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Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Flax Seed Oil (also known as Linseed Oil) is highly recommended for the general well being and whole body nutrition and is considered to be nature's richest source of omega-3 and omega 9 fatty acids. Omega-3 Fatty acids are required for the health and proper functioning of almost all body systems. Flax seed oil contains, essential fatty acids, along with fiber, protein, B-Vitamins, lecithin, potassium and zinc.
Flax Seed Oil has many benefits and many nutritionists believe that it could be the most important supplement a person can take next to a multi-vitamin. It controls high blood pressure, helps to lower cholesterol, guards against heart disease, shortens recovery time for fatigued muscles after exertion, increases the body's production of energy and also increases stamina. In addition to these benefits, Flax Seed Oil helps to stimulate fat cells and increases the metabolic rate making it easier to burn off fat.
Unfortunately many of us do not get enough of our daily essential fatty acids requirements which means we need to supplement.
How much Flax Seed Oil should you take a day? The recommended daily dose for the average person is 1,000 mg one to three times a day. This can easily be achieved by adding Flax Seed Oil to some of your favorite meals during the day. Add it to your oatmeal for breakfast or in a smoothie during lunch.
Where can you buy Flax Seed Oil?? Luckily many grocery stores and whole food markets carry it now a days so it shouldn't be hard to find!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
These cute Eco friendly Scooter Bee shoes for babies are designed to tell a story. Lined with bamboo velour fabric, these little story tellers are PVC free, latex free, chloride free, dioxin free and phthalate free. They have wrap around straps at the top of each shoe with a picture of an animal or a plant. Parents can use these pictures to educate their children on the particular animal/plant and their contributions to the environment.
The shoes adjust to thickness and width and are great for pre walkers and first time walkers.
Want to get your little one a pair?
Visit Kate's Caring Gifts http://www.katescaringgifts.com/index.html today!
There are so many ways you can clean around your home without having to use harsh chemicals or without having to spend money on organic cleaners. Look around your kitchen and I am sure you probably have the following items: White vinegar, baking soda, salt, and lemons. All of these things have multiple uses around the house.
White vinegar is great for killing bacteria, germs and mold. It can be used as a fabric softener when mixed with 1/2 cup of water as well. Want to get rid of rings in the toilet?? Guess what.. three cups of white vinegar poured in the toilet and three poured into the tank once a week will clean that up in no time!
What about Baking Soda? What can that be used for? Believe it or not the sodium bicarbonate can clear up clogged drains. I don't know about you but this is a biggie in our house due mostly to my hair washing! Just dump a cup of baking soda followed by a cup of white vinegar a few times down your drain to fix the problem. Need to clean your microwave? Boil 2 tablespoons of baking soda in a mug with water inside the microwave and then simply wipe the gunk off without having to do any scrubbing!
Have some lemons laying around? You can easily use them to scrub your dishes by cutting them in half and sprinkling some baking soda on them. Lemons can also be used as a natural furniture polish when combined with olive oil ( one cup of lemon juice for every 2 cups of olive oil).
Need to get rid of some of those salt bottles you've had for years hiding in the back of the pantry? Put them to good use! Sprinkle some salt in the laundry starch to keep the iron from sticking to your clothes. Rub it on cups and mugs to remove nasty coffee and tea stains.
These are just some of the ways you can move away from using toxic household cleaners while saving yourself a few bucks as well.
Have any other tips you want to share? Feel free to leave a comment and let us know!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
How many of us can say we are lucky enough that we can provide sufficiently for our kids? I thank God everyday that we have been able to do so since our son was born. Unfortunately not everyone can especially in this terrible economy. There are many families out there that struggle on a daily basis just to put clothes on their babies backs. Now think about all the outgrown clothing and other baby necessities you have laying around in your house that your child probably never used. Somewhere out there a mother is need of these things who doesn't have access to them. Through this blog I want to connect those mother's in need with those who can provide. If you know of a mother who is need of baby clothes please send me an email (alexandraramirez77@gmail.com) and let me know the gender and size of the baby and I will post them here. If you would like to help any of these ladies out please email me and I will send you their contact information. So far we have one mother listed who could use your help!
