Eat More Kale

So you read the title and you are thinking fibrous, chewy kale salad, YUCK! Before you jump to conclusions trust me this salad is quite tasty and very good for you at the same time.

Kale is full of chlorophyll and calcium. Calcium that has not been heated to extreme temperatures and denatured and rendered useless for your body. One cup of raw kale has the following:

3.3 grams protein
2 grams fiber
135 mg calcium
120 mg vitamin C

Those are just a few to give you an idea of the great nutritional value kale has to offer. It is one of my favorite greens because of it's dense nutritional value.

So here's the recipe for you to try. It's simple and the ingredients are probably already in your house.

1 Bunch Kale
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sea or Himalayan salt
1 avocado
1/2 lemon juiced

green onions
cherry tomatoes
kalamata olives

One bunch kale washed and chopped into small pieces. Cut the leaves away from the fibrous stems. Drizzle about two tablespoons of olive oil over and 1/2 tsp salt and massage into the kale for a few minutes. This will help break down the cell walls and soften the kale. Add an avocado and massage in followed by the juice of half a lemon. Do not substitute with the bottled stuff. You are better off going for fast food than consuming Real Lemon, ugh! That's a whole other post. That's it! You can end here or you can add in your salad favorites like some examples I listed above.

I actually had a bumper sticker on my car that said "Eat More Kale," but sadly it's a website for T-shirts and I felt like I was advertising that rather than the fact that kale is a phenomenal food so I took it off.

Stinky Topic

This is going to be the first article of a series on how to stop exposing our bodies to chemicals one step at a time. Everywhere I go I want to tell everyone about the dangers of the foods, water and cosmetics they are exposing themselves to. I don't have the problem as much when I go grocery shopping, because I do that at health food stores, but when I go to Costco I have to have a great deal of self control. I go there to get a few organic things like frozen berries, apples and spinach. I also get avocados, and pinneapple there even though they aren't organic. As I walk through the store I see other moms loading their carts with Gogurts, Crustables, bottled water, pasteurized milk, sodas, processed cereals, and the list goes on and on. I have changed alot over the past five or so years. I used to buy canned foods and some processed things, so I do understand the ignorance that can come with buying these things. I wish there were a way to get the message out to other mom's so they don't have to spend hours researching like I have. So here is my plan. I am going to pick some of the things that I think will make a huge difference in people's lives and try to make it simple for them to elimintate these health hinderers from their lives. I may pick an easier one some weeks, and harder ones other weeks, and I won't always pick the most important to come first because sometimes they are harder changes to make.

So this week I am going to concentrate on body odor. Body odor is really quite a scary topic for most. How in the world do I expect you to stop white knuckling your protection because you fear scaring off all of your friends and coworkers? Well first you need to detox and for some this is a very good time because you probably have a little vacation from work to try a few of these things. If not, don't fear. The Crystal will probably get you by. Just bring it with you to work because you may need to reapply it for awhile. Trust me after you read what all of the ingredients in mainstream deodorants can do to you, you will agree it is worth the hassle. Once you have detoxed you will have an amazing sense of freedom from that gross stuff you used to rely on daily.

If everyone stopped putting regular deodorant on I believe they would feel much better. My recommendation after being my own guinea pig is baking soda without aluminum (if it doesn't say, it has it) Bob's Red Mill can be purchased at Whole Foods for a couple bucks or Crystal which can be found at health stores. I have tried a few other brands and wasn't as thrilled with them. It was prior to my detox though, so I will give them that.

My own detox period lasted for about two months. I believe it would have been much shorter had I not gone back to my Dove deodorant over and over when I had a special outing. That hinders the progress. Every now and then I eat some meat and processed foods at a family get together and like clockwork I have to use baking soda for a few days. Other than that I never use any form of deodorant and I never have any smell issues at all. It's true!! I'm a mom under stress and I live in the heat of Vegas and I never stink!!! Okay not never. Only when I eat certain foods though, like I said.


