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.