Kobocha squash soup!

Because of our overindulgence this past holiday, I have decided to keep our meals as simple as possible these next few weeks before we indulge all over again! I try my darnedest, but I just can never resist the homemade cookies and pies during the holidays! Then, afterward, I pay for it with cravings and a rough time getting back to our normal fare. 

Anyhow! This recipe idea came from Alicia Silverstone's book "The Kind Diet", which I've used as a resource for vegan meals for about 3 years now! I love it. So many veggies in her recipes. Things I've never tried she has gotten me to try! Easy recipes, no crazy ingredients (well...not crazy to me anymore), and though not every recipe is my taste, I know whatever I make is nutritious and animal friendly. All good in creating a diet for prevention of chronic diseases and for making lighter, easily digestible meals.

I decided to make Kobocha squash soup. I had a hankering for a warm, nourishing, colorful, seasonal soup and I chose Kobocha squash because she uses it quite a bit in her book, but I've never really tried it in this soup! I usually opt for butternut in this kind of soup, but I thought I would try the Kobocha. Butternut is usually pretty readily available at the grocery store, and Kobocha is a bit harder to find, but I was determined! I found an organic one in the second store I tried!

It's actually a pretty hard squash to find because many times it is not labeled. I'm not sure if the store doesn't know what kind it is or what! But it's a beautiful squash and interesting to look at. It is also REALLY hard to chop up! So if you try it, be careful and make sure you have a sharp knife.

Slice the squash in half and then in half moons to skin and chop up. There are a lot of seeds so be sure to scoop them out! I chopped an onion right after the squash. I only used 1/2 of an onion instead of a whole because we are not a big onion loving family!

I varied Alicia's recipe quite a bit because I wanted a bit more hardiness. I used some coconut oil to sauté the onions, and used half veggie broth, half water, instead of no veggie broth, no onion, and no oil! It's starting to sound like I didn't use her recipe at all. But her recipe and book inspired me (it is even in the background there!).

I chopped up the onion and the squash, melted the oil in the pan, and then sauteed. After sauteing the onion in the oil, you add the veggie broth/water and the cut up squash.

I boiled until tender  (which did not take much time at all) and then scooped out the squash and blended it up in my blender (you can also use a food processor and it would probably work better. Unless you have a Vitamix, and then you are loving life!). Then it just goes back into the pot to warm again when it needs to be ready for the meal. I always try the food I make. I don't understand those who say "I never try what I make. It's either good, or it's not!". I don't get it! I always try it so that if it needs a little something, I can add it right then! But this is your soup. You do what you want. I found that it needed a little sea salt and pepper.

This recipe turned out really great! It was such a beautiful golden color in the white bowls that I have. I should have taken a picture because it was a striking color. I've learned that in order to pick out a nice sweet squash you must look for a rich dark green color with an orange spot on one side where the squash was laying on the ground. Also, you want it to be on the heavy side. If picking between two, choose the heaviest one! 

Here is the easy, peasy recipe:

1 Kobocha squash skinned and cut into chunks. However you know how to best do this! (butternut works nice too)

1/2 to 1 onion chopped (depending on your preference)

3 1/2 cups veggie broth (or chicken). I also used 1/2 broth 1/2 water because the original recipe called for water only

1 Tblsp coconut oil

Salt and pepper to taste 

See above for steps to cook.

Please try it! It would probably be wonderful with some coconut milk mixed in to make it a bit more creamy, and using all broth and no water would also give it a bit more Umph! But we enjoyed this version for sure. The only side we had was a nice green salad (again no picture! I'm still learning.) To the salad we added sugar snap peas, tomatoes, raisins, sunflower seeds, and celery! I love some sweetness in my salads. It went really well with the soup.

I also LOVE toast so I made myself some for the side. I'm not eating wheat so it was a rye bread with some earth balance butter and honey. YUM!

If you do choose to make this soup, I hope you look for organic ingredients! It seems to me the organic produce just has a bit more flavor, and it does my heart good to know I'm serving my family a few less pesticides with their dinner.

I also hope this post leads to some great meals for you! Here is what the day looked like when I cooked ours: 

Brrrrrrrrrr!!!!!
It was just a soup kinda day! Now go make some soup!

Be well,

Mandy

We don't trust tea drinkers!

