*For an EXTRA entry, leave a comment on any of the postings you enjoyed.
:)
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Sneak Peak...
There will be a nice little giveaway on my blog by the end of this weekend! Woo Hoo! Everybody likes winning things, right?! You have a chance to win if you are on the "member" (reader) list on my blog. You do that by clicking "Join this Site" on the right side of my blog.
Less is more
After extensive researching for the past few months, I've decided to cut WAY back on my intake of animal protein. A diet rich in animal protein has been shown to negatively impact your health in many ways. It can increase your risk of: (these are just a few)
*Now before you get defensive about your eating habits, please understand this is a personal decision for me based on a lot of data from respected sources and credible research. I am not "anti-meat" or advising we all turn vegan overnight. I have always been a meat lover (though not as much as my husband!) and this was at first a hard decision for me. This might not be the step you want to take. But I do believe that we could all benefit from a diet that is higher in natural foods and lower in animal proteins.
* Accelerated aging process
*Heart disease
*Cancer
*Low energy and fatigue
*Now before you get defensive about your eating habits, please understand this is a personal decision for me based on a lot of data from respected sources and credible research. I am not "anti-meat" or advising we all turn vegan overnight. I have always been a meat lover (though not as much as my husband!) and this was at first a hard decision for me. This might not be the step you want to take. But I do believe that we could all benefit from a diet that is higher in natural foods and lower in animal proteins.
I started off slowly, and just cut back on the daily amount of meat I ate. If we had spaghetti for dinner, I had a tablespoon of lean beef in my portion instead of a large scoop.
I increased my veggie and fruit consumption at meal times, and found that by eating those first, I was much less hungry for a large portion of meat.
My goal is to have 3 nights a week where meat is not served in any way at dinner. This might not seem like much, and I am extremely confident I can handle this, but my husband will take some conditioning. ;) The nights I do serve meat, it will be lean meat and in small amounts. I am not going to make meat the hulk of the meal.
If you are interested in cutting back on your animal protein consumption, I challenge you to start now! Start slowly if necessary and wean yourself off the thought and habit of meat being the main course of every meal. Eat whole foods such as veggies, sprouts, fruits, nuts, etc FIRST, then see if you are still even hungry for your animal protein. If you are, then enjoy a small portion.
*Have any of you already taken this step? What tips can you share for fellow readers? What helped you in this process? What was the hardest thing for you to give up or cut back on?
Several sites to read if you're interested :
Harvard study on high animal protein diets:
Nutritionist/amazing website!
www.kimberlysnyder.net
Thursday, June 28, 2012
The Flakes
Let's talk about flaking...from your eyelashes. I'm sure all of you who have used mascara have experienced mascara flaking off and rubbing onto the skin around and under your eyes.
This is a pet peeve of mine, as it makes you look so tired and smudgy when it happens! No one wants to be sporting the tired raccoon look.
I have been on the lookout for a more natural or organic mascara that works as well as the mascara I'm currently using. Someone recommended "Physician's Formula Organic Wear Jumbo Lash Mascara" to me. I had a coupon recently for the mascara and decided to try it out.
I used this mascara for about 1 week to really give it a chance and ensure my opinion was based on accurate testing of the product.
Below I listed some things I liked and didn't like about this product. All opinions stated are 100% mine, and I am writing this review of my own accord.
Pros:
*Free of synthetic solvents and petroleum by-products, parabens, GMO's and synthetic fragrances
*Applied easily and didn't clump
*Lashes looked decently long and separated
*Lashes felt soft and silky while wearing
*Washed off more easily than my current mascara
Cons:
*This mascara flaked off...BIG time, and after only a couple hours after application
*Needed additional coats throughout the day (which I didn't do because I never take mascara with me after applying it in the morning) to maintain lash fullness and color
*Smeared all around the inner and outer corners of my eyes
*Didn't give me the thick, full, dark lashes I get from my traditional mascara
Verdict- I was not impressed with the "staying power" of this mascara. It does go on easily and my lashes felt much "softer" when wearing it as opposed to my traditional mascara, but those benefits weren't worth the 2 or 3 times during the day I was swabbing a Kleenex with eye makeup remover around my eyes to remove the smudges and flakes.
I'd love to get some feedback from you:
*Have you found a more natural or organic mascara you like?
*What is your favorite mascara you've ever used?
This is a pet peeve of mine, as it makes you look so tired and smudgy when it happens! No one wants to be sporting the tired raccoon look.
I have been on the lookout for a more natural or organic mascara that works as well as the mascara I'm currently using. Someone recommended "Physician's Formula Organic Wear Jumbo Lash Mascara" to me. I had a coupon recently for the mascara and decided to try it out.
