Awesome Article from HMN blog

Food and Wellness - This article sums up why I am specializing in becoming a Health Coach for Moms. Knowledge is power, and all moms need to make informed decisions. I say this a lot because I realize I cannot say it enough!

We live in a world where we have become desensitized to the many aliments that we all suffer from, but especially those inflicting our children. How many children do you know that suffer from Allergies, Asthma, Acid Reflux, Milk-Intolerance, ADD, ADHD, Autism, Asperger's and Cancer. Yes, I know that we cannot control most of the environmental factors (although we can control the immediate environments of our homes & schools, but I'll save that for another post) but it all begins with what we put into our bodies. It seems rather simple but many of us don't realize what's in our food. If what we consume is mostly filled with concoctions being created in labs then we aren't doing our bodies justice. Stay tuned for more on this topic, as you will find it to be a recurring theme in my posts. I hope this sparked your interest and got you to start questioning why there are so many illnesses in our children and how we can be proactive in preserving their health.

Until next time, live well!!

Why do you eat ORGANIC????

I am asked this question a lot! "Why do you eat Organic food?" "Does it really make a difference in the world?" "Is it better for your health?" "Do you taste a difference?" Today, I received an email from Integrative Nutrition, the school I am enrolled in that sums it all up! Happy reading everyone! Let me know if you still have questions regarding Organic food when you're done.

Here are some interesting facts about eating organic...

• The President's Cancer Panel suggests giving preference to organic food to avoid pesticides which have been linked to several types of cancers.
  
  
• Organic farming puts less strain on wildlife and the environment; these methods result in less air, water, and land pollution and produce less global warming gases.
  
• Unlike much of the food we see on grocery store shelves, organic food isn't genetically modified. Under organic standards, genetically modified (GM) crops and ingredients are prohibited.
  
  
• Organic food doesn't contain harmful food additives, flavor enhancers (i.e. MSG), artificial sweeteners (i.e. aspartame and high-fructose corn syrup), contaminants (i.e. mercury) or preservatives (i.e. sodium nitrate), that have been linked to a multitude of health problems.
  
  
• Organic food appears to promote weight loss since it reduces exposure to chemical pesticides which bind to fat. In fact, once absorbed, these pesticides may stay in the body for a lifetime (over 350 chemicals can accumulate in our body fat)!
  
  
• Organic farming standards prohibit the use of antibiotics, growth hormones and genetically modified vaccines in farm animals. Not only is this better for human consumption, but organic meat and dairy with the labels "free range" and "pasture fed" means that the animals were treated in a more humane and ethical manner.
  
• Organic fruits and vegetables contain up to 40% more antioxidants than conventional produce; organic milk from pasture raised cows contains up to 90% more antioxidants than non-organic milk.
  
  
• Organic foods have higher levels of beneficial minerals such as iron and zinc, minerals crucial to early child development.
• - Integrative Nutrition

Simply Saturday

We started the morning off with some Watermelon cubes, while waiting for breakfast to be cooked- Simply scrambled eggs yet one of Tyler's favorites. Then Tyler asked for some chocolate milk. We use Living Harvest Hemp Milk, but as I've started reading labels more closely, I noticed the chocolate milk has more sugar than I'd like him to have. It's great on occasion but not something I'd want him to get used to having every morning. So, I decided it was time to whip up a new shake! Something we've tried and really like is a smoothie that includes (Organic) Pineapple slices, pear, apple, broccoli & Green Chard (any type of lettuce or green with do). Be sure to include a cup of ice to make it a nice, cold, frothy, smoothie! Now, we/re off to run some errands and spend some time outside in the sun at a local park. Hope everyone gets to enjoy some quality time with the family today! Try, as much as possible, to live in the moment with your kids - Set time aside each day that you spend together, where you behave as if NOTHING ELSE in the WORLD exists, except for you and them!!!! This is nourishing to their soul as well as your own. Until next time... Live well!

My Son's 2nd Birthday Celebration!

Welcome back everyone! I'm going to try to be more consistent with my postings. It seems that it took me almost a full week to recover from my son's birthday festivities! For all the mamas out there I'm sure you can relate.

As the birthday approaches I feel this tremendous excitement to give my little man the best birthday ever! I don't know exactly what comes over me, but I experience feelings of love, nurturing and reminiscing of the year that has passed. I then direct that energy into the planning of the big day, or days, as was the case this year. So here are some highlights that I'd like to share with you:

The Thomas the Train birthday cake was Gluten-free, made with Bob's Mills Chocolate cake mix! It was yummy and the design came out pretty cute too! (It only took me 4 hours to make this cake from start to finish, but again that was the insanity that came over me to complete this project for my son). I also made some yummy Thomas cupcakes from the same batter.

Goody Bags were filled with Organic Lollipops by Yummy Earth and kites for the kids to fly, along with Thomas the Train rings and hats to wear. Hopefully all the guests enjoyed their goodies.

Happy Birthday to Tyler! Still can't believe that he's 2 years old!