At-Home cleaners to help you get through cold and flu season

By Nicole:

Do-It-Yourself cleaners just as good as store
bought cleaners.

As we approach cold and flu season a lot of us tend to grab the nearest antibacterial wipes/spray with the hopes that it will help keep us well.  Unfortunately, antibacterial products really aren't effective and can do more harm than good.

So, a few years ago we decided to take a different approach and actually start making a few things for our family. If you haven't noticed, I really like to know what is in everything we eat and use. We learned how to make "409," laundry detergent, and deodorant.  Trust me, it is worth the switch and much cheaper too!

Check out the recipes below, all of the ingredients are easy to find in your grocery store.

General Spray Cleaner- this is fantastic! 

1- 16 oz spray bottle

2 TBSP vinegar

1 tsp borax

1/8 cup dish soap

1 cup hot water

20 drops essential oils (we like lavender oil.  We have used citrus oils as well, which are naturally antimicrobial)

Pour vinegar, borax and hot water into the spray bottle and swirl.  Fill the bottle to 16 oz with cold water.  Add the dish soap and essential oils last.

Deodorant

I promise, this is the real deal and even works for men!

1/4 cup arrowroot powder

1/4 cup baking soda

4 TBSP coconut oil

10 drops lavender essential oil

3-4 drop patchouli essential oil

*When I made this for Jeff I did not use the patchouli oil, he is not a fan of it.  I did use the lavender and added a few drops of tea tree oil.  It is wonderful and works all day!

In a medium bowl sift arrowroot powder and baking soda.  Add coconut oil and essential oils.

Using a fork, combine well (as if you were cutting butter into flour- I usually use my hands)

Pack mixture into a glass jar and store at room temperature.  

So people have even put this mixture into a used "regular" deodorant stick.  I have been nervous about trying that, since coconut oil will become liquid in the summer time.

Laundry Detergent

1- 4 lb 12 oz box of borax

1- 3 lb 7 oz box of washing soda

1- 3 lb container of OxyClean

2- bars Dr. Bronner's soap- grated

1 4 lb box baking soda

Optional; 1- container fabric softener crystals (these really aren't a very natural product, but just give your clothes a scent).

Mix all ingredients in a large container and use about 1-2 TBSP per load of laundry.  This can be used in HE washers.

It's what inside that counts

By: Jeff

Ingredients make a huge difference in a person's health.

I wrote an article about the many gimmicks of the food industry last week, and thought I should expand on those thoughts this week. As a pseudo follow-up article, it is time we talk about ingredients.

If you haven't read my previous article, you can read it by clicking THIS, but if you did, you know terms like 'whole grains', 'free range' and 'natural' are all very loose terms the food industry can manipulate to make you purchase their product. The key to looking past the gimmicks is seeing the ingredient list and being able to decipher the actual items which are used in producing the product.

Let's take a look at a food label to help illustrate this point:

Here you see a label from Reece's Pieces candy. Obviously, no one would mistake this candy as healthy food, but the label itself tells the true tale of what you are putting in your body. 

The first ingredient listed is always what is used the most in the product. In this case, it is sugar. Every ingredient after is listed in the same order, from used the most to the least. So, on this label, after sugar are partially defatted peanuts, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, corn syrup, dextrose, and a ton of artificial colors and dyes to give the candy it's color. 

Being able to read beyond the words is a trait very few take the time to do, but is worth it's weight in gold when it comes to your health. Essentially, you are looking for foods that have real ingredients, and not ingredients that sound like a lab experiment gone wrong.

General rule of thumb? If you can't pronounce it, you shouldn't be eating it. In the above candy label, you can see the underlined words which are extremely harmful to your health. The hydrogenated oils, corn syrup and the artificial colors all can have drastic effects on your health and behavior. Guess that peanut butter in the candy isn't worth all that much after all...

Let's stick with the sweets, and I will give you a good example of what a product could look like that isn't horrendous for your health.

All Natural Turkey Hill Chocolate Ice Cream

Here is our go-to ice cream for our birthday parties for the kids, as well as for any get together where we might want to bring ice cream. Want to know the ingredients in this ice cream? 

Here they are: Cream, Sugar, Nonfat Milk, Cocoa.

