Saturday, January 5, 2013

A Winter Nutrition Fact Check by a Nutritionist

I'm no nutritionist!  There is no R.D. beside my name, but that doesn't deter me from delving into the mysteries of nutrition and what it can and cannot do for the body.  I happen to believe that the most excellent nutrition is extremely hard to achieve and accomplished only with working extremely hard at it, maybe at the risk of neglecting other life experiences.  So I can only do the best  I can with the time I have and try to not hit myself over the head for imperfect nutritional days and weeks, even months.  

I find winter to be the hardest for me.  Right now, here in Utah we are in the single digits, which compared to some parts of the country is quite warm, I know.  But I'm not going out of my house or car unless it is above 30 degrees!  So exercise does suffer, as does nutrition.  I don't feel much like drinking cold smoothies, or salads, or anything refrigerated.  I feel like baked goods, soups, casseroles and hot cocoa!  I like to think that we have at least one characteristic in common with the grizzly bear--hibernation.  I wish that winter hibernation was as accepted as siestas are in Mexico.  In my world it would be totally acceptable to say, "I'm sorry, I can't be at work this next week because I'm in WHiM (Winter Hibernation Mode.)"  But alas, that isn't what our society does and so off I go at 7 am each morning to greet another chaotic day, without even a siesta.  


Here's the thing--I just read an article in BYU publication, 'The Real Woman' Magazine by BYU Professor, Susan Fullmer, PhD, RD, She had some interesting things to say about what is and isn't accepted as nutrtional fact.  She gave 10 nutritional myths.  Some of these myths were hard to distinguish from fact.  

For instance, People With Lower Body Weights tend to be more healthy.  Well, actually, no they don't tend to be.  As a matter of fact, several studies show that the people who live the longest and with the highest quality of life are the fat relatives of the slender people!  Generally speaking, those people who are considered to be overweight are living longer than thinner people.  I've always noticed that as soon as an elderly person starts to lose significant weight, severe health problems shortly ensue.  To me, having some meat on the bones serves as insurance for stressors inevitably showing up along the way. "Striving to maintain an unnaturally low body weight by under-eating, or over-exercising is associated with greater risks of osteoporosis, infertility, gastrointestinal disorders and poorer outcomes when experiencing major trauma or illness." -S. Fullmore, PhD, RD

Here's one that threw me--Organic foods are more nutritious and healthier than non-organically grown foods!  Not necessarily, according to Dr. Fullmer.  I only recently  begrudgingly got on the organic-is-better bandwagon because I hate paying so much more for it it's good for me.  Since Organic refers to how the plants are grown (pesticides, herbicides and GMO's)  versus what soil they are grown in, the nutritional content of the non-organically grown plant could be just the same, or better than the organic plant, just by virtue of the soil content.  The SOIL is what determines the nutrition of the plant!  So I suppose if you are not bothered by what residues from fertilizers might be on your vegetables (you can always rinse them and scrub them with a vegetable scrubber), non-organic might be the better route if you'd like to save some money.

And the last example here today is Fresh Fruits and Vegetables are nutritionally superior to frozen or canned.  Well, duh, of course they are, I said!  But silly, un-informed me!  By the time one buys fresh produce from the supermarket, it has probably been days since it was harvested, had to be sorted, packaged, transported, and then put onto shelves to wait until purchase. In the meantime, nutrients are decreasing each hour it is picked.  By contrast, produce is usually immediately canned or frozen after harvest, thus locking in much of the original nutrition! Now I can't use the old "there's no nutrition in that can of peas" excuse anymore.  (I hate canned peas and my husband likes them).

I guess that even this winter, as I try to hibernate and end up eating way too many carbs and sugar, I don't have to beat myself up as badly as I might.  I have a papered and certified nutritionist telling me that things aren't as bad as I thought!


DisclaimerNo compensation or promotional product was received for this post.  

