All natural Fruit Smoothie for breakfast, made of peaches and pineapple with a tsp of honey. ( I make them different everyday and I am loving it.)


Spinach and Kale Quesadilla for lunch. Yes it had cheese on it but SERIOUSLY.... when is the last time you had Kale???


I went to the grocery store today and bought a few new things.  Atleast they are new to me.  I bought purple cabbage (GORGEOUS) ,endive ( made me think of the movie Hitch) , brussel sprouts ( not frozen just Raw and natural) ,and avocado ( I have bought them and let them go to waste twice because I was scared to try them). Then I went to the Health food section and got a pound of almonds and sunflower seeds.  I need these for some new recipes but after researching so much lately I don't plan on ever buying nuts or seeds in the regular package.  Too much salt added to them.  Just plain RAW nuts.  


Tonight for dinner we had cabbage, black eyed peas ( that I soaked all day not from a can), scalloped potatoes, and baked chicken.  It was a fight to say the least with Nathan and Zachary.  Triston did great and said anything was better that the Eggplant Parmesean we had Sunday. My precious Savannah ate it all and loved it.  She is reminding me more and more of my sister growing up.  My mom would try to make me eat healthy things like ...Brussel Sprouts ( CAN YOU IMAGINE?). I would be gagging and complaining and she was asking for more.  She made a big deal out of the fact that they were so yummy.   What a brat!  Just kidding, Wendy.  I remember once having to get up EARLY on a SATURDAY morning and pick vegetables from our garden.  Did I mention it was raining?  Let me say it again.  I was about 13 yrs old, 7 am, Saturday morning, in the pouring rain, my parents made me get out of bed and pick STUPID vegetables out of our STUPID garden.  While I am huffing and puffing , my baby sister is singing and laughing.  Let's just say my teenage attitude was horrible.  WOW!  I would give anything to be able to go back and learn all I could about the garden ad I would have such a better attitude this time.  I would have to say.  My kids are awesome. ( so much better than I was)  Triston will set his alarm to get up early (6am) on a Saturday so that the can do his outside chores before it gets hot.  They all three wake up happy every morning and I still have to work on not being grumpy.  I am NOT a morning person.  

DON'T JUDGE ME!!!!

I told you I wouldn't be perfect at this.  I am exhausted and my kitchen is still a mess from yesterday.  I also didn't want to hear ONE person complain about ANYTHING tonight. Which means..... I ordered PIZZA for dinner.  I ordered beef and chicken for the kids instead of the usual pepperoni and sausage.  As for Nathan, Granny and I we are having Veggie Lover's.

I won't post a picture tonight because I don't want to tempt any of you that are eating good.  I ate raw fruits and veggies all day today and drank only water.  YAY for me.  I plan on having a fruit smoothie for dessert after I take a LONG bath.  Can you tell today has been a very tough day.  CALGON take me away.  I researched new recipes all day and I can't wait to share my success.

OH , WAIT!  I forgot to mention that I EXERCISED TODAY!!!  It has been about 2 months or so since I quit walking again because of my ankle.  An exercise video, in the living room, under the ceiling fan, and with the A/C running was how I did it.  It may not work for you but it was GREAT for me.

 I can't believe it is Sunday again.  For lunch we had sandwiches again.  This is a hard tradition to break.  I use to stress about a warm meal right when we get home from church.  Within the last 4 yrs or so we switched to sandwiches when we get home and a hot meal for dinner.  This works great for our family.  It has cut down on so much contention and stress because everyone was hungry and grumpy otherwise.  We bought sandwich meat with out the nitrates and other harmful additives. I also made everyone put alfalfa sprouts to their sandwiches instead of lettuce ( everyone but the teenager that wouldn't do it).  We snacked on Raw veggies and fruit along with a few pretzels.

We had an extra 3 people here for dinner tonight and we had Eggplant Parmesan on Gluten free angel hair pasta.  It was really yummy.  Everyone enjoyed it and Savannah and Zachary even asked for more.  The best part about it was that the Eggplant was $1.49 and fed all of us with a little bit left over.  The chicken was bought on sale for 1/2 price and it was still $7.40 and wouldn't have fed all of us. For dessert I made the Strawberries from the other day.  I decided to make a Gluten Free / Dairy Free loaf of Banana Bread for breakfast for the kids tomorrow.  As you can see, when it came out of the oven half of it was gone before I could even snap a picture.  It really was AMAZING!   I added cinnamon and nutmeg and it smelt so good.      

