everyone thinks you're too lazy to walk or too fat to walk--you can tell the way some people look at you. I even had some jerk say that right out loud. One day on raw food, and I didn't need a scooter. So I will NOT go back to that!

Today I have been 100% raw so far. I had a banana for breakfast, and a smoothie for lunch. The smoothie was 1 banana, 1 mango, 1 small valencia orange, and 1 pear that was getting too soft to eat, plus 1/2 the water and flesh from a young coconut. I peeled and diced the fruit, put it on a plate in the freezer for an hour, then blended it with the coconut meat and water in a smoothie maker, with two tablespoons of raw hemp protein powder. The hemp powder did affect the taste and color a little...not badly, but I may start using the hemp only in green smoothies. Any smoothie with mango and fresh coconut in it is really good!

Update: I never did get over 300 pounds with that pregnancy. However...I did with my sixth baby. Didn't stay raw during that pregnancy, although I was raw at the very end, and for a while afterwards. That was an all-time low for me, seeing my weight that high. And I did end up using a scooter again, for my sixth pregnancy, but at that point I'd been diagnosed with the aneurysm, and was having a lot of chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, and fatigue, so I really needed it. Didn't make me feel any better about myself, though. But I'm determined to get below 200 before I get pregnant again, and I feel soooo much better now that I've had my surgery. So it's all good!

Old Post #6: Introduction

2010-06-18T00:44:00.000-07:00

This post is the sixth in a series of posts I did three years ago, from two old blogs of mine. The previous posts in this series came from a weight loss blog, and this post was the first, introductory post on an exclusively raw blog. For reference, this was written one year before I found out about my aneurysm (I knew about the valve already, but the valve wasn't an urgent issue). At the time I was six weeks away from giving birth to my fifth child.

Introduction - Originally posted on June 21, 2007

For those of you who don't know me from my other blogs, I am a stay at home mom of four children, ages five and under, and expecting baby number five in August. I am morbidly obese, and have suffered from numerous "co-morbidities" such as sleep apnea, gestational diabetes, and other minor problems.

Really, I'm lucky my health isn't worse. I don't have type II diabetes (yet), no heel spurs, no bad knees, and my blood pressure is fabulous. In fact it's gotten even better on raw, though it was great to begin with. However, I do have increasing back problems, mostly while pregnant, and have been experiencing insomnia, anxiety, depression, pubic bone pain (pregnancy-related), pain in my back when I walk, some kind of muscle pain in my groin/leg area when I walk, difficulty breathing at night (serious nasal mucus, it gets worse every pregnancy) and probably a bunch of other stuff I'm forgetting.

Most of these symptoms are gone or seriously diminished since I started raw on May 20, 2007. Within a day, the insomnia was gone, the anxiety and depression are almost gone, the pain when I walk is virtually gone, I had more energy, the mucus is diminished, and I felt much more patient with my children. For the first two and a half weeks I did great, around 80-90% raw. Cut way back on the meat and dairy. No fast food, chocolate, or diet soda. (A miracle!)

After a few weeks, I found it hard to plan ahead and prepare my meals. I'm making separate meals for me, my children, and my husband (he works a late shift). I tried getting them on raw, it was working well, but after less than a week we realized we couldn't afford it right now. After that, I too often let myself go hungry, and then made some bad choices (pizza a few times, along with diet soda, and fast food a couple of times). I still haven't had cravings for chocolate, and one day I was feeling really down and planned to go buy some chocolate junk food at the store, but when I got there, I didn't want it, so I bought raw food...and THAT was a miracle! I'm normally a total chocoholic!

The first week I lost 9 pounds, then 2 pounds the second. This past week I lost another pound or two. I'm not worried about it, because my ultrasounds are showing normal growth in the baby. A lot of it was water weight, because my face and fingers got thinner.

I feel so much better now that I eat raw. If you had told me two months ago I'd be eating this way, I'd have thought you were crazy. But it's not hard. I actually enjoy eating this way. My tastes are changing. As long as I don't let myself go hungry, I truly WANT to eat raw fruits and vegetables. I feel so much better when I do. As soon as I eat cooked food, I feel bad the next day. A few days of just one cooked meal per day, and I feel significantly worse...and MUCH worse if it's takeout or fast food.

I know I need to eat this way for my health, even if I don't lose weight...although I know I'll lose a whole bunch of weight, fast, once I'm not pregnant anymore. This blog is to document my experiences eating "living foods", and to help me stay on the straight and narrow, and stay motivated. I've tried every diet in the book, and none has been as easy and enjoyable and effective as the raw way of life.

Finding raw was the best thing that has ever happened to me, health-wise!

Update: I hope all these old posts aren't confusing to anyone--bouncing around from old posts to new ones, etc. I just thought it would be boring to have nothing but old posts for the next week or two, so I figured I'd intersperse them with new ones. And raw is still the best thing that ever happened to me, health-wise. I just need to remember that. ;-)

Feeling Icky

2010-06-18T00:27:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned, I've been doing green smoothies for a little while now, and feeling better. The last two days, however, I've had less smoothie, and more cooked food. Ugh. It wasn't even anything particularly junky. I can just tell that my tolerance for cooked food is going down. Didn't sleep too well last night, and had a lot of chest pain yesterday.

In fact, the chest pain was bad enough that I considered going to the hospital. I had surgery about 14 months ago, to repair an ascending aortic aneurysm and had my aortic valve replaced. These pains are similar to the pains I felt in the heart area during healing. It is interesting to note that while I waffled on raw during my recovery from heart surgery, I noticed a very significant decrease in pain while raw, and a definite increase in pain when I went off raw. I had been pain free throughout the fall and winter, but the last few months some of the pain is coming back. Not sure if it's because of my diet (quite likely) or possibly because there are problems with the valve. Sometimes people, particularly younger women like me, can end up with the valve not fitting right as little as a year out from surgery. So when the pain hit yesterday, I was really worried.

I decided if the pain continued or got any worse, I'd go to the hospital. It actually went away at that point, so I took a nap. I woke up feeling better, and have had only a few slight pains today. I did have an episode of vertigo again today, which is something that I've had, increasingly, over the last year. I'm not sure of the cause. I had an MRI done of my head and neck, to check for a brain aneurysm, as I have a connective tissue disease, Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease, which makes me prone to aneurysms in other locations in my body as well as the aortic aneurysm I already had repaired. The tests showed no aneurysms, although that doesn't exactly make me feel better, as I know someone with my symptoms who had the same negative results...only to nearly die from a ruptured brain aneurysm three years later.

Based on my previous experience healing myself on raw, I'm suspecting I have some health issues (whatever they are) that my body is starting to heal while I'm on my green smoothies. Now that I'm getting live enzymes in my food, my own body's enzymes are being called back to the job they were meant to do: heal my body. But when I slow or stop the smoothies, they stop healing and run back to digesting my food for me, and I end up with pain and symptoms coming back with a vengeance. This is something I know has happened in the past, when pregnant--all the back pain, gestational diabetes, and other pregnancy-related difficulties I had disappeared when on raw, but came back quickly when I went off...and if I had sugar? Yikes! It got really bad, really fast.

So what do I do now? Well, I think it's time to face facts. I have some problems that need to be addressed. I can play around doing half raw and half cooked, and never heal completely, or I can go all terminator-style on my health problems and eliminate them by going all raw.

Guess which one I'm going to pick?

It's not a big deal anyway, as I've noticed that I'm just not enjoying any cooked food anymore like I used to. I'm really loving the healthy raw stuff. That just goes to show you how powerful consuming greens really is--just replacing two meals a day (sometimes only one) with green smoothies has completely changed what kinds of foods I want, and the choices I make. Incredible, isn't it?

Kitchenaid Mixer Giveaway-- CLOSED

2010-06-17T15:13:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: The website that I originally had linked this post to, who was hosting the giveaway, has closed the contest. I was very disappointed to see that AFTER I had spent an hour setting up a facebook account in order to be able to do all three entries for the contest, and then emailing the website owner, I got an email telling me the contest was closed.

And yet...

THEIR WEBSITE STILL HAS THE CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT UP--A FULL DAY LATER!!

I don't know if there is somewhere on their site that states the contest is closed, but as of 3:30 pm June 18th, their contest page says NOTHING about it being closed. To me, that is dishonest. Changing that page should have been their first action. Right now, there could be hundreds of people out there doing all the steps necessary to enter the contest. But what does that business care, it's all free advertising right now! If they wanted to keep getting the word out, they could have extended the contest. Instead, they closed it, but are still allowing people to waste time trying to enter it, and promote it.

Well, not me. I'm un-friending them, un-twittering them, and un-linking to them in this post. I still believe in honesty in business. Too bad for them, I'd also given their book a good review in this post. All bye-bye.

Sorry for the inconvenience, folks.

Cloth Diapering: My Method

2010-06-17T01:55:00.000-07:00

Cloth diapering has seen a resurgence in the last decade or so. There are many reasons for choosing cloth diapers. For me, it's a matter of all the major reasons combined. While I certainly wouldn't classify myself as an environmentalist, I do believe we should care for our planet the way we would care for any special gift that a loved one gave us--and there's no doubt that this planet is a most precious gift from God. So I'm not crazy about the idea of all the chemicals from millions of diapers getting dumped in landfills to pollute our country. I'm even less enthusiastic about putting such chemicals against my children's skin. And with three children in diapers (not to mention pullups for an older child who has night time accidents), frugality in this department is a definite issue.

I know there are those out there who are turned off by the idea of cleaning cloth diapers, or having dirty ones piling up. But using cloth diapers is much easier now than in our mothers' day. New "technology" has made cloth diapering almost as easy as using disposables.

