Indian-Style Apricot Chicken

I found this particular recipe in a cookbook I picked up along the way called Incredibly Easy Gluten-Free Recipes.

(Image Courtesy of Amazon)

Indian-Style Apricot Chicken is both incredibly easy (made in a crockpot) and free of most allergens.  And amazingly delicious.

Ingredients:
6 Chicken Thighs (we only had four and it worked perfectly, with extra juice)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice (you can make your own using equal parts ground cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup chicken broth
1 package (8 oz) dried apricots
1 pinch saffron threads (optional - and I didn't use because I didn't have any)
Hot basmati rice
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional, and again left out)

Slow Cooker Directions:
1.  Coat slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat; brown chicken on all sides.  Transfer to slow cooker.

2.  Add onion to skillet.  Cook and stir 3-5 minutes or until translucent.  Stir in ginger, garlic, cinnamon, and allspice.  Cook and stir 15 to 30 seconds or until mixture is fragrant.  Add tomatoes with juice and broth.  Cook 2-3 minutes or until mixture is heated through.  Pour into slow cooker.

3.  Add apricots and saffron, if desired.  Cover; cook on LOW 5-6 hours or on HIGH 3-3.5 hours or until chicken is tender.  Serve with basmati rice and garnish with parsley.

Makes 4-6 servings.


I should have taken a photo of my plate but I was starving and it was so delicious that I completely forgot.  You will probably need to season further with salt, depending on your palate.  I found that the apricots sweetened the dish nicely, while the tomatoes provided an acidic balance.

Enjoy!

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Deodorant Recipe #2

This particular recipe was inspired by this post at One Good Thing by Jillee.  Her natural deodorant was the basis for my experimentation.

Basically starting out I followed her recipe:

2-3 TBSP Coconut oil (melted in the microwave for a few seconds)

1/8 C Cornstarch

1/8 C Baking Soda

10 drops Tea Tree Oil

I soon found it to be a very runny consistency so I added another 1/8 C each of baking soda and cornstarch.

And I must admit that my tea tree oil is in a very large bottle and sort of dumped into my mixture, rather than dropped.  The lavender was drowned out completely by the tea tree smell.  Which is very much like a disinfectant odor, not an "I smell lovely" odor.  Hmm...

I tried that concoction for a few hours, but I found that it balled up under my armpits and kind of got all over everything.

I wondered what would happen if I added beeswax to make it solid.  So I did.  But then I got a bit carried away with experimenting.

What I recommend doing is this:

Mix these ingredients together:

   - 3 TBSP liquid coconut oil (remember to melt for a just a few seconds in the microwave)

   - 1/4 C + 2 rounded TBSP Cornstarch

   - 1/4 C + 1 rounded TBSP Baking Soda

   - 10 drops of Tea Tree Oil

   - A few drops of Lavender (or Vanilla or Sweet Orange)

In a double boiler, gently melt (DO NOT BOIL THE OIL): 

   - 3 rounded TBSP of Beeswax

   - 1 TBSP Coconut Oil

Add in the liquid-ish Baking Soda/Cornstarch concoction and stir until well mixed.  Dribble a bit in the bottom of clean deodorant containers (ones that have a base that can push up the deodorant) to seal the bottom.  Once that is cool, fill containers and let cool completely before capping.  You should have enough to fill two regular Secret sized deodorant containers, more or less.

And that my friends, is probably where I should have stopped.

But I didn't.  

Instead I did all of the above.  And then in a moment of sheer madness, I added the following:

- 1 & 1/2 TBSP Cocoa Butter

It took me about another hour or two to figure out what I had to add to even out the Cocoa Butter.

That meant I had to add:

- 1/2 TBSP Baking Soda

- 1 TBSP Cornstarch

- 1 & 1/2 TBSP Coconut Oil

- More Lavender

- 2+ TBSP Beeswax

And while I have really good deodorant in the sense that it can really block the smell of body odor the whole day and part of the next - a pretty big miracle in my book, the tea tree oil got toned down, and it blocks a lot of moisture, I really don't care for the smell overall.    

It's not bad because it's not uber strong or that noticeable, but tea tree oil and cocoa butter (that smells like chocolate, let me remind you) is not how I want to walk around town smelling.  In fact, while cocoa butter may be great for me, I can't get over the chocolate fragrance.  It drowns out a lot of other fragrances and does not mix well fragrance-wise with anything other than vanilla (or sweet orange if you feel like smelling like one of those orange chocolate balls that you buy at Christmas and smack on a table, breaking it into chocolate in the shape of orange slices).  I can't imagine wanting to smell like chocolate.  Ever.  Fruit? Love it.  Flowers? Ok.  Chocolate?  Never.

Thankfully it's subtle in the amounts I apply so *I don't think* I walk around smelling like disinfected chocolate, but I definitely am not going to repeat this recipe again with cocoa butter.

