You know that we love products that are free of toxic ingredients (Sulfates, Parabens, Phthalates, PEG’s, Synthetic Colors and Fragrances), etc. When I discovered that babo Botanicals®  made a 3-in-1 Shampoo, Bubble Bath & Wash I was really excited to try it out! I have used their Calming Body Lotion with Lavender for the last year and it’s my go to lotion for my hands before I go to bed at night.

I’ve now used the 3-in-1 Shampoo, Bubble Bath & Wash for my 2 year old and baby and I have to say that the smell is very calming and invigorating! I am partial to the smell of lavender, but this is not overpowering at all. It also produces a lot of bubbles, surprisingly. I didn’t think it would. So naturally my daughter loves it.

Benefits:

Pure Flower Extracts

Sulfate Free

Paraben Free

Tear Free

Hypoallergenic

Gluten, Dairy & Soy Free

No PEG’s or Mineral Oil

Works for the entire family, not just kids!

Head over to my INSTAGRAM PAGE for a chance to WIN your own bottle of  “babo BOTANICALS® Calming Shampoo, Bubble Bath & Wash”

Have you tried any of their products yet? If so, which ones?

-Kim

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Ingredients:

• 1 package of Italian Seasoned Lean Ground Turkey (optional)
• 2 cans (28 oz) of Dei Fratelli chopped Italian tomatoes, herbs and olive oil
• 1 can (6 oz) of Tomato Paste with Italian Seasoning
• 1 Tbsp of chopped garlic
• 1 Tbsp of dried Italian Seasoning
• 1 Tbsp of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• 1 Tbsp of dried basil leaves
• 2 Tbsp chopped green onions
• 1 box of bowtie pasta (or whatever pasta you choose)

Preparation:

1. Brown ground turkey in a large pot with some olive oil
2. Add all ingredients into the pot and simmer for 30 minutes
3. Cook pasta according to directions on box

Enjoy with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese!

Is there anything else we could add to this recipe?

-Kim

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Ingredients:

• A bag of quinoa
• 2 heads of broccoli
• 1 cup shredded cheese of your choice
•  Salt, Pepper, dried thyme, oregano and basil (to season the chicken)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cook quinoa serving according to package directions (This quinoa recipe called for 1.5 cups of the quinoa rinsed, drained and cooked in chicken broth)
3. Chop up broccoli and steam on the stovetop
4. Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, thyme, oregano and basil.
5. Pan fry chicken until cooked through. Then cut up into small chunks.
6. Spray coconut oil on bottom of casserole dish.
7. Combine quinoa, chicken and broccoli into dish and top with shredded cheese.
8. Pop into oven for 10-15 minutes to let the flavors come together and for the cheese to melt.
9. ENJOY!

Any suggestions on ways you would modify or add to this recipe?

-Jamie

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Although the birth did not go as we planned, we did end up having another C-section. A very trying day for us, but in the end we got our sweet girl.

Nursing was always the option for me and we did have a good start at the hospital, again. I am fortunate to have had a great staff of nurses there to help and take care of me and the needs of the baby.

I continue to nurse on demand and am happy to see that even though she lost 10% of her body weight when we left the hospital; she gained 4oz back two days later at her follow up appointment. I am committed to sticking to breastfeeding her as long as I can. I am hoping to go further with her than I did with my first daughter.

I was really excited when I found a company that makes great granola bars for lactation support! “Oat Mama” bars are convenient, nutritious and contain ingredients to help boost milk supply. I immediately tried the peanut butter chocolate chip one and of course it was delicious!

I worry about my milk supply, so I really want to do my best to keep it up. I’m drinking mostly water all day and not supplementing. I am nursing her on demand and letting her decide when she’s done. These bars make a great snack for a nursing mama!

The bars come in these fantastic flavors:

*Apple Cinnamon Raisin with Fenugreek

*Chocolate Almond Coconut

*Nut & Berry

*Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

Check them out here!

http://www.oatmama.com

Visit my Instagram page for a chance to win a $25 shop credit to Oat Mama!!

