Healthy Households

Healthshare website

Joanne — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 07:41:03 +0000

We were sent a press release about a great new website called HEALTHSHARE. Partnering with a large number of credible organisations (including Beyond Blue, Brain Injury Australia, Heart Foundation, Diabetes Australia, Lifeline, Leukaemia Foundation, Pallative Care Australia and many many others), this website is a source of information and a way of communicating with others who share similar issues.

There’s also tips on healthy living (just what we love!) and a wealth of other free information available. They have received plenty of Press, including Kerri-Anne’s show on Channel 9 and also ABC Radio.

Cleaning mould with Clove Oil

Joanne — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 00:16:00 +0000

There are many chemical free cleaning solutions around for all manner of jobs. Good quality microfibre cleaning cloths & gloves do wonders in the bathroom, kitchen and beyond, but mould is a tricky one.

If you don’t want to clean mould with toxic chemicals, there is a chemical free solution – clove oil. After hearing this tip from an Enjo consultant, we did some research to find out more about it.

Clove Oil is an essential oil which comes in different varieties.

Clove Bud Oil
Clove Leaf Oil
Clove Stem Oil

For the purpose of mould cleaning, the Clove Leaf Oil is stronger. Firstly, clean off the surfaces with a mixture of hot water, bicarb soda and vinegar. 2 litres of hot water, 1/2 tablespoon of bicarb and 1/4 cup of vinegar is a good place to start.

Once you have a clean surface, place a few drops of Clove Oil in to a spray bottle filled with water. Spray on to affected area, leave for 20-30 minutes and wipe clean. Immediately spray again and leave the clove oil spray on this time. Within 1-2 days, any remaining mould spores should dry and simply drop off.

The cleaning books by Shannon Lush, including Spotless and also Stainless are a great reference for some natural cleaning tips. Both books are available from the ABC Shop for $19.95 each.

Step away from the technology driven foods

Joanne — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 23:49:55 +0000

I just watched an interview with Cyndi O’Meara, author of Changing Habits Changing Lives. Her message is simple, eat good quality natural ingredients. You can still eat chocolate cake, just make it yourself with quality ingredients. Butter instead of Margarine. Rapadura Sugar instead of Cane Sugar. Watch the interview for more details and check out her website at http://www.changinghabits.com.au/

Coles glass cookware recall

Joanne — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 10:14:04 +0000

Anyone who has purchased Decor thermo glass cookware from Coles between 19th July and 2nd August 2011 is urged to take it back. An official recall was announced and then re-announced when the issue was discovered to be wider spread than the original 13 suspected cases.

We commend Decor for their quick action and public service to also advertise this issue on the front page of their website. For glass cookware that comes with leakproof lids for storage in the fridge or freezer, we use and recommend the Lock & Lock Boroseal range, available in a larger range of sizes than the Decor, from 130ml round containers through to 4 litre rectangular containers.

Plastic Shopping Bag, the mockumentary

Joanne — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 23:46:18 +0000

I love it when celebritities lend themselves to causes that aren’t necessarily glamorous. We stumbled upon a fantastically written and well produced mockumentary with the voice of Jeremy Iron - you may know him as the scary guy from Die Hard 3 who steals all the gold, or more recently, the robed gentleman in The Borgias.

This 4 minute short chronicles the migration of the humble plastic shopping bag through a city, struggling to make it’s way out to the ocean, it’s final resting place, the great pacific garbage patch. Made for Heal the Bay, it’s a clever reminder for all of us to remember to take reusable shopping bags to the supermarket with us, whether it’s a funky Envirosax or a drab cheap eco bag you buy from the supermarket or get given when you go shopping.

What’s in season for Spring

Joanne — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 03:29:04 +0000

When choosing fresh fruit & vegetables, they’re always cheaper and nicer when you pick something that’s in season. Now that spring has sprung, it’s the perfect time for avocados, mangos, melons, papaya, strawberries, asian greens, asparagus, sweet potato and ann things salad!

We found a beutiful Nutty Roast Sweet Potato Salad at taste.com.au that’s perfect for spring.

Enjoy!

The Dirty Dozen

Joanne — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 06:34:55 +0000

We stumbled upon an article on CNN about 12 products to avoid. They’re ‘green’ solutions, but plenty of them have a healthy crossover. Read the full article here.

Styrofoam
Plastic food containers with BPA
Tropical hardwoords
Aluminium in cosmetics
Incandescent bulbs
Petroleum-based fabric sheets and laundry detergent
Overpackaged goods
Paper towels and napkins
Plastic utensils
Disposable batteries
Commercial insecticides
Household cleaners

Nano-free sunscreen claims

Joanne — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:54:04 +0000

The makers of Invisible Zinc are apparently in hot water after the TGA asked them to remove references to ‘nano free’ from their website (http://www.invisiblezinc.com/).

Why you ask? Is Invisible Zinc all of a sudden filled with nano particles? Hell no.

Apparently saying the sunscreen is nano free implies that other natural sunscreen brands have nano particles in them and the TGA says there’s no proof of this. Pardon my French, but what a load of utter crap.

There’s enough speculation that nano-particles can potentially cause an issue with people’s health that they should be allowed to mention nano-free in their advertising. It wasn’t too long ago that everyone thought bpa free wasn’t necessary either. Now it’s banned in Canada and baby bottle manufacturers have voluntarily stopped using it in Australia.

It makes me wonder how long Natural Instinct will get away with using the same terminology, another fantastic sunscreen on the market. Perhaps the TGA will pull their head in. One can dream.

Healthy Breakfast at McDonalds – about time!

Joanne — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 22:45:13 +0000

We all know McDonalds. Many of us have a love / hate relationship with it. For the most part, their menu isn’t very good for you, but they do have a lot of healthier choice options these days and they are very open about what’s in it and listing the nutritional content of their meals. For this, they are to be applauded (along with the masses of money they pump back in to communities).

In this month’s Better Homes & Gardens magazine we have come across an ad for McDonalds porridge with apple & sultanas. Bravo McDonalds. There’s finally a wheat free, low fat option on your menu. I’m not sure why it’s not on their website yet, but keep your eyes peeled people, you might be able to eat Maccas for breakfast after all!

As far as the drinks menu goes, I do commend them for putting the 4 healthy options first. There’s a no sugar Goulburn Valley Fruit Fizz, a Mango Fruit Blend, Orange Juice and Mount Franklin water. Now they just need to allow people to fill up their own water bottle with a filtered water station instead of selling Mount Franklin and trashing the planet with empty bottles for no reason and I could possibly walk through the door and feel good about myself when I walked out.

Big step in the right direction.

How to get odours out of carpet, naturally

Joanne — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 01:17:45 +0000

We have recently taken posession of a new warehouse that we’re moving Shop Naturally in to at the end of the month. When we walked up on to the upstairs office, we noticed a musty smell in the air. Always concerned about the possibilities of Sick Building Syndrome in our office, we have decided to take steps to eliminate the odour naturally. While the carpets had recently been professionally cleaned, but not with natural cleaning products unfortunately, our first step was to try to elimiate any toxins that may have been left behind by the carpet cleaners.

First stop, the supermarket, where we purchased about 8 kilos of Bicarbonate Soda, the miracle natural cleaning product. With a large food sifter, we completely soaked the carpet with the bi-carb and let it sit for several days before vacuuming it back up, significantly reducing the odour that was detected when first entering the office.

Step two was to keep the room as ventilated as possible, although with very little windows in the room, quite a difficult task. The addition of a good quality air ioniser was the third step in naturally protecting the staff in the office from any potential issues.