30 Day Yoga Challenge--Take 2

Back in January I started a 30 Day Yoga Challenge and made it to about day 15 when I pulled my back out.  This caused me to miss two days and then I was back in the game.  A few days later I got sick and then before I knew it...the challenge got lost in a sea of other things to do.  When I am good about doing my yoga and meditations, I am a different person.  I am calmer, happier and feel so much better about myself.  It is for these reasons that I am going to attempt the challenge again. 

I know, I know....why a challenge?  Why not focus on putting some yoga into my life a few days a week?  Well the truth of the matter is that I KNOW me and I do better when there is a challenge involved.  I am competitive by nature (thank my dad for that one) and so the idea of a challenge is always so appealing to me.  What I am really hoping is that by working toward completing this challenge, yoga will become habit and part of my weekly routine.  They say you have to do something over and over before it becomes habit and so that is why I am starting today!

Namaste

Water Kefir...Our New Healthy Treat!

Have you heard of Water Kefir yet??  Have you tried it??  Did you know it has been around for thousands of years??  This was another idea that I heard about over a year ago but I was very hesitant and it took me this long to finally try it.  I am sooooo glad I did!

Water Kefir is a probiotic, fermented drink that is said to aid in digestion and help build up the immune system.  You make it using water kefir grains, which are not actually grains but a combination of yeast and good bacteria.  When these grains are added to sugar water, they eat the sugar and convert it to fructose while producing strains of probiotic bacteria.  They also emit gasses while they work and if you allow your grains to ferment long enough (48-72 hours) you are left with a fizzy alternative to soda.

I bought my first starter kit from Cultures for Health.  It takes a few days to hydrate your grains (they just sit on your counter in sugar water) and I started making our first kefir this past week.  It has been a BIG hit with the family and I am so excited to have a healthy beverage alternative to milk and water :)  Lemonade is our favorite so far (tastes a bit like Country Time Lemonade if you only culture it for 24 hours).  We have also made cranberry and cherry....both tasted like a watered down juice or flat soda.  This week I plan to allow a batch to sit for 48 hours to see what kind of fizz we get and I also plan to make "Cream Soda" (you just add vanilla extract).  Water Kefir is so much easier than sourdough (less than 5 minutes a day), is good for us and will save us LOTS of money in juice. 

Watch this video that Katie from Kitchen Stewardship did and I am sure you will be ordering some grains and making your own water kefir in no time :) 

30 Day Yoga Challenge

 I LOVE Yoga!  I love the practice of it, I love the way I feel after it, I love how it calms and centers me....I just love it.  The problem for me is I am so sporatic when it comes to doing it.  Some weeks I do it 3-5 times and others I don't get to it at all.  It was my physical therapists request that I join a yoga studio.  I have tried a few studios out but between my husband's busy schedule, our need to save money and my need for quality family time on the weekends, it has not worked out for me.  But that is okay because I am just as content with home practice.

So with my few yoga DVDs at hand and my subscription to Gaiam TV through the Roku (love this!), I am ready to set out on a 30 day Yoga Challenge :)  I started Monday and plan to do yoga everyday for 30 days.  They say it takes 4-6 weeks to create a habit (especially a healthy habit) and that you should tell people about the challenge so that you are held accountable.  That is why I am writing this post and I am hoping that this challenges helps to make yoga a part of my daily life. 

I have also started a morning/evening routine thanks to Tsh over at Simple Mom.  For the past two weeks I have been pretty good about getting to them.  My morning routine involves playing an AM mix of soothing music, drinking 20 oz of water, 5 basic stretches, reading over our Family Purpose Statement and then sipping my coffee while visiting with nature (staring out the window for now but hopefully I will get outside when it warms up).  My ideal would be doing this routine alone but that never works out.  However my kids are more relaxed now in the morning and often times join me for the staring out the window part :)

In the evening my routine is a 30 minute clean up of the house, 20 minutes on the computer, a chat with my dear husband (if he is home), my nightly prep for bed, my PT exercises and then 15-20 minutes of reading.  I usually end up reading for longer so I need to start the routine earlier so I can get enough sleep :)

I now find that I look forward to both of these routines, especially the evening routine.  I am hoping to keep them up faithfully until they become a part of me.

Tomato Fever

This is my second year canning over here at Raising Z and Lil' C.  Last year I thought I would give it a whirl and canned 40 lbs of tomatoes.  I realized that the savings in doing this was minimal over buying organic canned tomatoes but the product was worth the trouble.  All winter long (until about March) we had one delicious tomato dish a week.  We used them to make soup, sauce and other pasta dishes.  It was so nice to have the fresh taste of summer all winter.

