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Friday, August 28, 2009

No more naps!

Sp I've noticed someting lately. I no longer need naps at work! I have quite a bit more energy. So does Ryan but I'm not sure he has really paid attention to it.

But I'm amazed at the amount of greens we go through. I'm sad I don't get to go to the farmers market, I have to go to the market today and that is going to be a lot more expensive. Grr. Between smooties and salads and just generaly adding lettuce and other veggies to our everyday things like sandwiches we go through it fast. Sara (the lady I'm doing this challange with.) suggests going to Costco or Sams and buying in bulk and pre-washed to save some time (washing) and money (bulk.) This will also be helpful this winter when there is no more farmers market :(

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Toughts on Thursdays

"Choose your 'tude"



This is my personal summery of something I read when the Hubby an I were going through pre-marital counseling. The book was "Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts: Seven Questions to Ask Before and After You Marry " By Les and Leslie Parrott

One of the chapters talked about how you react is your choice. Your spouse may say or do something very hurtful (intentionally or not) but how you react is your choice. This is something I know for a fact we can all work on. Maybe your Husband said something that truly just came out wrong, if I jump all over him we are going to have a full blown argument instead of a simple miss-understanding. Think about how you react to things your spouse says how many times your attitude or reaction has made the situation worse. See how much choosing your 'tude can help? Try it, its an everyday every moment thing that no one will ever be perfect at.

Learning about myself

Here are some things I've learned about myself lately

~I'm much happier if I eat healthy not only in attitude but I have a happier body as well.

~I crave time with those I love, and that's OK. I used to (still do but working on it) think that made me needy but its just how God made me.

~I need to get something accomplished at home before I can truly relax.

~I don't like mustard greens in a green smoothie, but I do like them in everthing else.

~I love the farmers market.

~I hate clutter.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Can you back up your faith?

I mean really back up your faith. Ry and I had a great talk this weekend about 'outreach' in the Church and the purpose of the Church. Now don't take this wrong we both believe in outreach, it is a very important thing in this world, however in this conversation it was simply the gateway to the conversation about the purpose of a Church. So when you pick a Church what do you expect? Why do you expect it? Is it because that is what you grew up with or because that is what the Bible says Church is supposed to be? I was challenged by this. Why do we pick the Church we go? Do we take the time to make sure our Churches beliefs and philosophies follow the Bible?

I was also challenged by something else, I know my Biblical knowledge is solid, My parents made sure of that, but I don't know where the verses are in the Bible to back them up. ( How many times does this have to challange me?) I have no idea about the history around many of the decisions I make everyday (I do know my Bible stories though.) But what about the history, not everything in the Bible is a life application point, some of it just is life, and what those people went through. What about that?

Lucky for me, I have a husband who knows a lot of this stuff and is willing to help me. I know I can back up my faith verbally but he is going to help me back it up biblicaly. I'm excited, we will see how this goes.

Cheater Weekend (Bad Idea)

So this weekend was a little hectic to say the least, I didn't spend a lot of time just hanging around the house. In fact I was in such a hurry to leave the house Saturday morning I left my smoothie on the table, oops. Then on Sunday night I forgot to make a smoothie so the next morning when we were in such a hurry to get going I missed another one. Overall we ate pretty healthy this weekend but there was one time we both ate McDonalds ( I know, I know) and another time when I was out running errands and I had migraine so I sopped by another McDonalds. Those two bad choices plus skipping 2 smoothies made a huge difference, I can tell. I'm not sick or anything but I'm more moody and lethargic. I really didn't want to get up this morning, that hasn't been a problem all week...

So yeah there you have it, they really do help, and the longer you do it the more benefits you will see.

So back to the grindstone today, salads, and healthier food choices.

I also wanted to remind you that healthier choices doesn't always mean low fat (some fats are good for you, ya know.) Some full fat foods are easier for your body to process, if you remain active, than their low fat counter part. For example real sour cream vs low fat sour cream. The chemicals and other 'foods' that they use to make it low fat are harder for your body to digest. Just a thought for you all.

Amber

Friday, August 21, 2009

From Ryan's Mouth

I've been drinking these for over 2 years now and I like them, most people do. However it may take a few days to get used to the texture and to find a combination of flavors that you like. So here are some hints from Ryan as a newbie.

~If you like bananas add them at least 1 if not 2. They have a stronger flavor and will help mask the 'green'.
~If you don't like the texture water it down a little more and blend it again and blend well.
~Wash the greens (unless you like the flavor of dirt.)


Somethings Ryan has noticed:
~I feel more awake when I get up
~My normally sensitive digestive system is starting to settle down


Now here are some hints from me:
~Some other strong fruits are pineapple, oranges (clean of the Rhine for texture people) Strawberries (but you need to use a bunch.)
~Mix strong fruits with other fruits to get a good variety of vitamins, use different color fruits and cut them up with the skin on (wash them first)
~Don't use grapes
~Start with more fruit than greens and work your way even (volume wise)
~Drink a lot of it the suggested amount is a quart a day that is 32 oz
~Read www.happyfoody.com and join the facebook group.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

2nd Day on the Green Smoothie Challange

So I must admit, we are cheating a little on the white sugar thing, we have every intent on doing that part of the challenge however there is a lot of food in our pantry that neither of us intend to waste (pasta, a few leftover cookies, that kind of thing.) I'm hoping this leads to a long term change so we want to get these things out of the pantry not just save them for later. Plus it helps if we do this little by little its a drastic change for the hubby and its going to take some time for the body to get used to it.

I'm also going to slowly change the ratio of green:fruits in the smoothie. Right now I'm using more fruit than I normally would but I'll be progressively changing that ratio over the next few weeks.

So yesterday here was the recipe:
Large handful of spinach
Large Handful of Minnesota growing lettuce
2 Pears
1 Banana
1 Nectarine
4 Strawberries

Today:
More Spinach and Lettuce
1 Apple
6 Cherries (pitted)
6 Strawberries
2 Bananas (Ryan's fave)

Tell me if you have any good full flavor fruits you like to use.

Friday, August 14, 2009

A new Green Challange!


Ryan and I are taking this together starting on Monday I'm so excited! Its just what I need to get back to my old healthy eating self and to convince Ryan how amazing you feel if you change your eating habits. This is honestly what spurred my whole "greenie" ways. I've strayed lately but I'm VERY excited to get back to it. So here are the details if you want to join us:

We will begin on August 17 and end on September 17.
Here is what you are committing to:
~Drink at least 16 oz. of green smoothie per day (a quart would be even better!)
~Do some sort of activity every day. This could be an intense workout, or just dancing with your kids around the living room. It could be a 15 minute yoga session or a walk around the block.
~Add a green leafy salad to your lunch or supper (with light dressing…stay away from the creamier sauces).
~Stop drinking pop.
~Cut out all white sugar. (This will be the hardest for me.)

If you want more info on the challenge or some quotes from people who did it last year here is the link: Happy Foody Green Smoothie Challenge - 2009
for tips and tricks go here: Green Smoothie Challenge Tips

Comment if your going to join! I'm sooo excited!!! I'll be posting about our progress as we go.