Family Fitness and Fun

It's always interesting to me to meet other families and find out what's working for them as far as healthy living, and where their challenges are. It is easy to get used to the way things are in my own family and not realize where others struggle.

My children are very active in their play, running around outside, swimming, gardening, chasing each other, playing sword games, running with the dog, etc. but I have been realizing lately that many families do not get outside or enjoy active play so much. Oftentimes children are so used to indoor activities that they are not inspired to get outside and do something else.

I'm so excited about the new category of products at the store! Family Fitness and Fun is where we will be bringing you some of our favorite active games, toys, and fitness products; items that I hope will bring lots of fun, active play, and family enjoyment to your home!

The first two products we're sharing are very exciting:

I've got 6 guys from ages 7 to 40 around here, and every one of them got super excited when they saw the Mashoonga Sabers in action. (frankly, my daughter and I could see good reason to get Mashoongas for ourselves!)

More than just your average sword play, Mashoonga!® is a new competitive and high energy contact game played with Mashoonga! Sabers™. Using speed, coordination, tactical skills, and more, your whole family will get a kick out of this fast and fun game!

The foam tube of the Mashoonga! Saber™ is soft, flame resistant polyethylene, with an additive for strength, durability and UV protection. The foam is covered with washable nylon sleeves to protect and prolong the life of the foam. The strong polycarbonate core tube is light weight and flexible. The soft yet durable hand grip is made of durable silicone compounds.

Each set includes complete game instruction and rules, plus two 35-inch Mashoonga! Sabers, one blue and one red. Click here to buy.

Slacklines are a fun new form of exercise and sport that is great for kids of all ages! My entire family was inspired by the videos showing all of the tricks and fun things you can do on a slackline, and it really appealed to me as a fun core workout.

The Funline Slackline is fast and easy to set up and take down, so it is very transportable. Can you imagine how fun it will be to take your Funline with you to a friend's house or on a road trip to set up for some active fun for the kids at a rest area picnic area?

A great way to get the whole family outside and improving balance, focus, coordination, and to strengthen all of your core muscles!

The Funline is the ideal slackline for children and beginners, thanks to less flexibility in the line and a rubberized grip surface that makes staying on the line easier. A super fun activity for a birthday party, too!

Bouncing (even gently) is a very healthy activity, activating the lymphatic system, which in turn activates the immune system. Wonderful for brain development, too!

Slacklines are also the hottest new accessory for skaters and snowboarders because the you can use it as a portable rail! Click here to buy.



Both Mashoonga Sabers and Funlines should be in stock and ready to ship by June 26. You can pre-order now. (credit cards will not be charged until your order is ready to ship)

Safe Sunscreen

The Environmental Working Group evaluated 500 sunscreen products in 2010, and ours was one of only 39 that were evaluated to be safe and effective.

Check out the Hall of Shame to learn some of what's wrong with the sunscreen industry. It is dismaying to see how many products are labeled specifically for babies and young children that are extremely dangerous.

My own sister was diagnosed with skin cancer (melanoma) several years ago (thankfully she is ok today), so sun protection is very important in our family. I'm always looking for safe products that truly protect from the sun's rays as well as being free of carcinogenic ingredients.

Floatie Swim Suit Safety Alert

I wrote this post several years ago, and now dig it out every year and re-post to share with people each summer.

We have an Easy Set pool at our house. It's a pretty big one, and we have floatation swim suits for our three youngest boys to wear, although we keep the pool shallow enough that all of them can walk around in it and still have their heads above water. Last year when I bought the suits the baby was one and the better quality suits did not come in his size, so I got a cheaper one, which he had continued to wear this year.
The other day the kids were playing in the pool while my husband and I sat on the deck watching them and chatting. Our youngest, who is now 2, lost his footing in the pool and very quickly was floating face down in the water. Fortunately my husband saw it right away and got to him within just a few seconds, so everything turned out ok.