There are many types of cloth diapers, and almost as many methods to cleaning them. I could spend a weeks' worth of posts on the topic, and still have much to cover. Instead, I'm just going to share how I do it, as an introduction to the subject, and let you investigate further if you are interested.

Type of Cloth Diapers:

There are quite a few styles of diapers. I've tried many of them, but my favorite to use by far is the pocket system. Pocket diapers are a shell, with the outer layer made of a waterproof material, and the inner layer made of a material that wicks the moisture into the diaper filling. The filling is usually one or two absorbent pads that can be stuffed into the diaper shell via an opening at the top of the diaper in the back. They come with Aplix (velcro-like) tabs or snaps. I prefer the snaps. Although the snaps can come undone, it's less of a pain than the Aplix, which weakens over time, and gets lots of lint trapped in the tabs. If you pre-stuff the diapers after washing and drying, they are there, ready to use, which makes husbands and babysitters a little happier about using cloth.

The one-size diapers are more economical because they'll take you through a few sizes. They have variety of snaps on the front for cinching the diaper up, making it smaller. But most parents find them extremely bulky on newborns, and I don't think they'll fit a large older toddler very well.

I've used the unbleached chinese prefold cloth diapers, with snappis to close them, underneath diaper wraps, which are waterproof shells that have Aplix closures. This is a less expensive alternative, but I find it more of a hassle, with more frequent leakage, and the wraps tend to stain easily on the fold-over elastic that lines the leg area. I use them as backups.

I've tried a variety of brands. One organic brand I tried is the Blueberry. I wasn't crazy about it. The organic Blueberrys are about $25 each. Yes, each! And you need a minimum of 2-3 days' worth of diapers, for each child. My biggest complaint with the organic Blueberry is the organic terry cloth inner layer. Poop sticks to it a lot more, and it stains more easily.

My favorite pocket diaper so far is the Fuzzi Bunz. It isn't organic, as the fleece interior is synthetic. But it's around $17 per diaper last time I checked, and the poop rolls easily off the fleece. It seemed to hold up better than other diapers, too. It also looks more comfy. I'll warn you that my experience with Happy Heiny diapers hasn't been good. They started falling apart two weeks of use. At their prices, I'll never buy a Happy Heiny diaper again.

Handling Cloth Diapers:

The method I find easiest is the dry pail method. (WARNING: If you use a wet pail method, get a pail that locks--a child can drown even in a 5 gallon bucket.) When I get a wet diaper, I toss it into a dry 5 gallon bucket, with the lid laying loosely on the top. (You can also use a wet bag instead, which is just a waterproof bag that you toss the diapers into.) The stuffing needs to be removed from the diaper before washing, so you might as well do it at that point. If the diaper is poopy, I take it in the bathroom. It's nice if the poop is solid, it will roll right into the toilet. If not, I use a diaper sprayer to spray off the poop. If I had it to do over again, I'd have gotten the type that connects to the tub faucet instead of to the toilet supply line. Rinsing diapers isn't fun when it's a bad one, and the water is ice cold! I don't remember the brand I bought, but this one looks good--you can easily attach/detach it to your sink. There are a lot more diaper spraying options out there now, than when I bought mine years ago.

You need the type of sprayer meant for spraying diapers, or a bidet-style sprayer. Your average sprayer that connects to a kitchen sink or a shower won't be powerful enough to do the job. Watch out for overspray. It may be less messy to use a 5 gallon bucket, and do the spraying into that, then dump that into the toilet. That can make for less overspray. When the diaper is rinsed well enough (doesn't have to be perfect, you just want it mostly cleaned off), you should remove the diaper insert and put it all in the diaper bucket. When it's time to wash the diapers, just dump the diapers into the washer, and wash. You shouldn't have to handle the diapers more than once, and only the messy poop diapers will be any more hassle than disposables.

Washing:

Wash the diapers according to your manufacturer's directions. How I wash depends on how "bad" the diapers in that load are. Generally, I do two hot wash cycles with a second rinse. Sometimes just one if it's a particularly "clean" load to begin with. Do what you are comfortable with, and what gets your diapers clean. Don't use bleach, it will shorten the life of your diapers. I like to put raw apple cider vinegar in the rinse water to help with sanitizing. Most people use white vinegar. It also acts as a fabric softener (don't use real fabric softener, it makes the diapers less absorbent).

Drying:

Some types of diapers must be line dried, and this can save energy and money, and make your diapers last longer. I usually machine-dry mine, as I always seem to be in a hurry. The sun can also naturally bleach out some of the stains.

Other tips:

-be sure to wash new diapers a few times before using, to "fluff up" the fibers and make them more absorbent. With prefolds, I've heard some brands recommend up to 8 washings AND dryings before first use.
-run an empty wash cycle once in a while to remove any build-up that can affect your diapers...use vinegar, baking soda with hot water
-you may need to "strip" your cloth diapers once in a while, to remove any detergent build-up on them, and restore their maximum absorbency...see your diaper's manufacturer recommendations
-DO NOT buy the bleached prefold "cloth diapers" you may find at Walmart, etc. that are made by Gerber along with the cheap vinyl pants to go over them. They are cheap, leaky junk that will make you run from cloth diapering. If you're on a budget, sew your own if necessary, using quality materials (even recycled material, if it's good enough)
-buy them secondhand...I know that may make some squeamish, but if you wash them with bleach (just this one time before using) it shouldn't be an issue

Online Resources:

30 Day Trial: Diaper Junction's money-back offer to try cloth diapers for 30 days...can't beat that! (In the interest of full disclosure: I do get a little "kickback" if you purchase through them. I appreciate the support!)
Diaper Pin FAQ: An excellent place to start. More information than anyone could ask for!
DiaperSewing.com: Tons of info on how to sew your own cloth diapers
Diaper Jungle: Links for cloth diaper sewing and lots of other CD info

On a final note, lest someone catch me someday buying three boxes of diapers and a package of pullups in Walmart someday...I'm not perfect. Like many things, I go back and forth between cloth diapering and disposables. I want to do cloth all the time. I need to, with our budget. But with that many diapers to wash, I admit I'm not always steadfast. I'm just sayin'! ;-)

Old Post: How I'm Making the Transition to Raw Foods

2010-06-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

This post is the fifth in a series of posts done on an old blog, three years ago when I first went raw. At the time, I was pregnant, doing a high raw (80-90% raw) diet, and had gestational diabetes.

How I'm Making the Transition to Raw Foods - originally posted June 3, 2007

Being someone who doesn't really like to cook much (quite frankly, because I'm too lazy) I knew the transition to raw foods would be a challenge. I already liked salads and fruit, but there weren't a lot of veggies I liked raw. At least that's what I thought. I certainly wasn't looking forward to all the chopping and peeling. I'm just not a gourmet--all these complicated-sounding recipes intimidated me.

I knew I needed a plan. The easiest thing to start out with, in my thinking, was what I was used to. Later, I would have to get more creative to avoid boredom with my food, but I kept things simple to start. For breakfast, I usually have fruit. I may grab a banana to tide me over until the kids are eating their breakfast. Then I will sit down with something else, maybe an apple and a pear. I buy organic when I can afford it, so then I will just wash it and eat it with the peel on...good fiber. I may have some more fruit later for a snack--perhaps strawberries and cut fresh pineapple.

For lunch I would have a salad with lots of veggies--onions, red pepper, cucumbers, jicama. I still don't make my own raw dressing--for now I'm just using ranch. I usually put some shredded cheddar on top, but I'm trying to phase that out now. At dinner, I usually ate hummus and whole wheat crackers or egg salad in a pita (these are not raw, but I was eating only 70% raw at first) with some veggies, and a salad and salad veggies on the side. Later, when my husband came home from his second shift job, I would have a big salad, and maybe a little fruit later on before bed. Ironically, I've found my blood sugar in the morning tends to be lower if I eat a little fruit before bed.

All these meals are very good, and easy to make. The peeling and chopping can take a lot of time, especially if you don't have a food processor for the chopping, but I found a short cut. I do watch tv (I'm always giving it up then going back to it) so one night I sat down with a tray table i front of me, and a pile of veggies and containers. I spent a few hours slowly peeling and chopping while I watched tv. When I was done, I had a bunch of little containers full of pre-chopped fruit and vegetables. I then put the containers into rectangular plastic baskets to go into the fridge, one for veggies and one for fruits. This is much neater than a pile of produce that rolls off the shelf and bruises on the floor everytime you open the fridge. Plus produce won't get "lost" in the back, and be wasted. Now, whenever I make a salad, I pull out the lettuce and dressing, and the basket of veggies, and it is sooo quick and easy to make a salad.

A lot of fruit will turn brown if peeled ahead of time. You could toss is with a little lemon juice if you wanted to avoid the browning, or only chop one day's worth, and eat it soon. I like to peel an apple and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Then I just unwrap it and eat it the next day. [Edit: this was only if it wasn't an organic apple, otherwise I ate the peel...though I strongly suggest that apples should be the FIRST thing you buy organic, if you can at all afford it, because they are the most pesticide-laden produce there is.] There is very little color change. One day I cut up a bunch of fruit, tossed it in a bowl with some soaked walnuts, and mixed it with a little bit of vanilla yogurt (yogurt is not part of an all-raw diet). Then I had fruit salad for two days. It was so nice to see the delicious fruit salad waiting for me the next morning. It wasn't as fresh the second day, but still good.

