Hi! Thanks for visiting!
In sharing with you on this blog, my hope and
prayer is you will find helpful information and be encouraged in your
own path of learning as I pass on what I have learned over the years
creating recipes, gardening, and other things related to the outside.
A Little History....
The first ten years of life included some rather annoying digestion problems; the next ten years added chronic, severe constipation with serious allergies beginning at 18. At around 21, two friends of mine over the course of a couple weeks both suggested I should try a varied vegan diet, as it was working really well for them. To say the least! These guys were both very healthy looking and so muscular they could've been body builders. Lets get something straight right now. I don't believe in 'going on a diet'. The connotation behind that is, it is something temporary and then you go back to eating the junk you used to eat. Not a good plan. Your diet is what you eat, which may be nutritious, body strengthening food, or it may be food that weakens the body. Now changing ones diet to include healthier, nutrient dense food is a good thing. Back to the story. I didn't go straight to all vegan, but after three months of cutting out meat and reducing the amount of dairy products and refined sugar, the intestinal problems improved considerably but no changes in the allergies. When I told my mom (the dietitian) of my diet changes, she suggested I do some research to find a variety of foods containing the nutrients one needs, and she gave me the book 'The New Laurel's Kitchen' which was a great resource for new recipes to try, charts on cooking beans and grains, and charts showing the amounts of vitamins and minerals in a lot of foods. Since then, it has been a gradual switch to all vegan, including raw vegetable juices. This is an on going process. I feel the best when I stick to all vegan, am juicing at least a couple times a week and practice proper food combining-(the intestinal and allergy problems virtually disappear).
What Matters to Me....
First and foremost, I love God. All three co-equal parts of God. I am thankful a part of Him stepped out of eternity and into our 3 dimensional world for 33 years to walk with us, teach us, and provide us with a path back to Him if we choose to. I am thankful Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to help us, and be with us with every breath we take, when we choose to accept God's gift of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus. And I love my family. My husband and I are blessed with two beautiful children, inside and out, who make it all worthwhile!
Getting regular exercise (including stretching) for 30-60 minutes a day is ideal. The mental and physical benefits far outweigh the time put in; with more energy, tasks getting done more efficiently, and when doing tasks outside I am working my muscles not straining them, reducing the chance of getting hurt.
Being outdoors is my favorite place to be. Fresh air, taking the time to observe all that is around. I'm just starting to learn about all the wild foods around us that are not just edible but very tasty. Besides foraging, organically growing as much of our food as possible is important to me. So far we have a veggie garden, berry bushes, fruit trees, an asparagus patch, and there are a couple walnut tree saplings planted in pots in the herb garden awaiting their new home in the lawn next spring. Bartering or gleaning in other peoples yards for nuts, fruit, or berries we don't grow is another way to acquire organic food. With permission of course! Sharing the food we grow and make with others. There is something about sharing with others that just warms the heart and brightens up any day. Sharing baked goods probably happens the most, which I'm sure contributed to my children calling our kitchen the 'stone hill bakery.'
I like rocks. The ones with the soil on them, of course! Since as far back as I can remember I have been picking up and dragging home everything from tiny tiny fossils smaller than 1/4", to huge rocks over 100 pounds. Ok, the 100 pounders with my daughter's help, or my son just picking it up on his own. Bless their hearts, they don't mind going rock hunting with me occasionally!