 So for those reasons, I decided to do endure the hot kitchen on a warm September day and try it once again.  I learned a lot from my many mistakes last year so this year went a lot smoother.  I am still only doing the 40 lbs because of our lack of good storage and this year S wanted to try adding salsa to the process.  We have been having so much fun making different types of salsa.  So far we have 10 pint jars and we have a smoky, spicy type and a mild.  S wants to make a bunch more and then make labels for them.  If we can get some beer brewed we will have a nice little Christmas gift :)

 Applesauce is up next but I freeze this and store it in our chest freezer.  I still have one bag from last year that I am saving but now that apple season is upon us, I think it is time to open it up.  The applesauce I made last year tasted like apple pie filling (without the guilt)...so GOOD.  It may be a lot of work to prepare food for the winter but it is the perfect way to brighten up a cold, dreary winter day! 

Summer Running

Well I am 10 weeks out from my 1/2 marathon and this last week I came into a bit of a running slump. I was tired, overwhelmed with life and running took a bit of a back seat. To get out of this slump, I have set a new and crazy summer goal! By the end of summer......I hope to run to each of the 5 towns surrounding my town and back to my house :)

Now some of these towns are not too difficult to get to. In fact, I have already run to one of them and it was only 3.5 miles round trip :) The furthest town is about 10 miles round trip and that run will be very hilly....I am saving that one for last!

I know this seems like a very silly goal but I find that I like to run with purpose. I hope to knock off town number two this weekend. That's the one thing I really want for my birthday today...a nice long run followed by a nice long shower (maybe I'll get to shave :)).

Enjoy the weekend and Happy Birthday Mom (yes we share the same birthday, my maternal grandfather shared it too!).

Race Day

Well I woke up this morning feeling sluggish and not my best. I dragged myself out of bed and motivated S and Z to do the same. We got ready in record time and headed out to my 5K. The whole way there I was sick to my stomach (always am before a race). I just wanted to beat last years time (27:11) and knew that with the training I was doing, I should be able to. This was my last 5K until late fall because I have to start training for my summer 10K and 1/2 marathon.

S and Z walked me to the start line and gave me a kiss for good luck. This song started to play on my ipod and all of the nervous chatter died out around me. This song is always the way I start a race...it relaxes me :) I could barely hear the starting gun and felt the crowd move around me. I started to run, reminding myself to keep it steady for the first mile or so. I searched for my space within the crowd...passing people as I searched. I finally found my stride and my spot and ran along with this man in a blue shirt. I stuck with him until mile 1 and then passed him on a hill (all my hill training had paid off). I then searched for a new running partner. I found her up ahead wearing a red tank top....I caught up with her at about the half way mark and stayed with her for a bit.

At mile 2 I rounded the corner, thanked her in my head, and quietly moved on. My next partner was in blue and was really putting me through my paces. I stuck with her until there was about a quarter of a mile to go. At that point I could see the finish line (the Town Hall) and did not need a running partner anymore. I skipped to this song on my ipod and ran like Hell. I always sprint this last leg of every run (my neighbors must think I am nuts). Then I saw the clock 24:38.....I had to beat 25 minutes!!! If I did it would be a new personal record (my old time was 24:58 from 2005 but I think that course was only 3 miles). I gave it all I had and came in at 24:49 :)!!!! Tears rolled down my face.

Now for some this time would not be that impressive but for me...it took a lot of hard work. It took months of getting up 4 days a week at 5:45am to get that time :) S and Z came to give me a big congratulatory hug and some water. What a sweet personal victory :) Now I am after my dad's PR of 22:38 :)

Local Organic Produce

When S and I lived in the city, we belonged to a food co-op and it was the best! Once a week during the summer we would go and pick up our share of fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs. This made for some interesting and new dishes for us and we were challenged with using every bit of food before the week was out.

Thanks to my friend H's suggestion of this website we will be having fresh, local produce once again! We just joined our local CSA and I can't wait for summer! We will get fresh veggies, fruit (when in season) and herbs all summer long. We can even go to the local farm and pick our own if we want to :)

It is so exciting to drive to the pick up location, wondering what you will get that week. Will it be swiss chard, beets, carrots or something I have never even heard of??? I then go home and search the internet for fun recipes and info on how to cook the different greens. It will be so nice to know where my summer produce is coming from and know that it is fresh and organic!

I highly suggest you check out your local food co-op or CSA. Your body and taste buds will thank you for it!

