Whole Mom

My daughter, Abigail, is teething.  If you have ever had a teething child… you know that it is no fun for the child, and no fun for the parents!  Generally a good night sleeper, last night Abigail was up for about 1 1/2 hours during the middle of the night.  This random act of teething put my sleeping time at 1:30am-5:30am… 4 hours… you got that? FOUR.  Now, there was a time in my life when I regularly, and willingly, stayed up until 1:30am… but that was before I had a small child calling for me at 6am.

I’m getting off track… but the purpose of this post is to tell you how ok I felt the next day.  I am the type of person who likes, and needs, my sleep.  I have not done well with the whole “now I’m a mommy and tired all the time” thing.  If I don’t get 7 hours of sleep at night, I usually have a tough(ish) time functioning the next day.  SO… when, after getting only 4 hours of shut eye, I actually felt ok and was able to function like a semi-normal person… I knew that something had affected me in a very positive way.

A couple of days before, I had done a Vitamin C, ascorbate calibration, or “flush.”  Basically you take a ton of Vit C ascorbate every 15 minutes throughout the day until toxins literally “stream” out of you (*smile*).  My body had accepted a whooping 34,000mg of Vit C ascorbate (that is a LOT!).  Since then I have been taking 18,000mg+ of Vit C ascorbate per day.  Vit C ascorbate has been shown to be very beneficial and can help you with everything from just generally feeling better, to severe illnesses. 

Please read my nutritionist friend Jessica Forbes’ blog at the Marilyn Farms Company website to learn the details on how to feel better with VIt C ascorbate!   (I DO recommend that you begin the flush in the morning as is recommended… I started in the late afternoon and  paid for it all night).

Enjoy!  Let me know if you try it, and how good it makes you feel!  Thanks for reading!

*Please consult your doctor before doing anything mentioned in this blog.  I am just a mom trying to be healthy… I am not an expert!

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ascorbate flush, how to be healthier, how to have more energy, more energy, vitamin c, vitamin c calibration, vitamin c flush

This meatloaf is so easy, and so tasty!  It is a great dish to make when you are expecting company, or at the beginning of the week for some delicious leftovers!

Ingredients:

• 2 Lbs ground beef
• 3 Cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 Medium yellow bell pepper, diced
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 C. Gluten free oats
• 2 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Pepper
• 1 Whole or 1 tsp. Bay leaf
• 2 tsp. Thyme
• 2 Tbsp. Parsley
• Olive oil
• 1/2 C + Ketchup
• 1 Tbsp. Worchstershire sauce

1. Heat oven to 350
2. Grease loaf pan with generous amount of olive oil
3. Coat medium sized frying pan with olive oil.  Place on stove over medium heat.
4. Add 3 cloves minced garlic, and 1 medium diced yellow onion to pan.  Heat until tender, about 3 minutes.
5. Add diced yellow bell pepper to pan.  Heat until tender, about 2 minutes.
6. Add parsley, thyme, and bay leaf to pan.  Heat 1 more minute.  Remove from heat. Remove bay leaf if you used a whole leaf.
7. In a medium sized bowl, combine beef, eggs, oats, salt, pepper, 1/2 C. ketchup, worchestershire sauce, and cooled veggie mix (bell pepper, onion, garlic).  Use your hands to get the best mix/ consistency!
8.  Put meat mixture in greased loaf pan
9. Top loaf with additional ketchup
10. Bake 1 1/2 hours.  Check for doneness

Toddler variation:  I really don’t have a special toddler variation for this one.  I simply give my daughter small, cooled, pieces. 

This makes great leftovers!  Try a next day meatloaf sandwich with bread, mayo, and all the fixins!  YUM!

Enjoy!!

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gluten free meatloaf, gluten free meatloaf recipe, meatloaf, meatloaf recipe

Check out this new article by Dr. Sears discussing vaccines.   Click here for Dr. Sears article.  Fascinating! Below is an excerpt.

“The party line used to be “vaccines are perfectly safe, we know everything we need to know about their side effects and how they affect the immune and nervous system, and that’s that.” I can’t tell you how many AAP medical meetings I’ve been to where doctors just sit around and laugh at anyone who even thinks about saying anything negative about vaccines. They literally laugh. I think that arrogant mindset is changing. How can anyone pretend that we know everything? We need more research. I’m not saying we should stop vaccinating, neither is Deborah Kotz in this article, and neither are any of the doctors whom she quoted. But it seems that the call for more research and understanding has been heard. I look forward to seeing it all (in ten years or so, unfortunately).

