HOW DO I GET MY HEALTH BACK? START SMALL!

The holiday season is almost over and you feel SLUGGISH...you ate WAAAAYYY too much. You gained ALOT of weight.    Your clothes are SNUG.  You are dreading your doctor visit already because you know what he/she will say.  You feel completely OVERWHELMED and you just don't know where to BEGIN.  And to top it off, you hate the thought of exercise of any kind.  You don't feel like moving but yet you know you have to do something.

So what do you do?  Just like a small seed can grow into something worthwhile, you can achieve your health goals by STARTING SMALL.  

1.  YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO SOMETHING BIG TO SEE BIG RESULTS:  You don't have to go and get brand new work out clothes and shoes or join a gym.  You don't have to eat salads everyday, etc. to achieve results.  START WHERE YOU ARE.  Make a small change and grow from there.  How about focusing on getting a good night's sleep?  What about eating more (NOT ONLY) vegetables?  What about taking a walk after dinner (no new shoes required)?  Try doing something small and over time you will see results!

2.  DON'T GO SPENDING MONEY ON THE LATEST AND GREATEST DIETS/GADGETS ETC.  You already know what to do.  You know vegetables are better for you then donuts, so start there.  You don't want to give up the donuts completely?  Then don't, just eat less donuts and more vegetables. You already know that exercise is good for you, so just start walking for as long as you are able.  Walking a little is better then nothing.

3.  THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO BEGIN:  You have to start somewhere.  You have to actually begin.  You may need to support.  Having a buddy is great, someone to support you while trying to make a change.  Try looking for someone who is already meeting their health goals and try to enlist their help and support.  They can be a good resource for encouragement and tips.  So no more procrastination, just get up and start!

4.  DIET IS WHERE THE CHANGE WILL OCCUR:  You can not outperform a poor diet, is a popular saying.  It is very true.  Although, you may see results with a good workout plan, in order to see better and lasting results having a good diet is important.  This does not mean that you have to stop eating everything that you currently know and love.  Instead of thinking that you have to diet, trying thinking of it as adding healthy choices to what you are currently doing.  This makes for a win win situation.  Overtime you may gravitate toward the healthy items because you like how they make you feel.  The healthy items will give you the fuel that you need in order to get the best results from a workout or to function in general.  It is not normal to have to take medicine in order to digest your food.  It is not normal to always feed bad after a meal.  If you are having these issues you should consider examining what you eat.

SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?  THE NEXT MOVE IS YOURS.

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Stock up on Cranberries Now!

Now they're everywhere and cheap. I usually buy about 5 bags to last until next year. I occasionally make cranberry sauce. But I mostly use them to put in my smoothie bags.

Note: They're EXTREMELY BITTER so a little goes along way.

The Holidays Are Coming...Are You Ready?

Tonight we did a Healthy Holiday Cooking/Eating event at SonRISE Therapy.  We are so grateful for Dr. Sonja Shavers for letting us come and teach a class.  Here are a few tips from the evening:

1. Eat Only The Foods You Desire
2. Prepare and Have a Plan for out of town visits.  Where will you or what will you eat on those non-holiday days?
3. Eat slowly/savor your food.
4. Bring something that you know you can eat to the event
5. Plus many more tips and ideas...

Great Documentaries about Health

GOOD ONES TO WATCH

CNBC Originals: One Nation Overweight

Fed Up

Fat Sick and Nearly Dead

Forks Over Knives

Food Matters

Hungry For Change

Killer At Large Gerson Miracle

Soul Food Junkies

 

OTHERS

Forks Over Knives Presents: The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue

To Market to Market to Buy a Fat Pig

King Corn

Vegucated

Colony (about why bees are imp.)

A River of Waste

Save The Farm

Food Beware : The French Organic Revolution

Tapped

Bag It

Dive

The Garden

Farmageddon

NOT ON NETFLIX

Supersize Me

Why Christians Get Sick book written by george malkmus

Wheat Belly book by Dr. Davis or visit his website a thttp://www.wheatbellyblog.com/

Chow Down at http://www.hulu.com/#!search?q=chow+down

https://www.youtube.com/user/thetruthaboutcancer

Gardening Tip: How To Plant (Grow) Sweet Potatoes Using A Sweet Potatoe...Making Slips

Step One:  Begin this process about a month or two before planting (~January/February).  Start by taking a sweet potato and cutting off about a inch of the bottom. 

Add the cut sweet potato to a cup of water.  Use toothpicks to keep the entire potato from falling into the water.

Step Two:  Place the cup where you would any indoor plant and make sure the water level stays high enough to touch the sweet potato (see picture below). Note the stringy hairs that are growing at the bottom of the sweet potato.  

