4 things you can do right now to improve your health

I've spent quite some time reflecting on the changes my family and I have made in regards to the food we consume. They have taken time and have occurred over months or in some cases years.  I was on the right track in 2008; I'd say that's where my "real food" journey began, when I first came across the Environmental Working Group's guide to buying organic.  I decided then that I wanted to buy more and more of my produce organic and their lists helped me figure out where to hone in my focus.  Not that I'm a 100% organic produce person all the time, but when I can find it, when it fits and when it's what we want, I get it.

But here is a quick list of simple things you can do RIGHT now that will improve your health:

1. Consider buying any fruits or vegetables on the Dirty Dozen list as organic.  It may be an extra $1-2/type of fruit to go this route, but the pesticide count and toxic load it will place on your body will be SO much less.  Tons of research over the last year has indicated pesticides are linked to learning disorders in children and to memory deficit problems in older aged adults, so prevent what you can NOW while you can!  If it's hard for you to swallow the price tag, just remember you are making an investment in your health which can seriously pay off years down the road!
2. Buy little to no processed foods.  Not only will you better be off for it health-wise, but your pocketbook will thank you as well!  You may have found that some processed foods are really cheap, but consider how nutrient-dense they really are?  Buying less processed foods means you can buy higher-quality organic fruits & veggies, or grass-fed meat!  One of my friends is a nutritionist in Indianapolis, and she frequently recommends to her clients to shop the perimeter of the grocery store.  Most of the stuff in the middle aisles of the grocery store truly isn't healthy for you.  You've heard it before, but if you read the labels on the boxes of food and can't identify what an ingredient is, perhaps you shouldn't buy it.  It's taken me a while to realize that additives and artificial ingredients or food colorings truly weren't made to be consumed by our bodies. 
3. Try Coconut Oil.  You can find coconut oil in many of the natural sections of your grocery store and certainly at a health food stores.  There are many brands so while you familiarize yourself with coconut oil, just pick a bottle/jar that feels right to you.  Coconut oil has so many amazing properties; you can cook with it and you can even slather it on your face or your hair.  It's an amazing moisturizer!  It is one of those products, like vinegar or baking soda, with which you can do a lot.  I use coconut oil as a moisturizer, on my sweet potatoes, when I make popcorn, in baking and cooking.  Being antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial, are just a few of its health-boosting properties. 



A Coconut!
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4. Lastly, consume probiotics.  You may get it through your yogurt, or via fermented foods, but if not, there are tons of pills and capsules on the market now. You want to find a probiotic that has BILLIONS of good bacteria, so check the label to see how diverse your probiotic is.  Why do you want to take probiotics?  Probiotics (which literally means 'for-life') help restore the healthy bacteria in your digestive system; if you've been on antibiotics for a longer course of time then consuming probiotics should be something you seriously consider as the antibiotics not only wipe away the bad bacteria, but the good bugs as well.   If you've watched TV over the last 5 years then surely you've seen those Activia commercials--that is what probiotics do!  I had to do a double-take the first time I was prescribed probiotics.  It was after Mia was born and I was struggling getting over mastitis even with antibiotics (bless her gut & mine)!!  My doula recommended probiotics with probably at least 10 billion cfu/gram.  Now I take Bio Kult every single day and if Mia is around when I take them, she gets one capsule as well!  I just open up the capsule and dump the contents on her tongue and she eagerly swallows with no whining.  Love sharing healthy habits with my daughter. 

Making these changes will not necessarily guarantee explosions of happiness in your home, but it will foster more nourishment.  You can feel better about the foods you and your family are consuming and know that you will be much healthier in the long run.  A plus side is, even if you STILL get sick from time to time on a "diet" such as this (as we have experienced 2x this winter season -- Mia's had both a cold & a cough), your symptoms will probably be much less severe and its duration much shorter.  Your immune system will be even more robust to fight off the evil bugs and keep your health & home in good shape.

Did Wall Street Journal read my blog?

My younger brother tweeted at me that I wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal and tagged it "GotMilk".  At first I was afraid to know what in the world he was referring to until I saw the article.

Admittedly, the article is mostly about almond milk, which this household has consumed in moderation here & there, but there is a shout-out to coconut milk and how the two (primarily almond milk) are making a racket in grocery stores. 

Almond milk is a decent alternative but it is something I would also stress in moderation.  Without knowing all the chemistry and science behind it, I understand that there is not a perfect balance of Omega-3's and Omega-6's in almond milk, which make it not as ideal.  Yet I would venture to say it is still a better alternative to soy milk, which the article points out "contains estrogen-like chemicals, called phytoestrogens, and heightened exposure to estrogen has been linked with increased risk of breast cancer."

