Hi, friends! Happy Thursday. SO CLOSE to the weekend I can almost taste it. I’ve got three totally random things I’d like to share with you today:

1. Eco Chic Movement. Last month, Dr. Alexis from Eco Chic Movement reached out and asked if I’d like to try some baby products from her all-natural line. I of course said yes because I’m always on the lookout for safe products to use on Wes. We received the baby basics travel set which includes baby lotion, massage oil, diaper cream, baby face cream, baby skin conditions cream, and shampoo & body wash.

All of the products are 100% natural and made in Ottawa by Dr. Alexis who is a chemical engineer, toxicologist, and naturopathic doctor. The shampoo & body wash came in a foam pump and I had to pump it quite a bit to get enough to lather onto Wes’s head and body, but I could tell it was nice and gentle on his skin. His hair was light and fluffy after his bath too!

The baby lotion had a very thick consistency which also made it a bit harder to dispense, but it was nice and creamy on his skin. I don’t usually use a separate cream for his face, but we tested this out as well and again was very clean and gentle on his skin. I’ve yet to use the other products, but have them on hand when needed!

I also received a couple of trial sizes for creams and lotions for myself and my favorite is the peppermint foot cream. I used this after a night time shower and put socks on afterwards and my feet stayed nice and moisturized (which is quite the feet in this dry altitude!)

Pros: 100% all-natural products; made in Canada; safe for baby!

Cons: The containers my samples were sent in got opened in the mail and they were hard to pump when I wanted to use. Not sure if shipping is to blame for that?

Thanks again, Eco Chic!

2. Checkout 51– This is one of my latest favorite apps. Every Thursday, they load new list of offers (grocery items, office supplies, BOOZE, pet supplies..etc). You simply pick the ones you’d like, purchase them from any store, upload the receipt, and when your account hits $20, they send you a check. Basically, coupons without the physical coupons.

I’ve already redeemed quite a bit through them. And my favorite part is that you can redeem the offer even if you already have a coupon and/or the product is on sale at a given store. Pampers Baby Dry diapers were on there this week, so I looked for where they were on sale in my area, used a $3 off coupon I already had, then uploaded the receipt for an additional dollar off. Boom, I’m a penny saving genius.

PS: US friends, this is available to you too!

3. Homemade Protein Bars. I decided I needed to let go of my beloved Quest Bars (I’ve had one EVERY SINGLE DAY since Wes was born) because they are just too dang $$$. I looked up recipes on SIMPLE homemade protein bars and came across Lindsay’s No-Bake Protein Bars.

Here’s what I used to make them:

• 1.5 c oat flour
• 1.5 c Vega Proteins & Greens protein powder in Vanilla
• 1.5 c Rice Chex cereal
• 3 T chia seeds
• 3/4 all natural peanut butter
• 1/2 c unsweetened almond milk
• 1/3 c honey
• 3 T water

Instructions:

1. In a bowl combine flour, cereal, protein powder and chia seeds.
2. In another bowl combine peanut butter, milk and honey.
3. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir to thoroughly combine.
4. Add water as necessary to make sure the ‘dough’ is moistened. (it will be crumbly)
5. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper and press dough into pan.
6. Freeze for roughly 20 minutes.
7. Cut into bars.

If you click over to Lindsay’s original recipe, you’ll see mine turned out completely different than hers. Mine were super tasty, but I think I can improve on them a bit. Next time, I might try almond butter, rice krispies and omit the chia. I mean, if I HAVE to keep making them, I GUESS I’ll just have to suffer through eating all of them, right? 😉

Do you prefer locally made/natural items for your/your baby’s skin care? What do you use?

Do you have a great homemade protein bar recipe I could try??