The Last 10 Pounds

If you are like me, you have been battling the last 10 pounds for a long time :) At this moment in time I am at my pre-baby weight, which is great but I am trying to get back to my pre-wedding weight. My sister says that this will be more difficult now after having Z but I don't care. I want to see that magic number again and I have been struggling for the past year to get there. I work out 5-6 days a week but I am stuck in this cycle....I will be 5 lbs away from my goal, then 10, then 12, then 8 then 11 lbs and it goes on and on. So I decided it was time for help, I rejoined Weight Watchers.

This is my third time on the WW bandwagon :) My first time was right before my wedding and I dropped all my beer drinking college weight. After about 6 months I made life-time status and then was able to go for free (as long as I stayed within 2 lbs of my goal). I was thinner and more fit then I had ever been and I felt wonderful :) The second go around was after the wedding. I had put on a few "newlywed pounds" and wanted them to come off. This stay didn't last long (maybe a month) and I gave up.

Weight Watchers is a great program for me if I am consistent and go to the meetings. I need to hear the leaders talk about ways to be successful. Listening to the suggestions for summer BBQ's, holiday recipes etc. is so good for me. I also need to face that dreaded scale each week in order for me to think about what I eat.

In general I am not a bad eater. I usually make healthy choices, my issues are with portion control, eating when I am stressed and worst of all eating when I am bored! My latest issue, as I have said before, is cleaning Z's plate or snacking along with him....so bad. I love the WW program because it is not a diet but a change in your lifestyle. You can eat whatever you want as long as you stay within your daily points allowance. They then have a bank of 35 extra points to use if you have a party or a special event to go to and I use my activity points for my alcohol :)

The first time I was on the WW program, I became a bit of a basket case. I was obsessed with points and would call S in tears if I had gained weight (even 1/2 a pound). He began to resent the program and demanded that I stop. Well I think I have grown up a lot since then and I assured him that I would not become so obsessed with my weight this time. He has given me 3 strikes :) If I call him 3 times in tears, or I do 3 crazy things related to this program....I am out.

So here I go on this journey to battle the last 10 pounds. The AM workouts have been going well and I really enjoy having Z's nap time to get things done. Everything takes time and hardwork but I know that if I stick with the WW program I can find my magic number once again. We shall see ;)

Buckwheat Pancakes, Egg Salad and Processed Chicken Nuggets

This is Z's daily diet....isn't it great??? We went for his 18 month check up the other day and I was surprised to see that he jumped from the 30th percentile to the 60th :) The doctor said he must be eating really well and I just laughed and sighed.

As it turns out we have been giving Z way too much rice milk. He does drink water but usually he asks for milk and we give it to him. We hadn't really been paying attention to how much he had been drinking. We realize now that he was drinking about 48 oz. a day (our doctor wants him drinking only 24 oz)! Oops :) No wonder he wasn't eating...all his calories were coming from his liquid diet!

Well we have been working over the last few days to cut down his rice milk consumption and guess what...he now has more of an appetite! Oh well...I will be the first to admit that I am not perfect. I really do believe that each child needs their own manual or user guide. So now Z is eating more but we are still very limited in what he will eat. He just does not like food!

Z is just like me, a grazer. Rather then sitting down to eat three square meals he prefers to eat little bites all day long. For breakfast Z will either eat buckwheat pancakes (no syrup) or monkey toast (cinnamon toast). The pancakes must be buckwheat or Z will not eat them. He likes his pancakes to be brown and earthy (I often mix in squash, sweet potato or pumpkin to give him some extra nutrients). This makes it very difficult when we are out to eat because the pancakes there are usually made with white flour. He paws at them and looks at you with this face of disgust.

Z is very slow to eat his breakfast. It takes him about an hour and a half from start to finish. This meal is eaten while playing or sitting on the couch with me. It is the one meal he is free to roam with and thus it is the happiest meal of our day.

For lunch Z eats disgusting, processed chicken fingers. This was a mistake I made early on when trying to get him to eat solid foods. I gave him a chicken finger while we were out to eat and was very surprised when he actually ate it. Now he will only eat chicken nuggets if they look processed. I often buy the $6.00 boxes of all natural chicken nuggets and try to mix them in with his other nuggets. He pushes them away because they are not orange like his favorite nuggets. Even if I take the coating off...he can still tell the difference between all natural chicken and his horrible processed nuggets. I have even made my own nuggets...these were just tossed onto the floor......what to do???

At dinner Z eats a lactose free cheese stick, a container of vegetables (still baby food) and either egg salad or applesauce. Yes you read it right, the child loves egg salad. He doesn't really like scrambled eggs anymore but lives for egg salad! He won't eat it on bread but eats it right out of his bowl. So strange but it is delicious.

