Category Archives: Organic

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12 Week Transformation Breakdown

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Essante Organics 12 week Transformation: Before & After

Well, this is it folks,  the end of my 1st 12 week Essante Organics Transformation Challenge!

Here are a few final thoughts I wanted to share with all of you who have followed my journey over the last few months. http://myorganictransformation.weebly.com

This challenge offered many rewards, both emotional and physical.

My most emotionally rewarding experience throughout this process was watching how my determination and perseverance effected and inspired others. My 4 year old daughter now asks to exercise with me daily. My husband and parents beam with pride as they brag to their friends about my progress. Other friends and family members tell me how I’ve inspired them to get healthy. Everyone around m has increased their activity level and/or their diet in one way or another.

Physically, my most rewarding experience has been accomplishing more than I ever believed I could. I’ve reduced my body fat by 20%. I’ve become a cyclist. I’ve become a swimmer. I’ve started attending a local boot camp. I’ve become a fitness addict!

At the start of this contest, if someone told me that I would accomplish or become any one of those things I would have laughed and reminded them of my disability and my hectic schedule with 2 small children. How on earth can a stay at home mom find time and energy to do all of that…much less a mom who happens to be a hemiplegic? Well, I not only did it, but I KILLED IT!!!

weight loss, before and after, organic, transformation

Essante Organics 12 week Transformation: Before & After

This challenge has also redefined how I define success.

“I don’t believe you have to be better than everybody else. I believe you have to be better than you ever thought you could be.” –Ken Venturi

My goal is always to be better than I was yesterday…That is success!!!

I’d LOVE to hear about your goals, challenges, successes! Please share in the comments below!

 

Organic Baby

Essante_Baby_Safe

I was so honored to be included in this hangout! Join ME, several of my lovely associates, and our awesome CEO as we share with you our AMAZING and baby-friendly catalog of products.

Are you aware of all of the dangerous chemicals you’re loading onto and into your babies on a daily basis? GOOD NEWS – There is an alternative!!!

*around 30 minutes listen for a top secret reveal that is yet to be released!*

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cyber monday, Essante, organic essential oils, beauty, baby, nutrition, work at home, business, deal, 50% off, 60% off, 80% off, free, www.ThepHMama.com

Cyber Monday

cyber monday, Essante, organic essential oils, beauty, baby, nutrition, work at home, business, deal, 50% off, 60% off, 80% off, free, www.ThepHMama.com

Did you brave the madness on Black Friday or have you been patiently waiting on Cyber Monday? Maybe you are sly enough the shop both!

In either case, please check out the awesome deals I’m offering through my at home business. These savings don’t come around often and will vanish at midnight tonight!

Happy Shopping!!!

Click HERE to save 50%-80% on certified organic and toxic free products.

Choosing the Right Company

My alter ego (other than Adaptive Mom) is The Essante Mama. Please look me up on Facebook and check me out at www.EssanteMama.com


www.GoGreenGetPaid.com

Please get back to whoever shared this post with you for more information!

**Disclosure: I received no compensation for this post. I was not required to give a positive review and all opinions are 100% my own. I am an executive with Essante Organics and only receive compensation through their outlined system (sales, bonuses, commissions, etc).

Toxic-free Automatic Shower Cleaner

 

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I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about my homemade automatic shower cleaner recipe so here it is…

What you’ll need: Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower system with empty cartridge bottles (I recommend 3), vinegar, baking soda, toxic free soap, and cling wrap.

Method: Remove the cap from the cartridge bottle (this part can be tricky) and empty and rinse if needed. My husband was able to remove the caps and shave down the “teeth” with various tools in the garage…no idea what. Another method is to dip the capped bottle in boiling water for a few seconds to soften the plastic then carefully twist it off with an oven mitt.
First, add the baking soda, then fill the bottle half way with water. Slowly add vinegar to fill the bottle the rest of the way and finish by adding the soap…a little goes a long way. I place a small piece of cling wrap over the opening before replacing the cap to prevent leaking while reinserting cartridge in sprayer. Don’t worry, the sprayer will pierce the cling wrap when inserted.

Spray after each shower while walls are still wet. It’s just that simple!

Of course, the same solution works great in a spray bottle if you want to manually spray your shower after each use, but who has time for that…right? 😉

I’ve been using this recipe for about 6 months and our shower is cleaner than ever. Granted, I started with a clean shower, but we have very hard water and still my glass shower door is spotless.

