28 Day Healthy Eating Challenge

As most of you know, I have made the commitment to eating healthier by eating a lot more whole foods and eliminating as much added sugars, dairy products, and processed foods from my diet as possible.  While I was looking through the Whole Foods (the store) website, I found a 28 day challenge to eating healthier and I thought I'd share it with you all.  I'm not sharing this as a "diet", but in hopes of initiating a healthier "lifestyle".  

I know some of you already live a healthy lifestyle so cheers to you! Please share any tips and suggestions that you might have for those of us that are new to this.

For those who might have more of a challenge trying to figure how to start eating healthy, the link below to the Whole Foods page will give you tips and pointers on what to start shopping for and how to batch cook for the week, etc.  It also includes a 28-day meal plan, which I think is fantastic and is an awesome way to shift our mindset towards healthier ways of cooking and eating.  It takes away the guesswork and frustration from trying to figure out what to eat and not to eat. 

For me, I attempted to start eating healthy several times over the last couple years, but always got frustrated with not knowing exactly what to buy and eat… plus it seemed like it would be SO MUCH more work on top of my already busy life...so I would get overwhelmed just from thinking about it and then resort to what was familiar and what was easy. 

But because our body is a temple, we need to take care of it and also be healthy for our children.  The healthier of a lifestyle you live, the less likely you are to get colds, sicknesses, etc.. Doing research on the foods that are in stores and restaurants have completely convinced me to change my lifestyle when it especially comes to the foods I eat and what I feed my children.  It's amazing the amount of chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc.) that are used on foods, and the engineering of foods (changing the genetic component of the food) that goes on; and humans are ingesting all these things on daily basis...It's no wonder that there’s so much sicknesses and diseases in our society. 

I could go on and on with this subject with all the things I’m finding out in my research.  However, ultimately, it is important that we are diligent with our health and what we put into our bodies and our children's bodies.  I challenge you to check out the link below and do the 28-day challenge. 

My morning green smoothie contains:
spinach, kale, cucumber, pineapple,
mango & coconut water

I recommend buying a good blender (you can find good slightly used ones at garage sales and even Craigslist!) so you can blend your vegetables and fruits into tasty smoothies...the fruits make it sweet, so really it is not bad!! You can be creative with all the greens that God has given us to nourish our bodies with and come up with your own concoctions!  Please share :)

http://wholefoodsmarket.com/healthy-eating/health-starts-here/28-day-challenge

Lastly, I want to add the importance of exercising!  Part of taking care of our bodies is exercising.  It's also important that our children see that we make it a point to exercise. How else will they make it a priority in their lives when they are young adults/adults if they don't see us making it a priority?  Exercising along with eating healthy can bring us to our optimal health!  And I know, I know....TIME IS A FACTOR, right?  I feel you!  Start small.  Even if it's in your living room...instead of turning on the TV to unwind in the evening, take 20 minutes to do some stretching exercises and sit ups (this also relaxes your body and your mind).  There are also great workout videos that you can borrow at the local public library or borrow from a friend if you can't afford to buy one.  OR you can take a fast walk/run in your neighborhood (tuck in your tummy tight and walk as fast as you can around your neighborhood for 15 - 20 min); this simple action will work out your abs, calves, thighs and glutes!  The point is to make exercising a part of your regular routine...It will pay off :)

Remember, it's the small little steps that we take now, that will lead us to success. 

Love you all!

"Simple little disciplines that, done consistently over time, will add up to the very biggest accomplishments" - Jeff Olson ('The Slight Edge)