Monday's Meals

During the first weekend in August there is a huge street fair/food fair/art and music festival in town. Just like every year my family and I went to check out all the wonderful sights, sounds and flavors. Little did we know that waiting for us at the fair was one very small booth that would alter our life path forever. 

Walking down the street looking at all the wares and whatnot on display, we were stopped with the question, "Do you have back or neck pain?" What resulted from that was joining a chiropractic group (Maximized Living,) that does so much more then adjustments of your spine. They also do adjustments of your lifestyle. Did you know that we are designed to live well into our 100s. So why as a nation are we so sick and dying in our 70s?

Back in August, my husband and I both discovered that our spines are in bad shape (literally). I was not too surprised about that since I had been suffering with chronic pain since my teens. What did surprise me was just how bad it was. So we both decided that it was not something to put off and signed up on the spot. We also discovered That there are 5 essentials of a Maximized life. Besides having a spine that is aligned to allow for maximum nerve signals to go out into your body there are 4 more principles to get you back to optimum health. They are your mindset, your nutrition, your exercise and reducing your exposure to toxins. 

This brings me to Mondays theme. Monday's Meals, is my chance to share some of the the very different and yet amazingly yummy dishes that we have started eating in our household this past month. You may notice that this meal plan is quite similar to the paleo diets out there with one HUGE difference. Absolutely NO sugar. None. Not even honey or Maple. Heavens even most fruits, especially all those delicious ones that are in season now. What does that leave? Berries, green apples and Stevia. This very strict no sugar rule is not forever it is just for the detoxification period. Believe me it is a detoxification period. There were some very dark days there at the beginning. 

The very first challenge was finding some breakfast options. I love breakfast, but eggs get boring really fast for me. Plus sometime I just want the ease of a fast cereal breakfast. The following is actually two cereal options that I found to be delicious when combined. 

The first is a Granola, minus the grain or "Nola." The second I call candy bar cereal because it smells just like a "Mounds" candy bar when you are making it. 

Ingredients: 

The first the "Nola" is very simple, 

1/4 cup whole flax seeds
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup raw almonds
1/4 cup raw walnuts
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Grind the nuts and seeds in a food processor or blender then add the cinnamon. Serve with whole raw, organic milk or almond milk.

Very important for the nuts to be raw though. You should not eat roasted, because the nut oil goes rancid in high heat.

 The second cereal: Candy Bar Cereal--

1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp Stevia
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract.

Heat coconut milk and cocoa powder on stove over low heat. When mixed remove from heat and add Stevia and vanilla, blend again then add shredded coconut. Spread mixture in a thin layer on a baking sheet.
Bake for 20-25 min at 350 degrees. Stirring at 10 minutes. Make sure it does not burn. Store in an airtight container.

Once the Candy Bar cereal has cooled I combine the two--

And serve 1/2 to 1 cup with raw whole milk--

Yummy breakfast and kid approved. Enjoy!

Many blessings to you on this fine day--Kate

Sabbath Sunday

Sundays will be no more then a small moment of reflection, a scripture verse and maybe a photo. Mostly Sundays will be a Sabbath, "to rest," and time spent with my family. 

The psalm in church this morning was Psalm 80. A plea from the people of Israel for God to restore their mighty nation. They look around their nation and they realize that they are in some serious trouble. They are surrounded by those who wish evil and war upon them. They are turning to the Lord with their tear stained faces and begging him, "Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved." (Psalm 80:3)

Many blessings to you on this fine day--Kate

Saturday's Surprises

So Saturday's theme is one that I am very excited about. What I have in store for Saturdays is an opportunity to practice a life of gratitude. I am much to inclined to climb into my own head or cocoon myself with my family's day to day business. I am very much an "out of sight, out of mind," kind of person. If it does not orbit in my current world I place it in the metaphorical box labeled "To be pursued when I have more time." That day will never arrive if I do not do something about it.

