Day One of the Real Food Challenge

Today was the first day of the 7 Day Real Food Challenge and we got off to a great start! Unfortunately, we were a little slow to get moving this morning so breakfast just didn't happen at all. By the time we finished church, we were all famished! We enjoyed a lunch of raw fruits and veggies with natural organic peanut butter. 

For dinner, I decided to use some of the ingredients we already had so that nothing would go bad and be wasted, which meant coming up with my own recipe instead of using a recipe from the challenge guide. I had some beautiful asparagus from the local Ovis Hill Farm. I put it in the steamer, topped it with a few pats of butter and some sea salt, and left it to cook. I also have a ton of onions and garlic from another local farm, Dickson's Organics. I chopped the greens and bulbs from two small onions, as well as the greens from a garlic. After pan frying some natural pork chops with butter, I sauteed the greens, onions, and 3 crushed garlic cloves in the pan juices and used this to top the pork chops. The end result was absolutely delicious! 

How did your first day on the challenge go? If you're just hearing about it, you aren't too late. Your Day One doesn't necessarily have to be today! Find out more about the 7 Day Real Food Challenge and giveaways by clicking here or on the tab at the top of the page. 

7 Day Real Food Challenge

Do you think you can eat only real food for 7 days straight?

To some of you this might sound nearly impossible and some of you may be thinking – I already do. This challenge is designed to help those of you who really want to live the real food lifestyle but might need a little guidance to get started. This challenge is also for all of you who have already figured it out, but you have fallen off the bandwagon. Sometimes life gets hectic and our diets seem to suffer. It's never too late to get back into the healthy food routine!

So, What is the 7 Day Real Food Challenge?

There is a big group of us following this challenge. Everyone who joins this challenge is making a pact to eat only real food for 7 days – specifically on April 21st - 27th. Already there are 28 bloggers who have committed to this challenge and are here as a support team for everyone who joins us. Here is your support team:

Todd Dosenberry from Primal Toad
Amanda from Natural Living Mama
Erin Odom from The Humbled Homemaker
Janey McKeever from Consistantly Sporadic
Jaime Reid from Jaime Reids Kitchen
Anne Simpson from Authentic Simplicity
Laura Broach from Mama Making Changes
Mike Lamitola from MikeLamitola.com
Alix from Blessed in Homemaking
Stacy Karen from A Delightful Home
Nina Nelson from Shalom Mama
Melissa Joulwan from Well Fed
Kimball Young from Heavy on Wholesome
Laura Prevost from Head over heels in Health
Victoria Moore from Yogi Mami
Carol Lovett from Ditch the Wheat
Katie Stanley from Nourishing Simplicity
Jami Leigh from Young Wifes Guide
Andrea from Homemade for Elle
Sara Warren from Unorthadox Momma
Amanda Anderson from Chef Amanda Anderson.com
Sara Roylance from Sara Roylance.com
Sara Shay from Your Thriving family
Jennifer from Hybrid Rasta Mama
Marillyn Beard from Just Making Noise
Nichi from My Healthy Beginning
Michelle Elnycky from The Crooked House Blog

So... for those of you who think this might be way too hard to do – you have all these experts here to back you up and help you meet the challenge. It’s not only these bloggers that will be doing the challenge but many of our readers will be following along. We will have a special Facebook group for discussions about the challenge and a place to reach out to everyone for help and support. There are two ways you can participate in the challenge:

Option # 1 (Free)

Join us and make the commitment to eat only real food for 7 days starting on April 21 – April 27, 2013. You will receive:

• An e-guidebook on “What is Real Food?”
• A chance to win one of our fabulous real food prizes

To enter this challenge for free click here

Option # 2 ($29)

If you want to get really serious about this challenge and take full advantage of the support you can get from this group – this is for you. Making a big lifestyle change can be difficult on your own but with a huge group of people doing it along with you it is a lot easier – and a lot more fun! As a member of this challenge you will receive:

• An e-guidebook on “What is Real Food?”
• A full real food Paleo meal plan for 7 days – three meals a day and snacks
• Recipes for all of the items in the meal plan (37 Delicious recipes!!)
• A shopping list to help you prepare for the challenge
• Tips on how to prepare your kitchen for this event
• Membership to our private Facebook group which is a place to reach out for help and ask questions
• A chance to win one of our fabulous real food prizes - worth over $600+

PLUS these fabulous Bonuses (worth over $40+) for everyone who buys this package...

