Cheers to Health & Happiness....

This picture was too cute not to share! It actually made my day, and made me strangely emotional. I just think this health movement is so wonderful, and it's great to see so many new parents breaking the cycle of the standard American Diet. My dear friend, Angie, sent me this picture after reading my blog

posts. She also has a vegetarian household, and has been doing green smoothies for a while now with her family and her 3-year old son, Lucas (who LOVES them!).

Parents- this just goes to show you, green smoothies are for kids too! Sometimes, letting them be involved in making them gets them super excited. (for others, not seeing or knowing what goes in the blender is best!). Another great idea is to make them into Popsicles.
For more parenting tips & green smoothie kids:
http://greensmoothiegirl.com/category/parenting/

Cheers back to you all in St. Louis, Angie & Lucas!

Please send any green smoothie pics my way! I absolutely LOVE them!

Door to Door Organics

We are so beyond thrilled to announce that we will be partnering with one of our very favorite companies, Door to Door organics for our upcoming "Healing with Green Smoothies" and "Medicine Cabinet Makeover" classes! They will be sponsoring and providing us with local and organic produce for our classes!
For class dates/times/locations, go to www.greensmoothiegirl.com/events.

My friend, Nicci, and I (and several others that I know) have been using door to door organics for a long time now, and just love it! Basically, it's a local/organic/health food delivery service. They deliver all over the Kansas City metro (and a few other places around the US).
Here's how it works:
1)You sign up for an account (please email me at gsgkandace@gmail.com if you are interested so I can send you a 50% off coupon for your first box ordered)
2)Choose your box size and variety
3)Choose when and how often (weekly or biweekly)
4)Enter your delivery information
5)Enter your billing information

-You will get an email the Friday before your delivery with "what's in" your delivery box. You have until the day before your delivery at 8am to sub up to 5 items in the box for something else! They give you a ton of variety and delicious produce (and lots of options for subs)
-You also have until the day before your delivery at 8am to CANCEL your order for no charge. YES! You are not obligated to buy if you don't want to. This is the best part for me, because I don't like being trapped into paying for something if I'm having a tighter budget kind of month. You can also pre-schedule vacations.
-You can cancel your subscription at anytime, no questions asked.

Here are a couple (out of the MANY) reasons why I LOVE door to door organics!:
-I get my organic and local produce DELIVERED to me each week (for those who know me, it is common knowledge that I hate going grocery shopping)
-I've compared!!!! The pricing is comparable, and most often cheaper than the grocery stores (if you already buy organic/local)
-There are a ton of other food options as well to add to your order if you choose (almost everything you can find in a grocery store). I've gotten to the point where my door to door organics orders are bigger than my grocery shopping trips (yippee!).
-They have pre-packaged, ready to eat meals (prepared by Conveniently Natural). If you know of Conveniently Natural, you know it's delicious! You just order these through DTDO, and they get delivered with your weekly box.
-Packaging. You weekly box is packaged so neat and tight, and with plenty of ice packs to keep it cool. You don't have to be home...they just drop the box off at your front door. (You save the boxing materials, and leave it out for them to take the following week when they deliver).
-CUSTOMER SERVICE! For my first order, I had accidentally goofed up a delivery thing and the delivery driver wrote me the nicest note. Then, to top it off, someone from headquarters in Denver called me to check in regarding my error and to make sure everything was to my satisfaction. They are SO nice! It has such a small business, personal feel to it. They are known for their prompt and reliable delivery service, and if there's an error of any kind, they are more than willing to make it up to their customers.

Here's a picture of Nicci and I with Shane, the KC Door to Door guy!

SIT BACK, RELAX, and enjoy your Produce & Grocery Delivery!

BUG SPRAY; all-natural, non-toxic, DEET free

I've been in limbo this year about bug sprays, which has resulted in us not using anything and getting tons of bug bites (in turn, we have been VERY itchy girls). The reason is this: I do not want to put chemicals on our body. So, I bought an "all-natural, organic" bug spray at a local store, but it stung so bad that Klaire would scream when I would get it out to use. Surely, that can't be right.

I'm sure you can guess the direction I have decided to go, now. I looked up doTerra Essential Oil recipes and made my own. I am writing about it....because IT WORKED! and no screaming from my daughter!

