Berry Melody Yogurt Smoothie

Frozen berry mix is main ingredient.

Today, I bought some PLAIN yogurt.  Been feeling a little sick lately, and I know yogurt is good for the intestines.  Mixing it with a bunch of different berries just makes it even better.  I made a Berry Medley Yogurt Smoothie.  The frozen berries included blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries, which are anti-oxidants (anti-aging foods).

In the blender, I poured about a cup of plain yogurt.  Then I added the dry ingredients, which are pictured below.  I topped that with about two cups of frozen berries.  I mixed the concoction.  I felt that it was a bit thick so I added 1 cup of water.   

Powdered ingredients were included.

I added ginger, grape seed complex, Echinacea, cinnamon, a sprinkling of mint flakes, and some SweetLeaf stevia.  I added these powders because of their healing powers.  You can add some of these or leave them out.  Just know that this type of smoothie will need some sweetening.  I used the Echinacea and grape seed complex because they help the immune system. 

The end result was the Berry Melody Yogurt Smoothie.

Adding the cup of water helped because I was able to dispense the smoothie.  I am blessed because three of my kids tried it.  I say blessed because they were my willing guinea pigs.  I warned them that it was not sweet.  They still tried it out.

This sure beats soda, 

which is thought to deplete 

calcium from bones. 

What about you, my readers? Have you ever tried a yogurt smoothie? What fruits would you add to a smoothie? Would you add veggies? I hope you would consider smoothies for your diet. They are a wonderful alternative to sodas.

May God bless you with His peace and wisdom, my beloveds.

This has been an entry for Saturday Spreads. I hope you enjoyed it!

 

 

To Try A Lemon Juice Detox

Ingredients I'll use for my lemon detox.

 

Well, I have been doing a great job of staying away from soda so far.  I also wanted to stay away from chips, but I ate some corn chips Saturday during our mini-vacation at the coast.  I failed there, but I won't beat myself up for it.  I will keep staying away from them and the soda.  I have not restricted my husband from his Pepsi, but I cringe when I see how much he consumes.  

 

I'm concerned about my husband's consumption of soda.

 

I love my husband.  I had already showed him how much sugar is in one can of Pepsi.  He's used to drinking Pepsi while driving to keep him awake.  Perhaps I could make tea, and we could drink that in our trips.  That's something to think about.

 

Oh, I did not have a good start for the coast.  Before leaving San Antonio, I asked my hubby to buy us fast food from Sonic.  The popcorn chicken and tater tots were heavily laden with salt.  I drank a strawberry slushie.  That combination made me sick; I won't be eating that again.

 

Here I am thinking "out loud."  After last week's anger, I am thinking about what I can do for the health of my family.  I have the power to change what my family eats.  I can keep the unhealthy, processed food out of our pantry and the fast food out of our mouths.  I can put my foot down and say "No" to sugary cereals, too.

 

One thing that I still want to do is detox.  I found an article that discusses lemon juice to help detox.  Yesterday, I asked my husband to buy me some lemons so that I can try this idea.  You can read the article here:

How to Make Lemon Cayenne Pepper Detox Drink

 

I wonder how I will be affected by it.  Will I feel sick?  Will I have to run to the bathroom?  I have been afraid to try this for fear of theses situations.  I've been wanting to try this when I don't have to leave home.

I'll let you all know next week how I do 

with a lemon drink detox.

 

How about you, my readers?  What drinks are you buying?  What drinks are you buying during a vacation?  Are you trying to buy the right during a vacation?  Looking for the best foods is tough, but it is especially difficult while on a vacation.  I hope you pay attention to your body when it tells you that a certain food is not working for you.

This is an entry for Medical Mondays.  For past entries, click here.

 

Disclaimer: The viewpoints that I discussed here are just my opinions.  Please consult your physician before altering anything relating to your health.  I am only suggesting here to take charge of your health.  Don't just leave your health in the hands of your doctors; become your own advocate.  You know best how your body is doing.

 

 

Gardening Vegetables and Fruit

Bell pepper and tomato plants needed replanting.

We had a busy day.  I usually like to post as early as possible, but I wanted to blog about our garden which was not ready.  Days ago, my hubby had placed cinder blocks in the shape of a rectangle in the area that we had chosen.  We had even put some garden soil inside the rectangle yesterday.  We just needed a few bags of extra ingredients to finish it up.

Before: Garden soil was bought at Keller Material.

In the afternoon, we went to Home Depot to buy 3 bags of  cow manure, 2 large bags of Miracle Gro organic garden mix, and 1 large bag of cedar mulch.  I also thought to buy 3 pairs of neon green gardening gloves for the three older kids.  Kaelyn had small red gloves. The lonely plant is sage that lived on from last year's planting.  The plant survived freezing and hot temperatures!

