MY NEW LUNCH OBSESSION AND KNOW YOUR CHICKEN

As you know I try to eat as clean as possible. Being a busy working Mom & living in a small town, it is nearly impossible to eat 100% clean. I eat at least 80-85% clean. The absolute biggest chemical I REFUSE to eat is high fructose corn syrup. I am ashamed of our government for allowing HFCS to be in so many "foods" in the U.S. It is banned from most countries. Cole & Tiffany are still in Venezuala. They said that they have read the labels on the foods there and can not find HFCS in ANYTHING! But, Americans like to think that they are so much smarter than people in other countries. Believing that the government, USDA and FDA have your best interest in mind is NOT smart. It is all about money. If they really wanted what was best for Americans, they would do like other countries have done and ban HFCS, aspartame and hormones & antibiotics in milk to name a few. 

I have told you before how much I love Braum's. I'm not even an ice cream lover, so that is not why I love it so much. Braum's takes pride in the fact that they do not add hormones and antibiotics to their cows therefore NONE of their dairy products contain those nasty things. I buy as much groceries as I can at Braum's. I realize it is not organic, but I believe it is much better quality than other brands and it is cheaper than most brands, probably because there is no middle man. It goes straight from the Braum's farm to Braum's stores. Braum's has a new Chicken Strawberry Salad that I am obsessed with. It has chicken (grilled or crispy), strawberries, blueberries, pineapples, almonds, carrots, spinach and romaine. I have been eating this for lunch at least twice a week. It is only $5 & is a delicious & nutritious lunch. I drink a large lime water with it. Braum's employees squeeze the lime juice into the water instead of just tossing a lime in it.    http://www.braums.com/about-us/

I get really freaked out over fast food chicken. Really I freak out over some restaurant chicken also. Chicken can be one of the most processed, chemically laiden foods their is. Educate yourself. Know what you are eating. Braum's uses REAL chicken. It's not processed chicken product like so many restaurants use. For instance Subway's chicken is very little chicken. It is mostly chemicals and most of their breads have either HFCS or corn syrup along with a long list of chemicals. And Subway has Americans believing that it is one of the healthiest places you can eat. That is false advertising in my book. They should have to disclose that their "meats" and breads are nothing but chemicals. Here's a link to their ingredient list which looks like a horror movie to me. 

http://www.subway.com/Nutrition/Files/usProdIngredients.pdf

We do not have a Chick-fil-A where I live. I wish we did. They only serve REAL chicken. I was appalled to learn that all of KFC's chicken has MSG! Really?! MSG causes migraines for many people and creates inflammation in the body. 

Here is a link to Chick-fil-A talking about the chicken they use. 

http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Food/Ingredients

Here is a picture of my yummy Braum's salad. 

This beautiful nutritious salad comes with Poppy Seed Dressing which I do not eat. The first ingredient in the dressing is HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP! Why do they have to do that?! I bring my own dressing from home to put on my salad.

Educate yourself, friends. Know what you are putting in your body and what you are feeding your children. God wants us to take good care of our bodies. He put food on the earth to nourish our bodies. Eat more vegetables, fruits, nuts, eggs (from free range chickens) and wild game and fish. If the ingredient list is a mile long and/or you can not pronounce most of the ingredients, don't buy it. There are better choices out there. If we stop buying the nasty stuff and buy more of the good stuff, food companies will get the message.

Blessings to all,
Lori

MI VIDA LOCA (MY CRAZY LIFE)

I am so sorry that I haven't blogged much lately. We have had a crazy few months. Here is a sampling of  what's been happening in our household:

Our teenage son has been going through a very rebellious season. You name it & we have probably lived it with him the last few months. His poor choices have had an extremely negative impact on his education, our sanity & our bank account. He is doing much better now. We pray it continues. He turned 18 yesterday so we are hoping it's not "woo hoo I'm 18. I can do what I want" but instead "I'm 18. I better get my act together because I can pay consequences as an adult".

Our oldest son graduated from college in May and will begin working on his Master's Degree this Fall. He & his wife are on a mission trip in Venezuala. They will be there until the end of July. Then they will go to Colombia to visit her grandparents. They will not be back in Oklahoma until mid-August.

Kevin's bloodwork has been so good the last few months (since he's been taking Plexus) that his doctor said he could try doing dialysis just 5 days a week instead of 6. We have been doing that for a month now & he is feeling great. It's so nice to have an extra day. With that extra day off we have been able to go to church more & hang out with friends.

