Written by Rachel, Contributing Writer

Back in the days before most of us were even born, when our mothers or grandmothers were girls growing up, pantries were stocked very differently than in today's world.

Here's a picture of a pantry from the 1940s:

image credit

Today, most pantries are stocked with stuff that is not even real food, with unhealthy fats, loads of sugar, BPA-laden cans of condensed soups filled with MSG and lots of other "junk" that most people have no idea is unhealthy for them.

Don't get me wrong: I am all for eating foods like Chick-fil-a or some Ben & Jerry's ice cream in moderation, but eating unhealthy foods in moderation is simply not the case for most people today. It's an everyday occurrence in our culture.

I often question: Do people not wonder why there is an obesity epidemic or why diabetes is on the rise? Do they not understand that what you eat really does matter? Food can be detrimental and harmful to your health, or it can help you to be vibrant--full of energy and life.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” -Hippocrates

In today's culture, food is not our medicine, the source that is supposed to sustain our bodies. It is, in fact, the opposite of that. Today's food (fake food, rather) is making us sick.

Most of us know someone who has a chronic illness. The NCBI says that when an individual is eating healthy foods, maintaining a healthy body weight and exercising a little, chronic illnesses can be reversed or prevented.

Today's Common Pantry

Here's a picture of a pantry filled with unhealthy foods, commonly found in homes everywhere:

image credit

OK, no judgement. Really, I have been there, and my pantry looked pretty close to this. I was blissfully ignorant of the foods I was eating.

I had no idea how it affected my health, but once I learned and researched healthy eating, I knew I had to change my pantry. This is a baby step approach.

I'd love for everyone to be able to go out and fill a new pantry, but, for most families, this just isn't an option. So here are just a few unhealthy pantry staples that have been remade. I encourage you, if you are wanting your family to eat more real foods, to take one staple at a time and make changes.

Your health depends on it!

Your Pantry--Remade

Fat

Fat is good for you! Yes, it is when it is a healthy fat. No, not all fats are created equal.

Fats that are usually stored in the pantry are canola oil, soybean, cottonseed, vegetable oil, olive oil, coconut oil and sometimes others. The first four are bad fats...Get rid of them! They undergo so much processing they become rancid and our bodies were not made to break them down.

Coconut and olive oil are two healthy oils that can have a place in your pantry.

Flour

Luckily, we live in a culture that is becoming more aware of health, eating real foods and even understanding about gluten. There are all kinds of flours these day but the one that is the unhealthy staple is...you guessed it, regular 'ol white flour.

Why is it bad? Usually white flour has been bleached, but not only that--it's been refined so much that all the nutrients have been depleted and synthetic vitamins and minerals have to be added. Also, conventional wheat is known to be full of pesticides, which are toxic for your health.

Organic flour (sprouted if you can) and almond flour are two healthy flours that can have a place in your pantry.

Sweeteners

Fat isn't what makes you fat; sugar is! Like I told you above, fat is good for you (our brains are made up of 60% fat). It's the sugar that isn't so good. With the rate of 16% to 33% of childhood obesity and 8% to 9% of the population in North America with diabetes, if there is anything to be concerned about in our pantry, it is the sweeteners.

The first thing I'd say is to cut back on sugar.

Raw honey, pure maple syrup and stevia are three healthy sweeteners that can have a place in your pantry.

Packaged Foods

Most packaged foods are unhealthy because they are full of bad fats, artificial flavors and colors and have so many questionable ingredients. However, we do live in an era when your time is important. There are so many things to do: your son's soccer practice, your daughter's gymnastics, your cousin's birthday party, etc.  So many of us turn to the box of hamburger helper, microwaveable meals and more simply for convenience's sake.

I totally understand being busy; we are, too! So I get not being able to remove all packaged foods. We buy some, but what I would ask you to do is to read the ingredients and choose the food that is actually food.

Here are 2 tips when buying packaged foods: read the ingredients and try to make your favorites homemade, use Pinterest to find recipes!

Here's a snapshot of our pantry.

I want to encourage you to take baby steps and make changes as you use up your current pantry's stash. For more inspiration, here's a list of fridge and pantry staples to help you cook homemade.

How do you stock your pantry? Do you think the food you eat affects your health?

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• Plan to Eat: Plan To Eat was born from our desire to eat real food — great food — prepared at home, together as a family. Plan to Eat is an online menu planner that uses your recipes, scheduled for the days you want them, automatically generating your grocery list, organized the way you like to shop. Eat well. Eat together. PlanToEat.com.

The post Unhealthy Pantry Staples Remade appeared first on Keeper of the Home.

By Mindy, Contributing Writer

I posted a recipe for quinoa pancakes last month here at Keeper of the Home that called for thre cups of cooked quinoa as one of the ingredients. Some readers asked how to cook quinoa, so today I wanted to share with you my tried-and true-method for how to cook perfect, fluffy quinoa.

