Let's Talk About Eggs: Part 1

My chickens mill around the yard eating bugs, scooping up fruit that's fallen from the trees and making nesting holes in the mulched flower beds around the house.  There was a time when it seemed odd to me that people would have chickens walking freely around their homes. I even read an article that said when you till your garden, just let the chickens in with you and they'll eat up the grubs they find in the dirt.  Again, something I had a hard time picturing, but raising my own chickens was, in my mind, becoming a necessity.

FreeFoto.com.
As I studied nutrition, I came across information alerting me that the eggs I was buying from the store came from diseased chickens! I immediately stopped buying them and because we still lived in town at the time, I sought out a local farmer who had pasture raised eggs.  The movie Food, Inc. displayed quite an eye opening view of the typical poultry farm and it was enough to make me never want to eat another store bought egg again. I recommend everyone watch it!

Store bought eggs, next to store bought milk, are some of the worst man-made concoctions a person can put in their mouth... let alone their children's mouths.  So, in part one of this series, let's just first consider a few things we should all be aware of regarding eggs:

• Most of the eggs currently sold in supermarkets are nutritionally inferior to eggs produced by hens raised on pasture. 
• Eggs from hens raised on pasture show 4 to 6 times as much vitamin D as typical supermarket eggs. 
• Pasture raised eggs have 1⁄3 less cholesterol• 1⁄4 less saturated fat• 2⁄3 more vitamin A• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids• 3 times more vitamin E• 7 times more beta carotene.                

The Green Smoothie Challenge

Last November, I started drinking green smoothies.  Now, most people cringe when they hear that. "What IS that?" they always ask.  Well, friends, let me tell you what that is... it is life and healing...in a cup!  Made of 1/3 water, 1/3 frozen fruit, and 1/3 leafy greens, other veggies, nuts, seeds, spices and herbs and it is absolutely delicious!

I started on the smoothies because I had an inflamed hip.  For what reason, I have no clue.  I couldn't sleep on my left side and going for walks was painful after a few minutes.  On top of that, my achilles tendons tightened and going up and down steps made them burn.  I went to the doctors for a diagnosis but, as usual, they just shrugged and said, "We don't know what it is."  Typical.  So, I figured if I was going to get better, I'd have to do some research and that's when I came across info on the healing power of the green smoothie.  It took a month or two of eating smoothies everyday and the pain in my hip stopped.  It has been 8 months and though I still feel something is yet out of whack in my hip, the pain is totally gone.  My tendons are still a bit stiff in the morning but are much, much better.

Now, I've been wanting to lose some weight and regain a better measure of health.  I remembered the Green Smoothie Challenge and the testimonies that people were losing a pound a day!  So I decided to try it: ten days, nothing but smoothies and fresh raw fruits and veggies.  The result: I'm down ten pounds!

Now, if you decide to try this yourself, let me tell you what you need to know.  First, this is a CHALLENGE, and challenging it was!  The first 3 days are the hardest because your body screams, whines, fusses, pouts, complains and begs for mercy.  Give it no quarter!  Secondly, having your mind prepared for this, in my opinion, will make or break you.  So, you have to understand this is not a lifestyle change, it is a temporary cleanse.  I had to tell myself over and over that I will eat meat, bread and goodies again, just not today.  Third, you have to be prepared for the healing crisis, which can manifest itself with headaches, fatigue, flu-like symptoms, etc.  These are all good signs and shows the cleanse is working.  If you don't have symptoms, that's ok too.  Not everyone reacts the same way.  But you should see weight loss...up to 1 lb. a day.  Evidence it is working!  Lastly, don't fear you will go hungry.  A 10 ounce glass of green moothie prepared this way (1/3 each of frozen fruit, veggies and water with a little spice, nuts and seeds) will hold you over for HOURS!  You'll be amazed!  And when you get hungry again, just have another smoothie.  If you want something to chew, have an apple or a carrot.

I didn't believe at first this would work for me because I have not been able to lose weight for two years now no matter what I did.  Once I got past the first 3 days, the next 7 days were much easier and watching the scale go down, down, down everyday blew me away.

Oh, and there's one more great benefit... the smoothies are ADDICTING!  So when you're done with the challenge, you won't want to go back to all that dead processed food!  Your body will have had a taste of life and who wants carion?

Enjoy!

It's SO Simple...Yet SO Hard!

Really...it is quite simple.  So simple in fact, that for quite a looong time, I totally missed it!  But now I have the answer. It's just a matter of applying it... which is so hard!

I have struggled with my weight all my life.  When I was 5 my mom recorded in my notebook that I was getting chubby.  When I was eight, I weighed ten pounds more than the other kids my age.  I was devastated and embarrassed... at 8 years old, mind you!  I began to believe my personal value was connected to my size and looks.  My mom struggled with weight and self-esteem all her life and no diet she ever went on was successful.  So I decided, why diet?  It doesn't work!

Well, I continued to gain weight steadily over my growing years, always 10 or 15 pounds more than I should have been.  After I got into college, I gained 30 pounds almost overnight!  Well, that officially plunged me into the FAT zone where I have been stuck for 20 years now, only now I've crossed over into the obese segment and I am soooo discouraged!  Where is it coming from?  What am I doing to cause this?  I eat normal portion sizes and don't overdo on sweets.  I admit I love butter and put it on everything, especially popcorn!  I exercise moderately, too.  So WHY, oh WHY, am I gaining weight???

My husband says I have to burn more calories than I take in.  Yeah, I've done that and didn't lose a pound.  1300 calories everyday for a month did absolutely nothing to help me and exercising regularly during the same month yielded zero results.  That was a BIG indicator to me that something is blocked!  I decided to take Jill's advice and get a Live Blood Analysis done.

The analysis showed I have very healthy red blood cells, due to a good diet, the lady told me, BUT there was a BIG problem!  I have Candida!  A-ha!  The old monster is still there!  I found out I had candida when I was 21 years old.  I conquered it and my extra weight with a special diet and my energy went through the roof.  After my oldest daughter was born, I discovered it had come back again! Well, no wonder!  My diet was terrible back then! I half heartedly fought it with diet and did lose some weight but never got my energy back up to where it had been.  Then two years ago, when my family and I moved to a new church, the weight started climbing again.  That time was one of the most stressful times of my life as we were hounded, slandered and threatened by cultish-minded people.  Candida thrives in a stressed out body!

So today, my weight is once again an all consuming issue for me and silly as it is... I had forgotten the simple, simple formula to fighting the candida and losing the weight!

1: Eliminate the BIG 3: sugar, white flour, and rancid oils!
2: Exercise a little more.
3. Support the body with cleansing and nourishing foods and herbs. 


That's it.  I don't have to drink 2 gallons of water a day.  I don't have to count calories or join a gym and work myself to death.  I just have to eliminate the BIG 3, which is present in ALL processed foods and some healthy foods like fruit, fruit juices, potatoes, breads, packaged goodies, etc. and I have to make sure I get a little more exercise than I have been.  That's what I did all the other times I lost weight. HELLO! as good ol' Preacher Silcox used to say!  I know... it's the "Duh!" factor.  The hard part is getting myself off all those things once again.  Pray for me.  It's going to be a challenge but with God's help I'll get back in the saddle again!

Next blog I plan to talk about the BIG 3 and HOW they affect our health so much.