Free and Fulfilled-Bethany’s Wellness Story
Hi, I’m Bethany. I am the third Growing Weisser daughter, second youngest. I have been married for three years to my wonderful husband Mike. We live in Northern California and love being in the beautiful outdoors whatever way we can. I love being active. I would bounce from one activity to the next every day if I could. I love being outside, even in the dead hot of summer. We currently play co-ed soccer and I try to keep up with his tennis skills. I also enjoy running, working out, playing softball, playing yard games, basically competing in whatever possible, whether it is against just my husband or other people. I am a competitor, but I just enjoy playing and having fun too. We love being a part of our church and the vision to be in our community and be a light to make a difference. We are a part of building joy filled communities that have greater purpose and deeper relationships. Our church has the vision to be in a continuous ongoing spiritual transformation that we are all on-a journey to grow with Jesus.
I love filling my life to the fullest. I feel like there is so much life to live, so many people to meet, so many relationships to invest in, so many things to do. I want it all. But I struggle with saying yes to way too many things. I want to have a little bit of everything. At one point in my life, I could manage this. I could run from one thing to the next, filling up my days. But about a year ago, I hit a wall. I started not feeling purposeful in what I was doing. I was busy, but bored. I wasn’t getting the same energy and drive out …
Read MorePeace, Passion, & Purpose-Bekah’s Wellness Story
I recently have had the opportunity to continue my desire for a healthy, fit lifestyle with some new, amazing nutritious products! I would love to share my story with you…Would that be okay?
In the last few years, I have had some big adjustments. I graduated college, finishing my 17-year softball career. I moved back home to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I got engaged and planned my DIY, tight budget wedding. I got married to the love of my life and a month later, we moved to the Caribbean. We spent our first two years of marriage there as he fulfilled his dream of becoming a doctor. We moved back to the United States to find out that we had been placed in California for his third year rotations…and all the details in between.
I loved getting to support and be apart of my husband’s journey to achieve his goal. I loved being back in California. I loved being close to family and my nieces and nephews. I loved being a wife. But, I was not fulfilled and I felt very lost in where my life was supposed to go next.
I was constantly waking up tired, I was sick more than I ever had been and I did not have energy to fulfill my to-do list each day. I struggled with finding my identity after college (other than being a med student wife), especially after being an “athlete” for my entire life. Exercise was still a huge priority in my life but, without the camaraderie of doing it with a team, I found it difficult to find the fun in it and was sore all the time. Lastly, I was overwhelmed, consumed, and felt very trapped by the debt that we were accruing …
Read MoreForever Fit Families – Rachel’s Wellness Story
Hello! I’m Rachel. I am the eldest Growing Weisser daughter, wife to an amazing and hard-working hubby, and Mamae to 3 super fun girls.
If it is ok with you, I’d love to share my story and my passion for what I like to call, “Forever Fit Families.”
Almost one year ago (11 months to be exact) I had my third baby in 3 years. It has been a whirlwind couple of years in our family for sure! Although I was blessed beyond measure I was also drained, tired, and just trying to survive until bedtime each day.
I knew I couldn’t live my life that way and I also knew that I wasn’t being my best self for my husband, my kids, and myself.
A friend of mine introduced me to a solution and a way to fuel myself better and help my body work the way God designed it to JUST BY EATING GOOD FOOD…and not even just good food…BETTER FOOD. Food that fueled me, food that was fast and convenient for a busy mom like me, and food that helped me see past the tired fog I have been living in.
As a result of putting this amazing nutrition in my body I now feel fueled, energized, and excited for each day. I love going out with my kids and we have a fun schedule of activities to keep us moving, learning, and LOVING LIFE each day.
I now believe that I can LIVE LIFE LOUD and excited about each day, not just surviving each day.
Here’s the exciting thing: This nutrition has done more than just change my physical life. It has also provided me with an opportunity to make financial contributions to my family while living my passions: being a mom (seriously my dream job), …
Read MoreReorganize Your Calendar
Today I was challenged to schedule all my activities on my calendar–and I mean ALL. Right down to family dinner and bedtime routines. At first I scoffed at the idea thinking “Please. I have way too much going on to schedule it all. That’s ridiculous.”
