I just got my order from Iherb.com today! I was really excited to see two packages waiting for me, two packages of things I've really wanted for a long time, and finally arrived!
I like buying from IHerb because there's free shipping in the US and pretty cheap international shipping (though each package has a pretty low weight limit). There's a good reward system and you get $10 off your first order if you order over $40, or $5 off if you order under that amount if you use this code: LPL829. They have pretty good prices for many healthy foods, vitamins, supplements, etc... But of course, do your own price comparison before buying to make sure it's the cheapest item.
So, what did I order?
We don't do processed sugar in our house, and though I buy honey and jaggery and date syrup, etc... and have many available sweeteners, when I want to just do normal baking, I want to be able to convert recipes that call for white sugar, and use a healthier granulated sugar. I've used coconut sugar in the past and loved it, so I ordered more of it, and also wanted to try sucanat, which is evaporated cane syrup.
So I ordered both. The sucanat looks pretty similar to the coconut sugar, and I have to say, the taste isn't that far off...
I also ordered coconut aminos, which is a grain free, soy free, soy sauce alternative and I was looking for it in my country and they don't sell it here, and I was trying to order it from the US for a while, but it was out of stock for so long... and finally now it arrived. And meh. It doesn't taste so special, doesn't taste so similar to soy sauce. Maybe if I were really desperate, I'd use it, but I'd rather use my own homemade grain free terriyaki or my homemade fish sauce instead of the coconut aminos if I was looking for something soy and grain free...
Oh well. Maybe I'll learn to like the taste. I only tasted it on my finger thus far, maybe it'll be different in cooking.
I also got real peppermint and orange extract to use in dessert making. The only stuff they had locally was artificial, and I wanted the real deal, not chemicals masked as mint or orange...
Can't wait to make mint chocolate brownies, or mint ice cream!! Oh my gosh, so many ideas!! (Thinking of using my homemade chewy chocolate chunks in place of chocolate chips, and then have a coconut milk and sunflower milk based ice cream sweetened with honey....)
The last thing on the list is magnesium oil. Most people are deficient in magnesium, because the body has a hard time absorbing magnesium through the digestive system. There are many symptoms caused by low magnesium. I was having some headaches and people recommended I take magnesium, as well as some other issues that people recommended would be helped by taking magnesium. The best way to take it is actually to rub it into your skin, because your skin absorbs things very well and it bypasses the digestive system that way, and goes straight into your blood stream. (That's why you have to be careful about what you put on your skin!) Some say it stings a little bit when you put it on your skin, but I felt no stinging...
Anyhow, I just wanted to say that I am happy that iherb is green, but my kids might be disappointed. Instead of having bubble wrap, they had this cool paper bubble wrap alternative, which is recycleable, until bubble wrap which just ends up in the landfill... And it works just as well to protect things, it just isn't as fun to play with.
I like buying from IHerb because there's free shipping in the US and pretty cheap international shipping (though each package has a pretty low weight limit). There's a good reward system and you get $10 off your first order if you order over $40, or $5 off if you order under that amount if you use this code: LPL829. They have pretty good prices for many healthy foods, vitamins, supplements, etc... But of course, do your own price comparison before buying to make sure it's the cheapest item.
So, what did I order?
We don't do processed sugar in our house, and though I buy honey and jaggery and date syrup, etc... and have many available sweeteners, when I want to just do normal baking, I want to be able to convert recipes that call for white sugar, and use a healthier granulated sugar. I've used coconut sugar in the past and loved it, so I ordered more of it, and also wanted to try sucanat, which is evaporated cane syrup.
So I ordered both. The sucanat looks pretty similar to the coconut sugar, and I have to say, the taste isn't that far off...
I also ordered coconut aminos, which is a grain free, soy free, soy sauce alternative and I was looking for it in my country and they don't sell it here, and I was trying to order it from the US for a while, but it was out of stock for so long... and finally now it arrived. And meh. It doesn't taste so special, doesn't taste so similar to soy sauce. Maybe if I were really desperate, I'd use it, but I'd rather use my own homemade grain free terriyaki or my homemade fish sauce instead of the coconut aminos if I was looking for something soy and grain free...
Oh well. Maybe I'll learn to like the taste. I only tasted it on my finger thus far, maybe it'll be different in cooking.
I also got real peppermint and orange extract to use in dessert making. The only stuff they had locally was artificial, and I wanted the real deal, not chemicals masked as mint or orange...
Can't wait to make mint chocolate brownies, or mint ice cream!! Oh my gosh, so many ideas!! (Thinking of using my homemade chewy chocolate chunks in place of chocolate chips, and then have a coconut milk and sunflower milk based ice cream sweetened with honey....)
The last thing on the list is magnesium oil. Most people are deficient in magnesium, because the body has a hard time absorbing magnesium through the digestive system. There are many symptoms caused by low magnesium. I was having some headaches and people recommended I take magnesium, as well as some other issues that people recommended would be helped by taking magnesium. The best way to take it is actually to rub it into your skin, because your skin absorbs things very well and it bypasses the digestive system that way, and goes straight into your blood stream. (That's why you have to be careful about what you put on your skin!) Some say it stings a little bit when you put it on your skin, but I felt no stinging...
