Reusables Archives » My Mundane and Miraculous Life

Choosing Safe, Natural Cookware for Your Kitchen

Julie — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 03:31:07 +0000

I used to think people that didn’t want plastic near their food were totally bonkers.

Well, call me officially loco!

My family has been on a natural living journey for some years now and one of the places we wanted to “green up” was our kitchen. Eating REAL food was one major hurtle.

The other was finding safe, natural cookware that would keep our healthy food healthy!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Please read my full disclosure policy here.

The two types of materials we’ve tried to avoid in our house are plastics and aluminum. Both have been known to let harmful chemicals seep into food, especially when heated.

It’s been a long road, and we’re not fully there yet, but here’s the type of cook and bakeware we have stocked in our kitchen.

Our Favorite Safe, Natural Cookware Materials…

Cast Iron

Cast Iron is not only a safe alternative to non-stick cookware, it was the added benefit of enriching your diet with IRON. Yup, the metal it is made of is actually GOOD for you! While it may take some time to get used to how heavy these are, they’re practically indestructible. They require some special care (season, don’t wash with soap, etc.) But even if you mess up, there’s always a way to get this puppies looking like new again. They’ll be passed down from generation to generation. This set of THREE skillets is only $20 right now!

Glass

This is the perfect eco-friendly kitchen material. It’s cheap, renewable and stable. No leaching! We choose glass over plastic whenever we can, for drinking, food storage, and serving dishes. Glass Mixing Bowls are lovely and versatile. And glass will match any decor, never going out of style.

CorningWare

Corning Ware is made out of stone and has a great easy to clean surface. It’s relatively inexpensive and has a classic clean look. They’re perfect for casseroles and side dishes and can handle the heat of an oven (or microwave).

Wood

Wood is a great material to choose for the kitchen. We love our wooden utensils. Bamboo is also SUPER renewable. There are also some cool wooden serving bowl options. And don’t forget wooden cutting boards! Wood isn’t dishwasher safe, so be sure to give them a rinse before food gets caked on.

Stainless Steel

While some metals can leach nasty chemicals into your food while you cook, stainless steel doesn’t. It also super tough. I’ve burned things to the bottom of these pans that I thought would NEVER come out. But because there’s no scratching to worry about, boiling a paste of baking soda and some good hard scrubbing did the trick! They’re also a decent price!

Obviously tossing out all your cookware and starting from scratch would be an expensive endeavor. But keep this list in mind when you need to replace something. Be on the lookout for sales and choose your priorities well (what’s gonna give you the most bang for your buck). Slowly but sure you’ll have a more natural kitchen cookware selection to keep your family healthy and happy.

An if you’re looking to really do away with plastic in the grocery store, check out these awesome reusable produce bags! They’re super nifty, washable and of course, eco-friendly! We are loving them and use them for more than just food purchases!

They come in two types, solid cotton or nylon mesh and are packaged in sets of five.

The post Choosing Safe, Natural Cookware for Your Kitchen appeared first on My Mundane and Miraculous Life.

6 Ways You’re Throwing Money Away by NOT “Going Green”

Julie — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 10:30:49 +0000

Have you wanted to cut back on the chemicals in your life, but thought the products were a huge expense? Have you wanted to green up you life, but balked at the price tag? Well don’t despair. Here are six ways you can actually SAVE money by going the natural route. In fact, you’d be throwing your money away by not going green with these ideas!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Read my full disclosure here .

T-shirt Bags

These reusable bags are made from old t-shirts you probably already have lying around your house. They only take 2 minutes to make! Many stores offer money back on purchases when you use reusable bags and you don’t have to spend $1 on those store bought ones! They’re more durable and washable. I just LOVE ’em!

Get the instructions here.

Bulk Spices

Store bought spices often have extras added to them that you probably aren’t too keen on ingesting. You’re likely eating a bunch of chemicals all in the name of preservatives and “anti-caking agents”. But good grief, the organic options are shockingly pricey! Well, last Thanksgiving, I discovered that many bulk food aisles have spice jars for the scooping! And guess what, they only contain the spice, no extra nasties. And the great thing, I can fill up a jar for pennies! So much cheaper than the prepackage stuff!

