Wow, has the time flown over here! I hope your area of the woods has been sunny! So many things have happened this past year and so many things have changed for me (many of them good).
Let’s start with how I am doing on the No Sugar and No Processed Foods lifestyle I was doing so well on, back in 2011….I have still been eating very little to no sugar! (I will occasionally have chocolate, but it’s so infrequent).
I must confess though, that when it comes to how much professed food I am eating, it is more than what I ate back in 2011. I am still pretty much eating the way I did in 2011, but I have been eating some Amy’s frozen macaroni and cheese, and also eating some homemade organic white bread (made with honey, not sugar).
I have also changed what rice I am eating- I no longer eat brown rice, but rather have chosen to eat basmati rice, and I love basmati rice! (Lundberg rice is awesome!) I have also been cutting down the amount of wheat I eat in general.
It is a daily challenge to continually eat no processed food, and it is easier to just take the processed food route. It is. However, I do still eat mostly no processed food. I just am not nearly as strict about it as I once was (for better or for worse). Since I am no longer being as strict about it, I have gained back 20 lbs, (I had gone down to 120 lbs. while eating no processed food), which leaves me still weighing less than I did in high school.
I have been focusing more on trying to make sure that all food I eat is either certified organic, or locally grown/raised.
I had four goals for my No Sugar and No Processed Food Challenge, back on April 23, 2011. They were:
1. More Energy
2. Help clear up my acne.
3. Maybe lose a couple pounds (though this was not a major goal of mine)
4. Just feel overall healthy.
So how am I feeling? Well, I have more energy, my face is essentially clear (except for an occasional pimple), I did gain some weight back (but that is not an issue for me), and, right now, I do feel overall more healthy than I have in years!
So did this challenge help my lack of energy? Not really (for me anyway). Cutting out sugar and processed foods for many people will help them with their lack of energy.
What I found for myself though, was that two major things were causing my energy to be constantly depleted- a relationship (that I broke off a year ago), and a job (that I stopped back in September). It is a reminder that how we feel is not just affected by the foods we eat, or the products we use on our skin. We are also affected by people that are in our lives, and by our environment. And for me, since I do have some multiple chemical sensitivity, I found that I needed to let go of these two things to allow my health to become better.
How is my acne? It’s essentially non-existent! I found that as long as I have kept cutting out sugar from my diet, that my skin is essentially clear. I still wash my face daily with local pure honey, and only use lime as an occasional nighttime treatment if I do have a pimple or two, or when I have an acne scar.
How is my weight? I’ve gained some weight back, but I am still a healthy weight 🙂 I truly believe it is less about how much I weigh, and more about whether or not I am healthy.
How do I feel? I am feeling pretty healthy right now. I am eating pretty well (though not as perfect as before). I am still making sure that the products I use on my body and in my environment are healthy for me to be around. I am in a healthy relationship with a man that I love.
Please feel free to leave comments and/or questions, and I will get back to you as soon as possible!
I hope you have a wonderfully sunny day!
~Kim
Please note: Please check with your doctor or a nutrionist/dietician before starting any new diet/lifestyle.
Hello! In this video (Part 2 of the Favorite Natural Products of 2012 series) I’m sharing my favorite natural everyday products- from laundry detergent, floss, sunscreen, to bug repellent spray, that I have either used throughout 2012 or that I discovered in 2012. Enjoy and have a sunny day!
Products included in this Everyday Products video:
1. BottlesUP Reusable Glass Bottle
2. Dr. Bronner’s USDA Certified Organic Hand Sanitizing Spray in Lavender
3. Badger Aloe Vera Broad Spectrum SPF 16 Sunscreen Lotion
4. Sage Stone Botanicals Citronella Deet Free All Natural Bug Repellent Spray
5. Eco Nuts Natural Laundry Soap- Liquid Form
6. Radius USDA Certified Organic 100% Biodegradable Silk Floss
7. The Natural Dentist Stim-U Dent Thin Plaque Removers
8. Simply Straws Reusable Glass Straw in Blue
9. Graze Organic Organic Cotton Reusable Sandwich and Snack Bags, set of 5
10. People Towels GOTS Certifed Organic Cotton Individual Towels
Please note: All of the products in this video I either bought myself or were given to me as gifts from family and friends, except for the Badger Sunscreen, the Sage Stone Botanicals Citronella Bug Spray, and the People Towels (The People Towels I received through the Stonyfield Rewards program). I was not paid for mentioning them, nor was I required to mention them. I am not affiliated with any brands mentioned in this video. All the products in this video are ones that I love and that I would buy myself.
Hi everyone! I hope it is sunny in your life! In this video (Part 1 of the Favorite Natural Products of 2012 series) I talk about my favorite skincare, haircare, and body products that I either discovered in 2012 or that I’ve used throughout 2012. Enjoy, and have a sunny day!