• A copy of "Your Grocery Budget Toolbox eBook" ($7.99 value). This eBook is the perfect guide for anyone new to eating healthy, learn how to save time and money with a few simple strategies. Follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest
• A copy of Health Coach, Mike Lamitola's music album, "Fitting Out," ($7.00 value). Mike's music is inspired by real life experiences, dreams and some very random thoughts. Follow Mike on Facebook
• A 20% discount to Natural Living Mama's Product shop. Natural Living Mamma offers herbal body and skin care, salves, and teas made from only natural ingredients. Click here to visit her shop or follow her on Facebook
• A copy of The Holistic Mama's Audio Class,"How to Eat Real Food on a Budget" ($29.00 value) Follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest
• A 15% discount to Blessed in Homemaking Etsy shop. Blessed In Homemaking offers organic and all natural body care products, gentle baby care products, herbal products, crocheted items, and more, for your healthy lifestyle. Follow on Facebook

The meal plan for this challenge is a Paleo menu! This means that all the recipes are grain-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free. If you have ever thought about trying the Paleo / Primal diet and thought it was too hard this is the perfect chance to try it out. All of these done for you planning items and the built in support are designed to make this challenge much less of a challenge to complete. What do you think – are you ready to take the 7 Day Real Food Challenge?

Click here to join us and get the plan, recipes, and support now!

The plan and recipes require basic kitchen tools. A good set of knives is the best thing you can splurge on in my opinion - even better you may win some in the giveaways that go along with this challenge! Speaking of giveaways...Don’t forget about all of the fabulous prizes from our amazing sponsors!! We are giving away $600 worth of products! The Giveaways (over $600+ value)...


  Ergo Chef Knife Company, makers of ergonomically-designed professional chef knives, is giving one participant of our challenge their Pro-Series 7” Santoku knife, Come Apart Kitchen Shears and a 9” & 12” Duo Tongs (Retail value $132) Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube

  Taza Chocolate company, makers of traditional stone ground Mexican Chocolate, is giving one of our participants a package of their salted almond discs, their chipotle chili discs, a jar of chocolate covered hazelnuts and their 87% chocolate bar. Taza chocolate has a direct trade cacao program that cultivates face-to-face relationships with farmers. (Retail value $ 30.47) Follow them on Facebook and Twitter


  Kaya Foods, superfoods for delicious living, is giving one participant 5 bags of their delicious Kale and Veggie Chips, great for healthy snacking and a few $1.00 coupons (Retail value $ 10) Follow them on Facebook






   Yogi Tea, products inspired by Ayurveda is giving one participant of our challenge 4 boxes of a variety of our top selling teas and a Yogi tea mug. (Retail value $40)Yogi tea is committed to providing healthy, natural teas that are accessible to as many people as possible. Follow them on Facebook.





   Applegate, Organic & Natural Meats, is giving away a gift pack of products. (Retail value $ 25) Applegate meats are free of anti-biotics, growth hormones, nitrates, artificial ingredients and fillers which makes them far surpass the quality of conventional sliced sandwich meats. When buying Applegate products you can be confident you are eating a high quality product. Follow them on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter



  Trilight Health, makers of fast-acting, great tasting liquid herbal supplements, is giving one participant a $50 gift certificate to order products on their website! For over 20 years now, TriLight Health have supplied their customers nationwide with their high quality line of liquid herbal products. They specialize in great tasting, alcohol and sugar free, liquid herbal formulas for pregnancy, children, and the family. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter



  Eco Lunch Gear, eco friendly reusable lunch gear, is giving one participant a a reusable sandwich wrap (Retail value $10.50). Eco Lunch Gear was started by a Mom who saw a need for an alternative to plastic and aluminum foil, her products can be washed and reused over and over to save money and our environment. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter.  

