A Healthier '08

Bocca Burger and BlogHer want to know how we are making a difference in our health this year. One of their essay requirements is keeping it to 250 words or less, too… which effectively excludes me from winning contest right off the bat (I am a tad on the wordy side - which you would know if you read my OTHER blog)… not to mention that I’m pretty sure they won’t allow my WHOLE 4 person family to come to San Francisco for BlogHer ‘08 anyway… and I’m not going without them… so here’s my essay regardless of winnability.

Honestly, HEALTHY LIVING is one of the resolutions that usually slip past my self control and end up on subsequent year’s lists. Up until recently, I didn’t think I could really pull off “living healthier” for any length of time. It wasn’t until I heard about my friend Amy nearly dying in her late 20’s from her allergy to wheat that I started thinking about making some REAL changes to my own diet. I share some of Amy’s milder symptoms that she had before she got involved with her new diet. Hearing about them made me wonder if eating more responsibly might help my own wellbeing… and in turn the health of my family (including my mom who lives with us part of the week and shares some of Amy’s symptoms, too).

I don’t do diets. Any change of mine will have to be a lifestyle change. My first goal is to stop eating so much bread and try and replace much of the wheat we eat with gluten-free or wheat-free products. My husband has already been using the bread machine and I have another buddy who’s son has a wheat allergy that has been giving me tips here and there on what grocery items taste edible that don’t include wheat. Amy is planning to email me a list of approved foods that her doctor has shared with her. She is feeling much better and has lost quite a bit of weight getting off of wheat. It was literally killing her!

Aside from less gluten, decreasing sugars, eliminating cokes and working to rule out any foods that contain wheat or artificial, refined or hydrogenated additives; my other big resolution is to REALLY, TRULY, FOR-REAL-THIS-TIME get outside and be more active. Notice how I didn’t bring up the word ‘e-x-e-r-c-i-s-e’. Sounds too much like exorcism to me and frankly, I hate exercising just to exercise. I'll never be one of those gym-people. Meat market is not my style. What I don’t mind is having fun. Fun includes walking (especially nature walks with my homeschooled kids), playing basketball with our co-op, playing laser tag when we can afford it, and going on field trips that require us to be up and about most of the day. We have already committed to “Green Hour” – ‘No Child Left Inside’ and are starting a nature blog for accountability. We plan to walk and explore each day killing many birds with one stone (figuratively, of course)… our nature walks are PE, science, photography, research (computer), typing and writing skills rolled in to one adventure… and let’s not forget vitamin D if it is sunny outside!

Sorry to disappoint you if you thought I was going to show you how to get thighs or abs of steel in as little as 10 minutes a day while watching Oprah. That just isn't realistic (especially not for me - since I don't do steroids, daytime talk shows, speed... nor do I have a death wish). If I do get out the Denise Austin or Pilates, I will effectively give myself extra credit for sweating in the living room… but I’m certainly not going to REQUIRE it of myself. After all these years (and the seven total times I have done video exercise tapes in my entire life), I know myself better than to resolve about something I have NO passion for what-so-ever. I DO have a desire to be fit… and to enjoy the outdoors with my kids. Finally I have gotten smart enough to channel my resolution for fitness through our Homeschool schedule. It won’t just be mom who is staying healthy, either.

... And I just might find out that NEXT year, I don’t hate exercise so much after all. Ya think? Maybe I’ll even be feeling good enough to fit in those size 6 pants that are stacked up in a pile in the corner of my closet? Nah – I’m not getting my hopes up!

Subscribe to Gathering Manna by Email

Technorati Tags: Bread, Gluten, Diet, Health, Resolution, Weight, Healthy Living, Exercise, Family

Carrot, Egg or Coffee Bean

OK, so this isn't a recipe. But it is a great object lesson using grocery items. Enjoy!

Carrot, Egg or Coffee Bean

A young girl's mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word. In about 20 minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they got soft and mushy. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee.

The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What's the point, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: the boiling water. Each item reacted differently to the adversity it faced.

The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

Here is another way to think of it:

Which am I?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another level?

How do you handle Adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?


Technorati Tags: advice, groceries, life, inspiration, self help, food, adversity, cooking, changes, lessons, recipes, motivation, ideas, stories, learning, personal, attitude