Where does your produce come from?

"Most produce in the US is picked 4 to 7 days before being placed on supermarket shelves, and is shipped for an average of 1500 miles before being sold. And this is when taking into account only US grown products! Those distances are substantially longer when we take into consideration produce imported from Mexico, Asia, Canada, South America, and other places."
- LocalHarvest

Now that we know loading up on fruits & veggies is extremely healthy for you, let's focus on the grocery store produce section.  The apples are shiny, the lettuce is firm, and the large variety is hard to resist.  Did you know that your produce travels, on average, 1,500 miles from where it's picked to your plate, when you buy from a grocery store?  Why is this something we should be cautious of?

• Shelf life: The type of preservatives loaded on your fruit & veggies to give it a longer shelf life is something to be concerned about.  Is it really normal for a tomato to be able to travel across the country (and yes, sometimes around the world), sit in the store for a few days, and still be able to look as fresh as it does a week or more after it has sat in your refrigerator? I don't think so.  When I grew up, we had a beautiful, large garden on the side of our house and the moment we picked a ripe tomato, I gave it about 5 days before it started to look iffy.  That shouldn't be any different from the produce you buy.  It's not normal for produce to not go bad 2 weeks after it's been picked.
• The further produce travels, the less nutritious (and yummy) it is. Most produce picked to be shipped across the country, to be sold in your grocery store, is picked prior to being ripe, which gives them less time to develop all of their vitamins & minerals.  And if you think produce is yummy from the grocery store, try a bite of a freshly picked fruit or vegetable.  You'll taste a world of a difference.
• To travel as far as produce does, we are wasting an absurd amount of natural resources that are only more harmful to the environment. "By adding transportation, processing and packaging to the food system equation, the fossil fuel and energy use of our current food system puts tremendous stress on the environment. For example, between production and transportation, growing 10% more produce for local consumption in Iowa would result in an annual savings ranging from 280,000 to 346,000 gallons of fuel, and an annual reduction in CO2 emissions ranging from 6.7 to 7.9 million pounds." (sustainabletable.org) How incredible just 10% makes!
• Buying within season: Something just doesn't seem right when you're able to buy a large batch of shiny, red strawberries mid January when you're dealing with 15" of snow on the roads.

What can you do to make sure you're getting the most fresh, and more importantly, nutritious produce you can? BUY LOCAL.  If you do your research, you can find some type of local farmer's market or Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) (for a yearly fee) where you can get the most recently picked, most nutritious, and, often times, organic produce.  Produce travels far  less to get to your local market (usually less than 90 miles) and you'll be getting the most nutritious, ripe, and in season produce you can find.  The benefits of supporting a local business is quite obvious as well.  If you do decide to join a CSA, you may even have the chance to meet your farmer and get to know exactly where your food is coming from, the process they use, and whether or not they are utilizing sustainable methods for production.

If you're not sure where your closest market is, check out Local Harvest & on the right side of the page, type in your zip code to find markets close to you.

I regulary go to our Saturday morning market to pick up produce. And the greatest thing is that it's so much cheaper! I bought the same amount of produce that I do each week at the grocery store and I spent $20.  That's about $20-30 less than what I normally spend. Not only am I eating more nutritious produce, I am also supporting local businesses & farmers, lowering the amount of natural resources used to transport & package these items, but I am also saving a ridiculous amount of money.

One of the best ways to also get the most nutritious produce is to plant your own garden, but for the items you can't grow yourself, support your local farmers!

-Lacey

Your Skin Is Alive?: Natural Products To Keep Your Skin & Body Safe

(Don't forget about our Facbeook page! You get tons of extra recipes, info, and exciting news from us!)

Healthy living is more than just grabbing healthy, natural food.  While we LOVE eating well, healthy living is about making better choices in eating, exercising, hygiene, and everything else you do & use.

The skin is a tissue that absorbs anything it comes in contact with.  It is a living, breathing organism. Just as your body absorbs chemicals & nutrients from the food you put directly in your body, your body can absorb chemicals from products you put on your body.  The more toxins that we get rid of, whether it be from food or hygiene products, the better chances we have of sustaining a healthy and happy body.

All of these products have been personally used by me, purchased with my own money, and been stamped with the natural, healthy Strawberries & Tea approval.