My friend Kolleen and I have a funny inside joke about people who don't drink coffee: WE DON'T TRUST THEM.
Who wouldn't like coffee? It's so warm! Coffee flavor is yummy! We live in a coffee mecca! And, who doesn't want a little boost in the morning? So those who don't drink coffee are CRAZY! And we don't trust them.

But now I don't drink coffee in the morning.Uh oh.

Since I am trying to figure out the culprit behind my headaches, I had to give up my beloved morning coffee. Coffee is, like, my only vice. I hardly drink, I eat healthy, I don't eat much sugar, but I love my morning coffee! Anytime anyone has suggested I give it up for every day use, I scoff. "Not my coffee! I refuse! That is my one vice in life!" Let me tell you...it was one of the hardest things I have had to do. Which was actually also troubling to me! I only drink 1 cup of coffee in the morning, so I should be able to give it up without to much of a physical (mental is another story) problem. Right? Wrong!

I was so tired and irritable and blah! For about almost a week! I was worried about myself. I didn't think it was the caffeine.

Anyway, the whole point is that I was told I could have green tea. I don't like green tea! It makes me feel funny in my head. I know. What doesn't these days?

But one of my coworkers was talking about how she was going to get a Matcha Green Tea Latte one afternoon. What the heck was that? She was RAVING about them and how she makes them at home. She was describing all of the benefits of Matcha green tea and how she just craved them sometimes! So, she went to Starbucks and I did some research. Turns out, she knows what she is talking about! Here's are a couple of tidbits:

8 Wonders of Match Green Tea
Benefits of Matcha Green Tea - Dr. Weil

Now before you go to Starbucks, or your local coffee cart to buy a Green Tea Latte, know what you are buying. Many places only have traces of matcha in their drinks, have additives, LOTS of sugar, and tout it as good for you. These drinks are not what I am talking about. Real Matcha Green Tea is used in Japanese tea ceremonies and gives you many more benefits than the Green Tea Lattes that are being made for us. Educate yourself before you jump on the bandwagon!

So I found some at Whole Foods and started making my own (after I got over the sticker shock!). Oh...my...goodness...Did my outlook improve! Holy Cow. I had my energy back but in a very different way.

This is not the green tea I had been having in tea bags. This was a creamy, lovely, much richer version and I did not get the caffeine rush, or the dehydration (I found later), or the stiffness during yoga! (Which I found later as well). At the time, all I knew was that I felt great! My energy was back! And I had something better than watered down clear tea to greet me in the mornings.I had added almond milk to it as well as hot water, shook it up in my mason jar from my smoothie that morning, and drank it. THIS WAS MY NEW FAVORITE THING!

If I was Oprah, everyone would be drinking this by now! It would be on "Oprah's Favorite Things Christmas Show" and everyone would get a free tin!!

And then I remembered this article. This article threw me for a loop a few weeks back about how most of the tea we are drinking is full of pesticides because of the way tea is grown, processed, and bagged:

The Truth About Tea

Which makes total sense to me. If we are conscious of the fruits and veggies we put in our body because of the pesticide use in our country, why would we not be conscious of any plants/herbs we put in our body? Why would our growing of tea be any different?

So I am in search of a reasonably priced, respectively sourced, ORGANIC Matcha Green Tea. So far I've tried "Got Matcha". I'm impressed with the quality, but the price has a bit to be desired. If you become a member, it is 1/2 price, but I haven't done that yet. I like that it is organic, I like where it is sourced, and I like the company.

So now that I can start having coffee again, I am only having it on the weekends! I do not want to be reliant on coffee to get my day started. Green tea has less caffeine and makes me feel WAY better throughout the day than my coffee did. I feel like I can have another cup in the afternoon, if I like as well! So many more benefits. So many less consequences for me. Green tea is actually alkaline in the body, rather than creating an acidic environment, which, we are learning, creates and atmosphere for disease to thrive. This is something I am trying to avoid!

More questions and answers about Matcha!

That is my spiel about Tea! Please read the article on the tea we drink. Choose wisely. We are all voting with our money and our choices! The more we purchase responsibly produced, healthier for us items, the more we will create demand.

Thanks for reading! Now go drink some Matcha Green Tea!

Be well,
Mandy

Is my food making me sick?

I've been struggling, which is one reason I haven't written in a couple of weeks.

I’m hurting. And I feel like I’m never going to figure out why.

I write this not for sympathy, or to complain. I write this for anyone who is going through something similar, or worse, and needs to know they are not alone, needs additional resources, wants to ask questions, or just needs to know that someone else out there is listening (or writing!).