On the 4th of July, we ventured through a trail in a very tree dense area to find a place to watch the

fireworks over a lake near us. Although the picture doesn't quite do it justice, there were trees all around and above us, and we were right above a lake cove area. Bugs were out in FULL force, and I have the type of blood that bugs tend to love for some reason. Normally, in this type of scenario, I would easily be 20 bites in by the end of the night. Several of us applied my bug spray (including all 3 kids), and after touching base the next day- NONE of us got a single bug bite!

Here is the recipe I used:
-25 drops of Terrashield repellent blend (mosquitos)
-10 drops of Purify (ticks)
-5 drops of Peppermint (knats)
-fill the rest of the spray bottle with water

I go lighter on the Peppermint because that can sometimes feel like a burning sensation to kids. You can also just apply the Terrashield blend directly to your skin (wrists, neck, etc.)
See this post on the doTerra blog for more information and ways to use TerraShield    

http://www.mydoterra.com/fancyplantcy/

Essential Oils

I've received several emails requesting more information, so I thought it would be helpful to post a little about Essential Oils.
Check out my current Medicine Cabinet! (Yes- that is ALL!)
Doesn't it seem so simple, practical, & FANCY?

doTerra Essential Oils are Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade, meaning they have no fillers or synthetic/harmful additives. 

(*keep in mind that I am only speaking about doTerra Essential Oils in this post as other health market Essential Oils are not CPTG)

What are they?

   -natural aromatic compounds found in plants; steamed distilled or cold-pressed extraction

   -50-70 times more powerful than herbs

   -powerful, safe, and without side effects (100% pure)

   -natural way to support our immune system/health

They KILL Viruses and Bacteria

   -Essential Oils CAN penetrate the cell membrane to kill viruses and bacteria (whereas Antibiotics can't)

There is an essential oil alternative for almost EVERYTHING in your medicine cabinet

     Here are just a few examples (some are single oils, and some are oil blends):

       -Lavender (neosporin, motrin, aleve, tylenol, pepto bismol, imodium AD, anti-itch lotion, calming aids)

       -Deep Blue (icy hot, aleve, tylenol, motrin, muscle pain)

       -Oregano (nyquil, dayquil, tums, tylenol, aleve, mylanta)

       -Breathe (nyquil, vapor ryb, benedryl, ashtma/allergy relief)

       -Peppermint (pepto bismol, imodium AD, tums, motrin, tylenol, aleve)

       -Melaleuca (dandruff shampoo, neosporin, chloriseptic abreva)

       -TerraShield (bug spray/insect repellent)

       -Purify (hand sanitizer)

       -OnGuard (sore throat, immune system booster)

       -DigestZen (constipation, diarrhea, acid re flux)

       -Slim & Sassy (weight loss aid)

       -Clearskin (anti-acne treatment)

       -Solace (female PMS, hormone balancing, menopause treatment)

       -Lemon (detox, cleansing, water retention, mood elevation, kidney/bladder)

How to use Essential Oils

   -Aromatic- breathe in or use a diffuser (kills germs in the air, opens airways, affects mood)

   -Topical- apply to feet (largest pores in the body) or troubled areas, for sensitivity, dilute or neutralize with fractionated coconut oil

   -Internal- this is specific to doTerra Essential Oils, under the tongue, in a gel capsule, or in water; relieves issues in the throat, digestive system,mouth, etc.

My testimonial

   With the right oils, and resources, Essential Oils really are easy & fun to use (and again, make me feel FANCY!). You do not have to start out with a whole arsenal like I already have (although I would recommend starting out with the basics so you're prepared when needed). You can slowly build your collection and customize them to your needs. We use them for acute (apply at the time and usually right on the troubled area) or chronic issues (more maintenance in the morning and before bed each day, i.e. allergies, sinuses, calming). Klaire LOVES them and has become a healer in our home too....she picks out which essential oils to diffuse each night and is learning names to apply when needed (like for a bug bite or bug spray or boo-boo). The best part is....a piece of my "Mommy guilt" has disappeared. I don't freak out when Klaire explores in the "medicine cabinet" because they are safe and beyond organic, and I feel good when applying them, knowing that there are no harmful side effects for her little developing body and organs. My body has already started to change and my allergies and sinus infection have almost completely disappeared. Did you know that for each antibiotic you take, it takes a MINIMUM of 3 months (and I've even heard up to 2 years) to replace the "good bacteria" in your gut that were killed? Clearly- I have A LOT of healing to do and I am so happy to be on my way. I'm glad to have discovered this when Klaire is little, before her immune system is all out of balance like mine.

