A Garden of Nutrition

Have you ever planted a garden? If so, you have experienced the true excitement of witnessing the miraculous growth of a once tiny seedling. Our family planted peas, peppers, onions, pumpkins, watermelon, carrots, cucumbers, and garlic. And it has been quite the adventure observing the "fruit" of our labors in watering and caring for this young garden.

No matter where you live, it is a perfect time to begin learning how to grow your own food. Never has self-reliance been more of a focus than it is now with the ability to care for yourselves and loved ones in the times we now live. One of the best ways we can do this is by following the prophet's counsel: to plant a garden. Also, the revelation given to Joseph Smith to live the Word of Wisdom.

Each intricate growth of the seeds we have planted is truly a manifestation of the precision and detail and unseen benefits of the fruits and vegetables God has created for the functioning of our bodies. It may sound over the top, but can man create something as nutritionally valuable as our Heavenly Father can? I would hope you know the answer.

Our family does many things to care for our garden: we sing to the garden, water the garden, pull weeds from the garden, protect the garden (from Gentry, our 2 1/2 year old), and we pray for our garden. The boys have even cried for our garden when they thought a pumpkin plant wouldn't make it. But with prayer, it pulled through!!

Find the time where you live that is right to plant a garden, and just jump into it. I put it off so long because I now live in the desert. But obviously it can be done. And it will bring much more than just food to the table. It will bring smiles, hard work, focus, sacrifice, and nutrition.

Birthday Cake Redefined

This was my birthday cake this year! I didn't even think to purchase or make a traditional cake because I have decided to abandon these unhealthy traditions. Now and again is okay, I'll admit. But what an idea to make holidays enjoyable without a holiday from nutritional foods!

To recreate this lovely birthday plate, simply slice the watermelon in round cuts from large to progressively smaller sizes. Then stack, and add watermelon, blueberries, or anything colorful to compliment the watermelon. It's also a great alternative since it is the hotter season of the year! Get creative and best wishes for optimum health!

Healthy Popsicles

With Summer approaching, it's important to have something nice and cold to enjoy during the warmer months. But if you take a look at the ingredients in most frozen popsicles (and other "treats" for that matter) you may need to take a closer look at the ingredients.

High fructose corn syrup is something you should avoid like poison. In rare and occasional doses, so to speak, your body may be okay. But most foods contain this ingredient, and it is VERY unhealthy. Read what I found when I googled the details on this ingredient:

"Since HFCS's widespread introduction in the 1980's North American obesity rates have skyrocketed. Obesity has been linked to may heath issues including heart disease and many forms of cancer. When HFCS is ingested, it travels straight to the liver which turns the sugary liquid into fat, and unlike other carbohydrates HFCS does not cause the pancreas to produce insulin; which acts as a hunger quenching signal to the brain. So we get stuck in a vicious cycle, eating food that gets immediately stored as fat and never feeling full."

So are you never to eat a popsicle again? No! Just buy your own popsicle containers which allow you to decide what kind of popsicle you'd like to enjoy! We love 100% apple juice or berry juice! But just be sure the juice you buy really has nothing else added to it. You have to be 'label smart.' And once your kids join in the fun, buying a bag of "cancer pops, " as I like to call them will not only be less fun to your children, you just might hear them informing their friends about the healthier alternative!

That Healthy Glow

Have you ever noticed how some people glow with radiance--particularly babies? Much can be said about the reasons behind why some people's skin glows and some do not. Once again, a lot of it has do to with a person's diet.

Babies do have softer skin because they are young, but they also have not been subjected to years of bad habit eating or lack of exercise. Our faces undoubtedly reflect the way that we care for ourselves. And what we eat and put into our bodies DOES make a difference.

For me, I notice that my face is more blemished when I am not taking my vitamins regularly, or consuming enough fruits and vegetables. God created the foods that will keep us healthy and looking beautiful, which we all are. We need to remember the more wholesome foods available to us and consume them more.

Besides eating good foods, we need to keep active, our minds and our bodies. We need proper sleep and rest, as well as meditation to quiet our minds and reflect on things of importance, especially those things we can improve on and motivate spiritually.

"After a certain number of years, our faces become our biographies." ~Cynthia Ozick, born 1931