DIY Elderberry Syrup

In the winter months our family likes to add elderberry syrup to our daily regimen. It's a fantastic way to boost to immune system because let's face it; there are a lot of germs and illnesses floating around. Now matter how healthy you eat, we don't get as much natural vitamin D in the winter months here in the Midwest especially, and a little boost never hurts.

Most years I have purchased our syrup online or from a local natural foods store, but it's not exactly cheap. Plus I'm always leery about the added sugars in some brands and prefer not to have that included. Bad bacteria in our guts feed off of the sugar and it sets you up for getting sick, so I'd just rather eliminate cane sugar as much as possible especially during the winter.

If you can get your hands on dried elderberries, I've found that it's actually really cost effective to just make your own. I found mine at our local Natural Grocers, but you can also find them on Amazon if you don't have anywhere local to find them. I promise, if you just give yourself 90 minutes at most on a weekend or whenever you have the extra time; it will be worth your while.

Let me explain a little bit about why I think you should be adding a dose of elderberry syrup daily:

• Not only does it boost the immune system, but it can help shorten the duration of a cold. Studies have shown that a cold can be reduced by up to two days with the use of elderberry, as well as the symptoms seem to be less severe.

• It has also been shown to reduce inflammation, due to its high vitamin A and C content, along with anthocyanin (antioxidant).  You may also see some relief in allergies while using elderberry as well.
• Can help with constipation
• Promotes healthy skin because of the high Vitamin A and antioxidant content
• May improve cardiovascular health, along with high blood pressure

Hopefully by now I've convinced you to at least try it out. We're early enough into the season, try an experiment and see if adding a little elderberry helps keep the bugs at bay this winter. If you're really up for the challenge, I encourage you to try making your own at home. You will need a sweetener when making this, and I prefer to use a good source of local honey. Yes honey is sugar, but when it's locally sourced it has so many wonderful benefits as well for our bodies. 

I can't wait for you to try this, be sure to let me know how it goes!

DIY Elderberry Syrup

Ingredients:

3/4 cup dried elderberries

3 cups water

1/2 cup good quality honey

Directions:

Place dried elderberries and water in a saucepan, bring to a boil on the stove.  Once the mixture comes to boil, reduce heat to a steady simmer and let cook for 1 hour. Mixture will be reduced by about half. 

Remove from heat and let cool for several minutes. 

Strain syrup into a bowl, pressing the juice out of the berries using the back of a wooden spoon. This will help to get all of the nutrients out of the berries. Discard the berries.

Mix in honey until well dissolved and transfer to jars. The mixture will not be a thick syrup, but that's okay. You can mix in 1/4 cup more honey or so to thicken if you'd like. 

Store elderberry syrup in the fridge for up to 3 months. Makes about 10 ounces. 

For use: children take 1 teaspoon daily, adults 1 tablespoon. If you have a cold or the flu; you can double your dose for extra benefits.

Take Back the Kitchen Series

Gosh, it's been awhile! Almost a full year. I've missed writing. A lot! Even though I'm very much active on social media, it feels good to be sitting here typing away. I've missed writing blog posts and it's something I really am ready to jump back into. I hope you're ready!

I told you all about how I was feeling a little frustrated with some of my family's eating habits and what was being brought into the house. Yes, I do the majority of the grocery shopping. I take the blame. I also am pointing fingers at the hubby. The girls sure do know how to work him over!

Regardless, we're putting some brakes on. I declared, mama's taking back the kitchen!

What does that exactly mean for you and your family this July?

Well, whatever you want it to be. I'm hoping you'll join forces with me and take back YOUR own kitchens! It can look different for everyone, and I encourage small steps.

Maybe you will cut back or eliminate pop or soda in your house, and encourage more water instead.
Begin reading labels more and paying attention to ingredients.
Cooking at home more often.
Taking family walks in the evenings.
Having each child or family member choose a new vegetable or fruit to try each week.

And, maybe you're not going to be quite ready to embrace this as a whole family. As parents, it's important that we are taking care of ourselves first and foremost. So that we can be around and be at our best for our children. It's okay if you focus on making some of these changes in yourself first, and then in your family when the timing is right.  It's just important that you start.

What can you expect from me in July?

