Archives: August 2015

31 Aug 2015, Comments (0)

Outer Spice Original & Spicy seasonings

Author: Healthnuttxo

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I got these spices to try from Outer Spice! I was sent two varieties, the No Salt Spicy version, and the Himilayan Sea Salt Original blend. They have a retail value of roughly $6.99 each.  They are MSG, GMO and Gluten Free, and made from high quality spices and herbs.

I used these a few times during cooking. We made chicken cutlets with the Spicy variety, and then I used the Original variety for turkey burgers (see below), shrimp garlic stir fry, and grilled chicken with veggies in a butter sauté.

imageI’ll review the Spicy variety first!

It was…not spicy actually!
Again, we made chicken cutlets with this spice mixed into breadcrumb mixture and fried.
I noticed that the thyme flavor was pretty strong. Again, it was not salty- no salt!
The flavor was unique and went well with the chicken but it wasn’t spicy, so a bit deceiving! 3 1/2 star

 

Next up, the Original blend.

It was very thyme-y again, with possibly Rosemary?
Not much other prominent flavors, but will enjoyable.
It went well with the meats, and my favorite was with the shrimp and grilled chicken stir frys. I did add some salt since it was not super salty. 4 stars.

 

Overall, pretty good and worth a try! I would pick em up and add them to your favorite dishes! If you order directly from their website, there is also FREE shipping! Woo! Click here to get some.

 

 

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I received this this product for free. This is an unbiased review.

 

26 Aug 2015, Comments (0)

Selestial Soap Natural Insect Repellent and Sunscreen

Author: Healthnuttxo

IMG_4779Ahhh summer….what a great time of the year. However, with every great thing comes tiny bits of annoyances, right? Summer’s annoyances = BUGS and SUNBURN!!!! Two things that can turn outside play time into a serious pain (literally).

Selestial Soap sent me some of their natural bug sprays and sunscreen. There is the
I’ll Fly Away 100% naturally non-toxic Insect Repellent,

the Protect Extreme 100% naturally non-toxic Sunscreen with skin moisturizers, SPF of 30,

& Protect Extreme 100% naturally non-toxic Sunscreen/ Repellent Combo with SPF of 30.

 

So let’s begin!
I’ll Fly Away 100% naturally non-toxic Insect Repellent. I LOVE THIS STUFF! I hate the smell of traditional bug spray…smells like straight up chemicals. This has a nice lemongrass smell, not too strong, but noticeable. It is non greasy, and most of all…EFFECTIVE!!! I wore it almost every night I went out with my friends or to walk the dog. They all got bit up, and I maybe got one bug bite. I couldn’t help but brag about this product to my friends, it is relatively inexpensive, natural, and effective.  You can buy it here. 5 stars

Protect Extreme 100% naturally non-toxic Sunscreen with skin moisturizers, SPF of 30

This product is a bit runny, make sure you shake it well before use. I did not do that and had a large waterfall of white liquid running down my hands. Oops.

Happy to report no sunburn with this product…I put it on my face, and although I did not break out, you could definitely feel it on. It didn’t feel greasy per se, but there was a “residue” left behind. Also…this stuff does not rub in well! Below is the product RUBBED in on my friend who is tan already for the summer, but as you can see, the white of the sunscreen is totally noticeable.

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this is an HOUR post application. It was applied liberally but not excessively. So while effective…a little annoying to have a super ghost-like face. No break outs, no burns…but I would stick to body parts and not my face for this one. 3 1/2 stars

Protect Extreme 100% naturally non-toxic Sunscreen/ Repellent Combo with SPF of 30.

This is essentially the same two products in one…just as effective too. No sunburns, no breakouts, same “residue” feel on skin, and still need to shake well before use. The lemongrass scent from the bug spray component is stronger smelling than the spray alone. I think this is good for days when you’re going hiking or camping, something where you’ll be outside where bugs and sun are both factors. I like the concept! 3 1/2 stars

 

 

Overall, good products. I will definitely buy the bug spray in the future. I LOVE it!!!! The other products are worth a try as well, just be warned of the ghost-like color that may be left behind! (muhahahaha!)

 

 

I received this product for free. This is an unbiased review.
21 Aug 2015, Comments (0)

My Green Fills Natural Laundry Detergent, Softener, Stain Remover + FREE JUG OF DETERGENT!