 


Monday, December 31, 2012

Great On-The-Go Breakfasts and Lunches

I am someone who rushes out the door at 7 am every morning. I often miss getting and preparing nutritious breakfasts and lunches, ending up with less than ideal food choices during the day. I thought this idea from the Today show was great!

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

A Novica Review and $50 Giveaway



Not long ago I introduced you to Novica Live, where you can have an actual Trunk Show in your own home with authentic items from Novica to buy or order with free shipping.  I love the idea!  It's amazing to see these products and be able to touch them and see them first-hand.  Some of my favorites for $50 or less are:


 Now Novica has come up with another fabulous idea.  Start your own online collection of things that you would love to have from Novica or would love to group together into a theme to express your own individual taste and sense of what is beautiful!  It's called Curation, kind of like you are the curator of a museum of fine art or history.  You get to arrange your own exhibits of the most wonderful Novica creations.  Right now there are over 4000 collections!  These collections help to expose the many artisans from all over the world, giving them even more impact than they already have.  It is a wonderful thing!  
In March of 2013, Novica will announce a winner for the most creative and impactful curator.  The winner plus 1 guest will get an 8 day National Geographic trip to Peru, Land of the Incas!  There will be many other prizes to be won as well!  It is generating lots of excitement!  The contest was announced on November 12th and thus far, as of this writing, there are 2301 new curators and 4082 new collections.  

I set up my own Christmas Holiday gallery and it was really fun to do.  If you like Pinterest, this is every bit as addictive!  Watch out, Pinterest!  lol...You really must try it!  As an extra incentive, I am excited to offer a $50 gift certificate to one lucky curator. 

Mandatory Entry:  Visit the Novica Curation Home Page and set up a collection of your own. Not only will it be an entry for this contest, but it also counts as an entry toward a trip to the National Geographic trip to Machu Picchu, Peru!  Once you are finished, leave me the link of your collection in the comments section of this post.  You can look at mine or many others for inspiration.  After you have done this you can get extra entries on the Rafflecopter form below!  Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway  Disclaimer:  I was provided product for this giveaway for review purposes!   Open to US only!  A GAL NEEDS...is not responsible for non-delivery of any goods or services by featured companies.
Must be 18 or older to participate, Winner will be contacted by e-mail
after12/28/12.  Must respond within 48 hours.
After notification, winner must acknowledge win by contacting sponsor on Facebook and letting them know. 
Entrants with invalid entries will
be disqualified. 
Thanks so much!

Sunday, December 2, 2012

A Loyal Dog

As some of you know, I have a Border Collie  named Evee.  We picked her up at 10 months for $50 because her temperament was getting to be too much to manage for the family she lived with.  She is an extreme herder and so nothing was off-limits for her.  She chased cars, ATVs, joggers, other dogs, children, and attempted to herd them by barking at them and running them down.  Being their first dog, this was absolutely too much to deal with, so they gave her up for $50.  Best purchase we ever made!  We've had her now for almost 3 years.  She is now an expert frisbee catcher, a wonderful walking companion, an excellent guard dog and a faithful companion.  Yes. she is still a bit rambunctious with the herding instinct, but if she gets a walk for 30-60 minutes a day, she is very manageable.  I have been known to say that a dog like Evee is the best way to beat depression.  Taking her on daily walks is like a dose of Paxil or something akin.  It's great!

CBS ran a story that was so heartwarming.  It was about Ashapoo the family dog, also a border collie, who decided he needed to stay glued to Peyton, the 2-year-old grandson of Ashapoo's owner.  I can just see it, the little boy running around and Ashapoo following right after him, guarding him.  When Peyton wandered away while his grandfather had his back turned for a minute, he already had a built in protector, in Ashapoo. 