Well, my hope is to bring you recipes, valuable information and tools that you can use in your own busy lives to become even just a little bit healthier. We are all at different points in our lives and that's okay.

I plan to share new recipes in all food categories: breakfast, lunches, dinner, snacks and even side dishes. I'll be sharing some new healthier spins on some of my favorites as well.

I will also be covering the importance of learning to read food labels and what that can do for your family's health.

Dealing with picky eaters, getting your family to drink more water, dinners on the go, what happens when we allow ourselves to survive on so much sugar. I've got it all covered!

Monday, Wednesday and Friday will be new post days for this July series. I hope you are as excited as I am! If there's anything else you'd like me to cover and incorporate, leave me a comment below.

Are you ready? Let's join hands and take back our kitchens, together! You never have to do this alone!

Meal Prep: Buffet Style { $25 Visa Gift Card Giveaway!}

Meal prep has become the new freezer cooking. For years everyone was obsessed with adding meals and meal components to their freezers so they could quickly pull out supper each night to thaw and reheat for their families. When moms would have a new baby, we would arm them with tons of meals so they wouldn't have to worry about cooking for a week or longer. I was very much apart of that movement. In a way, I still do some of those things.

Now, all I read and hear about it meal prep. I see magazine worthy photos of fridges stacked with containers upon containers of prepped food ready to go for the week. Simply grabbing one and going about your day. Is this something you've tried to help in simplifying your own busy schedule?

I think it can be an overwhelming thought for sure when it comes to getting started with meal prep. There's so much information out there, and you probably think you need to have a whole week's worth of meals in the fridge ready to go. While, you can certainly do that and maybe that's what works best for you. It's not the only way.

Buffet style is one that I choose to implement in my own house, and one that I've done for several years now. Some weeks are better than others, but I always try to make sure we have a couple things at least ready to go. What on earth do I mean by buffet style meal prep? I'm talking about having foods like hard boiled eggs, cut up veggies and fruits, roasted root veggies, grilled chicken, prepared quinoa and brown rice all prepared and in separate containers in the refrigerator. When it comes time to eat, you can choose from a variety of foods you have prepared to create your lunches, etc. If you're not one that wants to eat the same exact dish for multiple days, then this would definitely give you the potential for more variety.

So, where do I start?

I think it's important to think about your own personal schedule for the week, your family's needs and what you all like. This will help you to determine which foods will be best to have prepped. You can certainly make up some soups, chili's or casseroles/one dish meals so those are ready to be reheated.

Here are just a few ideas for you to consider as you begin your own meal prep:

Protein:
Grilled/Roasted Chicken
Browned ground beef/turkey (seasoned taco meat would be great)
Hard, boiled eggs
Turkey bacon
Cottage cheese
Yogurt

Whole Grains/Carbs:
Roasted sweet potatoes or regular potatoes
Quinoa
Brown rice
Black beans
Oatmeal
Pasta

Veggies/Fruits:
Roasted veggies: Brussels sprouts, broccoli, squash, etc
Spinach/kale, washed and ready to go
Salads
Cauliflower rice: prepackaged is just fine!
Fresh made salsa (makes for a great salad dressing)
A variety of cut up fruits and raw veggies

Healthy Fats:
Mini guacamole cups or homemade
String cheese or any cheese portioned out
Almonds, cashews, pistachios portioned into small containers


If you begin with even a couple of items from each of the categories, you'll be able to put together some really healthy meals for your day. It will help to reduce stress, save you some money and save time.

Let's go over a few meal pairings for you:

Grilled chicken, brown rice, roasted broccoli
Hard boiled egg, oatmeal, fresh fruit
Mini guacamole cup, raw bell pepper strips, apple slices
taco seasoned ground turkey, salad w/salsa, black beans, strawberries

I hope that gives you a better understanding of how buffet style meal prep works. Let me know how it goes for you, especially if this is a whole new concept for you. I'd be interested in hearing what you think.

And now for that Visa gift card giveaway I mentioned in the title. For the past eight weeks I've been participating in the Live Healthy Iowa's ten-week wellness challenge. We're getting down to the end and it's been a great experience.

