Why I decided to open the door to a more healthy and holistic lifestyle.
I found out I was pregnant with baby # 2 back in November. My husband and I had been trying for a little while, with every month ending in disappointment until we finally got that positive. Going into this pregnancy I was a little nervous because my first son was a big baby. Our previous health care provider let us fall through the cracks as first time parents. We have since gotten a new provider and they have been fantastic. I am currently being treated for gestational diabetes and that has been quite an adjustment. My current doctor thinks it may have gone untreated my last pregnancy. Towards the end of my last pregnancy, my previous doctor started to show concern for how big he was. By then, it was too late and we had to get through it. Opening the door to a more healthy, holistic lifestyle has been very overwhelming, but eye opening.
This time, since they caught it fairly early on I have been on a very strict diet ever since. I have to log my sugar levels 4 times a day and log everything I eat in a day. So, since then, I started doing some deep dives on what I have been putting in my body.
How I even began opening the door to a healthier lifestyle.
After my first son was born, we quickly discovered he had a very intense reflux issue. As soon as he came out of the womb and started eating he just about gave us a heart attack. The staff tried to reassure us it was normal because he still had fluid that needed to come out. However, I felt off about it from the very beginning, follow your intuition! Fast forward I was told by his then pediatrician that he would grow out of it. Unfortunately, the first two years of his life he’s had to deal with this. I’d like to go into this further in a later post for others who may be struggling with this.
So my son was also a large driver for why I opened this door and continue to educate myself. Since starting to clean up our diets, we have noticed his reflux completely clear up with the exception of a couple days here and there when he has trouble. I started looking into snacks for him that had more whole ingredients and non inflammatory oils. He started eating more Whole foods such as organic fruits and vegges, cleaner crackers, fruit bars instead of pouches, organic nuts and so on. Right away I noticed a HUGE reduction in his reflux.
Breakfast changes
I then started focusing more on his actual meals. For breakfast we stopped any processed breakfast foods and started faithfully eating organic eggs, a protein source such as organic sausages or bacon, nuts and organic fruits. That has since helped get the reflux under control all together. I have started making him waffles using organic fruits, ground up organic oats to make a flour like consistency, egg, cocoa powder, honey or maple syrup, or cinnamon for a little added flavor. There are so many ways you can do this but it’s way better than the proccessed waffles and he loves it. We don’t do it everyday but it’s a fun option to add in a couple times a week. I started cooking with organic coconut oil and grass fed butter. I’m not talking about smothering things in butter but using it as a cooking option has also made a difference.
Snack changes
This was a huge change for us along with the breakfast changes. As parents there are many times we just need something quick and easy. Unfortunately, there are so many options that are quick but are very unhealthy. After doing some research, obviously we have to be careful with our sources, I made decisions on new snack options a little at a time. Finding things that are made without so much of the processed ingredients is overwhelming. My son loves his snacks and thankfully has been a foodie his whole life so it wasn’t too challenging to make adjustments.
He loves crackers so one of the brands that I learned about is simple mills. Their ingredients are so much cleaner than most leading big name brands. Remember, it is impossible to find snacks or foods for that matter that are 100% perfect unless you homestead and make everything yourself. So I look for the best alternatives I can find away from the ultra processed snacks. Simple mills has so many options. They have cheddar crackers if your kids love goldfish, little cinnamon crackers to replace your typical graham crackers for something sweeter. There are chocolate crackers that remind me of the chocolate teddy grahams when I was a kid. They even have a lemon option if you are a lemon flavor fan. They also have cookies!
Other alternatives I use
Another brand I switched to is Made Good for their little granola bites. These are not perfect and there is a better alternative to these which is Purely Elizabeth granola. Her brand is very clean and so good but I also like the convenience of the Made Good granola bite packets for on the go. I also like to add these to my yogurt or just as a quick snack that wont spike my blood sugar terribly on the go. We also love the Chomps beef jerky sticks. There are zero carbs and sugars which is perfect for me and they have 10g of protein. What is wonderful about these is there are limited ingredients and you can pronounce them all! Costco has the best deal I’ve seen for these.
