Organic Produce Delivery--Too Expensive or Money Saver?

We just received our weekly organic produce bin from Prudent Produce. We've been using this company for the past few years and continue to love having a bin of fresh organic produce delivered to our front step each Monday. They also have lots of grocery "add-ons" that meet our clean-eating standards.

The Absolute Truth!

Does eating clean mean spending a fortune at the store? We don't think so. Our budget for four people (Dr. Wes, myself, and two boys) is $151/week. We consider eating healthy part of our "health insurance" policy and look for the cleanest foods to eat when we're at home to ensure long-term health. We eat 85% of our meals that are prepared at home. If you know Dr. Wes and his love of Pancheros, you can probably figure the other 15% is eating there. 


This week we decided to try something new. I tried to buy ALL of our groceries from Prudent Produce to see how close we could come to skipping the grocery store completely. Here's what we got and what we spent:

Mini-Produce Bin (This is what was in the mini-bin this week. We subbed a few items)
2 each Bananas
2 each Navel Orange
1 each Romaine Lettuce
2 each Fuji Apple
1 each Avocado
1 each Tommy Atkins Mango
2 each Tomato (IA)
1 5oz Baby Spinach
1 each Breakfast Radish

Add-Ons  

Natural White Cheddar Cheese Curds (16oz)

Natural Mild Cheddar Cheese Slices (7oz)

Stacey Tortillas (wheat)

Apple Cider Vinegar

Broccoli

Grape Tomatoes

Salted Butter (lb-4 sticks)

Beef Breakfast Sausage

Chicken Bites

All Natural Turkey Meat Sticks

Local Grass Fed Beef - GSGF (Monroe, IA)

Motley Kale

Blueberries

Strawberries

Total: $91.80

Ha! Love this! Same goes for anything that is "sugar free"
or "reduced sugar". 

Additionally, I bought eggs, bacon, salsa, Dr. Zevia, and some other random things at Hy-Vee today (I ordered eggs too late and missed out on eggs from Prudent Produce). We easily stayed within our $151 weekly budget for food and have lots of good, clean food to eat this week! Yum! 

What's your health worth to you and your family? Are you buying fresh produce and clean meats, or do you put chemicals in your cart? Would you save money if you never went down the store aisles? Are you sacrificing money today for your future health? 

Medical Doctors Vs. Chiropractors--Who Loses?

Q. Why don’t Chiropractors and medical doctors get along?

A. This is a big problem that you, the patient, are dealing with these days. There is a misconception that medical doctors don’t refer to Chiropractors and vice versa. While this is true for some, it’s not the way it should be. When this occurs, there is only one loser in this scenario, YOU! There is a time and place for medicine and there is definitely a time and place for Chiropractic. Chiropractic is not for just neck and back pain. Unfortunately, that’s what most people believe. There is so much more to Chiropractic. If MD’s, DO’s and Chiropractors would work together, our society would be a much happier, and healthier place.

Chiropractic operates under the fact that our nervous system controls and coordinates every

cell, tissue, and function of our bodies. If one of these nerve pathways is interfered with, then

wherever that nerve goes to may not function at a 100%. Chiropractors remove this interference

with the use of the Chiropractic adjustment and help the body heal on its own. There are over

100 certified adjustment techniques and the goal is to find the one that fits you. Chiropractic

helps people become healthier along with making healthy lifestyle choices, eating well, exercise and mental stress reduction techniques. As a healthcare professional, I would advise you that if your M.D., D.O., or Chiropractor are not open to working with your other healthcare

professionals in your life, then you should find a new one. It’s not about us, it’s about you. The

priority should be on whatever it takes to get you and your family healthy.

Rotavirus Letter

I've been asked about Rotavirus often this past week so I thought I'd share the email response Dr. Wes and I share with families. 

Thoughts on Rotavirus (or any illness)...

The primary goal of prevention or restoring health is having a strong & healthy immune system. The best way to achieve that is through chiropractic adjustments and making sure the body is able to heal itself. Our boys get adjusted once a week in the office and more at home if needed. Typically we see the healthiest kids in our office come in one-two times per month. Here's a link to the research behind chiropractic care and immune function--it's important to see why it works. http://icpa4kids.org/Chiropractic-Research/Immune-Function/  

Second--nutrition. If you think anyone in the house is getting sick or exposed to illness, cut out all inflammatory foods--especially wheat and dairy. When the body has excess inflammation to deal with, it cannot remove the toxins as easily and those little viruses/bacteria take residence inside the body. Bacteria feed off of sugar and will multiply much quicker with excess sugars in the body. Plan meals with lots of good proteins and veggies, and then throw in some fruit if needed.  

Third--Supplements. Vitamin D is one of the most important supplements you can take to boost immune function and overall health. Dr. Wes recommends 400IU for kids under 2, 800-1000 for kids aged 2-5, and 5000-10000 IUs for the adults.  You can get good quality drops or capsules from Waukee Wellness or Campbells.  

Overall, it's so important that everyone in the house (and ideally daycare too) is being proactively healthy. Illness can be transmitted from person to person, and those people may or may not have the symptoms. Keeping everyone at optimal health is key! 

Check out this link on the Rotavirus Vaccine.

Great Health Gifts

This was quite the season for giving (and receiving!) health-themed gifts. Here's the list of what was exchanged during our family holidays this year:

Aquazinger

• Garlic Press
• Paleo Comfort Foods Cookbook
• Reusable Lunch Sacks (the fabric kind with zippers)
• Weight lifting gloves
• Dark, healthy chocolate (Organic, 72% or higher, fair trade)
• Fair trade organic coffee (Gateway Market is a great source!)
• Cuisinart Juicer
• Fancy Tea Kettle
• Automatic Soap Dispenser (for little boy germs in my house!)
• Massages for use at Waukee Wellness! (Our families' most requested gift!)
• Athletic Compression Socks
• Heat Pack
• Neck Massager
• AquaZinger Water Bottle with Fruit Infuser--this is cool!
• Norwex
• Hot Water Bottles

I'd like to learn about...

We spend a lot of time researching, reading, listening, sharing, and discussing all of the latest in health care news. I tend to gravitate towards topics that directly impact me and my family like nutrition, mammograms, and preventing illness. 

The latest topics on my research list are:

• Cleanses. We are the only modern culture that doesn't routinely cleanse our bodies, the sickest culture, and the culture with the most toxic bodies. Whenever I try to find information or reviews about cleanses, I find a lot about weight loss and water loss, but not much about the actual cleansing of the body. 
• Alkaline and Acidity in our bodies/pH Testing. We started learning about this at SuperConference in September, but need to learn more about the implementation of it for our family. Look for more about this after the first of the year in our office!
• Mammograms. My mother is a breast cancer survivor so this is a topic that is so important to me personally. I don't think mammograms are entirely safe, but I'm researching my options to find which is the safest and most reliable. 

What's Dr. Wes learning about? He is spending time in San Antonio with the creators of 8 Weeks to Wellness learning the latest information about nutrition, exercise, spinal care, and relaxation. We can't wait to share what he learned with you!

Any ideas for us? We'd love to hear from you!

--Katie