However, I quickly saw the value in organizing my calendar–even the small, day to day things. I recognized that this reorganization revealed 2 things:
- The time I DO have (not just the time I feel like I don’t have)
and
2. How much stress I was causing myself by not writing everything out. By not seeing the big picture of my schedule I was feeling overwhelmed or under-prepared. By not syncing all my calendars (I have them all over the house) I was missing important things in my schedule (like writing this blog post…oops!). By not scheduling in the day to day things I could easily spend too much time on only one area of my life and not be spending my time in a balanced way.
So here’s to getting organized and realizing that we DO have time to live more, give more, learn more, and BE MORE!!
Happy Reorganizing!
…
Reorganize Memories
How often do you think about what events, circumstances, people in your life have brought you to today? Have you thought about what has formed you into who you are today? We are all on unique journeys. We all take different paths. They intersect, cross, go their own way. But we take people, we take memories, we take scars, we take joys. Do we take enough time to reflect on who we have become??
Think about your story. Jennie Allen uses a good exercise in her book “Restless” that walks you through thinking about your life, where you have been, where you are, and where you want to be. She suggests this exercise:
Journal through
- Identify a highlight from each life stage when you felt pleasure in what you were doing. When were moments you remember being proud and satisfied?
- Ages 0-6
- 7-12
- 13-18
- 19-24
- 25+
- Identify a memory from each life stage when you remember suffering
- 0-6
- 7-12
- 13-18
- 19-24
- 25+
- Now lay these moments out on an arrow of the timeline of your life. Look to see God’s fingerprints. How he has been with you. How he has paved the way, opened doors, been with you through hard times? What has been a part of your journey? Reflect, be thankful, and be blessed right where you are.
…
Healthy Juice Blends
You know those mornings that you wake up and you feel congested, as if you have pressure in your nose and eyes areas?? Well, that was me yesterday. I felt like my face was swollen and I would not stop sneezing. I knew that I wasn’t sick but I was in a new environment that occasionally makes my sinuses a bit crazy. I decided to get a juice blend at lunch- beet, Apple, ginger (lots of it), and a little bit of lemon. I almost instantly felt better! My sinuses were clear and my head no longer felt stuffy.
There are so many benefits from juices, such as anti-inflammatory components, aiding in digestion, clearing sinuses, and filling your body with healthy super foods in one drink!! And, with a good juicer, you can even try your own combinations!
A few of our favorite places that we have discovered for juice blends are La Vie which can be found and tasted at the Danville Farmers Markets on Saturday mornings, Pressed Juicery which we found in Southern California (but coming soon to Walnut Creek!) and our favorite restaurant, Ki’s!!
Here are my top 5 juice blends that I have tried:
- Inspired from “Roots 3” from Pressed Juicery and “The Bite” from Ki’s—Beets, Apple, Ginger, Lemon — can aid in digestion and tastes DELICIOUS!! This is my personal favorite 🙂
2. “Greens 4” from Pressed Juicery
Cayenne, Cucumber, Celery, Ginger, Lemon, Watercress
High in antioxidants!
3. “Fire Fighter” from La Vie
Coconut water, filtered water, fresh turmeric juice, fresh ginger juice, fresh lime juice, raw local honey, organic coconut palm sugar, organic cayenne.
Full of kick with lots of turmeric, giving it a anti-inflammatory components that takes great!
4. “E3 Live Cocktail” from La Vie
Apple juice, organic blue green algae, …
Read MoreLemon Blueberry Oatmeal Mini Muffins
Start the day off right with a power packed breakfast and your day will be more productive and your brain will be able to focus with clarity. These mini muffins make great lunch bag treats and you won’t feel guilty that your kids are having a sweet treat because the fiber and protein offset the small amount of sugar. Make these today and join us as we introduce our Growing Weisser Wellness Wisdom campaign. Check back every day for more details.
