Favorite Healthy Treat

My friend Jonesey has had an ingenious week on her blog Jonesville. She has been hosting a Week O' Favorites. The comments have been very entertaining, both writing them and reading them... So here's my question for you...

What is your favorite healthy treat? And what about your kids' favorite treat? Please share!

As for me, I love, love, love dark cherries... even dried cherries... especially when they are covered in dark chocolate, but I'll enjoy them any way they come.

My children really enjoy string cheese. But Rainbow says her favorite snacky treat is Blueberry Yogurt. And Spiderman pipes in with "Trail Mix!"

Happy Friday!

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A Personal Letter

I have recently gained several new readers, and I got to thinking that not all of you may "know" me. I'd like to know you better too. So, today I'm going to write you a letter with my thoughts and some things about me.

And I would love for you to take a moment to introduce yourself as well. If you'd like, write a similar letter on your blog and leave your link below. Or, tell me something about yourself and what you're thinking in the comments. I'm looking forward to getting to know you, as are the rest of my readers who are looking for friends with health interests in common.



Dear Bloggy Friends, Fellow-Wellness-Pursuers, and Cohorts-in-All-Things-Healthy,

Thank you for spending some time on Health Begins With Mom! I hope that what I write here is inspiring to you. I hope that it gives you direction and motivation as you try to create a healthy life for you and your loved ones.

Personally, I am inspired when I see the bright energy and love of life that my children possess. First, it makes me smile. It brings me out of my entanglement with the duties of my day. And second, it stirs up in me a desire to protect that life, to nurture the body and soul that has the potential to change the world. I am blessed to be called mother, to have the opportunity to nurture my children... which includes their physical health AND their spiritual health.

I have been seriously thinking the past five months about how I spend my time. In evaluating, it seems that everything I do is valuable and productive. I am not one to waste any time. In fact, I am just the opposite. I set very high expectations for myself and am very hard on myself if I do not meet them. I struggle to keep myself from being too task-oriented -- to make myself more relationship-oriented. But how much busyness is too much? Is it possible to be too productive?

Recently, in reading about Amy Carmichael, my thoughts were completely summed up in one sentence: "Beware of the barrenness of a busy life."

That sentence cuts right to my heart. It is possible to be so "productive" that we do not have time to cultivate certain fruits in our lives -- to miss true relationship opportunities.

I want to order my life carefully. And so I don't post every day. But I have a long list of topics to post about at the right time!

Did you know I am a real life introvert? Well, yes, I am. It takes effort for me to talk! But, I value encouraging others enough to step out of my comfort zone in order to strike up a conversation and keep it going.

It has been my experience that our lives are full of people and full of information and full of people sharing information, but empty of real encouragement and connection. So, I write Health Begins With Mom to go beyond information sharing in an attempt to encourage you in your privileged position as family nurturer.

So there you have it. I am a driven, deliberate, extrovert-in-training who is trying to live a life (and write a blog) that inspires life and wellness, joy and peace.

I look forward to reading about you! I'm pleased to meet you,

Information Overload???

Okay, I'll say it. "Too much information" has the potential to be unhealthy. I do think humans have an amazing capacity for invention, understanding and creativity. But is there such a thing as information overload?

Have you ever thought that if you have one more thought your mind will burst?

So, in the interest of your healthy mind... let's talk about Health Begins With Mom. I don't want to be another source of superfluous chunks of information that only add to the clutter in your mind. I'd like for this blog to be sincerely helpful.

In pursuit of that goal, can I ask what you would like to read? What specific health topics would help you to lead a healthier life -- without overloading your brain? What do you hope to get from Health Begins With Mom?

I've created a poll to jumpstart your thinking. Of course, I would love for you to leave comments telling me specifics... so, please take the time to do that too!
[Note: I am not having success with this poll service AT ALL. If you don't mind, would you leave your thoughts in the comments if the poll does not work. I'll keep trying to figure it out...I am working on this crazy space here...]

What do you want to read more of here at Health Begins With Mom?
	More recipes, please.
	Tips... I need some health tips to make things easier!
	More about Amy Ellen's daily health pursuit - with commentary.
	More information about specific health issues.
	More information about good (and not-so-good) food choices.
	Weekly Meal Plans.
	Links to helpful articles and websites.
	Other topics (which should be specified in the comments!)
pollcode.com free polls

Thanks for sharing your thoughts,

What Else To Do With A Foley Food Mill???

See this simple kitchen tool? Well, back when I posted about peeling 100 baby apples in order to make applesauce, a few of you recommended that I invest in a food mill like this. Much to my surprise, my sweet mother-in-law brought this to me when she came for Spiderman's birthday.


It is a Foley Food Mill. Exactly what I need to make applesauce in the future. This is actually a hand-me-down from my husband's late Grandma Anne. I have very wonderful memories of visiting her home. She made every effort to see that her guests were always comfortable AND well-fed, a character trait I aspire to...


But here's my question... what else can I do with this food mill? Do any of you use something like this? What kitchen adventures can I have with this tool? What all can I make? Any suggestions?

Beverage Choices and the Chance to Make A Difference

I have been turning this over in my mind for a whole week. I can't seem to get away from it. I saw this challenge on Preschoolers and Peace last week, and I thought, "This is a brilliant plan!"

It works like this. You choose to sacrifice your daily beverages and drink only water for 40 days. Each day, you keep a record of what you would have spent on the beverages you normally drink. At the end of your 40 days, you donate the money saved to Blood:Water Mission in order to provide clean water to those who live in areas of Africa where water is not readily attainable. (The plan is to set aside March 1st to April 9th, but you certainly could start five or six days late and go until April 14th.) Sounds like a good plan, right?

