A Video Provided by Metro on Your makeup bag.

Happy to see this came from our own Metro.  Besides you putting these harmful chemicals on your face and then into your blood stream you are also putting them into our environment when you spray your perfume and when the water takes them down the drain.  Be Smart and educate yourself on the products you are using.

Teens and Chemicals

Scary thought that our teens aren't even aware of the chemicals they are putting on their bodies. If informed they might make a different choice then the current one.

HOLIDAY SHOPPING

HOLIDAY GREETINGS! 

Another Consultant sent this to her customers and I completely agreed with the idea. We are going to make an effort to create homemade gifts and to buy from small businesses. 


You, the customer, are our everything. Spending $100 at Walmart or another big store during the holidays won't make a difference to anyone; but spending $100 through a home business owner over the Holidays means our business can continue; it gives us our pay, earns us our promotions, meets our sales quotas, and helps us educate and inform without using harsh sales techniques. The big stores will not care about you the way we will because unfortunately, you don't mean that much to them. You mean the world to us - shop a home business for the Holidays this year! 


Check Out the latest Catalog and remember if you are interested in hosting a party or trying any products you can always contact me at rdjanusz@gmail.com 


November Specials


All Lipsticks and Lip glosses are also $3.99 while supplies last.  A great time to stock up and great for stocking stuffers.  

Join the Fight

EWG's groundbreaking research has found hundreds of chemicals in the umbilical cord blood of newborns. It proves that babies being born every day have already been exposed to toxic chemicals.

The Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 would require the chemical industry to prove that its products are safe before they are sold. Under this bill, chemicals would have to be tested against a strong standard that protects the most vulnerable among us, especially children. The same safety standard has already been shown to be effective and feasible when used for determining the safety of pesticides. This bill would give the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to restrict or prohibit chemicals already known to be dangerous. It would also protect the public from smoke-screening secrecy claims.

It's time for the chemical industry to stop using hazardous pollutants and to make sure its products are safe for children. Congress has taken the first step by introducing the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011, but this fight isn't over. Your senators need to hear from you today that you want them to support the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011.

Send your senator an email

The School Year Has Begun

I have been back to teaching now for just over a month and realize that it is much easier to live healthy when you have time to make the right choices. Bad choices are so much easier when you are pressed for time. Cutting up fresh veggies takes more time for a meal then throwing a processed dish into the oven for 20 minutes. We took some time today to reflect on the last few weeks and how our meals although still healthier then last year have changed since this summer, while I was home. We still chose one quick meal for the week but plan to throw fresh veggies in with it also, rather then it just being a quick processed meal. I do question how much time it takes to cook a healthy meal and that just means less time cuddling with my little one. I know when she gets older we can make it a family affair cooking together but right now I only can keep her interested for little chunks of time.

I knew this fall was going to be a stressful time of the year with teaching a new class but I really need to make sure that I remember I'm not helping my family or myself if I never get to see them. Finding a balance is needed. This week I'm going to focus on figuring out how to be more affective with my time so I get more of that time with my family.

We have found a pretty simple way of putting more veggies in one meal and that is a veggie filled pizza. We have cut the pizza sauce and use olive oil and garlic with feta and any veggie that sounds good. No Meat for this meal and we have plenty of left overs for the week. We haven't made the usual run to Papa Murphy's in weeks.

Consensus statement: Endocrine-disrupting chemicals pose potential threat to children

Consensus statement: Endocrine-disrupting chemicals pose potential threat to children

Success with Juicing

It has been over a month and we have started our day with some sort of juice or fruit smoothie. The juicer is getting a workout in our house. David is now down 7 pounds in 3 weeks and I am down one pant size (I hate the scale and unless made to won't step on it). The great part about having the juicer is that veggies and fruits are no longer going bad in the fridge. When we are worried they are going to go to waste we just through them in a juice and get our vitamins. Today both my little one and my brothers little boy shared a kale, carrot, celery and lemon juice with me. This last week was a hot one and instead of grabbing a cold soda we've been making watermelon juice. By going to the watermelon juice instead of the soda we are getting a nutrient rich flavorful drink. David made the first one with Watermelon and kiwi fruit. It was wonderful and refreshing :)

For more watermelon recipes click here: WATERMELON

Now my next goal is getting up earlier to workout. It's getting more difficult as the school year is now underway and it is so dark. The gym is going to be visited more as my running route is a little scary in the dark even with two big dogs.

Ava September Specials

For All Customers:
FREE Sunscreen with the purchase of $75 or more. This is a very safe sunscreen. A must have to protect you and your families! (21% non nanoparticle zinc oxide, with organic jojoba, cocoa, beeswax, olive oil and cococoa) that's it! Just pay shipping/handling and tax. $18.95 retail value. one free sunscreen per order.

