Avacado Coleslaw

I got this basic recipe from my dear friend, Karen. I added the carrots--just 'cause we like carrots. It's easy, inexpensive and makes a yummy summer lunch!

Avacado Coleslaw

1 bag angel hair shredded coleslaw

1 generous handful of shredded carrots

Hellman's mayo (Karen swears by Hellman's)

chopped green onions

4 chopped avacados

Mix, chill and serve in your favorite bowl.

My Health Pantry: Water

I read the following statistic on the back of an Ozarka water bottle this week and decided I just had to pass it along to you.

Skip the Sugar

A typical 12 oz. sugared beverage contains the equivalent of 10 tsp of sugar. Water has no sugar. Replacing ONE sugared beverage daily with water can cut 3,650 tsp. of sugar a year from your diet. (emphasis mine)

Replacing just one cola a day with water blesses your body on several levels:

* water flushes toxins from your system, which will keep you healthier as you age (toxins store up in our bodies and WILL eventually cause us problems--we can bank on it. We can make our good investments now simply by drinking one extra glass of pure water a day.)

* water makes your skin glow

* water can prevent headaches that are commonly caused by dehydration

* reducing sugar will help extra weight melt away

* sugar is addictive--anything we can do to crave only Christ is a positive thing in our lives

Make it fun to drink your water! For Mother's Day, my kids bought me a large cup from the craft store that they added a picture of our family to, and I love it. It makes me happy to drink my water from this tall cup, so I'm much more likely to drink my water.

Something as simple and inexpensive as drinking water is so a part of my routine that I often forget how basic it is to my health. But I know that when I'm seventy I will be so happly that I drank my water when I was thirty!

Reflux: Apple Cider Vinegar

You would think that adding acid to an already-acidic situation would be just plain wrong. But so many people have reported such success with taking apple cider vinegar for their acid reflux that it's hard not to sit up and take notice.

I found a recipe for apple cider vinegar and baking soda for reflux on this web site.

I highly recommend Bragg's apple cider vinegar if you wish to try this inexpensive remedy. And if you do, let us all know how it works for you!

Probiotic: The Stronger the Better

When you are choosing a probiotic, look for one that has as high a potency as possible to get as much good bacteria packed into each capsule/scoop as possible.

There is a lot on the internet about probiotic, and honestly, it leaves even me confused. So, I rely heavily upon what works for others. And I've heard VERY good things about Beeyoutiful's Tummy Tuneup. For more info on this amazing supplement, click on the Tummy Tuneup banner below.

How do you know if YOU need to balance the bacteria in your gut? You may be a candidate for probiotic if you or your kids deal with any of the following:
Allergies and food sensitivities
Difficulty losing weight
Sugar/carbohydrate craving
Frequent fatigue
Poor concentration
Frequent constipation or diarrhea
Faulty digestion, acid reflux and other gut disorders
Sleeping poorly, night sweats
Painful joint inflammation, stiffness
Bad breath, gum disease and dental problems
Frequent colds, flu or infections
Chronic yeast problems
Acne, eczema skin and foot fungus
Extreme menstrual or menopausal symptoms (PMS)

(I've highlighted the ones I personally have dealt or deal with right now--ok, that's embarrassing to air my dirty laundry :-D)

If you deal with any of these symptoms of an unbalanced gut, please consider getting yourself some probiotic.

In a healthy intestinal tract are approximately 400 different kinds of microorganisms. (Due to their inability to withstand an acidic environment, not many are found in the stomach.) As we move on to the small intestine, the number of bacteria increases by a factor of 10, and by the time we get to the colon, there are almost a billion times more than found in the small intestine.

As you can see, getting good bacteria in the form of a probiotic is essential to your overall health! Every health pantry needs a good probiotic--so grab you some today.

Break Out the Ruffles and Bows!! It's a GIRL!!

Good Friday was a very good Friday in the Fagala house!

That's the day our second precious daughter was born.

Kathryn Elyse

7 lbs. 9 ozs., 20'' long

April 10, 2009

10:28 p.m.

What a special way to celebrate Easter Sunday and the sacrifice of our Savior--by welcoming this NEW little LIFE into our family!

We are filled with GREAT JOY!

The Two Sisters Cookbook

For several years, I was a vegan and ate no meat or dairy products. It is a great way to lose weight and cleanse the toxins out of your system!

I enjoyed the first two years of mostly raw fruits and veggies and whole grains very much, then I got pregnant again. . .

Everything was great until the end of the pregnancy and my midwife begged me to eat a hamburger to get a boost of protein. I surrendered. I'll never forget that trip to Sonic. We knew they had $1 hamburger nights, so I packed the chips and our drinks and we set off. I still remember where we parked at the drive-in.

Since that day I have slowly incorporated organic meats back into our diet, but will never lose my first love for a colorful green salad spilling over the plate or a handful of raw, sweet almonds or organic fruits and veggies! They are still the BEST.

One of my favorite meatless cookbooks is FROM THE KITCHEN OF TWO SISTERS by the Voeller sisters--it is absolutely excellent in flavor and in content!

I particularly love this cookbook because the ingredients are wholesome and healthy, but not gourmet or outlandish. They are things I can easily find in my local grocery store or health food store and I really appreciate that.

I also like the fact that the recipes share many of the same ingredients, but each recipe has its own unique character and flavor. So it satifies my frugal palette as well.

Some of the Fagala Family faves are:

Spectacular Sauteed Green Beans

Sunny Yellow Squash

Best Barbeque Sauce (every good Texan or wanna-be Texan needs to make this in BIG batches!)
Sunny Corn Bread

Sweet Biscuits

Egg-Citing Flaxseed Mixture (good egg substitute)

Parsley-Parmesan Pesto

I highly recommend this cookbook for those who'd like to have some delicious dishes that don't include meat or dairy. And trust me. . . I've served these dishes to my cheese-loving friends numerous times with great raves.

There's just nothing that beats great flavor! Bon appetit.

4-Wheelin' Fun

I got a crazy hair the other day and hopped on the back of my honey's four-wheeler to spend some much-needed alone time with my man. Mind you--I am two weeks, or thereabouts, away from delivering our 6th child.

Pretty quickly I realized that all those bumps and dips out in the pasture don't feel so good at nine months pregnant, even if we were only going 20 mph! He joked and said he was just helping me go into labor. "I've still got too much to do to get ready!" I hollered into the wind. But, much to his credit, he slowed WAAAYY down for his aching wife and got us comfortably home. No baby yet.

I love what my friend Andrea said when I was telling her about it. She laughed and said (and I'm paraphrasing), "I don't think there's anyway you can bump, shake or coax those babies out. They come when they come!"

So true!! God's timing is perfect. . . every time! Stay tuned--we'll keep you posted on our little one's arrival.