What I'm Reading Wednesday

Here are a few links to my favorite blog posts over the past week. Enjoy!

Conscientious Confusion writes about waste-free lunches. I'm big on waste-free lunches and NOT giving in to the convenience of fast food. Planning ahead and making my boys' lunches for our outings can be challenging for me...the planning part is the hardest. Many times I want to just pop through the drive thru and get them something because it's easier. But my tree hugging soul says, "No, not worth it!"

Lil Blue Boo talks about organizing drawers. Drawers are something we lack in our home (yes, really!) but our deep cabinets have become junk holes and I'm going to try to implement some of her tips to get them back in shape.

I Heart Organizing revamped her outdoor storage bench and I'm in love. We need a storage bench/box for all the boys' outdoor toys, but they're usually so ugly! She made hers look so homey...I'm adding this to my to do list for the summer!

100 Days of Real Food gave us a recipe for homemade fudge pops! Oh, yum! We love frozen treats around here and I'm sure my 4 year old will LOVE helping me make these!

Barefoot in the Kitchen made some chocolate snack cake. (I'm starting a chocolate trend, I think!) This looks amazing!

What are your favorite blog posts from the past week? Share below!

Shaklee is a GREAT Business! | Check This Out!

CBS posted an article about "great turnkey companies for women." These turnkey companies have most of the set-up work completed, and there is only a small investment needed to get started as a business. The main target age for these women is 35-45 (woot! I'm in that target age!). 

Take a look at what they said about Shaklee! There's a reason why Shaklee is such a wonderful company to partner with! Shaklee has been around for over 50 years, with no recalls on their products. 

"The key thing to know about Shaklee is that it is the No. 1 natural nutrition company in the US and is focused on creating the most sustainable and effective whole health product on the planet. To get started, Shaklee offers a full kit of products for $600. They also have a less expensive kit at $300 (with slightly fewer products), but there’s also the ability for new distributors to start for $50…but for that price they only receive business materials (no products). Under their compensation plan, people earn between 20-50 percent and have the ability to participate in a car payment program, trips and other cash bonuses. Their sweet spot is women aged 35-45 that have come out of the workplace or want to come out of the workplace and create their own businesses. These are people that have a passion for healthy living and understand that the things they put in, on and around their bodies make a difference in their long term health. Their key product categories include Healthy Nutrition (core and targeted health solutions), Healthy Weight (weight management), Healthy Home (natural non toxic cleaning products) and Healthy Beauty (personal care products)."

To read the entire article, click here. And to see why I've chosen to partner with this amazing company, click here.

Do you want to join me on this exciting journey of a healthier, happier life? I'd love to help you get started! 

Let's Talk About Soy | It IS Good for You!

Soy gets a lot of bad press. There are tons of media sources pushing people away from soy. I have some different information for you: soy IS healthy. What is not healthy is the way it has been processed. Soy in it's right form will actually heal your body of ailments. 

We give our oldest son the Energizing Soy Protein (in chocolate, of course!) almost daily. In addition to other all natural remedies, Shaklee's Soy Protein has  really helped with his season allergies! Read this helpful checklist about choosing quality soy protein: 

7 Essentials Checklist for a Quality Soy Product

(Dr. Brouse, DC)

Are the soybeans ORGANICALLY GROWN?

Studies have shown decreased levels of food nutrients and increased levels of nitrates in chemically fertilized crops, when compared with their organic counterparts. There is a connection between the ingestion of nitrates & CANCER! Therefore, it is important to know that pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides have not been used during the growing process. In particular, with soybeans, since they are such a hardy plant, a powerful and DEADLY weed spray called Round Up is usually used. For your safety, you must know that your soy products are organically grown. [Shaklee soy is organically grown.]

Are the soybeans GENETICALLY ENGINEERED?

Genetically engineered soybeans are much cheaper to purchase, and most companies producing soy products look for ways to save money. [Shaklee soy is certified non-GMO (i.e., it is guaranteed to contain no genetically-modified organism.)]

Does your soybean powder contain ALL of the 9 essential amino acids?

