Fluoride-free toothpaste review

On the advice of my holistic doc I am off fluoride. I'm buying and drinking/cooking with spring water instead of city fluoride water. I switched to fluoride-free toothpaste. More about fluoride later but this is a toothpaste review.

First, I stupidly tried to find some at Walmart. An entire wall of toothpaste and the only fluoride-free kind I could find was for infants.

Ingredients: Propylene Glycol, Glycerin, Hydrated Silica, Sorbitol, Water, Poloxamer 407, Cellulose Gum, Sucralose, Citric Acid, Flavor
Cons:
I don't recognize the names of many of the ingredients so I am not sure what I am putting in my mouth.
I don't like the taste.

This was a fail.

Nature's Gate natural toothpaste, on the other hand, I LOVE!!!

 

 

 

Ingredients: Calcium Carbonate, Glycerin, Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Flavor*, Carrageenan, Mentha Viridi (Spearmint) Leaf Oil, Quillaja Saponaria (Soap Bark) Root Extract, Camellia Sinensis (White Tea) Leaf Extract, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Fruit Extract, Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Fruit Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract, Sodium Bicarbonate,
Hydrated Silica, Calcium Glycerophosphate, Bisabolol,
Sodium Chloride.

 

The box says:

paraben free

sulfate free

no sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate (I'm not sure what this is but I am on board.)

no artificial flavors or sweeteners

no animal by-products or testing


Pros:
I love the taste
My teeth feel cleaner than they used to.
I still don't recognize all the ingredient names but I feel more comfortable, maybe because the box says natural and a lot of the ingredients have natural things in parenthesis. Hopefully, it's not a false sense of comfort.

Cons:
It's more than $5 a box, which I'm fine with paying. It should last a long time.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely. The natural foods store I shop at has 14 fluoride-free toothpastes. I'm torn. Should I try a new kind next time or should I just stick with what I like?

My Ninja food processor

I bought a Ninja food processor right before Christmas using my Kohl's cash from Black Friday shopping. (This was my first year doing that and I did get some good deals--but I'll never be the shop all night or wake up at 3 a.m. type. I wandered in in the afternoon and got what I got.)

I've used it a few times and I liked it but for some reason it took me forever to finally make hummus, the number one reason I wanted a blender/food processor. Last night I made THE BEST HUMMUS I HAVE EVER MADE. Yes, it really was worth all capital letters.
I googled a random recipe and tweaked it to:

Classic cumin garlic hummus
Ingredients:
2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained, rinsed
1/3 cup tahini
1 fresh lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon salt
several cloves garlic (I used four because they were smallish)
couple tablespoons olive oil
2 or more tsp cumin

Blend until smooth. Add water during blending if it's too thick. You can drizzle with the olive oil (or just put it in the mix, like I did) on top and sprinkle with paprika if you want.

Here's the Ninja I bought. It really does a good job with the blending. In fact, the first time I tried to chop onions in it, it turned them into juice. (You can rough chop with it but you have to be careful to do just a few pulses at a time.) I also like the fact that you can take out the blades and use the container like a pitcher--even put the cover back on and put it in the fridge. (Although it wouldn't be perfectly sealed.)

The coolest part is that it was on sale and I used my Kohl's cash so it was cheap. (You get vouchers you can spend in the store when you spend money--you have to come back later and spend it within a specific time.) I can't remember how much I spent but I think it was somewhere around $20.

Homemade crackers to try

I keep thinking about making my own homemade crackers but I haven’t done it yet. Here’s one I’d like to try.

Homemade Wheat Thin Crackers

From Smitten Kitchen.   (I’m adapting these to take out the processed sugar and dairy.) Yield: About 3 dozen.

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar  (I wonder if honey will work or if it will burn?)

1/2 teaspoon table salt, plus additional for topping

1/4 teaspoon paprika

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (olive oil)

1/4 cup cold water, add this last

Recipe notes: Preheat oven to 400 degrees, mixture should resemble coarse cornmeal, knead once or twice, lightly grease baking sheets or line with parchment paper. Roll dough out to very, very thin rectangle shape on well-floured counter and don't allow them to stick. Stick with a toothpick. You don’t need to space the crackers much because they don’t spread much. Bake until crisp and bronzed about 5 to 7 minutes. Thin crackers will cook faster than thick crackers. They will keep for a week or two. They can also be frozen in airtight containers between sheets of waxed paper for a couple of months.

I'll update later after I try these.

Healthyish store bought products

I found a new brand of crackers I like. Back to Nature. They don't have any yeast and the ingredients are fairly healthy. They do include some processed sugar so I do need to be careful about that.

I love these and it seems like the sugar content is slightly better than the other product.

Ingredients: ORGANIC UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), ORGANIC SAFFLOWER OIL, ORGANIC GROUND WHEAT FLOUR, ORGANIC WHEAT FLAKES, ORGANIC WHOLE BROWN FLAX SEED, ORGANIC EVAPORATED CANE JUICE, ORGANIC BROWN RICE SYRUP, SEA SALT, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE), ORGANIC BARLEY MALT EXTRACT, SOY LECITHIN. CONTAINS: WHEAT, SOY.

These are pretty good too.

Ingredients: UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), SAFFLOWER OIL, RAW SUGAR, DEFATTED WHEAT GERM, CORNSTARCH, BROWN RICE SYRUP, SEA SALT, MALTED BARLEY EXTRACT, LEAVENING (MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, BAKING SODA), NATURAL TURMERIC FLAVOR. CONTAINS: WHEAT.

