Take Steps to Sustainability

By: Jeff

Sustainability: how biological systems remain diverse and productive. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems. In more general terms, sustainability is the endurance of systems and processes.

When I asked Nicole if she could somehow simply define sustainability she came up with a great response: "Leaving the environment a better place for later generations." Couldn't put it much simpler if you ask me, but you might be reading his wondering what you could do personally to take those necessary steps to living a more sustainable lifestyle.

Try these beginner steps of sustainability to help the environment endure for those generations to come:

- Recycle - This might sound as basic as possible considering the act of recycling has been around for over 20 years in most residential cities, but shockingly many people still don't recycle. In 2015 recycling has never been easier as most companies offer co-mingled recycling (you don't to sort paper products from plastics, etc.) as well as the recycling of any number of plastics. All you have to do is find the recycling logo and you can recycle that object. Some places (like my hometown of Wheeling, WV) are still very much in the stone age in terms of recycling and only collect clear glass, aluminum and paper. Go online and find a recycling center near you and take your plastics and other glass products there to help those materials be re-used and not end up in our local landfills.

- Garden - Sick of the rising costs at the grocery store? Me too. What can you do about? Grow some of your own food. Whether this is a deck garden with nothing but tomato plants, or a more diverse garden which produces peppers, squashes, carrots, lettuce and an assortment of other vegetables that will not only help reduce your carbon footprint from food traveling to the grocery store, but will help you make strides in your health by eating foods naturally grown in your own back yard.

- Compost - Once you start your garden, you will realize there is a lot which goes into that process. You need to buy compost to add to the soil, as well as other nutrients to ensure your crops are the best they can be. Why pay the money for compost when all you have to do is simply let your trash take care of it. Buy a simple compost bin at your local hardware store (they aren't that expensive) and set it up somewhere you can easily access it throughout the year. Add some dirt at the bottom (along with some earth worms if you can find them) and let the composting begin. Any vegetable and fruit scraps you have can go directly into the compost bin to help fuel the soil with nutrients. This will not only help your garden but will also cut down on how much trash you collect on a weekly basis.

- Conserve Water - People (myself included) take water for granted. Everyone should do their part to conserve water as best as possible. Whether that is cleaning your dishes by hand and letting them air dry rather than using the dishwasher, or simply turning the water on in the tub as it fills rather than waiting till the water turns warm to start to fill the tub. All are small things which can go a long way to conserve water and help the environment.

Try these beginner steps to sustainability and be happy knowing your baby steps are helping to sustain our environment for future generations!

New Year Nutrition Challenge

By: Jeff

Join us for the New Year Nutrition Challenge

As the calendar flipped from 2014 to 2015, many people were thinking of resolutions or goals to help make themselves a better, happier and healthier person in the new year. In our house we did the same thing, but with a twist.

Everyone always uses bland statements and goals when looking ahead to the new opportunities which await in the new year. Why not be specific and join us in the New Year Nutritional Challenge?

Here are the details of the challenge:

Allowed:
- Vegetables
- Quality sourced protein (think organic, local and grass-fed or a combination of the three)
- Fruits (within moderation)
- Nuts, seeds and legumes
- Coffee (1 serving a day and be sure it is freshly brewed and not loaded with sugar)
- Tea (1 serving a day and just as coffee must be brewed and not pre-made)
- Eggs
- Whole Milk
- Water (lots and lots of water)

NOT Allowed:
- Excess Sugars (Candies, chocolates, etc.)
- Breads (even whole grain bread)
- Cereals
- Low-Fat Milk
- Artificial Sweeteners (anything which says 'SUGAR FREE' will have artificial sweetener in it)
- Sodas, Energy Drinks and Juices
- Rice
- Pastas
- Jellies and Jams
- Alcohol of any kind (No wine, beer, gin, vodka, rum...you get the picture.)

Essentially what you are doing in this challenge is eliminating excess sugar and carbohydrates and resetting your body to living within the healthier realm of vegetables, fruits and proteins.

This challenge is flexible in terms of duration. You could challenge yourself to do this for one week (or 7 days), or for a month. If this is your first time doing a challenge like this, I would recommend at least two weeks to start. This gives your body a chance to cleanse itself of sugars and allow your body to move past the cravings which will run rampant during the first week.