We've eaten quinoa in our household regularly for several years now. However, it took me at least a year of serving either overdone and mushy quinoa or underdone and crunchy quinoa before I finally perfected my method.

Now I am happy to say that our quinoa turns out just right every time!

So without further ado, here are my simple steps for how to cook perfect, fluffy quinoa (that's quite delicious as well!).

The Basics

• Dry quinoa to cooked quinoa ratio is approximately 1:3. So 1 cup of dry quinoa will yield 3 cups cooked quinoa.
• Quinoa has a natural coating, called saponin, which can make it taste bitter. A very thorough rinsing in a mesh strainer will wash away the saponin and let the delicious nutty flavor of the quinoa shine through without being masked by any bitterness. (Sometimes the package of quinoa will say pre-rinsed. I always still rinse it anyway;, I have noticed a bitter flavor before even when the package says this.)
• Your quinoa will taste delicious if you cook it in water. However, cooking it in chicken broth will take it up to a whole new level of yumminess!
• To cook quinoa you will use 1 part quinoa to 2 parts liquid. So to cook 1 cup of quinoa you will use 2 cups of water or chicken broth.

The Instructions

Step by step instructions for making 3 cups of cooked quinoa.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 2 cups water or chicken broth
• pinch of salt

Method

1. Place the quinoa in a mesh strainer, and rinse it very well with clean running water.
2. After it is thoroughly rinsed, place the quinoa, 2 cups of liquid and salt in a medium-sized saucepan.
3. Turn the pan on high and bring to a boil.
4. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover with a tight lid, and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
5. When 20 minutes is up, remove pan from the heat and remove the lid. Cover the pan with a dish towel and allow to sit for another 10 minutes.
6. Once that 10 minutes is up, remove the dish towel and fluff the quinoa with a fork.

Following these simple steps will give you perfectly cooked, fluffy quinoa that tastes delicious!

Here are some yummy-looking recipes featuring quinoa for you to try!

Slow Cooker Chicken and Quinoa

Spring Quinoa Salad

Crock Pot Creamy Turkey and Quinoa

Quinoa Cranberry Pilaf

And here is another interesting link about how to grow quinoa!

Have you ever cooked quinoa? What are some of your favorite ways to use quinoa?

Speaking of cooking, there are some amazing eCookbooks in the Natural Mothering Bundle. But if you're interested,today is the LAST DAY to get it! The sale will end tonight at 11:59 EST!

Top Photo Credit

We love our sponsors:

• Plan to Eat: Plan To Eat was born from our desire to eat real food — great food — prepared at home, together as a family. Plan to Eat is an online menu planner that uses your recipes, scheduled for the days you want them, automatically generating your grocery list, organized the way you like to shop. Eat well. Eat together. PlanToEat.com.

The post How to Cook Perfect, Fluffy Quinoa appeared first on Keeper of the Home.

Winners from Spring Giveaway Week:

MightyNest

The winner of the MightyNest Picnic Gear Pack is Andrea Bittner (deidre777@)!

Plan To Eat

The winners of the two, year-long subscriptions to Plan To Eat are Charlotte Benfield (charlotte.benfield@) and Cecilia (lpatria@)!

Third Day Naturals

The winner of the bundle of products from Third Day Naturals is Maureen Benson (mommyhatesstalker@)!

Congratulations to all of the winners! Thank you for taking part in our giveaway week!

Links for this week:

Fighting My Octupi-Like Tendencies @ Work Your Way

Gardening with Small Children @ The Marathon Mom

When your temper scares you - some suggestions for defusing @ Lisa-Jo Baker

When Only Chocolate Will Do: Chocolate-y Chocolate Chunk Cookies @ GNOWFGLINS

Lemon balm popsicles and motherhood @ Clean

Poem: Capitulation @ Simple Mom

Top 10 Tips to Get Your Grill On! @ The Nourishing Home

Loving Your Husband Through the Pains of Job Loss and Career Changes @ Young Wife's Guide

With many schools now out for the summer, what plans do you have?

We love our sponsors:

• Plan to Eat: Plan To Eat was born from our desire to eat real food — great food — prepared at home, together as a family. Plan to Eat is an online menu planner that uses your recipes, scheduled for the days you want them, automatically generating your grocery list, organized the way you like to shop. Eat well. Eat together. PlanToEat.com.

The post Weekend Links {and Giveaway Winners} appeared first on Keeper of the Home.

By Kelly, Contributing Writer

Growing up, there were few things more exciting during summer than hearing that little ditty playing that meant only one thing … the Ice Cream Man is coming!

Soon he’d be rounding the corner of our street, and so my little brother and I would make a mad dash inside the house to plead for some cash – and quick – so we could make it back outside in time to get our hot little hands on a cool, refreshing ice cream treat.