 SUCCESS
Tonight's Southwestern Skillet Sensation was amazing. All fresh produce except for the corn.  I even walked outside and picked the tomatoes from my garden ( or what is left of it ).  Look at that rainbow of colors.  Did you know that we are suppose to eat a "rainbow" at every meal?  I love raw onion and tonight was the perfect meal for that.

Oh ,wait!  I really love raw onion with homemade cornbread.  My mommy made a gorgeous pan and it was delicious.  We won't go into what it is made of .... let me just remind you that we are taking baby steps.

It's Friday!   Tonight we had leftovers.   I did make another batch of brownies and even made some dairy free ice cream to go with it. ( with the rest of the soaked cashews from last night)  Although I wanted warm brownies straight from the oven, I will have to say that the texture is better when they are cool.  The ice cream wasn't bad but it definitely wasn't Mayfield. :)   I think I will make it a little sweeter next time by adding more agave nectar, but I am pretty pleased with the experiment.  We will have to see what Nate thinks when he gets home. He has not been holding back what he thinks about my new way of life. ( Though he never really does.)

I learned something today.  My mom has been telling me to watch the sodium in the canned black beans.  (I know it is sad but I have never cooked them any other way.)  GUESS WHAT!!!  In a can of black beans there is 1400 mg of sodium.  Yep, you read that right.  BUT, there is ZERO mg of sodium in an entire bag of dry beans.  I am in shock.  According to my research... adults are suppose to have less that 1500 mg of sodium per day and children are suppose to have less than 1250mg per day.  Just food for thought.  No pun intended. 

Have you ever used a Spaghetti Squash? It is so neat. I made spaghetti casserole completely vegetarian. I didn't do this meal 100% natural but close. I used black beans, mushrooms, and a quart of tomatoes from my garden that I had canned a month ago or so. Then I added a jar of Prego for taste. This was not a huge hit for anyone else but I liked it a lot. My youngest (5) even held his nose while trying to eat it. "I don't like crunchy noodles." My oldest ( 14 ) got a huge scoop of it, ate it without complaining, and then said ," I ate it! Now can I have a PB&J ?" I even heard if from my hubby. He ate one bite. I am trying not to get discouraged, but honestly that is hard to do when I have put so much effort into this. I have to remember this is not going to happen overnight.

Here comes the good part. Remember the friend I told you about that went RAW. While we were there she talked about making your own, all natural Almond Milk. She goes on to say, "To do this you first soak your nuts..." as we look at each other trying not to laugh. She is interrupted by her daughter, another great friend of mine, by saying, " Mom! Get real! They are not gonna SOAK their nuts. They are going to buy it from the store in a carton." We all laughed hysterically. I have to admit. I couldn't imagine going through the trouble of "soaking nuts" for a recipe. But, guess what! I did it. I soaked cashews for the recipe tonight. Strawberries stuffed with a pear/cashew cream and topped with chocolate. YUM!

Vegetarian Chili over Rice with Cornbread and Black Bean Brownies for dessert. AMAZING!!! The brownies were made with 2 cups black beans, 1 cup Agave Nectar, 3/4 cup 100 % natural cocoa chips, 1 cup butter, and 4 eggs. I even omitted the salt and coffee the recipe called for. Yes this recipe has fat but look at all the protein. They have more of a cheesecake texture and tasted delicious. I could give my kids this for breakfast and not even feel guilty. I can hear them saying,"My mommy gave us chocolate brownies for breakfast and glass of milk." ( Almond milk to be exact."

Granny has improved even more. She is actually taking small steps, with assistance, and lifted her legs up off of the bed. She talked a lot more asking where the kids were and said she misses them. Occupation Therapist comes tomorrow to see what she can do. I think she will be amazed.

Granny asked to get dressed and come into the living room with me today. She stayed for 4 hours. I just can't explain how amazing that is. She fed herself peanut butter crackers, grapes, a cheese stick, and some pretzels today. When I put her back into the bed she laid back herself and lifted her legs up onto the bed and rolled to the side. Can we say, WOW!

Tonight I made Strogonoff. Meatless but full of two different kinds of mushrooms on my side. A little bit of meat for everyone else. Super easy and very tasty.

I have been making smoothies for Granny and I atleast once a day. Today was my own Orange Julius. 1/2 of a fresh orange, 4 slices of frozen peaches, a few strawberries and grapes, 1 tsp Agave Nectar, and about 1/4 cup water. It was amazing. We are taking the kids to dinner and a movie tonight. We will try a new recipe tomorrow.

