Mick’s in Some Christmas Travel

Are you traveling this Christmas, like we are? 

Do you wonder how to eat healthily on the road?  We do, too… but we can share with you some ideas.

Planning ahead is key.  If you can’t or don’t want to pack your own healthy foods for the trip, then think up some alternatives.  Look at menus online before you head out, or find resources, such as the Curves™ book.  On page 163, there are a few helpful tips:  “Fast-food restaurants are okay as long as you order a burger or grilled chicken sandwich (throw away the bun) and a side salad… do not ‘super size’ your order… and of course, don’t order the fries.”  Also, Subway® has salad options.  No, I know the salads aren’t made with the most nutritious greens, nor are the meats the best choices, but it sure beats the nuggets at some of the other fast-food chains.

At this point, I’m not even going to consider addressing the grass-fed meat issue, nor the wild-caught fish information.  For a meal or two, while traveling, amidst the overall healthy eating habits developed to this point, doing your best at eating foods to help boost your immune system and your energy level, instead of dragging you down and causing inflammation, pain, and sickness, is the main focus.

“Fill your plate with Free Foods (Curves™ lingo for low-cal/low-carb)… and bypass the starches and desserts.”

(Gary Heavin and Carol Colman in Curves™ page 163)

Fast-food is not my top choice, so if you have time in your travel schedule for a sit-down meal, it might be an easier find for health-boosting foods (rancid oils are the biggest threat here, but do your best).  Again, the Curves™ book says it well:  “An Italian restaurant that offers salads and meat or fish entrees is workable.  Diners are great because they typically have a wide variety of food and serve it without a lot of fancy sauces.  Asian restaurants are a great option as long as you order the steamed or lightly sautéed vegetables with fish or chicken and avoid the deep-fried selections or foods cooked in heavy sauces.”

We had fun stopping at a mom-and-pop-style coffee shop on our last trip.  This allowed for the option of fresh, healthier sandwiches and wraps.  Of course, in a café like that, the sandwiches are made-to-order, which means you can order it open-faced or with an option other than the bread.  Try it out.

Remember, you’re eating for fuel, not for entertainment.  I like the quote, “Eat to live, don't live to eat.” (Benjamin Franklin)

Packing healthy snacks for between meals on the road is easy enough with foods like LARABAR, Granny Smith Apples, celery, grapes (in a solid container, not a plastic baggie, unless you want grape juice… just speaking from experience here), raw nuts and trail mix (but try to forego the chocolates and the oily nuts) with dates and raisins, Fruit Ropes , bananas, and low-glycemic candies.  WATER… remember lots of water!  One way to keep alert is to keep hydrated. 

Another way to keep alert is to have fun!  Play travel games, like I-spy and telling riddles, etc.  Listen to family audio dramas, such as Adventures in Odyssey and Lamplighter Theatre.  Keeping your mind and body busy with activity will keep your mind off food.

We wish you safe travels and happy eating!

The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)

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The Toxicity in a Mick’s up of Deficiency

“When you're feeling down, help someone else, volunteer, and give (time, talents, energy).

It's harder to be sad when you are serving!”

Kimberly Roberto

The holidays are supposed to be a happy time.  However, some of our friends and neighbors are dealing with more than we realize.  There are sicknesses, hurts, sadness, and depression.  A sermon I heard this week mentions the pain some feel during this time.  That reminds me to pray for the hurting people in the world, especially to remember to stop my celebrating long enough to look beyond myself to others around me.

It’s no fair feeling down during a season of joy, but it’s a reality for some of us.  If you find yourself getting this way, try some of the precautions mentioned in “Is Your Food Stressing You Out?”  Dr. Eric Slead and Dr. Justin Moseley point out some deficiencies that are most likely part of the cause:

• Increase your protein intake.  “Protein-rich foods contain… alertness chemicals… like beans, chicken, and lean grass-fed beef.”
• Increase your Vitamin D3 intake, because “Vitamin D levels are very low in those who suffer from depression and heart disease.”  The reason for a Vitamin D3 supplement is “Vitamin D levels are linked to melatonin levels.  Melatonin is secreted as we sleep normally and increases during seasonal changes in daylight.  Melatonin increases appetite, decreases alertness, and affects mood.”
• Increase your Essential Fatty Acids, such as your omegas.  “Proper balance of these fatty acids matters for both physical and mental health.  The deficit of omega-3 fatty acids is linked to depression.”  Kimberly Roberto adds, “Perfect Ratio Omega improves brain function, helps fight depression, stabilizes blood sugar, and lowers blood pressure.”
• Increase your number of chiropractic adjustments.  “The physiological impact, the relief of nerve stress, and the subsequent relaxation of muscles and associated organs makes a Chiropractic adjustment not only a great way to reduce stress short term, but long term allows your body to live in a state of health.”

Granted, this looks like I’m belittling the severity of these feelings.  Please understand I am not. 

The truth is…
For some of us, it’s more than just a mood.  There are people dealing with a more serious issue, namely depression.  Mark Hyman, MD states in his article Why Antidepressants Don't Work for Treating Depression, “Depression is among the most common problems seen in primary-care medicine and soon will be the second leading cause of disability in this country. ”  He adds some items to the above deficiencies list to treat depression without drugs: 

• Decrease inflammatories in your diet.
• Be aware of thyroid issues (Ask your chiropractor how hypothyroidism can be handled through a change in lifestyle.)
• Increase the right B vitamins!
• Watch for toxicity, specifically mercury.
• Exercise!!!