I've also been afraid to write about this, because I have friends and family who have gone through/are going through so much more, that I feel that what I am going through is small potatoes, or that no one would care!

I decided to write anyway. If for nothing else, to serve as a journal for myself, to remind me where I started, came from, and how far I have come (because I plan to go very far away from this!!)

I think I eat pretty healthy, I exercise, do yoga, don’t drink much alcohol or eat too much sugar. I sometimes make people uncomfortable with my food choices, I drink Shakeology, and I don’t eat dairy or much meat. I go to a chiropractor, acupuncturist, and naturopath, and am pretty in tune with my body. I get made fun of for it! And now... I feel like crap much of the time. Headaches, body aches, skin aches, upset stomach, strange nausea, fatigue. All this seems to have no rhyme or reason to it, except for after I eat rich meals, sugar, or drink alcohol, I feel like crap. Am I alone in this? Is any food I eat actually good for me anymore? Can I ever indulge and enjoy what I love again? Is all my "healthiness" for nothing? Or has it just ruined me? Can I never process a processed food again? Am I not as healthy as I think I am?

Thinking about preventing cancer and other diseases and trying to figure out what foods best fuel my body and what philosophies I believe in (vegan, wheat free, paleo, etc.), and sticking to it is hard enough! Right? I read too much, I know too much. And now, I have to figure out what is causing my body the symptoms I have been having. As if it isn't hard enough to eat well! As if it isn't expensive enough!

This has been quite a journey these past few years. I’ve dealt with headaches since before my son was born and it was attributed to stress and tension. I got massages. Then they found vertebrae out of alignment in my neck and dehydration could be culprits. I went to the chiropractor. I went to an acupuncturist. And now, those things, plus some food sensitivities seem to be making me feel yucky. And worse than ever. I feel like I just keep adding to the list! And I also feel like this journey just started over!

Lately the headaches have gotten worse (a brain tumor has been ruled out because of my symptoms). I can’t drink any alcohol for fear of a ridiculous debilitating headache the next day. In bed until 3:00pm kind of headache. Puking. And that is from one drink of Grey Goose Vodka and soda. I can’t eat much sugar, especially refined. Natural sweeteners don’t seem to bother me too much. I can eat Coconut Bliss ice cream! Yay!

AND THEN! Yes, there is more! All of a sudden I started getting these crazy skin sensitivities! Like, I couldn't touch my skin because it hurt. And it kept moving around my body! One day it was on my left arm and my sleeve was hurting my arm. The next day it was on the sides of both my hips and it hurt to pull my pants on and off! Next, it was my back. Arghhhhh...when will it end?

All of this has lead me to be on a food elimation diet (with the guidance of my naturopath). Fancy, huh? Something is causing these crazy symptoms! But what?? Basically one eliminates all typical foods that cause allergies or sensitivities: wheat, dairy, corn, sugar, eggs, coffee, tea…you get the idea. 2 weeks of this and then one adds those foods back in, one at a time, to see what happens. Yay.

I’m on week two. Aside from a few annoying small "headaches", some body aches (detoxing??), irritability, fatigue, introspection and antisocialness, I'm doing pretty great. Surprisingly sticking with it! I've broken a habit! I'm following the diet! It finally got bad enough and this is what is making me stick to it. I'm TIRED of feeling like crap and I want to figure it out.

By the way, Matcha green tea is saving my life right now. How did I not know about this stuff?? Way better than the green tea bags. More of a kick. More robust (is that a word when you talk about tea?). And with some almond milk? Really helped with giving up coffee.

This whole experience has me reading more (Oh no!) about the food I am eating. I just picked up “Wheat Belly” by Dr. William Davis. It has really opened my eyes, so far, about how genetically modified ALL of our wheat is! This is not the same wheat our grandmothers ate and made homemade breads with.

It has also made me look differently at all the food around me. The processed, not real, sugar/fat/salt packed everything. I can’t have it right now, but it also makes me look at it at a new angle. What am I really putting into my body? Does my body need it? Is it giving me fuel? Is it going to make me feel like crap in the next hour? It probably sounds like a very boring way to live. But shouldn’t we all be thinking this way for optimum health?

