It is Tuesday night at 12:30 am and I finally have edible homemade organic mayonnaise. Ugh! I will say that it was my fault this was epic fail in the beginning. Now I know what to do next time and have it done in 5 whole minutes. So the road to being organic is going better than expected. All-in-all, it can be a little more expensive than processed foods, but the results worth every penny. Thank goodness there are those out there that have traveled this road before me and have some great cost-cutting tips. For instance, condiments can get pretty expensive,  so tonight I made organic ketchup...easy squeezy! Sean said it tastes like Whataburger ketchup. Now that is a compliment in my book!

The mayo was a bit trickier. But let me say this...if you make your own then start with just a couple of drops to the egg yolk mixture to start the emulsifying. Critical!
The kids are excited to have access to the ketchup queen. I don't think its just me...the food tastes better! Just remember to avoid stressing over ever single ingredient. You may have to use nonorganic ingredients from time to time, and that's ok! I took the advise I read in a book, just follow the rule of 80/20. Organic 80% of the time and not worry about slipping 20% of the time. Well, I'm finally off to bed and dream up tomorrow's meals and desserts. I made "fudge" popsicles so I will share the results next time.

Until next time,
Tracie

Mission Objective: Long and healthy lives!

Congratulations! You have found the blog of a very determined mother who intends on making a better life for my family. I assume that you are interested in my goal or might be here to learn from me. Let me say this, I am NOT an expert by no means. I am merely a mom who is sick and tired of....well, just SICK and TIRED of being SICK and TIRED! Let me give a bit of our background so you can understand where I am coming from.

I have 2 very rambunctious boys who are active in sports and anything they can find. My oldest, Andrew, is 11 and was diagnosed ADHD when he was 6. This was a tough time for us all as we were hesitant to medicate him when there may be a less toxic option. But the phone call from the Kindergarten principle was enough for us to try anything. No luck. I tried going organic (sort of) and I tried no red dyes. I tried no sugar and on and on. Nothing worked, so we went and started him on a regimen of medication. This has been ongoing for 6 years.  

My partner, Sean, is dealing with MAJOR sleep apnea. His snoring and interrupted breathing throughout the night are enough to keep us both exhausted all of the time. I am seriously considering sleeping in a separate room if we can't get this resolved. 

Now as far as I am concerned, I have been overweight most of my life. From about age 26 to age 38 I maintained a pretty healthy weight. But it fluctuated a couple of times within a 15 lb range. But this year I have managed to reach nearly my pregnancy weight! WTH happened? Plus earlier this year, an unexplained injury led to tests, more tests, and extensive blood work. After being referred to a specialist (at a Cancer treatment Center! AHH!) I was terrified of what was to come. Turned out that I was so severely anemic that the Hematologist was surprised I was functioning from day to day. My levels were so low that some were undetectable. This was shocking. I was then told that I would need iron infusions (IV iron) on a weekly basis until my levels came up to a normal level. That sounded daunting, and a little scary to be honest. So I did my treatments every week, which lasted about an hour or so, and slowly started getting better blood test results. By the 3rd month I was on monthly visits. And on the 5th month I could finally be stretched to once every 3 months. My levels were great and my doctor was pleasantly surprised at the level of improvement I was having. But this was now a permanent part of my life. Faced with the initial uncertainty got me thinking though. Is there a more natural way for me to maintain my health? Could I assist my natural body with that which nature has provided? The research began.

At this point in my life, early 2015, I was living with my 2 sons (if you are old enough you get the irony), and my boyfriend and his son. We had a hearty household of men, then me. Each and every one of us successfully gained too much weight over the last year and we all really need to make a change. I have a family of men with ravenous appetites to feed and they get grumpy when I cut back! Then I heard about a friend whom had health issues of her own of which the doctors could not explain. She tried many forms of alternative medicine searching for her own answer. Then she removed gluten from her diet to see if that would help, as nothing before was working. It did! She was feeling better and lost a LOT of weight. I was stoked! I couldn't imagine that something so simple as gluten could cause such a difference. So here we go...off to being gluten free! Yep, that was exciting and new at first. Then the price of everything was becoming a burden and we were not noticing any change. So back to the drawing board. Then as I was reading one day, I stumbled on a book by a woman who had converted to whole foods and was shouting from the rooftops about how wonderful it was for her and her family. I figured this might be the ticket! 

I did some research as well as bought her book to find out what it means to really go "whole foods". It was actually a simple concept that seemed so obvious once I knew. Why doesn't everybody do this??? In a nut shell, you eat foods that have not been chemically altered by man. Think back 100+ years when foods were fresh without all of the pesticides, steroids, hormones, and preservatives added. This was genius! I can eat steak, potatoes, chicken, BREAD, pasta, etc, and not feel deprived? I'm in!

I am now starting this blog to follow my family's journey through this process. We are learning and loving so much more of this idea than expected. My goal is to be able to see our progress and also help anyone else who doesn't know what the whole foods experience can truly be. I hope you come back for more of my input and journeys through this process. I want this to become 2nd nature to me, and maybe even for you if you feel compelled. Thanks for joining us!

Until next time,
Tracie