Yes... it's true!

I have just decided to start selling Watkins products.  If you are interested in learning more click on the link or talk to me. If you do decide to make an order, be sure to add my ID number 395385.
In the meantime here is something from their site that gives me a few reasons why I love them.

Our Mission:

To be the most trusted natural products company.

Our core values:

• We demand of ourselves the highest level of integrity.
• We focus on meeting our customers' needs and exceeding their expectations.
• We provide our investors an attractive return.
• We always take accountability for our mistakes.
• We encourage employees to develop, grow and improve quality of life.
• We contribute to the overall quality of life in our communities.

Our brand promise:

• We promise our customer a feeling of timeless comfort with every product.
• We promise our customer natural products.
• We promise our customer a perfectly consistent product.

Banana almond smoothie

 

Ingredients

 

3 bananas

1/4 cup milled flax seed

1/2 cup almond butter

1 cup coconut milk

Dash of cinnamon

1 cup ice

 

Blend in blender until smooth.  Perfect for a protein shake!

Teeth. Teeth? Yes, teeth.

As some of you may or may not know we have been thinking more and more about oral care.  This post really challenged my thinking on our brushing with toothpaste and flossing is the best way to go theory.  I had never really thought about it before I just sort of went with the flow.  We tried the remineralization toothpaste but for the amount of work and the lack of cavities in our home we decided to go with just plain salt.  We also changed our way of brushing.  http://www.orawellness.com/ has a video that explains a way of brushing teeth that just made sense to me.  My gums need just as much focus during brushing as my teeth do if not more!  (I know Mum, I know, you taught me this a long time ago but it has JUST sunk in.)

As we undertook this endeavor we also read up on the tooth blog about tooth whitening.  WOW!  This was more of a change that we expected.  Take a look.

Attractive, I know... One more... this one is me... embarrassing. 

Now after about a week and a half of brushing with charcoal, not regularly mind you and still drinking coffee and the like. 

Not perfect, but it's coming.  By the way, sorry for the terrible pictures.  We really wanted to get these up ASAP because we are super excited to share this with you!


Ok, interested?  Wanna try?  Here's how.  Buy some charcoal pills.  Most health food stores will carry them from what I understand.  I bought mine at a health food shop in the Comox Mall.  Then it was just a matter of cutting open the gelatin capsule and dipping in a toothbrush that was on it's way out anyway. 

From there we brushed our teeth for two minutes.  Not too bad for taste, just a bit dry in my opinion.  This was what Anthony looked like while brushing!

Just a tip for you, you won't want to do this over your porcelain sink.  Apparently this stains.  Might be a good idea to wear some older clothes or a bib and brush over your kitchen sink.

I'm interested in hearing thoughts on this post.  Feel free to comment.
-Olivia

Money, money, money

I noticed that many of you have interest in how to afford paleo eating, especially as a family.  We have done a few things to help with that.  One major one is cutting back on eating out.  We used to have a line in the budget for eating out and now it's gone.  We have a "slush" line in the budget now instead that we have to decide, do we want something pretty.. something fun... or should we splurge on a chance to eat out. 

Groceries we have budgeted ourselves in at $500 per pay, that's every 2 weeks.  Some would say that's a lot others are on par with us.  We eat a lot and we have four children and two adults under our roof.  We also try to have friends over for supper at least once a week for a meal. 

To keep the budget down lower I try to keep the extras out.  We call them treats in our house. 

Lastly I make a meal plan.  Planning can actually make your grocery bill go up if you aren't careful.  A few tips I've learned to use are....
1) Plan with your favorite grocery store flyer(s) in front of you.  Plan your meals according to what is on sale.
2) Buy your meat bulk.  You have to save up in the months leading up to getting the animal in the freezer but it makes the months to come easier to breath.
3) Plan for leftover meals/snacks.  If you don't do this part you'll end up with waste.  Let's face it, no one wants yucky spinach "melting" in your fridge.  Gross.
4) Be willing to shop at many stores AND farmers markets.  It's worth it, trust me!  Also, on the farmer's market note.  When you shop local you not only are doing your "neighbor" a favor by supporting their business, and your body by getting nutrient dense food, but they will likely get to know your name and throw an extra tomato in your basket or something along those lines.  This is not something to expect from them mind you, but it is nice when it happens.

I'm interested to know what kind of questions some may have about this.  Comment on this post if you have further questions.