Fast forward to today … not much has changed. Precious little faces still light up each time they hear the familiar tune that promises sweet treats in colorful wrappers. Sadly, we now that know these nostalgic treats are chock-full of unhealthy preservatives and harmful additives.

So what’s a real food lovin’ momma to do? Why not say goodbye to the ice cream man and hello to the “Ice Cream MOM!”

Seriously, making homemade frozen treats with your kiddos is not only easy and fun, it's delicious and nutritious, too! Trust me, real kids love real food frozen treats!

In fact, by stocking your freezer with these fabulous frozen treats, you could very well become the most popular mom on the block this summer!

Then, each time that ice cream man comes by with his tantalizing tune a-playing, you’ll be delighted to see your children running inside – not to ask for money – but to instead ask for one of YOUR healthy homemade treats!

On a mission to help you become The Ultimate Ice Cream Mom, we’ve provided 15 all-time favorite frozen treats that are certain to bring a smile to your kiddos' faces, while keeping the ice cream man at bay! With these recipes in hand, you'll learn how to make healthy ice pops in no time!

I also encourage you to pop over and check out my Top 10 Tips for Making Healthy Homemade Frozen Treats and FREE Healthy Ice Pops & Frozen Treats eBook.

Fabulous All-Fruit Pops

Banana Split Pops
Favorite All-Fruit Pops
Fruit Juice Pops
Limeade Popsicles
Watermelon Whole Fruit Popsicles

Creamy Pops & Bars

Fruit & Cream Bars(DF Option)
Fudge Pudding Pops(DF)
Kefir Fruitsicles
Lemon-Lime Frozen Yogurt Pops
Mango-Strawberry Cream Pops
Tropical Creamy Popsicles

Irresistible Ice Cream Sandwiches

Cheesecake Graham Cracker Cookie Sandwiches(GF)
Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches(GF Option)
Lemon-Vanilla Cream Sandwiches(GF)
Old Fashioned Ice Cream Sandwiches

What are your family’s favorite healthy, homemade frozen treats?

This post is sponsored by Plan To Eat. Plan To Eat was born from our desire to eat real food — great food — prepared at home, together as a family. Plan to Eat is an online menu planner that uses your recipes, scheduled for the days you want them, automatically generating your grocery list, organized the way you like to shop. Eat well. Eat together.

We love our sponsors:

• Plan to Eat: Plan To Eat was born from our desire to eat real food — great food — prepared at home, together as a family. Plan to Eat is an online menu planner that uses your recipes, scheduled for the days you want them, automatically generating your grocery list, organized the way you like to shop. Eat well. Eat together. PlanToEat.com.

The post How to Make Healthy Ice Pops & Frozen Treats appeared first on Keeper of the Home.

This week, I was over at Simple Bites, discussing the open-air markets, which I love, and how I braved the fresh fish markets here in Italy. I also shared a recipe detailing how to cook whole fish, Sicilian style, which I learned to do while here.

I’ve arrived in the land of open-air markets, and I’m not quite sure how my husband is going to drag me onto the airplane that will take me away from this wondrous place.

For those blessed with access to a farmer’s market, you’ll understand my sentiments when I say the market is an easy place to delightfully lose track of time, sniff aromatic melons, smile at blushing red tomatoes, and fill your cloth shopping bags until you come home with a bounty like the one pictured above (the literal fruits of my first Sicilian shopping trip– local pistachios and almonds, three types of local cheese, salami to die for, and gorgeous seasonal produce).

There’s another side to these markets, however--one that even caught my children’s eyes (or rather, noses) when we first stumbled upon it. The fish stalls.

It’s not a sight that we’re used to in North America. My fish usually comes frozen in packages, bound up in cans (for salmon patties), or at the very least, laying clean on styrofoam, shrink-wrapped in plastic.

Read the entire post here

What are interesting and unusual new ways you've been taught to cook foods ?

We love our sponsors:

• Plan to Eat: Plan To Eat was born from our desire to eat real food — great food — prepared at home, together as a family. Plan to Eat is an online menu planner that uses your recipes, scheduled for the days you want them, automatically generating your grocery list, organized the way you like to shop. Eat well. Eat together. PlanToEat.com.

The post How I learned to cook whole fish, Sicilian style (and how you can, too) appeared first on Keeper of the Home.

By Beth Ricci, Contributing Writer

I am not a gardener.

I feel that in order to gain that title, one must successfully keep a plant alive for more than a month. Ahem. It’s, uh, on my bucket list...

If grocery stores all went away I’d probably starve to death.

I am NOT a gardener.

I stayed at my sister’s house while she was gone for six months and killed every one of her houseplants through either neglect or over-zealous watering. (I maintain that if the darn things would just whine like my toddlers then they’d still be alive, too.)

Gardening is intimidating! It’s complicated and scary! At least it sure does feel that way to me.

I am NOT a gardener.