4 1/2 hours later, they found Peyton curled up asleep in a barn.  How did they find him?  Ashapoo approached the search team and ran away barking toward the barn, leading them to the child.  He had been with him the whole time, just watching him and making sure he was OK.  When I hear stories like this, I give Evee an extra treat and an extra pat.  I have to wonder how my life would be without her.  
Ashapoo, the hero

Friday, November 30, 2012

Pine Brothers Softish Throat Drops For Cold & Flu Season

I never got the memo about Pine Brothers before I did this review and had the chance to sample their products.  They have been around for awhile now, since 1870.  I'm really not sure how this company escaped me, since I pride myself on being rather up on Americana and all.  I'd say that a company that has been around that long needs to be a part of Americana!  But apparently moms from all over know that Pine Bros. has them covered when it comes to their family's sore throats and coughs.
 
  When I got the Throat Drops, I knew this was something for my class of  boys to try out.  I call them boys, even though they would never want me to say it in front of them or others.  They are too independent (or at least trying to show that they are) to let a woman treat them like boys, because they are men, don't ya know.  The first one that tried them was my associate, Shane, who was feeling under the weather that day.  I told him, like I was his mom,  to try one of these Softish Throat Drops.  It happened to be the Honey Flavor.  Unfortunately, he didn't enjoy the taste.  But he did say that his throat started feeling better later on.  I'm not sure if it was the drops or just the illness running its course.  Next, I gave the Wild Cherry flavor drops to some of the boys in the class.  They were a positive hit with everyone, and they actually started begging me (like little boys) for them.  One boy said that it helped him deal with his smoking urges.  (Sorry to say he is already a user and smoker at 16)  Well, that was an unexpected benefit of the throat drops, a smoking inhibitor. I also prefer the Wild Cherry over the Honey flavor, which tastes a bit too medicinal for me.
 About 
Ulysses S. Grant was President, the population of America hovered at 39 million, and the telephone was still a pipe dream, when in 1870 J. Herman Pine hung out a confectionery shingle on 8th Street above Walnut in Philadelphia and, along with his brother, sold their first batch of what they called 'Pine Brothers Glycerine Tablets.' In an attempt to relieve his own sore throat and those of his family members, Mr. Pine, a former German confectionery maker, determined that by combining the soothing natural qualities of glycerin with the healing properties of gum acacia, he could sooth and mitigate the mild discomfort of a sore throat. Add in some natural flavoring and a sweetener and voila, Pine Brothers Softish Throat Drops were born.  

Another little discovery that I made is that I found the drops in the bags to be a little softer than the drops in the cannisters for some reason, although it is very convenient to have a small container to put in your purse without worrying about spilling.  

Pine Brothers Softish Throat Drops come in 4 flavors - natural honey, lemon citrus, licorice, and wild cherry!

Disclosure: I was given product in exchange for my honest review and opinion! 

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

A Green Smoothie Experience


I really wish I could have taken a picture before I downed the first green smoothie concoction I ever made a few hours ago, but it was so good and I was so excited to drink it that I didn't even think about it until it was down the hatch.  I never imagined I would be a fan of green smoothies.  I thought it was some fad for the extremists, the ones who went way overboard in their quest to be healthy.  Seriously, who in their right mind would blend raw spinach, and other vegetables together with fruit and other healthy stuff in a drink?  Not me!!!  I take supplements and I drink V-8 occasionally.  But I have a great friend, Diane, who has benefited greatly from her smoothies.  I think the main reason green smoothies are good is that you get all that concentrated raw food in an easy-to-take form.  (Just plug your nose and down it quick, if nothing else!)  Fresh enzymes are so important for health and well-being.  You can only get enzymes from raw food, not processed foods, cooked foods, or food supplements.  I learned how important good nutrition was from taking some really good nutritional supplements for 20 years.  I experience first-hand how getting nutrients your body needs is the key to health, beauty, energy and disease prevention.  The problem is that even those great nutritional supplements I take aren't doing the trick like they once did.  I have become more and more lethargic and have not been able to keep the weight off despite being extra careful and taking my nutritional supplements religiously and exercising 40 minutes per day on average.  No, I haven't been sick in over 3 years, but it's my metabolic functions that are sluggish.  I feel like they just got stuck and are in need of repair.  Some might say that is what happens when you get to be "a certain age", but I'm not ready to slow down yet.  There are so many more things I would like to do.  So I borrowed my gal pal Diane's high-powered blender (on her insistence), went to the store and bought some raw stuff and just started blending.  My first improvised recipe was:  

