Clean Eating

I started a goal of loosing ALOT of weight this November and to start eliminating sugar and dairy from mine and the kids diet and eating clean.  Its been HARD. Especially over the holidays.  But after loosing 20 lbs (30 more to go) and the kids getting so so sick I have a renewed commitment to my goal of going CLEAN.

There are some who are curious just about what we have been eating and where we started.  I started by eliminating all dairy.  My kids were having huge bowls of yogurt in the morning, cottage cheese for lunch and milk throughout the day.  So my first move was to incorporate this awesome oatmeal recipe into their mornings.  It was given to me from my aunt who is a nurse and incredibly knowledgable about nutrition and the harmful effects sugar has on our bodies.

It must be eaten 4 times a week for the effects to be noticeable.  People who use it regularly notice and enhanced immune response and fewer allergic reactions, as well as improved digestion.  They often report increased energy and stabilized blood sugars.  It also is instrumental in lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels.  High fiber diets have been demonstrated to reduce the risk of colon cancer.  Most of the ingredients are found at Smiths.

·      4 cups rolled organic oats

·      2 cups oat bran     

·      1 cup sunflower seeds

·      1 cup raw unsalted nuts, chopped  ( I use the almond slivers)

·      1 cup lecithin granules (I have never been able to find this)

·      1 cup ground flaxseeds

Mix all the ingredients well and grind in a blender.  I add a little cinnamon as I'm grinding the ingredients together.  I use un-sweetend 30 cal. almond milk and Agave Nectar before microwaving it for one minute.

  I have very picky eaters and my kids love love it!  Finn can eat more then me and Genevieve combined.  

If you are like Joe and are worried about the kids or yourself not getting enough calcium without dairy.  Here are some other sources of calcium:

·      Spinach                            245mg/cup

·      Turnip greens                  198mg/cup

·      Broccoli                           42mg/cup    

·      Almonds                          251 mg/cup 

·      Brazil nut                          213mg/cup  

·      Salmon                             181 mg/3 oz

·      Almond Milk                   450mg/cup  Silk Pure Brand

Thought for the Day:

Refined sugar was introduced to Japan after the U.S. Civil War, and the Japanese used it as a medicine.  By 1906, 45,000 acres of sugar cane were cultivated in Japan.  As the Japanese consumed more sugar, the onset of “western” diseases began to increase.  In 1960, Sakurazawa, a renowned Japanese physician noted, “No western doctor can cure diabetes, even thirty years after the discovery of insulin.”  In 1964, he wrote, “I am confident that Western medicine will admit what has been known in the Orient for years: sugar is with question the number one murderer in the history of humanity-much or lethal than opium or radioactive fallout.  Sugar is the greatest evil the modern industrial civilization has visited upon the countries of the Far East and (Africa genocide)…foolish people who give or sell candy to babies will one day, to their horror, have much to answer for.”