"Bubba" gum for the greenie!

Chomp. Chomp. My son loves his “bubba” gum. “Mom, can I have some bubba gum.” He’s got this oral thing and the speech therapist says it’s okay for him to chew it and good for his speech. Distracts him from wanting the pacifiers that he has to get rid of on his fourth birthday (he only uses these at bed). I know, Super Nanny but back off…he’s my kid and he’s fine…the dentist and speech therapist says so! Ha!

So I wanted to find a better gum for him. Go to the grocery store and all I see is gum with lots o’sugar or the sugar free stuff. At my local health food store I found Glee Gum and I bought every stinking’ flavor. I got out to my car and opened all the boxes to see what they tasted like. I couldn’t bring him home gum that he’d spit out. Glee Gum is natural, meaning no synthetic stuff, artificial flavors, preservatives, pesticides, etc. You know the kids swallow the stuff so shouldn’t they swallow a good for you alternative??? Yeah, I think so too! The stuff actually tastes good. I like the tangerine and my son prefers the green spearmint. Glee Gum is made with sustainable harvested rainforest chicle, watch the video about the tree to the glee (get it?).

You can order online but most local health food stores have this Glee Gum too! So go for the alternative when it comes to gum and I promise you, you’ll have feel giddy and your kid won’t even know the difference. They even have kits for making your gum and I’m thinking my son would love this for him up and coming birthday! So go chew some "bubba" gum!

A nurse is in the house!!!

Green & Clean Mom proudly introduces, Melissa Bathish RN, MS, CPNP on board as a contributing author and consultant (she's on the left and I'm on the right). With all of this health stuff I figured maybe it’s time to find someone who can give us moms another perspective. Melissa is a busy mom of four but she looks like she’s never given birth because she’s in tip top shape! Her children are 5,7,9, and 12 and with all of their various activities and demands, they keep her on her toes. She’s a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and nurse educator for the University of Michigan (Go Blue!).

Melissa’s Philosophy of health care as a mom, a nurse and a educator encompasses health promotion. She writes:

“What better place for health promotion to occur than in your own home? Join me each month as we explore pertinent health topics that can impact your health, the health of your family and of course mother earth! I look forward to this experience.”

Please note: The opinions expressed in Melissa’s posts are her opinions and do not serve as medical advice or guidance. The posts are for educational and information purposes only. Green & Clean Mom or Melissa Bathish will not be held responsible or accountable for actions taken due to any post or opinion. If you have a serious question, talk to your doctor!

Tomorrow, Melissa will post on facts about BPA and weigh in with her opinion and some helpful tips. If you’d like Melissa’s opinion on something please feel free to leave her a comment and a nice Green & Clean Mom welcome!!!

Get a "natural" white smile!

I’ve always been drawn to an attractive smile. I don’t want to sound vain but I look at people’s teeth and their smile. It’s probably because I had horribly crooked teeth until high school. I remember dreaming about my teeth being perfect and excited to get braces. Now that my teeth are straight (almost, I have a crooked eye tooth on the bottom) I look at how white someone’s teeth are. It’s just me. I actually used to use over the counter whiteners because I wanted my teeth to look crayon white, like the stars on television. I realized how this wasn’t exactly “natural” and that there could be some risks involved so I stopped. Now my teeth are a little bit yellow…not a lot…but enough to make me contemplate a run to the drug store.

This sent me on a research mission for a natural way to whiten my teeth! Phew, I found a yummy option (wipe brow with hand)! Strawberries and baking soda…go figure! According to this great article online from, Health.com, the strawberry secret is, “malic acid, which acts as an astringent to remove surface discoloration.” Add baking soda and you have a natural buffer for the shine! Health.com, offered the following recipe:

You need:

1 ripe strawberry

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

You just crush it all together and use your toothbrush to spread it on your teeth (has to taste better than the white strips). Health.com, recommends leaving it on for five minutes and then brushing with, hopefully, your all natural toothpaste! You have to be careful to not do this too often, the baking soda can hurt your enamel and the strawberry does have natural sugar that can cause cavities.

I did try this and it wasn’t too bad. I haven’t noticed a big difference but I’ll do it a few times over the next month and hopefully I’ll be pearly white again. I do recommend flossing because of the seeds!!!

Ingredients in Kids Food Not Tested For Safety!

Have you heard of the website Allergy Kids? I stumbled on it one day forever ago and even though I don't have a child with allergies I subscribed. Now why would I do that? Well, I have children over to my home all the time for playgroups and many of them have food allergies. I have a degree in early childhood education so I care about these types of things. Everyone should care and want to know. More and more crap is making it into chemical cleaners, household and personal care products as well as food and it's hurting our children. Why are there so many diseases and problems with children now? There is a link whether I can prove it or not and common sense is all I need to guide me in writing this. We have to be educated consumers and choose products from trusted companies and become advocates and write the policy makers.

In a recent email newsletter Allergy Kids alerted me to the fact that there are ingredients in the sodas, pizzas, candies, and infants formulas (yes infant formuals) that have never been tested for human safety. Isn't that lovely? Here's a tidbit from the newsletter I received today...

As a result, according to Daniel Sheehan, an FDA scientist, American children are part of "a large, uncontrolled and basically unmonitored human infant experiment," as these foreign proteins and allergens find their way into our children’s food products.

Scary. Scary. Scary. So do what Allergy Kids suggest and write your congressman and get this changed. We cannot continue to tolerate this! Make sure you check out their website, blog, research, cause and watch their interview on CNN. Oh, and subscribe to their newsletter because it's the best one out there for information on what is going on with the food we feed our children.