The reason I am emphasizing this fact is because I need you to trust me when I say that I am a total gardening newbie. I have absolutely no sweet clue what I’m doing. I use phrases like “dirt-stuff” and “pokey-twisty tool thingie,” and “partially-shaded-full-sun-saywhat?!”

BUT! Oh friends, this is Big News. Breaking News! Wait for it...

This summer I have decided to become a gardener.

Believe me when I say this: if I can manage to take the plunge, anyone can.

Image by Moncton Gardener

It can be downright scary to think about putting all of that effort, time, and money into something with no guarantees, but fear was never really a great reason not to try something in life, AmIRight?

The very first step is literally to simply hack up that grass! Get yourself a big patch of dirt, and you’re well on your way. As with many learning curves in life - the first step is often the most difficult. Now that I have a big patch of dirt in my yard, it’s easier to imagine the next step (plants sprouting!).

So, I have the grass dug up and the soil tilled (<-- Check it out, I used a gardening term. Yeah, baby!), and some fertilizer and stuff added in.

(The “and stuff” is one of those areas of learning for me. I just let my husband pick up a couple bags of dirt-stuff at the gardening centre because he acted like he knew what he was doing). He also built me an awesome compost pile so that I can make some nice rich soil of our own.

By the time this post goes live, the seeds will be in the ground, thanks to some help from my own veggie gardening guru - my mom. Then it’s up to me to tend for those little baby sprouts and help them grow strong and bear lots of yummy goodness!

How exactly I will accomplish that is mostly still a mystery to me, but I have been collecting tips and tricks for a while now, mostly on my gardening Pinterest board and from blog posts from fellow bloggers that also call themselves gardeners (ie. the non-plant-killers among us). I wanted to share those here for you, my fellow gardening newbies, for encouragement and instruction.

(I live in Toronto and we normally have a decent growing season but our June has been quite cold, hence the late planting. If you're worried it's too late to dive in now, check out this post here at Keeper of the Home, "It's Not Too Late to Start a Garden.")

Growing Herbs & Flowers: A Great Place to Start

If you just want to start really small this year by growing something without killing it (a worthy pursuit, I say), then check out this adorable idea for How to Teach Your Children Earth Stewardship by Planting a Miss Rumphius Garden. A simple packet of wildflowers might be the perfect way to dip your toes in to the water and gain confidence.

Another way to dive in to gardening is with growing herbs. Many say that growing herbs is one of the easiest gardening ventures because they are often such hardy and easy-to-grow plants, which is perfect for beginners!

Learn about growing and harvesting herbs in general, or in this multi-post series on popular individual herbs. You can grow them in your garden, or in containers, which makes it perfect even for balcony gardeners. I learned a ton from this post, and this one gives ideas for how to use the herbs you grow.

Image by Moncton Gardener

General Tips & Tricks

Before you start searching google, check out the wealth of information right here on Keeper of the Home! Tons of gardening help and advice, all listed here on a variety of topics and questions, such as how to choose which seeds to buy.

Then check out a few posts around the web from experienced gardeners about how what they’ve learned so far.

Rachel at Day2Day Joys shares some Simple Ways to Garden with Kids, which I loved reading because my kids are turning 1, 3, and 5 this summer. Any gardening I do is definitely going be with my kids!

Wardeh from GNOWFGLINS shares some beautiful photos of her extensive garden beds, which I find inspiring for my “one day” dreaming. She also talks about gardening with such confidence - something I hope to do too down the road.

Anne from Authentic Simplicity shares the wisdom she has gained as a relatively new gardener herself, and Andrea at Greenbacks Gal shares how to Kill Weeds Organically.

Gardening Resources on the Web

There are tons of popular gardening websites and blogs, and I've only begun to scratch the surface on the great ones. Here are the ones I've found so far that I'm enjoying:

Urban Organic Gardener

Your Gardening Friend

Chiot's Run

Skippy's Vegetable Garden

Treehugger's list of 10 Great Gardening Websites

My Pinterest board with the coolest tricks that may or may not blow your mind (but probably only if you're as new to all this as I am.)

What Now?

Annnnnd, now we wait. There are apparently some other things involved, like weeding and watering. Lots of opportunity for plant killing is what it boils down to, really. Time shall tell. In the meantime I peruse Pinterest for more awesome tricks to try so that by next year, I can write a post all about my expertise ;)

If you are one of those fortunate enough to have a green thumb, please feel free to chime in in the comments with your best gardening advice. We want to hear your wisdom!

I plan to update you all when the summer is done. Hopefully I will have kept most things alive, and can report back on what I learned!

What are your best gardening tips for beginners?

top image by wheatfields

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• Plan to Eat: Plan To Eat was born from our desire to eat real food — great food — prepared at home, together as a family. Plan to Eat is an online menu planner that uses your recipes, scheduled for the days you want them, automatically generating your grocery list, organized the way you like to shop. Eat well. Eat together. PlanToEat.com.

