Over the weekend I read a great article on The Washington Post about the fact that women are reclaiming domestic activities.. ala cooking, canning, knitting and such, and it asks whether this is empowering or a step backwards for women’s progress. I think the article is beneficial because it is rightly painting domestic tasks in a favorable light and shows that women who pursue such things are finding enjoyment in them. But I also think it misses a larger point about feminism and domesticity.
Domesticity can be tied quite closely to self sufficiency and empowerment. Empowerment allows us to throw aside the shackles of slavery… slavery to corporations that provide products and services to us because we are not able to provide them for ourselves. The lack of these domestic skills is not empowering, as many modern feminists have tried to make us believe all these all years. Women were encouraged to look at their duties and situations as a homemaker and home “producer” and see it as something that was holding them back from “real power”. Those feminists were wrong though. Women had power already. They had the power to provide for their families, take care of them by nurturing them with real home cooked foods, and heal them when they became ill. They were producers rather than just mindless consumers. They worked with their partners to create good lives and healthy families and their contributions were every bit as valuable as men’s. In my opinion modern feminism did a lot of destructive things but one of the worst was that it made women shun domesticity. Women traded away a skills set that made them self sufficient, wise, and powerful. They traded it away because they thought it made them equal to men when in actuality it worked to enslave them AND their families to corporations and businesses who saw the potential in this movement to create consumers dependent on them for survival and basic necessities.
I think it is great that women are realizing that they find joy in domestic tasks and deciding that it is “feminist” of them to pursue whatever joyful path they want. But instead reclaiming domesticity simply because it is fun, why not encourage it because it is smart and empowering? And this isn’t just about women either. Men and women need to reclaim domesticity. It is not a duty that subjugates them. It is a powerful life choice that makes them more self sufficient and in control of their finances and future. It is actually incredibly sad when the idea of taking care of one’s self is considered a radically new idea or an antiquated one. How did taking care of one’s self ever go out of style? How did we ever buy into that load of malarkey? I will leave that to the social anthropologists.
One thing IS clear though, domesticity is making a comeback because we have so many broken systems in this country that are failing us. We cannot trust big agricorp or food corporations to feed us safe and nourishing foods. We can only rely on them to provide us with something that resembles food and that may or may not be tainted with toxic ingredients and chemicals. We cannot trust other corporations to provide us with safe household products, clothing, toys, and housewares either. When profit comes first we get lead laced, pesticide laden, planet killing products. We get bodies burdened with chemicals and carcinogens we never even dreamed we were being exposed to. We get government agencies working right along side them to tell us that “all is well. We’ve got your back.” Reclaiming domesticity is about standing up and telling them they are no longer our master. We can do that thing our ancestors did from the time of hunter-gatherers. We can take care of ourselves dagnabbit! Sure it may look a little different now and it may be a long road to learn some lost skills but every step we take to reclaim that part of our heritage is a step closer to self sufficiency and freedom. Oh, and it is kind of fun so that makes it easier.
Where to start? Usually the easiest place to start for many is with food. You can start making more of your own food from scratch and growing some of your own food. We have even better tools and gadgets than out ancestors did and there is no shame in buying them if the end result is going to be a better nourished and ultimately more self sufficient family. Get the right tools to Create a Real Foods Kitchen and start learning how to bake, cook, preserve, pickle, marinade, soak, sprout, ferment, etc. Growing your own food can start with one or two crops like some potted herbs in the window or a potted tomato plant on your patio. Start small and go bigger as you can and as experience allows. Square Foot Gardening is a classic book that shows you how to grow food in small spaces. I also like books like The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It. It gives you insight into new ways to increase your self sufficiency from butter making, to curing your own bacon (if you eat it), to making bee boxes. For a more modern and romantic twist I absolutely adore any book by MaryJane Butters but especially MaryJane’s Ideabook – Cookbook – Lifebook. She is the Martha Stewart of farming and homesteading whether you actually live on a farm or in the city.
Winter is the perfect time for planning your new endeavors and also to try things like sewing, quilting, knitting, and soapmaking. If you already do these things then work on teaching your kids, boys and girls. These skills need to be passed on! I sew myself, but I have never quilted so that is something I really want to pursue this year. Take classes or learn from family if you need to but LEARN. Other ideas to think about include raising animals for their products, food foraging, making your own beauty products, making your own cleaners and detergents, woodworking, composting, learning about car mechanics or solar energy installation, masonry… the list is endless and the amount of knowledge you have access to at your local library is vast. In fact I have have read some amazing books lately that delve into this area and all are new releases. Domesticity is really catching on eh?
