Am I the only one that fell in love with a new product line during Celiac Awareness Month back in May?!? I had the privilege of trying out both Avalon Organics hair and body washes and Jason skincare and hand soaps. While I was not a fan of Avalon Organics haircare (my insanely thick hair that my stylist comments on EVERY time I come in could have something to do with that), I fell in love with Jason's skincare. (Read my husband's review Avalon Organics here)


 Jason launched their new line of certified gluten free personal care products a few months ago and they are rockin'! I was initially going to write this post two weeks in to using the products, but I wanted to give a more accurate review. Then life with a teething, growing one year old got in the way and now it's August.

 BUT, I'm so glad I waited. And here's why. It's been almost four months and I am still using and loving these products! They're lasting forever!!

My two favorites are the face wash and face lotion.

My skin has never been more consistently clear as it's been since using these. Even through summertime heat and (tmi, gentlemen, sorry) my periods my skin had been clearer, which is saying something HUGE! I wash my face at night and then rise it off in the am before using the lotion. I've loved both! No greasy face throughout the day and clearer skin overall! Woohoo!!! I'm sold!

Now as far as the face scrub, I'm just not a big user of those, so I tried it out here and there but it's a bit abrasive for my sensitive skin. However, judging by their other products, I would imagine if you're a face scrub kind of person, you'd like this one.

So, there you have it, Jason skincare for the win! My skin has been clear, smooth, clean, and not irritated by any nasty, unknown ingredients.

And we've enjoyed the hand soap too. No foo-foo smell, which is a win for the hubby, and we don't mind using it on the little one since it's not full of nasty unknown stuff.

 This gluten free line also has a shampoo and conditioner. Has anyone tried it? I'm curious if it could stand up to my uber thick hair?!

~ Rachel

Oil pulling.



Swishing oil to improve your health?

What?!?!

So here's the deal.  I have a cavity.  Well, let me be clear, I have two cavities (one that needs a ceric) and a dying nerve in a front tooth where I'm going to need a root canal!

What is this? Congratulations on surviving the first year of motherhood, you've jacked up your teeth and need some serious work!! Great. Thanks.

The truth is, I did jack up my teeth. For years I went us diagnosed with Celiac Disease so that by the time I found out what was wrong with me my body had already been lacking nutrients. Then, I spent years trying to heal my body so that I would stop being malnourished and be able to properly absorb nutrients. Add to that 9 months of pregnancy, sick, where I was often eating in the middle of the night and not always brushing my teeth. Then I was breast feeding and those first few months I was STARVING all hours of the day and night, thus again eating and not brushing my teeth. So, I guess you could say, while not all directly my fault, I had this bill of health from the dentist coming.

So, back to oil pulling.  I'm kinda crunchy (breast feeding, cloth diapering, eat predominantly organic, drink raw milk, etc.) so I belong to a Facebook group of crunchy moms and one of them mentioned oil pulling to reverse cavities. Say what?!? I had a dentist appointment scheduled for the following week, so I began researching and figured why not give it a shot.

The premise is:
Swish coconut oil in your mouth for 15-20 minutes in the morning (when taking a shower/getting dressed has been easiest for me).
Spit it out in the trash (so you don't clog your pipes).
Rinse your mouth out with water.
Brush your teeth (working on a homemade toothpaste now).
Continue on with your day.

I'm also trying to consume raw butter on a more regular basis and take my cod liver oil more faithfully as per the recommendation of The Paleo Mama. ***One note, I'm taking Carlson's cod liver oil because Blue Ice is just too dang expensive for this SAHM. :) Hoping I still gain some of the benefits.

According to what I've read, swishing this oil and maintaining optimal nutrition should help to remineralize my teeth.

So, I canceled my dentist appointment and figured I'd try this for a few months and see what happens.

Already, I've noticed a change and it's only been a week! My front tooth that is going to need a root canal had darkened (that's what alerted me to have the dentist check it out) and initially the dentist didn't notice anything wrong, so it had been darker than the rest of my teeth for a few years. Well, after just ONE WEEK of oil pulling (swishing) the tooth is almost the same color as the rest of my teeth! Woot woot!!!

Now to see what it does for the cavities...I'll keep you posted.

For now...

Have you heard of this?

Is it something you or someone you know has tried?

Happy Celiac Awareness Month!

To kick off the month, I thought I'd start with a post about what I've been up to.

My life, my friends, has been full! I got pregnant and had a beautiful baby girl!!! In order to do both well, I found myself pulling back from the blog and then, ultimately, quitting it for awhile.  We've now found ourselves with a happy, spunky little one year old who's currently napping as I write this post! Life is sweet!



To digress a little and tell you about my health journey for the last two years, I was sick throughout my entire pregnancy.  Now, however, I wonder if it could have looked different.

You see, while going gluten free after being diagnosed with Celiac helped me to feel better, I still did not feel well. Can you relate? Our house was completely gluten free and we were very selective in where we went out to eat, yet I would still get sick and found myself feeling ok, but never "good." When I got pregnant I get even sicker, maintaining "morning sickness" throughout the whole pregnancy. By the time I had our baby I was really weak.

BUT, all things work out for good! Thanks to the help of my mom, I started eating predominantly Paleo soon after delivering our baby. Within a few months, I found myself extremely sleep deprived (babies are so worth the lost sleep!) yet with more energy than I had prepregnancy! Who knew, for me, going gluten free was not enough.

Now, I say predominantly Paleo because I have found I can eat raw dairy and rice without feeling ill!

Woohoo!!! It's been about a decade, but I can now say...I FEEL GOOD! Not ok, not alright, GOOD!!!  And that, my friends, is worth celebrating!

What about you?

Was going gluten free enough for you?

Have you found yourself cutting out other foods as you journey toward good health?

Just in time for Halloween this year...an updated candy list courtesy of our friends at GfreeFoodie.

In honor of Celiac Awareness Day I HAD to share with you this amazing recipe that was shared with me.

Source

As Celiac's, and others who have to avoid gluten, you understand the excitement when you find a good cookie or cake.  I mean, a GOOD one!  Right?  It's like finding the perfect shoe for your wedding (or prom if you're a little younger).  For guys, umm, it's like watching a good game?  Ha, sorry, I'm not so savvy in that department.

But, anyways, back to the cookie.  When you can't have "normal" cookies, you've had to go through some awkward, if not awful, cookies looking for something yummy.  And, due to that fact, your awesome friends (you know, those who understand) send you recipes when they find something gluten free that they think you might like.

So, this recipe today is for a gluten free AND vegan S'mores cookie!  Doesn't that just sound divine!  My lovely friend, Crystal, sent me the recipe and I can't WAIT to try to make them.  Yes, I have not yet tried these cookies.  But, I did look through the ingredients (and some delectable pictures) and I just couldn't wait to share with you.  Having been quite sick the last few months (more on that later, but we don't have time now...HELLO, I'm about to give you a cookie recipe!) I'm not sure when I'll finally have the energy to whip up a batch of these.

I figured, hey, my readers are good people.  Good people who have, sadly, had to endure some not so good gluten free cookies.  So, if I can get your hands on what I'm betting is a great recipe, why make you wait?  Seriously, I haven't been able to cook in like three months, so it could be a LONG while before I can give my opinion.

In the meantime, check these out.

Gluten Free and Vegan S'mores Cookies...complete with tons of gooey pics!

Hope you enjoy!  If you do make them, PLEASE share your thoughts...I can live vicariously through your baking. :)