Strictly Nutritious: The Experts Weigh In: Going Raw!

Strictly Nutritious: The Experts Weigh In: Going Raw!: Image via noshtopia.com BY: HEIDI GEIGER, CONTRIBUTOR Soaking, sprouting, dehydrating, blending, juicing... welcome to the Raw Food w...

FREE food!!!

Recently, I experienced some interesting behavior in relation to food that I feel compelled to share.  As you read, you will see two things....how the word "free" has an impact on our minds and emotions and how a food addiction can trump health and perspective.  

Scenario 1:

While at dinner in downtown Chicago with my two children and friends, I was jostled by a loud, offensive conversation just across from my table.  The f-bomb was dropped twice, so, of course, the mama bear came out and walked over to the table to let the gentleman know that my small children were in earshot of this and to please STOP!  Come to find out, he was the manager on duty and the conversation was pretty much a one-way street toward his female employee.  What I witnessed was abuse in action.  He bobbed his unempathetic head at me with a meek, "Sorry."  You couldn't help but feel the tension, which put a damper on the meal I was having with my company.  At the end of the meal, the waitress brought out a foiled package and said, "This is free dessert from the manager because of what happened."  Hmm...I'm sure a large percentage of people would take it and walk out the door.  Nothing said.  Not a word.  NOT ME.  And seriously, what a coward!  To have someone else be his delivery boy....it made me a little unnerved.  So my response was, "I don't want it."  The waitress was shocked.  Why wouldn't I want something free...especially dessert?  I let her know that if he was really that sorry, he should be the one to deliver the package, not her.  When all was said and done, he did come out and remind me of his earlier apology, which btw is so professional, right?  And as I turned the free dessert down a second time and calmly pointed out his abusive behavior to his employees IN FRONT of his guests, let alone children, he walked away with an "I don't care" attitude.  Don't worry, I did get his name and made a call to the owner.  

As we walked away from the situation, one of my friends said, "You should just take the dessert anyway...it is free and all."  I looked at my friend and reminded her that if I took that dessert that I didn't want, two things would happen - number 1, I'd pack on 1000 extra unwanted calories and number 2 - he'd win.  This is how this man rolls....I misbehave and then I give a gift to make up for it and hopefully you can sweep it under the rug.  Even though this made sense to my friend, I could tell she still thought I should take it anyway.  Why?  Because it was free and it was dessert....two words that like to make love and create unhealthy babies.  ;)

Scenario 2:

After a delicious, filling lunch one afternoon, the waitress came to the table and asked if anyone wanted dessert.  There was only ONE person who desired to have something...even though she was full.  She encouraged everyone at the table to have a piece of pie, even after hearing 3 times no one was interested.  I could see she wanted a piece, not because she was hungry, but because she wanted that sugary taste on her tongue, but she knew she probably shouldn't because she had indulged quite a bit in sweets prior to lunch.  She was feeling bad about it, which is why she was pressuring everyone else to join her so she'd feel better about herself.  But nobody was budging.  She ordered a piece of pie anyway.  Then the waitress announced that free pieces of pie were being offered for ladies only.  My friend's eyes shot right over to me as if to say, "Now is your chance!  It's free!  Take it!"  I looked at her and said, "I don't want any pie.  I am full and honestly, I just don't want to consume all those empty calories, now or later."  Her response was, "But you can freeze it and if you ever have company who wants it, they can have it.  Or you can give it to your daughter!" (who happened to be RIGHT THERE).  I really didn't want my daughter eating one more large ticket item of crap, either.  But now she wanted that piece of pie because the suggestion was made.  In fact, my friend had pointed out the perfect piece of chocolate pie with colorful sprinkles before my daughter could even have a chance to think.  I allowed it because honestly, it was becoming ridiculous.  Can you see what happened, though? Two things:  number 1, addictions like company or else I would've never been pressured and number 2, the word "free" gives us an excuse, a reason, as to why eating something we don't need or don't want makes perfect sense at that moment.  So who do you think felt better leaving that table?  You cannot deny that when a person consumes something like that, they just don't feel good about themselves later.  But those that can walk away, unmoved by those unwanted offers, feel great, especially later.  

Just because it's FREE doesn't mean you have to take it or consume it.  You can choose to be a victim of that word or not.  I will not deny that FREE is a good word.  I love that word!  But sometimes we can go after that word and not pay attention to what it stands for.  

The next time the word "free" comes together with an offer, stop for a minute and really evaluate it.  It could save your health.

Miraculous Millet

When one thinks of Spring Break, one thinks of vacation, relaxation, drink in hand, warm weather, etc.  Life is great!  You dread going back to work and wish you could just squeeze out a couple more days or weeks of vacation, right?  My Spring Break 2013 has been FAR from what has been just described.   So far away you wouldn't even see it with that telescope from Macklemore's song Thrift Shop.  It all started with a fever on Saturday and proceeded into vomiting and much more.  I have had to wash bedding twice, my couch once and LOTS of underwear and shirts in between.  My body has knelt next to a little girl's body in the bathroom while her whole body convulses as she's throwing up for what seems to be the 15th time.  Meanwhile you have a hungry, active 20 month old who is throwing everything in sight and doesn't understand that his play mate can't do the usual hide-and-go-seek games at the moment.  As my daughter was losing pretty much everything in her body and not able to keep anything in, I decided to consult my Chinese Medicine book called Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford.  I looked up "vomiting" and "diarrhea".  What I found was right in my pantry....millet.  I was a little surprised, but what the heck?  Supposedly millet soup ceases vomiting and a bit of a thicker millet concoction, such as a porridge, is supposed to thicken stools.

