Well..

 It's hotdogs and macaroni at this point...

Living the Good Life

Well, it's been almost three years and so much has changed. I finished nursing school! YAY! I passed my boards and I am officially working as a Neuro/Tele PCU nurse at Banner Boswell. Ryan and I also tied the knot in 2015 and we have another dog named Barkley. I have two beautiful nieces and one more on the way. I went to ITALY (best trip EVER)!!!!! My best friend lives here in Arizona and my parents live close, in a paradise otherwise known as San Diego. Life is good!

Since life has settled a bit I have been able to reevaluate things like my diet and my health without time and money being the major factors. I put on a decent amount of weight during the past couple years and since time for exercise was the last thing on my mind I got out of shape too. I've recently been trying to change my health and I feel SO much better! I'm not going for weight loss, I am going to feel better physically and emotionally. Being a nurse really makes you think twice about what you are doing in your life now to make your later years more enjoyable. I joined the gym and try to go at least three times a week and I am loving it! I typically go to yoga, pilates or spin class because, to be honest, I don't know how to work any of those machines. I did start eating meat again while in school and I will continue to but I make an effort to eat humanely raised animal meat. I am currently finishing up an elimination diet not only to cleanse my body but to narrow down any food sensitivities I might have. I'll be the first to tell you (if you see me regularly you already know ha!) that it is ROUGH! No sugar of any kind, no nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, ect.), no eggs, no dairy, no alcohol, no grains or gluten, no corn, no oil except coconut and olive oil. I am about to start reintroducing things one at a time and I cannot wait! As hard as this cleanse was it was so good for me. I feel great, I am a lot less bloated and my skin has even cleared up a little bit. It has made me realize how I want to continue with my eating habits....

1. SOO much less sugar! Since I cannot live without sweets I am going to try and stay away from processed sugars and desserts and use things such as coconut sugar and dates to make sweets that I can enjoy every so often. 
2. Limit gluten and oats (especially if this ends up being my food sensitivity). Stick with things like rice and quinoa. 
3. Limit dairy (I already know I am sensitive to dairy). I plan on using mostly dairy alternatives. Plus this limits my exposure to all the yucky stuff they put into cows now. 
4. Stay away from processed food. 

 So, I am basically trying to eat clean, buy organic when I can and live moderately Paleo. This doesn't mean I am going to restrict myself on holidays or refuse to eat at other peoples houses or never go out to eat. I am still going to live and enjoy my life, just control what I can and when I can. I think not over restricting myself and being honest about my weaknesses will allow me to start what my mom calls a "live it" and not a diet. ha!

For anyone looking to eat clean food with limited ingredients Trader Joes is THE BEST! They have so many options and carry so many things that you cant find anywhere else.

I have also started back up my use of essential oils around the house. I LOVE them. Every one should use essential oils. They really do have great benefits and most of them smell great!

Next step? Making our house more eco friendly. I know Ryan is really looking forward to that one 😝😝

A New Leaf

Well.. It's been a long time since I have had time to write anything. I almost considered just forgetting about this blog, but I changed my mind.

There has been a lot of changes in my life recently and it made our lives a little bit crazy for the last two months. I have started nursing school, we moved into an apartment and I also pretty much stopped eating meat altogether. Keeping up with all the crazy things they do to the animals and the meat was too much for me. I didn't want to be struggling to find meat at my standards or spend that much money so I just gave it up. Saves me a lot of money, hassle, time and stress. Also, Ryan and I have dropped a few pounds since I began this journey. (Ryan has not given up  meat, just eats a lot less since I am always the one that cooks.) I honestly don't really miss meat at all. There have been a few times when I see a hamburger and think, oh my that looks delicious, but I don't really have a desire to actually follow through and eat it.

Since this is a huge change for me it has taken some time to reconfigure the way I think about my meals, my nutrients and my cooking.  The number one biggest struggle has been making sure I get enough protein, as well as Ryan who needs almost twice as much as I do. When we first started I found that both him and I were experiencing protein deficiency symptoms. We felt weak and tired mostly. I started doing a lot of research on things I can eat that have a lot of protein, and how I can integrate that into my daily habits and cooking. I find myself having to integrate some form of protein into every meal to make sure I am getting enough. I try to daily eat items like greek yogurt, cheese, almonds, soy, quinoa, eggs, rice and beans or sprouted grains. I also occasionally eat seafood when we go out to eat or the budget has a little wiggle room.  The other issue I have encountered in this journey is that I am so focused on making sure I get enough protein that I forget about making sure the rest of my diet is balanced. Luckily my mother ingrained "fresh" food with every meal so I continue to include it. (fruits and veggies)

Overall I am loving it. I never thought taking meat out of my diet was something I would be able to do but it's been a pretty smooth and enjoyable transition! I also feel amazing. It has forced me to open my mind a little more about cooking and that has been really enjoyable. Ryan has been loving the meals, even the meatless "chicken" strips! haha

Here are a couple of our favorite recipes so far:

Just Spanish rice, black beans and vegetables.

Quinoa Chili by Damn Delicious - Freezable!

Chili Cheese Spagetti Squash by Kitchen Treaty

Butternut Squash Baked Risotto by Martha Stewart - Seriously YUM!!! Crowd pleaser!

