15 of the Best Products You Can Buy from Vitacost
When I first started on this journey to healthy living, I was rather shocked to find out how much more certain foods were going to cost. Pastured meat? Roughly 4 times as much as grocery store meat. Organic vegetables? Again 2-4x as much as I had been spending. Eggs? $2 – $4/dozen compared to $.99. If I was going to follow-through with this healthy living thing, I was going to have to do a lot of legwork to find the best prices on everything that came into my home. (And add a lot of beans and rice to the menu too!)
I shared earlier some of the places to look for food like shopping Farmer's Markets and other options for shopping for local food . For meat and produce, I don't think there's anything that can compare to buying local. You don't really know much about grocery store food other than what you are told on the (often misleading) packages. When you buy locally, you know exactly how your food was grown, you support the local economy, and your food is more nutrient dense since it was harvested at its peak rather than picked unripe and shipped.
But what about other non-fresh items? I have found several favorite places to purchase things online at the best prices, and in the coming weeks I will feature those different places and what I typically buy there.
This week I'll give you a list of my favorite items to buy from Vitacost. Their website is so huge, that if you don't go there already knowing what you want, you could easily be overwhelmed and give up.
But I highly recommend shopping for the following items there. Their prices are usually the lowest on these items to begin with, and they often have sales and coupons besides. If you are a new customer you can also get a $10 off $30 coupon when you sign up through my referral link. (Update: Vitacost has discontinued their referral program, so I can no longer offer the $10 coupon.)
In no particular order, these are the things I purchase regularly from Vitacost:
1. Garden of Life Raw Meal – allergy free, non-GMO meal replacement protein powder with no icky fillers. This saved my life many days when I was in the throes of chronic fatigue syndrome.
2. Liquid castile soap – I use this for bathing and making my homemade cleaner
3. Garden of Life RAW Probiotics – therapeutic grade probiotics; one of the few brands that arrive refrigerated so that they stay alive!
4. Garden of Life Cod Liver Oil – Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin D, and DHA are crucial nutrients to my health, especially when breastfeeding. Taking a spoonful of this everyday ensures I get what I need.
5. Blackstrap Molasses – I use as a sweetener, and also take a spoonful occasionally to boost my Vitamin B and iron.
6. Liquid Chlorophyll – provides magnesium and helps…ahem…keep you “regular”. I used to buy the NOW brand, but I don't see it on their site right now.
7. Vitamins – I can tell a huge difference in my energy level if I don't take my vitamins. These are an organic, whole-foods (non-synthetic) vitamin and herb blend.
8. Cacao Powder – You know me and my chocolate. I use this to make my peanut butter cups or hot cocoa. Or sometimes I just stir some up in a glass of milk with honey and mint oil – the most delicious mint chocolate shake ever, and it's full of antioxidants and protein! What more could I wish for?
9. Essential oils – I'm just now learning about essential oils, so I only use them for a few things — peppermint for making mint chocolate recipes, tea tree for making disinfectant, eucalyptus for decongestant chest rub, lavender for adding to my homemade hair spray.
10. Coconut Oil – I prefer to buy my virgin coconut oil from Tropical Traditions, but for cooking, I choose expeller pressed coconut oil since it is odorless and flavorless.
11. Chocolate chips – gluten, dairy, and soy free. Perfect for anyone with food sensitivities.
12. Gluten free flour – Pamela's gluten free baking mix is to die for! You will be in gluten free heaven once you try it! Thank you, Pamela, whoever you are!
13. Real Salt – It's important to use a salt that has not been bleached and had all the minerals processed out of it.
14. Bentonite Clay – I use this for cleansing toxins, brushing my teeth, washing my face, healing burns and bug bites…I'm sure there's more!
15. Apple Cider Vinegar – great for treating colds and flu as well as soaking grains.
Update: I did an impromptu video of my son unboxing some of our Vitacost favorites. Take a peek inside!
Freezer Cooking Guide: Tools for Successful Freezer Cooking
To be successful with freezer cooking it's important to have the right tools. Some of these things you likely already have; others you may need to purchase in order to make your freezer cooking go as smoothly as possible.
1. The Right Freezer — Although you can use the freezer over your refrigerator, it may be difficult to fit a lot of food in there. We like to purchase meat in bulk, and we also freeze fruits and vegetables during the growing season, so our freezer tends to not have much room left over for freezing meals. We purchased a frost-free freezer from Sears so that we would have room for all of our bulk purchases and bulk cooking sessions. You could try searching on Craigslist for a used one, but I recommend getting a frost-free freezer. We had one that was not frost free, and got really tired of defrosting it all the time!
2. Large Bowls — When you are preparing food in bulk, your job will be much, much easier if you have large bowls in which to mix your food. Shoot for at least a 32 cup mixing bowl.
3. Large Pots — If you're going to cook large amounts of food, you'll need large pots in which to cook it! 16 qts. is a good size; although you may like having more than one.
4. Freezer Bags — Freezing food in bags and laying them down flat is a good way to optimize freezer space. Just make sure you are using freezer bags, and not just plain plastic ziptop bags. The freezer bags are much thicker and will prevent freezer burn.
5. Glass Baking Pans — If you're going to double, triple, or quadruple a casserole recipe, you'll need enough pans in which to cook it! You can buy disposable aluminum pans, or just invest in several glass baking pans that you can use over and over. (If you want to have meals in the freezer that you can take to sick or bereaved friends at the last minute, use aluminum so that they won't have to wash dishes or remember to give your pan back.)
