Seeking Excellence

Seeking Excellence | Boholistic Mom

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.” – Philippians 3:12-15 ESV

There is no beating around the bush with this one.  In fact, I’m going to come right out and ask you.  Are you seeking excellence in your life due to the upward call of God in Christ Jesus?  Are you pressing towards the goal to win the prize?  Or you hoping to just sneak by unnoticed?

I’ve been in both places before.  I have muddled through life simply checking the boxes.  Check!  I went to church.  Check!  I prayed with my kid before bed.  Check!  I read a devotional online.  Check! Check! Check!

Dude!  Does that sound like a relationship or a fulfillment of a regulatory contract?  This Boholistic Momma doesn’t like to be fake, inauthentic, or insincere.  When I live like I’m checking off a list, I’m not giving my best to Christ and I’m not being the person that I was created to be.

I am created in the image of God.  He made me to reflect Him.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord […]

By |March 17th, 2014|Brooke S., Faith: Heart, Mind, Body, & Spirit, Spirit|0 Comments
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Making a Bone Broth

 Making a Bone Broth

When considering real food and traditional foods, the journey cannot truly begin without the basic knowledge of bone broth.  Our ancestors could not have survived without broth (or stock) and many traditional cultures used broths as the fundamental building block for many recipes.  Only within the last 100 years has broth become a thing of the past being replaced by broth in a carton, can, or even worse broth by bouillon cube.  The flavors of soups, curries, and other recipes have suffered from the loss of knowledge about traditional broths and many households no longer recognize the authentic taste or texture of an authentic broth.

Traditional Bone Broth RecipeWhat is Bone Broth?

“Broth (or stock) is a mineral rich infusion made by boiling bones of healthy animals with vegetables, herbs and spices.”1 Broth is a highly nutrient dense super food!

Why Bone Broth?

What doesn’t bone broth have?  As I researched the benefits and the mineral properties of bone broth, the information regarding the benefits were extensive.  Here are a few basic “why’s” to bone broth:

  1. Calcium2 – important for strong bones and teeth
  2. Magnesium2 – vital for many needed inner processes including calcium management
  3. Glycosaminoglycans2 – important for connective tissues, tendons, and joints
  4. Phosphorus – Bones are made of calcium and phosphorus7
  5. Amino acids proline – “vital for healthy connective tissue (ligaments, joints, around organs, etc)”1
  6. Amino acids glycine – “plays extensive roles in digestive health, proper functioning of the nervous system and in wound healing” and “Glycine is […]
By |February 28th, 2014|Brooke S., Real Food Recipes, Traditional Recipes|3 Comments
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Revolutionary Resolutions – New Years Goals

Revolutionary Resolutions

While much of the time, I have tried to keep Boholistic Mom professional than the average blog and present it more like a website, as I write and share I’m learning how I can’t share with others about real food, bohemian style, natural lifestyle, and holistic faith without getting personal.  I can’t really let you know how special this transformation has been in my life without opening up some doors and using a few “me” and “I”‘s while writing.  Therefore, along with releasing my revolutionary resolutions that correlate with many of the areas of this website/blog, my first resolution is to you, my reader.  While sharing information, I will also begin to share about myself, my struggles, my triumphs, and my passion for the topics on Boholistic Mom.  I can hint at it in 3rd person . . . but I can’t really let you into my world without going 1st person.  Screw professional journalism, I’m boho!!!!

My Revolutionary Resolutions

Revolutionary Resolutions

  • Revolutionary Resolution #1 – Eat more fats.

I’ve slacked off my continual consumption of coconut oil and my body misses it.  I resolve to pick it back up with at least a tablespoon of coconut oil a day along with plenty of butter, lard, tallow, and schmaltz.  I want to be satisfied in 2014 and I know that real fats from real food sources bring me to a place where I don’t yearn for food.  I enjoy it when I have it and get on with my life in between.

UPDATE 3.12.2014:  I’m back to the coconut oil and I have found more local sources for grass-fed butter and a farm […]

By |December 30th, 2013|Brooke S., Lifestyle Tips, Natural Lifestyle|2 Comments
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Do a Traditional Homemaker’s Workout without a Gym

 

How can you get a workout at home?

Getting a workout at home isn’t really revolutionary; it’s actually quite traditional.  Traditionally, household tasks would have required much more strength, endurance, and time.  Instead of doing things the easy way, we can intentionally spend more time and effort on household tasks (it’s better than paying for a gym!).  Rather than thinking of chores as demanding and arduous, we need to embrace the strenuous nature of each activity and be thankful that we have homes to clean and families for which to care.

Home Activities that Burn Calories

Note: The ‘calories per hour’ are estimates because each person burns a different amount of calories according to their height, weight, age, and metabolism.
 

Washing Dishes by Hand (and drying them) – Loading a dishwasher burns very few calories and builds very little strength.  Washing dishes by hand builds strength in the arms and the back.  Traditional women would have washed all of their dishes by hand and scrubbed their cash iron skillets clean.  Check out those biceps!

