 About 3 years ago, I was working 40-50 hour weeks (open to close) at a local pizza joint. My hours did not really allow for me to go to my local farmer's market and pick out fresh, organic produce. Instead, I shopped the organic section of my local Kroger- which at the time had a very limited section of organic produce & goods. I remember thinking to myself one night, "If only I could pay for this stuff and it just be delivered to my house- it would free up so much time!"
Little did I know that there were such programs! About a year later, my husband and I had moved and he was working full time, while I attended University. Finally one day I started "Google-ing" "produce delivered to your door" and the first thing that came up was a program called "Door to Door Organics". As I got to reading I saw that it has local organic produce, along with organic produce from throughout the United States. I immediately signed up! Within a week a local "farm box" was delivered to my door. During the summer months, I put my membership on hold because I enjoy going to the farmer's market and picking out my own produce and just mingling with the locals and talking with the farmers. Now that it is Autumn and there won't be as much local, organic produce at the market- I had my membership re-activated! I have been thrilled thus far! Two weeks ago for a total of $35 I got the following: 2 Sweet Potatoes 1 LB Assorted colored Tomatoes 1 HUGE Green Pepper 4 oz Ginger root 3 Avocados 1 Lemon 1 Lime 1 Pineapple 2- 16 oz of organic heavy whipping cream (I make my own butter with this) For organic produce delivered straight to your door- that is an awesome deal! You can also swap certain fruits or vegetables for others if you don't want those. Which is what I did above. I have a bi-weekly box that comes, so this week I am getting the following: 2 Butternut Squash 5 Sweet Potatoes 4 Bananas 1 Garlic Bulb 3 Kiwi Fruits 2- 8 oz bottles of organic heavy whipping cream It is pretty awesome! I remember last year, every once in a while I would get some produce that would go bad quickly, they would forget to give me certain things I ordered, or other problems- normally that would make me not order from them anymore, but their customer service is amazing! I just simply email them with whatever problem I have and they either credit my account or send me extra products next time! Oh and did I mention that you can get more than just produce from them?! You can order organic, cruelty free, grass fed beef, chickens, lamb, etc. You can order organic canned goods, snacks, breads, pastas. So basically if you are extremely busy and don't have time to shop- you could do all your organic grocery shopping online-- and it would be delivered right to your door! It is perfect for people who don't have a vehicle or couples who only have one vehicle or even new moms who don't want to do a bunch of shopping but want healthy food in the house! Check them out and see for yourself how awesome they really are! www.doortodoororganics.com  Around here my family & close friends know how amazing my chicken noodle soup is. I make it just right, with chicken that isn't hard or dry but soft & juicy! I recently made some chicken noodle soup for one of my friends, my mom & stepdad, and my sister-in-law- they all raved "This is sooo good!!!".
Since I am now a vegetarian, I decided to come up with a soup that is similar to this and just as yummy (unless you are looking for actual chicken!). I have to say I was a little skeptical of myself- but I really enjoyed it- especially because it is starting to get pretty cold & windy up here in Michigan! Here is the yummy recipe & directions! Enjoy!! Ingredients: 1/2 onion (diced) 1 celery heart (chopped) 3-4 carrots (chopped) 1-2 cloves garlic (minced) 1-2 tbsp coconut flour (or regular flour if you don't mind gluten) 1/2 bag frozen peas 1/2 bag frozen corn 1/2 tsp basil 1/2 tsp parsley 1 quart vegetable broth 2 cups water 1 cup dry gluten free pasta (or egg noodles if you don't mind gluten) 2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp olive oil Directions: 1) Chop all your veggies right away 2) In a stock pot, combine butter, olive oil, onions, and garlic 3) Sautee about 3 minutes or until the onions start to get translucent 4) Add celery & carrots 5) Cook for about 5 minutes 6) Add spices 7) Add flour and stir really good 8) Pour in water & broth 9) Turn the heat to medium - low now 10) Add noodles 11) Let it come to a simmer- could take about 10 minutes or so- add a lid to it 12) Add in the frozen veggies 13) Put all the way on low & let it cook for about 20-30 minutes 14) Enjoy! It is great by itself or with a yummy sandwich! For those of you who have