My wife, Nicole, and I did this challenge from the weekend after Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve. Around a month in duration and afterwards we both felt great. We enjoyed the holidays and have started the challenge again.

Doing this challenge with someone else will make this an easier process. Whether that person is a spouse, friend or co-worker is irrelevant. Just someone who can sympathize with your plight will certainly go a long way in your success.

During our time doing the challenge between Thanksgiving and Christmas we had friendly wagers with one another if someone slipped up throughout the journey. For instance, if I slipped up Nicole would get to teach her typical Thursday spinning class and go directly to a hot yoga class afterwards while I stayed at home with our 3 children and took care of dinner, dishes, etc. (Neither of us slipped up once, by the way.)

Do whatever you have to do, but give this challenge a try. It is worth it for your health, and you will lose weight in the process. Combine this challenge while increasing your activity level will only help you feel better, look better and improve your overall health.

If you slip up? Don't worry about it. Put it behind you and start over again. One of the main reasons New Year's resolutions fail is the fact people are too hard on themselves if they fail to live up to the standard they've built in their minds. Instead, take it easy on yourself. Expect more, but hit the reset button and get back on the horse. Resiliency is always a favorable trait.

With that said, who wants to be a part of this journey with us? Simply leave a comment below in the comment section stating when you are starting the challenge, as well as the duration of your challenge. I'll be checking up with you to see your progress...remember just one step at a time!

All it takes is saying "No" one time

Sometimes all it takes is saying, "No" one time...

By Nicole

It can all start by saying, "No" just one time. 

I can't even imagine what it would feel like to have to lose 20, 50, or even a hundred pounds just to feel like yourself again or even trying to stop a food addiction like soda.  However, you have to start somewhere. 

I completely understand how food offers so many things to the human body and a lot of us have had years to build this multi-faceted relationship with it. Just recently I had been struggling to stay strong with the lifestyle we follow. If someone had M & M's or any type of chocolate I was on it. It left me feeling lethargic and lacking motivation to be as active as I would have liked. 

So, something had to be done. I just had to say, "NO" one time to a food offer that would do my body more harm than good. I know that food temptation is EVERYWHERE, but you can change. 

So what can you do?

Take a second to write down what it is you are eating throughout the day, sort of like a food journal. After about a week, examine those choices. What percentage are vegetables? Fast food? Healthy fats and meats? Processed food? Grains? Water? Sugar in all forms (soda, fruit, candy, alcohol, juice, etc)? For most, these results are eye opening, so what are you going to do to change?

Decide what it is you can possibly cut back on or even eliminate to make you healthier. For most people sugar is their main addiction and new studies are showing sugar can be just as addictive as drugs like cocaine.

When analyzing your nutrition, always try to remember what paleolithic, or original man, had accessible to him (or her). They did not have access to much fruit, so the constant craving for sugar was never there. But over the years, fruit has become so accessible and sadly, larger (I am pretty sure apples shouldn't be the size of a softball) it has people walking around in a constant sugar craze. 

So, please do yourself a favor and break up with these foods which are causing weight gain, Type 2 diabetes, thyroid issues, cancer and so much more. All it takes is for you to say, "NO" just one time. Trust me, after that one moment of strength you will start to feel better, then you will start to look better and it will continue to get easier and easier to stay strong! 

Wondering where to start? Here is a recipe you can say, "yes" to and it is so simple even a cave man could do it!

Crockpot Chicken

1 whole chicken

3 bags baby carrots

1/2 stick of butter (organic is best)

Salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder to taste. 

Place the whole chicken in the crock pot, breast side down. Season the chicken with the salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder.  Slice the butter and place on top of the chicken, save some slices to put on the carrots. Place the opened bags of carrots around and on top of the chicken.  Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours or on high for three. 

Of course, you need another vegetable. Here is our children's favorite way to have broccoli...

4-6 heads of broccoli, cut into small florets 

Grapeseed oil (olive oil is best not heated)

Salt and pepper

Place the broccoli on a large baking pan. Drizzle well with grapeseed oil and season generously with salt and pepper. 

Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until most pieces start to crisp. You will want to stir halfway through. 

Trust us, once you have it this way, you won't want to have it any way else!

Enjoy!

It's what inside that counts

By: Jeff

Ingredients make a huge difference in a person's health.

