Make Your Own Flu Vaccine

What's in the Flu Shot? This video about the ingredients of the flu vaccine is both scary and funny.



Everyone has the right to know the truth about what's in vaccines and what the actual benefits are versus the risks. This vital information (not just the hyped-up drug company and government-back propaganda) should be public knowledge.

You can't go back in time, but going forward never let anyone inject anything into your body or the bodies of your children without doing your homework first. You cannot trust pharmaceutical companies, doctors, insurance companies, or the government to provide you with unbiased information or make the choices that are healthiest for you and your children.

Earth Day 2012

Happy Earth Day!  

I love infographics and the one below from Recyclebank is perfect for today!

Share Responsibility for the Planet

Create a network effect on the environment with small changes to your everyday behavior -- Let's take going green viral!

• Fill a Pool: If all Facebook users shortened their showers by 1 minute we'd save enough water to fill 1,123,364 Olympic-sized swimming pools  
• Pin Your Green Idea: If every active Pinterest user pinned one reuse idea per month, there would be 12 million new green ideas on the web
• Power Down: If all Twitter users shut down their computers for one hour, it'd be like taking 9,128 cars off the road for a  year
• Up your Eco-IQ: If you set aside just two minutes a day to watching an environmental video, you'd set aside 12 hours a year to improve your eco-knowledge
• Donate to Illuminate: If every smart phone was recycled at the end of its life, enough energy would be saved to power 199,800 homes for one year.
• Hit the Pavement: If all Nike+ app users ran outside for just one day instead of on a treadmill $442,500 could be saved on electricity bills.  

Happy Easter, Peeps!

Hopefully you haven't already over indulged on Easter Candy.   If you have, stop right now and get yourself back on track.  

Today, this weekend, this week, this month, the healthy plan you've been on are not ruined! Just put the candy down and step away right now.  

Go for a nice walk, if you can, and then start fresh.  Try to make tomorrow the healthiest day possible.  Strengthen your resolve to be fit and healthy.  

Do not touch one single piece of Easter Candy tomorrow.  Continue through the rest of your week eating healthy meals and snacks, staying away from processed junk food and candy, drink lots of water and get as much exercise as you can!

Related articles

• Think Twice -- Easter by the Numbers (mamahealthnut.blogspot.com)

Ryan Gosling on Cloth Diapers

I've been seeing a lot of funny Ryan Gosling Memes and wanted to share this one from Glow Bug Cloth Diapers.  I really got a kick of it and thought my cloth-diapering followers would too!

Related articles:
Why Wear Organic? (mamahealthnut.blogspot.com)
Healthy Baby Bums  (mamahealthnut.blogspot.com)

Quick Upper Body Workout

Here's a quick workout that you can do without any exercise equipment.

Double Click to Enlarge

Push-Ups -- Whether you do full push-ups or need to modify them at first, use the best form that you can.  See the Push-ups photo diagram below for some helpful hints and tips.  

• Harder -- Ace Fitness Exercise Library -- Push-up
• Easier -- ACE Fitness Exercise Library -- Bent-Knee Push-ups

ACE (The American Council on Exercise) is an extremely reputable source for safe and reliable fitness information.  If you are unsure of how to execute an exercise, ACE has a great library of exercises with excellent step-by-step explanations and photos.

Plank -- The 1st position of your push-up is also the straight arm plank.  After completing your 30 Push-Ups, hold in your plank position for 30 seconds.  The Plank will work your core muscles.  Be sure to keep your butt down, your abs tucked up tight, don't let your back sag and don't forget to breath.  If you cannot hold the straight arm plank with good form for the number for seconds required, try starting with the Front Plank from the link below.  This plank is done on your elbows and forearms instead of your hands.

• Harder - Straight Arm Plank
• Easier -- Ace Fitness Exercise Library -- Front Plank
• Want more options? Here's an interesting article about the progression of the plank to easiest to hardest with lots of options in between: Plank Progressions for Killer Abs

Bench Dips -- Sit on the side of a bench with your palms on the bench, beside your hips.  If you don't have a bench , the edge of a dry bath tub, sturdy chair or coffee table will work too.  Your legs should be straight out in front of you, heels on the floor, toes up. Straighten your arms so your butt lifts off the bench. Bend your elbows 90° as you lower your butt toward the floor. Pause, and then push back up to the starting position. Move up and down in a smooth and controlled motion as bench dips can place stress on your shoulders. Concentrate on using your arms to to lift your body (not your legs).  After each set of dips, hold in the lowest position of the dip for the allotted time. See photo 2 below.

