Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Getting Healthy

Last week, I gathered up the munchkins, tried to brush their hair (OY!) and headed on over to Achor and Eden for a little photo shoot. I just had to share a photo or two, because I {heart} these photos! Now, this is a long post that may seem disjointed but it is all connected (at least in my mind!). Bear with me...

Jules in Zookini Kids Sweetheart Anna Dress
and her ruby slippers, of course!


Part I
So, I am going to begin with a plug for my very talented friend, Renee who designs these sweet, totally adorable, age appropriate dresses for her company Zookini Kids. I have known Renee for a long time - since middle school. We were more of acquaintances through middle school and high school, and had not kept in touch at all...our tie was really that we were both going to be attending design school. Some-odd years later, enter Facebook and a high school reunion and now, as adults, we are friends - in real life not just on Facebook! Facebook was my great time-sucker for awhile (I am currently cheating on it with Blogger), but it did help me connect and reconnect with some people who are having a major impact on my thinking.

My sweet boy!


When I saw Renee's designs I fell in love with them immediately. These dresses are exactly the way I want my daughter to dress...at least while I have a say. So, head on over to the Zookini Kids website and check out her other designs. You can also hop over to Hip, Stylish, and Totally Cool Weddings to see some of the dresses I selected as truly unique alternatives to the typical fluffy white flower girl dresses.



Part II
Once upon a time I was a vegetarian..almost a vegan (for health reasons). I felt great and looked good. I fell off the wagon, got pregnant and ate too many chocolate chip pancakes and too much mint chip ice cream (I was young and invincible...I thought). Since then, I have been fighting with baby weight (from the first baby...Jules was a breeze..only gained 15 pounds and that is gone). In recent years, I have been trying to jump back on the healthy bandwagon. Overall my family has a pretty healthy diet. My kids eat most vegetables without too much trouble, and hubby also has to watch what he eats. So my meals are heavy on the veggies and lean protein.


Now, have you seen the Slimquick commercials? You know the ones where the husband quits drinking soda and drops 10 lbs....that is my house. My hubby who considered potatoes to be his vegetable source, started eating salads and dropped white flour from his diet and lost a ton of weight without exercising in a matter of months. I however workout everyday, eat lots of veggies and NADA! Complete frustration. I began talking to Renee about this...

...you see, beyond being a fabulous designer, Renee is passionate about health and well being. She is a Holistic Health and NLP Practitioner, AADP. This is the description from her blog..."I received my training to practice Health Counseling at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, which is the only nutrition school integrating all the different dietary theories—combining the knowledge of traditional philosophies with modern concepts like the USDA food pyramid, the glycemic index, the Zone and raw foods." She sees Zookini Kids as "a conduit for education, nurturing, community, and a healthy mind and body." She is a wealth of knowledge and inspiring too. She has helped me transform some of my recipes, "Don't Tell the Kids It's Healthy" Apple Cake, and was the inspiration for A Perfect Fall Cookie (basically her recipe). 

One day, she and I were talking, really we were IM-ing on Facebook, about moms and kids and nutrition. I was feeling inspired and suggested she travel North and I would host a Healthy Happy Hour. So, next weekend, I am inviting some ladies over to chat about various health related matters, losing weight, and general nutrition. Some of the topics we may cover include:
  1. Bring a recipe and we will healthify it!
  2. Why it is better to read the ingredients rather than the calories, sodium, etc. Check out Renee's post about Calorie Counting.
  3. The differences in sugars and flours. Refined sugars and flours vs. more fully whole flours and sugars.
  4. Ways to make recipes healthier/better for you.
  5. Connection of food to feeling good, not just about weight, but your health overall (hormones, disease, etc.).
  6. Convincing our kids (and us) to eat better.
  7. Overcoming obstacles (in our minds) to get healthy/lose weight.
  8. Implementing what we already know (i.e. I already know some stuff about nutrition, etc...so why do I eat junk or let my kids do it when I know it is bad.).
  9. Finding a balance between eating healthy and enjoying what we eat.
  10. Curing ailments through the right foods.
  11. Vegetarianism...better for you or not?
  12. What are good proteins, good carbs, good fats?
The list is a work in progress...so what I am asking is:
Through blogland would you like to be involved?
Do any of you have questions related to these matters that you would like answered?
Do any of you have a recipe or two that you would like to make healthier?


I would love to hear anything. Renee is really practical and non-judgmental...I let Jules eat Cheetos the last time I saw her! If so, send me the questions - Post them in the comment section - I'd prefer you post in the comment section, but if it is personal or you just don't want to share with the world, email them to me at holly504main@yahoo.com. Please email recipes to me.


Thanks for bearing with me! Looking forward to hearing from you!


