The Paleo Mama

Homegrown and Handmade

Jackie Ritz

WINNER: $1,000 Amazon Gift Card!

by 925 Comments

1000amazon

It’s time to announce the winner of the $1,000 Amazon Gift Card that my friends and I wanted to give away to one of our very lucky readers!

First, I want to say thank your all my friends who helped make this giveaway possible. We are so excited to be able to offer such an incredible gift to someone…

Green Thickies 
Homemade Mommy
Good Girl Gone Green
Weed ’em & Reap
Don’t Mess with Mama
Living Low Carb, One Day at a Time
Primally Inspired
The Darling Bakers
Thank Your Body
CHEESESLAVE 

And the winner is…Michelle Y.

michelley _ _ _@gmail.com

Congratulations Michelle! Please email Lindsey at homemademommy dot net to claim your gift card! 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

A winner will be chosen via random.org. We will announce the lucky winner on Friday, December 30, 2013. The winner will have 48 hours to contact (homemade mommy at gmail dot com) with his/her full name, address, and phone number. There is no purchase necessary to win. This giveaway is open to everyone! 

Winner: Primal Pit Paste $75 Gift Certificate & 20% Off Coupon Offer!

by Leave a Comment


primalpitpaste22

It’s time for me to announce the winner of this weeks giveaway! One of my lucky readers has won a $75 gift certificate from Primal Pit Paste! 

Before I announce the winner, I want to let you all know that Primal Pit Paste has offered you all a 20% discount on any order you make within the next 4 days! Use coupon code: PALEOMAMA at checkout. 

This coupon is good through December 21, 2013.

primapitpastecoupon

And the lucky winner is…..

Jennifer D. (yourpXXXXX@XXXXX.com)!! Congratulations Jennifer!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway will end December 17, 2013 at 12:01 AM EST. The winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter. The winner will be announced on December 18, 2013. The winner will have 48 hours to contact me at thepaleomama AT gmail DOT com with his/her name, mailing address, and phone number. No purchase is necessary to win.

(Photo Credit: Primal Pit Paste)

DIY Remineralizing Toothpaste

by 196 Comments

Six months ago I went to the dentist and found out that I had six cavities. I could not believe it. It didn’t make sense because I eat a very clean, Paleo diet. I pinpointed some of the things that caused my cavities in this post that I wrote, “How I’m Healing My Cavities Without Dentistry.” This post has received a lot of attention and I’ve received many emails and messages about various things that I’m doing to heal my cavities. Well, good news…I went for a 6 month check-up at this dentist a few days ago to see how my cavities looked and to see if the remineralizing process was working…AND…I HAVE ZERO CAVITIES!!! I healed my teeth naturally with proper diet and nutrition and I did not have to pay a hefty dentist bill to have my teeth drilled and filled!

I mention in that post that I use a homemade toothpaste and because I have received so many emails about what that recipe is, I thought I would share my DIY Remineralizing Toothpaste recipe. I was having a hard time finding a toothpaste that did not have certain ingredients in them. When you are trying to remineralizing your teeth, you need to make sure you are not using a toothpaste with glycerin or xylitol in it. Glycerin coats your teeth and counteracts the remineralization process and this article explains why we don’t use xylitol. Our family avoids toothpaste with fluoride and preservatives, as well.

This recipe is great for remineralizing your teeth if you are following the Cure Tooth Decay protocol and have some cavities you are trying to reverse but it’s, also, a wonderful recipe to use just to maintain optimal oral health for your day-to-day life.

DIY Remineralizing Toothpaste:

INGREDIENTS: 

  • 1/3 cup of Bentonite Clay (where to buy)- this comes from pure sources of undisturbed deposits in the ground. What is special about bentonite clay is that it draws toxins out of the body.
  • 1/4 cup of boiling water
  • 1 Tablespoon of coconut Oil (where to buy) – coconut oil is amazing for oral health. It is highly effective with getting rid of viruses and bacteria in the mouth
  • 1/4 teaspoon of Real Salt (where to buy) – real salt is unrefined and full of natural minerals.
  • 1/2 teaspoon of REAL stevia  (where to buy)- this is the dry herb that is green and unprocessed in it’s natural form.
  • 15 Drops of Protective blend Essential oil (where to buy) 
  • 10 Drops of Peppermint Essential oil (where to buy) 

DIRECTIONS:

  • Step One: Put your bentonite clay in a bowl. Heat the water on the stove and then stir in the coconut oil till it is melted.
  • Step Two: With a hand mixer, mix on medium speed the bentonite clay and the water/oil mixture till blended through.
  • Step Three: Add the salt, stevia, and essential oils and continue to blend until it is completely blended.
  • Step Four: Keep in a covered jar!
  • *The mixture will harden a little bit as it sits because of the coconut oil. This makes it easier to add a bit to your toothbrush when you brush.

