Beyond Coastal Review and Giveaway

It's starting to get warm around here; we put the AC in our window last night!  That means summer's just around the corner.

One of our favorite treats in the summer is to go to the waterslides.  Now normally I don't put sunscreen on myself or my kids every time we go outside.  I prefer to try not to be out in the heat of the day and just wear light clothing to cover up.  But going to the waterslides you don't really have that option!  They don't open until 10 and the hotter it is outside the more fun it is to be in the water.  So, we really need a good sunscreen.

Now, I'm pretty particular when it comes to sunscreens.  Cory reacted badly to a sunscreen the first time he wore it when he was just a year old so I did a lot of research and finally found one that has worked for us.  This means it has no fragrances, no extra ingredients, and we are limited to the mineral sunscreens.

If you know me you know how important it is to me that we limit the amount and kinds of chemicals we put in and on our bodies.  This sunscreen that we use on our boys is still available (although it's rather expensive), but the one that I have been using is no longer available in the formulation that the Environmental Working Group (EWG) lists with a good rating.  So now I need a new one for me, too.

Recently I was introduced to a new sunscreen company called Beyond Coastal.  They sent me a trial package of their sunscreens as well as information on the company.  I was thoroughly impressed by the fact that I can read all the ingredients and actually have a clue what they might be (Vitamin E, Aloe Vera, Shea butter, etc.).  None of their sunscreens have a rating higher than 3 and the Natural line all have a 2 rating (on the EWG Skin Deep Database). 

This makes me super confident that when I do need to put sunscreen on my kids I'm not doing more damage to their little bodies by adding yucky chemicals.  When I used the Natural Kids SPF 30 I liked that for a mineral sunscreen (that's the white stuff) it actually rubbed in fairly quickly and really didn't feel greasy.  Usually I have to wash my own hands after applying it, but with this sunscreen I didn't notice it was nearly as bad.

And, if you absolutely can't stand the white sunscreen you can try their Active line.  They use the least toxic of the UVA blocking chemicals; avobenzone, plus all the other ingredients are natural just like in the other line.

Finally, all their sunscreens are fragrance free, paraben free, and even gluten free!  They have a slight scent, probably due to the various oils used, but I found it to be light and pleasant.

I'm happy to have a new family of sunscreens to add to our arsenal for fun summer days!

WIN IT!


If you would like to win the same sampler pack that I received all you need to do is answer this question: What does your family like to do in the sun?

• Leave the answer in the comments!
• Please be sure I have a way to contact you or I will have to choose another winner. 
• Contest will end next Tuesday (the 22nd) at midnight, or whenever my mama brain remembers to close comments!  

I received the sample pack of sunscreen in order to facilitate my review through the Global Influence network. All opinions are strictly my own.

TILT: Earth Mama Angel Baby (with giveaway!)

Things I love? Bath and body products that smell good!

Things I don't love? All the chemicals that sometimes go into a product to make those smells.

Things I really love? Products from Earth Mama Angel Baby that smell good and don't have any yucky chemicals in them!

I've been using the Angel Baby Shampoo on Noah since he was born and recently had a chance to try out a few more of their products.  One word? Yum!  They just smell so good!

The Angel Baby shampoo is a castile soap made with USDA certified organic ingredients.  It's scented with real vanilla and orange oils and it's super gentle on my little guy's sensitive skin.

There are 3 other castile soaps in the family, Calm and Clean (with lavender and vanilla), Happy Mama (with ginger, lime and grapefruit), and the Natural Non-scents which is unscented.  I don't do lavender or ginger scents very well so the non-scents one is great for me!

All these soaps come in a great foaming container which makes them easy to dispense one handed (squirming baby anyone?) and they last a long time!

I love that they are rated ZERO on the Skin Deep Database (which means completely non-toxic) and they are certified vegan and cruelty free.  If you'd like more details on what kinds of toxins are normally found in bath products - especially ones kids use, please read this article called No More Toxic Tub.

And so now I include a bottle of Angel Baby Shampoo in every baby shower gift I give!

Win It!

Earth Mama Angel Baby is generously offering one of my readers a bottle of the Natural Non-Scents to try for themselves.

