No ‘Poo in review : week 1

No ‘Poo update.

As part of the expected “detox period,” there’s some issues, i.e., grease.

I am supposedly detoxifying from—well, what else?—toxins in shampoo. However, I’ve been using Hugo Naturals shampoo (no conditioner) for about a month, and it’s free from toxins found in most shampoos—sulfates, parabens, petroleum products, alcohols, synthetic colors and fragrances, etc.

I’m also thinking, "Just how long is this nebulous period, anyway?” (Why does the word period never connote anything good?)

my arsenal

I’m blindly groping around with this, hoping it will work out. There’s entire no ‘poo communities out there, ready to offer support for every alternative hair care question one could have, but nothing is clear cut—different things work for everybody.

In the summer I tend to forget about things like taking showers, so no ‘poo could be really useful—you only need to wash your hair once or twice a week, as it gets truly dirty (a detail I left unclear in my initial post).  The thing is, I get sweaty quite often in the summer, so it would get dirty more often. So I’m not sure how that balances out.

in review.

• June 10: On Thursday, I went swimming – no shower. The salt could not have been good for my hair, and the next morning my hair was obviously greasy.
• June 11: So Friday before lunch, I massaged my hair and scalp with baking soda, and rinsed it (hair, not the scalp) with 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar + 1 cup water + a few drops lavender essential oil. It wasn’t tangly, a problem I encountered last summer, but now I have short hair.
  A couple hours after washing, it looked greasy again. Great.
• June 12: Saturday I just hid my hair behind my trusty head-band.
• June 13: On Sunday I washed it with baking soda, but not the vinegar rinse because my hair didn’t feel like it needed the conditioning. Now it looks greasy and thick at the roots, but overall it’s not too bad—good enough for church!
• June 14: Monday was terrible… I was embarrassed for my appearance. My parents wonder why in the world I’m doing this and I wonder why in the world I’m doing this.
• June 15: Tuesday morning I went on a bike ride, got super-sweaty in the 95 degrees+ weather, and took a shower. I used the baking soda and the apple cider vinegar rinse (see below).
• June 16: I went swimming Wednesday afternoon, so my hair isn’t greasy, just stiff.

I prepared a bottle of rinse:

• 1 quart (4 cups) water + 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (clarify, detangle, balance hair pH, seal cuticles) 
• 1 cinnamon stick + 1/4 tsp. vanilla (scent)

Am I crazy? Is this worth it?

PS – I have a question for you: If you could use just two spices(besides salt and pepper) for two months, which would they be?

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eat your greens challenge (a.k.a. the smoothie salad)

For breakfast I ate a deconstructed smoothie.

Let me explain.

At the same time I wrote an awesome post about green smoothies, ma amie naturelle wrote to challenge me to eat my greens instead of drinking them like a wimp, disguising their raw-green-plant-ness with frozen bananas and soy milk.

The purpose of her challenge is to bring people together to change the world! OK, well… you can read about it here.

Personally, to prove I’m not a wimp and that I do enjoy greens enough to eat them un-blended, I accepted the challenge (after much back-talk). So, I made a salad. (Yes, for breakfast.)

But I was inspired to make it even more challenging! My twist?

Everything in the salad is something I’ve actually put into a smoothie.

I’ve drank some weird stuff, guys.

leafy greens: chopped romaine + baby spinach
fruit: a handle of quartered strawberries, 1/4 cubed avocado, chopped carrot matchsticks
toppings: sprinkle of sesame seeds, a handful of crushed walnuts, 2 tsp. ground flaxseed
dressing—

Ginger Tahini Lime Dressing

1/2-1 Tbsp. tahini (depending on how strong you want it)
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. raw honey
2 tsp. hemp protein powder (more green goodness)
ginger, to taste
sprinkle of cinnamon (for smoothie reminiscence)
sprinkle of turmeric (for fun)

Whisk everything together in a small bowl. (I have this awesome mini-whisk… OK, I’m a sucker for kitchen tools.)

served with milk – you can pretend that its one of the good smoothie liquids

Trust me. It’s actually a pretty good salad. I decided a couple days ago that I don’t like baby spinach salads, but I was just using up the rest of the bag here.