   Just a few of the ways I've already been using them: cleaning, medicinal, food additives, purifying (this is important since I moved into a home that was smoked in), spa treatments (shampoo, lotion), wellness & supplements. There are a GAZILLION ideas and ways to use them! It's so exciting every time I learn something new (such as how to support issues like infertility, neurological disorders, hormonal balancing, etc.). I promise- if I can do it, you can do it!

If you want more information about doTerra Essential Oils, or want to attend an upcoming class/want a class schedule, please email me at gsgkandace@gmail.com. Also, watch greensmoothiegirl.com for events/classes in your area. I can also do a ZytoCompass Scan on you, which is biocommunication to measure your body's responses & biological preference for specific products. (It's really cool!)

http://www.mydoterra.com/fancyplantcy/

30 day challenge

Look what I just came downstairs to find! Klaire watching her Saturday morning cartoons drinking her green smoothie!

My friend, Heidi, and I were chatting the other day about how if our kids drink their green smoothies, we don't even worry about their nutrients the rest of the day (well, sort of). After Klaire drinks this (almost gone!), she will have started her morning off with 3-7 servings of RAW fruits and vegetables.
Do you know how many servings of raw fruits/veges the average american adult and child get each day?
1!!!!! (and it's not usually from nutrient dense fruits/veges). That statistic makes me SO sad!

Why is RAW important?
Green Smoothie Girl says:
"Uncooked plant food (vegs, fruit, seeds, nuts, grains) have excellent vitamins, minerals, and enzymes.  The minute you cook it, you alter it molecularly, destroy all the enzymes and some of the vitamins and minerals.  The only way to eat better than raw plant food is to eat SPROUTED plant food.  Always try to soak your grains, seeds, and nuts, and eat sprouted food every day so as to provide enzymes so your body isn’t taxed to manufacture them—just soak them for a few hours, drain, and refrigerate.  The worst way to cook your food is microwaving.  The best is lightly steaming."
Read the rest here. Or check out www.greensmoothiegirl.com and start reading one of the 140+ posts on RAW food.

GSG (Green Smoothie Girl) challenges everyone to try adding a GREEN SMOOTHIE (1 quart for adults, 1 pint for kids) to your diet regularly for 30 days. I challenge you too! Add a green smoothie to your diet 5 days out of 7 (make no other changes) and see what happens!
The top 3 benefits that 90% of GSG's readers/green smoothie drinkers experienced were
1) better digestion/elimination
2) weight loss
3) more energy

Who wouldn't want that? As you introduce green smoothies, your cravings for bad food will naturally

decrease. You will notice tons of other benefits as well. Keep me updated!

Here's one basic starter recipe 
(play with it! until it tastes good to you. Start with a 50/50 combination of veges/fruit, then slowly increase greens):
1-2 cups water or coconut water (coconut water adds nutrition and sweetness)
3 cups nutrient dense greens (spinach, kale, collard greens, etc.- mix it up!)
-blend water & greens first
add frozen or fresh fruit of choice (berries, apple, orange, banana, melon, etc.)
blend again
drink up!