Erin Odom from The Humbled Homemaker and creator of Real Food, Real Easy the eBook is giving one participant a copy of her eBook to help you continue with your Real Food journey (Retail value $$9.95) Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest

Health Coach, Mike Lamitola, is giving one participant free entry to his Tele-seminar on Cravings. Do you have a sugar habit you've been trying to beat? In this tele-seminar, Mike will explain how. (Retail value $25.00) Follow Mike on Facebook and Twitter    

Alix from Blessed In Homemaking offers organic and all natural body care products, gentle baby care products, herbal products, crocheted items, and more, for your healthy lifestyle in her Etsy Shop. She is giving two participants a one ounce bag of loose chamomile tea (Retail value $8.00) Follow her on Facebook

Stacy Karen from A Delightful Home is giving one participant of this challenge a copy of her eBook, Simple Scrubs to Make and Give. Start making your own scrubs at home for yourself and others (Retail value $3.99) Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest

Nina Nelson of Shalom Mama, is giving one participant of the challenge a healing balm and lavender mint lip balm from her etsy shop (Retail value $19.50) Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest

 

Melissa Joulwan from The Clothes Make the Girl, is giving one participant a copy of her Paleo eBook called Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Like to Eat (Retail value $14.95). This is a great resource for anyone interested in Paleo diet, whether you are just getting started or you are just looking for some new recipes to try. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter

Health Coach, Laura Prevost is giving 10 lucky participants one of her Dynamite Coaching sessions. If you are looking for some support around breaking a bad habit, or getting yourself motivated, Laura will work through it with you in this session (Retail value $20.00/session) Follow Laura on Facebook or Twitter

Jami from Young Wife's Guide, is giving one participant a copy of her eBook, Apartment Gardening, which is a great resource for getting started growing food in small spaces (Retail value $2.99) Follow Jami on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest

 

Jennifer from Hybrid Rasta Mama has also offered to give away two copies of her eBook, Cooking with Coconut Oil (Retail value $19.95). The 68 recipes in this eBook are all simple to make and the ingredients in the recipes are all readily available. This eBook is a great way to start getting more coconut oil in your diet to get all the amazing health benefits. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest

You will have the chance to win all of these prizes by joining is the challenge with either Option # 1 or Option # 2 detailed above!

Do you have questions about this event? Please feel free to comment on this post with any questions or concerns.

October Blog Carnival: Ethical Purchasing

Welcome to the October 2012 Natural Living Blog Carnival: Ethical Shopping Choices This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Natural Living Blog Carnival hosted by Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project through the Green Moms Network. This month our members have written posts about how they make purchasing choices.

-----

Mama Making Changes is pleased to be able to participate in the Natural Living Blog Carnival for October 2012. This month's theme is Ethical Shopping Purchases. We all shop regularly, whether for groceries, gifts, clothing, or other items. What influences your purchases?

The majority of my shopping is for food. I buy whatever I can at one of the local organic farmer's markets. We are blessed to have two of these in town and I usually visit at least one of them every week. I firmly believe in supporting the local economy whenever possible, and I love that I am also supporting organic sustainable farms and businesses. At the markets I am able to get whole grains, fresh seasonal vegetables, butter, milk, eggs, chicken, beef, pork, an assortment of cheeses, breads and tortillas, honey, and more. In addition to food, there are local businesses at the markets selling non-food products like essential oils, locally made soaps and shampoos and other toiletries, aprons and other handmade sewing and knitting. I could go on, but the point is that it makes me feel good about my purchases when I can hand the money to the farmer who grew the food we are taking home, the artisan who created the purse from her old sweater, the lady who baked the bread that I am taking home to my family.