One of the most valuable features of the soybean is that it is a complete protein and provides ALL nine of the essential amino acids. The body requires these daily to produce hormones, digestive juices, antibodies, and enzymes. HOWEVER, not all soybeans are created equal. Quality and amino acid content will vary based on soil conditions, and variable growing and harvest conditions. If one essential amino acid is missing, the immune system can be depressed 30%, and many important body functions are delayed or stopped. Therefore, it is essential that each batch of soybeans be checked for amino acid content if we want to depend on the soy isolate to provide a GUARANTEED supply of the nine essential amino acids. [Shaklee soy contains all nine essential amino acids.]

Were the crushed soy flakes washed in alcohol or water?

Alcohol washing destroys isoflavones content up to 88%! It is the isoflavones that reduce the risk of breast, prostate, lung and bowel cancer! As well, it is the isoflavones that are so beneficial in hormone balancing and increasing bone mass. [Shaklee soy is washed only in water.]

Was the anti-thyroid or anti-growth substance in the raw soy removed?

Asians, who have consumed large amounts of soy for years, have known that RAW soy contains an “anti-growth”, “anti-tyrosine” substance. Tyrosine deficiency will cause low blood pressure, low body temperature, and restless leg syndrome. Therefore, Asians always lightly cook their soy foods to deactivate the “anti-tyrosine/anti-growth” substance. Shaklee has designed an extracting process that removes this substance, yet keeps the soy in a raw form in order to maintain the HIGHEST LEVEL OF AMINO ACIDS and ISOFLAVONES, which are very sensitive to heat. [Shaklee removes all pro-goitrogens from its soy.]

Is your soybean food raw or heated?

Amino acids are very sensitive to heat. In some studies, cooking protein has been shown to destroy up to 50% of some ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS. If an individual consistently consumes a diet that is lacking in all of the essential amino acids, inadequate brain development and hormones, or other body tissue development can be the result. [Shaklee soy is raw.]

Has calcium been added to your soybean powder?

Some negative reports about soy say that soy powders are VERY ACIDIC and cause bone loss because it causes calcium to be drawn from the bones!!!! The raw soy bean is a NEUTRAL food–neither acidic or alkaline. However, the removal of the soybean oil (which is essential so the soy powder will not go rancid very quickly), makes the powder very acidic. Therefore, adequate calcium (which is very alkaline) must be added to cause the powder to be neutral again, or it can cause the above stated problem. Many protein powder manufacturers do not add any or enough calcium. [Shaklee soy has added calcium for proper pH balance.]

About Dr. Brouse

Dr. Brouse is a widely recognized authority in the fields of nutrition and prevention of chronic degenerative diseases. Dr. Brouse has a Master’s in Biochemistry and is a Doctor of Chiropractic. He was an Associate Professor of Clinical Nutrition for 14 years and found the renowned Sunnyside Health Center in Clackamas, Oregon in 1977. Since that time many people throughout the world have regained a greater measure of health while following the recommendations of the clinic’s health professionals.

What other questions do you have about soy? Post them below and I'll be happy to help!

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What's for Dinner | Fish Tacos and Tropical Cole Slaw

My husband outdid himself again last week! He made fish tacos with redfish, roasted sweet corn, avocado, tropical coleslaw, corn tortillas, and a yummy sauce to go on top! This is a homemade meal, using all real/clean foods, besides the tortillas. We love eating healthy...we just feel so much better when we 'right.'

He created the tropical coleslaw himself, and I HIGHLY suggest you try it! It's light, summery, and oh-so-yummy!

Here's his recipe. He wanted me to let you know that he didn't measure the ingredients exactly. This recipe is just a guesstimate on amounts. It's super easy to simply adjust to your flavor preferences!

Tropical Coleslaw

1/2 C each, julienne sliced:

• carrots
• red bell pepper
• zucchini
• red onion
• red cabbage
• mango

1 teas agave nectar
2 parts pineapple juice/1 part rice vinegar/ 1 part fresh lemon juice
1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro

Mix all together in a bowl, then season with chipotle chili powder and sea salt to taste. Serve chilled over fish tacos, or as a side item.

Let me know if you try it and how you like it!

Have you joined my Facebook community yet? I would LOVE to connect with you!

Shaklee Performance is for Kids Too! | Our Boys Love It!

Our family loves to be outside as much as possible during the warmer months. We really work at keeping our boys hydrated but they don't always want to drink water. It's B-O-R-I-N-G (so they say).  When they get tired of that boring water, we give them Shaklee Performance. Our favorite flavor is orange!