In this case, homemade almond milk is also superior because by soaking the almonds, you'll improve the almond milk's digestibility and be able to avoid preservatives or other funky ingredients manufacturers might add to the mix.  

But I'm not going to lie, this Nourishing Newbie knows not every one can strive for homemade all the time, and has been known to purchase almond milk for the little one when coconut milk was not easily accessible.  I will also note that she woke up screaming 2 out of the 5 nights when I was rotating her milk choices like that, for what that's worth!! ;)

On behalf of the WSJ just kidding, this is the Nourishing Newbie, signing off.

PS: If you enjoy cow's milk, but find yourself with some sort of lactose intolerance or dairy allergy, look in your area for a distributor of raw milk or check out realmilk.com.

Why coconut milk?

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Amazon.com

Occasionally I am asked why my little one drinks coconut milk.  In truth, I know I know the reasons, but I can't always spout them off lickety-split.  So, imagine my delight when The Nourished Kitchen (a neat new foodie blog I've been following) does an expose on how to make your own coconut milk, from a real coconut.  Not that I've ever done that, but maybe that will be just one of the things I try this year!

In other news, here's something new I started doing the last few months of 2010, and maybe it will be helpful for you too.

Do you always pick up the same items at the store, nearly in the same quantity?  Now that we're a family of 3 with a pretty regular schedule, it seems that we consistently go through the same food items from month to month.  Of course, I try to stock up and save when these items may be on sale at the local grocery or health food store, but I have found that sometimes an even better option is shopping online.

Guzzling down her "coco" & discovering her

Dyson vacuum cleaner on Christmas morning!

I follow Saving Naturally and from time to time, she'll post updates of deals on Amazon.com.  You can "subscribe & save" and save 15% more on those items if you subscribe to buying that particular item every month, two months, or so on.

So for us, because our little one is a little coconut milk drinker, we regularly "save" and receive a shipment of 12 cans of coconut milk per month, and Coombs Grade B Maple Syrup every 2 months.  These prices are just as good or better than what I can get at my local health food store with coupons. And shipping is free.  So why not do that?  I promise I'm not being paid by Amazon or these companies.  Just wanting to help a brotha or a sista out!!

Ch-ch-changes!

This nourishing newbie has taken several baby steps in 2010 to get to where she is now.  If I look back at where my food thoughts & philosophies were at the beginning of 2011, I realize as a whole we've come a looong way, even if it feels like I still have forever to go.  However, let's take a walk down memory lane to see what prompted several changes within our family unit to eating more nourishingly.

Early last year, I wanted to make a commitment to eat more sustainably and economically. I initially thought this meant eating animal meats sparingly (for cost-effectiveness, as I didn't want CAFO meats but mostly organic or grass-fed meats) and eating more vegetarian-like.  While eating vegetarian now and then may be okay, after I read how true vegetarianism isn't the healthiest option, I decided to disembark on this quest and instead seek out organic and grass-fed meats on sale and eat these regularly.

As my only child approached the age of 1, I knew she'd be weaning off breastmilk soon and would need a suitable milk replacement.  Many told me, "It's okay if she doesn't drink milk, it's not that essential," which was fine or may be true for them, but I knew if she didn't really care for much juice (which was a good thing, in my opinion), and water alone wouldn't sustain her, we'd need to find something.  The thing was, she had already shown reaction to milk-based formulas.  So I tried giving her goat's milk, store-bought cow's milk, and farm-fresh milk, only to find she had resistances to all 3 (by vomiting).  Those with lactose intolerance or dairy allergies often do fine with raw milk, which was why I tried that route.

So instead, I chatted around, and decided I'd try making a homemade coconut milk mix for my little one.  It involves mixing 1 can BPA-free coconut milk (we use Native Forest); 3 tablespoons Grade B Maple Syrup; 1 teaspoon vanilla; and 1 quart of filtered water altogether.  I gradually mixed this in with bottles of breastmilk and she transitioned wonderfully.  My little one is still growing and in the 50th percentiles for height & weight and most of her teeth have come in.  The coconut milk speaks for itself!