Author: Healthnuttxo

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Laundry… the inevitable chore. While you may lose a sock or two in the process ( I always do…), have you ever wondered what exactly is in your detergent, that you are then putting on your skin? After all, you use it to clean your sheets, pillow case, and clothing, it WILL hit your skin at some point!

I was sent My Green Fills natural Laundry Detergent, Softener, Color Safe Brightener and Enzyme Stain Remover. I was excited to try these, because I have very sensitive skin. I use detergent that has no scent or dyes, and just cleans the clothing without leaving much residue behind. Harsh detergents make my skin break out, which is very unpleasant!

These products by My Green Fills are non toxic, hypoallergenic, vegan, cruelty free, HE washer friendly, and chlorine free. How is works is you get one jug that you recycle and use over and over again, and you get refills of a powder that you add to the jug with warm water, and voila! Liquid detergent. This is environmentally friendly, since you are reusing the jugs and saving companies from producing more plastic. Each bundle of refill + powder is 12$, which can be purchased at their website.

The powders come in a rice paper package, which is recyclable, and sturdy. The package is filled with a white powder.

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First, you add warm water to the fill line of your plastic jug. Then you add the entire packet to the jug, close the lid and shake! It was super easy to mix. We accidentally added the powder first and THEN the water to one of the jugs….don’t do that! It started to bubble before we could close the lid!

Now…how did it work!?

LAUNDRY SOAP– this one is unscented. I used it with the FABRIC SOFTENER. Both hypoallergenic, 100% natural and non-toxic. The Fabric softener smelled of lemon and herbal type of smells, almost like lavender. I really liked the smell of it, since it was gentle but went well for a laundry aroma.

I had 0 problems with both of these regarding my skin. No breakouts, no irritation, nothing. The clothes came out of the dryer soft, which was exactly what I wanted. I wish the odor of the fabric softener stayed with the clothes once they were dry, it did disappear. This could be since it is a natural product, so I will take the loss over a harsh chemical scent. The clothes just smelled like nothing- like clothes- but were soft and non irritating.

The COLOR SAFE BRIGHTENER OXYGEN BOOSTER– just as promised, color safe! There was no bleeding of colors. We all know that the more you wash bright clothing, the more “dingy” it gets. This product helped prevent the dingy-ness, and kept my bright colors bright. I wear a LOT of bright clothing too…lime green, hot pink, you name it, I most likely own it. So this is a great product for me to have with all my bright gym clothes and pants.

Lastly, the ENZYME STAIN REMOVER. This one you DO NOT add water to! You just add it into the wash. We cheated a little bit and made a little paste out of it and put it on a really hard stain. To be fair, this stain was an older, set in stain. While it did not get rid of it completely, it definitely lightened up the stain, which made Mama happy (it was her towel). You can see below, LEFT is before, and RIGHT is after.

 

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Overall, I am happy with these products. I will definitely use and buy the detergents in the future. They are only 9 dollars for a refill, which isn’t bad at all, and it lasted us a while (family of 4!). It is a bit more expensive than say a traditional brand you can get at the store, but I am willing to pay extra for something environmentally friendly, and that is easy on my skin. ALSO, you get free shipping. Score! Overall, 4 stars.

HOW TO GET A FREE JUG!

The nice folks over at MyGreenFills are giving YOU a free jug of their product for you to try!

All you have to do is click on THIS LINK HERE, and fill out the proper information, and voila! A free jug will be sent to your house to try. Comment below to let me know if you tried it!  🙂

 

 

 

I received these products for free. This is an unbiased review.
14 Aug 2015, Comments (5)

Essentia Natural Memory Foam Pillow

Author: Healthnuttxo


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Here’s a fun review today! I received a pillow from Essential, a Natural Memory Foam pillow! According to the website, the pillow is made out of Hevea MILK, and is a latex-based foam. It is also the only one on the market that is entirely natural. You can read about it here.

The outer design is also made of Zebrano Fabric, which is both unbleached and organic cotton.

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So I got this rather heavy package in the mail, puzzled as to what it was…turns out it was this pillow! It was rather large, I would say it is a little over two feet in length and about an inch and a half or so thick.

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The pillow is very dense and like I said, heavy. The outer fabric feels kind of like a terrycloth bath towel. I like to sleep with silk pillow case (keeps my hair from getting messy, and I like cool pillows) so this was a change in itself for me. However, I do normally sleep on a memory foam pillow, so I was excited for a change.

