Why I Care So Much about Personal Care Products

Here's an approximate snap shot into hub's and my conversation as we were laying in bed last night:

Me: Feel my hand it's SO soft from using that coconut oil on my skin.
Hub: Where'd you get it?
Me: It's that jar that I bought that's been in the kitchen. I have to warm it up but it's amazing--coats well and was great for a bit of self-massage. Roxi was licking my legs like crazy cause she thought it tasted good, so I put on pants.
Hub: (laughing) I bet she loves it! That's funny though cause I thought that jar is for cooking.
Me: Well, it IS for cooking but it can be used on the body....it even says so on the back of the jar! I'd been thinking about buying some and then K sent me a link on it out-of-the-blue and D added to it and it has all sorts of health benefits. Plus some schools of thought think that since our skin is so porous that we shouldn't put anything on it that we wouldn't eat anyway.

Hub: Definitely makes sense and I'm glad you're liking it!
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Now I've only been using it for two days folks, but so far I am AB-SO-LUTELY smitten. I slathered it on with that self-massage in place of my daily moisturizer last night. I applied a tiny bit as my face moisturizer after washing my face this morning, and I slathered up with it after my shower tonight. So far my skin feels great. I haven't decided if I'll stick with it as my morning routine too and it does take a bit of time cause I have to warm up the jar for it to melt into oil, but my skin feels and looks great!

So folks, I'm truly thinking that the coconut oil is here to stay as part of my increasingly more natural beauty routine:

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It dawned on me that as much as I've written about green living and my use of certain products, I don't know that I've ever really gone into some of the whys about it, so here ya go and get ready for a lil soapbox lecture, although some of you already know most of this.

A) I got into public health originally because my father was diagnosed with cancer due to environmental causes, which lead me to wonder what exactly in the environment could have led to his cancer development. What I didn't know was that the can of worms would so completely open and I'd learn more than I ever wanted to. Ignorance sometimes feels blissful, although the majority of the population has no clue about the harmful substances they are surrounded by...and many of us feel that there's not too much we can do about it even when the knowledge arrives....except to attempt improved personal choices.

B) What this means is that of the approximate 80,000 chemicals out on the market, only 200 of those have been tested by the government as to their health effects....and of those only a handful have been banned for negative health effects in the United States. For the most part industry determines what is "safe" and what is not, and they tend to operate on an "it's safe until its proven otherwise" rather than via the precautionary principle (until its proven to be safe then lets not have the public exposed to it). There are multiple other factors to consider about human exposure too. Some chemicals have been found to have worse effects in small amounts than large (which boggle the human mind, but the human body can also boggle the human mind). And most research that exists is based on a one-time exposure for a certain amount of time.....and does not include cross-contamination. What this means is this: if you apply your lip gloss frequently, then the estimated health effects via the original research is no longer valid. If you apply chap stick AND lip gloss there is a chemical interaction occurring that has not been researched either and any individual research done by the separate industries is no longer true.

C) This multiple exposure issue matters because how frequently are we ever exposed to just one chemical? Your carpet, furniture, car, etc are all off-gassing all the time. Your clothes are made of materials that were coated in chemicals. Your cookware has chemicals, your food is GMO and/or coated in pesticides, dishes & etc-- all are made up of various substances. And how many of you only use ONE personal care product? ALL of these exposures build up in our systems and have the capacity to negatively effect our health. Sure some of them break down quickly but others of them last in our systems and in our environment years beyond their common use. Case in point: recent body studies of individuals have found chemicals that were banned decades ago in the bodies of people born after the chemical was banned. (This can be due to exposure via the environment where the chemical has yet to break down in nature or via the following point....)

D) We're all carrying around hundreds (if not more) chemicals in our bodies that is known as our body burden. You add in the principle of bioaccumulation (think chemical gets eaten by little fish which gets eaten by bigger fish which gets eaten by even bigger fish which gets eaten by human which passes it on to its offspring, since infants are at the top of all food chains.....) and that means that each generation continues to pass its load onto the next. Scientists have measured cord blood in newborns and found that most babies born today have about 300 toxins at birth. Now just imagine the lifetime exposure to more chemicals....and welcome to the life experiment we're all in yet no one signed informed consent. (You can read more about this quickly here or via the books: Body Toxic by Nena Baker and Having Faith by Sandra Steingraber.)

E) And so because of all of THAT I have spent the last several years trying to cut down some of my exposures. There are some things that I can't do too much about---there's always going to be new carpet, new furniture, paint, etc somewhere. And there are some points where I need to do more (case in point: we have stainless steel & copper pots and a cast iron pan but we still use non-stick regularly, plus much of our food is not organic.....). However there are also other products that I use day in and day out.....and many of these are ones I have taken the time to try to find healthier options for. However the more I'm contemplating potentially having a bio baby in the next few years, the more I'm realizing I need to be even more mindful and do more to impact product choices across the board if possible.

F) The area I have probably done the best in over the years has been to reduce the harmful effects based on the ingredients in my personal care products. Generally speaking I use the Skin Deep database by EWG to check out my products. Before I knew about the database, I wrongly thought that anything in the "natural" aisle must be okay, so I used to use things like Nature's Gate shampoo, etc. Most our soap & shampoo got switched over to Burt's Bees after using the database, but in re-checking my products out for this post it appears that the sell-out of Burts to Clorox has increased their harmful health ratings one point on most my products. Now there is some controversy of course, as almost any ingredient could be argued to have potential negative health effects, but I like to check out what the actual ratings are and see what the ingredients have been tied to. Thus staying out of the cancer and reproductive toxicity categories are key for me, while I don't worry quite as much about the allergies category. Not all my products score in the low categories and after the discovery about Burts Bees I might be switching over to something else (Yes to Carrots Nourishing Shampoo & Face Cleanser scores better), but from what I can tell the majority of the other items I use score in the lower categories (minus deodorant, face moisturizer, and face scrub).

I've posted what most the low scoring items are before, but in case you're looking for safer alternatives, I'll recommend some of them again:
--Foundation, bronzer, blush, & eye shadow all come from Alima Mineral Make-up, which is also a local Portland company.
--Eye liner, mascara, & fingernail polish are from Honeybee Gardens.
--Lip gloss & balm are Burts Bees
--Listerine mouthwash scores fairly low and even my stand-by acne treatment scores low (Clean & Clear Persagel)
--Curel Ultra Healing body moisturizer (although this might get taken over by the coconut oil!)
--Basic castille soap bar (for body)

Tonight's research has made me realize I need to swap out the Burts Bees shampoo and face wash and I REALLY need to find a new facial scrub other than the St Ives (which scored 8 out of 10!! Goodness!).

And while we're STILL on this topic (sorry about the lengthy soapbox post tonight!), there was a great related blog post with suggestions for homemade options by Keeper of the Home:  5 Tips for Saving Money on Natural Skincare

What great alternatives can you share to decrease chemical exposure? Any great products or ideas?