For Hosts Only:
Host an Ava Party and you can purchase ONE "Host Only" item ... or earn ONE FREE! This is in addition to your host rewards earned through party sales.

For more info feel free to contact me at rdjanusz@gmail.com

Be the Change!

Says everything so perfectly using illustration and video. Worth a watch and can change your thinking.

A Wake-Up Story from Healthy Child Healthy World on Vimeo.

Goodbye Anemia. I Hope!

After struggling to lose the baby weight with exercise and diet I finally started bugging my doctors last spring. After a routine check up with my doctor last week we reviewed all my blood work and discussed that he is baffled at why I can't lose the weight. The only concern he found in my blood work was me being slightly anemic. He suggested supplements. I decided that I didn't need to supplement if I could put more leafy greens like kale into my diet. Tomorrow I have more blood work to get drawn and am hoping that the big glass of kale, carrot, and apple juice this evening will help with the anemia. We will see. I have attached a great article with a recipe for Kale Juice or "Green Lemonade".

Aren't organic or plant-based products better when in cosmetics?

Does your product contain only organic or plant-based ingredients but still has a high hazard score or low data availability rating?

Even plant-based ingredients can be harmful -- poison ivy, for example -- and should meet the same safety standards as those derived from petroleum, mines or animals. It's hard to tell which ingredients are truly "organic" or "natural" because truth-in-marketing rules for food don't apply in the cosmetics world. An exception - products bearing the USDA organic seal contain ingredients that come from plants grown without artificial pesticides and fertilizers.

Source: EWG http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

How has this bit of data influenced my family? This morning my husband asked me to look up his shaving soap. The product scored a 2 but we wanted to know why. As we looked deeper into the ingredients we found that clove powder and clove oil both scored a 5 for the following reason, "Allergies/immunotoxicity". Check out your cosmetics and see what you find.

Cosmetic Database

New Products Introduced

avaSKIN - NEW 2oz moisturizer & EYE CREAM: The new two ounce moisturizer in a tube will replace the current one ounce bottle we currently have. We are proud to be able to supply you and our customers an improved product with organic botanical ingredients, double the amount of product and no more airless pumps! This product will now be priced at $20.95 for the 2oz size. The EYE CREAM -- WOW - you will not believe the amazing organic ingredients we have in this product. It is luxurious and it performs beautifully!

avaSUN - moisturizer with SPF & lip balm with SPF (15) plus 7pc avaSUN set: Moisturizer is excellent for everyday protection from harmful UVA and UVB rays. The "hydrating" lip balm with spf is like no other. It is moist, delicious, and addicting, while protecting from the sun, as well! We have also introduced the avaSUN set which includes: 3 sunscreens, 3 lip balms and the daily moisturizer with SPF.

avaBODY - deep conditioning treatment & styling cream for hair: We now have all the hair products needed for beautiful, radiant & healthy hair. You will see that these products are terrific!

avaFACE---Mascara: lengthening mineral mascara is here!

I am ordering mine this week so by next week I should have the new products for you to try.

To Puchase

Meat Or No Meat

If you want a new perspective on the food you eat, watch or read, "Food Inc." I don't know if this book pushed me to be a little more willing to try new things or just the fact that I believe we need a change. Over the last week we bought a juicer which was my husbands idea after hearing about a juice fast from his best friend from college. Watch the movie, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead". Our first juice was a success, Celery and Pineapple Juice even the 19 month old loved it and had the cutest green mustache after drinking most of mine. When I was out at appointments David made his little girl a carrot and apple juice. This led to a stained blanket and a nasty diaper later but a happy girl.
I then had a friend who has changed her diet after reading the book, "The China Study" suggest meeting up at a local restaurant which is strictly vegan. The first thing she suggested was the fresh pretzel with this amazing creamy cashew dip that was actually almost as good as cheese. She then got a sandwich which had no meat but tofu and was amazing. All I could think about was how I need to go back and figure out how to make that sandwich at home.
Today for our outing we went to the food carts on Mississippi and instead of getting something with meat I decided to try a Fried Chickpea Sandwich from Garden State. It was wonderful and I was glad to have a great veggie meal for a second day. This time I found the recipe and I will have to try it soon when we aren't making a juice.

Spicy Chickpea Sandwich

Blueberry Picking and Muffins

Oatmeal Blueberry Applesauce Muffins

An easy recipe for the family and a good way to use up the last of our fresh blueberries. We will see if Siena likes them when she wakes up from her nap.

