You know how all the really popular blog writers have a collective name for their masses of readers?  Angie calls hers the Sundays.  Sophie calls hers the Internets.  So, it’s only fitting that I give you, the Nutritalicious throng of readers (all four of you), a cute little moniker.  So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to lovingly call you Multitude.

Wanna know what I’ve been thinking about, Multitude?   I’ve been thinking about my purpose for this blog.  When I started it, I did it because I wanted to up my game.  I thought having an audience would help me be accountable to myself and my children.  Having had a brush with cancer in 2000, I’d had the first sightings of that elusive AHA moment. My conscience had been pricked.  I knew that eating healthier was a smart thing to do. But, still…I slipped…a lot. A whole lotta Krispy Kremes lot.

It was nine years ago when I picked up the phone at my cubicle job and first heard the words Adenocarcinoma.  Those words were directed at me, or more specifically my cervix.  Cancer had bullied its way in to my body, my life.  Thankfully, marvelously, it was caught early and I have been pronounced “cured,” which is more wonderful than words can say because that same cervix lovingly partnered with a few of my other female tidbits to hold in and deliver to me two bouncing gifts from God.  See exhibit A.

Exhibit A

In these nine years, I have enjoyed seasons of earnest effort when it comes to food/health decisions, but I have yet to become the fanatic I want to be.

Until now.

Very recently, two people who are so dear to me have been diagnosed with serious forms of cancer.  It’s terrifying. Cancer is an epidemic.  It’s hurting people that you and I love. I want something to blame.  And after much research and reading, I am convinced of this: Our food is killing us.

I’ve been immersing myself in anticancer books and I can’t wait to share what I’m learning.  Mainly, we can create an environment inside of ourselves that is not friendly to cancer - a force field, if you will.  That is not to say that anyone brings cancer on themselves, but we are all victims of our Western diet and there are ways we can bolster our natural defenses.

My AHA moments are arriving like rapid-fire thunderbolts now.  I want to experience metanoia, a profound transformation.

What can we do to lower our cancer risk?  How can we help others who are challenged by it?  I’m going to be investigating these topics over the coming weeks so that I can better protect and help the people I love.  I’m not here to foist anything upon you, Multitude,  but I urge you to consider making this crucial change immediately:

Eat grass-fed organic animal products: meat, cheese, yogurt, milk, and eggs.

Click here to find out how you can eat well where you live.

As Hippocrates said, “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.”

Here’s to hoping that I can walk the talk. My metanoia is in the making.

Eat well and be well,

Celesta

I’m about to turn up the heat on this blog.  My Mama was just diagnosed with stomach cancer.  I’ve never been more serious about the pursuit of healthy eating and living.

Please stay tuned.  Much more to come much more frequently.

I tried these delicious banana muffins this morning.  Oh my.  The whole batch was gone, baby, gone in just a few minutes.  You may be thinking that we should get some self-control.  It’s true.  We should.  But try these on your family and see if they aren’t devoured in mere minutes.  ’specially if you serve them hot from the oven.

This recipe was already healthy, but I made a few changes and additions:

• 4 bananas instead of 3
• No butter or oil or shortening - I replaced with applesauce
• I used natural cane sugar in lieu of rapadura (very similar items, I think)
• Added 1/2 cup of ground flax seeds
• Added 1 cup of walnut pieces

Great for breakfast, snack, dessert.

Eat well and be well,

Celesta

Just say no to hydrogenated oil.  And its equally evil twin - partially hydrogenated oil.

My kids are big fans of cereal-type bars.  Unless you work hard to find all-natural versions, most of the over-the-Kroger counter kind are chock full of the stuff.

I shopped around on the internet to find a few homemade granola bar recipes that I could feel good about serving my litt’luns.  I found this recipe and made a few tiny alterations.  Instead of the chocolate sauce, I just tossed in a 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate morsels, which eliminated the need to use shortening.  Same great taste rolled right in.  And I made sure no one was looking and slung a handful of flax seeds in the mix.

These bars were very easy to make.

Evan was the raisin box opener/eater and helped stir it all together.

Try some!

Eat well and be well,

Celesta

     Mama and I made soap a few weeks ago and then cut it into bars. After that we set it aside to dry.  We grated it up a few days ago and then added some scent until it was strong enough for our preference.  Then we  rolled it up into balls!  FUUUUUUN!!!  It’s so simple.  You can do it with store-bought ,unscented soap  if you’d like (though I haven’t tried it with that kind of soap).  

