Tag Archives: healthy

Garden Crop Harvest

Garden Harvest Time

Autumn is in the air … the evenings are getting chilly. It is time to harvest our garden crop. I’m a little concerned about how this year’s crop is going to be. Between my neglect (lack of weeding) and an early frost last night, I don’t have high expectations. My schedule is crazy busy this week, but my plan is to harvest everything on Thursday afternoon … please pray for no rain that day.

Each springtime, I usually try to plant seeds that I’ve saved from last year’s crop. I use my own compost created from our own compostable kitchen scraps and fallen leaves from our many trees. BTW, if anyone is ever in the mood to rake during the month of October … give me a call …  we usually fill 40+ kraft bags with leaves every year. Continue reading

Goals ~ Not Resolutions for the New Year

Goals ~ Not Resolutions

Happy New Year’s Eve 2017!

Well, 2017 has proven to be an interesting year for me. Mostly because I decided to make my health a more important/relevant part of my daily schedule.

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 Please note, I am healthy, I didn’t have any major medical issues

 … I was just “sick & tired of feeling sick & tired” …

you know what I mean?

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For the first half of the year, we (my hubby and I) worked on making healthy food choices (for the most part). We made a meal plan and cut back on eating out so much. We cooked most of our meals at home. We “brown bagged it” (are those even a thing anymore?) for our lunches. We did have a “cheat” day on the weekend, but really tried hard to not go overboard. We both lost some weight, but not a whole lot 🙁

We tried making a concentrated effort on being more active. Exercise has never really been my thing, so I tried spending more time doing activities that I enjoyed, like camping and taking long hikes in the woods of various state parks. I also worked a lot in my yard and garden. We went for bike rides and went bowling. You know what I mean? Activities that had a purpose in additional to exercising my body.

We also joined the local gym to have a place to do a more consistent type workout.  Like many, we went 3 times a week religiously for a month or two, then it dwindled to 2 times, then once a week, then very sporadically until we are now at the point in time of saying ”why are we paying for this – we never use it”. By the middle of summer, I was off the healthy wagon more often than I was on it ☹

I ran into a friend of mine that I hadn’t seen in a very long time. I commented that she looked amazing … she of course thanked me, and responded that that the best part is that she felt great. Healthier than she ever really remembered feeling. Being a good friend, she told me all about the great health and wellness program she was following that was giving her such great results.

I started following the program and I’m feeling great … I’ve lost pounds and inches. I’ve gone down 2 sizes. At my annual physical, my bloodwork came back as being in the normal healthy range, plus I was able to stop taking meds for high blood pressure! It sounds strange, I know, but I feel younger 🙂   I don’t feel as many aches and pains as before. I’m sure my joints appreciate not have so much extra weight to support 🙂

I do have a few health goals for 2018:

  • continue losing more weight while giving my body nutrient rich foods (50 more lbs. would put me back to my high school weight)
  • get my BMI into the normal range
  • continue trying to have a healthy active lifestyle
  • use my gym membership to help build lean muscle tone

I also have a few business goals for 2018:

  • blog more consistently (sorry for being MIA a lot this past year)
  • complete training to get certified in building & maintaining WordPress websites
  • revamp my Tracy Helps You website
  • be more active in my local Chamber of Commerce and in IVAA

These are goals ~ not resolutions.

For me, the difference is this:

Resolutions seem kind of all or nothing – you achieved them or you didn’t ?

Goals can be broken down into doable steps … they are a work in process ?

What goals will you be working on in 2018 ?