read my short little biography, you will know that I kinda began my journey into the holistic health field when I began attending IIN (The Institute for Integrative Nutrition). While attending, I had the joy of connecting with fellow students & grads- we often stay in contact with each other through social media (instagram or facebook). We also have been known to bounce ideas off of each other! Some of you have been emailing me asking me about CrossFit and asking questions like "Will I get huge if I do it?", "Will it change my body in a negative way?", "How much stronger will I feel?" etc. I have to say that I myself do not know as much about CrossFit, but I do know someone who happens to be a fellow grad of IIN who eats, sleeps, and breathes CrossFit & lifting. Her name is Carley & she runs a business called Change For Good. You can like her page on Facebook HERE. Like many of us who attended IIN, her Instagram is loaded with snap shots of healthy prepared meals, smoothies, quotes, and #tbt of what we looked like physically before we discovered the secrets to nutrition. She looked good to begin with --I won't lie! Anyone would be blessed to have her as a health coach. During our schooling at IIN, I remembered her as The girl who does that funky yoga pose with her hands behind her back.. but she did something that many of us do eventually that is life changing.... she changed her routine which lead her to being happier, healthier, and umm.. STRONGER than ever before! When I asked her what she did to Change For Good she simply replied: "So I started to lift consistently four days/week at the end of January, along with eating a clean diet of 5-6 smalls meals a day. I was also doing cardio two or three days/week, but no more than 30 minutes at a time. I just kept up with that routine, and my body started to change!"  I have to agree-- her body began to change for reals! Before she started changing up her routine, she has the classic signs of a cardio junkie, posting pictures to Instagram & Facebook of marathons or running events. She was in shape - she looked good & she felt good. She had the classic cardio body- strong legs and an otherwise healthy frame- but then she threw in some lifting.. Most women that I train and talk to are scared to lift because they think they will end up bulky like a man-- next time you say that.. remember the picture above..
She began doing CrossFit- and CrossFit is not for the faint of heart! My husband is in the Navy and some of his fellow sailors do CrossFit and they throw up every single time they doing it without fail. CrossFit breaks down fat and builds muscle extremely fast- it even breaks down muscle and makes it stronger and leaner over time. It also builds endurance. I don't know if I have the guts to do full on CrossFit like Carley does! CrossFit has been known to not only strengthen the body but strengthen the mind as well. "I began CrossFit in May and absolutely fell in love with it. I love feeling strong and seeing myself progress. I was doing it three times/week at one point, and I want to get back that! Right now I go about once a week" Like many women & men, Carley had no idea how much stronger she would get once she started lifting! I remember chuckeling to myself reading something on her Instagram about how she had to have her wedding dress taken out because of how much muscle she had built in her back. Now any other girl (myself included) would have cried and completely freaked out, but not Carley- she did admit she almost freaked out but then had to laugh to herself.. and even if she won't admit it -- I know that she was proud of herself for building that lean tissue! As I said before, Carley is a fellow grad of IIN and she is living up to the tasks we were all given by going to the largest nutrition school in the world! I have been privileged to talk with her on the phone at one point & chat with her from time to time. She had a beautiful wedding- in which she showed off that muscular back of hers (my husband saw one of her photos and said "WHOA! That girl's back looks awesome!"). She has been an inspiration to many- and even to me! Healthy By Choice will forever endorse Carley & Change For Good! So there you have it- even if you are "healthy" there are many things you can do to get yourself stronger & inspire others. What are you going to do today to Change For Good? Good job Carley- you rock!  We hear from many holistic health gurus that cleansing is one of the best things we can do for our bodies! You hear testimonials about how amazing people feel during and after a cleanse and you mostly hear all good things! I am one of those people who are usually on the "cleansing high" when I am cleansing!