Snack time is fine in our house. Z loves to nibble on bananas, grapes, strawberries, oranges, Newman's Own Organic Cereal (the green box) and crackers. We have no problems with his snack choices and he seems to like a wide variety of healthy things. Thank goodness!

So that is my picky toddler and his limited menu. It is so funny to talk to my friends and hear about the different foods that their children love. One little girl only eats scrambled eggs and pasta, one will only eat yogurt, French toast and plain bagels and another little boy eats lemons! And then there are the kids that will eat everything you put on their plate! This is such a funny age and I just hope Z is getting the nutrition that he needs (at least he is getting a vitamin).

Chemical Free Cleaning Supplies and Roast Chicken

Okay, I know that these two topics sound a little strange (especially together) but I have a reason for putting them together....trust me!

Yesterday at the store I bought a fresh chicken to roast. It was not that expensive at all (under $6.00) and the plan was that Scott would cook it so that we would have chicken for dinner and for sandwiches during the week. Well Scott got sidetracked doing errands and so yours truly was in charge of the bird! Now as I mentioned before, I was a vegetarian for 9 years. I gave up red meat in high school and all other meat in college. I did have to start eating fish due to health reasons but I only started eating chicken when I was pregnant with Z (still no red meat for me). Needless to say I have never prepared a whole chicken before. This was quite the experience!!! During the process I debated going back to my vegetarian lifestyle :( I felt the need to apologize to the bird as I gave him a bath in apple cider vinegar and patted him dry.

I used a Reynolds Oven bag to cook my 7 lb chicken which was so easy! I seasoned it with EVOO, salt, pepper, rosemary and some poultry seasoning. I am always very careful when working with raw meat. I make sure that only a few surfaces are used and I have everything on hand that I would need so that I am not opening cabinets with my contaminated hands. After I put the bird in the oven I washed my hands and went to town scrubbing our kitchen.

Here is where the Chemical Free Cleaning Supplies come into play.

For years now, S and I have been using all natural cleaning supplies in our home. We do have some bottles of soft scrub etc. for those occasions where the natural cleaner won't do the trick but for everyday cleaning we use the natural cleaners. We have found many brands that we like but recently I hit the jackpot! S's best friend, Uncle J, started a cleaning business called Green Clean Maine. If you are in Portland, Maine I highly suggest you look them up. They do a fantastic job and clean with homemade remedies created by Uncle J himself. He brought me some of these cleaners when he last visited and I am in love! They work so well and I know that they are completely safe to use around Z. He does not yet sell them to the public but as soon as he does I will tell you where you can get them. They are so great!!! Thanks Uncle J :)

Well 2 1/2 hours later we had the most delicious chicken! Even Z (who doesn't eat anything) was devouring it!! Scott then decided to take the carcass and make a soup (he is is mother's child). Before I knew it he had a huge pot of the most delicious chicken and rice soup simmering. We now have enough food for 3 or 4 days...all for $6.00 (maybe $7.00 if you add the rice, carrots and onion he used in the soup). We plan to do this every couple of weeks now.

Well it was a wonderful Sunday meal and I can't wait to eat chicken soup tonight. We finished our dinner off with a banana cream pie in honor of S's 1/2 birthday (a blog post for another day). I hope you all had a wonderful weekend :)

First Cake for Z!!!

This past weekend the whole family went to a 1st birthday party for a good family friend. Z went with no nap but had a blast playing with the other kids, running after the balloons and checking out all of the new toys! He especially loved the goody bag he got...the perfect bag for a one year old. The biggest highlight for me (and I think Z too) was watching him eat his first cupcake!

Z has many food issues and as a baby was unable to digest milk or soy. Since I breastfed him for the first year of his life, that meant that I could not have any of these foods as well. Do you realize how many foods contain soy? I challenge you to go to your cabinet and look for 5 foods without some derivative of soy. It is really difficult to do!

Z drinks rice milk instead of whole milk or formula. We have been experimenting lately with adding in milk and soy into his diet. We have been trying foods where milk and soy are cooked into the food. These trials have worked at times and backfired at other times.

At his own first birthday Z had a banana vegan cake made with a rice milk frosting glaze. He did like it but it was not the kind of cake you can really get into and mash all over your face. So at the party we decided to let him try a cupcake. This cupcake had Elmo on the top and was covered in yummy, sugary frosting! Z had a blast. He ate the entire thing, was covered from head to toe in cupcake (as was I because I was holding him). It was so much fun to watch :)

Thanks for a great party C Family! You did a wonderful job and we were honored to be there!