  • 2 cups water/ice
  •  3 cups mixed greens including spinach
  • 3 leaves red chard
  • 2 apples
  • frozen banana cubes to equal 1 1/2 bananas
  • 3/4 cup frozen berries
  • 1/3 cup Xagave sweetener
  • a chunk of  melted-together Nestle's semi-sweet chocolate chips from a bag that had been left in the car on a hot day, which I had no use for until today.   
Yield: about 8 cups of smoothie
I drank it all except for 3/4 cups which I gave to my dad.
  
I felt that my first attempt was quite successful because it tasted great!  I felt
extremely full and satisfied.  I have no idea how many calories I consumed, but I know I consumed a lot of raw nutrition with maybe a tad too much sweet to get it down. 
About an hour later, though, I had to use the restroom.  I won't go into it, but let's just say I must have been clogged up, judging from the experience.  Maybe too much raw stuff in one shot?  Maybe I over-did it, I don't know. Suffice it to say, I am definitely not constipated this evening.  Oh, excuse me I'll be right back....
_____________

This experience has not deterred me.  I will forge ahead and maybe try less sweetener tomorrow.  After all, I have 3 containers full of various greens that need to be used up and only time will tell if raw food in the form of smoothies is a good option for me.  
Not the smoothie I made, but a close likeness
Update:  It has been a year and 3 months since I had my first green smoothie.  I have been quite consistent  and got my own high-powered smoothie maker.  I certainly don't follow the recipe that I first made.  Basically I try to use at least 3 fruits along with 1 - 2 cups of greens.  I flavor it with coconut oil, peach-flavored fiber, and protein.  Sometimes I add cinnamon and other flavorings, but I try to stay away from sweeteners in general.  I feel much more healthy and my skin, hair and energy have benefited.  Unfortunately, I haven't lost the weight I wanted to, but I definitely feel more healthy overall!
  

Saturday, November 24, 2012

A Dermagist Review, Giveaway and 10% off Coupon!


 Got freckles or age-spots anyone?  I have just one on my face, but what caught my eye about the Skin Tone Correcting System from Dermagist is that my skin tone, in general, isn't what it used to be.  So I decided to give it a go and see what it did for me.  After all, I saw on their website that this system doesn't bleach out the skin in order to eliminate age spots, etc.  It is a natural product, free of any harsh chemicals.  It comes in two parts - the Skin Brightening Accelerator and the Skin Brightening Agent.  They work together to achieve the amazing results that people are raving about.  This two-step process is the best way to get results quickly.  First apply the Accelerator.  This gently exfoliates and gets rid of any dead cells hanging around the surface of the skin, so that when you apply the second step, the Skin Brightening Agent, there won't be anything in the way of all the natural peptides that soak into your skin and start working.  In addition to the skin tone corrective ingredients, there are also anti-aging ingredients as well.
My experience with Dermagist has been positive!  I ordered the Skin Brightening System because I felt like my skin was looking dull and tired, even though I have tried to stay on top of my skin care routine.  I don't exactly have any sun spots or too many freckles.  Just one on the side of my nose, which I find mildly annoying.  But as I stated, it is the overall tone of my skin that I wasn't happy with.  After about two weeks of use, I am starting to find that I look better and that people at work are paying compliments to me about how I look.  That's great that they are looking at my face right now, since currently I am having a weight issue with the holidays and all.  I haven't done anything different except for using this product.  Yep, just keep looking at my face!  And thank you to Dermagist for helping me look my best!