Ingredients
1 2/3 cups oats ground into coarse meal
1 1/8 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk ( fat free if possible or use plain Greek yogurt)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 Tablespoon grated lemon rind
2 eggs
2 cups frozen small Maine blueberries
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pulse oats in food processor to make coarse meal. Place all dry ingredients into a large bowl. Combine buttermilk or yogurt, oil, rind and eggs in small bowl and whisk until combined. Pour into dry ingredients and stir carefully until just moist. Fold in blueberries. Lightly grease mini muffin tins (makes 3 dozen mini muffins). Bake for 15 minutes until muffins spring back when touched. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if desired. Cool and remove from pans. Store in airtight container for a week in refrigerator and for a few weeks in freezer.
ENJOY!
…
Reorganize Your Morning
When it comes to sleep every minute counts. As a mom, I’ll even take extra seconds. For much of my short mom life I was letting the kids be my alarm. Soaking up as many short minutes and seconds of sleep that I could. The problem with this was I had no time for myself. No way to get my mind right or spend time with God. I would tell myself that I could do those things later in the day–I’d find time. But I never did.
All that changed when I established a morning routine! I have a list of 8 things that I do each morning and try to do before the girls wake up. I don’t always make it through my list, but I notice a huge difference in my day when I do.
Many people have adopted a 5am wake-up schedule. The idea behind it is that we are more productive in the morning. There are less distractions in the morning. We are more likely to get things done first thing in the day. Although I’m not yet ready to join the 5am club, I am waking up 30 minutes to an hour before the girls to start my morning right.
My Morning Routine:
1. Express Gratitude.
I journal using a gratitude journal that really helps me keep track of things I’m grateful for and has great quotes throughout the book.
2. Morning Devotion
I am reading daily devotions from the website “She Reads Truth.” There is also an app.
3. Workout
I only have about 5 minutes to workout in the morning, but it gets my juices flowing and feels great.
5. Take 5 deep breaths
6. SMILE
7. Forgive yourself for yesterday’s mistakes
8. Get motivated
I start my morning off …
Read MoreReorganize My Clutter
I confess I am a stuffer. I stuff things in closets, I stuff shoes in places they don’t go, I stuff things in places to put away later, I stuff my days with running from one thing to the next, I stuff my time with endless tasks, and I stuff my emotions when I don’t really want to deal with them at the moment. And I have realized, I start stuffing more material things around me when I am emotionally struggling. There’s something going on I don’t like so I don’t talk about it. There’s things in the house I don’t like so I don’t deal with them. There’s chores to do, so I just push them aside. It’s this endless cycle of appearing to look clean when underneath the surface lies the same big old mess. And I want to be done with it. I want to stop stuffing things in that one room in my house that drives me crazy. I want to stop stuffing my emotions and letting them bottle up until I feel like I am going to explode. I want to stop stuffing my life with busyness so I can barely hang on.
So what do I do? Reorganize, take a little time each day, clean one thing at a time, and stop stuffing. Deal with things when they come up. Put thing away in the moment rather than put them in another spot to put away later. Confront issues and emotions when you have them. And follow a new set of rules. Create systems of stuff that work, not systems that need to be fixed later. But that is all just a plan. I think part of this is a little deeper. It is my state of being. My physical surroundings start to emulate …
Read MoreApricot Bran Honey Muffins
Need a breakfast idea that is packed with healthy ingredients, incredibly delicious and a great way to send your kids off with a nutritious start that first day of school? I reorganized a few of my favorite ingredients into this recipe and I know you will love these muffins.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups chopped dried apricots, about 7 oz (I used sulfur free organic)
2 Tablespoons butter (can use dairy free margarine)
3 Tablespoons coconut oil
½ cup apricot nectar
2 Tablespoons honey
¾ cup oat bran
¾ cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (8 oz) carton plain greek yogurt (can use soy or coconut yogurt to keep it dairy free)
1 egg
1 egg white
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Lightly grease a 12 count muffin tin.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a small saucepan and place on high heat until it comes to a boil. Turn down to low and let simmer for 3 minutes until apricots are plump and mixture is thick. Allow to cool.
Mix flour, oat bran, salt and soda in a medium bowl.
Wisk brown sugar, yogurt, vanilla, egg and egg white together in a small bowl and add to flour mixture in medium bowl.
Stir together until just moistened.
Fold in apricot mixture and quickly spoon into greased muffin tin.
Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Watch carefully so tops do not brown too much.
Makes 12 muffins.
Serve warm or room temperature.
Store in straight container.