Eating Out With Toddlers

Well lately I try to avoid taking Z to restaurants if I can help it. This is pretty easy to do since we don't have the money to be eating out right now. However, on occasion we do find ourselves at a restaurant with our sweet baby boy. In fact, Z and I have been out to eat twice in the last two days and it has been an adventure!

Back in the day I loved to take Z out to eat. He would lay in his carrier or sit in the high chair and chomp on a teething biscuit. Everyone would comment on how cute and well behaved he was and it was really fun to show him off ;) Now the game has changed! It is all about how fast can we get our food so that we can get out of the restaurant before we bother the people around us. What is the point?

About 6 months ago (after Z started walking) I vowed to never take him out to eat without another capable adult. This made my grandmother very sad because we use to be her ticket to lunch every two weeks. Eating out with Z has to be a tag team event. One person eats (or inhales) while the other tends to feeding/entertaining Z. Then the person who ate (and now has indigestion) takes Z for a stroll around the restaurant as the second person gets to inhale their food (sometimes alone). What fun!!!! As a compromise to my grandmother, who was not able to participate in the tag team event, we bring take-out to her house and let Z run around while we try to eat. It seems to work but she misses getting out and about.

Well my grandmother is off to Florida for the rest of the winter so the last two days have been about goodbye celebrations. Yesterday we went to lunch and today breakfast. Z is an extremely picky eater (I will address this in an upcoming entry) and proceeded to throw most of his meals onto the floor. He has also started this loud squealing thing when he thinks you are not paying attention to him and so he would do this (much to the enjoyment of the fellow patrons). I love to go out to eat but after eating out the last two days....I really do not see the point of taking a toddler (especially mine) out to a restaurant. I am a person who likes to relax, have a glass of wine and a good conversation. When Z is there the meal is very fast paced and chaotic. We get so many looks from the people around us and the wait staff seemed "thrilled" to have a toddler in their section :)

So family and friends....please know that as much as we love going out to eat, I think we are going to take a break for awhile. When Z is involved, take-out is everyones best option :)

Losing Weight With A Toddler....

As I mentioned before, I am now participating in a family/friends "Biggest Loser" competition. I have the last of my baby weight to lose and S and I are trying so hard to get in shape for our upcoming vacation and the three weddings I am in (he is in one of them). The last 10 pounds are always the toughest to come off! I have been sporting them for well over a year now and I am in a vicious cycle where I will lose a few and then gain a few...it is such a struggle.

Because of the competition I have devoted Z's nap time to working out and because of it everything else has gone by the way side. It is hard when you only have 2 hours to yourself during the day (if that) to decide what to do (I feel another blog entry coming on). When you devote an hour to working out, you only have one hour to shower, eat, do laundry, clean, make dinner, write a blog entry etc. I do like focusing on myself though and because I have been working out I have soooo much more energy to play with Z.

Before Z, I was a runner. I loved to race (nothing too long) and was part of a running club. After he was born and I was given the go ahead to run....it was too cold and dark to really get back into it. I did run off and on in the summer, with Z in the BOB stroller, but I found myself always making excuses to not run (too hot, Z was tired, I was tired etc.). So now I have started my FIRM workouts again and try to run at least once a week. I plan to really kick the running into gear in the spring and get back out there and race. I think I might even try to join the local running club....we shall see.

The biggest challenge I find right now is food!!! I have started the Weight Watchers program again. With money being tight, I can't afford to go to meetings right now. I did keep all of my WW stuff from the past and so I am following the program from home. The meetings are one of the best things about WW and with the help of the meetings I earned my lifetime member award back in 2004 :) I plan to return to WW once I get back within two pounds of my goal weight (then it will be free for me).

Food becomes my enemy between 3-7pm. Once I am done with my workout, I am so hungry!!!! I can't stop snacking. It is also so hard to not finish Z's food. I have always been a member of the clean plate club and those last few pieces of chicken nugget call out to me as I go to throw them away! It is such a bad thing to be doing. I snack on his pretzel goldfish, eat some of his animal crackers, take bites of his toast....it is out of control. They need to have a support group for people who eat off their toddler's plate.

I have made a vow to get it under control and it has been a little better this week. I compromise and eat one piece of chicken nugget and then throw the rest away (baby steps :)). The fact is I am going to have to do something because before you know it I will be as big as a whale!

So to all you moms out there trying to lose the rest of the baby weight...I am right there with you :) I think all I need is Weight Watchers, the Firm workouts and a little will power to stay away from Z's plate. If I stick with all three of those things I should be able to get to my goal without too much trouble and maybe even win the Biggest Loser competition. I will keep you posted (5 lbs down--the holiday weight......10 more to go)!