*Thank you to Oat Mama for sponsoring this site. Although I did receive free product in exchange for a review, my opinions are strictly my own.

Enjoy!

-Kim

The post Bringing Home Baby and Oat Mama Giveaway! appeared first on .

So, I know it’s winter time, but come on….sometimes you are craving a nice refreshing beverage while away or at home. Hey Mama Teas so graciously sent me one of every flavor of their teas to try out, so I was really excited. Just because you are pregnant doesn’t mean that there are only a few beverage options out there for you. I know I get tired of just plain water or juices. Also, these are great to have on hand for staying hydrated while nursing!

What I liked about these teas are that they are USDA certified organic, kosher and use non-GMO ingredients. Each 8oz serving of the tea also contains 0 caffeine and 800 mcg of folic acid! (Super important for pregnant ladies!)

My 2 favorites would have to be the “Life’s a Peach” and “Lemon Glow”. They were both very refreshing and I instantly wanted more! The Lemon Glow tastes like an Arnold Palmer….yum!

The “Minty Morning” would be great for those moms who suffer nausea or morning sickness, as it contains peppermint leaf and ginger.

Check out their website here:

HEY MAMA TEAS

You can choose to buy a 2 pack sampler to try, or even a 4-pack or 12-pack bundle of your favorite flavor. They even have a subscription service which gives you even more savings per month!

Here’s a promo code to use for 15% off your entire order! (Receive free shipping on all orders over $50)

Enjoy Mamas!

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this endorsement nor am I affiliated with the brand. All opinions are my own in exchange for product to test.

-Kim

The post Hey Mama! Tea Review appeared first on .

An example of some common ingredients in your everyday shampoos would be the chemical Dimethicone (which makes hair easy to comb and lustrous).  It is in a lot of shampoos but it’s classified by the Canadian government as a possible toxin that warrants further study. Have you heard of SLS (sodium laurel sulfate) and SLES (sodium laureth sulfate)? These are harsh detergents that are responsible for making your shampoo foam up. It strips your hair of essential oils and the proteins it needs to grow healthy and strong. PEG’s or (Polyethylene Glycols) act as a hair thickening agent, but strips your hair of it’s natural moisture. Parabens prolong the shelf life of your shampoo and hair products but are chemicals known for their toxic nature. They irritate the skin and can affect your hormonal balance, which can result in hair loss.  Almost all hair products contain Alcohol, which can dry out your hair. Andour personal favorite, Synthetic Fragrance or Parfum. Many fragrances are a mix of thousands of chemicals. Many of them are irritants and cause aggregate the scalp.

The point of all of this is, is just to raise awareness of all of the chemicals that are in our beauty products. Look at the label of a bottle of your favorite hair care product. Notice all of the chemicals and fragrances in there.

Look for these when you go to buy your next hair care product:

• Shampoos that do not contain ammonium lauryl sulfate, sodium laurel sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate (instead opt for those with a milder cleaner such as sodium lauryl sulfoaccetate and sodium lauryl sulfosuccinate. They won’t foam as much but will efficiently clean your hair.
•  Choose a Conditioner that does not contain dimethicone
• Choose a Shampoo or Conditioner with a natural fragrance such as essential oils or plant based products

Our Shampoo and Conditioner of choice is from the Ava Hair line by Ava Anderson Non Toxic. It has no harsh or toxic ingredients in it that would dry out, damage or strip our hair. It is great for everyday use and for the whole family.

DID YOU KNOW?

Annually in the U.S. we pour 350 millions of gallons of shampoo down the drain. Our wastewater treatment plants are designed to remove bacteria, not toxic chemicals. So every day, contaminated water goes back into the water supply (Mt. Sinai Hospital, Children and the Environment)

We hope you learned something new from this! Let’s all help cut down on the amount of chemicals going down the drain!

-Kim and Jamie

The post What’s In Your Shampoo? appeared first on .