BUT

The problem is that this suit was not designed to flip a child over onto their back if they needed to rely on the floatation! Our baby was helpless, face down in the water. He would have actually been safer with no suit on at all, since he would have been able to stand to his feet after losing his footing.

It only takes a very few moments for a little one to drown. I am so thankful we were right there with our eyes on the pool happenings.

We tossed out that suit and today I went and bought him one of the better ones, that are designed to keep a kid floating on their backs. Here is the difference between the two suits:

The kind that flips a child onto their back has a float in the front of the suit that is longer than the one in the back.

The kind of suit that put my baby into the pool face first is a kind that is designed for children who need a floatie while learning to swim. The floats are all around the suit and are the same size all the way around.

Just thought someone else might appreciate the reminder. Go check and see if your little one's floatie suits will flip them to their backs in their moment of need.

How Do You Afford Healthier Food?

This question was asked of me today, and I thought I would share with you all the ideas I had on the subject:


I think that affording healthy food is a concern that most people have. For us, I guess it has been gradual both in finding resources and ways to make it less expensive, and also getting used to what we do spend.

For instance, years ago I found a co-op locally and I was able to get bulk amounts of organic brown rice, beans, etc. and it actually ended up being comparable or even cheaper than non-organics. Yes, I have to buy 20 pounds or so at a time, but we got used to it. After a few months of buying 1-3 items, I was stocked for a long time.

I try to follow the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 guidelines to decide what's most important to buy organic and what I can more safely buy non-organic. There are still things that I do not feel are affordable yet for us to switch to organic, so I just carry on with my philosophy of "do what you can, when you can."

Kroger has a good selection of natural and organic foods that gets marked down regularly. I commonly get organic spinach and salad mixes that are marked down, reasonably priced organic apples, organic milk marked down to less than what regular milk is selling for (I make yogurt every week), for the last several weeks the Kashi Organic Promise cereals were on sale for $2.99 per box, but there were $1 coupons on the boxes, so they were $1.99/box. I stocked up bigtime on those. Kroger brand pasta and crackers are often available in whole wheat and is inexpensive. We don't love the whole wheat pasta plain, but when adding it to a soup or casserole, we don't notice any difference at all.

I have gradually gone to making more things from scratch. This makes healthy food cheaper and of course you can control the ingredients. Even if you want to make cookies, you can use whole wheat flour or oatmeal, make sure there is no lard or high fructose corn syrup, etc. It may not be "perfect" but it's a whole lot better than 30 chemical ingredients added to the cookies at the store bakery.

Gradually learning more homemade cooking skills pays off in the end. I make yogurt every week in my crock pot. It is extremely easy, no fuss, very cheap, and far better than what I could buy in the store. So, I get a better product for far less money. My mom is a very busy person and she has one afternoon a week where she does food prep for the entire week ahead. A few hours invested allows her to save money, save time, and have the ability to eat healthfully. You can hear the interview that I did with her last year and get some great ideas from her here.
(We were having some technical issues during the first minute, so hang in there as you're listening, until you get into the interview.)

As I have learned more things about food and health, there are some things I just don't consider food and would not consider buying to eat, no matter how cheap it is. When you remove a lot of junk items, snack foods, etc. there is money for other items.

I know we're sometimes "guilty" of this, but a lot of times people feel like their grocery budget can't budge, but they manage to go out to eat pretty often. If people put the cost of one meal at a restaurant into the grocery budget, right there is a pretty good chunk of money to eat healthier with! Depending on how many times a family eats out or chooses to put that money elsewhere, choosing to spend differently can make a huge difference for grocery money.

