Lately we’ve been trying to improve our health through nutrition–juicing some, adding some things to our diet and removing some things.

I’m a “snacker” most of the day, so inspired by my neighbors, I set out to create a snack that satisfies my sweet craving but is healthy enough to eat all I want

I’ve come up with one that I really like so I thought I’d share.  I am so cursed with an entrepreneurial spirit that I couldn’t enjoy the first few hours of my new recipe without a flood of marketing ideas.  (“I can call it ‘Raw Power’, package it in bite-sized pieces…logo, I need a good logo….let’s see, now what was that website that sells the packaging bags in bulk?  I’ll charge $2.00 a bag”, (quickly figuring the cost)…more random thoughts….“Great.  I should be able to profit about $2 a week.”

Moving on to just enjoying the snack….

Here is the versatile, substitute-what-you want recipe I came up with:

3 Tbls. coconut oil, warmed to liquid state

Mix in the following ingredients–I didn’t measure   But I probably put in about 3-5 Tbls. of most ingredients:

• Ground flax seed
• Hemp seed
• Chopped cashews
• Oats (I ground up some of them with a hand-chopper)
• Coconut flakes
• Cocoa
• Honey to taste (or dates for sweetness)

I’m going to try adding mashed bananas next time.

Either roll into balls and let harden, or press into small glass dish and cut into bars after hardening.  Yummy!

I found a concise article about it at Nourishing Kitchens (and this looks like a great site, btw):

“The current germophobia with all its use of sanitizing hand gels, antibiotic soaps, antimicrobial kitchen sprays, germ-killing sanitizing wipes, pasteurized milk, irradiated food and antibiotic pharmaceuticals may actually contribute to a society plagued by autoimmune disease….” Read more…

I especially liked the acknowledgement, particularly since we are now drinking raw dairy milk, that pasteurized milk, intended to be helpful, actually creates a disadvantage by killing the good bacteria our bodies need.

And I loved this point, quoted from a doctor who advocates the “Hygiene Hypotheses”:

“When we visit the doctor to suppress a lot of things like colds, rather than, in effect, letting nature run its course, we’re making immediate treatment the priority rather than long-term prevention.”

And you’re up for the challenge. So before I go tackle my ginormous to-do list, I thought I’d offer you the same encouragement and tips I’m trying to give myself (some of these came from my husband):

Regarding the house:

• Drink your coffee first (unless you’re trying to give it up, in which case, I have no idea how to encourage you there.)

• Tackle one room or area at a time. THIS is a hard one. You know the routine. You pick up an item from the kitchen and take it where it belongs and alas, that room is a disaster too, so you busily begin cleaning there. Resist the urge. My husband suggested that I take the stray item to the room it belongs and wait to put it up until I get to that room. Another tip is to have a box for stray items and just place them in that as you go through a room.

• Create a place for everything.

• If you have children, delegate. But be specific, because it is overwhelming to them too. Let the littlest ones be your “go-fers” taking trash and stray objects to their place. Give one a trash bag and make it their job to collect all the trash, or a basket to collect stray items, etc.

• Purge, purge like never before. This is the time to get rid of things you know just take up space. I try to remind myself that as soon as I toss it, I won’t remember it anymore.

• If you homeschool…give yourself a “reorganizing vacation”. Don’t feel the pressure to rush back to school until you’ve gotten everything under control. School time will be far more productive and pleasant if you’ll allow yourself that time. If you still feel pressure, maintain your daily reading and wait on the more stressful subjects.

Regarding your health:

• Change in baby steps. Add an extra glass of water to your diet (maybe switching at meal time).

• Find a good multi-vitamin. Research on line and ask around. Getting the proper nutrition is important to having the energy to accomplish all we must do in a day!

• Find some kind of exercise you will do. More than ever, at my “older” age, I’m realizing how important it is to exercise. For Christmas I asked for a mini-trampoline. Read about the benefits of rebounding to see why I was so excited to get it. Not only does exercise do the obvious for your health, but it improves your mood and sense of well-being. Who of us couldn’t use that?

• Just adding fruits, nuts and vegetables to your current diet is a great step. Make a glass of fruit juice or vitamin-enriched drink part of your morning routine.