Dermagist also has many other miracle products, including a hand cream that is nothing short of miraculous in terms of removing age spots and smoothing your hands, a neck restoration cream that seems amazing, a dermal filler that could take the place of injectables from the cosmetic surgery office and some amazing products for acne prone skin, even the correction of acne scarring!  I'm very excited to try the other products and find my way to a more beautiful new me!
To get a 10% off coupon please click here and you will get 10% off their already on-sale prices!

And here is a great giveaway for you as well!  One lucky reader from the U.S. or Canada will receive any product of their choice.  Please complete the Rafflecopter Entry Form Below!  Good luck! 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received the product mentioned to review and give my honest opinion.  No other compensation was received.  The winner of this giveaway will be contacted after 12/16 by e-mail and will be given 48 hours to respond.   

Sunday, October 21, 2012

An Ending More Dramatic Than Fiction

I'm somewhat enthralled with choosing your own ending on the interactive type of movies and books..  You can choose option a or b, maybe even more.  I would choose a happy ending every time.  I'm just that way...

I recently finished reading 'My Sister's Keeper' by Jody Picoult, written in 2004.  Yes, I have just started reading her books and am still up in the air as to whether or not I am a fan.  'My Sister's Keeper' was a NYT Best Seller, so chances are you might have read it already, plus it's been 8 years since it was published, not to mention the movie, starring Charlize Theron.  But just let me tell you, if you haven't read or seen it and intend to do so, this is a spoiler alert.

In the story, the main character is a young teenager who is sick and tired of being her sister's perfect genetic match, practically living in the hospital to donate blood, plasma, marrow and whatever else she is expected to do to keep her older sister alive.  It is for that purpose that she was conceived.  Her parents wanted a perfect genetic match and went to the lab to create her.   But the girl is so tired of it, sues her parents in court and eventually wins.  In the middle of all this, her sister's kidneys go out.  Of course, then she starts having 2nd thoughts, because after all she loves her sister.  Unfortunately, before she can do anything about it, she is killed in a car wreck and she ends up donating her kidney anyway through organ donation.  
   
I have what I think would be a great 2nd ending for the book!  The thing is, it's actually true!  Here is the 2nd ending - The girl decides to go ahead and donate her kidney because she loves her sister.  She goes through with the operation, which is a major surgery with risks of its own.

The surgery turns out fine, no complications.  She is in recovery and her sister is going into surgery to receive the donated kidney.  When the surgery team goes to retrieve the kidney, which has been packed on ice, it is nowhere to be found.  After looking high and low, it is discovered that a nurse just coming on duty threw it away in the trash! So in the end, no one gets the kidney and it sucks for everyone!

This actually happened in Ohio. A nurse just coming off break didn't hear the surgeon announce that the kidney was on protective slush, ready to be donated and threw it away in a dirty utility room.  I would be so mad if I had just given one of my kidneys away and found out that it had been essentially thrown away.  And the poor organ recipient.  Talk about dashed hopes! 

OMG, I just did what?
It just goes to show that fiction is hard-pressed these days to be more dramatic than what we live everyday in real life!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

A Mom's Search For Healing

A month and a half ago, my friend, D, invited me on a day trip to her current favorite place in the world.  It's Great Basin National Park, specifically Lehman Caves!  It is in Baker, Nevada and is a very beautiful spot.  But the draw for her is not the scenery or the Cave Tour, nor even the souvenirs, all of which are lovely  On the grounds of the park is a little grove of apricot trees that were planted by Mr. Lehman over 90 years ago.  These apricot trees are still producing fruit and are organic and of heirloom variety.  The reason D. was drawn to these trees is not the fruit, but the pits strewn on the ground in abundance.  The fruit was left to grow naturally and left unharvested, except for the herds of deer who came to partake of the dropped fruit in the late summer and any tourists who wanted to sample the fruit as they passed through. All the discarded pits were left under the trees.  When D. came upon this grove, there were thousands and thousands of apricot pits covering the ground under the trees.  When she saw them, she was beside herself with joy.  For all these years the pits had been accumulating, meaning nothing to the visitors, park rangers and passers-by.  But to her they are like gold and here is why.


