What’s touching your skin all night?

My kids spend about 10 hours a night in their pajamas. Nothing else touches their skin for that long.

So I'm picky about what they sleep in.

Most kids' pajamas are made from polyester or conventional cotton.

Conventional cotton is grown with synthetic pesticides.

Then the fabric gets colored with synthetic dyes and finished with chemical treatments. That includes formaldehyde resins that keep it from wrinkling and shrinking.

None of that has to be on the tag.

Kids also have more skin surface relative to their body weight than adults do. Whatever is on the fabric, they get more of it for their size.

Organic cotton skips the synthetic pesticides. GOTS certification goes further. It covers every step from the field to the factory and bans formaldehyde finishes, heavy metals, and dyes that release chemicals linked to cancer.

3 things I look for when I buy anything cotton:

• The GOTS logo, not just the word "organic." A GOTS "organic" label means at least 95% certified organic fiber. "Made with organic" can mean as little as 70%.
• No "wrinkle-free," "no-iron," or "easy care" on the label. Those usually mean a chemical finish.
• Wash it before the first wear. Washing often lowers formaldehyde levels. It doesn't always get it all out.

That's why my kids sleep in organic cotton.

And they love it when we all match. When the whole family is in the same pajamas, my house turns into a party. 

When they match, they play together instead of fighting. It builds a sibling bond I love watching.

This Halloween, we're matching in the Spooky Sweet family jammies from Butterblu. They're SO cute. And cute doesn't have to mean toxic.

• GOTS-certified organic cotton
• Designed by the founder of Burt's Bees Baby and Honest Baby Clothing
• Buttery soft, and they hold their shape wash after wash
• Sizes from newborn to adult XXL, plus matching pet bandanas

Get the matching family jammies here with 10% off using code FOODBABE.

Xo,
Vani

P.S. Halloween is 26 days away. Order this week and you get a few weeks of matching nights before the big one.

P.P.S. At Food Babe, we only promote products we love and use ourselves. If you buy a product we link to, we may earn a commission.

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Peek into my grocery cart

If you ever spot me at the grocery store, go ahead and peek in my cart. 

I know you want to!

I spend so much time showing you what I would NEVER buy, but what do I actually bring home?

Well, now I’m showing you!

I’m now sharing my entire grocery shopping system when you pre-order Food Babe Feast.

And part of my system is the actual brand list I use myself.

I put together the brands you’d actually find in my grocery cart, so you can see exactly what I’m buying and bringing home to my family.

And I mean the ACTUAL brands!

You’ll see the actual brands I buy for everything from pantry staples, baking ingredients, breads and snacks to condiments, dairy, meat, and so much more.

So when you're standing there wondering which ketchup to grab, which eggs to buy, or which bread I would choose, you can pull up my list on your phone and see what I buy.

But the brand list is just ONE part of what you're getting.

My grocery shopping system also includes:

My Grocery Aisle Playbook: I take you aisle by aisle and show you exactly what I look for when I shop, the questions I ask, my top choices, and what I avoid, so you know what to look for as you make your way through the store.

My Label Decoder: I break down confusing claims like “all-natural,” “multigrain,” “no sugar added,” “fat free,” and more, so you know what those words on the package are really telling you. 

My Terrible 20 List: The 20 processed ingredients I refuse to buy, where they hide on ingredient labels, and what I choose instead.

I’ve spent YEARS reading labels, researching ingredients, and figuring out which brands I trust.

I already did all of that work for you.

And right now, I'm giving you my entire grocery shopping system FREE when you pre-order Food Babe Feast.

You don't even have to wait for the cookbook to arrive. You'll get instant access and can start using it on your very next grocery trip.

Get Food Babe Feast + My Grocery Shopping System!

This grocery shopping system isn't available anywhere else, and once Food Babe Feast comes out November 10, this bonus goes away.

Xo,
Vani

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Don’t be duped by these food labels

The other day I was walking through the grocery store and saw these fruit snacks that said they were “MADE WITH REAL FRUIT.”

I picked up the box, flipped it over, and saw the first ingredient was corn syrup. The second was sugar.

Then came modified corn starch, artificial flavors, and artificial food dyes.

Are you kidding me?

I put those suckers right back on the shelf. If I want to give my kids fruit, I’ll give them some strawberries or a banana!

