Mindful Momma

Secret Scents: What is Hiding in Your Scented Products?

Artificial Fragrances Contain Allergens

You've been buying them forever - the lotion, the deodorant, your favorite shampoo. These products may be serving a purpose in your life but they've got a secret that you might not be happy about. Most conventional personal care, cleaning and perfume products contain artificial fragrance. You may have even seen the word "fragrance" on the label of a product you have at home. What you probably don't know is that fragrances can be made up of over 100 different "top secret" chemicals. And many of these chemicals trigger allergic reactions as well as other harmful effects in sensitive people.

Better Life Green Cleaning Product Giveaway

Like I said in my recent post about favorite green cleaning products, the chore of cleaning can be greatly improved when you use naturally fresh smelling products that you know are non-toxic and better for the earth rather than nasty chemical-laden sprays that give you an instant headache. Yes, it's still a thankless job, but it needs to be done so why not make the best of it?

You may know, I'm a big fan of Better Life and have been partnering with them to help spread the word about their brand. I'm excited to offer you a chance to win some of their eco-friendly cleaning products!

Better Life Starter Kit

If you are just getting started switching over to greener cleaning products, the Better Life Starter Kit is the perfect place to begin. The kit comes with 4 of their most popular cleaning products, along with a few handy microfiber cloths thrown in to boot.

Here's what you get:

• what-EVER Sage & Citrus All-Purpose Cleaner
• Simply Floored Floor Cleaner
• Even The Kitchen Sink Cleansing Scrub
• I Can See Clearly, WOW! Glass Cleaner
• Six compartment tote
• Scrubbing microfiber (dark blue)
• General purpose microfiber (green)
• Glass and polishing microfiber (light blue)

Eco Friendly Nursery, Detox Diet and Eco Craft of the Week

Eco Friendly Nursery Ideas

Are you pregnant or know someone who is? I've got some tips for putting together an eco friendly baby nursery over at Zenoobi. I'll be writing a monthly blog post for them so check it out if you have a chance! And while you're there, check out their web store too. Zenoobi is a great resource for eco friendly baby furniture, gear and clothing!

Traditional Medicinals: More Than Just Herbal Tea

Winter is tea time for me. In the morning you'll definitely find me clutching a cup of coffee but come afternoon or evening, it's a cup of herbal tea that I crave. Tea warms me up on a cold, Minnesota day and is a flavorful drink between meals. But more and more often I reach for tea to help improve my health in some way, whether it's to stave off a cold, calm a cough or help me relax.

The Traditional Medicinals Difference

One thing I have often wondered about tea was whether or not there is a big difference between brands. I mean, I certainly have my favorites but I wondered, could the quality really be different between say two different brands of peppermint tea leaves?

Well it turns out there is a difference. In reading up on Traditional Medicinals, I learned that their teas are more than just good tasting, herbal blends. They are true herbal supplements, made with health and wellness in mind. Traditional Medicinals uses pharmacopoeial quality herbs which deliver much stronger health benefits than food grade herbs. This is a very high standard for the quality, purity, strength, identity and composition of the plants.

Inspiration for a Happy, Healthy, Creative New Year

Welcome to 2013! I've been spending the last few days letting my brain ponder all of my thoughts and ideas for the new year and trying to distinguish between the "I shoulds" and the "I wants" (which is harder than you might think.)

One realization I've come to is that my resolutions from last year - which revolved around taking care - of the planet, my family's health, my community and myself - still stands very strong. As one of my Facebook readers pointed out "Our lives are an evolution and we must continue to nurture and work toward our goals without pause so really you don't need a new resolution at all." That sentiment is so true.

That said, a few things rose to the top of my thought process that I want to focus on in 2013:

Unlock My Creative Mind

The more time goes by, the more I realize that creativity is a major pillar in my life. My happiness and level of contentment depend on it. Yet it's so easy to race through the day doing work because it "has" to be done, without any inspiration to lift me up and guide me. It's creative inspiration that spurs my greatest work so it makes sense to spend some time encouraging it.

