My fav new snack!!

Preheat oven to 350
Sliced zuchini on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sea salt, bake for about 25-30 min....Yummy!

 *Oven temp is better at 350 not 375!!

Peace and Love,


Jamie xx

My birth story!

Miss Ella Rose Sasso decided to come a month early. I was hoping for an all natural birth but due to her early arrival things did not go as planned. 
Woke up Sunday morning around 9:00, March 26 to my water breaking. I was so not expecting that, I had no hospital bag packed and the baby's room wasn't even finished.
I decided to hold off going to the hospital as long as possible, my goal was to not have to get an IV or antibiotics and I knew getting there too early would result in things like that which I wanted to avoid. Which in the end didn't happen. We got to the hospital around 3:00. I had to get the IV with antibiotics due to my Strep B test results were not back yet so they couldn't risk it. Then they tell me that since I was only 36 weeks I could not have a waterbirth. With an IV your unable to walk the halls of the hospital during and between contractions, use the shower, birth ball, ect.. I was pretty much bed bound. Then my worst fear came.....pitocin!! An hour after they gave me the IV my contractions were pretty much non existent, I know it was from my IV bothering me so much. IV's are my biggest fear so all my concentration went to that. Next thing I knew I had to have pitocin.  It's pretty unheard of to get pitocin and not end up with an epiderall due to the severity of the contractions and frequency they come. I was determined though and in the end did it with NO EPIDERALL!!! Not gonna sugar coat it though.... it was rough!!!

I really wanted to get into details but due to the lack of sleep these days it's just not gonna happen, I'm beat, it's taken me a week just to type this ; /
I'll post pics at a later date but until then enjoy the video!!





Welcome, Ella Rose from Tricia Krefetz on Vimeo


Peace and Love,


Jamie xx

Sunday breakfast - Don't forget the greens!!

First let me start off by saying that IF you are going to eat eggs they should be pasture raised organic eggs from a local farmer. There is a big difference from the organic eggs you buy from the grocery store. 
The yolks are most nutritious part of the egg and best eaten raw but who's doing that? not me...so closest thing to raw for me would be lightly poached. *I only started eating eggs again a couple months ago since I'm pregnant and I only eat them this way!
(There are only 2 places I know of to get my eggs from in S.FL so if you want to know message me on FB)


Anyway the purpose of this post is my yummy nutritious Sunday breakfast! 
Let's call it Arugula Poached Egg Open Face Sandwich or Poached Egg Salad with a side of toast....


I do it 2 different ways


Option 1 - Open Face Sandwich option
       Take one poached egg and place on a piece of toast. Puncture the egg and let the yolk cover the piece of toast. Tear up pieces of arugula and cover on top then sprinkle with a dash of celtic salt.

Option 2 - Salad option
     Take a bowl of arugula. Place your poached egg on top. Cut up so yolk ends up being like a dressing (sounds gross I know but I swear it's good lol) sprinkle a dash of celtic salt on top then eat with a piece of toast.

This is a great way to get your greens in at breakfast too. My husband even loves this. He seems to think arugula kinda taste like bacon lol! Hey whatever it takes!
On days he wants an omelet with red, orange, yellow peppers I cut the omelet in half and put a bunch of arugula in the middle and make a sandwich like so for him. Either way he hasn't once bitched about missing his bacon :)

I always use Gluten Free bread too. Deland Bakery's Zuchini Millet which shown in above pics OR UDI's Whole Grain Gluten Free bread!


Enjoy!


Peace and Love,


Jamie xx

Toxic Nail Polish Update!

Just some more explanation :)

Peace and Love,
Jamie xx

Happy Teeth :D

Oh boy, the things that excite me these days!! I finally found a FLUORIDE FREE toothpaste that I really like YAY! I have been looking for one for quite some time. I've tried a bunch of different brands, flavors, ect... and never found one that I used more than a few times. Honestly I would always feel like when I did try one my teeth looked yellow the next day. I know that sounds crazy, because it is, I mean realistically I don't think it's possible for that to happen so I figured it was just in my head. Either way I never kept using it. 


Well I finally found a winner!! My husband tried it as well and agrees!

I always figured I would use the fluoride free more natural toothpaste once a day and my Crest Scope Outlast the other time but I like this NOW XyliWhite so much I haven't used the Crest since. 
You want to make sure you get the NOW XyliWhite Toothpaste Gel - Platinum Gel with Baking Soda (Fluoride Free) as NOW has a few different toothpaste to choose from. I'm pretty sure the it's the baking soda in it that I like as I don't think any of the other brands I have tried in the past had baking soda in them.


Anyway I tried to find some good articles on the effects of fluoride and couldn't find anything I really liked. 


Here is a link 10 Facts about Fluoride

And if your really interested to learn more here is a 15 min video clip to watch

Yes, like everything else we thought was good for us, it's NOT! 