When I was eating egg salad, I boiled and peeled a bunch of eggs, and kept them in a plastic container to keep them from getting dry. When I needed egg salad, I took out one or two and made it quickly, stuffing it into whole wheat, whole grain pitas with as many salad veggies as I could fit. I usually used one egg per pita half, but you may need more for a larger pita. I found myself wanting to eat two or three pita halves, so I stopped making this. That is the problem with not going 100% raw...it's like giving up chocolate MOST of the time...sooner or later you're going to slide down that "slippery slope" into no-no land, and eat too much. I've heard a lot of people ended up going 100% raw just because they couldn't stop the eventual binging on cooked foods when they were only partly raw. They constantly fell off the wagon.

Right now, I almost never feel tempted by foods. I haven't had fast food, diet soda, or chocolate in two weeks. For me, that is a miracle. Sometimes I see a food in the store and think "that would be nice to have", but it isn't a craving. The only craving I had was the day I was having a bit of detox, and that was very mild...and probably because I was hungry.

The first day was the hardest, and it wasn't that hard at all. I just felt a mild hunger all day, just a kind of "hey, I have some room in my stomach that I need to fill" feeling. I was adjusting to not having that over-full feeling you get from overeating cooked food. After a day or two of stuffing myself full of as much raw food as I wanted to eat, I adjusted. You really can't overeat raw food. You might have too many calories if you eat a lot of nuts or avocados on a regular basis--it varies from person to person. But generally, you're not going to get fat. Most people find their natural weight on this diet...some lose, and some even gain, because they were too thin to begin with. [Edit: some thin people will lose a some weight as they detox, which sometimes makes family members worry, but then afterwards their body normalizes and they gain most of it back, and look great.] I look forward to finding my natural weight...I just hope I don't have too much sagging skin when I get there! [Edit: I have heard stories of morbidly obese people who lost 100-200 pounds on raw, and their skin snapped right back, and some of them were older.]

I'm really enjoying this way of eating. I love fruit, and salads are great. Now that I'm used to eating raw, it's time to start experimenting with more complicated recipes. My husband and children are starting to eat raw. And despite the fact that over the last year or so my children have become a bit picky, they are really adjusting to the new foods. I started them out with a lot of fruit in the mornings and some with other meals. Now I'm moving them into salads and veggies, and they (except my picky one year old) are doing great. My husband, after seeing my transformation, is becoming interested, especially since I haven't pressured him, and told him he doesn't have to become vegan or go 100% if he doesn't want to.

This has been surprisingly easy for me so far, and I'm looking forward to evolving into a healthy person! I'm on my way already!

Old Post: A Raw Family

2010-06-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

This is installment four of old posts I had made on my old blog, about three years ago.

A Raw Family- originally posted June 3, 2007

Wow, that last post was long! Sorry about that. So much to say, so little space.

I'm planning this week to phase my family into raw food. My husband is starting to read about it and show interest. So far the kids are enjoying their slow transition. I don't know if I'll go 100% with the kids, or not. I've read good things about kids on raw who have never gotten sick. If you know what you are doing, it is easy to make sure they get enough fat, calories and protein. I've found that it's a myth that you have to have meat to get enough protein. Pound for pound, nuts have way more protein than meat. Many veggies do too. Plus, cooked meat loses half it's protein, and what's left is denatured and harder to assimilate than plant proteins. I'm going to see how the kids do on high raw, and what my husband thinks about going 100% raw, before I consider having them go all-raw.

Right now I'm just doing research for recipes and ideas as I become more and more raw. I wanted to post a few links and other info I have found helpful.

I Beat Obesity - as mentioned before, great inspiration. She has a raw bootcamp, but she charges for it, and it's too expensive for me.
Raw Food Talk - also previously mentioned, it is Alissa Cohen's raw forum, and there are links to her other sites. I haven't read her book yet, but it comes highly recommended by many people
Raw Family - a whole family that went raw, and experienced weight loss and healing from several illnesses. Their book "12 Steps to Raw Foods" is a really good intro to raw and how to defeat your cooked food addictions. Their books "Raw Family" and "Green for Life" are also good, from what I've heard. [UPDATE: Green for Life is awesome, very informative, and if you start doing green smoothies it will change your life.]
Raw Times - click on the Recipes link at the top
The Sunny Kitchen - a blog with really good recipes...this link goes straight to the All Things Chocolate post, which is great, but the whole blog is good
The Raw Table - some interesting-sounding recipes
The Raw Food Gour met- some of these sounded good, especially the carrot "cake"

Some of the recipes you read or see pictures of may sound unusual at first, but remember you are used to eating food cooked down to a sodden mess and then spiced like crazy to make it taste better (I now find cooked food very bland, after only two weeks). Many foods used in raw cooking may sound new and weird, but as your palate adjusts, you will find it easier to try and like new foods. In my next post, I'll tell you how I am making the transition to raw foods in an easy and tasty way.

Update: I plan to share more links of great raw sites, especially some YouTubers with good videos, in the next week or so.

Old Post: Detox, and Why I Will Never Go Off Raw

2010-06-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

In this third installment of posts from my old blog, I told about my experience with detox. I was pregnant at the time of this post, and trying to stay only "high raw", to avoid detoxification effects. You want to avoid going through detox if you are pregnant or nursing, because there is a possibility that the stuff coming out of you could get into the breast milk or cross the placental barrier.

Detox, and Why I Will Never Go Off Raw- originally posted June 3, 2007

The above pictures are from Carlene's website, I Beat Obesity . She lost 136 pounds in 9 months! She was my inspiration for starting raw. I was so impressed with how fast she lost the weight, and the health benefits she, and others, described, that I couldn't help but try it! Even though losing weight is a big motivator for me, the reason I will stay with this lifestyle is how I FEEL.

If you read my last post , you saw my results after two weeks on this diet. They are AMAZING! The best results are that I have had a significant reduction in pain and fatigue, and best of all, my depression is GONE!!! For that reason alone, it would be worth staying on this diet, even if it was hard. Which, thanks be to God, it has not been, so far. It's been remarkably easy.

The reason I know I will stay on this diet is because I had a "relapse" of sorts. No, I didn't fall off the raw bandwagon, but I experienced what I think was a day of detoxing. Detox is something you may experience whenever you begin a more healthy eating regimen than you previously had. Even on Atkins, you'll experience this to some degree, getting the "induction flu". If you've ever fasted, you probably experienced detox, as the toxins were leaving your body. Detox varies from person to person. Some people experience mild symptoms, some more severe. It depends on the toxicity levels in your body, and how long you have been polluting it. Often, you can experience old illnesses and pains from your past. This is all the crud stored in your body (probably from you suppressing it with medicines) making its way out. But detox is temporary, and it is good...it means your body is working properly, and all the disease and toxins in your body are leaving it. If you go 100% raw, you WILL detox, usually fairly soon, and it will probably be over quicker than if you were just high raw.

Detox is unpleasant, but necessary. Do not let this turn you back to cooked foods. It will be over, and you will feel great. From what I can gather, it can last a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with some occasional short bouts of detox over your first two years raw. The best way to get these bouts of detox over quicker is to go on a water or juice fast for a couple of days. Fasting is cleansing, and raw fruit juices are very cleansing. I've heard that after you detox, you will feel better than you ever have.

I was told I probably shouldn't go all raw until after the baby is born, at least. Some suggested I wait til I'm done nursing...ha ha ha! As you may know, if you read my other blog, I'm pretty much ALWAYS nursing or pregnant....or nursing AND pregnant, lol. The reason they say not to go 100% raw while pregnant is because detoxing while pregnant would probably be VERY uncomfortable. Because...well, you're pregnant, so you're probably already uncomfortable! You can be 100% raw and be pregnant or nursing, as many raw moms of healthy raw babies will tell you. But they were raw before getting pregnant, so they'd already been through detox. So they say stay around 90%, and I should be fine, which is what I am doing now.

But, I digress...back to my day of detox. I wasn't sure what the problem was, but Friday night I had problems getting to sleep, something I hadn't experienced since going raw. I got 4 hours of sleep, then had to do a round of errands Saturday morning. I didn't eat enough before I left, but I brought 2 raw energy bars with me (they're made of ground dehydrated fruits, nuts, and some other ingredients) but it didn't end up being enough. I was soooo tired, even before I started getting hungry. I was too tired and in too much of a hurry to try to find somewhere to get fruit or a salad. My brain was in such a fog, I couldn't even figure out where to go (I could have gotten a plain salad at McDonald's, duh). Then my back started to get sore. I didn't think I'd make it through Target, and at Sam's Club, I had to use one of the scooters.

I got really sleepy driving home, and by the time I got home, I felt irritable and weepy, and was feeling a little tempted to eat cooked food. I wondered if it was a combination of not getting enough sleep or enough food. I ended up going to bed, and having the WORST back pain ever. It was so bad, and felt so different, I worried I could be going into labor (I'm always getting paranoid about that possibility). More than anything, I wanted to take some Tylenol. But in the back of my mind, I thought "what if I'm detoxing?" If I was, and took Tylenol, my body would probably stop detoxing and start working to eliminate the Tylenol from my body. I'd feel better, but I wouldn't GET better, not really. So I suffered through it, and after an hour I fell asleep. Two hours later I woke up and felt much better, and an hour or so after that, I felt normal. My NEW normal...not tired, not in pain, and happy. It was so strange.

Today I felt great. I had a feeling that I might weigh a pound less today, even though my weight loss has stalled (which is good, since I'm pregnant). Low and behold, after a visit to the bathroom, I had lost a total of THREE POUNDS overnight! I really think it has to do with my body getting rid of some bad stuff. I've felt great all day.

