Crazy Cravings

It amazes me how some days I can think about iced tea, coffee, or a slew of other things endlessly. Even after weeks of being caffeine free I will still crave it and bad. I don't think I'm craving the caffeine as much as the experience of grabbing a cup on the way to church, or getting an icy cold coffee drink before heading to our weekly homeschool group. Some days are better then others. One day I will think about it nonstop, the next day it won't even cross my mind. I guess my body has been in such a habit of having it that it's going to take quite some time to get used to my new normal. The biggest thing I have been trying to do is not giving in when I'm craving it. Instead I just tell myself that I'll have it the next day if it still sounds good… of course I usually have a bit more willpower the following day and won't have such a stung urge.

I like how much self control I'm being taught through this, but the reality is that it can be hard. I have some bad habits that I'm trying to break and some are easier to to shake then others. I haven't been in a drive thru in weeks, that was an easy one to give up since we would go mainly for convince. But other things like Starbucks stops and desserts I tend to miss a lot more… Speaking of desserts, I never really considered myself a big sweets person, but let me tell you something, as soon as I took took the option of having them off the table my desire for them was kicked up a notch! Talk about the forbidden fruit syndrome!

I really like the idea of saving my splurging for when it really counts, like the dinner I had last week with some good friends at Pizzeria Mozza… mmmm worth every single bite!

Oh great, now I want pizza, and fried cauliflower, oh and some butterscotch bunion.  Goodnight.

-Bre

Listening to my body.....

Insert foot in mouth. I see this starting to be a theme for me during this journey. There are multiple things that I am doing that Ive totally picked on someone for doing before. I like to tease, roll my eyes and goof around about stuff...especially "health nut" stuff.

see, we're goofy :)

One that stands out to me is when one of my friends had a headache or pain of some kind and when I asked "why don't you just take some Tylenol?" they said "I'm listening to my body."  I remember thinking "oh gosh here we go..... just take a pain killer and get it over with!" She explained that she didn't want to just kill the pain because she wanted to figure out what was causing the pain rather then just keep taking medicine to mask it. She's learned things about her body this way and was able to fix the source many times. It made sense but still seemed like the much harder way of doing things.

I guess I've been a bit impatient at times and not willing to take the time to "listen to my body". But, during this journey I have learned this is exactly what I need to do! Like with most things in life... the longer road and the one that needs patience and endurance is usually best and most rewarding.

Two examples of this...

1. Listing to my tummy. The fact that I've pulled back on almost all fast food has allowed me to actually feel when my body likes or doesn't like something. I can eat a certain food now and almost instantly know I'm sensitive to it and I might need to cut back on that a bit or a lot. I'm learning! I'm listening to my body and what makes it function best. Its kinda neat what you can notice when your gut isn't constantly lined with processed food!

2. Listening to my body. As I mentioned before I deal with restless leg syndrome(RLS).... it started getting very aggressive, strangely aggressive. Its not uncommon that it keeps me up for 2 hours or so when its bad but it recently was keeping me up 4-6 hours after I got in bed. That is quite frustrating and exhausting to deal with. I knew there had to be something agitating it which caused me to start adjusting my supplements. With a bit of patience and adjusting my supplement time frames I figured out that the Tyrosine was it! Once I took it in the morning and stopped taking the afternoon dose I found my RLS was much more mild! Hooray! I listened!

Learning patience is icing on this healthy journey's cake! Oh and I better be careful because Im already drinking dandelion root drink so all my "health nut" teasing might be coming to an end soon. Stink, it was kinda fun.

-Kristin

Coconut Oil Hair and Face Mask

Have you ever noticed how as soon as you start making little changes with how you're eating or working out it tends to lead to bigger changes? For instance just a few weeks ago I started by cutting caffeine, adding a few supplements, and then before I knew it I was buying kombucha and slathering coconut oil all over my face and hair. The jury is still out about the kombucha but I can say the coconut oil is downright amazing.

I have skin that is pretty sensitive. Every face wash I've used at a drug store has made me either really dry, cracking, and flaky or too oily. I finally broke down and bought some decent face wash and lotion at Sephora about 6 months ago, it had great reviews and ended up costing me about $60. It didn't make me oily and my skin didn't dry out, but it also didn't do anything to improve the look or feel of my skin (and for $60 it better be doing something good!). I decided to try coconut oil on my face and hair since I kept hearing such great things about it, and I already had everything at home so it didn't involve any added expenses. 

First up my hair. I put a few heaping spoonfuls of organic coconut oil into a small bowl. Then I filled a small pot with about 1 inch of water and brought it to a light simmer.

When the water was warm I put the bowl into the pot (make sure the water isn't hight enough to go inside the small bowl). The water doesn't need to be very hot at all, coconut oil melts at a very low temperature so be careful not to overheat it.