Deodorant Tips

Different anti-perspirants work in different ways. Some work by shrinking sweat glands. Others work by clogging or shrinking the pores in your underarms. Many studies have shown that the compounds in these anti-perspirants are not healthy, not allowing sweat glands to do their job releasing toxins. Over time the aluminum compounds have also been shown to collect in the brain, possibly leading to Alzheimers. (There are other chemicals to avoid, see the end of this article). While anti-perspirants have these disturbing side effects, deodorants work simply to fight bacteria and to scent the underarm. That's why many people believe using deodorants is a much healthier option.

When you switch from an anti-perspirant to a deodorant, your glands and pores will start to unclog, open up, and function properly. In this transition period, toxins and other fluid buildup are being released and one may notice his/her body odor increase. Not knowing the changes that are occurring in their body, this increased odor sends people running right back to their trusty anti-perspirant. Steps for getting off of regular deodorant:

1. Test
Give a new deodorant product at least a week before you decide if its right for you.

2. "Detox"
If you've been using an anti-perspirant, there's a bunch of buildup in the underarms. Dead skin cells, and chemical residue. Before your shower, dry-brush your underarm skin to loosen this buildup and to gently increase circulation. In the shower, lightly rub a loofah or exfoliating bath mitt on your underarms or simply use a washcloth if that's all you have. Stay away from anti-bacterial detergents for cleaning, only using true natural soaps for cleaning like Dr Bronners.

3. Sweat, sweat, sweat!!
Exercise. Use a sauna. Take hot showers and baths. These things will make you perspire and get your sweat glands functioning properly again. You may notice your underarm sweat being a little thick. This is because the sweat glands in your armpits are different from others on the rest of your body. Instead of just water and salt, these glands excrete amino acids. Your glands haven't been able to excrete all of these amino acids so there may be a buildup of mucous being released.

4. Hydrate well.
With all this sweating you need to replace your fluids.

5. Clothing
Natural fibers like cotton, bamboo and hemp will help wick perspiration away from your body. Synthetic fibers like acetate and polyester trap sweat in, giving bacteria a warm wet place to live. Synthetic fibers also hold sweat in the fabric, so bacteria actually starts growing on your shirt itself. Gross!

6. Cut the red meat.
Many claim that the consumption of red meat increases body odor. In 2006, a group of researchers in the Czech Republic put the theory to the test. The collected the perspiration of males, meat-eating and non-meat-eaters. They then had women judge the odor of the perspiration based on a number of factors.

"Results of repeated measures analysis of variance showed that the odor of donors when on the non-meat diet was judged as significantly more attractive, more pleasant, and less intense. This suggests that red meat consumption has a negative impact on perceived body odor hedonicity."

Eating red meat, according to this study, does make you smell more pungent. But what's the science behind it?

Our bodies have two types of sweat glands: eccrine and apocrine. Eccrine glands are located all over the body. The sweat that eccrine glands produces is nothing much more than salt water. Apocrine glands, however, are different. Apocrine glands develop during puberty, and are located in the underarm and groin areas. The sweat that these glands produce contain fatty acids and proteins that are then eaten by bacteria. So even though we have bacteria all over our bodies, odor only comes from areas with apocrine glands.

When we eat red meat, our bodies contain more protein and fatty acids than someone on a vegetarian or vegan diet. Thus, more proteins and fatty acids are excreted through the apocrine glands of a meat eater than those of a vegetarian. The underarms of a meat-eater has more “food” for bacteria to eat and multiply with, so there's more body odor. I have found this to be true for myself over and over again.


Ingredients to avoid:


•Propylene Glycol is a penetration enhancer, actually breaking down your skins natural protective barrier and enters your bloodstream, bringing any other chemicals along with it.


•Aloe Vera or water. While water and aloe vera themselves are not harmful ingredients, their presence means that there's got to be some type of synthetic preservative to keep it from going bad.


•Fragrance may contain phlalates that are proven hormone distruptors, particularly affecting the way the female hormone estrogen works in your body (in men, women, and children). Tetrasodium EDTA is actually made from sodium cyanide (a toxic salt) and formaldehyde (a carcinogen).


•Synthetic colors like FD&C Yellow and D&C Green are made from coal tar, and can be skin irritants, hormone distruptors, and formaldehyde donors.