I took this baby to bed and noticed my head didn’t really sink in. Hmm. It kind of caused a bit of neck strain since my head just would not “mesh” and “mold” in with the pillow. It was almost TOO dense, and it prevented my head from resting comfortably. I ended up falling asleep, but woke up in the middle of the night with my neck hurting me. I resorted back to my old pillow for there rest of the night.

I passed the pillow along to my Father, who likes his mattress/pillows a bit more stiff. Plus, I figured maybe I had a small frame, and the pillow was too thick for me, but would work well with someone else. He attempted to sleep with it, and then ended up just using it for a back support. He said it was too stiff to sleep with, but it was great to sit up in bed with and rest against the wall/the head rest behind the bed.

The pillow was then passed along to my mother to try. She had the same issue, she began to have neck pain while sleeping and ended up using it as a pillow for her to put in-between her knees while she was sleeping on her side. This took strain off of her hips.

Overall, it’s hard for me to give a rating for this because it is good for back and body support, but rather awful to sleep on (from 3 people, we all had the same issues). I love that is is made with organic and unbleached cotton, as well as all natural memory foam. I think it’s great that we are using stuff we find in nature to make products rather than commercial, chemical filled products. HOWEVER, this pillow is downright stinky when it comes to a traditional style sleeping pillow for your head. No pillow should cause a stiff neck/ neck pain! But, it molds well with the body to sleep with in between your legs while laying on your side, or your back while sitting up.

With that being said, 2 stars.

 

This product was given to me for free. This is an unbiased review.
11 Aug 2015, Comments (0)

Bio-K PLUS Fermented Dairy Probiotic- Strawberry

Author: Healthnuttxo


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Probiotics are super important in anyone’s diet. They help keep your immune system working well as well as your colon and bowels happy with a healthy flora of bacteria. They are especially recommended for people on Antibiotics a lot, since those medications wipe out ALL bacteria, both good and bad, in your gut, and the good bacteria is NEEDED in order to function properly!

I got Bio-K PLUS Fermented Dairy Probiotic in the Strawberry variety. The package came with 6 tiny 3.5 ounce bottles, each with 4 servings each (or less depending on your personal dosage). The bottle recommends 1/4-1 bottle per day. The recommendation is in rather small letters so I am glad I read everything throughly before consuming, as I definitely would have just had the whole thing at once, like I am sure most people might do (like my mother for example…never reads!!!).

Each bottle is 60 calories, and according to the box, has 50 live billion bacteria! They are gluten free, corn free, GMO and yeast free. You are instructed to shake vigorously before consumption. This I find weird, bc then they should have come with tops that I can close. How am I supposed to shake it later if I am only having half a bottle per day?

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Anywho, how does it taste? It smells like a strawberry yogurt, but not as strong. The flavor is also strong…it is very tart…but not bad. I would advise taking baby sips of this and now a whole mouthful. It tastes like very tart strawberries, unripened, but the “milky-ness” of the dairy makes it so you do not pucker as you would with the tartness of a sour candy. It has some sweetness to it, which is good, but sour is definitely the predominant flavor. NOT like sour milk sour, more like tart-sour candy sour. It’s an odd flavor…but I kind of like it.

Overall, I think this is a good way to take a probiotic. You can get roughly 12 servings out of it if you drink half a bottle per day (or 24 if you drink 1/4). I am drinking half per day, and not peeling the green foil back all the way so I can “reseal” so I can shake it later. The flavor is totally doable for kids too- I would tell them it’s Sour Strawberry flavor so they know to expect a semi sour patch kid flavor with strawberries. Easy way for them to take probiotics, especially those who do not like to swallow pills.

Overall, a good product. A few kinks, but I like it. 4 stars

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I received this item for free. This is an unbiased review.
8 Aug 2015, Comments (0)

Summer Essentials from Vitamin Shoppe’s Expert Brianna M. Diorio

Author: Healthnuttxo

I was sent some of the Summer Essentials suggested from Vitamin Shoppe‘s Expert Brianna M. Diorio, who is an MS, Clinical Nutritionist, Holistic Lifestyle Coach, and NASM Certified Personal Trainer. In my little package I got a Vitamin Shoppe pill box, a sunscreen from Goddess Garden Organics, and a Kiss My Face Sport lip balm!

 


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Alright! Let’s review the sunscreen first. I like that this is organic and a natural sunscreen, I often wonder what kind of chemicals we are using and putting on our bodies every day!

