The Produce Arrived!

I placed an order on Sunday night with "Off the Vine" produce to have a box of fresh fruits/veggies delivered. They promised that my fruit/veggie box would be enough for 2-4 people for a week. All of the produce is organic, and most of it is supposed to be local.The pick up time was 3-6pm at the alternative health foods store in pace. I was so excited to get my produce! I know it sounds silly...but I felt like a kid waiting to open my Christmas presents. I couldn't wait to see how much produce was actually in it.

As I waited on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday to pass I envisioned the farmers going out and picking my produce. They claim the food comes from "Farm to table" so I pictured these sweet caring farmers out in their fields harvesting my fruits and veggies. Juan went to go pick it up at 3pm and unfortunately it hadn't arrived yet. He had to run around & do errands...so we called the place and they kindly offered to leave it outside behind the shop and we could pick it up on our way home from Children's church that night. I couldn't wait all day to pick it up! Of course it would be my awful luck that I would get stuck in an hour traffic jam due to an accident. So instead of taking 40 minutes to get home, it took an hour 1/2! Juan offered to stop by and pick up the produce for me on his way home. Charlotte & Juan were very excited to show me the fruit/veggie box they picked up.

 I unloaded all the fruits & veggies on the counter. There was A LOT!

In fact there was:

- 8 carrots with the tops

- 4 pears

- 4 tangelo oranges

- 2 grapefruits

- 2 funky looking squash

- 1 large bok choy

- bag of button mushrooms

- bag of green beans

- large romaine lettuce

- large bunch of kale

- large green onions

- broccoli

- strawberries

It is a lot of food! We'll see how much we get through this week. I decided to go to Everman's to price comparison shop to see if ordering my produce from "Off the vine" is worth the time or the money. Basically for the fruit/veggie box from Off the Vine it costs $56, if I bought the same items from Everman they'd cost close to $50. So pretty much the same cost.

Also....if I purchased my produce only at Everman I could pick different variety...like bananas which are a staple in our home.

I think I would definitely order again from Off the vine, especially because the quality was extremely fresh and it's delivered to Pace. If you were every thinking about ordering produce from Off the Vine, I would tell you to consider it. It was a fun experience!

FASCINATING Earth Shattering Documentaries...

I have been watching fascinating Earth Shattering documentaries....they've really changed my worldview. They've been pivotal in a paradigm shift in my life. The past couple weeks I've been on a intense quest for knowledge. The more research I do, the more I want to learn and put into practice in my life.

It all started with watching Hungry For Change. It was inspiring. I wanted more knowledge. I felt like I was starving and I wanted to know more and more information.
http://www.hungryforchange.tv/

It led me to watching Food Matters & then Food Inc.  These two films really rocked my world. I was appalled at how our industry has turned medicine and food into a money maker. The focus became money.  Our health seemed to be on the back burner. I am appalled and how farmers, animals, and people are treated. I am appalled at how our nation got to this place. I mostly appalled that I didn't know this information sooner. How could I have not heard this information before? Why isn't this on the news each night?  Perhaps the information has been here...I just wasn't ready to hear it?
http://www.foodmatters.tv/

http://www.takepart.com/foodinc

I found Kris Carr who battled her cancer with what she ate and how she lived. She had a documentary called: Crazy Sexy Cancer. I watched this and then read her book Crazy Sexy Diet.  She is absolutely inspirational. She didn't settle for regular chemo treatment and decided to juice her way back to health. I found this to be such an unconventional way to battle a disease. I found her to be truly brave.

She has a phenomenal blog: 

crazysexylife.com

After reading Kris Carr's book and watching her film I started hearing more about the Gerson Therapy. I was curious what this was about.  I read the book 'The Gerson Therapy'. 

I watched these films on the Gerson Therapy and couldn't believe how many people cured themselves of horrible diseases including cancer by changing their diet. Who knew the saying "You are what you eat" is really true? If you eat Red dye #40, and other crazy chemicals that are known carcinogens you will actually be that environment?  Who knew that fruits & veggies could really be that powerful?

