Happy and Healthy New Year

    

      As the end of the year wraps up and Christmas and New Years approach us, I know full well that it is going to become more difficult for me to keep up the healthy living and eating. I have such a sweet tooth and when I get busy I tend to throw things together, and eat here and there. So usually by the start of the new year I am ready to get back on track.  So its natural for me to think of goals to achieve after the holidays and the start of the new year! I am mentally excited for the visual of a fresh start even though it was a good year, it wasn't free of struggles, in fact it was filled with many struggles, but those struggles have led us down a better path  for which I am immensely grateful.

     I still feel like we are struggling to overcome the long term effects of our exposure to black mold, I still have back pain that started while in our prior living situation as well as difficulty keeping my weight up. The goal for this year is to be able to stay at a healthy weight and get on a track to try and minimize the back pain and increase energy. I also am still struggling with anxiety and some days I still feel the depression which I know worsened around the black mold. My husband still has lingering breathing issues at night. Dakota seems to be doing pretty well, but there are moments that make me wonder if she has any lingering effects. So these are my goals for the next year to try and overcome these lingering effects as well as just improving quality of life...

1. Start Physical Therapy if there's no physical evidence of anything wrong with my spine.
2. Continue to do Yoga on a regular basis.
3. Add in some counseling sessions to help manage anxiety.
4. Start some core strengthening workouts!
5. Start hiking again!
6. Eat well, leaning more towards a Paleo diet with some alterations.
7. Continue to add as much Organic and non GMO foods as our budget allows.
8. Make more use of our Juicer!
9. Add back in all the supplements I was taking prior to getting pregnant with Dakota.
10. Start using Aromatherapy Oils in our everyday life, and for pain management as well as overall quality of life.

     Hopefully, I can meet all of my goals and solve some of our lingering issues, while reaching towards a higher quality of life. I want to be able to lovingly and patiently be able to keep up with my 2 year old as well as any future kids without wanting to secretly pass out from pain and exhaustion. I know with Fibromyalgia I will always have lingering pain, but what I want is to have more good days than bad. I think this is a great start for me! In the end I want to feel mentally and physically strong again, more like me, I want to get back to the root of who I am. I think I have forgotten it takes work to feel good. I feel like the strength I used to hold has been sucked out of me the past few years and I truly hope this will be a great year ahead. A year of health, happiness, and a sense of peace even in the face of any future struggles we may have to face.

 

What are some of your New Years goals? I know you have them!


  

Recipe Corner: Apple Cinnamon Porkchops

      So it has been a few weeks since I have been able to consistently cook healthy home cooked meals, between tight budgets, Thanksgiving feasts, lack of good sales, and being sick, eating well has taken a back seat.  I finally was able to get to this recipe I have been dying to try and it was delicious. It doesn't look as grand and glorious as some other meals (although it looks pretty in the pictures I originally got the recipe from, so maybe you can do better) but it sure tasted delicious and even more so after the pork chops sat for a while in the yumminess.

THE INGREDIENTS:
4 Rib pork chops, bone-in, about 3/4-inch thick
Salt and pepper
Optional, The Spice Hunter Grill Shakers Pork Garlic Pepper
3 tablespoons butter, divided (2tbsp and 1tbsp)
2 apples, thinly sliced
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Pinch ground cayenne pepper
2/3 cup apple cider (I used 3 apples in my juicer instead of regular cider)
1/3 cup heavy cream

 

 

Pull out the Pork Chops and season generously with Salt, Pepper, and the Pork Grill Shaker, set aside!

If choosing to juice apples, do that now!

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter into a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until brown, about 3minutes on each side. Take them out and set them aside.

Melt the rest of the butter in the skillet over medium-high heat and toss in the apples and onion. I had to continue stirring and it only took 2-3 minutes for the onions to turn translucent, but this may vary. Stir in the Brown Sugar, cayenne, and cinnamon, and mix and then add the cream and apple cider/juice. Add the pork chops back in and be sure to cover them sufficiently. Continue to cook until done. I suggest cooking longer at a lower heat, the longer the sat the more flavor they had.

Finally Enjoy! It makes the house smell absolutely amazing!

And as always if you would like to see the recipe, you can find it, HERE!

 

When Mom gets sick!

     So I wound up sick yesterday, started feeling it Monday evening, it was bound to reach me eventually, as both Dakota and my husband had been sick. I miss the days of actually being able to sleep it off. Somehow though once you become a mom you lose that privilege. Even when my husband is home to watch Dakota I literally have to lock the door to our bedroom to get some rest and still hear her calling me through the tears, MOMMA! MOMMA! MOMMA! Its like I'm breaking her little heart.

    I literally do not know what happened pretty much all day yesterday. Somehow I managed through the day, very zombie like. There were dishes and laundry that needed to be done, and diapers to change and a child to be fed, and many many spills to be cleaned up. I'm not sure how it happened but I made it through. However I was determined to not get worse. I knew I had some juice recipes specifically for being sick. So I gathered everything up and made a juice for lunch. I wasn't sure how well it would work but today I feel 10x's better, even though the weather is gloom and doom. I wouldn't say I am 100% but I was able to get dinner done this morning, make a grocery list, get lunch, do a load of dishes, and go grocery shopping. I think that drink will become my new go to when I get sick. I also used a mixture of coconut oil, lavender, and tea tree oil that Dakota loved when she wasn't feeling well and so I decided to use it as well. Now I know why she was begging me for it, it helped me breathe and sleep, better than any over the counter creams I've ever used and didn't have the burning sensation, I hate so much.

