I'm here to admit that I'm not a runner!  Not at all...actually.  But, I run.  Stick with me, and I will get to my point.  You see, running just isn't that interesting to me.  I have a personality that is shaped somewhat slightly ADD...where it is hard for me to sit and do THE SAME THING for long periods of time.  The same is true for running.  It has always been boring for me.  BUT...my body loves it!  It feels refreshed, recharged, healthy, etc.  And, quite frankly because I get amazing results when I do run, it makes me want to run more.

Over the past several years I have challenged myself in the area of running.  Not because I like running...but because it stretches me, it pulls out different potentials inside of the depths of my spirit, and it helps me pray, think, and achieve goals that I might never achieve.

One of my goals for 2014 is to run a half marathon.  Remember...I'm not a runner!  So, this is a lofty goal, and one that I will take my time on.  I am going to follow a 9-10mo. plan to train for this half marathon, and I cannot wait to post on here about my journey with this training.  I realize that the first step to this goal, is dedication, over coming obstacles like the thoughts that run through my head "maybe tomorrow", "I'm just not feeling good today" or a good one for me is "I need to be with the kids"...the list could go on.  All the excuses in the world are going to need to be put to the side as I travel on this path.  I must come out on top and not let anything get in my way!

I am going to be using a running app on my phone called runkeeper!  If you would like to follow my daily routine I will be posting my schedule soon!  Start with me!  You don't have to make your goal a 1/2 marathon, what about a 5k?  or a 10k?  Its up to you...but I would love the company!  And...I would love to hear your progress as well.  Your health matters!  Maybe we could encourage each other in our goals!  I hear that is the best remedy for those bad thoughts that discourage us!  Let's do it!

Cheers to an Amazing Start!

Jamie

Its the 4th of July!!  And...what better way to celebrate than a sale that benefits your health and wellness!




A Simple Bite's Vitamin Shop is having a sale!  Our largest sale ever!!

OPC-3 Our extremely effective antioxident is 40% off for a 90 day supply!!

Multivitamin - With all active ingredients is 40% off for a 90 day supply!!

All other supplements are 14% off!!

HEAD ON OVER TO OUR SHOP

JULY 4th weekend ONLY!!  Using coupon code JULY4

I wanted to post something {simple}, but delicious!  Snap peas are in season, and look amazing and make the perfect ingredient for summer stirfry! After making, sprinkle some sesame seeds on there and voila!!  YUM!  If you love the recipe as much as I do, don't forget to pin it!

A Multivitamin, Activated Vitamin B Complex, Calcium, and OPC-3 which is an anti-oxident should all be a part of your daily supplement essentials!

Try it here and fill your cart with the "Daily Essentials Kit" at our new SHOP and get 20% off using Discount Code:  SPRING during the month of April!

(Multivitamin comes with or without Iron)

Want more info?  Check out this awesome video on these 4 Daily Essentials!

A Simple Bite now has a shop!  We would love it if you stopped in, browsed and tried something!  Questions??  Email us at info@asimplebite.com.  If you don't see something, just ask by emailing us...AND...make sure you enter in Discount Code SPRING to get that extra perk as our gift to you for stopping by!  Don't forget to choose your shipping options - Here's how they work:  Anything 0-$99 is $5.00 flat rate and anything $100 and over is FREE!  Or you can get it free by choosing pick-up and you can swing by the office and pick them up!  Here's to getting well! CLICK HERE to go to SHOP!

I had a couple of wonderful grandmas.  One could cook pretty good southern food, the other was an amazing Polish cook who baked like a mad woman.  Both loved the kitchen and had crazy talents in that area.  I was blessed to at least be in their presence while they cooked, but even more blessed when they wrote their recipes down.  I'm sure it was difficult for them to do because they knew everything by heart!  It was awesome!  Do you have any wonderful "Grandma Recipes" to share?

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!  Of course you know they are the healthier type of southern recipes and within Glycemic Impact eating.

1.  Sausage and Peppers



2.  This is a slight variation to my Grandmothers meatballs - but it is because I like lower fat meats.  We used bison instead of the ground chunk.  Love this recipe!  So easy and everyone loves it.

Fresh green beans are the absolute best!  They are green, they are fresh...am I stating the obvious?  They are just delicious.  As I was sitting, snapping my green beans for the week, I thought "there are so many different ways to prepare green beans!"  I take mine, snap them, and then freeze them for later.  But, here are some ways that I use green beans when the "later" approaches.  I'm linking to some great recipes that I have tried.  I hope you enjoy them too!  If you have some ways you have used green beans, please share them with me!  I would love to try yorus too!