What will happen to the vaccine industry if research finds that a small, but significant, percentage of children truly are susceptible to suffering some harmful neurologic or immunologic effects? I predict that this will NOT lead to a change in our overall vaccine policy. The fear over what would happen with diseases is too powerful of a concern in the medical community. I think that in most doctors’ minds, disease prevention takes precedence over the occasional developmental challenges that vaccines may trigger in a small subset of our population. I’m not saying that’s right, I’m just saying that’s the way I think the medical community would view this issue if research proves there’s a concern for a small percentage of children. Of course, the financial and emotional burdens of autism on each individual family and our nation as a whole is huge, and it’s climbing. What is going to happen with these 1 in 150 kids in 20 years?”

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Children's Health, Dr. Sears, vaccines

This banana bread is so good, and really quick and easy to make!  You can make it gluten free… or not!

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 C. Gluten Free Flour Mix, or Regular Flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Flour Mix)
• 1 t. Baking Soda
• 1 t. Xantham Gum (Only use this if you are using a gluten free flour mix!)
• 1/2 t. Salt
• 1/3 C. Olive Oil
• 1/2 C. Agave Nectar or Honey (I use Agave Nectar because it has a very low glycemic & carbohydrate index.  It raises blood sugar to much lower levels than sugar or honey.)
• 2 Eggs
• 1C. Mashed Bananas (About 3 very ripe bananas)
• 1/4 C. Hot Water
• 1/2 C. Chopped Pecans

1. Pre-heat oven to 325
2. Stir dry ingredients together
3. Whisk oil and Agave/ honey together in a bowl
4. Add eggs one at a time and whisk
5. Stir in mashed bananas
6. Add dry ingredients to the oil/ banana mixture alternately with hot water
7. Mix well
8. Fold in pecans (I run my pecans through the food precessor so that I can give my toddler the bread without worrying that she might choke on a nut!)
9. Pour into greased loaf pan
10. Bake for one hour (check for doneness with a toothpick/ knife)

This bread is so easy and delicious.  My entire family loves it!  We will eat it for breakfast with fruit, or for snacks.  It is not too sweet, which I like!  Put day-old slices in the toaster to bring back the freshly baked taste!

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Baking, gluten free, gluten free baking, gluten free banana bread, quick and easy recipe, quick bread

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cavity prevention, Health, natural cavity prevention, natural oral health, oral health

This is a new recipe that I came up with yesterday. It turned out great!

I purchased a buffalo chuck roast at our local natural foods store because it was a bit cheaper than the beef roast.  After doing a bit of research, I found that grass-fed buffalo is very good for you!  It tends to have less fat and cholesterol than beef.  It can also have a higher content of protein, iron, omega fats and amino acids.  The taste is similar to beef, but is actually a bit sweeter.  It is not “gamey” at all.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 pound (or more) buffalo or beef chuck roast
• 5+ cloves of garlic
• Olive oil
• 1 large onion, or 2 small onions
• Mushrooms
• 4+ regular sized carrots
• 1/2 head of broccoli
• 1 red or yellow sweet pepper
• 3+ chard leaves
• 4-5 small red potatoes
• Salt
• Pepper

To do the night, or day, before:

1. Grate or press garlic (I like lots of garlic, so use more than 5 cloves if you’d like!)
2. Add garlic to generous amount of olive oil, about 1 cup
3. Coat roast with garlic/ olive oil marinade, and massage into meat ( I did this right in my slow cooker pot)
4. Season meat generously with salt and pepper
5. Chop all veggies (veggies listed above are flexible, use what you have on hand, or what your family likes!)
6. Add veggies to slow cooker pot, or container with meat
7. Season again with salt and pepper
8. Put in your fridge to marinade over night
9. In the morning, put your slow cooker pot w/ meat and veggies in the slow cooker base and turn on low
10. Cook in slow cooker on low unti meat is cooked through (my slow cooker works really quickly… mine was done in about 6 hours).  If you won’t be home during the day, set your slow cooker timer to 7-8 hours on low
11. Optional - after meat and veggies were cooked I had a lot of juice in the pot.  I put the meat and veggies on a platter and used the juice to make a gravy (put in saucepan over medium heat, add milk, water, or stock to increase volume if needed.  Add cornstarch or flour slowly to gravy, stirring constantly with a whisk, until desired consistency is reached.  Season w/ salt and pepper)

Toddler variation:  I just gave our daughter bits of everything cut up.  She is not very into meat yet, so she didn’t eat that.