6. Permanent marker — You need to label all your food, and a sharpie works best for writing directly on the bags. If you don't want to write directly on something then buy some masking tape, write on that, and stick it to the dish.
7. Quality knives — Don't skimp on the quality of your knives. You want to be able to cut veggies easily and quickly.
8. Two Large Slow Cookers — Use one for a freezer meal and a second one for dinner the night you're cooking all that food for the freezer. You'll thank yourself at dinner time! (I prefer an oval shaped slow cooker, because I can fit larger items in it, such as a long roast.)
9. Ice Cube Trays — Great for freezing left over broth and stock to use in recipes later.
10. Mesh Colander — I prefer mesh for draining since very little other than water can go through.
11. Large Food Processor — If you are going to be chopping large quantities of vegetables, a food processor will make the process go much faster!
12. Cutting Board Set — Having cutting boards dedicated for meat and vegetabes will keep you from contaminating your food.
13. Apron — This is not a necessity, but it's nice to have something clean to wipe your hands on instead of your clothes. Plus, it's fun to put on an apron and get into the mood to cook.
14. Comfortable Shoes — You're going to be standing for a while, so you need to wear something that will keep your feet from aching. I have these and wear them all day, every day without any foot pain. My favorite shoes ever!
Take the time to ensure that you have what you truly need before giving freezer cooking a try. It will be so much easier with the right tools!
Be sure to check out the other posts in the Freezer Cooking Guide:
4 Reasons You Should Be Freezer Cooking
Apparoo App of the Week
I've partnered with Apparoo, the app discovery service for busy moms, to bring you a new App for kids each week!
Each week I'll be sharing the ‘Apparoo App of the Week' with you. Very often they've negotiated to bring you great paid apps at heavily discounted rates and sometimes even free.
This week's app: Rio Read and Play 
Shake your tailfeathers and join blue macaws Blu and Jewel for a colorful read-along adventure set in Rio de Janeiro. This delightful app, featuring characters from the popular animated film Rio, will appeal to fans of the film and newcomers alike. The narrated storybook will encourage your child’s reading skills, the coloring tools will foster their artistic talent – and the bonus activities will grant you peace and quiet over at least two extra states on your next cross-country flight. A feast for the senses, this bright, fun-filled app is like a tiny little Brazilian vacation on your iPad!
Download the app here. (Free for a limited time!)
Disclaimer: I know nothing about this app personally, so I am not necessarily endorsing it by posting here. You'll have to check it out for yourself and determine whether it's right for your family.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Apparoo.
Save Money on Toilet Paper
Want to help with a project that will save us all money?
I'm on a quest to find the cheapest and the best toilet paper. But there are so many kinds to compare! If you're willing to share some information about the kind you use, I will compile all of the results to help us determine which is truly cheapest and best.
(Some kinds cost less, but they don't last as long. Some kinds cost less, but are horrible quality. We're going to figure out what kind to buy to get the most bang for our buck!)
Need Some Homemaking Motivation?
Last Friday I live posted on the Facebook page different assignments to help you get your house in tip-top shape for the weekend. We all worked together and got our homes clean in a hurry!
Everyone seemed to really enjoy the challenge, so we decided to create a group to keep each other on our toes to keep our homes clean and organized.
If you need some accountability in this area, come join us! We have a new habit to work on every two weeks, as well as a focused project to complete each week.
Click here to join the group.
Help for Disorganized People: What to Do When You Get off Track
Last week I shared a number of tips to help you overcome your organizing roadblocks, but no matter how good your plan is you may occasionally find you have slipped back into old habits. Or perhaps something threw you off your schedule, such as illness or another emergency. However it happens, you will sometimes find yourself back into your old habits of disorganization and procrastination.
Here's what to do when you get off track:
• Don't give up — You can choose to let the interruption cause you to fall off the cliff or you can grab control and start from now climbing your way back up the mountain.
• Be honest with yourself — Determine what caused you to lose your focus. Are you overly tired; are you eating right; is something else wrong causing you to go back to your old ways of procrastination and disorganization? Or are you just being lazy?
• Start small — Tackle one small thing to get it reorganized. It's especially important to go back and reorganize the things you've already organized that have gotten off track. Don't tackle anything new until you've at least gotten back to where you were.
• Go back to your calendar — The easiest place to start is your calendar. If you've been writing things in it, even the minutia, then you should have a place to start right there in today's date. If not, start writing in your calendar again.
• Let go — Don't beat yourself up about falling off the path. The important thing is that you're willing to admit your mistakes and start again from where you are. Baby steps will get you there just as well as leaps and bounds.
• Do what works — If you've discovered a way to do something that works, stick to it. You don't need to reinvent the wheel or try to force someone else's methods upon yourself. If it works, it works; so do it! (Just be mindful that you're not letting disorganization and procrastination be what works!)
If you've gotten off track with your organization efferts, take heart! You've realized you have a problem and that fact alone will help you take the steps to correct it. You can take control again simply because you've accepted that you need to. Even if all you do is start with something small like organizing your purse, filling in your to-do calendar, or cleaning off your desk at work. The fact is, starting is half the battle.
Have you gotten off track with your organizing? Where do you need to start to put yourself back on?