Very Vinegary Household & Health Ideas

- Beth Beauchemin (Read About Beth)

Happy New Year!  We’re almost done the first month, and I have to say, so far so good!  No major snowstorms to battle, (fairly) mild temperatures, and we even had a smooth transition back into regular life after 3 weeks of time with one set of grandparents or the other!

I can’t really say that I’ve made any ground-breaking resolutions, or that I’ve made any, actually!  It is more of a “continue on the same track making small changes to improve my life” type of thing.  So, I don’t have anything big to share with you on that front.

What did inspire me over the holidays, however, was a book that my sister-in-law received as a present.  I was so inspired, in fact, that I borrowed it before she had a chance to read it and copied out all the important parts!  What magical book is this, you ask?   Vinegar – a sour tasting liquid containing acetic acid, 1001 practical household uses OK, so maybe that makes me a total geek so be SO loving the vinegar, but what is so bad about loving this magical substance that does everything from disinfect your house to cure hangovers?  (Ah hah, now you’re interested too, admit it!)  I’ve know I’ve written in the past about using white vinegar as a simple, inexpensive, and extremely effective household cleaner.  Since you may well be in the same boat as me after the holidays (anyone else trying to hide from their visa bill?), I’m sure you can appreciate some of these money saving ways to keep the house (and you!) clean and germ free.

Magical vinegar recipes…….

Cleaning

• To replace Ajax/Comet….. equal parts salt and flour, and add just enough vinegar to make a paste.
• To replace all those toxic insect repellants – equal parts water and vinegar
• To eliminate that yucky smell on dish cloths (my personal pet peeve!) – soak overnight in equal parts vinegar and water.  Rinse thoroughly before use.
• To replace Jet Dry or another rinse aid – (everyday) – 1/4cup vinegar in rinse aid dispenser.
• To disinfect – full strength vinegar
• To thoroughly clean Thermos/flask/decanter – fill with warm water, 1/4 cup vinegar, and some uncooked rice.  Close, shake/swirl, then rinse and dry.

Health and Beauty

Allow me to say…. apple cider vinegar apple cider vinegar apple cider vinegar!!!   What doesn’t it do!

There are MANY ways to take a.c.v., but one of the easiest (I’ve found) is to take a tablespoon “shot” first thing in the am, then chase it with a HUGE glass of water.  (Yes, I still think it tastes disgusting, but it gets better with time!)  If you absolutely can’t handle the taste, you can now buy it in capsule form.  Phew!  According to anecdotal and natural medicine beliefs, apple cider vinegar:

• Acts a purifier, detoxifies many organs and blood stream.
• Helps breaks down deposits and promotes health of organs such as bladder/kidneys/liver.
• Prevents excess alkaline in urine.
• Helps thin blood.
• Promotes proper digestion.
• “may” neutralize toxic substances.
• high in potassium, helping with sinus troubles,excess mucus, tooth decay, unhealthy fingernails, and watery eyes.
• Pectin (a component of the vinegar) aids with constipation (1t/day to aid digestion)
• And my favourite!!!  As a hangover  cure – soak cloth in apple cider vinegar and place on forehead to stop hangover headaches

If you have any uses to add the list (or questions about anything I’ve listed), please feel free to send me an email – beth[at]fitfamily[dot]ca.  I look forward to hearing from you!

Have a wonderful start to 2010!!!

fit family goes green

journey to the green side

Beth Beauchemin, green & happy

Hi!  I’m the newest addition to the Fit Family team!  You may have met me in one of your rocking Belly Bootcamp classes, or maybe you have met my evil twin (the personal trainer!) who “lunges” you to within an inch of your life, maybe you’ve never met me, but are intrigued by the name of my blog!  Regardless of why you are here, I’m very excited to be a part of Fit Family and Belly Bootcamp…. and now to have my own blog!

I have been reading mommy blogs since I became a mommy almost 2 years ago.  I’ve always thought the blog was a very interesting phenomenon:  random people deciding to open up and share their lives with strangers for informational, but mostly entertainment, purposes.  That being said, getting a glimpse into other mom’s crazy lives made me feel somewhat better about my own.  I was often inspired to make my life better in some (small or large) way, shape, or form…. or just to relax and let things go!    Fast forward 2 years and here I am excited (and NERVOUS!) about my foray into the world of blogging.  This is scarier than my first day of high school.  Will people like me?  Will they think I’m funny?  Smart?  Even worse, will no one care what I have to say?   My mom always told me “you will never find out unless you try”, so here it goes…. Welcome to my journey to the green side!

I don’t know about you, but on my journey from pre-pregnancy all the way to post-post natal I obsessed more and more about “all-natural”, “organic”, and “non-toxic”.  From slowly switching to organic meets and dairy while pregnant (I was fine to eat conventionally raised foods, but nothing but organic good enough for my growing belly!), all the way to ridding my house of chemical cleaning products and buying the expensive “natural” alternatives – I’ve done pretty well everything I can to make our house as safe as possible for our son.    Funny enough, my husband also became a bit more obsessive through the same time frame.  Instead of worrying about pesticides and toxins, however, he worried about finances.  As I’m sure you know, “all natural living” in the big city (have you ever shopped at Whole Paycheque, I mean Whole Foods?  YIKES!) and financial belt-tightening typically don’t go hand in hand!

So the problem quickly became how do I balance my compulsion to avoid “bad” things with my husband’s budget?  To be honest I’m still not quite on target, and I doubt we will ever sleep in 100% organic cotton sheets (although cotton crops are sprayed with astounding amounts of poisonous and toxic pesticides that stays on them forever), but I have found a few, budget friendly ways to make “going green” more palatable for my husband, while letting me sleep at night knowing I am not pumping my child full of chemicals.   (I told you, it became a compulsion for me!!!)

1. While I LOVE the smell of the yummy, organic cleaning products out there, the honest to goodness, cross my heart, BEST cleaning products are white vingar, baking soda, water, and elbow grease.  A quick trip to the grocery store and practically pennies later, my house is sparkling clean.  OK, so the smell isn’t the best, but a few drops of lemon oil solves that! (a quick google search will turn up hundreds of cleaning “recipes”)
2. Go to ewg.org and find out what fruits and veggies have the highest and lowest pesticide loads.  Did you know peaches and apples are the highest?  Get those in the organic version!  Avocado and onion have practically none, so need to spend money on them!  (better yet – walk or cycle to the nearest farmers market!  Toronto has tons of options and choices, and there is no better way to spend an afternoon!)
3. Become a partial vegetarian.  I grew up on a farm outside of Calgary, so I don’t think I will ever give up meat, but there are so many amazing meatless options out there!  I try to limit animal protein to 1x/day, and the other 2 times I eat plant based proteins.  Not only am I reducing my saturated fat intake, but I also then can splurge on delicious organic meats.  (quick tip – toxins and poisons are stored in fat, so try to make organic “fatty” choices.  Meat, dairy, and nut products fall into this category.)
4. Buy in bulk.  It’s almost always less expensive, and then you aren’t creating as much garbage with all the packaging.
5. Less is more.  This is true for many things, but this resonates for me with children’s toys.  Does Max (my son) REALLY need the latest and greatest (and typically plastic) toy?  Probably not.  Am I a bad mom for not buying it for him?  No, in fact quite the opposite.  Time and time again I realize my son is happiest with the most simple things.  This morning he played with his friends for HOURS with 2 buckets of water, a few measuring cups, and a strainer.   Meanwhile, the battery operated toys that I had to have stayed in the basket in the house and not one thought was given to them.

That’s it – my top 5!  Now I’m off to green the house.  (yes, bad joke, but I bet you smiled!)