Eco at Heart Stainless Steel Straws [Review]

As I continue toward my goal is reducing the amount of plastic that our family uses, I am pleased to see that companies are also striving toward this goal. With more options for glass and stainless steel containers and accessories, we are slowly replacing plastic items in our house. Eco at Heart stainless steel straws are an affordable and reusable alternative to plastic straws.

Stainless Steel Straws       ($14.97)
Rating: total green check marks out of 5.

The Good	The Not So Good
18/8 grade stainless steel
3/8" extra wide size (good for smoothies)
Includes a cleaning brush
Odorless and tasteless

Eco at Heart stainless steel straws come in a pack of 5 straws with one cleaning brush. The straws are 8.5" long, 3/8" wide, 18/8 grade stainless steel, highly polished, and perfectly strait. The length and width of these straws makes them perfect for drinking smoothies or other thick drinks. The straws can be stored in the freezer to keep cold smoothies cold. Though I recommend being careful with hot beverages as the stainless steel straw will get very hot and you could burn your fingers and lips/mouth.

The stainless steel straws can also be safely washed in the dishwasher without worrying about chemicals leaching out. Although most plastic today are "dishwasher safe," it does not necessary mean that you should wash them in the dishwasher. Hot water and heat will promote leaching of chemicals out of plastic. Stainless steel is a great reusable and non-toxic alternative to plastic straws.

I have enjoyed using these straws for smoothies and milkshakes. I like that I can wash them in the dishwasher. I am very careful and only wash glass and stainless steel in the dishwasher. My 18 month old toddler drinks from a sippy cup that has a straw inside, but I would wait to introduce him to these straws because there are wider around. I am afraid that he would take it too much water in one suck. Once he is older, I plan on introducing him to these stainless steel straws.

If you are looking for an alternative to throwing away plastic straws or washing flimsy plastic straws, looks to stainless steel. Eco at Heart stainless steel straws are perfect for kids because they will not break if dropped.

Disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. All opinions are my own.

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TheraVita Organic Coconut Oil [Review]

When I realized how much I use and love coconut oil, I started stocking up on it. From cooking, to baking, to body moisturizer, coconut oil is a necessary staple in my house. Just doing a quick search on the benefits of coconut oil brings back a large number of results. My most recent favorite use of coconut oil is for baking. While most oils are too heavy for most baked goods, coconut oil adds a lightness and sweetness. TheraVita Paradise Organic Coconut Oil is pure, cold-pressed and extra virgin.

Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil       ($19.95, 16 oz)
Rating: total green check marks out of 5.

The Good	The Not So Good
Texture	Has a smoky taste and smell
Cold-pressed	Comes in a plastic jar (recyclable)

TheraVita Paradise Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil is 100% pure. The ingredients label states no ingredients other than the coconut oil itself. The coconut oil is cold-pressed. Coconut are hand-picked by local farmers in Fiji. The coconut oil is unrefined, non-bleached, non-deodorized with hexane or solvents and is chemical-free. The coconut oil has an off-white color to it.

The product arrived packaged in plastic wrap. Once I removed the plastic and opened the lid, I noticed that the inner seal was broken and the coconut oil was liquid. Since the seal was broken, some coconut oil got on the outside of the plastic jar. It was a slightly warm day outside, so maybe it had reached the melting point on the delivery truck. Once it cooled below 76 F degrees, it solidified, as expected for coconut oil.

Since the coconut oil is not deodorized, I expected a fresh coconut smell as I have experienced with other high quality, pure, organic coconut oil brands. TheraVita's Paradise Organic Coconut Oil has a slightly smoky smell to it. I did some research online and read that coconuts could be roasted or smoked prior to the coconut oil being extracted, even through cold-pressing. I contacted the company representative to get more information about their manufacturing process. I will update this post once I received more information.

I received a second jar of the same coconut oil to see if it also had the smoky smell. The second jar did. I am not sure if both jars are from the same batch or not.

From what I read, it sounds like the smokiness is a byproduct of the manufacturing process. Some Amazon reviewers mentioned a rancid smell. I did not find the smell to be rancid. Some Amazon reviews stated that the taste/smell of the coconut was strong. My jar did not smell like coconut at all, just smoky.

I have been using the coconut oil for cooking, baking, and facial moisturizing. When the oil is heating up in a pan, it does give off the smoky smell a bit. If I cooked an egg in the coconut oil, the egg smelled smoky. If I cooked a lot of food in a big pan, then the smokiness did not come through.