The post Gardening Tips for Beginners: Resources to Help You Dive Into Gardening With Courage! appeared first on Keeper of the Home.

By Kate Tietje, Contributing Writer

One of the aspects we enjoy most about the summer is the warm weather.  As soon as the sun starts peaking out and tendrils of warmth drift through the air, we are ready to go outside!

We're a bit past that now, seeing that it's the middle of June.  We've had our fair share of 80+ degree days and a lot of humidity as well.  While it hasn't deterred us -- yet -- it has definitely modified some of our outdoor activities.  We have those which we'd rather choose on cooler days, and those we reserve for blazing heat.

There are so many wonderful, low-cost outdoor activities during the summer, both at home and away!

At Home Activities

We have already had some fun, themed outdoor play dates with our friends this year, and we look forward to more.

Ice Cream Picnic

We whipped up our favorite homemade ice cream (both dairy and dairy-free versions) and hot fudge sauce and invited our friends over.  They brought some toppings, and we all dressed up our ice cream and had a picnic on the lawn.  Kids also played on bikes, trikes, and with other outdoor toys while the moms chatted.  It was a hit for all!

Messy Art Day

We're planning to do this very soon.  We'll be wearing our oldest clothes and making lots of art projects!  Finger painting (and feet too!), tie-dyeing shirts, pools of bubbles, play-dough, and anything else we can think of.  We'll be encouraging the kids to get as messy as possible, then allowing them to "bathe" in the bubble pool when we're finished!

Scavenger Hunt

Many neighborhoods have sidewalks, or even nature trails that wind through them.  Create a short list of items that you might find in your neighborhood -- oak leaf, pine cone, ant, etc.

Add small pictures next to the words for non-readers.  When you go out to find the items, you can collect them in a basket, or take pictures of them, your choice.  I'd rather take pictures of the bugs than take them home with me, personally. :)  My almost 4-year-old would probably disagree with me, since his reply to my "Bugs live outside" is "But he loves me!"

Ride Bikes

One of my kids' favorite activities is to ride their bikes.  They could play outside on their bikes for hours, I think.  (As this requires direct supervision, it's more limited than their backyard time, where we have a fence to keep them safe.)  Sometimes we head outside midday just to ride and get a little vitamin D from the sun.

Gardening

Let your kids have a little backyard garden of their own!  Mine asked to grown cucumbers and cantaloupe this year.  Last year it was watermelon and pumpkins.  Let them be responsible for planting the seeds, watering, weeding, harvesting, and eating!  Plus most kids just love digging in the dirt. :)

Away From Home Activities

Sometimes we get a little bored with activities close to home, so we venture out a bit.

Parks and Playgrounds

The eternal favorite is, of course, the playground!  We have a rotation of several local parks that we go to, and often meet friends.  The kids play on the equipment, and the grown-ups chat -- or play along!  Check your city's official website for the location.

You may also find special events in the parks some days.  One park near us has an outreach program on Wednesdays that provides a free lunch to kids as well as supervised play and usually a special guest (last year, one lady brought her collection of reptiles for the kids to pet).  Take some healthy snacks with you.

Wading

Some local areas have creeks that are good for wading.  We wear bathing suits and crocks (to keep little feet safe) and head to the water.  Nets are nice to have for fishing practice, or buckets for scooping up water.  Look for creeks at local parks.

Zoo

Local zoos are great in the summer!  They often have fun exhibits (beyond the usual ones) and events.  A membership, if you have one close enough to you, is a great way to visit often and save money.

Splash Pads

I just love this trend of splash pads popping up everywhere.  Many local parks, malls, and even neighborhoods now feature a splash pad or "fountains" for kids to play in.  They are often very close to home and the majority are free.

They are also appropriate for young toddlers and even crawlers in many cases.  We have gone with our older two boys when they were around 10 months and they were able to enjoy it even then, while we followed closely behind. :)

Bonfires

If you have a safe location and enough adult supervision (or your kids are old enough), have a bonfire.  Roast some hot dogs and marshmallows (try making your own) and enjoy an old-fashioned summer event!

Museums

Sometimes it's nice to get a break from the heat and head indoors.  Local museums often have free or low-cost days, or memberships.

We have a children's museum near us that has "Curious Kids" events every Tuesday that are free with admission, and give kids a hands-on look at different topics throughout the summer.  We'll definitely be going to some of those!

Swimming

Many cities have a local pool, or series of local pools.  Rec centers or even a YMCA is another possibility.  You may even find local beaches!  We live nowhere near a coast, but we have a gorgeous lake beach near us.  Many pools now have zero-depth entry, making them safer for the youngest swimmers.  Bring some water wings and your own suit and enjoy splashing around!

Make sure you're practicing summer safety, especially around water.

What are your favorite summer activities?

For even more inspirational activities to enjoy with your children--regardless of the time of the year--check out this week's Natural Mothering eBook Bundle Sale. 35+ eBooks, over $500 value, for $29.97. One week only!

