A slightly more natural life. Maybe?

My life is just full of change this year. Not only am I finally on anti-depressants (and grateful for all your support, even if I have a hard time saying it), as well as four good months into self-employment as a full-time writer, I have also done two other big things:

1. I use baking soda and white vinegar for everything in my house. EVERYTHING.
2. I've stopped eating sugar.

Let me hit on those one at a time.

First of all, did you know you can do just about anything with baking soda and vinegar? It's true! I use them to clean my counters and floors, I use them instead of soap in my washing machine (especially when the cloth diapers need to be stripped--yuck), and the REALLY BIG WEIRD ONE is that I am also using baking soda instead of shampoo.

That's right. I haven't shampooed my hair once in the last three months. I only wash my hair once or twice a week, and I just use a little bit of baking soda rubbed into my scalp.

Surprisingly, my hair quality has drastically improved. My hair is very dense, but fragile and fine; chemicals wreak havoc on it. When I shampooed/conditioned every day, I always looked greasy and gross, and my hair was impossible to style. Uh, not that I style my hair. I'm way too lazy for that.

Skipping the shampoo means my natural oils have a chance to shine, in a good way! And it's pretty much the most awesome thing I've ever done. I don't have to shower as frequently. (Very convenient, when one's toddler is in that "I MUST HELP YOU WITH EVERYTHING ESPECIALLY PERSONAL HYGIENE" phase, as mine is right now.) Saving money is pretty sweet, too.

I do use it as an excuse to go loooong periods of time without showering, though, what with all the laziness. My poor husband. Good thing the Helpful Toddler doesn't seem to notice I reek.

You can learn more about going no shampoo and how it works with your type of hair here: http://noshampoo.org/ (They recommend apple cider vinegar for the conditioning. I just don't use it at all.)

But I think I like using it as a cleaning solution even better. I am paranoid, and having toxic chemicals under my sink scares the crap out of me when my son is clever enough to circumvent baby locks. Being able to fill a squirt bottle with white vinegar and tea tree oil (which is an anti-fungal) and use that for everything--seriously, everything--is a nice, non-toxic way of cleaning up those poopy cat butt smears. Because sometimes, the kitties just can't resist the urge to drag their tushies across my dining room floor.

You guys are SO lucky you're cute.

The second thing is that I've cut out sugar. Actually, almost all carbohydrates. I still eat lots of veggies, so long as they grow above ground (especially the leafy green ones), and low-sugar fruits like avocado and a little tomato, but no wheat or grains or refined sugars. No bananas or apples and suchlike, either.

Why? Well, my body mysteriously decided that it hated sugar a few weeks ago. I suddenly ballooned and felt horrible. You don't need the details, but trust me when I say that the gastrointestinal situation was... no bueno. Muy, muy no bueno.

I've felt tons better since I cut out carbohydrates (less than 30g a day, not counting fiber). No more blood sugar swings, no more bloat, and I've lost about 8-10 pounds. Plus, I never seem to get hungry anymore.

I'm not going to lie--the first week of no-carbing sucked. I was exhausted and foggy. I napped with the baby every day and got nothing done.  But ever since I adjusted, I have felt so much better. I don't really miss the sugary stuff all that much, since I'm eating tons of baked avocado, bacon and eggs, chicken thighs, leafy green salads, and nuts/cheese.

And oh man. Lattes made with heavy whipping cream? Dangerously delicious.

So that's life right now. I guess I'm trying to make things a little more natural--or at least, a little less processed. Lots of cooking at home. I make my own cleaning fluids and shampoo substitute. My son waddles around with mooshy cloth diaper butt. I might as well grow some awesome dreads and wear tie-dye shirts everywhere.

My son is way ahead of me on that.

This is my current favorite low carb recipe:

BAKED AVOCADO

Big avocado

Sour cream

Bacon

Olive oil

Salt

Some of your favorite cheese

Cut the avocado in half, rub with olive oil and salt, and bake in the oven until hot and tender. (You want temperatures? Pfft. We don't need no stinking temperatures.) Cook the bacon until it's crispy. Add cheese to the avocado and keep baking until it melts. Then add a dollop of sour cream to each half, crumble the bacon on top, and share with your spouse. If he deserves it.

Have you been getting into lifestyle au naturale at all? Got any good recipes for me?