This year has flown by. 2013 brought my family one of the greatest gifts - our sweet baby boy. We are loving every second of our new life and can’t remember what life was like before him. It is amazing how much our love grows every day! So, with this new year upon us, we have to think about not just ourselves, but now this little person. Right now he solely depends on me for nutrition, but in a few short months, he will be embarking on his food journey. He will rely on my husband and I to provide him with healthy, nutritious, whole foods. As you can probably predict, I am doing my research on what is the best route to take with this and I will share my thoughts soon enough.
I think we make good food choices for ourselves, but have never claimed to be 100% perfect - EVER! I hope that if nothing else, you take that away from this blog - that making small changes is more important than trying to be perfect. With that said, being healthy is an extremely important aspect of our every day.
What does healthy mean to you? I read a book a couple years ago that talked about the difference between being fit and well. I thought it was an interesting concept. “Exercise can only help a body that isn’t overburdened with malnutrition (dead foods) and toxins (poison in our foods)....Wellness is about feeding your cells and building your muscles with the most nutrient dense foods on the planet.” To bring the point home, the book gave an example of a famous runner who dropped dead at age 52 of a massive heart attack. Upon autopsy, there were fatty deposits that blocked one coronary artery 95%, a scone 85% and a third 50%. “You may look good, but not be well. Fitness is a luxury, wellness is a necessity.”
As our journey with health and wellness and making better food choices continues, my husband and I are trying to eat more nutrient rich foods. Over the last few years, we have moved to a mostly organic, mostly whole food diet but now want to focus on the quality of those foods. Have you heard of a super food? Superfoods by definition are “calorie sparse and nutrient dense. They are sources of antioxidants and essential nutrients - nutrients we need but cannot make ourselves.” This is one definition, but many people use the term superfood and have varying opinions on what qualifies a food as a superfood. Some of our favorites superfoods are wheatgrass, aloe vera, kale, beets, sprouts, pomegranates, nuts, cacao, coconut oil, quinoa, green tea, blueberries, and avocado.
I have been developing some recipes with some of our favorite winter superfoods and plan to share those with you over the next few weeks. I will also share another thing my husband and I have introduced into our food world, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, I wish you a wonderful start to your 2014! I hope it brings you everything you desire. If there are certain topics you would like me to focus on or research please feel free to comment below or email me. Also, check out the previous two new year posts (part I, part II), both of which have videos embedded that have been a big influence on us and why we now live the life we do. Finally, don’t forget there are tabs at the top of the blog that recap all the previous posts. The self education tab is where all the informational posts are housed, if you are looking to start making some changes in the year 2014. Remember ‘“the bottom line is that while none of us can do everything, all of us can do something.” (Robin O’Brien)
My promise to you in this new year is to continue to share what I learn with you, in hopes that it inspires you to make better choices. I truly do have a passion for this. I love reading blogs, books, watching documentaries, etc. This platform allows me to share what I learn and practice because not everyone enjoys doing the research or has the time. Then I also hope you will share what you learn with your loved ones. The more awareness there is, the more change that will continue to occur. Check out this list of some of the top food awakening stores of 2013. We have talked about a lot of them on this blog and Facebook page. Together we can make a change!
~Ashley
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