One Green Change a Month

Sometime during the last two years our "green" behaviors have greatly reduced. Sure we're still doing some green things:

-We're enrolled in renewable energy options for our electricity sources
-We mainly buy organic dairy products
-Most frequently my personal care products are safer alternatives (Burts Bees & Alima make-up)
-Our recycling bin is frequently more full than the trash
-Hub canned his own salsa and we've made a few soups from scratch
-We planted & harvested from our raised beds this summer
-We bought the chickens to hopefully have good eggs
-Kitchen scraps go in the compost bin
-We switched to a HE front loading washer & eco detergent
-We buy about 1/5 of our food & home products in bulk
-The heat is set at 62 at night and no more than 64 during the day if we're home
....and I'm sure I could list a few others

However I/we have gotten out of the habit of a few things like:
-Cleaning with non-toxic products
-Using reusable tote bags rather than plastic
-Only using safer alternative personal care products
-Choosing second-hand rather than brand new
-Driving less
-Buying less
-Using less disposables (ziplocs, razors, paper towels, etc)
-Using less plastic everything
.....and I'm sure I could list a few others

Now I can't remember which blog it was where I saw the idea, but somewhere in the enviro blog-o-sphere someone wrote about the idea of trying to embrace a new "green" change for an entire month in the coming year. One change each month for the twelve months. You could continue that change beyond the month or you could just move on to a different one. I thought it might be a good idea (especially to try to re-embrace some of the behaviors that we already know are better) so I approached hub with the idea, and we've decided we're going to give it a try. I'm not entirely sure how it will work, but hopefully it'll help push us back into the right direction.

We haven't exactly laid out any plan, but the month of January is supposed to be "Only Buy Used" except for food & personal care products. The month of February is supposed to be "Buy Nothing Extra." And so far, that's as far as we've gotten.....but I did happen to pull out my reusable shopping bag for my grocery run last night, so hopefully that'll be one of the months too.

We'll see how it goes, but hopefully we'll stick with it and get back into some of our healthier and greener behavior patterns!

Time for A New Work-out Plan

Image from here.

So here's a confession folks: in recent months I have pretty much stopped working out. I can blame it on a crazy schedule, I can blame it on the weather, I can blame it on the lack of good sidewalks to run on in my neighborhood....but regardless of what I want to blame it on, the fact of the matter is that I've joined the hundreds of thousands of Americans who do not exercise. And that fact is one I have a problem with for two major reasons.

Reason #1: I'm a HEALTH teacher. While not every health teacher feels the need to practice what s/he preaches, it's something that I want and need to do for my own health and for the authenticity of my instruction.

Reason #2: I'm genetically "blessed" with a crappy metabolism.....and I also happen to have developed a taste via Granny and marriage for amazingly flavored foods (read: full fat, real butter, cream, etc). What this means is that if I don't work out, it doesn't take longer than about two weeks for the fat to start packing on...and that's even when I'm eating a much more balanced diet.

So these facts aside, over the course of the last term...I've started to pack on some fat. I won't use the word "pounds" because my weight hasn't really changed, but I've officially inched past my regular & ideal pant size. I still feel like I look okay, but it's not where I like to be on a regular basis.

Two of my past coworkers swore up and down on the P90X program (a series of 12 HIGH-intensity workout DVDs about an hour in length each one) and both looked fabulous because of the program, but until recently I'd barely considered it very seriously. In the last month however, I'd started thinking about other routine work-out options besides a gym membership or purchasing a treadmill, which led to my researching P90X and reading the reviews online. And after much thought I finally took the plunge the day after Christmas and ordered a used (read: reduced cost) set online.

The used dealer was a Portland location, so the package/program arrived today. I still have to get some basic free weights but we already have a pull up bar in the garage, and the other "extras" I'm going to do without. Amazingly the boxed set looks like it's brand new and has all the booklets still included.

Not wanting to wait around, I skimmed through the introduction booklet this evening and estimated that I should be able to pass the fitness test. (Hub on the other hand kept saying he wants us to follow the program to a T, which would mean actual body measurements & before/after photos......I personally just want my pants to fit correctly again and to feel like I'm in better shape.......) There are three different set ways/plans to navigate through the 12 DVDS and I decided to start with P90X Lean, which is more cardio based. Any of the plans run for 90 days and if we stick with it, I might consider doing the P90X Classic plan (read: more muscle) after completion of the Lean plan. There are a lot of things I like about the concept behind P90X, especially since many of it's foundational pieces are part of what I frequently lecture on when we talk about fitness (read: cross training for reduced plateaus/injuries; increasing intensity for better results; including cardio, muscle endurance & strength, stretching, and body composition into any fitness plan....).

So jumping right in with Day 1 today, I pulled out the first DVD for my "Lean" plan and turned it on.........and about 25-30 high intensity minutes later I pushed pause on the player and seriously almost lost my "cookies." (Although I was saved by the lack of food in my stomach due to not eating enough today.....Read: Not smart start....) After getting my heart rate stabilized and myself slightly cooled down, I pushed play and more or less completed the rest of today's DVD, which was a mix of muscle work & cardio....and way more push-ups than I've done in a while.

While the work-out totally kicked my butt (in a way it hasn't been kicked since my high school swim team days).......let me tell you, it also feels AWESOME. Even ten minutes after completing the DVD, my body & brain were on their own natural highs....and I was already reading up on tomorrow's work-out. We'll see how it turns out, but I haven't been this excited about a new work-out plan in a really long time......

PS. Heather M......you totally need to get a copy and be my Southern work-out partner :)

Cranberry & Water Are Better Than Drugs

Today I have been the ultimate NON-picture of health: I talked on my cell phone while driving, I didn't eat until 9pm at night cause I ran out of time, I cut short social situations, I parked as close as possible to buildings to save time and my heels.......(but on second thought I did get in a 3 mile run and 2 hours doing yard and house work....)

....however the other day I was pretty darn proud of my health treatment choice. Now this is probably TMI (Too Much Information), but I am incredibly prone to UTIs (urinary tract infections). Really UTIs have been pretty regular friends of mine throughout my entire life aka I'm oh so fortunate to have a visit from a UTI every year or so. Individuals that are predisposed to UTIs have to be even more careful about getting regular fluids to flush the system, not sitting in sweaty or wet clothes after working out/swimming, monitoring hygiene and potential negative exposures in the lower region, using caution and cleanliness about sex, etc. UTIs tend to be bacterial, which the good news for that means they can readily be treated with antibiotics.....however I swear to you that antibiotics are not necessary.....

Now a few interesting facts of note: 1) when I was a vegan I never had issues with UTIs at all 2) I'm so in tune to my fabulous friend that I can usually feel it coming on before it gets too incredibly painful and 3) even with my regular visitation, the last time I went to the doctor to be diagnosed/treated for a UTI was almost 15 years ago.

How do I get rid of it you might be wondering? Well its a combo of:

Image from here.

AND

Image from here.
And one more thing, but it's even more TMI and I'll explain in a bit.