When I am at the grocery store for other items, I look for products that are healthy, while still reasonably priced. I don't mind paying a little more because I know that I am supporting the farmer whose crop was smaller due to a lack of pesticides and fertilizers. However, I am a single parent on a tight budget and prices must be within reason, not exorbitant. I also look for organic produce whenever possible and I also look at the country of origin on produce and meat. I look for products with less packaging waste and buy organic fair trade certified coffee whenever my budget permits. I also use the Better World Shopping Guide, which I have written about recently, to help me decide which companies to avoid. 

I've only recently started paying more attention to my clothing purchases. Bamboo is my new favorite fabric! How wonderful that an eco-friendly sustainable plant can be turned into a soft and beautiful piece of clothing! Organic cotton is getting easier to find, too, and only costs slightly if you shop around. 

We also make a point to buy used whenever possible. I buy used clothing, furniture, kitchen ware, and more. Ebay is a great source, but to avoid shipping (which uses fossil fuels and contributes to global warming), I try Craigslist and other local sites first.

What affects your buying decisions? What eco-friendly choices do you make when shopping? Or does price come first in your household?

-----

Visit Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project to learn more about participating in next month’s Natural Living Blog Carnival! Please take some time to enjoy the posts our other carnival participants have contributed:

Sponsor Spotlight: Green Virgin Products

I was so excited when I recently received some cleaning products from Green Virgin Products to review. You may have already heard me rave about how much I love their soap nuts. I had seen the GVP Formula 433 cleaner on their website, but I hadn't tried it so I was thrilled to be able to try it. 

I opened the box and found a quart of GVP Formula cleaner-degreaser concentrate, along with two empty spray bottles, a foaming pump dispenser, and a bar of GVP Formula 433 laundry prespotter. 

The first thing I noticed after removing everything from the box is the label on the concentrate. Formula 433 is non-toxic, carcinogen-free, eco-friendly, fragrance free, and hypoallergenic! According to Green Virgin Products, it's safe enough to drink! 

But how would it work? I set to work mixing the solution. One bottle was labeled medium duty cleaner and the other was labeled light duty. Each had labels with mixing directions and the bottles had markings that made it super easy. After mixing in the two spray bottles, I poured some of the medium-duty mixture into the foaming pump dispenser. My daughter was happy to test this one! It foamed as expected and made a great hand wash. I even found it worked well on greasy dishes and it now has a new home on the window sill over my kitchen sink!

Next I wanted to try the spray cleaner. I have some really cheap cabinets in my kitchen that came with the house. They are porous and only lightly stained so every time the kids spill something, my cabinets just soak it up. They always look bad and I've tried and tried to clean them, even resorting to bleach one time (which just left ugly streaks in some places). Sounds like a good test subject, right?

before

one spray, before wiping

I had a plan. I looked for the yuckiest spot and sprayed just one squirt of the medium duty cleaner. I would wipe with a cloth and see what happened, then try again with a scrubbing sponge. I was amazed instantly as I watched the clear cleaner turn brown and drip down the wood onto the floor. You can say the little puddle in the picture on the right. I never even used the scrubbing sponge because wiping with a washcloth was all that was needed! I was inspired and proceeded to clean every cabinet in my kitchen, even inside the doors! This job used to take hours and leave me feeling frustrated because they still looked so awful. This time I was done in about 30 minutes and my cabinets haven't looked this good since I moved in!

after

The best part is that I used so little of the concentrate to make the full bottle of cleaner and only used about 1/5 the bottle of mixed cleaner to clean all of my cabinets! 

mixing for medium duty

Next, I wanted to try the GVP Formula 433 Prespotter. The main ingredient is, of course, the Formula 433 Concentrate, with  the other ingredients being palm kernal oil, coconut oil, baking soda, and sodium hydroxid. Again, this product is completely non-toxic. According to Green Virgin Products, you rub the bar with a wet toothbrush and then scrub the spot. It should disappear before your eyes. Then you launder as usual. 