I used this mascara for about 1 week to really give it a chance and ensure my opinion was based on accurate testing of the product.
Below I listed some things I liked and didn't like about this product. All opinions stated are 100% mine, and I am writing this review of my own accord.
Pros:
*Free of synthetic solvents and petroleum by-products, parabens, GMO's and synthetic fragrances
*Applied easily and didn't clump
*Lashes looked decently long and separated
*Lashes felt soft and silky while wearing
*Washed off more easily than my current mascara
Cons:
*This mascara flaked off...BIG time, and after only a couple hours after application
*Needed additional coats throughout the day (which I didn't do because I never take mascara with me after applying it in the morning) to maintain lash fullness and color
*Smeared all around the inner and outer corners of my eyes
*Didn't give me the thick, full, dark lashes I get from my traditional mascara
Verdict- I was not impressed with the "staying power" of this mascara. It does go on easily and my lashes felt much "softer" when wearing it as opposed to my traditional mascara, but those benefits weren't worth the 2 or 3 times during the day I was swabbing a Kleenex with eye makeup remover around my eyes to remove the smudges and flakes.
I'd love to get some feedback from you:
*Have you found a more natural or organic mascara you like?
*What is your favorite mascara you've ever used?
Home-made Cleaning Wipes that WORK!
I'm kind of on a "homemade" product kick right now. I'm attempting
several new projects to save money and be more earth friendly. Homemade
products can be super easy to make, save TONS of money, and many are so
much safer to use around your family! I really love the convenience of
Lysol or Clorox (or store brand ) clean-up wipes. They are super
fast and easy and get the job done!
What I do NOT like them is they are expensive ($3 for one small canister!!) and have lots of chemicals and ingredients in them that I can't pronounce. PLUS they just end up in a landfill.
Enter in......HOMEMADE cleaning wipes! I was skeptical about the cleaning power of these at first, but saw several posts where people where raving about the ease of making your own and the fact that they work well!
Here's what you need:
*An old baby wipe container (or something with a lid that will be easy to use for you to store them in; I used a cylindrical moist hand wipe container)
*Some rags, cut up t-shirts, old washcloths, etc
*1 1/2 cup hot water
*1/4 cup white vinegar
*2 Tablespoons castille soap (I used tea tree castille soap due to the natural disinfecting properties of tea tree oil)
Mix the liquid ingredients together. Put your cloths in your container and pour the liquid over them. Ta-Da! That's pretty much it! When you need a wipe, open your container and pull one out! (Side note: You may have to wring the cloth out in the container due to the liquid; they tend to be more "liquidy" than the ones you buy.)
I also made a container for dirty ones. That way I can store them in the container and wash them once it gets pretty full with some other cleaning rags, hand towels, etc.
Try
them out and let me know what you think! I put them to the test and
they clean really well! EXTRA points- they don't leave a strong
chemically smell; it's fresh and light!
What I do NOT like them is they are expensive ($3 for one small canister!!) and have lots of chemicals and ingredients in them that I can't pronounce. PLUS they just end up in a landfill.
Enter in......HOMEMADE cleaning wipes! I was skeptical about the cleaning power of these at first, but saw several posts where people where raving about the ease of making your own and the fact that they work well!
Here's what you need:
*An old baby wipe container (or something with a lid that will be easy to use for you to store them in; I used a cylindrical moist hand wipe container)
*Some rags, cut up t-shirts, old washcloths, etc
*1 1/2 cup hot water
*1/4 cup white vinegar
*2 Tablespoons castille soap (I used tea tree castille soap due to the natural disinfecting properties of tea tree oil)
Mix the liquid ingredients together. Put your cloths in your container and pour the liquid over them. Ta-Da! That's pretty much it! When you need a wipe, open your container and pull one out! (Side note: You may have to wring the cloth out in the container due to the liquid; they tend to be more "liquidy" than the ones you buy.)
I also made a container for dirty ones. That way I can store them in the container and wash them once it gets pretty full with some other cleaning rags, hand towels, etc.
No more sugar rush!
In the past year or two, I've been reading up a lot on the issue of
all the chemicals, pesticides and nasty ingredients that are being put
in ALMOST ALL of our food in America. Our body wasn't meant to have
these added ingredients and chemicals and some of them are actually
harmful for our skin, organs and health. In the last 6 months or so,
it's been a personal decision of mine to be much more aware of the food
choices I make for myself and my family.
I am going to share with you over the next few weeks the steps I'm taking to detoxify my body and improve my health.
Step 1:
*Eat way less sugar. If sugar is one of the first 3 ingredients in a product, I try not to purchase that item. It's hard to always spot sugar right away, as there are many different names and types. Be on the lookout for these ingredients, which are all types of SUGAR:
What's a gal (or guy) to do?