Sooooo...out of all of this chaos, some good things are emerging:

*My yoga practice is improving. Not sure why, but I am more flexible and have more stamina in my super hot Bikram yoga class
*My skin irritations have gone away! Which means some sort of food is causing it. But what? I'll find out later when I add things back in.
*I don't need coffee. In fact, I think it was making me feel worse than I thought. I do need some caffeine though and I found a new way! Matcha!
*I don't know as much as I thought I did!
*Things taste better when you don't eat as much sugar.

I've discovered some new things! I love discovering new things! Especially when they are healthy :)

*Match Green Tea - Why has no one told me about this? Powdered green tea, not in a tea bag, which can be mixed with any sort alternative milk for a nice caffeine kick in the morning! So much better for me.Currently looking for an organic version that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
*Go Macro Bars - awesomeness that I can eat - Gluten Free!
*Kit's Organic Fruit and Nut bars - second choice awesomeness that I can eat - by Clif bar. Gluten Free!


All of this brings me to so many questions:
Why is my food making me sick? If I am getting sick, how many other people out there are sick from their food too and just dealing with it? How good could we/should we feel? Why are they putting so much junk in our food? Why is it so intensely complicated and expensive to eat well? And so hard for so many people?

How can I help others?????

I feel like I've been forced, in a good way, for good reasons to eat a very strict, healthy diet. I have big reasons WHY: I don't want my symptoms anymore, and I don't want them to get worse.

So that is my story so far. There is more to come and I hope I find out some definite information when I start adding food back in. Maybe we will all learn something!

Until then, please write. I'd love to hear about your experiences! Let's all share and help each other!

Be Well,
Mandy

Why do we wait?

I have this exact magnet quote on my fridge:

Even though I look at it EVERYDAY, I am still waiting.

Why do we wait for a crisis to make a change?
Why do we wait to pursue our dreams when the "perfect" moment may never come?
Why are we so afraid of failure, of taking a risk, of actually LIVING?

Only when we hear about a diagnosis, have one of our own, or lose someone, do we seem to reflect on our own mortality.

What have you been waiting to start? To finish? To say?
Who have you been waiting to hug? To see? To call?

I'm thinking about this because I have some dreams. I hope that we all are still dreaming! But life and money are getting in my way, and my conundrum is, when will that NEVER be the case? Will I just never pursue my dreams because of these things? There may never be the perfect moment.

I think that these things are part of leading a healthy and happy life! Fulfilling our dreams. No one ever regretted going after a dream! Even if we fail, we learn. And we get right back up again.

"What's your dream?" - do you remember that line from the movie Pretty Woman?

I encourage you to answer that for yourself. What is your dream? If at the end of the next 12 months you had the perfect year, what would that mean? What would the "perfect year" look like for you? Write it down. Post it on your mirror. Read it everyday. Make it happen! Stop waiting. And I will too.


Live a happy, healthy, life right now. What are you waiting for?

Be well,
Mandy

Breast Cancer Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Why isn't it Breast Cancer PREVENTION month?

Exposed

Jennifer Lunden on the Business of Breast Cancer

http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/7693

I posted this article to my facebook page, but thought it was worth reposting here for all to read. It is a very worth-your-time article to read. Even though it is a bit long, it is worth reading ALL THE WAY THROUGH!

It discusses many things: corporate greed (shocking, right?), Pinkwashing of America, government regulation of toxins (or lack thereof), and our responsibility to ourselves as consumers.

Breast cancer has shown up too many times in my short life. I've become someone skeptical of anything I put in my mouth and on my body. I've sought out companies that do the right thing, that create products with ingredients I can read and understand, whether it be food or personal products. I read, I research, I try to share. It is overwhelming. It is a constant battle. And I fall back into old habits many times (here come the habits again!). But in the end, I want to know that I did what I could. That I stuck with what I believe. That I didn't just do things because "everyone else is doing it" or that "it's just too hard!". Those are not good reasons in my mind.

So here are a couple of  sites that I'd like to share to help you research the products you use, and an alternative company if you are looking for non-toxic products. To the right are a few other resources that I will be adding to as I go. After you read this article, use these sites as resources. Read more. Share more. Be educated. Be well.

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/  -- a place to research the products you use. See how toxic they are and find alternatives.

www.avaandersonnontoxic.com -- This is a wonderful company. I know everything I buy from them is NON-TOXIC. Started by a teenager who couldn't find any products that were non-toxic after learning about the dangers of the ingredients in the products we use.


Be well,
Mandy

Potential

I AM GIVING UP ALCOHOL AND SWEETS FOR 60 DAYS. (During the week).