Anyhow, I just wanted to say that I am happy that iherb is green, but my kids might be disappointed. Instead of having bubble wrap, they had this cool paper bubble wrap alternative, which is recycleable, until bubble wrap which just ends up in the landfill... And it works just as well to protect things, it just isn't as fun to play with.
Order from iherb or vitacost? What types of things do you buy there?
Tags
alternative medicines
chemical free
condiments
frugal strategies
gluten free
green
health and wellness
natural medicine
refined sugar free
soy free
spending money
Sucanat is dehydrated cane juice. This retains more minerals than evaporated cane juice. They are not the same thing and are not made the same way.
ReplyDeleteI recently ordered similar things -- actually ordered the coconut aminos...tried them with food and they were so NOT like soy sauce. It was bland and boring. I also found another web site for the Garden of Life products I like and that is www.healthfoodemporium. I was very happy with their prices. Surprisingly I find most of my "health foods" the cheapest at www.Walmart.com. They do some free shipping to home and cheap if not plus ship to store is free. Unsure about international rates. I will check out the iherb site you like too. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness- you need to just make your own extracts! It's so easy! Just shove a bunch of whatever (mint leaves, peels, split vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, etc) into a jar with cheap vodka. I have a tutorial (if you can call it that) here with more flavor ideas. But I bet you can find mint for free- heck even I can find it foraged and I am nothing compared to you when it comes to that stuff.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.preppypinkcrocodile.com/2012/01/tutorial-how-to-make-your-own-extracts.html
KK
I make my own vanilla extract and almond extract, but my friend who taught me how has attempted mint extract and it flopped terribly so i wasn't so encouraged to try. Tips?
DeleteI plan to try it. So I'll get back to you. I've made close to a dozen other flavors though with great success. Rosemary is awesome for breads (GF) and salad dressings and meats.
DeleteKK
I'm surprised you bought magnesium oil when it's so much cheaper to make your own. I bought a small bag of magnesium flakes for 6euros and have already made 2 big jars of mag oil. I use it every day and still have enough for a few months. You can also make your own magnesium lotion, drinks, etc for a fraction of the cost on iHerb. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteIf you decide to try and need mint you are welcome to come here and pick some. I have mint growing in my yard. I am pretty sure it is spearmint and not peppermint though, and I much prefer peppermint...
ReplyDeleteJust a note on the magnesium (as I used to work in a lab where magnesium absorption and metabolism were studied): If you're eating a balanced diet, it is highly unlikely that you'll have a magnesium deficiency, especially if green plants are as big a part of your diet as they seem to be. And as for the magnesium oil, while it's likely that the oil is absorbed by your skin, any meaningful uptake of magnesium occurs in your gut, and it's not likely that the magnesium (if indeed there is any--metals are not dissolved by oil) in the oil would do much beyond sitting on your skin, and get washed off the next time you wash your hands. The paper linked to here does a pretty good job explaining everything you ever wanted to know about magnesium metabolism in the human body:
ReplyDeletehttp://ckj.oxfordjournals.org/content/5/Suppl_1/i3.full
Personally, I almost never take vitamins (I took a folic acid pill for the first 12 weeks when I was pregnant). They aren't regulated nearly half as well as even the most basic loaf of white bread, and a lot of websites make totally bogus claims based on one paper that shows that consuming Vitamin X leads to improvements in Symptom Y--but only in mouse-subtype Z, and which was genetically engineered to have a mutation so that it would develop Symptom Y, and then they had to feed it 100X or even 1000X the standard equivalent dose in humans to see any effect, etc etc. There is so much bullsh*t on those websites and it just infuriates me to no end because they count on people (like you) who just want to be healthy but don't have the scientific background to realize that most of what you're actually paying for when it comes to these sorts of things is a good story. I could go on and on about these, but suffice it to say that I remain convinced that eating a variety of foods is the best defense.
As for making mint extract, did you freeze it afterwards? A quick look on wiki-How makes it seem as though the oils from the mint plant will separate from the vodka upon freezing and that should give a nice mint extract.
I use Vitacost. I like that they also have free shipping with orders of $49 or more. I wait to place an order until I can meet that amount. I am waiting on a shipment to arrive from them now. I have had some stomach issues so the doctor has me on a diet of no gluten, sugar, peanuts and very limited grains. I can have rice and quinoa. So, this shipment has quinoa, almond butter, my probiotics and a really good Stevia (liquid) I found that has no aftertaste. Other things I order from them are cod liver oil, herbs (sometimes) and various other things I might occasionally need. It really saves me a lot of money. For example, the last time I bought the stevia from a brick and mortar store and it cost me $12.99 plus tax for one bottle. I was able to get TWO bottles for $13.24 from Vitacost. I'll take it!
ReplyDeletewhat is the difference between epsom salts and magnesium oil?
ReplyDeleteliza bennett aht yahoo
My friend was cleaning out her pantry and gave me a bottle of the coconut amino acids. I've used it all and loved it and was wondering where on earth she got it from. I want another bottle. Well, there you go. Just tell the world what you want and await the results :)! I even have an iherb account.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteI'll be happier if there's a link.
It's difficult for me to find coconut sugar.
I'll fnd other products,too.
I am taking magnesium flour now.
Take care.~