It’s a hot and sweaty time of year. To top it off, I have a 5-month-old fetus cooking in my abdomen like a little monkey in a hot zone. But this blog is not for complaining, and really I have nothing to complain about because I love hot weather.

My purpose in bringing up the outdoor temperature is to tell you about my favorite deodorant. My sister bought it for me at a store called Lush in Los Angeles. It’s a cream deodorant that works really well (and is really expensive – at least in my opinion).

When I visited the Lush store in my area last week, the salesman informed me that they are discontinuing the cream deodorant in the next few months! So I decided to experiment and find a way to make it myself, based on what I know it is made of (oils and bicarbonate, or baking soda). I was successful! Here is how you do it:

1. For a first time user, I recommend making a small batch as outlined below and trying it to see if you like it rather than making it in bulk.
2. Use a small container with a tight-fitting lid and a wide enough mouth to reach into (ideas include an old lipgloss jar, a mint tin, a screw top travel container, or a small glass mason jar) to mix and store the deodorant.
3. Place a couple of teaspoons of baking soda in the jar and add a few drops at a time of coconut oil, stirring all the while with a toothpick until it is the consistency of a thick paste.
4. If desired, add 3 or 4 drops of your favorite essential oil for smell purposes.
5. Spread a small (pea-sized or smaller) amount under each arm with a cotton swab or with your fingertip. You want a very thin coat because it is very effective and too thick of a coat could stain your clothes.
6. You can store the extra in the container – it will keep for several months at room temperature.

I really love this stuff. It is inexpensive, good for your skin, and doesn’t contain any aluminum or other harsh chemicals that most deodorants do. Also (at least for me personally) it works better than the harshest chemical deodorants I could find! And, as a smell control freak, I have more control over the smell when I make it myself rather than being subject to the strange woodsy scent that Lush used. If you try the recipe, please let me know how it works for you in the “Comments” section below!

If you are excited about making your own stuff please sign up for our e-mail newsletter on the front page of our website: www.marilynfarms.com. Our most recent version has already been sent, but you can click here for a copy which provides great recipes for sunscreen and bugspray!

It’s almost Labor Day!  With this wonderful time of year comes plenty of time outdoors enjoying the sunshine, and with that comes the need for bug repellants and sunscreen.  Commonly used bug repellants and sunscreens are not only expensive – they may contain chemicals that are harmful to your health!  We thought this would be a great time to provide you with recipes to make your own bug repellants and sunscreens.  These recipes work as well as – or sometimes even better than – what you would find at the store and can be made for just a few pennies!  Annie, our own “make-it-yourself” expert here at Marilyn Farms created these recipes for her family.  We hope they work for you and yours!
(more…)

In preparing for our next webinar, which will be on immunity and will take place on October 24th, I came across an interesting article from 1930.  Here is the link:

http://www.westonaprice.org/archive/wap2.html

It is written by Weston A. Price, a dentist that traveled the world looking at the traditional diets of natives, and who just happens to be one of my favorite nutrition voices.  The text is a bit antiquated, as the article was published in the Journal of the American Dental Association in 1930, but the information is as pertinent today as it was then.

Please note that he talks a lot about dairy products, as in his day he had free access to raw milk which is a pure and undamaged food, but today if you don’t have access to unprocessed dairy (either in unpasteurized, low-temp pasteurized, or non-homogenized form) I would recommend getting the nutrients discussed in this article from other food sources such as grassfed meat, seafood and cod liver oil.

Happy reading!

I’m in my fourth month of pregnancy and just moved to Hawaii from Iowa so I’ve been a little tired.  That’s understandable, right?  If it were not for situation number one above, I probably would be drinking lots of coffee to help adjust to the time change and move but since that’s not really a good option for me (the baby is hyper enough already – I started feeling it move around almost a month ago which is WAY early!) I’ve had to find alternative ways to increase energy when I’m unable to stop and rest.

I’m eating plenty of protein in my diet and drinking a ridiculous amount of water, which are usually the two answers I have used to feeling tired.  Since that alone doesn’t do the trick, I’ve turned to nutritional drinks for energy – specifically Marilyn Farms PureNutrition.  I like the green formulas alright but I have really been enjoying our new red formula (creatively named “PureNutrition Red” by yours truly).  It’s a whole foods supplement just like our green formulas, but it contains superfruits that are rich in antioxidants and red pigments such as lycopene and carotene which are very important for my developing baby’s eyes and brain.  To be honest, though, I just really like the taste!  It’s not too sweet and tastes kind of like strawberries and tropical fruits mixed together with small amounts of acai (not my favorite flavor, but the taste makes me know I’m eating something healthy).

Here’s the drink I like to have in the afternoons to keep me from feeling like I’m dragging:

1-2 cups water (to taste, depending on how strong you like it – I tend to use about 1 ½ cups)
Juice of ½ lemon or lime
1 rounded scoop of PureNutrition Red

Mix the above in a glass and drink!  Tastes especially good over ice.

To Learn More Click Here: PureNutrition Red

Below is a link to an ABC news article on organic farming in Iowa that features a video interview of our very own Phil Forbes.

Enjoy!

Read the full article: Reclaiming the Family Farm