Archive for Living Simply

06 Sep 2012
Health • Living Simply

Tips For Easy Organic Meals

Apron Handmade by Sweetheart Fashion Boutique! https://www.facebook.com/#!/Sweetheartfashionboutiques

Do you feel like you don’t have the money to eat organic?

Do you feel like you do not have the time to make your own food?

Do you fear that your meal options would be extremely limited if you were to adhere to an organic lifestyle?

 

For today’s post, I will share some tips on making organic eating a little less overwhelming.

First if all, there are things you can do to reduce the cost of organic food. Which I will discuss later in this post.

Other than that, let’s just be honest. Unless you are raising your own cows and chickens, have a fruit and veggie garden, and make everything from scratch, going organic will be more expensive. There are ways to save money, but in general, expect to pay a little bit more.

Having said that, I am convinced going organic is entirely worth it. If you need a little convincing, read this post.

Now, let’s move on.

After you have decided that eating organic is better for you, our animals, and our environment, the main issues with eating healthy food are related to time and variety.

I think people forget that organic doesn’t necessarily mean healthy. It just means no synthetic pesticides, chemicals additives, hormones, or GMOs. Therefore, for just about every food out there… there is an organic version. So truth is, when it comes to eating organic, the sky’s the limit! (But don’t go pigging out on organic cheesecake, or organic fried chicken, or organic hot dogs everyday!!)

There are times, though, when preparing homemade, organic, meals from scratch is just too overwhelming. In reality, making all your meals at home, regardless of whether or not you choose organic ingredients, is time consuming and requires a lot of planning. Therefore, I try to make a grocery list on Friday morning, and go grocery shopping either Friday afternoon, or during the weekend.

Last week, I failed to do either.

So come Monday, I was scratching my head and stressing out trying to come up with something for dinner.

Let me remind you: I try to eat organic at all times. So 97% of restaurants and 99.5% of fast food joints are off limits. The few restaurants we have to choose from in our area are a bit pricey. At the store, organic packaged/prepared foods can be really expensive too (i.e. at certain stores, a jar of organic spaghetti sauce can easily run you 5 bucks). So when I am caught without a plan for dinner, it is a dire circumstance indeed!

I can’t stress this enough: when creating a healthy lifestyle, there is no alternative to doing the hard work. You have to want it. You have to be willing to do the work. Trust me, it gets easier.

But, it’s OK to take a break :)

So here are some tips to get you through when you don’t have the time or energy to cook up an organic, gourmet, meal:

1. When you find organic packaged items on sale, or if you know a particular store has a really good price a certain item, stock up and hide them in your pantry or freezer. Look for things like organic pasta, sauce, soups, granola bars and even frozen selections. You will thankful for your stash the day you come home from an exhausting day at work, would rather use your energy to clean up a messy home, have piles of laundry with your name on it, or a whining kid that needs to eat NOW!

2. Be all about simple! Tuna sandwiches, pasta, macaroni and cheese, eggs and toast, chicken and rice. You can find all of these items organic, with the exception of the tuna. (You can probably find sustainable tuna.) A couple times a week, I make very simple meals.

3. Cheat. I am known for buying a dollar rice noodle bowl at Trader Joe’s and adding my own veggies to it. I am famous for saying (as I am adding fresh broccoli to my bowl), “Look! It’s healthy now!”

It also makes the bowl more filling!

4. Trader Joe’s. If you do not have a Trader Joe’s near you, I am so sorry. If you are looking to move anytime soon, try to be within the vicinity of a Trader Joe’s. Although they are coming under fire for not proving that they do not source GMOs, there are still plenty of items that they carry that are organic… or good enough. I will eat non-organic food if there is no corn, soy, canola, or zucchini in it (these items are almost always genetically modified if they are not organic) and if there are no animal products in it- organic meat and dairy is very important to buy organic. (Click here to find out why). Anyway, Trader Joe’s is the epitome of healthy and affordable. We tend to stock up on our snacks and packaged items at TJ’s.