1.  Baked Green Beans (On bar pan, drizzle olive oil and parm cheese and sea salt).
2.  Toasted Almond Green Bean Salad!  Seriously its yummy and easy!  Low GI too...for those of you that know I am a firm believer in low GI foods.
3.  Honey Balsamic Green Beans.  A healthy and not fried recipe from Paula Dean.  But, just a slight twist on normal green beans, which I like.  Makes a great side!
4.  Crispy Sesame Green Bean Fries...you will die...they are so delicious!  I do cheat a little on the homemade bread crumbs...because less face it, there is just not enough time in the day, but she also provides a gluten free version.  But these are totally low GI as well and make a great snack for even your youngest lovely. (You'll love her blog too! )
5.  Green Bean and Artichoke Casserole - I think this makes a fantastic side dish with some chicken.  Just another unique way to prepare your green beans.

I am processing "rest" this week.  It is a topic that I barely understand.  I'm a wife, mom, entrepreneur, bible study leader for other moms, etc.  I have WAY too many hats to R-E-S-T!  However, God has been speaking to me about it lately.  Mostly boundaries in the area of rest.  I want so badly to do better in this area in 2013!  While on detox this week, it allows me to process other changes that need to be made.  I mean, it is a time for setting goals right?

Just a small bite:  Owning my own business, I have come to realize that it is difficult to get away.  Each time we schedule something, a client of mine "needs" me in some way shape or form - and my rest or vacation is interrupted.  It can be quite frustrating, and doesn't really allow for much rest for me or my family.  Especially, since most of the business is on my shoulders (I don't have employees).   But, I think rest goes beyond vacation doesn't it??  Why do we wait for vacations to rest?

There are two verses that come to mind when I think of rest, and I can't help but think that God has something very important to say in these verses.   "Come to me all who are weary, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).  Personally, when I don't rest, I not only feel disconnected, but I feel tired, heavy with worry, anxiety circles around me, and I have a hard time focusing.  Sometimes the opposite can happen too, where I just literally feel like doing absolutely nothing!  I am completely not engaged with my family (husband, children, etc) and life just gets blah.  Not quite depression, but a great sign that I have not had rest.  Rest isn't just 8hrs. of sleep a night.  No, for me it goes far beyond that.  Rest is being able to spend time alone (I am really an introvert who loves people), spending time in God's Word, spending time doing hobbies I enjoy, and spending time with my family.  When I don't have these, I feel weary and I feel not rested.

I was reading in Hebrews, did you know the book alone has 14 words that relate back to rest??  But, one of the words was translated "restored" and I noticed the word "rest" in the word "restored"!  (Hebrews 13:9) YES!  That is how I feel when I am truly well rested!  I feel like a new person and I feel God and my family, and the women I am blessed to serve, get my best. There is a piece of the wellness puzzle that cannot be forgotten, especially for us busy ladies, it is REST...in the many areas of our life.    I want to be able to be my best and give my best so rest MUST become a priority.

What about you?  What makes you feel well rested?

About every 6 months I do what I call a detox week.  It is a period of time between 4 - 7 days where I eat nothing but vegetables and a few servings of fruit.  Please do not try this if you have medical issues, or are pregnant or nursing.  Also, if you are unsure of your health it is best to speak with a doctor first.  But, for me it is great.  Vegetables are a great source of dietary fiber and it allows my body to "recover" a bit from all the comfort food eating I tend to do some of during the holidays.  So January is a good place to start for me, as well as right before summer starts or when the kids get out of school.  If you are the type of person that does not like veggies (I once was that person), there is a great detox kit I can recommend here.  It has all the vital essentials for doing a proper detox that is not a fruit and veggie detox.  I prefer the fruit and veggie detox, I get better results, and it literally puts my body in a great place.  The first 2 - 3 days I feel a little tired, mostly from caffeine withdrawl, but after that I am good.  I NEVER go hungry because you can eat whenever you want all day if you need to, it just needs to be veggies.  ;)

I have several good detox meals click here to view 1 of my menus, and I definitely plan the week for meals.  My kids eat the veggies as sides, so it is easy to fit into our daily routine.  You can check out my Pinterest for some good and yummy detox ideas.  It doesn't get boring.  Or at least I try my best for it not to be.

Tonight, for example was a spin off of Eggplant parmesan.  I added minimal cheese, with spaghetti sauce over top of the eggplant with fresh green beans that I cut and baked with a small hint of olive oil (so they wouldn't dry out) and sea salt.  I made a snack throughout the day of some deliciously baked butternut squash cubes!  I didn't go hungry!