 

Thankful for Laughter

Tracy Helps You’s Thankful Thoughts for Today ~ 11/20/14

November 20, 2014 ~ Today I am thankful for laughter. They say that laughter is the best medicine. It not only improves your mood, but it gives you a sense of well-being. Let’s not forget the health benefits … your facial muscles get a good stretch, plus, a good belly laugh burns calories 🙂

Sometimes I’ll be quietly working in my home office and all of a sudden hear my hubby laugh out loud … not just a giggle, but a full blown belly laugh … while he’s watching TV in another room. It warms my heart knowing he is happy and content

♥ Today I am thankful for laughter ♥

Natural Homemade Body Wash

Homemade Natural Body Wash – DIY Tips & Ideas

In the last couple of years or so, I’ve been trying to be more aware of what ingredients are in my health and beauty products. I’ve been researching and learning about many harsh chemicals that are commonly used in many products. Some are actual known carcinogens! While I’m just a newbie at this type of research, I’ve learned enough that I want to try something that won’t harm me … so I’m starting with homemade body wash.

Sadly, some of those yucky chemicals actually produce the effects that I love about liquid body wash … mainly the rich, sudsy lather and the wonderful scent. So I, of course, went to Pinterest in search of the perfect recipe to make some homemade body wash 🙂 I just love Pinterest, don’t you? Do you follow me? However, I have learned that I have to limit my time (I literally set a timer on my phone) or else I could get lost for hours. I can’t tell you how many great blogs I read about making homemade healthy and beauty products. I tried narrowing my search by looking for those that got good reviews concerning lathering. I know it’s goofy, but I just love having rich lather … it feels luxurious to me. Continue reading

Pinterest Crockpot Soup Recipe

Monday’s Menu ~ Pinterest Recipe for Crockpot Pasta e Fagioli Soup

One of my goals for 2014 was to learn how to make homemade soups. I chose a few I’d like to learn in an previous post. Yesterday I made a recipe (that wasn’t even on my list) that I found on Pinterest.

My husband and I enjoy going out to eat. We like simple, casual food ~ homey, comfort food, nothing too fancy or gourmet. Olive Garden is one of our favorite places to go.

I was looking for crockpot recipes on Pinterest when I found this one. I made a couple of changes, but only because I didn’t have a couple of the ingredients on hand. I used Italian Seasoning in place of the basil and thyme, and I skipped the apple juice entirely. I also chose to slice the carrots instead of shred them. Otherwise, I pretty much followed the recipe step by step. You can find the original recipe here.

My recipes calls for fresh chopped veggies

Chopping fresh veggies for my homemade soup recipe from Pinterest

Recipe call for healthy beans

Healthy beans are one of the ingredients in my homemade soup recipe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had this for dinner last night … I served it with warm from the oven pumpernickel dinner rolls. YUM !

Pasta E Fagioli with warm pumpernickel dinner rolls

My first time making Pasta E Fagioli soup using a copycat recipe from Olive Garden

This recipe makes a big pot of homemade soup … both my husband and I give it a big thumbs up – you should give it a try 🙂

Curves Complete Warrenville, IL

Tracy Helps You’s Thankful Thoughts for Today ~ 11-6-13

November 6 ~ Today I am thankful for my health. I am a middle aged, overweight woman who has never really taken care of herself. I have been blessed with relatively good health all my life, but I’m ashamed to admit that I took my good health for granted.

A couple years ago, I injured my lower back / left hip when I fell down some stairs. After treatment from doctors, chiropractors, and physical therapists, I am finally feeling back to normal (or as close to pre-injury as I’m likely to get). All of these professionals treated me from differing points of view. However, they all agreed on one point, I needed to lose weight and workout. They all advised me to work at strengthening my core to protect my back from being re-injured.

I have been overweight and out of shape since my first pregnancy over 20 years ago. I have been able to lose weight several times over this time span … but I’ve always gained it back, plus some 🙁

I have never enjoyed exercising … never thought of myself as athletic. But I knew in my heart it had to be different this time.

I joined CURVES a few weeks ago and took my first steps on what will most likely be a life-long journey of getting fit and staying healthy. I really like that the program I joined has everything I need under one roof – diet, exercise, counseling and support of new friends. Everyone I’ve met there has been friendly and welcoming. I am determined to make eating healthy and working out my new lifestyle.

♥ Today I am thankful I have started my journey to a healthy lifestyle ♥