Homeschool Memoirs - Favorites

Funny, as I called to mind the "Favorite Things" song the first line that came to my head was "When the dog bites, when the bee stings." And, for a moment that was all I could remember . . . Clearly those were not favorite things. Ah yes, at times like those I remember my favorite things, then I don't feel so bad. Sounds like Philippians 4 philosophy to me.

Although Scripture is perhaps my most favorite "thing" I decided to focus this favorite's post on something I currently have focused on in my life and free reading time -- health. Peppered throughout the following paragraphs are some of my favorite websites, books, and resources for bringing greater physical health into our home.

My journey to greater health started almost three and a half years ago. Shortly before the birth of our fifth child my neighbor gave me The Maker's Diet book. I didn't have time to read it until I was holed up in the hospital after the birth and it completely changed my outlook. Aside from the word "Diet" I really enjoyed that book. I have never really gone on a diet per se. However, I have often wanted to eat healthy and be healthy, but just haven't gone the "diet" route to get there.

This book opened my eyes to a whole new understanding of health and nutrition. I began to see just how bad processed and fast foods were for my health and my family's health. There remains a large rift in my children's eating preferences, pre-Maker and post-Maker. They all eat what we tell them to, the younger ones just actually enjoy the healthier fare.

Then I got a Nourishing Traditions cookbook and went to a Weston A. Price (LOTS of good info on that website) meeting. I was not as obsessed (I mean that in a good way . . .) as the other attenders, but did find great encouragement, tips and motivation from being around like minded individuals.

Just recently I went to buy some Primal Defense supplements at the store and they said I could get a free book if I wanted. Well, why not? That was Saturday. I just finished reading the book, Perfect Weight America. New books and material always renew my motivation to take my health to the next level and not slip back to where I came from.

This book even made an impact on my workout this morning. As some of you know, I started the couch to 5k program a while back. After reaching my goal in that program and wondering where to go next, Courtney sent me a note with the idea of varying my pace using those same times that I started with. Instead of walking and jogging I would now use those times to jog and sprint. Wow! what a workout! I liked that, and realized that I needed to further vary my workout. Building on this thought and some concepts in the Perfect Weight book I walked, then sprinted (15 seconds), then walked, then did some lunge squats (I don't know what they are really called . . . I took about 20 large steps, lowering my back knee to the ground with each one), then walked, then sprinted, then walked on my jelly legs the last little bit home. I look forward to mixing my routine up more in the days to come.

Next on my radar, a ten day cleanse, well my own version (not buying any products, just eating "cleansing" foods). Never done one before, but have been interested in the idea. I did eat raw for almost a week last year and it did great things for my body, resetting my taste buds, and clearing my head.

Any journey becomes easier when we have encouragement along the way and some of my favorite blogs in this sphere include the Nourishing Gourmet, the Passionate Homemaker, and the Keeper of the Home. And, of course, the recipe site that I first enjoyed that led me to these others was Tammy's Recipes.

If you have more favorite health resources feel free to share with us.

And, for more favorites head over to the Homeschool Blog Awards.