When my kids were little, I wanted them to try new food. So every Saturday, when we would walk to the farmers market, we would pick a new food to try. It was fun to look for different things to eat rather than always staying with the stuff we knew we liked. We found some really good foods that we still eat today like sunflower shoots, cheese curds, poblano peppers, ground cherries, moon grapes, and patty pan squash. We also found some that we didn’t like, but that was part of the fun.

We also like to do this when we go out to eat. It is fun to get something on the menu that you wouldn’t normally eat. You might surprise yourself on the different foods that you like. Try going to a Chinese, Mexican, or Indian restaurant and ordering several dishes for the table to share. This is a great way to try new food that you wouldn’t order on your own.
​
Another fun thing to do is buy different ingredients on vacation and take them home to cook with. It is a great reminder of your trip. We’ve tried different jams and jellies, fruits, popcorn, mustards, and different sauces. Great souvenir idea without adding more stuff to your house! 

We also like to do this when we go out to eat. It is fun to get something on the menu that you wouldn’t normally eat. You might surprise yourself on the different foods that you like. Try going to a Chinese, Mexican, or Indian restaurant and ordering several dishes for the table to share. This is a great way to try new food that you wouldn’t order on your own.

Another fun thing to do is buy different ingredients on vacation and take them home to cook with. It is a great reminder of your trip. We’ve tried different jams and jellies, fruits, popcorn, mustards, and different sauces. Great souvenir idea without adding more stuff to your house!
​

​I try to have snacks around that are healthy for when the munchies strike. These roasted almonds are a great choice. They are easy to make, last a long time, and they are good for you. I keep them in the car, in my purse, and at home for snacking. You only need two ingredients! Almonds and Braggs Liquid Aminos. 

                                                 Roasted Almonds
3 cups almonds
1 TBSP liquid aminos
1 TBSP water
Measure the almonds into a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the water with the liquid aminos. Dump over almonds and mix until they are all coated. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a 200 degree oven for 8-9 Hours. Let them cool and store in an air-tight container. 

When my daughter was sick, we started eating gluten-free. It was very overwhelming at first until I found the right flour for us. Now in a lot of recipes, we actually prefer the gluten-free version to the regular recipe! Here are the two flours that I use:

The first one is an all-purpose flour. This I make myself buy mixing one bag of each of the following together:  tapioca flour (also known as tapioca starch), potato starch, white rice flour, and brown rice flour. It is very easy! I just buy all four bags of Bob’s Red Mill brand and mix them together. This is what I substitute into my recipes for all-purpose flour. We use this in cookies, quick breads, crepes, and pancakes. (Yeast breads are harder to just substitute in so I would make sure to get an actual gluten free yeast bread recipe if you wanted to try making your own.)

The other flour I use is just plain white rice flour. This is what I use when I need to put breading on something like fish, chicken or shrimp. All I do is dip the protein into the rice flour, season with a little salt and pepper, and cook it in a little avocado oil. The trick is to leave it alone in the pan to crisp up and get to a golden brown.

​                                                                                Happy Cooking!

​I never read food labels until my daughter got sick. I wasn’t into counting calories and I figured if I bought a lot of the name brand food… I would be eating ok. Well, when she got sick I learned that I needed to start looking at what was in the food we were eating.

The first thing I did was get rid of anything that had “high fructose corn syrup” in it. What is high fructose corn syrup?  It is a sweetener made from cornstarch, some of whose glucose has been converted to fructose, that is used in commercially produced foods and soft drinks as a cheaper alternative to sucrose. Here is a great video to watch to learn why high fructose corn syrup is so bad for you… https://health.clevelandclinic.org/avoid-the-hidden-dangers-of-high-fructose-corn-syrup-video/  I was surprised to find that it was in all kinds of things that we ate from our tomato soup to our bread crumbs.