So my plan is to use this day as a chance to show gratitude in all areas of my live, but especially for those areas that need to be brought out of the box and dusted off a bit. This may mean a hand written letter to a long lost friend, finally finishing and returning projects that have been entrusted to me, meeting with a loved one to catch up or sending a special treasure that brought someone dear to mind.

Of course that being said this particular Saturday is more about a surprise that I experienced today. Today I was lucky enough to attend a seminar that was being hosted by our local Maximized Living Clinic,Summit Family Chiropractic, called "Cancer Killers" (Monday's Post will be more about Maximized Living.) The seminar was amazing and gave very practical tips and tools to help one become a Cancer Killer. I will share what I have learned, I promise, but what I want to share today is two pieces of information that were the most surprising.

First, I learned that 1 in 2 men will be diagnosed with cancer and 1 in 3 women. What that means is that between my brother and my husband one of them will get cancer and between my sister-in-law, my sister and myself one of us will get diagnosed with cancer. Those are terrifying odds and to be honest I am not okay with that. I am not okay with anyone I love getting cancer again. We see these statistics and we are shocked, but if we are honest with ourselves our very first thought is "that is terrible, but it will not happen to me." My question to you is, "What are you doing to ensure that it will not be you?" If your answer is "nothing," then really it is just wishful thinking, with odds like those.

So, the second thing I learned is something that all of us can put into practice starting now. Did you know that ONE minute of anger or frustration or negative thinking suppresses your immune system for THREE hours. It takes your body 3 hours to recover from 1 minute of unhappiness. On the other hand THREE minutes of gratitude can boost your immune system for TWENTY FOUR hours. If you wake in the morning and literally spend 3 minutes counting your blessings, finding moments of joy, you can increase your immunity for a full day.

Let's live in Joy! Grab hold of those moments of gratitude and share them.

Many blessings to you on this fine evening--Kate

First and Favorite Fridays

Here we are on a lovely fall Friday. I can not believe how much of the day has already pasted. We have had special visitors this morning-afternoon. Some very near neighbors, who we were able to spend a delightful summer with, are moving today. The littlest members of the family have been here so mom and dad can pack up the truck. It is a sad loss for our family, the kids have become wonderful friends and I was only just beginning to make a new friend myself. 

So now I find myself nearing the second half of our day with a to do list nearly unchanged. Actually, it is also yesterday's to do list, because yesterday was also filled with distraction. Yesterday's distractions were of my own making. Mostly trying to get things organized with this blog and find a way to connect it to Facebook. It ended up being an easy enough task once I actually found the information on how to do it. The search is what took much to long. 

The second, and much more pleasant, distraction leads me to today's theme, First and Favorite Fridays.
This is my chance to learn or do something new, or share some of my favorite things. My first for today is my first shipment of Young Living Essential Oils.

I have no doubt that there are as many opinions about essential oils as there are oils to choose from. Honestly I would love to hear them all. You think oils are crazy, you think they are amazing. You are a dyed in the wool Young Living user, you prefer a different brand or perhaps you have questions of your own. I want to hear all your thoughts.

It was not a quick decision to start using oils. A local friend was posting really interesting information on Facebook. So I started doing some research of my own. Then my friend invited me to an intro class and I was so impressed with what oils could do and the amazing smells. I was especially interested in the uses for allergies and colds. I still was not ready though, our family was already embarking on a pretty major lifestyle change, (which I will share more about on Monday.) I also wanted to get a better idea about the options out there and find out a bit more about the company, Young Living, itself. Then a major stomach virus hit our family and seemed to linger for a very long time. I decided that was strong motivation to see if these oils really could help keep my household clean and healthy. 