To remedy the smell situation, I did buy shea butter in solid form on Amazon.  I have no idea what it smells like or how it will affect the overall turn out of the recipe, but according to a lot of recipes I've seen for lotions and such, it's pretty interchangeable with cocoa butter.

In the meantime I am using what I made.  I really like that while it may not keep me perfectly dry in Florida heat and humidity (neither did prescription strength Secret or Dove, btw), it does keep me body-funk-odorless.  And I only have to apply it one time a day, although I did make a small travel size for my purse just in case.  If you apply to much, it will ball up under your arms, so just be aware of that.

What I really want to do next time is just try the recipe I concocted before I added the cocoa butter and see if that is enough.  I can always melt it all down again, add the shea and other ingredients, and see what happens.  But once you add something, there is no going back with that batch.

I hope soon to get to some makeup reviews that I've been dying to do now for a while.  I've discovered 3 new brands that are quite lovely.  I also made solid lotion bars that smell like orange chocolate, and would smell better as shea vanilla, I'm convinced.  Hopefully I'll get a chance to write about both of those topics soon.  Stay tuned!

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My Momma's Granola

When we lived in Africa, my mother always made granola for our breakfasts.  For much of my life I took it for granted and would look forward to having toast or pancakes, which were our special treat on Saturdays.  Occasionally we would buy some British variety of packaged cereals like corn flakes or rice crisps, but I preferred granola over those, even if we did have problems with infestations of weevils in our oats.

Now as a grown up, I miss my mom's granola.  There is no store bought brand that can live up to it, no matter how hard they try.  And now that I can't eat gluten, I don't bother to buy cereal except for splurging a couple of times a year on Fruity Pebbles, which happen to be gluten free.

Without further ado, here is my mom's pure, unadulterated best ever granola recipe:
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F
2. In a large mixing bowl, measure 10 cups of oats (I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free variety)
3. Add the following ingredients in a blender and blend until well mixed
    - 1/2 C water
    - 1 C oil (I use light olive but you can use whatever oil you want)
    - 1 C brown sugar
    - 2 tsp Vanilla
    - 1 to 1&1/2 tsp Salt

4. Pour the blended concoction over the oats and stir until thoroughly mixed.
5. Lightly grease two cookie sheets
6. Spread the oat mix over the two cookie sheets and bake for 1 hour
7. Don't forget to lick the bowl!!

I like to let the granola sit in the oven and let it all cool down together, after I retrieve a bowlful for myself to snack on.  That makes the granola drier and crunchier.

Once it's all cooled down, break it up and put it in an air tight container.  I don't know how long it stays good for because I always eat mine before it has a chance to go stale.

Variations:
I like to add flax seed, ground flax flour and pecans to mine.  For the one I make, I used only 8 cups of oats, and added 1/3 C flax seeds, 2/3 C flax flour, and 1 heaping C of chopped pecans.

You could try adding coconut, almonds, or other add-ins.  Just make sure to adjust the amount of oats up or down accordingly.

I wish I had pictures of my yummy batch of breakfast goodness, but alas, one camera has sand in it and I could not figure out where I had hidden the other one from Z.  

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Strawberry Freezer Jam Recipe

My poor neglected little blog.

I've decided I'm going to post my crafting, cooking, making, DIY stuff here, even if my projects aren't necessarily directly related to clean living.  Until I made that decision, I didn't know where to post my stuff, so I wasn't posting it.  That should increase my activity over here, too, so this blog isn't so badly ignored by me.

On to the recipe for strawberry freezer jam.

I used Ball RealFruit Instant Pectin and got the recipe from under the label.

Image courtesy of here

Recipe:
1 2/3 C prepared fruit
2/3 C sugar
2 TBSP Ball RealFruit Instant Pectin
(do not exceed more than 6 1/2-pint jars per recipe or jam won't set properly)

1.  Prepare the strawberries by washing & cutting off the tops (called "hulling"), and then slicing them.  Mash them one layer at a time using a potato masher.

FYI, don't bother dicing the strawberries.  If you make the pieces too small, you can't mash them very effectively with the potato masher.

I started with a little less than 4 lbs of strawberries.  Z had eat some for breakfast, and some had gone bad.  My strawberries were really, really ripe, and I thought that might affect the outcome, but it didn't.

Here's my prepared fruit that I mashed up in a glass cake pan.  If you want smooth no-chunk jam, then I would recommend putting the fruit through a food processor, or something similar.  My strawberries, no matter how much I mashed them, stayed somewhat chunky. 

2. Mix sugar and pectin in a separate bowl.  

I measured my mashed strawberries and had enough to double the recipe.  Make sure you adjust the sugar and pectin up or down per the amount of prepared strawberries.