That is a bold statement from me. More because of the sweets, not the alcohol. And because I don't trust myself to do it! Why do I keep challenging myself to things I don't feel like I will accomplish? Because I keep thinking "this time I WILL do it!". AM I THE ONLY ONE???

Sugar and alcohol have contributed to my overall sense of feeling crappy for a very...long...time. And for me, it doesn't take much. 1 cookie. 1 drink. Headaches, nausea, lethargy, roller coaster of emotions...all attributed to even small portions of either substance. During consumption, after consumption, and even the day after consumption. So why do I continue? Habit.

The fact that I don't usually follow through with anything I challenge myself to do also contributes to that overall sense of feeling crappy.

OK. There have been times! I did a half marathon once (but I definitely could have trained more). I think I am a great mom (but I know there is always room for improvement). I'm talking overall. More often than not, I miss the mark.

I can't be alone here. Can I?

We know there are HUGE links between fitness, health, self esteem, happiness, overall well being...and on and on.We do all know this, right? But when we set out to do things, challenge ourselves, we get so psyched up to do it! Then shortly thereafter, we come up with excuses, life gets in the way, and we go back to our old ways.

I named this entry POTENTIAL because I want to ask you all this question: Do you know your true potential?  Truly. How good could you feel? How happy could you be? How successful, how strong, how confident, how sexy, how loving could you be?

If you are striving for GREAT things, how can you really do your best without putting yourself first? How can you have the drive, motivation or energy, to do the things you need to do? Be the person you want to be. Energy drinks? Pots of coffee? Worse things? STOP IT! None of those things lead you to your greatest potential without sacrificing something more important. Your health.

In my first post I talked about all of the things that I believe are worth bringing to the forefront of our brains. Fitness and Nutrition, I believe, are 2 of the most important things we can do for ourselves. If we don't have our health, what do we have? Self esteem, emotions, chronic diseases, pain, relationships, and how we even navigate through life, can all be affected if we choose not to take care of ourselves.

Habits:
I, and I'm assuming many of us, keep going through life playing out our habits. How we eat, how we think, how we exercise, how we treat people, how we work, how we play. We are all at different ends of the spectrum on all of these things, but we are all playing out our habits. Maybe you are super competitive and always have been. Maybe you are someone who has always wanted to be fit but your habits keep you where you are.Maybe you have goals that you have striven for over many years but have never quite reached them!

I've fallen into the "mediocre" category most of my life.  Doing enough to get the good grades, but never going above and beyond to get that 4.0, even though I could have. I've always WANTED to be that athletic looking person, but have never really pushed myself too hard. I know I have the potential to be that amazing teacher who goes above and beyond at all times for her students, but I seem to do just enough to get praise, but not too much to be that one that stands out in a crowd. I've always gotten by with money, but I've never had too much. I can pay my bills, but there are no major vacations, many family reunions and weddings in Wisconsin we could not make, and those houses we would have loved to own but they were just out of our reach. Habits, habits, habits.

Well this year I got tired of it!! What am I truly capable of?? What can I really accomplish??How great can I really be and feel?? How healthy can I be??

Like so many of us I have the tools. I am a person that is passionate about and LOVES nutrition. I want to prevent cancer. I want to live a very long time! I want to earn more money! But I am weak...I am human.

I became a BEACHBODY coach last January which means that I represent a company that helps people get and stay fit! I love it. I get to coach people everyday, online, keeping them accountable for their fitness goals, challenging them, encouraging them, etc. I also can earn a great living doing this. BUT! I approached this like I approach every other area of my life. Not with reckless abandon. Just doing enough to make it look like I am doing something, but not really accomplishing too much of anything! Staying right where I am. In mediocrity.

So!! What am I doing about it?? Starting this week, I started a program called Focus T25. It is 25 minutes a day, 5 days a week, at home, and led by Shaun T of the Insanity workout series. I also love Bikram yoga, so I will be incorporating that 2-3 times a week. I will be EATING CLEAN: no processed foods. That is a big umbrella. No alcohol. No sweets. Notice I didn't say no sugar. I just mean no extra desserts, candies, cookies, anything of the like. As I am writing this I am getting a little bit twitchy. Thinking about the cookies at home I just purchased. The nice microbrew in the fridge before dinner. Cold...yummy...