Regarding your finances:

• Despite how painful it can be, a written budget is really the only way to stay on top of finances. We have found too, that the more variable your income, the more important it is to write out a yearly budget. For us, the bulk of our income comes in the summer. So unless we plan to spread it out over the year, we find ourselves lacking in the winter months. Dave Ramsey has the best resources I know of and I would encourage you to check out The Total Money Makeover–it was a life-changing book for us…truly.

• Actually use your budget Ramsey suggests the practical method of an envelope system. Whatever you have allotted for a certain category (food, clothing, entertainment), spend that and no more.

• Start a change jar. This is a very simple, painless way to save a little extra money for a rainy day. We’ve done this for years–sticking our spare change in a jar, and it adds up in a hurry. Think of something to save for and write it on the jar and get everybody involved!

• Learn to sell on eBay or Amazon. With a little forethought, extra cash throughout the year can be earned by selling items around the house. You could designate a specific savings goal for your eBay selling.

Regarding your spiritual life:

• Make a sermon part of your day. Or at least, every few days. With the convenience of Sermon Audio and similar sites, getting spiritually fed has never been easier. A few of my favorites: Voddie Baucham, John Piper, David Platt, Paul Washer, Ravi Zacharias, Alistair Begg, Joe Morecraft, Mark Driscoll…to name a few.

• Make Bible reading a priority. Even if you don’t get up early enough for quiet time, gathering the children around to read a portion of Scripture daily is not only a great spiritual benefit, but it paves the groundwork for habits in their own lives for years to come.

Other random tips:

• Commit to reading a spiritually-challenging book once a month.

• Make a list of character traits you would like to improve, and begin praying, being deliberate and working toward those. (For me, cultivating a gentle spirit is at the top of my list.)

• Engage your children in more thoughtful discussion. Remind yourself that discussion is a primary means of education–and it can happen anywhere!

• Determine to be a blessing to your husband. So often this gets overlooked. But it should be a priority!!!! A family where the husband and wife are a team, where they cultivate friendship–that’s a family that will thrive. Just a sincere word of gratitude can go a long way toward being a “crown” to your husband. You are the one person given to him to be his cheerleader. Encourage his strengths, and do not focus on his weaknesses. (It helps me, when I tend to want to dwell on his weaknesses, to redirect my thoughts to my own weaknesses. Wow. Changes perspective quickly.)

• Add laughter. This has been on my mind a lot lately. Life can really squelch out the fun if we let it. Adding a bit of laughter can change the quality of everyone’s life! Find something to laugh about…make jokes with each other, smile at your children’s antics. Nothing is so important that it has to squash our joy!

What are your tips or words of encouragement as we begin the new year? What are some things you are purposing to change?

Just wanted to turn your attention to this month’s special (posted half way into the month as is customary for this busy mom).  Use the coupon code “shipit” at check-0ut to take $5.00 off any skin product order over $10 (including our new baby skin yummies!)  In my opinion, this would be a good time to stock up for Christmas gifts   (Hurry…sale ends October 31!)

Remember to check out our cute, new “Honey Bee” baby soap (which anyone can use!)

How I started the Nurtured by Nature Skin Product Businesss

Thanks to Heather for sending the great photo!

For your information–be informed before you  make the decision to get the flu vaccine. Also, there are proven measures to reduce the likelihood and/or severity of the flu and related illnesses.

“No options outside of problematic vaccines and anti-flu drugs are offered, despite the fact there is strong evidence that vitamins C and D activate the immune system and the trace mineral selenium prevents the worst form of the disease…The only plausible explanation as to why the flu season typically peaks in winter months is a deficiency of sunlight-produced vitamin D.”

Elderberry has also proven very effective in the prevention of several types of flu.

A MUST READ about the vaccine: Fuzzy Math

This article raises some very interesting questions and points no one else is talking about.

Reports have been widely revealed that a population control “program” in some countries has been implemented–unbeknown to its citizens– which laces a free tetanus vaccine with an abortifacient level of hCG hormone.  In a nutshell, young women are being given a vaccine–repeatedly–that makes them infertile or causes multiple miscarriages.

