Things You Might Find In A Kinda Crunchy Mama's House

If you’ve been hanging out with me much you already know I don’t really consider myself a true “Crunchy” but rather more like a “Crispy” Mama (well…grandma). Thank goodness my child bearing years are a thing of the past (for many reasons) but if they weren’t…

[tbpquotable]I can assure you I would not be eating my own placenta or using breast milk for home remedies.[/tbpquotable]

[tbpquotable]Not unless a real zombie Apocalypse hit would I even consider using a family cloth…nah-ah, noooo flippin way! Plus I’m pretty attached to my hair products.[/tbpquotable]

Even with that being said, I am well on the road to natural living. But first, a little back story…

Just a few short years ago I was really sickly and had been for many years. My body was wearing out from decades of processed foods and not taking care of myself. I was morbidly obese, had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, chronic inflammation, severe IBS with diarrhea, debilitating joint and muscle pain with swelling and uncontrolled diabetes. It was not unusual for my blood sugar to run 280-350 every day (normal is 80-100). I caught every flu bug and virus that came along. I slept very little. Life really sucked.

I wasn’t living, I was merely getting through each day as best as I could manage. Sometimes that meant never leaving my recliner. I couldn’t even take care of things around the house. Mr. H did almost everything.

I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Then a friend turned me on to some supplements she was taking that made me feel better and I started losing a little weight. This got my attention! And so the research began…

Over the years I have spent countless hours reading and researching and have found many things that have helped me improve my health. I’ve lost 65 pounds, am off of quite a few medications and use 150 units less insulin each day! I still take a small amount of insulin and have more weight to lose, but I am getting there.

Fast forward to today… I feel great! I have my strength and energy back. The pain is gone, IBS, high blood pressure and other health issues are gone or so much better. My blood sugar is well under control again.

I’m well able to take care of my home and family again. I’m even raising my own backyard chickens!

A few years ago I could’t even take care of myself and my family, let alone a flock of chickens! I’m planning a raised and container garden this spring. I can’t wait to grow my own vegetables! I am gonna buy a pressure canner and start canning too!

Life is good! All because I decided to make some small changes to help improve my health. I’m gonna share with you some of the things I do that can make you healthier and happier too!

[tbpquotable]It’s important to be aware that God did not create our bodies to endure processed fake foods or to inhale, ingest and slather chemicals on our bodies. These toxins put great stress on our bodies.[/tbpquotable]

They cause systemic inflammation, screw up our hormones and completely ruin our gut health/immune system. Free radicals are overtaking our bodies, cells are mutating…well, you get the picture and it ain’t pretty.

The more toxins you can alleviate, the less stress on your body, the healthier you will be.

I’ve started making many of the toiletries and cleaners we use in order to ditch the harmful toxins in our home and move towards natural living. It’s so much easier than you might think.

Natural DIY Cleaners

I make non-toxic laundry soap, toilet bowl cleaner, general household cleaner, pine cleaner, glass cleaner, disinfectant spray and air freshener.

With just a few simple ingredients, they are so easy to make. Trust me, I’m not into difficult.

Here’s a photo of some of the homemade non-toxic goodies I make and use daily. I’ll be sharing my DIY recipes with you soon in near future posts.

The hubs Mr. H and I like some of the Seventh Generation products like this dish soap, but not all of their products. Some do not rate as well as others by this manufacturer. My picks rate either an A or B on EWG.org. EWG rates household cleaners and cosmetics for toxins and harmful chemicals on a grading scale from A to F. Don’t be fooled that Seventh Generation is all good. Many of their “natural” products rate a D or F. I did a lot of research to find the products that rated well and only a handful of them did.

Good Quality Essential Oils

We use a lot of essential oils in our everyday life. We diffuse them daily, use them topically and internally (depending on the oil) for a huge variety of reasons. My oils are like a medicine chest in little bottles! Here are 12 ways we use oils at my house:

For an immune boost
Pain relief
Relaxation
Energy
Opening up sinuses and congestion
Sleep
Indigestion
Natural antibiotics and antifungal
Cuts and bug bites
Coughs and colds
Room deodorizer
Cleaning

Note: All oils are not alike. The FDA says that “100% pure” only has to contain 5% essential oil. I know… WTFrig, right?!! The rest can be fillers of who knows what that they are not required to tell you about. YUCK!! Be sure you only use oils that are exactly what they say they are and have no fillers of any kind. I’ve done tons of research to find the best…

I love Young Living Oils. If you are a member you get a 24% wholesale discount and can earn oils too! But if you don’t want to do that, I highly recommend Plant Therapy Oils. You don’t have to be a member and their prices are great, plus free shipping! Both companies offer pure high quality products with no fillers, do outside 3rd party testing on their oils and are very organic & environmentally conscious which means a whole lot in my book!

