product review: desert essence organics fragrance-free hand and body lotion

okay, i'll admit it: it may be a bit premature to review a product i have only had in my hands for... oh, about 47 minutes, but after one use, i already love it. it's rich but not too thick, creamy, not greasy; and although it's fragrance-free it does have a very subtle scent from the all-natural ingredients that's reminiscent of butterscotch.

pros:
- 100% vegan, wheat and gluten-free and also free of parabens, sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates, pthalates, artificial fragrances or colors, silicones, EDTA, glycol and petroleum-based ingredients
- feels great going (and staying) on
- pleasant, very mild scent
- great price

cons: nothing yet... will keep you posted

verdict: only time will tell, but at this moment, i'm feeling like i found my new lotion.

product review: spectrum organic coconut oil body care

okay, so next up on my quest to rid my life of toxic beauty products: replacing my beloved v'tae vanilla lotion, which sadly contains parabens, with all natural coconut oil.


pros:
- smells yummy
- makes skin amazingly soft, especially over time
- works great as an overnight hair moisturizer

cons:
- super oily and stays that way (it is an oil, after all)
- sometimes the smell is too much

verdict: i love this product, but it's best used at night when it doesn't matter if you accidentally touch your face or hair with oily hands. it also seems to be the perfect solution for the over-drying shampoo issue from the last post. just run oiled fingers through hair, sleep, wash. it works like a dream. (so well in fact that over the weekend i purged my stash of toxic shampoos -- don't worry, i donated.)

of course i will need to find a new day-use product, but luckily kelly tirman is on the job. will keep you posted.

product review: avalon organics lemon clarifying shampoo & conditioner

for my first forray into natural products i decided to give avalon organics a shot. i chose the lemon clarifying shampoo and conditioner because the only other one they had was lavender which sends me into sneezing fits. so...

pros:
- all natural
- great lather
- hair is shiny, bouncy and clean
- conditioner does not leave slimy film on skin








cons:
- clarifying formula is a bit too drying for every day
- smells a little like lemon-scented cleaning products during application (luckily this goes away once it's dry)









the verdict: i actually love this product, but will need to find either a different everyday shampoo or a way to get more moisture into my hair so the ends don't get too dried out.

simplify your morning routine

i don't know about you, but i take a lot of pills. two medications here, a few vitamins and supplements there... they all add up to a lot of time spent opening and closing bottles and doling out doses every morning. my solution? the detach n' go AM/PM detachable pill box.

not only does it have ample space for both morning and evening pills, it also pulls apart so you can easily grab just what you need for an overnight. you can also remove the flip-lids for cleaning (or if you'd rather start your week on a different day).

this way i can do all my sorting once a week and spend the saved weekday morning minutes on something more productive -- like five minutes more exercise, meditation, or, best of all, sleep. an added bonus: i know in advance if i'm running low on something making it much easier for me to keep on top of my refills.

you can also get ones like the apex medi chest that let you organize four daily doses.

whole foods gluten free prairie bread

okay i promise this won't turn into the all gluten-free all the time blog, but i must rave about this amazing bread.

actually, i'm going to start with an anti-rave. a couple of nights ago we were having burgers and because i just couldn't face another slippery meat patty swaddled in limp, slimy lettuce, i went against my better judgement and bought myself a four-pack of ener-g tapioca hamburger buns. they smelled as icky as they tasted and were slimy after only moments touching the burger. (so yeah, thumbs down for that one.)

enter whole foods gluten-free bakehouse prairie bread. the antithesis of the gummy burger buns, this bread was caky and moist and delicious and chock-full of chewy nuts and seeds. it was almost like eating a multi-seed pound cake. even better, it stood up just fine under the juiciest of burgers (complete with cheese, tomato and lettuce).

i won't tell you how much i paid for that delectable loaf of grainy and seedy goodness because i really don't want to admit i could ever spend that much on one loaf of bread, but at this point, i'm just happy to know that gluten-, potato-free bread this tasty does exist.

trader joe's gluten-free pancake & waffle mix

i'm sure it's completely psychological, but ever since i was diagnosed with a gluten allergy i have been craving pancakes. sure, i like pancakes as much as the next girl, but they usually aren't something i'd cross the street for unless i was having a serious carb crave and there was no serious oncoming traffic to dodge. but in an effort to help ease my transition to a gluten-free life, i've decided to indulge myself here and there.

lucky for me, trader joe's had just the ticket for this particular indulgence: a pancake mix that was not only gluten-free, but also free of potato derivatives (another newly identified food allergy). so i picked up a bag and whipped some up for breakfast the morning after christmas.







pros:
- simple to use: just whip up some eggs, oil and water, mix in the mix and you're ready to go
- inexpensive (which is a huge boon in the premium price world of gluten-free products)
- also free of peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, soy and corn
- contains only 9 ingredients, all of which i recognized

cons
- so-so flavor (bland with a ricey aftertaste)
- prone to dryness
- not as springey as their gluten-rich counterparts

one thing i have noticed about substitutes made with rice flour: for me, at least, i find their texture a lot better the next day. this is especially true for pastas, but even the pancakes were firmer and tastier. (especially if you don't over-cook them in the toaster oven).