Packaging-Free All Natural Bath Salts by Hugo Naturals

Hugo Naturals Bath Salts - Sold in Bulk at Whole Foods

The kids and I were shopping at Whole Foods recently when we came upon this great display: colorful all natural bath salts by Hugo Naturals sold in bulk. We were in heaven! My poor kids feel so deprived because I refuse to make them chemical-laden bubble baths at home (even most "natural" bubble bath brands contain questionable ingredients). So they've taken instead to the all-natural, much healthier alternative of effervesant bath salts - which they now love. Hugo Naturals - one of my favorite companies - did an incredible job with this display. The colors lured us in, but the packaging-free "fill your own jar or bag" aspect sold me right then and there.

Hugo Natural Bath Salts feature mineral-rich crystalline salts and natural herbal essences. The Rare Himalayan Pink Salt contains magnesium and potassium to soften skin, and the pure mineral-rich Dead Sea Salt helps soothe and reduce muscle achiness (perfect for a post soccer practice soak). Our personal favorite: Mango and Guava

As with ALL Hugo Naturals products, their bath salts are free of parabens, phenoxyethanol, sulfates, PEGs, propylene glycol, petroleum products, silicones, phthalates, synthetic surfactants, artificial colors or synthetic fragrances.

To learn more Hugo Naturals and their all-natural shampoos, soaps, salts and more visit: hugonaturals.com

All Natural Yeast Infection Cure

Women get yeast infections - we just do. It comes with the territory. There is a whole industry created around providing pills and creams to deal with vaginal yeast infections, but they all involve chemicals that I personally do not feel safe using internally or externally. So, when I recently came down with a pretty intense yeast infection and my OBGYN recommended both a prescription medication and an over the counter cream, I decided to skip the meds (as usual) and try my own all-natural treatment that consisted of nothing more than plain yogurt, apple cider vinegar and a simple probiotic. Not only did this trifecta provide immediate relief, it actually completely cured the infection within days.

Here's all it takes:

1) Drink a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar twice a day (organic, if possible).
2) Take a probiotic twice a day (any type).
3) Eat plain yogurt once a day (organic, if possible).
4) Once a day, apply 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt to the vaginal area (externally and partially internally) This can be done several times a day to provide immediate relief of itching or burning, but it does get messy. I prefer to do it in the shower at night right before bed and then wear a cloth pad to bed.

Three-five days of this treatment and the yeast infection will be gone!

Packaging-Free Grocery Shopping - A Dream Coming True

Packaging-Free Shopping

For a long time, I've had a dream - a simple dream: I want to buy all my groceries packaging-free.

I want to walk into a store and buy everything I need without contributing to any single-use plastic, paper or glass waste. Think about it: in the olden days people brought baskets, sacks, jars and bottles to the general store and filled them up with the items they needed. Then the Kellogg company invented sealed paper packaging in 1914 which later morphed into the sealed plastic packaging that dominates our marketplace today and our planet and landfills have never been the same.

Despite the ease of prepackaging, packaging-free and bulk shopping is actually making a come back. My local health food co-op Co-opportunity, for instance, offers several rows of bulk items: grains, flour, beans, cookies, dried fruit, candies, teas, coffee, soap, spices - you name it. They even sell affordable glass jars for storage. You could honestly buy all the food you need to live on at this store without ever having to buy something that comes in a box or a can.

If you're like me though and you are still dreaming of a grocery store that houses ZERO prepackaging waste, then that dream may finally come true. A collaborative group of business owners, community members and consumers in Austin, Texas is planning to open in.gredients in late summer, 2012. In.gredients will be the first packaging-free grocery store in the United States. If it does well, I could see a whole slew of such stores popping up around the globe. A few years ago, this would have been no more than a dream. Consumers, however, have become much more knowledgeable and concerned about the consequences of their purchases and that wisdom is going to drive grocery shopping to become a greener, less-wasteful industry. I believe! I believe!