Have you ever hear the term “Crunchy Mom”? According to Google, a crunchy mom is “a mother who chooses to raise her children in a natural way, avoiding modern technology and medicine, and favoring organic foods and herbal remedies”. Over the past several years, I would say that I have started to adopt some of the “crunchy mom” tendencies. Moms always get the bad rep for wanting the best for their kids and going above and beyond. Well… let me introduce you to my crunchy husband, who takes the cake!
A few years ago, Chris and I watched a documentary on Netflix called What the Health. (So good – I highly recommend it, if you haven’t seen it yet!) It basically does a deep dive on the things in our food and what they are doing to our bodies and overall health. It was really interesting and sparked something in Chris and I to start making changes. Believe it or not, we actually went fully vegan after watching this documentary! (Random – but another good documentary you need to check out is Seaspiracy.)
I’m not proud to say this, but we used to be the types of people that would poke fun at the “extremist”, vegans and conspiracist. I never would have thought that we would be the couple that would jump on this bandwagon. But I’m so glad we did! We learned so much and, although we didn’t stick with veganism, it was a really good experience.
Since then, we have made some major changes in our lifestyle. We do our best to eat organic, we don’t allow the kids to watch TV or have screen time during the week and we cut out as many chemicals in our daily products as possible. This includes dye free soaps, non-processed foods, plant based cleaning supplies, bamboo toilet paper/papertowel and even natural shampoo.
A lot of our friends and family have been surprised to hear that we’ve made these changes. You should see some of the looks we get when we tell other parents that our kids don’t have screen time during the week, or that we would prefer them to not have any dyes – especially red! (We can honestly tell a different in them, since they’ve gone so long without this now. It’s crazy!)
As much as I would like to take all of the credit for these lifestyle changes, Chris has played a big part in this. He does a lot of research on these products, chemicals and alternative things that can be used. I just implement them. I never would have imagined that he would be this into health and natural lifestyles when we first got married.
Now, don’t get me wrong… we are NOT perfect! This has been a big learning curve and we’ve had to try lot a lot of things before we could determine what would and wouldn’t work for our family. (Like eating vegan, for example.) And we still use some products and eat some things that would not be considered natural/organic/healthy. With that being said, I wanted to share some of the products and tips that we have found along the way.
Cereal – Where do I even begin with this… Cereal is so bad for you! The majority of them have so much sugar, dyes and chemicals. Even the kinds that are marketed as “healthy” are terrible! But the kids are big cereal eaters, so we had to find an alternative. We really like the Magic Spoon brand. It’s harder to find in our new neighborhood, but they do have a couple flavors at the major grocery store in town. Jenna particularly likes the Fruity one, while Morgan prefers the chocolate flavor.
Coffee – Did you know that 99.1% of coffee beans are covered in mold? When tested, the majority of coffee sold in the US has been positive for mold, mycotoxins and chemicals. We found Lifeboost Coffee and haven’t turned back. They make 100% organic coffee and test every single batch for all of these pollutants. Not to mention, they have some really unique and amazing flavors. Highly recommend giving them a try!
Children’s Cough/Cold Medicine – (Another surprise here…) Chris and I have done a lot of research on medicine and the negative impacts that it can have on your body, so we’ve really been trying to stay away from medicine unless it’s really necessary. We found this brand – Hyland’s Naturals – that we really like for nights that the kids need some extra relief to get sleep. It’s made out of natural and gentle ingredients and actually helps.
Toilet Paper/Paper Towel – Did you know that most toilet papers contain carcinogenic chemicals that cause skin infections and increase the risk of cancer? Chlorine, Furans & Dioxins, Formaldehyde, Petroleum, Fragrances and BPA are just a few of the chemicals. These are especially harmful to women’s health. I did a lot of research on this one and tried out several brands before I found Rustic Strength. Don’t let the photos fool you, this toilet paper is actually really soft and strong. Highly recommend! (I also love their natural shampoo/conditioner and organic hand soaps!)
Fragrances/Candles – This one was tough for me because I have always been a big fan of candles and home air fresheners. However, after learning that scented candles release volatile organic compounds (VOC), I knew I had to find something different. VOCs can cause headaches, irratate your eyes, nose and throat, increase risk of cancer and can even damage your liver, kidneys and central nervous system. There are a lot of good companies that are making non-toxic candles now, but I particularly like Green Koala wax melts. The scents are not super strong/overwhelming and 100% organic.
Water Bottles – Get rid of those plastic water bottles! Yes, that means the Stanley’s too! Stanley cups contain BPA and lead which cause sooooo many problems including brain damage! We are big fans of Yeti cups. They are BPA free and made from 18/18 stainless steel. Plus they keep your beverages hot/cold way longer than any other cups we’ve tried. Chris has an actual addiction to Yetis… I can’t even count how many he has!
If you are interested in making changes like we have and are looking for advice, I would say to start with small changes. It can be a little overwhelming to read that basically everything is going to give you cancer and kill you. And a lot of the “better” alternatives are more expensive than the cheaper versions. So start small and do what you feel is right for your family!
So…. are you surprised to learn that our family has made these changes? Do you have any tips/products that we should try out? Any questions about anything that we’ve learned? Comment below!
Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Crystal