It’s no secret candy is bad for you. We all know this, but sometimes it’s hard to get away from, especially around Halloween.
Trick or Treating is a fun activity for family and friends to do together, but that usually results in coming home with lots and lots of candy.
I’ll be the first to say my will power isn’t usually that great. If it’s right in front of me and I’m not allergic, I’ll usually eat it. This is why I don’t like to bring the unhealthy things in my house in the first place. Remove the temptation!
But what happens when you fill your house with candy to give out on Halloween?
Have you ever bought candy for trick or treaters but had to go back to the store for more because you ate it all?
You have a few options here:
1. Buy candy you don’t like — but you’re still spending your money on garbage
2. Buy the “healthier” candies like the YumEarth brand — but it’s still candy and also more expensive
3. Look for non-candy alternatives! — the best part is these won’t go bad like candy will, so you can use your leftovers next year!
Here are some ideas for non-candy alternatives to give out this Halloween:
8- Spider rings
10- Glow sticks
11- Finger puppets
12- Bouncy balls
13- Yo-yos
14- Kazoos
15- Whistles
16- Bubbles
20- Mini plushies
22- Festive Magnets
23- Slinkies
24- Mini skateboards
25- Coloring books
26- Fidget toys
27- Vampire teeth
28- Toy cars
29- Spooky Stamps
30- Witch broom pens
32- Baby pumpkins
33- Bottled water
Any of these options means your “treat” will last much longer than a few seconds, you're not filling your house with a bunch of sweets leading up to the holiday, and you're helping trick or treaters limit their stash of belly ache inducing candies.
Also, there are kids who have food allergies you can’t predict, so this is a great way to make sure you have something for everyone!
And hopefully those hooligans who dump entire bowls of candy into their bags would be less likely to do so with these non candy items. I mean, honestly, what would they do with 50 pairs of vampire teeth?
I love tacos. It’s one of our go to meals at home. I’ve learned I REALLY like taco meat with refried beans cooked in it.
I don’t pay much attention to calories when it comes to any food, but something I definitely pay close attention to is the ingredient list.
Do I recognize the words? How long is the list? Do any of these seem unnecessary?
I have found that refried beans are one of many products that, when bought in the least expensive form, contain a lot of unnecessary ingredients.
For this reason I started buying organic refried black beans simply because that was the only alternative at the store that had an acceptable ingredient list. Organic prepared black beans, water, sea salt.
No natural flavors, no lard, no additives for retaining color or texture.
But then my beans went out of stock! And they’ve stayed that way!
For a while we were just making taco meat without them, but it doesn’t taste as good and the meat doesn’t go as far without it!
So I recently started making my own refried beans. Does it take a little more time? Yes. But it’s not bad at all!
- Drain your can or box (yes, “boxed” beans is a thing - and actually my preference!) of beans
- Add 1/4c water to a pot with a splash of oil, add in your drained beans, stir & cook covered on medium heat for 5 minutes
- Turn heat to low and use a potato masher (or a fork if you’re like me and don’t have all the fancy kitchen things) to smash the beans up to desired texture, stir & cook UNcovered for 3 more minutes
- Add any desired sea salt, cilantro, lime juice or other yummy things — although I usually don’t add anything since the beans I use usually already have sea salt in them and I’m adding it directly to the taco meat anyway
Pro tip: Pinto beans have a creamier texture than black beans, but both turn out fine!
Donuts, bagels, toast, pancakes, waffles, croissants, cereal, breakfast bars. These are the things we hear about when it comes to breakfast.
But here’s the problem.
Carbs for breakfast lead to a blood sugar crash followed by cravings throughout the day - setting yourself up for one bad choice after another.
Carbs for breakfast are typically the easiest choices, but not the best way to start our day.
And I get it. The carbs are comfort food.
But we need to get in the habit of loving foods that love us back - and not in the toxic cycle of eating bad foods for comfort or convenience and then wondering why we feel less than our best.
Planning ahead is so key. And I know this can be tough, especially on a busy schedule.
My favorite solution for a high PROTEIN breakfast is an egg bake. And it’s actually good enough to have for dinner if you really wanted to!
We’re currently still in farmers market season which is great for a lot of different reasons.
Local, organic & in-season foods are the most nutritious for us. And the farmers market is the perfect place to find these!
You also know you’re getting the freshest produce possible, and you’re supporting a small business rather than giving your money to the large corporations.
The most time consuming part of making an egg bake is simply the vegetable prep. The washing and chopping.