Cow manure mixed in the garden soil.

Miracle Gro mixed in the soil.

The kids and hubby mixed in the cow manure and Miracle Gro.  They used rakes and shovels.  I asked them to put on their gloves.  (I don't like the idea of the kids touching manure with their bare hands.)  Then, it was time to plant the bell pepper and tomato plants.

I tapped those baby plants out of their small container.

I estimated where I wanted the plants.  They have to be about a foot apart.  I used empty pots to plot the locations.  I pushed the pots into the ground to "stencil" where the plants were to go.  The kids then dug the hole in those spots.

I placed each baby plant in the hole and the kids did the rest.

I turned the plants upside down and tapped hard at the bottom of the small containers to tease them out.  I placed each plant in the holes that the kids made.  The kids then buried the plant.  We've been through this before so they know to tamp down the soil.  After that, came the mulch.

Cedar mulch keeps the moisture from evaporating.

The kids, hubby, and I mulched the plants.  I asked the kids to first surround the plants.  We started with handfuls of mulch.  Hubby shoveled mulch into the garden bed.  Then, he dumped the remainder of the bag.  We finished by spreading the mulch with shovels and rakes.

After: Mulch surrounds the tomato and bell pepper plants.  

The last ingredient was the water.  Thirsty plants require water.  Water makes the tomatoes plump.  With mulch, you don't have to worry about the plants going too dry in the heat.  We need to mulch for the Texas heat.

Hubby watered the plants.

 

  

We made sure to put our tools and gloves away.  It's important to teach the kids to put away the shovels and rakes.  It's not enough to teach them how to garden.  Little details like that can help to know where the tools are next time.  We will be using the tools again for another vegetable garden.   

Gloves go into a hanging shoe organizer.

I'm so proud of my kids and hubby.

Lastly, we had a little treat because the kids did such a good job.  I had bought some badminton gear.  We played until we got tuckered out.  Not even the darkness could dissuade us from playing.  We enjoyed our family time together.

Badminton gear--some I bought today, as a special treat.

Well, I hope you liked this blog entry.  I wanted to show how easy it is as a family to garden.  Gardening is good for your health because of the good foods you get out of it.  You exercise and get to shop in your own backyard.  Later, I hope to show how to tend and harvest the garden.

How about you, my dear readers?  Do you like gardening?  Are you gardening?  If so, what?    I would highly encourage those who haven't to start small.  Container gardening is possible for those with limited space.

God bless you all with His peace and wisdom, my beloveds.

This has been a Saturday Spreads entry.

Blueberry Smoothie for Lenten Season

Giving up soda for Lent.

Okay, I have to give some background--I grew up in a Catholic environment.  When I was old enough to understand Lent, I started to give up some bad habits.  It must have been around my middle school years.  One season, I gave up cursing and in another, I gave up biting my nails.  

It was a success with the nails.  I have been able to grow long, thick fingernails that often get in the way of my typing.  It's been mostly successful at keeping me from the cursing.  What!  I've got to be honest about this.  God's watching me! 

Picked up the blueberry smoothie for Lent.

For this Lenten season, I decided to give up soda. I am in favor of more healthier beverages.  I do drink plenty of water, but I also wanted to jazz up my routine with smoothies.  Soda only provides me empty calories. The benefit of a smoothie is more energy from the fruits.

Here's what I included in this week's blueberry smoothie:

1 cup water

1 frozen banana

frozen blueberries

frozen cranberries

canned pineapple chunks

red grapes

powdered cinnamon (aids metabolism, especially for diabetics; adds sweetness)

2 tbsp. Ground flax seed (fiber, baby)

2 packets of Stevia in the Raw (for sweetness; better for diabetics)

Activia yogurt—2 portions, blueberry flavored (probiotic)

Notice that I haven't really given full measurements for the fruit.  That's because I only estimate about a handful for each fruit.   The magic of a smoothie, though, is that you can add ingredients you have on hand or subtract ingredients you do not. 

Yes, I might have added too many calories to my smoothie, but I am not worried about that for now.  I am just wanting to get into the habit of eating healthier foods.  Of late, I had gotten into a rut of consuming processed foods, and I want to move away from them.

I also added a few powdered supplements. For example, ginger powder adds a zingy taste.  Ginger is good for inflammation--something I suffer from.  I simply squeezed the powder from the capsules into the blender within the watery ingredients.

I then pressed the “smoothie” button.  I eventually alternated with the “stir” button.  It came out soupy, but I'm used to it. If I wanted my concoction a little more runny, I could have added some more water.  The smoothie still poured out through the dispenser. 

I ended up with leftovers.  I stored the rest in an air tight container.  That way, it would not age too quickly.  I already feel healthier, knowing that I am doing something good for myself.  To be honest, the sweetness of the smoothie cuts out the sting of giving up soda.

