Pedicure, anyone?

With Spring in full bloom and Summer on it’s way, I think it is about time women take out the nail polish and rock a beautiful pedicure. You deserve it.

Nail Polish 

Women seem to spend more time picking out the color they want rather than a brand of nail polish that will be safest for them to use. I know I have been guilty of this!

Ideally, you should choose an all natural nail polish  is water or mineral based rather than chemical based. This means  you would be buying nail polishes that don’t contain ingredients like dibutyl phthalates (DBP), which is an unhealthy chemical you will want to avoid.

Check out the nail polish from Go Natural®, a company that sells chemical free nail polish that is durable and chip-free. If you are looking for a nail polish that is geared towards girls, check out Piggy Paint®. They sell high quality nail polish that is non-toxic and provides plenty of colors to choose from.

Nail Polish Remover

Now that you use a non-toxic nail polish, it’s time to remove it once you are ready for a new color.

Try avoiding nail polish removes that that contain ingredients such as acetone, since it is a harsh chemical that dries out your nails and any skin that’s exposed to it.

You can try a natural nail polish remover such as the one from Honeybee Garden, which is enriched with horsetail extract to strengthen nails and fortified with vitamin E and aloe to soothe and protect cuticles. Another nail polish remover you can try is “Almost Natural” Nail Polish Remover by Miss, since it doesn’t have any acetone, ethyl acetate, or harsh odors. Also, it’s made with all organic ingredients.

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Tags: all natural, Beauty, chemical, Health, nail, nail polish, nail polish remover, non-toxic, Organic, Vitamin E

“Low Calorie” doesn’t mean “Healthy”

Everyone seems to be obsessed with the term “low calorie”. Companies market their product as a “low calorie” meal or snack, which as a result, leads consumers to believe they are buying a healthy product. Unfortunately for us, “low calorie” doesn’t mean that it is “healthy”! This concept is a huge misunderstanding that I would like to clear up for everyone.

When Low Calorie doesn’t mean Healthy

I went searching for what consumers thought was a great low calorie snack for weight loss. Here are some of the most common low calorie snacks consumers suggested to others, and my suggestions of healthy alternatives.

•JELL-O Brand Gelatin and Pudding Snacks- The low calorie snack packs make this product easy to consume on a daily basis, which is concerning once you read the label and see what ingredients are listed in the product. They may be labeled as sugar-free and fat-free, but there are tons of artificial sweeteners and unhealthy ingredients you just shouldn’t be putting into your body.

Alternative- You can make your own Pudding using Dr. Oetker’s Organic Pudding mix. You can make a small batch and divide it into small serving size containers to enjoy throughout the week. This product still contains sugar, but I think this is a better alternative than the snack packs mentioned above, but still should be used only in moderation.

•Quaker® Rice Cakes - What’s not healthy about a low calorie snack that is gluten free containing 9 grams of whole grains in it? Lots of sugar and corn syrup. Once you add the sugar and corn syrup (among other things) to the healthy ingredients, it’s no longer healthy.

Alternative- If you are looking for a yummy whole grain, check out Arrowhead Mills® Organic Puff cereals. You will find that there is only one ingredient in this product, just how it should be! They taste fantastic plain or with your choice of milk.

•Popcorn- These are usually full of ingredients that are anything but real butter. Lots of chemically altered ingredients and additives.

Alternative- Buy popcorn with nothing added or make it yourself.

•Frozen Desserts- Consumers recommended Sugar-Free Fudgsicles, Low-Fat Ice Cream Bars from The Skinny Cow®, and Sugar-Free Ice Pops. Notice a common theme here? Companies are selling frozen desserts in small quantities and replace the sugar and/or fat with even more harmful artificial ingredients and tell you that they are now healthy because they have fewer amounts of calories. Sadly, a lot of consumers fall for this gimmick.

Alternative- I love Organic Blackberry Sorbet Bars by Julie’s Organic. Natural ingredients with no sugar or artificial sweeteners added. You can also try making your own healthy desserts, such as frozen grapes!

•Dannon Light ‘n Fit Non-Fat Yogurt- This is made with Splenda®, and goes along the same line as the gelatin and pudding snacks.

Alternative- All Natural Yogurt or Greek Yogurt with no added ingredients.

•100 Calorie Snack Packs- These low calorie snack packs were highly suggested by consumers, mainly due to taste and because it’s a “mindless alternative”. You can choose from cookies, crackers, and chips. Low calorie? Yes. Healthy? Not one bit. The company just provided small portions that are prepackaged and sold as low calorie. These products are full of sugar, which creates fat in your midsection. Not something you should do for fat loss, right?

Alternative- There are plenty of healthy crackers or other snacks to much on, without all of the processed ingredients, additives, and preservatives.

•Fiber One® Chewy Bars- Consumers suggested this low calorie snack because they taste like a candy bar. Not surprised, considering these snacks contain a lot of sugar and high maltose corn syrup (a sneaky way of adding a cousin of “high fructose corn syrup” into products).

Alternative- Looking for a chewy bar that tastes delicious? Check out all of the Fruit and Nut Bars by LÄRABAR®. Most of the flavors are made with healthy ingredients, with only six ingredients or less. The Pecan Pie flavor, for example, only has three ingredients; dates, pecans, and almonds. You wouldn’t believe these are healthy and low calorie once you taste how delicious these bars are.

•Campbell’s® Healthy Request® Soup- The soup may only have 90 calories per serving, but with two servings per can, most people are going to eat more than one serving. 180 calories still isn’t all that bad, but considering there are 410 mg of sodium per serving, that means you would be consuming 820 mg of sodium in just one serving. This soup may be marketed as “Heart Healthy”, but that still doesn’t make this soup healthy for you. It’s crazy how marketing works sometimes.