Pros:
great taste 
no yeast (something I'm working really hard to avoid)
it's nice to have a treat occasionally without going too far

Cons:
They are pricey. More than $5 a box.
They contain sugar, which I am also trying to avoid.
Although they are somewhat healthier than some products, it's still processed food.
It's hard to eat just a few.

Although they aren't my favorite, Triscuits are probably better for me.

 

Ingredients: WHOLE GRAIN SOFT WHITE WHEAT, SOYBEAN OIL, SEA SALT.

Pros:
No sugar
short, simple ingredient list
they aren't my favorite so I don't go crazy eating them

Cons:
Still processed food.

Processed foods

I used to eat a lot of processed foods. Pizza, tator tots, pasta and pasta sauce, ramen noodles, packaged noodle and rice mixes, canned soups, store bought bread, pop, juice, canned tomatoes, salad dressing and condiments like mayonnaise and mustard. I've pretty much cut all those things out now.

Occasionally I still go out to eat and I might have some pasta or bread. Yesterday I had a burger and fries. Most of the time I still try to eat fairly healthy even when I do eat out: Thai food or chicken or fish and steamed veggies.

I feel pretty good about the fact that I'm eating better. I feel physically better and I have the mental satisfaction of meeting a goal. In my last post I made this comment: "Since I'm eating very little processed food lately I don't even feel guilty about the salt (that I added to my food.)" Then I started to wonder, is that true? Yes, I eat a lot less processed foods, but can I say I rarely eat processed food? No, actually, I can't.

Here are some of the processed foods that I still eat: (*foods I eat frequently bolded foods I would consider to be higher in sodium.)
*canned beans, whole and refried
canned beets
*black olives
*yeast free crackers
pretzels
*corn chips
*canned tuna
*olive oil
tahini
*sun butter (sunflower seeds)
the processed foods I eat when I do eat out
rice milk
cereal
Daiya cheese
falafel mix
dried fruit
pumpkin seeds
"veggie meat"

less processed but still processed
frozen veggies
chicken breasts
fish fillets

It's not a bad list, especially considering how much processed food I used to eat and how much the general population, at least in the U.S., eats. But I can improve.

First off, I can eat more raw, fresh veggies. And I can buy low sodium canned beans and/or rinse my whole beans. I can good them from scratch too but I don't think it's realistic that I'd never eat canned beans or beets--it's too easy and quick for meals at work or after work. I can also cut back on the amount of corn chips, pretzels and crackers I eat. They are yummy but aren't doing a whole lot for me nutritionally. I can try making homemade falafel from scratch instead of making the mix--although that's not one I eat often. I already eat Daiya cheese or veggie meat very infrequently.

Simple flavors

Before I went dairy free and started eating healthier I often drowned my food in cheese and sour cream. Rice and beans, salad, potatoes, casseroles--it was all a vehicle for dairy.

Lately, I've discovered the beauty of simple flavors that enhance not cover up the taste of my food. My new favorite toppings? Fresh squeezed lemon juice, olive oil and salt. (Since I'm eating very little processed food lately I don't even feel guilty about the salt.) Sometimes I also add red pepper flakes.

Tonight I had a modified rice and beans with quinoa, refried beans, fresh chopped onions and black olives eaten on corn chips. (I should have added fresh cilantro and greens but I was out.) Lemon juice, olive oil and salt was the perfect addition to this meal.

It started out as my version of salad dressing. I tried all kinds of things, chopping fresh garlic into the oil and adding other seasonings but I find I like the simple version best. It's really easy too. I even use it at work. I have a bottle of olive oil there and I keep fresh lemons in the fridge--when I'm ready to eat I just squeeze, drizzle and enjoy.

Then I tried it on top of my new favorite meal: blackened chicken (cumin), sprouts, onions and black olives wrapped in a homemade whole wheat tortilla. Loved it! A variation is falafel instead of chicken with tahini sauce. Both are great with the lemon, olive oil and salt combination.

I can't wait to find out what else it tastes good on!

Falafel with homemade whole wheat tortillas

I love falafel and I've always wanted to try making it at home. It's intimidating though, getting the spice mix right, grinding the garbanzos up--it seems iffy and messy. This week I stopped by an international grocery store and found a mix with a fairly healthy ingredient list so I decided to try it.

Ziad brand falafil mix:

Ingredients: Ground chick peas, ground fava beans, spice blend, minced onion, garlic, baking soda, salt and sesame seeds.

I realize this would be healthier if I made it homemade. But this is much faster and it's still not too bad. I look for a short ingredient list with clearly recognizable words--not chemicals.

It is a bit spicy--I liked it but I think Chad would say it was too spicy. One option to make it healthier and less spicy is that I could make a half and half mixture, half mix and half ground garbanzo beans. I think I'd still get the flavor of the mix. Another good point is that it makes a healthy amount. I mixed plenty of patties for two (even though it was just me tonight) and I only did about half the mix. The entire box only cost $2.99--I was surprised but the prices were pretty good at the international store.

The box said to fry them in oil until they float but I just did them on the grill with a small amount of olive oil. They stay pretty soft that way but I liked it. Sometimes it almost gets too hard when deep fried.

Here's how I ate it:

Homemade whole wheat flour tortillas topped with falafel burger, organic tahini with no added salt, sprouts, red onion, black olives and a squeeze of lemon. That's a second burger sitting next to my meal. Magnificent. I really, really loved it.