Good For You Products

Typically I blog about food...but I've been wanting to blog about the products my family has been using lately that we love.  Not only are they fabulous...but they are also GOOD for you.  We all know that eating as organic and healthy as you can and exercising are two of the best things you can do for your body...but the products you use on your body and in your house everyday play a huge part in healthy living too. Remember...all these products can get into your bloodstream!

I raided my cabinets a few months back and was shocked to see the list of ingredients in some of the products my family was using. One I kept stumbling upon was "methylparaben." Most of us know that parabens are a no no ... so I was shocked to see this in so many things in my house ... like face lotion, sunblock and shampoo. It made me especially uncomfortable since I am pregnant with our third baby. This article made me realize how bad methylparaben really is: http://www.livestrong.com/article/21581-dangers-methylparaben/ Obviously every website will say something different, but I tend to agree with Livestrong.com when it comes to certain topics. 

Needless to say, I gathered up all the "bad" products to make way for the new ones we would purchase and use. After searcing the web and doing my research at a few stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, I came up with a group of products we now use that we love. Here they are:

1. BabyGanics Dryer Sheets: Babies R Us.  Baby fresh scent.  These are biodegradable sheets that are non toxic, hypo-allergenic, bleach, dye and chemical free. I throw two of these in my dryer and the clothes smell great!  My boys have sensitive skin and one has excema and these do not bother them at all.

2. Hyland's Complete Allergy Relief: Walgreens. My 3-year-old suffers from tree pollen allergy. This is a great natural remedy for him. Zyrtec made him miserable and did not help at all, and I refused to put him on Singulair or Sudafed based on all the things I read about them. This worked wonders when he was suffering.

3. Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo and Conditioner: Trader Joe's. LOVE this shampoo and conditioner. I rotate between this and the Avalon. This one gives your head a tingle and smells wonderful. My hair feels great afterwards. There are lots of organic ingredients in this too. Very cheap!

4. Trader Joe's Liquid Laundry Detergent: Trader Joe's. This smells like light lavender and is good for the HE machine. You only use a little and it's such a huge bottle so it will last a long time. Cheap price. There are no phosphates and it is biodegradable.

5. Badger Sunblock: Whole Foods. This is an unscented broad spectrum spf 35 sports sunscreen for anyone 6 months and older. It is very water resistant and has certified organic and natural ingredients. There are a total of five ingredients in this zinc-based sunblock which is GREAT! LOVE LOVE this product. Can get it on sale at Whole Foods sometimes as it's a little pricey, but worth it. Great for sensitive skin. I use this on our children.

6. Badger Chapstick with SPF: Back to Basics.  Same great product as above but to use on the lips.

7. Tom's Deoderant: Back to Basics or Whole Foods. I use this and love it. It is aluminum free and comes in many different scents. My favorites are apricot and lavender. Keeps me smelling good all day long.

8. Everyday Shea Shea Butter Shampoo and Body Wash, Bubble Bath and Unscented Lotion: Whole Foods. Great for the kids. Very good for sensitive skin.  Certified fair-trade. No parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrance or animal testing.  Biodegradable and gluten free. The unscented lotion smells a little funky but it is good for my boy's skin.

9. BabyGanics Stain Remover: Babies R Us. Great for baby food stains to grass stains. I use this instead of "Shout" as it does the job. It uses plant derived cleaning agents which is better than harsh chemical ones.

10. Avalon Shampoo and Conditioner: Back to Basics, Whole Foods and Target. Awesome shampoo and conditioner. More expensive than the Trader Joe's brand but very good I love the thickening one since I have fine hair. Cheapest at Whole Foods in the big bottles, lavender scent. Uses 71 percent organic ingredients!

11. Whole Foods Herbal Mint Body Lotion: Whole Foods. No parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, artificial fragrance or animal testing. Great smell. I use this all over my body after my shower. Cheap price too!

12. Tom's Toothpaste: Whole Foods or Back to Basics. Great line of natural toothpaste. I use Silly Strawberry for the boys and they love it.

13. Trader Joe's Refresh Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Face and Body Sunscreen: Trader Joe's. Oil free, fragrance free, paba free, non-comedogenic. My husband uses this as his face lotion and for his sunscreen on his body. He really likes it. He was using Coppertone before but it has parabens in it. This was a good switch for him.

14. Seventh Generation All Purpose Cleaner: Target has best price. I use this everywhere! It is awesome in kitchen, bathroom, anywhere really. Great ingredients that are not harmful. 

15. Trader Joe's Spray Sunblock SPF 50: Trader Joe's. I love this for a quick application. Similar to the sunscreen above but in a higher SPF and spray.

16. Mama Bee Burt's Bees Belly Butter: Target or Back to Basics. Great for a pregnant mommy and her belly!

17. DermaE Face Lotion, Pycnogenol Redness Reducing Serum: Whole Foods and Back to Basics. This is my new face lotion and I LOVE it! It is about $30 for 2 fl oz but worth it. Should last you 3 months, so about $10 a month which is good. This is great if you are fair and red cheeked like me. It is fragrance free, light, cruelty free, paraben free and eco-friendly. I was addicted to my St. Ives lotion that I'd been using for almost 10 years, but I switched to this and after a week I was used to it and now really love it. It helps with rosacea if you have this; it calms the redness in your face naturally. It also restored my skin tone and is great for sensitive blotchy skin.

18. Bluebonnet Super Earth Rainforest AnimalZ Whole Food Based Multiple Vitamins: Whole Foods. Great for my 3 year old. Has the 400 IUs of vitamin D that doctors recommend. Forgot to put in picture.

19. Aveeno Baby Organic Harvest Lotion and Foaming Wash and Shampoo: Babies R Us. I will be using this on our newborn in just a few weeks! It is great because it has mostly organic ingredients and a very short list of them! Do no use Johnson and Johnson – there are so many things in this line you should not be putting on your baby. Just google it and you'll see for yourself. Forgot to put in a picture.

So, if you have time, clean out your cabinets and get rid of the products that have ingredients in them that are not good for you and your family. To make your life easier it is my hope that this list helps you get started! Let me know your thoughts on if you already use GOOD products for your family OR if you think you'll give it a try. It really doesn't cost us much more than we were already paying, which is a plus!

As I said in my last pesto blog, I'll be back blogging after the baby comes. I am 38 weeks today!