Disclosure: I have included affiliate links in this post, which means I will receive a percentage of all sales. Thank you for supporting this site!

We love our sponsors:

• Plan to Eat: Plan To Eat was born from our desire to eat real food — great food — prepared at home, together as a family. Plan to Eat is an online menu planner that uses your recipes, scheduled for the days you want them, automatically generating your grocery list, organized the way you like to shop. Eat well. Eat together. PlanToEat.com.

The post Fun, Frugal Outdoor Summer Activities appeared first on Keeper of the Home.

Have you ever wished that motherhood came with a manual?

I have.

Though I have slowly grown in my mothering know-how and ability over the years, and have come to really love being a mom, it hasn't always been an easy road.

I had no clue what I was doing when I got to the end of my first pregnancy (you know, the part where you actually get to hold a baby!) and realized that after all the months of sickness and fatigue and then the long labor and difficult birth... well, that was the easy part. THIS, this was the hard part. Not having a baby, but actually having a baby, in my arms, dependent on me, and realizing I had to figure out how on earth I was going to raise this baby well.

You might think that motherhood came easier to me because I write a blog, but you'd be wrong. The ideas and information I share have often been hard won, through much trial and error, hours upon hours of research,  and the daily grind of simply doing my best to learn to be a better mom.

As I've ridden the learning curve of mothering, one thing I've become passionate about is raising my children in a healthy home. Different families have different ideas of what this looks like, but for our family in particular this means a home where:

• we eat real and traditional foods
• toxins are avoided as much as possible
• practices like breastfeeding and unmedicated birth are valued
• natural home remedies are used before over-the-counter or prescription medications whenever possible
• the earth is cherished as God's creation and we take steps to reduce our impact on it
• we work to instill important lifelong habits in our children

A bundle of resources custom-made for the naturally minded mom

That's why I'm particularly excited to be a part of a unique ebook bundle project put together by one of the writers here at KOTH (Kresha of Nourishing Joy). I've run two of my own bundle sales previously, one with a focus on healthy living in general, and the other with a focus on homemaking and all that it encompasses.

What makes this bundle unique is that is that it focuses specifically on our roles as moms, but from a natural perspective... healthy pregnancies and giving birth, first breastfeeding and then going on to nourishing our children through whole foods, diapering and potty training, keeping them healthy and caring for them through illness, teaching them skills like chores and cooking, and making sure their little bodies grow up being exposed to as few chemicals as possible through things like skincare products or what we clean our house with.

The concept behind an ebook bundle is to gather as many relevant resources as possible, combine them into one convenient package, and then offer it to our readers for a smashing price that makes the whole thing totally affordable, and that's exactly what this is. 35+ books and resrouces that retail for more than $525, in one neat and tidy bundle for just $29.97.

While I haven't been able to read all of the 35 books yet myself, these ones look particularly worthwhile to me:

• Three different books by fertility specialist Gabriella Rose, MScM, BHSc, ND
• Breastfeeding Simply by Pinky McKay (a lactation consultant and breastfeeding advocate)
• EC Simplified: Infant Potty Training Made Easy and oh crap: potty training (because yes, I'd like to attempt to train baby #4 early, and honestly, don't tell me that the name of that second book didn't make you laugh out loud)
• Herbal Remedies During the Cold and Flu Season (because I think every mom could use to know more of these)
• Question to Ask Your Dentist by Will and Susan Revak, who have a huge passion for alternative (and better) dental care
• Finding Balance With Attachment Parenting (this looks like an interesting read to me, because I wouldn't call myself an attachment parent for multiple reasons, and yet I like my babies near me, I baby wear, I breastfeed exclusively for a long time, I don't force night weaning, etc.).
• Rebuild from Depression: A Nutrient Guide by Amanda Rose, Ph.D. I have the full paperback version of this and it is a gold mine of information.
• Kids in Training and Teaching Kids to Clean. My kids are amazing in so many ways, but I feel like teaching them to do chores and pick up after themselves is a constant battle. I could use a little help with this one.
• Natural Beauty Recipes by Katie of Wellness Mama. Her online beauty recipes always rock, so I'm sure I'm going to love these!
• Not to mention the ones I already have and love... First Bites, Confessions of a Cloth Diaper Convert, Herbal Nurturing, Real Food Kids, Restocking the Pantry, Crock On, and of course, my own book, Healthy Homemaking.

Introducing the Natural Mothering eBook Bundle

For 1 week only, get a downloadable package of 35+ e-books specifically designed to encourage and equip mothers to nurture their families (and themselves!) naturally for just $29.97.

Since these books together are worth more than $525, this is nearly a 95% discount!

There are also more than a dozen coupon codes and FREE products worth nearly $200 included to help you on your natural living journey!

