| How long have you been a member of HMN? Less than a year. I have yet to even make a meeting :-(
I am a holistic mom because: When I became a mom, I was struck with the monumental responsibility that I had towards my children and their health. I immediately started growing my own veggies and tried to shop organically because I cared about what they put in their bodies. And then, knowing that skin is an absorbing organ, I started to care about what they put on their bodies as well. As for me, I want to be around for my kids as long as possible and understood that I had many choices as well. I have not always made the best choices, but fortunately each day starts anew! Since I have started chiropractic and naturopath care and revamped my diet, I have been able to go off 4 medications!
My holistic passions are:
My holistic passions include wellness care/the prevention of disease/illness (I am the Community Outreach Director for West Suburban Wellness in Lombard and daily get to help lives change for the better); gardening, using skin products without harmful chemicals, supporting holistic businesses (I developed a well@work program and have 20 healthy business partners. We provide free health fairs for employers and also a Learn@Lunch program) and helping to change lives for the better. I also have an interest in childhood obesity as my son struggles with his weight and the reasons behind this. I am a distributor for an all-natural weight loss product that is changing thousands of people's lives and he has now lost 50 pounds.
What inspires you about HMN or holistic living? What inspires me about holistic living is the fact that it has a long-term effect on health, wellness and therefore lifespan. What you do, eat and put on your skin DOES make a difference. My grandma died from stomach cancer. I have stomach issues but am confident with the naturopath care that I receive, along with the care I take with my diet etc, I will NOT face the same. I wish she was here so it could make a difference for her too.
One of my favorite recipes:
I am gluten-free and one of my challenges has been changing the recipes my mom once made to be gluten-free and organic, if possible. And of course, they must taste very close to the original!
Gluten Free Lasagna
Ingredients: 1 package rice lasagna noodles or thin-sliced polenta 1 cup ricotta cheese 1 cup cottage cheese 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese or combo cheddar and Monterey Jack. 2 cups mozzarella cheese 2 eggs 16 oz spaghetti sauce, any kind 1 lb grass-fed ground beef, sausage or combo 1/4 cup chopped onion or 1/8 cup of chives 1/2 organic green pepper (chopped) (optional) Handful of organic spinach (chopped) (optional) 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper
Steps: 1. Fry ground beef or sausage. Drain completely. 2. Add onion, pepper, spaghetti sauce and salt/pepper to beef mixture. Simmer while preparing the rest of the lasagna. 3. In bowl, mix eggs, cottage cheese and ricotta cheese. 4. In 9x13 pan, layer as follows: -sauce to cover bottom -spinach (if using) -noodles -shredded cheeses Continue with layers until pan is 80% full. 5. For very top layer, spread cottage cheese mixture on entire casserole. 6. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until hot/bubbly.
If using polenta, lessen spaghetti sauce to 10 oz.
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