How do you recover from a crazy season of eating?

Life is good over here at the Thomas household, but it is even better when we are well.  What about you?  Sick kids, sick spouse, sick you...its no fun.  What I want to be clear about when I post on wellness, is that it is not about how to avoid getting sick or how to take that vitamin C well, NO...not at all, my passion and my heartbeat is to help folks from the INSIDE out be well.  That doesn't mean just weightloss or "fixing" a chronic illness through supplementation and organic eating, it actually means that we all need to THINK about what we are putting in our bodies both healthy and non-healthy things and have knowledge and confidence to make wise choices when it comes to wellness.

Throughout the course of our journey together you are going to hear me refer to the Bible or Scripture often. It is because that is what I believe is an authoritative book that holds the truth.  There is absolutely no question in my mind that it is true.  So, my perspectives are Biblical as well as my own life experiences, and since I am a woman, my point of view will come from that angle as well.

This picture is the perfect example of how I think about wellness.  It comes from Marquette University.   They call it the "Wellness Wheel"  Love it!

In regards to wellness, the Bible discusses the body quite a bit beginning in Genesis, and actually first and foremost God created the body and He created a woman's body to be enjoyed by a man.  I think this is important because it is part of the foundation of taking care of our bodies.  First we were created by a Creator who literally thought we were important enough to be created, and Secondly, He thought we should be beautiful enough for us to be enjoyed.  There is so much here!

To conclude my wellness thoughts so that I can get started on more specific wellness topics, I want you to know, I consider myself a wholistic thinker.  I like to think big picture.  I can see long term when others see short-term.  I encourage towards the long-term.  My knowledge and my expertise comes from a couple of places, my background, where I grew up with a sick mother.  Her drive to be well, encouraged me to pursue this for myself, for my family, and for others.  I am not apposed to medicine, my step-dad is a retired pediatrician, which means I have a complete personal MD at my finger tips!  My wholistic approach comes when I believe getting your body into its own natural rhythm before going the medication route unless of course your doctor advises you otherwise.  I am not a doctor, I don't claim to be.  However, I do hold fun degrees and certifications that allow me to discuss these things from a level that is intelligent and authoritative.

I love questions on this stuff, they drive me to be better at what I do here at home.  So please converse with me.  You may find I will tell you to talk to your doctor, and that might be because it is out of realm of expertise, but that's ok, ask anyway - and maybe we can come up with questions you should ask your doctor!    

Life is too short to not be well!  You have family, jobs, fun things going on in your life that require you to be well for a long time!  What are some fun topics on wellness, that you've always wondered about?  Energy?  Why take vitamins?  What?  Tell me.  I'm listening.

If you have read this long...you deserve a recipe!  Try this in the crockpot!  You will LOVE it, and its easy.  Please adjust the spice to the taste of your family.  Mine like it mild or none at all.

Found this one on Pinterest - I tweaked according to my family wellness style.  You can see the original here.

Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken


4 boneless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
Salt and pepper  (add in mixture)
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (this is where I adjusted for spice - this can be very spicy for kids)
4 teaspoons cornstarch
4c. brown Rice - or Quinoa  or even whole wheat Cous Cous
1/2 tablespoon (or more) sesame seeds

I have two small children, one who was born at a preemie weight at 38 weeks, and the other born with a  collapsed lung at 37 weeks.  The health and nutrition of my children have always been a priority.  For my daughter it was weight gain and making sure I integrated proper nutrition into her diet.  And, for my son, it was making sure his immune system was high enough to ward off any unwanted bacteria that could creep into his lungs to cause pneumonia, bronchitis or even meningitis. 

With this in mind, a friend/family member of mine who was an expert in health and nutritional supplements (her husband happened to be a retired pediatrician as well) pointed me in the direction of some fascinating research.  Which, if you know me at all, I absorb every new piece of information that someone can put on my plate.  The most profound statement she made to me that day was, "not ALL vitamins are created equal!" 

Yes, there are different types of vitamins or health supplements.  Both for children and adults, but for me, it started with my kids!  There are 2 important things to know and take away...the first is that there are pharmaceutical grade vitamins.  What this means (you check out some more info by clicking here) is that because the FDA is not able to regulate the standards of these vitamins, companies can put different elements besides the actual vitamin in the ingredients, but still call it whatever!  So, how do you know it is of Grade A quality or pharmaceutical grade.  Well, the difference is in the purity of the vitamin itself.  Grade A simply means that it is completely pure and must have a quality of 99% pure. 

