Another Shameless Marketing Scam

These big companies blow me away.

yesterday I was at the grocery story and saw a canned fruit by DelMonte that said "Healthy Kids".

Surprise, surprise. Its in a "light syrup", not even 100% fruit juice (fruit juice isnt great, but its at least healthier than sugar) It has 49 grams of sugar to be exact. Its so much healthier to eat a peach - or apple - or whatever - something not in an aluminum can. "Enriched" just means they added in vitamins - but vitamins and minerals found in nature are always better used by the body.

Canned foods are great occasionally. We use canned organic beans a lot since I cant cook beans without burning them horribly. But fruit is so easy, why eat canned??? (my husband loves it but the kids rarely, rarely have any)

The point is that they are trying to market to parents who want to be healthier. That is a GOOD thing but they are taking advantage.

Safer Dishwashing Soap

This is a follow-up. Ive finally found a safe soap to use in our dishwasher that WORKS. I am careful to rinse my dishes after use so I dont expect to much from something without bleach and nasty chemicals but the pay-off is worth it. It is SO nice to know that my plates/silverware, etc. are safe when I pull them out of the dishwasher. And this BioKleen powder is working great for us! I got mine at Kroger. Here is an online merchant that carries it.

Two thumbs up from me!

How They Make the Flu Shot

This is hilarious.

"How they make the Flu Shot"

makes you think twice (I hope).

The flu shot is an easy NO for us. We do use a homeopathic treatment called
Influenzium. You take two tablets, one time a month, during flu season. I got
them from my Dr but Ive heard you can get them online (I couldnt find it but its late and Im tired). Homeopathic treatments are safe, so even our 1yr old takes two tablets like we do. It cant hurt! ;)

Flu —The homeopathic flu remedy is reformulated each fall using the current viral strain—just as is the flu vaccination. In fact, the Influenzium remedy protects better than a vaccine—it's safer and more effective. A dose of the remedy can be taken once a month as a preventative. If you have symptoms take the remedy every hour for four hours until symptoms ease. Or if you've had the standard flu vaccination and it made you ill, the Influenzium remedy will help you get well. The French flu remedy Oscilliocossum has been used by 63 million people, and I always have a course of it in the homeopathic drawer during the flu season.

source

Awesome, Yummy, Healthy Muffins!

Thsi morning my oldest told me he was "sick of eggs" so I dusted off an old muffin recipe Id tried before and made it our own. They are delicious - and have no refined sugar and are dairy, soy and egg-free! Try them out and let me know what you think :)

1/4 cup Coconut Oil
1/2 cup Honey (or molasses/agave/etc)
1 cup unsweetened organic applesauce
1 tsp real vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup Whole wheat flour (i used freshly ground organic whole wheat hard white berries - yum!)
1/2 tsp aluminum-free Baking Soda
1 1/2 tsp aluminum-free Baking Powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg or cloves (opt)

3/4 cup Organic raisins

Combine wet ingredients in one bowl
Combine dry ingredients in seperate bowl and whisk together.
Add wet ingredients until moistened. Add raisins and stir gently.

Bake 375 for 18-20 mins in greased muffin pans (i used coconut oil to grease my silicon muffin pan)

Delicious! :)

Jud :(

Jud (see original post) has gone to be with the Lord

Parent's Journal

I am so grieved for his parents and family :(
But I rejoice knowing he has a new body and is dancing in the streets of heaven! Praise God!

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is one of the good guys. Its had a bad rep in the past but its making a comeback. But. Coconut oil is NOT all created equal. Most of the stuff you can get in your health food store is refined, bleached, deodorized and just plain useless. You have to buy from a reputable company who preserves the integrity of the oil to get the health benefits.

We buy ours from TropicalTraditions.com. The best choice is their organic but we get the expeller pressed since I dont like the tast of coconut. They refine theirs in a gentle way, using no solvents or bleach, etc. so it retains its healthy benefits.

*For one more day its on sale, Buy one Get one Free! SALE

Since we have dairy allergies we use it ALL time in place of butter - to cook eggs, on toast, to sautee, etc.

There is a ton of information on their site that will explain it better than I can! This is a great oil for kids' developing brains!!!! (and their Organic Whole Wheat pasta is the best Ive ever had!!)

From WestonAPrice.org:
Coconut Oil 1
Coconut Oil 2
Coconut Oil 3

Product Reviews

#1 Diva Cup. (First post on these) So after 15 months my cycles finally returned and I got to try a diva cup. The first cycle I hated it, gave up after a day and went back to tampons ((shudder)) The second cycle I LOVED it. Love, love, love it. Yes, its messy but if you've had a baby then whats the big deal?! I dont even know its there, it lasts longer, and I love knowing its safe to put in my body (unlike bleached tampons) I highly recommend it!

#2 Natures Gate Organics Raspberry Mint Toothpaste. Ive started having reactions (itchy throat) to our Tom of Maine toothpaste so I wanted to try something new. This stuff is GOOD. Its a very subtle flavor, the kids love it! I got mine at Drugstore.com and its free shipping over $25 for your first order.

#3 Aubrey's Organics Green Tea Shampoo. None of the other natural/organic shampoos that Ive tried Ive liked. They are just "ok" but dont foam up at all and it takes a TON to wash my long, thick hair. This comes out really thin but it actually lathers up so it will last me much longer. Im very sensitive to scents and this is very mild. Two thumbs up :)

Healthy Changes

So much to say.....so little time.

Recent changes we've made to improve our health and/or the environment:

- Using Agave Nectar on pancakes (we cut out syrup years ago - full of sugar and/or chemicals but usually the kids use jelly). This stuff is GOOD. Its best to buy it raw and organic. Its more expensive but you use less. It doesnt raise your glycemic index like honey or sugar (GI of 39 vs. 110 of sugar). I got mine at Kroger :) More Info

- No more gallon size plastic bags. They are expensive and wasteful. Only a few times have I really missed them. I may get a small box to have around but no more Costco-size boxes for me!

- Im off of sugar (again - ugh, its like a drug! Shamefully I fell hard since last time I posted and I felt so awful. I felt like such a hypocrite feeding my children so healthy but destroying my body with that crap)

- Ive also cut out dairy for a month to see how it feels and see if my allergies/asthma improve. Im one week into my dairy/sugar-free experiment and Ive lost 5.5 lbs! woohoo! The more I read about dairy the more I never want to eat it ever again......

I found a cool new site: www.GoDairyFree.org

:)