Cloth Diapers

Most people know that cloth diapers are a great way to green up your life! Less waste, less contact with scary chemicals like dioxins and sodium polyacrylate. While the upfront cost is daunting, consider asking for them as gifts. We were incredibly blessed to receive 16 diapers before our oldest was born and they’re still going strong as kiddo number two approaches his two year birthday. We’ve saved a boatload! (Thank you friends!)

These are our favorite brand of Cloth Diapers.

Reusable Menstrual Pads and Cup

Alright, this might be a hard sell for some of you. But hear me out! Tampons and pads are full of gross stuff. Not only are these chemicals bad for your health, they can extend the length of your period and make the cramping worse. Seriously, we should sic some hormonal ladies on these manufacturers and demand a change! Anywho, back to the practical. These reusable products also take a bit of money up front, but they last and end up saving you money. Menstrual pads theoretically last for life and menstrual cups can last for ten years! Eliminate chemicals, eliminate waste, and pocket the savings!

This is my favorite Menstrual Cup! Can’t believe I didn’t use one of these till this year!

Homemade Cleaner

Did you know you can clean your counters and hard surfaces naturally for just pennies? Two simple ingredients are all you need to revamp your cleaning routine. Add some essential oils to make in anti-bacterial. Some chemicals in common household cleaners exacerbate breathing troubles but this simple cleaner will have you breathing fresh air while staying well within budget.

Get the recipe here.

Homemade Foaming Hand-soap

Most antibacterial soap have a frightening ingredient called Triclosan. It effects muscles abilities to contract at a cellular level (here’s some research). But did you know you can make an antibacterial foaming handsoap with two natural ingredients. (Ok, three if you count water.) Those two ingredients will make enough soap for a household for a good year! That’s a lot of savings and a lot of peace of mind!

Here’s how to make it.

Now that you’ve seen some ways to go green and SAVE money, why not check out the whole series: How to Green Up Your Life WITHOUT Getting Overwhelmed

Boasting in Weakness: Sometimes I feel unqualified to write about natural living. But I wouldn’t have made the small changes I’ve have made without the great information I’ve found on other blogs. So while I’ve got a long way to go, I DO want to share what I’ve learned so that it may help others that aren’t as far along on the journey. Please don’t ever feel guilty or less than when you read anything I write. It’s easy to look impressive on a blog. And trust me, I’m not impressive.

The post 6 Ways You’re Throwing Money Away by NOT “Going Green” appeared first on My Mundane and Miraculous Life.

Lunch in a Jar

Vanessa — Sat, 22 Nov 2014 10:46:36 +0000

This is a guest post by Vanessa!

Confession, I love jars… I have for a long time (guests even drank out of jars at my wedding!). So when I see stuff on Pinterest that has anything to do with glass jars, I check it out. One awesome idea: Lunch in a jar!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Read more about that here.

When I first started my job, I saw these salads in a jar and I got super excited for three reasons.

I hate getting up in the morning! So the less I have to do, the better.
I wanted to start eating more raw, fresh foods.
I love jars!!

There are TONS of these recipes going around out there in the Pinterest world but really… you don’t need a recipe. Just think of your favorite salads and boom: inspiration.

Here are the rules that I follow…

Always put the dressing on the bottom
Wet veggies/fruits first
Leave the meat out until I’m gonna eat it

So I start with a quart sized jar for a full-meal portion.

Buffalo Chicken and Ranch Salad

First, I put ranch dressing in. (I always just guesstimate, the less dressing, the more healthy!) Next, thinly sliced green onions (so that they marinade) And then, my wet veggies.. Agian, I guesstimate the amounts of veggies to my liking. I used roughly: half a tomato, a handful of match stick sliced carrots, 1/3 of a cucumber, and a 1/2 of both green and red peppers.

*While I’m prepping my veggies I’m sauteing my chicken in buffalo sauce YUM!*

Then I threw in some baby corn and fresh mozzarella.. this recipe (if you can call it that since there are no specifics!) is one salad but the trick is to do as many as you need for the week! So while I was making this salad I was using some of the same veggies to make other salads!

Wahoo! Killing like 6 birds with one stone!

