5 easy steps to get healthier today!

We read and learn many healthy things we should do and we know we need to start making changes, but the task seem so overwhelming.  There's a lot of information out there and sometimes it's contradicting each other.  Getting healthier can seem like so much work, but if we take it one step at a time we can all do it.    We know we need to, so here are some easy steps you can start right away.  Any change you make is going to be an improvement.  So let's go!  Let's get started...Today!

Start the morning with a cup of warm water with lemon

I know coffee is usually the first thing we reach for in the morning.  But what if we started each day with a cup of warm lemon water.  You will need about 1/8 of a slice of lemon in your water. 

Here are some of the benefits:

•  Hydrates your body.
• Boosts your immune system 
• Lemon is high in Vitamin C, B, Phosphorus, Riboflavin, Magnesium and Calcium
• Alkalizing & helps detoxify the body.
• Improves and cleanses the liver.
• Aids digestion
• Freshens Breath
• Aids in Weight Loss - Lemons are packed with pectin fiber which helps fight hunger cravings

Click here for more information on benefits of lemon water.

Stop drinking soda

If you are still drinking soda, then I'm talking to you.  It's no secret, the news is everywhere, soda is really bad for you. Here are just some of the reasons you should kick the habit today:

• Drinking soda is linked to many diseases including cancer, obesity, and diabetes. 
• Soda contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar per 12 ounce can!  
• Diet soda is still soda and it's filled with artificial sugars that have been linked with many diseases. 
• Soda is also filled with empty calories and makes you crave sweets! 
• Soda stains and corrodes your teeth.  
• Soda corrodes your teeth enamel 10 times more than fruit juices.  

There's so much more negatives to drinking soda.  Some of us are drinking several cans a day so stopping cold turkey may be really hard.  You can start by decreasing the amount you drink per day and go from there.  There are also many other options out there for substituting soda.  Start off slowly and decrease little by little until you no longer drink it.  Watch this and read this  for more info.

Get more sleep

I am still working on this!  I am such a night owl.  Staying up late is really the only time I have to myself.  I don't want to waste it by sleeping :)  The truth is our bodies need 7-8 hours of sleep each night to function properly and children need more.  Here are some ways getting more sleep helps us to be healthier aside from providing needed rest and giving us more energy.  Read this for more info.

• Optimizes immune system function which helps fight off colds, flu, etc.
• It boosts good heart health.
• Reduces stress.  Be happier and less stressed.
• Clearer thinking and better memory
• Weight control. 
• Live longer

Now this being said, I know some of us have trouble falling asleep so click here for some help with that.

Drink more water

 Notice I didn't say drink 8 glasses a day.  If you're already doing that then kudos to you.  This is an impossible task for me personally.  So I will say drink more water and your morning lemon water will count too.  If you drink 1 glass per day, increase it to 3.  If you drink 4 glasses per day, increase it to 6.  The more you start drinking the better.  8 glasses is ideal,  but going from 0 glasses to 8 can be daunting.  Just increase your intake and soon enough you'll be drinking 8 glasses per day. It's important that you try and be earth friendly and opt for a filtered pitcher rather than all the plastic bottles. Our favorite is Zero Water, recommended to us by my sister Madeline.  It comes with a small gadget that lets you test the water you normally drink.  It shows the levels of toxins in our water.  After passing your water through their filter it should read zero!  And it does!  We had fun testing different waters and were amazed at all the high levels.  I think we all know by now the benefits of drinking water, but you can click here for more info. 

Eat more fruits and vegetables 

You can do this everyday with every meal.  Eating more vegetables is huge and as always organic is best.  Did you know that the recommended serving an adult should have is 5- 9 servings per day! For children it is 5 servings per day. I used to have trouble with this so now I drink more than half of my servings in my morning vegetable juice.  Here are some ways to increase your fruits and vegetables:

• Make fruit and/or vegetable juices
• Make fruit smoothies, frozen fruit is a great option if you can't get organic.
• Add a fruit and a vegetable to every meal, more if you already do this.
• Add vegetables in your meals when cooking.  Like for example cutting up spinach into your lasagna, you don't even taste it and most importantly neither do the kids.