1. Deep Steep Honeydew Spearmint Body Mist
2. Intelligent Nutrients Certified Organic Destress Express Spirit Essence
3. Awaken Certified Organic Room & Body Spray in Erbaviva
4. Intelligent Nutrients Harmonic Shampoo
5. Intelligent Nutrients Harmonic Conditioner
6. Pure Local Honey (if you can’t buy local honey, please buy USDA certified organic)
7. Josie Maran Argan Oil
8. Intelligent Nutrients Certified Organic Anti-Aging Moisture
9. Babybearshop All the Better to Kiss You With Certified Organic Lip Balm in Pepperminty
10. Intelligent Nutrients Certified Organic Lip Delivery Antioxidant Lip Gloss in Clear Frosting
11. Dr. Bronner’s Bar Soaps in Baby Mild, Peppermint, Lavender, and Citrus Orange Scents
12. Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Body Butters in Sweet Citrus and Vanilla Apricot
13. Argan USA Argan Oil
14. La Tourangelle 100% USDA Certified Organic Sunflower Oil
15. Meowmeowtweet Deodorant Cream in Lavender (You don’t need to keep this in the fridge, I just like to do so)
Please note: All of the products that I talked about in this video I either bought myself, or were given to me as gifts from my friends and family. I am not affiliated with any of these brands and am not paid to talk about any of them. I enjoy sharing products that I have found that I love!
Hello! Here is another video that I recorded a month ago that I’m just finally able to post up!
Sage Stone Botanicals is a small business out of Oregon that offers awesome organic and natural body care products. Check out Sage Stone Botanicals’ website at www.sagestonebotanicals.com for more information!
Lavender Organic Hand Creme
Tangerine Lemongrass Organic Body Lotion, 2 oz travel size
Citronella Spray
Unscented Shower Gel
Peppermint Liquid Hand Soap
And I’m giving away one bottle of Sage Stone Botanicals Citronella Organic Bug Repellent Lotion, 2 oz travel size! 🙂
The required question to enter is: After watching the video review and/or visiting the Sage Stone Botanicals website, what is most appealing about Sage Stone Botanicals products to you?
For extra chances to win, you can do any, or all, of the options below:
If you have already done any of the additional entries, you can just post a comment saying that you have. For each entry, please leave a separate comment. This will make it easier for me to use an automatic number selector, and choose one of the numbers.
Giveaway is open from 10 PM August 31, 2012 until 11:59 PM September 8, 2012. Giveaway is open only to U.S. residents 18 years old or older. I will contact the winner within 48 hours of the contest ending. If I do not hear from the winner within 72 hours after contacting them, I will select a new winner. Good luck!
UPDATE: And the winner is… Jea from Arizona! Congratulations Jea! 🙂
Have a sunny day!
~Kim
Please note: I am not affiliated with Sage Stone Botanicals, nor was I paid to do this review. I was sent the products that I mentioned in this video to try, but I was not required to review/mention them. I planned to review only the products that I loved, and I do truly love all of them. These are wonderful organic and natural products, that I will definitely buy for myself!
So here is yet another video that I recorded a month ago that I just have now found time to upload. This one compares two awesome Badger sunscreens: Badger SPF 30+ Unscented Sunscreen and Badger Aloe Vera Broad Spectrum SPF 16 Sunscreen Lotion. These two Badger physical sunscreens are my absolute two favorite natural/physical sunscreens, but for different purposes. Enjoy! 🙂
Two things I did want to mention that I forgot to in my video~ I do not know when the claim of “waterproof” sunscreen goes away, or if what I read right before I made this video was just what various organizations hoped would go through. The other thing is that I did not mention what the Aloe Vera Lotion Sunscreen smells like. It had a very faint smell to me (fainter than the smell of the SPF 30 Unscented Sunscreen), but I cannot place what, exactly, it smells like. It is not unpleasant, but rather just a neutral smell. (With my heightened sense of smell, I LOVE neutral smells as much as pleasant smells anymore 🙂
Have a sunny day!
