Having Support and it's Importance!

I would have to say that having support and other people in your life who are trying to be better as well is oh so important. If you don't have anyone here I am! Along with the others on my facebook page.

My most recent relationship is a lot of the reason I gained so much weight. Not blaming him directly but it had a lot to do with me feeling really down on myself. When I first got with him in October it was all really great and then in November it turned into him making jokes about my weight or making comments about me eating. Just horrid and cruel things. We were never physical in our relationship because of how crappy he made me feel about myself. When he asked me why I never kissed him anymore I would just say because I'm tired and I really thought that is what it was and then on Valentine's Day it all clicked! I don't WANT to kiss him or even be near him because of the way he talks to me! When I told him this he said he didn't realize it was hurting me. I think that sounds idiotic, how can u not know that making fun of someones weight would bother them. Shortly before I realized what a douchebag this guy was I would go to the grocery store like every other day, stock up on chips, dip, doughnuts, pop, and ice cream and that is all I would eat. I would sit on the couch with a bag of chips and dip and eat the whole thing. Every time I sat down he could say, "I hope you don't eat that whole thing. You should watch your weight. Remember when it was important to you?" You may think it might sound caring but in way shape or form was it.

I would sit and eat all of this and not have a single care in the world! I would enjoy eating it because it was the only thing that made me feel good because I had someone in my life constantly making me feel like crap. While I was still with him I watched "Hungry For Change" and I wanted to change how I was eating and how i was feeding my kids as well. I told him how I wanted to change and even had him watch the movie. He was not interested in any way to try and eat healthy and even made comments about how i would be back on the couch eating ice cream the next night. Absolutely no faith in me. How can one live with that? You can't, so I told him I was done and it was completely over! I could not believe what I had put up with through that relationship and it was only like 5 months.

I'm a much stronger woman and I let myself down but then I started to pick myself up and within two weeks I felt like I was on top of the world! I was finding weight loss support pages on facebook, searching the health and fitness boards on pinterest, reading health articles, researching natural foods and recipes, as well as connecting with other people I know in my life who are positive. I have some very amazing family and friends! I would not have even half of my motivation if it wasn't for them. And now a lot of them are starting to eat healthy as well!! I go to church every Sunday and surround myself with the positive of God and the good people who worship him with me. Thanks to my parents for nagging me to go! Accepting God as my savior has been the best thing I have done as far as leading a positive life. If anything negative does happen, I know God is there so I need not worry. I even went through my friends list on facebook and deleted people that were always posting negative things or starting those ridiculous fights. I think I'm going to go through and do another facebook cleaning here soon. Rid your life of negativity. And when your doing so, pray for those people...

Surround yourself with good people who care and have a positive outlook. That is one of the most important aspects of being successful, to me anyways. It can make a world of difference.

April...Keeping it Simple ;)

Why can and dehydrate? READ!

Well I conquered my first attempt at canning! Canned some chili. I also went shopping today and bought about $70 worth of fruits and veggies. Roma tomatoes were on sale so bought a ton of those and going to can. Plus a lot of the fruit will be dehydrated and stored in the pantry.

Why can and dehydrate food?

First off I want to make sure that my children always have something to eat if the power were to ever go out or if there was ever a disaster of some sort. You never know what could happen. I'm not a survivalist nut I just don't see anything wrong with being prepared. I'll date all my food and make sure it is used and not wasted but my goal is to make at least a months worth of food and store it. Canning may seem complicated but it is sooo easy! Plus I know what is going in our food and that alone is comforting. Dehydrated fruits and veggies can last up to a year and dehydrated meats can last that long as well but only if they are vacuum sealed. Anyways, that is more detailed stuff I can get into later :) Any questions, just ask

The second reason is to save money!!! You buy your veggies every week..la de da...But what if your favorite veggie or fruit goes on sale? Roma tomatoes were just on sale at m grocery store so I bought a ton of them and going to can them this week :) So buy the produce when it is on sale, can it or dehydrate it and don't pay full price every week!

