Heathly Smoothie Reciepe

Smoothies are a easy way to get your daily dose of fruits and veggies.  Try to use a green veggie (spinach and kale) and any fruit that you like.  Below is one of my favorite recipes.

* Two handfuls of spinach
* Banana (freeze the peeled banana and it will be yummy)
* Apple (don't put in the seeds)
* Cup of Vanilla Greek Yogurt
* 12 oz of water (use less water if you want it to be thick)

It is so yummy.  If you need to make it more sweet add a natural sweetener like stevia or even add more sweet fruit.

Enjoy
Chaundra

www.naturallyme.us

Baby Its Cold Outside

Wow this has been a really cold winter.  You know its cold when Chicago closes schools because the wind-chill factor is 40 below zero.  When I hear those kinds of forecasts, it makes me happy about my decision to move to North Carolina.

It is very important to keep your skin moisturized especially in the winter months.  The winter months will cause you skin to be a little more dry than normal.  All Over Butter will help with that problem.  Its made with 4 luxurious butters, coconut oil and scented with essential oils. It will help keep your skin soft and moisturized.  You can also use it in all hair types.  If you have very fine straight hair, you can rub a dab in the palm of your hand and apply it to your ends.  If you have a relaxer, you can use it to help stretch the time in between relaxers.  If you are natural, you can use it to seal in the moisture. regardless of your hair type, it works best when your hair is wet.

Stop by www.naturallyme.us so that you can get some for yourself.  Be sure to follow us on facebook at www.facebook.com/naturallymefans like us on twitter at www.twitter.com/naturallyme09 or follow us on instagram at www.instagram.com/naturallymeproducts.

Have a safe a fun week

Chaundra

Let's Get Healthy

You know I always say, "What you put on your body is just as important as what you put in your body."  Well I must confess that for the past few years I have neglected my body.  I cared more about what I put on my skin than what I put in my body.  Not realizing that what I put in my body effected the health of my skin.

At the beginning of 2013 I weighed 220lbs.  I am now down to 202lbs.  I was slack last year because I only lost 18lbs.  I know that I shouldn't be hard on myself because at least I lost something, but I am hard on myself because I didn't put in much effort.  I barely exercised.  I went hard on the exercising for a few months and then fell off the wagon. This year I vow to do much better.  I will exercise 3 times a week and eat more healthy.  I don't want my bad habits to rub off on my grandchildren.  I try to drink a fresh homemade smoothie everyday and drink plenty of water.

Lately I have been very cautious about what I put in my body.  I now not only read the ingredients of my body care products, I also read the ingredients of my food. 

From now on, we will post a healthy recipe a week.  Email your favorite healthy recipe to care@naturallyme.us and put your name and Healthy Recipe in the subject line. If it is posted, you will receive a special gift from Naturally Me.  The gift will be a surprise.  It will be anything from a gift card to get some fresh produce from your local grocery store to a fabulous gift set from Naturally Me.

Every Naturally Me order will include a fitness tip and a healthy recipe.  We want you to be healthy on the inside and out.
#letsgetphysical #naturallyme #healthy

Fellas Its OK

Lately I've been hearing women saying OMG my boyfriend/husband is constantly using my beauty products.  I have to hide them.  I tell him to buy his own and he wont.  Please help.

Fellas I'm here to tell you its ok.  Good body care products aren't just for women.  There are 2 things that a woman loves.  A man that smells good and a man with a good skin care regimen. 

Naturally Me's products are great for both men and women.  Although our products are scented, they are lightly scented.  You don't have to worry about smelling like fruits all day.  We have an amazing body scrub and natural soap that I know you will love.

Feel free to visit our website at www.naturallyme.us to see a full list of products. Our products are 100% natural and vegan certified.  Enter mens2014 at checkout to receive 15% off of your first $20 order.  This offer expires on 03.15.14. 
#mensbodycare #naturalproducts #vegan #naturallyme

Ceramides - Very important word for eczema suffers

Most people who suffer from eczema have a low level of ceramides on the top layer of their skin.  Ceramides are one of the major factors that help your skin to retain moisture.  Ceramides are lipids (fats) naturally found in our skin to help our skin retain moisture.  Lack of ceramides causes dryiness of and disturbs the skin barrier. Applying natural oils that are rich in ceramides can help strengthen the skin barrier. Below is a list of ceramide rich oils.  Although there are lots of oils, these are ones that have high concentrates of ceramide.   

·         safflower oil  

·         grapeseed oil

·         poppyseed oil

·         sunflower oil

·         hemp oil

·         canola oil

·         wheat germ oil

When selecting a body oil for your little one, make sure that it primarily contains ceramide rich oils. Naturally Me’s Eczema Oil is made of safflower oil, grapeseed oil, sunflower oil and canola oil.