~Kim
Please note: I am not affiliated with Badger, nor was I paid for this review. I bought the Badger SPF 30 Unscented Sunscreen myself, at full price. I did receive one bottle of Badger Aloe Vera Broad Spectrum SPF 16 Sunscreen Lotion free from the Badger Company. I was not required to do a review on this sunscreen. Rather, I do honestly like both of these sunscreens, and I will be buying both of these again when I have run out. I was really excited to hear about the Sunscreen Lotion from Badger because I had been trying to find a sunscreen/face moisturizer with sunscreen for my face for months that would not break me out, and I could not until this sunscreen. 🙂
So here is the Lunapads Review that I’ve been wanting to post for months! I actually attempted to record this two times previous to this one. And this one I actually recorded over a month ago. I finally found time to post it up! I know this isn’t a video for everyone, but for those who are interested in Lunapads, or any type of cloth menstural pads/ cloth pantyliners, I hope you enjoy! 🙂
Random~Whenever I mention “unwashed Lunapads” in this video, (i.e. I sent back an unwashed Lunapad maxi pad and liner inserts) I mean brand new and unused. Just wanted to clarify. 🙂
If you want to learn more about Lunapads, please check out their website: www.lunapads.com
Have a sunny day! 🙂
~Kim
Please note: I am not affiliated with Lunapads, nor did they send any items/products to me free (other than the flyer and stickers, which anyone who orders from them can receive free, if they wish). This was just the company that I was most drawn to when it came to trying cloth menstrual pads.
Hello there! Long time no see! I’m so sorry that I haven’t been on this blog in forever~ this summer has been SO much busier than I ever expected it to be! I finally found the time to upload a couple of videos that I actually recorded over a month ago~ I will be posting more hopefully tomorrow.
This video is a mini grocery haul that I was asked to do. It is a glimpse at what I eat on a regular basis~ including what vitamins/supplements I take, and what type of processed food I eat if I do eat any (except I forgot chocolate~ sometime I’ll have to show you what organic chocolates I eat if I really want chocolate).
Some random info:
~ My stomach feels good, too, on the Smarty Pants Vitamins. If you have stomach issues, like IBS, like me, vitamins is something that are recommended to be avoided. However, these are ok since they do not have any artifical colorings, flavorings, etc. I actually could not take any vitamins since I was 12 (7 years before my IBS started), due to how horrible I would feel on them. These, and the Vitamin C ones I talk about in this video, are the only two vitamins I can actually take.
~The snap peas and organic carrots in this video at 11:00 are ones my dad grew. An awesome way to save money, and gas having to go to the store=grow your own veggies!
~Please note: I am affiliated with Compass Teas. However, any high quality tea is great for your body and your health 🙂
~Somehow I completely missed mentioning peppermint tea: I LOVE it! Peppermint is also great for IBS symptoms/stomach issues (unless you have heartburn issues too).
~For some reason, parts of the video stop working for a second, but it starts to work again. I’m really sorry about that. I tried to fix it, but could not
But most importantly, have a sunny day!!
~Kim
Please note: If you wish to try eating real foods, and cut out all the processed foods, please do your research, and ask your doctor or registered dietician for more information. All the information I talk about here is info I have collected while trying to cure my acne naturally and help myself become a healthy person (not just “healthier”).
So this video I actually recorded and uploaded onto Youtube the same day as my Processed Food Free for 1 Year- Story and Results Video, and thought I had posted it on here as well. However, apparently I missed posting it here, so here it is! 🙂
In this video I give an explanation of what processed foods are, what foods I eat when trying to eat real foods (and avoid processed foods and refined sugar), what to avoid, and what to look for. This video did end up much longer than I really had intended it to be, but it gives overall answers to the questions I list above. Enjoy!
Have a sunny day!
~Kim
Please note: If you are worried about starting this type of diet, or whether it is right for you, please consult your doctor.
Back on April 23, 2012 (as I was preparing for the college semester to close within a few weeks), was my 1 Year anniversary of starting the No Processed Foods and Processed (Refined) Sugar Challenge, AKA The Real Food Challenge!
Partly in celebration of this, I recorded a video a few days ago explaining what personally led me to decide that I wanted to stop eating processed foods and refined sugar. Closer to the end of the video I do also talk about the results I have seen since following this for a year! (I do want to clarify- I lost the 35 lbs. between April 2011 and November 2011. I have not lost any more weight since then.) As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask! 🙂
Have a sunny day!
~Kim
Please Note: If you are worried about starting this type of diet, or want to know whether it’s right for you, please consult your doctor.