Hair Care:
1. Yes To Carrots
     I am obsessed with this line.  I discovered it at Rite-Aid and have fallen in love with everything they sell since.  Their Yes To Carrots shampoo and conditioner has surprisingly done an effective job on not drying out my hair but not overdoing it with the conditioner (I can't tell you how many conditioners I've tried that leave me feeling like I've just dumped olive oil on my hair. Sooooo oily).  You'll get Beta-Carotene naturally and love that you're not loading your follicles with parabens (which are linked to skin aging, cancers, weight gain & is an endocrine disrupter).

2. Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle
     This shampoo & conditioner (only shampoo shown) has become my new favorite. I love the minty smell and the conditioner is the best!  Trader Joe's does a great job of limiting their ingredients to just a few!

Body Wash:
1. Pure & Natural
    If you have sensitive skin like I do, P&N is wonderful as it is Hypo-allergenic.  This has been my go-to body wash for the last year.  The rosemary & mint smell is super relaxing!

2. Burt's Bees Exfoliating Body Wash
    This product gently exfoliates and leaves my skin extremely conditioned.

3. Burt's Bees Buttermilk Soap (bar)
    Come on, who doesn't love the thought of a lathery buttermilk soap making your shower smell AWESOME? Exactly.

Teeth Care:
1. Burt's Bees Natural Toothpaste
    I was a bit nervous about this and what it may taste like but it tastes just like a normal toothpaste.  This product includes plaque-fighting cranberry extract and is 99.2% natural.

2. Tom's of Maine

    I've used their 'Wicked Fresh!' toothpaste and it has a great minty flavor. Some natural toothpastes are just a bit on the weird side for me when it comes to aftertaste.  Definitely love Tom's!

Lip Balm:
1. Evolution of Smooth Smooth Sphere
    This is my favorite chap stick/lip balm next to Burt's Bees.  It's smooth, 100% natural, and super fun looking.  They have 5 'flavors', Summer Fruit being my favorite.  Also, their Lemon Drop 'flavor' has an SPF of 15 if you're looking for sun protection.  This company (EOS) also has a ton of other awesome products from lotions to shaving cream.

2. Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm
     I think everyone knows why this stuff is so popular.  From getting extremely smooth lips to that fun little tingly feeling you get after putting it on, you just can't resist a tin or stick of this lip balm.

Face Wash:
1. St. Ives Apricot Scrub
   I think everyone knows about this scrub, but did you know that it uses 100% natural extracts? If you use this already, keep on doing so! If not, buy it a.s.a.p. and you will love it forever.

2. Yes To Cucumbers Facial Towelettes
     Every night, before I go to bed, I use these towelettes to clean my face.  They are super refreshing and truly do a great job of getting make-up off (which is sometimes hard to find)!  Ingredients? Organic cucumber, aloe vera, and dead sea minerals.

Face Masks:

I make them myself! From olive oil, avocado, oatmeal, cucumber, to pumpkin, there are hundreds of different masks you can prepare yourself and 1. There are no chemicals within the product (as long as you buy organic) and 2. You can have a blast doing it.  When Mom visited me, we put together an avocado oatmeal mask that was so easy to make.

Throw all the ingredients in a food processor.

Store in an airtight container to use again!

Deodorants:
This is one of the most dangerous items you can put on your body.  I don't think it's much of a secret that the amount of Aluminum in deodorants is causing some pretty unhealthy side-effects (Alzheimer's, breast cancer, and is especially terrible for those with Kidney Disease). My solution: MAKE IT YOURSELF. Seriously.  Save the money and the chemicals and just take the few minutes to make your own homemade version.  Check out that link for some more information on deodorants and the recipe on how to put it together.

Lotions:
1. Aveeno Active Naturals Daily Moisturizing Body Lotion
     Not my favorite, but it gets the job done. Definitely a great product.

2. St. Ives Otameal & Shea Butter (Paraben & Phthalate free)
    This is my absolute favorite lotion ever ever ever.  It may be a bit more difficult to find, but I use the heck out of this stuff (hence the abnormally large bottle).

Sunblock:
1.  Burt's Bees Chemical Free Sunscreen SPF 30

2.  Actually, you can also make your own sunblock which uses zinc oxide to protect your skin (a natural blocking agent that is completely safe, as opposed to titanium oxide).  This recipe is good for 6 months.  So, make it in March and you'll be good through September.