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Making a salad can be quite a messy and time consuming ordeal…so why not prepare a week’s worth at a time? Veggies will stay fresh and crisp in a mason jar and you’ll have more time to enjoy the fruits (and veggies) of your labor!

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My breakfast most every morning. SO yummy!
The pH 7.365 alkalizes and adds protein…and yummyness
The Earth Greens adds 5.5 POUNDS of live, raw, green, organic, alkaline, whole food, nutrient dense vegetation
Spinach keeps me fuller longer
And the coffee …is… well, ESSENTIAL. 😉

Must-Haves For Cloth Diapering Mamas

I know I’ve mentioned this product before, but there are just so many reasons to love Essante Sanitizer.

As you guys know, I love playing around with cloth diapers and the endless combinations one can create with the right pieces.

So yesterday, I put my son in a pad and cover in an attempt to gain more confidence in my ability to position everything correctly on my fidgety baby.

I must have done something right, because the diaper held through a 3+ hour nap with no leaks!

So anywho, back to my point…After I changed the soaked pad and laid the cover out to dry, I had an idea…Why not spray the cover with Essante Sanitizer. It’s chemical free, it’s easy, and it will extend the life of my diapers. Sure I could wipe the cover down with a baby wipe, but would I really be getting rid of the germs that can potentially cause odor…or just wiping them around?

Just as I expected, the cover was fresh, dry and ready to be worn again at next diaper change.

Here’s the best part…This stuff is safe enough to spray directly on baby! Works on diaper rash and booboos, helps with ear infections, spray in nose to head off a cold, and it even sanitizes toys, pacifiers, and breast pump parts!

This spray is a mama’s best friend.

Essante Sanitizer

Essante Sanitizer

Even as I’m writing this post, I’m chasing my sneezy snotty daughter around spraying it in her nose and on everything she sneezes on. My son scraped his knuckles this morning, Lord only knows how, so he is getting sprayed as well.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still a huge vinegar lover for household cleaning and disinfecting. I’m just saying there are some things, like my baby’s bottom, that I would prefer not to smell like salt and vinegar chips.

The ingredients in this stuff are simple:
Purified water, stabilized active oxygen, sodium cocoyl glutamate (derived from coconut oil & glutamate amino acid), and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda).

Sanitizer Efficacy Data

It’s so mild and gentle that I can spray it directly on my son’s diaper rash and eczema flare ups to soothe and prevent infection.

My next secret weapon is Essante Laundry Liquid Concentrate. It is a powerful 100% organic, 100% chemical free, plant-based detergent that loosens & magnetizes dirt away, without weakening fabric. One bottle cleans 32 loads of laundry.
Essante Laundry Liquid Concentrate

Essante Laundry Liquid Concentrate

This stuff is loaded with only organic and pure ingredients:
Organic Purified Water
Anionic & Nonionic Soy & Coconut Cleansing Agents
Sodium Citrate (Salt) An anti-redeposition Agent
Sodium Metasilicate (Alkaline Builder)
As most cloth diapering mamas know, you must be diligent about what you use to wash your baby’s fluff. What could be safer and more effective than nature?

For diapers, I also add a scoop or 1/4 cup of baking soda just to give the diapers that extra bit of freshness. Works like a charm. All our diapers are clean, fresh, and stain free.

Again, my son has very sensitive skin and Essante Laundry Liquid has helped combat his eczema flare ups and has given me one less thing to worry about.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m in the process of adapting my home to become as green and chemical free as possible. These products are just a few of my baby steps…pun intended.

Happy Baby + Clean Dry Bum = One Less Thing for This Mama to Worry About!

Now it’s your turn. How do you keep your diapers fresh? What are your tips and tricks to extending the life of your cloth?

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Accessible Cloth Diapering with Thirsties

I have wanted to try cloth diapering since our 1st child was born, but I always feared investing in a product that might turn out not accessible for my limited mobility.

As a southpaw, with no functional use of my right hand or arm, I’ll admit I use my teeth for a lot of things. However, I was NOT willing to use this improvisation with diapering. 😉

Rather, we tried to use organic and compostable diapers when available and decided that cloth diapering may just not be an option for me.

When my daughter reached the potty training stage, we tried  Flip Training Pants with cotton inserts, but found that even with snaps, changing the dirty pad, which is velcroed into place at either end, was not easily accessible with one hand.

By the time our son came along, I’d given up on cloth diapering altogether.

However, when my son was about 6 months old, his blowout diapers started to decrease and I began revisiting my cloth options. A fellow crunchy mama advised me on a few options and brands that she’d used and that thought might offer the greatest accessibility. And so the research began…

My initial criteria for selection were Aplix closures, affordability, and availability of “How To” YouTube videos to check out accessibility.