Alternative- Make your own homemade soup. Even if you buy an Organic or All Natural Soup with very few ingredients (think Amy’s Kitchen soups), you are still going to find more sodium than you bargained for.

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Image Credits: arrowheadmills.com; larabarstore.com

Tags: all natural, artificial ingredients, Dessert, gelatin, Healthy, Healthy Alternative, healthy snack, jell-o, Lara Bar, low calorie, low calorie snack, Nutrition, Organic, Popcorn, pudding snacks, snack, soup, sugar, USDA Organic

Real Salt by Redmond

Why Real Salt?

Let’s start at looking at the competition. Table salts, or “iodized salt” has gone through intensive bleaching and refining processes, and then on top of that, many have undergone a heat processing and even include additives and chemicals.

Real Salt by Redmond is carefully taken from deep within the earth, crushed, screened, and packaged to stay all natural. It has a pink coloring, which is from the 50-plus trace minerals that weren’t stripped away by any refining/bleaching process.

Taste

Yes, Real Salt by Redmond actually tastes different than other processed and refined salts out there. Good news is, when I say “different”, I mean that it actually tastes better. It is not so different that you don’t think you are tasting salt, but I believe there is just so much more flavor to it, that you will actually enjoy your salt that much more! Nice.

Health Benefits

Salt is good for you- if you have the right kind of Salt. Some of the benefits of Salt, are as follows; Salt helps regulate the body’s metabolism, food digestion, necessary for proper function of nerve fibers, keeps the water balanced correctly around your tissues and cells in your body, and Salt even helps your heart function, or beat, properly.

For those bloggers out there who believe salt is bad for you, or believes that salt does not have a lot of health benefits is either A) talking about processed and bleached iodized salt,  or B) does not know what they are talking about.  Yes, you need moderation in all things, but to flat out say Salt is not beneficial is just not logical when you really do your research and list the facts.

I recommend going to Real Salt’s website to read their testimonials.  Not only will you  find that I am not the only one who thinks it tastes better, but you will actually come to find how many switched to Real Salt to lower their high blood pressure, among other things.

Many of you may think “well…it’s just salt!”, but remember that each step you take to become healthier,  it makes such a difference for your body! Yes, it is salt. You can now throw away your cheap salt you bought at the grocery store (and not feel guilty about it),  and replace it with an all natural salt that is actually beneficial for your body.

Now, you are one step closer to a healthier you.

For more information, you may visit realsalt.com

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Tags: all natural, better taste, bleaching, food digestion, good for you, heal benefits, Healthy, iodized salt, lower high blood pressure, metabolism, necessary, pink, Real Salt, Redmond, refining, salt, white

Spinach Pancakes by Dr. Praeger’s

These aren’t just any pancakes…these are perfect for Lunch and Dinner for someone who wants something fast and easy, healthy, and tastes good.

Nutrition

There are very few ingredients to this wonderful pancake, which is Spinach (of course!), Potatoes, Onions, Egg Whites, Oat Bran, Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Arrowroot, Salt, All Natural Vegetable  Gum, Garlic, and Black Pepper. So what are these pancakes missing? They are “missing” all of the bad stuff! These pancakes are not only low calorie, but they don’t have Saturated Fat,  Cholesterol, Trans Fats, processed Sugar or Artificial Sweeteners.

Taste

I have good news, and possibly bad news. Good news…if you don’t like the taste of Spinach, you will love these pancakes because they really don’t taste like Spinach. Bad news…if you were hoping these Spinach Pancakes actually tasted like Spinach. They don’t taste like Spinach, sorry.

Either way, these pancakes taste Amazing. I was a little reluctant at first because I just didnt know what to expect from them. Yes, they are green, but they don’t taste like they should be. I ended up cooking more just because they tasted so great!

Preparation

The Spinach Pancakes come in a box, and they are each individually wrapped for freshness. The cooking part couldn’t be easier. Preheat your oven to broil, then cook at broil for about 8 minutes. That’s it.

Serving Size: 1 Pancake

Calories: 80

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Tags: all natural, arrowroot, artificial sweetener, black pepper, canola oil, cholesterol, dinner, Dr. Praeger's, easy meal, Egg Whites, garlic, Healthy, less than 100 calories, low calorie, lunch, no sugar, Nutrition, onion, pancakes, potatoe, salt, saturated fat, Spinach, Spinach Pancakes, sugar, taste great, trans fats, vegetable gum

Breakfast Sausage chicken & apple by Applegate Farms

“Yum!”

That’s where I am going to start off about this little breakfast sausage. I like to eat healthy, or at least have the healthier alternative, but I also think food should taste great all at the same time. Possible? Yes.

Sausage that isn’t bad for you?

I usually try to stay away from anything that says “sausage”, usually because there is a higher fat content involved amongst who knows what else. I like the idea that this breakfast sausage is gluten-free, casein free, and there are no nitrates (natrual or added)! There are only a handful of ingredients in this product. That is a good thing, since that means it doesn’t have all of these artificial and harmful filler products included. The chicken that is used was never given any antibiotics or animal by-products.

This is no ordinary breakfast sausage. It is something you won’t feel guilty eating, doesn’t take long to cook (already cooked, so you are just warming it up) and again… it actually tastes great!

Serving: 3 Sausage Links
Calories: 140

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Tags: all natural, breakfast sausage, casein free, chicken, delicious, gluten free, no nitrates, tastes good