*try to buy organic and/or local
If you're feeling extra healthy & adventurous, add some nutritional enhancers: raw beets, dates, chia seeds, spirulina powder, bee pollen, hemp seeds, aloe vera, cinnamon, ble-green algae, chlorella powder, green smoothie girl powders or ultimate minerals, doTerra essential oils, sprouts, nutritional yeast

If interested in learning more(& for more recipes), read:

PINK EYE

We can eat as healthy as we like, and although sickness in our house is rare, every once in a while- life and bacteria throw us a curve ball. Klaire has never had pink eye in her life, but woke up a few days ago with a nasty case of it. Thankfully, I had the Essential Oils I needed, and whipped up a batch of "pink eye elixir." It was the first real time I had to trust the oils and hold myself back from immediately calling the Dr.
As you can see, 3 days later, I am glad I did ($30 copay and $10+ prescription savings):

The best part about it: no drops to put in a child's eye!
The recipe:
-1 drop of melaleuca + 1 drop of lavender, diluted in several drops of coconut oil
-apply very carefully AROUND the eye (not in the eye)- meaning on the top of the eyelid and under the eye
-repeat 4 times/day until symptoms are gone for a couple of days

*I also applied 1 drop of oregano oil to each foot at bedtime

http://www.mydoterra.com/fancyplantcy/

Favorite STARTER products

When speaking with people who want to begin inching towards a healthier lifestyle, I like to recommend the following 2 products (they're my favorites, and I use them ALL the time!):

A BlendTec Blender (or a Vitamix is comparable).

As mentioned in my first post, this machine has literally changed my life. I use it every day, and sometimes multiple times a day. The best part about the BlendTec is that I save time by doing very little food prep because it has the power to grind everything you can think of. (Literally....there are videos you can watch of them grinding golf clubs in it. But- I would caution you not to try that). When I make my daily green smoothies, I usually throw most parts of the fruits and vegetables in (stems, seeds, peels to taste- all having a ton of nutrients) and it purees it all. I also use my BlendTec to make breads, pizza crust, soups (it even heats the soup in it), ice cream, dressings, pureed food cubes to freeze to add to recipes later, and pretty much anything I can think of.
*BlendTec holds special events at Costco, and you can buy them for about $400 when they're there. Call your local Costco for dates. You can also buy online.

Coconut Oil 

Coconut oil has become a staple in my home. I have used it to replace our body and face lotion, and cook with it most of the time. YES- what better substances to put on our body than what we eat? It just makes sense....if we're not willing to put chemicals IN our body, why would we put them ON our body?
I became a firm believer after I started using it on my four year old daughter. We just applied like we would regular lotion after her baths, and after about a month, the dry patch of bumps that had invaded her entire upper arms since she was an infant disappeared! This condition did have a formal medical diagnose that I can't remember, and we tried several remedies and prescription lotions with no success. Who knew?...All we needed was coconut oil!
Since, I have made up little lidded bowls of coconut oil to use as lotion and lipgloss around our house. After I became aware of the healing properties of Essential Oils, I now add lavender and melaleuca to our little bowls.

Today, I had the most amazing mom moment: Klaire ate the coconut oil from our little "lotion" bowl (as kids sometimes do for no reason whatsoever. But to give Klaire credit- she was already aware that it was edible as we have discussed it many times and she sees me cook with it), and I just said "Good for you! It's quite healthy!" What a strange feeling it was to be happy that my daughter was eating lotion. (*doTerra Essential Oils have an FDA label and most are safe for consumption, including the ones I put in our "lotion". Do not buy health market Essential Oils- as these can't be consumed).

I love it so much, I just bought it for my sisters for their birthday. My sister, Kristina, and I agree...we love to watch it melt in our hands! It's so fun!
There are a ton of other health benefits, too: hair care, stress relief, weight loss, immunity, infection, digestion, and heart health.
Make sure to buy virgin, organic, cold pressed coconut Oil. You can buy them at health markets, and some grocery stores.

Read here about why Green Smoothie Girl loves coconut oil.

Green Smoothie Girl Apprentice Coach!

What lucky girls we are....my friend, Nicci, and I! A few weeks ago, we were able to meet privately with one of our very favorite health Gurus, Robyn Openshaw (aka Green Smoothie Girl), and have lunch with her and a few team members. 

(If you're ever in the Des Moines area....definitely try out Fresh Cafe and Market!...it is delicious!). 

