Meet Greenola Girl Erin!

I am a little hesitant to write an intro post right now.  I learn so much each day and most often my newfound knowledge changes my actions when it comes to natural, healthy, green living.  But for the sake of you, our readers, I will do my best.

I think the core of my healthy habits comes from my mom.  She was a woman ahead of her times.  Back in the early 90s when most people were singing the praises of aspartame and margarine for their health benefits, my mom was telling us how dangerous they were and did her best to keep them out of her home and her families’ diets.  This was true of other things—we always ate whole wheat homemade bread, had bulgur wheat cereal frequently, didn’t even have boxed cereal in our cupboard until, well, never.  She was on top of things.  We all as a family paid less and less attention to what we were eating as we got older and more focused on things like college and moving back to the great United States (that’s a story for later); naturally, my own health was the furthest thing from my mind as I ventured into young adulthood.

Everything changed the moment I found out I was pregnant.  I was now choosing to fuel my child’s development every time I ate or drank anything.  The seeds of my new, “crunchy” lifestyle had begun to grow.  

Throughout my son’s first year of life I have gradually become more and more conscious of what our family eats, drinks, and uses around the house that inevitably goes into our bodies.  My husband, being the intelligent and open-minded person that he is, has happily followed along in my quest for simplification and naturalization in our lives.  If you were to sit him down I believe he would be able to answer you as thoroughly as I could any question about food, health, and wellness.  This helps more than any other thing when it comes to changing a lifestyle.  I value his support and teamwork on this thing more than anything!

Each day that passes finds me embracing more and more natural habits.  I have completely stopped using all my hair products save a natural, argan oil shampoo bar and some organic conditioner.  I even switched my hair dye to an organic, all-natural henna version.  I cook mostly fresh, whole, and organic foods and my son does not eat any refined sugar (though his father and I do on occasion for a “treat”).  

I have found a lot of freedom with this more simplified, natural lifestyle.  There’s no worrying about what we’re eating, no stressing about what I need on the Target health and beauty list and if I’ll have enough to cover the usually astronomical price of a trip through that section of the store.  I save money in some areas and I funnel that money into others—usually the organic food budget.  

I look forward to learning more and hope that you will enjoy reading the articles, blogs, and links we post as we strive to share the wealth of information that we collectively posses.