My team sponsor, Iowa Food and Family Project has sponsored this post and is giving one of my readers a $25 Visa gift card. How great is that?! To enter, head over to the Facebook page to enter. I will have a pinned post at the top, you will answer the question there and be entered.  I will draw one winner on Wednesday, March 21st.  Good luck!


A big thank you again to the Iowa Food and Family Project for another great experience with the Live Healthy Iowa Challenge. I always love being apart of this team!

5 Ways to Improve Your Health This Week

Can we just sit down for a moment and talk about how quickly the beginning of the new year is going? Holy cow. Time needs to slow down for this mama, I'm not ready for graduation to be upon us so soon.

I mentioned a few weeks ago about my teaming up with a handful of other Iowa bloggers for the Live Healthy Iowa wellness challenge. It's my third year participating, representing the Iowa Food and Family Project's team and it's something I always enjoy. If you live here in Iowa, I'm sure you might have heard of this ten week challenge. It's really a fun way to kick off the new year and have a friendly competition while getting a little bit healthier.

Are you one that made some goals or resolutions in the new year? If you're like most Americans, then maybe you've already long forgotten about those and fell off the wagon a bit. Or maybe you're still cruising along, crushing them each week. I hope so!

It's easy to get overwhelmed when trying to create a healthier lifestyle. Everyone wants to overhaul their life in one day. And then they wonder why they get frustrated and quit. Begin by taking small steps, little changes at a time and then build upon those each week. Today I want to share with you five simple things you can be doing to really drastically improve your own health. No, you don't need to implement all of them right away. Maybe you already do most of these and then, I applaud you. Keep going!

1. Move your body most days of the week: Exercise, it's that simple. Maybe that means attending a group fitness class or joining a gym. At home fitness might work best for you. Walks in the evening with the family. Doing a few squats and push-ups when you have five spare minutes. Whatever you can fit into your schedule, just do it. You'll feel better and have more energy when you do.

2. Add at least one serving of vegetables and fruits to your meal plan each day: No, it's really not a lot in comparison to what you should be eating each day. But, it's a start. And it might be the only fresh produce that some get. Start slow and then build upon that each week. There's bound to be at least one veggie and fruit that you like.

3. Drink your water! You should be aiming to drink half of your body weight in ounces of water each day. So, if you weigh 140 pounds, then you should be drinking at least 70 ounces of water every day. And I'm going to say that's water only. I'm not counting coffee, tea or other beverages in that amount. Water is really the cheapest way for you to improve your health and even lose weight. It helps to keep you hydrated of course, flushes out toxins in your body, regulates your digestion and improves the quality of your skin.

4. Practice a little self-care: This will look different for everyone. Think about what you love to do, and simply do more of it. Give yourself some time to read before bedtime. Take an afternoon nap. Relax in the bathtub with some Epsom salts. Little things like that. Take care of yourself so you can be at your very best for your family and those around you.

5. Get enough sleep each night: I realize everyone is in different seasons in their lives. But it's so important to your health to be getting a good amount of sleep. Have you ever paid attention to your eating habits when you're really tired? You end up craving more junk and not making very good food choices. If you're exercising, sleep is important so that your muscles can rest and recover. Plus we are able to function better in our day when we've had an adequate amount of rest.

These are really not rocket science or anything new. I know you've heard them all. Hopefully they are things you are practicing on most days, but I also know there's always room for improvement. We should strive to be a little bit better each day!

Being apart of the 10-week challenge, these are really things that we're all working on right now. As team members we are all working together to cheer each other on as we document our daily activity minutes, weight loss and just overall physical wellness. My team sponsor, Iowa Food and Family Project has so graciously offered to give three of my readers each a $10 gift certificate towards any fresh beef or pork purchase of their choice!

I'm going to make this super simple for you to enter: simply leave me a comment below and let me know which healthy task you are going to work on executing in your own life? I can't wait to read all of your responses! I will leave the giveaway open until Sunday, March 4th. At that time I will draw three winners at random and notify them of their winnings.

Lastly, a big thank you to Iowa Food and Family for sponsoring our team again this year and also for the pork and beef certificates. I truly appreciate the opportunity to gift these to my readers!

2018: A Year for Celebrating

Have you started to make plans for the new year yet? Writing down your goals and ambitions? One thing I love about this time of year is taking the time to really map out how I want the following year to go for myself and my family. In addition to writing down all of our goals, I have recently started to choose a theme word for the year. One simple word that I can focus on and remind myself of often.