We have joined Robyn, and her health coach, Cindy Feldmann, and will be apprentice coaches for the Kansas City area! I am so excited for this new venture in my life! In short, Nicci and I will be partnering with local businesses to teach "Healing with Green Smoothies" and "Medicine Cabinet Makeover" classes. As we get our schedule up and going, I will be sharing and hope anyone reading will be able to attend. The “Healing with Green Smoothies” class will focus on teaching and making green smoothies, and introducing ways to add 7-14 servings of raw vegetables and fruits into your daily diet by just spending 10 minutes each day. Robyn’s research has found that just by adding this simple smoothie each day, most people have better digestion and elimination, lose weight, and have more energy (in addition to noticing bad food craving decrease, desire to exercise increase, emotional stability improve, skin and hair improvement, etc.). For those looking for a specific treatment for a particular ailment, or just want an introduction to essentials oils, dōTERRA Essential Oils will be introduced as healthy and safe alternatives to drug approaches (Watch this video on why Green Smoothie Girl LOVES doTerra Essential Oils).
 

“When you know better, you do better.” –Maya Angelou.

And, I now know better.

I was raised in a household with 3 smoking adults, and ate mostly processed foods growing up. I ate meat for most all basic meals, and A LOT of fast food. I made some pretty at-risk behavior choices as well, whih have no doubt affected my overall health. I’ve always been interested in health and nutrition, but my real journey began when I was 20 and my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer, and died within 11 months. This was many years ago, but the feeling of helplessness remains to this day. After that, I bought my (almost solely meat-eating) father health supplements as a gift for almost every holiday. My father’s bad habits lead to several heart attacks that eventually lead to his premature death, as well. My maternal grandmother died of Alzheimer’s disease after living with us for 11 years. (Yes- you read that right! Family history of lung cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's.....not to mention diabetes). Personally, I have been diagnosed with chronic sinusitis and “one of the worst cases” of sinus polyps. I have had surgery twice to remove sinus polyps and have been on an uncountable amount of antibiotics over the years. Yeast, bladder and sinus infections (and loss of smell/taste) became a part of my normal life. Despite numerous opinions and prescribed antibiotics from medical professionals, my issues continued. None of the conversations involved nutrition or natural remedies (besides a daily nasal rinse), and in fact, was waved away when I would bring up the topic. I look back now and find it incredibly disheartening. 

As an adult, and semi-new mom (4 year old daughter, Klaire), I got serious and decided to take matters into my own hands. I refuse to let my genes and the chemical and environmental exposures (my mom also loved bleach!) of my past lead to my premature death. As soon as I was “on my own,” I slowly eliminated chemicals from my household (including bleach…I am still haunted by that smell today) and cleaning regiment. When I had my daughter, my sense of mortality and the main importance of her health (and mine) lead me to whole-food and plant-based nutrition. I turned my house into a vegetarian household (and now almost completely vegan). As I made her baby food, I slowly learned about and changed my diet as well. (This was slow.....I know what a roller coaster it can be to change a lifestyle). My daughter has never eaten meat and it’s one of my most proud choices. (For reasons why...please read Skinny Bitch, among many other books about animal protein). My daughter is one of the healthiest humans I know, and doesn’t even compare to her peers in days sent home from preschool sick. 

I spend time each and every day learning something new about nutrition, and often find myself involved in conversation about it. I bought a BlendTec over a year ago, and have not looked back since (where was this wondrous machine when I was pureeing baby food?). I am known for having baggies of any and all kinds of frozen vegetable cubes filling my freezer. I began making & consuming green smoothies (1 quart per day= 7-14 servings of raw fruits and vegetables!!!) as soon as I purchased my Blendtec. I was introduced to the Green Smoothie Girl website by a friend and feel a bit obsessed since. It encompasses everything I am and aspire to be. I recommend the GSG website to almost anyone who asks about nutrition and/or my green smoothies. I ordered pure, safe and EFFECTIVE doTerra Essential Oils and have eliminated all chemical medicine from mine and Klaire's diet (no tylenol, advil, benedryl, neosporin, antibiotics, etc.). If you do not know anything about Essential Oils....I look forward to sharing their magic with you! I have noticed visible changes to my health just by adding green smoothies and essential oils.....weight loss, better digestion/elimination, more energy, glowing skin, my smell and taste have started to come back!, less anxiety, better sleep (I was a chronic Tylenol PM user for 2 years), etc.  

I started this blog to centralize a place for all my learning, and thought maybe others could benefit from it as well. Cheers to health & happiness!