Roasted Butternut Squash Enchilada Cassarole - Thanks Jenny for introducing us to this!

Tortellini with Lemon and Brussels Sprouts by Martha Stewart - EASY AND DELIC! (Last time we had this Ryan told me that brussels sprouts are now his favorite vegetable, and that he likes it even more than broccoli!)

My Efforts to Eat More Naturally – Meat and Dairy

There is a lot of information out there about what is healthy, what will make you lose weight, and what
better for you. It is really hard to keep up! How are we supposed to separate the good information
from the bad? It is almost impossible. I’ve decided that I want to stick to the side of simple, pure and
unprocessed. It is almost impossible to completely avoid processed foods but here are some rules I try
hard to stick to as often as I can.


The first thing I started trying to cut out was meat and dairy from mass producing farms. It is truly scary
how these animals are being treated, let alone what they are being fed! I believe in the circle of life and
animal food chains but what farming has become scares me. (Modern Day Meat iModern Day Meat Industry) Here are some things I have slowly started implementing into my shopping for meat and dairy

• First and foremost, I have cut down on our meat consumption because of the cost of 

buying meat to my standards, and the rising prices. If you can afford it (or aren’t as

cheap as I am), more power to you, but I also don’t really think we need as much meat

as we are used to consuming.

• I try and shop for meat that is free from antibiotics, hormones and steroids. Grass fed 

for beef, if possible. If you can source your meat from a local trusted farm DO SO! Not

only are you eating meat without any risky stuff, IT TASTES SO MUCH BETTER! You really

can just smell the difference when you open the package and start cooking it. It almost

makes me sad that most people will never get to taste the difference. Another good

option is to find a butcher or deli in your area that sells meat from small local farms with

high standards.

• I try to avoid lunch meat and bacon with fillers and preservatives. 

• I TRY to buy chicken and eggs that are free range and grain fed from companies that are not so big 

that they seriously mass produced. If you know someone who has chickens they would

probably be more than willing to supply you with some eggs. Or maybe you are up to the

challenge of owning some? Definitely worthwhile if possible. Also, don’t get sucked into

the general thought that free range chickens are brown... That has nothing to do with it.

The color of the eggs is based on the color of the chicken!

•  I don’t do too well with dairy so I don’t have to worry about being too picky with milk. 

If you do prefer milk from cows, go for whole unprocessed milk from cows that are not

treated with antibiotics or hormones. I just buy almond milk and use it in place of milk

for almost everything. I buy organic Greek yogurt, which I also use plain in place of sour

cream. When I buy cheese I have started buying it at the deli counter at the grocery

store. Their natural brand cheese is made from cows not treated with hormones or

antibiotics and they never use fillers or preservatives. Our one cheat is ice cream. We can’t seem to do

without some good ice cream. Just being honest! OM NOM NOM

• My new venture is going to be buying butter from grass fed cows. It is much pricier but 

from the research I have done it is worth it! We have always been fed the idea that

butter is bad for you and needs to be avoided, but honestly, in moderation, butter from

grass fed cows is really good for you! It’s the processed butter and the margarine we

should try to avoid. I can’t seem to find this at my local grocery store but I have

found some at Sprouts I am going to try.

• When I go out to eat and I do not know if their meat is up to my standards, I try to look 

at different options like vegetarian or seafood.


I started with meat and dairy because they make up such a huge part of our diets and a lot of the meat
is beyond scary. I am disgusted with what the overdose of hormones has done in general to society and I am TERRIFIED of the repercussions of the overuse of antibiotics through our meat. We would
think twice about a doctor who had us taking antibiotics every day, so why are we okay with consuming
it every day through our meat?

I am all about just doing what you can with what you have. I am not always perfect but sticking to my
rules about meat and dairy is the most important to me. I wonder at what point profit outweighed the
health and safety of our people. It gets a little bit overwhelming, doesn't it?

A Little Bit More About Me and What I Am About

I suppose I am starting this blog as an outlet. An outlet to share my passions, success, frustrations and just out right failures. It has been about two years now that I have slowly been realizing the importance of living a more natural lifestyle and getting back to the basics of what God has given us to sustain ourselves and not what man has deemed important for the sake of ease and profit. The more I read about how mass produced food and products are made and all of the potential harms, the more sickened I get. At the same time, it gives me more drive to continue down my path of holistic nutrition and health.

To be honest, sometimes it feels like the frustrations are endless. The cost of buying organic, the cost of buying whole foods, the time and effort of making homemade food, restaurants not having food up to your standard, and even the guilt of occasionally getting off track because of hustle and bustle of life or because of budget needs. Luckily for me I have an amazing man who supports my decisions, even if he doesn't realize their importance. He trusts my judgement to do what's best for us and our current little family. I also have an amazing support system with a few friends, and family members (when I speak of my family I include my family and Ryan's family).

I am going to try to record my path of slowly but surely creating a more natural lifestyle with the honesty of our struggles. We are two busy adults on a budget who are just trying to do the best we can. My dream is to someday live somewhere in countryside and be almost completely self sustainable, living off of and appreciating what we have been blessed with... let's see where life takes us!