“A BBC documentary reported that women in the Philippines and Mexico have also been used as guinea pigs for a new experimental pregnancy vaccine. The HCG vaccine makes a woman’s body reject new pregnancies. According to human rights activists, it has been administered, without the consent or knowledge of patients, as a “piggyback” vaccine in a series of tetanus vaccine programs.

Many Filipinos were initially curious as to why only women of reproductive age had been eligible for the free tetanus vaccine, especially since tetanus is more common among young men. But when women who had recently received the “tetanus vaccine” began having an inordinate number of miscarriages, this bureaucratic curiosity turned into charges of conspiracy. Subsequent lab tests of the tetanus vaccine confirmed it had indeed been laced with an HCG vaccine.”

Interesting facts about this heinous operation:

• Only women are vaccinated, and only the women between the ages of 15 and 45. (In Nicaragua the age range was 12-49.) But aren’t men at least as likely as young women to come into contact with tetanus? And what of the children? Why are they excluded?

• The vaccination protocols call for multiple injections — three within three months and a total of five altogether. But, since tetanus vaccinations provide protection for ten years or more, why are multiple inoculations called for?

• WHO has been actively involved for more than 20 years in the development of an anti-fertility vaccine utilizing hCG tied to tetanus toxoid as a carrier — the exact same coupling as has been found in the Mexican-Philippine-Nicaragua vaccines

• The WHO began its “Special Programme” in human reproduction in 1972, and by 1993 had spent more than $356 million on “reproductive health” research.(7) It is this “Programme” which has pioneered the development of the abortifacient vaccine. Over $90 million of this Programme’s funds were contributed by Sweden; Great Britain donated more than $52 million, while Norway, Denmark and Germany kicked in for $41 million , $27 million, and $12 million, respectively. The U.S., thanks to the cut-off of such funding during the Reagan-Bush administrations, has contributed “only” $5.7 million, including a new payment in 1993 by the Clinton administration of $2.5 million. Other major contributors to the WHO Programme include UNFPA, $61 million; the World Bank, $15.5 million; the Rockefeller Foundation, $2.5 million; the Ford Foundation, over $1 million; and the IDRC (International Research and Development Centre of Canada), $716.5 thousand.

Funny, I got a letter just today from the State Health Department telling me that they didn’t have some of my children’s vaccine records on “lifetime file” and I really needed to update those   Of course the file would be empty.  I’ve been skeptical of vaccines for many reasons, and I just found another one.

As many angles as I’ve come at this subject before, I thought of yet another one…

A confused commenter scolded me on this fertility post about “making laws” regarding being fruitful and multiplying.  (I deleted the comment for a number of reasons.) Which confuses me, because I’m not the one that said to “be fruitful”, and I’m not the one that created the fruitful womb, and frankly, I said nothing about “law”; I simply implied that the womb was PART of God’s plan of evangelism (more mouths to share the gospel…)

Anyway, that train of thought got me thinking, yet again, why those who do not use birth control are considered such freaks, even among Christians!  (The commenter told me I was not trusting in God, but myself, by having the children God gave me???  I can’t even fathom that reasoning.)

This post is not about what the Bible says about fertility, as I’ve talked about that many times.  It’s not about whether people should or shouldn’t use birth control, or anything about birth control being bad.

It’s about a bizarre twist of thinking I want you to consider.

Recently, our culture has seen a major “green” shift toward all things natural.  Every product you pick up is vying for your tendency toward what is natural.  The environmentalist groups are picketing for us to leave the earth as it is naturally. 

Don’t cut the trees. 

Leave the animals alone. 

It’s even showing up in the latest trends in landscaping–natural is better.

There’s a move toward natural childbirth, natural skin products, natural (organic) gardening–the buzz word is “LEAVE IT AS IT IS”.

Except in the area of reproduction… 

And ironically, that shift is in the opposite direction, with new drugs that will inhibit a menstrual cycle indefinitely (how unnatural is that?).

And despite all the scientific evidence of the benefits of “going natural” in this area (more pregnancies, less cancer…more periods, greater risk of cancer…) we not only ignore that research, we absolutely ostracize those who are “going natural” with their reproduction, giving no credit to their desire for healthier reproduction choices.  (I can speak of this, I know…I live it.)