Today was a little harder. We had Chicken Salad sandwiches for lunch. No chips this time though. We all snacked on raw carrots, cucumbers, and celery. Granny asked for Nathan's famous Chocolate Delight. ( NOT EXACTLY good for us) Who could say no to her though. It was the first time she had a conversation and actually asked for something special. It was nice to see her eyes light up. When I gave her the first bite she said, " ooooweee, baby. Just bring me a shovel." We all laughed. This is a big improvement for her but a set back as far as the journey. When I asked her what she wanted for breakfast in the morning she chuckled and said," How about some of the delight. Just kiddin'." It was so nice to see a different expression on her face.

Today I made Zucchini boats and Spinach and Kale soup. The Zucchini boat were amazing. I did however make a few potato boats for my hubby and kids to share. The only one that loved them as much as I did was my daughter ( 9 yrs old).  Nathan tried the Zucchini boats with ketchup on it.  EWWWW! It didn't help he said. She asked for seconds. The soup was amazing until I added the pepper. I put 2 tbsp instead of 2 tsp and it was too much. We couldn't even eat it. I was so disappointed.

I am very proud of myself for using ALL natural and fresh ingredients. I guess I am to expect that not every recipe will turn out.

I made Taco Lasagna. Gluten free and meat free. I used 100% natural Corn Tortillas, Taco flavored TVP, Black Beans, sour cream, and cheese. It was soooo yummy that everyone asked for more.

My Granny moved in with us today. Quite a change around here but I am so happy. She is another MAJOR reason for this life change. Her health has went downhill so fast in the past few months. She has went from walking around with no assistance to completely bed ridden. It is almost unbelievable how fast it has happened. I know that Heavenly Father is the reason everything is happening the way that it is. I feel it is no accident that my Dad and I have felt such an urgency to get healthy and that she is here at the same time. I am becoming convinced more and more every day that nutrition may be the key to her getting better. I know that it is up to Him whether she lives or dies, but I plan on feeding her as many fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains as I can. Food that the Lord has naturally put on this earth for us to enjoy. Let's just see what can happen when we get rid of processed foods in our diet and add in the good stuff instead.

I have been easing into this transition and have gathered a lot of recipes and made out my grocery list. Tomorrow is the big day.

The Dr. I listen to on Sunday mornings challenged everyone to try 2 new fruits this week. I decided to take him up on it. I haven't had a banana in about 15 yrs. Guess what! I still don't like them. I ate the whole thing though. :) Then I tried fresh cherries. I have never eaten one before but I actually did like it.

Vegetarian Pizza with homemade gluten free crust. Let's just say.... there wasn't any left over. I would count that as a success.

Let's Get Started!

I want to share my journey with you. I don't claim to be an awesome writer. I am just an overweight, down to earth, wife and mother of 3 that wants to make a change. I am sure this is not going to be easy and I won't be perfect at it. But, with time I know I can get myself healthy and hopefully my family as well.

I have been trying to lose weight for the past 13 years. I have tried many diets over the years and have had no long lasting success. When I have researched people that have lost weight and kept it off, they say that they made a "LIFESTYLE CHANGE". I am convinced that this has been my biggest problem over the years. I would stick to the "diet" perfecty and lose some weight, but I was concentrating on the day when the diet would be over and I could get back to my life. I was constantly feeling deprived and telling myself over and over, " This is temporary, April. Just stick with it a little longer. When you lose the weight you can have a piece of pizza again." It is so easy, NOW to see why I have failed.

I HAVE DECIDED TO CHANGE MY LIFESTYLE AND MY FAMILY'S!

I just QUIT yet another diet, realizing that I could not stick with it forever. One thing I did get from it is that eating every 2.5 hours is good for you. It increases your metabolism, keeps your blood sugar stable, and helps you not be as hungry at the next meal. Today, My parents and I decided to meet with an old friend of ours who had lost a lot of weight by going RAW. Most of what she said made sense to me. I have also been listening to a radio show every Sunday morning for over a year now and I love it. His name is Dr. Joe Esposito and he is on B98.5 FM on @ 7 am. He talks about becoming healthy and how to do it. I have gathered years of knowledge and I am ready to TAKE ACTION.

The Plan:

1. Research Nutrition

2. Make 100% natural meals that my family will enjoy and benefit from.

3. Shop only in the produce section of the Grocery Store.

4. Share with others my journey (good and bad)