For more information on healing your cavities naturally, read this post and check out Cure Tooth Decay!

Want a kid-friendly version of this recipe? Check out my DIY Remineralizing Tooth Powder for KIDS! 

 

DIY Toothpaste

Bacon Pancakes

by Leave a Comment

bacon pancakes 3

We often eat bacon. We often eat pancakes. So, I thought, “Hmm, how can I put these two delicious things together?” And this is what I came up with. Bacon in between the pancakes!!! And let me tell you, it’s like a bacon-y BOOM when you bite into them! I hope you love these Bacon Pancakes as much as I do.

Bacon Pancakes 

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook the bacon on a cast iron pan or griddle (could not live without my griddle!).

baconpancakes1

2. Remove the bacon and cut the strips in half. Scoop off some of the bacon fat and reserve it to make one of these 20 recipes using bacon fat. Repeat: DO NOT throw the bacon fat away. It’s good stuff! Leave a little bacon fat on the pan or griddle to coat the pancake batter. You could leave it all on if you want!

3. Pour a little pancake batter onto the pan or griddle. Push a piece of bacon into the batter. Cover the bacon with more pancake batter.

bacon pancakes 2

4. Flip when the bottom is lightly browned. Then cook the other side.

5. THAT’S IT! This is the easiest recipes every! Top with butter/or ghee and maple syrup!

5 Foods to Avoid this Holiday Season

by 2 Comments

5foodstoavoidholiday

The season – the month – has begun, and people from all over are cooking, baking and stuffing their faces with holiday foods. Did you know that the average person consumes an extra 600 calories a day during the Holidays?! No matter where you live or where you go, you can’t miss it. The Holiday foods will find their way into your belly and when January comes, you are going to be googling Detox diets, Whole 30, The 21 Day Sugar Detox, Weight Watchers, Insanity…you get the picture. But it’s all fun and it’s only once a year. I hear you, I really do. I never claim to be 100% Paleo, in fact I’ve declared that I never will be 100% Paleo. However, when you are splurging this Holiday season and indulging in “junkier” foods, remember what these 5 most terrible foods are and try to avoid them for your health.

5 Foods to Avoid this Holiday Season: 

1. Store-bought Egg Nog 

There’s nothing like a Holiday drink that is loaded with seaweed extract, high fructose corn syrup, and just a little egg. Yes, that is the ingredients of store-bought Egg Nog. You really didn’t think you were going to get a high quality traditional drink from a carton, did ya? The only thing healthy about this drink is the possibility that there are some of the traditional spices in it. However, this picture I snapped didn’t even have spices in it.

eggnog

Make Your Own: 

2. Store-bought Cookies, Pies and Holiday Treats 

Bottom line, these will all contain vegetable oils or vegetable shortening. Not sure why this is bad? I mean it’s made from a vegetable, right? First off, it is loaded with trans fats (found in partially hydrogenated oils) which the FDA has recently declared unsafe for human consumption. GASP! They did something right! And, second, they have nothing to do with vegetables, but are loaded with weird stuff like soy, rapeseed(WTH!) and processed in really unnatural ways.

Make Your Own: 

3. Gift Sausages and Other Processed Meats 

I’ve never trusted any meat that require no refrigeration. That’s just plain wacko. Makes me question how they are able last so long. SODIUM NITRATE. Sodium nitrate is a preservative found in many packaged meats that keep the meat fresh and pretty. Rotting meat doesn’t look or taste too good. Sodium nitrate has, also, been linked to cancer. These pretty cancer packages can be found in shopping malls during the Holiday season and inside pretty, little gift baskets. I’m not sure why these make a good Christmas gift…why not try giving something a little less “poisoning” and a little more homemade?

What to give instead: 

4. Those Giant Tubs of Caramel Popcorn 

I know they are sooooo good. Trust me, this is my biggest weakness during the Holiday season. Just one bite turns into 20 bites. But listen, corn is the number one food that is genetically modified. Read this for all the ways generically modified food is dangerous for you. And these tubs of popcorn, aren’t just popcorn. They are saturated with “carmel” sauce that includes ingredients like high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavorings.