What about you, my readers? What have you given up for Lent? What types of smoothies or healthy recipes do you make? Is there something special you put in them? I hope you would consider smoothies for your diet. They are a very sweet and delicious alternative to caffeinated drinks.

May God bless you with His peace, my beloveds.

This has been an entry for Saturday Spreads. I hope you enjoyed it!

How I Lost Thirty Pounds

Me at my heaviest.

 About four years ago, after having gone on a trip to the beach, I saw some photos of myself.  I was amazed at what I saw.  My lower calf legs, which were my pride and joy, were too chunky.  Sure, I had been suffering with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and anxiety at the time, not to mention shortness of breath, every time I walked at all.  I just did not realize how much my extra weight really showed.

I decided to weigh myself and set on the course to weight loss.  I'm not saying that I went all out to try to lose the weight at once.  I knew that I had gained and lost weight before.  I had already had all four of my children by the year 2005.  I had already experienced the yo-yo of weight with all of those four pregnancies.

I chose a few methods to help me lose weight.  I read information on the internet, listened to doctors on television, and read books.  I compiled my ideas and added a few.  Here is what I came up with (in no particular order) that have helped me lose a total of 30 pounds:

1. I put on my tennis shoes.
 
I think this is the most important one.  I got this idea from a cleaning guru.  This person, the Fly Lady, recommends that you put your shoes so it can trigger in your mind to get up and do something in the cleaning arena of your life.  I just added it to my priorities because it did cause me to get up and clean, which involves movement.  When you clean, you sweat and exercise.

2. I drank less soda.

 I have struggled with this one recently.  When you take into account how much sugar there is in one can of soda, you would think that the mind would rule over the strange taste buds.

3. I ate less junk food.

 This one I struggle with nowadays; however, with food prices going up, this is one thing, including pre-packaged and highly processed foods, that I am hoping to give up.  I already announced this at a family meeting after dinner a few nights ago.

4. I ate more fruits and vegetables.

I made smoothies with anything imaginable.  I mixed yogurt, frozen strawberries, and fresh bananas.  I used whatever frozen fruit I had available and added cinnamon, flax seeds, and/or powdered supplements I thought that my body needed at the time.

5. I exercised with the help of the Wii.

This was a lot of fun.  The games include balancing a ball and dropping it into a hole, jogging in place, and using a hula hoop.

6. I used light weight dumb bells, a large exercise ball, and resistance bands, while exercising.

I often viewed exercise videos, which included using dumb bells.  Whenever I watched television, I used the dumb bells and resistance bands.  I became good at multi-tasking with the large ball by sitting on it, while reading my emails on the computer.

7. I drank more water.

I made it a point to leave bottles of water everywhere I might sit.  This encouraged me to drink more water than ever before.  I still have this good habit, four years later.

8. I drank water while cooking.

Okay, this one was easy.  Once I got into the habit of drinking water, I started to drink water while cooking because I would often became thirsty.  Also, this keeps you from over-eating when it is time to sit and eat dinner.  Your tummy is already somewhat full.

9. I danced while cooking.

I turned on the radio and danced to the oldies, disco, contemporary music or anything that was fun.  I found music videos at www.youtube.com to dance to with my hubby, after dinner.  I still do this on occasion.

10. I planted a veggie garden.

This is a big one.  When you garden, you are doing many positive things.  You are creating a self-sustaining object--you are feeding yourself off of the land you cultivate and plant.  You also exercise and sweat off the pounds and toxins.

 

This is me now.

I'm not a health guru by any means.  I have kept off the weight, yes, but I still have more weight that I need to lose.  I need to pick up these habits again (or gain some new ones) to lose even more pounds.  I'm looking to lose an additional 13 pounds for this year. I want to feel healthier and not just slimmer.

It is hard to lose the weight with all of the temptations and cost of food rising.  I have a husband who loves, loves, loves Pepsi and brings it home with him.  He is also guilty of bringing me junk food.  I am guilty of asking him to bring it home.  What is the happy medium for us both?

I know my husband wants to please me and comfort me.  I would rather make more smoothies with fresh fruit.  I want to make more nutritious meals, too.  I could enlist the kids to create menus that include vegetables, too.  Is that too much to ask for? 

 How about you, my readers?  Did you vow, at the beginning of the year, to lose weight?  to get healthier?  What's stopping you?  Let's do some research but then act on whatever we learn.

God bless you all with peace, my beloveds.

This is a Medical Mondays entry.

Disclaimer: The viewpoints that I discuss here are just my opinions.  Please consult your physician before altering anything relating to your health.  I am only suggesting here to take charge of your health.  Don't just leave your health in the hands of your doctors; become your own advocate.  You know best how your body is doing.