3.  Add fruit to the pectin/sugar mixture, and stir for 3 minutes.

 4. Ladle fruit mixture into clean jars and let stand for 30 minutes.  Make sure you leave 1/2 inch of headspace at the top of the jar so the jam has room to expand when freezing.

5.  Put lids on the jars, put a jar in the fridge for immediate consumption, and put the rest in the freezer.  Keep for up to one year in the freezer, or one month in the fridge.

My batch of 3 1/3 cups of jam made for 6 full half pint jars.  Remember this was a doubled recipe.

I can't believe how easy it was to make jam!  And so yummy, too!  My jam tasted like the fresh strawberries that are used in strawberry shortcake.  Delish!  I'm definitely going to try this with other fruit like blueberries.

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Deodorant Recipe #1

I finally got it together enough to post about my first adventure in making deodorant.  With pictures no less.  :)

I used the recipe in Making It.

Step 1:

I cleaned out my old deodorant dispenser - I only had one, a Dove deodorant that did not have a base that moved up, but instead a twisting center rod.  

I took out the remaining dove deodorant, wiped it out as best as I could, then rinsed it several times with plain vinegar, wiping it out in between each rinse.  That seemed to clean it well.  The directions said not to wash with soap and hot water because vinegar cleans much better, so that's what I did.

Step 2: 

I got all of my ingredients together.  

- 1 TBSP of Organic Beeswax Pastilles

- 4 TBSP of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- 1/8 tsp of Tea Tree Oil

- 1/8 tsp of Rosemary Essential Oil

- 1/8 tsp of Lavender Essential Oil

Step 3: 

I made my own double boiler using a stainless steel bowl that fit inside a regular sauce pot.  I put water in the sauce pot and brought it up to a simmer, then plopped my bowl in that.

Step 4:
Add the 4 TBSP of Olive Oil and heat up

Step 5:
Add the 1 TBSP of Beeswax pastilles to the hot olive oil

Step 6: 

Stir the beeswax and olive oil until all the pastilles are melted.

Step 7:
Remove the sauce pan from heat and add in the essential oils (keeping the bowl in the sauce pan so that the oil stays hot).  Rosemary and Tea Tree oil act as bacterial killers and the Lavender is to make it smell good, but you could probably use any essential oil you like to scent the deodorant.

Step 8: 
Pour a tsp or so into the bottom of the dispenser to seal it.  Let it cool for a few minutes.

Step 9:  
Pour the rest of the concoction into the dispenser and let cool fully before trying to use it.

Results:

1.  I used the wrong type of dispenser.  If you are going to make this recipe, you have to have a container that has a base that will push the deodorant up.  Just having a twisting center rod isn't going to work because the mixture, even when fully cooled is too soft to twist up.  The rod just turns in place.  I was disappointed by this discovery.  I ended up having to scoop out the soft solid with my finger and applying it that way.  I could remedy the situation by going to the dollar store, buying a cheap deodorant that was the correct type of dispenser, cleaning it, scooping out the oil/beeswax mixture, remelting it and then putting it in the new dispenser.

2.  But I'm probably not going to do that because after a few days of using it, I found that this deodorant does not work particularly well.  It's very easy to make, and smells good, but it does not help very long with body odor.  In fact, it does a poor job at this.  I felt stinky by evening even after applying it several times throughout the course of the day.  Maybe I'm a super stinky person, and different users may have different results.  But for me, it doesn't work.  Bummer.

3.  I did find it made my underarms very very soft.   If I applied it in conjunction with my no-smell Crystal deodorant, the two of them together worked well.  But if you are making your own deodorant so that you don't have to buy any, this probably isn't going to solve that.  I may buy a diffuser and use what I've got as air freshener.  Or use it in conjunction with my store bought deodorant to give me a little scent.

I would say overall that this experience was fun, the recipe was super easy and fast to make, and the concoction smelled divinely herby, but it failed to give me the results I was looking for in a deodorant.

I do have another DIY deodorant recipe emailed to me that I am going to try next, so stay tuned.

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In the Meantime

I'm still waiting for a few things like cocoa butter and tea tree oil to get here before I can start making my deodorant and such.

In the meantime, I've had a lot of fun poking around the interwebs where I stumbled upon this beauty.  If you are into storing your own foods, this blog has an extensive list of recipes and how-to's that make jarring food look fun and actually doable.  I added their link to Clean Food on the side.

Speaking of clean food and cooking, checkout this website recommended to me by several friends.  It's also listed under Clean Food on the side bar.  

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Back!

Ok, I'm back home after 9 days of lovely vacation, and I have a huge make-it list for this month.

Stay tuned for:
- baby wipes
- lip balm
- deodorant
- stain remover
- etc

...just to name a few.

Supplies should be delivered this week while I get myself organized.

I am going to try to take photos of the process and post each one as I make it.  I am in the market for a new camera after mine died on vacation at the beach.  I have a crappy old 2006 backup that I can use until I find a replacement.

