Open up our fridge and you'll see a variety of all-natural food brands--Earth Balance, 365, Horizon, Wallaby. I love that I can rely on certain companies to leave out the high fructose corn syrup and the genetically modified ingredients so that I don't have to spend all my time at the store scanning the ingredient list. But I've found that sometimes the best natural products are made by companies that you don't normally associate with anything natural. Here are some products that are not only cheaper but work better than their natural brand competition:
Best find of the summer: Coppertone Kids SPF 50: Pure & Simple
Thank you Christine and Anne Marie for saving my kids' skin and our budget this summer by alerting me to this product. I cannot stand most of the sticky, way-overpriced, all-natural sunblocks, but even worse is the thought of spraying my kids with hormone-disrupting chemicals. I made the switch to all-natural sunblocks a couple of years ago, but you are supposed to use at least a shot glass full of sunblock every two hours, which means you're using about $10 worth of sunblock a day if you are using brands like Badger or California Baby. Plus, they don't work well if you're at the beach or pool--not to mention that they start to smell bad if they've been open for a while. Coppertone Kids Pure & Simple isn't as pure as some of the other brands (and make sure to get the Pure & Simple kind and avoid Coppertone's SPF 70 and all of their spray bottles), as it contains some chemicals and isn't organic. However, it does not contain retinyl palmitate or oxybenzone, chemicals that are known carcinogens. (According to Newsweek, these two chemicals, in 40% of sunscreens, have been linked to melanomas, allergies, hormone disruption and cell damage.) I love this sunscreen because it spreads easily, held up well at the pool yesterday, and is wonderful for our budget.
Want more information? Click here to read about the top 15 sunscreens.
Best New Product: Gatorade G Series
When Toby and I ran the Nashville Country Music Marathon together, he hydrated by drinking only water, rather than drinking a sports drink containing salt and electrolytes. He ended up in the ER tent, his entire body cramping up. Since then, I've been careful to drink sports drinks when I exercise and have always preferred Gatorade to other drinks. We also rely on it whenever the girls have the stomach flu--it seems to be the quickest way to rehydrate them. However, I have never felt right about giving the girls, or myself, a drink laden with high fructose corn syrup and red #40. So I was delighted to find that this summer, just in time for my 1/2 marathon training, Gatorade came out with the Gatorade G Series, using natural flavors like fruit flavors, sea salt and natural sweeteners. It tastes better too!
Favorite Cleaning Supply: green works natural all purpose cleaner... by Clorox
I love you, 7th Generation, for your Vermont roots and your admirable mission. But? You don't work! After a couple years of streaky mirrors and dirty counter tops, I discovered green works at Target. It's an all natural coconut-based cleaning agent that actually works! Not that my counter tops aren't still dirty, but at least it's not because of the cleaner I use.
That's my list for now. Let me know if you have any other favorite natural product with a brand name you wouldn't expect!
4 comments:
Kita, one thing to think of with the G Series -- if you're sweating a lot, you'll want to replace salt from another source; sea salt does not replace the TYPE of salt that your body is sweating out. (Also, you may want a few more calories than it has to offer - I try to get about 150 cals/hr of exersize if I'm going longer than an hour) For shorter runs I can't imagine it makes a huge difference but as you get close to 13.1 you might start to notice it.
Sorry to get all geeky on you over this - I agree that this is a great product Gatorade has come out with and I think it's a way better drink overall then there usual sugary mess, but just a few things to think about if you're using it for longer (hour +) athletic stuff.
I definitely will look for that sunscreen. I'm so concerned with what I put on the boys' faces. I will also check out the Gatorade. Cool. I can vouch for the Green Works (well, actually Romena, the housekeeper can). She looooves that stuff and says it cleans great. :) Thanks for the tips. And I love wen you post on your blog on your fb
SO happy to see that sunscreen! Yay!
And I love the Clorox stuff--and the all-purpose orange formula smells almost like an Aveda spa. ;-)
It is my fondest wish that someday I exercise hard enough to need a sports drink. LOL
thanks for the tips!
I will try that cleaner. I end up with vinegar and water a lot, but not sure how truly clean everything gets. We discovered Gatorade in Mexico not b/c of sports training but because we were all losing all of our bodily fluids in gross ways and the boys just loved it (the drink, not being sick :-), so I'm glad to know about the healthier series!
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