a little bit healthier and greener

i used to work with this chick!

she is hilarious.

well traveled.

has what i refer to as a "sick sense of humor".

but when you work with abused and neglected and mentally ill kids... a sick sense of humor is almost a requirement in order to survive the things you see.

she made work enjoyable and hanging out with her is one of the things i miss about working full time!

and she recently has decided to go very green.

i remember when she was pregnant and said "im going to use cloth diapers".

i laughed.

thought she was nuts {still do... some modern luxuries are just... necessary}

i also have another friend doing some of the same.

so i'm being educated!

which i now appreciate.

until now i was not a "green person".

i buy some junk food.

i buy products without entirely thinking through how it effects me, my family, or the environment.

i microwaved my child's bottles.

i also microwaved my left overs in the plastic storage they were in.

i can't say i was oblivious.

we recycle.

most of the time {wink. wink.}

we eat well balanced meals... not full of sugar, junk or processed stuff.

but the bad but yummy stuff is here.

but another friend said to me "you always have good snacks in your house".

so i've gotten to thinking...

i'm going to include you in my journey of making life

healthier and greener in our home!

i am NOT committing to never having anything non-healthy.

i firmly believe that denying yourself of it... or your kids...

just simply makes you want it more.

so there will be goodies and breaking of the rules.

but i cleaned out the kitchen today!

IT FELT GOOD!!!!

i threw out all things that had the words:

1. hydrogenated oils

2. corn syrup

3. dyes

the first two because my friend told me those were the two worst for you.

i'm trusting.

and since i'm a busy stay at home mom whose husband works long hours and has an even longer commute... i am trusting my friends research for now.

and the dyes because when i worked with mentally ill children with behavioral issues... i read a lot that indicated dyes effect your child's behavior.

and i've seen it work when eliminated.

so the dyes went out ... because i've mentioned before that my big boy is a bit of a spirited little fire cracker!

and let me tell you. in the past week since i've been way more conscience of this... i see a major improvement in his behaviors {knock on wood}.

there was also a big study that showed canned foods have a lot of BPA in them also.

so unnecessary stuff went out.

don't worry... i bagged them up for the food bank.

i had a little internal conflict with giving it to them.

why should they eat what i consider to be bad for my family??

but because i thought throwing it out was worse i bagged it up and will take jack & sam to deliver it this week {may as well throw a life lesson in on this too}!

so here's to healthier days.

fill me in on your tips and findings too... this way i don't have to do all the research! HA!

wish me luck!