to answer a few questions from the last post:

yes, i freeze spinach and other greens. don't throw them out when there is a few more in the bag or they are very close to going bad, just stuff them in a ziploc and line them up in the freezer. i love the snack sized ones, they are great for portion sizing.

you can get chia seeds at a natural foods grocery store or a really good regular grocery store, maybe. in a natural foods store there should be a "seeds" section, the same area you'd get flax, etc. don't be intimidated by health food stores! go in and ask and learn and take your time and read labels- your eyes will be opened to so many great products and information.

raw milk is kind of tricky to get- but search the internet for a farm in your area that sells it. it isn't dangerous and your body knows how to break it down because the molecular structure of the milk hasn't been destroyed by the violent pastuerization process. many people who can't tolerate dairy/ lactose (most people) can drink raw milk without a problem. i also buy raw cheese. this is, i know, controversial. but the more i learn about it, the more convinced i am. the cows from farms that sell raw milk are outside all day eating grass- the way their bodies were designed to work- with no hormones or antibiotics. then the milk is kept fresh and whole. it is a fabulous protein source. i work with a lot of vegans, and they feel strongly about all dairy being too hard on our digestive system. but i'm not a vegan, i love milk.

and that leads to another question- where i am getting all this stuff/info. natural health has been a hobby of mine forever, and i graduated byu in health education. yes, diet coke is my nemesis. but i learn and read and read trying to beat that vice out of me, and also to feed my family properly. grant and i have made homesteading a life-long goal of our family, and i am mostly in charge of the gathering information part. because i like to read. especially about health, the conspiracies of the food and drug administration, and how to get my body functioning well enough to conceive without using fertility drugs- as they have about ruined me. maybe another post i will give you my list for must read books- i have quite a few favorites that i think everyone should read!

side note- since august, when cate started full time first grade, i have been home alone..alllll alone....for like seven and a half hours a day. i started to get really really loopy, and was playing way too much tetris. last month i was praying for some idea of what needed to change in my life. i'd prefer to have another child, but no luck yet, and i was getting super down with all that alone time. then one day i was driving by my favorite health food store and i saw a sign that said "wellness counselor needed". i felt a corresponding lump in my chest and impression in my mind that it was to be me. i shook it off. the next three times i drove by the same feeling came. so on a whim i said FINE! and walked in. long story short- now a few mornings a week i am in absolute heaven helping people find answers and nutrition information and supplementation for what they are struggling with while cate is at school. it is really wonderful. i also get to attend lots of trainings with the latest information and research in the natural health industry. it is an amazing blessing in my life. so if i am posting more often about natural food crap, forgive me, it's just that it's more on the brain than ever for me.

ok, back to the other questions:

nope, i don't have a snazzy blender, although i would LOVE a blend tec or vitamix. just not in the budget currently. and to be honest, for just three of us, our little one does just fine. and yes, most people would probably need some agave or stevia in the smoothie i posted, but i really like the nutty taste. i find if you let the bananas get almost completely brown/ gooey on your counter before you freeze them they really sweeten up the smoothies.

wow, this ended up being a really long post. and i could go on, but i will spare you. but i do need to give you this happy update- i am having 28 day cycles and ovulating on my own almost every month without the help of any meds for the first time since, well, ever. just based on the massively nutrient dense diet i am eating and consistent exercise along with outlawing stress. things are looking up, and i truly feel with all my heart that my new job is a blessing from heaven that will give me access to the final knowledge and supplementation i need to conceive naturally (with a discount no less!) so pray for me, pretty please. i know my body can do it, i just know it!!

Comments

[lauren]

im so so so happy for you that the body is starting to do what the mind wants it to do! yeah to ovulating! and to your cool new job! we have been getting back to our old healthy ways in this house also and im trying to push out meat and processed foods and get back to my former vegetarian days... we have been consuming a lot of green smoothies over here as well. i LOVE all you information. we do very little milk as is but im going to look into a farm here in vegas, i know others in utah have easier access than most. keep all the info flowin and I CANT WAIT FOR THE DAY YOU GET PREGNANT! i seriously almost cried when i was reading about your cycle.. is that weird? but seriously i want nothing more than to see another one of your and grants beautiful children on this earth. sounds like your getting one step closer! yeah!

