Food Beauty ~ Operation Healthy specs to come

Despite a nasty little cold I've picked up, I'm forging ahead and beginning Operation Healthy tomorrow (or later today, rather, seeing as it's past midnight) as planned. I'm in the last-minute planning stages of it, so all will be revealed then. I would love for you to join in if you so desire. In the immortal words of Winnie the Pooh, "It's so much friendlier with two."


Until then, I'm going to share some motivation. Since we became members of our co-op, I have made so many lovely discoveries about food. One of the things I've enjoyed most is seeing all the beauty the Lord offers us through the foods He has provided for us to eat in nature. I thought I'd share a few photos of the beauty we've been blessed by these last few months.


Enjoy! Please disregard my amateur photography skills. I'm working on them; I promise.

Candy-cane-striped beets (just in time for the Christmas season)

Tri-color sweet peppers (red is my favorite)

A beautiful bounty 

(Check out the oranges. They're Cara Caras. Find some and dig in. 

They're increíble. No joke.)

These pictures make me totally stoked to fill my days with real, nourishing food. Cheers!

God Bless,

Miss K

P.S. I'm working on a redesign for the blog, yet again. I'm still not thrilled with the look of it. I'm hoping to debut the new (and, fingers crossed, final) blog design within the next week or two. Wish me luck! 

31 Days of Natural Nutrition: Day 5 ~ What NOT to do (aka why there was no Day 4)

You might notice I was absent from my blog yesterday. Wanna know why? 'Cause I'm a BIG, FAT hypocrite, that's why. I don't think I ate one thing yesterday that wasn't processed in some way nor am I sure I even ate anything in its raw or pure form. Epic fail! 

I have since dusted myself off from that wagon fall and learned a lesson. I am what I eat. When I eat like crap, I feel like crap. Between a son with a stomach virus and myself with the cold that won't end, it's a veritable germfest in our house right now. Thus, yesterday, all caution was thrown to the wind and we ate whatever soothed our bellies and palates. 

The funny thing is that the so-called "comfort food" I ate didn't bring me any comfort. I ended up being disappointed in myself for sacrificing and going to bed with a distended tummy chock full of carbs and high-fructose corn syrup. My prenatal vitamin and extra vitamin C tablet were the only redeeming things to pass through my esophagus yesterday besides water.

I heard a quote the other day that first stung me, then resonated deeply: "What we eat in private shows in public." I may not think those 5 or 10 M&Ms I'm tossing back between lunch and dinner are affecting me, but they are. Especially if I toss 5 or 10 back five times a day. 

I'm learning slowly (like at a snail's pace, y'all) that my health/weight/well-being are a combination of when, what, and how much I choose to eat. Living with PCOS (which I discussed in this post), I cannot simply follow a reduced-calorie, "less in, more out" type of diet and expect to garner great results. Sure, calorie reduction and increased exercise will help, but it's not enough. A lot of what's going on with my body is in the way it's responding to what I choose to eat. 

So you'd think I'd be even more sensitive and follow "the rules" better, right? Nah. I don't like being told I can't do something, so this interferes with the core of trying to eat better. I have to realize that there are things I can't eat (well, maybe I can, but I truly shouldn't) if I want to be the healthiest version of me possible. 

It all comes down to this: do I want to be healthy or do I want the momentary pleasure of ________ (insert your choice of comfort food, sugary treat, or calorie-laden drink)? I want to be healthy. That is my utmost desire. The momentary pleasure of unhealthy food (and that's truly all it amounts to) is just not worth it. Now to train my irrational mind to remember this ideal when it's past lunch and I'm scrambling to find something to stuff in my mouth is quite a different story. 

I'm fresh out of ideas on how to beat my addiction to processed, unhealthy foods. There are many times in a day where I vehemently want to tear through my pantry and fridge, removing any semblance of processing, refining, filling and head to the nearest dump with the stuff. The me that hates to waste is what holds the tiger back. I figure we'll just finish it out and then not buy it again. Maybe I need to just let it go, release my wrath on the kitchen, and not look back. It certainly can't hurt us. 

What ways are you successful at eliminating or limiting processed foods in your diet? How do you overcome the urge to consume "comfort" food? What natural foods give you that comfort you long for? 

31 Days of Natural Nutrition ... a blogging challenge

Hello there! If you're visiting for the first time, scroll down to read the first post in the 31 Days of Natural Nutrition series. I'm linking up with Nesting Place on this challenge.

31 Days of Natural Nutrition: Day 2 ~ Fun Food Finds

31 Days of Natural Nutrition: Day 3 ~ Why Organic?

31 Days of Natural Nutrition: Day 5 ~ What NOT to do (aka why there was no Day 4)

I like numbers. I like challenges. I like making goals and meeting them. I like nutrition and have become very passionate of late about what my family eats. 


SO, I have decided to hop on board for the month of October's 31 Days of ... challenge hosted by Nesting Place. I actually found out about the challenge via the (in)courage community, which is an amazing online community for women. If you don't know about it, check it out. We need all the encouragement and support we can get as women. 


The 31 Days of challenge is a challenge where you choose one topic to devote your posts to for the entire month of October. I didn't have to give my topic more than a moment's thought because it's been on the forefront of my mind over the course of the year and this is just the kick in the pants I needed to get it going full force. 


