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Author Archive | Jennie Lyon

7 Fruits and Vegetables That are Easy for Kids to Grow in Their Garden

April 11, 2013 1

Gardening is a fantastic activity that everyone in your family will enjoy, especially your children. It is the perfect way to spend several days a week working together outside in the fresh air and sunshine. Gardening is also great for instilling a sense of responsibility, cooperative learning and excitement in your child. Not to mention, when all is said and done, you are left with a beautiful bounty of fresh, organic foods that your family grew together — and will enjoy eating together.

The key to getting your child super excited about gardening is choosing fruits and vegetables that are easy for them to grow. You want them to have a successful experience gardening, and it helps when the produce they are growing is relatively foolproof. I have planted many different types of fruits and vegetables with my son over the year and have found 7 items that are tried and true when it comes to gardening with children. Several of these plants can be grown inside (in a sunny window or patio), if you’re a city dweller. Jump over to Inhabitots to learn the 7 easiest fruits and vegetables to grow this spring with your children — and get planting!

photo credit Shutterstock via Inhabitots

5 Documentaries on Health, Wellness + the Importance of Eating Real Food

April 9, 2013 2

I have been receiving a lot of emails and questions from friends and family wondering where we got the idea of doing a juice detox. It happened by accident really – a good friend of mine had sent me an email a few months back telling me that he and his wife had become juicing converts. When I finally found some time to sit down and check out his website, I found that his juicing revelation had all started with a documentary called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. I didn’t think much more about it after that. Then, one week I started to watch all of the documentaries on Netflix that related to health, wellness and food.

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead was one of my favorites! I also found 4 other documentaries that really had me thinking about my health and the health of my family. I started to chat with the mister about what I had learned while watching all of these documentaries. At first he was hesitant, then he was intrigued, so we watched some of the documentaries together. The next thing I know we are purchasing an Omega 8600 juicer, filling our fridge with produce and jumping right in.

During this 30-60 day juice fast, we have been purging our cabinets and are putting together a new way of eating for when we are finished. We are planning to eat a mostly plant-based organic diet, free of GMO’s, and anything artificial – we will also be removing gluten (since I have major stomach issues resulting from it) and cutting our intake of poultry, fish and dairy to a minimum.

I thought you might be interested in learning more yourself, so I put together my 5 favorite documentaries that may inspire you to take your health into your own hands. We only get one life, and I think that we should live it to the fullest, healthiest, happiness potential possible. Here you go:

1. Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead
2. Forks Over Knives
3. Food Matters
4. Average Joe on the Raw
5. Hungry for Change

How about you dear readers, do you have a life changing documentary to share? I would love to hear your suggestions.

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P.S. I remember the first time that the mister and I completely revamped our diets was after watching Super Size Me. That was about a year before I started Sweet Greens – it had a huge impact on the items that we purchased and was when we went fully organic!

Juice Detox Day 16 + A Typical Day of Juicing Recipes

April 8, 2013 9

Hello, Friends! How was your weekend? Mine started on the awful side, Friday morning I had what could only be called a mini-meltdown. I had a lot on my mental plate with decisions surrounding family and work and to top it off I was tired of the juice detox. I only lost a single pound last week, while the mister lost a ton! I spent the morning in tears and the afternoon taking a well-needed nap. I have to admit, I was about a second away from breaking the detox. It has been a much harder process for me – the mister is always a trooper and seems to adapt well to any situation. I am different – much different, I thought I couldn’t do it anymore.

I called the mister in tears and thankfully he carefully talked me down and I didn’t break the fast. Whew! That is a good thing too, because the next day, my headaches (that were coming and going) went away for good. I felt much better during the weekend and was even able to spend Saturday at the golfcouse. I think I am ready to push through until at least the end of the month. This has to be one of the hardest things that I have ever done – I didn’t realize how important food was in my life, besides the obvious. It seems that our family spends a ton of time together, having great conversations all the while eating! And I know that I am an emotional eater – if something goes wrong, before this fast, I was quick to grab a snack to feel better! This is one of the habits that I am trying to break with this detox – hopefully it will get me on my way. I am down 13.1 pounds, the mister has lost 21.5 – and while I still feel tired and cold most of the time, I am looking forward to a clean start with a clean body. I really, truely believe this will be a great thing for my phsyical and mental health.

I have received a ton of emails asking what a juice fast is and what exactly I have been drinking for the past 16 days. I will start sharing the recipes here, remember you need a juicer to make these. To get started, here are the juices that I typically drink each day:

 Breakfast Juice

  • 5 carrots
  • 1 green apple
  • 1 large orange

Lunch Juice

  • 2 celery stalks
  • 3 carrots
  • 1/2 head of romaine lettuce (or a different lettuce depending on what we have on hand)
  • 3 huge handfuls of spinach
  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 1 apple

Dinner Juice

  • 2 huge handfuls of spinach
  • 1/2 head of lettuce, chard or another green
  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 1/2 zucchini
  • 3 carrots
  • 1 apple

If you can believe it – that is all that I have been consuming. I feel a little hungry at night and right before meals, but overall I don’t feel like I am starving. That is a good thing.

I hope this gives you a better idea of what I have been drinking – if you have further questions, leave them below or send me an email or note via Facebook. Also, I have been collecting juicing recipes, you can find them on Pinterest. Hope this helps!

Earth Month Mamas: Soleil Moon Frye + Jennie Lyon Share Sustainability Tips

April 4, 2013 1

Target has been celebrating Earth Day since its inception in 1970. While Earth Day takes place on April 22 this year, Target believes Mother Earth deserves an entire month of celebration, so they will  be sharing a look at what sustainability means to Target throughout April.

What better way to start off the month and celebrate than by making your home more sustainable? As a Target Inner Circle member  I featured an Earth Month makeover for your pantry using items that can be found at Target.

As part of this simple, sustainable and healthy pantry makeover, I caught up with Target Mommy Ambassador Soleil Moon Frye on how she integrates sustainability into her home and her family’s lifestyle. Jump over to Target’s A Bullseye View for the Q & A.

Deck Specks: Handmade Sunglasses from Recycled Skateboards

April 4, 2013 3

Living in Florida, I am a huge fan of sunglasses – I never leave home without a pair! Not only are they perfect for protecting your eyes, they are great at reducing wrinkles since you won’t be squinting all of the time. I was so excited to find Deck Specks, this Atlanta based company, started by a group of skateboarders takes broken skateboards and recycles the decks into sunglasses. Aren’t the colors and patterns fantastic! How would I choose just one?

Speaking of sunglasses, I still love these bio-based sunglasses from Knockaround.
Do you have a favorite?

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