It started a couple years ago, when for 2016 I wanted to focus on finding joy in each and every moment. "Choose Joy" was my mantra for the whole year, no matter what was happening. After living through some very painful and emotionally hard months the year before, it was just what I needed. And so I did, I sought out to have a joyful spirit as much as possible.

This year for 2017 my word was "Focus". I suppose I was being a little selfish of myself when I first chose this year's theme; but I wanted to focus on a lot of different areas in my life. Mainly focusing on myself, improving my health and continuing this fitness journey. It has brought me happiness and so it was important that I continued to focus on that feeling and moving forward. That focus has helped me to build a part time business this year helping other busy women improve their health and to also have the courage to become a certified group fitness instructor.

And so, for the upcoming year, I am choosing "Celebrate" as my word and theme. It is going to be a wonderful year of celebrating so many great things in our life! Our oldest daughter is graduating high school. Josh and I will be celebrating twenty years together. We have some wonderful family trips planned. I have some important milestones in my business that I am aiming to reach, including teaching fitness classes twice a week. Plus many more goals we anticipate on crushing! 2018 is most definitely going to be a year of celebrating in our family.

Rather than making a long list of new year's resolutions that you might not work on past January, I encourage you to take some time to think and consider coming up with one word or a short phrase for your 2018. Keep it close to you and live it out each and every day. It just might make a difference in how you live and how successful you become in reaching those personal goals.

What a Difference a Year Makes

I'm going to get a little sappy with you today. Since I'm a writer at heart, this is my favorite way to talk to you.

Where do I begin?

If you've followed my blog for any length of time, you know that I love to cook. And baking is like my second language. It's really the whole reason I started this little blog six years ago. I wanted a space to share my favorite recipes with friends, family and my new readers.

And if you've recently started following me in the last year; then you know I have since found a new passion in this life. But in all reality, I have rediscovered something that has been buried deep inside my soul. I've always had a deep interest in health and nutrition. It's probably why I love cooking with veggies and visiting our farmers' markets so much. I love talking to others about healthy eating and helping others with their menu plans. And back when I was in high school I had my heart set on becoming a dietitian. Plans had to change though in the spring of my senior year, when the school I was already accepted to dropped their dietetics program. It just wasn't feasible for me to go to another college at that time. I guess I just sort of forgot about that dream and decided on another path at that time.

One year ago today I decided I needed to challenge myself. I had recently started running and instantly fell in love. I had just ran my first 5k and that's when I wanted more. That's when I reached out to an old friend. In fact, funny story; we were driver's ed partners and her brother is actually married to my husband's sister. So we're like family. I joined her online fitness group and committed to a brand new 30-day program that had just been released. I had never completed any sort of workout program before in my life. I was the type of person that would get through a week and could barely walk, and quit.

Not this time, I made it my mission to complete those 30 days no matter what. No excuses this time! And I did it. It felt amazing to start and finish something. That's when I became hooked. I ran with it and haven't looked back yet. Since then I have completed four 5k's and plan to run two more before the year is over, and I've also finished 4 different fitness programs with some of those being more than one round.

It hasn't been sunshine and rainbows this entire past year. There have been rough days, weeks and even months. I've lost motivation and had to pick myself back up. During this process I had lost my grandmother and our daughter suffered a compound fracture to her arm one week before dance competition season kicked off. It's never going to be easy, I have learned this is something you have to constantly work at. It's taking it day by day.

But, it honestly brings tears to my eyes to see how far I have come. This journey has really just begun. In less than two weeks I will be obtaining certification to teach that very first fitness program I started with. I've made it my mission to help empower other women so they can feel as happy as I do. To show them that they can do this. That it's alright to take care of themselves so they can be a better wife, mom and woman for their loved ones. And it's scary, believe me, oh how I know. But the joy you feel makes it all worthwhile!

Thank you for the constant support, love, encouragement and loyalty as I continue on this path, this journey. xoxo

My 3-Day Refresh Experience

Last week I did something a little scary, but really was an eye opening experience for my body. I followed a three day cleanse program, it was my very first... and I survived.