Makeup:
This is one area I haven't been able to test out but there is an incredible make-up mother/daughter duo, both professional celebrity make-up artists, who specialize is using chemical free/all natural make-up products.  Their website, www.naturesknockout.com "Where you can be a knockout naturally" is full of information on harmful ingredients & how they affect our bodies.  They also do a wonderful job of recommending & rating particular products and lines of make-up, doing all the research for you! This is one area I would like to improve since I have yet to get rid of all my AWFUL, chemical ridden make-up products.  Baby steps, Lacey, baby steps.  I can't do it all at once, but I'm trying.

So, some basic companies I could recommend that are easily available and much better than most brands?
St. Ives
Aveeno Active Naturals
Yes To
Burt's Bees
Most Trader Joe's Products

I highly recommend doing your research on parabens and other chemicals that can really be harming your body for the sake of beauty.  It's easy to overlook, but if you're going to live a 'healthy lifestyle', you can't simply chose 1 aspect to change (food) and not be concerned about all the other ways your body is affected by the chemicals in product lines.  95% of these products are easily available in most stores. If you know of any products that you've personally loved and want the world to know about, comment and I'll add it to the list!  Remember, it takes time to undo all of the things we've been taught!  Be patient.

Here's to to healthy skin!

Gardening, pt I: The Setup

Before Mike and I even started house hunting, we made a list of requirements. These were 'must-haves' for our first home. There wasn't much on the list. We're fairly low-maintenance and don't require much space. In fact, many of the homes we saw within our price range we deemed 'too big'. Too many rooms. Far too much square footage.  It was more room than we knew what to do with. We don't need a living room and and family room. We don't need a dining room if the kitchen is already large enough to hold our table. Our requirements came down to a garage, for Mike's truck work, and a yard large enough for the dogs to run around and to hold a decent sized garden.  Really, that's about all it came down to.

Photo from nuchylee

As you can see, gardening was in our minds from the beginning. Luckily, the home we bought in October met both of those requirements. We were very lucky to get a 2 car garage and our large yard (almost a 1/4 acre).

Why gardening? Well, there's a few reasons for us. Firstly, Mike and I both grew up with parents who gardened. I can remember the hot summers running barefoot to the side of our home to pick off those juicy, plump tomatoes so Dad could start canning them for salsa and pasta sauce.  Or grabbing fresh cucumbers to use in salad or for the incredible Bread & Butter pickles my Dad would make.  And my favorite...string beans. To this day, they're still my favorite.  The nostalgia I get from being in a garden is worth going through he hard work myself to have one.

Secondly, our diet consists so much of fresh vegetables and fruits that not only will it save us money, but we'll get more of a variety of plants in our diet as well as consume only organic plants.  When we moved we had to start using a different grocery store. This store, while it meets most of our needs, doesn't have the variety of fruits & vegetables that our old store did. Also, options that are available don't always come in an organic version. Having our own garden meets our desires and budget. Plus, I can't even describe how much better fresh produce, right off the plant, tastes than eating the stuff in stores that has been shelved for weeks.  Knowing my food is safe and healthy makes nourishing my body so much easier.

Lastly, it's fun. Yes, it's hard work. Yes, it can be frustrating at times. But the satisfaction you get from producing your own food on the dinner table is exceptionally rewarding.  The soul-nourishing, health-rewarding, and memory-making benefits of gardening are something I look forward to.

Photo by happykanppy

So, last week, Mike and I sat down and started planning. Our blueprint for how the garden will be built, arranged, and planted is mostly complete.  We also have our list  of what we'll be planting, when we'll be planting, and when we'll be harvesting.  And thankfully friends from college and family members all with experience have been chiming in to help us out with research and planning. All of your advice has been greatly appreciated. While we grew up around gardening, planning it and doing it yourself is far different.

So, here's our setup, for now. This is our home with the backyard. The solid lines outlining the backyard is the fence. The dotted line down the right side 5 feet in is the easement we cannot build over.  Ignore Mike's truck backing into the fence to dump dirt. Haha. He has way too much fun as an engineer.  This is built to scale. The raised beds are 8'x4', and the two smaller ones in the front middle are for herbs and they are 3.5'x4'.  We're thinking about fencing it in to keep the dogs out.