5. Go raw! Think about it. If you do not have to cook something…. doesn’t that automatically save you time? You do not need to literally “go raw” as in eating everything raw, but it’s good to incorporate raw food into your diet, especially for snacks. It can be as simple as eating an apple or two or day. Munching on carrot sticks. Eating almonds or cashews. Halve an avocado and put a little salt on it. You can make your own trail mix and keep it on hand for a quick snack. Heck, you can just open up the fridge and eat a cucumber. No preparation necessary!

Speaking of raw food, one of my new goals is to eat more salad. We’ve been slipping lately. I just get lazy!  It can take 20 minutes to make a good salad! So once or twice a week I am trying to make a HUGE bowl of salad that will last for a few days. It’s perfect for a snack, or an addition to a meal. It really helps to have it ready in the fridge. You just take some out and eat it! Try it!

And what would this post be without some recipes!?

Enjoy :)

 

Chicken, Rice, and Brocolli

This is my go to meal! So easy! So Healthy!

You need:

6 Organic Chicken Drumsticks (only 3 or 4 dollars at Trader Joe’s or Sprouts!)

Organic White Basmati Rice (make a HUGE pot so you have leftovers)

Organic Broccoli

Lemon, Dry Spices (sea salt, garlic powder, pepper, oregano)

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Squeeze lemon all over the chicken legs. Sprinkle spices all over the chicken. Place chicken on the top part of a broiler pan (line the bottom of the pan with foil for easy cleanup!)

Place chicken in oven for 45-50 minutes. Turn the chicken over after about 30 min. Sometimes, I turn the oven on broil for the last few minutes to get the outside nice and crispy.

While chicken is cooking, make some rice. Put 2 cups of rice and 3 cups of water in a pot. Turn the heat on high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover, and let it cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, but keep lid on for another 5 minutes or so. When chicken is done, remove from oven and while it is cooling, steam your broccoli.

 

Fried Rice

You need:

Leftover Organic Rice

Chopped Organic Carrots

Frozen Organic Peas

2 Organic Eggs (beaten)

Leftover Organic Chicken, chopped (optional)

Coconut or Olive Oil

Salt, garlic powder, organic soy sauce.

Directions: Cook frozen peas on stove for a few minutes. Heat oil over medium heat in a large pan or a wok. Add carrots and peas. Let it cook for a few minutes. Add eggs and immediately scramble them while they are cooking with a fork. Mix well with veggies. Cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken if you want. Add about 2-3 cups of cooked rice. Cook for a few minutes. Add a little salt, garlic powder, and soy sauce. Mix well!

 

Cheater’s Soup

This “recipe” is for when you are having, “One of those days.”

Directions: Buy a can of organic soup or a rice noodle bowl and add your own fresh veggies to it, such as carrots, broccoli, spinach, or kale. As you heat the soup, the veggies will soften. I like to get a rice noodle bowl, and add broccoli, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Mmmm! Now it’s healthy!

And finally, here’s a basic salad dressing to go with all the salad you will be eating :)

You need:

1/2 cup high quality organic, cold pressed Olive Oil

1/2 cup organic red wine vinegar

1 clove of garlic, minced or garlic powder to taste

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Cumin

Directions: Mix all ingredients together!

 

There you have it! Easy food!

 

Allegra | 4 comments | Tags: ,
11 Aug 2012
Health • Living Simply

Germs Are Our Friends

hand sanitizer

Antibacterial hand soap is everywhere. Most of us carry a mini bottle of hand sanitizer with us wherever we go. Doctors are quick to prescribe antibiotics for a child who falls ill due to a cold. I am constantly seeing parents and teachers wiping down everything with antibacterial wipes.

From a young age, we are vaccinated against everything. And everything we eat has been pasteurized.

We are a culture obsessed with avoiding germs.

Perhaps I’m going overboard in saying that germs are our friends, but it is true that we actually we need them.

There is such a thing as too clean.

Did you know that our fervent use of antibacterial agents is contributing to a health crisis? We now have a ton of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Overtime, bacteria becomes resistant to these sanitizing products that are in every household, classroom, store, and doctor’s office. Bacteria keeps mutating; these bad germs overtake good germs and the end result is that we are left with superbugs- but nothing to kill them with.