Memorial weekend we had a going away party for Cole & Tiffany on Saturday. They spent the night with us. They were speaking at a church in a small town outside Durant on Sunday morning. So we were going to go to church with them and have lunch with her parents. Cole & Tiffany left for Venezuala Tuesday after Memorial Day so that was our last opportunity to see them before they left. On our way to church Sunday morning we get a phone call from OU Medical that they have a possible kidney for Kevin and we need to get there as soon as we can. At this point we are past Madill almost to Lake Texoma. We drop Cole & Tiffany off in Durant, drive back to Lone Grove, pack our bags and head to OKC.

We found out that Kevin was second on the list for O type blood. There was a sweet lady from Enid that was first. She got a kidney and is doing well. The day was full of testing. They have to make sure the recipient is healthy enough to receive the kidney and do the cross matching to make sure they are compatible. Kevin had a chest cold the week before and they found a little congestion in his lung so we were sent home without a kidney. We did find out that an older gentleman that is not in as good health as Kevin got the other kidney and he is doing well. God knows better than we do. Bad news - because of the congestion he is now NON ACTIVE on the list. So even if the perfect kidney became available, he could not receive it. He had chest xrays yesterday and if they show his lungs are clear, he will be made active again. Good news - once he is active again, he will now be first on the list for type O blood. We learned so much that day about transplants, so it was a great learning experience. We learned that holiday weekends are the busiest time for transplants because there are more accidents.

Honestly, I've been a little too stressed to try new recipes or do much research. Hopefully things will calm down and I will be able to do more cooking and share with you soon. I really want to do a post on Omega 3 Fatty acids. If there is any topic you would like for me to research and blog about or any favorite recipes that you would like me to try to make cleaner and more nutritious, let me know.

Life is crazy! Heaven is looking sweeter all the time. Even when our lives our spinning out of control, God is always there and we always have something to be thankful for. Our sweet dogs, Hank & Lucy, have helped us through all this. Dogs love unconditionally. They sense when you are feeling down and they are so great at just loving you & sitting quietly with you. And Plexus has been a wonderful thing for us to focus on. We are so thankful that God sent Plexus to us to help with our health and our finances. And we have some of the most amazing friends and prayer warriors anyone could ask for.

We certainly appreciate your prayers. Have a blessed and safe summer.

Lori

WHOLE GRAIN BANANA MUFFINS

 I made these banana muffins a couple of weeks ago and they were a huge hit in my house and my office. This recipe can be made into muffins or bread.

TIP - Whole grain flours are not as moist as overly processed bleached white flour, so adding Greek yogurt to the mixture helps make baked goods moist and delicious. The original recipe called for 1/2 cup of oil or butter which I changed to 1/4 cup melted butter and 1/2 cup Greek yogurt.

WHOLE GRAIN BANANA MUFFINS
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup oats
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
5-6 bananas, mashed
1 cup coconut sugar (or 1/2 cup Truvia or 1 cup brown sugar)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease muffin cups or use paper liners.

In a large bowl, combine flours, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Make a well in center of flour mixture and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients.  Add egg mixture to flour mixture.  Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy).  Spoon into muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees 25-30 minutes.

I hope your friends and family enjoy them as much as mine did.

I saw this on Facebook the other day and loved it -
"You are what you eat, so your food should not be fast, cheap, easy and fake."
Pretty much sums it up. Remember to try to eat more of the foods that God made and less of the junk that man made. Your body will thank you for it.

Blessings to you all,
Lori

EGGS - FACTS VS FICTION

I have never liked eating eggs. I didn't eat them at all until I was in my twenties, then only scrambled and well done. However, since I've been on this journey to get my health back, I have become a huge fan of eggs. I still will only eat them scrambled. I just don't like the texture of fried or boiled eggs. But, since I found out how many nutrients are in eggs and that they are very anti inflammatory, I eat a scrambled egg almost every morning. Eggs have gotten a bad rap just like fats have. There are bad fats, but there are so many good fats that your body and your brain, in particular, need. A large egg is only 70 calories, yolk and all. Stop being afraid of eggs, people! They are nutritional powerhouses that nourish your body and make you strong.