I think this is a spectacular opportunity, not just because your family will be a ministry to others in the world, but because forgoing choice beverages for 40 days could be revolutionary to your health! As in a Sugar Fast, going without reveals how our habits silently affect us. Since so many of our beverages contain sugar or sugar substitutes (and other unwholesome ingredients), we all would do well to eliminate them for a time. When the time is up, I challenge you to make a permanent change by only reintroducing them in moderation. Set a goal to make pure water 95% of your beverage intake.

What are Your Health Hurdles?

Our goal is progress. No matter how far we have traveled in our health journey, we continue to make positive changes in our lives. If we're not moving forward, we're moving back, right? But don't worry. We don't have to make life altering changes every day. We just have to keep ourselves and our families moving in the right direction. Slow and steady wins the race.

Inevitably, there will be obstacles that stand in our way. Some of us have picky eaters to contend with. Some of us have very tight monetary constraints to work around. And some of us are working against a lifetime of habits that began before we knew anything about health. My biggest hurdle is the temptation to cut corners. With a very full daily agenda, there are all too many evenings that I fight the urge to scrap the well-thought-out, healthy plan and run for take-out. My strategy for overcoming the obstacle is working ahead. Doing meal prep work for the whole day's meals while I'm making breakfast helps me to stick to the plan. And, making double or triple of everything keeps a stash of freezer goods for use in a cinch.

What are your health hurdles? Okay, it may take a moment to think, but identifying your health hurdles is the first step to overcoming them. The second step is to find a strategy to use against them. So grab that moment to think, that moment that is so hard to carve out of the perpetual activity of the day. And take a moment to post a comment telling your health hurdle. I would like to help you develop strategies for overcoming your obstacles... for your benefit and for the benefit of other readers who face the same hurdles. And, if you already have your strategy in place, comment that too. You never know how your experience will be a blessing to another!

Sugar Fasting

Have you ever taken a Sugar Fast? After all the company and celebrating of the holidays, I took the opportunity to go on a week long Sugar Fast. This isn't my first or my longest. But, I still consider it a very useful exercise. Here are a couple of reasons why:

1. Sugar is a toxin. Our body doesn't see it as food. It must deal with it as a poison and use all its detoxification mechanisms to rid itself of the substance. It is nice to give your hardworking body a break.
2. Sugar is an immune suppressor. Performance of white blood cells is diminished after consuming sugar or artificial sugar substitutes. It is estimated that your white blood cells decrease by 30% after 6 tsp. of sugar and by 65% after 12 tsp. of sugar. Did you know that a 12 oz can of soda can contain 10-12 tsp. of sugar! Considering that it is cold/flu season, it is good to give your body a chance to rebuild its forces.
3. Sugar is empty calories. It simply adds calories without adding nutritive value to our daily diet. So, after a season when most of us put on a couple of pounds, it is helpful to let your body drop the extra caloric intake.
4. Sugar can be addictive. Yes, it really can. The book Sugar Blues, cites several studies in support of this fact. (I've put it in my Amazon Store so you can reference it conveniently.) It is beneficial to break even small addictions so that we are free from compulsory eating.
5. Sugar is hidden everywhere! Most of us don't realize just how often we feed our bodies sugar. It is in spaghetti sauce, regular peanut butter, even most packaged crackers! Taking a Sugar Fast enables us to check just how often we are eating sugar. It is an eye-opening exercise, even if we normally eat well and just lighten our discipline for the holiday season.
6. Sugar takes our body's glucose levels on a roller coaster ride. This wreaks havoc on our pancreas and other regulatory agencies. They can get worn out too! So breaking our sugar intake gives our body a chance to stay on an even keel.

My body is happier and healthier for the break from sugar. So, here's my challenge: take a Sugar Fast. Even if it is only for a week, you'll strengthen your discipline, become aware of just how much sugar your family consumes, and give your body a healthy boost. When your fast is over, you'll have the chance to cautiously reintroduce sugar, and maybe you'll even make a sugar reduction habit for life!

Disclaimer: While I have gleaned useful information from Sugar Blues, I cannot endorse all of the author's comments.

What's in Your Vitamins?

There is so much in the news these days about the dangers of taking supplements. I've read about everything from lead to plastics found in common brand-name supplements. We really have to be cautious and do our homework!

I am going to post about some screening questions to use when looking at vitamin labels... but until then, here is a simple and fun experiment you can do at home! And, by all means, get your kids involved. If they're like mine, they will love to watch through the oven door.

First preheat your oven to 350.
Then line a baking dish with aluminum foil or parchment paper -- something to protect your pan.
Place your own supplements on the foil or paper.
Bake just as you would bake bread.
Watch to see what comes out.

You want to see your supplement brown on top like a nice loaf of bread.
You don't want to see black, toxic ooze spilling onto the foil or paper. This is a sign that your supplement contains coal tar fillers, plastics or other synthetic, non-food ingredients.
If this happens, consider yourself in the market for a new supplement company. You wouldn't want to be digesting a daily dose of toxic sludge in the name of doing your body good.

If you are adventuresome and do this at-home activity, please comment to let me know your results! And, stay tuned for more supplement information...

What are you cooking for Thanksgiving? (Revisited)

I'm curious. What are you all creating in your kitchen for tomorrow's holiday meal? If you've got any healthy additions to your Thanksgiving Turkey, post it as a comment and share it with the rest of us! Especially post if you've got something excitingly fresh or something that puts a healthy twist on an old-favorite...