After less then a minute it was completely melted and ready to be used. The oil should NOT be hot, double check to make sure it's not too warm before putting it on your head.

Once it was melted I started putting it on my hair, working form the ends all the way up. I ended up leaving it on for over an hour. When it was time to wash it off I shampooed my hair twice, added conditioner (though you may not need it). I quickly dried my hair and I was really surprised with how soft it made my hair, even my ends that are damaged from bleaching were so much softer and smoother. Another bonus, my crazy thick hair wasn't frizzy at all.

I used the leftover coconut oil to make a face mask. I mixed it with an equal amount of organic raw honey. You'll only need about 2 tablespoons total to cover your whole face and neck.

Keep stirring until it's mixed together nicely. Once it's all mixed together put it all over your face like you would with face wash. Then let it sit for about 5-10 minutes...

After about 5 minutes it was already melting and sliding off my face. You'll know it's time to wash it off as soon as it gets to the point where it looks like someone sneezed all over your face (which you'll see below, along with my hair looking all greasy from the coconut oil on it)

Yep. It looks really disgusting but it actually worked great. It's very moisturizing without being greasy. You can make this mixture and leave it in a container, it will last for months and months. If you need something with a bit more exfoliation you can mix in some baking soda. This is all I've used over the last week and I haven't even needed to add lotion. 

I would love to hear if anyone else has some favorite natural skin/hair care tips? 

-Brianne

Am I dropping pounds?

...... I don't know! I have probably lost some, my clothes fit a bit better. But, I have not weighed myself since we started this journey. This just shows me how different THIS thing is for me. Whenever I would diet I would be on the scale every day or once a week. I would be trying on different clothes to see if something was a bit less "muffin top" looking... and wine big time if it didn't.

Don't get me wrong, I DO hope I drop pounds, I really really do. But, me and Brianne were both talking today and even if weight loss goes very slowly we still feel good! Having the main desire in this journey to be healthy and heal our bodies is really pulling us past that. The fact that we know we have been slowly creating better habits with our food, supplements, exercise and mentality about this is very encouraging. The fact that we know we are feeding our families better is amazing.

So, will I do a wee happy dance if I loose weight? I sure will. But I can honestly say, I'm willing to be more patient about seeing results in my weight since we are trying to make a lifestyle change here! In efforts to take care of our insides and slowly changing our habits, it will inevitably effect our weight too.

Oh and I bought a new pan this week. Me, Kristin, bought a roasting pan. That's nut! Even crazier, I'm gonna use it. Ahh!

Ummmmm..... can you tell its kinda impossible for me and Brianne to take a normal picture together? I'm going to try again this week, but I doubt it will work. She makes fun of me, I laugh, you know the deal.

- Kristin

Recipe: GP's Go-To Tomato Sauce

I will be the first to admit that I was beyond skeptical when Gwyneth Paltrow started coming out with cookbooks, I mean how can someone that skinny make a recipe that tastes good? Well, I was wrong. I have both of her cookbooks, My Father's Daughter (amazing fish tacos), and It's All Good- which is the healthier of the 2 cookbooks. I've actually made more recipes from It's All Good, I find them interesting and healthy but still yummy.

Tonight for dinner I'm making her "Go-To Tomato Sauce", which also happens to be my go-to sauce these days. I make it year round, in the summer we have it on thinly sliced zucchini, in the winter I like it on quinoa pasta with a little sausage for spice. It's a nice, basic sauce that is simple and delicious.

 Gwyneth Paltrows Go-To Tomato Sauce

2 Tbl extra virgin olive oil

6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (I use 8-10 depending on size)

4 large fresh basil leaves

Two 28oz cans whole peeled tomatoes with their juice (I use Pomi boxed tomatoes, I find them to be less acidic then canned tomatoes, you could always just add a pinch of sugar to your sauce if it's too acidic)

Salt & pepper

Heat olive oil in large sauce pan over low heat. add the garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add 2 of the basil leaves and cook for 1 minute. Add all the tomatoes and their juice along with the other 2 basil leaves, turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. As soon as it boils turn the heat to low, add salt and pepper, and cook for 45 minutes. I used chopped tomatoes, but if you used whole tomatoes just break them down with a wooden spoon as it cooks. 

Tonight we'll be having it over quinoa pasta but here is a picture from one of our summer meals, I could eat this every day when it's warm out! GP's tomato sauce, chopped sausage, thinly sliced and sautéed zucchini (this tool is a must!), and a bit of freshly grated parmesan cheese on top. So good! You have to try it!