I hope it’s sunny in your area of the world today! So, I decided to do (with the little time I have to spare) an April Favorites video! However, because I’ve been meaning to do a monthly favorites video since February, I included products I’ve found and have been loving from February, March, and April- resulting in this one video turning into four parts! Below I include them all 🙂 Please don’t feel that you have to watch all four parts at once- you can easily just watch one at a time whenever you have a little time. Enjoy! 🙂
Part 1– featuring BottlesUP Glass Reusable Bottle, Meowmeowtweet Deodorant Cream in Lavender, Badger Spf 30 Unscented Sunscreen, Deep Steep Body Mists in Honeydew Spearmint and Rosemary Mint, and Babybearshop Mama Belly Oil
Part 2– featuring Babybearshop All the Better to Kiss You With Lip Balms in Pepperminty and Chair Mandarin, buttercup & JAKE Cocoa Calendula Balm, and Preserve Toothbrush in Medium
Part 3– featuring Preserve Toothbrush (continued), The Natural Dentist Fluoride-Free Antigingivitis Toothpaste in Peppermint Sage, The Natural Dentist Thin Mint Flavored Plaque Removers, and Physician’s Formula Organic Wear Mascara (Original)
Part 4– featuring Within Organics Tank Top in I am Radiant, Within Organics T-Shirt in I am Blessed, Within Organics Long Sleeved Shirt in I am Beautiful, Blue Canoe Sheer Bralette- available at www.kasperorganics.com, and Simply Straws 8″ Vibrant Blue Straw with Single Sleeve in Apricot w/ Coffee Stitching Set
Have a sunny day!
~Kim
Please Note: All of the products I mention are ones that I bought myself, and I am not affiliated with any of these companies, nor am I being compensated by any of them. I did receive $7.50 off of my Simpy Straws order because I did take the pledge against plastic straws (not because I have this blog).
I hope things are sunny in your lives right now! When I heard of the Loreal Evercreme Cleansing Conditioner from a comment on another one of my videos on youtube, I was absolutely intrigued and amused that Loreal had jumped on the cleansing conditioner bandwagon.
However, although this product does have some positives (like it did cleanse my hair nicely), I have two main reasons why I do not like it, and would not recommend it to most people (if not all people).
Watch my video below to find out more! 🙂
Have a sunny day!
~Kim
Please Note: I bought this product myself, and am not affiliated with Loreal in any way. I just wanted to see how it worked 🙂
Do you want to know what products I use that are nontoxic, natural, and/or organic? I finally made an all-inclusive list on a new page of my blog called A Peek Into My Cabinet!
I will be continually updating it. So you’ll always be able to know what I am currently using!
What do you think of my list: Do you think it’s useful? Do you love it? Think it’s too long? 😉 Or am I missing a category you’d like me to add? Let me know in the comments!
So I wanted to let you all know that I am working on a full list of products~ ones that I used to use, what I am using now, and if I do not completely love the product I’m using now, what product I want to try.
I feel that my blog shows my journey of trying to find more natural and organic products. Therefore, some products I initially thought were “natural” and “healthy” I actually no longer believe really are. However, I do not want to just take down these reviews because I know that they still do help some people out, and that some people just do not focus on whether a product is natural or not, but rather whether the product works. Also, I feel that to show my journey of trying to find healthy products that it is important to keep these posts up.
So, the new list is the solution! Keep checking back for it~ I hope to have it finished and up by the end of today! 🙂
What are your thoughts~ should I keep these posts up, or should I take them down?
Have a sunny day!
~Kim
UPDATE: I just posted my list of products on a new page on my blog called A Peek Into My Cabinet! Check it out 🙂
So this past weekend (and continuing until this next week) I have been studying for three mid-term exams! However, I have also wanted to clean! It feels so spring-like here, I must be ready for spring cleaning 😉 The image above I feel is a good representation of how I sometimes feel surrounded by the stuff in my life.
So, here are some tips I have been using to help me decide what I no longer need 🙂 These three tips are part of Step 4-Don’t have a lot of clutter, from the Feng Shui: What Not to Do article here.
1. Do I love it? For some people, the answer may be that they love every single thing that they have in their possession (for those of you who this applies to, skip this step). For the rest of us though, we probably do not love every single thing that we own. If it makes you sad, feel down in any way, or makes you angry, if it is possible, give it away! This will help to bring positive energy and feelings to you and your surroundings.
2. Is it useful? This can be a helpful question, but it can also be a difficult one that allows a person to continue having clutter. So, more specifically, is it useful to you now? Ask yourself whether you see yourself actually using it within the foreseeable future. If so, keep it. But, don’t keep holding onto that one shirt you’re sure you’ll wear someday again (I have been guilty of this too). Just give it away, and move on. 🙂
3. Does it reflect who I am now in my life? This was the question that really helped me the most. Since I have lost 35 lbs. from cutting out processed foods and sugar, I have been still holding onto clothes that really no longer fit me, nor that really even fit my personality anymore. I still am holding onto some clothes that are too big for me (that I can see myself enjoying wearing later on just because it has not even been a year since I have lost the weight yet), but I have let go of those clothes too big for me, that are much more high school-ish, and that I did not even like that I was holding onto merely “just in case” I gained weight again. And I feel so much lighter for doing it! 🙂 I also am starting to go through my collection of books, and giving away some that just do not fit my personality anymore, or that just simply do not make me happy.
I hope these questions help you lighten your belongings and help you lead a happier, clutter-free life!
Sunny Mother Nature 