NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 ROUNDUP

I saw someone else post this trick a few weeks ago and I thought it was so smart so I stole it!

This is the Thieves dish detergent that goes in your dishwasher but I now have a new use for it- bathroom cleaner!

I use the Thieves cleaner to wipe down all of my surfaces but this stuff works as an amazing sink/shower/toilet cleaner. Growing up I used this stuff called Comet to clean my bathroom and I would always get such a headache. 👎🏻Turns out- that stuff is full of junk. It has “fragrance” in it which probably explains why I got sick using it.
Drop a few scoopfuls of this in your sinks or wherever you need some extra scrubbing power. It’s gritty which I love because it really gets things clean. It smells citrusy and doesn’t give me a headache!

I love products that do more than one thing- like the Thieves cleaner I use as a cleaner & stain remover and the conditioner that I use as a conditioner and shaving cream. When you can use things for multiple uses it just means you buy less. 👍🏼

I am so excited about this book! I learned SO much from reading it and I will be sharing so much over the coming weeks from it. Today’s post isn’t necessarily “non-toxic” per se but your cycle can be affected by toxins so it relates. These are just random facts from the book that stood out to me. Future posts will have more of a “theme” but I didn’t want to leave these out.

Your menstrual cycle is a vital sign just like your heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure…. If your cycle isn’t functioning normal then neither will your body.

Regular ovulation can only happen when your endocrine and reproductive systems are functioning normally so an irregular or abnormal cycle either there could be an underlying health problem.

The idea that your periods can be suppressed with hormones for years on end with no health consequences is false and dangerous thinking.

Unopposed estrogen is a risk factor for breast cancer. Some researchers have suggested that regular ovulation can play a key role in reducing the risk of breast cancer by making sure you have adequate progesterone production in the postovulatory phase of your cycle. One study found women who experienced irregular cycles were nearly twice as likely to develop breast cancer in their lifetimes.

Regular ovulation and sufficient progesterone production is associated with building and maintaining optimal bone density in women. Women who stop ovulating or experience ovulating disturbances are deficient in progesterone and that can put them at risk of developing osteoporosis.

Severe pain of any kind during your period is NOT normal and it’s actually an indication that something is wrong. Many women who seek support form their doctor know the drill—painkillers and birth control—neither of these address the underlying cause.

In order to have a healthy uterine lining to support and sustain a pregnancy you need to produce enough estrogen and progesterone to build and maintain it. If you only have a short amount of bleeding during your cycle your uterine lining might not be thick enough to allow for normal implantation.

Tonight is the perfect night for a bath because it’s getting cold. 💨I could definitely use a relaxing bath after being so worried about Bagel all day. 😢People takes baths to relax but - confession: I’m totally NOT a bath girl though. There are about ten million other things I would rather do than take a bath. They’re just not my thing! If I’m really sick I might take one but other than that I’ll pass. We have this cute stand-alone tub in our house and it just never gets used!

If I ever do take a bath I am very wary of what goes in the tub. A lot of traditional bubble bath soaps have fragrance in them. (Again, that’s code for possible toxic chemicals and unknowns that don’t have to be disclosed). Young Living makes these calming Lavender bath bombs so I tried one out the other day and let my feet/legs soak in the tub. Lavender is one of my favorite oils and one that I use daily so naturally I loved that these are infused with it. I highly suggest giving these a try if you take a lot of baths! These are very calming & you know you’re not soaking your body in toxic junk. 💜

I’ve mentioned MTHFR here several times so I’m working on some posts about it. This is a very introductory post about folate vs. folic acid.
Folate is an important nutrient, NOT folic acid. Folic acid is synthetic. When you take a vitamin that has folic acid, or eat other foods with folic acid, your body has to convert it to the active form of folate which is what your body can actually use. This conversion process is called methylation. The hard part is that not everybody has this ability to convert it effectively. If you have MTHFR your ability to convert could be reduced by as much as 70%. When you can’t convert you can be doing all the “right” things but still be deficient. Folate is found in green leafy veggies, legumes and a number of other foods.

This is especially important when picking a prenatal vitamin. You want to make sure yours doesn’t have folic acid!

source: the fifth vital sign

Saturated fats (like coconut oil, lard, tallow, duck fat, ghee & butter) are a better choice for cooking over vegetable oils. The type of heat you’re using does make a difference so keep that in mind (butter and olive oil do better at moderate, not high heat). Vegetable oils make it seem like they are healthy because of the word “vegetable” but that’s not the case. Veggie oils include canola, corn, safflower, cottonseed and soy oils. These types of oils require extreme processing to manufacture.