Tales From the Sustainable Underground: A Wild Journey with People Who Care More About the Planet Than the Law – This book is all about becoming an activist for social change through homesteading and self sufficiency. It has lots of great info about intentional communities, alternative energy, and it also delves into some areas that are culturally taboo, like pot growing. It is partly about green anarchy and partly about smart self sufficient choices. It is a fun and entertaining read though it may be a bit “out there’ for some. ;)
Chicken and Egg: A Memoir of Suburban Homesteading with 125 Recipes – A lovely book that has lots of backyard eggs/chickens stories, photos, and recipes. I just love personal stories mixed in with yummy recipes.
Farm Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of Country Life – Reading this book is like picking up the journal of a whimsical farmer/artist. It talks about all sorts of farming topics and give instructions and diagrams but all are hand drawn. It is an amazing collection of knowledge but also a work of art. Look at the cover art and you will get the idea.
The Wisdom of the Radish: And Other Lessons Learned on a Small Farm – This follows the story of a young couple that graduate from college and decide they want to be farmers, without any actual experience with farming, and what that entails… complete with successes and failures. It is a fun read and applicable I think to anyone who wants to get into small scale farming, whether it be for business or for self sufficiency.
When making our New Year’s Resolutions every year we need to think about what we can do or what we can learn to be more self sufficient and dare I say it… domestic.
What is on your list?
Is there really any greater gift, than the gift of health? No, not likely. Being healthy and fit takes us a long way on our journey to happier lives and it helps to ensure we are around to share our lives with our loved ones. It gives us greater energy and happiness. It keeps us young.
You may need gift ideas for loved ones who consider themselves gym rats and fitness enthusiasts or you may want to encourage someone who wants to be. Either way these gifts are perfect for those who want to prioritize fitness and greater health. Some I would consider “green” in their design or materials and others I have added because they are high quality and designed to last, even if they are not technically green. Enjoy!
Shoes – There are many brands of green and/or minimalist shoes out there so if you want to buy shoes for your loved one you may want to do your homework and see what they like and what they use their shoes for. Some good ones to try:
Garmin Forerunner – Most fitness nuts want to track their progress and compete against their own times. This nifty device is considered one the best tools to do that. It tracks your distance, time, pace, and heart rate. Works for running, walking, hiking, cycling, cross country skiing, and even windsurfing. Also has GPS. This is on my wish list for sure!
Mp3 player and Headphones – Whether at the gym or outside the workout goes mush faster and is much more enjoyable when you have tunes to listen to. You ideally want something small for fitness though, like the iPod nano or the shuffle. Both clip onto your clothing! Don’t forget the eco headphones to.
Sustainable Workout Clothes – Workout clothing that is ‘environmentally conscious’ is widely available now. Some of my faves include:
Eco Yoga Mat – Got any yoginis in the family? Well, then an eco friendly mat will be perfect. Most conventional mats have some toxic nasties in them and there are a few options now that are healthier for us and for the planet. Try the Gaiam Eco Reversible Yoga Mat (Peacock). Non toxic TPE, no PVC or latex, eco conscious company.
Gym Bag – Anyone who hits the gym a few times a week will need a bag to cart around all their stuff… swim suit, change of clothes, towel, toiletries, mp3 player, headphones, heart rate monitor, water bottle, etc. I have the Gaiam Everything Fits Recycled Gym Bag and it is roomy enough for all my stuff, has a pocket for wet stuff, and has a rope band on the bottom for holding a yoga mat.
Mountainsmith Approach 3.0 Recycled Backpack – Great for day hiking and backpacking AND made of recycled materials.
Tubbs Women’s Frontier Snowshoe – Man oh man do I want these! High quality, affordable, snow shoes.
Fitness Books: If your giftee happens to love fitness and reading then perhaps you could incorporate both pursuits. You might try a Winter Trails book specific to their state or an athletic memoire like Becoming Odyssa or Hiking Through.
I got a great email question from a reader this week and decided to answer it on the blog. I think more and more people are wanting to transition from the Standard American Diet and easily available processed food to real, healthy, homemade goodness. The issue of course is that we find ourselves unprepared to cook real food because we are so used to heat and serve style meals. When we want to cook and bake from scratch we need the right tools so that we can stick with his new lifestyle and not decide that it is ultimately too much work. Our health will improve and so will our impact on the planet so it is important that we manage to set up our kitchen to make it easier to eat real food!
