Things I avoid in my diet (especially my kids!

*Also posted on my personal blog.

1. Artificial colors (including "caramel color") - So unnecessary most of the time! Annoying. Bad for you. No.

2. Carrageenan - Inflammation? Cancer? No thanks!

3. Hyrdogenated oils - Pretty hard to avoid but worth it to cut down in your most eaten items. 

4. MSG (aka autolyzed yeast extract, etc) - Extremely hard to avoid in all its forms but not impossible. It's worth the effort.

5. "Natural" and "Artificial" flavors - So natural it can't even be named...right. And artificial is just that: not real. Let's eat real flavors and real food. Please.

6. High fructose corn syrup - Too much of any sweetener is bad, but why make it worse? 

7. Non-organic apples, strawberries, raspberries...and most of the EWG's dirty dozen when possible. Pesticides = poison. Poison is bad for you.

8. GMO's - Less is mo' bettah. Buy organic when you can. Limit your non-organic items containing soy, canola and corn oil. Olive, sunflower, and coconut oils are great alternatives.

Reading labels is not obsessive! Since when is educating yourself a ridiculous thing to do? Knowing what you're eating is smart. Taking care of yourself and your children's bodies is responsible. Supporting products that agree with these values is common sense. 

Just wow

1. Long story short: we moved. (Details later...if I can find my way out of all our crap!)

2. My precious boy has a place to play outside. I could literally cry tears of joy. Just seeing his smiling face when he runs back-and-forth right outside our front door is an amazing feeling.

3. I have a priceless friend, named Nicholei. She is an angel. Not only because she packed and moved and cleaned all our crap, but she really knows how to be a true friend through and through.

Let's be green in 2014

Overwhelmed with the thought of saving the planet with reusable bags and reducing your carbon footprint? Do you get dizzy in the grocery store searching for affordable organics and phthalate

free soaps? Becoming a greener citizen can be simpler than you think. I've been taking steps to be greener for me, my family, and the environment. You don't have to be rich, or a full blown hippie (unless you want to be, of course). These aren't necessarily new or exciting ideas, but they're worth sharing and worth trying. I'll try to share an idea every couple weeks. Let's see how many we can make work for us and our families.

Here's an idea: Cloth napkins!

Why? 

One person, using one napkin at 3 meals per day is 1,095 napkins per year! Multiply that by every person in the world you have a bunch of unnecessary waste.

How?

You can buy a set of napkins that match your kitchen or dining room. If you don't want to or can't spend the cash, cut up some old t-shirts and use those. They may not be presentable for company, but most days they'll be just fine. If you're handy with a sewing machine, finish the edges and they'll look as great as they are functional.

Use them as often as possible and it all adds up to less waste. 

But! That's more laundry!

Really? Is it that much more? No, it's not.

Extra mile:

You can even keep a few in your purse or one in your pocket for dining out if you really wanna commit. Yes, I've done it. And I'll do it again!

**

Let me know if you will do this and what way works best for you. Do you miss paper napkins? Have you fully commented to cloth napkins and will never look back?

**I'll share pics of my homemade and store-bought napkins asap.