Plus it is a great feeling knowing exactly what is in your food and that it is HEALTHY! My pantry is barely stocked right now but it makes me feel so accomplished to know I'm well on my way to making sure my kids never go hungry and eat healthy. Absolutely love it! :)

April...Keeping it Simple ;)

If you do have any questions you can email me aprilorsten at yahoo dot com

Food dehydrating recipes

I started dehydrating for the first time today. I started out with just tomatoes to add in salads and what not but then I saw I had zucchini I needed to use and wanted to try apples for my kids to eat. But plain old veggies and fruit? No way, so I spiced them up a bit!

Tomatoes – Sprinkled with chili powder (next time I think I might seed them and then mix them with olive oil and chili powder

Zucchini – cut in half and then cut up into thin slices and put in a small bowl with some olive oil and then I had a chipotle lime rub that I got from my cousin Andrea who is a distributor for wildtree natural foods and I added that. Put on the lid and shook them all up till the zucchini was coated. Spread out on the dehydrator racks. 

Apples – cut into slices going from the top of the apple to the bottom. Put some olive oil in a bowl and add a teaspoon of cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon of cloves. 

My house smells absolutely delicious right now with this mix of smells!!! I cannot even describe it! Oh it is so wonderful. I'm looking into dehydrating meats and other things and then you can vacuum seal them and they will last up to a year! Talk about pantry stocking!


VEGETABLE STOCK! As many of you know I juice fresh vegetables EVERY single morning and I've been throwing all this pulp away. I am trying to find all these ways to not waste any food at all. So when I juice my veggies in the morning I take out the pulp and kind of mush it together (so small pieces don't fall all over the place) and lay it on my dehydrator sheets. When it dries, grind it up in the processor and here is powdered vegetables to make soup with! UGH What a great idea!! 

April...Keeping it Simple ;)

What do I juice?

My morning juice :)

The answer is...EVERYTHING!  Well, almost everything. Here is a good list of guidelines for juicing certain things :)

BANANAS
-Do not juice bananas. They will turn to mush and clog your machine BUT you can whip them up in the blender and add your juice in with it if you would like banana.

BROCCOLI
-I don't juice florrets but when I cut them off of the "broccoli tree" for dinner one night, I save the tree part for the next morning and juice that. You can see it in the picture above next to the cucumber. Better than trying to eat it!

RADISHES
-When juicing radishes leave the stems and leaves on. Full of more nutrients and fiber for you and will also help cleanse your blood.

APPLES
-When juicing an apple make sure to cut it up to EXCLUDE the seeds. They have a bitter taste for adults and can be toxic for kids. So best to just cut them out

KALE
-Juice the whole thing, stem and all

CUCUMBER
-They make a TON of juice so a very good base!

CARROTS
-Make sure to cut off the green stems of carrots because they are toxic.

PARSLEY
-When juicing parsley do not juice A LOT. Just a small handful or it can be toxic as well

Other than that just juice away!
celery
brussel sprouts
collard greens
spinach
anything green and leafy
jalapenos
CILANTRO is a great detoxifying herb
 Basically anything along with fruit :)

April....Keeping it Simple ;)

A grocery trip

My grocery trip :)

I have been getting questions about what I shop for. What is NOT processed food? What are some essentials? Most common items on my list? So here it goes! Everything is organic unless I state otherwise

•  Tomato Juice (Going to make a HUGE pot of chili and can it :)
• Vegetable Broth (for quinoa and lentils cause water is boring)
• flax seed whole wheat pita bread
• honey nut toasted cereal
• french dressing
• nut chips
• tomato sauce
• kidney/black beans
• diced tomatoes (I usually use fresh but they were on sale for cheap!)
• carrots
• celery
• peppercorns
• mini chocolate chips cookies
• animal crackers (last two are healthy snacks for the kids)
• spinach
• mixed greens
• green tea with blueberry (have 2-3 cups a day!)
• maple syrup
• gummy vitamins for the kids
• kefir
• almond milk
• chocolate almond milk (treat for the kids at supper)
• papaya spears and mango slices (all natural!)
• greek yogurt (buy PLAIN. About 1/3 the calories of flavored. Sweeten your own with honey or fruit. Thanks Rachel Bjork!)
• Beef sticks (100% grass fed local beef, no chemicals, no nothing.)
• feta cheese
• quick oats
• green pepper (not organic)
• bananas (not organic)
• apples(2 bags, plus 3 pink lady apples)
• tomatoes
• avocados
• cucumber
• zucchini
• brussel sprouts
• cilantro
• kale

