Soap Nuts

For the last few months we have been dealing with skin problems with Lyla (there will be plenty of posts regarding this). We've been trying out several things to see what helps and what makes it worse. Over the weekend I had to order some more detergent for her diapers since I was almost out. I did a lot of searching on both Hyena Cart and Etsy to find a safe, environmentally friendly, nonirritating, scent-free detergent for Lyla. During my search I came across a lady who makes her detergent out of Soap Nuts.

I had heard of soap nuts on both a cloth diaper group and a baby wearing group that I frequent. Seeing the name again prompted me to do a search on this detergent. I kept picturing in my head detergent that was solid and the size of a nut (kind of like a bath bomb). I was completely surprised though to find out that "Soap Nuts" are actually a FRUIT. Yes, a fruit. Soap nuts, also known as soap berries, are a sun dried fruit that come from a unique species of soap nut berry trees. These berries are harvested after they fall from the tree and the seed is removed from the shell and the shells are laid out in the sun to dry with absolutely no chemical processing. The shells of these berries contain a substance called saponin that produces a soaping effect. These are 100% natural and can be used for all kinds of household cleaning. To read more in depth information on this amazing fruit go here or here.

I was so excited to receive the small bag of soap nuts I purchased over the weekend and eagerly went to wash so clothes when they arrived. I decided to wash our two ferrets' blanket and our dogs blanket first. I figured that would be "the ultimate test". I followed the directions and tossed 4 of the berries in a Muslin bag (which was provided) and just tossed them in the washer (yep, that simple!). The blankets came out smelling like nothing (woo hoo!) and after going for a spin in the dryer they were ready to go. No pet smell, no harsh detergent smell, no detergent buildup, nothing but nice, clean blankets! The other great part of using these is the fact that you can use them up to 4-5 times before they're no longer effective. You don't just use and toss them. After your done with your laundry, just put the Muslin bag to the side for your next load. You'll know that it's time for new berries when the ones you've been using turn grey and soft.

I really love that these are 100% natural, chemical-free, fragrance-free, biodegradable, and hypoallergenic. There's nothing better than knowing your using something that's not only safe your you and your little ones, but something that is good for Mother Earth, too. I highly recommend AT LEAST trying them!

Here's a photo of my soap nuts:)

MIA and Baby-led Weaning

I've been MIA for a while so one of my New Year's goals is to keep up with this blog. I will be trying to at least post once or twice a week. I'm going to change things up just a little bit too. Instead of just doing reviews on products, I'm going to talk about everything I try and change in my life.

Today I thought I'd talk about baby-led weaning. Baby-led weaning is the "hands off" approach to introducing solids to your child. Instead of starting with thin, runny purees, you skip the spoon feeding and start by giving your child age appropriate foods that are soft cooked and cut/mashed into pieces that are big enough for baby to manage on their own.

Lyla LOVES being able to feed herself! It is so much fun to watch her explore new foods and textures instead of it being about her eating "x" amount of jarred baby food. Lyla gets to go at her own pace and tell us when she's done. So far she's tried avocado, green beans, rice, banana, steak, sweet potatoes, egg yolks, and pickled okra. We also still breastfeed on demand and I always nurse before offering her other food.

My mom picked me up the book Healthy meals for Babies and Toddlers by Valerie Barrett and it has a lot of good information and yummy meal ideas. I thought I'd share one with you that I will be making Lyla tomorrow.


Pastina with Butternut Squash
Prepare: 5 minutes
Cook: 15-20 minutes
Servings 4-6

6oz butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 cup dried baby pasta shapes or pastina
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
small piece of unsalted butter

Steam the butternut squash for about 10-15 minutes, or until tender, then mash with a fork.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions, then drain and return to the pan. Add the butter, oil, and Parmesan cheese and stip until the pasta is coated, then combine with the butternut squash. Enjoy!

I can't wait to make this up for Lyla tomorrow night. I think I'll have to make a little bit more so I can enjoy it, too!

Here's Lyla enjoying egg yolks for the first time:)

And rice:)

Mineral Makeup

I will be updating this post once I can try out my makeup a few more times, but I wanted to make a quick post for the wonderful momma that sent me some.