In Need of:
1. Newborn clothing/accessories for a baby boy.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Please check out our store at www.cafepress.com/littlegrizzly for yoga wear for kids! We have added a few new products and soon will be branching off cafepress and going on our own! We will be providing a bigger variety of products as well. Check us out and let us know what you think!
I have to say that this Organic Crinkle Bear by Dandelion is probably one of the cutest and softest toys I have seen! My husband ordered it for our son a few weeks ago so he would have something to chew on. He loved it! The texture is very soft and the head makes crinkle noises whenever he grabs it which is why we think he loves this toy so much.
Overall it's a great toy and not too expensive. You can get one for as little as $9.00 on Amazon. Great buy!
My husband and I recently ordered Rev Abs after stumbling upon it on YouTube. We have seen countless infomercial for various other Beachbody products but we had never seen any for this product. We watched the promo on YouTube and decided to give it a try. We got the dvd's last week and today we began our Rev Ab journey! I have to say that I was sweating up a storm this morning while making my way through the Total Strength and Abs DVDs. They were pretty intense and it was just the first DVDs of the set! Can't wait to see how tomorrow goes!
I've been absent for a while dealing with some family issues but now I am back. I wanted to give a few updates on the deodorant and no poo experiments! First off the deodorant still works wonders and actually works much better than any commercial deodorant I have ever used. Only one slight issue.. the aluminum from the baking soda killed my skin! It completely tore it to pieces so now I am on the hunt for an aluminum free baking soda to mix up a new batch.
The No Poo experiment didn't go so well. The baking soda did not work well with my hair at all. It literally made it dry and somewhat sticky. I tried using a bit less of it but it still did not work well with my hair. I was actually doing much better with the warm water rinses. I figured I needed to find an alternative as well so I decided to use Dr. Woods natural almond scented soap as shampoo instead. It does not contain any harsh detergents and all the ingredients are natural. So far it has been working well for me and the smell is great. I have also been using organic, unrefined, virgin coconut oil for my hair as conditioner. This is again all natural so there are no harsh ingredients to strip your hair of it's natural oils. This is a wonderful alternative to conditioner and the smell is wonderful as well!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
I am happy to say the deodorant is holding up pretty well. I had to re apply halfway during the day but it was mostly because I didn't apply it correctly the first time. The texture of the mix is very similar to the texture of actual deodorant which makes it pretty hard to spread using your fingers. I was given some great advice by a reader to pour the mix into an old deodorant bottle to make it easier to apply. I will be trying this with the next batch I make.
In these quest to keep my hair chemical free I've realized that this includes not only shampoo and other hair styling products but also hair dyes. I can't possibly color my hair with regular hair dyes now because that would defeat the whole purpose. So what are my alternatives? There is always henna although I am a bit skeptical about it because I've read that it has a tendency to turn your hair red and it's also not recommended for people who have used commercial hair dyes within the past year. That being said henna is definitely not a good option for me right now. Other alternatives are black coffee and sage rinses.
The black coffee rinse is pretty simple and straight forward. You brew strong black coffee and let it sit until it cools. Once it cools you pour it over your head and leave it on for about 25-30 minutes depending on how dark your hair is. I have not tried this myself yet but I wonder how strong the coffee smell is after the rinse. The sage rinse is very similar, you boil leaves of sage and use the water to rinse your hair. It seems as though the sage method is a bit more popular than the coffee rinse.
I haven't quite made up my mind yet as to which method I will be trying. If anyone has tried either of these methods I would love to hear your success/failure stories with each method even including the henna.
