My personal science experiment with BPA

Look at that cute little cup – lookin’ Mason Jar-y n’ stuff with its cute swirly straw!

I’m sure you’ve heard a lot of people saying you should be more proactive about using reusable drink-ware as to cut down on waste. You see a “BPA-Free” sticker slapped on every reusable plastic water bottle in the store. First of all… do you even know what BPA is!? BPA stands for: Bisphenol A is a carbon-based synthetic compound with the chemical formula (CH₃)₂C(C₆H₄OH)₂ belonging to the group of diphenylmethane derivatives and bisphenols. Did you know that BPA is water soluble? Basically meaning, that those plastic chemicals are leaking into what you’re drinking. So we’re safe, so long as we buy the ones with the “BPA-FREE” labels on them, right? Maybe not…

The pictured plastic mason jar above is sold at Walmart for under $5, and claims to be BPA-free. It’s so dang cute, it’s hard to resist, and for so cheap, well forget about it! GIMME DAT!

I made said cup my new official “work cup”. Sure, I’ve heard that glass is better for you! But I didn’t see any glass ones available and I felt like I was still doing my duty of protecting the environment. I was sip, sip, sipping away carefree for a few days. Then, all of a sudden, I noticed that I’d been getting headaches at work almost if not every single day. I thought, maybe it was from the heat + humidity combo that I just wasn’t used to but that I’d acclimate eventually.

A month later, still daily headaches.

I figured, maybe it was from spending so much time staring at a computer. So I brought my glasses to work.

Still daily headaches.

I had considered that maybe I wasn’t getting enough water, so I started making sure I was refilling my cup at least every hour or so.

Still daily headaches.

It finally dawned on me… what if the mass amounts of water I was consuming was the issue?

At work, we use one of those big water coolers that’s allegedly filtered water – kicker was, it’s still coming from a plastic bottle! (which I’m sure has “BPA-free” plastered on it somewhere)

Then, with one more sip from my *uber cute* fake plastic mason jar and straw… THIS was what was causing my headaches. So I experimented with it- I stopped drinking water right away and waited to see if my headache would go away. I figured, it would be a while before a dehydrated headache would come on that I’d be able to tell the difference. Within in ONE HOUR, my headache had gone away.

I seriously could not believe it. All this time, I thought I was doing something so good by using a reusable cup and staying well hydrated and in turn I was literally poisoning myself! Knowledge is power, people!

So what did I do? Chucked that cheap plastic cup for starters! I then finished my bottle of Synergy Kombucha and made that sweet glass jar my new drinking glass of choice.  The chemical risks of drinking from a glass receptacle vs. plastic is almost null. What about stainless steel? Check to make sure that there is not any sort of lining inside the water bottle or you may as well be drinking out of plastic.

Please, PLEASE! Stop drinking out of plastic as quickly as you can! The harmful effects it has on your body are so not worth having something “cute” to drink out of.

10 tips on cutting grocery costs

Think eating healthy has to be expensive? In this post, I’ll give you ten different ways to help you cut costs at the grocery store and get the most bang for your organic buck!

1- Waste not, will not! Save every part of your veggies, and turn the odds and ends into a homemade veggie soup. You can make this is bulk too, and freeze so you can always be prepared with a bountiful lunch option! Don’t have enough of veggie “rubbish” to make a full pot of soup now? Freeze it!
2- Look up what an actual serving size is to avoid over eating/spending/waste. Chances are more than likely you’re eating double if not more, than the recommended serving size.
3- Choose organic from the dirty dozen plus list/ the clean 15. Go standard on whatever else you feel you can’t afford.
4- Drink more water. Skip the coffee, tea, soda and processed juices. There’s absolutely no need to buy bottled water. Buy yourself a fun glass if it will more you more excited to drink from it!
5- Make your own almond milk. It’s actually quite simple, and almond milk lasts almost three times as long as cows milk!
6- Make your own nut butter. You don’t have to own a fancy nut butter machine, a Vitamix or any food processor will do just fine!
7- Skip the dessert. If you’re one who craves an after dinner treat, try reaching for a banana or an apple. You’ll still give your body the sugar it’s craving, without all the added sugars and chemicals. You can even use some of your freshly made nut putter to smear on top!
8- Buy a whole chicken and use it ALL! Here are a few good ideas of how to make a whole chicken last for many meals. Not to mention, the phenomenal benefits of bone broth. HERE is just a few reasons why you should consider eating it with a great recipe too!
9- Shop local/volunteer at a co-op. A lot of small, local shops will trade hours worked for merchandise or at least a sweet discount. Look here to find your closest food co-op, farmers market or CSA.
10- Make your own bread. Got a crockpot? Put that bad boy to use! This recipe looks delish!

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