Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The Skinny on Organic Produce

Top Produce to Buy Organic

Latest list of foods highly contaminated with pesticides.
Therefore this is a list of the produce we should ALWAYS buy organic or skip altogether.

FRUIT

VEGETABLES

  • Peaches - listed as the worst with the highest levels of pesticides of all conventional produce
  • Strawberries - one of the most pesticide laden food of all and so scrumptious and not easy to wash because they are small and sweet, like Raspberries, so choose organic to be safe and keep your family safe
  • Raspberries
  • Apples
  • Grapes (& therefore
  • Raisins and
  • Juice! - many kinds of juices have Grape Juice in them)
  • Nectarines
  • Apricots
  • Pears
  • Cherries
  • Lemons - especially if zesting, should definitely use organic
  • Limes
  • Bananas - heavy chemicals for the trip to America including Thiabendazole which Damages the Brain and Nervous System. Especially troubling since this is the first food we can feed our babies! Not on EWG list anymore but we're keeping them on ours.
  • Kiwis - off the latest lists
  • Pineapple depending from where
  • Cantaloupe from Mexico
  • Tomatoes - yes, they're a fruit, but they were recently taken off the top tend list. Of course, grape and cherry tomatoes are difficult to wash giving reason to get those organic. And organic tomatoes just taste better!

Also important to buy organic:

  • Rice - loaded with pesticides!
  • Oats - read those cereal boxes!
  • Milk - antibiotics and hormones are forced into America's conventional dairy cow to increase profits without regard on our children's health or that of the cow's - see Not in My Milk
  • Baby Foods! - babies are particularly sensitive to pesticides to make your own or go Organic!
  • Wild Salmon - okay, so it's not officially "organic" but Wild is the right choice for many reasons
  • Foods that are GE like Corn - there are more pesticides on genetically engineered foods so avoid GMO Foods
  • Nuts - because of the high fat content, they hold on to pesticides more than others
  • Anything you or your kids eat a lot of - since pesticides accumulate, if you eat a lot of something that may not be listed here, lets say your kids eat peanut butter every day, then you should certainly avoid an excess of toxins by choosing organic for those items.

http://www.deliciousorganics.com/Controversies/toptobuyorg.htm


Also, this is a great site to look at regarding when it is worth it to buy organic and what you can do if you can't afford or can't find the organic version. It was just too much to post on my blog.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23941484/?pg=1#COT_Organics

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Why Buy Organic?


I found this and I really wanted to share it with you guys for those of you who just aren't convinced about buying organic foods or still think it is for "hippies" :) Or if you have people in your family who still need convincing!

The information below was taken from another website (also listed below). Just didn't want you to think I was coming up with this stuff by myself.

Why Buy Organic?

Food the way Mother Nature made it is clean and wholesome. Your body knows just what to do with it. After all, it has had an awfully long time to figure that out.

Organic food doesn't contain toxins like pesticides, heavy metals, dangerous industrial chemicals (for example, artificial flavors, colors or preservatives). And everything in it is natural: it's real food, not "Frankenfood" created in a laboratory for profit regardless of the fact that genetically modified, synthetic foods have massive, well-known health hazards.

studies show that eating it [processed and genetically engineered food] is associated with slow, gradual organ system failure, perforated, bleeding guts, shrunken kidneys, damaged immune systems, increased serious and life threatening diseases like cancer, autoimmune disease, life threatening allergies, irregularities in the blood system, and a host of other dangerous, and deadly conditions.

http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/?page_id=323

I haven't been doing so good...

I shared some of my goals for this year with you but I didn't share all of them. I thought maybe they were too personal.

I've found that the ones people don't know about, I have completely pushed them aside. After much thought, I've decided to share them with you so you can help hold me accountable in any way, shape, or form possible.

Here we go.

2009 Goals

· Study my Bible more

-specifically the new testament

-learn more about the characters of the Bible and what I can take from them

-become involved in an intensive Bible study group

-pull out more verses to carry around with me

· Make it a year of prayer

-write down my prayers

-share my prayer requests with others, no matter how silly they may seem

· Exercise more

-Be able to completely run a 5K

-spend a lot less time on the couch

-take significantly less naps

· Eat healthy

-less sugar!!

-NO SODAS

-limit processed foods, high fructose corn syrup, and hydrogenated oils

-read the labels of what I'm eating

-eat less fast food

-be more informed about what I'm putting into my body and share my knowledge with others

· Spend less

-no frivolous buying

-only wise purchases and things that are NEEDED, not WANTED

Friday, January 23, 2009

Honest....scrap.


So my sweet friend, Nessa, tagged me to honestly scrap...or post some honest crap, or something like that.

These are her conditions (although, HONESTLY, I don't know that I'll follow them).

A) First list 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep!

B) Pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap.