Another thing you can do is put 1 LB of grated soap (use a cheese grater)in a pot and a little bit  of water and heat  it up until it melts (it will be a little chunky). When it is melted, add your scent until it is strong enough for your taste.  Pour it into your molds and freeze it until it begins to harden; let it dry a couple of weeks until it is hard and the water has evaporated.

     I hope you enjoy this craft as much as we do.  You can do this with your kids it is perfectly safe, and fun!

Meggie

   Today I was making sweet rolls and I ran out of brown sugar, so instead of going to the store I made it myself. I tried it with molasses first, but I didn’t like it as much as when  I used honey.

• 1 cup of white sugar
• 3 TBSP of honey
• 2 dashes of cinnamon

Mix it together with your hands until it is the consistency of store-bought brown sugar. Another way you can make brown sugar is with molasses.

• 1 cup of white sugar
• 1 1/2 TBSP of molasses

Mix it just the same way as you do with the honey mixture.

Meggie

I won’t pretend these cookies are healthy, but they are healthier and that’s enough to satisfy this Mama on a rainy housebound Wednesday.

Just follow any cookie recipe and replace the flour with 100% hard white whole wheat flour.  Your kids won’t know the dif.

Eat well and be well,

Celesta

This one’s for sweet Robin.

I’m as avid a bargain hunter as you will find, but I’ve never taken a likeness to coupon clipping.  Too much trouble!  Coupon clipping is something little old ladies do between The Price is Right and having their hair set and AquaNetted for the next seven days.

But for the longest time, I had that nagging feeling that I could be getting a lot more mileage out of our grocery dollars.  When I heard The Coupon Mom on Oprah, I signed right up.  Even for someone as anti-coupon as me, she was very convincing.  She likened the effort it takes to gather the coupons to that of having a part-time job.  You can save that much money!  And even if saving money isn’t that important to you, the sport of it is a total blast.  For instance, I came home with six FREE items this week and many things that were 70-90% off.  Plus, the manager was working the register and she told me I was a really smart shopper.  Wow.  Free stuff and compliments.  Think I’ll go back next week.

Rather than clipping coupons each week, The Coupon Mom suggests pulling the whole coupon circular from your Sunday paper.  Each week, she publishes a new list by state and store that times with your local store’s lowest prices in their sales cycles.  Plan your menu,  select the items you need and want, and print.  The list points you to the exact circular where your coupon is, so coupon clipping is a 10-minute effort rather than a dreaded weekly event.

In the months that I’ve been doing this, I have saved no less than$35 and have averaged about $65 per trip.

The best part is this: I take the money saved and tote myself directly to the closest Whole Foods. I heart natural and organic foods and know they are best for the longevity and proper workings of our bodies.  Unfortunately, our budget doesn’t allow me to get all of our food there, but I can get the things that matter most (least processed) to me.

If you are in the Atlanta area, check out Traci’s blog.  She knows how to stalk a deal.

How do you save money at the grocery store?

Shop well, eat well, and be well,

Celesta

     My Aunt Celesta gave me a wonderful cookbook  for my birthday; Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld.  I highly recommend it!  She  sneeks food into her recipes such as  brocolli, cauliflower, carrots, spinach, avocado and other veggies kids don’t usually like.  In the recipes we’ve tried so far, I can’t tell that the veggies are in there (her  brownies especially are delicious). This is not one of her recipes, it’s one of ours, but it is like what she does. These scrambled hamburgers have mushrooms in them! They are very good.

• 1 LB of ground beef ( scrambled and drained)
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 c finely chopped mushrooms

Stir together and heat in a saucepan or microwave.  Spread on a hamburger bun. It is wonderful! Try it.

Meggie

     My friends introduced me to these delicious little treats; M&M pretzels. It would be a great treat for Valentines.

• Pretzel twists
• Hershy’s Kisses
• M&M’s

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Place your pretzels on a cookie sheet, then put your unwrapped Hershey’s Kisses on the middle of your pretzels. Place the tray in the oven for about 4 minutes. As soon as they come out of the oven, press an M&M into the middle so that the chocolate has a pretty rounded edge around the M&M. Let them cool, store in an air tight container. Enjoy!

Meggie