All posts in category Kombucha

Idle Hands

I have a horrible tendency, if I’m not paying attention, to sit home all day with the TV tuned to TBS watching reruns of shows that I have seen dozens (or more!) times.  I try to keep the background noise tuned to PBS for Hanna in the morning because for some reason Sesame Street is a comforting noise, but by the end of the day it always goes back to TBS.

What is it about the show “Friends” that makes it so I can’t turn the channel?  I’ve seen each episode over 10 times (confession: WELL over 10 times each), but it feels like sinning when I turn the channel, or heaven forbid turn the entire TV OFF.

When I was in Utah last week and I was discussing the woes of being a Stay-at-home-mom with my own mom, and how I can let myself actually sit in front of the TV all day long and not accomplish one single task, she told me a secret to when she was a SAHM: Projects.

I know, it seems so simple yet I cannot pry myself away from Friends long enough to come up with some projects that I need to get done.  So I have forced myself to sit down and come up with a list of things that I either need to get done, or would like to accomplish.

First off, I am not crafty.  I mean, I AM crafty if I need to be, but I don’t want a house full of homemade displays and such, but there are plenty of projects I can do for Hanna that have nothing to do with my house.  Of course I turned to my Pinterest arsenal and got to planning.  The only thing is that I need a sewing machine for most of them (pffft.  whatever sewing machine).  I may have to see if I can borrow one from a friend.

Hanna has a quiet book that I let her play with in church and she loves it, but I think she is getting tired of the same old pages over and over again.  So I’m going to add some fun pages that I found from this website:

I thought the potato head quiet pages look awesome and have loads of different playing possibilities.

I would also love to make her these felt “paper” dolls that can be found on this website:

Another suggestion that my mom had was to slowly paint my cupboards.  I eventually would like to paint most of my house, but I am going to start with my kitchen cupboards, which I want white (right now they are grey).  I think I can get it done with 1 gallon of paint so now I just have to start sanding them down.  That should keep me busy.

Along with those things I would also like to:

  • Finish knitting the baby quilt I started when I found out I was pregnant with Hanna (I am NOT a procrastinator! Ok, maybe I am)
  • Start taking a weekly trip to the library since Hanna has FINALLY started letting me read books to her (this makes me so happy I could cry, I LOVE books!)
  • Peeling off all the labels to my old Kombucha glass bottles so that I can store bulk food items in them like shaved coconut, dried beans, lentils, and such.
  • Cleaning out my pantry so it makes sense.
  • Putting together a Vegan cookbook binder for all of my recipes that I have printed out and organizing them into categories.
  • Finish Divergent on audio book, and start another.  My 2012 reading goal is happening this year!
  • Organize my Pinterest boards, which I find ironic.
  • Re-vamp my blog and give it a facelift. This WILL happen the next time I am in Utah with my Graphic Designer brother.  And of course make it easier to navigate and organize it.
  • De-clutter the garage (this one may have to wait until next spring)
  • Go through Hanna’s room and re-arrange it, put old clothes in storage and get rid of some toys.  I literally have not done anything to that childs room since we moved 4 months ago.

Along with that list I feel like I have LIVED in my kitchen the last few days so a recipe roundup will definitely be making its way for What I Ate Wednesday tomorrow.  I will also have a recipe for a chocolate cheesecake that I will be sharing, but unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your eating philosophy) it has lots of dairy in it.  I am making dinner for our church missionaries tonight and every time I suggest a Vegan dish my husband gives me the stink eye.  On the menu: Chicken Enchilada’s with roasted green beans and Hershey’s Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert.  Side note:  Whatever is left after the missionaries leave goes in the trash, or to a neighbor (don’t you wish you loved by me).  Here’s hoping my stomach doesn’t get too upset!

BTW: Dustin is doing stellar on his one week challenge so far!

Later friends!

7 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on July 17, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Change, Distractions, Indulgence, Kombucha, Making It Happen, Planning

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on July 17, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/07/17/idle-hands/

Shhh…. Don’t Tell Him That It’s Healthy

I’m Back!  I had SO much fun being at girls camp last week, but to say I’m happy to be home and trying to get back into my routine would be an understatement.

