***This review is specifically about the company’s Super Seed crackers.

On the Paleo diet or especially for those who are going gluten-free, it can be difficult to find snacks that don’t have ingredients we are avoiding. As I was perusing the Natural Foods area of my local Wegmans (best supermarket ever, btw), I noticed Mary’s Gone Crackers Super Seed variety. I grabbed a box after reading the label.

These crackers are not the prettiest things around, but they taste great. They come in some different flavors, but I prefer the plain super seed crackers. I don’t have a dairy sensitivity so I put cheese on them occasionally. More often, I use them to go with one of my Paleo dips. Did you know you can make a Paleo compliant artichoke dip? YUM. Find out more on my pin here.

Like I said, not the more beautiful cracker, but it’s sooo good for you and tasty too!

For all of you out there who are avoiding certain things, Mary’s Gone Crackers are all organic, gluten-free, non-gmo, whole grain, kosher, both peanut and soy free, plus are vegan. What more could you want from a cracker? But there is more! According to the nutrition information on the side of the box (I’m an ardent label reader), the crackers provide 450 mg of omega-3 acids per 30 gram serving. That’s about thirteen crackers, by the way.

I see absolutely nothing in the list of ingredients or the nutrition information that causes me alarm, and I’m pretty thorough when purchasing food. The products are also ethically produced, so don’t worry about some poor Chinese boy killing himself just to put food on his family’s table. Believe me, there’s still a lot of that. I hope I don’t get sued for that opinion.

Right now the company makes crackers, cookies, and pretzels. I’ve tried the pretzels too, and really liked them. I love pretzels, but it’s not easy to find a brand that’s Paleo-compliant. There are more products on the way, according to the brand’s website.

For me, finding an easy snack that’s still delicious but sticks to my diet is a great thing! Do you eat Mary’s Gone Crackers? What do you think of them? Tell me in the comments!

Why is a website devoted to chronic illness reviewing a bunch of markers? For an excellent reason. One of the activities someone with a chronic illness can almost always do, no matter how bad we feel is coloring. Adult coloring books are all the rage right now, and with good reason. They’re fun!

I have about a dozen different coloring books. I like variety. I also have metallic markers, glitter gel pens, metallic colored pencils, and regular colored pencils. As I said, I enjoy having choices. But today I’m talking specifically about Crayola Super Tip Washable Markers.

i like these markers because they help you work fast. At times, taking two or three days on a picture is fine, but a feeling of accomplishment is nice when you’re laid up and can’t take part in your everyday activities. During those days you want to be able to finish a picture in one sitting. Also, some designs don’t lend themselves well to colored pencils or gel pens.

I first bought a set of 24 and more recently got a big box of markers; 80 different colors if I remember correctly. My one complaint is some of the colors look quite similar, and some don’t go on the page looking at all like the color on the cap. Once you get used to which markers create which colors it’s quite easy to use them, though.

As far as good points, the markers come in a lot of colors. The tips are pretty small, which is nice when you’re working on one of those complicated adult coloring book designs. The colors are vibrant, which makes for some beautiful finished pictures. Lastly, even the more recent order of the larger set of 80 markers is pretty reasonably priced. I bought mine from Amazon for $13. For 80 markers, that’s a good deal.

I’m happy to review different coloring books, my colored pencils, my other markers, and/or my gel pens. I go through these books quickly, which in turn means I go through the coloring materials quite speedily. I’m off to color right now, in fact.

Do you use adult coloring books? What medium do you prefer to complete your designs with? Tell me in the comments!

When I went Paleo, I did research. I do research on pretty much everything. It’s in my nature. And if I’m going to completely change the way I eat, you can be sure I will be knowledgeable about what I’m doing.

One of my favorite foods is bacon. Unfortunately, a lot of brands of bacon aren’t Paleo compliant. Basically, the bacon has to be free of sugar and a bunch of other ingredients that make bacon delicious. Only a few organic bacon brands meet the criteria to be compliant with Paleo eating. Strangely enough, many, many Paleo recipes use bacon. Why? Because it’s delicious.