Yeah, okay, well we will see about that! I grabbed my daughter's white shorts because I knew she had multiple stains on them. I had cringed when I saw them in the laundry earlier today. Here's what happened (pay special attention to the bottom left, which is where I tried the prespotter): 

Okay, well it wasn't instant and it wasn't magical, but I am still quite impressed! That was a  dried on spaghetti sauce stain on top of dirt and who knows what else. I scrubbed for about a minute with an old toothbrush. Not bad, huh? 

Now if you'll excuse me, I have more stains to remove. I see the fridge door getting cleaned today, too...

If you are interested in winning some GVP Formula 433 for yourself, head over to enter our  Fall into Green Giveaway, which will run from 9/22/12 to 9/30/12!

Green Virgin Products  will ship one lucky reader a gallon of concentrate, two spray bottles, a foaming pump dispenser, and a bar of prespotter! 

Corn-Fed America

Look for these names on the ingredient list and corn is what you have!

modified or unmodified starch

glucose syrup

maltodextrin

crystalline fructose

ascorbic acid

lecithin

dextrose

lactic acid

lysine

maltose

HFCS

MSG

polyols

caramel color

xantham gum

According to Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, corn is in coffee creamer, Cheez Whiz, frozen yogurt, most TV dinners, canned fruit, ketchup, candies, cake mix, frosting, gravy, frozen waffles, mayo, mustard, most hot dogs, bologna, margarine, salad dressings, and even vitamins. Of course this doesn't mean every variety available, but most if not all. 

Scary, how big corn is, huh? 

Break the cycle! Buy pastured meat and whole foods whenever possible!!

Learn more by joining us in the Omnivore's Dilemma event, going on now. It's not too late to join! Just click this button to read more about the event and sign up...

Natural Hair Color Ideas

When I was younger, I used to dye my hair a nice auburn color. I loved the way the auburn looked with my complexion and my hair tends to get auburn highlights in the summer anyway. Lately I've been thinking about going back to auburn hair. Now I'm older and smarter and greener, though. I don't want to use major brand hair colors because of all of the chemical ingredients. I began exploring other options.
Of course, the first option that came to mind was henna. Lush sells 4 different vegan varieties of henna hair color, each offering up a different color, from bright red to dark indigo. Their Caca Marron is supposed to create an auburn color, which is exactly what I'm looking for. However, I'm not sure I want to spend $24.95 plus shipping on a product I've never used before. I don't know anyone that's ever used it either, and I hear it's not a good idea to use henna without help.
I did some research online for other options. On herbcompanion.com I found some great ideas for DIY hair products. They offer home made recipes for shampoos, deep conditioners, and hair colors. Following is an excerpt from their site:

Chamomile: This will lighten fair hair. To make a rinse, pour 2 cups boiling water over 1/4 cup chamomile flowers. Cool; strain before using.
Rhubarb: This also will lighten hair. Use 1/4 cup chopped, fresh rhubarb to 2 cups boiling water. Cool; strain before using.
Sage, lavender and cinnamon: These will darken hair. Use 1/4 cup sage or lavender (or 3 cinnamon sticks, broken into small pieces) to 2 cups boiling water. Cool; strain before using.
Hibiscus flowers: These will give red highlights to light or dark hair. Use dry flowers or herbal tea containing hibiscus flowers. Steep the flowers in boiling water to the shade you desire. Cool; strain before using. Remember you can always go darker, so start out with a weak mixture.

Read more: http://www.herbcompanion.com/Body-Care/Shimmer-and-Shine-with-Homemade-Herbal-Shampoos.aspx?page=3#ixzz1vHNWux9v

Now, I just have one question. Where in the world do I find hibiscus flowers? Maybe I will try the cinnamon sticks first. They should be a little easier to get my hands on. I'll let you know how it turns out!