So, you might be wondering why on earth I would want to do such a thing? Well, since I've started on my fitness journey I have heard many friends and fellow coaches talking about this particular three day cleanse and I just have been interested in giving it a try. Now, I understand the body naturally detoxes itself, but this was much more than that. I have been getting some great results through my workout programs and getting my nutrition back on track. But through this experience, I really feel like I've been able to break through any sort of sugar addiction my body still had from when I very first started.

I decided to use the days after Memorial Day to focus on getting back on track. I had just came off of finishing a ten week fitness program, but I did splurge more during my extra long weekend. As you can see from my starting point photo, my stomach was looking and feeling a little extra fluffy that morning. It's amazing what a few adult beverages and a couple treats can do.

I took the afternoon on Memorial Day to prep all of my food. It only took a matter of a couple hours and it was a wonderful feeling to have everything ready to go in the fridge. I'm really not sure how successful I could have been if I wouldn't have taken the time to prep. Included in my program box I received a booklet with all the foods I could choose from. It made it so simple and took all the guesswork out of meal planning.

I chose to eat a lot of the same things throughout those three days, not only because it was cheaper on my pocketbook, but I also really enjoyed the foods I picked out. Breakfast each day was my daily Shakeology drink I typically have, this time it was only prepared using water, a little ice and a serving of fruit mixed in. Mid morning I would drink a quick fiber sweep. It did typically fill me up because I was used to just having a few almonds and yogurt to snack on when I get hungry in the classroom. I had to make sure to quickly drink it though because I have heard and could tell it would get very thick if I didn't. Lunch was a fruit (usually watermelon) and veggies (typically bell peppers) and a healthy fat (avocado) plus my vanilla fresh. It was similar to my morning shake, lots of nutrients included: 200 calories and a good amount of protein. I always felt satisfied after eating lunch. After work I would have a snack of almond butter and celery sticks. It was a sweeter snack that filled me up and let me think I was also getting a treat. Then dinner each night I chose to make a salad, it was one of the larger looking options in the plan.

Going into day 1 was a little exciting and a little scary all at the same time. I did go through spurts in the day where I'd feel hungry, even tired and by the end of the day I had a pretty bad headache. I don't drink coffee, nor caffeine or really any pop at all; so I doubt it was a caffeine withdrawl. But sugar was most likely the cause. I ended my evening with a little peppermint tea and went to bed. By morning I was feeling much better.

Day 2 started off pretty good but I quickly felt really irritable, lousy and just plain hungry by pretty early in my morning. It was also our planning day at school where that day just generally drags anyways plus there was an ice cream machine with all the toppings in the lounge and it was our end of the year potluck celebration. I had decided to make a coleslaw to bring for everyone, but I was sticking to my plan and enjoyed my own prepared lunch. After I got my fiber sweep in later that morning I really started to feel better and really felt great after lunch. I was proud of myself for resisting all the temptations that day.

I couldn't believe how much my stomach had gone down just from the first day and by the time I woke up on day 3, I realized how amazing I was sleeping. I generally do sleep pretty well, but this was a completely different feeling. From not having any added sugars and all the carbs in my diet, I was really feeling wonderful. And I really was not craving anything like I thought I might have been. I will admit that it got a little tempting when cooking my family supper. By the end of my cleanse, I was really just wanting more food. Not that I was feeling really hungry, but I just wanted my typical piece of toast with peanut butter for breakfast.

In the end, the scale was down 5 pounds. My husband noticed my face seemed thinner and I could tell a difference in my waist and the pants I wore.

Following last week, I obviously have not kept up with that strict of a diet. I've since added back in some carbs, like my daily piece of toast. The scale has not gone back up. Over the weekend I did enjoy an adult beverage and an ice cream cone. I will say that Sunday night my stomach felt a little bloated and yucky from adding some of that back in. But by morning, it was feeling back to normal. It's just proving to me that I can't eat all the foods, especially on a daily basis, that I used to. I feel so much better when I fuel my body the right way. And while it might not always be the most fun, in the end I'm much happier.

Would I do it again? I think so. Not often, but maybe anytime I'm feeling I might need to clean up my nutrition. It's a great way to get back on track. And I'm glad I gave it a try. I think I learned quit a bit about what my body needs.