-Well, for starters, stock up on produce and whole foods. Fruits and veggies do have sugar in them, but in the natural state and your body does need SOME sugar. Get it straight from mother nature!
-Choose whole wheat breads that don't have sugar listed as one of the first few ingredients. Many types of breads are LOADED with sugar!
-Try making your own snacks instead of purchasing packaged snacks. Purchase raw nuts (such as almonds) to have as a mid-day snack and energy booster. YES, it's very hard at first to forgo the packaged snacks and you will CRAVE them- you've been eating them for most or all your life after all! But after you get over the initial temptation, it becomes much easier to resist.
-Try using Stevia, Agave, or honey to sweeten things.
-Stop drinking sodas. Sigh. This has been possibly the hardest one for me, as I really did love a tall cold glass of Diet Coke every now and then. But check out those ingredients in that soda. Nothing beneficial at all. And loaded with sugar that actually can make you want to eat MORE sugar and unhealthy stuff. Plus it makes your blood sugar spike and then crash later. This is so true. I would feel like I absolutely "needed" a Diet Coke to give me some energy only to feel just as tired, if not more so, later on in the afternoon.
Am I never going to touch a packaged food item or a Diet Coke again? Of course not...I'm quite positive there will be times I will eat those things. But rarely, instead of on an everyday basis. And over time, I know my body will feel stronger, healthier and more energetic and I'll be thankful for it.
Here is a great article from Dr. Oz's website I read up on; some of the info I used in this posting came from this:
http://members.doctoroz.com/challenge/sugar-detox-challenge/#cmpid=em062812
I am going to share with you over the next few weeks the steps I'm taking to detoxify my body and improve my health.
Step 1:
*Eat way less sugar. If sugar is one of the first 3 ingredients in a product, I try not to purchase that item. It's hard to always spot sugar right away, as there are many different names and types. Be on the lookout for these ingredients, which are all types of SUGAR:
- Fructose
- Maltose
- Sorbitol
- Evaporated cane juice
- Syrups
- Xylotol
- Sugars ending in "ol" or "ose"
What's a gal (or guy) to do?
-Well, for starters, stock up on produce and whole foods. Fruits and veggies do have sugar in them, but in the natural state and your body does need SOME sugar. Get it straight from mother nature!
-Choose whole wheat breads that don't have sugar listed as one of the first few ingredients. Many types of breads are LOADED with sugar!
-Try making your own snacks instead of purchasing packaged snacks. Purchase raw nuts (such as almonds) to have as a mid-day snack and energy booster. YES, it's very hard at first to forgo the packaged snacks and you will CRAVE them- you've been eating them for most or all your life after all! But after you get over the initial temptation, it becomes much easier to resist.
-Try using Stevia, Agave, or honey to sweeten things.
-Stop drinking sodas. Sigh. This has been possibly the hardest one for me, as I really did love a tall cold glass of Diet Coke every now and then. But check out those ingredients in that soda. Nothing beneficial at all. And loaded with sugar that actually can make you want to eat MORE sugar and unhealthy stuff. Plus it makes your blood sugar spike and then crash later. This is so true. I would feel like I absolutely "needed" a Diet Coke to give me some energy only to feel just as tired, if not more so, later on in the afternoon.
Am I never going to touch a packaged food item or a Diet Coke again? Of course not...I'm quite positive there will be times I will eat those things. But rarely, instead of on an everyday basis. And over time, I know my body will feel stronger, healthier and more energetic and I'll be thankful for it.
Here is a great article from Dr. Oz's website I read up on; some of the info I used in this posting came from this:
http://members.doctoroz.com/challenge/sugar-detox-challenge/#cmpid=em062812
Welcome
Hello and welcome to my blog! This blog will be devoted to bringing you easy and inexpensive health, fitness, and beauty tips, reviews, and interesting articles and discussion topics. Some topics this blog will cover:
*Beauty product reviews
*Eating healthier
*Recipes
*Organic tips
*DIY safer and non-toxic household products
*Work out tips, moves, gear
*Reader tips and product recommendation
I've recently began this journey into eating healthier, detoxifying my house and body, and finding safer and non-toxic body, beauty, and household items.
I hope you'll enjoy reading this blog and that you'll find some of the information helpful and applicable to your daily life!
*Beauty product reviews
*Eating healthier
*Recipes
*Organic tips
*DIY safer and non-toxic household products
*Work out tips, moves, gear
*Reader tips and product recommendation
I've recently began this journey into eating healthier, detoxifying my house and body, and finding safer and non-toxic body, beauty, and household items.
I hope you'll enjoy reading this blog and that you'll find some of the information helpful and applicable to your daily life!
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