This sunscreen has an SPF of 30, which is good for someone super fair skinned like me (I get kind of toasty in the sun…). It comes out with a light mist, and feels cool once applied. It doesn’t smell like sunscreen which is my favorite part! I definitely do NOT like the smell of sunscreen, and I know it ALL too well seeing how fair I am. It has a lemon grass type of aroma which I actually really enjoyed.

I could certainly feel the sunscreen while it was on me, and left a type of residue, but it wasn’t oily, and more slightly sticky. It wasn’t bad at all or uncomfortable. Also, I did not break out or anything and I used it on my face. I like this stuff! I would buy in the future.

4 stars, here is some facts below as well
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Moving on to the pill box from Vitamin Shoppe. It is definitely on the smaller side…Is this a daily pill box? Only 6 compartments…not 7. Odd. I think it is good for short term, maybe 2 or 3 days worth of pills (depending how many you take!), or you could use it daily if you need to take pills several times per day in separated increments.

I was surprised because the squares were bigger than they looked, and even fit 2 of my HUGE fish oil pills without problem. It is made of recyclable plastic which is a plus. It is small and discreet, and easy to carry along.

The plastic isn’t super sturdy but it does the job. I just hate that there are 6 compartments not 7…I almost wish they did 8 compartments so it could still be in a square format,  but at least fit a week of pills! 3 1/2 stars

 

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Lastly, the Kiss My Face Sport Balm. This has sunscreen in it as well, SPF of 30, which I REALLY need when I go to the beach. I always forget about my lips and they get super dry after! It is made with coconut oil, shea butter and vitamin E. It goes on super smooth and is super soft, almost waxy, but doesn’t taste like wax. It has a bit of a minty flavor to it (not that I ate it! You know, some just happen to be tasted!), and a mix of a medicine-y type flavor. I really liked it though, as it kept my lips soft and supple, and protected them from the sun.

4 1/2 stars

Good ratings all around! You can check out these products and more at Vitamin Shoppe.com 🙂

I received these products for free. This is an unbiased review.
6 Aug 2015, Comments (0)

Growing Naturals Organic Rice Protein in Strawberry Burst

Author: Healthnuttxo


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Alrighty! So, I do not drink a ton of protein powder- not my style, I am much more of a food eater, but it definitely has a place in my diet. I tend to stick to low carb whey proteins, and use them when I need calories post workout and do not feel hungry or for convenience in the morning.

I received Growing Naturals Organic Rice Protein in Strawberry Burst to try. I have never had rice protein before. This one in particular is:

Organic
Vegan
Allergy friendly
Made with brown rice protein (raw),
Has 3 grams of carbs (1 sugar), 24 grams of protein
&& is NON GMO certified

There is a complete panel of the Amino Acid profile of the rice protein on the BPA free plastic, which is definitely a plus (see below). There is even an explanation of what an essential amino acid is, which essentially (hehe) are a few of the 20 or so amino acids that your body cannot produce on it’s own and you NEED to eat.

SO, I opened the tub and saw brown powder. I was a little shocked and expected to see pink…since strawberry…but I have to remember this is BROWN rice protein, and there are no added artificial colors. It smells like a mixture of strawberries and well…protein powder. It’s hard to describe what protein powder smells like since it is so unique, but for anyone who has ever tried it, knows it has an odor.

It’s kind of hard to mix…I added it to milk and tried mixing for a few minutes. The powder just did not seem to want to assimilate. I would suggest doing it with a shaker cup or blender.

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I took a sip and….

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meh.

I do not like it. I added half a scoop to roughly 4-5 ounces of 2% milk. The strawberry flavor is muted by the overpowering stevia flavor. The stevia is really bitter and tastes like the extract, and is very strong. This stevia and strawberry flavor put together makes the strawberry flavor taste like a fake flavor, not like natural, fresh picked strawberries but more like a stevia sweetened strawberry flavored milk you’d purchase at a store.

There is a residue left on your tongue, powdery and piece-y. I kind of expected that, since a lot of rice products I’ve had before in the past always had off consistencies. There is an aftertaste as well, but I still would think this is from the stevia.

Overall….huge let down. I was excited by this protein, looking at the label and reading about it. I had another person try this with peanut butter and milk in a blended shake and he wasn’t a huge fan of it, and agreed there was an aftertaste. Perhaps if you mixed it with a banana and used a lot of ice to dilute the flavor, it is doable.

It’s a pass from me. 1  1/2 stars

 

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I received these samples for FREE. This is an unbiased review.
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