Antibiotics given to people and animals… vaccines, pasteurization, antibacterial/viral cleaning agents. I am not saying that these are never necessary, but overuse of these things has the potential to turn ordinary infections into deadly killers.

The list of superbugs is growing:

http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/DiseasesConnectedAR.html

http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/index.html

Believe it or not, I used to be a germaphobe! And ironically, I was always getting sick! Now that I know what I know about germs, I literally eat food off of the floor. In public places. And I let my daughter do the same!

Just kidding!

…Or am I?

Our kids, especially, need to be exposed to germs so that their immune systems will mature. Babies and toddlers eat dirt for a reason!

The germs we come in contact with as children stimulate our natural killer cells and make them stronger. If our environment is too clean, the killer cells do not develop properly and this can lead to immune system disorders such as allergies, asthma, and digestive problems! In other words, if our immune systems are not used to fighting off normal infections, it has a tendency to begin overreacting to things in the environment that it shouldn’t (such as pollen, dust, or foods).

Although we try to avoid germs, just know that avoiding germs is impossible! They are everywhere, and on your body at all times! No matter how many times we wash our hands, and regardless of how clean we keep our homes, we will still come into contact with hundreds of bacteria and viruses in the course of one day. And using strong antibacterial agents have actually not been proven to keep us healthier. Not only are these commercial products filled with harsh chemicals (which contribute to your body’s toxic burden, and weaken the immune system), they kill the good bacteria along with the bad bacteria. Then, the bad guys that are left become stronger. And mutate. And this is why we are seeing so many drug resistant bacteria these days.

So your mission should not be to avoid all germs. The key is to build your immune system, so that when it comes into contact with bad germs, it will be able to fight them off. When you take care of your body, your immune system will be strong, and you don’t have to worry about every bad bug out there.

Obviously, there is a balance. You should practice common sense. If someone is sick, you don’t need to be hanging out with them if not necessary. And it’s always a good idea to wash your hands before prepping food, before eating, after using the restroom and before touching your face.

Hand-washing is actually great, natural method of keeping yourself healthy!

But don’t wash them too much! Your skin is actually your first line of defense from germs that cause the cold or flu. If you wash too much your hands may become dry and cracked, allowing an entry way for the bad guys.

Also, when it comes to washing your hands, plain soap and water is enough!!

But what should you clean your home with?

There are plenty of natural cleaning supplies on the market right now. But I’ll let you in on my little secret.

Vinegar!

I use vinegar for everything!

If you have been following this blog, you know that I am a simple gal! Since I use vinegar for just about everything, I don’t have to worry about juggling a bunch of different spray bottles. Another perk of vinegar: it’s cheap!

I use straight up vinegar to clean glass, countertops, and the bathroom. Also, every few days or so I round up my daughter’s toys and clean then with vinegar too. You can add a little water to it to make it last longer and to protect delicate surfaces.

Vinegar kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold and 80 percent of viruses. And vinegar is non-toxic! It does the job without going overboard. Just powerful enough to get a surface very clean, but without wiping out everything. It leaves enough good germs to battle the bad guys :)

Anyway, my points are simple:

1. Take care of your body. Build your immune system by eating healthy, getting exercise, and plenty of sleep.

2. Practice good hygiene and reasonable cleanliness. Plain soap and water is fine!

3. Let your kids enjoy some dirt from time to time.

4. Try to limit your use of hand sanitizer.

Your body is amazing! You will be surprised just how healthy you can be when you  nourish your body and avoid chemicals. Your body, when functioning properly, can fight off lots of scary things without the need for conventional medicine.

 

I hope you found this article to be helpful! Let me know what you think!

And if you haven’t subscribed to my blog yet, you can do that here. Don’t worry, you won’t get any spam. Just an alert whenever I post a new article!

 

Allegra | 4 comments
07 Oct 2011
Living Simply

What Living Simply Means To Me

IMG_4841

At the local organic market, there is a saying written on the ground:

Live simply so that other’s may simply live.

These are powerful words, often attributed to Gandhi. It sounds so beautiful, but what does it mean to live simply?

