Tag Archives: review

Simply Clean – DIY Solutions for a Naturally Clean Home – review and giveaway!

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Lea Harris

Let me tell you why I love Simply Clean – DIY Solutions for a Naturally Clean Home.

Andrea has done a wonderful job giving you recipes that are not only effective at getting the job done, but uses only natural ingredients such as vinegar, castile soap, washing soda, and essential oils.

The recipes you will find inside use simple, natural ingredients that won’t break the bank and take only minutes to make. Read the full post here →

Posted in Giveaways, Recommended Reading, Reviews | Tagged ciy, ebook, giveaway, recipes, review, simply clean | 22 Comments

NutraPro Butter Oil review and giveaway!

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Lea Harris

I am happy to review for you today a high quality product that is super good for you – NutraPro butter oil.

First I want to address the confusion surrounding use of the terms butter oil, ghee, and clarified butter. I admit I, myself, am confused as to what makes the difference between the three, since they seem to all look alike and be essentially the same.

According to NutraPro, who provided me with a jar of their delicious-tasting butter oil, there is a difference between butter oil and ghee/clarified butter, and “it’s in the manufacturing.”

NutraPro Butter Oil is manufactured by extracting it from grass-fed certified organic cream at low temperature and high speed to preserve nutrients, taste, and aroma, leaving a pleasant taste, not a nutty one which indicates high heat was used in manufacturing.
Read the full post here →

Posted in Giveaways, Reviews | Tagged butter oil, CLA, giveaway, nutrapro, review | 29 Comments

Why Seven+ is Superior to MonaVie

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Lea Harris

I recently had someone ask on my Facebook page how Seven+ PROformance was different from MonaVie. I thought it would be helpful to everyone if I shared my answer (and then some) here as well.

I was not familiar with MonaVie, so I had to do some poking around. When I looked at their ingredient label, I was not very impressed. A fancy bottle with…fruit and vegetable juices. I’ll give them credit for the flaxseed oil, but what about soy? d-glucosamine hydrochloride? Baker’s yeast? Cyanocobalamin is the cheapest and worst B-12 choice you can make (as anyone who’s read my B-12 article would know), cellulose (wood or human hair?) and some other things I can’t pronounce.

The most alarming ingredient, though, is sodium benzoate. A chemical reaction between sodium benzoate and Vitamin C (one serving of MonaVie gives you 30% RDA Vitamin C) creates Benzine, a highly carcinogenic chemical. Read the full post here →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged compare, monavie, monavie benzine, monavie carcinogen, monavie fruit juice, monavie more sugar, monavie sodium benzoate, review, Seven+, seven+ botanical extract, seven+ superfood | 1 Comment

Citrus-Mint Skin Exfoliator (Tropical Traditions) – review and giveaway

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Lea Harris

I never cease to be beyond impressed with Tropical Traditions products.

Today I get to review for you their Citrus-Mint Skin Exfoliator – and you get a chance to win one.

Did you know most people produce more than 30,000 dead skin cells every minute? These dead skin cells can block pores and cause your skin to break out or become irritated. Simply washing your face isn’t enough to remove all the dead skin cells. A good exfoliator can help remove these dead skin cells and clear up your skin. Read the full post here →

Posted in Giveaways, Reviews | Tagged citrus-mint skin exfoliator, dead skin cells, giveaway, review, tropical traditions | 20 Comments

Arnica Moisturizing Cream Did the Impossible – and win a $25 gift certificate to buy some

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Lea Harris

My thighs have been aching since re-starting T-tapp three days ago. I can’t bend my legs, or even walk fast without wanting to moan in pain.

Today my Tropical Traditions order came. One of the items was Arnica moisturizing cream.

I rubbed it in my daughters knee (she had a bruise) and she said it felt better.She’s a child, so easily persuaded, right?

Then I rubbed it on my husband’s calf where it had been aching for days. He said it felt better, but he thought it was the coolness of the product (it’s freezing here in New England and it just arrived).