I wrote an article about the many gimmicks of the food industry last week, and thought I should expand on those thoughts this week. As a pseudo follow-up article, it is time we talk about ingredients.

If you haven't read my previous article, you can read it by clicking THIS, but if you did, you know terms like 'whole grains', 'free range' and 'natural' are all very loose terms the food industry can manipulate to make you purchase their product. The key to looking past the gimmicks is seeing the ingredient list and being able to decipher the actual items which are used in producing the product.

Let's take a look at a food label to help illustrate this point:

Here you see a label from Reece's Pieces candy. Obviously, no one would mistake this candy as healthy food, but the label itself tells the true tale of what you are putting in your body. 

The first ingredient listed is always what is used the most in the product. In this case, it is sugar. Every ingredient after is listed in the same order, from used the most to the least. So, on this label, after sugar are partially defatted peanuts, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, corn syrup, dextrose, and a ton of artificial colors and dyes to give the candy it's color. 

Being able to read beyond the words is a trait very few take the time to do, but is worth it's weight in gold when it comes to your health. Essentially, you are looking for foods that have real ingredients, and not ingredients that sound like a lab experiment gone wrong.

General rule of thumb? If you can't pronounce it, you shouldn't be eating it. In the above candy label, you can see the underlined words which are extremely harmful to your health. The hydrogenated oils, corn syrup and the artificial colors all can have drastic effects on your health and behavior. Guess that peanut butter in the candy isn't worth all that much after all...

Let's stick with the sweets, and I will give you a good example of what a product could look like that isn't horrendous for your health.

All Natural Turkey Hill Chocolate Ice Cream

Here is our go-to ice cream for our birthday parties for the kids, as well as for any get together where we might want to bring ice cream. Want to know the ingredients in this ice cream? 

Here they are: Cream, Sugar, Nonfat Milk, Cocoa.

That's it. Compare that 4 ingredient list to the myriad of junk in the candy we analyzed earlier. 

Simply put, you shouldn't have to have a science degree to know what is in your food. Will this require a little more searching and a little more time in the grocery store? It certainly will, but will the time spent make a difference in your overall health? No doubt about it.

When in doubt, choose local

Eating local food can be better for your health,
as well as the environment.

By Nicole:

Personally, I like knowing what is in the food we eat. The food we eat as a family has always been a battle I am willing to fight for, especially if it is something our children will be eating too. 

Being a physical/health educator I have always had a connection with nutrition and of course physical activity. It wasn't until our oldest was born that I fully submersed myself in the whole concept of nutrition and the effects it has on our body.

For most of my life I placed a ton of trust in the recommended guidelines from the food pyramid, which became MyPyramid and now MyPlate. Then I read the book Skinny Bitch, which opened my eyes to the whole Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO).  After reading and doing more research we decided that we would try following a pescatarian diet (fish, eggs, veggies,fruit, nuts/seeds, and grains), because at that time we were not able to find local grass fed meats. 

Then our oldest our oldest was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and our eyes were opened to the whole world of blood sugar spikes.  What was causing those spikes? I am sure you can guess...wheat, corn, fruits, juice, oats, rice, etc. So gradually we started to eliminate those foods which were causing huge blood sugar spikes and added meat back into our lives (protein is a "free" food for diabetics, meaning it does not contain carbohydrates).

Thankfully, we found a local farm that raises their animals they way animals should be raised (cows should eat grass and pigs and chickens should eat off of the land) .  It truly is nice knowing that our meat has not been fed antibiotics or growth hormones. Believe it or not, but those hormones and antibiotics become part of your food, which eventually can lead to many health problems, antibiotic resistance being one of them.  It is also nice to know that our meat is local and not from hundreds of miles away from our grocery store, decreasing the carbon footprint on the enviroment.

In closing, if you are not able to find a trustworthy place to buy your meat, choosing organic meat is second best.  If that is still not an option, just make sure that the meat you are buying is free of hormones and antibiotics.

If you live close to our home town (Hagerstown, MD) and would like to know where we buy our meat, please feel free to ask in the comment section below the article.