I also didn’t want to have to keep buying diapers as my son grew…like a weed. So sizing options were also important.

I chose to start with a Thirsties Duo Diaper (a pocket diaper). This diaper was toted as a great starter fluffy for anyone new to cloth diapering because it works much like a disposable.

Thirsties sizing was also appealing.

Sizing

Size Weight Range Age Range
one 6-18 lbs (3-8 kg) 0-9 months
two 18-40 lbs (8-18 kg) 9-36 months

 

Thirsties Duo Diaper with Aplix (pocket)

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Pros:

  • They are super easy to put on – much like a disposable. Just use and toss in the pail.
  • Thirsties offers Aplix or snaps on all of their diapers.
  • All Thirsties have a gusset system to help with leak prevention (with the exception of the Duo AIO which I did not try).
  • You can stuff extra inserts for added absorbency or easily bulk up near the front for boys or center for girls. As an added accessibility plus, Duo Diapers have a pocket opening in front and back to make stuffing MUCH easier.
  • Duo Diapers wash and dry fairly easily overall since all the pieces come apart. No added step of taking the icky dirty inserts out. These diapers are designed to agitate the insert out during the wash cycle.
  • Versatile: Most inserts are interchangeable between brands.
  • Duo Diapers are easy to hang dry. They air-dry just about as quickly as the dryer cycle itself (especially if you can find a little sun), prolonging their life.

Cons:

  • Added step of stuffing the diapers
  • One use = One wash.

So, how many will you need?

Thirsties recommends the following:

Newborn: 20-24 diapers
6-12 months: 14-18 diapers
12-24 months: 12-16 diapers
Potty Learning: 4-8 diapers

After surviving a few days with the Duo diapers, I thought, “Hey, I can do this! It’s easy!”. So I decided to branch out and experiment with a few other Thirsties combinations.

Next, I tried a Thirsties Duo Wrap with a Stay Dry Duo Insert and/or a Duo Hemp Prefold.

Thirsties Duo Wrap with insert

Pros:

  • You don’t have to touch the ick with these either. Just remove the diaper and dump the pad in the pail.
  • The covers are reusable 3-5x. Once you flip out the dirty insert, just allow the cover to dry out until the next change, then pair it with a fresh pad. This is the least expensive option since you need fewer diapers and can wash them less often, prolonging the life of their lifespan.
  • The wraps air-dry in no time at all (especially if you can find a little sun), prolonging their life. The pads and prefolds can be tossed in the dryer or hung in the sun.
  • No pairing or stuffing.

Cons:

  • Because there’s nothing holding the two pieces together, unfortunate shifts may happen while wrangling it onto a wiggly baby.
  • It’s important to check around the legs and at the back to make sure all the absorbent parts are tucked in or you will have major leakage.
  • I also had trouble getting the Duo Hemp Prefold “just right” for my OCD self. The Stay Dry Duo Insert was the easiest option for me in this combination. Save the prefolds to use as extra stuffing when needed.

So, how many will you need?

Thirsties recommends the following:

A single Thirsties Duo Wrap or Thirsties Diaper Cover can be wiped clean and reused several times before requiring a full washing.
Newborn-9 months: 1 wrap for every 3 diapers
9 months-18 months: 1 wrap for every 4 diapers
18 months to potty: 1 wrap for 5 every diapers

Then…

Thirsties Duo Fab Fitted (snap) paired with a Duo Wrap

*Note, I tried this one in a snap because I liked the idea of being to pull it on him rather then putting it on him the old fashioned way.

Pros:

  • Very easy to put on properly.
  • Soft and stretchy; seems very comfortable. I was actually able to put this on my wiggly son like a pull-up
  • Extremely absorbent – will probably be my nighttime fluff if I ever get that brave.
  • Cover can be reused, prolonging its life as in the category above.
  • Easy to add extra layers for absorbency.
  • Can use covers interchangeably between brands.
  • Covers dry quickly as mentioned above.

 Cons:

  • Two pieces to put on.
  • Must be careful to tuck all absorbent parts into the cover or wicking/leaks can be a problem. I found this step very accessible and not an issue.
  • Ick factor. There is no way to avoid touching the wet diaper, as the entire thing (snaps/aplix included) gets soaked. So be prepared to add the extra step of hand washing every time with this one…sanitizer ain’t gonna cut it
  • These generally take a long time to dry…the tradeoff for their supper absorbency.

So, how many will you need?