I knew it wouldn’t work for me, since my muscle aches were so deep, but I rubbed some in the back of my thighs anyways. I enjoyed the coolness and the feel of the wintergreen tingling on my skin. But I was not prepared to announce my aches are gone. Read the full post here →

Posted in Giveaways, Reviews | Tagged aches, arnica, free, gift certificate, giveaway, moisturizing cream, muscle, pain, review, soreness, tropical traditions | 54 Comments

Smart Sweets: 30 Desserts to Indulge Your Sweet Tooth – review and giveaway!

Posted on December 11, 2011 by Lea Harris

It’s always a pleasure to review one of Katie Kimball’s books. Just in time for the holidays, Smart Sweets: 30 Desserts to Indulge Your Sweet Tooth is here!

You can indulge that sweet tooth without caving to overly sweetened store-bought versions.

Dark Chocolate Truffles, Pumpkin Cookies, Apricot Sorbet…

The recipes in Smart Sweets are healthy-ISH, healthiy-ER, healthy-EST versions that use less sugar or replace white sugar with honey, maple syrup, or molasses. Made with whole grains or no grains at all, soaked and/or sprouted versions are included.

You will find real, healthy fats, nutrient-dense foods like yogurt, nuts, and milk, and ingredients you can pronounce.

Katie’s goal in Smart Sweets is to “offer you some sweets recipes that make your family feel spoiled without realizing they hardly strayed from a nourishing diet.” Read the full post here →

Posted in Giveaways, Recipes, Recommended Reading, Recommended Websites, Reviews | Tagged almond frosting, apple crisp, apricot sorbet, bars, brownies, butternut spice bars, cakes, candy, cherry almond crepes, chocolate syrup, cider doughnut spiced cupcakes, coconut macaroons, cookies, cupcakes, dairy free, dark chocolate truffles, dessert, easy brown rice pudding, ebook, frozen dessert, giveaway, gluten free, grain free, healthy, kitchen stewardhsip, magic coconut pie, nut free, peppermint coconut bark, pies, pumpkin cookies recipe, review, smart sweets, snack, soaked, soaked fudgy brownies, sprouted | 14 Comments

Good and Easy Eats – review and giveaway!

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Lea Harris

Have you heard the news? Kim Wilson’s new book, Good and Easy Eats, is launching on Saturday, December 10th.

This is a great collection of simple recipes that are easy to put together, yet are packed with flavor and easy on the budget.

I feel so blessed to be able to add another great cookbook to my collection. I don’t have any excuses to not have healthy meals and snacks available to my family every day.

I love Kim’s simple approach. In looking through Good and Easy Eats, I feel so confident that I can handle it. I don’t feel overwhelmed. Do you know the feeling? Sometimes as I glance over recipes, I get tired just reading all the steps, so I file it away, hoping some special occasion will give me the oomph I need to create it.

Kim’s top two goals of flavor and nutritional value is plain to see as you browse Good and Easy Eats. A self-described simple (“bordering on lazy”) cook, you don’t have to worry about spending lots of time in the kitchen. Read the full post here →

Posted in Giveaways, Recommended Reading, Reviews | Tagged additive-free, allergies, baking tips, bargain, breakfast, budget friendly, demo video, dessert, dinner, food sensitivities, fresh, fruit smoothies, fruit smoothies nutritional start, giveaway, good and easy eats, in-season, intro to wholesome eating, kim wilson, lunch, menu planning system, nutritional value, organic, packed with flavor, page protectors, podcast, preservative-free, protect ebooks, recipes, review, simple, snack, stocking pantry, unprocessed, unrefined | 20 Comments

Back to Basics – review and giveaway!

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Lea Harris

I am excited to offer a giveaway for Back to Basics from KerryAnn Foster at Cooking Traditional Foods!

I have been using Back to Basics since May, when I first posted about this cookbook. I took a break in the summer to use Summer Menu Volume 3, and now I’m happily back at it.

Before I started using Back to Basics, I was stuck in a food rut. I wanted to do better, really I did. I know having a pasta-focused meal every week, baked chicken every Sunday was getting us into a rut. I knew we were doing well avoiding processed foods – I make everything I can from scratch (see Make Your Own posts). But the thought of combing through my mainstream cookbooks, looking for recipes I didn’t have to tweak seemed too overwhelming and time-consuming.

Back to Basics has been a lifesaver. Read the full post here →