There are good eggs and bad eggs. Those eggs sitting on the grocery store shelf that are so much cheaper than all the others are BAD. They are not worth saving a few cents for. The average grocery store egg is 3-6 weeks old. Those eggs come from hens that are kept in cages, not allowed to move, covered in their own filth, given antibiotics and hormones and the poor hens are stressed out. They are fed a diet of GMO soy and corn feed. Please please please do not feed those nasty eggs to your family. If I run out of farm fresh eggs, the only ones I will buy is organic free range  or Land O Lakes with extra Omega 3's. The Land O Lakes with extra Omega 3's are from chickens that are fed flaxseed.

We are blessed to have friends that share their fresh eggs with us. There is no comparison in a store bought egg versus a farm fresh egg. First of all, the store bought eggs have no color, whereas the fresh eggs are a beautiful yellow. Remember the more NATURAL color your food has, the more vitamins and nutrients you are getting. Farm fresh eggs have 2/3 more Vitamin A, 1/3 less cholesterol, 1/4 less saturated fat, 2 times more Omega 3's, 3 times more Vitamin E, 7 times more beta carotene and 4-6 times more Vitamin D. Plus everyone knows that eggs are great source of protein. And EAT THE YOLK! There are valuable nutrients in the yolk that your body needs.

I cook my eggs in coconut oil to add even more health benefits. If you don't know about the great benefits of coconut oil, go to www.coconutoil.com and see for yourself. Coconut oil is another food that God created for us to eat in order to get vital nutrients that our bodies need. Some idiot in the 80's decided that coconut oil was bad and everyone believed him. I believe that God is the creator of our bodies and He created food for us to eat that would give us the nourishment that we need. I know I feel so much better when I eat REAL food that God created than I do when I eat fake "food" that man made in a science lab.

A couple of more great foods that God created for us is honey and cinnamon. The more I read about the benefits of honey and cinnamon, the more amazed I am. I have been trying to eat honey and cinnamon everyday. Buy local honey to get the most nutrition. Read the label. Honey flavored syrup is nothing but junk. Please use real honey. Sometimes I spread it on whole grain toast and eat with my egg for breakfast. Another favorite is to dip apple slices in a mixture of peanut butter, honey and cinnamon. YUMMY! That has been my lunch several times the last couple of weeks. It is very filling and satisfying.
http://benefitsofhoneyblog.com/health-benefits-of-honey-and-cinnamon

One of my favorite ways to make my scrambled eggs is with a handful of baby spinach and a little shredded parmesan cheese. Eaten with a piece of whole grain toast with honey and cinnamon is a great way to start the day.

You are what you eat and you are what the animals that you are eating ate.

Blessings & good health to you all,
Lori

FISH TACOS & CABBAGE

I LOVE FISH!! I love to catch fish. I love to eat fish. I don't love to clean fish. And I love to eat just about any kind of fish. I could eat fish almost every day. My new obsession is fish tacos. They are delicious & healthy. What more could you ask for? Kevin does not share my love of fish tacos. He also does not share my love...well, obsession with fish. He LIKES to fish and he LIKES to eat fish, he just does not LOVE it the way that I do. The last few months, I have made fish tacos at least once a week.

I usually use tilapia. You can use any kind of fish you want. My family prefers the mild flavor of tilapia. Tilapia is known as "The Bible Fish" or "St. Peter's Fish". It is the main fish eaten in Biblical times. Tilapia feed on algae and plants. They are not scavengers. It is a very clean fish. Tilapia has very low levels of mercury. The only drawback is that it is low in Omega 3's.

We love spicy food, so for Kevin & I, I coat ours in cayenne pepper. When I cook fish for people that don't like spicy, I usually just use garlic & paprika and of course, always salt.

I try to eat cabbage at least 2-3 times a week. Cabbage is very anti inflammatory and my body feels good when I eat it. As a matter of fact, after I have had my weekly "splurge" meal, I almost always follow it up with a bowl of cabbage to help clean my body out. Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable. It is high in fiber, manganese, calcium, potassium, magnesium, chlorophyll and has small amounts of iron and zinc. It is also high in vitamins C, K, A, B6, B1 & B2. Some studies have shown that eating cabbage on a regular basis significantly lowers the risk of breast cancer. It is also proven to help fight anemia & colon cancer. It detoxes & heals the colon & boosts the immune system. Doesn't that make you want to eat more cabbage?

My favorite way to eat fish tacos is on corn tortillas heated in coconut oil with cabbage, sour cream & salsa. So here is how I make fish tacos. It is super easy and only takes about 15 minutes from start to finish. As always, play around with it. Change the flavors to suit your own taste.

