Tag Archives: soap nuts uses

Essential Ingredients: Things I have on hand to cook healthier…I replace milk with almond milk, sugar with agave nectar, salt with Himalayan salt, flour with rice flour (which is directly substitutable in most recipes), and cooking oil with coconut oil.

When healthy oils are heated they become rancid and create free radicals when they are consumed, healthy and able to reach towering temperature, coconut oil is the best solution. PLUS, it has antibacterial and antifungal properties and is metabolized immediately and used as fast energy rather than stored in your body. It’s considered a superfood and some natural health experts recommend 3 tablespoons of coconut oil a day (see here)!!

Why not use regular salt? Himalayan salt is literally pennies as the local bulk food store and it’s packed full of minerals. Table salt has almost no minerals and is sometimes fluoridated. I am a huge believer in salting food as I cook but I want to healthiest option of salt!

Natural Skin CareHave you heard of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps? They truly are magic. They are an all in one soap made from completely natural ingredients. When you look at the ingredient list on the back, you will recognize everything! This company is amazing too and there is actually a documentary coming out about them because they really have taken on the mission of bettering the world “one soap at a time” as they say. These soaps can be used or body wash, shampoo, dog shampoo, laundry, and household messes! Wait a second…they can even be used for toothpaste and a lot of campers use it as toothpaste as camp park rules are usually “go natural or go home”. Check them out, buy HUGE bottles of the stuff and use it for everything, is my advice!

After sun or shaving when my skin is particularly dry I use this dry oil on my skin to moisturize. I found it in a neat little shop in the South of France and I fell in love with it because the brand name is the name of my boyfriend. It’s a misxture of olive oil, primrose oil and essential oils and again, completely organic and natural.

For conditioner, I found a conditioner bar and I love it! I rub it through my head after I rinse the shampoo and I can brush my (curly, tangly) hair easily after a shower. All natural ingredients and it lasts longer than the bottled conditioner, plus I save throwing away a plastic bottle!

For underarm deodorant I use a product I decided to experiment with called Dr. Mist. I spray it under each arm pit once and I don’t smell all day but bonus I still sweat so I’m not clogging the sensitive area of my body where lymphnodes are. Lymphatic fluid needs to flow, don’t let it flow with those chemicals in drug-store brands. This brand has only 4 ingredients: water, sodium chloride, magnesium and calcium. I wrote an article about deodorants before so check that out too!

Last but not least, an aloe plant! I also buy the bottles aloe gel but a plant is the best option. I just cut off a bit of a leaf and squeeze the gel on to my skin to moisturize, or I put it on eczema, bruises, cuts, cold sores, etc. It works!

My SupplementsI take supplements everyday unless I forget which doesn’t happen very often because I’ve been supplementing for years! Number one rule when buying supplements are buy food source supplements, not synthetic supplements that you buy at the pharmacy that are made with chemicals. Those kind cause more harm then good. The best place to buy them or to get advice on good brands is at your local health food store.

The supplements I cannot live without are my essential fatty acids (fish oils) and my vitamin D. I feel noticeably better when I take these on a regular basis and they are two of the most important supplements a person can take. Of course talk to your doctor before you supplement. It’s free in Ontario to get a vitamin D blood test done and you would be surprised at how deficient you actually may be. I know people who need to be on 6000iu a day!! Some doctors put cancer patients on over 15000iu a day.(See here)

Some other favorites are spirulina which is an algae that is packed with all of the amino acids and is a wonderful source of protein because of that. My sugar cravings are nearly non-existent since I started using spirulina. I’ll write a whole article about spirulina next week.

Phosphotidylserine is a phosophlipid that has been proven to enhance brain function and memory. I am testing it out for fun and because I am practicing focusing on one thing at a time which has always been hard for me. I’ve used this in the past too and do like it. Again, I’ll write a whole article on this so you can see how it works!

Chlorophyll makes me feel amazing! I have been drinking it for years in my water and wrote an article about it here.

Essential Oils

Tea tree oil is a disinfecting oil. I would only recommend using it on your skin if you mix it with other oils. It can be used for dandruff in your shampoo or for pimples mixed with another oil. I like to have it around and add it to water. That way, I have a disenfecting spray which can be used on my yoga mat, in my shoes, or to freshen up the bed sheets in the morning. (See here)

Lavender oil is my relaxing oil and I always put it in my baths.

LaundrySoap nuts are a miracle product. They are inexpensive and one bag lasts a couple of years. They are little nuts that you can boil in some water to make laundry detergent. I add some essential oil to the detergent for a nice smell. You can even add the nuts to a little canvas sack and put them directly in your washing machine. THEY DO WORK! I swear that they get out the dirt just as well as that chemical stuff which I suspect is the cause of my latest burst of hives on my hand. When I make the liquid, I put it i a bottle and refrigerate it.

You can also use these for all purpose cleaning, from anything like hand soap to mirrors! Then, when used, they are completely compostable.

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And there you have it! These are products that I love using and generally buy over and over again! What holistic products have you tried and loved?