All of their tea leaves are Organic and Fair Trade Certified (Super important!!) And they brew it just as you would at home, steeped in hot water!
There is one tea in the line up that is unsweetened. The rest of them are “just a tad sweet”.
(Here is a list of the ingredients they use to sweeten their teas in case you were wondering: Organic cane sugar, Fair Trade Organic cane sugar, Organic honey, Organic Fruit juice, Stevia, Erythritol, Organic maple syrup or Organic Agave Syrup.)

I always want to know what the “Natural Flavors” in a drink are all about. I found out that all of the flavors they use are either certified organic and/or organic compliant, which means that according to the National Organic Program, their natural flavors are free from all synthetic, GMO, and irradiated ingredients. All of their natural flavors are also vegetarian and derived from plant material.

The Peach Tea was by far my favorite! It was super refreshing and the sweetness was not overpowering like some iced teas can taste. There were only 100 calories in the whole bottle and 25g of sugar. Caffeine content was 67mg in this bottle (about 1/3 of the caffeine found in a cup of brewed coffee).

  
The Orange Mango was an herbal iced tea. I did enjoy this one as well. It is refreshing when super cold and hit the spot mid-day! It as well contained 100 calories with 22g of sugar and 20% Vitamin C and 10% Vitamin A. Because it’s an herbal tea, there is no caffeine in it.

 These teas can be found almost everywhere! You might also know them for their Honest Fizz sodas and Honest Kids juices. Check them out on their website HERE

I am usually not a big iced tea drinker, but these were worthy of tried again. I might become a tea drinker now!

Enjoy the rest of your summer!
-Kim

*Although the product was sent to me at no charge, my opinions and review are strictly my own.

The post Honest Tea- honestly refreshing! appeared first on .

  
I’ve learned to look for ingredients like: fragrance (a phthalate, a known endocrine disruptor) , butylene glycol (a synthetic petrochemical mix known to cause allergic and toxic reactions) and PEG-100 Stearate (a petroleum byproduct) There are tons of fancy words here…. I’d much prefer to see a  simpler list. Wouldn’t we all?

So, again I found a great DIY recipe for a Lemon-Mint Sugar Scrub that I just had to try out! First off, lemon is such a great frangrance. It boosts your mood and has so many antibacterial properties. The peppermint gives it that refreshing kick! 

 In a bowl, mix together 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 cup coconut oil, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, zest from 1/2 lemon, 5 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil and 5 drops of Lemon Essential Oil (get them here) . The sugar and lemon juice and zest gently sloughs off dry skin, the coconut oil moisturizes and lemon and peppermint provide a mood boost.  
  

I really enjoy making homemade products now. Not only is it fun and inexpensive, you know what’s in it!  These would make a great gift as well! I probably filled up 3- 4oz jars of product with this recipe. I topped it with extra lemon zest for extra flare.
  

The post Time for a (safer) bath!!  appeared first on .

We’ve been using the  Think Dirty app recently and it shows us just how “safe” your personal care products are (are on scale of 1-10) . It lets you know potential health risks in each of the ingredients found in the product. Scary, right?!  You could literally drive yourself crazy looking at all of these .

When thinking of “safer” products that you would want to use for your little one you probably think of soaps, shampoos and diapers, right?  Well, what about wipes? One of the things you probably go through the most on a daily basis (for diaper changes, messy face clean-ups, dirty hands, table top cleaning, etc) are those convenient, pop up wipes! No one ever thinks about what are on those wipes. It’s not just a wet cloth of water.

I did a search on the app for the wipes that we currently use and here is what came up:

Gahhhh…..on a scale of 0-10 (with 10 being a product with high concern), my “Natural Care”, “Fragrance Free” wipes got a 7 !  This totally shocked me.  I didn’t even want to know the results from regular wipes that weren’t “Natural” and “fragrance free”.