*Quick little side note- gluten free pastas can be tricky. If you're not careful it'll come out gummy, overcooked, and not very eatable. I've noticed that if I cook it in plenty of water, and I'm very careful not to overcook it (it needs to stay a bit firm), then people don't even notice the difference.

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!
-Bre

Day 5 of No Caffeine......

To give you perspective, I drank anywhere from 2-10 cups of coffee a day. It was caffeinated and I poured in the "foofoo" creamer pretty heavily. I never really drink coffee to wake up, I just love the ambiance and taste. It went well with breakfast, a book, doing school...etc.

As you know, since I already posted my reasons why, I decided to move to decaf coffee.

Photos from our fam shoot with Logan Cole

I drank decaf for one day before changing my mind on that too. Ya see, I was still putting in all my foofoo creamer. I do NOT like plain "black" coffee. The sugar, let alone amount of calories I was racking in every time I drank a cup, was silly business. I did not look into the following concerns but just the tone of them added to my change. I was told multiple times that I should read about the amount of caffeine that is still in decaf and some people were concerned about the process of making coffee decaf...soaking in chemicals and needing to make sure I was choosing "clean decaf". People have opinions and concerns about everything so I would want to look into those myself eventually but the sugar thing alone made me switch since i don't like the taste of coffee unless there is a truck load of sweetness added to it.

The same day I posted about starting to drink decaf an Instagram buddy, @FiveChicksWellness, posted about Dandy Blend . I of course slightly rolled my eyes and put this in the "health nut" category in my mind. But then curiosity got the best of me and I went to their site and read about it..... which kinda, accidentally, maybe made me buy some. I got it in a couple days ago and really think its.......yum! I can drink it plain or when I feel I want a treat I add a wee bit of "Sugar in the Raw"! It tastes good and looks a lot like coffee and has a similar fullness to it. Go to their site and read about it... all the minerals in it and health benefits. So, here I am this morning drinking a wonderful cup of dandelion root herb drink....who am I and what alien took over my body? Do i still have rights to make fun of health nuts?

Here is the crazy thing... i have had NO headaches. Not one. How did I go from drinking 2-10 cups of  caffeinated coffee a day to none at all and not suffer from a headache? I have a little theory... #1. I did drink a days worth of decaf coffee, maybe there was enough caffeine still in it to have a slight weening effect? #2. I have already been taking a supplement called "Tyrosine" for 2 weeks before I quit caffeine. Come to find out, this supplement is given to help aid people going off caffeine cold turkey to help avoid headaches! #3. Dandy blend claims "There are no headaches or other withdrawal symptoms when switching from coffee to Dandy Blend". Not sure if it was one or a combination of them all, but I have been SHOCKED at how easy it has been for me to give this up.

Balance.... As of now I have decided that in my home I want to be caffeine free to help my body do its thing. I have also decided that I'm totally up for having coffee as a treat here and there while out with friends, at a guests house.... road trip, etc. This can always change, but this is where I'm at for now.

Oh and Ill keep coffee at my house too so if you're a guest, I still got you covered, but I wont have foofoo creamer on hand :)


-Kristin

Happy New Year! Making Resolutions

Something about it being a new year makes me get ambition and start setting lofty goals and resolutions. I do it almost every year, it's fun and gets me excited about trying something new and it will sometimes even get me motivated to do thing I've put off for so long. I remember last year my goals consisted of things like reading certain books, travel plans, working out more often… There were other resolutions on the list but I don't remember them, and sometime over the last year my list got thrown away. Oops. This year instead of making a bunch of resolution and setting goals I'm just going to work on sticking with what I have already committed to doing, I know that will be easier said then done at times.

I had to go to the grocery store today and since it was New Years day I thought I'd try a couple new things.  First up, since I'm now on a quest to find natural sugar substitutes I thought I would try this organic coconut palm sugar from Sprouts Market, I heard Five Chicks Wellness mention it on Instagram one time. I also just ordered Dandy Blend which is a coffee and tea substitute that is caffeine free, I'll try my new coconut sugar in that. When you give up pretty much every beverage except water you get really excited about stuff like dandelion herbal beverages. I'll keep you posted!

Next up is Kaboucha. Yep I said it, and if you google image this stuff it looks like the most disturbing drink ever made. I know people healthier and smarter then me that convinced me to give this a try (thank you Katie and Bonnie!). It's been around forever (the original stuff, not the fancy ones I got) and the ancient Chinese called it the "immortal health elixir". It's supposed to be great for detoxification, helps your gut and digestion, immune booster, and many other things. I'm not quiet ready to make it myself at home, for now I'll start with these handy pre-made ones from Sprouts (even though it's way  cheaper to make it).

I'd love to hear if anyone else out there drinks kombucha and if you've noticed any improvements from it. Happy New Year to all!

-Brianne