To me, living simply is a philosophy that has implications in many areas of my life. First and foremost, I try to live a life based on Jesus’ simple teachings of love, compassion, and service- and in doing so, I am doing my part towards contributing to a more peaceful and healthier world. Living simply means not getting distracted or preoccupied with material things. I have learned that happiness comes from living out my God given purpose, as opposed to looking for happiness in people, places, or things. I have realigned my life in order to carry out God’s will. At the risk of oversimplifying the matter, God’s will is for me to love. It’s terribly difficult to love when I’m preoccupied with myself. So, I have decided to clear out the clutter in my life in order to focus on what really matters. The Bible says that we can be a slave to the almighty, loving God, or a slave to the world. I now realize what that means. God wants us to love and care for one another. Following His rules leads to true fulfillment. Yet, the world offers stuff that distracts us from our God given goal… fleeting satisfaction here and there. Ever changing standards. You become a slave to the world when you try to keep up with what the world offers. You become a slave when you are only concerned with satisfying your desires. You become a slave when you can only be happy ”If only.” If only I can have that new car. If only I can get that new phone. If only I can save up for a new nose. Just a little more money and I would be happy. Meanwhile, children are starving, wars are being waged, the government is printing money out of thin air causing inflation, congress passes laws that take away our freedoms as we sleep, and we are eating “food” laced with chemicals- and it’s slowly killing us. Where is the love in all of this? Where is the justice?

I think our preoccupation with ourselves and our stuff is what allows these atrocities to continue. We are too busy to notice. We have been programmed to only care about ourselves. And we have been raised to be apathetic. After all, “I can’t change the world so why try?” Even if we want to help, at the end of the day, we’re often exhausted and stressed out from our daily grind. But how much of what you are doing and pursuing is truly necessary? When you remove all that is blocking your vision, all that is distracting you, you will suddenly experience life differently- you will understand that we are all connected. You will see that your daily actions- as small as they might seem- affect other people as well as the environment.

It was this awareness that caused me to change my habits in the following areas.

My Purchasing Habits.

I buy less stuff. Clutter stresses me out and I love the freedom that comes from not being attached to stuff. More importantly, I know that my purchasing habits affect more than just me. For example, when I  buy shoes made in China, there is a good chance that I am supporting slave labor. At the very least I am enabling companies to continue the practice of sending American jobs overseas. Also, when I buy non-organic food, I am giving money to corporations that pollute the environment with chemicals and pesticides and genetically modify our food.

Somewhere along the way, we stopped being offered high quality goods made locally in favor of junk made in sweatshops on the other side of the world. Therefore, I try to buy used. I try to buy fair trade. I try to buy local. Or I just try not to buy.

Buying used means I put to use something that someone didn’t want anymore. The result is less waste. When I buy a product that is certified fair trade, that means that the person who made it worked in a safe and healthy working environment and received a fair wage. I don’t mind buying something made with sweat, but I don’t want the blood and tears. Yes, I love these people around the world that I have never met. And I don’t want them to suffer in inhumane conditions just so that I can buy cheap goods- most of which I don’t even need. Also, fair trade items are usually higher quality, as the saying goes- you get what you paid for. When I shop local, I’m supporting businesses in my community and helping the economy. I feel that local businesses value their customers more because they survive by their reputation & repeat business. Buying local is better for the environment because when something is locally made, that means it required less transportation to get to a store near you. Also, the second your fruit or vegetable is plucked from the vine or tree the quality starts to deteriorate. When food must travel great distances, toxic substances are used to preserve it- just to ensure that it makes it to the store without rotting! So, buying local is better for your health. The same applies to meat and dairy. Local food is fresher.

What I Eat.

I have returned back to a more natural way of eating. Almost everything I eat is organic, and made at home. Also, my husband and I are dabbling in growing our own food. When you eat what God created you will feel better. You will be healthier. I like the idea of being connected to my food. Knowing where it came from and how it was treated. Food is meant to nourish your body. Not slowly destroy it. I used to be addicted to sugar and fast food. When I first began eating healthy, I cheated all the time because I felt so deprived. Now, the thought of fast food or chemically processed food of any sort makes me nauseous because my body has detoxed from all of the chemicals I was eating on a regular basis. My body now does what it is supposed to- it craves food that will nourish me; and sends me warning signals when a particular food-like substance isn’t fit for human consumption. A word of encouragement to those starting to eat healthy: keep at it! Your body will get used to it and within a couple months you will not feel deprived anymore; rather, you will start to crave what your body needs, and you will start to look and feel healthier.

