Glow Mama - New Mother Drink - Healthy Alternative While You Are Expecting and Nursing

The attraction to junk food comes on fast and furious, from the first tiny tastes of sugar-sweetened yogurt to the first bite of a greasy french fry at a road-trip dinner spot. For most of us, banning all sugar and salty snacks is not a reasonable solution, so we need to find a way to teach our kids about healthy eating habits. Enter the concepts of Power food and Lazy food. I have to credit our friend Sandy for teaching us this powerful idea that she used with her first child who was a very picky eater. In a nutshell, here’s what it’s all about:

Power Food helps your body grow big and strong. It gives you the strength to run around, ride bikes and play games with your friends.

Lazy Food does nothing to help your body. It tastes really great but if that’s all you eat, your body will get lazy and you won’t have the energy to do all the fun things you want to do.

For some reason this really hit home with my son Drew and to this day we use those terms regularly. Now, I can’t claim that it reduced his interest in Lazy food (he has a major sweet tooth) but he does understand why he needs to eat his veggies and why he can’t have treats all the time. It’s not rocket science - just a simple way to explain to kids why their bodies need good food.

I’ve been wanting to start making some of my own household cleaning products for some time now. It looks so easy, it’s better for the environment, saves money, a no brainer, huh?

Thing is, a person like me is always thinking way too big - as in ‘I need to buy every possible ingredient, read every source of information and experiment like crazy before I write a post about this topic.’ Aaaah, but I caught myself - and this time I’m taking baby steps.

No, I don’t have the borax or the soap flakes or the washing soda yet. But I do have ingredients that I already have in my house: baking soda, vinegar and some essential oils.

I whipped up a simple sink scrub that made my stainless steel kitchen sink shine and left the whole kitchen smelling fresh. Oh, and the ‘volcano’ action you get when you mix the baking soda and vinegar is a fun little science experiment for the kiddos - so get them in on the action!

1/4 cup baking soda

1/4 cup white vinegar

3-5 drops of essential oil (those with antibacterial properties include lavender, lemon, lime, orange, sandalwood, cypress, chamomile, rosemary, thyme, lemongrass and others)

I used an essential oil blend from Aura Cacia. I love their Essential Solutions blends because I don’t have to buy a bunch of individual oils. They create the blends for various effects: Creative Juice is energizing, Pep Talk is refreshing, Chill Pill is soothing and Mellow Mix (the one that I use) is calming with lavender, lemon, sandalwood, roman chamomile, petitgrain and neroli oils. It smells SO good!

I also made a garbage pail freshener using the same essential oil blend. Just fill a spray bottle with water, add 8-12 drops of essential oil and viola - you’re armed and ready to overcome the stench of a stinky pail - without filling the air with toxic chemicals.

Watch out, I just might try some more! I’ll keep you posted as I work my way through the book The Naturally Clean Home by Karyn Siegel-Maier. It’s got some great tips and over 100 recipes for anyone inclined to DIY.

Lets start at the simple end of the creativity scale - around the house.  Here is a picture of my little guy with his new bath accessory.  I’m sure he’s not going to be I’ve been thinking a lot about getting Glow greener, and short of
offering everyone a chance to buy carbon offsets with their purchase
(I’ll look into it), I’d like to spark some discussion on re-using our
empty Glow Mama bottles.  happy when he discovers that his mommy plastered naked photos of him all over the internet - all for a good cause buddy! 

If you’re like me and you find that your flashy, colorful, expensive toys always seem to get abandoned for the phone, keys and remote control, then why not try imaginative new Glow Mama toys… rattles, instruments, even bowling!   The My Education Junction blog has some cool suggestions for bigger kids. 

Back in adult for a minute, there are the desk accessories, garden and garage storage suggestions and even plenty of ideas for the fridge/freezer.  Why not fill empty bottles with the salad dressings or sauces you make from scratch or buy in bulk?  Just be sure to rinse it well first, unless of course you are looking for a bit of kiwi flavoring.  Freeze some water in an empty bottle (don’t fill it to the top) and use it in your cooler or lunch bag instead of a chill-pak.  Ok, that one might not be that appropriate for another couple of months. 

Rachel from MN wrote to me with a great suggestion… "After I’ve finished drinking it, my husband rubs my Glow Mama bottle up and down my aching back and legs.  There’s something about me being 8 ½ months pregnant that has turned my husband into a sweet heart." 

Then there are the extreme measures for reusing your PET drink bottles.  Check out these two boats made from old water bottles.  Anyone up for a Glow Mama canoe?