Washing dishes and gathering dishes – 150 calories per hour

 

Cooking (and food preparation) – Even cooking food, the stuff with the calories in it, burns calories.  At Boholistic Mom, we’ve learned to embrace cooking and food preparation rather than being too concerned with the calorie count.  We’re convinced that cooking real food (not processed) keeps our bodies and families healthy and can even help our metabolisms increase naturally.  So cooking is a high priority as a workout, as […]

By |October 8th, 2013|Brooke S., Home, Natural Lifestyle|0 Comments
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Use the Entire Chicken in Four Steps – Boholistic Mom

Using the Entire Chicken

Traditionally, in order to eat chicken a person would take an entire chicken that had lived in their yard or farm and kill it.  They wouldn’t have just cut off a breast and left the rest.  The chicken would have eaten grubs from the ground, weeds, grass, seeds, and insects.  It had the freedom to move about the yard and farm without having to step on its own feces.  When the owner was ready to eat the chicken, the chicken would have been killed by removing their heads and it would have been prepared to be eaten.  The entire chicken was then used for food.

Eat Traditional Chickens

Today, chickens are raised in massive factory farms.  The chickens are shoved together into a small space, where they step in each others feces, cannot stretch their wings, or even go for a walk.  They lead stressed lives in extreme captivity.  Some of these birds will not live long enough to become a meal.  They are systematically and brutally herded into trucks then taken to slaughter houses.  They are then slaughtered, plucked, the necks are removed, the feet removed, and their insides are gutted.  The entire chicken will not be used by a family.  Each of the pieces end up in a different place.  Most families will never use the chicken feet (that are a great source of gelatin), the chicken livers (that are a great source of iron and Vitamin A, all the Vitamin Bs, and folic acid), or the chicken bones (that have vitamins and minerals that are perfect for growing families).

What nutritional value is actually […]

By |September 16th, 2013|Brooke S., Real Food Recipes, Traditional Recipes|1 Comment
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Simple Chicken Curry

Make a chicken curry in a hurry

Simple Chicken Curry

I absolutely adore curry.  I used to think that curries were hard things to make and very complicated . . . until I realized that they were simply a method of adding ingredients together in a certain order.  Use these ingredients or switch it out to other similar ingredients.  You are the artist in this kitchen.  I hope you enjoy your chicken curry and whatever other curry you dream up!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, or Ghee

1 Large Onion

1-2 Cloves of Garlic

1 – 2 tablespoons Yellow Curry Powder 

1 cup of Organic Yogurt

1 – 2 cups of Chicken Broth and/or Coconut Milk

2 tablespoons of Peanut Butter or Almond Butter

Leftover Chicken Meat

1 teaspoon of Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

Sea Salt (as needed)

Bay Leaf (optional)

Preparation for Chicken Curry

  1.  Sauté on medium heat the onions in 1 tablespoon of oil.
  2.  As the onions begin to get transparent, add the garlic.
  3.  When the onions and garlic are almost fully cooked, add 1 -2 tablespoon of Curry Powder (more or less, to taste).
  4.  As the curry powder smell fills the air, begin to add in the yogurt.
  5.  The yogurt will release its liquid very fast and you will then add in the broth or coconut milk.
  6.  Let this cook down until the yogurt, curry, and broth are combined fully.
  7.  Add in the nut butter to thicken your curry.
  8.  Since your chicken meat is already cooked, add the meat in at this point to avoid overcooking.
  9.  As the chicken becomes warm and your curry thickens, add in the vinegar.
  10.  Serve in a bowl with Basmati rice, brown rice, or cauliflower rice.

 

By |September 16th, 2013|Brooke S., Real Food Recipes, Traditional Recipes|0 Comments
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Paleo Egg Bacon Muffins – Whole 30 Approved

 

Paleo Egg and Bacon Muffins

Whether you are paleo or doing a Whole 30, these Paleo Egg and Bacon Muffins definitely fit the bill for a quick and easy breakfast recipe.  Make this recipe with a 12 cup muffin pan and you have breakfast all week long.  What gets simpler than that?Paleo Egg and Bacon Muffin

Ingredients

12 pieces of bacon

12 eggs

4-6 mushrooms, sliced

1 sweet red bell pepper, diced (optional)

Process

Set your oven to 350 F.  Take the bacon and wrap each piece inside the edge of each of the twelve cups of the muffin pan.  The bacon will overlap a bit.  Then take the slices of mushrooms and lay each piece side by side to cover the bottom of the tin.  If you add in the bell peppers, sprinkle a little at the bottom of each cup.  Finally, break an egg into each cup.  Slide your muffin pan into the oven on the middle shelf for about 20 minutes or until firm.

Violá!  Beautiful Paleo Egg and Bacon Muffins!

Paleo Egg and Bacon Muffins

 

Mini Paleo Egg Muffins

Today, I was taking my paleo egg and bacon muffins to Classical Conversations, so I needed an alternative to making each muffin an egg a piece.  So here is my recipe that has the paleo egg muffins in a mini muffin tin pan.

