Welcome to the January 2013 Natural Living Blog Carnival: Green Confessions. This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Natural Living Blog Carnival hosted by Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project through the Green Moms Network. This month our members have written posts about areas of their life where they aren't as "green" as they may want to be.
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Baby C's baby steps have grown leaps and bounds, literally. But what happened to the baby steps that I committed to taking last year? Just like Baby C, I fell down . . . a lot. But in more ways than one, she has been my cheerleader this past year.
This past year, I decided to take baby steps in making healthy changes for my family, both physically and spiritually. Did I succeed? Well, kind of. But I still have a ways to go. My house no longer contains cleaning products with harsh chemicals. We switched out many of our conventional foods to organic and we are always consistent about taking the best vitamins and nutritional supplements.
Where have a fallen down this year? Spiritually, we stopped going to church for a while. We moved a couple of times, and I didn't want to find a church home, only to leave it once again. I am happy to announce that we have found a church that we really like and hope this will become our home. At this point, I no longer feel homeless. Another area I slipped was exercise. This has been a challenge my whole life, even though without it, I don't feel so well. And last, but not least, I confess that I have stumbled over making healthy, fresh dinners for my family.
I dislike grocery shopping and I'm not a good cook. So, I often end up buying packaged meals when it comes to dinnertime. I know this is unhealthy and its not what I want for my family. So, I reached out to my Green Moms Network for help. They shared with me their favorite fresh and healthy, home cooked meals to share with you!
So here it is, a little mini cookbook from moms of the Green Moms Network. First up, Judie from Colorful Canary! I don't even own a muffin pan, (I told you I hated to cook) but I'm out the door to get one with this yummy muffin recipe that is great for breakfast, lunch or any other time of day.
Next up is Nicole, from Some Call It Natural, who has lots of great recipes to share. I'm looking forward to trying out her Taco Wraps. What a clever idea to swap out the shell and use actual lettuce for the wrap!
If you want to try fresh veggies like you've never tried before, check out Becky's Roasted Veggies from Purposeful Homemaking. Simple, easy and it just might last our little family for the whole week!
Our family loves chicken, so when I saw this Simple Lemon Roast Chicken recipe from Annie at Montana Solar Creations, I knew I had to share. She even shows you how to use it with a dutch oven. Now that's taking cooking to a whole new level for me.
Any vegetarians out there? This one is for you from Jennifer at Kid of God. She created an Easy Vegetarian Bean and Cheese Lasagna Roll Up. I think even us meat eaters would enjoy this!
Are you looking for a recipe that even your toddler will eat? Look no further and best of all, its a crock pot meal! Thank you, Charise from I Thought I Knew Mama for sharing your Toddler Friendly Crock Pot Recipe! I need to test this one out on Baby C.
And last but not least, for all you mushroom lovers, Sarah from Nature's Nurture, has the perfect recipe for you - Creamy Asparagus and Mushroom Pasta. This one may be a good one for my husband!
So even though I have slipped, stumbled and flat out fell on my behind, even when taking baby steps, I know I can get back up and carry on.
What are some green or healthy changes you are making this year?
Visit Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project to learn more about participating in next month’s Natural Living Blog Carnival! Please take some time to enjoy the posts our other carnival participants have contributed:
What a great way to try to eat healthier than by doing a round up of easy, healthy recipes! Thanks for including my lemon roasted chicken recipe-that's actually what I'm cooking up today!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Annie! Thanks for sharing it. :)
DeleteKeep reaching out to GMN members to keep you motivated! My goal this year is to focus on my needs as much as I'm focusing on the rest of my family's. Mama needs attention too :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's so true, Chrystal. If we don't take care of ourselves, we won't be able to be good mama's to our kids.
DeleteLove all the recipes! I'm also trying to cook healthier meals and it is always nice to find new recipes.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like them as much as me. :)
DeleteI love how you've included recipes for the rest of us to try. It's all about baby steps and slowly getting to where we want to be.
ReplyDeleteThanks Brittany! I totally agree, baby steps all the way!
DeleteSo many great changes you made in your and your family's lives last year! Great goal for this year, to cook more meals. The meals you listed sounded yum, espec the muffins and crock pot one. Thanks for sharing! We are wanting to commit to going to church and small group this year.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like the recipes, Lisa! Your going to church and small group sounds like a great commitment! Keep me posted on how you are doing and we can encourage one another.
DeleteOK!
DeleteThanks for adding me! Glad you like the meatloaf muffins! :)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Thanks for sharing!
DeleteYour fails = My fails! I am always trying to get on track with meal planning and exercising, but I always manage to mess it up and sit on the couch eating Hamburger Helper for dinner. I have been doing good so far this year, but we are only like 2 weeks in LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the recipes! Great post!
You can do it, Rachel! I think it takes about 21 days to form a habit. So just stick with it for 21 days and then it will be normal for you. :) Glad you like the recipes!
DeleteWe try to cook most of our food, but sometimes the allure of someone else cooking and cleaning up (i.e. eating out) is more than I can stand. I hate it when we do eat out. It is expensive, unhealthy, and not allergy friendly. We are also trying to do better.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the above! Sometimes, it's nice to just have a little break and have someone else do the cooking and cleaning.
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