If your kids like fruit roll ups or gummy snacks, Costco carries a brand called Pure organic layered fruit bars. They are very tasty and a way better option compared to your typical fruit roll up brand or all the heavily processed fruit snack brands. There is also a brand that I found during Easter that is called Yum Earth and they have great alternatives to gummy snacks and candy options. Again, these are all treats so they are not perfect but if your kids want something fun these are better options.
Another staple I keep in the house are the That’s It bars. There is just two ingredients in each bar and they are perfect for on the go. I keep a couple of these with me in my purse while running errands incase he needs a quick snack and they are perfect. When we are home I often focus on whole food snacks such as the organic fruits and veggies. He loves the organic cashews from costco.
Lunch and dinner
Lunch and dinner are pretty straight forward for us. My meals have to be pretty protein heavy so we have either chicken, turkey, or beef as the main protein source. Pinterest always has great dinner options that help us keep things interesting if we get in a rut. Healthy carbs are important too. So getting your daily intake of fruits and veggies with each meal is important. There is a difference between the healthy carbs and what they call the ultra processed carbs. You don’t want to load up on commercial French fries with every meal, right?
Changing your cooking oils is an easy step into making a change. When you can, buying organic meats and produce is also a great way to make simple changes. Unfortunately, this economy makes it very challenging for families to make health conscious decisions when I comes to feeding their families. Everything organic costs twice as much and you get much less. But I can say that I have seen a difference. Especially in my son’s reflux issues.
Other changes for the home
Aside from food changes, I am making other household changes also. I have been making switches such as buying stainless steal water bottles. Now that my son is able to drink out of a regular cup, the stainless steel wide mouth bottles help eliminate the plastic straws that are often used. There are glass mason jar cups with rubber bumpers and silicone lids and straws on amazon that are also a better option. I am also getting rid of my plastic cutting boards and getting a wooden set from amazon. Some other kitchen items I am switching are the plastic cooking utensils for wooden options. Next on my list are my pots and pans. I am looking for either a ceramic or stainless steel set since we are cooking everyday now and eating out a lot less.
I have recently been doing a deep dive into new detergents, body wash and lotion options as well as hair care options. Right now I have switched to the Native hair are brand. While they are definitely not perfect, their ingredient list is a lot less intimidating until I can find a solid brand that is clean and beneficial. We have since switched to the earth mama body wash and lotion. That brand has been gentle enough for my son’s skin with it being fragrance free. They also have some different scent options.
Laundry and house hold cleaner options
For laundry and household cleaning options I have been hearing about the Branch Basics company. They have a much cleaner line and they come with different buying options. You can buy one time kits that range in price. Their clean essentials kit is $67, unless you want glass bottles instead of plastic then it’s $89 before tax. They have a laundry kit that is $69, or $85 for the glass bottle kit. Or a premium starter kit for $75, or $125 for the glass bottle kit. They also have subscription options as well. If you’re looking into chemical free options they would be a good place to start. I plan to try it once I am ready to restock.
Another clean laundry detergent brand I have read about it Truly Free. They have a bottle option that offers 50 loads for a one time purchase of $19.95 before tax or a subscription price for $17.96 and free shipping. They also offer different house hold cleaning options. Their everyday cleaner pack is $16.95 for a 2 pack or $15.26 for the subscription. They also offer the glass bottle options for their kits if you are interested in getting away from plastics.
Conclusion
I am merely scratching the surface of making conscious changes in our home. It can be overwhelming so taking it one step at a time is key. I am doing my best to remember the 80/20 rule. We will never be 100% perfect and you don’t want to put too much pressure on yourself. Even making one change at a time is great, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Sooner or later you will see such an improvement with all the baby steps towards a healthier lifestyle. The brands that I listed today are just SOME of the changes I am working towards. Of course always do your own research and make a decision based on what you find. Everything is solely based on my own research that I have started and is not intended as any type of medical advice. As I continue on, I will share more options that I find beneficial.
Seeing the difference it has made in our son’s chronic reflux troubles and having to find ways to navigate my diet to manage my diabetes has been eye opening. You don’t truly realize the impact things such as our food industry, cleaning, skin and hair care and overall vitamin and supplement brands and much more have on our health until you run into a problem. I hope some of these suggestions will be helpful for others also!