Our bluprint. Garden located in the upper right corner of the yard.
Bottom left is east, top right is west. Bottom right is north, top left is south.

Planting list thus far:

Spinach

Carrots

Radish

Lettuce

Eggplant

Brussel Sprouts

Bell Peppers

Potatoes

Cantaloupe

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

Green Beans

Onions

Leeks

Broccoli

& Lots of herbs!

So, this is our plan so far. I'll keep you all posted on how the process continues with building, prepping seeds, and all that goodness. Consider this a free view into what works and what fails miserably. We're learning as we go and hopefully you can live vicariously through our gardening adventures.  More than anything, I hope you're inspired to start your own. Even if it means having 2 pots of something, or a small herb garden in your kitchen window.

Also, any hints, tips, or advice...please leave it as a comment! While the books I've been reading help, nothing is better than personal experience. 

Oh--I have a thing for naming things. My Kawasaki motorcycle is "Sweet Dee".  I've been thinking of naming the garden, just for fun. Maybe to get a little sign made to put out front of it. My first thought was "The Not-So-Secret Garden". Yay or nay?

To dirty hands and fresh food,
Lacey

Homemade Cleaners, etc.

Cleaners cost big money. I was sick of buying expensive laundry detergent, grossed out by the terrible chemical-ly smell looming in my house after a good dusting, and cautious of using my kitchen counters soon after I wiped them down with a toxic cleaner.  Money & safety.  I'd say those are two very good reasons to move on towards making my own cleaners & other household items.

My first experiment: laundry detergent. My Aunt Betty was gracious enough to share her recipe on her blog.  The ingredients? Fels Naptha soap, Arm & Hammer washing soda, Borax, and water.  All of which I was able to get in the cleaning aisle of the grocery store. Go here to get the steps needed to complete this recipe.  I doubled the recipe, put it in an old kitty litter bucket, and will no longer have to worry about laundry detergent for quite some time.  It only took me about 20 minutes to put together.

My ingredients.  This will last me the year!

My Fels Naptha soap shredded in my food processor (used the shredding plate).

How about dishwashing soap?
1 ounce liquid castile soap
2 cups water
1 teaspoon vegetable glycerin
5-10 drops lavender essential oil (optional, but lavender is antibacterial)
-Combine the soap and water in a jar.  Add the glycerin and lavender.  Stir to blend. Use like normal! (BBFTH, Berthold-Bond)
-It's about $21 for all of the ingredients, but you don't use up all of the ingredients for one batch.  All of these ingredients should last you the year to make dishwashing soap. 1 25oz of Seventh Generation (all natural) dish soap is $10 at the store, and that will last you about a month or two. That's at least $60 a year on purchasing natural dish soap, opposed to $21 for the year by making it yourself.

There are so many different recipes for different household cleaners or beauty products that are a fraction of the cost to make and are completely safe. For example, I spent a total of $8 on the ingredients needed for my laundry detergent and only used a teeny bit of each item.  All of the ingredients I bought will allow me to make detergent for a YEAR. Seriously people...EIGHT DOLLARS A YEAR FOR LAUNDRY DETERGENT!!  I was paying over $10 for each bottle I bought every month.  And it's SAFE. I seriously can't scream this any louder.  Money is NOT an issue...these recipes SAVE you money.

So, you want to know where you can find awesome recipes like the one above for dishwashing soap? An amazing friend recommended a book to me: "Better Basics for the Home" by Annie Berthold-Bond.  There are almost 1,000 different practical formulas for things like housekeeping, skin care, whole body care, gardening, pets, pest control, & house care and hobbies.  She has recipes for air fresheners, astringents, clarifying lotions, natural facials, organic gardening, natural pest control, concrete sealers and damp proofing, pigments and dyes, paint strippers, adhesives, glues, waterproofing.  I mean, this is the holy bible of home products.  You need it? She probably has a recipe for it.  I bought the book in Barnes and Noble for $18.95, which I think is pretty darn worth it for a lifetime of safe product recipes.  It looks like Amazon is having a sale on it right now for $12.89!  And if you buy it used, some are as cheap as $6.

Save money. Live healthy.  I'd say that's a pretty good way to live.

(And no, I did NOT get paid to promote this book.  I just love it that much.)