365 Organic Strawberry Conserve

Okay, so I had to take my own photo and it's the jar in the center that I am recommending - the Strawberry Conserve. If you are looking for some great jam (jelly for some of you) but nothing too sweet or nothing too chunky with fruit, this is great! I love this stuff and so does my husband. It's amazing that both of us love it because I'm not a big fan of jam/preserves/etc. Too sweet for me usually, or too much fruit pieces. Yes, I'm picky about that stuff - only jam though! The hubby on the other hand loves all types of sweetness, so this is also good for him! And the cost? So very reasonable at $3.99!!

Desert Essence Mouthwash

Looking for an alcohol-free mouthwash? Forget Scope, Crest, and Listerine. Desert Essence's Spearmint Mouthwash is a great alternative. We have been using this for about a year now and we really like it. Recently I went on a work trip and took along a sample size of Listerine because I didn't have a small bottle to fill with this mouthwash. The Listerine was so bad that I hesitated every time I had to use it. It stung and left my mouth tasting like alcohol. I was so happy to be back home and back to our mouthwash. So if you are looking for an alternative, give this a try.

Alaffia Liquid African Black Soap

I know that I've already posted about this but I have to do a separate one. I am currently using this as a facial cleanser and love it (I mix in some baking soda to make it exfoliating and to aid in washing off my eye make-up). My husband uses it as shaving cream, but to create more lather he uses a shaving cream brush; he says it works a hundred times better than just slathering it on your face. I like the fact that both he and I can use the same soap, which makes for less products in the bathroom in addition to the good that it does for our skin and the community that makes it. :) 

Henna Hair Color

In my search for a natural option for hair dye I spoke to a friend who told me about henna. She usually gets it done at an Indian hair salon and suggested that I find a hair salon in an Indian neighborhood and try it out myself. So I had made up my mind to do it when I discovered that Whole Foods sells it and you can do it at home! But I had heard that it was messy. Still I was determined to try. So with my hubby's help I tried it and I love it! I love that it is natural and conditions your hair while giving you "highlights" where your grey hairs were. They sell the above product at our local Whole Foods store. When I went to the Whole Foods store near my mom's house (in a different state), I found the product shown below:

I do prefer the first one so far, but I have only tried the Light Mountain one once. I will have to give it another chance before I determine which one I really prefer. Either way, if you're looking for a natural solution to cover your grey, henna is a great option.

Alter Eco Chocolate Truffles

Oh my goodness! Move over Lindor Truffles and Godiva; make way for Alter Eco Chocolate Truffles! These truffles are amaaaaazingly good! When they say "silky" they really mean it! These truffles are so smooth and silky that they really melt in your mouth. They make me want to eat the whole box in one sitting and don't even make me cough due to too much sugar. If you see a box, I highly recommend you try it. Yes it's a bit pricey but well worth the chocolate. Alternatively they make nice gifts. I recently discovered that our Whole Foods store sells them individually. THAT was an exciting day for me because it meant that I could buy one chocolate truffle and eat it without feeling guilty that half the box disappeared in the blink of an eye. :)

An added bonus? All the wrapping is compostable. Pretty cool. And of course, recycle the box. :)

Alaffia Shea Butter, Everyday Lotion, and Liquid African Black Soap

Alaffia Fair Trade Shea Butter is awesome for dry skin, particularly for hands and feet - and probably everywhere else. I use it every night for my feet and my hands. Despite all the dishes and things I do, my hands manage to stay fairly soft. I say fairly because my fingers are always something I have to work more on. Plus this is also great for massages so if you have someone to massage your feet (or if you want to do it yourself), use some of this and not only will your feet feel better but softer too! It's quite hard when you open it so I scrape some off (about the size of a stack of 2 nickels) and then warm it up by rubbing it between my palms. Then it becomes oily so you can rub it onto your hands and your feet like lotion. The note on the back says something about hair but I'm not sure if that's for everyone. I haven't tried that so let me know if you do!

Another reason why I love this product is because it is fair trade and the company, Alaffia, operates through a co-op of women in Africa who help create these products and improve their lives through the sales of it. If you're curious, look them up. They also sell a whole array of other products. I have tried two of them: everyday lotion and liquid African black soap.

This lotion is so light and smells good without being overpowering. It says it's extra gentle and nontoxic for babies and up, so if I ever have a kid, we will be using this because we will only need one kind for all the people in the household. :)

So, this is some interesting stuff. We tried it as a shampoo but it didn't seem to work well for us. We are now using it as shaving soap and facial cleanser. Works better that way. :)

Introduction to the blog

Why am I blogging about this? Well, I have been trying a wide variety of products from Whole Foods lately and thought that I would post my recommendations on things. I've been wanting to try a whole range of new, better-for-us products at Whole Foods but always thought it was too expensive for the average shopper. And yes, there are still those things that are expensive. But there are reasonable purchases to be made that might be a whole lot better than what you would buy at the regular large grocery chain in your neighborhood. Plus, Whole Foods has high standards for its products and so you can feel more assured that what you buy, organic or not, is still a better product than most. And, they do label products that are non-GMO as well as tell you the eco-scale of cleaning products so you know which one is better for the environment.

Let's get some conflict of interest things and disclosures out of the way first. I am not being paid for these blog entries. I just enjoy finding out about things and sharing them with others. Additionally, my husband works at Whole Foods so I am able to try a lot more products than I normally would if he were not working there. Although we have some perks, we do pay for our groceries so I am actually a consumer in addition to being the spouse of an employee; I do take our money seriously and have been known to calculate down to the very cents about which bundle of toilet paper is actually cheaper rather than grabbing the one that's on sale. (My husband can't stand this sometimes because I can spend minutes upon minutes in the toilet paper aisle.)

Finally, I used to have the impression that you had to be rich to shop at Whole Foods, but I have come to discover that it's a misconception. You can still buy your cage-free eggs, organic kale, hothouse tomatoes, milk, yogurt, bread, coffee, snacks, cleaning products, and whole trade/fair trade bananas at Whole Foods at prices comparable to say, Pathmark (a market chain in the NY/NJ area). It all depends on how you consider spending your money. And I have to say that I prefer buying fair trade and whole trade products for a little bit more than buying products made with no consideration for the source of the raw materials. I think it's a good thing all around. But trust me, I do understand that sometimes your money can stretch more elsewhere. I've been faced with that dilemma many times. But if you are wanting to buy something at Whole Foods and wonder what to try because you don't want to spend a chunk of money and not like what you bought, here's one woman's point of view that you can take into consideration that might help you make a decision.

So I hope you enjoy this blog. Feel free to leave me comments (good ones of course, and constructive criticisms too) and questions you might have. Thanks for visiting!!