I also will make a page of links to make-it posts, as well as links to the original inspirations where possible.

Stay tuned!  A lot is happening in the last half of this month!

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Another FYI - Asian Market Resources

This never occurred to me until this evening when Hubby called me from the shop, but one place I've previously overlooked for ingredients - both for cooking and for making toiletries, etc - is your local Asian market store.  There is one not too far from us and Hubby is there right now to pick up some stuff for his mom since we'll be seeing them for Easter.  Apparently he can get 5 lbs of rice flour (a staple in allergy free cooking) for something like $8.  Same for potato starch (different from potato flour) and tapioca starch (same as tapioca flour)!  Pretty amazing.  He's also picking up coconut oil (1.5 lbs) and looking for raw cocoa butter - both things I thought I would have to buy on Amazon through a Halal store and then pay through the nose in shipping fees.  So just remember to check there first if you're after cheap ingredients, and don't want to have to pay for shipping.

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The Wrong Impression?

I think in some of my conversations with you, my readers, I may have given you the wrong idea that I am somehow much more practiced at the art of living clean than I really am.  Honestly, we just embarked last week on living purposefully in this area.  It's all very new and I really feel like I don't know what I'm doing most of the time.  At times I am also very overwhelmed with where I want to be versus where I am in this process.  The only reason we may appear to be farther along than we really are is because I have massive food allergies (gluten, soy, dairy, etc) and we had to eliminate a lot to accommodate me.


Where I want to be:
- making my own lotions, lip balms, and deodorant
- soaking beans from bags
- cooking more
- have Z's snacks be all homemade (applesauce, crackers, cookies, etc)
- shop at farmers markets
- have my snacks be all homemade
- jar my own veggies and beans and spaghetti sauce and tomatoes and fruits
- grow a lot of my own veggies
- use non-toxic homemade cleaners


Where we actually are:
- buying lotions and deodorants (Clean of course)
- using canned beans and veggies & fruit
- I'm not cooking much, Hubby does a lot but he likes it
- Z eats store bought applesauce, crackers, and cookies
- shopping at the commissary and whole foods
- my snacks are often store bought
- I'm not jarring anything yet
- still using store bought cleaners (although what we're using is what we've had - not buying new)


See?  We have so much farther to go.  And this list is not by any means complete.  We still buy a ton of processed foods.  And while the goal isn't to get rid of all store bought processed foods, to me that is a big marker of success - when my pantry has more dry goods for baking and cooking from scratch and me-made jarred foods, etc.

Granted, the store bought processed food we buy tends to be organic and with ingredients I actually can pronounce and understand, so I know we're doing better than I feel we often are.

My goals for the rest of April after we get back from Easter Break with Hubby's family:
- Me-made yogurt
- Me-made deodorant
- Me-made lotion
- Me-made lip balm
- Eliminating canned beans
- Me-made applesauce for Z
- Switching to me-made home cleaners

Processed Foods we buy that I don't plan on changing:
- frozen peas and carrots and other veggies
- Pacific Natural Soups
- Lara Bars
- Terra Chips (occasionally)
- Annie's Organic snacks for Z (until I figure out g-free alternatives)
- canned tomatoes (until I figure out how to jar my own from fresh)

I'm sure there is more, but right now that's what I can think of.

Honestly, I cannot recommend the book Making It enough.  I cannot believe how simple it is to make my own stuff and how cheap it is overall, once the raw materials are purchased.  I priced everything on Amazon for lip balm, deodorant, and lotion ingredients and up front it will cost me about $80 with an additional $24 in shipping, but I'm buying stuff in 16 oz or 1lb quantities.  I'm guessing that I'll need to replenish my ingredient stock maybe every 6 months to a year.  Or maybe even less.  Much much cheaper than buying lotion or lip balm or deodorant at the store, especially clean varieties like Burt's Bees, etc.

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Product Reviews

Zuzu Luxe Liquid Eyeliner:
I thought I would have a really tough time with applying a liquid eyeliner, based on all my past epic fails with the product.  Zuzu's in Azure is different though, and much easier to use.  It's more mineral-y and thicker than drug store varieties, and it went on smoother and didn't bleed into my skin.  Score one for that.  The color, though, was not as intensely blue as I had hoped, or as it looked like it would be.

Black Pearl, on the other hand, is not as thick as Azure and I had some issues with bleeding.  Not as badly as drug store varieties, but it was still annoying.  I have to say though, that I really like the color as opposed to plain black.  It's a little more grey and softer.

I also didn't have a problem with either color drying out my eyes like the pencils I used by Rimmel or Revlon.  I couldn't feel it at all, actually.  Score another point for clean makeup.