So here we go:

  1. I have spent the majority of my life wishing to be in another part of my life..."if I were 16," or "if I were in college," or even better, "if we were married." You get the point. I'm trying really hard not to be that way and just enjoy what life brings.
  2. [YOU ASKED FOR HONEST] When I look in the mirror right before I take a shower, I am slightly disgusted, and slightly irritated. I work hard to be healthy. I exercise. I coach cheerleaders. I chase around a one-year-old. My legs are strong (and skinny) as is most of the rest of me...except my waist. STUPID WAIST. Go away. I don't want one. I don't want it to be evident that I've had a child. I want people to see me and say, no way you've had a kid! Honestly, I just want my 17-year-old body back....without the work that it took to get it that way.
  3. I am VERY torn about going back to work. I want to work--to have an income and know that I've accomplished a lot at the end of a day. I want to stay at home. I want to maintain naptime :) and know that I'm not letting someone else raise my kid. I worry about how she will change if she goes from being home with me to being somewhere else, like daycare. Yall know she won't sleep if something is going on. When I subbed, I missed her like crazy every second of the day. When I got home, I was too exhausted to play with her...or cook dinner...or wash clothes...or really even shower. Seriously. I don't understand how people do all that! Which leads me to....
  4. I really want my job to be a clothes rep for all my favorite "home show" lines--Chez Ami, Kelly's Kids, Rags land, Orient Expressed, and Castles and Crowns. I love, love, love children's clothes. LOVE THEM. Study them. Stay up-to-date on them. Pee in my pants with excitement when the new lines come out. I actually even attempt to do math to figure out how I could afford to buy her the pieces I want her to have. It would be the perfect job. You basically only have to work twice a year (per company) doing home shows and convincing people to buy these amazing clothes. PLUS, I would get to buy Ansleigh's stuff 40% off!!!! Yes, please. So what's the problem? I don't know anyone anywhere remotely around me that would pay that kind of money for their kids clothes. I DON'T PAY THAT KIND OF MONEY FOR MY KID'S CLOTHES. How can I ask them to?
  5. I thinking this Fashion Wars thing on facebook has gotten a little out-of-hand. I keep getting friend requests from people who want to be in my "posse." Ha. Haha. Hahahaha. No seriously. I don't make stuff like this up. The sad thing is that I accept these people and let me be in my posse...because I'm stupid.
  6. Pretty much everyday my number one option for dinner is some sort of pasta.
  7. I've gotten on the bandwagon and now I want to be a spreader of good news....BUY ORGANIC! Stop eating crap. The only problem is that occasionally I eat that crap, although, when I eat it, all I can think about is how disgusting it is and what it is doing to my body.
  8. Eventually, I want to coach a Varsity cheer squad and run the cheerleading program from Varsity down (JV, and Jr. High/Freshman). I want to build a strong program with tradition and school spirit. I want to be paid a kagillion dollars to do it.
  9. I really would appreciate a personal hair stylist. Someone who is always at my beckon call do dry my hair, fix it, and make it look purdy...at all times.
  10. I pretty much hate everything in my closest...except my jeans. Everytime I get dressed, I get irritated because I hate my clothes and don't want to put them on. I got money for Christmas. I got gift cards. But I can't seem to find clothes I like that I will wear and not want to puke each time I look at them. Explain this to me.

For the tagging thing....I really hate doing this part but here goes:
  1. Rachel
  2. Carrie
  3. Christina
  4. Malerie
  5. Lacey
  6. Shealy
  7. Denise
Ok. done.

holla.


Tuesday, January 20, 2009

An Update of Sorts

For those of you who are following me on my journey to being better (as per my goals for the year), I thought I'd update you on how I'm doing.

In case you've forgotten already, here are the goals that I set:
  • Exercise more.
    -I really want to be much more aware of the physical activity I am or am not doing. Recently I've started a "From the Couch to 5K" training program. We'll see how that goes. Running makes my side hurt.
  • Eat healthier
    -seriously. less fried foods (french fries included). less sugar (sweet tea included). more water (in place of the tea). NO COOKIES. They are from the devil and make me fat.
  • Spend less moolah.
    -I want to be more aware of what I am actually spending our money on. No more frivolous spending. No more, "oh this is on sale which makes it $200 less that what it would have been." If I don't need it, Ansleigh doesn't need it (and seriously, what does she need?), or Anthony doesn't need it, it isn't coming home with me.

As for the exercising,
I'd say I'm doing moderately to fairly well. I have been getting out and running/walking, but not quite as often as I'd like. On the days I haven't gotten "out there," I have done indoor exercising (crunches, leg lifts, crawling races with Ansleigh..lol). I've discovered that it is so much easier to run without Ansleigh (as she tends to throw things out of the stroller), but it is difficult to be consistent and go without her and not be running in the darkness. Also, I have to base everything around her schedule, when she's napping or eating, her crankiness level (she's been teething and extremely irritable lately). Basically, I'm trying, but I haven't gotten consistent yet. Continue to pray for motivation for this.

As for the healthy eating,
I generally eat very healthy (especially when we are home in Florida) so it is a little more difficult for me to describe how I'm doing on this part. I will tell you that I'm not pleased with myself in this department. I quit drinking sodas several months ago and only rarely have one...for example, maybe 1/2 of a can once every three weeks. Well, Saturday I had 1/2 a medium coke. Sunday morning I had a canned cherry coke, and at lunch I had coke too!!!! Devil! I noticed that I justified the two on Sunday...nothing but coffee or soda at church and yall know I don't drink coffee. At lunch, Subway didn't have tea and I didn't want water. Bad girl. Very bad girl.

