Happy New Year, friends!! I can’t believe it is January, our tree is still up, the house is covered in pine needles & puzzle pieces, and we have gotten pretty used to not being on any sort of schedule whatsoever. I have loved having all of the kids home, and Brandon home for the most part as well, getting sushi as often as possible. Not sure I’m ready for the kids to go back to school next week (or to be packing lunches again) but I know it will feel good to get back into a routine!
January always feels like a break to me, I need it to reset & recharge my batteries after months of hustle & bustle. I went back in my planner to see what I wrote down for last year’s resolutions, really to see how we did, and here is what I said:
More memory making, less social media. More new recipes, less donuts. More date nights, less obligations. More presence, less multitasking. More praying, less worrying. More intention, less clutter. MORE LOVE, less of everything else.
It made me smile, because I honestly feel like 2017 encompassed all of those things. So this year, we are keeping these, less as resolutions and more of just our family motto.
And in addition, we are going to put a huge focus on wellness for our family. I had a big health scare in December, and without going too much into detail, everything can basically be linked back to what I am putting into my body, the products we are using in our home, and not getting enough sleep (I am a total night owl and can never talk myself into going to bed). So this year, we are reevaluating all of the food we eat, ditching sugar & processed foods as much as possible, and hoping to cut out red meat & soy. This isn’t going to be easy but it is going to be a priority. We are going to use our essential oils to stay on top of our wellness & rid our home of as many toxins & chemicals as we can.
Would love to hear your goals & plans for 2018, and if they align with ours, I can’t wait to jump on this wellness journey together!! Cheers to an amazing year, we can’t wait to share all of the fun things we have in store with you!!! xo
330
Not much of a resolution since I started mid-December but I have made the decision to go Vegan and it has been a lot easier than I thought it would be! Cutting red meat will be easy but watch out for soy. It is in A LOT. Good luck mama!! I love love following your family’s journey!!
Happy New Year. Check out coconut aminos for soy substitute. It’s very delicious. It’s pricey but i always tell myself “don’t question why healthy food is expensive, ask why is junk/bad food so chesp?
I need to cut out red meat!! It’s hard. i wish my parents would have raised me vegan, I wold be use to it by now haha
Please share your food journey and all and any new recipes! We also have similar goals!
Have you heard of Tone it up? They have tons of delicious healthy recipes & meal ideas. I started really focusing on nutrition for my family a few years ago using their tips & it has been so helpful & become a lifestyle. Also, love your family motto!
I started Whole30 to give my body a reset. I also had a health scare at the end of last year, and am hoping this reset helps.
So true! Food is medicine or poison. My husband watched a documentary on how horrible sugar is for you in early December so we cut sugar and processed food as much as possible. We are also focusing on eating healthy and lots of veggies. I find it’s easier to focus on what we can eat rather than what we can’t.
This year, my resolution is to
1. spend less on unnecessary items
2. Eat healthier
3. Work out
4. More quality family time
I’m sorry about your health scares! I also had some issues a while back with what I was putting in my body: aspartame. It started causing heart palpitations and feelings of delirium and almost like a panic attack/feelings of dis-reality. Seriously scary stuff. I never knew that that could be a side effect of artificial sweetener, and as soon as I cut all of it out of my diet and made absolutely sure I was drinking 8-12 glasses of water a day, all of my symptoms disappeared. Just wanted to leave this here too, in case anybody is dealing with something similar! Happy new year!!!
Love your resolutions. I also love following your oils instagram account. For me, sugar is THE HARDEST. I just had a baby (pregnancy = indulging) and now I’m breast feeding…. just makes the cravings even worse! Thankfully organic dark chocolate has a lot less sugar but more fat ? I would love to see more essential oils on the blog. I’m still learning a lot and your tips are so helpful.
I went Vegan in july (with my two toddlers.. husband is a work in progress) and i can honestly say BEST DECISION OF MY LIFE! It has opened my eyes to so much of what goes into what we eat/consume and how much animal products are in everything and the horrible quality of our food in a mass produced world we live in today. Better sleep, better health, happiness and of course all the oils for 2018!
Good for you! I’ve cut out dairy, soy and eggs due to breastfeeding a baby with food intolerances, and I honestly feel soooo much better myself, I’m not sure I’ll ever go back! Soy is by far the hardest, it is in EVERYTHING. Check out Oh She Glows for some amazing vegan recipes.