My topic is 31 Days of Natural Nutrition. Why natural nutrition? First off, I have a love affair with alliteration, so the word choice was only natural. Pun intended. Secondly, I have been on a journey this year to strip down our food choices in our home and restore our diet to natural, traditional, wholesome foods. It has been a roller coaster ride for me, as I'm a foodie without necessarily the most distinguishing of palates (cheese puffs, anyone?). 


I've begun to explore what real food is, not just foodstuff or artificial filler. It's been no picnic and most days I feel guiltier for what I'm eating than what I'm not, but progress has been made and we're the better for it. We started by joining a local co-op where we get mostly organic produce, as well as locally farmed meats, cheeses, natural body and household products, and more. It's been fantastic so far, and I've learned so much about food. The funny thing is I realize there is still so much yet to learn. 


Over this month, I will strive to share what healthy, natural nutritional choices we've been making in our home, what we've steered clear of, and ways we have benefited. This will come in the form of recipes, food finds, and definitely some what-not-to-dos if I know myself and my propensity for all things junk food. 


It's high time we clean up our eating around this house. Our bodies are temples to the Lord and I'm feeling the push to polish this temple and make it shine for the Lord's glory. 


I hope you'll join me on my journey and throw in any healthy, natural tidbits, recipes, helpful hints, etc., that you would like. I can use all the help I can get. 


In the immortal words of Cosmo Kramer, "Giddy up!" 


*As an aside, this is all-too-fitting timing given the fact that I crashed my truck into one of those poles (you know the ones that guide you around the drive-through) at McDonalds yesterday afternoon on the way to pick up my natural, organic produce from co-op. Nice. Intervention accepted. 

Of Bible Studies and Brownies

I'm random, I know. But bear with me and hear me out on two things. Just two things. Then I'll let you get back to your regularly scheduled programming. 


1. Brownies


Right below is a sacred recipe for the best brownies I have ever had in my life. Seriously. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE read past the first ingredient. I know it will be hard, but you can do it. Test drive these babies. You won't be disappointed. I promise. Take a chance on me. If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown, honey I'm still free, take a chance on me. (Sorry, I spontaneously burst into ABBA songs, or any song for that matter, frequently. Forgive me.) Without further adieu, I bring you: (drumroll, please)


Dark Chocolate Beet Brownies

Servings: 24
Time: About one hour total; 30 minutes active

8 ounces raw beets, peeled and halved (YOU CAN'T TASTE THEM. I SWEAR.) Keep reading!
8 ounce unsalted butter (2 sticks)
¾ cup dark brown sugar
¾ cup white sugar
4 eggs
1 ¼ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract, not imitation
¾ cup white flour
1 cup chocolate chips, preferably 60 percent or more cacao 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a small pot, add beets and cover with water. Heat over medium heat and cook 20–25 minutes until very soft. Drain, puree and set aside to cool.

3. In a medium pot over low heat, melt butter. Turn heat to medium-low and add both sugars. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, about 2–3 minutes, and remove from heat.

4. Beat the eggs on medium with a mixer for about 2 minutes. Add cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and vanilla extract, and incorporate well.

5. Add pureed beets and butter-sugar mixture and mix well. On low speed, add flour and then chocolate chips, scraping the sides as needed.

6. Spray a 9 x 13 pan generously with cooking spray, add batter and bake 30 minutes until knife comes out clean or with just a few crumbles. Cool in the pan before turning out onto a cooling rack. Enjoy warm!


Make these. Like tomorrow. Your children will gobble them up like they're candy. You will, too. And you'll all be getting your folate, Vitamin C, and iron. Thank me later. I accept payment in brownies and/or meatballs.


2. Bible Studies (or one wonderful one, in particular)


 If you're looking for something to turn your attention away from your children who are on school vacation this summer and driving you bonkers (or if you're just a woman), avert your eyes from "All My Children" and check out this Bible study "Jonah: Navigating a Life Interrupted." I'm currently more than halfway through this study with a church women's group, and it has impacted me tremendously. As I was sharing with my husband, I don't know whether it's the season of life I'm in or the age I am, but I am finding so much that resonates with me in this study. It's almost overwhelming to feel the Lord reaching out to me in this way. I mean, I've been in Bible studies, but this is probably the first one that has affected me in ways that will change who I am as a mother, a wife, and a person in general. Priscilla Shirer is good! She is on fire for the Lord and she's so authentic. She's a mother of three boys and she's living to tell AND give God glory about it, so you bet your bottom I'm going to listen! 


The ladies in my group are amazing (and I don't mean that in the flippant sense of the word). Each of us have been transparent throughout the study, which I have been so thankful for. We are diverse in age and I feel there is so much knowledge and wisdom to glean from each of the ladies I'm studying with. Suffice it to say, I think this study is better done as a group, but it cuts the mustard all on its own. Who would've thought four little chapters of the Bible could do so much? Please do check it out. Let the Lord speak to you. 


That is all. Brownies and Bible studies. Good stuff, eh? Nourishment for the body and the soul. 


God bless, 
Miss K

Tipping the scales

Here's the sitch, folks: I'm eating too much. I'm avoiding exercise like I'm allergic to it. I have, for lack of better words and for complete admittance to myself, "let myself go."


I'm having nightmarish visions of this woman. Remember her? 

I'll give you one clue: STOP THE INSANITY! 

It is due to the aforementioned reasons and a desire to see my 40th birthday (which is not for MANY years, I vehemently demand) that I must heed this woman's advice.

All insanity shall cease at 0dark30 in the morning when I wake up and have a visit with this man (minus the coffee and donuts, of course).

I'll let you know how it goes.