This was very tasty, and super easy.  A great meal if you are expecting company!  We had a LOT left over… which I love.  I made my husband a roast buffalo sandwich today for his lunch!

Enjoy!

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healthy recipe, Quick and Easy, recipe, roast, slow cooker, slow cooker recipe, slow cooker roast

I have to preface this recipe/ product spotlight with a little intro. My daughter has been under the weather for the last few days… and all moms know that you don’t get a whole heck of a lot done with a cranky, feeling bad baby. Yesterday I was at the end of my rope, so I had my first margarita at 4pm. When my husband, Micah, came home last night at 6pm, I announced, “honey, we’re having margaritas and chips and dip for dinner. I hope you’re ok with that.” Always a fan of alcohol and appetizers, he responded with a resounding, “great!”

Now, mind you, this was no ordinary dip we were eating… Here’s where the recipe/ product spotlight comes in. Gourmet Farms of Colorado produces the BEST dip mixes that I have ever had. They contain all natural ingredients and can be added to additional ingredients to make dips, salsa, guacamole, etc. Visit their site to order at http://bestdips.com. Micah was at a home show all weekend in Denver (he does Venetian plasters, faux finishing, painting, etc), and these guys were in the booth next to him.  Add the mix to grapeseed oil Vegenaise (instead of traditional mayo), and whole, organic sour cream, and it’s not all bad for you!

We enjoyed our dinner… and we think that you’ll enjoy the dip mixes too!

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Appetizer, dip, natural dip, recipe

Ear infections, especially in children, are at an all time high. It is not uncommon for a child to have 3-4 or more ear infections before the age of two. Some children seem to be more pre-disposed to ear and sinus infections, which I know my daughter is. I’ll discuss other lifestyle habits, eating habits, the vicious antibiotic/ infection cycle, etc that lead to ear infections in a later post.

The product that I am spotlighting today, is Animal Parade Inner Ear Support Children’s Chewables, by Nature’s Plus. They contain a strain of newly discovered “good” bacteria, named K12, which was found to reside in the inner ear and oral/sinus tracts.  This strain or probiotic bacteria is fairly newly discovered and researched.  An ear or sinus infection is basically an accumulation of “bad” bacteria that becomes an infection.  In studies, the K12 bacteria has been found to  actually combat “bad,” invasive bacteria, as well as producing an anti-imflammatory effect, aiding in cellular tissue repair, can stimulate an immune response to help an ill person recover more quickly. http://www.npicenter.com/anm/templates/newsATemp.aspx?articleid=22916&zoneid=8. 

This probiotic, K12, has been shown to increase overall oral and sinus health, including reducing cavities.  I have yet to find the product in adult form… but will let you know if I do!  Let me know if you find something!

The Animal Parade product mentioned here is the only product that I’ve found that contains this newly discovered bacteria.  My daughter is too young to chew the tablets, so I crush them and give it to her on a spoon.  I hope that they will come out with a liquid form soon for younger children and babies!

You should be able to purchase the product at your local health food store or vitamin shop.  If they don’t carry it, aske them to!  In the meantime, click here to purchase online http://www.vitaminlady.com/NaturesPlus/inner-ear.asp.  Thanks for reading!

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Children's Health, ear infection, Health, natural remedies, oral health, sinus

No… I have not resorted to calling my readers mean names…  BRAT is the diet that Abigail is on today.  After she downed her morning bottle, she promptly “upped” it, or vomited it, all over our living room carpet, and me.  She’s also been a little “loose in the diaper,” if you know what I mean (diarrhea!).  So, she’s on the BRAT, dry em up diet.

B - Bananna, R - Rice (or rice milk, rice cereal, rice pasta), A - Apple (or applesauce, apple juice, etc),        T - Toast

If you feed this to your child when he or she is not sick and “runny,” they will become constipated.  These are all “binding” foods, which help to hold everything together and keep things inside the tummy when one isn’t feeling so good. (PS - this works for adults too!)

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Children's Health/ Nutrition, Health, Healthy Family, Natural Living