In case anyone is concerned at my weight loss, don't be. Most of the ten or so pounds I've lost so far was probably water--before the diet I couldn't get my wedding ring off anymore. Now I can, and my face is noticeably thinner. My perinatologist isn't concerned. I expect I won't lose much more, and if I do, I'll gain it back. I'm thinking I'll probably bounce around weight-wise, and probably end up around 290 when I have the baby. Even if I only gain a few pounds, I won't be worried. They're already estimating the baby is 3.3 pounds according to ultrasound (they're usually right with my babies), so I don't think I need to gain more than five pounds more, ten at most.

But my lesson from my "mini-detox" is this: I don't want to go back to being that kind of person. That's all I could think while I lay in bed, crying from the pain. I CANNOT live like that again. I cannot go back to the depression, the anxiety, the crying, the pain, the fatigue...I can't do it anymore. Rather than drive me away from raw, my little detox episode made me more dedicated than ever. How on earth did I function with all that pain and emotional turmoil?

To me, eating this way is the most natural thing in the world. What did Adam and Eve eat in the Garden of Eden? Fruit from the trees! There was no mention of campfires and pots of oatmeal or pans of cooked chicken. I'm not saying eating meat is wrong, I'm just saying that the bulk of our food, in my opinion, was meant to come from God's natural creations, eaten straight from the tree or vine. I really feel that I am in tune with my body, and eating the way God intended, and I've never felt that way before.

With God's help, I truly hope that I will eat this way for the rest of my life. Even if I never lost a
pound, I would eat this way, just to feel like my old self again--but better!

Update: It's a little embarrassing sharing with you a post that talks about how I'll "never go off raw," knowing I've been on and off it a dozen times in these last three years since that post was written. However, I've decided to lay it all on the line here, no matter how embarrassing, in the hopes that this will help someone else going through the same things I have. You may be wondering why I haven't been able to stay on raw all the time. There are many reasons, but it usually comes down to one main reason. I plan on doing a full post on this after I finish this serious of re-posts.

It is really interesting to read back through these old posts. I don't really keep up with a diary, so I'd forgotten how I'd felt going through all that for the first time--the pain, the turmoil, and then the relief that raw provided. I kind of feel stupid now, having gone through months of insomnia again, only to be rediscovering now what I already learned three years ago...raw can clear it all up, and reset your body to its natural state of self-healing. Duh. I guess you live, and you learn....again. ;-)

Old Post: Raw Results!

2010-06-14T20:47:00.000-07:00

Here is the second installment of posts from an old blog, written three years ago. This post was written two weeks after starting on raw foods, while I was pregnant with my fifth child.

Raw Results! - originally posted June 3, 2007

Two weeks have passed since I started my raw food lifestyle. I have refrained from posting about it, because I wanted to make sure I made it past the first week. On low carb diets, the first week was easy, and after that it got harder. But on raw, it's still just as easy. Let me start with the fun stuff: results!

In two weeks I have:

lost 10.2 pounds (most of it the first week)
eliminated my insomnia
gotten deeper sleep every night
almost eliminated the need for naps, even on only 6 hours of sleep
virtually eliminated my depression
eliminated my anxiety
become more patient with my children, and I'm yelling a LOT less
suddenly become happier, even giggly on occasion
gotten softer skin
significantly reduced pain from some kind of groin muscle that was giving me trouble
stopped needing to use the scooters at Walmart (boy was that embarrassing!)
eliminated the stiffness I got whenever I sat or laid down for too long
significantly reduced my back pain
increased my energy ten-fold
stopped getting super-sleepy when driving
virtually eliminated my cravings for carbs, soda, fast food, and yes, even CHOCOLATE!
had some improvement in my breathing while in bed
had a big increase in libido (enough said)

I'm sure there is more, but that's all I can think of. Really, that's enough, isn't it?! Just the elimination of the depression and the increase in energy is enough to have me thrilled. I feel sooooo much better. I could see most of these changes in the first 48 hours. It was amazing. I feel like a different person!

Now, onto the less exciting information. Keep in mind I'm a newbie and this information is what I have gathered on my own...I may not get everything exactly right. Also, there are some variations in what each raw foodist believes is the right way to eat.

What is raw food? Raw food is any fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, or grains that have been prepared without heating of any kind over about 105-118 degrees farenheit. Basically, nothing is cooked, although sometimes it may be warmed, or dehydrated (at 105 degrees or less). Most raw foodists are also vegans (meaning they don't eat any meat, fish, or dairy products). Anyone who is 100% raw is almost always vegan.[New edit: a very small percentage of 100% raw foodists might eat raw meat, eggs, and other dairy--I wouldn't recommend eating raw eggs or meat, at least not unless you raised the animal yourself, or are well-acquainted with the person who did.] A lot of people only eat 80-90% raw: this is considered "high raw". Some eat 50%-80%. These people (on 50-90% raw) may eat some meat or dairy, but a lot don't.

Usually the people eating a lower percentage of raw are trying to eat whole foods when they do eat cooked food...meaning their cooked food may be cooked whole grains and legumes (possibly soaked or sprouted first, a la "Nourishing Traditions" style), and possibly some all natural meat and/or raw dairy products. If you eat at least 50% raw (and absolutely everyone should do at least that much) you will see improvement in your health, and probably your weight. On high raw, you will definitely feel much better, and on 100% raw, you will feel amazing.

What do you eat if you are all raw? Many people have fruit or fruit smoothies for breakfast, fruit or a salad for lunch, and usually a more elaborate raw vegan meal for dinner. To drink, they'll make fresh raw juices from fruits and/or veggies, nut milk, or water. They usually don't use soymilk, from what I've read, because of all the health concerns lately with soy.

I had planned to start out 50-60% raw, but quickly got to 70-80%. Lately, I have been more like 90%, as I have cut back on the whole wheat crackers and hummus, and the egg salad pitas I had been having once a day. Now, usually the only non-raw food I have is ranch dressing, cheddar cheese sprinkled on my salads (trying to phase this out), and every few days 2-3 ounces of cooked chicken breast or fish. I've chosen not to go 100% yet, because several people have suggested it wouldn't be a good idea to go through "detox" while pregnant--I'll explain more about that in my next post.

The great thing about raw is you can eat as much as you want, and you can still eat this way while you are pregnant or nursing, and still have a healthy baby. I've met several people online who are all raw, and pregnant or nursing (they were already raw before, and had already been through detox). Some people who are wanting to lose weight have to be careful how much avocado or nuts they eat (high in fat and calories), but not everyone does.

This way of eating may sound crazy to those who are addicted to cooked foods, particularly dairy and meat. You don't have to give up dairy and meat, you can still eat some if you want, just not as much, and try to buy organic/all natural, and prepare it properly. [Edit: I strongly recommend looking into raw, organic dairy at RealMilk.com. If you can't or won't use raw organic dairy, or organic meat, then I believe you shouldn't consume it at all.] However, you will probably eventually start cutting back on it, once you read about the good effects of eliminating it from your diet. If nothing else, do some reading, and start out eating 50% raw. I know you'll feel the difference fairly quickly. Try it for a week or two...what have you got to lose?

Old Post: My Discovery of Raw Foods

2010-06-14T20:28:00.000-07:00

I was considering writing an introduction to raw foods post, but when I looked back at an old blog of mine, I found that I had posted a nice, basic intro to raw foods back then, from the point of a newbie. I thought you might find it interesting to see what the discovery of raw foods was like, through my eyes.

So I will be posting several posts from my old blog, dated three years ago, back when I was pregnant with my fifth child and had just discovered raw foods.

Raw Foods - first posted May 20, 2007

I recently came across a website while looking up natural diets. It was about a woman who had lost 136 pounds in NINE months! I was impressed. Check her out at I Beat Obesity . She did it by going on a 100% raw food diet.

I know what you're thinking...exactly what I thought: "ugh, all raw fruits and vegetables?"..."I could never give up meat, dairy, etc."..."raw diets are for tree-hugging new-age hippies." But I was intrigued. Anything that helps you lose that much weight, that fast gets my attention. What interested me more, was the number of other stories I found, particularly from people who had radical improvement in health, got rid of many diseases, and felt fantastic and had fabulous hair and skin after going raw.

Surprisingly, on one board I found a bunch of pregnant women, many of whom had four or more children. Now THAT surprised me. I figured they'd all be women with one, maybe two kids. I know that healthy eating is becoming big with quiver-full, serious Christians, but I didn't expect to find out that some are going vegan/raw. Interesting to know.

I have come across websites of raw foodists who continue to eat raw when pregnant or nursing, and had very healthy babies. A lot of women weren't able to stay 100% raw while pregnant, because they either didn't feel satisfied or got major morning sickness. They added in a little cooked food, meat, etc., but they returned to all raw afterwards.

It was recommended to me on a raw food board that I not try to go all raw while pregnant. As with any diet that is healthier than the SAD (Standard American Diet), you will "detox" as your body gets rid of the unnatural poisons you have filled it with. For some people, it can go on for several days of feeling cruddy...not something you want when you're already pregnant, lol.

I'm researching it more, but I think I will definitely go at least 50% raw. Really, we all should get at least that many fruits and vegetables. I'm a little concerned what all the fruit with do to me, with my g. diabetes. But I've heard people actually kick their diabetic symptoms on raw diets, despite the large amount of fruits and juices.

Fruits and veggies are a no-brainer, but it's the other weird stuff that I'm hesitant about...nut "cheeses" and "cakes" (quite frankly, if it's not really going to taste anything like cheese or cake, you shouldn't call it that...you're just asking for folks to be disappointed) and other odd things. Odd to me, anyway. It's hard for me to see eating NOTHING cooked. But I'm definitely willing to give it a shot, and go 50% raw, then see how I feel. If I could avoid much more weight gain (the way I'm going, I'll be over 300 *sob*) for my last 13 weeks of pregnancy, and end up slimming down and feeling healthy afterwards, I'll be thrilled. I might be up for anything at that point!

