http://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/why-you-should-ride-your-bike →
I love my bike! I take it to class and ride all around Providence. It’s such a blast. Consider picking up a bike this spring to help save your health and the environment!
Why I’m OBSESSED with chia seeds
Chia seeds have easily become one of my top favorite foods. The first time I tried them was in the Mamma Chia drinks that are sold at Whole Foods Market and I absolutely fell in love not even knowing about all of the great benefits.
Here are the reasons I love them!
1. They’re tasteless. This may seem like a reason not to love them but you can put them in basically anything. They expand in liquid to create a sort of gel which is really cool. My favorite is to put them in water or juice but I put them in the smoothies I make every day.
2. They help keep you feeling full for longer which aids in weight-loss.
3. They help to keep your blood sugar balanced which is super important to me because my cousin and grandfather both suffer from diabetes.
4. They contain more Omega-3s than salmon! I hate fish so this is awesome.
5. The chia gel forms a barrier as it moves through your intestines which helps to push out leftover junk left in there and in your colon.
6. They have as many antioxidants as blueberries.
I could go on and on but those are some of the reasons I love chia seeds.
For some of my fellow plant-based dieters out there, there’s a really awesome faux-tapioca pudding recipe I discovered. All you do is take 2 cups of almond milk and add in 2-3 TBSP of chia seeds. Then add agave nectar or honey to taste and some cinnamon or anything else you like and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. This recipe is so delicious and healthy and it makes a great dessert.
Since we totally need sunscreen in this weather…(not sarcasm)
Okay so I know we basically skipped spring here in New England and it’s still cloudy out, but it’s time to start thinking about protecting our skin from the sun. Did you know that 60%-80% of the sun’s rays come through the clouds anyway? So I’ve been doing some research and I’ve found a few products that I think seem pretty cool. I haven’t really found any sun products that are 100% all-natural but I found some that are pretty close.
First, sunscreen. This one I think you can probably find in most convenience stores or Whole Foods. It’s called Tropical Sands All-Natural Sunscreen. It’s about $19.95 but that’s not much different from most other sunscreens. Two other good brands for all-natural sunscreens are Caribbean Blue and Caribbean Solutions.
For after sun care, there are a lot more options. There’s a really cool company called Loving Naturals that has tons of lotions and sunscreens that are really affordable. They also have insect repellant and hand sanitizer that are other necessities for the summer. Another nice product is the Only Green After Sun Aloe Vera Gel. It’s $10 dollars for 4 oz and it’s completely safe.
If you truly cannot live without a tan this summer, the best tanning oil to get is Bodyceuticals Spabody Coconut Butter and Tan Oil. It’s also completely safe and the only product that gets a 0 on the toxicity scale for tanning oils.
Just remember that sunscreen and the shade aren’t 100% affective for protecting yourself from the sun. But at least with these products, you won’t be putting additional toxins into your skin.
Last tip: moisturize every day so you don’t peel and your skin glows! I use the Coco Lotion from Lush and it is absolutely amazing. I recommend it to everyone. If you’re ever in the Providence area check out Lush on the third floor of the mall.
Coffee Facts
Coffee is supposed to be grown naturally under the shade of trees. If you buy organic shade-grown coffee, you’ll save 2.3 square FEET of rain forest per CUP of coffee you drink. That’s insane to think that there’s even that much rain forest for the amount of coffee my family drinks, nevermind an entire world.
A few good brands to buy from are:
- Arbor Day Foundation coffee ($6.95 for 10 oz.)
- Golden Valley Farms ($7.95 for 10 oz.)
- Audubon Shade Grown Coffee ($8.99 for 12 oz.)
- Cafe Sombra ($10-$15 for 12 oz.)
- Counter Culture Coffee ($10.35 - $12.55 for 12 oz.)
- Equal Exchange (most $9 for 12 oz.)
- Grounds for Change ($9.95 for 12 oz.)
- Java Forest ($10 for 12 oz. and a portion of your purchase benefits Defenders of Wildlife)
- Montana Coffee Traders ($9.95 for 12 oz.)
- Birds & Beans ($19.25 for 32 oz.
- Cafe Mam ($8 for 12 oz., $9 for 16 oz.)