With a little investigating, we found a recipe for DIY baby wipes.  We are confident that the ingredients in it are a MUCH safer alternative for your kiddo’s bottom! They do require a little bit of work, but that’s the name of the DIY game, right?

SUPPLIES:

1 Roll Paper Towels

2 cups Distilled Water

2 Tbsp avaBABY Body Wash and Shampoo 

1 Tbsp avaBODY Hand Sanitizer

2 Tbsp Olive Oil or warm coconut oil

A few drops of Essential Oil (Optional). We used Thieves.

DIRECTIONS:

1) Cut the roll of paper towels in half with a sharp kitchen knife

2) Mix all ingredients into a bowl, pour mixture over the paper towels.

3) Let soak and remove inner cardboard.

4) Store wipes in a ziplock bag or reuse an old wipes container. Pull from the middle. Ready to use!

* We’ve been using them for a week now and so far they’ve been great! We used paper towels from Costco. Their Kirkland brand is really heavy duty, so the wipes actually hold up!

-K and J

The post Worth a try? DIY baby wipes!! appeared first on .

I hadn’t the slightest idea what any of these ingredients were or what they (could) do to the body. It’s scary once you know what you’re looking for. The key 6 ingredients below are found in so many products that you use daily. Go ahead….I challenge you to go grab a lotion, or shampoo, or household cleaner right now. These ingredients are “endocrine disruptors”. This is important to know because your endocrine system regulates ALL biological processes in the body: development of the brain and nervous system, growth and function of the reproductive system, metabolism and blood sugar levels, ovaries, testes, pituitary, thyroid and the adrenal glands (Natural News)

Here are 6 key ingredients to look for and avoid:

FRAGRANCE:  can be legally hidden in hundreds of ingredients in “fragrance” or “parfum”. More than 75% of the time if you have fragrance, you have legally hidden phthalates (THAL ates), known endocrine disruptors, that are linked with birth defects, breast cancer, infertility, liver, cancer, diabetes and now with autism and ADHD in pregnancy. (Dr. Philip Landrigan, Mt Sinai, Children’s Environmental Health Center)

PARABENS: Preservatives linked to breast cancer, endocrine disruption, reproductive toxicity and developmental defects. California Study (10/11) of BPA and methylparaben combination turned healthy cells into cancer cells, and rendered tamoxifinn ineffective

TRICLOSAN: is the active ingredient in “anti-bacterial” products, is registered with the government as a pesticide and is a known endocrine disruptor. Triclosan is believed to disrupt thyroid function and contribute to liver and inhalation toxicity.

OXYBENZONE and OCTINOXATE: (and other chemical sunscreen “active ingredients”) are UV ray filters are also known endocrine disruptors.

PETROLATUM & PETROLEUM INGREDIENTS: endocrine disruptors and carcinogens.
Here’s an example of a conventional lip balm vs. an Ava Anderson Non Toxic lip balm:

You can see that the conventional brand has many ingredients to avoid: Petrolatum, Fragrance, Mineral Oil, Polyparaben… just to name a few (although anything with a * next to it is an ingredient to avoid).  Ava Anderson’s lip balm has only 8 ingredients, including Shea Butter which has a natural SPF of 6 (if you want an SPF in your lip balm) or you can make your own like I did in my last post!

I will admit that it has taken time to slowly go through my stash of household items and TRY alternatives. I am still learning what these ingredients are in search for non-toxic products to replace them.

So far, we have changed our soap, lotions, face products, hair products, dish soaps, and air fresheners to include products from Ava Anderson Non Toxic and Young Living Essential Oils.

This weekend, I make a DIY safe alternative detergent and liquid hand soaps! Must head out to Whole Foods and Michaels to get supplies! Post to follow!  

Well…….what did you find from your household item? Did it contain any of these?  If so, does it mean anything to you? Are you going to throw it out today and look for a safer alternative?  Or better yet, go back to the place you bought your toxic products and return them. Tell them you do not want these toxic chemicals in your house and that you are not willing to be a guinea pig.

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