Archive for the 'Organic' Category

Your skin is an organ. It sucks up every little bit of lotion and lather you put on it…and it goes straight into your blood stream. For those of you who haven’t made the change to “healthy” soaps, lotions, lip balms, etc…please re-think your choice. I just cannot urge you enough to make these changes! It might be hard to switch out an item you’ve been using since Jr. High…but you just can’t afford to continue using these products. Why? The U.S. has a beauty industry that is largely unregulated. Don’t believe it? Check out “Not Just a Pretty Face” by Stacy Malkan. Here is a snippet from the book:

Lead in lipstick? 1,4 dioxane in baby soap? Coal tar in shampoo? How is this possible?Simple. The $35 billion cosmetics industry is so powerful that they’ve kept themselves unregulated for decades.Not one cosmetic product has to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration before hitting the market. Incredible? Consider this:

• The European Union has banned more than 1,100 chemicals from cosmetics. The United States has banned just 10.
• Only 11% of chemicals used in cosmetics in the US have been assessed for health and safety – leaving a staggering 89% with unknown or undisclosed effects.
• More than 70% of all personal care products may contain phthalates, which are linked to birth defects and infertility.
• Many baby soaps are contaminated with the cancer-causing chemical 1,4 dioxane.

Go to Skin Deep before you purchase anything. Don’t assume that just because it’s on the shelf at the Target and it has a really cool “organic looking” package that it’s good for you and your children. Packaging is meant to be mesmerizing…they want you to buy their products. But don’t be fooled. Be a label reader! Look past the pretty bottle and really examine what you are buying.

I was looking for something tonight on the site and came across a few of these “favorites”. They might not be your favorites after you read on…

Bath and Body Works Cucumber Melon Anti-Bacterial Soap

Suave Men’s Shampoo

Blixtex Lip Balm

Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo

Do your research and choose items that have very few ingredients and that you can pronounce. That will narrow it down to just a few lines of products…so now your choices are much easier! Go for Aubrey Organics, or a line of locally homemade items (one of my favorites is Prairieland Herbs…check out their Cheek Gloss!). Better yet…learn how to make your own products and you’ll save money too!

Photo credit: Auntie P/Flickr Creative Commons

Do you know where your food comes from? Do you know how many miles your apple traveled so you could crunch on it’s juicy goodness? You should. I read labels like it’s going out of style (was it ever IN style?). I want to know where my food is produced. I’ve been known to come home from the grocery store and look up the farm who has their sticker on my avocado.

Luckily for me, Montana and the surrounding states have a huge number of organic farms. AND, if it’s not organic, it’s local. BUT SARA! Aren’t we always supposed to eat organic so we don’t die a horrible pesticide-induced death? Well…yes. However, buying local has many, many advantages. I love going to the farmer’s market and meeting the farmer’s face to face. When I eat that delicious, red, tomato…I know who picked it. If the farm is not certified organic, I am able to just ask the farmer what they use on their produce. There were several vendors in Iowa at the Farmer’s Market who were not certified, but did not use pesticides. You just have to ask. However, it’s harder to call up the corporate farm in California what they used on their crops.

I started thinking more about buying local foods when I found the 100-mile diet site. It’s radical and wonderful. I love my avocados and bananas a little too much to do it, but I love the concept. Last summer when we had a share in our local CSA, I experienced a little of what it might be like to eat 100% local and 100% in season. When the tomatoes were done, they were done. You better savor it now, because pretty soon, they won’t grow anymore! Boo hoo! But it made me appreciate the food so much more. Someday, I would love to grow all of our food…canning and preserving along the way to sustain us through the winter. Oh, and I want to live in a sweet yurt. But that’s another blog.

On my most recent trip to the coop, I was looking at salsa and I was disappointed because almost all of them were made by “big organics” (companies who are owned by a larger, nastier corporation…i.e. Boca, which is owned by Phillip Morris! Oh the horrors!). So I turned around and in the cooler, I found a yummy, bright red salsa made just a few miles north of town! It was not organic, but in that case, I would much rather support my local grower than Muir Glen…which is owned by General Mills. It also tasted so much better than the jarred variety.

I walked over to the bread section and I made sure to grab 2 loaves made locally by Wheat Montana instead of the Rudy’s, which I used to buy. They aren’t organic, but they have the ingredients I look for and no added sugars…except honey. AND, they are made right here. We also have a delicious bakery just a few blocks from our house called On the Rise…and I buy yummy crusty bread from them.

If I can’t find something completely local, I go for the next best thing…the surrounding states. I will choose Oregon, North Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin over other states. Be sure to READ your labels! Every mile your food travels (a.k.a. food miles) to get to you is gasoline being burned and resources being used up. Most sources say that the average piece of produce travels about 1,200 miles to get to your plate. Yuck! I just don’t like the thought of all my food traveling in a truck to get to me. I especially don’t like thinking about buying food from other countries. How do I know that those organic grapes from Chile are truly organic…and who knows what kind of residues are on them from the trip. Call me paranoid. Just another reason to buy close to home or grow your own.

