Thursday 13 - Useful Websites & Blogs

1. SparkPeople - Free online diet community with blogs, journals, calorie tracking etc.
2. Calorie King - Find the calories to all your favorite foods.
3. Livin La Vida Low Carb - This blog belongs to a man named Jimmy Moore who lost a ton of weight following a low carb diet. He's entertaining to read, inspirational and knowledgeable. (Thanks for the plug Jimmy! - Just returning the favor :-)
4. FitDay - I feel like I can't brag enough about FitDay. The free online journal is awesome in itself but if you haven't already I highly recommend downloading the pc version. I love having my own personal diet journal right on my computer and for the low price (around $20) it is definitely worth it.
5. Aimee's Adventures - Aimee's website has been a favorite of mine for years. She has a ton of great recipes, a blog and there is a free message board too.
6. Full of Faith (or full of food?) - A christian site about overcoming food addiction. I've found some very inspirational things on there.
7. Eating Low with Amy - Here's another one who took the weight off following a low carb plan. She has her own recipes (most of them low carb but yummy) with videos of her actually preparing the recipes.
8. Grocery Coupon Guru - A great blog that posts where to find the latest deals and grocery coupons online.
9. Hungry Girl - Interesting website that deilvers a daily diet digest straight to your inbox in her own fun quirky way.
10. Hassle Me - A new website that offers a free nagging service to remind you to eat healthy and exercise (or anything else you may need nagged about). I haven't tried this one yet but I like the concept.
11. My Virtual Model - Make your own personal virtual model to compare with. See how you'll look at a certain weight or use it to track your progress visually.
12. 3 Fat Chicks - Offers diet advice, articles, recipes, forums, online journals, and much more.
13. Workoutz - Free online exercise videos.

I hate to do this but...

I'm going to have to cancel JOY tonight ladies. I've been having some pretty bad stomach problems for about a week now. I just don't think I'm up to having joy tonight. There are also some severe storms headed this way so everyone can just stay home and be safe tonight. :-)

Please be praying for me. Have a good night and God bless!

Tasty Tuesday - Interesting Fruit & Veggie Facts

INTERESTING OBSERVATIONS ABOUT FRUITS & VEGETABLES

A Coincidence????

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and
radiating lines look just like the human eye...and science shows that
carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four
chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart
and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape
looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that gra
pes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere,
upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are
on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help
develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters fo r brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes,
they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy,
Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically
target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23%
sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls
it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the
skeletal needs of the body.

Eggplant, Avocadoes and
Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the
female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows
that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds
unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound
is this? .... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from
blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical
constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science
has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the
glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help
clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce
tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.


"The news isn't that fruits and vegetables are good for you, it's
that they are so good for you, they can save your life."
David Bjerklie, TIME Magazine, Oct. 2003

Monday Motivation - Trust

Don't gasp or fall over, it really is a current post from me :-). I'm actually home and at the computer at a time convenient to post so I thought I'd put something up today. We will be talking about this at joy tomorrow night but I decided to post it one day early.
In the past few weeks we've been talking about eating fruits and vegetables. We talked about how awesome and wonderful it is to know that there is a God who cared so much for us that he gave each food a specific purpose to our bodies (I will post an interesting email I received on this subject at the end of this post or sometime tomorrow). God is not slack in His care for his children just as we are not slack in caring for our own families. He has given us a bounty of healthy and delicious foods that are not only beautiful to look at but beautiful in the way they work to take care of our bodies. It is amazing to think that something as small as a carrot is full of vitamins and minerals specifically designed for our needs and by eating that carrot we are trusting it to do it's job inside our bodies.
We all have faith in God and we know the right things to do without anyone ever telling us so, but to act on that faith is called trust. You can have the faith and knowledge that something is right for you and that God knows exactly what you need but if you never step out in faith then you are not fully trusting in God. You are not giving the battle over to Him. When we eat the foods God designed specifically for our every need you are telling God, yes, I do trust you! If we continue on the same road we've always been on (i.e. eating unhealthy and unnatural foods) then we will get the same result we've always gotten - unhealthy bodies. God said "here's what I've designed for you to eat, this will make you healthy and give you strength" but instead of trusting that we turn to ourselves and say "no I think this is what I want" and then we are surprised when the end result is not how we expect it to be. It is always a matter of seeking the desires of our own flesh, putting trust in ourselves instead of in God. The bible says to "seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." Seek God first and be amazed when you receive, in faith, the things you've been seeking all along - including a healthy body! The first step is a step of faith. You have to step out on that limb and say ok God, direct my path, I trust you, and no matter how much my attention is swayed to the left or right, I'm still going to trust you. Did you know that there is an actual diet plan laid out in the bible? It's in the book of Daniel. It is a wonderful story of trust:

Daniel 1
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.
And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.
And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes;
Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.
And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.
Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.
And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king.
Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.
Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.
So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.
And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat.
Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.
As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.
And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king.
And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.
And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus.

So for 10 days Daniel ate nothing but pulse, which is a mixture of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and water - foods all created by God's own hands. You see Daniel had to not only trust in God himself but he had to trust in God's creation to help bring him in safety from his situation. Daniel trusted so much in God's plan that he risked his own life to prove that God's ways are better. In the end, for his trust and obedience, he was rewarded with good health, wisdom and knowledge and the respect of the King. When we trust God there is nothing but good to be gained. God does not lead us to harm but rather to the safety of His arms. The process getting there may be a tough long road but the end result is worth every step of the way.

Ruth 2:12
The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.

Tasty Tuesday & Joy Announcement

Wow I can't believe it's July already! I haven't posted in almost a month, but thankfully we are finally finished with school over here so I will hopefully have a little more time to post. For those of you that don't know, I homeschool my children and we were in the last few weeks of crunch time trying to get everything finished. I now have a little breathing room in my stress level but I am still extremely frustrated right now with a lot of things going on. Please keep my family in your prayers!

Anyway I just wanted to remind all of you that we will be meeting at the park tonight for Tennis and Badminton. Hope to see you all there!

Tasty Tuesday - Easy Biscuit Recipe


(Note: This photo is not mine but these are pretty much how the biscuits look. I "borrowed" this one from this site: http://www.yumsugar.com/774382 - Looks like a pretty interesting site. Go check them out!)

Ok I realize that biscuits are not exactly a great food when you're on a diet but sometimes there's a need for those little puffy bread creations - like when you're making low fat gravy and biscuits. I discovered this recipe last week and made them twice for my family and they absolutely loved them. They said they tasted a lot like the biscuits from a local chicken place (Churches). I think this recipe could easily be made using whole wheat flour, liquid egg substitute and skim milk and still turn out just as good.

Dry Ingredients:
2 Cups all purpose flour (for healthier whole grain biscuits substitute whole wheat flour instead)
3 Tsp. Baking powder
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Sugar (This is very minimal in the recipe so I would not worry about it. An alternative sweetener would probably work just as well or you could leave it off all together. I used honey in mine, I like as much natural ingredients as possible.)

Wet Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Milk
1/3 Cup Oil (Corn or canola oils are healthiest. I would not recommend using olive oil as it may alter the taste of the biscuits or even give them an odd taste.)
1 Beaten Egg (Or 1/4 cup liquid egg substitute)

Blend the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the dry ingredients. Stir together lightly.

Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake in a 450° oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

Makes 12 to 14 biscuits

I put a little melted butter and honey over the tops of mine. You could also coat them with a few sprays of the parkay margarine spray or I can't believe it's not butter spray. You could also add some low fat cheese and onions, or just about anything to make unique biscuits. Enjoy!