Also note the important sprouts that are coming out of the top of the sweet potato. This is the beginning formation of your sweet potato plants that you will plant in your garden once they become larger. (~end of March/beginning April or a little later, check guide below).

Step Three:  Cut off the individual plants/slips and plant in your garden as you would any other transplant/seedling.  

Step Four:  The plant will need water, sunlight, and weeding just like any other garden plant.  

Note: The sweet potato plant is very "viney" so you will need lots of room for each plant.  Also you can eat/cook the green leaves as your potato plant grows, just pick some of the leaves from time to time.

Step Five:  Harvest at the beginning of October.  For larger potatoes let them stay in the ground up until Thanksgiving. Perfect time to have these potatoes around the holidays.



Note:  This information should work for those who live in plant zones 7-11. Please verify your zone to be sure.

 More Information on growing sweet potatoes

Real Food Is Real Good web page

Healthy Eating: Leading By Example

Our kids may not like or want to eat healthy.  They may bark at all the vegetables and downright refuse to eat them.  Even if that is the case we still have to show them the right way.  There are a lot of things our kids do not want do willingly.  Yes, it can be hard and frustrating.  

But we have to remember that we are their teachers.  They learn how to do a lot of things from us.  They even learn how and what to eat from us.  I know they may eat a lot of junk food now and getting them to eat a carrot almost takes a miracle.  

Even so, we have to keep at it because when they are adults they will remember.  They will remember the dishes you cooked, you know the ones they hate now.  They will remember the foods you purchased.  They will remember the fruit laying on the table. While they may not do all the things you taught or showed them, some of the things will stick.  So be encouraged and keep offering them the good things too, even if they don't want it.  

Keep offering them those healthy foods, drinks, etc. they will eventually take a sip. 

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Proverbs 22:6

6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Real Food Is Real Good webpage

Great Snack: Kale Chips

Found these chips at Kroger on Hwy 96. They were pretty good. Be warned they are pretty expensive, around 6 dollars.

Healthy Snack: Peanut Butter with Apples, Bananas, and Strawberries

Try this healthy snack using our homemade peanut butter (see pg.100 in our cookbook).  

This would also be a great after workout snack to share with a friend. Don't/can't eat peanut butter? Swap peanut butter for another nut butter like almond butter or leave it out entirely.   

Optional:  Top with cinnamon

Real Food Is Real Good webpage

Check Out This List Of Movies To Learn More About Your Food

Below are a list of movies that have some good information. You probably won't agree with everything that is identified in these movies, but there will be lots of time when you will say "hmmm", when you will scratch your head, and when your mouth will drop from the shock. 

Become enlightened about your food!

I tried to compile a list of movies that are on Netflix, but some of the movies may no longer be there. If a movie is not on Netflix now then try the other movies on this list, there are plenty of others to watch.

GOOD ONES TO WATCH

Fat Sick and Nearly Dead

Food Matters

Killer At Large Gerson Miracle

Hungry For Change

CNBC Originals: One Nation Overweight

Fed Up
Forks Over Knives
Supersize Me

MORE MOVIES TO WATCH

Forks Over Knives Presents: The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue

To Market to Market to Buy a Fat Pig

King Corn
Vegucated
Colony (about why bees are imp.)

A River of Waste

Save The Farm

Food Beware : The French Organic Revolution

Tapped

Bag It

Dive

The Garden

Farmageddon

MISC. AND NOT ON NETFLIX

Food Inc.-This is one of those movies that seems to come and go on Netflix.  If its not there you might try a video store or try purchasing from Ebay or Amazon

Why Christians Get Sick book written by George Malkmus


WATCH NOW ONLINE

Chow Down- watch on Hulu. You will prompted to watch an ad before viewing movie

Genetic Roulette - click here for preview

From the Freezer To Your Plate

Healthy food can be convenient.  When you cook your dishes try to make extra and freeze individually so you can have a quick meal for those times when you do not feel like cooking.  Many healthy foods freeze well so plan to make extra whenever you have an opportunity, to help keep you on track.

Below is a Cauliflower pizza made with leftover pizza crust and hamburger patties that were frozen separately.  I added some other leftovers and in less than 5 minutes I had a great meal.  Bon Appetit!

What's On The Plate:  Snap peas, Cauliflower Pizza Crust-pg. 28 with leftover hamburger patty -pg. 26 (see pic below) and leftover sauteed onions and bell peppers topped with a little salsa, Collard green salad-pg. 35, orange slices and lime water.

Frozen Cauliflower crust and frozen hamburger patty.

Real Food Is Real Good webpage

Seed Exchange of Central Georgia....What Is It?