They are put under high heat and numerous chemicals and solvents are added. Then the oil is degummed, bleached and deodorized before it is deemed suitable for us to consume. These oils always contain a high proportion of omega-6 fats and very little omega-3 fats. You want these to be balanced out so the high omega-6 isn’t good even though you need those fats in your body. When you regularly consume omega-6 oils that have been damaged by heat, they create inflammation in your body.

Trans fats are an important fat to avoid at all costs. If you see “partially hydrogenated oil” that is a code for trans fats. Eating these on a regular basis is pretty much guaranteed to mess up your cycle in one way or another. One study showed that for every 2% increased in trans unsaturated fat consumption, there was a 73% greater risk of ovulatory infertility. Trans fats are found in processed junk foods, fake fats (like margarine and shortening) and foods that are fried in unstable oils like at fast food restaurants. You can’t always avoid these but when you cook in your home you can and that can greatly reduce your exposure. 👍🏼👍🏼 (Source- The 5th Vital Sign)

Lifestyle Choices for Healthy Cycles

Tips for getting healthy cycles.

1. Improve your sleep.

2. Reduce your xenoestrogen exposure.

3. Avoid the junk.
4. Balance your blood sugar.
5. Identify food sensitivities.
6. Support your liver.
7. Exercise smarter, hot harder.
8. Manage your stress.

Let’s break some of those down- see the pictures for more details! Honestly these are tips we can all use even if we don’t think we’re having any health issues.

This isn’t the normal type of picture I’d post here but last night I made a modified chicken spaghetti with a few healthier swaps I want to tell you about.

I read @mixandmatchmama blog every morning and she always posts the yummiest recipes. Sometimes I’ll take them and modify them to my dietary restrictions.

This is her chicken spaghetti. Her recipe calls for Velveeta cheese. I can’t bring myself to buy Velveeta. 😬 It’s full of junk unfortunately. I googled and found a homemade Velveeta recipe though! I got fresh cheese cut from the deli at the grocery store- not packaged cheese which is also 👎🏻. I also swapped out spaghetti noodles for chickpea pasta. I used my Tolerant brand pasta which is just made from organic chickpea flour.
This was an easy recipe to make & super good! We don’t normally eat cheese. Every now and then I’ll eat some though so when I saw this recipe I was okay with it having cheese as long as I could swap the Velveeta.

I hadn’t had chicken spaghetti in YEARS so when I saw this recipe I had to try it! Happy to send the link if you want to give it a try as well. 😋

Christmas is next week so I know most of us will be eating a yummy meal with our families! Today I want to share this mix from HEB that can be used as a healthier substitute for Jiffy brand mix!

A few years ago a lady at Corey’s work made this corn casserole for a holiday potluck they were having and Corey loved it so much he got the recipe. I’m glad he did because this is now a holiday staple for us! It is by no means healthy but a few times a year it’s so worth it to eat!

The recipe calls for a box of Jiffy mix and up until this year that’s what I’ve used. I was at my parents’ house last week and I saw this on the counter and was so happy about it! My mom bought it for something else & I’m so glad I saw it.

Up to 92% of corn in the US is genetically engineered (centerforfoodsafety.org) so it is extremely important to buy organic corn and corn products. Eating certified organic means there won’t be any GMO’s and the food won’t be sprayed with cancer causing glyphosate.

A huge bonus for this is that there is NO folic acid in it. 🙌🏻🙌🏻 This is so important for those of us with the mthfr gene mutation as we need to avoid folic acid. (Jiffy does have FA in it 👎🏻) When you’re needing cornbread mix for anything you’re making this Christmas try to find an organic mix! This is in no way a “healthy food” by any means & the ingredients aren’t all perfect but when you make small swaps for better choices when you’re cooking it really can add up.

For those of you who want the recipe here it is.
1 – Organic Cornbread Mix
1 – Organic Can Cream Corn
1 – Organic Can Whole Corn (drained)
1 – Organic 8oz container of sour cream
1 – Organic Melted Stick of Butter
2 – Organic, Cage Free Eggs

Mix everything together and bake at 425 degrees for 30-45 mins!