Click here for a great website for getting your kids to eat more fruits and vegetables.

I hope you are inspired to take some new steps that lead you down a healthier path.  Please comment below if you have any additional suggestions, questions and please keep me posted if you incorporate any of these into your daily routine.  Thanks again for stopping by!

Beet-Orange Juice & Beet-Carrot Muffins

I've been trying some new juices lately, because after awhile we've gotten into a bit of a rut juicing the same vegetables and fruits day in and day out.  I briefly saw a recipe with Beets & Oranges, but then I couldn't find it.  I figured we could add a couple of things and tasting as I went along here's the juice I came up with.

Beet-Orange Juice
(all ingredients are organic or local)

3 Oranges

1 Lg Beet

6 Carrots

1/2 inch of Ginger

1 Lemon

Juice all ingredients and enjoy!

As I juiced the beets and the carrots, the colors of the red and orange pulp looked so beautiful, I almost felt bad throwing it away and since I don't have a compost I thought Muffins!!!

 Beet Carrot Muffins
(makes 12 small muffins)

3 egg whites from cage free eggs

1 cup beet & carrot shredded (or from pulp of Beet-Orange juice)

3/4 cup organic cane sugar

2 cups King Arthur unbleached white whole wheat flour

2 tbs Madagascar pure vanilla extract

1 organic applesauce (single servings cup)

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

Heat oven to 350.  Mix all ingredients together, then fold in beaten egg whites,
pour in muffin pans and bake for 20-25 minutes.

You may drizzle with honey once cooled.

Kid's need healthy juices too!

Here's the latest juice I've been making for my daughter.  I switch it up just a little every now and then.  I first started with just green apples and carrots for quite some time.  But lately I've been getting bolder.  Adding vegetables like kale, romaine and even broccoli.  Little by little and just a little at a time.  To get her a larger range of nutrients.  I love Today I ate a Rainbow (todayiatearainbow.com) and Bunny loves to count how many fruits and vegetables she's accomplished in a day.   And you better believe I do too.

Bunny's Bright-Eyed Juice
(this juice makes about 3- 4oz cups)

2 organic romaine leaves
1organic broccoli stalk
1 organic orange
1 organic green apple
3-4 organic carrots

 The Orange is doing all the work in masking the taste of the romaine and broccoli.  Although green apples are not as high in sugars as other ones it gives it a nice tart taste.  Almost as if I had used a lemon.  But I know the lemon would have been a bit much for her.Carrots are also sweet and help too.  She drinks this up.  As long as it doesn't taste bitter and it still has a sweet taste she is good to go.  Now don't get me wrong.  She's not jumping for joy when it's time to drink her "juice"  but she drinks it and doesn't complain.  And that's all I really need isn't it?  Healthy Bunny girl in the making.

Beware of Swiss Chard!

So it's time to make some juices and we picked up some Swiss Chard at the farm this weekend.  I mixed it with some carrots, red cabbage, green apples, ginger and lemon.  I used the whole bag of Swiss Chard.  Big Mistake!  I proceeded to drink a cup of my newly concocted juice!  AAAAHHHHHH!  Burn!!!!!  It was just horrible.  I couldn't figure out what I did wrong at first.  Maybe I put too much ginger?????  I had a piece of a leaf of Swiss chard on the counter so I take a bite and yup that's it!  Mustard, hot saucy, peppery taste. Oh my!  It was my first time juicing Swiss chard.  I look it up online juicingbook.com and learn that you should only use 1 ounce in an 8 ounce glass of juice.  It is very concentrated. It is also loaded with lots of nutrients and great for anemia, bones, eyes, and also a great antioxidant.  So back to the kitchen I go to make more juice and fix it.  Note to self.  Let's look up new vegetables before we juice them.