Holly

37 comments:

  1. Hey good luck! Healthy eating has ALWAYS been foreign to me. I have religiously been going to the gym and even ran my first 5K this past weekend, but I have to admit, the eating part is the hardest for me to change mostly because I just don't understand...

    Anyway - I have a little ceremony at my place today, accepting the lovely awards you gave me and there's a little shout out to ya if you wanna stop by :)

    Tami G
    www.everydayingray.blogspot.com

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  2. I so get it about the white flour/carbs connection. When I leave out all of the "white stuff" my weight plummets. I have an awesome spinach/chicken enchilada recipe that could probably use some tweaking. I don't make it often as it is such an indulgence. Let me know if you would like it.

    Wish I lived close to you as I would love to be part of your group session!

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  3. That is a great idea! I'll think about it and let you know.

    Those pics of your kids are so good!

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  4. Great idea! Yes, I would love to be a part of the project. I'll have to think about questions and answers and such...

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  5. I would love to be a part of it!!

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  6. Holly,

    I would LOVE to be involved with something like this.

    We are pretty healthy over here, but we're not vegetarian. We don't eat a lot of red meat. Mostly turkey, chicken, and fish.

    I work out a lot, too, and I quit soda. But my weight hasn't dropped dramatically at all. I have a hard time with portion control, and I also eat when I'm tired/stressed (even if it's healthy stuff, it's still calories I don't need if I'm not hungry!).

    I snack a lot on baby carrots & hummus, Laughing Cow cheese with pretzels, organic yogurt and fruit. I eat cottage cheese with fruit for breakfast, or a Kashi waffle with peanut butter. Lunches are either frozen (Lean Cuisine/SMart Ones) or a turkey sandwich with baby carrots and hummus, etc...dinners are mostly healthy. I always use brown rice and whole wheat pasta. Not a lot of heavy cream sauces or buttery things. I use EVOO mostly.

    Anyway, it's just frustrating. If i could be Oprah, I'd hire a personal chef to cook for me.

    But it makes me want to quit exercising. I hate it, and if it's not helping me lose weight?!?!? then why bother (though I know it's helping my bones and my cardiovascular system, and my emotional/mental well-being).

    Sorry this got so long. Great post. Beautiful kids, too---the clothes are adorable!

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  7. I wish I lived closer to you!!!

    My mom (who lives with us) was diagnosed with PAD (among other things) in July. She is supposed to have NO bad fats, a reasonable amount of good fats, little sodium, reasonable sugar, etc. I would love to know more about the connections between food and health!!! I'm going to check out your friend's blog now!!

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  8. I love this stuff! I eat it up...nice pun huh?! Count me in. It also must be long post day...because I wrote my longest one to date. Just couldn't stop myself:) Have a great day. Holly at lifelaughlatte.blogspot.com

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  9. Your kids are SO cute! I have no questions about nutrition. I am taking a break from thinking about health for a bit. I am just too busy drinking Diet Dr Pepper and eating frosting with a spoon out of the jar.

    Leigh

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  10. YO! ERIN!! SHUTYERPIEHOLE! You're not loosing weight because YOU DON"T HAVE ANY LEFT TO LOOSE! SERIOUSLY! DO YOU HEAR ME? ARE YOU LISTENING?

    Holly,

    Love this idea. Being diabetic I try to feed my family healthy too. Hubs sometimes just eats chips and nacho cheese when I make dinners he doesn't like but then he doesn't get to complain about his buddah belly...anyway, along with all the great info you're going to pass along, I'd love to know if anyone knows anything about MonaVie. I have a friend (sort of) who's sole purpose in life is to push the sale of this stuff claiming its AAAHmazing health benefits. I'm skeptical...mostly because its costs an arm, leg and kidney for one person to drink it in a month's time. It also seems like a pyramid scheme to me...would like another opinion.

    Thanks a million!

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  11. Hello there! Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving the sweet comments! I love your blog and am following you now! I hope you have a marvelous Wednesday. Kori xoxo

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  12. Anonymous11:49 AM

    Those pictures are awesome. The first one looks like it's right out of a magazine. Thanks for stopping by Johnson Manorisms and leaving a comment. Happy Wednesday!

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  13. I'm sort of like you in that I eat pretty healthy, exercise pretty regularly, and I have been battling the same 5-10 lbs (which I gained on vacation) for two and a half years now...nothing works long term. A couple of times, I lost most of it temporarily, only by working out 2-3 times a day. As soon as I went back to normal, it came back. What would your friend say about this? Or is this question beyond the scope of the talks?

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  14. i'm all about healthy and well being. we went all organic a few months ago and can totally tell!

    i'd love to be involved or follow along with you. i'm going to start back up with running. if you are interested in training for a 5K with me, let me know! it's the only thing i found to help with my baby weight. i'm down 20lbs and only have 15lbs to go! (well, that's baby weight and the weight i had before i got preggo. lol)

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  15. Anonymous1:05 PM

    Adorable pictures! I love the ruby slippers.

