Our health journey thus far...

For those of you who don't know, we began our health journey on May 11, 2015 after watching Fed Up. At that point my husband had already cut out soda 3 weeks prior and was already losing weight.

We have since stayed on a very very low sugar diet. We cheat now and then but, since so much of our diet is healthy, we're still feeling great and losing weight. 

My husband was having a hard time seeing his transformation thus far so I made him a few before and after photos...

I think he's looking pretty good. He has lost almost 54lbs!!!

I don't have many comparison photos but here is one I've already shared with you.

-May-

And another I have not... (please don't judge me if you have an aversion to bras)

-June/August-

May/August 

I have lost a total of 16.5lbs. I've noticed that I go 8-10 days with 5 pound fluctuations before I see another drop. So don't get discouraged if you experience the same. Keep going! I started adding in a little cardio but have had to put that on hold due to a back injury. This is mostly from simply taking refined sugars out of my diet. 

Our children are still showing signs of improved health. No more headaches or stomach aches. They aren't starving all day. And they all got a clean bill of health at the dentist. Not one cavity! 

We just passed day 100, and I have to say it has definitely become a lifestyle for us. Be sure to keep following our journey on Instagram under #thebrownfamilyhealthjourney! 

Summer '15 recap

As most of you know I took a little hiatus from Instagram for the summer. It was a much needed break from the extra distractions. In addition to that I also unsubscribed from every e-mail list to cut down on the 'noise' and deleted some apps off my phone. It has been wonderful. And I found that, when I'm not distracted by extra things, I'm a pretty good housekeeper! Everything was in order and clean and will never be like that again... (Don't worry, I briefed my husband. He's in mourning.)

For those of you wondering what we did all summer, I thought I'd write a little recap instead of slamming your feeds with a butt-load of pictures. You're welcome. 

I was super productive the past couple months so don't hate me guys but I kinda out did myself...

First of all, I started this blog... I opened a successful coffee shop, a delicious (but healthy) bakery, a widely popular theater, a news station, another (but actually successful) flower shop, a veterinary clinic, an optometry practice, a licensed family therapist's office, designed AND executed the perfect drought-friendly-back-yard-oasis, became a world renowned grill master, earned the title of Puzzle Wizard, became the most praised last-minute travel agent, declared the fastest-viewer-of-all-11-seasons-of-Fraiser, reader extraordinaire by completing F-O-U-R actual real life books, a camp counselor, and most excitedly a pass holder (once again) of the Happiest Place on Earth.... 

- Before-

-During-

-After-

-found on Craigslist for $100-

 -we just completed our 5th for the summer-

-Big Bear-

-Our farewell-to-summer camp out-

-I found a hack for getting 11% off-

   Most importantly, we truly truly enjoyed being together.

AND, on August 2nd, we celebrated 4 years in CA

What did YOU do?

The yummiest Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.

These cookies are gluten-free, egg-free, and refined sugar-free. I first found the recipe here but changed it to meet our dietary needs. I also halved the recipe because I don't like that many cookies sitting around wanting to be eaten.

Gluten-free Egg-free Refined Sugar-free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup of unrefined  Coconut Sugar

1/2 cup of real butter (softened to room temp)

1 Flaxseed egg

1/4 tsp of sea salt

1/4 tsp of fresh baking soda

1/2 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of sugar-free vanilla

1 cup of gluten-free Oat Flour 

1 1/2 cups of gluten-free Quick Oats

1/4 cup of Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cream together coconut sugar and butter until fluffy. Add in flaxseed egg and vanilla. In another bowl mix salt, baking soda, and baking powder into the oat flour and quick oats. Add these all into the first mixture until blended. Slowly add in the chocolate chips. 

Bake for 9-11 mins. Be careful not to over-bake! Makes 24 cookies.

1.2 tsp of sugar per cookie! 

(6 tsp of sugar is the recommended daily allotment)

Eating healthy has saved us money.

Perhaps you're wondering how this could be. I, myself, always assumed that healthy eating meant that we would spend more money. However, I have found this not to be true.

First of all, when you're eating healthy you have to say 'no' more often to eating out. As a family of 6 we were probably spending $175-200 a week in eating out... It's ok. You can judge. But all those little runs to get a treat or a quick dinner added up fast. Now we're eating out maybe once a week and spending close to $30.

Eating healthy limits what you can buy at the store. No processed foods or sugary drinks. We were spending about $300 a week on groceries. Now I spend about $175 on average a week. I have my staples that I get every week, and if something is on sale, I'll add in something new. The nice thing about eating healthy is that it is pretty versatile. Veggies, rice, beans, and chicken can create some wonderful dishes.

Worried about your kids? I have some pretty awesome kids so I can't really relate if your kids are picky ;-) but here's what mine eat on a daily basis-

Breakfast for 4-

Scrambled eggs - $1.62
Oatmeal - $.66
Cashews - $.75
Apple - $.20

Lunch for 4 -

Wraps with either pb + raw honey or turkey - $1.80
Fruit - $.50
Veggies - $.50
Rice cake or chips - $.50

Dinner for 6 -

Rice - $.75
Beans - $.99
Meat - $4.00
Other things - $2.00 (salad, cheese, fruit, etc)

Jess and I usually have a cup of decaf in the morning and split a grapefruit. We also eat a few nuts and that holds us till lunch.

For lunch he and I usually have a salad with a little chicken and veggies added in.

For snacks (which my kids rarely ask for anymore) I'll bake cookies or pop some corn for them. They also love rice cakes.

What are we planning on doing with our saved $$? Pay off debt and take a trip to NY! Eating healthy means that we get to work towards things we actually want instead of watching them slip further away every month due to frivolous spending.

This new found freedom has inspired me to cut down our other bills as well. We no longer run our A/C at night and are saving almost $150 there. I find that since I've lost 15.5 pounds I'm not hot as balls at night and it's rather comfortable just sleeping with windows open. And we've canceled a lot of those small monthly fees you don't think twice about but you don't really need. Like our subscription to Rdio. Free Pandora and their commercials work just fine in leu of.

So that's how our financial journey has changed thus far since switching to eating healthy. Let me know how yours has changed!

Come + Sew at our Table.

Our table serves as the central hub for our family. Not only do we gather to eat our meals together at our table but we also do most of our school work there. So I will be sharing parts of our home schooling journey as well.

One of my summer goals has been to create spaces for my children's interests before school starts. That can be hard to do in our small living space but, after seeing some ideas on Pinterest, I decided to create a sewing station for my oldest daughter. She loves to sew but it was always such a pain to pull all the tubs out of the closet. Since sewing is a special interest of her's I want to encourage it as much as possible. And now I can! This is one way for her to be creative without limitations. And it just so  happens to count as school under 'Special Interests'.

Thanks to this utility cart from Ikea and some cheap organizing containers from Target, we were able to create the perfect sewing station for her.

We have this weird space under this counter that never gets utilized. The cart fits perfectly in the corner, right next to an outlet. She can simply set up the sewing machine and access her supplies. 

And, it's not a complete eye sore. If it is ever in the way we can simply wheel it into a closet.