D's  20-something son has been diagnosed with leukemia and these apricot pits could mean his ultimate cure. They contain a compound called Laetrile, or Vitamin B17, which synthetically is compounded into cyanide.  Now, I know that you're thinking, hello, cyanide is a poisonous substance!  But that is the synthetic form.  In its natural form, Laetrile attacks rogue cells in the body, especially cancer cells.  If the FDA had let the cat out of the bag years ago, millions of people would still be alive, in my opinion. About 15 years ago, I started hearing murmurings of people taking trips out of this country to go get treated in places like South America and Mexico because of these natural cures, illegal in the U.S.,  that were healing them from all kinds of cancers.  I also heard about the benefits of apricot seeds and their healing effect.  But then I heard that they had cyanide in them and that they were poison.  I didn't think anything else about it and eventually quit hearing about it at all.  

 Until now:  D. is determined to help her son.  A healthcare professional  and a longtime believer that natural foods and processes are best, she started educating herself through books, doctors, knowledgeable individuals and her own instincts.  I think she is definitely onto something, especially after reading 'World Without Cancer' by G. Edward Griffin.  The first edition, published in 1974 and the second updated edition, published in 1997, is still a shocking revelation about how conspiring men took over our medical system and the government regulatory agencies to  produce products that lined their own pockets with millions of dollars, making them the richest men in the world, but sacrificing the lives of millions of poor, unknowing individuals.  They intentionally tampered with experiments and studies of Laetrile, a natural and inexpensive substance, and skewed the results. And to make it even more inaccessible, Laetrile was made illegal and a campaign was waged to make it known as quackery and even harmful.

But here in Baker, NV was a virtual gold mine, in terms of hope and healing and so D. gathered up almost every last pit.  She must have visited the park several times.  I was fortunate enough to go with her once. The park rangers were somewhat curious at first, but when she told them about her son and that apricot seeds could be beneficial for his leukemia, they let her be.  I went with her on one of her trips and got to help her.  My reward?  A box full of at least 1000 apricot pits.  They are totally harmless, if taken in the correct amount. The recommended dosage is 5 per day.  They can be bitter-tasting and so you can mix them up with molasses and take them that way or you can eat them straight like I do and chase them down with a favorite drink!  I don't think they taste bad at all, especially coming from these wonderful, non-pesticide, heirloom trees!

My hope is that D's son will be cured of his leukemia and that she will be able to help others with her knowledge and resources.  She wants to use some of these pure apricot pits to sprout apricot seedlings so that others who want that kind of resource can have them.  But what I think we still need is more enlightenment and education on the subject of Cancer and it's cures.  I still have a lot to learn on the subject, but I do want to know if Laetrile or Vitamin B17 is being utilized now, after being discovered as being an anti-cancer substance as early as the mid-1920's!  Right now Laetrile in any form other than what you may get naturally, from your own garden, is illegal in the US.  Why is that? Now, cancer has overtaken heart disease as the No. 1 killer among Hispanics in the U.S., and the rest of the country may be only a few years behind.  And yet, cancer treatment is one of the most profitable businesses in the nation.  I'd like to see such a huge profit margin have a better success rate than what has been happening in this country.

Can you tell that I loved my little road trip of apricot pit harvesting?  I definitely did! 

Here is a video that I found interesting in support of my searching:

Thursday, September 13, 2012

High School Art Wall

 This was the first project of the season, done with different mediums.  For instance, water was done by laying paper on a tray with blue food coloring and soap bubbles!  I love the creativity of the students!  Sorry about the crazy dates that my camera decided to spit out!