Natural and DIY Bath and Body Products

I have also replaced many of the harmful chemical laden bath and body products we use in our home with either non-toxic homemade or more natural products I’ve found on the market.

I make our deodorants, medicated body and foot powder, lip balms, face serum, mouthwash, etc. and what I can’t find a way to make that satisfies us then I search out the cleanest products on the market. Like castile soaps, shampoo, conditioner, body butters and lotions.

I love this Rosemary shampoo. It leaves my hair fuller and softer than ever and it doesn’t strip my color (I know, I know but I’m not going au naturale grey. Period, end of story. Fagetaboutit!) I’ve also added a couple of extra essential oils to this shampoo for hair regrowth. It will take a couple of months before I see if its working or not. I’ll let you know.

I use Dr. Bonner’s Liquid Castile soaps for lots of things around the house. This is my favorite because it’s Fair Trade and I love that!

And they come with several other essential oils scents like lavender, peppermint, tea tree and citrus. You can try them all!

Dr. Bronner’s 4 oz. Sampler- 5 Piece Gift Set

And I’ve found a great thick castile soap that I use as body wash. A little makes a lot of suds!

Natural Supplements

Above are the main supplements I take every day. I know it looks like a lot but so did the hands full of prescription medications and the 5 insulin injections a day I used to take. The pharmacy co-pay for them was astronomical! So I’m not spending more really, just redirecting it to a healthy way to prevent, rather than medications to treat symptoms and illnesses.

I didn’t start out using all of these nutritional supplements and products. I started out using a simple gut health system and added one here and there as I went along.

I always start out with bullet proof coffee. A good cup of Certified Fair Trade coffee (I get mine at Aldi’s) – with 1 tbsp organic coconut oil or MTC Oil, 1 tbls of organic grass fed butter, 1 small square of 85% dark chocolate and a drizzle of cream then blend. So creamy and delicious!!

For breakfast I usually eat organic eggs I get from MY chickens (I love my chickens! ♥ ) mixed with a heaping scoop of Live Fit Super Food blend. Or I’ll make a smoothie with it. I have a hard time eating enough fruits and veggies so this really helps me get them all in. Each serving has 1 1/2 bunches of broccoli, 2 cups of blueberries, 1 1/2 tomatoes and 6 grams of vegan protein.

I also make a drink with my pink drink from my gut health system and Baobab powder (best antioxidant ever, with loads of vitamins and high in vitamin C), with a couple of drops of ginger essential oil (powdered ginger gets caught in my throat, but you could use that), 2 drops of orange essential oil, juice of 1/2 lemon and a packet of stevia or two mixed with water.

Then of course a top notch multivitamin and plant based omegas.

Here’s a sneak peek into my crunchy cupboard…

I use a lot of apple cider vinegar, protein powders (smoothies, desserts and ice creams), collagen powder (if I don’t drink a cup of bone broth that day I always try to get some collagen powder in somewhere for bones, joints, skin nails and healthy hair).

I use glocomannan to thicken sauces and gravies instead of flour or corn starch to save on carbs that raise blood sugar. Sometimes I’ll add glucomannan in a smoothie to thicken and to help curb my appetite.

I also make sure to only buy organic, non-gmo aluminum free baking powder these days. Mr. H uses a lot of local honey as you can see. Local honey cuts down on seasonal allergies because the bees carry around the same pollen that is in the air so it helps lessen allergies. He swears by it.

I use a tiny bit of black strap molasses when I need a brown sugar substitute.

PB2 powder is powdered peanuts without all the fat, sugar and calories for shakes, baking etc. Comes in chocolate too!!

Now on to the fridge…

As you can see, there’s a lot of normal food in there, just not a lot of junk food. Almond milk, a gallon of water that I drink and refill daily, the pink stuff is Good Girl Moonshine in the pitcher and in the jar is a drink called The Shrinker, both from Trim Healthy Table cookbook. (Search this Pinterest board for the recipes and follow me while you’re at it!)

Better N Peanut Butter is a healthy no sugar peanut butter, Kerrygold grass fed butter (Walmart), salad in a jar stays fresh for a long time, almond flour, coconut flour, farm fresh organic eggs (or in my case backyard fresh), and lots and lots of veggies.

Well there you have. I’m sure there are lots of other things crunchy mamas use to promote natural living for their families, but these are some of the things you’ll find in this Crispy Mama’s home.

Let me know if you have a great natural product we should know about. I’m all ears!

If you enjoyed this I would really appreciate if you commented below, pin it to Pinterest and share it on Facebook 🙂

Talk to you soon,