Monday, August 12, 2013

Carolyn Braden: Clean Living and Eating, Humans and Animals

It's been almost a year since I committed my life to clean living. My husband and I have not felt deprived of 
anything since starting our new way of life.
We treat food as energy instead of an indulgence and that's what it's supposed to be.
The only big change we felt was not being able to eat out as much. That was actually a great change
because it saves so much money! We've found a few restaurants in Louisville that fit our way of life and 
whenever we travel, we do a little research before we go and can always find filling and good food. 

Fast food was an issue until I put together a meal plan for Wendy's. When you travel by car, finding a place 
to eat that is healthy is very difficult. We used to think Subway was such a great alternative to McDonald's but
that is so not true! Wendy's has baked potatoes that are just that; baked. They don't add anything to them prior 
to or during the baking process. I add a garden salad (dressing free) on top of the potato with a little salt (they
have sea salt) and pepper. 

Whenever possible, we pack a cooler with my homemade organic chicken salad, waters, Cliff or Kind Bars and 
kettle chips or Blue Diamond Nut Thins. 

Yes, people may think we are strange because of our new way of life but we don't worry about that.  I just 
don't think most people in the United States know much about health. When someone comes along with a
strong statement about health, they turn away because they hear it all the time. There's not a day that goes by
that news isn't saying something else will cause cancer. We are so numb to hearing terrible things so we don't
listen when it's actually true. After all the research my husband and I have done we know what to listen to and 
what not to. 

My clean living started with exercise, as it's always been a part of my life. Branching out into the clean world of
eating came next. Now I am starting to pay much more attention to the products I use to clean the house and
the products I use on my body. I switched to Natracare tampons recently. They are 100% organic cotton. I 
discovered my Playtex tampons were made with rayon and bleached cotton (and they never really did a great 
job) which is not a good thing to put in such an important part of the female body. The pure cotton ones are 
wonderful and not any more expensive. 

We are also very conscious about the food we feed our animals. We have our "kidney patient" cat eating 
Nature's Variety Instinct wet food, our Maine Coon on wet Wellness Core food and our dogs on Merrick wet 
and dry food. We're trying to wean our Maine Coon off of Core, but she's picky so it will take a while. Although, 
Core isn't a bad product. We just want her to eat on what our other kitty is eating to make it easier.
(He can't tolerate the phosphates in Core and will get sick if he eats her food).

People think eating organically and using healthy products is too expensive. I sometimes hear people in Whole 
Foods and Rainbow Blossom (the people that stop in, not their regular shoppers) gasping when they look at the 
prices. Eating clean actually fills you up longer because of the lack of preservatives and fillers. Thus, it is actually 
the better deal. But in reality, would you really put a price on your life and health? 

I know we can't rid our lives of everything harmful but we can try. I wish more people would truly take the time
to see what is going into their bodies. I still get sick sometimes and know my way of life doesn't make me 
perfect. I just know it is a smart thing to do. America needs to get on the bandwagon of other countries and
ban the GMO's. In closing, look that one up. See what a GMO is and why America sneaks them in.
 I'll give you one hint on why America allows them: Money. 



Two yummy organic and GMO-free meals: Quinoa Coconut Milk and Almond breakfast and Summer Veggie
Curry.


Clean Eating with Quinoa and Coconut Milk Organic Breakfast

I tried this recipe from Our Best Bites.
Here's the link: 

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2013/06/coconut-almond-breakfast-quinoa/

It was yummy and very filling. There's so much you can do with quinoa!

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Summer Vegetable Curry #Organic and #GMO Free

I found a recipe for Summer Vegetable Curry on this site: 
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/summer-vegetable-curry-recipe.html

I changed it up a little to make it a little easier to make. 

I added 4 tablespoons of coconut milk (the thick part at the top of the can) with 2.5 tablespoons of curry paste
and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt to a large pan. I brought it to a simmer on medium heat. I added 2 chopped green
onions once it was simmering. 
I cut about 6 small purple potatoes into small chunks and the rest of the can of coconut milk and let it all 
simmer on medium, covered, for 10 minutes. 
While that cooked, I cut 3 stalks of broccoli into florets and about 6 oz. of firm tofu. I added them to the potato
mixture after the first 10 minutes. I added about 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
and 1/2 teaspoon fresh cilantro. I allowed everything to simmer on medium heat for about 5-10 more minutes. 

You can add any vegetable to this dish and add more or less curry and salt. Just taste as you go to make sure
you have it the way you want it. This was enough for 3 people to have a good sized meal. You can try serving
it over cooked quinoa so it will serve more.

Eating right can taste great! Just do a little experimenting and you can make delicious meals that are healthy for
your family every night of the week.            


Saturday, August 10, 2013

The Best Gluten Free Organic Brownies: Wholesome Chow

I love Wholesome Chow's mixes. I recently made their brownies. I used coconut oil instead of butter. They were light and full of chocolate flavor. The fact that they are organic, gluten and GMO free is an added bonus. I purchased this mix at T.J. Maxx.