NOTE: I use frozen tilapia fillets. I live in Oklahoma. I don't live by an ocean or sea. And I'm pretty sure the tilapia in my grocery store was not caught the same day it was placed in the window and labeled "fresh". Frozen fish is frozen the same day it is caught. That "fresh" fish behind the glass around here has probably been frozen and thawed more than once. I put the package in a bowl of hot water & it thaws out very quickly. Usually by the time I get my cabbage slaw & everything else ready, the fish is thawed.

FISH TACOS

Tilapia fillets
olive oil or coconut oil (I bet grapeseed oil would be good also)
cayenne pepper
garlic salt or garlic powder & salt
paprika
tortillas - your favorite

Fish taco slaw
1 cup shredded cabbage
1-2 tablespoons sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
1-3 tablespoons salsa

1)  In a small bowl mix cabbage, sour cream & salsa together. Set aside.
2)  Heat oil in a skillet. FYI - cooking in cast iron adds more iron to the food you eat.
3)  Sprinkle or coat fish with garlic salt, cayenne & paprika. Or whatever other flavors you like. Just garlic and basil is yummy also. I very liberally coat ours in cayenne.
4)  Carefully place fish in HOT oil. (If your oil is not hot enough the fish will stick) Cook about 4-6 minutes on each side.
5) Heat a couple teaspoons of coconut oil in skillet. Cook tortillas in oil a couple of minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Adds such great flavor to tortillas plus tons of health benefits from the coconut oil.
6) Place fish in center of tortilla, spread slaw over fish & eat.

This is one of the fastest, easiest and healthiest meals you can make. I hope you enjoy. If you love fish as much as I do, give me a shout out.

EAT TO LIVE, DON'T LIVE TO EAT

Blessings to you all,
Lori

VEGETABLE BEEF STEW

It is the end of February and Oklahoma is expecting a winter storm to hit tonight or tomorrow. February in Oklahoma can be 80 degrees or it can be 8 degrees, you just never know. We never put away shorts and flip flops because sometimes we can wear them all year long.

There is nothing better on a cold winter day than the smell of good food simmering in a crockpot. I love crockpots. They are a working Mom's friend. Throw some meat & veggies in, go to work and when you get home dinner is ready. Today I've got vegetable beef stew simmering away. The house smells fantastic and all my guys are ready to dig in. My husband says that is the smell of love.

Beef stew is another one of those dishes that everyone makes different. Some people like a beef broth based stew, but I'm not a big fan of beef broth. I make a tomato sauce based stew and all of my family loves it. Remember to read your labels when purchasing tomato sauces and other canned tomato products. Most manufacturers sneak sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup in there and we don't need that extra sugar and chemicals. 

When using the crockpot, I use a lot of frozen veggies. They are fast and easy to throw in and a lot of frozen veggies actually have more vitamins than fresh. Veggies and fruit begin losing their nutritive value the moment they are picked, so if they sit around your grocery store for days or weeks, you are not going to get a lot of nutrients out of them. However, frozen veggies and fruits are usually frozen the same day they are picked so they retain most of their vitamins. 

You can use whatever veggies your family likes in this stew. I usually use okra instead of green beans because we like okra better and okra is more anti inflammatory, but my grocer was out of okra, so I used green beans today. I make a big pot full because we like to eat on it for a few days. It is one of those dishes that tastes better the next day. My family likes to eat it with cornbread or hoe cakes. If you don't know what a hoe cake is, it is cornbread batter fried in oil into the shape of pancakes. You spread butter all over the fried cornbread and then moan at how delicious it is. These days I fry them in coconut oil so at least they are a little healthier. 

VEGETABLE BEEF STEW

4 pounds of stew meat or chuck roast cut into chunks

roast covered in worcestershire & garlic salt

Garlic salt

Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins has no HFCS & fewer chemicals)

2 - 15 ounce cans tomato sauce (read your labels, no sugar or HFCS)

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 onion, sliced

2-4 potatoes, cut in chunks

1 bag frozen carrots

1 bag frozen cut okra or green beans

2 cups frozen corn

Coat meat in worcestershire sauce and sprinkle liberally with garlic salt. 

searing 

Option 1 - drizzle olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Get oil very hot. Add meat and sear 3-4 minutes on each side. Put meat into crockpot. You don't want to cook it, just get a good crust on it. This is not necessary, but it does add another layer of flavor. 

Option 2 - Put the meat in the crockpot without searing. It will still taste fine and cook thoroughly. I do this when I am in a hurry and don't have the time to sear it. 