•Diazolidinyl Urea is a skin and immune system toxin, and has been shown to cause cancer in some studies. Commonly sourced as an extract from animal urine.


•Triethanolamine (TEA) is made from ethylene oxide, a known carcinogen.


•Parabens (methyl, ethyl, propyl, iso, etc) can cause skin irritation and allergies and has been shown in many studies to be a hormone disruptor.


•Quaternium-15 is a preservative that can contain formaldehyde, a known carcinogen. Bronopol breaks down to create the carcinogens formaldehyde and nitrosamines according to the FDA.


•Octoxynol and Nonoxynol are hormone disruptors and should be avoided by children and pregnant women in particular.


•Triclosan has been shown to cause liver damage and hormone disruption. Ceteareth-20 (or 12) is used as a thickener and can be contaminated with carcinogens such as ethylene oxide and dioxane. It is also a neurotoxin, a skin irritant, and has been deemed by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review an ingredient not safe for use on injured or damaged skin.


You can do a search through the Environmetal Working Group's website for any cosmetic product here:
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php

For fun I did a search for my old deodorant Dove radiant silk. I thought you might like to see what I was exposing my body to, or even better put-what I am no longer poisoning my body with!!

Ingredients in this product are linked to:
Cancer
Developmental/reproductive toxicity
Allergies/immunotoxicity
Other concerns for ingredients used in this product:
Neurotoxicity, Endocrine disruption, Persistence and bioaccumulation, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Miscellaneous, Multiple, additive exposure sources, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Contamination concerns, Occupational hazards, Biochemical or cellular level changes

Awe Dove is such a lovely company isn't it? Looking out for women everywhere. You know that they found parabens in samples of breast tumors? Not good no matter how you spin it. More here:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/paraben011304.cfm

So are you with me? Have I convinced you to start your new healthy lifestyle today?

Correction: I no longer trust the Crystal deodorant. I think the safest bet is eating clean and using nothing or using baking soda. That's what I do! :)

What do you want?

So it may not seem like a life changing event that I got my allergy test results, but to me this is HUGE and has brought about so many emotions for me. First off in case you don't know, my test came back that I was allergic to: Eggs, Brewers yeast, Bananas, Corn, Dates, Garlic, Malt, Cow's Milk, Mushrooms, Spinach, Tomatoes, Wheat, and Baker's Yeast. Okay so this may seem like a small list to you, but if you look closer you will see that eggs, yeast, wheat, milk and corn are staples in most American's diet and cannot be avoided in processed foods. Well I don't eat those and had eliminated them from my diet almost entirely so what really disrupts my life are all the foods that are left. Like DATES, SPINACH, GARLIC and BANANAS! I had already had a hunch about the tomatoes and had eliminated them already. Seeing the test I felt like stomping my feet like a kid and saying "NO FAIR!" Don't get me wrong that only lasted seconds. I was so high yesterday finally knowing what my body perceives as the enemy. For two years my rash has been life altering. Constant itching, cracking, burning and pain on my hands. That's all fine. I'm pretty tough, obviously I dealt with it for many years, but when it was all for nothing? That's hard for me to deal with. Maybe eliminating all of those foods first by learning how bad they were for me was the path I was supposed to take. Maybe I would have still wanted them and felt sorry for myself, and now I have no desire for dairy or gluten. I don't know??

Now the two yeasts in there lead my doctor and I to believe I do have a candida overgrowth that has leaked into my bloodstream, and possibly leaky gut. I will have to take another $640 test to determine that for sure, but the usual suspects are there. I have a huge percentage of the symptoms and have had for nearly all of my life. If you don't know much about it you can check it out here: http://www.holistichelp.net/candida.html Now I am NOT a hypochondriac. Quite the opposite in my opinion. I deny that I have anything wrong that is bad enough to seek help for as LONG as I can. This is where the emotional part comes in. Why have I let this go on for so long affecting every aspect of my life? From my energy, my weight, my anxiety over everything, my happiness, my sleep, my health, my parenting and relationship with my husband and children? and so many other issues! Could I be a more patient mother? I work so hard at it! Why didn't I seek answers sooner? I laid in bed last night wondering how life would have been different had I sought help earlier. Would I have been easily thin? Would I have been involved in sports? Would I have sought larger goals for myself? Would I be happier? I started to get angry. Angry at doctors for giving me antibiotics. Angry at them and pharmaceutical companies for piling prescription on top of prescription for my allergies, asthma and eczema. Angry at myself for falling for it all and not being smart enough not to get duped. Worst of all angry that I had 3 raw miserable pregnancies that possibly could have been pleasant. Possibly followed by a natural birth. That's when the tears came. That is my Achilles heal. I so long for a happy pregnancy where I get to enjoy my baby growing inside of me.