When I used the coconut oil to moisturize my face, I could smell the smoky smell for a little while and then it either went away or I became used to it. Since I am pretty sensitive to scents, the smoky smell was a bit off-putting for me. Since I do not believe that my jars of coconut oil are rancid, I will probably continue using TheraVita Organic Coconut Oil mostly for baking and some for stove top cooking where I cannot taste the smokiness in the final meal.

The texture of TheraVita Paradise Organic Coconut Oil is as expected for coconut oil, though the smoky smell and taste are unexpected. After using several other brands of high quality oil for 3 years and after using TheraVita's Coconut Oil for one month, I cannot recommend TheraVita Paradise Organic Coconut Oil due to the smoky smell and taste that permeates food.

I appreciate the initial willingness of the company representative to send me another jar of the coconut oil and obtain more information about the manufacturing method to potentially explain the smoky smell.

Disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. All opinions are my own.

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Lemon Tea Tree All-Purpose Cleaner [Review]

When I first began on the natural and eco-friendly path, Tea Tree Oil was my first purchase. Tea Tree Oil is one of those essential oils that you hear a lot about because of its many uses. Initially, I bought Tea Tree Oil to make my own cleaning products. Since then, I have been using Tea Tree Oil for other uses like laundry and homemade toothpaste. Apothecary Extracts Australian Tea Tree Oil is tested to be pure and potent.

Tea Tree Oil        ($24.99, 4oz)
Rating: total green check marks out of 5.

The Good	The Not So Good
Pure and potent
Chromatography tested
Effective

Apothecary Extracts Australian Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca alternifolia) comes in a 4 ounce bottle, which will last you over one year with regular use. The value of essential oils is that a little goes a long way. For example, to make a bottle of homemade all-purpose cleaner, you need 10 drops of Tea Tree Oil. I also started adding about 10 drops of Tea Tree Oil to really smelly (moldy) laundry and stinky (ammonia) cloth diapers. The cost of pure and potent essential oils might seem high, but the point that you only need a little at a time and that you will be using the product for a long time are two points that support the investment.

Let's talk a little bit more about the purity of Australian Tea Tree Oil. The purity of essential oils is a current debate in the world of essential oils. Apothecary Extracts tests to prove the purity and potency of their Australian Tea Tree Oil.

The Australian standards require that the oil of Melaleuca alternifolia must be composed of less than 15 cineole and over 30 terpinen-4-ol. The Gas Chromatography reports show that Apothecary Extracts Tea Tree Oil is not only compliant with these regulations, but surpasses them. Apothecary Extracts is composed of less than 5 cineole and over 35 terpinen-4-ol which qualifies for Pharmaceutical Grade as established by the Australian Tea Tree Oil Industry Association. It is 100% pure. No fillers, additives, bases or carriers added.

A lot of companies that offer cheaper essential oils will dilute them to reduce the cost. Remember that you are paying for what you get. Cheaper is not always better. You will use up diluted oils fasted and will have to repurchase on a more frequent basis.

Tea Tree Oil is a great essential oil to have in your cabinet and is a great first investment essential oil. Here is some information about Apothecary Extracts Australian Tea Tree Oil.

Package: Packaged in dark amber glass bottle with euro style dropper.
Botanical Name: Melaleuca alternifolia
Plant Part: Leaves
Extraction Method: Steam Distilled
Origin: Australia
Color: Colorless to pale yellow clear liquid.
Aromatic Scent: Tee Tree Essential Oil has a fresh, antiseptic and medicinal scent. It also has characteristic mint and spice back-notes.
Strength of Aroma: Medium
Blends well with: Cinnamon Bark, Clary Sage, Clove Bud, Geranium, Lavender, Lemon, Myrrh, Nutmeg, Rosewood, Rosemary and Thyme.

Tea Tree Oil has strong antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and antiprotozoal effects. Here are some of the most common uses for Tee Tree Oil:

• Household cleaning (disinfecting)
• Skin care (antiseptic)
• Hair care (antiseptic)
• Aromatherapy (lowers stress levels)
• Medicinal (antibacterial, inhalation, wound treatment)

One of my favorite uses of Tea Tree Oil is to make my Lemon Tea Tree All-Purpose Cleaner.

Lemon Tea Tree All-Purpose Cleaner

Ingredients
1 cup of water
1 cup of vinegar
4 tbsp lemon juice
30 drops of Australian Tea Tree Oil

Directions: Mix together in a spray bottle, shake and use. Shake before each use.