[Stacy]

Thanks for all the good info. Yeah for 28 day cycles! I am one of those girls that prays for those as well. If you have the time I would be really interested in reading more about what you are eating. I have PCOS am a little desperate to conceive. I have been feeling that I should go the route of treating my body right instead of pumping it full of meds, and I am not quite sure where to start.

[natalie]

i like this post.

and i still owe you some diapers, i hope it's not too late.

love, nat

[Marilyn]

Kelly, your faith inspires me. Truly. I love love love reading your blog, every.single.day.

[girlsmama]

Yay! I am so excited for you. I'll pray that you will continue to getting pregnant.

I think you should do a eating 101 class (like your knitting or crocheting!) to help people get started with a healthy diet. We've always loved the idea of homesteading. Someday maybe!

[julie]

yeah,
that smoothie looked so so good, and had so much good stuff in it, i was a little intimidated though, thanks for explaining somethings
julie

[Donna]

Love this post, more like it, please! Would love to hear your book recommendations.
(Congrats on the 28 day cycles!)

[Alicia]

I loved this post and would love to read more like it. I wish you all the best!

[melissa w]

that is wonderful...all of it! yeah for inspiration! yeah for wonderful jobs! yahoo for 28 day cycles! yeah for giving your body what it needs to do what it wants to do naturally. we are really trying to do the same in our house... get back to the basics and eat whole REAL foods. you would think with my nutrition degree we would have treated our bodies better all along, but alas, no. thanks for sharing some of the information you have gathered. good luck moving forward... i think you have found the key!!! thoughts and prayers (as always). loves.

[abby]

i'm praying, kelly!

[jen]

i love this. crazy about it actually.
i'm a bit of a natural health freak too, i love natural whole food. and your new job!

[jen]

aaand your news makes me happier than you can imagine.

[Alisa]

I'm so excited for you! I recently discovered the all-natural diet solution for infertility and have been doing my best to stick with all-natural products since then. I have high hopes but the fact that it's been working for you makes me feel even more confident about it. Best wishes to you!

[angie dunn]

i am currently trying to make some health changes in my life & this post is so inspiring to me. i get so overwhelmed by food.....thanks for making it sound simple.

ps: i'm so happy for you....

[Tiffany @ healthy little cottage]

I'll have you know that your post on chia seeds made me go get some. I have been loving those babies! I add a TBSP to my oats in the morning, and holy cow, I don't get hungry till late afternoon. I will certainly try them in a shake soon!

[Jill]

This post is so inspiring. I just have to add my two cents about blenders. We bought a blend tec about two years ago. It was a refurbished one. I did a lot of research on the blendtec and vitamix, and in the end I think we made the wrong decision! About a month after we bought the blender, the bearings in the jar broke. We were able to get it replaced with the one year warranty, but it is a problem that the blendtecs have. And now that we are no longer under warranty I totally dread having another jar break and having to replace it out of pocket. The vitamix has a 7 year warranty on the jar and motor. I'm sure you'll do your own research if you ever decide to get one, but I had to weigh in. Anyways, so happy for your new job, and I just realized my sister, Alisa, commented above. :) You are in my prayers kelly!

[whitney arensberg]

hi kelly, it's whitney here (ty's sis), just wanted to let you know how much i appreciate and love this post. never new about chia seeds until this post and am very excited to go out and purchase some. never studied natural health in school, but can't get enough of reading all about it.

that is incredible news about your cycles! that diet coke (aspartame) as you know is the WORST things you can put in your body. i have mentioned this to nicole before, but even if you absolutely cannot stop drinking it switch to the mexican coke so much yummier and has cane sugar instead of aspartame. even if you could cut it half diet half mexican coke. aspartame is a poison and even though f.d.a. approved (as you know that it doesn't mean squat). if you google conception and aspartame you will come up with a wealth of info.

i am obsessed with your blog, keep up with the health posts.

bless you and your quest for health and conception.
whitney arensberg

[tiffany]

I really loved this post. Your body CAN do it!!! I know it too! Keep it up, friend!

[Katie]

Go you!

I really, really mean it.

I've been reading you for awhile, but this post right here? Wow.