Then I saw some “SUGAR FREE” pudding.

I went to check the ingredients and instead of sugar, it was chock full of ingredients like artificial flavors and artificial sweeteners like aspartame.

Aspartame and other artificial sweeteners have been linked to cancer in some studies.

No thank you. I’ll take real food over that any day.

And then I saw some “ALL NATURAL” pretzels that looked like they might be good for the kids.

I turned those over and found bleached enriched flour, soybean oil, and high-oleic soybean oil.

Most soy is grown from GMO seeds doused in pesticides and bleached flour has been processed to death in a factory. How exactly is that “all natural”?

Have you ever felt like this at the grocery store?

You’re bombarded with labels like “made with real fruit,” “sugar free,” and “all natural” that make a product sound good...

And then you read the ingredient list and find out it’s actually full of ultra-processed chemicals. 

I don’t want you to be duped by labels like this that you’ll find all over the grocery store.

And the first step is knowing what those labels really mean. 

And that’s exactly why I included a Label Decoder in the grocery shopping system I’m giving you FREE when you pre-order Food Babe Feast.

I break down confusing labels you see all over the grocery store, so you know what they really mean and what to look for before you put something in your cart.

And the Label Decoder is just ONE part of my grocery shopping system.

You’ll also get my actual brand list with the exact brands I personally buy and trust, my Grocery Aisle Playbook showing you how I shop every aisle, and my Terrible 20 List of the processed ingredients I refuse to buy.

Get Food Babe Feast and I’ll give you my entire grocery shopping system FREE.

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR BONUS

You’ll get instant access so you can start using it on your next grocery trip.

Xo,
Vani

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P.O. Box 31521 Charlotte, NC 28231
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My entire grocery shopping system (FREE!)

Have you ever stood in the grocery store staring at two products and wondered which one is actually the better choice?

Or picked up something that looks healthy on the front, only to turn it over and find an ingredient list filled with things you don't recognize?

And how many times have you wondered...

Which one would YOU buy, Vani?

I’ve spent years reading ingredient labels, researching brands, and investigating the food industry. After everything I’ve learned, I know exactly what I look for when I walk into a grocery store.

And I finally put my entire personal grocery shopping system in one place.

I call it the Ultimate Real Food Shopping Guide, and I’m giving it to you FREE when you pre-order my new cookbook, Food Babe Feast!

Inside, I’m showing you:

• The exact brands I actually buy and trust
• How I navigate every aisle of the grocery store
• How to decode confusing food labels
• The 20 processed ingredients I refuse to buy

I already did all the label reading and research for you, so you can stop standing in the grocery aisle wondering which brand to buy.

You’ll get instant access, so you can start using my grocery shopping system right away. You don't have to wait until the cookbook comes out.

If you’ve ever wished I could go grocery shopping with you, this is about as close as you can get!

Food Babe Feast gives you over 100 incredible real food recipes, and this bonus guide helps you know exactly what to buy to make them.

Here’s how to get it:

1. Pre-order a copy of Food Babe Feast from any retailer here.
2. Claim your FREE Ultimate Real Food Shopping Guide by entering your order information here.
3. Check your email for the link to instantly access your bonus guide.

CLICK HERE: Get Food Babe Feast + My Grocery Shopping System

I’m not offering my grocery shopping system anywhere else, and once Food Babe Feast comes out November 10, this bonus goes away.

I seriously cannot wait for you to get your hands on both of these!

Xo,
Vani

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P.O. Box 31521 Charlotte, NC 28231
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Are you putting this on your skin?

I check three ingredients before anything touches my skin. Every bottle, every time.

Most lotions run on the same three ingredients that keep costs low and shelf life long.

The first is mineral oil, also labeled petrolatum or paraffin. A petroleum byproduct that shows up in about 1 of every 14 cosmetic products. It seals moisture in without adding anything, and if it isn't fully refined, it can carry contaminants linked to skin irritation. The EU requires proof of the refining history. The US doesn't.

The second is DMDM hydantoin. It's one of the most common preservatives in drugstore lotion, and it works by slowly releasing formaldehyde.

The third is parabens. Cheap preservatives that also bind to estrogen receptors and turn up intact in breast tissue samples.

None of this shows up in the marketing claims on the front of the bottle. You have to flip it over and read the ingredient list to find it.