After she turned 1 and was weaned at 13.5 months, I began to think about what I needed to do for myself in terms of health.  There were some initial challenges I had had with myself & my daughter after she was born that were a bit disconcerting for me.  She was low birth-weight.  I had a postpartum blood clot in my leg.  I got mastitis 3 times.  It was like one blow after another and I felt like I couldn't recover.  I started to take an honest look at my health and wonder, "How could I improve things for the next time?"  Admittedly, I had been on antibiotics for acne for years, and even though they were mostly topical in nature, the years where I had taken them orally had surely done some damage.  I wasn't crazy about being on prescription medication any more if not absolutely necessary, and felt like it was time to press the reset button, so to speak.  Additionally, I experienced many painful stomachaches and cramping that would leave me debilitated, laying on the couch while my little one played around me.  Not very much fun for a new mom or a little toddler seeking parental interaction.  So over the summer, I began looking into my options, spoke to my birth doula and a few others, and met with an integrative medicine doctor who started me on a month-long liver cleanse and modified diet.

This diet meant the following things went out the window:

• Red meat; bacon; all dairy milks & milk products (except for live unsweetened cultured yogurt); gluten-containing bread & gluten products; artificial sweeteners; white, refined sugars; chocolate; caffeine (meaning all my teas & coffees!); peanuts; citrus; etc. 

At first it felt like a death sentence.  What will I eat?  But I knew about the GAPS diet and knew this diet was easy compared to that, and I was hopeful I'd still see benefits.  But here's what I could eat:

• Chicken, turkey, lamb, cold-water fish, eggs, legumes, some beans; white or sweet potato, rice, gluten-free products; fresh/frozen fruit & vegetables; unrefined oils; ghee, etc.
• Basically, if I made it, if it was pure, unrefined, and didn't have dairy or gluten or red meat, I could eat it.  It actually meant I could be creative and find new yummy, nourishing things to eat.

The diet worked and I kept on it for a good 3.5 months.  I felt relieved of my symptoms almost immediately and during the first week of the detox, noticed the so-called "die-off."  My limbs felt achy and sore, which meant the bacteria was probably working  its way out of my body.  My favorite anecdote from this experience is that even my chiropractor noticed a difference.  After a few adjustments into the diet & detox, he noted that I was even easier to adjust than before, because I had probably gotten rid of a lot of inflammation!  The stomachaches ceased and I believe my gut was heading back to "realignment."

Throughout the diet, several other changes occurred in our kitchen and pantry.  I started cooking with coconut oil.  When dairy was okay to be added back into the diet, I began cooking with low-temp pasteurized butter, obtained from a local dairy.  I found a few decent gluten-free flours, with which I can use in moderation.  I experimented with almond, hazelnut and pecan flour.  I made grain-free brownies and grain-free nut butter cookies, all yummy and worth eating again.  

I began ordering free-range chickens and eggs from a local farmer as well, and in December, participated in my first big red-meat order from a grass-fed farm!
And perhaps the biggest shock for me is that I finally started taking Fermented Cod Liver Oil!  Yes, almost every day, if I can tolerate it, I'll gulp down a helping of that.  

There are so many other changes I could document, but perhaps the biggest are these:

At the start of 2010, I was eating your Standard American Diet (SAD).
By the end of 2010, I was eating more paleo-like, with the exception of adding raw dairy into the mix.  

• Instead of cereal for breakfast, I'd have eggs, a smoothie, or a homemade gluten-free muffin or bread.
• For lunch, I'd eat leftovers, like chicken, fish or turkey burgers, a sweet potato with coconut oil & cinnamon, etc. instead of sandwiches or granola bars.
• And for dinner, I'd try out things like stir fry, salmon, gluten-free dairy-free pizza.  

That is not to say whatever I was eating before was all bad.  Those "other foods" all have their place and in my opinion, are okay in moderation, depending on what your dietary needs are.  As Dr. Saxena said at The Center for Living Wellness, "There are good foods which just may not be the right fuel for your body."  Can I get an "Amen"??

Here's what I'm looking forward to trying in 2011:

• Kombucha
• More grass-fed meats (and learning how to prepare them)
• Making my own yogurt, mayonnaise, or coconut milk!
• Picking our own fruits & veggies from local farms and learning how to preserve them so they'll be good, fresh & ready to eat year-round!

The point is, not all of these changes were made overnight, and what I thought I needed was much, much different than what I believe it is now.  I tweaked how I shopped and cooked throughout the year and I believe if you want to make similar changes or see a positive impact in your overall health, you can too!

So, what are your goals for 2011?

The Spice is Right Contest Winner Runner-UP = ME!

Merry Christmas to me!