Also, I'm always pretty good about what I eat for breakfast and lunch. My problem with dinner comes in my portion size. I always put too much on my plate and then eat it all. Ugh. I have been doing better with that, although I find myself STARVING somewhere between 9 pm and midnight each night. So I get a snack. Occasionally I've had an ice cream sandwich (yes, I know it's bad for me...high fructose corn syrup and all) and I do some extra sit-ups for it. I've been really, really bad about snacking on apple slices all day. ALL DAY. Apple slices? Those are good for me, except when I sit there and dip them in a jar of Nutella all day and then lick the Nutella off my fingers...haha. I shouldn't laugh. I know it's bad, but I just can't help it. If you could see me licking the last drops of it off my fingers, you'd laugh too.

I will say I have done excellent on the "no fried foods" part. Not so excellent on the more water, less tea part. Lately I've been doing less tea, more organic chocolate milk. I can't decide if that is better for me or worse? I pat myself on the back for being pretty good about the cookies. I ate two in Sunday School but that's b/c I had no breakfast, was starving, and that is all that was available at the time. .....but they were small cookies!!!!!

As for the spending less money,
For the most part, I have done very well with this. I've stopped myself from buying various cleaning products, canned goods, and other things that I wanted to get. Why did I stop myself? Because we already had them and weren't close to being out of them. I'm terrible about buying stuff just because I see it and I know eventually it will get used. Seriously. We have like 7 bottles of toilet cleaner in the bathroom. I feel I've earned a gold star for that. I even stopped myself from buying ORGANIC butter because we still have plenty. That was a hard one. I will buy the organic butter...just not until we run out.

I've been buying Ansleigh clothes/shoes for spring/summer but I've done very well. I know everybody thinks my kid has tons of clothes...and by the time it is spring/summer she probably will have a ton of clothes, but as of right now, she really doesn't have anything to wear. AND, as I have been dubbed the "Ebay Queen," I should share the knowledge that right now everyone is selling spring/summer clothes. Closets are being cleaned out all across America and last year's boutique clothes that got shoved to the back of the closet and never worn are now being listed on ebay. Basically what I am telling you is that I have been spending some money, but not frivalous money. I have gotten several "steals" which has impressed hubs. :)

Honestly, I feel this is the department I've done the best in. The only "frivalous" thing I have bought is a $2 rubber ducky for Ansleigh. BUT IT WAS A CHEERLEADER. I could not help myself. She loved it...and more importantly, so did I. Other than that, I've done well. I should fess up that I spent more than I should have on her "Easter Egg Hunt" outfit but I still got an amazing bargain on it....I just paid more than I normally would. And when you see it, you will pee in your pants at the cuteness. Seriously.

Anyway, there's the update.

Love yall. Pray for me. And if you are in charge of snack for church, bring something healthy!!!!!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Must See Movie. Seriously.

So I've been on a "health" kick for quite some time.

I've been reading.

I've been researching.

Tonight, I watched.

What did I watch?


OHMYGOSH IT IS SO GOOD!!! I wouldn't watch it with the kids around (has a few dirty words) but is super informative and really quite incredible. Even Anthony liked it. Which is saying a lot.

Watch it.

Be informed.

Stop eating that crap.

More of a Goal...

I really have never been that into New Year's Resolutions (yes, I realize it is well past the first of the year).

I hear about resolutions all the time.

This year I am going to lose 10 pounds, stop eating junk, break up with my boyfriend, whatever.

No offense, but I think those super broad, cheesy goals are stupid. Just plain stupid. And people always seem to fail. Most of the time, they don't even remember their resolutions past February.

However, I do feel like the start of a new year is a great time to set some goals. Realistic ones. And because you are my friends/loved ones/adoring fans, etc. , I have decided to share these with you so you can help me out/keep me accountable or simply just not point and laugh if I do, in fact, fail.

With that, in no particular order, here are my goals for this year:
  • Exercise more.
    -I really want to be much more aware of the physical activity I am or am not doing. Recently I've started a "From the Couch to 5K" training program. We'll see how that goes. Running makes my side hurt.
  • Eat healthier
    -seriously. less fried foods (french fries included). less sugar (sweet tea included). more water (in place of the tea). NO COOKIES. They are from the devil and make me fat.
  • Spend less moolah.
    -I want to be more aware of what I am actually spending our money on. No more frivolous spending. No more, "oh this is on sale which makes it $200 less that what it would have been." If I don't need it, Ansleigh doesn't need it (and seriously, what does she need?), or Anthony doesn't need it, it isn't coming home with me.
That last one will probably be the hardest for me. Probably because I am an excellent justifier. Seriously. Just ask my little green debit card or my husband.

Pray for me. Check up on me. Don't tempt me. For this is love.

Love Yall :)