This year I want to explore ways to assist my creative mind in opening up - more often and more enthusiastically. If you have any recommendations for exercises that get your creative juices flowing please share! One action item I already took was to sign up for Scoutie Girl's daily emails. Tara has such a great way with words and is a true inspiration to me.

Also, in an effort to keep getting crafty in a physical sense, I've signed on to write a monthly blog post about a Green DIY craft idea for Green Your Way (a channel on the Life Your Way blog network). Look for my first post coming out in mid-January!

Sneaky Squash Muffins

If you have kids you know how frustrating it can be when you make healthy food and the kids won't eat it. As hard as you try, you can't always get those picky taste buds to cooperate.

Last week I had one of those moments after I cooked up a bunch of acorn squash from our CSA vegetable box. The squash was naturally sweet and I thought it tasted fantastic but both my boys turned up their noses at it when it was served as a side dish to our meal. There was a bunch left over so I decided to use it in a batch of muffins. Did I tell the boys that the muffins were made with the dreaded squash? Of course not!

These "pumpkin" muffins can be made with any type of winter squash - acorn, hubbard, butternut - whatever you have on hand. I'm guessing that mashed sweet potatoes would work as well. And of course if you don't have squash you can substitute pumpkin - I doubt the kiddos will know the difference!

Sneaky Squash Muffins

(adapted from a pumpkin muffin recipe on Epicurious.com)

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour (use part whole wheat or white whole wheat if you would like)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and nutmeg)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter, melted and cooled

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup cooked winter squash (acorn, butternut or others)

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Optional: 1/2 cup raisins, chopped nuts or chocolate chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare muffin pan with butter, cooking spray or unbleached paper baking cups.

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, squash, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients in 2 parts, until just combined. Stir in raisins, nuts or chocolate ships if using.

Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned on top and a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 12 muffins.

What's your favorite way to sneak healthy ingredients into your kids diet?

Top Ways to Get Your Omega 3's

For awhile now I've been trying to get my head around this business of taking Omega-3's. I know that these essential fatty acids are good for us - for brain health, heart health, joint pain, depression, immune support and even for better looking skin and hair - but I haven't been sure which type to take and why. So I decided to go "fishing" for some answers.

I discovered that there are 3 main ways to get your Omega 3's: through oils (typically taken as a supplement), from seeds (added to or sprinkled on foods) or by eating whole foods that naturally contain Omega 3's. If you dig deep there is a LOT more to know about Omega 3's but if you're looking for a basic primer on where to find them, here you go...

Staying Fit on the Fly

 

That's me laying sod in 90+ degree weather!

It's hard to believe it's been 12 weeks since I set out to participate in the Go Green Get Fit Challenge with a bunch of other green and health focused bloggers. Summer always flys by but this time I swear someone stole away some of the days...where did they go?

My fitness challenge didn't quite go as planned but I did get exercise in some unusual ways - like lifting 100 pound blocks of stone and heavy rolls of sod! Here's how it all played out...

The Goals

My goals for the Go Green Get Fit Challenge were fairly simple:

• Push my running farther than usual
• Return to the fitness yoga class I love
• Start up strength training again

How To Bring Green & Healthy Values Back-to-School

 

(image by Henrik Nordstrom)

My boys hopped on the yellow school bus this morning, ready for a new year with new teachers, new classes and new friends. They carried bags of school supplies with them (can you believe how long those lists are?) and a healthy lunch packed in a reusable lunch bag. Have your kids gone back to school yet or are you still enjoying those last precious days of summer?

Of course this means it's time for the annual Green Moms back-to-school blog carnival! This is our 5th year in a row of curating posts from around the blogosphere about how to do the whole back-to-school thing the green, clean & healthy way! Big shout out to Lynn of Organic Mania and 4GreenPs who started this group many years ago!

Read on for tips, tricks and deep thoughts about everything from healthy treats to greener school gear to cleaner air:

Eco Friendly Adventures in Colorado

Have you ever been to the Rocky Mountains? If not, I highly recommend you add it to your bucket list! We just spent a week in Grand Lake, Colorado, a cute little town at the base of Rocky Mountain National Park and it was spectacular! The perfect setting for our family reunion.

We saw lots of wildlife - including moose right near our cabin!