Welcome to the site where food* is for you not against you

"Food is for you not against you" is a saying that we can live by and not die by... you may wonder how this can be, with all these diets and food group fears, and links to obesity and weight gain... how can it be for us?  Food as by definition is for us... the substance that brings health and life to our bodies.  Notice I said FOOD,  and notice that much of the american diet is not food by definition... continue reading the blog pages to find out more about this idea!
So I had my third little boy almost a year ago, and with each pregnancy I have gained 40ish lbs which is a lot on a little 5'4" frame.  However with the first pregnancy I lost all of the weight plus about 3lbs the second I lost it all plus about 5 lbs, and the third babe I lost it all plus 10 lbs leaving me the skinniest I have been... well even less then highschool where I ran track and cross country and wasn't overweight to begin with.... All this is not to say this is what should happen, or what anyone should aim for... but just to bring up the topic of foodstyle.  I am often asked, why/how do I get rid of my baby weight so well and fast.
 Well there are a few things that come to mind...
Attitude: not to say I eat perfectly....
There are many things that I eat on occasion that I know are not optimal... sugar for example.. But I think that this factor plays part because I am ok with it and therefore don't stress about my food intake.... Ya know, stress= weight gain, scientifically proven!  SO MANY PEOPLE equate food and food choices with stress and anxiety,  it doesn't matter what they eat they will gain weight just by looking at it, and that is not just to coin the phrase!  Also my attitude toward vegetables is that I love them and eat them a lot because they taste good and make me feel good... Same goes with exercise, it is a treat for me to go running... If someone came over and said... "go and do whatever you want and I'll watch the boys all day" I would go running, take a shower then go to Dunn Bros and shopping ha! Running has become a treat rather then an every day thing though with 3 young boys... more often I can find time to do a few crunches, squats, and lunges... but that is the extent of my working out purposefully.. and guess what, I choose to not be stressed  about that either!
Whole Food:
Another factor is that my family eats allergen friendly foods, so no gluten and minimal dairy, no MSG, yeast, and very little processed food (aside from the processing done in my amazing food processor). Because of this, I cook from scratch, and that eliminates non food items like fake sugars, and high fructose corn syrup, fillers and additives, and all the health food myths like soy, agave, fat free, sugar free foods etc.....
Understanding:
The other thing that helps is I do have my BA in Dietetics (yes the schooling helps) and I can decipher food components, and anatomy, physiology and biology, so I not only can tell what is good/bad for us, but I can not get myself to consume much less feed my loved ones non food items since I at least partially understand the detriment it has on our bodies, and I can spot a diet myth a mile away!
Oh and I do have to note Genetics: My  mom is very tiny (but strong) as well and so is my dad.  Not everyone on earth is going to be tiny (thank God) and if you are not, that is OK don't try to be, just love your body for how God created it, there are benefits on either ends of the spectrum.  Health is our aim here, not super skinny!
NOW you may say "good for you, what about me then"  And to that I say, I am so thankful that I have the capability to help you!  You don't need to go to school or have the uncanny ability to listen to your body or crave vegetables and running (yet.. these things are the bi-products) you just have to want to try to be healthy, and inquire, think for yourself, do research, ask me for help, and I am at your disposal. Go through the pages of my blog for starters, then email me or call me and I would love LOVE to answer questions and brainstorm with you!
Peace and Love,
Abby

Thanks to everyone who came for our grocerystore tour kickoff last night, your feedback was most helpful.  And now with a few tweaks we will plan the next one!  I have a few things to do before I can give you details.  Thanks for following and hope to see you at the grocery store very soon!

Eating Healthy on a Budget

Our Grocery Store tour at Walmart is coming up quick!
We will be meeting at Walmart in Sartell.
Our Tour will begin Wednesday June 26th at 6pm in the Subway that is in front of the store.

This is our first tour, but my aim is to complete the actual tour in one hour.  In order to do so I will give everyone a map and some other informational handouts in the beginning.  Also we are only going to focus on the GOOD food I don't think we will have time to cover the non edibles, So we will have to rely on the handouts to tell you a little about why we may avoid certain foods. For example, why we won't be visiting the soda aisle!

Anyone is welcome to come, just RSVP by Tuesday!
Hope to see you there!

Exciting news!  We are underway on grocery store tours!  We are able to do tours in Coborns Pinecone and Walmart now.  First tour will be the last week of June, I will update you as soon as I have the details ironed out!  It has taken a bit for logistics but we are excited to move forward now!  Comment and let me know which you would prefer first: How to shop healthy on a budget - Walmart  or How to shop for whole body health- Coborns
Looking forward to seeing you there!

Updates!

Happy Saturday Everyone!
Sure is snowy for mid April!  But nonetheless me and my husband, his sister and many more will be running in the 5k for Prevent Childabuse MN, come join us in Rice MN!  Run any time from 12-7 if you want to be timed with chip timing the shotgun sounds at 12:30!

ANYWAYS This morning I was able to update a few things on our blog.  Check it out... I think there is something under every tab now! Yay progress!  Please leave feedback! I love that!

Hello Everyone

Today I had a chance to revamp some things on our Blog:
Since there are many categories of interest I have placed the tabs on top to better help you to navigate! I will be filling in some of the tabs this weekend!

I am excited to add the Grocery Store Tour Tab above.  Please click there to see about some up and coming opportunities to learn!  Add a comment on the bottom!

Thanks for visiting!

New Blog

Hello Everyone!

I am new at blogging, so bear with me as I learn! 

Why I am blogging:

After graduating HS and interning at Teen Mania Ministries for a year I was contemplating what I wanted to do with my life... I only knew one thing and that was I wanted to be a wife and mom.  Also I knew I was supposed to go to school (thanks to my dad), so I decided I would go for something that would benefit my family.  Since I was passionate about nutrition and whole health and I decided that it would benefit my future family, I got my BA in Dietetics... I then went on to get my Masters in Holistic Nutrition with an emphasis in Herbology, but I was unable to finish that degree because my college shut down, and life hasn't allowed me to pursue that once again...yet! 

In the middle of it all, I got married to an amazing man (Matt), and we had 3 wonderful boys (Tate, Brady, and Griffin)...so far...

And here is the game changer... My husband who has had migraines since he was 12 ( I mean really bad ones that put him out of commission for 2 days at a time, 2 times per month) figured out his trigger:
 Gluten, Dairy, Yeast, Egg Whites, Bananas, Parsley, and Oats.
I was always curious about the food allergy piece, but what brought us to get tested was our amazing Chiropractor Faith Schumann.  She sent us in to get a blood test of 110 foods.  The test measured sensitivities.  So he isn't a celiac, and he doesn't have any type of anaphylactic reaction if he eats these foods.  But if they build up in his system then he will get a migraine.  Since he has been on his new diet... over 3 years, he has had only one bad migraine, and that was due to stress and a buildup of some of his no-no foods which he probably was exposed to through eating out, and not being picky enough.

So all this to say; over the years I have become somewhat of an expert on allergy friendly diets... paired with my background in nutrition and holistic wellness, I want to share with you my experience and knowledge. From recipes, to nutrition and health information.

This blog is about healthy whole food, that pretty much everyone can eat! 

My hope is to inspire healthy living through diet and lifestyle... and to encourage those with food allergies they can eat good too!  So here goes!