Monday, April 19, 2010
This morning before I headed out to work I washed my hair with baking soda and rinsed with the Apple Cider Vinegar. This is the first time I am washing my hair with baking soda and wasn't quite sure what to expect. I have to admit the baking soda felt a little harsh on my hair so I might have to dilute it a bit more with water. The apple cider vinegar didn't leave a smell at all which I was very happy about. I combed my hair out while in the shower and it is very true what they say that ACV will help detangle your hair. I usually come across a few tangled pieces of hair here and there but not this time. It was knot free!
Overall the hair didn't turn out so bad. It is not as frizzy or dry as I expected it to be so I will definitely be trying this out again. Now I just need to figure out how often my hair will actually need the wash as opposed to the just a regular warm water rinse. Anyone else out there who has tried or is currently trying the No Poo experiment let me know how it is going!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
I came across a few recipes on how to make your own deodorant and I decided to give this a try. Over the years I have tried just about every brand of deodorant I can think of and after about 2-3 weeks it ends up breaking my skin. Even the so called natural and organic deodorants have caused my skin to break. I picked one of recipes since it seemed to be the most simple and less time consuming. The ingredients you will need to make your own deodorant are the following; baking soda, corn starch, shea
butter, cocoa butter, vitamin E oil caps, and an essential oil of your preference for scent. You should use 3 Tablespoons shea butter, 3 Tablespoons baking soda, 2 Tablespoons corn starch, 2 Tablespoons cocoa butter and 2 oil caps. The amount of essential oil is up to you depending on how strong you want the scent to be.
You need to combine all ingredients except the oils in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Stir
and heat again for another 30 seconds. After you the ingredients are all nicely melted you add the oils. Once
you add the oils you pour it into a jar and let it sit overnight so the ingredients can settle. Here's my little jar of deodorant waiting to settle. I haven't tried it yet because I just made it but tomorrow after all the settling has occurred I will report back and let you know how it held up!
Friday, April 16, 2010
I had some serious mixed feelings about my hair this morning. I did a quick warm water rinse yesterday before I start the baking soda/apple cider vinegar routine. My hair held up pretty well without any hair products and no shampoo. However I had no idea how it was going to hold up overnight. I kept thinking my hair is going to be a lovely mess tomorrow and I will have to put something in it especially since it's supposed to rain. Well I woke up this morning not knowing what to expect and it wasn't as bad as I had thought. It is still holding up well without any hair products and no shampoo. I am starting to notice a bit of dryness but it's not enough to make my hair frizzy so I'm not too concerned. Here's hoping it doesn't go downhill once the baking soda/apple cider vinegar routine begins!
While browsing the formula aisle at my nearest Duane Reade store I came across a brand of baby products I had never seen before. It's an eco friendly company called Nature Baby Care. They have all sorts of products, from diapers, to wipes, to diaper trash bags and disposable biodegradeable bibs. I was very impressed with the packaging and the list of ingredients used in their products. Particularly corn starch. Their diapers have a chlorine free pulp to help with absorption, a backsheet and distribution center based on corn, as well as chlorine free cellulose in the diaper. This all sounded great but I thought to myself these diapers must cost a fortune compared to the regular ones. To my surprise they were about the same price. Fifteen dollars for a pack of 36 diapers. I immediately grabbed a pack of size 2 ( 12-18lbs) and a pack of the baby wipes.
I was very excited to give these a try once I got home. I opened up the package and the first thing i noticed is their texture. They have a completely different texture than regular diapers and are much thinner. I was skeptical because my son does pee a lot and when he poops.. oh boy HE POOPS!! Well we decided to go for it and once I tried to put the diaper on I realize they were a bit snug. I thought for a moment I had grabbed the wrong size but I didn't. These were clearly a size 2 but they seemed so much smaller. I had a hard time putting the diaper on due to the fit but once it was on it we were ready for the test! About 30 minutes after the diaper went on we had a major poop explosion. I was terrified to check his diaper because normally with other diapers the poop leaks out of the side and its a mess! Well no leaking here!! The diaper held up very well!! Needless to say I am a fan and will be buying these diapers from now on. The only drawback is the sizing. I would suggest buying a size bigger to be on the safe side.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
In addition to the No Poo experiment we have also decided to embark on a 4 day Detox journey starting next week. I know 4 days doesn't sound like much but it is all part of a month long process of creating major changes in our bodies as a whole. We are beginning with a detox, followed by a clean diet and a detox exercise plan. On the first week we will be preparing our bodies for the 4 day detox. Three days prior to the detox we will be focusing on eating whole grains, vegetables, fruit, fish, and chicken.