As I was making it, I knew in my head that my daughter would snub her nose at it because she hates millet and she's the kind of kid that doesn't like anything out of the norm.  I didn't tell her what I was doing or what I was making.  All I knew is that there wasn't going to be any sweet talking about it.  It was either eat it or I am going to have to take you to the hospital.   She ate it....about 7 bites of it.  I have to admit, it was bland, very bland.  The results - EVERYTHING CAME TO A HALT!  From then on, she sipped water slowly and started to recover.  It could've been timing or it could've been the millet. Whatever the case may be, you can be sure that in the future I will be trying this again.  

I am thankful and grateful that we are on the mend and trust me, I will not be trying to squeeze any days out of this Spring Break.  Monday will be a refreshing day as I enter back into work.  Perhaps summer vacationing will go a bit smoother.  I can see it....relaxation, warm weather - I am ready!

The Baiden Mitten

One of my friends on Facebook loves a website called "Pinup Passions", so every now and again, I'd see her "like" one of their pics or posts.  She is a happily married woman to a truly amazing and loving husband.  Both of them just rejoiced in the birth of their second baby this past year.  What I have noticed is that her makeup always looks amazing....like she just walked out of a Pinup Passions magazine.  I am still trying to figure out the whole makeup thing, so I decided one day to take a look at the website to figure out if there was a secret I could unfold.  I clicked, I searched and there it was -  a cute little video about an inexpensive microdermabrasion mitten called The Baiden Mitten.  You must watch the video because I love the woman's accent....and wit....and of course, her makeup.  Here's the link:  http://www.pinuppassion.com/pin-up-skin.html   I have noticed my skin, especially my face, needs some attention these days, but my pocketbook will not cooperate.  Priorities...feed the kids or spend money on my face every month.  Hmm....considering my children never stop eating even when I ask them to (just kidding), I guess I'll have to feed them.  But for $50 I can have a DIY experience, that's a no-brainer.

Yesterday I received it in the mail, read all of the instructions with enthusiasm and excitement and tried it after my late night workout.  I started on my face and worked my way South.  What I can say is that it did what it said.  I saw all my dead skin balling up only to be washed away and taken down my shower drain.  My skin felt smoother, especially my face.  I almost slipped and fell in the kitchen because my feet were also released from the clamps of dead skin.  (Don't try this at home)  But most of all, I felt invigorated from the detoxing experience.  Heavenly!  But trust me, your arms will get a workout...and after I had just lifted weights, I was definitely feeling it.

So here's what it does promise - Immediate Improvement in the following:
 - blackheads and large pores
 - skin firmness and wrinkles
 - scars and stretch marks
 - skin tone and dryness
 - deep skin detox
 - discoloration
 - even tanning
 - acne control

I cannot compare this to a spa experience because I've never had one, but check out the reviews on google.  It seems like a really great product.  With a 60 day money back guarantee and a 2 year warranty, it's worth a try.

Good-bye fat! Hello Sexy Muscle!

Last summer I started seeing a Personal Trainer in order to start toning my body up.  I had lost a lot of weight and quite honestly didn't have the time nor desire to workout.  In retrospect, I really didn't know what to do in a weight room.  A weight room can be very daunting to someone who has never weight trained, especially women.  Why is that?  Well, I think it's just the fear of the unknown - at least for me it was.  But I refused to think that way any longer, so I told my personal trainer that I not only wanted to get toned, but I also wanted to be able to walk into a weight room with confidence.  I wanted all of those guys to think, "She's got her *#$% together!"  Personal training helped a lot and I was able to break through that barrier of entering the muscle zone with grunting men, sweaty shirts, loud heavy metal music (eye roll) and so many mirrors in case you didn't get a good look at yourself before you came.  Okay, confession....I love looking at my muscles when I'm lifting, so I get it.  ;)

Then came my back issue which put me out for about 4 months.  Hello chiropractor!  I will admit, I've been through some chiropractors in my lifetime and though I was a little skeptical in the beginning, I'm very pleased with where things are now!  I've gone from crying because there's so much pain to running almost 2 miles pain-free!  A-mazing!

Back's good - check!  So now what?  ChaLean Extreme, baby!!  I am on my second week of a Beach Body makeover....and LOVING IT!  Okay, so I must admit, I was a BIG BABY before I signed up.  My thoughts were, "I hate pain!"  "This is going to be so hard!"  "I don't have the commitment level like others do."  "What if I fail?"  Yup!  All of those negative thoughts lured through my mind.  Did I mention that in high school the track coach asked me to run track and I told him only if he could promise me I'd never have to run a day in my life?  Ha!  Needless to say he was shocked when 2 years later he needed a volunteer to run the 2 mile at a competition and it was ME and only me who raised a hand on the bus that day.

Deep down inside though, I want my body to change.  Not just for my overall health, especially my back, but what woman doesn't want to look sexy?  All of these desires and positive thoughts started to override the negative ones.  Everyday I have to tell myself the same thing, "It's gonna be work, but you are worth the work, baby!"  It's not easy, but I feel amazing once I've finished a workout.

So here I am on the second week of my 12 week excursion.  But really, this is more than just 90 days...this is a lifetime change, just like food is a lifetime change.  I choose health!

I write this to inspire others and let them know that EVERYBODY has those thoughts everyday.  Working out is a choice.  Will it be yours?