Who needs antibiotics when all I have to do is drink a full bottle of pure cranberry juice and a TON of water? Works much faster in my case, as I'm almost always fully recovered within 8-12 hours. (The extra trick is to, uh, rinse the general "exit" area with water, so that you're flushing the system internally via increased fluid intake and also "flushing" away from the urethra. I know, you really wanted to know that, but I swear it helps and it makes you pee even more.) ;)

This all came up because I woke up on Tuesday having to urinate constantly and with general discomfort. Sometimes if it's just starting I can ward it off by seriously increasing my water intake, but 5 large glasses of water later I hadn't felt much improvement. Hub, always the trooper in these situations, headed to the store for some cranberry juice and some back up Gatorade (although it has lots of sugar in it, which you want to decrease sugar with infections). By 1pm the bottle of cranberry juice, 5 more glasses of water, and half a Gatorade had been consumed......and by 2pm I was back to regular. Over the last few days I've continued to monitor fluid intake to keep the system flushed out and have been more mindful of my preventative behaviors.

But I always prefer a situation where I can avoid the antibiotic, especially when an easier fix is so readily available. I can't guarantee it'd work for you, but if find yourself with a UTI coming on, it's at least worth a shot.....

Is It Documentary Season Here?!

It's rare for me to watch much TV, but I will tell you that this week I'm making up for it with my refound love of documentaries.

So two more that I watched last night until the wee morning hours of the night.

The Business of Being Born with the trailer:

 and Pregnant in America with trailer:

Both are similar although The Business of Being Born is shorter and with a little bit less information, although both use the same experts etc. The creator of Pregnant in America also is slightly Michael Moore-ish, which I usually don't mind but I did have to wonder a bit about him in this film. Both though are great at evaluating the medicalization and business of pregnancy and L&D in the USA.

This morning hub and I also watched two other interesting ones, which both ironically are based on books.

Freakonomics--an interesting look at theory and causality of various concepts.

And a quick trailer for Michael Pollan's The Botany of Desire, which takes a long look at four favorite plants across the world: apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes.

I'm sure by now it comes as absolutely no surprise that all of these were watched on Netflix Instant, and I also discovered last night that God Grew Tired of Us is available on instant. This morning I woke up to a NYT's article about continued political discord and turmoil in Sudan. After watching the film yesterday, the article definitely impacted me much more today. As we head into the 4th of July, the political turmoil around the world does make my heart ache for other nations, but also leads me feeling so fortunate to live here in the United States. Things aren't perfect here by any means, but I'm free to live how I choose without real fear or concern about being attacked by my own government or by any potential political radicals from either end of the spectrum. It is my hope and prayer that the reality of that freedom and liberty will continue to exist for us and will become the reality for all the world over.

One last quick resource, as I just found a few great blog posts on The Green Phone Booth. The one I want to point you to though is the one that discusses greener lawn care and offers suggestions for safer alternatives for bug and weed control, etc. I definitely will be trying the direct white vinegar on some of our nasty weeds in the mulch and seeing what happens. (If you're an animal/dog lover you might also want to check out: When Good People do Nothing....)

And FYI, don't be surprised if a few more documentaries show up in the next few days. Any suggestions that I should check out for either books or films??

21 Days of Clean

 On Monday afternoon I came home from work just feeling wiped out. My body hasn't been wanting coffee as much in the last few weeks, my pants were starting to feel a little tighter, and hub and I were talking about how much food and good brew we'd been able to indulge in during the month and a half we've been back in Oregon. In the midst of our conversation hub interjected stating that we should do the cleanse he's been wanting to do for the last several months (it was mentioned in a couple articles in his Outside Magazine.) While hub was in the Army, we couldn't exactly do a cleanse....but there was no real reason why we couldn't do one now...and what better time than the present...we decided to start the very next day....

So we hunted down the book, hub read the parts we needed to know and I spent the rest of the night reading the book in depth. Much of Junger's thoughts on the toxins that are present in our world and the reasons behind doing a cleanse (to purge oneself of toxins and realign/pause your digestive tract) I readily agreed with.

Junger's Clean would actually allow us to eat a decent amount of calories, but would include a major change in the way we've been eating:

No dairy, no beef, no peanut products.

No soy, no corn, no wheat products.

No oranges, grapefruits, grapes, tomatoes, peppers, bananas, or potatoes.

No coffee, no alcohol, no real sources of caffeine.

No to most sweeteners.

But instead we have expanded our exposure to many of the products we can have: quinoa, brown rice, coconut milk, almond butter and milk, millet, dried legumes, fish, sesame oil, agave, balsamic vinegar, and a whole host of vegetables and fruits.

The basic schedule of the cleanse allows us a smoothie in the morning, a solid lunch, and a smoothie or raw soup in the evening for dinner. It also allows for a small snack between meals (almonds or a piece of fruit, etc). We are to drink enough water to make us urinate every hour and we're allowed herbal teas, including yerba mate (even though it has caffeine.....). The cleanse itself is 21 days and people who have gone through it (including One Green Generation) report that it's been wonderful---provides more energy, increases health and decreases health issues, and assists the body in enhanced functioning.

Like most things, you can purchase supplements and shakes to help improve the experience, but we're not doing that...just good ol' fashioned food and continuing with our exercise of running.

Luckily we're allowed many spices as well: most green spices, healthier oils, vinegars, sea salt & pepper, and lemon/lime for seasoning.

  

We've been stocking up on organic fruits and vegetables mainly thanks to Fred Meyer and Whole Foods, but today we had our Organics to You delivery also!

We've also been hitting up new recipes and taking ideas from recipes and rolling with them. It definitely takes more time for preparation but so far the food has been pretty good! Plus it's just nice to try new things.

So how's it going you might be wondering? Well, we opted not to do the elimination diet prior to starting the cleanse (which is recommended to ease your body into it), so as we're three days in we're a lil more tired than usual and we tend to fluctuate somewhere between lots of energy and wanting to take a nap. But overall we both feel like it's doing good things and we're hopeful to have some great things to report by the end of the 21 days.

At the very least, it's great to be doing something new together and our recipe selection is being given a whole new take on life. Speaking of, if you've never tried millet---give it a try! It's sort of a mix between couscous and brown rice, but its definitely a food that will be sticking with us past the 21 days!

Here's to health!

The Hospital By the River

(For some reason, I can't get the picture to rotate correctly)

Two months in the making and I finally sat down to finish this amazing story this afternoon. This is the story that made me think about going back to school, this is the story that melted my heart, this is the story that left me thinking again beyond our nation's borders, this is a story that I hope you too will take the time to enjoy and be moved by.

Taken from the back of the book (British spellings in context and possibly written by John Little):
"Gynaecologists Catherine and Reg Hamlin left Australia in 1959 on a short contract to establish a midwifery school in Ethiopia. Over 40 years later, Catherine is still there, running one of the most outstanding medical programmes in the world. Thousands of women have been able to resume a normal existence after living as outcasts.

The Hamlins, both active Christians, dedicated their lives to women suffering catastrophic effects of obstructed labour. The awful injuries that such labour produces are called fistulae, and until the Hamlins began their work in Ethiopia, fistula sufferers were neglected and forgotten--a vast group of women facing a lifetime of incapacity and degradation.