I hold what goes on my skin to the same standard as what goes on my plate.

That's why I use The Lotion from Herbal Face Food. 

139 botanicals, nothing synthetic standing in for them: aloe, shea butter, turmeric, frankincense, rosehip. No mineral oil. No formaldehyde releasers. No parabens.

It's formulated for the whole body, not just your face: dryness, eczema, psoriasis, stretch marks, crepey skin, sun-damaged skin. In their own 35-day user trial, 99% said their skin felt more hydrated.

It also comes in Untinted, a fall exclusive available through the season. You pick Tinted or Untinted at checkout.

Get The Lotion here — with 50% off using code FOODBABE50 through tomorrow, September 29 at 11:59pm only.

Xo,
Vani

P.S. Apply it right after you towel off, while your skin is still damp. It locks in more moisture that way.

P.P.S. At Food Babe, we only promote products we love and use ourselves. If you buy a product we link to, we may earn a commission.

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Dinner plans?

I keep all my Food Babe cookbooks right on my kitchen counter because honestly, I cook from them all the time!

They’re filled with recipes my family loves and actually eats at home, so I’m constantly pulling one out to make one of our favorites.

And this recipe from my new cookbook, Food Babe Feast, is one I’m going to turn to again and again.

It’s sticky, sweet, smoky, and absolutely delicious. Everyone asks for seconds!

Wait until you see how easy it is:

WATCH ME MAKE IT!

This is one of those recipes that works just as well for weeknight dinner at home as it does when you have a house full of people.

And that’s true for so many recipes in this book.

Food Babe Feast will be the cookbook sitting in your kitchen that you reach for all year long.

With more than 100 recipes made with real ingredients, you’ll have so many new favorites to make for your family, friends, holidays, parties, and everything in between.

I seriously cannot wait for you to have this book!

Get Food Babe Feast here

Xo,
Vani

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When CLEAN means more chemicals

Did you know the laundry detergent All was invented by Monsanto? The same company that brought us Roundup and Agent Orange.

Their research team developed it in 1946 and sold it off a decade later.

You may scrutinize the ingredients in your food, but have you ever thought about the ingredients in your laundry detergent?

Many mainstream laundry detergents are made with petrochemicals, synthetic dyes, fragrances, optical brighteners, and other chemicals I don't want on my family's clothes and sheets.

And unlike food, cleaning product labels don't always tell you everything that's inside the bottle.

The word “fragrance,” for example, can stand in for dozens of unnamed chemicals that companies don't have to disclose.

I used to love the smell of fresh laundry. Then I found out where that smell actually comes from.

Most “fragrance” is water soluble, so on its own it would just rinse away. But brands use ingredients that help fragrance stick to fabric, which is why you can still smell it on your clothes long after they've been washed.

A University of Washington study measured what actually comes out of a dryer vent when scented detergent and dryer sheets are used. They found more than 25 volatile organic compounds, including hazardous air pollutants and cancer-causing chemicals.

And fragrance isn't the only thing to watch out for.

Those “whiter whites” aren't necessarily cleaner either. Optical brighteners don't remove yellowing. They leave a faint blue coating on the fabric that makes it appear brighter.

And think about how much contact we have with our laundry every day. Our clothes sit against our skin all day, and then we sleep on our sheets for 8 hours every night.

That's why I'm so picky about the laundry products I use in my home.

One brand I use and love is Truly Free Home.  

No formaldehyde, no 1,4-dioxane, no optical brighteners, no synthetic dyes. Plant-derived, enzyme-based formulas that break down what's actually causing the smell instead of masking it.

Their Mixed Laundry Bundle is enough for 100 loads:

• Laundry Wash
• Enzyme Stain Remover
• OxyBoost, a chlorine-free alternative to bleach
• Dryer Angel dryer sheets
• A laundry machine cleaner
• A stain stick

It comes in Signature Scent or Unscented, so pick whichever fits your family.

Get the Mixed Laundry Bundle here — up to 77% off + free shipping, for a limited time. No code needed, the discount applies through my link.

Xo,
Vani

P.S. No subscription required for this offer, and it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee if it's not for you.

P.P.S. At Food Babe, we only promote products we love and use ourselves. If you buy a product we link to, we may earn a commission.

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USA

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