Now I don't consider myself a person who regrets things. I try very hard to appreciate where my roads have lead me and never regret anything. So where is all of this anger coming from? I decided I need to turn it into something positive and fast! Who needs all of this pity? Not me! So I thought about it all day. What can I do to heal this wrong? I know I am so very grateful for this life that I have. Every moment with my boys melts my heart. I can never get enough of them. So if this journey brought me here, then I must except it and try to forget what could have been and concentrate on how to improve my life with them now. Not regret that I could have been more energetic in play with them before or less irritable to them or John. He's still here, so I guess I wasn't that bad. :)

So I want to help others by inspiring to take action to take care of themselves. If reading my feelings makes you realize you need to take care of yourself, then my learning wasn't all for nothing. Quit telling yourself it's no big deal! Quit putting your needs last! Take action and take care of yourself! Just don't give up. There are tests out there that regular doctors don't use and those tests utilize amazing science. The test I want next measures everything from your DNA to your intestinal flora.

I was sitting here talking to John tonight about my rash and I said, " I just want to feel normal..." Wait what was that? After saying those words my mind heard tires screaching to a halt! That is exactly the opposite of what I want! I don't want normal! I want so much more! Normal these days doesn't seem to look like it feels good. Look around you. So I decided to start listing off what I want for myself:

I want to be radiant and full of energy
rolling with jubilant laughter and smiles
HEALTHY in every aspect
free of all pains and itching
sharp and quick thinking
juicy!
full of life
springing out of bed in the morning rearing to go
an inspiration
blissful, cheerful, gleeful and jolly
content and peaceful
sunny, sparkling and light
walking on air!!
appreciative

So what would you put on your list?

Gluten Free Sandwich Bread

So it may seem like I am on a gluten free kick. Well I guess so. My husband has become more open minded to going gluten free and I have stopped buying him ezekiel bread. He is also eating alot more raw food. Since doing this he has become exceptionally hungry and goes from cupboard to fridge searching for something to eat. I had to slowly transition away from certain foods and I need to help him do the same, but everything I've ever bought at Whole Foods that is gluten free has been horrible and I'd rather go hungry. I know that making things homemade can produce a much tastier result so I have been experimenting to find a good bread for him. My first couple tries were less than desirable, so I was so elated when this recipe worked. I almost did cartwheels! Soft, fluffy, yummy bread! I got it off of Gluten Free Mommy's blog, and altered it slightly to what I had on hand. I have since made almond butter, jelly sandwiches, garlic bread, and honey bread with it! Sooo yummy!


Here's her site, she has lots of gluten free recipes but this is the only one I've tried:
http://glutenfreemommy.com/baking-gluten-free-bread-millet-oatmeal-bread/


GLUTEN FREE MILLET OATMEAL BREAD RECIPE
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup certified gluten free oat flour (you can pulverize oats in a food processor to make oat flour) *If you are sensitive to oat flour, try quinoa flour
3/4 cup millet flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/3 cup arrowroot starch* you can substitute cornstarch if you need to (I used cornstarch)
1/3 cup sweet rice flour (I just used buckwheat flour here)
1/4 flax seed meal (you can’t taste it and it adds fiber)
1 Tablespoon xanthan gum
3 eggs
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 packet active dry yeast+ 1 tsp granulated sugar for proofing yeast
1 Tablespoon molasses
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 Tablespoons butter or butter substitute, melted
1/4 cup plus 1 cup heated water (I heated my water to 120 degrees to proof the yeast)

Here's her directions:

DIRECTIONS:
Make sure all your dry ingredients (and eggs!) are at room temperature. Grease the bottom of a 10 inch loaf pan or two 8 inch pans. Heat the oven to 200 degrees and then turn off. In the bowl of your stand mixer (I used my paddle not my dough hook for this recipe), sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, mix eggs, molasses, vinegar, and melted butter together. Heat your water for proofing the yeast. I recommend 120 degrees. In a small prep bowl, stir together your active dry yeast and one teaspoon of sugar. Add 1/4 cup of the heated water to the yeast mixture. Let the yeast sit for 10 minutes. It should be foamy and active! If not, start over with another packet of yeast. Once your yeast is ready, add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Then add the yeast mixture. Then slowly add your water (should still be warm) to achieve the right consistency in your batter. Since different brands, flours, measuring techniques act different I do not recommend just blindly dumping in the rest of the water but adding gradually instead. The dough should be like very stiff cake batter. I beat my dough on high for about 15 minutes in my stand mixer. If you accidentally add too much water simply add a little rice flour until you achieve the dough consistency you are after. Put the dough in your prepared pan and place in oven to rise for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours. You can put plastic wrap or a towel over the pan. My house is much too cold right now so I put mine in the oven so that the dough can rise. Once the dough has risen to the top of the pan, bake the bread for 40 minutes at 350 degrees or until internal temperature reaches 190 degrees. As you can tell, I am big on thermometers.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

My hubby wanted to go get frozen yogurt at Yogel's the other night. I said why don't we just get some organic ice cream when we go shopping later. Then when we got there and we looked at the ingredients we decided we didn't want to do that either. He said, "how about we make chocolate chip cookies?" I puckered my lips and said "hmm, how about gluten free cookies?" He said, "okaaaay," in a hum hawing voice. Now the challenge was to figure out how to do this without buying a package, and it took me a day to get to it.

I have been saving the nut pulp from our nut milks for awhile now. I dehydrate it and grind it into a flour and then put it in the freezer for freshness. I never know what to do with it. They sell almond powder in small packages for a hefty price, so I knew I should keep saving it, especially since mine was from RAW organic almonds and nuts. So here's what I threw together. It's not perfect, BUT it is better than any of the alternatives and is just one more step away from all of the terrible snacks that tempt my family. It's also not raw, but I would have been completely satisfied eating the dough. It was good! In fact that's what I ate. I'm also not a huge fan of the agave anymore, but it's all about transition and if agave helps then we will use it for awhile. I use dates for most everything and I love them. I will probably try them in this recipe sometime.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/4 cups Almond Flour (mine was a combination of almond, hazelnut, brazil nut, and macadamina nut)

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup raw agave syrup

5 tablespoons coconut oil or 5 tablespoons organic melted butter if you don't mind dairy*

1 teaspoon organic vanilla

1/2 cup organic dark chocolate chips (use raw cacao if you are just eating the dough)

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl
Combine wet ingredients in a different bowl
Mix wet ingredients and dry together
Form balls and press onto an oiled baking sheet (They need to be smashed or they will hold the ball shape)

Bake at 350° for 7-12 minutes
Cool off and serve with some cold nut milk

Makes 12 cookies

OR

even better leave out the baking soda and eat it raw! Whip up some raw ice cream and put some cookie dough crumbles in. MmmmMMmmm, pure heaven.

*If you haven't switched over to buying organic food I recommend starting with your butter and cream (this includes ICE CREAM!) Butter is from the fat of the cow's milk and is where alot of the pesticides and antibiotics the cow is exposed to end up. If you simply switch your butter purchasing habits you will largely eliminate the amount of pesticides you are exposed to.

Stay tuned for my gluten free bread recipe too!

What a beautiful raw day!

I made a new breakfast today: Goji berry sunshine cereal with brazil nut milk. It was so good I had to take a picture, and so started my idea to document everything we ate today. On a normal day we usually start off with a green smoothie, but they have been getting bored with them lately. I've been switching them up with different fruits, but they still wanted something to crunch on. I make raw granola which they love, but I wanted something new and exciting, and I certainly got what I asked for. Tomorrow I've promised to make coconut breakfast cakes, and I hope they turn out as yummy!