Visit our website at www.naturallyme.us for a full list of products.

Doing the Happy Dance

I wanted to see what some of baby girls  eczema triggers were.  Over the weekend I took her off of her formula and switched to a lactose free milk.  Since she will be 1 year old in less than a month, I started her transitioned her to milk. While at daycare she gets soy formula and at home she gets lactose free milk.

I saw a huge improvement just in changing her milk.  Although she was still itchy which is a big symptom of eczema, her skin no longer looked like she rolled around in a batch of flour and her skin didn't feel as scaly as usual. She actually started getting color back in her face.

Before switching her milk, I would apply Naturally Me's Eczema Oil and the Eczema Butter (if I saw any inflammation, I would apply the prescribed cortisone cream then the oil and eczema butter).  When she would wake up, it would look like I never applied anything. I would have to reapply the oil and butter every few hours.   Just 24 hours after taking her off of the milk, she was still moisturized when she woke up. I did not have to apply the oil, only the butter.  So I'm so glad that I figured out one of her triggers.  #eczema #nodairy.

I will be keeping a journal at home and I've asked the daycare to do the same.  I want to figure out what is causing the flair ups and journaling her food intake is the best way for us to figure it out.

If you would like to try Naturally Me's Eczema Oil and Eczema Butter, feel free to visit the website at www.naturallyme.us.

Chaundra

Watch out for those eczema triggers

Baby girl had a very itchy night.  I am starting an itching journal for her.  I will be writing down what she wore that day, what material the clothing was made from, what time she ate and what she ate.  I will then write down the scratching intervals.  I notice that she scratches a lot at night.  I think her formula is a trigger but am not 100% sure.

I am also going to change the intervals that I apply her eczema oil and her eczema butter. I am going to start applying it once a hour.  On her bad nights I notice that when I prepare her for bed and apply the treatment, that she is dry and itching in 45 minutes to a hour.

Tomorrow I will purchase a humidifier.  Because winter months are very cold, it makes the air in her bedroom very dry.  A humidifier will help add some moisture to the air which will hopefully aid in putting some moisture back in her skin.

I must say that before my little baby bear's came to live with me and my husband, her skin was in worst condition. She use to have really dark marks on her skin and her skin was cracking in certain places on her body. The dark marks have cleared up a lot but the dryness and itching is still there.

She was using Aquaphor by Eucerin and Triamcinolone Acetonide Cream .1%.  I immediately stopped using the Aquaphor because it contains 41% petrolatum.  Petrolatum is derived from petroleum.  Petroleum actually sits on top of the skin and doesn't allow it to breathe.   I did use the Tracinolone for a few days with apprehension until I saw no change.  Triacinolone Acetonide cream contains steroids and was not working on her skin.  I do apply another cortisone cream which she was prescribed whenever she has a bad flair up.

Although baby girl is not 100% better, I am seeing progress.  I will keep you posted on how the journal helps me to figure out what her triggers are.

Chaundra

My Two Baby Bears

picture courtesy of doonidesigns

Our granddaughter and grandson came to live with us.  We refer to them as our baby bears.  I thought the picture above was appropriate because my grandson loves to help out and love on his baby sister. 

They both have eczema. My granddaughter has worst episodes than my grandson.  They were both prescribed an ointment that contains steroids. Because both of them are under the age of 3.  I didn't think using a steroid should be the first choice. 

I use Naturally Me's Eczema Relief Butter on my grandson and he is just fine.  My granddaughter sometimes needs more.  Some days are better than others with her.  Her flair ups are sometimes so bad, that it causes her chest to get beet red and she scratches for hours. When those days happen I do apply the cortisone cream to help with the inflammation. 

I use Naturally Me's Gluten Free Oatmeal Mask and Naturally Me's Eczema Body Oil on her.  I first apply the mask to her affected areas, let it sit for 15 minutes, then bathe her.  After her bath, I applied the Eczema Body oil.  I give her a mini massage, which she absolutely loves, and then applied a liberal amount of the Eczema Relief Body Butter on her.  If it is a day that she is inflamed, I apply the cortisone cream then the butter to seal in her moisture.  I saw a huge improvement with controlling her itching.  I applied the mask yesterday and didn't notice any itching today. Tonight is bath night and I will apply another treatment and I will keep you all posted.

Even if you have to use a prescribed cortisone cream, be sure to use a moisturizer.  The cortisone cream just helps with the itching and inflammation.  It doesn't attack the moisture issue that is causing the eczema.

Naturally Me's Precious Baby products will be debut on Monday January 13, 2013.  Feel free to visit the website at www.naturallyme.us to see a full list of products.  Our regular eczema line is great for children.  The Precious Baby line has unscented products as well as lightly scented products.