Did You Say Vegetable Gummies?

Everyone comes up with crazy resolutions when it’s a new year. I keep hearing people around me say:

“I’m going to get healthy this year” or “I’m going to eat better this year” and the most famous one “I’m going to start an exercise and diet program.” 

All of these things can be good and are beneficial to everyone, however about 8% of the individuals who make these resolutions, actually stick to them and succeed.  This is a very low statistic and yet the choice is very simple, and can be very easy. It truly is just mind over matter and a few small adjustments.

I am always looking for ways to help my family stay healthy, and keep sicknesses at bay, but aren’t we all? I pour over research studies on all kinds of supplements, vitamins and ways to provide a healthier living for myself and my family. I have been using a product for the last 6 months that has truly been my daily breakfast. I have blogged about it before, and I credit my success in Ironman training to using Vive  as my breakfast shake and then for recovery after long workouts. I continue to us this product to this very day.

I also take a multi vitamin on a daily basis, but so does Hot Hubs and my teenage boys. With sickness and disease always in the back of my mind, I often wonder if we are doing enough. We are extremely healthy eaters here at Casa Rosser, and I buy all Organic 99% of the time. We bone up on extra Vitamin D in the winter months as well as Vitamin C in efforts to remain healthy. It wasn’t until a few months ago that I was asked to try out a whole food vitamin, that would essentially provide me with the exact amount of fruits and vegetables that our bodies require on a daily basis. Of course my argument was,

“Oh, that sounds great but you know we eat uber healthy, and I take a multi vitamin.” 

The end result of this conversation was two packages of Juice Plus Fruit & Vegetable Gummies. I was given a months supply to try out to see how I liked it.  Never mind that the gummies themselves tasted amazing,  but how I was eating garlic, broccoli, parsley, beets, etc., in these chewable round balls of goodness was beyond me! And no more added supplements, just these fabulous soft little gum drop like gummies.

After eating these incredibly delicious vitamins everyday, and hearing how something so simple could revolutionize my life as an asthmatic, I was all ears to hear more. The benefits are astounding as the clinical trials and testimonies speak for themselves. I have asthma really bad, and anytime I get a common cold, it automatically turns into bigger issues. I get violently ill, and it takes me weeks to recover, not to mention a few doctors visits, with a round of steroids and a list of medications and inhalers. The clinical trials have shown that Juice Plus has helped dramatically with inflammation in ones body.

Umm…. HELLO…… asthma is a form of inflammation! 

The statistics associated with those who have used Juice Plus for four months and longer absolutely spoke for themselves. My 14 year old teenage son has been taking Juice Plus for several months now and his acne has dramatically improved, to the point where others were noticing. What also got my attention was how the use of Juice Plus after a period of time, actually regenerates red blood cells in ones body! To read more about this research and ongoing research, just click on this link: Juice Plus

Bottom line is this. I am always open to how I can help myself and my family live a healthier lifestyle. However I am a very cautious person and don’t just jump on the current bandwagon. I can honestly say I have been been watching many friends for the course of 5 years, take Juice Plus and have amazing testimonies to share. The results are speaking for themselves. I have been traveling on air planes, in and out of hotels, been around many sick people, including my own sister when she had strep throat (the first 48 hours prior to her going to the doctor), and I am here to share with you all I have not gotten one form of illness.

I am going into my fourth month of taking Juice Plus Fruits & Vegetable vitamins, and I’m excited to see how the next four months pan out. Because of my current results, Hot Hubs and all three of our boys are now also taking Juice Plus!

By no means was this blog post meant to be an infomercial but simply share with you all what I’ve been doing to help my body shy away from sickness and obtain optimum health.

So instead of pledging to live a healthier lifestyle, and eat better, why not actually DO IT?! Making healthy choices is simple. Try spending 30 minutes everyday doing something active like walking with your spouse, a neighbor or a friend, and know what you’re feeding your body each day.  Lastly, add a daily dose of healthy whole food vitamins. Wether it’s Juice Plus or not, do yourself a favor and read the clinical research that has been done on Juice Plus.

I did and I’m never looking back!

Need more information? I’m just a blog post away.