Catherine and Reg, with their team of dedicated surgeons, have successfully operated on over 25,000 women, and the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, the hospital they opened in 1974, has become a major teaching institution for gynaecologists from all over Ethiopia and the developing world. Since Reg's death, Catherine and her team have continued the work...."

Catherine and Reg were two incredibly self-less individuals who devoted their lives to women living in Ethiopia. These women frequently were married off and producing babies by 15 years of age, before their bodies were entirely developed for childbirth. These women who frequently live in rural areas without access to medical facilities nor professionals, who birth alone or with a few family members in dirt-floored huts, and who frequently face days of difficult labor. The women who do develop vaginal area fistulas (leading to incontinence) are frequently abandoned by husbands and family, moved into huts on the edges of town, and left to suffer and survive in isolation.

The book is an incredibly easy read, and while it includes Christian views which may dissuade a few of you, the reality that these women experience is one that I feel all of us should be exposed to and do what we can to help, while the story of Reg & Catherine's amazing outreach and repair work will warm your heart. You may also find additional information (and donate to the cause) via the Fistula Foundation.

Pollan's Words of Food Wisdom

As much as I have mixed feelings about my undergrad institution, I have to admit that the education and many of the exposures it granted me were pretty phenomenal. As a college student, I was lucky to be offered free tickets to hear both Jane Goodall and Maya Angelou speak, and this evening my alma mater hosted the prestigious and well-loved foodie Michael Pollan (although my free ticket tonight was provided by my current employment/institution). Pollan always gives us food for thought (pun intended!) and tonight was no exception. Having read several of his works, tonight was a wonderful reminder of the food tenements that I should be keeping.

Here are some of the notes that I took from his presentation/speech this evening (some paraphrasing included):

Last month Oregon had 240,000 people receive food boxes with 22% of those recipients being children. (Actually presented by our representative Earl Blumenauer.)

"You can't have a healthy population without a healthy diet, and you can't have a healthy diet without healthy agriculture."

Pollan had purchased two bags of groceries from our local grocery stores prior to the talk. The groceries included many food items which he terms "edible food-like substances."
--There are 17,000 new products added to the supermarket every year, which one example was a fruit pizza with cheese.
--Most common cereals (such as chocolate cheerios) are 40-44% sugar.
--20% of eating in the US is done in our cars
--Generally low-fat foods actually have more sugar and calories (here he had the example of low-fat Tillamook yogurt having 33g sugar and regular Dannon yogurt having less calories and 25g sugar)
--Putting health claims on soda is an example of "nutritionism" hitting a new low (ginger ale w/ ginseng and green tea extracts)
--$69 billion dollars last year was spent on food packaging (which was more than the amount actually paid to farmers)

He discussed the new concept of nutritionism which includes America's fascination and obsession with nutrients rather than of food itself. Nutrients rule the food market and we frequently see nutrient claims on all sorts of packaging, even in foods where they have no business making the migration (ex bread with calcium, fiber in milk). We don't see food, instead we obsess on nutrients, leading to an unhealthy obsession with "healthy eating." Since we don't receive real guidance and there isn't much regulation on food/nutrition, we instead try to figure it out ourselves. Since nutrients are invisible however (and when we look at an apple we don't see the apple but rather the nutrient components we worry about...), then we feel we need "experts" to explain the hidden reality of all the good vs evil nutrients that exist. We view eating's purpose to be protection of our health...rather than enjoyment, community, culture, etc.

The regulation/guidance has been skewed by industry. In the 70s regulators tried to come out and say "eat less red meat," a very simple to understand statement. However meat industry was upset and was allowed to enter the conversation, skewing the message to state "choose meats with less saturated fats," which is a less easy to understand statement. From that point on, industry was a part of the "nutritional guidance" conversation, and it set the precedent that the government can't tell the public to actually eat less of any FOOD but it can tell it to eat less of any NUTRIENT. It also set the stage for us to get fat on low-fat, ie we ate more because it was low-fat, and it allowed us to feel that when one nutrient is demonized it allows a free pass for another nutrient.

Industry thus loves nutritionism, which is evidenced by the fact that corn and soy can be found in a large percentage of our processed foods. Corn is used in various sweetners, soy is used in fats and fillers. Two-thirds of our calories tend to come from four plants with 30% of our calories estimated to be from corn and/or soy.

The Western diet is based on a radical change in human eating and has lead to the development of our common Western diseases. Approximately 1 trillion dollars of our health care spending is estimated to be going toward prevention and treatment of chronic disease due to our dietary choices. 80% of heart disease, 30% of cancers, and the majority of Type 2 diabetes is estimated to be from dietary choices. Whereas our current low-fat, nutrient-focused diet has lead to enormous negative disease outcomes, the traditional human diets did not. The irony of this fact is that traditional diets are/were incredibly diverse (ex Inuit diets were limited and based on high fats, Mexican diet was based in beans and corn among many other items), but our nutrient-focused culture would view their diets as lacking via balanced nutrition. This demonstrates that there is NOT one way to eat for all even as we try to develop one diet.

Chronic disease is in fact becoming a lifestyle factor for us (ex Diabetes Today magazine in check-out aisle), especially when 1 in 3 kids is likely to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in their lifetime. We really have two choices:
1) Surrender to the Western diet and hope for evolution to eventually adapt humans.
2) We can change backward in both eating AND lifestyle toward the choices of our ancestors.
The difficulty is that as Americans we prefer whatever is cheap and easy. Currently we spend less on food today compared to other developed nations and compared to our own history (currently 9.5% of our income).

Really we need to remind ourselves that we CAN "feed ourselves without nutritionism." We had a food "culture" long before we ever had a food "science." Culture is routinely passed down through the generations (ex via grandma and mom) but science in this case undermined mom/culture. We need to relearn. So what do we do?!

---Eat Food. Not too Much. Mostly Plants.
--Make sure you recognize the ingredients in what you're eating. Give it the grandma (or great-great grandma test), would she recognize it?!
--Shop the perimeter in the grocery store.
--Don't eat foods that make health claims or that advertise on TV.
--Eat meals with people. (Healthier families are those that cook and eat together.)
--Remember the meal as a sacred institution.
--Eat til you are 80% full. (Language difference: we ask if we're full, other countries/languages ask if one is satisfied or no longer hungry.)
--Put your money where your mouth is. (By buying local, basic foods we promote agriculture change, funding, and regulation. Diverse diet leads to diversified growing (rather than monocultures), which decreases pesticide, water, and fossil fuel usage. For every calorie based on the industrial food model (monoculture), 10 calories are spent on oil/fossil fuel for energy. Industrial food=fossil fuel. Local food increases the experience of community.)

What's best for our health is also what's best of agriculture.


Definitely some food for thought....if you have never read any of Pollan's works, I encourage you to do so--always insightful.