Make Your Own: 

5. Stuffing in a Box

The problem with store bought stuffing is that they contain questionable ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup and monosodium glutamate, or MSG. MSG has a whole long list of dangerous side effects and is one of the most dangerous additives to food.

Make Your Own: 

 

I hope you all have a fantastic Holiday season and make the best decisions that you can for your health!

 

Jackie

(Photo Credit: WebMd)

 

Did you like this article? Give it a +1 on Google+ for me!!!


 

5 Reasons Why I Let My Kids Believe in Santa Claus

by 23 Comments

kids believe

I am very grateful that, as parents, we are given the choice for so many things. We choose what we believe is best for our children everyday. We make big decisions from the day we learned that we were pregnant with them. We decide if we are going to vaccinate them. We decide if we are going to circumcise our sons. We decide if we are going to spank or homeschool them. When they are older, we decide if we are going to give our teenage daughters birth control, or leave condoms out for our son to use if we know they are sleeping around. These are BIG decisions that every parents must make. I mean BIG. These decisions have lasting effects on our kids in some way or the other; whether they are positive or negative, they do affect our children. And then the Christmas season rolls around, and if you have very young kids, you are going to decide whether you are going to let your kids believe in Santa, “tell them the lie” as so many call it, or tell them the truth. I don’t think this is a BIG decision, but I guess after mentioning something on my Facebook page, many do think it is. So, to each their own. However, I do and will continue letting my kids believe in the fairy tale of Santa.

5 Reasons Why I Let My Kids Believe in Santa Claus

1) Because the story of St. Nicholas is a true story.  Saint Nicholas (15 March 270 – 6 December 343) also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra. He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, and thus became the model for Santa Claus (1).

There are many legends about St. Nicholas of Myra. One story tells how he helped three poor sisters. Their father did not have enough money to pay their dowries and thought of selling them into servitude. Three times, St. Nicholas secretly went to their house at night and put a bag of money inside. The man used the money so that one of his daughters could marry. On the third visit, the man saw St. Nicholas and thanked him for his kindness. He also reportedly saved three men who were falsely imprisoned and sentenced to death (2).

2) Because I believe fantasy is so important to growing children. I am an avid believer in the Charlotte Mason schooling method. It’s the method I use with my kids because it is about giving kids a firm foundation of “living books“. Living books are books that come alive to children. Think of your favorite childhood book…it most likely was a living book; one that evoked fantasy and the desire for the story to never end. Fantasy stimulates the imagination, creativity and wonder, and we need more, not less of it. And I’m not lying to my kids, I’m letting them have a little imagination with something that is rooted in history.

3) Because I believe in the spirit of giving and not taking credit for something makes me even more humble. Santa gives the kids one or two gifts a year…big gifts! I make sure that the kids know that mommy and daddy give certain gifts though. My kids are only young once and when they grow up there will be no more fantasy. Life will be so serious. They will cry over every boyfriend that breaks their heart and every basketball game they lose. Then they will be gone and have their own families and will decide if they will tell their kids the truth about Santa Claus. And, in that moment, I hope when they think back on all the Christmases that they spent with us growing up…I hope they smile. I hope they remember the love we shared together…the anticipation of Christ…the anticipation of Santa.

4) Because the life of Santa Claus does NOT take away from the life of Christ. Santa is not the highlight of Christmas in our house. We recognize Advent and, everyday, we talk about the life of Jesus leading up to His glorious birth. Christmas day we have a birthday party for Jesus with cake and songs and dancing. Jesus is the icing on the cake.

5) Because I believed in Santa growing up and it was awesome. And when my dad told me that HE WAS SANTA I thought that was the coolest thing ever. It never broke me or made me think less of my parents for “telling me such a lie”. It made me appreciate the selflessness that went into Christmas in my house growing up. We were a lower income family when I was a child and my dad worked his butt off to make Christmas magical. And the fact that they didn’t take credit for all the amazing gifts they gave us??? Made me love them even more.

So, what do you do? Do you let your kids believe in Santa or not? 

LIke this post? Give it a +1 on Google+!!!

Sources:

(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas

(2) https://www.biography.com/people/st-nicholas-204635

Photo Credit: Flickr