Celebrating 40 Years - Earth Day, Part I

For my health and wellness home business, I held an Earth Day inspired talk on April 22nd titled: "Taking It Back to Nature" - ('It' was for "Health & Wellness"). 


The event was sponsored by my business and I discussed the importance of eating whole foods. I also provided an example of a whole food supplement that I whole heartedly endorse and am proud to represent. 


I prepared tri-fold flyers for all the guests addressing 40 years of celebrating Earth Day and how we can reduce our carbon footprint along with other helpful links on avoiding plastics,"green" toys, where to find a CSA, 'eating right', among many others. 


For Part I of this posting series, I am going to share with you some verbiage (borrowed,  permission granted) from my first guest speaker, Jan Tucker, owner and president of White Lotus Living:

"Yes, I am looking to educate people, but also to offer safe products (not containing harmful chemicals) to get more people in the habit of using only the safe ones. If people stop buying from companies that use harmful chemicals, manufacturers will be forced to get on board and produce only safe products (another major theme of a presentation I give).

Before I started White Lotus Living, I noticed there were many places I could go to get info about the topic of harmful chemicals. However, when I went to do something about it ... namely to replace the products in my home with safer ones, there was a real lack of info to help me do that practically. I started White Lotus as a one-stop-shop where people could come and feel safe about what they buy from my shelves. It's a practical solution for busy people who can't take the time to scour the landscape for safe products themselves.

There are a number of manufacturers whose policies won't let them produce products that rank higher than 2 or 3 out of 10 on the Cosmetics Safety Database (lower ratings are better) ... it may be strict, but those are the only ones available at [my online store]. I'd prefer not to contribute to a company that isn't being conscientious toward this important cause. Again, it emphasizes the fact that manufacturers will go where the money is ... if we buy only safe, they'll make only safe!"

She put on a nice presentation that discussed how many chemicals (ingredients) the FDA has banned in the U.S. --- 10, and that our philosophy here is "we must prove that the ingredient is Harmful, before we can remove it". Whereas in the EU, over 1800 ingredients have been banned because their philosophy is the direct opposite of ours: "we must first prove that the ingredient is Safe". Ridiculous isn't it?


Above, Jan said something that has stuck with me and that is she will not purchase any product that scores higher than a 2 on the Cosmetic Database. She said some product brands like Burts Bees (just an example of the many out there) where many of their products are a 2 or less but they also manufacture other products that score a lot higher. She said she will not "support" businesses who aren't consistent across the board. Why create a few products that are "natural" but yet offer different ones that are harmful to the skin? She has strict protocols in place to pick the "cream of the crop" and real, natural skin / personal care products for her business with White Lotus Living. There are some personal items that she's researching to replace what she is using currently, like shaving gel.


Her website was unveiled at this wellness talk. Support a female-owned business and help teach these "natural" manufacturers a lesson by spending dollars with businesses that are truly organic, or natural, or in her words, beyond green!


In my part II of celebrating Earth Day - 40 years, I will cover my second guest speaker, Leslie Kirchmeier. 

It's real

I've come to this conclusion tonight: We must treat our health like our salvation. If it's important to me to know my Savior then it's important that I know what I'm eating. My life depends on my ability to make smart food choices. My salvation (eternal life) depends on knowing God and His promises. I can't go blindly through life because I didn't know. I do know! I can't turn my back on the Truth.


The changes I will be making will be small steps but steps in the right direction nonetheless. If I make small meaningful baby steps, they're sure to stick over time. Though I feel that I'm behind the curve with providing my family the best nutrition all around.

I'm thankful that I'm a part of a whole food nutritional movement because an organization has opened my eyes to recognizing poor food choices, i.e., HFCS, Food Dyes, Hydrogenated Oils, etc.

There's more to the story of what we are eating and how it's been treated to be put on our table. 

Hormones and pesticides aren't good.

Obesity is real. Type 2 Diabetes is real. Cancer of children is real. This stuff isn't going away. It's real scary!