So that's what kind of information I've been digesting lately. I'm not making any declarations of how I'm going to live, or what I'm going to eat or not eat. I don't think I'm ready for that. I am however still collecting data to discover what is best for me and my family.   The one common denominator throughout all the information thus far is: fruits, veggies, and whole grains are much more powerful than I realized. I have the power to be healthy! 

Have you seen any of these documentaries or read any of these books? I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

Another Werido Shop

Today I decided to pop into another 'weirdo shop.' I looked it up online first before I decided to stop by. The name on the building said "Alternative Health Food Store". I figured it was a smaller version of Everman, but it Pace. In my opinion it looked kind of dumpy from the outside.

http://www.alternativehealthfoodstore.com/

Charlotte, Ethan & I went inside and there was a TON of medicine/herbal pill bottles. One aisle was full of healthy food products, a tad overpriced. To my surprise there was a very knowledgeable, helpful kind staff person. He told me that Jimmie Hill (who has a PH D in Natural Health) does health assessments, as well as Dr. Angel Hill's daughter. The assessment costs between $50 & $40. It's a one hour educational session using non-diagnostic Iridology (the inspection of the iris as an aid in determining a person’s state of health); Tongue and Fingernail Assessment; and Reflex Nutrition Assessment to help you build your own health.


I don't think I'll be doing much shopping there, but I'm curious to find out what can someone determine from looking at my eyes, tongue & fingernails? I've talked to people who have had this done and they have been blown away by the medical history the specialist is able to see just by looking at their eyes. I have to be honest though, as early as a few weeks ago I would've thought this was a complete crock. Right now I'm definitely interested in learning how to live a healthier life, one that's not full of medicine or illness. If there are ways I can prevent illness I'd be willing to go to a "weirdo shop"  to try this.  I'll have to write about the $40 eye assessment experience in another blog once I do it.


Anyone done one of those assessments before? What was your experience?

Organic Food Delivered?

Until I'm able to have a more bountiful garden I found a GREAT way to get fresh organic produce. While I was visiting the Alternative Health Food Store in Pace, I discovered a company called "OFF the VINE"

http://www.offthevine.org/

They claim to "Bring the Farmers Market to you." There's no delivery fee. They promise to deliver only Organic Produce weekly. They only deliver what you order. You can have a standing order for each week, or you can have a different order each week. There's no commitment. Sounded promising!

I placed an order for a Mixed Vegetable and Fruit Box Share. It's supposed to be enough for a family of 2-4 for a week. The order has to be placed by midnight on Sunday night and I have to pick up my order at the Alternative Health Food store tomorrow on Wednesday between 3-6pm. I'm excited to see what the box looks like and how much produce is in it. I should be expecting: Spring onions, bok choy, yellow crooked neck squash,green beans, carrots with tops, romaine lettuce, broccoli, white button mushrooms, collard greens, Anjou pears, Fuji apples, Ruby grapefruit, Minneola tangerines and strawberries! 

One word: YUM!

walking into a 'weirdo shop'

I drove by a shop on 9 mile that was called "Old Thyme Remedies". With the word "Thyme" spelled like the herb so I figured they must have some healthy remedies and lots of information. This definitely seemed like the next stop on my Medero Green Moments Journey.

The only problem is I was scared to go in. I have this crazy fear about doing things I haven't done before. I was scared that if I went in I'd be uncomfortable, it would be awkward and the workers that run the store would just be staring at me.  I imagined that they'd be dressed in flowing tribal 70's outfits. They'd have super duper long hair that they never wash. They'd be wearing Birkenstock sandals, & no makeup.  In my mind it would be 100% a weirdo shop!

I actually drove by the store a for a couple weeks before I ever decided to stop by. This week I decided to just go and walk in. Kind of like ripping off a band aid, I decided to just do it.  I walked in and there were four people standing at the counter just starring at me. There were a TON of little bottles with herbs in them. I had NO IDEA what they were for. I walked around the store pretending to browse at the herbs in bottles. I tried to grab as much paperwork they had laying out that was free to take (so I could read it later). I walked up to the counter and told the store clerks that  I'm on a journey for living healthier and that when I saw the spelling of "Thyme" on their sign I knew this would be the next stop. they politely nodded. To my surprise they weren't dressed like weirdos at all. In fact they were in jeans and T-shirts, and they certainly were not wearing Birkenstock sandals. They looked like normal people! Yay. I don't know why I always expert the worst.

