When I started this journey, almost a year ago now, my goal was to clean up my diet, feel better and hopefully lose weight. My goals have since been upgraded to things I would have never considered doing, but certainly enjoy and find fairly easy to do. When you start doing research on clean eating and follow the lifestyle of this flexitarian diet, you start learning about a hundred more things you could be doing to make your family healthier. Like what, you ask? Well for starters, I'm using chemical-free sunscreens, bug sprays, facial lotions, and soaps. Our skin is one large organ and one that absorbs those items slathered on it. So why would you slather on dozens of chemicals onto your skin? Yuck, right?
So, that's one area that was pretty easy. I bought Dr. Mercola's sunscreen, bug spray and Neutrogena's new line of Naturals facial cleaners. I also found some chemical-free body lotions.
Next up: household cleaners. For years now, I've purchased Green Works, 7th Generation and Method cleaners. But you can save even more money by just mixing up a bottle of plain old vinegar and water. I also use a spray bottle of 3% food-grade hydrogen peroxide and water to spritz down my shower walls, clean counters, get stains out of laundry and I even spritz our toothbrushes once a week. The main purpose of the 3% H2O2 is to wash all my produce. The anti-microbial properties of this stuff is amazing. You can see the bubbles forming and your dirty veggies start fizzing up a storm. Good stuff!
Want to know how much farther I've gone? Well, I've cut down use of our microwave oven to about 10% now, stopped using aluminum foil to cook things and got rid of all plastic containers that had a 3, 6, or 7 on them. I also bought several tall stainless steel water bottles and a few "safe" (5 on the bottom) refillable plastic ones to cut down on my bad habit of buying bottled water. I also threw away 3 skillets coated with Teflon. Additionally, my husband and I went out to dinner this week for our anniversary. We were at Bonefish Grill. It takes me a little more time to order these days because I have questions and I need to weigh the options. I wanted seafood, but the special was swordfish (large fish high on mercury list) and Chilean sea bass is my favorite but is horribly over fished and almost extinct! Don't order it! I opted for the trout and it was good! It's all about choices and informing yourself to make the right ones. I could sit here all day writing about why Teflon and BPA are bad for you, but we'd be here a while. I'm enjoying the book, Easy Green Living, by Renee Loux. She explains how and why we should be cutting these things out of our life. They're leaching chemicals into our bloodstream and into our environment.
I'm by no means done. I've still got more work to do. But I feel good when I remember to take my reusable bags to the store and enjoy getting my 5 cents at Target for each bag! I'm composting all my kitchen waste, growing my own herbs and veggies, buying local and sustainable foods and supporting local farmers. You could say it's time for me to change the name of my blog to UNprocessed living!
My blog is approaching its one year anniversary soon and I'm looking for ways to celebrate. Any thoughts? I've love to get more followers, so if you know anyone who could benefit from this information or is trying to make positive food changes in their life, send 'em my way. If more people start eating real, whole foods, then perhaps it will send a message to the food manufacturers that we need better quality food and to our gov't to stop approving GMO-projects and shut down Monsanto. (more on that next time).
Until then...Happy Eating!
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