- Caribou Coffee ($10.99 for 16 oz.)
- Peace Coffee ($10.95 for 16 oz.)
Info from thedailygreen.com
Here’s a rough draft of the video I’m making for the confirmation retreat at my church. I hope you guys like it! I’ll post the final when I have it.
Home-made Conditioner
Take one peeled and crushed avocado and mix it with 1 cup of coconut milk. Use as normal conditioner or leave in for 10-15 minutes.
Mix one egg yolk with a tablespoon of caster oil and apply mixture to hair.
Take 1/4 a cup of honey and mix with 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup mayonnaise. Add a few drops of essential herbal oil. Leave in for 20 minutes and wash out.
Take a mashed banana and add to 1/2 cup of honey. Use twice a week.
These are some recipes I found from all over the internet. Proven to work GREAT!
Home remedies for teeth whitening
These are all remedies I found from people submitting posts on websites. I haven’t tried any of them out but I will and I’ll let you know. Hopefully one of these will work for you and you won’t have to spend 50 dollars on a teeth whitening kit that will destoy your teeth!
The strawberry method:
1. Cut a strawberry in half so it can fit in your mouth.
2. Rub it all over your teeth until they are pink-ish
3. Leave on for 5-10 minutes then brush off with your regular tooth paste
The normal method:
1. …Brush your teeth like you’re supposed to and don’t eat candy
The Baking Soda Method
1. Put 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda in a cup and add your normal tooth pasta
2. Brush normally
The White Vinegar Method
1. Take a half cup of white vinegar and add one table spoon of salt in it.
2. Use like mouth wash daily before bed
Completely random method
1. Crush up a strawberry and mix it with baking soda
2. Then mix it lemon juice and peroxide
3. Scrub your teeth for about five minutes and keep adding more of the mixture
Hint: don’t use your normal brush because the seeds can get stuck
Aloe Vera Plant Method
1. Take the sap from the inside of the plant and rub on teeth
Olive Oil and Apple Cider Method
1. Rub your teeth with olive oil then rinse with diluted apple cider
Is this you every morning struggling to get your daily coffee fix? I drink a lot of coffee. Not as much as my boyfriend, but I do drink coffee. I’m gonna go over the health benefits and the things that are not so great about drinking a lot of coffee. You’ll find that they almost even out with the benefits just slightly ahead.
Let’s start with the benefits.
Coffee can decrease your risk of having certain cancers (mostly liver), type 2 diabetes, parkinson’s, dementia, heart rhythm problems, and strokes.
As you know, it wakes you up without having to drink massive amounts of Monster Energy drinks. Easy as that.
It’s a source of anti-oxidents. Remember, it’s not a significant source but they have been found in large quantities of coffee.
It comes from a plant, so if you aren’t buying from a huge chain brand, it’s mostly natural.
A typic 6 once cup of coffee has about 7 calories. Once you add the cream and sugar, it gets a little worse. That brings it up to around 45 if you put in the normal amount. Not too bad, right?
Now the bad effects of coffee:
Remember, most of these are rare and not COMPLETELY proven.
There are over 1000 chemicals reported in roasted coffee, but some of them are natural and are not bad for you.
It can cause gastritis and ulcers in the stomach.
It causes the staining of the teeth, which leads me to my next post which will be about natural teeth whiteners.
It can also lead to iron deficiency anemia.
So that’s it you guys. You can decide how you feel about it. I’m going to continue drinking coffee, personally. It’s kind of a you-won’t-get-this-disease-but-you-might-get-this-one type thing. I think there are more benefits than negatives.
I’ve been trying to figure out what to write about next
I don’t want to waste time talking about something that doesn’t concern you guys. So what do you want to hear about (anything from specific cosmetics to random health concerns)?
Click here to find the right water filter for your family! →
This is a link to find a water filter that suite your needs. There’s 4 easy steps that will help you choose from pitcher, faucet mounted, faucet integrated, on-counter, under sink, and whole house. Clearly whole house is the most effective and safe but if you’re like me, that’s not really an option due to the price. The website basically picks a filter for you based on your needs and budget.
http://www.ewg.org/tap-water/whats-in-yourwater
Use that link to find what contaminants are in your water so you can enter them in on the filter page.