It’s the same question I’ve asked for a long time…use birth control if you wish.  But shouldn’t “natural be the norm” by default?  If we artificially altered any other part of the normally functioning body we’d be thought insane.

But with just this one area, I’m considered crazy if I don’t do something that is unnatural and possibly harmful to my body to stop its normal function.  (And even NFP is quite unnatural if you think about the interference of intimacy…”sorry honey, wrong day.”)

Again, this is NOT a debate on why or why not use birth control (I know about all the reasons some people give for using it.)  Nor is it meant to make BC users feel bad.

It’s about what should be considered normal as a starting point, by our very design.  At the very least, if we were thinking clearly on this one, those using birth control should receive the questions…”is there a reason you ‘got broken’ ?”

Do you see my point?

I can’t help it…I love to post statistics about the health benefits of pregnancy (especially as my large self needs the extra encouragement

• “Say Bye-Bye to Menstrual Cramps–Sooner or later after childbirth, your menstrual cycle will resume. But here’s a welcome side effect: You may have fewer bothersome cramps. Some women even find that menstrual pain ceases altogether after pregnancy and childbirth. This pain reduction is a well-known phenomenon, but no one really knows for sure why it occurs. One possible theory is that childbirth eliminates some of the prostaglandin receptor sites in the uterus. Prostaglandins are hormones with several functions, one of which is to direct the uterus to contract during labor. They also play a role in menstrual pain. The upshot? Fewer pain-receptor sites, fewer cramps.”

Let me testify here…I had never heard of this “phenomenon”, but experienced it and was completely, gleefully amazed. I think it was after my third, maybe fourth child, when suddenly, what used to be pretty bad cramps on the first day of my cycle completely disappeared–and have never returned…well, what few times I’ve had the chance to see

• “Cancer Risk Is Reduced–Recent studies report that pregnancy produces a protective effect against breast and ovarian cancers. The more pregnancies you go through — and the younger you start having babies — the greater the effect; some research has found that breastfeeding for more than three months can also lower the risk of certain cancers.”

Once again, baby steps are good. We all compromise our health by the things we eat. The more health we can add to our diets, the better off we’ll be.

These are just some random thoughts, with a few substitutes at the end. I’ve really enjoyed hearing all your suggestions too!

• Eat more salad. Iceberg lettuce is pretty useless, so try to incorporate Romaine, Red leaf and other varieties. I try to mix ours with spinach leaves too. Spinach is high in…well everything good, and it’s the only way I can eat it. (Raw is better anyway.) Also, add almonds, sunflower seeds, cilantro, parsley or whatever “green stuff” you can think of. To avoid most dressings which contain MSG, try making your own. I love an olive oil/vinegar blend with chopped onions and mandarin orange juice.

• Drink more water. We forget this one, don’t we? Water flushes out your body’s cells and helps to rid it of the toxins we consume. Filtered water is best.

• Make your mixes. Pancakes, biscuits, pizza crust–there are lots of easy homemade recipes for these items. Homemade is always better than packaged–and usually cheaper too. Start with one thing if you feel overwhelmed by cooking from scratch.

• Soak in the sun. Sun is is the body’s best source of vitamin D. I heard a report that children often have a deficiency of Vitamin D because of the heavy use of sunscreen.

• Eat more often in “snacky” portions.

• Get your children in the habit of drinking water with their meals. If you are not accustomed to it, it’s hard to get used to. But it’s easy to build good eating habits when you’re young.

• Buy all-natural peanut butter instead of the kind with hydrolyzed oil.

Substitutes:

1. Instead of potato chips, try brushing tortillas with olive oil, sprinkling with spices, and baking for a few minutes until crispy, Cut with pizza cutter and serve with pasta or sandwiches.

2. For a more exciting drink but avoiding the soft drinks, mix juice with ginger ale or sparkling water.

3. Stevia is a natural sugar substitute. Honey is a great natural sugar substitute. Raw sugar is better than refined.

4. Use dark chocolate for baking instead of milk chocolate. Dark contains healthy antioxidants.

5. Use olive or coconut oil instead of other oils.

Feel free to share more of your random tips!