For lunch we took a picnic to the park. It was a warm but slightly cloudy day and ended up being perfect. I brought a quart of green smoothie, this one had blueberry, spinach and banana. We also brought grapes, 2 nectarines, flax chips and guacamole. Our third course consisted of a raw almond butter and fresh smashed blueberry sandwich on ezekiel bread. To wash it all down we had refreshing H20. Everything organic of course. I didn't have any sandwich, it's just to help them in transitioning.

Stealing a nectarine, then on to the smoothie. I don't really feed him food yet, but these were adorable moments.

I love how the juice is all over him. The park is where I let loose and let them make a mess. I brought a wet washcloth for the imminent messes.

Dinner was simpler. Just romaine lettuce today with organic raw cheese, organic olives from a jar not a can, avocado, and a vinegar, olive oil dressing.

For snack they had chocolate brazil nut milk popsicles. YUM! I didn't have time to take a picture. I had to get them to bed early since they missed nap time.

Now I leave you with a message from my tea bag: Let love elevate yourself to excellence.

Got Greens Bags

It's official I've sold my first produce bags! So here they are, my Got Greens bags:

$8 per set of 3

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

I am having a weak moment today and think I'll make some cookies. I searched through pages and pages of my Facebook looking for this recipe that I made a couple months ago. I had experimented a few times and was extremely happy with this final result, so I wasn't willing to start over again.

1 cup Organic Peanut butter (not a health food, unbalanced omega's, but I didn't want to cook my raw almond butter)

1/2 cup of following:
buckwheat flower
organic brown sugar
organic sugar
1/4 hazelnut (or other nut) milk

Mix together roll into balls and cook for 18-20 min at 325

Here's another version that is gluten free, but not vegan:
1 cup organic peanut butter
1 cup organic sugar
1 egg

Bake at 350 for 6 to 8 minutes.

No Pooing

First let me say that I can't stand the name of this procedure. How about no chem-hairing or something more pleasant to the ear the first time it's said. Next, let me say that this procedure has had no allure for me at all since I heard of it. Or maybe you're wondering what "it" is. Well Simply put, the number one procedure I've found was 1 Tbsp Baking Soda in 1 cup water massaged into hair and rinsed followed by 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar to 1 cup water massaged through hair and rinsed.

So why in the world would I try it? Because my research on eczema provides that many people are allergic to the harsh ingredients in the many cleaners we use on our bodies. Not to mention the many toxins that come in contact with our skin. I have been so extremely pleased with the switch over to coconut oil for lotion and have often questioned why I never realized sooner that the amounts of toxins I slathered on my dry skin we taxing my system. So this would be the next logical step for me, right? I mean, I have transitioned away from aluminum laden deodorant (not a pleasant task), stopped using fluoride toothpastes years ago, switched to expensive toxin free sunblocks, only use all natural chemical free soaps, and changed over to toxin free nail polishes as well. So I thought I would skip the step of organic shampoo and conditioners and go right to the finish line where all the hippies are, and no poo my hair.

I hardly ever shampoo my boys hair and when I do I use the all natural California Baby soap. I'd like to say this was all me, but it was John who would chew me out when he would see me shampooing them. "Why do you want to put all of those chemicals on him, he doesn't need it?" After realizing it wasn't worth arguing about it I quit shampooing them. They have beautiful shiny, silky hair, so I knew that there could be something to the no pooing.

So for my first time I am not thrilled. Lack Lustre is the phrase that comes to mind. I am not giving up though. I have color treated hair, and I guess I am missing the extreme shine that the conditioner provides. I was shocked at how easy it was to comb through though. I thought it would be difficult without all the assistance from the conditioner, but it wasn't. My hair needs a chance to recover from all of the years of build up being put on it and I know that. I also know that if I delve into a couple sites that there are plenty of things for me to experiment with to get what I want. Plus I saw pictures of others who no poo and their hair was beautiful, even color treated. However none of them were bleach blonde's, so only time will tell.

I'm not sure if I will no poo for my next shower, but I will keep trying again in the future.