I am loving my Journey, as I dive more into holistic health. I didn't have to touch a single pharmaceutical drug to feel only temporarily better. Our bodies are truly amazing! Now I wonder what would happen if I drank that juice on a weekly basis. I'm sure it would help to build up my immunity!

This is what I used in my juice it was a combo of 2 recipes with some alterations! ( I also used some baby romaine lettuce)

*Carrots
*Celery
*Cucumber
*Apple
*Ginger
*Garlic

Pause!

Ephesians 5:15-17

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

 

     This was the focus of yoga last week. I think this is something we all need to ponder, what is God's will, not just with the big stuff, but with small stuff as well? Are we missing opportunities? Are we so focused on our ideas that we forget who actually has our best interests in mind?  Do we miss out on blessings because we are always one step ahead focused on our earthly goals and not living in the moment with God? When we go about our daily lives and make decisions or have an idea, do we let God guide us, or do we run with it without giving it a second thought? I am learning more and more to try to seek God's wisdom and will in everyday life. Sometimes however I get impatient or its something so little that I think I don't need Gods guidance, I can do this on my own. But this isn't wise is it? We are nothing without God's grace, guidance, and shield. Shouldn't we in ALL that we do be looking to God for wisdom. Its so easy to stop and think when the big stuff hits, but do we really take the time to look to his will in the small moments as well. And even with the big stuff do we truly take the time to pause and listen for God's guidance or do we get impatient? Do we demand answers immediately or do we patiently seek God's will?

 

  I really have been looking to God in everday life, but I also know all to well I am not perfect many times I am guilty of all the above running ahead of God, thinking I can do this on my own, or being impatient in seeking answers to God's will in my life.  But I do feel I continue to improve and learning skills from yoga is helping me to stop, pause, think, listen, and seek God. Its helping me learn to live not ahead of God but with God in the present moment, which helps me to seek him in everyday life decisions. I think in order to truly seek Gods will you have to first learn to be present in the moment.

 

     Right now I am seeking God's guidance with my photography, how does God want me to best use this gift? Is it really for income or is it to help share memories or stories?

     I also seek God's guidance in my search for health. Sometimes this is a challenge as I seek holistic medicine and ideas and am met with some resistance in the Christian world. But I feel God is guiding me to become a healthier me and the more naturally we live the better I feel. We have recently been changing our diets more and more and the benefits are absolutely amazing. Trusting Gods natural world has definitely been an amazing journey. I see this through Dakotas eyes as she gets excited to make juice, or goes and grabs my oils and requests a massage. I love that she is learning at an early age things that make her feel good from the inside out.

     I even seek God out in parenting. How do I guide Dakota to be the best little person she can be? Some days are more challenging than others but then again when I'm living in the present moment it seems to be naturally easier. Of course some decisions are bigger than others when it comes to parenting. Some decisions probably come natural but others we do need to stop pause and seek God's will and guidance.

     I'm sure there are many more areas I seek God or should be seeking Him, but these are the ones that popped up in my mind.

 

     What areas are you struggling with? Do you need to press pause and seek God's will and guidance? What areas do you find yourself seeking God the most? 

 

Recipe Corner: Garlic and Herb Roast

     So we are slightly garlic crazy, everything we seem to  make lately contains garlic. This roast though was amazing and to make it even better it was organic meat! I lucked out and caught a sale. I'm sure it would still be great non organic with a good cut. We only had a small amount of leftovers which was devoured the next day for lunch! The ultimate sign of a winning meal, is how long do the leftovers last.

     Typically I do my roast via crockpot but this was actually oven baked, but it was just as juicy and tender as a crock pot roast. It is also a fairly easy and quick recipe. The hardest part is the garlic.

So as always here is the original recipe I got from Pinterest...I did make a few alterations. But you can always follow the original...just click here.

What you need:

1 (3 to 3 1/2 pound) Cross Rib Roast (Mine was about 1 1/2lbs, but we like strong flavors so I did not cut ingredients in half)
3 tablespoons good-quality Balsamic Vinegar
3 tablespoons fresh minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, removed from stems and chopped (I didn't bother chopping just removed from stem)
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, removed from stems and chopped (I didn't bother chopping just removed from stem)
1 tablespoon coarse salt or sea salt
Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil (I used garlic-infused olive oil) ((I used plain old olive oil))

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

It says to reduce heat after 15 min but since mine was smaller I only did 10 min at 450 then reduced to 350 and took about an hour.

I just mixed all the seasonings together and brushed on. I also added a little more vinegar to keep it moist. I also added the onion and potatoes around the roast. When I think roast I always think potatoes!  

And that's it, like I said pretty simple, but yet absolutely delicious! :)