One thing that I am trying to do this week is DETOX.  I failed to mention last week that the theme of our camp was “Candy Land”.  There was candy everywhere!  Anyone who knows me knows that I have a MAJOR sweet tooth.  Chocolate and ice cream are two of my biggest problem foods. When I got home on Saturday I felt sluggish, dirty, and tired, and I’m sure the crappy eating was one of the bigger issues for having those feelings.

On Sunday I sat down and made a diet detox plan for the week and I am forcing myself to stick with it so that I will feel better.  Even after only two days of getting some real greens in me and no sugar I feel about 80% better.

I also splurged this week and had Kombucha make a come back!

My body is in some serious need of getting the bad out and the good in.

I also made a Sam’s Club run this week and stocked up on fresh fruit.  I may have gone a little crazy and I now cant fit anything in my fridge, it is PACKED.

This morning while reading blogs I came across a recipe from my favorite Vegan website Oh She Glows I may be a little obsessed with her recipes.  It was for a jam, and coincidentally I had just ran out of jam, and had all of the ingredients on hand, shocker.

Try this recipe now: Magical Blueberry Vanilla Chia Seed Jam

IMG_1224

Photo Credit is of course to Angela over at Oh She Glows since she is a FAR better photographer than I, and I don’t want to disrespect her recipe!

The hub’s loves jams and jellies so when I told him that I found an easy jam recipe he was in full support of me using some of our overly stocked fruit to make this Magical Blueberry Vanilla Chia Seed Jam.  The even better thing is that it is actually a HEALTHY jam.  Why I never thought of Chia seeds for a jam recipe is beyond me.  I have been learning so much about plant-based cooking that one day I might just venture out and start trying to create some of my own recipes.  But until then Oh She Glows is my top go to for delicious & quick vegan meals.

But don’t tell my husband that it’s healthy, k?

4 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on June 26, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Blogs to Read, Candy, Challenges, Diet, Energy, Kombucha, Link Love, Meal Planning, Plant Based Diet, Vegan

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on June 26, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/06/26/shhh-dont-tell-him-that-its-healthy/

Weight Loss Killer

Sweat it Out:
50 Minute Hilly Walk
20 Minute Strength Training
650 calories burned, according to Bodybugg

I miss when I use to start every post with what my workout was for the day, so let it be said “sweat it out” is back on the books!  This is the first time I have worked out in about 4 days and in all honesty it is because I have been having some stomach issues lately.

Ya, it’s going to be one of those post’s again!  If you are a new reader I will warn you that through the years I have become increasingly obsessed with BM’s.  I have had an inconsistency of them my entire life which has left me asking everyone and their dog about how frequently they use the bathroom to try to get some idea of what the norm is.

The thing is, for me at least, not going to the bathroom on a regular basis is a weight loss killer.  My weight can fluctuate up to 3 pounds if I have not been going as often as I should.  The food goes in, and nothing comes out.  Sometimes even for days at a time.

Odd thing is that when I was doing a plant-based diet I went everyday, and I felt that lightness and emptiness that I should feel on a daily basis.  I don’t know if it was because I was drinking Kombucha almost everyday (which has a TON of probiotics in it for healthy digestion) or it was all the fruits and vegetables I was eating.  I’m sure it was a combination of the two.

Three weeks ago I started eating dairy and meat again and there are a few things that I have noticed:

  • Inconsistent bowel movements (obviously)
  • Horrible sleep patterns (waking up more frequently, feeling hot, waking up several times a night
  • Low energy
  • Skin breakouts, like GINORMOUS zits all over my chin, so gross!

So here I am again, trying to make some changes to my diet…..again.  I want to do what is going to work best for my body and my weight loss, and I am tired of having a bloated stomach, and having inconsistent patterns in my digestion.  The hub’s has agreed that I should go back to plant-based, and with his blessing it’s ON.

On a lighter note, I will be happy to see my grocery bill go down (yes, I said DOWN).  Whenever we are eating vegan my grocery bill is almost non-existent.  Fruits, veggies, and beans etc., are cheap my friends!