Some families spend a lot of money for their TV service, but maybe that is an area where they could cut back for something more important to them. We have no TV service in our home at all. (and we have survived this way for most of the nearly 19 years we have been married) We do have a TV and do watch videos, and we can watch many shows online. I cannot imagine spending $40-90+ a month on dish, satellite, or cable TV like many people do. I enjoy having less noise clutter, fewer distractions for everybody, and no TV in the living room or most other areas of the house. I think our children are better off without TV, and I know I am. (TV is a constant temptation for me, so it is better for me to just not have it at all)

I will give you a real-life scenario I have been thinking about: I use frozen strawberries and blueberries in my smoothies most days. Both are on the Dirty Dozen list, so ideally I should be buying organic. Initially I wasn't because I did not have convenient access to organic berries. Now they are available at my store, though they are 2-3 times more expensive than what I buy now. I did not jump in right away and decide to do it, because for probably 25 days of smoothies per month, that is a significant amount of money in berries if I switch to organic. I have been watching what I do buy, and have noticed where I could afford to buy less of some things that are not really beneficial to our health (nor filling), and put that money toward the organic berries. I could choose to buy some of our berries organic and some conventional and just let it be an improvement. I could also choose to drink (and serve) smaller smoothies. I'm not exactly sure where we will be on this in a month. Our grocery budget seems to have increased greatly as our littler boys have started growing fast and eating even faster. My youngest boy is always asking for a snack (and he likes healthy ones, too) and he will grin and say, "Well you always tell me I'm a bottomless pit!" :) He sure is! But his snacks and meals are healthy, he gets lots of exercise and fresh air, and he is in no way overweight. He just needs a lot of food these days.

Then multiply that by 4, to include the other little boys. :)
We're spending more than ever on groceries, and I don't see an end in sight. It's normal to have limits, and to do what you can within those limits. Do what you can, when you can, and try not to "sweat" the difference. (but you are allowed to strategize about how to get to the next goal)

What do you think? How do you afford healthier food?

I Take My Job Seriously

This morning I spent some time looking at a health supplement product line that I have heard wonderful things about. It's a little pricier than most of what I normally offer, but if it was as good as "they" say, I would consider offering it in the store.

One of the standard things I do when researching new products is to look at the ingredients. Over the years I have been really disappointed to see how many supposed "health and wellness" companies are clearly misinformed about true health, or just don't seem to really care. One company I knew about awhile back sold food products with aluminum in their stuff. Yuck!

Well, the company I looked at today had one product that looks great. But then I started checking on the ingredients for their other stuff. I found skin care products that I would not be willing to use because of carcinogenic ingredients, "health supplements" that contained various forms of MSG, and weight loss products that have forms of MSG. :( In short, I was extremely disappointed, and this company will not be getting my business, nor will I be recommending them to you.

Unfortunately, it seems that companies that are truly health-conscious are hard to come by. Miessence Organics is one that I have thus far been very pleased with. Their ingredients are consistently excellent, the products work very well, and every other aspect of the business that I know of has been consistent in representing their earth-friendly, health-conscious philosophy.

I take it seriously that my shop is recommending products to you and your family. Certainly I do not know everything health-wise, but I am always learning and always keeping my radar up in order to not only provide products that I can recommend to you, but ones that I'm willing to give to my own family.

If you ever notice ingredients in any product that you are concerned about, please email me at supermom (at) supermomshealthandwellness.com and let me know about your concerns. I take my job seriously and want to continue to provide only the safest, most effective, and affordable products I can find.

Non-GMO Shopping Guide

I found out about this wonderful resource and wanted to share it with you. A handy guide to help you avoid purchasing genetically modified items. Get your copy here!

Aspartame now being marketed as AminoSweet

Watch out for aspartame now being marketed under a new name: Amino Sweet. Bad stuff, people! Here is a link to an article about this, and follow this link, click on "What is the E number for Amino Sweet?" to see that it is indeed aspartame.

End of Year Clearance!

We're clearing off the shelves until we ring the new year in. Come on over and save 15% on your entire purchase! Clickety-click!