I have never bought any type of dressing before but it was organic and I understood all the contents of it, and the olive oil is getting boring. lol. But just a wide array of stuff and this is a typical shopping trip. i didn't get much meat because I have quinoa and lentils to use up and I only got the beef sticks as a nice snack for my daughter...She is a brute haha. Other than that I juice all the veggies except the avocado, tomato, and green pepper. Was looking for jalapenos because I was going to make a spicy drink this weekend but was unable to find any at the grocery store so going to check out the other one later on.

But with the tomato juice I just bought a huge pot and I am going to fill it with my chili recipe and then can it so I have a bunch of chili on hand whenever I need it. Something I am going to be doing with my Dad :)

My other shopping trips

Most of all my meals are mainly veggies and then I had quinoa, lentils, brown rice pasta or meat to them. But veggies are the base and fill 3/4 of our plates.


ENJOY! My next post will be on how I store my veggies, cleaning, making sure they stay fresh!


April....Keeping it Simple ;)

BEST "secret" to weight loss!

Truth is, it's not a secret! It is common sense. The only thing that works is eating right and exercising. There are no secret methods to lose 15 lbs in 3 days, chances are you will just gain it right back. Losing weight is not about counting calories, it is about eating the right foods for your body and none of that low calorie fat free crap but real clean food. Sorry to bust your bubble but it is not a temporary way of eating to lose weight, it is a complete lifestyle change that you have to go through. So you lose all the weight you want and go back to your old way of eating. Think u will stay skinny? Definitely not. And it isn't even about losing weight, although it is a plus, to me it is about being healthy and keeping my kids healthy. I want to be around for my grandkids graduation someday! You can't change your eating for a couple months and then go back. You have to make a dedicated decision to change your entire way of eating. And you will definitely reap the benefits!! Is that saying that you can't have a Triple Chocolate Meltdown from Applebees once in a while, of course not, but it needs to be in moderation.

The "secret" is to eat all natural foods that our bodies were meant to digest. Low calorie and fat free foods do not work. They are not food, they are food-like products and your cravings will only get worse because you are nutritionally starving your body from the food that it needs. Next time you go shopping buy almost all vegetables. Have a hard time eating a plate of veggies? I know I do. JUICE THEM! I juice 4 kale leaves, cucumber, 3 carrots, parsley, inch slice of ginger root, 4 radishes, 2 celery stalks, and an apple EVERY morning! All that nutrition in one drink and no sitting having to force veggies down your throat. It's tough, I've tried it.

My morning Juice regimen

I used to eat all those slim-fast shakes and low cal food...I was always starving! And not because my body wanted food but because my body wanted the RIGHT food. Like I said your next shopping trip should consist of almost all veggies, lentils, quinoa, beans, whole wheat grains, some chicken for meat...And a good tip is to stick to the outside of the grocery store. All the bad stuff is usually in the middle. But most of your time should be spent in the veggies and fruit section! :) At first the tastes may seem weird but after awhile the tastes will be absolutely delicious and you will have so much fun making your own mixtures of veggies, different spices, meats, grains...it's all a big experiment in the kitchen here!


April...Keeping it Simple :)

Green Sauce

My Salmon and Roasted Veggies with Green Sauce

I have been putting this new sauce that I made on just about everything! Veggies, Chicken, Turkey, Roll-ups, EVERYTHING! My daughter eats it straight out of the bowl I make it in. She just LOVES it and it's so good for you. Your body needs natural fats and avocados have that. Great recipe that I just MADE UP one day for something to put on my salmon. lol

Green Sauce
-2 avocados (skinned and pitted)
-2 garlic cloves (or more to taste, I LOVE garlic)
-juice from half a lime (I use a handheld juicer, works better than squeezing, get more juice)
-handful of spinach (can't even taste it and gives the sauce an extra kick of nutrition)