Here is what Danielle had to say:
Hello from Wisconsin. I have one daughter and trying for another. I have just recently become more aware of the choices I make for the my family and the impact it has on all of us. I started out by bringing my own bags to the grocery store, making my daughter her own baby food, getting rid of paper towels altogether, and a few other little changes. My goal for the new year is going to be making all our own food from scratch. Whether it’s snacks, dinner, smoothies, ect. With that being said, do you have any suggestions as to cookware and/or kitchen tools to help with doing so?
I have been trying to go back to a lot of your older posts and learning but as you probably know with having a little one I don’t get much time to do so. What are some of the best tips you could give me as to making my family and our house more green? As most of the people these days, we are on a budget. So I am hoping to make changes in small increments.
The following are some of the things I think a real food kitchen needs. As with anything you can start small and add things as you can. Also depending on what you are cooking some of these things may not apply to you but hopefully these ideas give you a place to start. Make sure to comment and add YOUR must have kitchen tool at the bottom of this page.
What You Need for a Real Foods Kitchen
Vita-Mix – My number #1 must have for the kitchen would have to be the Vita-Mix. I use mine literally all the time and have even joked that if the house were burning down I would run back inside to grab my camera and this amazing blender. We use it for making homemade nut butters, almond milk, butter, crackers, baby food (back in the day), popsicles, ice cream, sorbet, smoothies, mixed drinks, salsa, soup, raw cookies and desserts, and so much more. It is one of those gadgets that is always out on the counter because someone in the house will use it… at least 2 or 3 times each day. It is an expensive item but worth every penny and then some. If you have one you may not even need an immersion blender or a food processor plus you can buy a separate dry container for grinding your own flour.
I also have a Blendtec but I like the Vita-mix better.
A Dutch Oven – You can buy many different types of Dutch Ovens from the posh and stylish Le Creuset to the uber affordable Lodge Logic. The latter option works swimmingly so unless looking at that French version will make you super happy you can just go with the cheaper option. I use my cast iron Lodge Logic oven for making soups and stews when I don’t have time for a crock-pot. And as you can see below I also use it to make whole wheat sourdough bread on occasion.
Pressure Cooker – Okay, so you planned things REALLY badly and you need to cook up something really fast but you want that slow cooked for hours taste. You need a pressure cooker. If you’re are a meat eater you can also turn out really tender and juicy dishes using traditionally tough cuts of meat and you can do it 20 minutes instead of 2 hours. Some units can be used as a canner as well. I have no personal experience with these but I hear I am getting one for Christmas!
Crock-pot – These are perfect for meals with long cooking times… think chicken noodle soup, meatloaf, or chili. You can use a dutch oven or pressure cooker to get the job done faster but you may not want to heat your oven (summer) or you may need to cook while away from home. Since crock-pots plug into the wall and don’t require a stove they are perfect for slow cooking meals while you are working. You can also put them on a timer and have them start cooking while you are sleeping… ala overnight oatmeal.
I use my crock-pot more often than my dutch oven simply because I like to do all the food prep while my kids are at school. It can get hectic in the evening to have to chop all the veggies and such. For meals that only need 30 minutes or so, like my Potato Leek Soup, I use the cast iron dutch oven. Can’t wait to see how the pressure cooker works itself into the equation.
Bean Pot – These awesome pots can be used to soak and also cook your beans. I have an antique one that I got as a gift but you can also buy them new.
Dehydrator – I have an Excalibur food dehydrator and it is almost essential if you enjoy raw foods. In mine I have made cookies, crackers, dried fruit, fruit rolls, almond flour from almond pulp, and many other raw food dishes. They are also great for campers and hikers because you can make home cooked meals and then dehydrate instead of buying those freeze dried packets at sporting goods stores. Being able to dry fruit is a great way to preserve foods for winter time consumption.
Rice Cooker – If you eat a lot of rice or quinoa (raising hand) then having one of these saves loads of time and you don’t have to worry about burning. Most of these have non-stick coatings though so I suggest clay or stainless steel. They are pricier than your $30 rice cookers at Walmart but you don’t have to worry about cooking your food in nasty chemicals.
Pizza Stone – In my mind there is no reason to order pizza out. It is super easy to make your own pizza and it is MUCH healthier. My kids eat pizza loaded with fresh basil and spinach and you won’t find that at Pizza Hut. If you do make pizza at home then having a good pizza stone is nice. You can use them in the oven in winter and on the grill in summer. Easy!! You can also use these for things like biscuits and cookies.