Once I got in the car I read over all the paperwork I had grabbed while in the shop.  They do detox through foot baths. They do all kinds of classes like making soap, cleaners etc.  The classes seems kind of fun. They remind me of the classes Everman does.

I'll definitely go back and check it out again. Below is their Facebook link.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Old-Thyme-Remedies/208361665896804

Green smoothie

In order to eat/drink more fruits and veggies daily I've decided I want to start juicing. The only negative I've found is that a good juicer is SO EXPENSIVE. Well at least a strong one that isn't too difficult to clean. I've read a lot on juicing and the amazing health benefits it provides. In fact I just ordered a couple books from the Juice Master Jason Vale.  I first saw him in the documentary: Hungry for Change that was just released in March.

In the meantime, until I can get a juicer I've been making smoothies in my blender.  Blending smoothies has been a great way to make sure my kids get healthy servings of fruit in the morning. I've been adding some OJ, ice, and yogurt to the smoothies as well.

This week I tried a new smoothie. My friend Natalie invited me to try a green smoothie. I must admit I had NEVER had a green smoothie and I was definitely hesitant to try it due to its color. It really wasn't that bad...I tried sharing it with my family, but I unfortunately they didn't not enjoy the spinach color.

I'm so excited to start juicing, I still can't afford a fancy juicer, but my friend has a juicer she doesn't use anymore that she's going to give me. What a blessing! Thank God for good friends!

 I'm so excited to start juicing at home!  I'm wondering how many other veggies I can hide in juices from my kiddos!

Anyone else out there juice? What's your favorite juice concoction?

Green Thumb? ...we'll see:)

I was a week of firsts for me. I am trying to find ways to live healthier and better.

I was excited to try my hand at gardening. I love organic produce, but I definitely don't always love the price of it. I usually get my produce from the Palofox Farmers Market, Everman and Publix to shop for the cheapest prices.  I figured why not try to grow my favorites at home. There was only one problem with my solution...everything I've EVER tried to grow dies. I decided to try to grow only a few things and see how it goes.

I headed to Home Depot and decided to browse their herbs and veggies. 

I decided on Strawberries,  a key lime tree, cilantro, mint, basil & lavender. 

I planted the key lime tree in a pot. There are 56 tiny key lime buds on the tree.

 I planted the mint, cilantro, basil & Lavender all in one pot together.

 I planted the strawberry plant in a separate pot. I decided later to go back to Home Depot and get a couple more small strawberry plants to add to the pot.

I placed them all near my front door in hopes this would help me to remember water and tend them.

The most rewarding moment was when we had friends over last night for Taco Night and it was so wonderful to actually serve some items from my garden. We had fresh cilantro and limes from my garden in our tacos! Pretty cool. Especially because I've never served food from my garden!

The next step is to clear our a whole flower bed and plant some produce from seeds and watch the grow! I hope it all works out!  

Mom's group

It's been a couple months since my last post. I've really been wanting to share all the Green Moment's I've been up to lately.

6 weeks ago I started a mom's group at my church. It was a place where mom's could share about being a mom. We focused on living a healthier  lifestyle. Of course there were bumps along the way, but the 6 weeks was a time new friendships were formed!

There were definitely some bumps along the way...I was REALLY sick the 1st night I was going to start the mom's group, so we had to postpone the launch a week. The 5th week none of the ladies could make it for various reasons so we had to canceled.

I loved being able to share my "green moments". The ladies shared theirs as well.  We made laundry detergent, a tub scrub, dishwasher detergent, an exfoliant, a facial cleanser, and healthy smoothies all naturally!

These ladies were an encouragement to me! One of the best moments is when a lady came to the group and shared with us that she had beaten cancer by living a healthier lifestyle. She didn't do any chemo or radiation. She switched to juicing, eating organic, cutting out ALL processed foods, white flour & sugar. How amazing is that?!?!? Not that I'm advocating not doing chemo or radiation. But it was such an affirmation that eating better can change your life!

I'm still on this journey and learning more everyday. Looking for some "green moments" in my day today:)

--Elizabeth