I'll let you know what I find out, and how it goes.

Green Smoothie Power and a Recipe

2010-06-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

I knew green smoothies are good for you, but who knew they were THIS good for you?! I've gone raw before, and always done some green smoothies. But usually they just had a leaf or two of kale. Now, after re-reading Victoria Boutenko's Green For Life, I'm determined to develop a taste for more greens.

Turns out, it's not as hard as you'd think! The more greens you get, the more you want. Before green smoothies, the only greens I got, aside from green vegetables, was iceberg or romaine lettuce. So back then, I started slow, with 1 kale leaf, a lot of fruit, and agave. This time around, I'm getting ambitious, so I've been adding raw asparagus, broccoli, dandelion greens, new-growth pine branch tips, etc. Yep, you heard me, PINE TREES!

I've been drinking about 48 ounces of green smoothie every day for about the last five days...half for breakfast, half for lunch. I haven't really deliberately changed much other than that. Of course, as a side effect, I've had less room for the standard junk.

I'm noticing that the more greens I add, the more results I'm seeing. And, the more tolerant I am to adding even more greens! Here are some of my results:

1. Less pain (back and neck pain had been increasing as I ate worse and worse, now it's getting much better)

2. Less insomnia (easier time getting to sleep, staying asleep, and sleeping more deeply)
3. More energy (able to motivate myself to exercise, have more stamina)

4. Less fatigue (not getting sleepy in the afternoons, getting by better on the little sleep I get)
5. Can't seem to finish my meals
6. Cooked food (especially junk) isn't as appealing anymore (wished I'd had a salad instead of soup last night)

There is a lot more, I'm sure, but that's what I'm remembering right now.
So if you're new to raw or to green smoothies and haven't eaten many greens in the past, start out slow. Maybe 1 kale leaf, with some mild veggies like carrots or cucumber, and some sweet fruit, like oranges and bananas. If you still don't like it, keep adding stuff til you do, like a natural sweetener such as agave. Yes, I know, some raw foodists think agave is evil. My jury is still out on that. However, if someone is trying to transition to raw, or is just looking to add something good to their daily diet, do what works for you. Start out with a little kale and a lot of fruit, then work to add in a little more greens at a time, and start subtracting fruit and sweetener. Next thing you know, you'll be seeing amazing results for yourself!

Here's a recipe I came up with today. It's pretty tasty. I got really gutsy and upped the kale to 3 humongous leaves. If you're a beginner, but way back on the kale (maybe one regular leaf to start), and add more fruit fruit (and if you feel you need it, some agave nectar to sweeten it more). All that matters now is getting started and sticking with it--you can add in more greens and start minimizing fruit and sweeteners as you get used to it.

2 small oranges
1 large banana
1 handful of frozen mango chunks
3 giant leaves kale
1/2 cucumber with skin on (cucumber is good for your skin)
Agave (to taste if you want it--I actually added NO agave today...yay for me!)

Blend until smooth. Drink. Feel the radiance!

I usually add soaked goji berries or powdered superfoods, but I went as natural as possible today.

Why Doctors Won't Recommend Natural Remedies

2010-06-09T01:41:00.000-07:00

In an article from the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel titled "Doctors Face Pressure to Disclose All Side Pay", we find evidence of the real reason that doctors are reluctant to recommend natural remedies or alternative therapies for health problems. The article is quite lengthy, but let me share some highlights, along with my own comments.

Why do so many doctors hate alternative medicine? It threatens their extra income.

Oh, didn't you know that doctors get paid for promoting certain drugs and medical devices to their patients and colleagues? As the article states, "moonlighting for drug companies" is completely legal.

Why should a doctor recommend a $5 box of organic chamomile tea bags when he could prescribe a $1-per-pill sleeping aid that just so happens to be manufactured by the very pharmaceutical company that he does "consulting" work for? After all, "...the medical industry spends $20 billion a year in payments and gifts to doctors" states the Journal Sentinel. So why shouldn't YOUR doctor get a piece of the pie? I'm sure he's only prescribing that sleeping pill because it really works, and will improve your health...right? "The deals also can lead to influential university physicians talking to local doctors about drugs that later are discovered to have dangerous side effects. UW doctors working for drug companies have given talks on an anti-smoking drug that has been linked to suicidal thoughts, blackouts and serious injuries, and an antibiotic that has been linked to tendon ruptures. Another doctor spoke on behalf of a company whose surgery drug later was taken off the market because of heart attacks, strokes and deaths." Maybe doctors make mistakes. But they always have your best interests at heart, don't they? "Doctors who have financial ties to a drug company are more likely to prescribe that company's drugs, critics say. And that can mean more use of costly brand-name drugs and less use of cheaper generic drugs." Hmmm. Ever have a doctor prescribe you something, only to find out from the pharmacist that you could have gotten a cheaper generic? I have.

"It also can mean more prescriptions in which a drug is used for purposes for which it was not originally approved. So-called off-label prescribing accounts for 21% of all prescriptions, often without scientific evidence to support it, according to a 2006 study in the Archives of Internal Medicine. A study last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 47% of drug-coated stent procedures were for off-label or untested uses."

I'm willing to bet that some of you (or your children) have been prescribed a drug for off-label use. This happens a lot with children, especially. If you are prescribed something and don't look up the drug, its effects, its side-effects, and its approved uses BEFORE you fill a prescription or take it, then you are completely in the dark as to what is being done to your body.

"While it is illegal for drug companies to promote off-label uses of their drugs, doctors who speak for companies can discuss off-label uses in their presentations."

Yeah, and make big bucks doing it. Oh, and let's not forget the doctors who say they only use one particular model of medical device in their surgeries. I know of cardio-thoraccic surgeons who will only use one type of artificial heart valve, because "it's the best." Or is it?

"Thomas Zdeblick, a UW orthopedic surgeon, took a second job in 1998 working as a consultant to Medtronic, a large medical device company. Although Zdeblick was paid $400,000 a year by Medtronic for just eight days of work, the school did not learn how much he was paid until years later because he was required only to list income of '>=$20,000' in his disclosure forms.

Details of the contract became public in 2006 as the result of a whistleblower lawsuit filed against Medtronic and 16 surgeons in federal court. A former employee of Medtronic claimed that Zdeblick and other doctors were given lucrative consulting contracts in exchange for using and promoting Medtronic products. At the time, Zdeblick's patients at the UW Hospital and Clinics weren't told of his consulting job with the company that made many products he used in back surgery."

Oh my.

Well, if you have been prescribed drugs by your doctor, and there was a conflict of interest (like him sucking at the hind teat of the drug's manufacturing company) I'm sure she mentioned it...didn't she?

"...many doctors who spoke to the Journal Sentinel acknowledged that they did not share information with patients about their drug company deals."

Oops. I'm sure she just forgot.

"...many UW doctors said they did not tell their patients that the drugs they prescribed were made by companies that paid them on the side. Of 20 doctors who were interviewed, 14 said they did not tell patients about their financial relationships with drug companies when they prescribed drugs made by those companies."

Yeah. And I'm guessing the other six doctors either didn't answer the question, or just lied. When was the last time you (or anyone you know) heard a doctor say "I'm going to write you a prescription for some Scamapill...but in the interest of full disclosure, I'd like to let you know that last week, Scumbag Pharmaceuticals, who makes Scamapill, took me and all my colleagues out to a steakhouse, where they paid me $2000 to give a speech about how great Scamapill is. Oh, and they also offered me a consulting contract that pays $10,000 over the next year." Probably never, is my guess.

" 'I don't see the relevance,' said UW pediatrician Theresa Guilbert. 'I work for many different companies that make many different drugs. I don't perceive it as a conflict for the patient.'

Guilbert, an assistant professor and asthma specialist, reported payments from five companies, including money for speaking that she described as promotional.

Guilbert said she gets about $1,500 to $2,500 per talk, though about 80% of the drug company work she does involves other consulting."

Did you catch that? Could that be your child's pediatric asthma specialist? The one who wants to give your child the newest asthma drug (probably untested for children) rather than correct the problem through a cleaner diet...and calls you a bad parent, or worse, contacts Child Protective Services, if you refuse her drug company's concoctions? The doctor who is "only looking out for your child's best interests"?

" 'I can live with myself,' said Guilbert."

Of course she can. I'm sure she sleeps well at night. Her mattress must be very comfy, stuffed with all those $100 bills.

I hope her poor, drugged-up little patients sleep so well.

For a little more "light" reading: "Drug Firms Wine, Dine and Pay Up for Doctors' Speeches"

Half Hour to Health

2010-06-09T00:41:00.001-07:00

If you like learning about how to eat naturally and live a more healthy life, but don't have the time or money to invest in a lot of books, the Half Hour to Health is for you. I discovered this You Tube account a year ago, and I absolutely love it!

Dr. Bergman is a chiropractor in California--he's the real deal. I don't live there, so I haven't been able to use his services, but this guy is the smartest chiropractor I've ever come across, so if he's half as good at chiropractic as he is in educating people on health, I'd use him in a heartbeat.