Weight Loss Report

True confession: I did not eat a single piece of pie or dessert for Thanksgiving. I wasn't prepared with healthy alternatives, ran out of time or energy to figure out something new, and although I knew it would be ok if I decided to have a piece of pie, I decided not to. I took some free sniffs, remembered how it would taste, and decided that was good enough. :) I was feeling like a maybe a cold was wanting to come on, and didn't want to push it over the edge by eating sugar. (sugar and white flour lowers our immune systems)

I've lost 30 pounds this year, thanks to not eating sugar, eating a lot more raw foods, and getting into a regular exercise plan. At the start of each year, losing less than a pound a week doesn't sound that impressive, but being at the end of the year and being 30 pounds lighter is mighty nice! I would encourage you to go ahead and start now, taking whatever baby steps you can take to make progress. Focus on losing one pound at a time. That's all. One pound at a time. I've been able to cheer every time one pound went away and never came back. That's been so much more fun than times in the past when I held back from cheers until I lost 5 or 10 pounds or whatever. Every pound counts. That's the truth.

My exercise buddy Kim and I started out doing Leslie Sansone walk-at-home DVDs during the summer when it was too hot to enjoy a walk outside. We started with a 3 mile, and worked up to 4 mile walking workouts. As fall arrived, we started walking outside at a local cemetery, which was nice for a change. Now we're gearing up for re-joining our local fitness center, because we both feel the need to add weight-bearing exercise into our routine, plus feel like we will enjoy doing something new.

I never used to enjoy exercise. It took me a long time to find a combination that would work for me. Being honest about what I was really going to do, and what I really would not do, was a key element in helping me get going. Teaming up with my friend Kim has been extremely valuable in the day-to-day doing of exercise. When she comes to the door, there is no question about whether or not I am going to stop what I'm doing and get busy exercising! Thankfully, Kim and I have done well at being to be honest about when we want to crank it up a notch, or slow it down. That's helped a whole lot too.

Now that I'm getting stronger and seeing the results of my little-by-little, day-by-day, pound-by-pound improvements, getting my body moving is more appealing than ever. I'm seeing new options (kick boxing! pilates! running! stretching!) and thinking that it would be fun to see if I can do those too. Eventually, I plan to give them all a try. :)

Know what? I just inspired myself. I'm going to go get myself re-enrolled at the fitness center and get a workout in this afternoon. Bye!

Making Chocolate Spiders

This year we decided to have a "healthy Halloween" party at our house, instead of going to someplace that was having lots of sugary items to eat. It was a HUGE success. My kids loved it, and so did our guests. This is the demo video I made when attempting to make healthy chocolate spiders. It didn't turn out quite as expected, but I still thought the video was worth sharing. :)

Recipe for this healthy chocolate:

1/8 cup raw coconut oil (liquid form)
1/4 cup raw coconut butter (artisana brand)
1/2 cup raw cacao powder, or you could also use cocoa powder or carob powder
1/4 cup honey, agave, or yacon
1/4 cup water or nut milk (or other milk, if you aren't trying to go all-raw)

You simply blend all of this in the food processor or blender, and then make shapes with it. :) Freeze or chill before eating.

As it turned out, we made these a little too thin, and they were really hard to peel off the parchment paper after they were frozen. Next time I would make the individual chocolates much thicker, possibly using a chocolate mold. Another idea would be to add some coconut, nuts, or dried fruit into the chocolate and pour it into a container, chill, and then cut into small squares like fudge. The taste is AMAZING! Even though they didn't keep their shape after we peeled them, we had no trouble finding takers for eating the parts. :)

Interview with my son, and Raw Caramel Dip--YUMMY!

One point I'd like to add to what we talked about in this video: I am not saying that you can't live your purpose in life if you are not perfectly healthy. I believe that God uses us no matter what. What we're referring to in the video is how difficult our lives can be if we do not take good care of ourselves, and create a situation where we are unable to do the things we are meant to do.