In the mean time enjoy the recipe below:

Fall Harvest Crockpot Chicken

1.5 lbs butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 sweet onion, diced
1 pear, peeled and diced
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup chicken broth (optional)
2 bay leaves
Sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cinnamon

Layer squash, half the onions, pears, and cranberries on top.  Add 1 bay leaf and some spices. Arrange a layer of chicken on top of the spices.  Add another layer of spices and second bay leaf on top of the chicken.  Add the remaining onion, pear, and cranberries.  Pour the broth over the mixture (this is optional, to make the dish more like soup).

Cook on high for 3 hours and then on low for 90 minutes

A great cold weather meal! Happy eating!

Don't fall for the gimmicks of the food industry

All those labels...consumers must read between the lines.

By: Jeff

Around the holiday season you are enticed by gimmicks everywhere. The latest gadget on television, the new car promotion at the local dealership and even at your local grocery store. The difference between the examples previously mentioned, the grocery store gimmicks aren't just near the holidays, but all year long.

There are a million gimmicks at the grocery store, and all are horrible in their own unique way, but for today's article I am going to focus on the hottest word in the food business: the healthy food industry.

People are starting to buy healthier/organic all the time. Why? Well, because it says organic on it, obviously. The issue with this is not all healthy/organic foods are created equal.

Companies have made millions upon millions of dollars by putting words like 'Natural' and 'Free-Range' on their products to hoodwink you into thinking their products are ultimately better for you. However, that isn't always the case. Do some research and you will see the real truth.

The following came from a great article you can read on your own by clicking THIS LINK:

"Natural" - A "natural" or "all-natural" product seems to imply that all the ingredients were plucked straight from nature with no interference from human beings, but in reality there isn't much on this earth that ISN'T natural. The FDA only regulates the word "natural" in meat and poultry products to include those that contain no artificial substances - although confusingly, genetically modified organisms are allowed. One could convincingly argue that even petroleum by-products, high fructose corn syrup and rat excrement are natural - after all, they all came from the natural world. Perhaps the biggest offender on this list, the tag "natural" on any item is basically meaningless and has been usurped by grocery manufacturers trying to compete with the certified organic food label.
"Local" - There are no legal standards for the word "local," so your grocer could put up oranges from Chile and call them "local" with no repercussions. How to avoid this conundrum? Shop for produce at farmers markets, visit local farms and get to know the people who grow your food.
"Free Range" - As far as the USDA is concerned, the only certifiable "free range" food items are poultry and eggs. The law states that chickens must be "allowed access to the outside," yet there are zero specifications as to how big this outdoor area must be. There might be one door that goes to a 4'x4' yard for 100 chickens or more that are all eating hormone-fueled, pesticide-drenched food. Your best bet is to purchase USDA Certified Organic eggs. Other "free range" meats such as beef or pork are not regulated at all, and you will just have to trust the manufacturer (or do your research).
"Made with Whole Grains" - This product might include 99.99% refined grains and .01% whole grains, but there's no way to know because the term is not regulated. The manufacturer could throw two grains of oatmeal into five tons of their product and assert that it is "Made with Whole Grains." Don't fool yourself into thinking you are eating healthier than you are!
"Lightly-sweetened" - Surely a food product that is "lightly-sweetened" contains less sugar than the norm, right? Not necessarily. Another unregulated term, "lightly-sweetened" is used to describe plenty of products that are loaded with sugar, corn syrup or other sweeteners. This food label means nothing!

When you see the truth about what the food industry does to trick consumers into buying their products it should make you feel wronged in many ways. After all, you are trying to make healthy decisions for you and your family, not to be conned into buying something which doesn't provide what the label promises.

However, if you look at the list of products that might have the label 'Made with Whole Grains', it shouldn't be purchased if you've made the jump to a Paleo or Primal lifestyle. Avoiding artificial sweeteners would eliminate the 'Lightly-Sweetened' label as well.

The real issues are with the 'Natural', 'Free-Range' and 'Local' tags. Your best bet? Try and find a local farmer that can give you an in-depth and honest look into how their food is produced and their animals are raised, sheltered and fed from birth until the end of their lives. It might be more expensive, and it might take some time to find, but there are farmers in your area who are doing their job the way it is supposed to be done. All you have to do is find them.

Consider this just the first of many articles with the theme of not trusting our country's food industry. Knowledge is power, and as the site progresses you will see more information regarding the shady nuances of our crooked federal food industry. Some might say 'ignorance is bliss', but when it comes to your health, you should know the truth.