The one thing I will be doing this go around is counting and measuring.  If I can keep my calories to 1400 and get some kind of workout in everyday, I think the scale will show it.

Wish me luck, and for some smooooth results (sorry, I couldn’t resist)!

Anyone else out there obsessed with people’s pooping schedules?

Ever seen the series Downton Abbey? The hub’s and I cannot stop watching it!  Every evening after we put the babe’s to bed we watch an episode, and I am LOVING it!

8 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on June 5, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Kombucha, Plant Based Diet, Vegan

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on June 5, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/06/05/weight-loss-killer/

Kombucha 101

Sweat it Out (tuesday)
Elliptical 15 Minutes
Spin Class 50 Minutes

Sweat it Out Today
Elliptical 60 Minutes

I went to my first spin class of the year yesterday!  Yay, me!  Let me go on a tiny rant about group exercise.  I can’t seem to get in a zone.  When I am on the elliptical I seem to just go into beast mode.  I get into my music that I get to shuffle around often, I have nobody but my mind telling me how far to push myself.  It’s the same thing when I weight lift.  So when I go to a group exercise, such as spin, I find it hard to get into the workout when the exercise is all over the place.  Your in the saddle, out of the saddle, “walking”, pedaling to the beat, and just when I get into a groove we’re moving onto the next set of intervals.  It’s not the classes fault by any means, in fact, I really like the Tuesday instructor.  She’s funny and I like the workout, but I guess group exercise has just never been for me.  I am still going to do one spin class a week, because I think cross training is important in exercise.  Also, the fans were broken in the room and so I was DRIPPING with sweat!  I don’t think I have ever been that sweaty in one workout.  I looked at my bodybugg display expecting to see a pretty serious calorie burn, and I actually burned about 300 calories LESS than I do when I workout on the elliptical.  I’m going to have to play around with this.

Moving on….

What is Kombucha?

One of the questions I have gotten quite frequently is “What is Kombucha?”.  So today I’ve decided to clear up the question so that everyone knows about the awesomeness that is Kombucha.

I was first introduced to Kombucha about 7 years ago when my hairdresser was drinking a cranberry version because she was trying to clear up a bladder infection.  I asked her if I could try it, and she said I wouldn’t like it.  I thought it had cranberries in it, but come to find out it was strands of the culture used to make the drink.  Mia (my hairdresser) had just got done battling a major thyroid attack on her body and she said that she felt a lot of difference when she drank one of these on a regular basis.

Fast forward 6 years and a coworker had a rainbow colored bottle with the name “Trilogy” on it.  I told her that it looked interesting and she asked if I would like to try some.  She gave me a VERY generous half of her bottle, and I was instantly in love!  It became my instant replacement for soda and gave me the bubbles that I craved from carbonation.

Kombucha (pronounced com-boo-ka) is a fizzy fermented tea beverage that is a health-seeker’s delight. So in short, it’s fermented tea.”Fermented foods are foods produced or preserved by the action of microorganisms.” -Wikipedia Fermentation is the healthy transformation in which “good” or healthy bacteria begin to form in foods. Other fermented foods include pickles, yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchee, tempeh, miso and more.

In the holistic health world Kombucha has been looked at as a “cure-all”.  Some health claims that have been made is that it aids in:

  • Weight loss
  • Digestion
  • Increased Energy
  • Detoxification
  • Better Skin
There are even some claims saying that it can cure early stages of cancer and numerous other life threatening illnesses.
I am not going to say that I believe all these claims, because there is no scientific study showing it to be true.  I can tell you that I feel fabulous when I drink a bottle a day.  When I have a cold, I drink two a day and my cold is gone a lot quicker than without.

Kombucha can be found in most health foods stores.  I have found and bought it at both Vitamin Cottage, and Sunflower Market.  It is about $2.65 a bottle.  Quite a difference from a soda a day, but with more health benefits.

Questions?  

 

 

 

6 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on January 11, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in 21-Day Vegan Kickstart, Kombucha

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on January 11, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/01/11/kombucha-101/

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