Thirsties recommends the following:

Newborn: 20-24 diapers
6-12 months: 14-18 diapers
12-24 months: 12-16 diapers
Potty Learning: 4-8 diapers                                                                                                                                                        For the first few months, 1 cover for every 3 diapers changes is the minimum recommendation. Once your baby is 18 months old, you will likely get away with only 1 cover for every 6 diapers in rotation.

Tips

Use a flushable liner to dispose of solid waste for even less ick factor. My favorite brand so far is Eco-Bottom Liners.

Another option is to purchase a diaper sprayer that attaches to the back of the toilet to rinse off solid waste. However, this was not an accessible option for me so I did not try it.

Just like disposable diapers every baby butt is different and what works on my baby may not fit your baby.

My Picks

My #1 pick would have to be pocket diapers for ease of use, accessibility, low ick factor, and very few leaks (may be in part to Thirsties awesome gusset system). Be sure to choose one that offers an opening in front and back for easier stuffing. Also, look for a feature allowing insert to agitate out in the wash so YOU won’t have to touch the ick.

The fitted diaper is a close second for me for cozy factor, less laundry, and increased absorbency all for about the same investment as using pocket diapers. Increased ick factor and dry time make this option my #2 pick…pun only slightly intended. 😉

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised how easy it all was, but it does take commitment.

The cute factor of a fluffy bum almost cancel out the ick factor…almost.

I will continue to use my Thirsties and experiment with new combinations…with all parts being interchangeable, this should keep me entertained until my son potty trains. 🙂

Do you cloth diaper? What are your top picks?

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No Fuss, No Muss Homemade Baby Food

With our 1st child I spent hours in the kitchen each week preparing, cooking, and pureeing baby food, then freezing it in ice cube trays or small plastic containers. It was exhausting, messy, and required a lot of cleanup.

On occasion, we splurged and purchased baby food pouches. These things were a godsend! No jars or bowls to scrape or wash. Just squeeze straight into the spoon…or baby. No fuss, no muss, but at $1.50 a pop they were a luxury.

By the time baby #2 was ready to try solids, the pouch craze had peaked and was becoming more accessible. I decided to try the Infantino Squeeze Station. This system enables me to make my own baby food and stuff it into pouches myself. Very little muss, but still a bit of fuss.

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A few months ago I started researching juicing…for myself. We ended up purchasing a Nutri Bullet as a starter juicer and it just so happens that it is also a great tool for making baby food!

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The Nutri Bullet allows me to feed my baby whole raw fruits and veggies…peel and all. If the recipe gets too thin, I just mix in a little steamed rice, quinoa, or organic rice cereal. It’s also great for pureeing steamed or cooked foods.

Teaming the Nutri Bullet with Infantino Squeeze Station makes baby food prep, storage and feeding NO muss, NO fuss! And, if you’re brave, you can even let baby feed himself from the pouch.

Of course, some foods don’t require any special preparation at all and can be served straight from your plate. Once baby can tolerate a bit of texture, rice, quinoa, banana, avocado, potato, and applesauce are great on-the-fly foods for when you’ve not had time to plan ahead. No fuss, but maybe a little muss.

I also use a few strategies from the book Baby-Led Weaning by Tracey Murkett. A cleaned carrot and frozen peas can offer an entire mealtime of enjoyment for a teething baby. Following this method can also be no fuss, mo muss. Baby eats what you eat.

Now for the adaptive part…

The Infantino Squeeze Station is a great piece of adaptive equipment. The entire system is usable for those with limited mobility. However, the plunger makes a very tight seal when pressing the puree into the pouch and is hence a bit difficult to remove one handed. I have a Swedish Cutting Board with a gripping vise that I use to adapt tasks such as this. Cleaning is a bit tedious because there are 6 pieces, but all are dishwasher safe.

The Nutri Bullet is another effort saver. This is one of those rare times when healthier is easier. Most veggies just need to be washed, cut, and tossed in. Fruits may require pitting and peeling, but some can be left intact. If you’re new to whole raw diets, be sure to do your research before diving in. Cleaning is also simple, just 3 pieces to rinse and put in the dishwasher.

Here’s the bottom line…

The Infantino Squeeze Station and Nutri Bullet  will cost you a one time total investment of $143

Empty single use pouches are $17 for 50 pouches (reusable pouches are also a great option, but not compatible with the Squeeze Station) vs. about $75 for 50 commercial baby food pouches.

Knowing everything that goes into your baby for a control freak like me…PRICELESS!

What’s your favorite way to feed your baby solids?