Well recently I had to undergo a procedure to have the electrical functions of my heart tested (I was born with a serious abnormality) and the doctors had to give me anesthesia. I don't like what those drugs can do & do to my liver & body so I started doing my liver & lower bowel cleanse as soon as I got home from the hospital. It started out alright for the first couple days and then I started noticing a lot of itching near my jaw line. My husband then came home and I became preoccupied with him and didn't look at myself too much in the mirror. He went home and the next day I realized I started getting a few small boils. This can happen sometimes when you are cleansing because the body has 4 channels of elimination (skin, urine, bowel, and lymph) and my dominant channel of elimination always has been my skin (go figure). I usually will get small breakouts during a cleanse but nothing major- I used to complain and say "Who would want to buy skin care products from someone whose skin doesn't always look perfect?"-- you can say I was a little prideful huh? Pride comes before a fall.. just remember that folks. While I was up at school taking an essential oil class I started getting some boils but was controlling them with some apple cider vinegar (of course I forgot my acne & scar clearing cream at home). I had one burst just while I was sitting in class. These boils were extremely painful and itchy at the same time. I got home and started praying and then I got quiet (something my naturopath says often- just get quiet). I had this feeling that I was missing something and had this urge to put Thieves Essential Oil Blend on my jaw line and cheeks where these boils were showing up. I knew if I didn't do something fast that it was going to get very serious very quick. I rubbed some Thieves oil on my face- which burned like hell I won't lie- and then went to bed. I woke up the next morning and the huge boils were now either completely gone or were smaller. I didn't think of getting a picture of the boils but I took a picture the day after I put on the Thieves (which is Day 1 picture posted above). I called my naturopath and left her a message. Once we got to talking we realized that I was either A- having a reaction to something (possibly the anesthesia being pushed from my body) or B- I had an under lying virus of some sort that was finally getting out of my system. After we talked for a little while we decided to treat this with something called "Silver Shield" by Nature's Sunshine. I started taking it orally, two times a day. Silver Shield is actually accrediated by the FDA to take care of MRSA (a type of staph infection). I then also went to work to treat my skin while we were treating the inside of the body. I believe in treating the inside and the outside at the same time. I made some fresh "Timeless Sapphire Anti-Aging Solutions: Acne & Scar Cream" but this time I decided to add Thieves to it. I kept up with the liver cleanse herbs & supplements (using All Cell Detox, LBS 2, and Liver Cleanse Formula all by Nature's Sunshine), Drinking lots of water & hot tea, eating a completely clean diet (raw veggies mostly), and drinking cherry juice. I also used the Acne & Scar Cream with Thieves two times a day, washed my face with a wash cloth with my baby soft soap (different wash cloth each time folks) twice a day, and kept taking silver shield & silica. By day 4, which was this morning, my face didn't hurt and wasn't itchy anymore. The swelling has gone down significantly as well! It still has a little work to go but the results have been very promising! I am so glad I decided to treat what was going on internally as well! You see your skin, your hair, and the smell you have in your sweat are all mirrors or clues to what is going on internally. You have to treat the inside if you are going to have success on the outside. I created my organic skin care line because #1 a lot of people don't want to treat the inside they just want to treat the symptoms #2 when people are treating the inside I think they should have something that is trust worthy on the outside to heal the skin. So all in all- cleansing is amazing! My bowel movements are regular again (after each meal), I don't smell when I sweat, headaches have cleared up, I'm getting a more restful sleep, and I don't feel as sluggish! Sometimes though, when you cleanse there will be a few reactions with your body- fear not! Talk to someone who is a professional before you just stop cleansing all together! Sometimes a cleanse could be too strong or not strong enough, you could be having what I had (a virus or harmful bacteria moving to the surface), or you might have to stop cleansing at that moment. It all depends on the person. I know I usually post health-related issues & healthy recipes, but I thought I would share some photographs of my husband and I when he came home for about a week last month! We had an amazing photographer with Visual Reflections! We will be using them for all of our photographic needs including maternity, couples photographs, newborn photos, and even when we renew our vows! Enjoy!! |
Who am I?My name is Jes! I am the earth loving, natural parenting, Jesus loving weirdo your mama might have warned you about! I am the owner of an organic, chemical free skin care product line, called HBC Organics. Categories
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