BUT this is another attempt to BREAK MY HABITS! If I can tackle this habit, I KNOW it will filter into the rest of my life! My business, my relationships, my parenting, my everything!

I CAN break through some of those bad habits that have plagued me all of my life! And so can you.

I know that when I get into a great habit of exercising and eating well, I feel fantastic! I have more energy when I wake up in the morning. My confidence soars and I go harder! I am happier. I am a more patient mom. I am a more patient partner. I am a more motivated, more patient, more excited teacher. This is how I know that all of this matters. Drinking makes me feel like utter crap. Sugar makes me moody and gives me chronic headaches.Not exercising makes my self esteem go down, my clothes fit me differently, and my attitude to veer towards negative. Why do I do it to myself? Why do I not do the things that make me a better person? Why do I not strive to reach my highest potential everyday? Why don't many of us??

I hope that I might be able to inspire some of you to take control. To see that I am human, that we all struggle, that with a bit of hard work and some discipline, even the one who strives for mediocrity can reach for her full potential. Although, do we every really reach our full potential?? Maybe not...but it doesn't mean we shouldn't KEEP TRYING!

So if you'd like to join me, please do! T25 is an amazing program for busy people. 25 minutes? How can I come up with an excuse that is valid? My kid can WATCH me exercise for 25 minutes, if nothing else. He can do it with me!  Alcohol, schmalcohol. Sugar? That is going to be the tough one for me. But it's 60 days (minues the weekends!). And I am going to feel great.

Thanks for reading! Let me know how you reach for your full potential everyday! Help me know that I am not alone out there.The bottom line is we just need to KEEP TRYING! And we will achieve GREAT THINGS!!


Some suggestions for reading for breaking old habits and creating new ones:

The Slight Edge - by Jeff Olson
The Compound Effect - by Darren Hardy
The Speed of Trust - Stephen M.R. Covey

In case you want to try some T25 with me!
Focus T25

In health and wellness,
Mandy

Kicking it off!

This is where the journey begins! This is what this blog will be all about. Stay tuned for an inspiring (hopefully!), educational, valuable, interactive, journey! And this is why it is starting:

 FAMILY

Four generations! My grandma will be 90 this October and has never had any major disease. My mother is on my left. She had breast cancer twice by the time she was 50. And that is my 4 year old son (he was a lot younger when this picture was taken). I want to teach him to be the healthiest and best he can be, and I want to be Healthy, Fit, and Happy, for a long, long time.

Cancer.
This sparked my drive. My passion. Not my own cancer but my best friend's. She was 36. Now she is 37 and recovering, thank goodness.
My mom. Breast cancer twice by the time she was 50. Cancer free now.
My aunts, my cousin (in her 40's), friends (in their 30's). I'm tired of it. Are you? We always say, "...but they are so young!". Should it be OK at any age? I don't believe that it should be.

Family.
Raising a son has changed my vision for life. Changed my purpose, changed who I want to project to the world. I want my son to see what a strong woman is, what a strong woman does, and help him understand what a woman is capable of. I want him to understand what he is capable of as well. I want him to understand how to be healthy and why it's important. What nutrition does for you, what fitness gives to you, and that you must do all you can in this one short life. This is more of my drive.

Nutrition.
We know this is a big piece of the puzzle. This is my passion. I am not perfect, but I love learning. I love the idea that we have, in our hands, the potential to beat our genes. The potential to heal our bodies. Getting back to basics, away from processed food, away from fast food, away from the crap being advertised as healthy for us when it is killing us! Away from counting calories, fad diets and feeling crappy. There is so much information out there and it is there for the taking. I know there are tough issues out there to tackle to make fresh food available to everyone. But it is a battle that is necessary and worth fighting and it starts with the education of what is really going on and what is really possible.

Fitness.
What a contributor to our well being and healthy lifestyle! So many options out there! We know we must do it, even if we don't always love it. Find something you love, and do it! Then find something else, take some chances, and do it! Do it again! Keep doing it. You want to be healthy, fit, and happy? You must get out there. You must be active. You must do what you think you cannot do! You must be selfish in this way. It affects every other aspect of your life.

That is my story! These are the things that I believe in and what I want my energy, in this life, to go towards. My hope with this blog is to educate, create conversations, share information, and to offer solutions and options to those who may be looking.

I know we are out there. Crusaders for a healthier, happier planet, family, and life. I believe that we could all use a little support along the way!

This is the beginning! Are you with me?? Let's go!