Want more information to fight depression?  Watch the archived "Depression Revealed" Webinar with Gwen Olsen.  She is a former drug rep, who speaks out with shocking statistics about depression.

I hope this is helpful for you and your loved ones, who might be fighting emotional darkness this Christmas. I’ll be praying for you and for all those who feel there is no way out.  Look to the Lord.  Talk to Him.  He’ll listen and love you at all times.

Praise the LORD,…

who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion

Psalm 103:1,4 (NIV)

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Why Mick’s Calories?

Since I missed a post yesterday, due to my computer being held hostage by a 13-year-old’s LAN party, I am combining my exercise day with my nutrition day into one topic:  Calories.

Most of us have gotten used to the formula: 
calories in < calories out = lower weight

I don’t know about you, but I was never good at counting calories.  It was way too time-consuming for me.  I was so happy to find out it isn’t necessary!

“Playing the calorie counting game doesn’t work.  It overlooks and ignores the impact stress and diet have on your hormones,” says nutrition and fitness expert Dr. Len Lopez, creator of The Work Horse Trainer.  “The reason people aren’t efficiently burning stored body fat has nothing to do with the amount of calories they ate or burned, and more to do with what regulates their metabolism.”  Dr. Lopez goes on to explain that our metabolism is controlled mostly by hormones, such as cortisol, adrenaline, insulin, and glucagon.  He offers a Calorie Burning Test and lists out ways to Stay in Your Fat-Burning Zone.


As we see in Mick’s up Exercising, we can decrease cortisol by following interval training or surge types of exercise, whereas some longer duration exercise may actually increase that stress hormone.  Exercise is obviously good for increased breathing (as Dr. Lopez suggests is good for decreasing the stress, cortisol, and adrenaline), and this style of exercise improves metabolism.

Eating the right foods also improves metabolism.  Eating a breakfast such as eggs cooked in coconut oil can be beneficial (and yummy!).  Dr. Lopez states:  “Take a look at your diet. You cannot skip meals or eat refined, junk food.  It causes your blood sugar to drop and stimulates your adrenals to make additional cortisol and adrenaline.  Make sure you eat breakfast and it includes good protein and fats.  A predominately high carb breakfast, like cereal or bagels, will throw your blood sugar off for most of the day.  Good protein and fats at each meal will help reduce the surge of insulin and will stimulate the production of glucagon, which aids in the breakdown of fats.”

Also concentrating on another hormone called leptin instead of calories will help you understand weight-loss resistance and how to find success by getting past the calories in/calories out thinking. 

Just like we can be a new creation through faith in Christ and the amazing love of God, we can feel like a new person when we live simpler, healthier lives.  Plus, we can forget about the “old” way of thinking in terms of calories, and consider the “new” way of thinking in terms of allowing our bodies to process hormones properly, the way they were meant to.  Who doesn’t want simpler?

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.

See I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?"

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)

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Mick’s in Groceries

Are you a Coupon Queen? I know some ladies who are great at couponing, and can probably be titled Coupon Queens. I’ve never achieved that status. I tried once, but failed. I discovered I was buying things I wouldn’t normally buy, just because I had a coupon. Nowadays, we buy “out-of-the-ordinary” items that are almost never put on sale and rarely put on a coupon. That’s OK, though. That is a sacrifice we are willing to make. I know: It sounds crazy to most. We are choosing to spend more on food that is nutritious and will enhance wellness, so that we spend a lot less on medicine to mask illness… and, boy, does it feel great!

Here’s a typical day in the life of our grocery shopping.

Weekly:
Almond Milk
Coconut Milk
Granny Smith Apples
Berries
Bananas
Almond Butter
Smucker’s Simply Fruit
Butter
Raw Milk Cheese
Grass-fed Beef
Ground Turkey
Organic Free-range Chicken Breast
Free-range Eggs
Spinach
Mixed Greens
Broccoli
Feta Cheese
Organic Cream Cheese
Ezekiel Bread
Applegate Sliced Turkey
Veggies: Beans, Peas, Lima Beans
Cucumbers
Stonyfield Whole Milk Plain Yogurt
Coconut water and/or Naked juice for kidderz lunches
(We mostly drink water at our house.)
Splurge item: SoDelicious coconut ice cream!
 
On-hand, not purchased weekly:
Bolthouse Honey Mustard Dressing
Bolthouse Raspberry Dressing
Bolthouse Ranch Dressing
Garlic
Onions
Peppers: Green, Yellow, Red
Crushed Tomatoes
Black Beans
Pinto Beans
Coconut Oil
Protein Powder for shakes/smoothies
Raw Nuts: Almonds, Pecans, Cashews, Pistachios
Dates
Red/Pink Salt
Fresh-ground Pepper
Xylitol
Stevia
Almond Flour and/or Meal
Coconut Flour
Coconut Flakes (unsweetened)
 
I got an awesome deal on eggs this week! My brother and his wife raise chickens, and they are sending some eggs to us, by way of our parents. Yay!! (Aren't big brothers and parents the best?!)

Keeping it simple is the key!

Have fun experimenting with nutrition!

“We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.”

Numbers 11:5 (NIV)

 

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