If you would like to enter please go visit their site and tell me what other product you might like to try (I'm seriously loving some of the pregnancy products right now! *wink wink).

Giveaway will end on December 8th or whenever my pregnant brain remembers to pull a name!  Please make sure your email address is on your profile or leave it in the comments or I won't be able to contact you!

Earth Mama Angel Baby provided me with a bottle of Non-scents to facilitate my review, but my love for them started a long time ago!

This post also linked up with The Diaper Diaries and Things I Love Thursday.

Things I Love: Alba Botanica

Today I want to introduce you to my skin.  Or, more specifically, my skin care line.  As I mentioned last summer I found that there were some pretty nasty chemicals in the skin care products I was using so I went on the hunt for new ones.  I bought this line called Alba Botanica (the Hawaiian version) at the co-op and thought I'd wait to see how I liked it before telling you too much about it.

Well, let me tell you now.  I do like it, a lot!  My skin feels clean and refreshed after washing and moisturizing and I'm not breaking the bank doing it.  I'm not a fan of the eye gel, but I've never found one in any brand that I really like.  I guess I'm just not a fan of the tingly on my face!

The best part about the whole line (and yes, I use the shampoo and conditioner too) is that it can be found at Target, Fred Meyer, a lot of health food stores, and easily online.  I recently stocked up on soap.com because I'd never ordered there before and they had a 20% off for first time customers discount.  All of it is cheaper than the old stuff I'd been using and all of it has a way lower score on the Skin Deep database for toxicity.

The biggest things in our skin care that create the toxicity are the very things that are supposed to be anti-aging.  Personally, I think I'd rather have my skin the way God designed it, wrinkles and all, than preserve it with some nasty chemicals that have other potentially harmful side effects!  There's a reason they use formaldehyde as an embalming fluid!

So, what kind of skin care products do you use?

This post is linked to The Diaper Diaries.  Alba has no idea who I am and I was not compensated for this post in anyway.  My love for their products is all my own!

Things I Love: Crazy Rumors Lip Balms

Since I admitted to you all last summer that I'm addicted to lip balm I think I've become even more addicted!  I bought some vegan, all natural, and almost 100% organic lip balm by Crazy Rumors in the Lemonade flavor.  It was so yummy that when I used it all up I asked my mother-in-law to bring me more at Thanksgiving!

The one in the fridge

Originally there were four citrus flavors in the store: lemonade, orange juice, pink grapefruit, and limeade.  What I didn't know is these are just one set of 7 they make!  I do love citrus and I'm not sure I would have been as tempted to buy them if this particular store had the other flavors, but I have been converted!

See, the story goes, at Christmas I went and bought the rest of the flavors in the Fresh Squeezed set.  Limeade quickly became my favorite, but I left it out on the bathroom counter and my dear son smooshed it.  I wasn't willing to give it up so I put it all back in the barrel and it now lives in the refrigerator so I can still use it!

The one the hubby doesn't like to kiss

Then, since I wasn't going to Oregon for awhile I noticed there was a website on the tube and looked them up online.  Unfortunately no one in our area carries them, but you can order them online!  I wasn't quite willing to pay shipping for one or two tubes, but they were nice enough to send me a couple of new flavors to try!

I am a big fan of all things Apple Spice so this one from the Brew collection sounded yummy, and it is!  It smells like mulled cider tea and I love it!  Unfortunately my husband is NOT a fan of this flavor in any form so I try not to wear it when he's around.  Or else it's payback when he's had a beer and I don't want to kiss him don't like his breath!

The one the hubby does like!

I also wanted to try Raspberry Sherbet from the A La Mode collection (all ice cream flavors!) and found out later that this one is their best seller.  I can certainly see why!  It's not too sweet, but definitely the right raspberry flavor!

And finally, on my wish list, they have a line of lip balms with natural mineral color added called HibisKiss.  The name is so cute and I would try any of the pink/red colors!

Next item on my wish list!

I'm trying to convince my local health food store that they need to carry these products, but until then I'll just have to stock up on our twice annual trip to Oregon!  They recently revamped their website so the store locator is currently down, but check back soon to see if they're in stock near you!  Or just contact the owners, they're great about getting back to you, especially on facebook!