Peace and Love,
Jamie xx

Donkey Butt fashion

I'm 33 weeks pregnant, only 7 weeks to go! And let me just say 33 weeks pregnant isn't easy to look cute or get dressed in the morning. (keeping in mind I haven't bought any new clothes) It's safe to say that my ass has grown more than my belly has, the only pants that go over my hips are leggings and a few pair of my Juicy sweats so I've been wearing the hell out of them. I generally just wear them with a large Hanes t-shirt too which isn't helping the situation any, not the cutest look. Oh yea and my Gypsy maxi dresses, but honestly they are looking more like moomoo's these days. 


I finally went to the mall today and got a few things, not that anyone probably cares but haven't done a post like this in so long I figured I'd share :)


I didn't last long as my feet and back were starting to kill me and it's not that easy these days bending over to put on shoes let alone trying on clothes.
For those that are wondering I've gained about 30 pounds so far. I am suppose to gain a pound a week at this point so I'm assuming I'm going to gain about 40 total.

2 pairs of BP flats from Nordstrom to wear with leggings

3 tees from Norstrom that are long enough to cover my ass and stretchy on the sides for my growing belly, I got them in white, grey and pink. The brand is Caslon.

Maxi dress by Young Fabulous and Broke, looks a little different on me then the model obviously but it works :)

Louis Vuitton bag

I had my blessingway (baby shower) on Sunday, will post pics in a week or so when I get them back from the photographer. Until then here is a pic of my belly painting :)

Peace and Love,

Jamie xx

TP for my bunghole!

A few years ago while working at an office a lady told me that it drives her nuts when people put the toilet paper on the roll the wrong way. I didn't know there was a right or wrong on to do so. I will admit at the time I thought she was kinda nuts, maybe it an OCD thing or something. But what do you know, it stuck in my head and now it drives me nuts when someone puts the toilet paper on the roll the wrong way!!


I figured I'd pass along this information and maybe get a few of you nutty about this as well LOL


The correct way in the above picture is B!

Right way - over!

Wrong way - under!

:)

Peace and Love,

Jamie xx

Nail Polish Toxins!

I can't recall if I have mentioned the toxins that are in nail polish yet so if I haven't here it is........YES even nail polish has toxins in it! 
There are a few brands that are non-toxic and I have 3 favorite: Zoya, Butter and Deborah Lippmann. I haven't thrown away all my toxic nail polishes but I refuse to buy another and haven't in well over a year. I now only buy non toxic ones from my 3 favorite brands :)

My NON-Toxic Collection

The 3 main toxins that are in nail polish are as follows: Toluene, Formaldehyde and Dibutyl Phthalate.

Here are a few facts about these common toxic nail polish ingredients:    

Toluene

Toluene is a human reproductive and developmental toxin. It may affect the nervous system with symptoms like tiredness, confusion, weakness, drunken-type actions, and memory loss. It is thought to cause liver damage and skin irritation. In high levels it may affect the kidneys. Toluene has been linked to birth defects in laboratory animals.

Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde is a carcinogen and a common indoor air pollutant because its resins are used in many construction materials. Formaldehyde has caused cancer in the nose and throats of lab animals. Inhaling the fumes can result in watery eyes, headache, burning in the throat, and labored breathing.

Dibutyl Phthalate

Phthalates are used to soften plastic, and are known to affect hormone function. Studies have linked phthalates to early puberty in girls and low sperm counts in men. Environmental groups claim phthalate exposure may contribute to the rising number of uterine problems in women and testicular cancer in men. It could also be one of the contributing factors to a rise in infertility in both sexes. Repeated and heavy exposure to dibutyl phthalate may cause nausea and/or vomiting, tearing of the eyes, dizziness, and headache. Long-term exposures may cause damage to kidneys and the liver. Pregnant women must consider that dibutyl phthalate may harm the developing fetus and the male testes.

Even when I go to the nail salon I bring my own polish, with my own base and top coat. I generally try not to even go to the nail salon these days, especially since I'm pregnant, the fumes in those place are redick!! I'm lucky to have found a manicurist that will come to my house. She actually cost pretty much the same as going to the nail salon so it works out. This way besides dealing with all the fumes and toxins, I don't have to worry about whose nasty feet were scrubbed with that foot scrubby before mine ect... GROSS!

Check out my 3 favorite non-toxic brands for more info:

Zoya

Butter London

Deborah Lippmann

Peace and Love,

Jamie xx

Baby Talk: To vaccine or not to vaccine, that is the question!

Last night I finished a lecture on vaccines. I went in to it knowing I was more on the not going to vaccine side but I wanted my husband to have a say in the matter as well so I signed up for a lecture on vaccines so he could get his own opinion on the subject. The first part of the lecture was last Monday, it lasted about 3 hours. The doctor went over every vaccine, the pros and cons, the history ect... this way you know exactly what each one is. The second part of the lecture which was last night was a viewing of a documentary that just came out called 'The Greater Good'. 
Amazing everything we learned. Not going to get in to our decision but I highly recommend all expecting and parents to get more informed on the subject. Gonna leave it at that. 