(moment of truth… I didn’t feel like cleaning my whole kitchen so I just cleaned this corner and jammed everything in)

Now I’m done! I typically don’t put the lettuce in because I wash everything and my lettuce is still wet (I need a lettuce spinner!) so I put my freshly washed lettuce with some paper towels into a large ziplock baggie and let them drip dry. Then when I’m getting my lunch packed in the morning I grab a few large leaves, tear ’em up and throw ’em in. I also leave my meat out until I’m ready to eat… but that’s just me, I’m weird like that. *wink*

After all is said and done, I usually have 3 or 4 big salads for myself and 4 or 5 little side salads for my husband (since he’s on the road and can’t enjoy a big plateful of salad these are easy for him to eat out of the jar). When you’re ready to eat them give it a good shake to get the dressing all over and dump it onto a plate.

So colorful…so healthy…so fast and easy for busy mornings…what’s not to love?? – V

Want to find other great recipes on Pinterest? Follow Julie’s Recipe board, full of the yummiest meals from around the web!

Follow Julie: My Mundane and Miraculous Life’s board Yum Yum Eat Um Up on Pinterest.

The post Lunch in a Jar appeared first on My Mundane and Miraculous Life.

Confessions of a Half-Hearted Cloth Diapering Mama

Julie — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 09:19:00 +0000

When I was pregnant with my first child, I was on a “I will be the perfect mom!” kick. (Read how that turned out.) Everyone else had tried this thing, but I was gonna do it right. I was going to do everything right. I thought one of those “right” parenting choices was to use cloth diapers.

I was given a complete supply of cloth diapers as a crazy generous baby shower gift. I was over the moon with excitement! Of course, it hadn’t fully dawned on me that these adorable little fabric pouches were soon to contain some of the nastiest sludge that could make even a seasoned zookeeper nauseous.

You see, I’m a half-hearted cloth diaperer. Of course there are so many benefits! Reduce waste, save money, less chemicals, easier potty training, less errand running, and the overall cuteness factor. But despite all that, I typically only have my son’s in cloth 50% of the time. I either can’t keep up with the laundry, or I get just plain lazy.

So since I purposefully use this blog to show my weaknesses, here are my dirty little secrets. (I hope that you can relate to my inner ridiculousness.)

7 Confessions of a Half-Hearted Cloth Diapering Mama:

Every time I see my baby’s profile, I think, “Look at that cute bubble butt!”

Every time people compliment me for my efforts at saving the earth, I think, “I care more about saving money.”

Every time we go out in public, I think, “I should put him in cloth so people know that’s what we do.”

Every time I see another child wearing cloth when my son is not, I think, “I should tell that mom that we usually use cloth too.”

Every time I see a picture of my child in disposables, I think, “I wish he was wearing cloth when that was taken.”

Every time I change a poopy diaper, I think, “Never again! Disposables from here on out!”

Every time I change a wet diaper, I think, “Why doesn’t everyone use cloth?”

Can you identify? What silly parenting monologue do you hear in your head? Share them in the comments!

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The Crunchy Mama’s Baby Registry Guide

Julie — Tue, 27 May 2014 20:17:00 +0000

This post may contain affiliate links that help support my family. Read more here.

Are you interested in all things green? Curious about attachment parenting? Delving into a more natural way of doing things?

Do you know a future mama that has some of these “strange” ideas? Have you heard her talk about wanting a natural birth and baby wearing and thought “What in the world should I buy for this goofy girl?”

Well, hopefully this list will help both of you! I think this is a great baby registry even if you don’t go the attachment parenting route.

PS Amazon is the easiest way to make a registry. Create an Amazon Baby Registry HERE!

My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow

This is the one thing I ALWAYS suggest to new mothers. This nursing pillow is hands down, the best nursing pillow out there. Why? 1. Look at that back support! You’ll desperately want that by day two. 2. It clips securely around you. No sliding down or extra pillows needed. In fact, don’t tell anyone, but when sitting, you can pretty much go hands free. (Or at least stuff your face with some food!) 3. The nifty little pocket. The first couple weeks you’ll think only an octopus could pull off breast feeding a little one without dropping anything. Trust me, it comes in handy. 4. The surface for the baby is more firm, flat and wide. There are even two little bumps on either side to help elevate their head. Perfecto!