So what’s a Paleo bacon lover to do? Well, most of us buy the expensive organic bacon. But for many of us, that’s not enough. I know for me it isn’t. I found out jerky could be Paleo compliant. I’d never been a big consumer of jerky, but I started looking closer at it. Snacks are important on the Paleo diet, and particularly for me and others with autoimmune disorders.

What I found is many jerky brands have the same problems as the bacon brands. Too much sugar, too many other things I shouldn’t be eating. But then I found Oberto bacon jerky. I bought it, and I ate it. All of it – the entire bag – in one sitting. Because it was good! Sooo good. It tasted like bacon in all its salty goodness.

Now I don’t eat the entire bag in one sitting, but I do have the jerky as part of my Amazon Subscribe and Save order. It appears you can no longer buy it through the Subscribe and Save program, but you can still get it at Amazon. I’ve also found it at several supermarkets etc in the area.

Really…who couldn’t use more bacon in their lives?

Have you tried Oberto Bacon Jerky? What do you think of it? Tell me in the comments!

One of the most important things about eating Paleo, in my opinion, is making sure everything you eat tastes good. Paleo doesn’t have to be a restrictive diet; how well you do on it depends on what you make of it. How much effort are you willing to take? How much money are you willing to spend – like paying more for organic produce?

There are few restrictions in the Paleo diet that concern herbs and spices. I use them liberally in pretty much everything I cook. I came across this set of spices one day while trolling on the internet looking for information about the Paleo diet, and snapped it up. I love spice blends. So easy and convenient!

Here’s some information about this particular set of spices:

1. Neander thALL-purpose aromatic blend to enhance the flavor of all types of protein.
2. Cro-Magnon Amore, a classic Mediterranean blend of herbs, spices and citrus, suitable for all types of protein, vegetables and sauces.
3. Lemon Pepper will add spicy citrus zip to any protein and veggies.
4. Black Fire Spice adds a little fire to all of your recipes!

All the spices are specially designed for the Paleo diet. They are MSG-free, naturally gluten-free, sugar & sweetener free, non-GMO, and containing nothing artificial, no fillers, no flavorings added, no pesticides, non-irradiated.

If you find this set of spices are not to your taste, there are others made specifically for the Paleo diet, including this one, another set of four blends, or this one, which I personally feel is overdoing things a bit, but everyone has different tastes.

Have you ever tried any of these sets of spices? What do you use them on? Tell me in the comments!

There’s a huge Crocs sale going on! My daughter wears hers all the time and I love that they can go from in the pool etc to dinner. Most kids aren’t crazy about changing their clothes (or shoes) just to move from one environment from the next. 😉

Pressure points suck. We all know this, whether we have chronic pain or not. So when you sleep eight hours (I’ll pause while you crack up about getting eight hours of sleep), you wake up with pain in your shoulders, neck, hips, etc. Well, at least if you have a spring mattress, like about 95% of us do. If you do happen to suffer from chronic pain, this can be excruciating. And it happens every day.

There aren’t many ways to avoid this kind of pain. One of them is by getting yourself a new bed. Others are more complicated, like recurring massages. I researched many different brands before choosing Tempurpedic.

This was a purchase my husband and I didn’t take lightly. Ours have no springs and are individual beds, so each of us can make adjustments as needed. Both the head and the foot can be raised or lowered at will. These beds are not cheap, and we’re on a payment plan, which equals about the same amount of money as we’re spending on our daughter’s private school elementary education. Every dollar is worth it, though. Not waking up with pressure point pain every day would be enough, but I have to admit I enjoy the whole raising/lowering the head and foot functions.

This is the bed we got! We looked at several stores, but actually ended up buying it at Sears.

Do you have one of these beds? What do you think of it? Tell me in the comments!

Definitely check out these home security kits. Being able to check my house through my phone is really, really reassuring.

My neck has been sore for the past couple of days, leading to a migraine, which has also laid me low. I’ve been using some of these rubs, trying to get rid of the soreness and thus the migraine. Deep Blue is working the best, but in the past, others have given me more results. Why one works better than another at different times is a mystery, so I thought I’d do a group review. If you know of any product that works well for you, let me know in the comments. I apologize for not posting on Sunday, but the migraine made it impossible to be on the computer.