Waffle Maker and/or Griddle - If you like waffles ( I recommend sourdough waffles) then you will love a cast iron waffle maker. Don’t buy the conventional ones with a non-stick finish. Same goes for griddles. A cast iron griddle is perfect for cooking eggs, pancakes, and even homemade english muffins.
Cutting Boards – Nourished kitchens see lots of veggie action. As a result of this I seem to have a bit of a bamboo cutting board addiction. I have 2 regular ones, a cutting block style board, and one that has a nifty colander built in for cutting and rinsing over the sink. I also have a plastic one from my non-green days and I keep it around for cutting meat. I won’t let meat touch my wooden boards. I also have a glass cutting board.
Colander – Typical kitchens usually have one but just in case I love the metal ones that are designed to fit over the sink. Love, love, love them! Plus you can use them as baskets when not in use to hold potatoes, fruit, eggs, etc.
Mixers – I have wanted a good mixer with a dough hook for years. I cannot seem to rationalize the cost of a KitchenAid though when we don’t do that much baking or bread making. Maybe someday if we find an awesome deal I will finally get one.
Good Pots and Pans – I wrote an extensive post on healthy and green cookware already so you can refer to that for the ins and outs of cast iron, stainless, aluminum, copper, etc.
Yogurt Maker – You can make yogurt in a crock-pot if you make up large batches and you can even use a jar and a heating pad. I happen to prefer the ease of a yogurt maker and I use the same one today that my mom used when I was a kid. If you decide to get one look for ones that have glass containers, not plastic.
Ramekins – Love these for reasonable portions of things like pudding and ice cream but also for cooking. I love to toss a egg in one and then top with a slice of fresh tomato, a sprinkling of herbs, some bread crumbs, and some cheese. Meat eaters like some crumpled bacon. Cook in the oven until the eggs set and voila, an easy an delicious breakfast for the whole house. Love these colored Rachael Ray ramekins!
Casserole Dishes – Speaking of Rachael Ray I am also loving her Stoneware bake sets that can be used for casseroles. Her cooking gear started out very cheesy (and plastics heavy) but it has taken a turn for the better in recent months. I can see making a veggie casserole or sweet potato casserole in these.
Juicer – I used to have a juicer but decided that I ultimately enjoy drinking the pulp and fiber of a fruit rather than just the juice. But if you are into raw foods or you need the extra healing that fresh juicing can provide, then a good juicer is essential.
Water Purification – We use Brita pitchers for filtering our water and an Alkamate for alkaline water.
Ball Jars – I use Ball jars for tons of things around the kitchen. We use small ones as drink cups for the kids and quart sized ones for protein shakes and green smoothies for adults. I also use them to store flour, grains, quinoa, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, rice, dehydrated fruit, cereal, oats, etc. You can fill them from the bulk bin at your local grocer or you can buy packaged and then transfer it. It keeps things fresh, bug free, and I label the bottom of the jars so that I know what is in them. I put a sprouting lid on them and use them for sprouting seeds. The lid and jar combo can be used for sprinkling powdered cleaners, like my homemade scented scrubs to. I use them to make fermented foods like sourdough and kefir and store things in the fridge. They have a million uses!
Also, any glass jar will do. I just mostly use Ball jars because we don’t buy much food packaged in jars but I do have a couple Bubbies pickle jars in there to.
Below: Potato flakes, quinoa, brown rice, wild rice, coconut flour, quinoa flour, almond flour, flaxseed cereal, flaxseed meal, and some others I am likely forgetting.
Glass Refrigerator Dishes – As I mentioned above, I use Ball Jars for lots of my storage needs but when I have leftovers that won’t fit in jars I use glass refrigerator dishes. I have lots of vintage pyrex for this purpose as well as some Anchor Hocking glass dishes.
Storage Baskets – For food that stays outside the fridge like potatoes, onions, garlic, apples, bananas, lemons, bread, etc, we use baskets for easy storage and they go on a large metal shelving system that sits in our kitchen.
Chef’s Knives – Just like you need good cutting boards for all those fresh veggies you will be chopping, you need some good knives to.
Miscellaneous Stuff – An apple corer, wooden cooking utensils, wood and metal serving bowls, a hand crank mixer, a nut chopper (go vintage if you can!), spiral slicer, nut milk bags and cheesecloth, a kitchen scale, metal spatulas, a Tagine, and a fermenting crock.
Whew! Did I go a little crazy with this run down? What do you have to have in your kitchen?