Last I posted, I had entered myself into the Mambo Sprouts The Spice is Right Giveaway.  I regularly checked back at the website to see if they had drawn the winners, and then in early December I received an email from the Mambo Sprouts marketing team indicating that I was a runner-up and would be receiving a 10-item sampler set.  SWEET!  Who doesn't love free stuff, and who doesn't love GOOD free stuff?  I sure do.  I happily received my package prior to leaving for the holidays and was so jazzed.  Here's what was in my stash:

from L to R:
peppermint flavor, vanilla bean, almond extract, cardamom seed,
lemon peel, cinnamon, ground cloves,  nutmeg, and ginger (not pictured: vanilla extract)

I even received a set of coupons, which I'll be sure to take advantage of.  The paper in the picture might look a bit disheveled--I believe an item or two tarnished the final package I received, but the coupons are still definitely useable!

This nourishing newbie also received an ice cream maker from Santa, so the vanilla bean came in just the (St.) 'nick of time.  Can't wait to share more nourishing tips with you all in 2011.

Happy New Year!

One Step at a Time

It's been a while since I've posted.  As I'm still trying to hone in on the focus of this blog, I've taken a break to let my mind consider where I want this to go.  However, there have been lots of ideas brewing in my head and this one, I just wanted to go ahead and share.

When the thought occurs to you that you'd like to have a more healthful home with fresher, organic, or higher-quality products in your pantry or refrigerator, it oft times feels like "I must do this all at once!"  The overwhelming feeling that you must rid or clear your pantry or fridge of all-things-evil can consume you and rob you of any of the joy that does come with gradually transitioning your kitchen into a place of healthy, domestic bliss.  I've come to realize changes do not happen overnight, and often times, the best changes may take place over a long period of time (think, falling in love with your spouse, being pregnant, learning a language ... all of those things take time but are well worth it!).

One area that I've wanted to redo in my kitchen pantry are the types of products I let reside there.  In this case, my spices.  Since I've actually cooked more now this past year than I ever have in my life, all the spices I've acquired over the last few years are actually starting to run out.  Never in my adult life have I ever come to this point!  Beforehand, I moved too much to keep up with my spices and would start over, or I will willingly admit that I ate many boxed mixes of foods or convenience foods out on the go, and spices weren't much of a mainstay.  However, now that I'm a full-time stay-at-home-mom (SAHM for the savvy online mommas), I cook a lot more.

I've come to learn that organic, non-irradiated spices are the best quality.

From OrganicConsumers.org:

"'Virtually all conventional spices sold in the United States are fumigated [sterilized] with hazardous chemicals that are banned in Europe,' [Thomas Fricke, cofounder and president of ForesTrade, an organic spice company in Brattleboro, Vermont] says. 'And they may be produced in a manner that is destructive to the ecosystems where they're grown.' This includes cultivating spices on clear-cut lands and treating them with pesticides.

As a consequence, spices may be contaminated with pesticide residues and with genetically modified ingredients; almost 10 percent are irradiated as well."  

Thus, as I run out of my irradiated spices, I'm opting to replace them with organic, non-irradiated spices instead.  So far I've replaced my Vanilla, several times, with Simply Organic's Vanilla or Frontier co-op's version.  You can find Simply Organic coupons here.  There are also coupons for Frontier co-op products (spices, extracts, etc.) in the Fall 2010 Healthy Clippings booklet, available at Nutrition S'mart in Tampa or Wesley Chapel.  

In the Tampa area, I've found these products at Sweetbay Supermarkets, and Nutrition S'mart.  As I live about 30 minutes away from the closest Whole Foods or Greenwise Publix, I do not get to shop there often, but I'd be almost 100% certain they carry these lines as well.

So, unless you've found yourself winning the lottery, or are on a crusade to clear out every non-organic spice you have in the pantry, give yourself a break and gradually redo your pantry with non-irradiated, organic spices as you see the need.  Your pocketbook & mental and physical health will thank you.

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And then, be like me, and try to win a set of 50 organic spices & seasonings!  All you need do is submit a picture of yourself using a Simply Organic or Frontier co-op picture by November 15.  Sounds easy enough!  The link also includes $1 off a Frontier product!  SWEET :D

Saving money, being healthy

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If you're like me, you're interested in making the healthiest choices for your family at the lowest cost.  Short of making your own cleaning products--which I'm totally interested in but haven't tackled yet--one of my favorite brands to use in the home is Seventh Generation.  I love that they offer various types of products: paper, baby, kitchen, all-purpose, etc., and that they regularly offer coupons!

If you are not part of Seventh Generation nation, go check out their website. You can print each coupon twice in the given time period, and they refresh them periodically, so you should always go back to their website and see what coupons are new!

Now, if you really want to maximize your savings, wait to use these coupons for when the products go on sale at your local grocery, discount, or health food store!  (Tip courtesy of Meli @ Purely Saving!) You'll feel so good knowing you're using products in your home that do clean without dangerous chemicals!