FlushMe 2-Day Quick Cleanse

I received a sample of FlushMe in my May Conscious Box. According to Canfo's website, FlushMe is a blend of herbal extracts that support the cleansing and filtering functions of the liver, kidneys, colon, pancreas, spleen and skin by cleansing the blood.

This weekend I decided to do the 2-Day Quick Cleanse. All you do is take 3 capsules a time on Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday night, and Sunday morning. Canfo suggests that these are taken after a meal.

I certainly felt cleaned out. Though the website says that these capsules contain no stimulants, I had to use the ladies' within 15 minutes each time I took these. I didn't feel any discomfort. There was no real benefit to the cleanse, except that possibly my blood was cleansed. In general, if I want to feel "cleansed" I eat salads, raw fruits and vegetables, and maybe take some fiber supplements.

Ingredients: Mangosteen Extract, Aloe Vera Extract, Dandelion, Dong Quai, Fo-Ti, Cassia, Chinese Rhubarb, Licorice, Tienchi Ginseng, Bai-Zhu Atractylodes.

~ Susan

May 2012 Conscious Box

Conscious Box is a monthly subscription service that focuses on "sustainability, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility."

According to the Conscious Box Website each month subscribers:

• Get a variety of unique pure & natural products
• Sample organic food to vegan beauty products
• Discover ethical and purpose-driven businesses of all sizes
• Get content on daily living tips, exciting monthly themes, and creative ways to use the box

While month-by-month subscriptions costs $12 plus $7 shipping, I paid $64 for six months plus $7 per month for shipping. This comes out to about $17.67 per box.

The boxes usually ship around the 6th of each month, I received this box on the 10th.


The theme of this box is "Refresh."

My May box contained:

• Better Life - a nutrient-rich, hydrating body lotion that is free of parabens, silicones, and synthetic ingredients that has not been tested on animals
• CANFO Natural Products - Flush Me - pills to promote a body detox, they promise to "have you feeling lighter and more energetic in just one weekend"
• Good Nature Tea - this tea is grown in the mountains of Macedonia
• Mayesa - an organic cacao and hemp protein drink
• Natural Vitality - a liquid way to drink your vitamins that contains more than 200 antioxidants, vitamins, amino acids, minerals, and health-boosting enzymes
• Ultima Replenisher - a plant-based and naturally sweet ---- that provides a fresh boost of nutrients
• Mate Factor - Yerba Mate tea is rich in anti-oxidants
• Vaska - a hypoallergenic laundry soap that is free of NPEs, chlorine, phosphates, alcohol, and EPA-priority pollutants and dyes
• Bambooee - a sustainable alternative to paper towels, each sheet lasts up to a week and a half and is biodegradable when you're done
• Wembe - soap
• Dr. Tung's - toothbrush sanitizer that works by releasing essential oil vapors
• TDPO Unlimited - organic cedar wood soap that is blended with mandarin essential oils

~ Susan

Tomato Pasta

I have been working longer hours than usual, so when I get home I am EXTREMELY RAVENOUS!!! As such, I have been making super-quick, extra-easy dinners.

Here's one of my current favorites:

• one box of pasta (I always use either whole wheat, or high fiber pasta)
• one carton of grape/cherry tomatoes
• olive oil
• a couple tablespoons of orange juice

 Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400F and begin boiling water for pasta.
2. Drizzle tomatoes with some olive oil. Roast until wrinkly.
3. While tomatoes are roasting, cook pasta.
4. When the tomatoes are done, scrape them and their juices into a bowl. Stir in a couple tablespoons of orange juice.
5.  Toss pasta with the tomato/orange juice mixture.
6. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Enjoy!

Tonight I ate this with some roasted asparagus and a side salad.

~ Susan

Today's smoothie: pineapple, mango, and orange juice

geoGirl

geoGirl is a makeup company whose target consumers are eco-friendly young girls. geoGirl describes its products as "fun, good-for-skin makeup for lips, cheeks, face & eyes & great skin care made with healthy, natural ingredients like White Willow Bark, Chamomile, Lavender & Calendula & Ginseng, 2 name a few. & we use 100% natural fragrances." I first heard of the brand on Lauren's blog.

These are available for purchase at drugstore.com, but the prices were a bit lower at my local Walmart. I decided to pick up a couple of things to try them out.

I picked some shades of lip gloss and eye shadow that I don't currently have: a purplish berry eyeshadow and a sparkly, pinkish red lip gloss.

 

Each  has a Skin Deep Rating of 4

VBS LipGloss in Tutti Frutti

Ingredients:
Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil,  Hydrogenated Castor Oil/Sebaic Acid Copolymer, Polybutene, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Beeswax, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Flavor, Trihydroxystearin, Synthetic Flourphlogopite, Ammonium Glycryrrhizate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Punica Granatum Extract, Ascorbyl  Palmitate, Tocopherol, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Red 28 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Red 7 Lake















iCU [iSeeYou] Cream2Powder Shadow in Barely Berry
Ingredients:
Isododecane, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Ozokerite, Beeswax, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Talc, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Lanolin Acid, Propylene Carbonate, Phenoxythanol, Butylene Glycol, Water, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Titanium Dioxide, Mica. May Contain: Iron Oxides, Manganese Violet, Ultramarines, Chromium Oxide Greens, Yellow 5 Lake, Ferric Ferrocyanide. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ Susan

Target Fruit Smoothie

To prep for days when I don't feel like chopping up a bunch of fruit for my smoothies, I picked up a couple bags of smoothies from the frozen section of my local Target - you just add water and blend. I was drawn to them because they were actually cheaper per pound than frozen fruit.

 I should have check the bags a little bit more closely! These bags come with frozen fruit and a "smoothie packet." I assumed that the packet just contained yogurt... and it does, but the first ingredient is sugar! I don't need anymore sugar in my smoothies, fruit is sweet enough!

I will grab some plain bags of frozen fruit the next time I'm at the grocery store. All I do is put in some non-fat yogurt and fruit into a blender, and I'm good to go. If the smoothie is a bit thick, I add water or orange juice to thin it out. Tomorrow I think I'll have a blueberry smoothie, hold the "smoothie packet." :)

~ Susan

Smoothie of the day: banana, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, yogurt... and added sugar /:

Wembe Chocolate Cleansing Blend Soap

I bought some chocolate soap and started using it in the shower.

At first, I thought it was dirt... but then I realized that the soap was turning the water brown. Lol, it's very disconcerting, I keep forgetting and thinking it's blood or dirt. So, while I like the cocoa smell of this, I think I'll stick with less pigmented soaps in the future!

~ Susan

Smoothie of the day: orange juice, strawberries, banana, non-fat yogurt

Happy May Day!

Happy May Day!!

The weather here is really great, I'm feeling good, and I'm looking forward to the next month!

I thought I'd share my daily goals for May:

• do 3 sets of 10 reps each of bicep curls, shoulder presses, and triceps extensions
• 100 each of crunches and side crunches
• drink a smoothie
• wear sunscreen

Do you have any goals for this month or season?

~ Susan

Smoothie of the day: raspberries, strawberries, banana, and non-fat yogurt