When we are thinking about going out to eat…we try to always think about where the restaurant is getting their food as well. We have a great Farm to Restaurant program here…and most of the places we support buy locally, and some are organic too. We have so many amazing local restaurants here…the food is so fresh and perfectly prepared. Living in a tourist town has it’s perks.

To sum it up…buying local is tastier, better for your local economy, and great for your body. If you can find something that is local AND organic, life is good. KNOW your food. KNOW your farms. Where you put your grocery money is as important as your vote! Be informed about your food choices.

Photo credit: Flickr/strph

Hello friends. I apologize for being gone for so long! It’s been a crazy couple of weeks…we are still getting settled, my mom flew in from Des Moines and was here all week, we don’t have a consistent Internet connection, and well, I’ve been busy living life. Please don’t fret if I’m not “keeping up” with my blog. I have lots of ideas…but not a lot of free time. Thanks for your patience!

I’d like to share a few of my thoughts on cleaning products…both for home and for body. The cleaning product industry is BIG business. Just walk into Target or any drugstore and count how many items you have to choose from to clean your floor. Or you face. Or you toilet. It’s madness. Even the natural cleaning market is easy to get sucked into. There is a better way!

Natural Home
About a year ago, I decided that I wanted my house to be completely safe…and I didn’t want to spend a lot of money doing it. I gave away all of my old cleaners…Lysol, Clorox Wipes, 409 spray, etc. It was amazing how much space I had under my sinks and in my closets after they were gone. I replaced it all with a simple spray bottle of vinegar, water, Dr. Bronner’s, and essential oils. I use this mixture as a multi-purpose spray for everything. For windows, I use straight vinegar and wipe with newspapers. For scrubbing the counter, sinks, tubs, and toilet, I use baking soda and essential oils.

I love letting Bella help me clean now (and she loves it too) because I know there is nothing that could hurt her. She sprays and I wipe…we’re a great team. There is no way I would have ever let her help when I was using traditional cleaners. I have noticed that I am much more sensitive to the harsh smell of cleansers now that I don’t use them. I usually have to tell hotel staff to not clean the bathroom while we are there because the chemicals are much to strong.

When you make the change to natural cleansers, the first thing you might notice is that they don’t “smell clean” like you are used to. There is no bleach smell. No chlorine. No watery eyes, itchy skin…no turning the fans on and opening the windows. You may get a slight vinegar scent, but it fades quickly. The smell of the cleaner is not what cleans…don’t be deceived

I also think that we, as a culture, have become so phobic about germs, etc. There is no need for artificial anti-bacterial soaps, sprays, etc. They actually hurt your body’s natural ability to fight bacteria. Plain ‘ol soap and water is the best defense again spreading germs.

Adding essential oils to your cleansers is so fun…because you can choose your scents! I especially like tea tree oil for it’s natural anti-bacterial power and lavender for it’s soothing scent. Lemon, peppermint, rosemary, and sweet orange are also high on my list. The sky is the limit…there are so many options.

I stick with a very basic concoction…I just fill a spray bottle up about 1/4 way with white vinegar, add a little Dr. Bronner’s (so many scents to choose from there as well), add my essential oils (just a few drops) and fill the rest up with water. That’s it. Simple. One bottle.
If you need a “recipe”, check out this site. And more here. They have everything from furniture polish to drain cleaner to air fresheners.

I use a natural soap for washing dishes. I will be switching to my own mixture for laundry soon. Here are the recipes I am checking out. Baking soda is an amazing help in the laundry room and everywhere else. Being that we don’t use bleach, our whites tend to look a little dingy. Sunning is a great natural way to bleach things. Even in the winter, you can lay or hang things in sunny windows. We don’t have a dishwasher right now…but please be aware that traditional dishwasher detergent is one of the most poisonous items in your home. Go natural!

There is a huge market for all natural cleansers…but they are SUPER expensive. I do purchase them sometimes…but there really isn’t a need. If you read the ingredients, you will see that all it is is exactly what you can make at home. You can make wonderful, inexpensive cleansers for pennies.

Natural Body
Shampoos and conditioners have insane amounts of disgusting things in them. I can hardly believe that our government allows us to purchase some of these items and put them on our delicate bodies! Some of the main ingredients to avoid are sodium laurel sulfate and any parabens. Yucky!