Our almost hike

We had a nice escape to the cooler weather for a day. We had to wait in our car for the storm to clear so we could enjoy it, but once it did we got to run around in a little snow. We had planned to hike but it was too cold for Triton to be in it for a long period of time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urgjpfAI-2c

Little laundry tricks

I get regular updates from Dr Mercola that are mostly health related. Today he had one about how to end laundry chaos that was a fun little read. I had more ideas to add though, especially for those of us who have children.

I have taught my boys to put their own clothes in the laundry basket, and they sort them into the right color section too! This is so easy a 3 year old or even younger can do this I promise. I can't tell you how much easier this made my life.

Then if your children are like mine they love to get into their clothes and change several times a day. That's fine with me as long as they put them back. I have let them know that certain clothes are off limits like the ones hanging up that are hard for them to put back.

I have a shoe rack by my front door. No shoes in my house. That's where my baby crawls, yuck! When we lived in Utah we had a shelf and hooks in the garage before you came into the house, but this house didn't have an area for it. So it may be a bit of an eye sore but it makes our lives functional and provides a clean place to put things. I put two pretty baskets on top of it with the boys names on them, so they can put their clothes in their basket and they can wear them again later. When we come in the door they always strip down to their underwear and you know this if you've seen our videos. That's just how they are comfortable.

Lastly, I get them involved when I fold laundry. They put their own clothes away. Thanks to Kristal for this idea. I don't have cute little tags though. I've taught them what goes where. They have an underwear, sock, shorts drawer, etc. They don't like to put it away, but I give them the speech about how mommy likes to go to the park with them and color with them, and I wash their clothes for them so they can put them away so mommy can do fun things with them. It always works. They just need to be reminded why they are expected to do it. However they do love helping fold dish towels, so I get unsolicited help there.

What do you do to make laundry time easier? We all know it takes up a good portion of our lives. They always come out with those statistics about how long we spend sitting in traffic or using the restroom. I wonder how many years of our lives we spend doing laundry on average.

Red Bull gives you wings?

I am always harping about coffee and other stimulants to the people I love, and it wasn't until recently that I was able to pester them guilt free. I have only had decaf since I've been pregnant and nursing, but it is still full of sugar and other poisonous ingredients, and none of it is organic! For over a month, maybe two I have not had any coffee! My husband just drinks them in front of me while I enjoy my organic tea. I love the comfort of a warm caramel macci-wait make that HOT caramel macciato as much as anybody, and I savor my iced white chocolate mocha's on hot days. We've all been told how a Starbuck's coffee can cost us as much as a thousand of our calories that day, but we try to put it out of our mind while we savor our forbidden treat. Even though I love them I let them go, for the love of my children. Everything I do is for them. I feel sad that my husband used to hate coffee and after sharing mine for so many years he's created his own addiction that has yet to be broken. He used to get very angry if he found out I'd had a coffee at work, and now look how the tables have turned. Now tell me that's not the token of a drug.

So when I read about Red Bull having cocaine in it, I thought of all the people I know who drink it. I used to love Red Bull and even better are Rockstar's. When we would go boating at the lake I would buy us a case to burn through. Forget the beer, I like being hyper!! I was hoping now I would have another fact to tell those loved ones about this high in a can. After reading the article I was a little disappointed. It gave me nothing good to repeat to them to break their addiction, but then I thought about it, and the stuff still sucks. Just because the traces of cocaine are minuscule that doesn't mean they aren't bad, and it doesn't mean that caffeine doesn't increase heart rate and blood pressure and doesn't induce heart attacks, strokes and respiratory illness.

No matter how you put it caffeine wreaks havoc on our bodies. I believe it is just a legal drug. I find it very addictive myself. I hope to never fall into that rut of needing my daily buzz to get through the day again. Besides, since I've been staying away from cooked and processed foods I've been having plenty of energy.

My first post

I think I'll use something old here, just to see how this works:

I thought I'd make a list of some raw foods you may want to try. All can be found at health foods stores unless I notate. Make sure you get everything organic. This list doesn't include all of the yummy greens and produce you should be buying. When I go into a regular grocery store, the food packages all look like toys now. It's a very odd experience, and this is someone who refused to shop at Whole Foods 6 years ago. My husband was so wonderful to provide so well for us and wanted me to buy organic foods there. I wanted my "normal" lifestyle. I hate change, what can I say!

