Dinner tonight: Enchilada feast

One thing I very strongly believe is that in order to be healthy, you need to eliminate All processed food out of your diet. By the term" processed food" I mean anything that is pre-made, whether it is canned or frozen. The chemicals that are added to these convenience foods are in fact very harmful to your body and need to be avoided at all costs.  Very early on in my journey to better health I began to realize that chemicals in my food were causing migraines and IBS flareups. Not a fun way to live. The neat thing about eating the way I recommend is that you can still eat what you love, you've just gotta find a way to make it from scratch--chemical free. One of my family favorites is enchiladas. Everything from the sauce to the beans are made from chemical free foods. I even save myself time and cook my beans overnight in the crock pot. This meal is delicious and sure to become one of your family favorites.

Karen’s Enchilada Feast

(Chemical Free)

Refried Beans 4 cups of cooked pinto beans ¼ cup finely chopped onion 1 tsp garlic powder 2 tsp cumin salt to taste Add all to blender and puree till smooth. Add water as needed. Heat on stove for 5 min to heat through.

Enchilada Sauce 1 cup finely chopped onion 2 garlic cloves chopped 1 Tbsp olive oil 2 cups crushed tomato ½ cup water 1 Tbsp chili powder 1 tsp salt 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp oregano ⅛ tsp pepper Saute onion and garlic in oil. Add rest of ingredients. Simmer uncovered 15 min.

Fiesta Brown Rice 1 tsp olive oil ½  cup diced onion ½ cup diced pepper 1 tsp salt ¼ tsp pepper 2 garlic cloves minced ½ tsp ground cumin ½ tsp chili powder ¼ tsp red pepper flakes 2 cups tomato sauce 1 can diced chilies 2 cups cooked brown rice Saute onion and pepper in oil till softened. Add garlic, salt, red pepper, chili powder, cumin. Cook for 1 minute to release flavors. Add diced chilies. Cook 1 minute. Add sauce and simmer 5 min. Adjust seasoning as needed. Add rice and heat through.

General Assembly

To assemble enchiladas put tortillas in a hot dry pan and brown on both sides.
Add a layer of rice to the tortilla.
Add a layer of beans.
Place a small amount of sauce on bottom of pan.
Roll tortilla and place in pan.
Cover tops with remaining sauce.
Add a small amount of parmesan cheese to tops.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 min till heated through.

Chug-a-lug!

One of the biggest keys to losing weight and getting healthy is actually very simple to follow. It is something that is easy to do, doesn't cost much, and is essential for your body. I am talking about drinking water. Since your body is made up of mostly water it makes sense that you need to drink lots of it to keep everything working properly. You skin needs it to stay hydrated. Your organs need it to keep things pumping, flowing , and running smoothly. I think the greatest benefit to drinking water is that it flushes out toxins and fat. With the toxins out of the way, your body can work more efficiently like the great machine it was created to be.

I had a trainer one time that told me if people would just drink enough water they would start to lose weight immediately. Your body doesn't have to go into freak out mode and retain fluid out of fear of a shortage. She told me that everyone needs to drink half of their body weight in fluid ounces of water. So if you weigh 100 pounds you need to drink 50 fluid ounce of water a day. Now I know what your thinking. You're thinking "Karen if I drink that much water a day I am going to float away"... My response to that would be, "Yes you are!!!" You will be floating toxic chemicals and waste out of your body which is good no matter how you look at it. Yes , you will find yourself running to the bathroom every 5 minutes for a short time, but once your body is convinced that there is not a shortage, and speeds up the process of dealing with the fluid,you will not have to go so frequently. I promise you that it will be worth it if you can stick to it for a week.

Another question that I know your dying to ask is, "How in the name of all that is good in the world, am I supposed to drink that much water in one day?" The simple answer is one sip at a time. You need to make sure you have a good spill-proof water bottle that is easy to carry with you everywhere you go. Find out how many bottles you need to drink to meet your quota for the day, and then keep it to sip on at all times with you. Do this and it is really not too hard to meet your goal. One word of caution, try to get all your water done at least an hour before bed time or you will regret it. This is experience speaking.

So this is the first and possibly easiest tip to start you on your journey to better health.Go get a bottle of water and start chugging!

I decided that starting a blog was the next natural step for me to take on this journey to better health that I have been on for the past 2 years. It has been a journey of high mountains and very low valleys.A time to reflect and heal.A time to seek truth and wisdom. A time to draw a line in the sand and take back my health. This blog will be a place that I can look back and see how far I have come and encourage myself for the duration of my journey. A place where I can write about new things I have just discovered about health and weight loss. A place to post some amazing recipes.And hopefully a place that people can come when they have decided that now is their time to get healthy. Hopefully my journey and discoveries along the way will help and inspire you who read this ,to change your life for the better. Let the journey begin!!!