Food is Fuel...Eating To Live, Not Living To Eat...

It's time for a change. Holmes Manor is undergoing a complete transformation of our eating lifestyle starting today!

Ok that was a little dramatic..but seriously... We are actually already fairly health conscious when it comes to eating. But we have decided to eliminate a few unnecessary ingredients. The goal? Eliminate Addictive foods, Allergenic Foods, and Acidic Foods...

Seth and I are beginning a 28 day detox, utilizing a clean eating plan, and implementing some Arbonne Essentials to help us along.

As for how this applies to the kids, we are COMPLETLEY eliminating all refined, processed sugars, and artificial dyes (See this link for more great info about why...)

As for Seth and I, we have chosen detox for several reasons..

Allergenic foods- the eating plan calls to eliminate all allergenic foods for 28 days... After the body is clear of these foods we can slowly reintroduce them.. If unsatisfactory symptoms arise, we can easily pinpoint the culprit.  I personally struggle with migraine headaches, a constant sore throat and sinus congestion, eczema, and acne... All of these these things are commonly cause by food inflammation. Seth has severe caffeine withdrawal, muscle pain, inflammation, and joint pain and we both struggle with fatigue. 

Sugar and Acidic PH.. Everyone (yes everyone)has cancer cells in their bodies.. Sick or mutated cells floating around and what we have learned is that cancer cells THRIVE in an acidic environment. A huge majority of Americans have a highly acidic PH and are harboring cancer cells and the cause of high acidicty is the american diet..... The second fact is that cancer cells have 7 TIMES more sugar receptors, making them thrive AND MULTIPLY in a sugary acidic place.... Thus the increase in cancer rates (over 40%) that means nearly 1 of ever 2 people. That's astounding!  Its very clear to us (having severe sugar cravings) that the bondage of sugar addiction must be broken.. Here is an EXCELLENT video that explains it best...

http://youtu.be/BXuFFn3PrG0

Arbonne essentials create several ways to aid in success of such an extreme change. The vegan, soy free, Non-gmo protein shake mix is packed with vitamins and minerals and free from any artificial sweeteners.. Giving a great alternative for busy people on the go, a GREAT REAL FOOD meal replacement for those who need it and enough protein to help stabilize blood sugars. The fizz sticks offer a coffee or diet soda alternative for people who need a pick me up without crashing, fit chews to help with a sweet craving, detox tea to help aid in the toxin flushing, and there's more but I'll stop rambling.

I AM SO CONFIDENT AND EXCITED BECAUSE Balancing blood sugar levels, gaining complete REAL FOOD nutrition, eliminating acidic and allergenic foods, and allowing the kidneys and liver to flush the stored up toxins will result in drastic improvment in moods (balancing seratonin levels) allow for better more restful sleep, cut cravings, and improve health overall..what's not to be excited about???

I plan to post bi-weekly updates with meals that were enjoying, pictures, recipe ideas, and just overall feelings and thoughts..we are ready!

 (Below are some awesome testimonies from others who have stuck with this awesome detox plan!)


"I can't believe I don't need my Ambien to get to sleep anymore. I drift off quickly and sleep more soundly than I have in years!" -JH

“This is more than a diet or detox or losing weight for me. This program is how I finally ended my addiction to food. Wow. That's powerful. I never really thought of that as a result of this program until last night. Food was not driving the experiences, I was. Thank you.” –ML

“This is the BEST THING I've done for myself in over a decade!!! My skin is bright, I've lost weight, I sleep like a baby, my brain is clear of the fog, I have energy, my moods are better and I'm going to keep doing this!” –EP

Gluten Free Goodness

We have been gluten/dairy free as a family for over 3 years.. It is a tough transition initially.. finding alternatives that are affordable, taste decent, and work in the recipes that you currently have is a tricky task! I have had several people request some of my recipe's so I figured I could type them up all in one place :D lets start with my most requested recipe...

Gluten Free Flour Blend

My #1 priority for gluten free living was to find a GOOD gluten free flour blend... something that is versatile, and I can replace it "cup for cup" for most of my current recipes. There are many that are store bought, but to save a little money, I have developed my own favorite blend.

Ingredients:

Brown or White Rice Flour (I use brown to gain added nutritional benefits)
I purchase this at winco bulk bins, keep in mind its not 100% gluten free because of the other flours in the bins surrounding, but we aren't highly allergic, so this works for us. If you don't have access to winco, you can order it online on amazon.com.

Tapioca Starch same as above. (this is called either tapioca flour or starch, both are the same)

Potato Starch I order this on amazon.com. I buy the Bob's Red Mill brand.. you can also buy it in bulk or bags at Bobs red mill store or most health food stores like Whole Foods or New Seasons. MAKE SURE you don't get potato flour... it needs to be potato STARCH.

Xantham Gum This is a spendy but necessary ingredient for gluten free baking. It is the "binder" that binds the gluten free flours together..while it is expensive, you need very little, which is nice. I have found the best deal at amazon.com, but you can get this at most natural food sections of grocery stores.

(Optional) Garbanzo Bean flour. This is also at most natural food stores, including fred meyer, in the alternative/gluten free food section. Or Amazon.com

I recommend storing any unused flour ingredients in Tupperware in the freezer until you need them.

Gluten Free Flour Blend

2 cups rice flour

2/3 cup potato starch

1/2 cup tapioca starch

2 Tablespoons garbanzo bean flour

1 and 1/2 teaspoons xantham gum

 

I multiply this recipe by 6-10 and blend all the ingredients in a giant tupperware and use this flour blend specifically for cooking (thickening gravy) and baking cookies, cakes, muffins, ect... I do NOT recommend this flour for gluten free bread, or pancakes... more on that later.... :)

 

mmmm cake.



 

Gluten Free Oatmeal Banana Cookies (with chocolate DUH)

I tried a new recipe recently. These oatmeal banana cookies turned out SO GOOD. Great chewy consistency, and I like they they dont use 4 pounds of sugar. I decided to mix chocolate chips in mine because, let's face it, banana bread and chocolate chips were made for each other. I plan to try next time using a stevia/sugar blend to try and reduce the sugar EVEN more. Hopefully it wont comprimise the perfect consistency.

-4 tbsp butter, at room temperature
-1/4 cup light brown sugar
-1/4 cup granulated sugar
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 large egg
-1 large banana, mashed
-1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (I used a gluten-free blend and did 1 cup GF flour, 1/4 cup almond meal)
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 cups old fashioned oats

1/4 cup of "extras" you can use raisins, chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts, ect.

1. Cream butter/sugars together

2. Add mashed banana, egg, and vanilla

3. In a seperate bowl add all the dry ingredients mixing together with a fork to blend.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and blend.

Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown on the edges. You can also wet your fingertips with water and pat the dough a little flatter before baking, for a flatter cookie.

Enjoy!

Strawberries

Yesterday we went and picked strawberries on Sauvie Island. 

This was L.J.'s first year. I learned that he is just such a great helper.

He actually spent most of the time trying to crawl on my back. He likes to be carried in the ergo carrier. He is a Mommy's boy at heart and I can't complain. 

Some friends came along, and Ethan had so much fun playing with his cousins and his buddy Isaac. Wren found a frog and the kids that that was exciting. Ethan actually got close to it (usually he wouldn't.) But wouldn't touch it. 

The big boys played tag and helped picked berries too, although I never saw them in my pail. ;) 

Got sunburnt. Ate berries. Had fun with friends. Brought lots home. Couldn't ask for better!

We went home and I froze a lot of the berries and we made smoothies! (Yes I put half an avocado in it. Dont knock it till you try it)