These e-books reflect the work of 32 well-known Ph.D.'s, fertility specialists, lactation consultants, natural health professionals, authors, and bloggers who are passionate about motherhood and caring for mothers.

This is an intelligent, joy-filled collection that will inspire any mother to feed her beautiful babe well, feel confident in making difficult mothering decisions, and celebrate motherhood (even when it seems overwhelming).

This sale ended Monday, June 17th, 2013 at 9 pm PST.

The eBooks

Want to meet the authors? Click here to read each author's bio.

Natural Fertility and Pregnancy

Unbound Birth by Jennifer Yarbrough of Unbound Birth ($2.99)
Fearless Birth by Kristen Burgess of Natural Birth and Baby Care ($17)
Nourishing Foods for Labor and Childbirth (article reprint) by Kresha Faber of Nourishing Joy ($2.99)
My Pregnancy Journey by Mindy of Simply Designs ($9.99)
Fertilise Yourself by Natalie Kringoudis of Melbourne Natural Fertility ($19.95)
Eat Your Way to Parenthood by Gabriela Rosa, MScM, BHSc, ND of Natural Fertility Breakthrough ($35)
Protecting Your Fertility: The Dangers of Conventional Pest Control and Natural Safe Alternatives by Gabriela Rosa, MScM, BHSc, ND of Natural Fertility Breakthrough ($35)
The Awful Truth About Cleaning Products and Fertility Revealed by Gabriela Rosa, MScM, BHSc, ND of Natural Fertility Breakthrough ($35)

Natural Baby and Toddler Care

Breastfeeding Simply by Pinky McKay, ICBLC of PinkyMcKay.com ($25)
First Bites by Hilary Bernstein of Accidentally Green ($9.99)
Breast to Bib by Kate Tietje of Modern Alternative Mama ($8.95)
Confessions of a Cloth Diaper Convert by Erin Odom of The Humbled Homemaker ($9.95)
Creative Ways to Calm Your Baby by Justyn Lang of Creative Christian Mama ($6.99)
EC Simplified: Infant Potty Training Made Easy by Andrea Olson, MA of Go Diaper Free ($30)
oh, crap. potty training by Jamie Glowacki of oh crap. potty training ($15)

Natural Health and Healing

Therapeutic Parenting for Children Who Are Healing from Trauma by Tova Krause Grindlay, CPC of Parent and Family Coaching ($4.99)
Herbal Nurturing by Michele Augur of Frugal Granola ($8.95)
Herbal Remedies for Children During the Cold and Flu Season by Rosalee de la ForÍt of Herbal Remedies Advice ($20)
Mother's Little Herbal Helper and Home Remedies by Natalie Vickery of The Family Herbalist ($12.50)
Questions to Ask Your Dentist by Will and Susan Revak of OraWellness ($29)
Tips and Tricks to Remineralize and Repair Your Teeth by Ramiel Nagel of CureToothDecay.com ($12.95)
The Thinking Parent's Guide to Vaccines by Kresha Faber of Nourishing Joy ($2.99)
Finding Balance with Attachment Parenting by Andrea Olson, MA of AndreaOlson.com ($17)
Pain Redeemed by Natasha Metzler of NatashaMetzler.com ($4.99)
The Curative Kitchen (updated version) by Susan Smith Jones, Ph.D. of SusanSmithJones.com ($19.95)
Rebuild From Depression: A Nutrient Guide, The Digital Abridged Version by Amanda Rose, Ph.D. of Traditional Foods ($12.95)

Teaching Our Children

Real Food Kids: In the Kitchen plus 1 month access to select Real Food Kids eCourse videos by Wardeh Harmon of GNOWFGLINS & Jami Delgado of Eat Nourishing ($30)
Kids in Training: Life lessons that will help lead to productive, responsible and grateful kids! by Rebecca Dulgarian of Blue Cricket Designs ($7.95)
Life According to Me by Stephanie Dulgarian of Somewhat Simple ($5.95)
The Family Dinner Project by Rebecca Dulgarian & Stephanie Dulgarian ($9.95)
Easy Peasy Chores: Homeschool Edition by Alina Joy Dubois of The Good Old Days Farm ($17.99)
Teaching Kids to Clean by Dana White of A Slob Comes Clean ($5)

Help for Busy Moms

Real {Fast} Food by Trina Holden of TrinaHolden.com ($6)
Crock On by Stacy Myers of Stacy Makes Cents ($5)
Creative Ways to Make Family Holiday Memories by Kit Singleton of Raising Small Souls ($25)

Non-Toxic and Natural Living
Natural Beauty Recipes by Katie of WellnessMama ($10)
Healthy Homemaking by Stephanie Langford of Keeper of the Home ($12.95)
Restocking the Pantry by Kresha Faber of Nourishing Joy ($9.99)
Accidentally Green by Hilary Bernstein of Accidentally Green ($2.99)
Clean, Naturally! by Kresha Faber of Nourishing Joy ($4.99)

This sale ended Monday, June 17th, 2013 at 9 pm PST.