It's not too late for my family to do the right thing. Thank God! Just like He forgives allowing us a fresh start... I can give us a fresh start with choosing the right foods.

There's a challenge ahead of me but my family's health is so worth it. It may cost more $ up front but down the road, I have faith that we will be healthier as a whole costing less down the road.

I am faithful. I am ready to dive in...

Gearing up for Earth Day

All month I have been gearing up for a Wellness Talk to be held on Earth Day, April 22nd. I have solicited the help of 3 like-minded women who will be featured at this talk. I will talk at the end about a whole food supplement and guests will have the opportunity to ask questions and network amongst everyone present. We will have a whole foods recipe demonstrated and guests will be able to try it out. The event is free and we are even throwing in some nice raffle prizes. The seating is limited at 20 and it will be an awesome event. 


I will be plugging the guest speakers in my next post regarding this event. I will be sharing more information about the business for where the event will be held at and much more. Stay tuned. 


P.S. I plan to hold at least one wellness talk each month. Each talk will be of a different theme. For the month of May, I was planning Skincare but my #1 speaker isn't available and I don't have a back up yet, so, I'm considering changing the topic to Pregnancy Health. 


Other topics for talks will include: Occupational and Sports Health, Women's Health, and Children's Development.  For the Women's Health talk, I am thinking about holding a Suit Drive for the Dress for Success campaign. 

Upping my nutrition knowledge

An idle mind is not a good thing. 


I have this thing about wanting to remain submerged in something new. Let me clarify that - learning something new. 


Over a year ago, I became interested in eating well in order to live well. Over the last twelve months, I have gone from just being aware of bad food choices to actually making healthy food choices and then educating others on how to do the same. I'm plugged into a supportive network through the Dr. Sears Family and that's what has really opened my eyes to a lot out there but, I want to take it a step further and actually help people in their journeys that are right here in my community. 


I have this newfound awareness and I just want to share it with everyone that will listen but who am I?  ... I guess just being a concerned mom is not enough to have a real opinion or to have any sound advice. So, I want to take it a step further and earn a certification in nutrition and/or attend one of several Dr. Sears L.E.A.N programs. I believe having either in my repertoire will allow more opportunities to share my knowledge and hopefully people will readily take in my information. 


Doing either above is in my 0-3 year short term plan. The LEAN is offered 4x a year in Denver, Colorado and is open to select professions. Since I have a basic understanding of nutrition based on what I do presently, I am eligible for the program. This is very good news! 

Eyes open? Check. Ears open? Check.

Many of you know that I have recently created a fan page on Facebook labeled: The HFCS-FREE Challenge and I have almost 90 fans in just two short weeks. I'm excited about where my (our) page is headed. We've had some interactive, engaging, and thought-provoking conversations thus far. There are a good 10 people, maybe more, that contribute to the posts on a regular basis. We have been able to bounce perspectives off one another and open others eyes to the world beyond HFCS. We are learning about GMO foods. We are talking about MSG. We are bringing up other topics that are sometimes controversial or seemingly new to the public's eye like Agave Syrup - is it just another fancy name for HFCS or is there something good about it? I'm impressed at the fans' knowledge about healthy alternatives to eating and living fuller and happier lives. It's refreshing to say the least. 


I started this fan page because I wanted to bring awareness about HFCS and the negative affects on our bodies. I have a 6-week challenge coming up on the 19th and have only a few participants. I'd like to get more because I'm asking all participants to journal their way through the six weeks on the discussion board. 


My goal with this page is to continue to engage in conversation with my fans. I don't want it to become another fan page with thousands of members that receive no interaction from the page's creator. I will continue to add links and other talking points to get people chatting. I want my fans to feel like they're contributing to a greater cause. These fans are teaching people about health and wellness as they post comments. You just never know whose life you will change by posting an encouraging or factual note about the many harmful ingredients out there. 


I tell ya! I had no idea that the conversation would really steer away from HFCS when I created this page but I am so glad that it has. The posts have opened my eyes to everything that I guess I held in the dark, not intentional though, but ignorance is bliss and once you know about something you can't not do anything about it. 