Performance not only tastes yummy, but it's much healthier than other hydration drinks like Gatorade or Powerade. It has NO artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, or preservatives! Have you read the labels on Gatorade or Powerade lately? I'm certain they have some artificial 'things' in it!

Shaklee's Performance is a staple in our home. My husband drinks it before and during his workouts, before and during his soccer games, and when he's doing yard work! I drink it before and during workouts and even when I want something to drink that has flavor but not a lot of junk in it. And our boys drink it because it tastes GOOD and they like the color! :)

Plus,when we make extra, we just put the leftover in our popsicle holders for a treat!

 

Shaklee 180 Promotion | Extended Until June 30!!

Hip, hip, hooray! Since we've had such a HUGE success with our Shaklee 180 line (think more energy, weight loss, and better health), Shaklee has extended the promotion to June 30! There's still time to sign up!!

I posted about this last month. Read below:

Here's my personal testimony of Shaklee 180!
I've been using the Shaklee 180 program for about 9 months. I was having trouble getting my 2nd baby weight off; mostly because I wasn't eating right. I was running around like a crazy person and skipping meals...the worst thing you can do when trying to lose weight, right?

So my mentor and friend suggested I give the 180 Smoothees a try as a healthy meal replacement along with a daily dose of the Vitalizer strip. I was skeptical at first because I didn't think I'd feel 'full' enough. But I agreed to try them for one week. I was pleasantly surprised at 1) how YUMMY they taste and 2) how I didn't get hungry between meals! Win! Plus, I had more energy thanks to Vitalizer...I was finally getting all the nutrition I needed to keep up with two small boys.

You can read all about my accidental Vitalizer test here.

As I continued using the Lean & Healthy Kit, along with going to Zumba and doing some light weight training several times per week, I started shedding those last few baby pounds FAST! I credit it all to getting the right nutrients and meal replacements from the Shaklee Lean & Healthy Kit!

I even got my husband on it! He drinks a Strawberry Smoothee every morning for breakfast...and he tells me time and again how he's always satisfied til lunch!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do you want to get $100 in FREE Shaklee products while you're losing weight??

Summer is less than 60 days away! Now is the time to get your 180 started!

Here's how to do it!

New customers join Shaklee with one of the following:

• Shaklee 180 Turnaround Kit
• Shaklee 180 Lean & Healthy Kit (our most popular!)

What do you get with one of these kits?

• FREE Shaklee membership! Our membership gives you up to 25% off retail of every product! Not only can you lose weight, you can get wonderful vitamins, beauty products, children's products, and non-toxic home cleaners!
• When you join on AutoShip, and keep your 180 Kit on AutoShip for a total of three months, you qualify for: FREE SHIPPING!
• When completing your 90-day Turnaround, you will receive $100 to spend on Shaklee products!

What?? Oh, yes!

And as always, when 3 friends join you on your 180, your next month's kit is FREE!

That's a whole lot of free things, huh?!

Now, if that's not incentive enough to get yourself ready for summer, then what is? Friends, I have testimony after testimony of my wonderful customers and business partners with success stories from using Shaklee 180. I want YOU to be my next success story!

Contact me TODAY and I'll help you start your Turnaround!

Homemade Vitamin Water

Something's been going around here. All my boys have complained of scratchy throats and have had lots of runny noses. What do we do in those times? Break out our homemade vitamin water, of course! I wrote about it last year and you can see it here, but I want to tell you again how WELL IT WORKS! As long as you notice your symptoms and 'catch' them in time, Shaklee's Defend and Resist will be your best friend! Our oldest boy will even chew the Defend and Resist because he likes the taste and he knows it helps him feel better!

I made a few batches of our vitamin water for the boys and within 24 hours, they were feeling much better! Woohoo!

(Note: we were out of our Vit D, so it's omitted from this recipe. But we usually add it!)

Homemade Vitamin Water
10 Chewable Vitamin C
4 Defend & Resist
3 Tablespoons Performance
8oz water

Simply crush the vitamins into a powder with a mortar and pestle, then mix with your favorite flavor of Shaklee Performance and 8oz of water. It's so yummy and will keep you hydrated and get your body back on track!


Have you made your own homeopathic cold remedy? What works best for you?