I didn't wear the Azure color all day, as I only put makeup on in the evening before we went out to the arena football game.  It kind of faded in the outer corners of my eyes, but stayed put everywhere else on my upper and lower lids.  I probably will have to invest in doubles of each color so I can have a backup in my purse for when I'm out all day.  I would say it performed much much better than I expected but not as great as I hoped.

The Black Pearl stayed put all day except for the very outer bottom corner of my eyes.

Overall, high score for comfortableness, pretty easy application, and mostly staying put.


Crystal roll-on deodorant:
The jury is still out on this particular purchase.

I definitely don't seem to sweat as much with it as I thought I would, so that's definitely a plus.  So far no wet stains under my armpits on my clothes.

I'm not sure if I smell with it or not.  The deodorant itself is fragrance free, and when I stuck my nose in my pits, I thought I smelled some body order, but I just checked again and I seem to not smell any more.  Went for a walk outside in warm humid Florida and I didn't think I smelled afterwards.  Not sure what I was smelling when I applied it.  Maybe it's just that I'm so used to having fragrance??

You do have to wash before you apply it because I guess otherwise it doesn't really work.  It is not an antiperspirant per se, but it's supposed to neutralize the bacteria that create funky body odor.  I think it does this well, so far.  Hubby said he didn't smell any body odor until his nose was actually touching my underarm pit.  That's good, right?

After putting it on, my underarms felt pretty sticky for a while.  I ended up blotting some off, and then felt fine.

Overall, I would recommend Crystal over drug store choices like Secret or Dove because of all the crap in them.  It's hard, though, not to smell florally.  That's going to take some getting used to.

I would like to try my hand at making my own deodorant, and I'm looking for and at recipes.


Tom's of Maine Toothpaste:
Definitely different from the Crest Whitening I've been using for years.  Tom's is not sweet at all.  I never realized just how much sugar or sweetner was in regular toothpaste!  The lack of sweet is going to take some adjustment, but that's not a bad thing.

It also is very smooth with no grit.  Crest Whitening toothpaste has stuff in it that is abrasive.  I plan on getting around this by using some baking soda with my Tom's so that I'm getting the clean I feel I need.

The minty flavor of Tom's is much lighter than other brands, but it is still freshening.

I really do like my new toothpaste.  It's very different from what I'm used too, but in good ways.


Kiss My Face Olive Oil bar soap:
I cannot say enough about this product.  LOVE it, LOVE it, Love it!!!!

Worth every penny. And the bars are really very big.

It suds nicely when washing my hands, leaves my skin smooth and hydrated, but not greasy or filmy.

I can use it wash my face.  I have not been able to take a bar of soap, rub it on a washcloth, and then wash my face ever without a horrible reaction of burning or itching.  But Kiss My Face Olive Oil is heavenly!  It takes off my makeup without much scrubbing, and even if I get some in my eyes, it only feels uncomfortable for a second, even with contacts in.  None of that burning and burning and burning of eyes or skin.  And after washing my face, I don't have to apply anything.  Other cleansers or soaps made my skin feel really dry and like it was cracking when I uses my facial muscles, but not with Kiss My Face.  I don't have any clean lotion and didn't want to apply crap after washing crap off, so I tried not putting anything on and I've been fine all day.  My face looks and feels so much healthier.  My skin is rosy and loving the new soap.

Today, I washed my face, didn't put on any makeup or lotion, and went out to the park.

I am a happy, happy girl!

Essential Oils: Rose Absolute in Jojoba Oil
It smells pretty but disappears in minutes, no matter how much I apply.  I think my body eats the scent.

Essential Oils: Jasmine in Jojoba Oil
I like this one much better because its scent lasts much longer on me than the Rose Absolute.  Since I'm not using any product with scent except the very light scent in the Giovanni products, I need something with some pop to it.  Jasmine has that.

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FYI

I added a link on the left under Clean Body for Shabby Bath.  They make clean natural bath and body products.  I have used their solid lotion in Japanese Cherry Blossom and love it.  A friend gave it to me when I was in the hospital trying to save our triplets and I've used it sparingly since, trying to make it last as long as possible.  But now that I know I can get more, I'm indulging!  It's a wonderful product and I particularly like it because it keeps my legs smooth and soft and hydrated for days after shaving, and the scent is light and delicately sweet.  I will definitely keep using them for my solid lotion needs.

I googled some of the stuff I got at Whole Foods and Amazon has better prices for Aura Cacia essential oils, Annie's snack products, and Giovanni hair care products.  I'll be getting those online from now on.

So far I'm really, really happy with the performance of my clean purchases.  I'll be doing reviews of each in the coming days.  

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An Exciting Day, Part 2 (in which I attempt to shop)

Part 1 was about my adventures in new books to inspire me as we move deeper as a family into a healthier lifestyle.

(By the way, what do you call what we're doing?  Living cleaner?  Sticking it to a culture that tries to make us good little consumers, regardless of the harm the products often cause us? Taking back control?)

