“You put a baby in a crib with an apple and a rabbit. If it eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I’ll buy you a new car. ~Harvey Daimond

We are not meant to eat animals. We do not instinctively want to kill animals with our bare hands. We are not anatomically disposed toward meat eating. We have a long digestive tract whereas true carnivores such as lions have very short digestive tracts. The reason for this is meat putrefies quickly and needs to be utilized and removed quickly. We are much better designed to eat fruit and vegetables. Since, for most people, it is unrealistic to eat only fruits and veggies, the next best thing to include in your diet are other vegetable based foods such as rice, soy products and potatoes.

Even if you don’t want to be vegetarian 100% of the time, cutting back on meat consumption is good for everyone including the animals and the planet.

Meat is an acquired taste and most people need to cook it and doctor it up for it to be palatable that is a good clue that it’s not really meant for human consumption. Carnivores eat freshly killed meat, we try to pretend it’s not a dead animal i.e. butterfly chops.Merely eating vegetarian doesn’t automatically mean you are eating healthy. You still need to be sure you are eating low-fat, healthy vegetarian food. Meat is difficult to digest and is highly toxic to humans, so cutting back on it will help increase your health, vitality and energy level.

What does your day look like? Today, my son is with his dad so I can actually veg out a little.  The great part about that is that this is the perfect time to nurture myself. I can spend time doing things I love, going places or just relaxing…I’m not a big nap taker but if I feel exceptionally tired, I could even nap!!!

Sunday Oct 28, 2007

I will spend the morning relaxing, writing and taking a bath and then alittle later, I will go shopping for some groceries. Later, my son will be home and then things will get really busy!

I will write what my whole week looks like as a single mom and maybe some of you could share yours…

Trust in Spirit even when, especially when, you feel desperate. I have been searching for my purpose in life and for something I could do from home that I really love and that I was meant to do. I have dabbled in so many things. Everything worked to some extent but I never felt any of the things were really “my calling”. I believe that everyone has a purpose and a gift to give to the world sometimes it isn’t always easy finding that gift.

I finally just gave up and asked to be led and promised to listen and watch for the signs. I believe now that my purpose is truly unfolding. I have been afraid to do the things I have always felt I was meant to do for fear they wouldn’t fly. It is scary sometimes to do what you think rather than conform to society. This is definately one of the most important steps to creating a life you love.

Even if you don’t want to become a vegetarian 100%, it is helpful to cut down on meat consumption. You will improve your diet considerably if you eat a vegetarian meal three times per week.

 There are so many terrific vegetarian options out on the market today. It isn’t like it used to be in the 70’s where it was all bland tofu! Tofu can be really great if made properly but it can be really bad if made poorly. There are many great options besides tofu: vegeburgers (one million great brands), vege chicken, vege ribs, vege beef, vege chicken strips, vege beef strips. The list really goes on and on.  I’m really into pretty normal food, food that the ingredients can be purchased at a regular grocery store.  A lot of the cookbooks out there can be really wierd. One thing you can do is make your normal meals and substitute “fake meat” for the real thing. For example, make spaghetti and put fake ground beef or fake meatballs in place of the real thing. Experiment but I would really recommend having several vegetarian meals a week, it will be good for you and your family as well as the planet and the animals.

Being busy and eating right really don’t mix. It takes more planning and effort to eat well and oftentimes, our healthy eating is put on a back burner because we are just to busy to deal with it.  It’s a catch 22 because you don’t make the extra effort to eat right and then you have less energy to take care of your responsibilities. In the long run, your health declines and consequently your quality of life declines.

What are some things a busy mom can do to eat right and help her family to eat better? One of the main things is to plan ahead. Plan your dinners for a week in advance and make some things up ahead to have in the refrigerator and freeze.

If you need to go somewhere and will be gone for awhile, take a small cooler with some healthy snacks in it. If you need to, put a frozen bottle in it to keep your snacks cool and fresh. I regularly take things like apples, carrots, dried apricots and almonds. Dried apricots and almonds (get the raw ones, they are healthier) go together really well, pop a few almonds and an apricot in your mouth…yummy! Take food so you don’t end up hungry and looking for whatever junk you can find!

I will do some regular posts on the topic of healthy eating tips for busy moms so sign up so you can be made aware when new things post and send me your comments so I know what you need to find out more about.

Anytime you are bored just looking through cabinets and the refrigerator looking for something to eat, grab a glass of water. Water will often satisfy you without making you fat. I find that at the times in my life when I had trouble with my weight, I would aimlessly wander around looking for something to eat when I wasn’t hungry. I was feeling some other emotion such as boredom, stress and so on…

If you have trouble maintaining your ideal weight, when you are aimlessly walking around looking for something anything to eat, grab a glass of water instead! Try it because it really works! 

I think I have found the absolute best pedometer on the market, The Omron HJ112..although it is a bit bigger than some of them, I can wear it comfortably everyday and it is highly accurate. I have tried lots of them and I LOVE this one! Any comments on this one or any others?

I find the pedometer to really enhance my exercise experience. It is one of the best things I have ever purchased!

 I would love to hear others’ thoughts on what you have found works for you with regards to exercise and what are the roadblocks to exercising? What do you need to know more about with re to exercise?

Money is merely an exchange of energy. Everytime you pay for anything, you should stop thinking of it as “money”(and some horrible thing you have to do), instead think of it as an exchange of energy. Try to silently think of anything you pay for as flowing energy…the flow has to continue in order for you to continue to receive money in the flow.  Everything is simply an energy exchange. There is an unlimited amount of energy (including money) in the universe.

 This is kind of a difficult thing to do because you think:

“yeah..but I have bills”

“I just don’t know what to do but the bills keep flowing”

“I never get a break”

I have been there and am still there in many respects but through meditation and affirmations, you have to find a way to change the way you think about money and bills. You have to break out of the stability and security of your life as you know it and be willing to live in more uncertainty in order to open yourself up to your limitless potential. This is not an easy thing but it is a thing that will so change your life for the better; it will blow your mind!

Do you have the life you love? Is the life you have created exactly what you want? If not, then what changes would you like to make? What is stopping you from creating a life you love? That life won’t ever be created unless you work to achieve what you want. If you want more money or more flexibility, what are you doing to achieve that? If you need to lose weight or get more fit, what are you doing to achieve that? I am creating a life I love…It hasn’t all been easy-it’s a process, but I am moving forward. You can do it..let me know what your obstacles are, what kind of support and help do you need?

So, what are your biggest roadblocks to being a healthy, single mom? I think in this day and age, there is so much pressure put on moms that we really feel stuck on how to juggle everything properly. You have to take care of your kids financially but you feel guilty putting too much time and effort into a “job”. You also need to take care of yourself by doing things for you. How do you balance all of those things? I would love to hear what your obstacles are for living a healthy, balanced life trying to juggle all your responsibilities.