Tag Archives: raising a baby

Must Sees

An enjoyable weekend often includes watching documentaries. We try our best to educate ourselves on the varying perspectives of topics and make decisions that are best fit our family. I wanted to share a list of documentaries that we have watched over the years; the ones that have played a part in our decision-making when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle.

I encourage you to watch them with an open mind and continue to make educated choices that best fit you. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

FOOD-RELATED DOCUMENTATRIES

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (2010) ~ “100 pounds overweight, loaded up on steroids and suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease, Joe Cross is at the end of his rope and the end of his hope. In the mirror he saw a 310lb man whose gut was bigger than a beach ball and a path laid out before him that wouldn’t end well- with one foot already in the grave, the other wasn’t far behind…”

Fed Up (2002) ~ “70% of the food we eat contains genetically engineered ingredients and the biotech industry is spending million a year to convince us that this technology is our only hope.”

Food Beware (2008) ~ “For the first time ever, our children are growing up less healthy than we are. As the rate of cancer, infertility and other illnesses linked to environmental factors climbs upward each year, we must ask ourselves: why is this happening?”

Food, Inc. (2008) ~ “An unflattering look inside America’s corporate controlled food industry.”

Food Matters (2008) ~ “Food Matter examines how the food we eat can help or hurt our health. Nutritionists, naturopaths, doctors, and journalists weigh in on topics organic food, food safety, raw foodism, and nutritional therapy.”

Forks Over Knives (2011) ~ “Examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.”

King Corn  (2007) ~ “In King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, best friends from college on the east coast, move to the heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America’s most-productive, most-subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat-and how we farm.”

Vegucated (2010) ~ 3 people make a life-changing decision to adopt a vegan lifestyle for 6 weeks

HEALTH-RELATED DOCUMENTARIES

One Nation, Overweight (2010) ~ ”There is an obesity plague in America that costs the nation as much as $147 billion — and an untold number of lives — every year. Nearly two-thirds of American adults are either overweight or obese. Childhood obesity is triple what it was a generation ago.

Pink Ribbons, Inc. (2011) ~ “Breast cancer has become the poster child of corporate cause-related marketing campaigns. Countless women and men walk, bike, climb and shop for the cure. Each year, millions of dollars are raised in the name of breast cancer, but where does this money go and what does it actually achieve? Pink Ribbons, Inc. is a feature documentary that shows how the devastating reality of breast cancer, which marketing experts have labeled a “dream cause,” becomes obfuscated by a shiny, pink story of success.”

Cut, Burn, Poison (2010) ~ “A controversial, eye opening, and sometimes heartbreaking documentary that puts the business of cancer treatment (surgery, radiation and chemotherapy) under the microscope.”

Sweetest Misery: A Poisoned World (2004) ~ ”Narrator Cori Brackett had a strange cause-and-effect experience with the diet cokes she was drinking and quickly found herself disabled and diagnosed with MS. Slowly able to walk and speak again, she believes her illness is linked to aspartame. After 7,000 miles, and 25 hours of footage, “Sweet Misery” will reveal one of the most pervasive, insidious forms of corporate negligence since tobacco.”

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note: These aren’t “old” videos. They are very much current and relatable. My husband recently said to me, “people are likely to spend more time researching a new television than they do decisions about their own health”…

Are You SMART?

Did you set a New Year’s Resolution along with the rest of the planet? I did. Year-round I set short term goals that I use as stepping stones for my bigger, future goals. But I like to reevaluate where I am in my life at the start of each New Year to ensure I’m being realistic while challenging myself.  This year I ensured my goals were SMART and motivating…

Specific * can the goal be broken down into smaller steps? do you know exactly what your are going to do?

Measurable * do you have concrete criteria for measuring your goal?

Attainable * is this something you can actually do? do you have the capability, finances, tools needed to reach your goal?

Relevant * are you not only able but willing to work toward your goal?

Time-Bound * with no time-frame there is no sense of urgency! what is a realistic amount of time you’ll allow yourself to reach your goal?

Making sure the goals you set are SMART will help you evaluate their effectiveness and your ability to achieve them. While you can always be striving for those big, future goals, you should remain balanced with shorter term attainable goals that help keep you motivated.  Otherwise, you become disappointed with the lack of results and slowly lose motivation for whatever you originally set out to achieve!

some of my goals include:

make sure I take my vitamins daily and ensure my son gets his

eat fruits AND vegetables daily

try at least 1 new recipe each week

finish my business cards by February

schedule a date with my husband in the month of January (we rarely get to go out alone!)

attend at least 3 Wellness Expos that I have on my calendar within the next 6 months

{I posted my goals in a place where I see them daily in order to keep myself motivated and on track and encourage you to do the same!}

What are your goals? Double check that they are SMART!

Gratitude 2012

I try to reflect frequently on my life and everything for which I am thankful. I loved spending time creating these collages and remembering experiences that have made 2012 an unforgettable year. It’s important for me to visualize where I have been in order to begin thinking about where I would like to go…

 

I am forever grateful for…

1. my unconditionally loving, humble, involved, handsome husband

2. my logical sister (not pictured: my brother-in-law and 2 amazing nephews, and my brother, sister-in-law and 2 beautiful nieces)

3. warm weather memories

4. Dekker’s 3 caring and hilarious older brothers

5. the most supportive, kind-hearted parents/grandparents

6. endless fun in grocery stores

7. first foods and messy meals

8. good friends & unforgettable days

9. music to provide motivation

10. real food and my health

11. my love for learning

12. chicago

13. having learned how to make truly healthy foods

14. the beautiful blend of yoga, the city and photography

15. nature’s true beauty

16. having had the experience of being in the ring and putting myself to physical and mental tests

17. my sweet, sleeping lil boston terrier (who is now 4 years old)

18. snow days with friends

19. the past

…and…

20. the future and all it holds for us…

What’s on your year-end gratitude collage?