Your skin is your largest organ and it drinks in everything you put on it. I like the rule “If you can’t eat it, don’t put it on your body!”. You can check your own beauty products here. There are 8 ingredients/chemicals that have been outlawed in America, but over 1,000 that have been outlawed in Europe. I urge you to do your own research on the ingredients in your makeup, shampoos, soaps, etc. If you aren’t scared, alarmed, and angered…something is wrong with you. However, if you have trouble believing it…it might be because there are billions of dollars spent on commercials to tell you otherwise. You will find contradictory information on everything, but you have to think for yourself and make the best decision for you and your family. There is a lot of money at stake…if everyone switched to natural body care, the beauty product business would be in a lot of trouble. I’m sure someone is making sure that doesn’t happen. It’s always about the bottom line.

What are the options? Natural shampoos and conditioners. Pure bar soaps for shampoo or body. Many people go without soap altogether because it’s so drying. Hot water and a wash cloth work great. Pure toothpastes (fluoride is poisonous …I’m not crazy…do your research). You can use baking soda for toothpaste, flavored with essential oils. You can use Dr. Bronner’s to brush your teeth as well…it’s very sudsy, but it works. The other (and I think better) option is to go completely natural and use baking soda to “wash” your hair and apple cider vinegar to rinse. You can also use honey and other foods to condition. It’s wonderful.

As for face washing routines…I use the oil method. I’m sure many of you have heard of it or use the same thing. Basically, you wash your face with oil…because oil dissolves oil. It’s the best face cleansing “system” I’ve ever used…and I’ve tried MANY. My skin is acne prone and oily and this really helps to keep blackheads under control. Here is how you do it:

• Combine 1 part extra virgin olive oil (organic is best because pesticides are concentrated in fats) to 1 part castor oil and add whatever essential oils you want. I like tea tree oil and lavender. Store it in an airtight glass container. If your skin is super oil, you may want to increase the amount of castor oil…to keep it lighter.
• Tie all your hair back and have a wash cloth handy. Pour a liberal amount of the oil mixture into your hand and then start massaging it onto your face. Think of it as a mini-facial. Massage the oil into your skin for 30 seconds - 1 minute.
  
• Wet the wash cloth with STEAMING hot water. Ring it out and lay it on your face. When it cools, do it again. And again. You’re steaming out the impurities. Just be sure to make the water as hot as you can stand. Sometimes I’ll just sit on the bathroom floor with the wash cloth on my face and enjoy my facial.
• Rinse the wash cloth out and use it to wipe the oil off of your face. Be sure to get all of it…especially on the jaw and hairline. This is the part that exfoliates…your skin will be silky smooth!
• Splash more hot water on your face and pat dry.
  
• Use extra moisturizer after your done if you want…you can just use a small drop of the oil and rub it in your hands and then on your face as well.

I was hesitant to use this at first because I thought it would make my face more oily, but it doesn’t at all. It’s wonderful and my skin is amazingly soft and glowing. It does take more time and energy, but it’s worth it.

Another wonderful, cleansing practice is dry brushing. I first heard of it when I was on my raw food kick last summer, and I love it. Check it out.

It’s really easy to make your own lip balm, lotions, salves, etc. But if you want to buy them…one of my favorite sources is Prairieland Herbs. I have met the mother and daughter who make and sell the products and they are wonderful. I love the lotion bars and the cheek gloss. The soaps that they sell on the site are amazing too.

The only mainstream brand I will buy is Aubrey Organics (if I do buy something…which is not very often). All of my research shows that they are the purest and “cleanest” brand out there.

Please be aware that the phrase “natural” is not regulated by the FDA. Any company can put “natural” in their advertising and get away with it. Even many of the brands you can find at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and your local health food store contain the ingredients I have told you about. Be sure to read labels…and then read them again! If it’s a long list of unpronounceable ingredients…don’t buy it!

There is a lot of information here…and it can be a bit overwhelming. Try not to become cynical…it’s easy to just dismiss it and say “well, everything is toxic…who cares?!”. But please consider how many times a day you put on that chemical lip gloss, and the 12 gels and lotions and concoctions when you’re getting ready in the morning. Every day…for your entire life. There are so many cancerous chemicals that we willingly put on our bodies. Educating yourself is the first step.

Go check out your bathroom right now…and make the choice to go natural!

I love Ecolips lip balm. It is the BEST out there, hands down. And believe me, I’ve tried them all. Imagine my utter glee when I found out that a friend of mine is friends with the owners! She told me one day…”I have tons that I can give you when you need it”. Oh the joy! So I filed that little piece of info away until today.

I had been meaning to get lip balm for several weeks, but kept putting it off because I didn’t want to spend money on it. Then I remembered my friend, gave her a call, and voila! I have new goodies for my chapped lips. And even though it would have been “allowed” on the Compact (under the health exception), it was great to get it for free!

They are environmentally friendly, organic, local (for me)…pretty much fabulous all around. They have a really great story and get rave reviews in the press. Check them out and get your own today!