FLUORIDE FREE TOOTHPASTE 

AND CRUELTY FREE!

I've been taking a look into cruelty free toothpastes and came across Tom's Toothpaste. See the pink bunny logo? It represents no animal testing at all including the product itself and the ingredients used to make the product. Costs just over $4 and you can purchase at most grocery stores. It's really not any more expensive than other paste brands but even if it is, it's worth that little extra expense to know I'm not contributing to animal cruelty. A bonus is that my husband himself is very happy it's fluoride free and loves how it leaves him mouth feeling cleaner for a longer period of time:) 

50% MORE CALCIUM THAN DAIRY MILK

Just the other day I was talking to my friend about how I've been drinking Soy and Almond Milk for years. Of course her initial reaction, "I would love to do the same but I have 4 kids to raise that need high amounts of calcium to help in forming strong bones." Wait a minute, let's get a little further educated here for just a moment. Did you know that products such as some brands of soy milk contain more calcium than that of regular dairy milk? For example in the above picture many of, "Silk" milk products contain 50% more calcium than that of dairy milk! (Please keep in mind that soy milk contains the protein and calcium our bodies need. Almond, rice and hemp milk is not as valuable to our bodies needs as is Soy based milk.) My recommendation to date is "Silk Milk". 

If that isn't reason enough to take interest in non dairy milk products, let me tell you something many people are becoming familiar with. Cows milk contains, blood, puss, mucus, herbicides, pesticides, fat, formaldehyde and need I say more? Are you aware that when a baby calf is born it is IMMEDIATELY taken from it's mother to be raised as veal? Where does babies milk go? To the human consumers of course! Who in their right mind would steal a baby away from it's mother and not allow her to feed her own offspring? 

 I have an 8 year old step son that enjoys Almond milk in his cereal. My husband and I drink it and highly recommend it. The Silk product line has also come out with their own holiday beverages such as, "Pumpkin Spice", "Mint Chocolate" and "Nog". Go for it and try them out! 

I love creating my own organic cleaners and it's super easy to do! Best of all, no animals were tested on in the making of this product:)

What you need: 

Glass jar

White vinegar

Citrus peels (amount needed to fill your size jar). I used orange and grapefruit peels but you can use any citrus you like such as lemon and lime!

Place peels in jar and fill with vinegar. Let sit for approx. 7-10 days so that the scent of the peels penetrates into the vinegar. When ready, strain and dilute 1:1 with water. Now it's ready to use! In truth you don't have to wait that long to make your own home made cleaner. You can use straight up vinegar as an all purpose cleaner. I've done it plenty of times before. The vinegar scent will not last more than 15 min in my experience. Vinegar is great because it eradicates germs and bacteria. Happy Spring cleaning! 

METHOD PLANT BASED DISH SOAP

Time to get rid of those nasty chemical house hold cleaners! 

For all those interested in getting rid of their home cleaning products that contain harsh chemicals, "method" brand uses plant based ingredients. The power foam dish soap smells refreshing and wonderful (I have grapefruit). Works great in the kitchen and on other items that need a little soap cleaning! Pet friendly:) Of course I'm giving it 2 thumbs up for being a leaping bunny approved product (not tested on animals). I purchased this a Meijer grocery on sale $2.99. Looking forward to trying out methods other products! I'm very excited to let go of all the nasty chemical based cleaning products in my home. Better for my family, for me, my pets, and the environment. 

 L'OREAL (animal testing company)  Vs.  e.l.f  (cruelty free company )  

Mascara and Eye Liner 

My # 1 favorite makeup product to use is Mascara! I have tried so many types of mascaras but always came back to this one volumizing mascara by L'oreal time and time again. So when recently I decided that my L'oreal mascara had to go because the company tests on animals, I thought I'd have the most difficult time trying to figure what mascara I could find as good as the one I loved. I can't believe it... "e.l.f Volume Plumping Mascara" is cheaper and equally as good! I've been using it for a few weeks now and I'm completely happy with it. It gives me the big doll lashes that I love! If you like big, long lashes, give this mascara a try.

Not only that, the e.l.f eye liner is excellent and $5 cheaper than eye liners I was previously purchasing.  This liquid liner costs only $1. The tip of the brush gives me the winged out cat eye look that I love and it does the job superior to other liners in my experience. 

When I first discovered e.l.f's makeup line, the prices struck me as so low that I thought I'd be purchasing makeup that I wouldn't end up liking. Wrong! I highly recommend anyone to check out e.l.f. eye makeup products. Why pay more for something that will do as equally as good a job when you can purchase it at a lower cost? 

A VEGAN SAVES CLOSE TO 200 ANIMAL LIVES EACH YEAR!!!

   Tonights Veggie dinner! Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Spinach Salad. And my not so long ago meat eating husband is still going strong! He's on week 4 of being a vegetarian!

HERE'S TO BEING VEGETARIAN!

 I love making veggie drinks and smoothies! Here's  one that's great for cleaning your kidney's. 
It's really easy. First take a bunch of parsley or Cilantro ( Coriander Leaves ) and wash clean. I used Cilantro because my husband hates the taste of parsley. 

Boil clean water in a pot. (The less water you boil the thicker the consistency of the drink.  I used less than 1L of water.) Cut parsley into small pieces. Add to boiling water for 10 minutes. I also decided to add wheat grass for extra goodness but that's optional:) You may wish to let it cool at this point but I put the batch directly into a blender and emulsified until smooth. Let cool in fridge. 

Drink one glass daily and you will notice all salt and other accumulated poison coming out of your kidney by urination. 

My husband and I are drinking a couple small glasses each day until it's gone. I find the taste hard to swallow. He on the other hand is enjoying it. Either way, it's good for you! Here's to being vegetarian!

My cruelty free/ vegan find for the day! I went to Meijer to take a look at animal friendly vegan soaps. They had a few to choose from in the grocery store and this is what I went with. African Black Soap (Shea Moisture). Shea is wonderful for the skin! And this kind of soap is friendly on facial skin. Africa Black soap has been used for centuries to treat eczema, acne, oily skin, psoriasis and other skin ailments. And take a look…it even has the PETA approved bunny logo! Retail price $4.99

Cost more than I would usually pay for a bar of soap however it's a good size bar. 

CRUELTY FREE SHAMPOO BRANDS!!! Yes, I have been one of the deceived souls that purchased Tresemme shampoo and conditioner for a long time now because the bottle says the product is cruelty free. What I didn't understand was that the Tresemee finished product is cruelty free but all the ingredients to make that one product are not! So here is a list of TRUE CRUELTY FREE brands that I'm excited to try out and share with you! I will post my reviews in the future regarding some these products. 

Nature's Gate (top left) - Walgreens & Walmart

Avalon Organics-  Walgreens & Target

Giovanii - Target & Walmart

DermOrganics - Ulta

Desert Essence - Walgreens

Alba Botanica - Walgreens & Target

Paul Mitchell - Most hair salons, CVS Pharmacy & Walgreens

Jason - Target & Walgreens

BWC - Walgreens

There is also David Babii (not pictured)- Sally Beauty Supply