For those who don't know, chiropractors go through an education similar to that of medical doctors. BUT they learn a TON about nutrition, whereas a conventional doctor spends 2-3 hours of classroom time, at best, on nutrition. Why bother with nutrition--a well-nourished person doesn't need a doctor! And besides, there aren't any perks to prescribing veggies, like there is for anti-depressants or cholesterol meds! Ugh, I shouldn't get started. ;-)

Anyway, I really enjoy watching these videos. Dr. B advocates a raw food lifestyle...I suspect he's only high raw, but I don't know. His videos on cancer, vaccines, enzymes, and digestion were really good. The enzymes one will give a basic introduction to why raw food is good. But really, it's hard to choose, because they're all incredibly entertaining and informative. Even the topics that don't seem to apply to me or don't sound interesting end up having really great stuff in it, because our bodies are so intricately designed, that everything you do affects each system of the body. It's truly amazing!

I would highly recommend watching each and every one of his videos. In fact, watch them multiple times, and take notes! They are an easy introduction to how the body works, and how to make it work BETTER! I wish he'd start a podcast and take questions. That would be wonderful.

As an aside, if you are looking for a good chiropractor in your area who really knows their stuff, this was some advice Dr. Bergman gave in the comment section for one of his videos on cancer:

I have a list of 7 questions to find a corrective Chiropractor
1 do you take x-rays
2 do you get listings off of the x-rays
3do you work with disk injuries
4do you work with post surgery cases
5is your goal to correct the spine
6do you take post x-rays to document the structural changes
7can arthritis be reversed
if they say “YES” to all 7 you have a corrective Chiropractor

Now I just need to create the income to PAY a corrective chiropractor. ;-)

Where Are the Gardening Posts?!

2010-06-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, they're in the works! I've started some seedlings, bought a few starter plants, just in case it's too late in the season for tomatoes and peppers, and so far nothing has died. (Okay, one raspberry plant isn't looking so hot...I don't know what's up with that.) I need to get a little more organized, and then we'll see some pictures. I may do a video on how I'm starting my seedlings, if anyone's interested.

I also am setting up a mini-greenhouse, which would also be an interesting video.

I do have some bad news...the homestead isn't working out like we'd hoped. So we're stuck where we are for a while. It's nice and private here, on 10 acres, but we don't get to use most of it. We basically have less room than someone on the tiniest city lot. And the house ain't much bigger than the land area! I asked my landlady's permission to garden, but I didn't specify on how much...lol. We have six children to feed, so there's going to be a lot!

Since we may still end up finding a place, the garden has to be transportable. So we're doing 5 gallon buckets for some things, and square foot garden boxes with bottoms on them. I'll try to take some pictures and video of it while we build the boxes. It should be really helpful for renters and city dwellers.

Hopefully my garden and other "homestead" activities will inspire others, and show that you don't have to wait for that "dream" property in order to become prepared, self-sufficient, and healthy!

Going Raw on hCG

2010-06-08T14:53:00.001-07:00

As part of a journey towards a healthier lifestyle, my main goal is to lose weight. At the moment, I weigh 248. Yup, I said it. It's really starting to affect my health.

I have done raw food in the past, and I highly recommend it. I believe eating high raw or all raw is the healthiest thing you can do. If God created a food, you should eat it. If man created it, or messed with it, you shouldn't. Seems like a good guideline, right?

I've lost weight on raw before, and really enjoyed it. I had a very healthy pregnancy with the least amount of weight gain, compared to my other pregnancies. I also used it while recovering from a MAJOR surgery, and noticed a huge difference...when I was raw, the pain was minimized, but when I "fell off the wagon", the pain greatly increased. You can also heal yourself of many ailments, as I have, with raw. Diabetes is one that's easy to correct with proper eating, even severe diabetes. People have also healed themselves of terminal cancer on it (veggies, lots of greens, wheatgrass juice, but no fruits or sweeteners...they feed the cancer).

I did a round of hCG between late January through March of this year. I lost a total of 37 pounds, 26 the first month and 11 the second month (I had some cheats the second month, really threw me off). Yep, you read that right, 26 pounds in one month. And that's with no exercise, and not following the diet exactly right (didn't drink enough water, didn't count my calories quite as closely toward the end of the month, etc.)

The hCG diet is amazing, and so easy. As easy as any diet can be, anyway. I'll go into more detail on another post. But the best thing about it is that I lost the weight in the right areas, something no other diet ever did for me. I went down two dress sizes in a month.

What happened? Well....ran out of hCG, had no money for more. Then, instead of following the directions to maintain my loss (eat no fake foods, no sweeteners except stevia, no starches), I was an idiot and ate starches. Then some sweets...then...you get the picture. So I went from 223 up to 248. Could be worse--I haven't gained it all back, despite my worse-than-usual eating up until this week.

So my husband (who is at his highest weight) and I are going on it this coming Monday. This time around, we plan to do a raw version of the diet. I read about one guy who did an all raw diet (not with hCG) who lost over two hundred pounds, most of it in six months, and his skin tightened up really well, because he was on green smoothies. Since I can't afford plastic surgery (and if I can by then, I have better things to spend it on), I'm going to do this as raw as possible, with the hope that I will be not only much healthier, but really tight and smooth, too!

I will do more posts about each diet in depth, and take you along on our journey with us. I may start a separate blog for it, we'll see how it goes. In the meantime, I'm starting by drinking a pitcher full of green smoothies every day. Green smoothies are amazing--that's another whole post, right there!

This is going to be so exciting! I was soooo happy with the results of the hCG diet last time, and got so many comments and compliments from people I know, telling me how happy and beautiful I was looking. As you can imagine, a woman over the 200 mark rarely, if ever, hears any compliments about her looks...and if she does, it's usually about her hair! So I'm looking forward to many years of compliments. I think I can handle that! :-)

Get Ready for Some Action!

2010-05-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

So things here have been crazy, and there hasn't been much "homesteady" type stuff going on to post about. But that's all about to change!

We are purchasing 5 acres of land, and hope to move onto it the first week of June. We will be off-grid (mostly the old-fashioned way, at least for a good long while). There should be some good posts about raising a garden and animals off-grid, while conserving water (our well is in, but there's no pump or anything installed, and no money for it for a while). I'll try to take pictures of the whole process.

We will be putting in a garden right away, and fencing off areas as soon as we can afford to, for animals. We plan to get some dairy goats, and possibly rabbits at some point.

We did buy chicks in March, and they should be laying in August. We also plan to buy some mature hens, as well as more chicks. Look for posts to come soon of our little ladies!

Right now, in addition to packing for the move, I am trying to gather information for all my heirloom seeds. I got all but two of my seeds Baker Creek. Now, I'm happy with my order, and their service, but I have to tell you, I'm pretty frustrated with the fact that MOST of the seeds I got came with little or no growing information printed on the packet, and most had no pictures of the variety in question. I have news for you, Baker Creek, there are a lot of first time gardeners out there who ordered from you (I've seen their blogs), and I'm willing to bet they're none too pleased with their info-less packets, either!

I'm going to see how my seeds do before I decide where I'm buying my seeds next year, but if I can get the same varieties elsewhere, with proper information-printed packets, then I probably will. In fairness to them, though, I have to say I bought my seeds in 2009, so I can't say if their packets are still as barren as they were last year.

So since rareseeds.com couldn't be bothered to give me growing information I need, I'm forced to spend DAYS looking up the data on these varieties. But guess what? Since these varieties are RARE, there isn't much out there on them. Ha ha on me! So it takes me, on average, 20-60 minutes per variety to scare up information on them. In many cases, I've had to supplement with basic information out there on the net, which doesn't always apply, since I got many early varieties.

Oh, and did I mention that I got 54 varieties of rare, heirloom seeds?

Fifty-four!

Times a minimum of 20 minutes. And usually longer.

Yeah.

So what does all this mean for you? Well, if you happen to have some of the varieties that I have, you will be wanting to kiss my feet pretty soon...because I plan to post my extensive, pretty chart with pictures in the next few days. If you have a lot of the same types, then I will be saving you between 18-54 hours of tedious, mind-numbing, frustration. Hence, the feet-kissing. ;-)

So be sure to check back soon--or better yet, sign up for the RSS feed and as a follower for the latest updates!

Hang on. It's going to be a wild ride!!

Killer "Corn"

2010-02-22T11:36:00.000-08:00

This is an article put out by Reuters, one of the mainstream media newswires.

PARIS (Reuters) - Environmental group Greenpeace launched a fresh attack on genetically modified maize developed by U.S. biotech giant Monsanto, saying on Tuesday that rats fed on one version developed liver and kidney problems.

Greenpeace said a study it had commissioned that was published in the journal Archives of Environmental Contamination and Technology showed rats fed for 90 days on Monsanto's MON863 maize showed "signs of toxicity" in the liver and kidneys.

"It is the first time that independent research, published in a peer-reviewed journal, has proved that a GMO authorized for human consumption presents signs of toxicity," Arnaud Apoteker, a spokesman for Greenpeace France said in a statement. Campaigners against Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) say that genetic modification technology is unproven and potentially dangerous and that GMO crops can contaminate other crops." See the whole article here.

Another article explains that the study was done using Monsanto's own raw data, which it was forced to release through a lawsuit Greenpeace had going against Monsanto:

"The findings only came to light after Monsanto was forced to publish its raw data on safety tests by anti-GM campaigners.

They add to the evidence that GM crops may damage health as well as be harmful to the environment.

The figures released by Monsanto were examined by French researcher Dr Gilles-Eric Seralini, from the University of Caen."

So the evil bastards KNEW it would kill people, but hey, that's not their problem, right? It's all about the money, folks. So if your baby gets liver damage from drinking GMO corn syrup-laced formula, it's your problem, not Monsanto's.

I'm not saying I take what Greenpeace says as truth, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is. They're taking genes from animals and insects and splicing them into food, people! And corn is the absolute worst.

