If 2012 doesn’t finish with the world ending, my hope is that over the year my whole family will be healthier from eating more raw foods, organic and all natural than we have been. If you’ve followed my blog over the last year, you have seen my journey as I’ve explored cooking healthier and gluten free; first because I HAD to because Ben lost his job so we couldn’t eat out as much AND for Bear and Bug’s health, but now it’s more about a lifestyle that I choose to live. Healthy eating is very important to me- but I can only do so much with a very small food budget!
This post is a little premature being that 2012 is still 3 weeks away BUT I like the idea of getting off to a healthy start! One of the places I’ve been able to shop more and more frequently is Walmart. Their gluten free, organic and all-natural selections have improved dramatically over the last year and I’ve been SO thrilled to see it! Because of their increased selection, my goal for the new year is to eat 100% all natural and organic foods! I have a feeling this will be an ongoing series as I discover more and new affordable recipes, products and foods that work for me, but for now I decided to list 5 things that I recently started using or am now buying at Walmart.
1. Crystal Deodorant– This is a funny story actually. I’ve known for awhile that a lot of the ingredients in most deodorants has some harmful things in them that aren’t good for you SO almost a year ago I switched to Tom’s deodorant. It used to only be sold at all-natural stores for a lot of money but I noticed that Walmart started to carry it. It worked fine in the winter and most of the spring but towards the summer I started to notice… I SMELLED. I wanted to be healthy so I kept using it, sweating in the high heat until I gave up and got a deodorant that WORKED! I was scared to try another all-natural deodorant, especially since I’ve started running again! In fact, I thought about it for several months until I read enough reviews from others about Crystal Deodorant #CrystalRollOn saying it worked- and guess what?? IT DOES! I’ve been using it for awhile now and even after a hard core work out I smell FINE! I’m a believer…
2. Produce– There is a great Natural Foods store near Bear’s school that I frequented 4-6 times a month. I would get gluten free bread, organic snacks and my organic produce for the week. Recently at Walmart it seems like every time that I go shopping in the produce area that the selection has expanded, it has saved me a lot of money to buy my organic produce at there and it’s much more convenient not to have to go to multiple stores. However- I HAVE noticed that the organic selection of veggies is much better than the fruit one… hint hint are you listening Walmart?! SO now I get organic broccoli, organic spinach, organic carrots and organic potatoes at Walmart. 
3 . Snacks– Good, decently healthy gluten free and/or organic snacks used to be non-existent at Walmart. Now, I can get some of the same snacks that I was getting at the Natural Foods store for 1/2 the price AND the selection is much better! There is also all natural or organic options for peanut butter, jelly, cereal, hot cereal… and a lot of the basics you normally buy for your busy toddler and kids. I had a blast on this shop, really taking the time to look and explore- I was actually pretty surprised at how many things that I had missed! My kids are very thankful I spent the extra time. 
I’m excited to give my kids EnviroKids Organic crispy rice and Nature’s Path Organic bars and for myself I love the Cliff Mojo and Lara bars! We are a family on the go- easy, quick, HEALTHY foods are a must-have.
4. Dairy and NON-DAIRY Milk– There are organic milk options available now from the Great Value brand! Also- soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, yogurt, cheeses, etc. all have an all-natural or organic options! Since Bug has milk allergies and I really don’t use much dairy I LOVE that Walmart carries almond milk now! It’s healthier and has MORE calcium. They have an unsweetened version that is great when I make soups like creamy potato… also, the unsweetened coconut is great to cook Thai dishes. Or just eat cereal! 
5. Quick Meals– I stay pretty busy and easy, healthy meals are a must. Spaghetti is a quick example- I usually chop up several cups of produce (carrots, celery, onions, garlic, spinach) to make it a little healthier and cook them with the meat. Organic Bertolli pasta sauce and gluten free noodles (as well as home-style and whole wheat) are what I grab for! It’s so great that I can buy all these things at Walmart now because this meal is much more cheaper than it was.
Check out a few more pictures from my shop HERE.
This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias Thoughts and opinions are all MY OWN. I love taking jobs that reflect me and my interests.
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