The conversations on this fan page has also got me talking to people outside of Facebook. I am learning more as I bring up certain topics and people enlighten me about a personal experience they've gone through and yet again I learn something new. My ears are opened, too.


I invite you to become a fan and suggest this page to your friends. I encourage you to participate in the discussions. I would be honored if you become an active participant in the challenge. All I ask is that you remain on topic and be respectful to others. The page is monitored by me on a daily basis. 

Let's rally together, brainstorm and promote awareness about HFCS and the other things we've been discussing. We need to support one another in our journeys to greater health!

Dairy Farm Tour

On Wednesday, I attended a tour at De Jong’s (pronounced de young’s) Dairy Farm in Wildomar, Riverside County, California. They are the only true dairy farm in the area. What I mean by “true” is that they milk the cows there, bottled the milk and sell it from their property. They do not have the organic label on their products due to the expense behind the label but I believe they are as close as you can get without the fancy label. They have large 2 pens that keep 36 cows at a time. The big dairies have 150 cows or more in each pen. They feed the cows hay and grains twice a day and in the cooler months of the year provide fresh water twice a day. In the hotter months, they are provided water three times a day. Any cow that is sick and on antibiotics is removed from being milked until they’re 100% well - about 8 days. They milk the cows twice a week – Mondays and Thursdays (and twice a day). Each day yields between 1500 and 2000 containers of milk. They said that their water bill each month is $8,800!  The company has been in business since the early 60s. They are a family owned business and do not have a website but I found an article about their business through a local newspaper and you can learn more facts about this place. 

Their cows life span is on average 9 years. One cow they had was 15. She gave them 13 babies. The cows must be pregnant every year to keep up the milk supply. The owners have not bought a cow in 30 years!

If you are ever in the area, it’s worth visiting. They only offer tours in the cooler months of the year because as you can imagine when the heat comes the smells … well you get the picture. They are a Mon-Sun business open twelve hours from 8a to 8p. They are open every day of the year - there are no holidays off. 

Their whole fat milk also comes in chocolate. They don’t use Hershey syrup but rather real cocoa. They take the fat from the cow’s milk and add it to the chocolate milk so you can imagine how yummy it is and should be drank in moderation, of course. They also sell 2% milk in chocolate.

I have a new found appreciation for this business. I buy their chocolate milk every other month or so but now I will make the trip each month to pick up a few gallons of the full fat milk for my growing toddler.

If you’ve ever been, please leave a comment and share with us all your experience.  

Tips on Nutritional Label Reading

I recently watched a short DVD by Dr. David Katz called “Nutrition Detectives”. It is geared towards children but speaks volumes to adults. You can purchase the DVD for a nominal cost. The DVD covers other healthful aspects but I summarize the basics of label reading below. 

Society has evolved from people growing their own food to purchasing convenient and emotional foods. Since many of us can’t do it like they did in the olden days, we can however, make smarter choices when we buy foods. So, use the following 5 clues to help you at your next trip to the grocery store or while out grabbing a quick bite to eat.

1). Don’t be fooled by the labels on the front of a package, but go to the nutrition facts on the back (or side).

    * They can be conflicting. For example, an off brand of juice reads “Orange Juice” on the front but the nutrition label has no oranges or orange juice concentrate listed.

2). The first ingredient listed is the biggest.

    * You’re looking for a breakfast cereal. If the first ingredient is sugar, it’s not a cereal – it is instead like eating candy for breakfast. Make the first meal of the day meaningful, full of flavor and healthy. It is what fuels you for the day ahead.

3). Avoid suspicious ingredients.

     * Anything hydrogenated, high fructose corn syrup (or its many aliases), aspartame (or Aminosweet), any dyes, etc.

4). The longer the ingredient list, the least healthy it is for you.

5). Look for whole grains and avoid imposters.

      * Fiber is our friend. Should be 2g or more if it’s truly a whole grain. 

There is 1 class of foods that do not require any label reading: Fruits and Vegetables.  Take it back to nature and eat whole foods as often as you can throughout each and every day.