Of Recent Links & (Re)Sources

Yahoo via Prevention: 9 Signs You're Happier Than You Think

Treehugger's Do Your Kids Walk to School? October is Walk-to-School Month

If you haven't heard about this horrible ecological and public health disaster, via the New York Times: Toxic Sludge Engulfs Several Hungarian Towns

Collaborative on Health & The Environment (CHE) is one of my favorite resources and environment health organizations. Tons of information available. Powerpoints from recent presentations available, and if you've never read any of Sandra Steingraber's books I definitely recommend them....For Hand-Outs & Resources from their recent conference: Children First: Promoting Ecological Health for the Whole Child.

Environmental Working Group (EWG)'s Tips to Green Your Halloween

Portland, Oregon specific:
1)  Taste Your Oregon — Oregon Environmental Council: Eat at Bamboo Sushi on October 12, and your $$ will be donated to OEC! If you can't make it on the benefit night, go any time between now and the 12th and order their drink special, the "Gin Henson." Bamboo will make a donation to OEC.  (Upcoming dates: Nov 10th at Lincoln Restaurant and Dec 8 Thyme at FivePine

2) Headed out to Dinner in PDX on Oct 21? Choose one of the restaurants contributing funds to end DV....Dine 4 DV Locations


And a Natural Make-up deal....Honeybee Gardens, Inc: In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, is offering special savings all through the month of October. Enter Coupon Code PINK at check out and get 10% off your entire order OR enter code LIPS4CURE and get any one of their Truly Natural Lipsticks at HALF PRICE ($...5.00 savings). Save the Tatas!!

Still Coughing, But Life Has Perks

We are now in October which is a month entirely after my heart! The weather has finally taking a turn toward fall. The chill in the morning and evening air has been great and I'm loving making extra coffee to start the day. The first few leaves are turning, the squirrels are darting around gathering their wares, and the sun still streams strong in the afternoons. We're turning off the air and opening the window at night, bundling under covers, and the hub's in full football season swing.

The last 2-3 weeks have honestly left me wallowing--ready to be back home, surrounded by family, friends, and more like-minded support. As much as I love fall, it always makes me a bit more introspective and desiring to be a part of a pack. Some days in Louisiana are lonelier than others, but a good tearful call with my father on Sunday left me battening down the hatches again for the coming 5 months.

After 3.5 weeks of continuously coughing, I made two medical appointments. First one, my preferred choice of course, was an hour long Swedish massage with the masseuse electing to use natural oils to stimulate my lungs. The massage was amazing--pretty much perfect in every way--and the location only uses organic and/or natural lotions, oils, etc. The second appointment was with a Physician Assistant on post here to appease my coworkers who are all tired of hearing me hack at work. Two prescriptions later just to dull symptoms, I'm still hacking, especially after our evening to the rodeo in the cool night air last night...

Yes, folks, that's right. The rodeo's in town! And I hadn't been to a rodeo in years! Small town fun at its finest, but it was pretty enjoyable, especially when the rodeo clown and "friends" did their own rendition of the old favorite song: YMCA!....However the hacking could also be the fact that I'm getting tired of not having the ambition/energy to work out, so I've been running anyway this week....at least I'll hopefully be able to fit back into my jeans again if I can get back to my pre-cold mileage. I'm pretty sure this virus is here to stay for a bit, so it's going to just be working/living through it.

In other news (in no particular order):

--The hub and I had the most amazing up close observation of an armadillo last night. Even after a year here, we're both still fascinated by the creatures and there was one poking away in the grass near our trash can last night. We sat and watched him, trying to catch it on camera, for about five minutes before he finally startled and scuttled across the street.

--My gal back home is getting married next summer---woot! I'm so excited for the two of them and am so in support of their fabulous union. She's asked me to be her matron of honor and really I am so, well, honored! I haven't been in a wedding in a really long time, but am so appreciative and looking forward to the opportunity to help in any way I can. The two of them are a phenomenal couple together and its such a blessing to be a part of their life.

--I have a job lead and really its an amazing opportunity.....the catch is, its part-time and requires me to fly back home to interview sometime in the next few months probably. If you know me, then you know that part-time is perfecto, but not always perfecto for the bank account, especially when the first six months back I'm to be the primary breadwinner. So right now, I'm continuing to explore more options and am just trusting that everything will fall into place as it should....even with how difficult that is at times. But it's an AWESOME foot in an amazing door and definitely is in line with where I hope to be professionally during the next 30 years. Here's keeping my fingers crossed that I can tag-team this opportunity with something else.......although we're being smart budget wise so there may be the option that it would all work out financially anyway...

---And I guess the other big piece of news, while I usually don't report too much on the hub, is that he's talking/dreaming/beginning to plan to backpack the Pacific Northwest Trail from Montana to Washington for two months next summer with a few other veteran friends. We'll see how/if it pans out, but pretty exciting for him all the same.

Obviously I continue to ebb and flow with blogging, but I'm okay with that! The long weekend may include a new blog header though so we'll see about that! :)

What I'm For SA---Part 2

Sometimes there is a thin line between being authentic, being empathetic, and being PC.

So just what am I for, all things considered, I thought to myself as I drove home from work yesterday with a lil Pat Green blaring from the CD the hub made for us.

I, Simply Authentic, take great heart and mean no offense to the emotions and life situations of others when I say that I am for the following:

I'm for dancing barefoot in the kitchen with the dogs up on their feet,
Environmental regulation and global outlooks,
I'm for smart population growth and increased adoption up front,
For committed marriages and rights of domestic partnerships.

I'm for turning out the lights when you're no longer in the room,
Tailored educational programs and renewed job training focus,
I'm for strong family values and increased parental involvement,
Organic, home cooked meals on a shared table each night.

I'm for equal access to basic life needs,
Health care as a human right,
I'm for increased physical activity,
Pets as an extension of your heart.

I'm for decreasing toxic exposures and increasing public knowledge,
For getting kids outside and technological reduction,
I'm for respecting our soldiers even if we don't agree with the fight,
Empathy for the little man on the wrong end of the corporate "right."

I'm for multilingual abilities,
Acceptance of cultural differences and global travel,
I'm for appreciation of Mother Nature,
The unconditional love message of Jesus Christ.

I'm for respecting elders and active family participation,
Fine arts appreciation and human evolution,
I'm for taking time to smell the roses,
Reintegration of gardening and preservation traditions.

I'm for paying off my debts both emotional and financially,
For free higher education and increased professional maturity,
I'm for reduced work week hours,
For increased financial giving and volunteer productivity.

I'm for reduced overall consumption and for increased mpg,
For needed alternative fuel and energy sources,
I'm for natural personal care products and integrative health care options,
For leave for adoption, maternity, and paternity cases.

I'm for natural child care choices and for free contraception,
For hunting, fishing, and vegetarianism,
I'm for family farms and CSAs,
For lifetime friends and smiling at strangers.

I'm for secured privacy rights and confidentiality,
For storing up treasures in Heaven rather than on Earth,
I'm for supporting small town football,
Enjoyment of bonfires and beer on the beach at night.

I'm for total recycling and cradle-to-cradle production,
For GMO regulation and local economic development,
I'm for art and personal creativity,
For furry friends and bird songs in the morning.