I was so excited to get my first box and have already found many excuses to try out different oils. I was not sure what I wanted to use in the diffuser first, then I burned some food on the stove and filled the house with stinky smoke. I quickly opened the windows to air it all out then put some Purification in the diffuser. Within 5 minutes the air smelled clean and fresh. Later in the day my oldest babe fell in the driveway and ended up with banged up hands. A few drops of Lavender oil and the redness and pain were gone. My youngest has a super sensitive diaper area and a few drops of Frankincense in coconut oil and the redness is gone and the healing has begun. I ended the day with a sore, tired neck and shoulders and tried out the Panaway. What a wonderful smell and the pain was soothed almost immediately. Some Peace and Calming in the diffuser at night and on the bottom of feet and the kids are quickly out. In fact soon after the water ran out and the diffuser shut off in the middle of the night my youngest woke up, (could have just been a coincidence.) In the morning my oldest had a bit of a stuffy nose and so I put some Thieves in the diffuser in case we had a cold on the way. Then a few drop of Thieves also went into the dishwasher.

As you can see I am very much enjoying this first journey into the world of oils. I look forward to more new discoveries and to be honest just more fun with these great smelling new treats. This first of my Firsts and Favorites for Fridays, will rapidly fit into both categories I am sure.

We will see you back here again tomorrow when I reveal what I have planned for Saturdays. 

Many blessings to you on this fine Friday--Kate

The Start of Something New

I do not know what it is about the fall, but it always seems to be the season when I want to try new things, or finish up some old things. No spring cleaning for this gal, fall is the time to get things in order. Spiff things up and then settle in for winter. The problem is I am a big dreamer, but not so great on the follow through. Which means I have a lot of projects and ideas in various stages of completion. So I'll admit it I need a project accountability partner. That is where this blog comes in. I have come up with a theme for everyday of the week, to help me stay focused on my goals. (I may be overestimating my abilities here thinking that I will be able to write everyday, but here goes.) To begin with I shall reveal each day's theme as I come to it. Otherwise this first day will be one long entry.

So today is Thursday's Things. This is a chance for me to thin out the clutter. I have a lot of "clutter". I have been a hoarder in the making for many, many years. I would see something and think, "I could make something out of that," and into the pile it would go. I improved a little bit when I had my babies. Not near so much going into piles, but unfortunately there is not nearly enough going out of them either. The remedy? A day of the week where things have to go. 

I have already been working pretty hard on that. As I mentioned I like to do fall cleaning. So already several large bags have left the house for both garbage and donate destinations. Then there are the items that mean a bit more. Like the following. A set of napkin rings that were once my Grandmother's. My family is not a formally set dining room kind of family. We also do not host often enough for me to justify keeping an item that could be well loved and used in another home. So here is this Thursday's Thing.

 They are not out of the house yet, but it is in the works. 

I look forward to tomorrow, when I shall reveal what Friday's have in store for us. 

Many blessings to you on this fine day. --Kate

When Baby Makes the Schedule

Let me tell you there are times when it is very hard to work for a church, one of those times are when you are pregnant and the baby has not been born on the exact day the doctors say you are due. Now suddenly everyone looks at you mystified and demands. "Where's the baby." Like I somehow have a say in the matter and I am intentionally delaying the baby. As if we somehow stepped into some twilight zone where all babies are born exactly when they are due and I am somehow messing with the system. I am so glad that everyone is excited for baby, I am excited too, but baby will come when she wants, and I am just fine with that.

February Brings New Life

It has been an exceedingly long time since I last wrote and it has not been for lack of material, or lack of time but probably for lack of commitment. It is just so much easier to check in on all of my friends and see how life is going for them, then it is to take the few minutes required to write what is new with me.

Quite a bit is new. Like working with a new pastor who I hate, then because of the new pastor doing a job which I love has become a struggle. I find that working with/or for (as I have been so informed) someone who is fake, cruel, manipulative, controlling and underhanded can be a little exhausting. I have also found that it manages to seep the joy out of other things which should be ever so joyous. Like the fact that my husband and I are pregnant and very soon to be expecting. Very soon as in next month. Pregnancy can be a roller coaster in the best of situations. These past 8 and a half months have taken lots of deep breathing exercises to let go of the pain, frustration and disappointment with work and to remember that there is a little miracle soon to enter our lives.