Below is a little bit about The Seed Exchange

"The Seed Exchange of Central Georgia is committed to increasing our ability to feed ourselves wholesome food by exchanging open pollinated and heirloom seeds in our community.  Through the time-honored tradition of seed saving/sharing, we are helping in the preservation of growing healthy foods from seed to table.  We are promoting the exchange of plant varieties that have proven their long term use in our local area."

Visit their Facebook page Seed Exchange of Central Georgia for more information.

If you are a gardener stop by the International City Farmers' Market on Thursday to learn more and pick up a seed or two to grow in you very own garden.

Planting a seed in my garden from the Seed Exchange

Eating At A Restaurant: Golden Corral....The Buffet Restaurant Tip

Whenever I go to a buffet restaurant I ALWAYS fill up on a salad first.  It keeps you from over doing it on poor choices.  However, there are times when I do indulge on some of my favorite things. Usually I get a slice of pizza (a food I LOVE to eat but I try not to eat too much) and french fries.  So my salad beforehand keeps me from eating a plate of pizza and fries.  

Fries and Pizza my favorite foods.  I did not have pizza on this day because they were out of it when I went to get some.  I think that was a blessing in disguise. lol


Real Food Is Real Good webpage

What is a CSA? Community Supported Agriculture

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture

A CSA allows you to have a share in a community farm's harvest.  All you need to do is find a CSA farm and determine how many shares you want and determine the pick up or drop off location.

For those of you who are local there are two great CSA opportunities with drop off locations at the International City Farmers' Market located at the corner of Watson and Davis, open on Thursdays from approximately 1 pm until dusk, year round.

CSA 1.  Local Lands (Organic Non-GMO) Farm!
(400 Mack Paul Rd, Wrightsville, GA 31096)

Website:www.locallands.net
Email:  foodbox@locallands.net or info@locallands.net
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/locallands
Phone:  478-227-3237

Their current CSA program for Spring-Summer runs from March 29th-July 30, 2015 (17 weeks)

Step 1:  Select the share you want
Step 2:  Shop for products via their newsletter or web-store
Step 3:  Determine your pick up location.

• Atlanta:  Marietta Square Market & Avondale Estates Market on Sunday
• Macon:  Mulberry Street Market on Wednesday
• Warner Robins:  International City Farmers' Market on Thursday (see above)

You can pay in full or pay monthly with a deposit.  The deposit will be equal to your last month of membership ($65 for half shares, $120 for full shares) and will be applied at the end of the season.  The deposit is non-refundable. (refund exemption for residence relocation i.e. military)

A half share will consist of 8 biweekly deliveries for $260
A full share will consist of 17 weekly deliveries for $510


CSA 2.  Evergreen East Farm
20044 U.S. 80 Danville, GA 31017

Email:  evergreeneastfarm@gmail.com
Website:  www.evergreeneastfarm.com

Contact:  David Green: 478-972-1198 or Karla:  478-972-4466

About Them:  A small family owned and operated farm located in Twiggs County between Jeffersonville and Danville.  They raise multiple species of livestock including cattle, hogs, sheep, and rabbits.  They are also cultivating a small orchard and garden as well.  Their goal is produce the healthiest meat in Middle Georgia.

Step 1:  Contact the farm (see above)

Step 2:  Choose which quantity of meat you prefer 8 lbs for 60 dollars or 16 lbs for 115 dollars.



For more information on how CSAs work click below
http://www.justfood.org/csa

Not local?  To find a CSA in your area click below
Type in your zipcode or city to find a local CSA

Real Food Is Real Good webpage

Team Work!

Food preparation and eating healthy can be challenging.  It can be especially challenging if your children do not want to eat foods from your new lifestyle.  

I know you are wanting to change your life and get healthy but the way to ensure your continued success is to include the entire family.  They don't have to eat all the things you do or work out to the degree that you are, but you do want to include the children so that they won't have to struggle with healthy living when they are adults.  

Prepping Collard Greens

Also if they help, then it makes healthy living so much easier. Sometimes I pay my children to help with the preparation and the cooking.  Sometimes they enjoy it and welcome the challenge, other times they bark and hate it.  (I don't always pay them but the extra cash can work as an incentive, other times it becomes apart of their regular non paid chores.) Trying to find a balance works best.  I look at it two-fold.  Its easier if all hands are on deck with everyone helping out and it also teaches them healthy living for their own personal lives.

Prepping Collard Greens

This doesn't mean they won't or can't eat their* foods but everyone participating occasionally works best for the entire family.

*Their, meaning some unhealthy foods that kids tend to lean toward.  Most kids are bombarded with unhealthy choices on a regular basis, so for some of us, it may be extremely difficult to ban these items completely.  We limit these foods and explain to our children about the nutritional information (or lack thereof) of these foods so that they can make informed decisions.