Is exercise something you consider a necessary evil for staying healthy and fit? Is it more drudgery and duty than an eagerly anticipated activity? If so, you’re not alone – there are a lot of people who would rather go see the dentist than “exercise”. This is why New Year’s resolutions to exercise more don’t last past February more often than not. If it is something you hate to do or are grudgingly obligated to do then you are not likely to stick with it long term.
I think one of the things that prevented me from falling in love with exercise was the fact that I associated it with in home stationary bikes and aerobics via DVD or VHS. I personally can’t stand either of those things and yet that is what I grew up with. Dad rode a bike and mom did aerobics. Blah! Both of them were pretty active but that is not what I ended up associating with health and fitness. Riding a bike in the house or sweatin to the oldies is just not for me. It has to be something you love and are committed to. If you fall in love with exercising, you are far more likely to keep it up.
But how do you go about falling in love with exercise?
Here are some ideas…
Make It a Game
I use SparkPeople and Daily Mile to track fitness goals and workouts. Seeing what I have accomplished, earning points, or seeing myself at the top of the leaderboard give me incentive and they make me proud of my accomplishments. Its like a game.
Of course you can also literally play a game. Some popular gaming systems have workout “games” that have been known to make dedicated “players” out of those who had trouble sticking to an exercise routine. Users say that the reasons why these games keep them interested are the variety (your workout varies each time, reducing the boredom associated with DVDs and videos) and user control. We have EA Sports Active here and I love the virtual running track. There are dance-based games as well, where you sweat and burn calories while having fun dancing. We really want to add Just Dance 3 to our collection.
Make It “You Time”
Oh heck yeah! My gym time 4 days a week is my “me time”. I get a much needed break from my children and I get out of the house. Since I am alone with my kids for much of the day and all of the evening this is soooo important to me. If you can merge your exercise routine with some much-needed time for yourself, you may find yourself looking forward to workouts. Maybe it’s outside in your yard/neighborhood, or in a local park, or the gym – the point is to tailor your workout to fit your personal needs so that it’s your thing, whether it’s time alone or time with others. My weekly water aerobics classes have lead me to make some great friends and develop my lacking social life a bit more. I love walking into the gym and catching up with the ladies.
Do Something You Like
There seems to be a misconception that you have to hate your exercise for it to be effective – sort of like eating your spinach as a kid. If it tastes/feels bad, it must be good for you. But there are so many fun options when it comes to exercising that there’s no excuse to hate what you’re doing!
Certainly, exercise is work and doesn’t always feel great right at the moment. But choosing an activity you love will help you keep it up even when it gets tough. Dancing, horseback riding, hiking, jumping rope, hula hooping, belly dancing, Pilates or Yoga classes, martial arts, etc. are all forms of exercise that can be so much fun you forget that they are work (and you’re more willing to push through when it does feel like work).
Log Your Progress
Write down how you feel as you progress. Do you have more energy? Are you running/walking faster? Are your muscles more toned? Have you lost weight? Keep notes on how you were when you started and throughout your progress. Looking at this list can be a boost and help you love your exercise routine because of what it’s doing for you.
Not only will you be doing something good for you, your kids will see exercise as something FUN and be more likely to pursue fitness themselves.
So, have you fallen in love with exercise? What are your tips?
I have read hundreds of books about green living and sustainability over the years. The preservation of our planet is big on my hot topics list. This is not what actually motivated me to start living green though. The issue that started my great green journey was actually the environment much closer to home… the building with four walls that housed my family and I. It was the threat contained in our food, home, bed, air, personal products, toiletries, etc that motivated me to keep it green and clean. As a mom I really want to know about environmental factors and products that may affect the health of my family. By this time I already had a very sick child who was poisoned by the pharma drugs (vaccines) I had been trained to believe would keep him healthy. I had also experienced him becoming very ill in reaction to a toxic toilet cleaner and he didn’t even eat it or rub it on his skin, he simply inhaled the fumes. With fresh eyes I decided not to trust my government anymore because they were clearly lax in their duties to keep products offered to the public safe. Thus began my own journey.
When I heard that my bloggy friend Deanna Duke (ie Crunchy Chicken) was writing a book called The Non Toxic Avenger, I knew it would be right up my alley. Not only do I love her writing and her humor, I love the subject matter. It is near and dear to my heart, especially since her husband was diagnosed with a type of cancer that is typical to elderly folks and so was I. When her husband and son both received a heartbreaking diagnosis within the span of one week, she wanted answers. I appreciated very much reading about her journey, the answers she found, and her insights into the toxins all around us, toxins that are making us sick.