    My kids eat healthy, but I don't really... I keep telling myself I should take better care, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

    I do love brussel sprouts though.

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  16. We're pretty healthy eaters here, since we found out that Felix is diabetic a few years ago. I put veggies in almost everthing.

    The dresses are so cute and totally make me miss having a little girl to dress!

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  17. I thought about this post/conversation again tonight at dinner. We were having pot pie. I was pretty hungry but I was hesitant to eat more. "It's just not good for you," I explained. My daughter was frustrated. "What IS good for you?" she demanded. "What, really, can you feel good about eating? Too much meat is bad. Too much dairy is bad. Fruit is all sugar. Bread is full of carbs. No matter what I eat, someone says that it's bad." She also pointed out that the pot pie was homemade, not from a box, and contained veggies. But we all know veggies or not, homemade or not, it was bad. But she has a point. Vegetables are the only food that not riddled with some sort of bad press. She's right--it IS frustrating

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  18. Picutres are SO cute and I'm with you on the whole "what is good for you?" thing. Just wish I had more time to be motivated in the kitchen.

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  19. First, your children are beautiful.

    Second, we have cut out all white flour and sugar in our house. It has made a huge difference for all of us. I've also stopped buying most prepackaged sauces, salsa, etc. It is suprisingly easy to do, and doesn't take much time.

    Today was my first visit here...I'll be back!

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  20. Great idea to include your blog friends! I'd love to get some insight into better nutrition and healthful eating.

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  21. Holly, the pictures are wonderful. Of course, she had really good "material" to work with, but I think she definitely captured the essence of each child. That apple cake looks delish, and you know what a big fan I was of those "perfect Fall Cookies"! I look forward to meeting the very talented Renee in person!

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  22. You know I'm in, waving hand wildly, please include me, maybe you can save me some money in therapy, lol and keep me from that awful homework! But can I try Crazy Aunt Brie's recipe first??? :)

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  23. Oh good grief, how could I forget, the photos are amazing. LOVE, LOVe, LOVE the Ruby Slippers!

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  24. 1. The photos and clothes are fabulous

    2. I am very passionate about healthy living, eating and exercise so I am very interested to hear more or participate as best I can.

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  25. your post is inspiring me to put down the bag of skittles...

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  26. Beautiful pictures of your kids! They are adorable.

    I could totally learn to cook healthier... less flour and potatos makes a lot of sense to me!

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  27. A discussion about the psychological reasons why people make unhealthy choices regarding food and exercise might be interesting.

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  28. Holly that first picture of Jules is sooooo cute! I love this topic of healthy eating. We struggle with it a lot. I don't have a lot of time to cook (and personally don't like to unless it is for a party) so we eat out way more than we should. I know for a fact that is not good when trying to eat healthy. I know I live in TX, but any way I can be involved in a healthy eating discussion or whatever, I am all for it. I love the idea of taking recipes we already know and love and tweaking them to make them better for us!
    I love the recipes you have been posting. I haven't tried them yet b/c I haven't made it a priority, but I have it filed away in my head as something I am going to do!
    Thanks!

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  29. You had me until the picture of brussel sprouts... then I was dry heaving... I mean, what lovely pictures of your children! I love the dress! I started eating a vegetarian diet at the beginning of October, just to give it a chance, and other than a birthday party where I HAD to eat 4 oz of bacon wrapped Filet (and another incident with some fried chicken)... I have been pretty good, lost weight too! Darn hormones mess with our abilities to lose weight! Keep trying, love to read about what you learn during your healthy happy hour. :)

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  30. Your kids, the dress and the pictures are all great! (I really love that dress it is so cute.)

    I think having a healthy happy hour sounds like a fun idea.

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  31. I'm in -- I get so frustrated by my inability to lose weight, even though I know that my habits are the real culprit.

    Maybe a Healthy/Happy Hour (even a blog-based one) would be the support group/kiss in the ass I need.

    You're the best, Holly!

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  32. You children are gorgeous!!

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  33. The Apple Cake looks much tastier than the brussel sprouts!

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  34. I keep thinking that if only I can get a full night of sleep, I can tackle all those things. Being chronically tired from taking care of a baby and young child, I'm finding it hard to get and stay motivated. These topics all relate to the healthy habits I am trying to instill in my kids (and for the most part they are good about it), but I'd really like to fully embrace a healthy lifestyle and do it by example. I would love to hear what you all come up with.

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  35. Hi. Visiting from SITS. Love your blog.

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  36. Great Pictures. Really darling one of your sweet little girl. Loved her dress too!

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Thanks for stopping by and joining the conversation! I sure hope you come back for more!