Michele in New Zealand
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Posts posted by Michele in New Zealand
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:D I see you get Seventh Generation products for cleaning. That is what I use for nearly everything. It's great stuff.
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I don't have any good books, websites, or magazine for you but I have some ideas.
We are a chemical free household. My daughter was diagnosed with chronic fatigue last year. We decided that was not a label we were willing to take on and fought it. She is now healthy, vibrant and energetic. She still has some low days but then we all do, don't we. I have an auto-immune disease (rheumatoid arthritis) and have found that our new, healthy life helps that a lot too.
1. Plastics. We still use plastic. We don't let it get hot. We store flours, pasta etc in glass jars. Leftovers that go in the fridge go in bowls. We do use plastic water bottles like Evian. You have got to pick your battles and we decided this wasn't going to be one of ours.
2. Pecticides or any other chemical spray. We don't use them at all period. As for buying organic. We bought everything organic for a while there, but it is too expensive for us right now. We do have an enormous vege garden, but we are in drought and haven't been able to water it, so it is rather dead.
Here is a list called the Dirty Dozen which contains the foods you should avoid due to high chemical levels and residue from sprays. And this is after washing!
Apples
Cherries
Grapes
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Raspberries
Strawberries
Bell peppers
Celery
Potatoes
Spinach and
Milk
Beef
Poultry
3. Preservatives. We just don't. I have a book called The Chemical Maze by Bill Statham. It contains list of preserservatives and additives, what they are from, what they can do to you and how dangerous they are. He also lists the harmless ones as well. I don't know if USA uses the same E numbers as Australasia, but it's worth a look.
4. Cleaners. We use completely natural cleaners too. I guess ours would be different to yours though.
5. Cosmetics. Again ours are more than likely different. Burt's Bees do contain some dodgy ingredients in some of their products. I use locally made products called Living Nature http://www.livingnature.com/ and http://www.sukinorganics.com/ and http://www.earthwiseshop.co.nz/
6. Teflon. We don't use it often. The only teflon product I have are my muffin trays and I use cupcake papers inside them which I am hoping is enough. My frying pan, pots, saucepans, slow cooker are all made from stainless or ceramic.
As far as handling these decisions ... pick your battles. We have never use sprays outside, so that was easy! I picked cosmetics, hair and oral care to go first. I threw everything out and went out that day and replaced it all. The following week, I threw out all the chemical cleaners and replaced them. Then the next week came along, our cupboards were bare and I filled them with organic breads, organic flours, organic tinned food, organic soy and rice milks, organic cows milk for dh, organic rice and quinoa....etc, etc. We ordered an organic box to be delivered every week but found that more and more it was filled with rotten produce. I was not impressed and so for now, I buy some organic at our local supermarket and the rest is conventional. I juice a lot and everything that goes in the juicer is organic.
HTH!
Michele.
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Well .... I see she says she is downsizing, but then she is getting two more horses??
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Thank you so much! :)
In NZ, we have to see a GP to get a referral to a specialist. It's unfortunate because our GP is very arrogant. I am wondering if it's best to see him first or try Proactive first??
What is a retinoid? :D :confused:
Thanks again!
Michele~
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Thank you! I am going right over to the acne websites. We do have Pro-active here, so I will give that a whirl and I will book her into our family doctor as well.
I would never of thought to put moisturiser on her face as it is so oily, but I can see how it could reduce some inflammation.
I have been so hesitant to use any chemicals as we are a chemical free home, but when she begged for something stronger, I bought nearly everything of the shelves! She has such an incredibly healthy diet so It's really hard to believe her skin is so bad.
Thanks everyone for your help! :) :)
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My 12yo daughter has bad acne. It is very painful and embarrassing for her. We have tried natural remedies and face washes from the supermarket.
Does anybody have any suggestions on how to minimise the appearance and the pain of this awful skin problem.
:confused:
Michele~
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Mmmmmmm ........ Mashed potatoes with vegan butter, salt and pepper. I would never, ever get sick of it. YUM!
Just as well it is dinner time.... :D:D
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Wado Kai Karate here. My daughter LOVES it. She does kata, kumite and competes. It is the best thing ever! I swear it has helped with her learning - she has learning disabilities (rote memory, sequencing, dyscalculia etc, etc, etc!!) which have all but disappeared since about 6 months into karate. It does help that her sensei is wonderful, very disciplined, strict, gentle and fun.
:D
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:DUmmmm yes! We don't have horses now. He is NOT horsey, I am, my daughters took up riding, we moved to a farm, bought too many horses, we fought, sold horses, and are moving back to town.
The whole horse thing created way, way too much tension among all of us. My daughter was a national level show and dressage rider and the better she got, the more it cost and the more my husband resented it. He was really helpful when it came to the physical work, clipping out legs, bale lifting, loading stroppy ponies, and legging my daughter up, but it all took it's toll.
If I could go back in time, I wouldn't do it. I LOVE horses - you know what it's like, it is like horses are in your blood, a part of you - but I love my husband more, my marriage more and my precious family more. It is that simple.
Hopefully above pic will work. That's our grey pony that we just sold. :D
I hope it all works out for you.
Big hugs,
Michele.
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There is no way on this earth I would touch Rice Dream with a barge pole! :D
There are better alternatives - almond milk, other brands of rice milk. I make our own almond milk but it is not fortified with anything. I soak almonds for 24 hours, blend them with agave syrup, cinnamon and GF vanilla. Strain and repeat.
As far as getting your calcium.... kale and brazil nuts are great for calcium
Hth, Michele.
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I am Michele (in New Zealand). I used to frequent the WTM board years ago and have started browsing and occasionally posting. I have two daughters, dd12 who is still homeschooling, and dd14 who started a private christian school for the first time ever this last Wednesday.