Here's the recipe for the awesome Caramel Dip:

1 cup pitted dates, soaked in pure water for about an hour
1/4-1/2 cup almond milk, or other milk or milk alternative of your choice
1 teaspoon raw coconut oil (in liquid form)
dash sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Drain off the water from the dates, the mix all of the ingredients in your blender, vita mix, or food processor until smooth. Start with a smaller amount of milk, and add just enough to get the consistency you want. Then use as a dip for apple slices, or even drizzle it over cereal or other treats! Store leftovers in the fridge. Very easy and yummy!

*the trickiest part of this recipe is that a single batch of it isn't that much, so it may be a small enough quantity that it isn't touched very much by the blades of your food processor. I experimented with several kitchen gadgets, and my best results came when I doubled the recipe and used my food processor. Then the quantity was enough that it was mixed well by the blades. You may have to try a couple different kitchen tools to see what works best for you. :)

Finally, a natural product to help diabetics!

I was delighted to find out about this excellent product that has been proven to greatly help type two diabetics as well as others struggling to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Depsyl is an herbal blend that does a great job of stabilizing glucose levels, as well as reducing cravings for the foods that tends to cause blood sugar problems.

You can read all about the ingredients and the way it works here. Soon I'll have an informative video that'll show you more, that includes testimonials from people that have been helped by this product!

I expect it to be ready to ship by Nov. 15, but you can go ahead and place your order now if you like.

Here is one testimonial:

"Didn’t want to say anything until I had tested for a while but…………
………………….I LOVE DEPSYL!
As you know, I have been playing tennis 3 days a week
and working out with a trainer 3 days a week
but because of work and everything else, I still wasn’t eating properly
so I couldn’t lose any weight.
I remembered what Carol said about how Depsyl calmed her cravings.
As you know, I am a carbaholic.
So when I do get to eat it is usually pasta, pizza, sandwiches, etc.
and I love ice cream and soda.
All things guaranteed to put the pounds on.
Well, I began taking the Depsyl that you gave me.
The first couple of days I took two, twice a day
but that was too much for me
and I think lowered my sugar levels too much since thank God, I’m not diabetic.
So I cut it down to one pill twice a day.
It has now been 2 weeks
and I haven’t had pasta, pizza, sandwiches, ice cream, etc.
because I’m not craving them.
For probably 30 years I’ve eaten those items as a large part of my diet
and never thought I could give them up
without craving them or feeling horrible from a “lack of carb” headache.

I’m a believer!"

Learn more about Depsyl here.

Dreamin' About Meeting

A friend of mine recently got to meet a famous person that she has wanted to meet for a long time. My conversation with her got me thinking about who I might like to meet, if given a chance. What I quickly realized is that merely meeting someone (famous or otherwise) isn't really a goal of mine. I mean--meet some famous person, shake their hand, and they're gone. What does that do for me?! :) Nothing. I'm a relationship person. I like to get to talk with people, find out what they're into, and see what makes 'em tick. :) Meeting someone quickly wouldn't thrill me, but getting to spend some time with someone interesting would.

So...who would be on my list? Oprah would be interesting to talk to for an extended period of time. Most of the coolest people I know of are real-life people that I am already blessed to get to spend some time with. There are several internet friends that I have not gotten to meet in real life, but would love to.

And that got me thinking of YOU! I love my customers. Honestly, I do! And when I see your name come through again with an order, and I write that little note to you on your packing list, I'm actually thinking of YOU!

Some of you have gone through my class, emailed me with your feedback and questions. Some of you have joined me in the Next Steps group for class graduates, so I've gotten to know you better thanks to the chatter over there. I've even gotten to talk to some of you on the phone, which I've really enjoyed since I get to know you even better!

So, yeah. I think it would be really cool to get to meet you and spend some time with you! What do you think of that?