[Kim H.]

awesome post kelly. :)

[Trachelle]

We love our raw milk, too! I started my own journey to real nourishing food about a year ago and the benefits have been amazing. More energy, healing my depression, and weight loss for me, healing acid reflux and chronic sinus infections for my husband, and healing for my son on the autistic spectrum. I thought I would let you know about a great blog called www.naturallyknockedup.com written by a woman who was able to heal her PCOS with real nourishing food. A another great resource for natural conception is Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck. She covers real food diets and why it works for fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum. Really great book, easy to read and tons of great info.

[Melissa]

I am so happy for you! That is awesome news to hear about your ovulation schedule. Just being someone who is obsessed with ovulation and all of that a couple months ago. I thought my husband could have killed me. I can't wait to hear the good news soon! Your job sounds great. I love reading all about health stuff. I also picked up some chia seeds at the health food store. Can't wait to put them in my next smoothie.

[jen]

great post...i would love to hear more about the books you have read. sending prayers your way xo

[Tiffany]

What a lovely post! I am so happy for you and hope things continue to progress. Please do keep us updated. I have started to begin my own health food diet. It isn't very easy because I don't know much yet, but it will help to read your blog!

[ashley moffat]

kelly- what an awesome job you have got yourself, that sounds so cool and perfect for you! please feel free to do long posts like this all the time. i love it. love it. thanks! one of the worst things about hawaii is the price of food and the fact that you have to drive over an hour to a good health food store for that overpriced food!
and most importantly happy happy happy about your your regular bleeding ;) good luck baby making!!!!!

[chelsea]

please keep sharing all of your knowledge! i'm making all sorts of food changes and ty is kicking and screaming about it the whole way. ha. the poor meat & potatoes man can't quite figure out who he is suddenly married to a vegetarian. and congrats on the regular cycles!!!!!!! and yea for the new job!! i have learned that it's better for me to have something to stay busy with during the day and to leave the house for it, too. after having jack 2 years ago, i was only going in to the office on mondays. i was grateful to have deadlines every day but i'm pretty sure being home so much contributed to my postpartum depression. although i'm not sure how this new schedule of going in to the office every day will go, either, but i'm ready to give it a shot!

[V and Co.]

holy moses. i wish i had your knowledge! so you are saying that processed food is bad right? just wanted to make sure.
i think my body would go into shock if i went natural again...but yes there is an again, remember i grew up with an organic loving exercise nut of a mother. i think i can. baby steps...maybe starting tomorrow.
i wish you and pray you all the luck.

[beth]

Hi Kelly,

I've been reading your blog for nearly 3 years now... dropping in regularly to see your posts... it is such a lovely blog and I'm so glad I 'stumbled' across it (I don't know how I did!?!). Anyway, I've just read this post and realllly hope you will be able to conceive SOON! I will definitely pray for you, too! (I call it 'putting in a word' with the Boss! ha!)

So thank you for your blog... I wishhhh I could join your knitting/crochet classes (like, seriously!) but.... it's a little far from here (Australia!) ha! Oh well... if I ever visit the States... :)

[Sieni]

this is a really fascinating post and i would love to hear more. i have just started the journey of trying to eat better for fertility reasons so it is really inspiring to hear how you are going... my first step was to ditch the diet coke and i still crave it but have decided that i crave a baby even more...

[~*mandy*~]

i'm really interested to know what these books are! could you share them? my husband and i are both trying to better our eating habits :) thank you for being such a great blogger, i love reading!

~*mandy*~

[Karen]

I will pray for you and wish you all the best! Good luck!!!

[glor]

i am so excited about your job! i would love that too!!!! can't wait to visit and see you in action!

[Kayli]

I think it's funny that you posted about raw milk right now because I just moved to Switzerland a few months ago, and the closest/cheapest/most convenient place for us to get milk is from the farm which is basically next door. They have a milk dispenser machine that you can go get milk from 24 hours a day, so that's awesome, but I was a little worried at first because it's not pasteurized. Of course, I wasn't going to be bothered to heat all of my milk before I drank it, but there was still that little niggling in my head saying I hope we don't get sick. Plus I figured--people have been drinking milk that way thousands of years, so it can't be that bad.
Anyway, now you tell me it's so great for me--awesome! thanks!