Dd12 is a karate princess, a national level dressage rider (but has had to give up due to a change in our circumstances), struggles with math, has dyscalculia, dyslexia but reads and reads and reads, ADD and mild Aspergers. She is incredibly artistic and very crafty.
Dd14 has just discovered peer pressure, Queenbees, disinterested teachers, nice teachers, girls who follow along with anything and, thankfully, girls who do the right thing. She is a very bright student and does well with anything she puts her heart into.
:) :) :) :)
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Hi
It sounds like she could have Dermatitis Herpetiformis which is an intolerance/allergy/celiac thing to gluten.
Is she absolutely positive that she is gluten free. Did she buy new pots and pans, new toaster, new bakeware? Are her work surfaces free of gluten? Does she share the kitchen with a person who does use gluten? If so, does she have separate spreads such as butter, honey etc? Any cross contamination occurring will be have set off a DH reaction.
Another point is that a GF diet takes longer than a few weeks to fully work. My dd was GF for a year before I felt that finally, her body had healed. I was about 6 months. Dd was also cross contaminated just before Xmas and it has taken until now to completely recover.
If it is DH there is a drug called Dapasone she can take. It is very toxic and requires very close monitoring, regular bloods etc.
My feeling is that if it is DH, she has possibly been exposed to hidden gluten and has had a DH flare.
My favourite gluten website and forum is http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/ and http://www.celiac.com
There is truckloads of information on both those websites.
The best of luck for your friend. Let me know how she gets on.
Michele.
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I am a gluten free vegan. Hopefully I can help a little.
Don't feed anything containing barley, rye, oats or wheat. Watch for hidden gluten in things like dressing, tortillas, crackers. Watch for allergy warnings such as "Processed on lines containing gluten...etc." I am assuming they do this in America. Make sure your work surfaces are free of gluten things, crumbs etc, that your pans, spoons, knives etc are completely free of gluten. Cross contamination of gluten is a major issue if the children have Celiac.
Anyway here is what my family eats sometimes!
Grilled veges
Potato wedges
stir fry with wheat fre soy sauce (tamarai)
popcorn (plain)
gluten free pasta (Tinkyada is nice apparently) with GF sauce no cheese
chocolate soy milk
quinoa with veges, sunflower and pumpkin seeds
GF vegan muffins
hummus with carrot sticks
GF bread toasted in your oven (not in your toaster that is used for wheat bread) vegan buttah, jam, peanut butter, almond butter etc.
curried vege with coconut milk and brown rice
rice pudding with coconut milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and agave or maple syrup (do not use honey, it's not vegan)
Garden of Eatin corn chips and GF refried beans with salsa
fruit salad
I hope that is helpful!:):)
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Dagoba organic hot chocolate with chili and cinnamon. Mmmm...
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Crissy,
I just want to say how sorry I am to hear what this Dr has said. Just because he said it however, doesn't make it true or untrue.
Enjoy each moment with your Grandma, if it is a few weeks, months or longer, it is all very precious.
Michele~
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I am hoping I can offer a different perspective to the milk conversation.
I am a vegan for health reasons. I don't drink milk but my youngest daughter and husband have organic, whole, homogenised, pasturised cows milk. It is illegal here to sell unpasturised milk.
If I was vegan, or even just anti cows milk for animal welfare reasons, it would be for what I see over my fence every spring. It never fails to do my head in - calves being taken from their mothers right after birth, loaded into a trailer pulled by a quad bike, taken to the calf shed with their mothers running, crying and completely stressing over their baby. If that is not enough to put me off milk, I don't know what would be.
The farmers milk the cows for their colostrum which is making big bucks here and overseas, and then of course they continue to milk for the regular cows milk.
I get that it is putting money in the farmers pockets, food on the table etc., so they can eat. My husband puts food on our table by working at the most major dairy factory in NZ. But what about those poor cows - every year they are put in calf, give birth to their baby, have their baby taken from them, are milked til they are in calf again ... and on it goes.
I don't know if it is any different on an organic farm or on an american dairy farm. I really hope it is.
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So glad you had a lovely time with your Grandmother today! :)
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I completely second The China Study. Brilliant book and very balanced. :)
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Crissy, you are not being selfish. You are being very normal!
Colon cancer runs in my husbands family with both sets of grandparents and his Mum having had it. He became a vegetarian and eats a lot of fresh fruit and veg, drinks copious amounts of water and no longer thinks about it. Diet plays a huge part in preventing and treating cancer and all sorts of illnesses. We also eat mainly organic foods (not just because of the colon cancer history!), sugar is rare in our house (although my daughter has just baked with a LOT of it!) do not use chemicals in our home, excercise etc.
Just a thought - Have you ever been tested for celiac disease? It can be asymptomatic and left untreated can develop into stomach and colon cancers. It often runs in families too. When you do go to the Dr and discuss your worries, mention this to him. Some Dr's are more into it than others, but it could be interesting to see what he says.
I am very sorry to hear about your Grandma.
Big hugs! :) Michele in New Zealand.
A call you DON'T want to get from school
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
Can he wear a medic alert bracelet?
I am gobsmacked the school didn't dial 911. Breathing, or the lack of, is kind of a big issue. I hope they know that, heaven forbid, if there is a next time, to call the paramedics.
I know what you are going through as far as not trusting the food! When my daughter was diagnosed with celiac, I went through a stage of borderline panicking everytime I read ingredient labels. She doesn't have a life threatening allergy to anything either! I decided that until I could trust myself and food manufacturers, that I would only let her eat things that were naturally gluten free and that had no allergy warnings at all. Maybe you could start off this way and gradually build up to things that come in packets.
Best of luck!
Michele. :)