Deep Blue – this is made by DoTerra, one of the leading essential oils companies. For now, it can be found on Amazon, but I’ve heard they’re going to stop selling through Amazon soon, so you may have to go direct to their website, http://www.doterra.com. There’s also a Deep Blue Essential Oil. That can be diffused or applied directly, but read the directions first. For topical use, it may require a “carrier oil“, like fractionated coconut oil, avocado oil, etc to make it easier on your skin and help with absorption.

Biofreeze – made by Biofreeze, a well-known pain relief manufacturer. It comes in several forms, but I like the roll-on since you can easily apply it to exactly where your pain is. You might need help if the pain is on your back, in which case the spray or another method might work better for you.

Two Old Goats – made by Two Old Goats, this is another pain reliever with essential oils like Deep Blue. This particular one is the gel version, but there are others if you prefer another application method. In my experience, any balm, salve, etc that combines the pain relief qualities with essential oils smells better, which might be a consideration for you if you plan to wear any of these products out of the house.

Sombra – made by Sombra, this is another pain relief product that comes in several forms. I’d liken this to Deep Blue or Biofreeze as far as how it feels and its reputation within the massage therapy/chiropractic/physical therapist communities.

Leg Cramps Ointment – made by Hyland, this is, as the name implies, a formulation specifically made for leg cramps in ointment form. It works pretty well. Use it in combination with stretching, etc for a better chance of relief.

Arnicare Gel – made by Arnicare, is one of many arnica products on the market. Arnica has been used for centuries for sore muscle relief. This and a prescription form are the only two I’ve personally tested, but I liked the gel form of the product. A gel generally clings better to the skin and tends to be less greasy than other forms of a product.

Any product that will get rid of a multi-day migraine is a friend of mine. I have built up quite a collection over the past several months!

I use a king-sized (large) Sunbeam heating pad.

This is taken directly from Amazon’s website.

Eighty percent of the customers who rated the product on Amazon (and there are thousands of ratings/reviews, since this is the number one best seller in Heating Pads on the site), gave it a 4 or 5 rating. There are also 84 answered questions, which I like, because pretty much anything I ever wanted to know about the heating pad — and much, much more — is covered.

I’ve been through several of this product over the years and the design has made vast improvements. The iteration I use now is this one, with four settings: warm, low, medium, and high. It also has an auto-off, which is important, especially if you tend to fall asleep (and don’t we all?) with them still on.

Right now (5/1/16), the product is $27.06, which, considering how long they last even with heavy use, is a great deal. I buy a new pad about every two years, and I have one for downstairs in the living room and one for upstairs in bed. I do travel with it, when I remember. When I don’t, I usually have to take a lot more ibuprofen. Any of you with chronic pain know exactly what I mean.

If you know of any better heating pads, please do let me know in the comments. I’m always looking for the best way to mitigate my pain!

Water bottles with little slitted areas in the middle of them for fruit or whatever other flavor you want to add to your water are becoming very popular. I’ve found some good ones, like those I describe below, and I’ve found some bad ones. The most common defect is the bottle leaks. Having little wet dots all over your clothes makes you look like kind of a slob, right?

H2go infuser: This comes in different colors and only weighs a half-pound (empty, of course). I believe the size is 24 oz but I couldn’t find confirmation in the product information.

ChilAqua Infuser: This also comes in more than color and is 25 oz. It weighs .5 oz. This company has a number of special promotions going on right now.

KitMo Sports Infuser: This product has different colors available, and unlike the others, has a clip for a carabiner. It’s 24 oz. and weighs 8.8 oz, significantly more than those above, unless I read the stat incorrectly.

Sharpo Infuser Bottle: The largest at 32 oz, this product also comes in different colors. It weighs .5 oz, which really makes me wonder why the other product was being reported as so heavy in comparison.

These are only four of dozens on the market. My best advice is to read the reviews and make a decision based on those and your available funds, given that you’ll probably need more than one.

Do you have another infuser bottle that you love? Tell me in the comments.

This is a leading natural supplier of fitness products. I’ve used many of their products, including some really great water bottles.