We just got home from a wonderful, refreshing vacation. Two weeks in the Pacific Northwest was a balm to the soul with the giant, green trees and vast ocean waves—soul-giving to these desert dwellers. But the plane ride home is what is staying with me this week as well. I have always loved how white, billowy and cotton-like the clouds look once you break through them with magnificent rays of sunshine coming from above. As we flew out of Denver on our layover, the skies were dark, and the underside of the clouds were gray and ominous looking. It appeared

If you’ve read many of my previous posts, you know I’m an avid reader. If adulting wasn’t so time consuming, I would probably read for hours each day! I love to learn! And I love a good story! So I thought I would begin a regular series of what I’m currently reading during each season to encourage you to pick up a book instead of turning on the television. Before I lose those of you who do not consider yourself to be readers or simply believe you don’t have the time, here’s an interesting statistic for you. Did you know

When I began re-vamping my health a few years ago, I quickly realized that it needed to go beyond just the products I was putting into my mouth. As I became more aware of chemicals and the excess ingredients in most personal and cleaning products I used, I began the hunt for ones I could easily replace. These 7 that I’ve listed are the ones I’ve used the most consistently and for the longest. Other products I have switched to purchasing cleaner versions instead, but these have been great because they not only are better for me but save a

What would life be without dessert?? Boring, I say!!! My Pinterest binder of recipes (you can find more in my post Organizing My Pinterest Recipes) is about one-third desserts and all other food categories make up the other two-thirds. When I began my health journey several years ago and found out I had intolerances to both dairy and wheat, my doctor turned me on to the website www.chocolatecoveredkatie.com. What a lifesaver! You will find several of the healthy summer desserts I share are from this wonderful site. So the recipes I chose to share in this post are all either

There’s nothing better than a light, refreshing salad during the hot summer months. And in Arizona our hot months are HOT and LONG! So our summer salad vs. winter soup ideas need to be up to the challenge. Here are our family’s favorite summer salad recipes, and they are always crowd pleasers whenever they are shared with friends. As I stated in my One Dish Stove-Top Recipes post, I’m including the original post along with changes I have made for either taste, health, or dietary reasons. Enjoy! Cold or Side Salads ~ some may be great for side dishes and

I have always wanted to have the fresh vegetables from a garden but the work and time involved would prevent me from moving forward. As someone who really does NOT like to get her hands dirty (literally!) and any flowers I’ve ever tried to grow always died quickly, I had resigned myself to gardening not being in my future. Then I saw the Tower Garden—it looked perfect for a beginner like me! A compact, keep-my-hands-dirt-free, aeroponic gardening system. It sounded perfect … until I saw the cost. I knew and agreed with all the research on its cost effectiveness over

I’m sure you, just like me, are over this “sheltering in place” and ready for life to return to “normal.” I think we can all acknowledge that we will have a “new normal” following this Pandemic of 2020 … similar to how we did after 9-11. And each of us will need to be making our own decisions on how we will live our future lives in light of this. That’s not what I want to talk about today. Instead, I want to share some thoughts on HOW we live, believe, and think TODAY that will help us come out

As I mentioned in my “Organizing My Pinterest Recipes” post, I like to print out recipes I use regularly so I can first of all, locate them; but secondly, so I can personalize the recipes for our health choices. One of my favorite way to cook are using recipes that I can make using primarily with one large dish and combines many of our food groups together. Plus they are usually large quantities so there are frequently leftovers – great for sharing, lunches or a night off from fixing dinner! Growing up in the Midwest, I still have an affinity

Since beginning my health journey 5 years ago, I had to make major changes in the food I cooked for myself and for my family. At first, I was disappointed as I am a baker at heart, and I thought I would no longer be able to bake and enjoy all those yummy carb and sugar heavy treats. Instead, I found that there are so many good, healthy replacement recipes out there – and they are not found in my old Betty Crocker cookbooks, but rather mostly through Pinterest! So I began pinning and creating board after board, trying to

It’s a long one (55 years!) but I will try to condense it to the highlights–actually the majority of it has taken place in the last five years. You will find this post is not going to be your typical “I followed this plan, lost this amount of weight, and I’m so proud of my new body.” Instead, this is simply my journey that is far from over. Maybe you can relate? So to begin at the beginning … as my mom says, “We grew up eating organic before we even knew it was a thing.” My mom maintained a

So you’re one too? As someone who has lived with migraines for the past 40 years (ugh!) I have tried many, many prescription medications, holistic treatments and an elimination diet/food allergy testing over those years. About 3 years ago, I came to the end of the medical prescription route as it seemed as though my body was shutting down from all the medication over-use through the years. I felt toxic … and it wasn’t working anyway! So I weaned myself off of all medications over a period of six months and began experimenting with the homeopathic and natural route. I