Fruit Loot!!

Or maybe I should call it "Fruit Loop"?  

Here is what I picked up Friday morning: 

And the cart was so full I had to put some bananas on the bottom of the basket!!  I got about 57lbs of bananas, 2 big honeydews, 3 cantaloupes, 12 ears of corn, 2 heads green leaf lettuce, 2 heads red leaf lettuce, 2 heads cauliflower, broccoli, cilantro, spinach, avocados, 2lbs baby carrots, 5lbs nectarines, 3lbs red plums, @30lbs peaches, 7lbs Fuji apples, 6lbs pears, and a bag of red taters.  Of course I had to have veggies too!

I was so excited when I went to the store.  The past few days to a week I haven't hardly had any fruit.  A few days I know I didn't have any fruit at all!  And I sure was feeling a difference!  When I was leaving the store I was getting a few funny looks because I was so giddy with excitement.  

Has anything exciting happened to anyone else lately?  Remember to eat lots of healthy foods this Labor Day weekend!  After all, fruits and raw veggies are natures fast food.  

Have a great weekend!  

Sports Drink at My Kids' School

So I have been learning through my kids that they have been drinking this: 

I couldn't believe it.  The first time, I told them, "That's not good for you, don't drink it".  More or less anyway and in a way that they can (hopefully) understand.  I thought all was well until my daughter came home yesterday with small pink marks above her upper lip like she was drinking something I didn't give her.  She says big brother has been sharing his quarters so they can have these.  That was very nice of him and all, but geez that's the wrong time to be sharing!  

So this morning I found an empty bottle in my son's back pack (which is funny because yesterday he tried to claim that he didn't even have one...).  I thought, "Great!  Let's see what's inside!" :

It's a little hard to see, but the second ingredient is high fructose corn syrup!!  There is also yellow #5 and it contains no fruit juice.  There is one site that says yellow #5 should be avoided because it can trigger hyperactivity in children, there is an allergy reaction to primarily those who are aspirin sensitive, and is usually contaminated with cancer-causing ingredients or that the body will convert to.  They are benzidine & 4-aminobiphenyl (http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm#yellow5, 2012).

Another ingredient I wanted to make mention is glyceryl abietate.  I looked up a little bit about it and there really isn't a whole lot.  One thing is that its purpose is to keep oils suspended in the liquid.  The FDA considers it "generally recognized as safe".  However, I don't buy it...  I found this ingredient interesting because I have never seen it before.  It is mainly used in citric flavored drinks.  

The amount of sugars in this is insane from the high fructose corn syrup.  Normally, for me personally, I don't mind the sugars if it is 100% juice.  Because that means the sugar is naturally there from the fruit.  Fruit sugars are good.  And look at that sodium amount!  

My kids thought that since it said it was a sports drink that it was ok and good for them.  So we went over it all this morning and tried to make them realize that there isn't anything good about it and what we give them is good enough.  They don't need to be spending money on this junk.  

I have decided to take action.  I understand that these bottles are coming from a vending machine and my kids are making a choice to use their money on this.  However, my kids aren't old enough to make that decision in my opinion and these types of drinks shouldn't be in the school even in a vending machine.  I'm going to go to the school with this empty bottle to ask questions and try to get this junk out of the school.  I have a lot of respect for this school and how they generally try to keep kids healthy and junk food out.  However, they are letting these kinds of things allowed.  I will keep you all posted about what happens.  

Have a great Thursday!

Reference

Center for Science in the Public Interest. (2012). Retrieved on August 29, 2013 from: http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm#yellow5

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics

Hello everyone!  I stumbled upon an article from the New York Times about a guy named David Klasfeld who is the creator of a makeup line called Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics.  This guy is pretty cool and he has a great line of colors!  Apparently he came up with the name "obsessive compulsive" because he was diagnosed with it when he was 14 years old.

The make up is vegan/cruelty free and, of course, David is vegan as well.  He even got a certificate from PETA that he has framed hanging on a wall in his store.  It's great to see another make up artist create cruelty free make up.

I'm not sure if it's because I'm a vegan, but it seems that veganism is becoming more prevalent and people are respecting it more.  Especially as more people are getting sick, many are turning to a plant based diet.

I'm really excited that I found this website and article and will be buying some of David's products shortly.  When I get it and try it out I will let you know about it!

Happy Monday everyone!!

The article is here.  And here is the link to the website.

New Adventures!

Now that summer is coming to an end things are starting to slow down a but.  We did so much this summer and it seemed to have flown by so fast.  The kids just recently started school too.  I was not ready for that to happen!

Since it's been slowing down and we haven't been traveling nearly as much, I have been able to start focusing more on what I need to get done.  First of all, I have started taking volunteers to help me get some experience under my belt while I look for a job.  So far I have nine people willing to help out!  It is so exciting!  It is all so new to me as far as hands on experience goes so we'll see how it goes and what kind of tweaking I need to make in my programs.  Each person is different too and a couple of people will be a challenge.  Well, I suppose they will all be a challenge in the long run because everyone is different!  Woohoo!

Second thing I have going on is I signed up as a brand partner with Nerium International.  It is so exciting!  One of my favorite parts is they are cruelty free.  What it is, though, is a night cream that you put on and wash off in the morning.  It helps to get rid of acne, skin blemishes, sun spots, deep wrinkles, light wrinkles, and more.  The first night I used it I saw a significant difference!  After 3 days, even more.  With these great results I had to become a brand partner!  If anyone is interested in more information let me know!  You can also visit my website at www.cassiemitchell.nerium.com .

Has anything exciting happened to anyone else lately?  How was your summer?

Motivation

Hey there!  I thought I would post about what I do to get myself motivated.  Occasionally I'll get onto Facebook and print out some pictures or quotes that are motivating.  For example, I follow a page called Ripped Goddess.  They post a lot of pictures that are motivating and a lot of times there are quotes that I like to print out and put on my refrigerator.  A page called Sun Gazing also puts up some great stuff I'll print out.

On Youtube I enjoy watching videos from Freelee and occasionally from Durianrider.  I actually don't watch those enough and when I do I find myself spending a lot of time watching!  They really are motivating though and really help me remember why I do the things that I do.  Like have fruit for breakfast.

Sometimes I'll sit in bed a little extra longer and look at my vision board and visualize what I want in my future and thing of encouraging and motivating things to help me get pumped up and ready for the day.

Last night my husband was a huge motivator for me.  On Sunday night we decided to hit the gym Monday night.  So while I waited for him to get home I created a workout for every day this week.  First day was leg day and it was somewhat brutal.  He was such a trooper though and did everything I asked.  I just feel bad now because he's sore at work!  But it's a good thing and he's going to go back with me tonight.

Ever since I stopped having my trainer at the gym I have really lost my way with exercise.  Just, fell of the wagon almost completely.  But now I'm back on track and feeling so good and excited to get in there!  It reminds me that I want to make it my life and living.

What's your favorite exercise?  What do you like to work out the most?  What is your least favorite exercise?

Kettle bell swings are probably my favorite exercise.  I love to work out my legs, but my arms need it the most.  My least favorite exercise is probably burpees.  Which probably means I should do them more!

Make sure you eat fruit for breakfast!