Stronger Than That Young Girl

Today I heard a song and it touched me to the core. It’s being played on all the radio stations, and what captured me was one simple word….

Beautiful.

Ironically Hot Hubs and I were just explaining to our teenage boys, that girls can be very sensitive when it comes to bodily image. We had a deep discussion about this, to which they replied “Really?” That’s the difference between boys and girls.  Sure, boys are in tune with themselves and their image, but not like girls.

I am a grown woman, with a family, and I am still very sensitive about this subject as well. It’s a constant battle that is alway waging in my head. I am very confident and happy with my bodily image, however I am very conscious of it all the time. I don’t think it truly ever is something that goes away. After all, society fuels this from social media to magazines, and so forth. It’s plastered in our faces 24/7. The quest to be thin is everywhere.

Take this lyrics to the song, an excerpt below:

“Scars To Your Beautiful“

“She has dreams to be an envy, so she’s starving
You know, covergirls eat nothing
She says beauty is pain and there’s beauty in everything
What’s a little bit of hunger?
I could go a little while longer, she fades away
She don’t see her perfect, she don’t understand she’s worth it
Or that beauty goes deeper than the surface
Oh, oh
So to all the girls that’s hurting
Let me be your mirror, help you see a little bit clearer
The light that shines within

There’s a hope that’s waiting for you in the dark
You should know you’re beautiful just the way you are
And you don’t have to change a thing, the world could change its heart
No scars to your beautiful, we’re stars and we’re beautiful”

I never really had listened to this song before until today. I had just left a doctor’s appointment where I was told I had gained 3 lbs since my visit in October. I left the office stunned. Not stunned that I had gained 3 lbs, but stunned that it was brought up as an issue! Seriously? Never mind that I have been training for over a year for an Ironman Race, and have simply taken some much-needed time off from the vigorous training! I explained I was still running and exercising, but not a the level of 5 hours per day for 6 days per week!

After a quick text to Hot Hubs, that I typed through tears, I turned the radio on and low and behold the song “Scars To Your Beautiful” came on. The word “beautiful” got my attention. It was perfect timing, as I was feeling low at this moment, wondering what I’m doing that’s so wrong. I am a very healthy, active woman, and we eat very healthy at every meal. On the occasion that we eat out, I still make healthy choices because it’s simply apart of our everyday lives. It’s not a struggle nor a chore. So today’s discussion at my doctors well visit threw me for a loop.

This beautiful song sung by Alessia Cara was a great reminder to me that young girls, and even women, need to remember that we are worthy, we are beautiful, and we need to love ourselves the way we are. I live my life with these words, but today I was distracted by the words from my doctor, whom I have been seeing for 16 years.

The old saying, “Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is so true. If I allowed words to wreck my world, than I am not thick-skinned enough. Today I was just caught off guard. I know that I am loved, and cherished by my husband of 21 years. So one would ask, why let this bother me? Well, I will leave it at this:

Society paints an image that every girl wants to be. That girl still lives inside of me as a grown woman.

But I am stronger than that young girl, and I know I am strong and beautiful.

That Sauce: Finger Lickin’ Date Sauce

In Florida, we look forward to fall as it means, cooler, beautiful weather, unlike the 90 degree plus humidity temps we are used to all summer long. With that comes all those delicious fall festivals and good eats! I am a sucker for all things fall since I grew up in Atlanta, and just a short drive to Ellijay, GA where all the fabulous apple festivals are held.

It has become a tradition that our family will enjoy dinner in our little quaint downtown area in Winter Garden, FL and feast on great delicacies at Plant Street Market. Inside this great market is Press’d Juice Bar & Kitchen.  I had the wonderful opportunity to have one of their fall smoothies, the Pumpkin Spice Smoothie. To describe to you the burst of raw, vegan delicious flavor would be a travesty as it is one you must personally experience. However, the real surprise was the “caramel sauce” that was drizzled on top. Being Press’d Juice Bar is a vegan bar, I knew this was no ordinary sauce. When I asked what they were drizzling on top of the smoothie, the sweet gal responded that it was “date sauce.”

While I am an all thing organic, fresh, healthy, sometimes raw kind of gal, I have never heard of this!