[missy coleman]

I will definitely pray for you Kell! THat is awesome that you are ovulating on your own. Maybe I will one day too. :) I'm so glad you got that job. That is awesome. I can't wait to learn more from you. I have a lot more free time on my hands since I'm done working and really want to get into a healthier eating lifestyle. Till your next post. :)

[daffodil lane]

I LOVE this Kelly!! I am so happy for you, you sound filled and happy. I owe you $38!! Sheesh. I totally forgot, then woke up during the night and remembered my pledge, like ninety months ago. Please email your address and I'll get it right out if it's not too late.

[R. Morales]

Great post!! We are trying our best to eat better around here and sometimes I feel overwhelmed by all the information out there. We always grow a pretty large garden so that's good, but during our long winters, we seem to lose sight of healthy eating. I'll be happy to read more posts about food and nutrition! But I love ALL the things you write about. And as someone who also struggled with conception (my sweet little daughter is about to turn 16 months old!), I can relate to what you share here. I went into labor with my daughter on Christmas night, about four months before I turned 40! I thought it was so special that she came on the same day as the baby who changed my life did. We are trying again too... God bless you Kelly.

[Jen]

I have read your blog for a few months now. You don't know me but I am fascinated by your flair for beauty and your love of simple things. Congrats on the ovulation. What a wonderful step in a baby direction.

[Lindsay]

kelly- that is so amazing about the job and the 28-day-cycle! (i have pcos too, i know how unbelievably hard that is to get without any help...do you think anything in particular really really helped you? i am worrying about these problems in my future and would be interested if you had any specific tips?)
i will keep you in my prayers :)
p.s. i love all your nutrition info so keep it coming!! when i get back to the states (in a little over 3 weeks- eek!) i am buying chia seeds first thing!!

[chanel]

what GREAT news. I didn't know about your new job, sounds PERFECT. you sound soooo much more positive and peaceful then you did with the meds, you're doing whats right, and your body CAN (will/is!) do it!!! You will be in my prayers b/c I know GOD CAN (will) do it too! trust His timing.
much love...

[shauna]

Kelly!!!! Is it true? You are regular and it only took a month? that is incredible. Such great, great news!!! this is indeed a blessing.... hope more good news is to follow :)

[Leigh]

I've been trying to get things healthier around my house too (even though I went crazy at the store last night and bought a bunch of chips). Anyway - I was wondering what kind of oil you would use for baking. Or even salad dressing. I use olive oil a lot, but sometimes I need something with less flavor. Do you have a suggestion?

[Mary Beth]

Yay for ovulation and 28 day cycles!!! I'm beyond happy for you and am praying that conception is in your near future!!!! :)

[tara pollard pakosta]

thanks for all the information!
I love learning about this!
keep the learning/healthy posts up!
my friend had trouble conceiving and
she did the whole in vitro thing,and had a son, then 2 years later, she tried this all natural cleanse and ended up pregnant after doing it (her dr. recommended it). awesome!
your body WILL DO IT! I just know it!
tara

[Nicolle]

Yes, you don't know me, but I'll be praying that you can get pregnant!

[Cissy]

It seems to me that you are the type who gradually changes diet habits, yes? Or maybe it's just that you post little bits at a time. Anyhow, I like it. I feel like, oh yes, I can replace that thing for my family. Yes, I can try that without feeling overwhelmed. Thanks for the nutrition inspiration. And, with everyone else, I'm hoping you get the cute, cuddly results that you want.

(BTW, I had a brief period of unpredictable/nonexistent ovulation--for about two years. I still don't know exactly what caused it and what caused me to become regular again. There are three years, eight months between my two oldest; I've had no recurrence and am now expecting baby 5. You just never know about this whole fertility thing, do you?)

[amy smart]

Congratulations on your new job!! What a tender mercy. And I'm excited to hear more natural food crap. It's what I need. Bring it on.

[Fairlight]

It sounds like you are doing so amazing Kelly! So so happy for you. And isn't the healthy food/living stuff the best? We love it. Mike and I both take turns gathering information, but it is mostly my job since I have more time for it. :) I did want to mention something though. We avoid agave nectar just like we do HFCS because it is just as bad and damaging. Here is an article that might explain better for you.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/03/30/beware-of-the-agave-nectar-health-food.aspx

I don't mean to offend or be a downer, I just thought I would share. Can't wait to hear more good news from you!