If you want to order your own try the code HOP for 15% off your online order through April 30th!

What do you love?  Link up with The Diaper Diaries!

Crazy Rumors provided me with the 2 new lip balms to try out, but obviously my love for them is all my own!

Green Books Campaign: TreeTop: Creating a Fruit Revolution

A little introduction:

This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today 200 bloggers take a stand to support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of 200 books printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper. By turning a spotlight on books printed using eco-friendly paper, we hope to raise the awareness of book buyers and encourage everyone to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.


The campaign is organized for the second time by Eco-Libris, a green company working to make reading more sustainable. We invite you to join the discussion on "green" books and support books printed in an eco-friendly manner! A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website.

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I choose to review Tree Top: Creating a Fruit Revolution because it's about a company based in my own back yard.  It was such a fascinating read to discover that this company was born out of a product that used to end up in the dump!

Mountains of apples that weren't good enough to be sold (called culls) would simply be dumped at the end of the harvest.  In 1944 a man named William Henry Charbonneau had a vision of turning those "unsalvageable" apples into juice and an empire was born.  Of course it wasn't officially named Tree Top until it became a cooperative 16 years later, but that's getting ahead of the story!

This book outlines the history of Tree Top starting with the founder through the present day.  It's a celebration of 50 years of the Tree Top company this year.

At times some of the details were a bit over my head, but for anyone interested in the history of an industry it's a fabulous read!  There are also lots of pictures of how things "used to be" and interesting side bar stories that are related to the fruit industry as well as portraits of industry leaders. 

***

In keeping with the recycled nature of this campaign I'm going to donate this book to our local library.  I bet there will be many in our communities interested in the history of this very local company! 

This book is printed on FSC-certified paper, which means that the Forestry Stewardship Council certifies that the forest the paper came from, along with the manufacturing process, used responsible, renewable practices.

Please go to the Eco-Libris site to find out more about buying green books and being responsible consumers of books!

Things I Love: Santa Cruz Organic

So, I'm hopping on the bandwagon over at The Diaper Diaries this week with her meme called Things I Love Thursday.  And what I'd like to highlight is a new product line I recently got to try.

Santa Cruz Organic sent me a box of their products to try out... and all I have to say is, yummy!

No, actually I have a lot more to say than that, but that's the overall consensus at our house!

You all know I've recently started becoming more and more interested in the things that we eat, put on our bodies, and use in our home.  So naturally I'm reading labels and trying to buy foods that don't have a lot of ingredients in them that I can't pronounce!  (well, actually I can pronounce most of them with my chemistry background, but that doesn't mean I know what they're doing in our food!)

When I read the labels on the Santa Cruz Organic products?  All recognizable food names, and no high fructose corn syrup either!  The peanut butter?  Organic roasted peanuts and less than 1% salt.  All goodness!  We've already eaten two jars of it and Brian was rooting in the cupboard for more, asking me where the dark roast was.  Their creamy peanut butter is dark roast and it simply has the best flavor of any peanut butter I've ever had!
You do have to mix the oil in, but I found that it mixed easily and they left enough room at the top of the jar that you don’t lose that oil over the edge while mixing.

We were sent two of the fruit sauces flavors and I definitely like the apple peach best.  It’s a little bit tart and tangy with just a hint of sweetness.  It’s the perfect dessert that’s actually good for you!  I could eat more than one of the sauce cups, but they’re a good size for a kid’s lunch bag!  *hint hint moms*

The tropical fruit sauce was good too, it’s just not a flavor I care for.

And finally their all new product, fruit spreads.  We got to try all four of these flavors and I really couldn’t pick a favorite!  They have organic sugar in them (of course), but aren’t as sickeningly sweet as many of the jams and jellies you buy in the grocery store – no high fructose corn syrups here!  At first I was surprised they were so runny, but then I realized that would be why they’re called a fruit spread.  Silly me!  The only other down side I could see would be the fact that we’ve already used up three of these jars.  I wonder if they would consider selling them in larger sizes???