After I slurped and practically licked my cup clean from that incredible smoothie, I raced home to experiment in making this date sauce. After a few moments surfing the net, I came up with what I feel is a very close recipe to what I experienced in the pumpkin smoothie from Press’d Juice Bar. 

My date sauce whipped up so nicely that it took on the form of a thick, gooey caramel sauce that is absolutely finger licking delicious! Of course the real test came when I offered a plate of sliced tart apples to my teenage boys with a bowl of “caramel sauce” for dipping.

Needless to say, this will be a new staple in our house and the possibilities are endless!

I am a scratch cook sometimes when it comes to experimenting in the kitchen, therefore my recipe has no measured ingredients.

Vegan Date Sauce

3 Handfuls of organic dried pitted Dates

Water

Organic Vanilla Bean (or Organic Vanilla Extract)

Soak dates in water that just covers them for 8-12 hours OR to speed up the process, boil water and pour over dates to just cover them until they get soft. Once they are good and soft, dump the date mixture, and add vanilla bean to the Vitamix. Pulse a few times, then slowly blend increasing intensity and adding water as needed. If you want a thicker sauce, stop when desired consistency is achieved. For a thinner sauce, add water. Blend til smooth and creamy. 

ENJOY!

Just JUMP!

Just JUMP!!!!!

Isn’t this what we’re supposed to do when we get “the call?”

By “the call” I’m meaning step up, take the bull by the reigns. When someone is in need, you drop everything and run to their aid.

Do you jump or are you afraid of the leap? Do you feel safer in your small glass cup versus the much larger glass bowl?

Life in these times (as I call it) are busy. We are busy people. If we’re not busy enough by our own standards, we find things to make us busier! Cue the phone ringing and it’s your dear friend “Grace” who is calling for the tenth time in two hours because she has a need.Do you have enough Grace & Mercy for her or do you ignore the call and let it go to voicemail because your “too busy” at this moment?

*sigh*

I admit I  have those days where I feel I need to put my phone on mute, and just let the caller go to my voicemail, but something stirs in me and alas I answer the call.

After all what if it’s Publisher’s Clearing House calling to say I won a million dollars!

Ha, I’m not THAT lucky!

But more often than not, “that call” does come whether it’s from a family member or a friend, and they need help. Help in the form of encouragement and sometimes physical needs.

You know the saying “Pay It Forward”……

You  never know when your time of need may come into play. Are you going to be the one who drops it all to help another in need? Even if it’s for a long length of time?

What if  YOUR phone call to that one friend is a desperate one, and yet your friend never answers the phone but you get the message to leave a voicemail. Are you too busy to be bothered? My boys are constantly rolling their eyes at me, as they truly believe I have my cell phone growing out of my ear. They may be on the right track, but I find it hard to NOT answer my phone.

WHAT IF……

What if it IS THAT one phone call, and I need to drop everything and run to someones aid? I try to live my life by this simply note:

I recently got “that call” and it came at 6:30 AM. You know when your phone is ringing that early in the morning,  something isn’t right. Your first reaction is usually shock, disbelief, then comes the heart breaking pain. It’s what you do next that can shape the entire tragedy into something beautiful. The glass is not half empty, but half full.

The old saying “It’s better to give than it is to receive” is so true. It IS better to be on the giving end than receiving end isn’t it? Sure I love presents, but to be the one giving the gift with the pure satisfaction of blessing the other individual is nothing short of amazing! One doesn’t need to get any credit for this, as it’s what lies in your heart that is your reward. The feeling you get when you’ve made a difference, or left a fingerprint in someone else’s life, THAT is your reward.

Chew on this….

The Journey Begins….

There is nothing more thrilling than watching your kids play sports, or in my case watching them race in my favorite sport of triathlon. Below is my youngest racing to a 3rd place victory at a recent triathlon race.

Rewind back about eight years ago, when Hot Hubs and I took the boys camping at Disney’s Fort Wilderness. Our first taste of the triathlon sport came by way of the 70.3 Ironman Florida Race. From our campsite you could hear sounds of bells, cheers, and occasionally a horn. This sparked out interest especially since all the ruckus started at the crack of dawn. Witnessing athletes fly by us on their bikes wearing crazy bike helmets (which later I discovered were the best of the best) and zooming by us at breathtaking speed was an adrenaline rush for sure! We were intrigued and wanted a piece of that pie and the rest is history!

