Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Wash and dry Kale leaves – then, separate leaves from middle vein and tear leaves into 1-2 inch pieces.  Cover a pan with parchment paper or tin foil.  Spray with a little olive oil (we have some in a squirt bottle) and drizzle with about 1 tsp salt or to taste.

Cook for 10 minutes.

EAT.

Note:  For those of you who like spice or more flavor, feel free to experiment with your favorite herbs and seasonings…and then come back here and let us know what you experimented with and how they turned out!

This is a great recipe INSTEAD of potato chips!!

We’re on our way to healthier eating.  It’s a journey…

I know better than to jump in at full force ALL. AT. ONCE.

Some of you have been keeping up with the ongoing conversation over HERE.  (For those of you who haven’t been to my site’s FB page yet, go!  Lots of great extras that I don’t put up on here!)

I love that it’s not just me wanting to do better!  So, many of us have chosen to accept the MISSION of more wholesome eating.

Here’s what we have covered so far:

MISSION #4: Choose 100% WHOLE WHEAT products (with no high fructose corn syrup)… so… breads, tortillas, buns, etc. UNLESS YOU ARE GLUTEN-SENSITIVE!!

(and a recap)

Mission#3: Nix the veggie and canola oil for coconut and virgin olive oil (see mission 3′s post for complete list)

Mission #2: butter instead of margarine

Mission #1: no soda!

(Complete missions are listed on the FB page with more info!)

And then, I found some really awesome links!

• The dirty dozen and clean 15 list (Top things to buy organic and the things that don’t matter quite as much…great for stretching your budget!) HERE
• Voting with your dollars…how much organic really costs HERE
• List of healthy breads HERE
• The truth about nasty dyes HERE and HERE

There’s so much more on the Facebook page, I’d love to have you join the conversation!  See you there!

Dear You in the corner with your snide remarks about my parenting philosophies…

You, who balked when you found out I don’t vaccinate my children and mouthed off words like “pack immunity” and “putting her children in danger…”

You, who made fun of me when I was insistent that there be no smoking around myself or my children…

You, who laughed when I said no chocolate/soda, and tried to give it to them anyways…

You, who think I’m ridiculous for trying to buy mostly organic and cut out additives, excess sugar, dyes, and other unhealthy things from my children’s diet…

I don’t owe you a thing, much less an explanation, but I want to be very clear…

THESE ARE MY KIDS.

They are not YOURS.  God entrusted them to my husband and I and we have promised to do everything in our power to keep them safe and healthy.  I don’t judge everyone who has different parenting philosophies; we are all just doing the best we know how (most of us, anyhow).

I have been very diligent with my research and I refuse to ignore the statistics and findings.  I do not make decisions lightly and I definitely am not one to jump on fads just because they seem “cool.”  I seek information and as information changes, I reserve the right to change my opinions and views.  Unfortunately, I am not my own research team, so I can not provide myself with all of the answers I want.  I do the best I can with what I have.

The choices we make regarding our children are not easy.  Lazy people do not dedicate hours to researching and checking the resources for said research.  Lazy people do not seek ways to contribute to the income in order to help make these changes.  Lazy people do not try to find creative ways to not disrupt their family and to still implement said changes.

For me, this IS a big deal.

I don’t think it’s funny when others make snide remarks.  I don’t think it’s funny when people know where I stand and still hand my child a candy bag larger than their head.  Or, when I specifically say NO CANDY and they reach right past me to give my child … candy.

I am not a mean mom.  I do not hate my children.

I love my children.  I love my children so much that I have made countless sacrifices to do what’s best… FOR THEM.

My children are in no way neglected and they are not losing out.  They DO get occasional “treats” – but those need to come from ME.  Not you.  At least, not unless you asked me first.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “Well, we did this and my kids are fine…” or “Well, my parents did this, and I turned out okay!”

WELL GOOD FOR YOU.

I mean, seriously, what do you want me to say?  People drive like idiots in cars all day long and some don’t get in wrecks.  Some do.

My point is this…

YOU DON’T GET TO JUDGE ME.

I don’t judge you.  I really really don’t.  Whether your kids are little or grown up, I don’t judge what you do or did as a parent.

I mean, really… I don’t have the time or energy to even judge you or figure out what’s right for your family!!  I’m just trying to do what’s right for mine.

It’d be nice if as parents, we could SUPPORT each other instead of tear each other down.

Thankfully, I don’t personally know any people who think, “I’m going to have kids so I can do my best to SCREW them up!!”    We are all doing the best we can with what we have and what we know.

But, for those of you who can’t support my husband and I… for those of you who want to make snide remarks and do things behind my back (or in front of my face) that go completely against what you know I believe…

Then, you probably don’t really need to be a part of our lives.

There, I said it.

I want people who will respect us.  Our decisions.  Our well-being.  Not by your definition, but by ours.  I don’t need people who all agree and think just like me…I don’t need approval on how to raise my children…I just need respect and understanding.

Love,

Ashley

PS – Thanks to all of the people who have chosen to respect and honor our decisions.

2.  Sugar causes hormonal and metabolic imbalance.
Swinging insulin and cortisol levels in the body, which decrease then increase blood sugar, not only cause your system to crash but set up a cascade of abnormal hormone functions that lead to premature aging and illness.

3.  Sugar is your fast track to diabetes.
On the Standard North American Diet, it is only a matter of time before insulin receptors burn out, unable to handle the onslaught of sugar.

4.  Sugar increases the acidity of the body.
All disease thrives in acidic environments.

5.  Sugar causes inflammation.
Inflammatory enzymes are elevated on higher-sugar diets.  Inflammation is at the heart of 98 percent of disease.

6.  Sugar is the primary reason for high cholesterol.
Your body’s innate healing system, which uses cholesterol, goes into high gear when the body is traumatized at the cellular level by high sugar, insulin, and inflammation.  The solution to high cholesterol is not to lower it forcefully but to remove the interference in the body causing it to rise in the first place.

7.  Sugar leads to heart disease.
Elevated inflammation in the arteries increases the risk of high blood pressure, hemorrhage, stroke, and heart attacks.

8.  Sugar is an anti-nutrient.
Your body’s expenditure to manage sugar is greater than the energy it gains from it.  If you think you are better off eating a chocolate bar, or piece of white bread, than going hungry – think again.

9.  Sugar is a known toxin.
Like all toxins, your body is constantly trying to eliminate it from the bloodstream.  You can assist your body by not giving it more sugar to handle.

10. Sugar promotes cancer.
Feeding cancer cells their primary fuel is like pouring gas on a fire.

Join the conversation and learn more over HERE!

*From Dr. B.J. Hardick, Kimberly Roberto, and Dr. Ben Lerner’s book: The solution to the dangers of Modern Nutrition – MaximizedLiving

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