Anyways, Part 2 is about trying to figure out just what I can and can't buy as a result of these changes we're implementing.

I really wanted to have perused my new cookbooks before setting out to Whole Foods yesterday.  As they hadn't arrived in the mail yet, I set out armed with a list of items I had previously researched and wanted to price, and my phone that has internet connection so I could research on EWG's Skin Deep Database as I went along.

Upon entering Whole Foods, I got flustered and promptly mislaid my list.  Actually, I lost it.  Poof.  Which only made me more flustered.

I find grocery shopping in general overwhelming.  Having grown up in Kenya where you were lucky if any single product was in stock, even after 14 years in America I still tend to panic when faced with more than two choices.  Inevitably everything in front of me blurs together and I can't make any kind of informed decision, which just makes me panic more.  Add any element of pressure, as in the form of time management or narrow aisles or a long list of ingredients to avoid or sales people asking me incessantly if I'm ok (no, I'm not, I'm having a mental breakdown in your store, but please pretend that I look normal because your concern is making things worse), and I literally shut down and will leave the store with nothing except more anxiety for the next trip, or a random assortment of products I never intended to buy in the first place.  It's not pretty.

To offset this, I often drag my husband and daughter along with me.  Hubby usually helps me relax, think rationally, and reminds me of why I'm there.  Sometimes he adds to my stress because I know he's getting bored as I spend more and more time not finding what I'm looking for.  It just depends.  But overall, knowing that I have an ally in him, and the reason I'm doing all of this in the form of my daughter makes having them with me much less stressful than if I was by myself.

As I become more familiar with a particular store's layout and the kinds of products available, I relax and can see more clearly, and can make better and more informed choices.  For example, Walmart and Target and the Commissary are all fine because that's mostly where I shop.  But Whole Foods still is so new that it freaks me out.

Yesterday was the third time in my life I had set foot in a Whole Foods.  I did my best to remain calm, I took my time (3 hours), I tried to focus on what I remembered we needed, and in the end I was successful even though I did forget a few things, like seeing what was available in kids sunblock.

As far as food goes, we walked out with organic mangoes (sale of $10/10), a 5 lb bag of organic yukon gold potatoes - because potatoes are on the dirty dozen list, one pack of Against the Grain frozen bagels for me, Pacific Brand soups in Cashew Carrot Ginger (for me) and Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato (for hubby), and Annie's brand bunnies in cheddar cheese and chocolate chip for Zoe.  I think that was all the food we did end up getting.

I ended up spending a majority of my time in the personal care department.  After looking at what was available as far as shampoos and conditioners and other hair products, I went with the Giovanni brand.  It was just as good as Nature's Gate and what I could tell of the other brands, if not better, plus it was recommended to me by a friend on facebook.  I found the heat protecting serum and body building gel right off, but it took me forever to find the shampoo and conditioner - at first I thought they weren't even at the store I was at.  Eventually I did find them after thinking I would have to settle for much more expensive stuff.  To top off my happy discovery, all Giovanni products were on sale.  Yes, it was still much more expensive than what I pay for my old shampoo (Redken is expensive but you get big bottles), but it's worth it and I'm excited to see what changes take place when I start using it.  The only product that I use regularly but do not have yet is hair spray.  Giovanni might have one, I just didn't see it nor was I particularly remembering to look for it.

Hair Care Products Purchased (all Giovanni and sale price was $5-$7.50 per product):
- Root 66 Max Volume Shampoo
- Root 66 Max Volume Conditioner
- Frizz Be Gone Serum
- Volumizing Styling Gel
- Vitapro Fusion Protective Moisture Leave-in Hair Treatment
(All similar products to the Redken line I have used for the past few years)

Regarding makeup, before my trip to Whole Foods, I had researched Gabriel, Mineral Fusion, and Zuzu Luxe makeups, which are the lines the store carries.  After looking at my options online for Nvey, Coastal Classic Creations, Origins (ruled out because scored too high on EWG), Arbonne, and Lush, etc, I realized that none of them carried eyeliner pencil in the form I was used to.  Actually, I think Nvey does, but it's something like $30/pencil.  Kind of steep.  Zuzu Luxe had scored pretty low regarding their eyeliner pencils and were in the $13 range, which is more my price point for trying something new.  However, when I tried the pencil on my hand, it took a lot of pressure to get the color to come out how I liked and the pencil felt scratchy.  NOT something I want to put up against my tender eyes.  Zuzu Luxe also carries liquid eyeliner, which is what I ended up settling for.