Lucy is behind Mum Mum's Crafts on Etsy. I've been able to try out my samples only once so far, due to being sick the last couple weeks, but I really liked it. I'm a very pale women with freckles, so I've always had a hard time find foundation that was just right for my skin tone, even light foundations were always too dark and covered up my freckles (which I don't want! I loove my freckles:). Her Fair was perfect. I didn't have those unsightly lines around my jaw like I used to with other foundations and my freckles weren't muted. It was so easy to put on and very light weight. Even after I added blush and eyeshadow, I didn't feel "weighed down" like when I used to wear makeup (I haven't wore makeup since Lyla was born). Next I applied her 3-in-1 Peach Glow as a blush. It's such a beautiful color and I felt it complimented me very well. All the blushes in stores seem way to pink or red, but this was just perfect for me. Last I applied her Pink Pearl Eye Color. It tied in everything so nicely! Since I've not been feeling well, after putting everything on I looked refreshed and flawless, yet my face didn't scream "I HAVE MAKEUP ON!" When Jeremy got home from work that day, he noticed right away that something was different, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was (which I feel should be the case with makeup). He said to me "Wow honey, you look really good. Did you do something today?"

I can't wait to try out other mineral makeup. I have some samples sitting here from Crystal behind The All Natural Face on Etsy, so once I'm feeling up to it, I'll be trying out her makeup as well and will post a review. Once I have some more followers, I would love to start doing giveaways and mineral makeup is definitely on my list of things I'd love for you all to try!

Momma Cloth

I finally went out and bought a new memory card! So now I can talk a little about my momma cloth. I can't really say I've switched yet, but that's only because I haven't had a period yet! I bought 6 pads from Blossom on hyenacart. These things are too cute! They almost make me wish I would start already so I can try them out. I did wear one for a whole day though, just to get a feel for them, and man are they comfy. You can't even compare them to a disposable pad, or a tampon for that matter. I honestly forgot I was even wearing it. During my search for an alternative menstrual product, I spoke with many women who have already made the switch to cloth and was surprised to hear the same thing over and over again, "My periods are lighter, shorter, and less crampy." Now who the heck doesn't want that!? I don't know about you, but I've always had bad periods. When I was in Middle School they were so bad I was actually sent to the E.R a couple times because we thought something was seriously wrong, but nope, just menstrual cramps. So after I start menstruating regularly again I plan on testing this tale out. I will chart my first 6 periods and let you all know what I come up with! Though, with me planning on extended breastfeeding, who knows when I will start again. So the results will obviously be awhile:) Feel free to test it out for your self though! If you do, I'd love to hear if you have noticeable changes in your cycle:)

Gross!

In my search for more natural, toxic-free cosmetics I have stumbled upon two very informative websites. I can't believe the nasty things that go into cosmetics (shampoos, soaps, makeup, etc)! At "The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics", I read under "Cosmetic Laws" that the FDA does not review or regulate any of what goes into our cosmetics. "Major loopholes in U.S. federal law allow the $50 billion cosmetics industry to put unlimited amounts of chemicals into personal care products with no required testing, no monitoring of health effects and inadequate labeling requirements. In fact, cosmetics are among the least-regulated products on the market."

As I searched through "Cosmetic Database" today in search of a safe shampoo, I was even more shocked to see that a lot of their listed "low hazard" products had ingredients linked to Cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, violations, restrictions & warnings, allergies/immunotoxicity, and "other" concerns which they write out for you. They also tell you whether the product you are looking at is compliant with the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. Sadly, most of the ones I viewed were not. So, if the "low hazard" products had a few of the above mentioned ingredient links, what do the "high hazard" ones have!?!?

Also, I found out that non-toxic and tocic-free mean competely different things! Non-toxic means the petroleum chemicals has been buffered with other chemicals to make a gentler product. These types of products still contain petroleum-based chemicals. Toxin-free products use simple, natural ingredients. The thickness and texture will probably be different and sometimes there are slight variations batch to batch. Soaps (not detergents) have no Sulfates--lather will be less, but the cleaning power is superb.

I was able to find two retailers listed that had NO toxic ingredients in their shampoo products and were COMPLETELY compliant with the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. I would assume if their shampoos are completely toxic-free then the rest of their products are also. I will be checking more into that.

Nothing Nasty is a UK based business inspired in 2001 when it's owner, Elin Ross, was pregnant with her first child. For more background click here. Her products look amazing and I was excited to buy something to try out, but once I converted their currency to US currency I was jolted back to reality! It is kind of pricey, but one can expect that with a natural product that is not mass produced. We just don't have that kind of money right now.

Poof's Closet is a US based family business that was inspired after the owners mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Her family became determined to stop using products laden with toxic chemicals. Their shampoo was more in my price range and after talking to the "money maker," I was given the O.K. to buy a bottle. I decided I could keep using ACV as a conditioner so I just ordered their "Poofy Organics Baby Poof Body Wash & Shampoo" so that Lyla and I could both use it (you should check out Johnson&Johnson on the database! OMG). An 8.5oz bottle cost me $17.06 after shipping costs. I'm very excited to try this product out! I'll be posting a review after I've used it a couple times, so make sure to check back!