I'm for exercise causing sweat to pour from pores,
Delicious organic, free trade coffee brewing into my cup,
I'm for reducing plastic usage,
Design and construction sustainability.

I'm for giving the homeless scarves and apples,
Care for veterans and non-mandated drug treatment programs,
I'm for people first, government second, corporation last,
And for changing my mind based on the circumstances.... 

Breakfast Variety

Breakfast. A meal that I never indulged in ten years ago, yet a meal I consistently enjoy on a daily basis at this stage in my life. It has been called the meal of champions. It has been determined to increase one's ability to learn and to set the stage for physical endurance.

Lately I've been getting a lot of questions from people about foods pertaining to what are healthy meals and snacks, etc, and I've been thinking a lot about my new love of breakfast.  One thing that I absolutely enjoy though is a great variety in my food. The husband has taught me a great love of breakfast for dinner and we tend to indulge in pancakes at least once on most weekend mornings. The great thing about pancakes is that you can make so many different types and add so many different toppings. We've had buckwheat, blue berry, whole wheat, pecan, and regular. We've put peanut butter, butter, whipped cream, various fruits, and syrup on top. Not all together of course. ;)

However, when we're not indulging in a weekend morning of pancakes, I scrounge together my own variety of breakfast during the week. Since I only have about 15-20 minutes most mornings to throw something together, eat it, and move on to the next morning task, most breakfasts are pretty straightforward and simple. Even with simple meals though, I try to pack them as full of healthy nutrients as possible.

So these are some of the breakfasts I eat on a regular basis:

Fruit Smoothie (this actually gets made and consumed at least 3-4 times a week at other times too)
--one banana and a handful of frozen fruit
--couple Tbs of nuts and honey
--dash of cinnamon, one Emergency packet, & about a teaspoon of flax seed
--enough soy milk to just about cover the ingredients pre-blending
--blend and enjoy

Quinoa
---1/2 cup rinsed quinoa, 1 cup water, bring to boil, cover, and reduce to low for 15 minutes
--put half in a bowl w/ cut fruit, syrup, and soy milk
(sometimes I make this with organic yogurt instead of soymilk)

Kashi Cereal w/ soymilk

Omelet w/ Cheese and a cut tomato or salsa on top

Yogurt w/ fruit, nuts, cinnamon, & honey OR museli

Banana w/ peanut butter & a glass of soymilk

Bagel w/ cream cheese

In winter: Oatmeal w/ brown sugar, soymilk, & pecans.

On the weekends we also sometimes eat french toast and/or breakfast burritos. And always the morning starts out with my Klean Kanteen full of coffee/espresso and creamer/soymilk for transport to work.

If you're facing a breakfast rut, maybe one of these suggestions will help. What do you eat for breakfast?!

Increasing the Distance

After starting to run again in January, I finally decided today that it'd be a good idea to alter my running goals. My previous goal focused on running 3-5 times each week, primarily as a means to decrease and regulate my weight. The first several months were a definite struggle, but in the last month or so I've felt my body relax back into running. I'm able to now regulate my breathing and switch up my stride as needed in order to push myself farther and/or longer. Thus rather than just focus on getting myself out there in my running shoes, I'm going to now focus more on increasing my mileage. Initially these thoughts stemmed from a conversation I had with a woman in my neighborhood about two weeks back. She had stopped me in my backyard to ask about my running technique and how long I'd been at it, as she has been hoping to slide into an easier groove like the one I have reached.  It was incredibly nice to just chat with someone over a similar interest, and her questions influenced me to begin to think about how to increase my running distance.

However, as much as I want to increase distance, I also don't want to take the fun out of it all!  The hub and I had measured some neighborhood routes in January. Most of them that I have been running equate to 1.5 to 3 miles, with my most regular two running routes being about 1.5-2 miles. Although when I run on the treadmill (which may be more common during coming hot summer months) I'm averaging slightly over 3 miles (although I never think treadmill running is equal to nor as difficult as running terrain outside). However my apparent motivation with running appears to be the desire to achieve my goal, which up til now has just been 3-5 times a week (equal to 4.5-8 miles a week).  When I started to calculate how far I've run in six months.....well I was less than impressed.  I definitely have the capacity to go farther and push myself more (although probably not too far over an average run of 3-4 miles as even when I ran cross country that was a good day for me). Yet I usually choose not to do more because there's nothing motivating me to go the extra mile--literally! 

Interestingly side notes: I've discovered that I run much better without music & headphones and so for the last two months I have been running mainly just focusing on my breathing, my surroundings, and processing my thoughts from the days activities. Ironically, I also still run best in the middle of the afternoon---something that seems to be ingrained in me from high school practice times, which were always held directly after school. 

So my new goal will be for me to run 7-10 miles a week, in whatever form that entails. I figure this increases my range by about 2 miles on either side, which makes for a good push for the coming month or so until I see how it all pans out. I also recognize that I could choose to run at least twice a week at 3.5 miles or I could run 5 days in a week at 1.5 miles and still make it in my goal range for that week. I like that it still allows for flexibility, while pushing my competitive side to up the ante slightly. 

We'll see how it goes---but always good to readjust those goals!

Resources and Links for Week April 5

This evening I've been thinking that maybe at the end of each week I should just have a Summary Saturday and create links to various interesting reports, articles, and sites I've noticed throughout the week.  I have information coming to me on a routine basis through multiple organizations and a lot of it is worthy information to pass on here.  Although I might not have time to summarize everything, the title that includes the link usually gives you a good idea of the information to be presented.

Better Birth Weight for Babies of Exercisers from the New York Times.  Babies with birth weights over 8lbs 12oz have an increased risk for obesity.  Regular exercise while pregnant can slightly reduce babies birth weight.

18,000 Gallons of Oil Spill Into Louisiana Wildlife Refuge summarized by Treehugger and originally reported via Associated Press.  Since this is local and the gulf and its inhabitants already battle with being a Dead Zone, I find this headline particularly disheartening.

As if you needed another reason to eat non-factory farmed eggs, but here it is: Appalling Cruelties at Nation's Top Egg Producers, shared by the Humane Society.

Bad chemistry: The poison in the plastic that surrounds us. The London Independent offers a summarization of the issues associated with BPA---why and how it's bad for us. Warning: This is a lengthy article.

And the following all apply to the Safer Chemicals Act:
The Health Case for Reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act produced by Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families.  Warning: Length.

The Most Toxic Home Products by Forbes Magazine.

Ask The EPA to Support TSCA Reform.  It just takes a minute and sends an email to Administrator Jackson showing your support of increased regulation on chemicals in our consumer products.  When only a small percentage of the chemicals on the market have been tested for human health effects, reform is needed...

And I'm not sure if I've ever posted this or not, but one of my coworkers and I were talking about this reference sheet this morning.  I have this posted on my fridge: Pollution in People: 10 Things You Can Do compiled by the Oregon Environmental Council.  If you've never read OEC's Pollution in People Report, I would highly suggest it as it measured the chemical body burdens of 10 varied Oregon residents.  While the study was specific to Oregon, many of the findings correspond to most individuals. 