Maybe I should’ve thrown some ice on there…

This got my creative juices flowing!

Other ideas

• leafy greens: anything goes… kale, chard…

• fruit: cubed baked sweet potato, chopped apple, a handful of blueberries, fried or baked plantain slices (bananas are an all-important part of smoothies!), mandarin orange slices, dried fruit (cranberries, figs, raisins)…
• nuts and seeds: almond slices, pepitas, sunflower seeds, pistachios, poppy seeds, hazelnuts, cashews, pecans, etc.

• dressings: berry vinaigrette

You could even theme your salads! Any ideas? What do you put in smoothies? Would you put those same ingredients in a salad? Would you eat that salad for breakfast?

PS – There was a glitch for entering the Manna giveaway at first, but I fixed it! Don’t forget to enter!

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• Smoothie FAQ! Plus a Vegan Acai Smoothie Recipe. (kblog.lunchboxbunch.com)
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Green Revolution!

Championed by the likes of Angela at Oh She Glows and Brendan Brazier of Thrive renown, I introduce to you…

the green smoothie.

What is it? It’s a incredibly nutrient-dense source of energy for the day. It’s a great on-the-go, easily digestible meal (or in-between). It’s quick replenishment for your body after a workout. It’s the epitome of health food.

Basically, it’s a fruit smoothie with a not-so-sneaky add-in: leafy greens.

My smoothies usually consist of leafy greens + liquid + fruit + supplements.

Leafy Greens

I’m sure you’ve heard that dark leafy greens are important. But did you know why?

• Greens are an abundant source of many essential nutrients (vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants).
• Also, all greens are rich in chlorophyll (remember, from biology class? ). Chlorophyll cleanses and oxygenates the blood. Many people feel a “glow” when they consume more chlorophyll.
• Greens also contain large amounts of fiber, both soluble and insoluble.

These smoothies are a great way to get your greens. This is great personally, because cooked greens don’t suit my palate.

• kale: high in vitamins K, A, C, and B6 (pyridoxine), as well as manganese, copper, calcium, and potassium 
• spinach: sweet and mild, high in vitamins K, A, C, E, B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), as well as manganese, magnesium, iron, calcium, potassium, copper, phosphorus, and  zinc
• Swiss chard: high in vitamins K, A, C, E, vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), as well as magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron, copper, and calcium
• romaine: crunchy and sweet; high in vitamins A, K, C, as well as folate, manganese, and chromium
• dandelion greens: pick ‘em wild!

It’s important to rotate the types of greens, because different kinds have different benefits.

Liquid

• water
• coconut water
• soymilk
• almond milk (or other nut milk)
• green tea
• yerba maté tea: healthy, balanced stimulant 

Fruit

• frozen bananas (peel and cut in chunks)
• dates: “nature’s fuel” (and candy) – high in glucose for quick energy 
• oranges
• apples
• blueberries
• cherries
• strawberries
• frozen mixed berries

Supplements

• ground flaxseed: omega-3, omega-6, lignans, fiber
• chia seeds
• protein powder (my choice is hemp, a whole food with all essential amino acids)

Sometimes I like to add cocoa powder for a chocolate taste!

Ease into it.

Here’s a good recipe to get you started.

First Timer Green Smoothie

1 tbsp. ground flaxseeds (optional)
1 cup baby organic spinach
1/2 large banana
3/4 cup soy milk

Blend! If you have an older blender, it might be good to put the ingredients into the blender jar in the order they are listed, so things blend a little cleaner.

How did I get started?

I mentioned a prominent blogger, Angela of Oh She Glows and the Green Monster Movement—she started experimenting early 2009 in an attempt to regain a healthy, “glowing” balance in her life. I found her blog in the summer of 2009, and my “experiments” started then.

Read more

I have not read it myself, but this book (Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Towards Natural Health by Victoria Boutenko) is all about green smoothies; it includes both background information and research, as well as 200 recipes.

Can you believe she stole my title? (Kidding! It’s a coincidence.)

Any questions? Tips?

Email me at alisha.newton (at) gmail (dot) com.