Add veggies, Rotel and tomato sauce. You can add a couple of shots of hot sauce if you want. Fill your tomato sauce can with water and add to pot. You may need to add another can or two of water depending on how liquidy you want it. Just make sure you have enough liquid to keep everything moist. 

Cook on High 3-4 hours or on Low 6-8 hours. Of course, if you are cooking for one or two people, you can halve this recipe very easily. 

Stay safe and warm. And as always, try to eat more of the foods that God made and less of the "foods" that man made. 

Wishing you all good health, lots of love and happy eating!

Lori 

LOVIN' YOUR LIVER

I've learned the hard way how important it is to have a healthy liver. At the end of my last pregnancy (17 years ago) my liver was failing. I noticed the last few weeks that my stools were white but didn't think much about it because I was pregnant and when you're pregnant, your body just does weird things. After I had my son and was in my hospital room, my doctor along with other doctors came in and started asking how much Tylenol I take and had I been drinking alcohol, etc. That's all that conventional doctors know that causes liver failure. They also don't know how to rejuvenate your liver, they will just say you need a transplant. I know it's not their fault. All they teach them in medical school is to hand out medication and do surgeries. They don't learn how to use food and herbs to heal our bodies and keep our bodies healthy.

A friend introduced me to natural medicine. She helped me research natural cures for liver disease and we found that Milk Thistle can actually help the liver to regenerate and heal itself. After taking Milk Thistle for a month, I went to the doctor and had my liver enzymes checked. The doctor was shocked that my liver was improving. I told him what I was doing and he had never heard of it before but agreed that it seemed to be working. After 2 months of taking Milk Thistle my liver enzymes were NORMAL. I continued to take Milk Thistle off and on for a few years, but life got crazier and crazier and I actually forgot all about it for awhile. Then in 2011 after feeling so bad for so long I went to the doctor and had bloodwork done which showed, among other things, that my liver was in bad shape again. That's when I knew that I had to take charge of my health if I wanted to be here to see my future grandchildren.

Here's what I have learned after lots of research on our livers. The liver is the largest solid organ in the body. It has many functions including production of bile that is required to digest food properly; stores extra sugar & converts it into glucose for energy; produces blood clotting factors; processes & stores iron necessary for red blood cell production; converts waste products into urine; metabolizes medications into their active ingredient; and numerous other functions.

As you can see, a healthy liver is crucial to good health. The American diet of fast food, processed foods, artificial sweeteners, chemicals and the numerous medications handed out by American doctors damage our livers. America is the unhealthiest country and that is very sad. Americans outnumber all other countries in people with diabetes, obesity, heart disease, strokes, etc. Americans eat the least amount of vegetables and fruits of any other country. My daughter in law is from Colombia. She told me that when they moved to America, they were shocked by how "fake" our "food" is and how few vegetables and fruits Americans eat. In Colombia their diet is mainly vegetables, fruits, rice, chicken and seafood. They don't eat fast food or out of boxes or plastic bags.

In order to keep your liver healthy avoid processed foods, chemicals, artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, etc. Eat more vegetables and fruits and drink plenty of good water. NOT TAP WATER! Tap water is loaded with toxins and chemicals. I won't even get into all of that now. The best foods for your liver are dark green veggies, garlic, grapefruit, lemons, beets, carrots, avocados, walnuts, cabbage, turmeric, olive oil & green tea. If you have been eating a diet full of processed foods and/or fast foods or if you feel like you just need to reboot your liver, try taking Milk Thistle. It's cheap, about $7-$15 a bottle and can be found at any health food store or online. The only warning I have ever found about Milk Thistle is that it is a member of the ragweed, marigold, daisy family, so if you are allergic to those, you might not be able to take Milk Thistle.

Final thought, God created our bodies and God provided us with the food that our bodies need to stay healthy. God did NOT make aspartame, high fructose corn syrup, splenda, artificial colors & dyes, preservatives, etc. When we set our minds to eat the way that God intended for us to eat, it is amazing how good we can feel. It took me over forty years and having to be so sick and in so much pain that I could barely walk or function, before I finally "got it". I am amazed at how good I feel now. I don't eat "perfect" all the time. I splurge once or twice a week, but never twice in one day or two days straight. I try to eat "clean" at least 85% of the time. I love sausage biscuits & hot dogs, so I allow myself one now & then, but I make sure that it the only "bad" thing I eat that day.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2013,


Lori