Disclaimer: Tea Tree Oil can be a skin irritant. Avoid getting Tea Tree Oil on your hands/eyes/mouth/etc. and avoid spraying the cleaner near or into face.

Tea Tree Oil is not only effective as an ingredient in cleaning and body products, but also has strong medicinal properties. I read that for centuries, Australian Aborigines have been inhaling Tea Tree Oil to treat the common cold. I will try this when I am sick next time. The purity and potency of Apothecary Extracts Australian Tea Tree Oil is evident as soon as you open the bottle and take a whiff.

Disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. Information about the product and its uses was obtain from the company website. I am not a medical professional. These statement have not been evaluated by the FDA. All opinions are my own.

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Bausc Natural Skincare [Giveaway]

Welcome to the Bausc Natural Skincare Giveaway Event, hosted by the Green Moms Network! During this giveaway, you'll have a chance to win a package of natural skin care products from Bausc valued at $112! Bausc has made the commitment to help people reduce their toxic load by offering safe and luxurious alternatives to the skincare products we use every day. They offer everything from deodorant to skin care to bath and body products. They even have products for kids! All of Bausc products are made fresh in small batches with only the highest quality natural and organic ingredients available. All of their products are completely free of artificial dyes, artificial fragrances, chemical preservatives, gluten, GMOs, harsh surfactants and detergents, penetration enhancers, petro-chemical derivatives, plasticizers, solvents and synthetic chemicals. Chrystal from Happy Mothering recently had the opportunity to review a selection of products from Bausc. Read it here. From her review, the products seem pretty amazing! I'm excited to bring you the opportunity to win a package of products from Bausc valued at $112!

The winner of this giveaway will receive:

• Eye Love eye lift cream
• Pear Naked body lotion
• October roll on essential oil Perfume
• Cucumber Mint Deodorant Powder
• Spiced Orange Toddy Bar Soap
• Summer Melon Lip Balm

Enter the Giveaway

This giveaway is open to US residents only and runs through October 7, 2014 at 11:59 pm Eastern. You can enter the giveaway via the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Dislcoure: All Natural Katie was not compensated for this post and is not responsible for prize fulfillment. Please contact Chrystal at Green Moms Media with questions about this giveaway or for help organizing one for your brand.

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Luxurious Natural Soap [Review]

After starting down the natural path, I revamped everything, food, drinks, body products, cleaning products, etc. One of my favorite all natural products to try are soaps. Even though stores like Bath and Body Works sell soaps in a hundred different scents, I have come to realize that handcrafted, natural soaps offer superior quality and leave your skin feeling clean, soft, and moisturized. I love trying new soaps in unique combinations with ingredients like oatmeal, coffee ground, lavender, or even beer! Keomi Skincare organic, natural, handmade soaps combine high quality ingredients with handcrafted in small batches using the cold-process method.

Keomi Organic and Natural Soaps        ($4.50 per bar)
Rating: total green check marks out of 5.

The Good	The Not So Good
All natural, organic ingredients
Handcrafted with cold-process method
Doesn't leave skin feeling dry

I received the Green Tea Goddess scented soap. Green Tea Goddess soap is scented with oils of Clary Sage, Orange and Clove. The scent was very pleasant and reminded me of a spicy green tea. I really enjoyed the scent in the shower. I currently have three bars of soap in the shower and I kept reaching for Green Tea Goddess. I love the scent comes from essential oils. It was a little bit stronger than my other natural soap bars, but it was not overpowering. I found the scent to be just right. What about the rest of the ingredients?

Green Tea Goddess ingredients: personified oils of olive, grape seed, coconut, palm, avocado and cocoa butter, organic green tea, nettle, shavegrass, comfrey root extracts, clary sage, orange and clove essential oils.

I love the simple ingredient list that is made from all natural ingredients and some organic ingredients. I would like to see the Keomi soap bars made with 100% organic ingredients.

I prefer my soaps to rinse cleanly. Keomi natural soap lathered very well and stayed lathered on the skin. A little soap went a long way. The suds rinsed clean. The soap bar did not feel slimy when wet and dried quickly in the hanging soap dish. My skin felt clean, soft, and moisturized afterwards.

I love the scents that Keomi Skincare offers for their natural soaps. Sometimes, I like a little bit more scent for soaps. The essential oil combination is perfect to wake me up in the morning. If you are looking for a high quality, luxurious, natural soap, look to Keomi Skincare.

Disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. All opinions are my own.

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