Makeup (Zuzu Luxe, $13.50/2 ml)
- Liquid eyeliner in Black Pearl (dark grey-ish with some sparkle)
- Liquid eyeliner in Azure (deep blue)

Yeah, I know.  I got two.  And liquid eyeliner is sort of my arch nemesis when it comes to application.  But I like the colors and I will just have to learn how to apply it with a less shaky hand.  Also it's not waterproof, which is what I usually wear in the pencil form.  I'm kind of nervous, but it beats trying to apply a loose powder as an eyeliner, which is pretty much what I would have to do if I didn't want to shell out for Nvey's pencils.  Zuzu Luxe scored a 2 on the EWG's Skin Deep Database.

The rest of my makeup I got online from Coastal Classics, which will be a different post when I get it early next week in the mail.  I still don't have a base as such, but I prefer to use a tinted moisturizer to actual heavier bases.  Lush has a boutique nearby, so I hope to get in there next week (once it's a new month and I have a new budget and allowance, lol) and get them to help me find one that matches my skin tone.  I don't like to buy anything base related online - I need to see it on my skin to make sure it matches.

Deodorant: picked up Crystal brand of roll-on.  It's hypoallergenic, fragrance free, and paraben free.  Scored well on EWG's Skin Deep Database (a zero, I think).  I used to wear Secret's super duper anti-perspirent, so I am not sure how this is going to go.  In the future I would like to try my hand at making my own.

Soap: after looking around madly, I found Kiss My Face Pure Olive Oil Soap and went with it.  It smells clean but not fruity.  More earthy.  It scored a zero on the EWG's Skin Deep Database.  It costs $3.99/large bar at Whole Foods.  I picked up two of these, but then found them at the Base Commissary (???) for $2.99 for the same size bar, so I grabbed two more bars.  Won't be getting them at Whole Foods any more.  I've tried the soap already and it makes my hands feel nice and clean, and not greasy.

Essential Oils:  This was my last purchase at Whole Foods.  I settled on Aura Cacia brand in Rose Absolute in jojoba oil ($11), organic lavender ($6), and organic sweet orange ($3).  The Rose Absolute can be worn directly as a perfume.  The organic lavender and sweet orange are concentrates (I found out when I got home and read the labels) and can't be worn without being added to something.  After reading Making It, I think I need to go back and get peppermint, chamomile, eucalyptus, and rosemary for the lotions and salves I am interested in trying my hand at.  The three I did get were on sale, and the whole Aura Cacia line is currently on sale.  I'm going to be down in the area of Whole Foods tonight so I might have to talk Hubby into making a quick side trip.

Tooth Paste: I completely blanked on toothpaste at Whole Foods, but thankfully the Commissary actually carries some good stuff.  I picked up Tom's of Maine Cavity Protection (has fluoride).  It's a compromise for hubby and me.  He wants fluoride in his paste and I want it to be cleaner than Crest and Colgate.  Tom's is middle of the road.

Dish Soap:  The Commissary carries Seventh Generation dish soap so we grabbed some!  :)

I didn't really spend much time at the Commissary, but they do carry a ton of Nature's Gate and Jason's products.  I have no idea how they rate on the EWG database, but it might be worth checking into.  Also they carry Aubrey and Kiss My Face, Toms of Maine, and some other organic toothpaste.  I was really impressed at the selection.  I don't know if this is now true of all commissaries or if some general's wife stationed at MacDill is on the clean living bandwagon.  I'm hoping Quantico's commissary has these same kinds of products available.  At least VA has Whole Foods AND Trader Joe's.

The new stuff we found for Z will be in a followup post because she just woke up and needs breakfast. :)

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An Exciting Day, Part 1 (the books)

Yesterday, while exhausting emotionally and physically, was an excellent day.

I spent the last week since deciding on this new lifestyle researching products on the internet - ones that I found and ones recommended to me by friends who have already embraced trying to live life with fewer chemical interferences.

Since being on Natalia Rose's detox diet, I've decided to keep as many allergens and triggers out of our food as possible.  It's a tall order, I know, especially since convenience has turned most grocery stores into meccas of processed foods.  To help me cook better and know where to start, I was pleased to find that the number of cookbooks available to deal with food allergies is many more than when I first became gluten free back in 2008.

I just got my package in the mail with the following:
- A Healthy Gluten-Free Life
- Allergy-Free Desserts
- The Allergy Self-Help Cookbook
- The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook
- The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook
- The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook

And two for kids:
- Allergy-Proof Recipes for Kids
- Wheat-Free, Gluten-Free Cookbook for Kids and Busy Adults (Hubby picked this up at Whole Foods)

I also bought Making It - Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World, and Slow Death by Rubber Duck.

Maybe a bit overboard in the cookbook department, but while there are overlapping recipes, each has it's own techniques and flour combos, and methods for prepping, etc.  Over the years I've found that gluten-free cooking and baking is anything if fool proof.  I'm hoping between all of these different cookbooks to find the kinds of food I've been craving and living without for over 4 years, as well as recipes that I can make successfully.