***

On the green side of things all these products are manufactured entirely with renewable energy from a variety of sources, including on-site solar energy and renewable energy certificate purchases.  Finally, a company that cares about how it makes it's products as well as what goes into them!

Their website has a handy store finder so you can find them in your area.  Unfortunately they aren’t carried at any of our regular grocery stores so I will have to make a special trip to stock up.  Find out if you can buy them in your area... It’s worth it! 

Products were provided for me to review through The Family Review Network.

Monsanto Strikes Again

Oh, I'm so all fired up right now I don't even know if I can write a coherent post.

In case any of you haven't heard, here's a little background.  Monsanto is originally a chemical company (they make Round-Up) that now also produces most of the genetically engineered seeds for our food and rBGH (also known as rBST) the artificial bovine growth hormone.  Their business practices are horrific. (I highly recommend this link - this was my first introduction to them two years ago)

Today I've come across an article in the Huffington Post talking about ice cream.  How are the two related you may ask?  Well, ice cream is made with milk, no?

I already avoid milk and butter with rBGH, but it never even occurred to me that other dairy products are made with the same milk, duh!  Thankfully I usually buy Tillamook and Lucerne brands which state directly on the label that they do not use milk from cows treated with rBGH.

So what's the big deal about rBGH?  Well, first off it has been documented as being bad for the cow.  It increases the chances of mastitis (and from a nursing mother standpoint, that's incredibly painful) as well as the cow's overall chances of becoming lame.  I'm not sure why, I just know that this is one of the side effects.  So from an animal health/cruelty standpoint this is not good.

Now, from the human standpoint there is the basic stance of, why would we want to put unknown chemicals into our bodies?  Just to "see what happens"?  I don't know many people who would willing sign up for that.  But studies have also shown a correlation between a by product of rBGH that cows produce called IGF-1 and the chances of humans then developing breast, colon, and prostate cancer.  Cows produce double the amount of IGF-1 when injected with rBGH.  Even slight increases in IFG-1 in women showed up to 7 times the risk of developing breast cancer!

This rBGH chemical is banned in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the entire European Union.  Once again the US is behind the curve (or perhaps being lobbied?) in outlawing a chemical that is simply a profit producer at the expense of our collective health.

Do a simple google search on Monsanto and you will find plenty of sites out there simply bashing on Monsanto.  But dig a little deeper and you will also find things like I've linked above.  Plenty of sound reasons to be skeptical of anything Monsanto claims is for the "good" of humans or the earth.

Some days all I want to do is stick my head in the sand.  (Don't even get me started on the genetically engineered seeds!  Yes, there are benefits, but there are also some major risks!)  It seems like every time I turn around there is another thing to remember to avoid.  Some are easier to remember than others.  This is one that I'll definitely be remembering! 

Non-Toxic Kids has a great post this week on how you can contact the ice cream manufacturers that are still using milk laced with rBGH.

Let's stand up for healthy living!


Ice Creams to avoid currently:

Baskin-Robbins

Breyers - includes:

• Good Humor
• Klondike
• Popsicle

Dreyers - includes:

• Edy's
• Nestle
• Haagen Dazs

Thanks to Stephanie at Metropolitan Mama for getting me started on these links today!

My Beauty Epiphany

For the last couple of years I've been hearing things here and there and becoming more aware of all the chemicals we put in and on our bodies on a daily basis.  While there is no definitive study that I'm aware of linking most of these chemicals to illnesses there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that suggests we are doing ourselves major harm.

With my new little man I'm trying to be even more careful about what chemicals he comes in contact with. Last year I switched from a major name brand of baby wipes to Safeway's Mom to Mom brand, mainly because they don't contain DMDM Hydantoin, a relative of formaldehyde.  It's used as a preservative to make sure the wipes don't get moldy, but there are other options for that function!  I've also made some homemade wipes, but my "getting green" self hasn't actually gotten around to using them yet.  I'm not sure how well that will go over with the hubby, and of course it's not really practical when away from home for extended periods of time.