Deanna decided to get tested for a wide array of toxins and measure her “toxic body burden”. While she had been furthering green and sustainable causes for years she really believed that things like shampoo and deodorant were safe or the government would not allow them to be sold. After her personal experiences with her son and husband though, along with some insights gleaned from a book titled Slow Death by Rubber Duck, she decided to make some changes. She wanted to see what her toxic body burden was and if she could reduce it by eliminating sources of toxins in her life. This book is the result of that personal experiment.
When she got down to the nitty gritty of her experiment she analyzed ALL her choices and habits from the material used to make her eyeglasses to the jewelry she had in her jewelry box. Going along with her on this journey was very eye opening as she did an incredibly thorough job researching all potential sources of toxins in her family’s life. It also had so many aspects that directly related to me and my struggles. My first child was just a mess as far as health was concerned so of course I wonder if my own choices and toxic body burden played a role in his issues. For more than 9 months he had a very unhealthy home in my womb. Were his issues caused by vaccines alone or were my toxic shampoos, hair coloring, MSG Chinese take out meals, and nesting activities that included a big bottle of Windex a factor? These are the questions that can keep you up at night.
This is exactly why books like Deanna’s are so important. Young folks need to be made aware of the all the choices they are making that could adversely affect their health and that of their as yet unborn children. It is books like this that should be making the high school reading list! Instead of debating abortion in college, like I had to do, have students debate issues like this… the toxic nature of our lives. The abortion debate did nada for me in real life but this was info I could use!
Also discussed in the book were common health issues and what may be causing them. I had no idea for instance that a Swedish study in 2010 had found that children raised in homes with vinyl flooring, which can emit phthalates, were more likely to have autism (had vinyl floors for years AND a son with autism – we had the decked stacked against us). This clearly shows that environmental factors can be a culprit. ADHD, cancer, and early puberty in kids are also explored.
Some of the products that Deanna analyzed in depth include:
- Non stick cookware
- water repellent fabrics
- food dyes
- candles
- mammograms
- perfumes
- nail polish
- deodorant
- tap water
- pharma drugs
- pillows and bedding
- hair care products
- house paint
- alcohol
- heating oil
- soap
- makeup
- lotion/sunscreen
- food
- holiday decor
- menstrual products
- cellphones and computers
What makes all of it infinitely more interesting is that you are not reading a dry list of factoids. The information is shared much the same way a friend would tell you about what she discovered when she researched this and that and what it meant to their lives and health. I especially loved that she got household items tested with an XRF gun. A necklace she frequently wore tested way over the federal limit for lead, as did a charm on a bracelet her daughter wore. A PC laptop charger tested high for bromine levels but a Mac charger tested with no detectable levels. A small sampling of items tested raised a lot or red flags and made her wonder about other things in her home. It just goes to show that all those government regulations can end up meaning diddly squat in the end.
Criticisms about the book? I found myself wondering about the need to find substitutes for some things… like a wrist watch, lotion, or makeup for example. I got to thinking that there was some rationalizations of silly things but then I had to own up to the fact that this can be chalked up to our differences as human beings. I found it incredibly easy to forgo wearing a watch, putting lotion on my skin, or wearing a stitch of makeup… but that is me. I am also not a former model and I don’t occasionally appear on TV like the author. I was also generally not a fan of the idea that flu shots are a necessary evil. I don’t think I have ever gotten a flu shot and I know my kids haven’t either. It is unlikely we ever will but then again I don’t live with someone who has immunity issues due to chemo. I cannot really criticize anything in the book. I only disagreed with a couple small things or felt the rationalization for needing certain products didn’t resonate with me personally.
Overall the book is a wonderful source of information about our toxic home environment and how that contributes to our health. It packaged in an easy to read and humorous format that kept me glued to the book from the first page to the last. Since I tend to lose interest in many books quite fast that is saying quite a bit. I am very picky about my reading material so am always pleasantly surprised to pick up a book and find myself halfway through the book in no time at all. I would recommend it highly to all parents and those seeking to move beyond planetary issues alone and include more education about body burdens and sustaining our own health.
And I just have to add that I read this book several months before it released and shared my feedback with Deanna way back when. She included my endorsement in the opening pages of the book. Booyah! This is like the 3rd or 4th time I have been quoted or mentioned in a book but it never gets old. ;)
Enjoy!
Book Link: The Non-Toxic Avenger: One woman’s mission to reduce her toxic body burden
Welcome! Here you will find the random thoughts and experiences of a mom trying to live a more natural and green family life since 2004. Enjoy! Feel free to 