That's it. Compare that 4 ingredient list to the myriad of junk in the candy we analyzed earlier. 

Simply put, you shouldn't have to have a science degree to know what is in your food. Will this require a little more searching and a little more time in the grocery store? It certainly will, but will the time spent make a difference in your overall health? No doubt about it.

Don't fall for the gimmicks of the food industry

All those labels...consumers must read between the lines.

By: Jeff

Around the holiday season you are enticed by gimmicks everywhere. The latest gadget on television, the new car promotion at the local dealership and even at your local grocery store. The difference between the examples previously mentioned, the grocery store gimmicks aren't just near the holidays, but all year long.

There are a million gimmicks at the grocery store, and all are horrible in their own unique way, but for today's article I am going to focus on the hottest word in the food business: the healthy food industry.

People are starting to buy healthier/organic all the time. Why? Well, because it says organic on it, obviously. The issue with this is not all healthy/organic foods are created equal.

Companies have made millions upon millions of dollars by putting words like 'Natural' and 'Free-Range' on their products to hoodwink you into thinking their products are ultimately better for you. However, that isn't always the case. Do some research and you will see the real truth.

The following came from a great article you can read on your own by clicking THIS LINK:

"Natural" - A "natural" or "all-natural" product seems to imply that all the ingredients were plucked straight from nature with no interference from human beings, but in reality there isn't much on this earth that ISN'T natural. The FDA only regulates the word "natural" in meat and poultry products to include those that contain no artificial substances - although confusingly, genetically modified organisms are allowed. One could convincingly argue that even petroleum by-products, high fructose corn syrup and rat excrement are natural - after all, they all came from the natural world. Perhaps the biggest offender on this list, the tag "natural" on any item is basically meaningless and has been usurped by grocery manufacturers trying to compete with the certified organic food label.
"Local" - There are no legal standards for the word "local," so your grocer could put up oranges from Chile and call them "local" with no repercussions. How to avoid this conundrum? Shop for produce at farmers markets, visit local farms and get to know the people who grow your food.
"Free Range" - As far as the USDA is concerned, the only certifiable "free range" food items are poultry and eggs. The law states that chickens must be "allowed access to the outside," yet there are zero specifications as to how big this outdoor area must be. There might be one door that goes to a 4'x4' yard for 100 chickens or more that are all eating hormone-fueled, pesticide-drenched food. Your best bet is to purchase USDA Certified Organic eggs. Other "free range" meats such as beef or pork are not regulated at all, and you will just have to trust the manufacturer (or do your research).
"Made with Whole Grains" - This product might include 99.99% refined grains and .01% whole grains, but there's no way to know because the term is not regulated. The manufacturer could throw two grains of oatmeal into five tons of their product and assert that it is "Made with Whole Grains." Don't fool yourself into thinking you are eating healthier than you are!
"Lightly-sweetened" - Surely a food product that is "lightly-sweetened" contains less sugar than the norm, right? Not necessarily. Another unregulated term, "lightly-sweetened" is used to describe plenty of products that are loaded with sugar, corn syrup or other sweeteners. This food label means nothing!

When you see the truth about what the food industry does to trick consumers into buying their products it should make you feel wronged in many ways. After all, you are trying to make healthy decisions for you and your family, not to be conned into buying something which doesn't provide what the label promises.

However, if you look at the list of products that might have the label 'Made with Whole Grains', it shouldn't be purchased if you've made the jump to a Paleo or Primal lifestyle. Avoiding artificial sweeteners would eliminate the 'Lightly-Sweetened' label as well.

The real issues are with the 'Natural', 'Free-Range' and 'Local' tags. Your best bet? Try and find a local farmer that can give you an in-depth and honest look into how their food is produced and their animals are raised, sheltered and fed from birth until the end of their lives. It might be more expensive, and it might take some time to find, but there are farmers in your area who are doing their job the way it is supposed to be done. All you have to do is find them.

Consider this just the first of many articles with the theme of not trusting our country's food industry. Knowledge is power, and as the site progresses you will see more information regarding the shady nuances of our crooked federal food industry. Some might say 'ignorance is bliss', but when it comes to your health, you should know the truth.