Real Food Is Real Good web page

Goals: How to Achieve Your Goals

Recently Tamara Sanders became a Half Fanatic (someone who finishes 2 half marathons within a certain amount of time).  (Shout out to Sophia and Trisha as well as many others on accomplishing this goal and Jackie for finishing the Albany Marathon.)

Tamara had a goal in mind.  She wanted to become a Half Fanatic.  Just like with any goal she had to: 

1.  Determine The Goal

Tamara decided she wanted to become a Half Fanatic.  She had many reasons for setting her sights on this goal...one of the reasons was getting her own race number.  When you participate in races having your own number is nice.  Also, knowing that you accomplished walking/running 13.1 miles says a lot about your health and fitness level.  When you make a goal, it generally is something you feel very passionate about.  If you are not passionate then continuing on to the next steps becomes very difficult.

2.  Create/Devise A Plan On How to Accomplish The Goal

When Tamara decided to do this she had to devise a plan.  She had to condition her body so that she could master walking/running 13.1 miles in under 4 hours.  She had to train.  She had to determine how much time she would set aside to do this training.  She also had to determine how many miles she needed to walk/run weekly in order to be able to be successful.  Lastly, she had to determine when she had to begin this training.

3.  Implement or Work the Plan

With all these plans laid out she had to get moving.  If she didn't, she would not have been able to participate.  If you have never walked a mile prior to race day and show up and think you will be able to walk or run a marathon you are mistaken.  You must work your plan.  If you don't you will never get to the next step.

4.  Achieve the Goal or Revise (usually repeating Steps 1-4 if necessary) 

When its time to do the marathon you may find that you need more training.  You may have to sign up for a future race instead.  You may find out that you are not as passionate about your goal. Because of the time you put into trying to achieve your goal you may find that you are interested in other things and this experience may help you learn of other goals you would rather achieve. Whatever the case you will be better for it if you do the work.

You may have a goal of wanting to loose weight, eating healthier, going back to school, or etc.  So if you have goals that you want to achieve follow the steps above to get there.  

Of course if you are interested in achieving a healthier lifestyle the authors of Real Food Is Real Good are here to help you!

Note:  Tamara followed a mostly vegan diet in preparation of these races.  She also dehydrated very well prior to the races as well.

What's your goal(s)?

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  2 Timothy 4:7

Watch the video below to see Tamara running toward the finishing line.

Real Food Is Real Good web page

Family Wellness Day and Farm Tour event by Keys to Life Wellness

This was a great event! We heard great testimonies of healing through food, learned how to make healthy living simple, had a farm tour, had a healthy lunch, learned how to make personal and health care items.

Jennifer Richard with Kantai Kitchen (teaches Homesteading Classes and catering for the Paleo Diet, GAPS, and other special needs diets) taught us how to make homemade salve and toothpaste.  She also gave us alot of product information to go along with her do-it-yourself tips.  It was great to hear from Melody Joy (Health and Wellness Coach with Keys to Wellness) she gave us some great information about health.  She also shared her family's food healing story.  Mrs. Naomi Davis (owner of Davis Farms) gave us a farm tour and also shared her healing story.  She even shared about her recent visit with President Obama. She was selected to tell about her positive experience with Obamacare.  While visiting the President she was also able to share with him the importance of farms like hers and its ability to be able to help the community.

Real Food Is Real Good web page

Take Care of Your Body!

Click here for video

                                         

Your body is your temple.  Take care of it, because your body is a gift from God.

"Ye are not your own: for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."—1 Corinthians 6:19-20

www.realfoodisrealgood.com

Great Snack: Snap Peas

www.realfoodisrealgood.com

A great snack option are snap peas.  Cook them or eat as snack.  They are sweet and makes for a great snack eaten raw.  Purchased these at our local farmer's market.  Give them a try.

We're So Excited!

We are so excited!  Last week we ran into a couple who purchased our cookbook and they told us that we were a great inspiration to them and helped them with their weight loss.  They both lost weight, the husband lost over 20 pounds! Wow.

We can not tell you how excited we were to talk to them about their results.  For this is our motivation,  helping others with their healthy living journey. We are so glad that God allowed us to be used in this manner.

www.realfoodisrealgood.com

Remember It Is Heart Health Month and We Just Wanted To Send This Little Reminder...

Don't forget to take care of your heart with this and other heart healthy treats.  See pg. 75 in the cookbook to make these delicious chocolate chip cookies.

www.realfoodisrealgood.com

5 Steps to Healthy Eating

Of course this may be easier said then done, but this is the formula. :-)