End of Month One

After one month of our journey to a healthier family I would like to reflect on what we have noticed as a family.

1. After getting the toxic chemicals out of my daily skin care and using the Ava Anderson skin care line my skin is clear and feels great.

2. After using the Ava Anderson shampoo and conditioner on Siena cradle cap, which has been around for most of her life (19 months), is gone. *Note we were using baby oil and the doctor had recommended a dandruff shampoo.

3. Ava Anderson shampoo and conditioner does not cause any tears on my toddler and makes bath time much more pleasant.

4. Zucchini and Squash is easy to grown and makes someone that feels like they have a black thumb feel better about growing fruits and veggies.

5. There are easy recipes to use up the fruit and veggies you have around.

6. When you know there are toxic chemicals in products that you have been holding on to it makes it much easier to get rid of them. I have so much more room in my medicine cabinet.

Berry Picking and Homemade Jam

Over the last few summers I have gone berry picking out on Sauvie Island at the Sauvie Island Farms and have frozen the berries for later. These berries usually go toward baking or smoothies. Although last year many of them got thrown out. Last year I went with an infant of 6 months and no carrier which made it difficult to pick berries. This year I had a blast with our friends the Olivers and Siena who is now 19 months old. She loves berries and ate a ton of blueberries off the bush and had a blast running around yelling "berry". This is an activity I will do a few more times this summer. The positives included, fresh produce for a minimal price, a happy child especially from the tractor ride, exercise for the child, a reason to try something new to save the produce from spoiling.
So after collecting almost 14lbs of berries (blue and raspberries)between both families I decided I would try to make freezer jam. Let me just say I can't believe I didn't do this earlier. The process was simple and the jam tastes amazing. I actually am planning to go back and get more berries with my mom for some more jam and a little baking. To try making a little jam to store for the winter or give as a gift this site was helpful Canning and Preserving

My Story and a Possible Link

Why am I so passionate about these health care products? As many of my friends and family know my husband and I struggled to conceive a child. We waited a couple of years after getting married to seriously try having a child and then found out that it was going to be a challenge. This process was an emotional roller coaster that I would not wish upon even my worst enemy. I know that both my husband and myself had problems if it wasn't a sperm count it was my hormone levels along with cysts. I truly believe that there are a lot more people dealing with infertility then there has been in the past and that this could be one of the causes. I don't want my daughter to have the same struggles I have dealt with and as most parents I want her to have a better life then myself.

Great Summer Salad Recipe

This has been a favorite of mine now for a few summers and is always a hit (unless people are lying to me). I would like to try it with Quinoa instead of Orzo but haven't done that yet. I always put a little more basil, red wine vinegar and of course goat cheese then called for in the recipe along with using a rotisserie chicken when I'm in a hurry.

Chicken Orzo Goat Cheese Salad

Challenge to find a shower gel / body wash with a "0"

A challenge to find a body wash/shower gel that scores a "0" that is sold in our store was a bust. I did introduce the sales person to the cosmetic database and she went through a large number of their products and I believe was surprised. Great service from New Seasons Employees as usual, but the lowest number we could find was a "2" which doesn't beat a "0" or a "1". After my husband said he could find something that didn't have to be ordered and was cheaper. Well we are down to the wire and he has settled for Bronners Castille soap and I found a bar of soap to try that is made of pure olive oil. I will give it a couple of days but then I'm ordering Ava Andersons Shower Gel for myself and the little one and he can continue with his soap.

Non Toxic Skin Care

If you are looking for a safer personal care product check out the following link
http://avaandersonnontoxic.com/rosejanusz
or like my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/A-Healthier-Family-Ava-Anderson-Non-toxic-Skin-Care-by-Rose/238001129562508?sk=info

A Twist on Meatloaf

Growing up as a child and as an adult one of the few foods I would not eat was meatloaf. My family loved meatloaf and when I was away they would make meatloaf as a treat. I tried in high school to make it myself for the family thinking this would change my mind on this meat dish but alas it didn't. A few years ago I was introduced to Quinoa and have since learned that it is one of my favorite grains and it alone browned a little before cooking the grain is a treat with a little vinaigrette dressing. So when looking for healthy recipes for the family I came across a turkey quinoa meatloaf I decided I would try making a meatloaf again. Success!!! I have now made this dish twice and the whole family is a fan. The little one seems to like it cold but I enjoy it warm. The recipe says cook for 50 min. but I have cooked it for 1hr 5 min both times to get the meat to a safe temperature. The recipe is really very easy and can be made ahead of time I encourage you to make this for your own family. Check out the link provided for the recipe. Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf

A TODDLER SEEMS HAPPY WITH THE MEAL:)