What Every PALEO Girl Should Own...

Hi everybody! Being healthy is a big part of being a strong, godly, young woman (not only because our bodies are temples of the Holy Ghost, but also because we should always be prepared for whatever God sends our way, whether it be butchering chickens, raising active kids, fighting off unsavory characters in a parking lot, being a nurse, living in an austere convent, or being a traveling missionary!).  I have been trying to heal from a couple of autoimmune diseases and several food allergies for the past three years, and the best thing I have found to help me feel my best has been the Paleo Lifestyle! I would like to share the things I think are necessary to start living this lifestyle and very much encourage you to look into it yourself!  

One thing that really grinds my gears is when people ask me if I'm "still following that crazy diet".  Grrrrrr.  It's a lifestyle, not just a diet, and part of this lifestyle is strengthening your body with exercise.  I have found kettle-bells to be the program that works for me because it blends cardio with weight training, and it only takes about half an hour a day! Most of the Paleo blogs I read all recommend doing Kettle-Bells too, and it really seems to be taking off lately.  I even found out that Henry Cavill did Kettle-Bells when he was getting all buff to play Superman :).

Absolutely necessary when you start the Paleo Lifestyle.  When you first switch from the Standard American Diet it can seem impossible to find anything to eat, but with all the amazing cookbooks out there, you will be proven wrong very quickly.  These are our favorites, and we love how they are so full of easy-to-prepare, filling, healthy, delicious recipes.  I don't even miss junk food anymore!

This is a bit of a joke in my family...it seems cauliflower is one of the most versatile vegetables ever.  Every Paleo cookbook seems to have almost a whole section on the dozens of different ways to make cauliflower; rice, grits, mashed, popped like corn, pizza crust...the list goes on and on! The best part is that it has almost no taste, so with the right spices you can turn it into almost anything!

If you don't like doing weights, you should definitely look into purchasing a trampoline, or even a
re-bounder, for exercise.  Bouncing on one of these for fifteen minutes is equivalent to jogging for thirty! We have so much fun on our's from Springfree.  The boys and I go out for a while almost every morning, and have found that it improves our energy and even our mood!

Do you have any favorite things you do to stay healthy?

Weekly Roundup...

What I Liked:

...starting a cake decorating class at Hobby Lobby!

...discovering an amazing state park right down the road from our house...complete with beaches, playgrounds, hiking trails, horse riding, boat rentals, basket-ball courts, volley-ball courts, tennis courts, and even a restaurant!

...going swimming at one of the aforesaid park's beaches...first swim of the year!!!

...finally seeing "The Scarlet and the Black".  I highly recommend this movie!

...finally getting our four-wheeler back from the mechanic.  I haven't even been able to drive it yet because Dad and the boys have been on it all week!

...going into the library and walking out with a bag full of books...I love that feeling!

...ordering and promptly receiving a new jewelry making kit.

What I Didn't:

...slow internet...it reeeaaalllly gets on my nerves...

...wasps that buzz around my head every morning while I'm sitting on the porch trying to read my Bible.

...our cow Ellie watching for me to leave my shoes unguarded so she can lick them.

...Silica powder...ughhh...

What Made Me Laugh:

...the poor AT'T salesman trying to help us...you know he's given up when he starts telling you that you really don't need to buy a phone today...some other day might work better.

...calling my friend four times in a row because each time her little brother said she was in the shower...the fifth time she answered and said that she really had been out the last time I called: her brother just wanted to see if I would keep calling back.

...the Beatrix Potter Tales...so funny.

...my brother's almond flour pancakes...they turned back into almond flour when he started cooking them.

What I Accomplished:

...learning to parallel park!!!

...making Paleo Club Sandwiches...the best thing I have eaten since going Paleo.

...making two new sets of jewelry out of my new jewelry making kit.

...Paleo Peach Cobbler...even without ice cream it was amazing.