Highlights from the Week

It's been a really good week overall! 

--The hub got back on Sunday afternoon and then we both had regular work weeks.  He finally had a 3 day and was wonderful enough to do some housework on Friday while I was at work.  It's been fabulous to have two whole days to spend together, so we've been keeping it pretty low key---running errands, making dinner, enjoying the small moments with the dogs, etc. 

--Work continues well.  All of us new staff are now settled and I've taken on a regular load at this point.  I'm loving my office organization and decorating I did last weekend, as it makes for a comfortable work environment.  I had a high moment on Wednesday when a retiree came in and told me that the resume I'd helped him with landed him all three of the interviews that he'd wanted!!  Little things like that make me really appreciate the opportunity to work in a job that allows me to help people.

--I'm in the habit of running every day right after work and it's been great for processing the work day and relaxing.  I broke down lately and replaced some of my sports bras and socks (I've had the same ones for 10-12 years)....and let me tell you, definitely worthwhile investment! ;-)  I'm no longer fiddling with straps as I run.  Now I just need to create a new work-out playlist! 

--One of my old coworkers gifted us a lil' old TV before they left.  Hub set it up on Friday in the spare room and got a remote for it yesterday.  We priced new TVs and agreed on size and type for when the funding is available.  My coworkers  give me a hard time for not having a TV, but the two of us don't really watch much anyway.  Technically we can watch TV on our big projector screen but we just choose not to.  We do live stream movies and some sports on the computer and that's mainly what we choose to watch when we do watch anyway. 

--We're one small payment away from paying off the car and I've arranged my first student loan payment.  By end of summer we'll have the last of our outstanding bills paid off (well except for my student loan which will take years still and the new truck payment which should be mainly paid off next spring).  I'm really proud of our money budgeting & management these first 9 months together when I've been unemployed, and our ability to pay off the unexpected bills that we recently discovered.  I'm looking forward to putting extra money away for payments/savings because we want to rather than because we have to though!

--I spent yesterday afternoon researching new bed options.  We were going to purchase a new bed from West Elm as we love their style and prices; however they never resolved our previous shipping issue and I wasn't impressed with their customer service, so I'll no longer do business with them.  Additionally, we've started discussing quality rather than price lately.  The husband is a proponent of hardwood and I'm leaning toward an organic mattress option which equates to a lot more money.  (Health outcomes based on exposures to flame retardants (PBDEs) which are required by law for mattresses are dismaying.)  We're looking at having to double our budget for a new king size bed.....but since we spend 1/3 of our lives in our beds then it's definitely worthwhile. 

--Last night was Earth Hour from 8:30-9:30pm when people across the world turn out their lights in support of environmental awareness and commitment.  We ended up seeing a movie on post, so I'm not sure that counts as participating but the lights in our house were off and we weren't using lights in the movie.  I really like seeing movies on post because they're always shown between the new release time and rental period, so they're at a reduced cost.  And it was nice to spend an evening out together!

--Last weekend I'd purchased a few starts: tomato, basil, rosemary, and a jalapeno for the hub.  We had a cold spell so I kept them inside, well watered, and in the front window all week.  However I just planted them in our flower bed containers yesterday afternoon, so hopefully they'll produce something!  I also was surprised that the daffodils I'd planted about a month ago actually came up and now we have happy lil' flowers in the front bed!

--We've given up on the grass re-seeding in the back yard. The dogs have been doing pretty well outside during (still some holes but.....) and they actually enjoy being outside more than not now. They have a new  lil pup friend from next door who is in our yard more than in her yard. ;) Luckily, we've had no new blow-outs from the food as we've started transitioning them back to the old food choice. 

Then just the little things that bring us joy:

-Doggie smiles, green leaves on the trees, birdies in the morning chirping outside our bedroom windows, laughter together, our favorite local beer is back in season!, cooking together (hub just introduced me to breakfast burritos---AMAZING! and he makes great breakfast on the weekends), Netflix movies and interesting books, etc.

I hope each of you has had a fulfilling week too!

Steps Toward Health

So it's now the following morning and unfortunately the hub is still tied up at work.  The cat is swishing his tail on the window ledge enticing Roxi to leap at him through the curtain.  In other moments the dogs are busy holding their own combatives tournament in the middle of our living room.  At this point in the day everyone has been fed, loved on, and gotten ready for today.  Hopefully the husband will be home in the next hour or so and will be able to get some decent sleep as our bedroom is on the back half of the house.  However after being awake since 5am yesterday and at work for over 24 hours now, I'm not banking on him going on our evening run....

Like others who are attempting to get healthier with the New Year, the husband and I have doing an evening run together and trying to eat better.  Ironically our "get-in-shape" steps are due to my being weighed at my annual exam, realizing my "fat" jeans that were easily pulled off while still buttoned last December are now incredibly tight, and the hub feeling a bit too solid around his middle after a month's absence from morning PT.  Implementing an evening run has been really wonderful as it gives us something to look forward to together at day's end while releasing workday and household frustrations, and it allows us to push each other more than we could on our own.  His one rule for me is "no stopping and no walking," but as long as we keep moving I can jog as slowly as needed. So far it's worked and I've been able to get over my one tricky spot in the neighborhood. 

Additionally, after finishing Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, I've been incorporating more whole foods, especially fruits and veggies, into our diets.  I really enjoyed the different viewpoint of that book and its reminded me to look at ingredient labels and to return to a more veggie-based diet.  Since getting married I switched from a primarily vegan diet to being vegeterian but I am realizing that an increase in carbs, dairy, and portion size has led to the increase in my wasitline.  Although my husbad isn't a huge eater, for some reason in recent months I had convinced myself that it was healthy for me to match my portion sizes to those of a 6'4" man! ;-)  Somehow an increase in produce on our 1st grocery run of the month cost just a little more, but our food supplies and meal variations are also stretching more.  Unfortunately....weight never comes off quite as fast as it piles on ;-)

While on the topic of health, I'm also contemplating going back to school....again.   I've researched going into nursing (or other direct health practice options) many times over (as that's where the jobs are), but have always hesitated due to the additional cost and the need to complete prerequistes.  However I've discovered that I could reasonably take many of the prerequiste courses online (or locally) during the coming months.  The biggest catch is the competition that exists to get into nursing school back home (490 applicants, 48 slots for the one year program), but completing the prerequistes would serve me regardless due to their related nature to my current fields and the continued mental stimulation.  While financially this might not make the most sense in the present, I feel the long term pay off may be more beneficial.  (And most financial advisors agree that educational debt is one of the few debts that pays off in the long haul.)  A recent news article estimated that 600,000 nursing jobs will be created within the next 8 years, and many of the jobs that I'm most interested in for public health would require a nursing degree in the rural sector.  So while it's just a thought at present, it is an option that I'm going to start planning toward....something to keep me more mentally occupied here and something to keep me working toward the future that I hope my husband and I will be able to have together.

Still have a few topics left to cover but will get to these later. ;)  Enjoy the day!