What I'm dreaming of is a Supermom retreat. It could feature healthy food-making demos and of course tasting, plenty of time for relaxation and chatting with others (so I can get to know you!), and maybe some additional healthy living encouragement from some other wonderful people that share my love for encouraging people toward healthier eating.

What do you think? Would any of you travel to central KY for a retreat? What things would you like to see happen at a gathering like this?

I'd love to hear your ideas.... :)

FREE Gifts with Purchase!

Hi everybody!

I just wanted to let you know that tonite I was able to add a new selection of FREE gifts with purchase to the store. You can read all about it here. Enjoy!

When Sickness Comes to The Johns House

So last weekend it hit. The Crud. Saturday afternoon I started feeling junky, then two kids were sniffling and coughing, and then my husband started feeling junky too. We had been exposed to a sick friend a few days before, and her daughter had gone into the hospital with a combination of ailments, including the flu. Oh boy! Here we go! This is what we do when the Creepin Crud comes around:

1-2 Ultra Immune upon waking, plus 1-2 a couple more times during the day. (should be taken on an empty stomach, so I just pop 'em when I think of it and haven't eaten)

Healthy Lemonade: a sweet drink that doesn't work against my immune system! In fact, it boosts it because of the nice pH balance it gives.

Berry Well: 1 tablespoon mixed into the healthy lemonade several times a day. Tastes great and helps fight The Crud.

NO SUGAR, and very limited products with honey or agave. (And no white flour, either!) The more healthy food, the better. Now is not the time to start eating junk. (It sure helps to have healthy food stocked up and easy recipes to make. I went out to buy groceries the first minute I felt well enough to do it, just to be sure we'd be stocked up in case we really went down hard.)

Odorless Garlic This is a new product for me. Garlic is great for fighting off any bad germs, and not dealing with garlic breath for a week is a huge PLUS! The kids take these just like a jelly bean. No problem!

Oscillococcinum is my favorite homeopathic flu remedy. We have used it for years. I had just ordered some on Friday because we had none on hand, so of course it had not yet arrived when we started feeling bad. I was delighted to find it in the Cold/Flu section of Walmart! It is easy to take, helps reduce the severity of symptoms and duration of the flu. You can easily give it to chidren (reduce the dose, of course) as well.

For the kids they take Super Kids, vitamin C, Berry Well, and Vitamin D3. I also used a cough remedy from Herbs for Kids.

I take all of my regular vitamins, of course. (That includes Super Dad, Bee Strong, Glucosamine MSM, Mineral Blast, Aloe Vera, and Vitamin D3)

Even with good nutrition and supplementation, you cannot always avoid illness. (well, maybe some people can. But nobody living at my house is one of them...) We do the best we can with what we have, and throw everything we can at sickness when it dares sneak in the door.

For this time around, we seem to have done relatively well. My two sniffling coughers stopped coughing within a day or two, and the sniffles are greatly reduced. They never stopped running around and playing full time. My husband and I still have some aches and have taken some naps, but in general have still continued to do the laundry, get the groceries, drive kids where they need to go, cook food, do school, etc. so I think we have done pretty well too. I am still not feeling 100% yet, but I am very thankful that we did not get hit really hard this time around. I think that having a ready arsenal of both healthy habits, as well as helpful supplements/remedies makes a huge difference for us. We rarely ever need to take a child to the doctor, and that has been the case for 16 years. (so far this year none of our children has been to the doctor for anything. This is life as usual for us.) I have invested in reference books (and read them!), and a variety of high quality herbal, vitamin, and homeopathic items that have been useful to us. It is very uncommon that we have an illness here that I am not equipped to handle at home. 9 times out of 10, if we do go to the doctor, I know exactly why we're going, and it's to get help in a way that I don't have the ability to do at home.

Knowledge is power. Preparation is also power. Being ready with what you know and what you have can make getting through common illnesses a lot less miserable than it needs to be. (even if that just means you can stay at home and deal with it, instead of shelepping the kids to the doctor's office....)