A NICE Nursing Bra

So, you should probably go the gift card route on this one. Ain’t nobody knows what size the girls are gonna eventually end up as. But giving your new mom the gift of a fancy nursing bra is one step in getting her to feel like herself again. Maybe it’s because I’m a rare size, but I can only afford to purchase one or two bras a year. The one above is good because it comes in a far broader range of sizes than what you’d find at Target or Motherhood Maternity.

bumGenius Cloth Diaper
Now there are a million cloth diapers out there and a million ways to do it. But I picked bumGenius for a couple reasons. A lot of stores sell them, so they’re easier to register for. That’s a big deal if you’re hoping to be gifted these puppies. They’re a one size fits all so you don’t have to worry about trading up as they grow. And they’re just an all-around respected brand.

Wet/Dry Diaper Bag
This is a great buy, no matter what your parenting style. This bag keeps wet things from soaking everything else in the diaper bag. We use this to cloth diaper on the go. Also good for containing the mess while potty training.

Baltic Amber Baby Teething Necklace

Having a little boy wearing an amber teething necklace is a sure way to stand out as a hippy. These little beads of amber resin are not for chewing on! They are warmed by the child’s skin and have anti-inflammatory properties. We use them, but I just can’t rule out the placebo effect on this one yet. Some people swear by them. They can help adults too with a myriad of health problems. Please follow all directions and never let an unsupervised child wear these.

ERGO Baby Carrier
I LOVE baby wearing and have written about our favorite ones. I picked the ERGO to be included on this registry because a soft structured carrier like this one is going to get the most use. I prefer a wrap in the early months and a sling for certain occasions. But our soft structured carrier gets used every day from 1 month old to almost two years old! I specifically picked the ERGO again because it can be found at stores like Target so they’re easier to register for. Check out my post or thebabywearer.com for more info on baby wearing.

Avanchy Dish Set

So this isn’t exactly a gift for a newborn, but the little guy will be eating solids before you know it. I’m a huge fan of these dishes because they’re made of bamboo, no plastic to worry about. And they have an ingenious suction on the bottom that keeps them in place when you’re sweet angel decides they want to throw things! (I was given these plates to review.)

Hyland’s Homeopathic Medicine
This is a great line of products to get you through those early months. We go through them like mad around here. Always nice to be given as a gift so you don’t have to run out in the middle of the night to get more!

Co-Sleeper Bassinet

Now we’ve never used this product, but should we have another baby I think this will be the only thing on my wish list. It’s like a pack ‘n’ play that can be pulled up right next to your bed. When the baby wakes for a feeding, the side can be pulled down so you can nurse your little one without either of you getting out of bed. When they’re done, pull up the side and scoot them away. I’m a crazy light sleeper, so co-sleeping never worked for us. But this might be a way that we could pull it off!

The Baby Book by Dr. Sears

Great book that doesn’t prey on a new mother’s fears but encourages and empowers her. Sure, he advocates for the 7 B’s (Birth Bonding, Breastfeeding, Babywearing, Bedding Close to Baby, Belief in the Language Value of your Baby’s Cry, Beware of Sleep Trainers, Balance). But the most important B is BALANCE. Do what works for you! No one should be grading you on how AP you are. I needed to hear this when I had my first baby.

Ready to make a registry? Amazon makes it simple to share with everyone and they’re sure to have all the items you need! Create an Amazon Baby Registry

What are your favorite baby products? Please share your experience in the comments!

This post is part of a HUGE series filled with tons of other bloggers tips and tricks to live a green, natural lifestyle. You’ve gotta check it out, especially since you can win some sweet products!

Or join our Facebook community and let’s share the knowledge together!

Boasting In Weakness: Confession. I’m a judger. I like to judge others to make myself feel better. It’s crazy how I think I know a person based on how they carry their baby or how they are feeding them. I know I’m wrong and can be way off base, but those thoughts still lurk in my mind. I have to consciously shut them down. Who am I to judge? Shall we rehash my story?

Why am I sharing this weakness with strangers? Why do I want you to think less of me and more of Him?

The post The Crunchy Mama’s Baby Registry Guide appeared first on My Mundane and Miraculous Life.