This corn is in EVERYTHING, even your beef, as most beef out there is grain fed, primarily corn fed (if you're lucky...they're also fed garbage, bakery waste, and urea). But don't let that get you down. You CAN start transitioning into buying organic. My family is large, and doesn't earn much, but we're making sacrifices because we feel it's important to our health. Consider starting with the worst offenders: corn and corn-containing products, dairy, and meat. If you're not living below the poverty level, it can be done.

And if you want the real dirt on Monsanto and just what they are doing to the whole WORLD'S food supply, watch "The World According to Monsanto". You can usually watch it for free on You Tube, in multiple parts. It's interesting, and quite an eye-opener.

I Don't Want My Children to Be Happy, Either

2010-02-22T06:59:00.000-08:00

If you haven't read the post "I Don't Want My Children To Be Happy" on the blog It's Almost Naptime, you must go immediately and read it now. Seriously. Now. I'll Wait.

Okay, now that you're back...wasn't that AMAZING!! All I can say is AMEN!!!

First off, if I won the lottery tomorrow, I'm not paying for my children's college education. Period. End of story. Not happening. I plan to equip them to be successful in whatever path they choose...including by teaching them to pay for it themselves!

I also will not be doing any of the following:

Buying my children a car.
Paying for their car insurance, registration, etc.
Bailing them out if they get in financial trouble.
Buying my children an XBOX or ________ (insert latest ridiculously expensive, mind-deadening, behavior-altering trendy toy here).
Buying them $200 sneakers or $100 designer jeans.
Giving them an allowance. (GASP! Yes, they will have to EARN their money.)

Why? Because I don't want my children to be happy. I was not put on this earth to be their buddy, nor their financial benefactor. I was put here to be their MOTHER.

As their mother, it is my job to raise them up to be responsible, kind, honest, hard working, loving adults. I don't want to teach them, by handing them everything they want, that the world is their plaything, and that people are nothing more than a vehicle for them to attain what they need.

Like Mis, I don't want my children to be happy, but rather to be content. I want them to be content with what they already have. To be grateful for what God has given them. Yes, they may choose to work towards more in life, but they should be content that, should they not attain their goal (or should its attainment be delayed) that they can live fulfilled lives without it.

In particular, I want my children to find contentment not in their salary, their home, their grown up "toys", but in a glorious sunset, a blossom-scented spring breeze, a cozy night in with their family, and in those quiet moments that God reveals Himself to them.

Most important, I want my children to be holy...Mis took the words right out of my mouth. I want my children not to be momentarily sated by having their every whim catered to, but to be content because their hearts are pure and full of love for God and for their fellow man. I want them to be living examples of the generosity of God, to never offend Him, but rather always be pleasing to Him.

I want them to try to always be kind, especially to each other. To minister to those in need. To try to overlook the faults of those who judge and condemn them, because, being faithful children of God, there will be many who do. To forgive those who have wronged them. To be willing to make sacrifices for those they love.

I know these concepts are foreign to some people...those who believe that life is about acquiring stuff and indulging your every desire. To them, they will consider my refusal to shower my children with their every want and need to be nothing short of child abuse. They will also likely consider my having 6 children to be child abuse, as having "so many" children will hamper my ability to spoil any one child completely rotten. But how can I explain beauty to someone who chooses to see only ugliness?

They'll never know the joy of seeing all your children dote on the newest member of the family, or watching each child trip over themselves to volunteer to pitch in and help out. My children are loving and generous with each other most of the time, and frequently share. They are almost never jealous of each other. I am blessed to see this every day, because I am not blind to the beauty of a large family.

Who your children are today is also who they will be tomorrow.

The King of Natural Cures, Part 2

2010-02-21T16:24:00.000-08:00

In Part 1, I described what food grade 35% Hydrogen Peroxide is, what diseases you can treat with it, and listed a few of the many household uses.

Now I'd like to share with you my experience. Before I begin, I just want to state here that I don't sell Hydrogen Peroxide. I'm just thrilled that I've discovered how useful and powerful it can be, which makes me want to share it with you. I'm the kind of person who, when I find something that really makes a difference in my life, I just want to shout from the rooftops. So...

When I read about HP, I wanted to try it right away. But as many online sources suggested, it was nowhere to be found at regular stores. All they have there is 3% pharmaceutical grade, which you do NOT want to use. See part 1 for the reason why. I'd heard that health food stores don't carry it either, so I looked online. Unfortunately, when having HP shipped to you, it always includes a huge hazmat fee for shipping, because of the caustic nature of the full strength product. Be aware of this when ordering: before placing your order, find out whether the fee has been incorporated into the price, or if it will be added on afterwards. This makes a big difference in the final cost of the product.

I found out that my local health food store does carry food grade hp, but in the 17.5% strength. This is basically diluted to be half the strength of the 35% FGHP. In this way, the store avoided the hazmat fee. I don't know that it worked out to be any cheaper in the long run, considering the lower strength, but I got it fast, which is what I wanted.

The 17.5% works just the same, but you give yourself twice the dose normally recommended for the 35% strength. For example, in following the typical protocol (see Part 1), on the first day taking it, instead of putting 3 drops in a cup of water, you would put 6.

I was astounded at how quickly I saw results. I have been dealing with a skin condition for years. I get little dry looking patches of skin all over the place, and it's been particularly a problem behind my ears and on my elbows. I don't know if it's eczema or psoriasis or maybe some calcification. I'm suspecting psoriasis. Coconut oil applied daily makes it mostly go away (RAW Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, with all the enzymes). It had been particularly bad right before taking the HP. Literally overnight, it was ALMOST GONE! All the smaller spots were completely gone, and the larger spots were almost gone. Behind my ears, where it was bad, was gone all except for a small spot behind my right ear.

Even more amazing, I had taken only ONE DOSE! It says to take it 3 times daily, but I forgot the other two times. (See part 1 for the whole protocol.) Over the next week, I took a dose once in a while, usually never more than once every other day. It got rid of the dry skin patches a little more. If I had done the protocol properly, I'm sure it would have been eliminated all together. I believe that whatever is causing the skin problem is systemic...probably caused by candidasis.

Since taking the HP that one week, I have continually failed to remember to take it. The problem is that it should be taken on an empty stomach, which means remembering to take it an hour before or three hours after a meal. I have a large family, so that's easy to forget! The incredible thing is, despite the few treatments I took, the problem is only now, over a month later, starting to come back. Wow! Imagine if I'd followed the whole protocol!

I am looking forward to seeing more results when I finally remember to take it regularly, and I'll share them with you. I'd love to hear back from others who have used it, especially readers who try it after reading this article.

Everyone should have this in their health supplies! And for those who like to buy what they need in bulk ahead of time in preparation for emergencies, with the endless list of uses of food grade hydrogen peroxide, I would say it is an emergency essential!

If you want more information, here are a few resources for you:

The One Minute Cure by Madison Cavanaugh - I haven't read this book yet, though I look forward to it. When I do, I'll give a review on it. I've heard good things though, and with a natural cure as effective as this, I think having a full book on the subject would be advisable.

Altcancer.com - This is a great resource for how to bathe in HP, which is an alternative for those who don't like the taste of it. However, it would be far more expensive to do it this way, as you must use a very large amount in the bath water, as opposed to a very minute amount in a cup of water to drink. They also give comprehensive information on safe handling of HP. It's not scary, you just need to treat it as you would, say, the caustic cleaners you have in your house...DON'T let children get at it!!

HerbalNutritionSupplements.com - More great information on HP and it's history and uses. They suggest using it to keep salad fresh, in marinades, to freshen your kitchen, in your dishwasher, etc. These are all suggestions for diluted food grade HP, in a 3% solution. Great ideas! Haven't ordered from them, so I can't comment on that.

CancerTutor.com - Great info on how HP works in the body, and can cure cancer. Be sure to copy and read their free book,

Educate-Yourself.org

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: In order to avoid having FTC and/or FDA stormtroopers kick in my door and hold my family at gunpoint (don't laugh, it's happened to many people) and arrest me, etc., I must let you know that I am only a "stupid uneducated housewife" (in their eyes). I don't have any medical or nutritional training or degrees, nor have I been indoctrinated and paid off by pharmaceutical companies--oops, I mean I can't write prescriptions or give medical advice. So all this stuff I just wrote as well as everything else on my blog is merely MY "UNEDUCATED" OPINION, and is just for informational and/or entertainment purposes only. Always seek the advice of a licensed medical practitioner before attempting anything on your own, because the FTC/FDA also think you are too stupid to cure so much as a headache on your own...unless you are a medical doctor, in which case you can write yourself hundreds of prescriptions...and still keep treating patients. ;-) Also, I cannot be held liable if anyone is harmed by taking this product...again, this information is for entertainment purposes only.

The King of Natural Cures, Part 1

2010-02-21T03:33:00.000-08:00

My family's health is important to me. For many reasons, which I will go into in another post, I no longer trust the western medical system. That's not to mean that I don't appreciate it in times of emergency, but for typical day-to-day medical issues, I have found that natural alternatives are safer, more effective, and have little or no side effects, unlike medications, even the simplest of which can kill or maim you. (I plan a post soon on how deadly aspirin can be.)

In my search for safe and effective natural remedies, I have come across what I believe is the king of natural cures: 35% Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide.

What Is Hydrogen Peroxide? According to OzoneServices.com:

"Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) an unstable very powerful oxidant is water (H2O) with an extra oxygen molecule. It is a natural substance which can be found in trace amounts in rain and snow. Rain combines with ozone (O3) in the upper atmosphere. When the two mix, the ozone loses one oxygen molecule to the water and hydrogen peroxide is formed. Hydrogen peroxide is very unstable and breaks down readily into water and a single oxygen molecule. Oxygen is stable only when the molecules are paired (O2). A single oxygen molecule is a strong oxidizing and disinfecting agent. Hydrogen peroxide is a simple yet effect substance due to its ability to release this single oxygen molecule."