• Harder: The straighter your legs are the harder the exercise will be.  
• Easier: If you cannot complete the exercise with your legs straight, try bending your knees.  The exercise will be easiest with your knees bent at a 90° angle, feet flat on the floor directly below your knees. 

1. 

Photo Source: Sportize Me

2. 

Photo Source: Sportize Me

Now you're ready to try it! 
Let me know how it goes for you! 

Quick Upper Body Workout 
No Equipment Needed 
30 Push-ups, Plank for 30 seconds
20 Push-ups, Plank for 20 seconds
10 Push-ups, Plank for 10 seconds
30 Bench Dips, Hold for 30 seconds
20 Bench Dips, Hold for 20 seconds
10 Bench Dips, Hold for 10 seconds

Hungry for Change

I really wanted to watch Hungry for Change while it was free, but time got away from me, and I missed it. Did anyone get a chance to watch it?  If you've watched it, what did you think? I'm hoping if I can't borrow it from a friend, it will come out on Netflix soon. I've found lots of other informative natural, healthy and/or green living DVDs on Netflix.

I did scoop up the Free Hungry for Change Action Guide and Sneak Peek at the "Food Matters" Recipe Book with Juice and Healthy Recipes Preview:

10 Step Action Plan -- Click on the Image above to view and print the complete, full-size Hungry for Change free printable.

Here are the highlights from the 10 Step Action Plan:

1. Add freshly squeezed vegetable juices into your day!

2. Detox your body with green vegetables & gelatinous plant foods.

3. Add parsley & cilantro into your diet.

4. Add cultured foods into your diet.

5. Eat yourself beautiful!

6. Dissolve stress in your daily life!

7. Use the power of visualization.

8. Transform your life with love!

9. Add healthy fats into your diet.

10. Avoid aspartame, msg, high fructose corn syrup & heavily processed diet and fat free products.

Sneak Peek at the "Food Matters" Recipe Book with Juice and Healthy Recipes Preview -- Click on the Image above to view and download the free sample recipes.  Some of these look so good.  I can't wait to try them!

Related articles:

• Diet Soda Linked to Poor Health
• Beef Consumption at 50 Year Low

Klean Kanteen

I just ordered two of these Klean Kanteen Sets for my girls to replace all of our plastic sippy cups.  I am so tired of trying to find the matching lids, straws, valves etc for all the different sippy cups we have. My girls fight over who gets what color, and I worry about toxic chemicals from the plastics leaching into their drinks or directly onto their skin.  I am hoping, once these arrive, to completely do away with all their other cups.  I know a lot of parents, who avoid plastics, give their little ones mason jars to drink from, but that would turn into a disaster at our house.  My kids can't seem to go ten feet without dropping their cups or sitting them down on something unstable like our white sofa.

I really love the Active Pink (above) and may get the adult version for myself if I like these bottles as much as I think I will.  My daughters chose the Solar Yellow and the Prevention Purple for themselves.

The sets we ordered come with both the sippy lids and the sport bottle caps, so they will grow with my girls.  Klean Kanteen has so many great colors and styles from which to choose. The ones pictured above are just a small sampling. The even do baby bottles. Plus, I really appreciated being able to purchase high quality, healthy, green products from a company that is truly devoted to doing what's best for their customers' health, their employees and suppliers, and our environment. 

FROM WWW.KLEANKANTEEN.COM HERE ARE THE OTHER FEATURES THAT HELPED ME DECIDE ON THESE PARTICULAR BOTTLES:

• Free of BPA, phthalates and other toxins
• 100% recyclable and eco-friendly
• Made of 18/8, food-grade stainless steel, no liner needed
• Doesn't retain or impart flavors
• Slim design fits most bottle/cup holders
• Rounded corners are easy to clean with no hard angles where dirt, germs or bacteria can stick
• Stainless steel threads
• Fits large ice cubes
• Includes one Avent™ spout and dome lid
• Cap & spouts are made of BPA-free polypropylene (pp#5)
• Dishwasher safe (colored bottles should be hand-washed)
• All parts can be boiled for sterilization
• Capacity: 12 fluid ounces (355 ml)
• Weight: 3.75 ounces (w/o cap)
• Size: 5” H (w/o cap) x 2.75” W
• Opening diameter: 1.75" (44 mm)

Are you using plastic sippy cups and bottles or greener, healthier alternatives? Are your kids' cups and bottles BPA and phthalate free? Are yours? Leave me a comment telling me what you're using and why.