If you absolutely need to (depending on the day, the week, or just your season of life) you can purchase pre-washed, pre-chopped veggies from the store.
Here are some of my favorites to use.
- Spinach
- Sweet peppers
- Broccoli
- Tomatoes
- Mushrooms
Going to the farmers market also gives you a chance to try something you’ve maybe never heard of before!
I typically choose about 3 different kinds of vegetables, and then I choose a meat. Either bacon or mild Italian sausage.
I pre-cook the meat in a skillet on the cooktop, then I add in my veggies and sauté. Once that’s done, I whisk up a dozen eggs and combine it all in a 9x12 glass pan & bake at 400F for 35 minutes.
It’s so yummy! And so easy to grab and go!! It can be eaten hot or cold, and it’s soooo much better for you than your “typical” breakfast choices.
Plus it’s a super easy way to get vegetables in at the most difficult time of day to get your veggies in and like it.
I used to be the person to use a disinfecting wipe for everything. If it didn’t smell like chemicals, it wasn’t clean. My bathroom, my cell phone, the kitchen. When I moved into my college dorm, I wiped everything from floor to ceiling down with disinfecting wipes.
According to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, disinfecting wipes are considered pesticides.
Do you know what pesticides do?
Their job is to break down the nervous system of pests/insects.
If that’s what it does to a bug, just imagine what it’s doing to you. Your skin is your largest organ. Anything that touches your skin goes into your bloodstream and is then carried to every organ in your body, including those in your digestive tract which make up your “gut.”
Disinfecting wipes and other cleaners come with safety warnings to not let your skin come in direct contact, but I think it’s safe to say most people don’t follow this guideline. I surely didn’t.
If a chemical shouldn’t touch your skin, I personally wouldn’t want to inhale it either. Nowadays, disinfecting chemicals give me a headache. I can’t stand them.
So what’s the alternative?
A lot of people use vinegar to clean. You just mix a solution of 1/2 water, 1/2 white vinegar in a spray bottle. You can add essential oils, too.
While this isn’t my preferred cleaning solution (I don’t want my house smelling like salad dressing), I definitely add vinegar to my washer and dishwasher for an extra cleaning boost.
THIS is what I use on everything in my house from floor to ceiling. I mix a capful into a spray bottle of water and go to town. It smells like Christmas, and there’s never a doubt in my mind that it’s doing the job.
It’s made with natural ingredients, so I don’t worry about it touching my skin or even my baby’s.
When I mop the floor, I don’t worry about the dogs walking on it either. It’s truly liberating.
I spray the floor and use this mop to wipe it up. I find it helpful to have multiple head refills so you have plenty of clean mop heads to get the job done.
During the past few years, some people even stated washing their produce in bleach. This causes more harm than good because it will seep into your produce and end up right in your body.
THIS is what I use to clean my produce, and it does an awesome job.
If you liked this article, please share it! And if you have any questions or comments, leave them below - I’d love to hear from you.
Whether you’re trying to ditch toxins in your household products or you’re battling eczema and need to find a clean option for hand soap, it can be very difficult to find a budget friendly and truly clean option.
When I first started trying new products that wouldn’t irritate my eczema, I was using Method hand soap. Come to find out, every single one of their options has fragrance in it. That’s your #1 red flag to put it back on the shelf.
Next I was using Seventh Generation Free & Clear. I was able to find it on store shelves, and it seemed to meet my standards. The issue was:
(1) Seventh Generation has been known to “greenwash” which means they make their products appear more clean than they actually are. I do still use Seventh Generation at times but try to find better options where available.
(2) The Free & Clear hand soap doesn’t come in a refill. This isn’t great for sustainability as far as plastic goes, but it also costs more to be buying the smaller size all the time.
I started buying Thieves Foaming Hand Soap which is still my absolute favorite, but we were going through it way too quickly for that to fit into our budget.
“There has to be a way for me to make my own hand soap,” I thought. So I did some research and this is what we’ve been using for going on a year with absolutely no problems:
2 Ingredient DIY Hand Soap
(This is the dispenser I use)
- 2 parts unscented Castile soap (Yes, UNSCENTED matters. This is the cleanest option.) Using the dispenser above I fill to 2 ounces.
- 10 parts water (Using the dispenser above I fill the rest to 12 ounces)
Shake it all up and that’s it! You can also add essential oils for fun, but I’ve found I prefer to leave the oils out and save those for my diffuser.
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