The next thing I did was start cooking more and eating less ultra-processed foods. What qualifies as ultra-processed food? Look at the label… in processed food chances are that you won't have a clue what some of the ingredients are. That's because many of the ingredients in there aren't actual food... they are artificial chemicals that are added for various purposes. My suggestion is look at the labels on your food and if you know what the ingredients are, then it is something to put in your cart. If not, you probably shouldn’t be eating it.
​
The final thing I try to do is buy Organic. Organic foods typically contain the same amount of nutrients, vitamins and minerals as non-organic foods. ... However, foods that are Organic typically contain fewer pesticides, fewer multi-drug resistant bacteria and no genetically modified organisms or foods. If I can’t afford to buy all Organic then I at least get food that is Non-GMO. GMOs are Genetically modified organisms and I don’t want those in my food. If you want to learn more about GMOs in your food… check out https://livingnongmo.org They have a great FAQ page that can answer all your questions. Note: Organic food will be Non-GMO but Non-GMO is not automatically Organic. Organic food is more expensive and if you don’t have the money to buy all Organic then here is the list of foods that are most likely to have GMOs in them…alfalfa, canola, corn, cotton, papaya, potato, soy, sugar beet, and zucchini.

​If you are looking to get more protein and less carbs into your diet but you love pasta...chickpea pasta is a great alternative. The trick is to cook it to the softness that you like your regular pasta and use it in saucy dishes. We have found that it is a great pasta substitution in mac and cheese, chili mac, spaghetti and soups. There are lots of brands out there. This is one that we like. 

My wellness journey started when my daughter got sick. Back then we were in crisis mode and I was overwhelmed and exhausted! This is not the way I would advise anyone to do it, but we had no choice. I made a ton of mistakes and I tried a lot of things that didn’t work for us. Now that “crisis” mode is over I’m still on a wellness journey but at a more relaxed pace, and I will tell you this is the way to go!

My idea of wellness is broken up into 8 categories… Bemer, Eat Well, Exercise, Give Back, Have Fun, Reduce Stress, Take Vacations and Use Clean Products. I came up with these because I want to have an enjoyable balanced life and these are what my family does to achieve that.

We Bemer every day, twice a day… just like you brush your teeth. It takes 8 minutes twice a day to help our bodies achieve good circulation which I’ve learned is the key to good health.

My approach to eating well is eating things that we still like but making them a little healthier as we go. I want to gradually introduce better foods so we don’t crave the stuff that we gave up. It’s like losing weight… if you do it gradually you are more likely to keep that weight off.

Exercise doesn’t need to be just done in a gym. If you like to work out in a gym… great! If not, make something work for you to get yourself up and moving. My family plays volleyball together and my husband and I like to walk every day.

Giving back is also an important part of our lives. I feel it is important to do things to help others. It makes you feel good and it lets you appreciate what you have.

Have FUN! This one is a big one for me. I believe that life needs to be fun so find things that you like and enjoy yourself!

Reduce stress. Stress is so bad for you. Some stress in your life you can’t avoid so make a conscious effort to eliminate the stress that you can have control over. There are lots of enjoyable ways to reduce stress… guided imagery, yoga, working in the garden, getting a massage, are just a couple examples.

Take vacations. This is another big one for me. I think it is important to get away. I like to have vacations to look forward to and I also like the break from all the day to day stuff that goes on in our lives. Vacations don’t have to be huge or long. When we were first married, we would take trips down to Amish for an overnight or just go to a local hotel to get away.

My last category is to use clean products. The last couple months I’ve really tried to eliminate a lot of the chemicals that were in my house. I’ve found some great alternatives that work really well for us and I will share those with you.
​
These are my approaches to wellness. They didn’t come overnight, and they are what is right for my family. My idea is to share what I’ve learned with you. Don’t overwhelm yourself with trying to do everything at once, and if something that I do isn’t right for you, then that’s is fine too!
​

Hi. My name is Patty Sulik. I’m a mom that had a sick child. Nothing is worse than having a sick child and not knowing how to help them. It is frustrating, exhausting, overwhelming, and nothing I ever want to experience again. I tried anything and everything to get her better.  I started working with wellness professionals, researched ways to cook with better foods, and looked into healthier products to use.  Lots of trials and error got me where I am today.

I came up with 8 wellness approaches to keep my family balanced and I will share my approaches on all of these with you. These include Bemer, eat well, exercise, have fun, reduce stress, use clean products, take vacations, and give back. In my experience, there is no one quick fix to get yourself healthy. It is a process. The process might be slow but it is well worth it in the end.

One of the best things I found in my journey was a wellness device called a Bemer. This device helped me get my daughter better and now I love having it for all those daily issues that come up from illness to injury. This company has a mission to get a Bemer in every home and now that is my mission too! This device has completely changed our lives and I’m so grateful to have my family using this as a wellness tool to keep everyone happy and healthy. Let’s see what this can do for your family together!