I’m so sorry you are dealing with scary health issues. I hope 2018 is a much healthier year for your family. Good luck with the dietary changes.
SunkissAlba has amazing natural beauty /cleaning/ eating (she’s not Vegan) ideas on YouTube. She mentions things I didn’t even think of …like sanitary products and what our house hold items and childrens toys are made with. Honestly life changing.
I love SunkissAlba! (and she’s gorgeous!) Def check her out!
Happy 2018! I hope this is a great year for everyone! After years of watching tons of health and food documentaries and reading a lot, I decided to go on a plant based diet before getting pregnant. And now 2 years later I’m still a vegan and loving it. I’m extremely lactose intolerant and I had gotten to a point where I had a really hard time digesting foods before going vegan. I had an amazing pregnancy and have never felt healthier! I know it’s not for everyone though. A great documentary to check out if you want to learn about the direct correlation between food and health is called “What the Health”. Just watched it on Netflix. Stay healthy everyone!
Red Meat is OK in moderation! Just make sure it is grass-fed and organic! My husband is going through treatment after having a brain tumor removed last April and we have learned a lot about food and what to put in our bodies to heal and sustain.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/31/upshot/red-meat-is-not-the-enemy.html
First of all – I have been a long time blog follower, but never leave comments. Secondly, I love your 2017 resolutions. They spoke to my heart because most resolutions are very rigid and have specific deadlines to meet, but yours are attainable with feelings. Ah – made my heart smile. Thirdly, I have been on my own health journey due to some issues, so kudos to you for making changes. I started my journey in September and started with finding the cause of inflammation and foods, because so many issues rooted back to inflammation. I’m sharing this because it was eye-opening for me. Inflammation is rooted in carbs and sugars – two of my favorite things. Digging deeper, I found out that gut health is where a TON of health issues come from. Carbs and sugars wreck gut health over time and starts causing issues. Long story short- I was looking for answers to help with gut health and inflammation. I started taking Plexus products in October, and have done amazing. My health has never been better, and issues are slowly correcting themselves. Plexus heals the gut slowly, and as it heals you don’t crave sugar/bad foods anymore and you start craving foods your body needs. For example, I now crave broccoli almost daily and two months ago I didn’t even like broccoli. (what?!) So, remember that you do the research yourself and find the answers that satisfy you, as I didn’t want to be on medication the rest of my life. If you ever want more information about gut health or try any products, I would be happy to discuss any of this with you. My husband and I also eat a Ketogenic diet, because the long lasting results are mind-blowing as well. Not preaching to anyone, but literally offering what I know is working for us. No more monthly B-12 shots, no more naps because I couldn’t function, no more tendonitis in my husband’s elbow or achilles tendon issues for him in his feet, no more sinus infections and sickness in general….. this is just from October through now. I also received an oil diffuser for Christmas and I’m just starting to get into essential oils, so one more reason I am completely enjoying your blog. I’ve read your posts, but never acted upon the essential oil side. I’m just at the baby stages of all of that and would love to hear more about the health benefits of certain oils.
I have some crazy health anxiety but since going plant based I’ve noticed those subsiding and just feeling more confident overall that I’m OK. I can’t imagine having a big scare! The “Oh She Glows” cookbook is one to check out!!
I really love how you wrote down the idea of “more” and “less.” I often find myself often thinking this time of year we need to let go of something completely yet, it can just be decreased. Your post also gave me some great insight on how to set goals and plan for a loving and open home life this year. Thank you!
Sorry you have been dealing with scary health issues! Would love to hear about changes you make, recipes, etc.!
My husband and I did an Arbonne 30 day cleanse from Thanksgiving until Christmas and it was the best we have ever felt (eliminate dairy, soy, caffeine, alcohol, gluten, added sugar and organic as much as possible). I also TOTALLY recommend Force of Nature as a universal cleaning product. It’s ionized vinegar and water so 100% safe but also almost as effective as bleach at cleaning. It’s the only cleaner we use now – game changer!
Your blog has inspired me to clean out our house of yucky chemicals, cleaning products, makeup etc. A friend of mine suggested the app Think Dirty which rates our household items such as hand soap and face wash. It has been both eye opening and horrifying. I’ve started switching out as much as I can and I’m really excited about the idea of a healthier home for our family.