My hope is that you take the plunge with green smoothies; do something great for your health!

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Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am not a registered dietitian. My information relies on research and my own experience. You should always consult a doctor before making any changes to your diet and exercise routine.

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No Shampoo?!

What does your haircare routine look like?

How often do you shampoo (and condition) your hair?

Since I got my hair cut super-short, I’ve just been shampooing with Hugo Naturals Lemon Verbena shampoo for oily hair. Besides brushing it out and parting it in the morning, that’s all.

But what if I could…

• stop buying shampoo.
• wash my hair less.
• achieve ultimate haircare freedom!

The first step to freedom was short hair, and the next step might possibly be ending my reliance on the commercial haircare industry! This fits with my new “buy less” ideals.

The deal with No ‘Poo.

what? how? why?

Don’t worry. It’s not some juvenile joke.

It’s giving up shampoo in favor of natural items like baking soda and apple cider vinegar.  Is it so crazy to think that we don’t need to clean our hair with a “delightlfully fragranced” blend of chemicals*, soap, and water packaged in colorful plastic?

*I apologize to all my science teachers, but I am wary of chemicals. Think: harsh and quite possibly harmful.

As proven in studies, whatever is applied to the skin is absorbed into the body: into your bloodstream and into your organs. Do you want these in your body?

Ingredients in Herbal Essences “no flakin’ way” (anti-dandruff) shampoo:

pyrithione zinc (active ingredient), water, ammonium laureth sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate, sodium chloride, glycol distearate, dimethicone, ammonium xylenesulfonate, citric acid, cucumis sativus (cucumber) fruit extract, cymbopogon schoenanthus oil, fragrance, cetyl alcohol, cocamide mea, polyquaternium-10, trimethylolpropane tricaprylate/tricaprate, hydrogenated polydecene, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate, peg-7m, benzyl alcohol, propylene glycol, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone

Read about the purpose of these ingredients. Dangerous chemicals on this list are ammonium laureth sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate, sodium chloride, propylene glycol, methylisothiazolinone. These aren’t even all the bad guys found in commercial shampoos!

Shampoo strips the natural oils from your scalp, unbalancing your natural oil production and requiring the use of conditioner. (Maybe the haircare companies have an agenda?)

Therefore, when you start ‘no poo, there is a greasy transition period of several weeks before your scalp’s oil production balances out. That’s why I want to try it in the summertime!

Need another reason? It’s cheaper. Money talks, doesn’t it?

You use simple products that you probably have in your kitchen—apple cider vinegar, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), honey. If you want to get fancy, you can add essential oils like tea tree, rosemary, or lavender or make it smell nice with vanilla and cinnamon. Please read this great resource for how to go about ditching your shampoo!

Read More

(research, how-to, success stories, etc.)

• The No Shampoo Alternative (Nature Moms)
• Information on Going Shampoo Free
• Give It A Try – No Poo (The Greenists)
• Why You Should Go No ‘Poo (Natural Family Online)
• A Non-Toxic, Frugal Way To Wash Your Hair Without Buying Shampoo and No ‘Poo: New and Improved! (Green Generation)
• Going shampoo free (Dappled Air)

My experience.

I’ve actually tried this before; last summer (with long hair) I went without shampoo and conditioner for a while. It didn’t work very well for me then. I was so secretive about it! I can’t imagine why.

I’m going to try again this summer, now that I have shorter hair. It might be an easier option for washing my hair while on my missions trip; it may not. We’ll see.

Keep me accountable.

How do I go about this without getting caught up in the “identity/status” aspect of it? Of course, I know it’s not considered that cool to go against the grain and not shampoo your hair, but it’s something I would do to define myself.

In the name of sanity, feel free to remind me that I already have a perfect identity—the Alisha that God created and has high hopes for. I can add or take away nothing! (I might be referencing TrueFaced by Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol, and John Lynch at this point!)

Also, I am not being obsessed with “impurity” from chemicals or physical healthiness. This is just a fun experiment to save money and live simpler!

PS: A giveaway!

I have my first giveaway for Unusual Passions in the works! Hint: I’ve mentioned this company’s products before, but never prominently.