Food Grade means it is safe to use internally (when properly diluted to a 3% solution and used in the correct dosage, which I will get to later), as opposed to other grades, such as beautician or pharmaceutical or other grades, which have potentially toxic additives.

SAFTEY NOTICE: While taking food grade HP internally is safe when done properly (diluted and in the proper amounts), you do not want to ingest it or get it on your skin in full (35%) strength, as it is caustic. Don't let that scare you though. You just need to dilute it properly, and if you spill a few drops on your hand, you want to rinse it off right away. The skin on those spots may turn whitish temporarily, and I think I read the top layer of skin on those spots might peel off, but that in a couple of weeks it will be back to normal. So they recommend you use gloves and goggles when handling it. I don't use gloves, I'm just super careful, and I already wear eye glasses (if I didn't, I'd probably use goggles). Like many caustic household items, 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide should be locked up out of reach of children, as ingestion in the full 35% strength is potentially fatal.

Read just a few of the illnesses that can be effectively treated with HP, from Educate-Yourself.org:

"Allergies
Altitude Sickness
Alzheimer's
Anemia
Arrhythmia
Asthma
Bacterial Infections
Bronchitis
Cancer
Candida
Cardiovascular Disease
Cerebral Vascular Disease
Chronic Pain
Diabetes Type 11
Diabetic Gangrene
Diabetic Retinopathy
Digestion Problems
Epstein-Barr Infection
Emphysema
Erythematosis
Food Allergies
Fungal Infections
Gingivitis
Headaches
Herpes Simplex
Herpes Zoster
HIV Infection
Influenza
Insect Bites
Liver Cirrhosis
Lupus
Multiple Sclerosis
Parasitic Infections
Parkinsons
Periodontal Disease
Prostatitis
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Shingles
Sinusitis
Sore Throat
Ulcers
Viral Infections
Warts
Yeast Infections"

Here is how HP can work to cure cancer, according to an article on cancertutor.com:

"How It Works
It has been clinically demonstrated that the spread or metastatis of cancer is directly proportional to the amount of oxygen around the cancer cells. The more oxygen, the slower the cancer spreads. The less oxygen, the faster the cancer spreads. If cancer cells get enough oxygen, they will die (cancer cells are anaerobic). Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) provides extra oxygen atoms that not only slow down the spread of cancer, but also kills cancer cells.
Hydrogen Peroxide
'Nobel prize winner Dr. Otto Warburg demonstrated over 50 years ago the basic difference between normal cells and cancer cells. Both derive energy from glucose, but the normal cell requires oxygen to combine with the glucose, while cancer cells break down glucose without oxygen, yielding only 1/15 the energy per glucose molecule that a normal cell produces. This is why cancer cells have such a huge appetite for sugar, and also why people who consume excessive quantities of sugar tend to get cancer more often.'
Controlling cancer can be done by controlling the oxygen and/or controlling the things that free up oxygen (e.g. ionized water) and other ways. Hydrogen peroxide, or other oxygen therapies, are one of the most widely used cancer therapies world-wide because they provide oxygen to the cancer cells. They are safe and effective. H2O2 is also used for a host of other ailments, including AIDS and any other virus based illness."

CancerTutor.com has much information on curing cancer with HP, including a whole online book to read on alternative cancer cures, for free. I highly recommend EVERYONE copy and read that book.

I know some people may find these claims far-fetched. I think sometimes it is because they or someone they love has suffered or even died from a disease, and they just can't accept that maybe there was an alternative that they've missed. Or they've tried one or two natural cures, and they "didn't work", and it soured them on natural cures forever. But I and many other people are living proof that they can work. Not every cure works for every person, but they do work, in general. Try to keep an open mind, and when one cure doesn't work for you, try another. Don't let pride or grief keep you from helping yourself or others be healthy. (Okay, let the flaming begin!)

IMPORTANT: DO NOT use the 3.5% Hydrogen Peroxide from the drug store. That is pharmaceutical grade, and contains stabilizers such as acetanilide, phenol, sodium stanate and tertrasodium phosphate. Who knows what garbage like that will do to you. While I've heard of people who do use this kind and say they suffer no ill effects, my opinion is that, like vaccines, GMO foods, and prescription drugs, while you may not drop dead from it, you could suffer effects from these additives in the long term. Don't mess with it. Just use the 35% food grade.

See the regimen below that is often recommended for HP. Note: It lists the number of day, the number of drops, and the number of times per day to take it. So on Day 1 you take 3 drops 3 times per day, on Day 2 you take 4 drops 3 times per day, etc. Here is the typical HP protocol listed on the Educate-Yourself website, which I have also seen in books and numerous other online sources:

"Day # -Number of Drops/ Times Per Day
1 - 3 / 3
2 - 4 / 3
3 - 5 / 3
4 - 6 / 3
5 - 7 / 3
6 - 8 / 3
7 - 9 / 3
8 - 10 / 3
9 - 12 / 3
10 - 14 / 3
11 - 16 / 3
12 - 18 / 3
13 - 20 / 3
14 - 22 / 3
15 - 24 / 3
16 - 25 / 3

Maintenance Dosage
In most situations after the above 21 day program, the amount of H202 can be tapered off gradually as follows:
25 drops once every other day for 1 week
25 drops once every third day for 2 weeks
25 drops once every fourth day for 3 weeks

This can then be reduced to between 5 and 15 drops per week based on how one feels. Those with more serious problems will often benefit from staying on 25 drops three times a day for one to three weeks, then tapering down to 25 drops two times daily until the problem is resolved (possibly as long as six months). Those with chronic systemic Candidiasis may need to start with 1 drop three times a day, then 2 drops three times a day before starting the above schedule. It is important that H202 be taken on an empty stomach. This is best accomplished by taking it either one hour before meals or three hours after meals."

Some other uses listed on the Educate-Yourself site for HP are:

"Making and Using 3% Solutions of H202
A 3.5% solution can be made quite easily by first pouring 1 ounce of 35% H202 into a pint jar. To this add 11 ounces of distilled water. This will make 12 ounces of 3.5% H202. 3.5% H202 has a variety of medicinal uses.
1. Three tablespoons mixed with a quart of non-chlorinated water makes a good enema or douche formula.
2. It can be used full strength as a mouthwash or mixed with baking soda for toothpaste.
3. It can be used full strength as a foot bath for athlete's foot. (Diabetics have found relief from circulation problems by soaking their feet in 1 pint of 3% peroxide mixed with 1 gallon of warm, non-chlorinated water for 30 minutes nightly.)
4. A tablespoon added to 1 cup of non-chlorinated water can be used as a nasal spray. Depending on the degree of sinus involvement, one will have to adjust the amount of peroxide used. I have seen some who can use it at the full 3% strength and others who had difficulty with using a few drops and mixed with a cup of water.
5. 3.5% H202 can be added to pets drinking water at the rate of 1 ounce per quart of non-chlorinated water. Sick cattle reportedly benefit from 1 pint (of 3%) to each 5 gallons of water. (Chickens and cows have remained healthy by using 8 ounces of 35% H202 per 1,000 gallons of drinking water.)"

To read about my own HP experience and for some excellent links and resources, see The Kind of Natural Cures Part 2.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: In order to avoid having FTC and/or FDA stormtroopers kick in my door and hold my family at gunpoint (don't laugh, it's happened to many people) and arrest me, etc., I must let you know that I am only a "stupid uneducated housewife" (in their eyes). I don't have any medical or nutritional training or degrees, nor have I been indoctrinated and paid off by pharmaceutical companies--oops, I mean I can't write prescriptions or give medical advice. So all this stuff I just wrote as well as everything else on my blog is merely MY "UNEDUCATED" OPINION, and is just for informational and/or entertainment purposes only. Always seek the advice of a licensed medical practitioner before attempting anything on your own, because the FTC/FDA also think you are too stupid to cure so much as a headache on your own...unless you are a medical doctor, in which case you can write yourself hundreds of prescriptions...and still keep treating patients. ;-) Also, I cannot be held liable if anyone is harmed by taking this product...again, this information is for entertainment purposes only.

And the Fun Begins...

2010-02-21T01:50:00.001-08:00

Get ready for a wild ride, folks! Although this is a new blog, make no mistake, there are going to be some very informative, interesting, and helpful posts coming up, at a very fast pace.

I've been taking a lot of notes on various subjects for my own personal use, but with some changes I've made in my life that I'm really excited about, I really want to share it with others. If only I'd known about some of this stuff years ago! My life would be so different. I want to do for other people what others have done for me.

Whatever you find here that works for you, take it, and leave the rest. And I hope that your life begins to transform every bit as much as mine is!

In the works: some very relevant posts on health (both emotional and physical) and finances. In particular, I will be talking about how I've lost 26 pounds and two or more dress sizes in one month. And in case you're wondering, I'm not selling any diet stuff, LOL. I'm just so ecstatic about the changes I am seeing in my body and my personality, that I wish I could shout about it from the rooftops. No one should feel the way I've felt for so long. I actually look in the mirror and smile every day! And I'm not done yet.

Here are just a few topics I will be posting on: organization, natural recipes, healthy living, weight loss, Nourishing Traditions eating, raw food, raising a large family, simple living, agrarianism, alternative health options, frugal tips, homesteading, raising animals, gardening, emergency preparedness, food storage, and a whole lot more!

I would LOVE your COMMENTS letting me know which subjects you are most interested in. (Please keep comments kind and on topic.)