Hippy Tip Tuesdays: Reusable T-Shirt Bags

Julie — Tue, 20 May 2014 15:33:00 +0000

(Scroll to the bottom of this post for a chance to win a set of reusable produce bags! Super handy!)

Do you have a million T-shirts filling your drawers, tempting you to wear their comfy-ness ALL DAY LONG? Do you cringe at how many plastic bags you go through in a month?

This post is part of the series “How to Green Up Your Life Without Getting Overwhelmed”. It’s filled with quick, and simple ideas and recipes that will slowly help you live a greener life.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Please read my full disclosure policy here.

These T-shirt bags are incredibly strong, washable, and great conversation starters with the baggers at check-out. This is the ideal project for a person like me. Crazy quick, costs nothing, and you can pretty much do a hack job of it. It’s also a great craft for teaching beginner sewers the basics.

Here’s the rundown.

Find a T-shirt.

Cut the sleeves off.

(I try to leave the seam intact so the bag has extra strength. Not sure if that matters.)

Cut a larger hole for the neck so that the bag will have a bigger opening. Don’t waste time making it symmetrical. Eyeball it!

Flip it inside out.

Sew along the bottom edge. I just go over it once, but do a little back and forth action at the ends. (How do you like THAT sewing lingo?)

Forgive me for not actually sewing the bottom of that shirt. My kiddos were sleeping and my machine is LOUD! But we’ve got tons of these lying around the house. Here’s one in action.

Now get to it! No excuses!

They come in two types, solid cotton or nylon mesh and are packaged in sets of five. Wanna try them out? Enter for a chance to win a set!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Boasting In Weakness: Alright, here’s a glimpse of what I really look like. Loopy took this picture.

Why am I subjecting you to this image? Read why I don’t want you to come away from this blog thinking highly of me.

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NEW SERIES: How to “Green Up” Your Life Without Getting Overwhelmed

Julie — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 01:14:00 +0000

I used to roll my eyes at people that wanted to live “green”. First off, why not blue? It’s not like only green things are earthy. I love the blue sky and the ocean. Second, aren’t these crunchy people just afraid of science and advancements. They seem to believe in old wives tales and have no evidence for their fear of chemicals. But my third and biggest hang-up with the green movement was how incredibly complicated it all seemed. All the things to avoid just made my head spin. So I avoided learning any specific details about “toxic” products and ingredients for as long as I could.

Fortunately, I couldn’t hide for long. I heard some gal on the radio talking about how health issues finally forced her to look into more natural alternatives for her family’s life. She set up a plan of attack that made sense and wasn’t nearly as daunting as one clean sweep of her entire life. This gave me the courage to start down this rabbit hole without completely losing my mind. I hope that it will encourage you to start down a road to better health as well. Scroll to the end to see how to divide and conquer the beast.

WORD TO THE WISE: Unless you are made of both time and money, this is going to be a long process.

Try to be patient and only make one or two changes at a time. Remind yourself of the progress you are making and relax. The more you research, the more you may want to freak out and run around your house throwing everything away because it causes cancer or something. Trust me, this won’t help the situation and will really annoy your husband (not that I would know from personal experience, cough cough.)

There are so many green tips I’m still waiting to implement. It can be expensive if you don’t do it gradually.

I’m no expert and there’s just so much out there to learn. I try and treat it like a fun hobby so I don’t turn into a freak about things. Wink, wink.

Keep checking back as I give tutorials and recipes for these different areas of life that I’ve begun to “green up”:

Laundry

Toiletries (Toothpaste, Hand Soap, Deodorant, Shampoo, Moisturizer, Bug Spray, Sunscreen, Hand Sanitizer)

Medicine Cabinet (Sore Muscles, Bug Bite Relief, Essential Oils)

Cleaning Supplies (Floor Cleaner, Toilet Cleaner, All-Purpose Cleaner, Glass and Window Cleaner, Microfiber Couch Cleaner, Baking Soda Air Freshener)

Cookware

Natural Parenting (Baby Wearing, Breastfeeding, Natural Birth)

All things Reusable (Cloth Diapers and Reusable Bags)

Food (Clean Eating, Supplements, Green Smoothies, Spices, The Most Popular Bread Post on Earth)

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