I have been dreaming up this website for about a year now. My journey began in 2011 when I read Robyn O’Brien’s book, The Unhealthy Truth. My son Jake had experienced various reactions to food and I was curious as to the reasons that might cause it. What I learned was scary, frustrating, overwhelming, and just downright ugly. And it all had to do with the food that I was eating every day, and feeding to my family. When I faced the grocery store with all my new-found knowledge, I just froze up. Everywhere I looked I saw BAD, BAD, BAD. What could I do? How I could I change EVERYTHING? And so I started small, and then the changes got bigger and faster, and now I feel good. Really good. Knowledge is power.
Finding Clean is about my journey to find better food, better cleaning products, better cosmetics, a better attitude, and much more. Not perfect, but definitely better. As I went through this process I kept thinking “this shouldn’t be so hard.” But in a world of work, kids, school, carpool, meals, and holidays, time is limited. Since I have already done a ton of research, I wanted to share it with anyone who will listen. Maybe I can help just one person make positive changes without feeling so overwhelmed.
As this journey unfolds, I’m planning to share lots of positive thoughts. As Robyn O’Brien would say, “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” All of us can do something (even one simple thing) to make a change for the better in our lives. Let’s focus on that, and together we can enjoy the journey to success.
Love, Crystal
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The following Categories can be searched from the menu bar above (depending on your interest):
TNT (this not that) – Pictures of the products I have tried and enjoyed. It’s a challenge to switch from the familiar, to all new products (not to mention it’s expensive to do trial and error on new products). I had a really hard time finding another peanut butter that I liked as much as JIF. Maybe I can save you some time on your search for new, cleaner things.
FAB (front and back) – Pictures of the front and back of products. Reviewing labels, the good, the bad, and the ugly. 😉
DUK (did u know) – Can you tell I like acronyms? In these posts I will share tidbits of information that I find important. Helpful articles, videos, books I’ve read.
Positive Thoughts – Quotes, words of wisdom, inspiration. Who doesn’t need inspiration?
You can also explore the resources page and the knowledge section for more in depth information as well.
Here’s a sample of TNT and FAB.
I really enjoy the three products above. The Santa Cruz organic peanut butter has no added sugar (my preference), while the MaraNatha is still organic but does have some added sugar (my husband’s preference). The NuttZo product is a powerhouse full of 7 different organic nuts and seeds, nothing else added. YUM!
Something so simple as peanut butter, but this includes refined oils (GMO), Sugar (likely from GMO Beets), Mono & Diglycerides (food additives used to keep oil and water from separating, also just a fancy way of listing additional refined oils that can be made synthetically or from animal or vegetable products). Since this product is also not organic, it likely contains pesticides (which aren’t listed) that were used when growing the peanuts. Things like Piperonyl Butoxide, DDE p,p’, Pentachloroaniline, Quintozene, etc. Do you know what those things are? I’d rather not spend a bunch of time looking up these chemicals to see if I should eat them. My time has a value as well, so I’ll spend the extra $2.00 and buy the organic peanut butter. That being said, I DID actually look up all of those pesticides online and some are listed as carcinogens or possible neurotoxins, and some are “GRAS”, which means generally recognized as safe.
Part of the scientific thinking in the use of pesticides and chemical food additives involves the idea that we are only eating very small quantities of the chemical. So, if there is just a little chemical additive in our morning waffle with syrup, and a little in our sandwich bread, ham, cheese, mayonnaise, and fruit; and then just a little bit more in our chicken breast, broccoli, and rice for dinner; Does that add up to A LOT of chemicals for one day, or is that considered a little? And if you are only 35 pounds and less than four feet tall, should you eat the same amount of pesticides and chemicals per day as an adult? I think many people (including myself a couple years ago) figured that a “little bit” of this food coloring, and a “little bit” of that pesticide is no big deal. But, the more I learn and the more I think about it — it IS a big deal. And it adds up rather quickly.
Here is a great website I found that lists the Pesticides found in most common foods. The data comes from the USDA Pesticide Data Program. Wouldn’t it be interesting to write down all the possible chemicals we have eaten in one day? What’s On My Food
If this information makes you feel (insert any appropriate adjective here), and you want to make a change, start simple. Just try changing your peanut butter. Then you can say you did ONE THING. And it wasn’t even that hard.
Thank you for joining me on this journey!
Cleaner - We’ve tried sunbutter too, not our favorite, but still good!
Denise Humphrey - You should take a look at sunbutter also. Pretty yummy!