A baby fed soy will receive, through the phytoestrogens, the equivalent of approximately 5 birth control pills per day! The damage is incalculable.

An excerpt from the must read article Is soy healthy?.

Knowing what goes on your baby’s skin is a must! More and more we see words like “natural” and “organic” on a product’s label, though often these terms are misleading. Many parents in the hustle and bustle of daily life just don’t take the time to read a product’s label thoroughly if at all. In addition there are those that simply just buy what they know, what they’ve grown up with, what the advertisers push. That said, I’m not a naysayer to the mainstream, I do however believe that it’s important to know what’s in the products I use, not just for my baby but for my whole family. Moderation is key, I’m not prepared to give up my M.A.C. make-up though I have streamlined it and have incorporated better choices. The following site, Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database, is a great resource, one I hope that you’ll find useful!

It’s our mission at the Environmental Working Group to use the power of information to protect human health and the environment.

Often, that means building databases. EWG’s data gives you practical solutions to protect yourself and your family from the health risks we all face from everyday exposures to myriad industrial chemicals.

In 2004 we launched Skin Deep, an online safety guide for cosmetics and personal care products. Our aim was to fill in where companies and the government leave off: companies are allowed to use almost any ingredient they wish, and our government doesn’t require companies to test products for safety before they’re sold. EWG’s scientists built Skin Deep to be a one-of-a-kind resource, integrating our in-house collection of personal care product ingredient listings with more than 50 toxicity and regulatory databases.

Now in its fourth year and third major update, our Skin Deep database provides you with easy-to-navigate safety ratings for nearly a quarter of all products on the market — 52,698 products with 8,846 ingredients. At about one million page views per month, Skin Deep is the world’s largest and most popular product safety guide.

-Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database

What’s your footprint? Have you thought about it?

Earth Day Network Footprint Calculator!

I turn the other cheek to “you”. The “you” that finds comfort in being malicious and unkind. The “you” who finds joy in spreading falsities. My response to “you” is this:

When we are faced with such hostility we can choose to react on instinct, to defend, to justify, to attack and ultimately to feed the ugliness of this dysfunctional theater, but in doing so we allow it to become a part of us. Eckhart Tolle¹ describes much of this beautifully, and may summarize it best in his words: “Whatever you fight, you strengthen, and what you resist, persists.”

-Today’s World – Karma, Reflection and Kindness.

It is disappointing that there are those few of you who find my success to be threatening. That feel you need to have your presence known with each degree of success I earn and that seem to feel that attempting to tear others down is a way to build yourself up. My success is based on a true and honest heart and most importantly it is based on integrity. Integrity is defined as an adherence to moral and ethical principles. For me this holds true in every detail as well as holistically. Any one of you have the potential to be as successful – but your first goal should be to apply the energy you use to attack me to improve your own life skills. I am well aware that some of “you” are individuals that are known in the WAHM community yet hide behind anonymity and innuendo. Sadly, there are also those few that are simply wanting to “belong” to something regardless of the ill intent, the falsehood or those it injures. As women, we should stand up for and encourage the success and empowerment of our gender. I will forever strive to be a champion for us as women; women who not only want to do meaningful work, but who also find great meaning and success in being wives, partners and mothers.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE RED LINK BELOW

Are You at Risk for Heart Disease? Take this quiz to find out.

As posted in What is the heart truth? on the SC blog March of last year, every woman needs to know about heart disease. So many of us are guilty of nurturing our loved ones so obsessively that we too often neglect our own health. As mothers, I do believe that we are the driving force behind the success of our families. From the foods our family eats, to health care, and even in the support and strength we give. We are needed and it is of the utmost importance that we are educated about our health and well being.

Be smart. Be informed. Be well.

February is American Heart Month because cardiovascular diseases, including stoke, remain the number one cause of death in America, and to raise awareness of the risks of heart disease, many have taken to wearing red during the month as a symbol of support.

Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food is an absolute “must have” for any of us that struggle with combining creativity and vegetables!

Breakfast : .33 cup organic old fashioned oats, one serving of protein, banana (small)

11:00 a.m. : 6 ounces natural or organic chicken (Whole Foods), .25 cup organic brown rice (measured dry)

2:00 p.m. : REPEAT 11:00 a.m.

3:00 p.m. : one serving protein

6:00 p.m. : one serving of protein, banana (small)

9:00 p.m. : 1/2 cup organic green beans (Costco), 1 tsp organic coconut oil (glass jar), three eggs

I try to keep the calories below 1600. I make simple and small variations here and there. The key to remember is that this is NOT a diet it is truly a lifestyle.

Organic trail mix (Costco) after 3:00 if hungry.

I do put some cheese on my eggs at night with one yolk. And will stop that as soon as I plateau. I flavor most everything with an organic poultry seasoning (Costco). I drink lots of filtered water, absolutely no bottled water (plastic bad).

DAILY: Probiotic BERRY GREEN by New Chapter, Organic flax seed oil

As much as I try to keep most of my intake organic, there are just some proteins/meal replacements that I find that I get more from. Balance and moderation. This is just an example of one eating program. I change it up every other month depending on what my needs are. Currently I am leaning down. This is NOT how I ate while nursing my babies as my nutritional needs were different at that time.

The more research I do into the health and safety of the foods we eat, the more disturbed I am. It seems that there is much that we as consumers are not told outright. The information is out there, one just has to want to know. Quite honestly it was easier not knowing. That being said, the knowing is my responsibility for the health and well being of my family is at stake. I have found that many of the foods on the average grocery list contain genetically engineered ingredients.

The True Food Now Shopping Guide! is a super resource to find out just what foods should not be on your next grocery list. Though the list is a few years old, I certainly found it to be very informative. One can only imagine the dozens of brands and products that have since been introduced into the food market place.

What’s going on ‘behind the label’ of the food on our supermarket shelves in the United States? A secret genetic experiment… and you should know that just because it’s not listed on labels, doesn’t mean it’s not there. So what’s an American consumer to do? Go behind the label!

An excerpt from True Food Now.

A baby fed soy will receive, through the phytoestrogens, the equivalent of approximately 5 birth control pills per day! The damage is incalculable.

An excerpt from the must read article Is soy healthy?.

LOVE this hand sanitizer. Easy to carry and use – CleanWell

…and for the older children, it is “cool” unlike the gels, so that is what they tell me. The fact is they use it, which is what matters.

Available at Whole Foods Market and Vitamin Cottage.