Ingredients

square pieces of bacon (about 6 strips cut)

4-6 eggs, beaten and fluffy

coconut oil

Process

Set your oven to 350 F.  Use […]

By |September 12th, 2013|Brooke S., Quick & Easy, Real Food Recipes|0 Comments
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Homemade Tooth Powder

Homemade Toothpaste - Boholistic Mom

Why Not to Buy Regular Toothpaste

Take a gander at the ingredients listed on the back of a tube of whitening toothpaste:

Sodium fluoride, Triclosan, water, hydrated silica, glycerin, sorbitol, PVM/MA, copolymer, sodium lauryl sulfate, flavor, cellulose gum, sodium hydroxide, propylene glycol, carrageenan, sodium saccharin, titanium dioxide

What are these things and why are they in our toothpaste?  Read below to find out what these chemicals are and how they may be affecting your health.

Sodium fluoride

Whatever you believe about Fluoride, whether we need it or we have no need for it, the fact is that we have fluorinated water, fluoride in our toothpaste, and fluoride at the dentist.  This is a lot of fluoride to be consuming when it is toxic in certain amounts.  Finally, consider this, why add fluoride when is it possible to prevent cavities through diet change?

Triclosan

Right here the FDA says animal studies of Triclosan “have shown that triclosan alters hormone regulation” and “other studies in bacteria have raised the possibility that triclosan contributes to making bacteria resistant to antibiotics.”  Of course, as usual the FDA also states, “Triclosan is not currently known to be hazardous to humans.”  However, if it affects the hormones of animals, wouldn’t it also impact humans?

Sorbitol

Sorbitol is both an artificial sweetener and a laxative.  Why does toothpaste need to be sweet?  And why would anyone want a laxative in their toothpaste that they use regularly?

Sodium lauryl sulfate

In this article by Drugs.com, sodium lauryl suflate is considered acceptable besides an increased chance of canker sores.  Sodium lauryl sulfate can also aggravate atopic eczema when used in moisturizers.1 How the sodium lauryl sulfate is created and how it is used may change how skin reacts to this chemical.  It is a foaming agent […]

By |August 21st, 2013|Au Naturale, Bohemian Style, Brooke S.|6 Comments
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Real Food, Real People: Brooke

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by Brooke Shambley
Originally posted on Fancy Little Things: I Stopped Dieting on July 11, 2013
 

Oh heavens!  I used the word diet; please, don’t run away screaming.  I no longer fear the word diet.  I detest the verb “dieting,” but I absolutely cherish the word diet.

Dieting

verb

The eating small amounts of food, exercising intensely, and feeling dead in the water

To eat sparingly or according to prescribed rules – Merriam-Webster

Diet

noun

A way that I eat that is consistently good for me

Habitual nourishment – Merriam-Webster

I grew up during the low fat craze of dieting.  There were low fat Oreos, low fat Wheat Thins; dude, they were even pulling the fats out of cheese!  I thought that fat was bad.

Then the fad was low cal.  Low calorie brownies, diet soda, everything became low calorie or diet.  Now I felt that I not only needed to avoid fats, but I should stay away from calories.  Alright, avoid fats, avoid calories, check!

Then it was carbs…the next food villain.  “Keep your hands off those muffins!”  “Don’t even think about eating the free […]

By |July 31st, 2013|Brooke S., Real Food Recipes, Real Food, Real People|2 Comments
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Vegetable Broth

 Vegetable Broth - Boholistic Mom

2 Carrots

2 Onions

2 Garlic Cloves

2 Celery Stalks (fennel stalks will also work)

2-6 Tomatoes

Water (approximately 8 – 10 cups)

Other Vegetables (peppers, sweet potato, fennel, etc. as desired)

2 Bay Leaves

Organic Virgin Raw Coconut Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, or Grass Fed Dairy Butter

Chop the carrots, onions, garlic, celery, and other vegetables into small pieces to maximize the surface area able to caramelize while sautéing the vegetables.  Take the carrots, onions, garlic, celery, and other vegetables and sauté in the bottom of your stock pot using the coconut oil, olive oil, or butter.  Sauté vegetables until they are browning slightly.  For larger vegetables, consider caramelizing the vegetables separately.   Add the water, the tomatoes, and the spices.  Bring the broth to a boil then lower to a simmer and continue to cook 2-3 hours.

Strain the broth into a large bowl.  Consider eating the vegetables that are left over from the broth or using them in another dish.

Drink the broth for a healthy snack or use in recipes to increase the nutrients in other recipes.  Freeze the broth to save for recipes and for times of sickness.  The vegetable broth can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 – 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

Vegetable Broth - Boholistic Mom

7 Tips for Full-Flavoured Vegetable Stock – Stone Soup

Homemade Vegetable Stock – Martha Stewart

By |July 19th, 2013|Brooke S., Real Food Recipes, Traditional Recipes|0 Comments
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