Racing should always be fun, and when it’s not fun anymore, than it’s time to hang it up. It’s easy to get caught up in the competition of it all, especially if your racing against friends. No one admit it, but competition amongst friends can be fierce. The older I get, the more I’ve come to realize the prize is not who crosses the finish line first, but just simply completing the race with dignity is what really matters the most. The feeling of accomplishment and  pride. My first taste of triathlon came by way of The Danskin Triathlon. This was just the beginning.

Giving back to the sport, and helping others achieve those dreams of crossing the finish line strong has been in the forefront for me. Coaching a group of athletes with Tri 413  Training Group and watching my kids compete is the icing on the cake. But alas a new fire has been lit underneath me and my  long stretch of a break has come to an end. It is time to get back in the saddle to the tune of 140.6. For those who might be scratching their heads right now, that’s a full Ironman Triathlon of  swim, bike and run with a grand total of 140.6 miles. Yikes that was scary to type!

Time is flying by at a clipped pace, and to continue my dreaming of “What If” is over. I want to be where the action is, feel the wind snaking through my hair, and the warm sun upon my face. HA, who am I kidding? 140.6 miles is no jog in the park, but there’s no time like the present. After all, just like our slogan states so boldly from Hot Chic Sports: Hot Chic’s Do It All. And might I add too, why put off tomorrow what you can do today?

So the journey begins, Hot Chic style of course. 140.6 in 2015 is no easy feat, but I’m ready for the challenge. As a bonus, I’m blessed  to be given the great opportunity to share in this journey with some of the amazing athletes I currently train. Life is a gift, and I don’t want to waste a minute of it. One of my new slogans, and yes I do have quite a few, is simply

Be Intentional…. Live With Intention! 

Take 5

Take 5…. Seriously…. when you are grocery shopping take 5 minutes or less to read the labels of ingredients on the item(s) you are purchasing. I realize not everyone is going to be freakish as I am about organic, but I recently stumbled upon some new information I want to pass along. Since I pretty much have my “list” of frequently purchased items down to fine science, I don’t have to read every label, every-time.  BUT…. and you knew there was a BUT coming, I recently had to purchase sour cream, and was shocked at what I saw on the label. I won’t mention the brand, however I will say it was a brand of a very well-known grocery store chain. Sour cream should pretty much be milk & cream, and not a whole lot of other additives. The generic grocery store brand of sour cream had a list, several lines long, of not just added ingredients but chemicals as well. I was speechless to say the least. My local super market doesn’t carry “organic sour cream” so I was forced at this time to buy the regular version. *Insert  “Would you like some CHEESE with your whine”? * Here is what I found out.

Just so you don’t think I’m rambling just to hear myself ramble, the proof is in the pudding! Here is a snapshot of the carton of  Daisy Sour Cream:

Notice the ingredients are simply “Cultured Cream, Skim Milk, and Vitamin A Palminate”.

And here are the ingredients of the generic store brand sour cream:

 Cultured Cream, contains less than 1% of: Whey Protein Concentrate, Food Starch-Modified, Sodium Phosphate, Maltodextrin, Cultured Dextrose, Sodium Citrate, Gellan Gum, carrageenan, Guar Gum, Calcium Sulfate, Locust Bean Gum, Potassium Sorbate (to preserve freshness).

WOW, shocking huh? I don’t have a snapshot of the generic brand, but I also didn’t want to throw them under the bus either, so you’ll have to trust me on this. Do the research and READ YOUR LABELS! It’s always better to buy organic, however if you cannot than at the very least, read the labels. I would rather put natural, real food into my body instead of added junk that are not necessary.

This was just an example of many. I have stumbled across other products like this one many times. I was only going to save .30 cents if I bought the generic store brand, which is not a huge savings. I am saving more money by buying better products, less chemicals and additives in the long run as my health is a stake. I feel we all need to be made  more aware of what’s going into our bodies than not. I am thrifty, but not at the expense of my long-term health.

Just some food for thought!