The next piece of information I got regarding what I was giving my children (I was a Flinstone vitamin mommy, can anyone relate?) was the facts about absorption rates.  Which simply means how fast do the vitamins absorb into the blood stream so that my children's body is able to use the supplements I am giving them.  Try this, I was shocked, take one of your vitamin pills, put it into a glass of water and see how long it takes to dissolve! 

So, how do you reach maximum absorption, so that your kids are getting not only the best ingredients, but that the best ingredients are actually being absorbed into their bloodstream so their bodies can use it?  The trick is to make sure the vitamins you are giving your children are in an isotonic format.  What does this mean?  "Isotonic solutions bear the same chemical resemblance to blood and tears allowing for superior delivery and complete absorption." (isotonix.com).  I now use a certain type of product and their multi-vitamin, their OMEGA3's are all in this format.  I don't let them leave home without it.  During cold and flu season, they also get a healthy dose of Vitamin C.  To know what I am actually giving my kids is not only the best ingredients but is being used by their body at 95-99% is unbelievable!  Thank you to my friend for the wonderful information!  I feel smarter, and a better mommy because of it! 

If you would like to find out how to get some of these products, you can contact me directly and I will point you in the right direction. 

Other articles you might like:
Omega 3 and its impact on children's health
Omega 3 and ADD or ADHD
Calcium and Women's Health

Everyone LOVES beef stew!  So, I am going to share a simple family recipe with you for beef stew.  You may have one as well!  Would love to hear it and try it!  This is one, naturally, the kids can help you with, and its healthy, so you can't go wrong. 

You can do this in a crockpot OR...I prefer a stone egg. 

Preset your oven to about 250 and plan to make this for dinner so that you can begin around lunch time it needs to cook for at least 3hrs - preferred is 4 depending on your oven! 

Now for the ingredients:

• 1-2lbs of stew beef from the butcher - of course your local grocery store may have good beef, but I like it nice and tender, so fresh is better!
• pack of baby carrots
• Fresh green beans (however you will need to string them if you get fresh) or 1 can of french style green beans
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 packet of onion soup mix
• 1 cup water
• 7-10 baby red potatoes (amount depends on size)

In order for the kids to help, make sure you precut your potatoes, predrain your can of green beans, and prepare your gravy (mix 1 can cream of mushroom soup, with water and onion soup mix in a mixing bowl with a spout).  I cut my potatoes with a crinkle cutter from pampered chef...super great and cut them into fours makes for easy eating later.

You put the meat in first in your crockpot or slow cooking egg, and then have your little one add the rest!  Top with the gravy! 

Cover, and let cook for 3-4hrs!  Serve immediately after taking out and YUMMY!

This post is dedicated to a friend of mine who is an excellent gardner and excellent cook.  She made this for me when I came over to visit her daughter, and it bursted with yummy fresh flavor!  I recently tried the recipe for myself with some fresh veggies and herbs from my own garden, and I am thrilled to be sharing it with you!  It is a great summer/fall dish, rich with flavor and color!  And...as always under 30 minutes from start to the table. 

I like to make this recipe for myself and then make another to share with a neighbor or friend.  Mostly because it is so easy to make 2!

Groceries:

4 -6 Large Tomatoes (fresh from the garden or organic give better flavor)
2 pkg. of Italian 6 blend cheese (Sargento is good)
4 long stalks of basil leaves from the garden. 
Your Choice:  Orzo Pasta, White Rice, or Whole Grain Rice

You are going to layer these like you would a lasanga.  Start with the tomatos and layer a 9x13 pan with cut tomatoes.  Then layer with basil leaves (take off the stalk), then layer with cheese.  Repeat.  Bake in oven on 350 until cheese is slighly brown (approx. 15-20min.).  Try not to bake too much or you will stew your tomatoes. 

While the pie is in the oven, cook your pasta or rice.  On a plate, place your pasta or rice, take your pie out of the oven and serve your pie over your pasta or rice!  That is it! 

Thanks Leta for the yummy recipe!  Glad I can share!

Ahhh...the southerner in me is coming out!  It's summer!  Get prepared for a great series I am going to do over the next couple of weeks on how you can use those YUMMY tomatoes that are about to POP out of your garden! 

However, today since our tomatoes are still green, I am going to feature a delicious banana pudding that I got from my grandma, however I am going to change up one thing and that is the pudding type.

So grab 2 packages of pudding.  This time I used Jello Banana Cream Mix vs. my usual vanilla.  Either is fine.

Mix one box first. 

Add to a bowl.  I like to use a clear bowl because I love to see the layers of yellow and white and it makes for a good presentation.  It's the Paula Dean in me!  ;)