When you eat natural, you move away from your dependence on big agriculture and its unhealthy practices. With food being processed on such a large scale, there is no accountability. But when you eat natural, you know where your food comes from and what’s in it.

Where I Spend My Time

I have learned how to say no. No to overbearing work obligations, and/or social activities. This relieves stress and gives me time to do what is truly important.

I want to connect with my family and friends. I want to increase my knowledge about how the world works. I want to have hobbies. I want to prepare healthy food from scratch. I want to exercise. I want to help people. Therefore, one of the first steps I took towards reducing mental clutter was to give up TV. When trying to accomplish all of the above I didn’t really have time to watch TV anyway. Here are some of the positive effects zero TV watching has had on my life:

1. I don’t feel as much pressure to look a certain way or to buy the latest fashions. I am free to be me. Suffering from low self esteem? Go on a media fast and observe how much happier you will be with yourself! Besides, I don’t know if you noticed, but watching TV puts you into an extremely suggestive, almost trance-like state. This makes you an easy target for marketing and propaganda. Since I’m not used to being told what to think by my TV, I am very critical of all information I come across. I think for myself.

2. I have more time. Those hours add up!

3. I spend more quality time with my family and friends. When people come over and there’s no TV…. we talk! With no TV, I get on the floor and actually play with my daughter.

As a result of simplifying my life, I have more serenity and focus. I’m actually more productive. I’m healthier. I’m more informed. And let’s not forget the financial aspect of simple living- when you buy less stuff, you have more money. More money to eat healthier. To support a charity. To go on vacation. I feel like, as a direct result of living simply I have more time and energy to help people. And really, I think this is my life’s purpose- to help people. Let me give props where props are due: My entire philosophy of life comes from the Bible. The Bible is a living book, filled with wisdom concerning every area of life! My belief in God is not something to be compartmentalized, but something that I should live out every day and in every way. Yes, my belief in God is what convicts me that I should do what I can in order that other people may have a better life. The thing is, it’s impossible to love the way Jesus did. Jesus gave His life for us. We can come close to loving like Jesus only when we allow Him into our hearts. When we allow Jesus to rule inside us, something mysterious happens! He starts to work within us and we start to acquire his heart for people. Love becomes our driving force in everything that we do! I no longer want what the world is offering me- a counterfeit happiness. I want true love, joy and peace.

I’m not perfect by any means. Nor do I try to be- I have bills and I am busy just like everyone else. So I’m not obsessed with the eco-friendly to the point where it becomes a huge burden. I simply try to do what I can, and I try to do a little bit more with each passing year. It’s a process. But, I have noticed that with time it get’s easier. You just get used to it. And my convictions keep me motivated to do the right thing. I just want to respect what God created. I want to do good.

Slave labor? Not good. Factory farmed animals? Not good. Farmers dying of cancer due to using pesticides? Not good. Landfills and rivers overflowing with trash? Not good. A handful of corporations hijacking the global food supply? Not good. Having low self esteem because of the onslaught of media images you are bombarded with all day long? Not good. By the way, they spend billions marketing because it works. The less happy you are with yourself, the more stuff you will buy.

The world is backwards. And you and I contribute to the world’s backwardness much more than we’d like to think. And if everyone did just a little bit things would actually get a lot better. You don’t have to do it all at once. And you don’t have to do what I do. But if you do want to change, take small steps and do one thing at a time. It can be as simple as using reusable bags every time you go to the store. It can be as simple as turning off the TV.

I found a great article that lists 10 easy ideas to simplify your life.

http://zenhabits.net/simple-living-simplified-10-things-you-can-do-today-to-simplify-your-life/

I curious to know the ways you have simplified your life. Please feel free to share your ideas in the comments section.

Allegra | 4 comments | Tags: ,