Since we began Paleo Parents, we’ve been increasingly and routinely asked to review books and products by people in and adjacent to the paleo community. At this point, we get so many we are unable to actually do the reviews of the products in a timely manner! That’s why we recruited the Paleo Parents Review Team to fill in the gaps. Look forward to reviews on Tuesdays!
This week, we have Kari reviewing The Modern No-Nonsense Guide to Paleo by PaleoNonPaleo‘s Alison Golden and an adorably assembled generous basket from Perfectly Natural Family Soaps natural body product line. Then, Anne reviews the new baby book Beautiful Babies by the Food Renegade, Kristen Michaelis.
The Modern No-Nonsense Guide to Paleo by Alison Golden
Do you know what the Paleo diet is all about but are having problems implementing the lifestyle? Then pick up Alison Golden’s The Modern No-Nonsense Guide to Paleo to learn the “how to” of Paleo. Alison teaches you the necessary skills to adopt the Paleo lifestyle and stick with it.
You can choose to read the book cover to cover or sections at a time. You can locate an issue you are having in the table of contents and turn to that section. Have the Paleo lifestyle down at home but experience a “Paleo faileo” while on vacation? Turn to “Going on Vacation” in Section Four: Living Paleo – Unusual Situations for ideas on how to stay on track while on holiday. For our upcoming vacation to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, I am planning on using some of these ideas. Specifically, we are renting a hotel room with a kitchenette so that we can cook some of our own food. We will also be planning our meals while on vacation as we do at home to try to avoid any “Paleo faileos” that may arise.
I feel most everyone has heard the expression “if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” “Developing Routines” in Section Two: Beginning Paleo has helpful routines to help keep you planned and on track. I struggle most with keeping a bedtime set and grocery shopping on schedule. If I am able to implement all of the routines mentioned, I’m sure my level of success will increase!
Perfectly Natural Family Soaps
Perfectly Natural Family Soaps (PNFS) is a family owned business out of Rhode Island who creates a full line of skin care and home products – everything from lip balm and massage oil candles to laundry soap and dryer sachets. Their skin care products are natural, dairy free, and gluten free. I had the pleasure of trying the lip balms, soaps, massage oil candles, and face cloths.
The lip balms are awesome! Even after the first use, my lips felt smoother. Unlike commercial lip balms which tend to leave my lips needing another application of balm within an hour or so, I only need to apply PNFS lip balms twice a day to keep my lips feeling hydrated and happy. Of course, I find myself applying the balm more often just because I love it. I am obsessed with the Honey Lip Balm! I also tried the Coconut, Cinnamon, Cherry, Coffee, and French Vanilla. I enjoyed all of the scents but the Cherry was very intense. The Coconut transported me to a sun soaked beach. There are many scents to choose from and I cannot wait to try the Mint!
The soaps are made by hand using the “Cold Process Soap Method.” The soaps truly moisturize and nourish your skin. After just two uses, my skin already feels healthier and the need for after shower lotion has vanished. These were the first 100% natural soaps I had ever tried and I’m hooked! I personally love the Wakame Sea Soap (which I could not locate on their site; however, it has the same essential oils as the Spearmint). The soap gave my skin a slight tingle and the scent awoke my senses. I loved using the soaps with the 100% USA Cotton Face Cloths. They gave a spa-like experience to my everyday shower routine.
When I first opened the Massage Oil Candle, I did not understand if it was just a candle or something I was supposed to use on my skin. Luckily, there are instructions on the side of the candle. You can light the candle to let the contents melt and have liquid massage oil to rub on your skin or you can scoop out the contents and rub, using it like a thick body balm. I tried both methods and prefer using it like a body balm. My favorite scent is Fiery Spice which contains the essential oils of bergamot, eucalyptus, and ylang ylang.
I cannot wait to try some of their other scents and products (like the Lotion Bar – I hate getting lotion under my fingernails so this product has my name written all over it!). I am thankful I had a chance to try a variety of PNFS products!
Important addition! Perfectly Natural Family Soaps would like to offer you free lip balm and bath fizzle with a $25.00 order if you order in the month of April! Go now, you can’t miss this!
Beautiful Babies by Kristen Michaelis
Beautiful Babies was a book I’d wished I’d had during my pregnancy. It is a resource for anyone who is trying to prepare their bodies to try to conceive, already pregnant or post pregnancy. The emphasis is on real foods and proper nutrition for promoting fertility, supporting the pregnancy & breastfeeding and then the baby’s first foods. A well-researched look at a traditional (Weston A. Price), nutrient dense food (Paleo/Primal) style of eating focusing on eating for optimal fertility and nourishment. While this book obviously focuses on & targets growing families and those looking to nourish the families they already have.
The first two thirds of the book discusses optimal nutrition for conception and nutrition during the pregnancy. She discusses how and why the foods we eat now have change drastically from the foods our parents and grandparents ate. Not only does this book discuss what you should be eating such as bone broth, kombucha, fermented vegetables, as well as making as much of our food from scratch it also addresses what items you should avoid and why.
The final third includes recipes as well as information on deciphering food labels and tips for eating real food on a budget. While the recipe section was helpful I wouldn’t necessarily purchase this book for the recipes alone. The appendix section focuses on labels, food additives, GMO crops which were all especially informative & enlightening for me.
I found this book worth reading, buying, referring to and giving as gifts to anyone who is on the fertility journey. It broached the subjects of nutrition, traditional food and modern food in an understandable fashion. This book helps navigate how our foods have changed significantly over the years and what we need to go to get our diet back to core values our grandparents/great grandparents followed. In our “new world” of industrialized Franken foods for convenience and we have lost some of these tenets.