I'm especially excited about the Allergy-Proof Recipes for Kids cookbook.  Not only does it factor in low sugar in its recipes, it also keeps them low sugar.  And they seem simple.  I *heart* simple.

Slow Death By Rubber Duck is a book I do intend to read, but not this month.  I want to implement some changes fully before becoming any more alarmed than I am.  Plus I have a huge stack of other books needing to be read on parenting and marriage and working out and getting organized, which come first.

Making It - Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World is genius.  I flipped through it last night and already have plans to make my own lotions, headache salves, and lip balms.  I've been wondering what to do with the bags of dirty makeup I've accumulated over the past 14 years in the US (have I mentioned I'm a pack rat???) because throwing them out seems so...wrong.  Instead I've decided to empty the containers of their powders and gels, sanitize them,  and repurpose them for my lip balms and such.  The ones I can't use I will just toss.  Making it talks about everything from growing and infusing your own herbs to beekeeping to building and maintaining a dry toilet.  It may just be my new favorite book.

As I cook and make things, I'll try to be good about taking photos and documenting the process, then write it all up.  I tend to get bogged down in the details, but I'm going to make a more concerted effort for this blog in particular.

Part 2 will talk about my discoveries at the commissary and Whole Foods.

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Unleashing the inner beast

When I was in high school and through quite a few of my college years, I always did crafty things.  Somewhere along the way, though, while the desire to be creative didn't wane, my time and energy did.  I guess that part of my life became a casualty to the war against infertility, too.

But I am so happy to say that this going clean bit seems like a perfect outlet for my currently dormant creative talents!  I am so excited to make my own lotions, lip balms, soaps, candles, etc.  I am also looking forward to cooking more, now that I've decided on a from-scratch-as-much-as-possible approach and invested in some cookbooks made for avoiding allergens like gluten, corn, dairy, eggs, etc.

Before it was hard to justify the perceived expense of investing in crafty materials and books and equipment only to make Christmas gifts.  At one point I did really want to start my own business and even found someone with the same desire.  But the friendship fell apart and I became busy after we adopted Z, and those plans were put on the back burner again.

While I don't plan on making any of this into a business venture, I am very excited to make naturally those things that my family can use and benefit from, with an occasional Christmas or birthday gift thrown in.  :)

My creative side is screaming to be unleashed!

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Welcome!

Hi and welcome to my newest blog about my adventures in figuring out how to live a clean life - free of toxins and chemicals and unnecessary additives.  I have many things stewing about in my head - hopefully I will write coherently, if not concisely.  In the meantime, feel free to poke about.  I love comments and suggestions and advice!  And if you have or know about a blog or website about this topic or a product you would like to recommend, please leave a link in a comment for me to check out.  Thanks!

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The Why

My journey to a cleaner life style evolved from not really caring at all about what I put in or on my body to a sort of obsession that is now impacting the rest of my family - positively, of course.

It started with figuring out (on my own, thankyouverymuch doctors) after a fibromyalgia elimination diet that I had celiac disease back in August of 2008, and finally getting diagnosed the summer of 2011.

In 2009, I was told (wrongly, of course) that I was borderline diabetic and completely changed my lifestyle. 

Turns out I am not borderline diabetic, but I have hypoglycemia and a lot of the food rules for borderline diabetics and hypoglycemics are the same.  Basically I eat lots of protein in small portions often throughout the day.  Or I morph into a grizzly bear with intolerable hunger anger.  It's not pretty.

In an effort to try to lose the rest of the baby weight (coupled with IVF weight, coupled with depression eating patterns) gained from a failed pregnancy with triplets in 2009, I went on Natalia's Rose's The Raw Food Detox Diet in the summer of 2011.  It was a massive failure.

January of 2012 I once again tried to go with Natalia Rose's detox plans, this time following her detox for women.  I found much more success, have lost over 15 lbs and only have a couple more to go before I reach my pre-pregnancy, pre-ivf weight.  My goal is drop another 10-15 lbs beyond that.

In the midst of eliminating red meat, dairy, soy, gluten, most fruits except for berries, processed foods, and eating my starches 3 hours apart from my proteins, I found that I feel amazing, the weight is coming off and staying off, and I'm much happier. 

This from a girl who has been on diets most of her life, been unhealthy most of her life, and been feeling miserable and in pain most of her life.

At first I thought of the process of being on the detox as a diet - a fad I would try out and then discard along the way at some point.  Instead, I love how I am now living and intend to keep it up - carrying over the change in my food to the rest of my life!

I am also now a mom via adoption and I want the best and cleanest life style possible for my little girl.  I don't want her to struggle with infertility or food allergies or toxin build up in her body.  Some of that may be inevitable because of genetics or whatever, but the parts I have control over, I am going to work to make as clean as possible.

You are welcome to follow along on this adventure!!

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