Hempseeds
Raw Agave
Raw Cacao Nibs/Powder/Butter-some in store, online too
Coconut Water
Chlorella nuts
Raw nut butters-cashew, pine nut (almond must be purchased online if you want it TRULY raw, US almonds are gassed)
Raw honey-you may eat honey, why not get raw next time?
Raw herbs and spices instead of dried-parsley, garlic (I go through a bulb every few days)
Dried fruits and veggies-great snack for kids
Dulse flakes-(seaweed)
Himalayan salt
Yacon syrup
Raw Coconut oil
Goji berries
Raw flax crackers
Sundried tomatoes
Ezekiel or Spelt breads
Raw cheeses and milk
PROBIOTICS-buy liquid ones, they're great
Raw revolution bars rock-you can get on amazon
Powdered green drinks for busy days-Berry green by New Chapter Organics
Fresh lemons and limes-throw out that poionous reallemon Stuff
Nuts-make sure they're raw! and soak alomonds and walnuts (some others too) overnight

Some other things to consider for your health are that it's more important what you eliminate, than what you add. This list is substantially longer, but I will list things that come to mind.
High fructose corn syrup
Pesticides-grown into your produce, or the ones you use for critters
Sugar
Gluten-I'm slowly getting rid of this one
Chlorine in your shower, and drinking water-you need to make sure you are drinking as healthy water as possible and showering in it too.

After much research I believe reverse osmosis followed by an ionizer is best. This will cost you around $2200 total, and unfortunately it's the most important.

Fluoride and other toxins need to be filtered out and then alkalized by the ionizer. Look into alkaline vs acidic water. Very important to survive our ever toxic environment. If you start researching and wonder about distilled, it is acidic. No good for your body.

Meat and dairy-okay alot won't like this, but it has been proven that cancers thrive in an environment where the body is consuming these things. Make your own almond milk instead of the traditional kind, and start by eating one meatless meal a week like eggplant parmesean.

Plastic!!! BPA's are dangerous. Throw away all of your children's poisonous cups and plates immediately. BPA's cause early puberty, cancers and many other things. They leach out of all those adorable plastic cups we hand to our babies. Get bamboo and stainless steel for the little ones, and teach them how to use glasses and plates like you as soon as possible. I started my son on glasses at 1 1/2 years old, and he broke his first one tonight at age 3 1/2. Store your foods in mason jars and pyrex. Don't use plastic wrap.

Want to get serious about health??? Juice yourself healthy!!! Get a juicer (I can help if you need to know what's good). You can get enormous amounts of greens this way. Lots of yummy live enzymes to help alkalize your body.

Make smoothies- throw some greens and hempseeds in there

Hygeine products!!-get chemical free ones! Your deodorant is dangerous, storing aluminum deep in your pores, and why?? The healthy stuff works just as well. My favorite is CRYSTAL, but I have other kinds that work too.

Toothpaste, fluoride is the main ingredient in prozac. Throw away your crest. It is doing crazy things to your thyroid and your brain. I like Nature's Gate.

Soaps and shampoos, look at the ingredients, they are crazy!! I use California baby.

Lotions-I use coconut oil. My son and I have eczema. Tamanu oil helps keep his rash under control, but not gone. I still refuse to use steroids on him. A little rash won't hurt him like the steroids will. I cheat sometimes and use Aveeno, but am open to any suggestions!!! PLEASE!! :)

Feed your children this way too! There isn't one thing I listed that my raw babies won't eat! They drink their greens, eat salads, take their probiotics and fish oils-ALL of it! They will want to be like you!

Thank you aunt Faith!! If it weren't for you I would have continued eating organic, but my road to get where I am would have taken alot longer than 7 months. You saved my family's life! I pretty much wrote a book, so there's my dedication.Okay that's it for now. That all came off the top of my head so I'm sure I'll think of more. Whew! Start a trend. Let me know about the healthy things you've found that work. I wish someone would write stuff like this for me. Alot of research has gone into finding all of these products, and I have been the tester! :) We should help each other in our quest for health.