The big realization came in the last few weeks however.  I ran out of my moisturizer (again, from a well known beauty company) and ordered some more.  The ingredients are listed on the box rather than the actual tube and I gave them a cursory glance.  Imagine my shock when I realized the same chemical I wouldn't allow on my baby's bottom I was putting on my face!!!  I then went around reading labels on all the personal care products in my bathroom and was just as surprised to find it in my shampoo and conditioner!  These are products that I bought from the beauty supply store (for quite the $$) and specifically asked for the most organic and botanical ones available.

Now, you might be asking how I figure out which ingredients in products are harmful?  To find out I generally turn to Skin Deep, a website run by the Environmental Working Group (note that I do NOT agree with all their policies and agendas, but I find this site to be particularly useful).  I also have a minor in chemistry and a college roommate with a major that I run stuff by.  I frequently read news relating to scientific studies as well, like the one recently talking about how Vitamin A in your sunscreen is probably causing you more harm than good.  It's supposed to be good for your skin, but when exposed to sunlight can actually cause your skin cells to mutate much more than if you hadn't even been wearing sunscreen to begin with!  And most common sunscreens do have Vitamin A in them.  (look for retinyl palmitate, retinol, or some combination)  Many lotions and moisturizers also have Vitamin A in them so beware of other products that you leave on your skin.

So, I've been trying to find a new moisturizer, face wash, and shampoo, but not really knowing where to look.  I also don't want to break the bank and go with a European home based cosmetics company that a friend of mine runs.  We are after all on a budget!

Luckily, we happen to be in Oregon visiting family and they have this cool little store simply called The Co-op.  I had a hunch I would find a lot of options there.  My mother in law and I even got to do the eco-friendly version of transportation to get there... walking, since it's close to their house!

I think I spent about an hour in the body care aisle (yes, they have an entire aisle and the most "nasty" ingredient I found was the above mentioned Vitamin A in some lotion).  There were almost too many choices!  Eventually I settled on a skin care line made by Alba - which I have seen at my local Target so hooray, I won't have a hard time restocking!  I know I can probably order most of this stuff online, but the ingredients aren't always listed and I'm also highly sensitive to smells, particularly lavender, so I need to smell things before I buy them.  (of course I find a couple days later that Fred Meyer here carries almost all the same things that I bought for about 30% cheaper, but they didn't have the selection or the employees to help me like the Co-op did either - and since Oregon is even more crunchy than Washington I'm not sure our FM carries them all)

I also got new shampoo and bar soap by Kiss My Face as well as some lip balm by Crazy Rumors (Lemonade - my husband says it's like kissing a lemon!) that doesn't have sunscreen in it - since I didn't realize until standing in the aisle that would also be a hazard.  Of course I'll still wear it when needed, but it's not something I need to be licking all the time either, and yes, I'm addicted to lip balm!

I also got some new baby wash that smells heavenly!  It's called Angel Baby Shampoo and Body Wash. I had been pretty happy with my Burt's Bees baby wash until they changed up the formula and it now makes my babies smell just as bad as J&J's.  Yuck!

Can you tell I'm more than a little excited about all this?  So, where does my epiphany come in?  (and if you've read this far, kudos to you, I didn't intend to go off on such a "soap"box!)

Well, after coming home and chilling out I started thinking about how I'm actually really lucky to live in the Northwest where it's not that hard to find a store carrying things like this.  We're not called crunchy and granola without reason!  Most days I don't even wear makeup and while the "makeup people" would tell you you're helping your face with all their products I'm not so sure I'm convinced.  I do like to look nice, especially for pictures, but I don't really care most days that I look "glamourous".  For me, it's more of an inconvenience than an accessory to my life!  And again, I can get away with this because I live in the great Northwest!

But honestly, I think I'm more happy about the fact that I don't need makeup to be me.  With two small boys I rarely have time to look in the mirror so I am not focusing on what I look like.  And if someone wants to judge me entirely on my outward appearance, well, they're probably not the kind of person I want to have a close relationship with anyway!

I haven't talked a lot about the things I'm doing to be more "green" or eco-conscious, but perhaps I will go into that more in future posts!  Thoughts?

Now the question is: what do I do with the (rather large) bottles of shampoo and conditioner I have left that I spent good money on?  Use them up or throw them out?  And I don't even feel that comfortable passing them on to someone else...