We will be avoiding the following foods:
Dairy and eggs, Butter and mayonnaise, all types of grains, certian fruits and vegetables such as oranges, orange juice, corn, creamed vegetables, animal protein: pork, beef, veal, sausage, cold cuts, canned meats, frankfurters, shellfish, vegetable protein: soybean products (soy sauce, soybean oil in processed foods, tempeh, tofu, soy milk, soy yogurt, textured vegetable protein), nuts and seeds: peanuts and peanut butter, oils: shortening, processed oils, salad dressings, and spreads, drinks: alcohol, caffeinated beverages, and soft drinks, sweeteners: white and brown refined sugars, honey, maple syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, and evaporated cane juice
and condiments: chocolate, ketchup, relish, chutney, barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce.
and condiments: chocolate, ketchup, relish, chutney, barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce.
It seems like a lot to cut out but this is necessary in order to prepare the body for the liquid detox that will follow. I will be posting our progress with the detox as well as my progress with the No Poo!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
No I am not referring to actual poo. I am talking about no shampoo! Yep that's right no shampoo!! I have decided to give up using chemically infused shampoos all together!!
So why did I decide to go shampoo free??
While shampoo "cleans" your hair it can also remove all the oils your scalp naturally produces. These oils help keep your hair soft and shiny which is why sometimes we notice that our hair looks so much better a few days after we have washed it. Most shampoos also contain harmful ingredients such as mineral oil, which is a byproduct when gasoline is distilled from crude oil, and Sodium lauryl sulfate, which is synthetic chemical regulated as a pesticide. Sodium lauryl sulfate can be drying and harsh for the hair and causes eye irritation ( that explains the burning sensation we feel when it falls in our eyes!), allergic reactions and even hair loss. The mineral oil is added to provide an artificial coating on the strands of the hair which in turn make your hair look shiny. Mineral Oil is not quickly absorbed into the scalp so it remains there and blocks the release of natural oils. This creates a greasy cap in your scalp which requires more shampoo to remove. So you see it's a vicious cycle. You make your hair dependent on something that might not necessarily make it healthier in the long run.
With this being said I am beginning my journey into the No Poo world today since it will be the last time my hair was washed with so called organic shampoos. So what will I be using instead of shampoo??? I will be following a simple recipe of Baking Soda wash with an Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse. Ok before you cringe at the thought of putting vinegar in your hair let me state that the smell of SMALL amounts of apple cider vinegar do not remain in your hair if thoroughly rinsed out. Why Baking Soda? Because baking soda gently clarifies hair from chemical buildup. Why Apple Cider Vinegar? Because Apple Cider Vinegar detangles the hair follicles, seals the cuticle, and balances the hair’s pH balance.
How exactly will I be mixing these? Here's how!
One tablespoon of baking soda to one cup of water
One tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar to one cup of water
Mix the baking soda and the water in a bottle (shake) and pour over your head like you would with a regular shampoo. Massage into your scalp for a few minutes and then rinse off. If you have thick or long hair you might need two tablespoons. However too much baking soda can dry your hair so test it out and see what works for you.
Once you have rinsed off the baking soda, mix the apple cider vinegar with water in a bottle ( shake) and pour over your head. Leave on for about a minute or two and rinse off. If you tend to have oily hair by nature then you might not need to use too much Apple Cider Vinegar.
There you have the simple recipe! Will this work wonders for my hair??? Who knows!! But I am willing to give it a shot and see.
I have attached a picture of my hair as it is right now after being washed today.
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