Walking Away and Bringing the Smoothie Back...

So as I stood looking at myself in the mirror last night, I got that highly annoyed feeling; as in "hmmm something doesn't look quite so right here?!" I'd been noticing that my jeans and other bottoms were feeling tighter lately, but I attributed it to less walking while on my trip and the treats in recent care packages. I had figured the 12-15 miles a week walking the dog would right the clothes and comfort ratio back to normal, until noticing last night that several other areas of my body were also starting to fill in. Luckily my husband will be honest and understanding with me, and he pointed out that since relocating, I'm walking less over all and eating more, especially richer foods. A recent article I read had reported that 3-4 daily miles is needed in order to maintain weight. Since I've been doing 1.5 daily exercise miles and minimal routine walking, except from the living to the kitchen to the bedroom etc, then it made sense that I'm just not getting enough movement.

After moaning to my hub last night, he did agree to try to start running with me, but he also offered the question, "Really, what about motivating yourself?" Hmmmm.....good one!! So this morning, I went for what was my usual run before we got the animals. (Originally I'd hoped the dog would be a running companion...and while taking her gives me an extra arm work-out it really doesn't help with the running rhythm.) However, I had scheduled to meet another gal and take our dogs on the trail this morning also; so 45 minutes after running, Anna and I headed out to meet the two of them. I hadn't expected that the dogs would do so well today and that us two gals would enjoy talking so much again (last week I had an ear ache)! Thus after calculating my total distance today, it has to be somewhere around 8 miles. Hopefully I'll be able to start routinely moving more and thus keep the extra pounds at bay.

Lately I've been thinking about food too and ways in which to reduce over all calories. I've always been a fan of healthy eating, but I really enjoy some of the higher calorie foods and sweets that have become regulars in our home. So I've been slowly bringing back the smoothie again to make sure I'm getting wonderful nutrients and great taste all in one. (Beyond fruits and soy milk, I add sunflower seeds, flaxseed, cinnamon, honey, and a packet of Emergenc-E.) Now the trick is to watch the rest of what I'm eating and monitor just how many servings I'm getting each day. However, I'm definitely a fan of good food, so as long as it's healthy overall I'm much more the type of person to up my work out than decrease my taste buds in the long run.

Here are some pictures from the walk today:

Starting out on the paved trail. The trail itself is supposed to be about 10 miles long I think and the head of it is 1 mile from our house.

A surprise group of flowers along the path. They were full of bumble bees which was nice to see!

Anna and her friend Wall-E. (Yes, this means that I may have finally found a like-minded friend too....although again it's a friendship that is just blossoming...Here's hoping though!)

The Replacements

Well....after putting off this investment for 1.5 years, I finally took the plunge...and replaced my make-up. You're all aware that over the last 2 years I have gradually attempted to switch out many (but not all) of my personal care products and other products to healthier alternatives. This has meant spending many hours looking at what's available, screening all sorts of items in the database, weighing the pros and cons of local versus even more trusted sources, debating on the necessity of even needing to use half this stuff, and wondering how I was going to afford to invest in all the new products that I "needed" to replace.

While I definitely use more personal care products/make-up than necessary, I do like to believe that I am more of a minimalist in this regard than some in my age category. And over the last year, I've completely fallen in love with some great personal care products, most of which are from Burts Bees:
-Super Shiny Grapefruit & Sugar Beet Shampoo and Conditioner
-Burts Bees Beeswax Lip Balm & Lip Glosses
-Garden Carrot Complexion Soap
-Trader Joes Oatmeal Body Bar Soap

I never use shaving cream and still use the Recycline recyclable razor with replaceable cartridges. Some personal care products that I have not replaced yet are my daily face lotion and I still use on occasion mainstream body lotion (although the unscented variety (SAFER!!!) and with a medium rating for health effects). (On a side note, I'm pretty dang impressed that my boyfriend has readily jumped on my hippy/healthy bandwagon and replaced some of his own stuff with safer alternatives too...)

So yesterday was the day when I finally bit the bullet and plopped down the major cash in order to hopefully reduce more of my body's chemical burden. I'm finding this to be especially more important the more I move into potential child producing years, as I'd really like to diminish the chemical burden that my own body carries, especially when I know how that burden is likely to be passed on to any biological child that I may have one day.

While it was fun trying out new make-up, I definitely made sure to just stick with the basics. The woman at Camellia Pure Beauty was pretty fun and definitely didn't try to pressure me into anything extra. And I have to say...I'm quite impressed with the coverage and wear of what I ended up purchasing. If you can see them in the picture, there's a black eyeliner, 2 eyeshadows, mineral powder & bronzer, a concealer stick, a highlight stick, and then black mascara (vegetable based btw). Three items are from the local mineral make-up company Alima that I have mentioned before. Oh and the lip gloss is from before...and is Burts Bees.

I have to admit I felt a little guilty chucking my oldies into the trash knowing that I am polluting the landfill with chemicals and non-recyclable plastic containers, but I also feel better knowing that I'm hopefully putting my health (and that of any potential biological children) to the forefront. I just wish the price would drop to make these items even more accessible to the general population, and that awareness would increase on these topics too. Sometimes those preventative efforts can feel like a major investment, but at least it's an investment in a better future.

An enjoyable afternoon

After receiving my box of produce today, I thoroughly enjoyed getting out my cookbooks and searching for ways to prepare the bounty of produce I received today. One of my recent goals has been to try to prepare food that I can take with me in my lunch throughout the week. While I'm a huge fan of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I also believe I could probably benefit from a more varied diet during the week. Yet, when I'm busy, it seems the last thing I really want to do is put effort into anything other than pb&j.

So what a great afternoon! I chopped cucumbers, bell peppers, onions, olives, and tomatoes before adding in cooked rotini and italian dressing for a pasta salad. I made a huge pot of brown rice which was used for my bell pepper, tomato, soy cheese, olive, and rice quesadillas tonight, and provided me with enough left over that I can easily create several other dishes out of it. I brought in the basil plant off the back porch to remind me to make and freeze pesto in the next couple of days. And throughout the afternoon, sunshine streamed through the kitchen, a local musician crooned from the stereo, and the cats wandered around aimlessly.

Even after dinner and the salad, I still have an entire drawer full of produce and all that stuff in the freezer still to use. I learned that the greens that I had no clue about are collards, so I'll have to come up with some way to use them...or pass them off to my housemate. I never expected that cooking and veggies could make me so happy, but playing around with produce was one of the best parts of my day.

Some other beautiful parts to this day included:
-waking up to the sound of rain on my roof and the hollowness of my windchime
-crunching through the red, rust, and yellow leaves
-sitting on the back porch to finish my reading and enjoying the intermittent sun and rain passing by
-scritching the heads of cats and hearing their contented purrs
-the feel of leaves as I ran my hand across multiple bushes
-the 2 beautiful roses blooming on the newly hacked bush
-a mid afternoon phone call with my father
-a supportive chat session with my sister
-and researching local organic food options for my SIL

I hope you all have been passing through a beautiful day yourselves!