Peace and Love,


Jamie xx

Oh yea, I forget to add this in the last post (water)

Some great bottles I have and love for when I am out and about are:

(Clickable Link) Swell

And if your not a fan of stainless steel here are some glass

(Clickable Link) BKR

(Clickable Link) Takeya

Peace and Love,

Jamie xx

Water (update)

So awhile ago I did a post on water, bottled, filtered, tap, ect... and thought I would give you an update.


Since then I have purchased a distiller and have been bottling (in glass bottles) my own water. It's the purest and most cost effective way I have found. Distilling water removes EVERYTHING from the water even the good stuff (minerals) which is why some people might not think that distilled water is the best. Well that's why it's best to add the good minerals back to the water after you have distilled it which is what I do.


I'm not going to get into the importance of drinking good water in this post because I'm pretty sure I already have and in case I wasn't very clear IT IS VERY VERY IMPORTANT!! 
Not all water is created equal. Back when I was taking a Living Foods course here in Ft. Lauderdale we had a whole class on water, the teacher said that when all different bottled water companies were tested that Zephryhills was the worst, it is actually acidic. The best water is alkaline and if it's acidic you got problems, not to mention Zephryhills has the thinnest cheapest plastic bottle which is a whole other problem. They try and get you on the bottle by saying "Ecobottle" so you think they are doing something good for the environment by using less plastic, well not the case. Then a few months ago I was at a talk with David Wolfe and he mentioned that he had visited the Fuji bottling water plant and that they fill there bottles with water before they are even completely cooled which is also a bad bad idea. If the plastic hasn't cooled completely more opportunity for the plastic chemicals (BPA, ect..) to leak in the water. And let's just mention it's NOT from Fuji LOL.
Point being if you are drinking bottled water stay away from Zephryhills and Fuji and more importantly buy water that comes in glass bottles OR best yet distill your own and bottle it yourself like I do, saves you money, saves the environment and good for you!!




I have the distiller by H20Labs, it's stainless steel and has a glass carafe, it's Model 300SS, it cost $219 which if you think of the money you pay for all those plastic bottles it will pay for itself within a few months. This is what it looks like. 

It's really easy to use. All you do is fill up the canister with tap water, like so....

Put the lid back on, put glass canister underneath the spout and hit reset. Within a few hours (approx 5-6) you have a gallon of the cleanest drinking water.


I then add minerals to it and pour it into glass bottles

You have to rinse out the stainless steel canister after each use because it gets funky in there from all the gunk it has pulled out of the water but nothing crazy, just a few rinses with water and a wipe with a paper towel and it's good to go. Every 3rd or 4th use it's good to clean with the cleaning salts it comes with, again this is really easy and takes maybe all of 15 minutes.


Here is the link to the distiller I have Distiller - Model 300SS
The link to the minerals I add ConcenTrace Minerals a bottle will last atleast 6 months but really depends on how much water you make, I'm pretty much making water constantly since I drink alot and use it to cook with.


Here is a video to watch on The Story of Bottled Water which I think I've posted before but either way here it is again :) 

Peace and Love,


Jamie xx

Snack Attack!

Yummy snack that also makes for a good lunch/dinner. Avocado open face sandwich - healthy, vegan, gluten free and mine is of course organic :)

Ingredients:

Gluten free bread

Avocado

Sunflower sprouts OR Arugula OR both!

Dijon mustard

Lemon

Cayenne pepper

Celtic sea salt

My bread of choice is by Deland Bakery, a local bakery if you live in FL, and can be found at Whole Foods in the freezer section. I get the millet zuchini one.

If I can't get that my next choice would be Udi's Gluten Free Whole Grain

Lightly toast your bread of choice.

Then mash the avocado with a little bit of lemon and cayenne pepper, like so

Spread a little bit of dijon mustard on your toast then top with the avocado mash.

Then top with baby arugula or sunflower sprouts or both and a dash of celtic sea salt.

Wah lah! YUM!

Enjoy!

Peace and Love,

Jamie xx

Cleanse hair WITHOUT shampoo!!

So most shampoos strip your hair of your natural oils which is why we need to condition after shampooing. Not to mention all the chemicals in shampoos that we are exposing ourselves to. Well I saw a commercial for this new product WEN by Chaz Dean which is a cleansing conditioner and on the more natural side which I love. I bought it and used it this morning for the first time. I LOVE IT! Happy to report my hair is clean and silky smooth :)

I bought the 30 day supply for $29.95 it comes with the cleansing conditioner, styling creme, a re-moist intensive hair treatment, texture balm and a wide tooth comb.
Here is the link WEN Hair Care


Peace and Love,


Jamie xx