The Bonus Resources

Once you have completed payment for the e-book bundle, you will get access not only to the books, but to FREE products and coupon codes for mothering products that will support you in your natural, non-toxic lifestyle.

These special bonus offers include:

Get 10% off any order from Granola Babies, THE go-to shop for everything babywearing and natural-living related. Granola Babies supports mothers around the globe in their mothering journey by providing sustainable hand-selected products, natural and holistic resources, and creating a village of community. (Standard shipping applies.)

Get "2 Months for $2" ! Enjoy a two-month Membership to Fit2B Studio for only two dollars, where their wholesome workouts for the whole family are "tummy safe" and particularly target Diastasis Recti (split abs), which affects many women postpartum. ($19.98 value.)

Download a $6 coupon for 7 Sources Oil from Flora Health to use the next time you shop! Flora's newest product, 7 Sources, is a non-GMO, sustainably-sourced fatty-acid product with EPA and DHA, which are essential during pregnancy and nursing and support cognitive function at any time of life! (Value: $6. Good in-store only. US stores only.) 

Get $30 off the very popular Online Childbirth Education Program from Birth Boot Camp. You CAN have an amazing birth! The 10-class Birth Boot Camp online video childbirth education program will prepare you for a life-changing birth experience and specializes in educating couples together. You may also choose to receive the FREE Pregnancy Nutrition Report. (Good online or with participating live-class instructors.)

Receive 10% off any order from OraWellness. OraWellness offers tools and educational products to help you take control of your oral health using organic ingredients and inexpensive natural solutions. (Standard shipping applies.)

A Few FREE eBooks and eCourses - no purchase required!

Because we are SO absolutely passionate about getting excellent natural living resources into the hands of every mother (and want-to-be moms and soon-to-be moms!) we've compiled a number of e-books that are FREE just for signing up for updates.

There is no purchase required - just click here to get your freebies!

The Fine Print

While you must purchase the Bundle by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Monday, June 17, you have until June 30, 2013 to download the books and redeem the bonuses. It is your responsibility to download and back-up your purchase by June 30, 2013. After that date, the books will no longer be available for download.

With proof of purchase, we can renew download links until June 30. After this date we will no longer have access to the books and will not be able to provide any new links to download.

Please read our Frequently Asked Questions page to learn more about the file types, deadlines to redeem your bonuses, and reading the books on your eReader device.

Each bonus offer can be redeemed once only per eBook Bundle purchase. You may purchase multiple bundles in order to redeem a bonus offer more than once.

For each bonus offer, transaction numbers or proof of purchase may be required at the time of redemption.

All bonus offers are the sole responsibility of the bonus sponsors to provide and are subject to availability.

Disclosure: As a participating author in this bundle sale, I earn a commission on each bundle that's sold. Whenever you purchase something through this Keeper of the Home, you help to support this site and keep it going, so thank you! :)

We love our sponsors:

• Plan to Eat: Plan To Eat was born from our desire to eat real food — great food — prepared at home, together as a family. Plan to Eat is an online menu planner that uses your recipes, scheduled for the days you want them, automatically generating your grocery list, organized the way you like to shop. Eat well. Eat together. PlanToEat.com.

The post 35 Resources for the Naturally Minded Mom appeared first on Keeper of the Home.

A potted lime tree I spotted on a walk in our Arles, France neighborhood.

Links I loved this week:

Blessings for Our Enemies @ (in)courage

What I'm reading this summer @ Simple Mom

Chocolate Caramel Marshmallow Bars @ Food Renegade

Homemade Honey-Sweetened Lemonade @ Red and Honey

How to feel at home in your house and in your skin @ A Holy Experience

5 Benefits of Homeschooling Through the Summer @ Family Your Way

Celebrating Mothers @ day2day joys

Why Its Okay To Indoctrinate Your Kids @ Modern Alternative Mama

This week...

Have you ever wished motherhood came with a manual?

I have.

When I first became a mother over eight years ago, I literally had no clue what I was doing. The library became my best friend. Every opportunity I had (while nursing, when my daughter napped or played happily, in between my household chores) I used to read up on topics like nutrition and first foods, cookbooks, natural and alternative health, frugal living, breastfeeding, natural and sustainable living, and anything else I could get my hands on.

Coming next week, the Natural Mothering eBook Bundle will be available, and it offers a downloadable package of 35+ e-books specifically designed to encourage and equip mothers to nurture their families (and themselves!) naturally for just $29.97. Together these resources are worth more than $525, this is nearly a 95% discount!

This sale begins on Monday, June 10th. I'll share all of the details and tell you how you can get your bundle, so be sure to come back then to hear more about it!

Love, love, love these shutters.

The happy little street that our apartment sits on the corner of.

Our family's journey and time for a little break

As I type this, I'm sitting in a small lane, outside of our rental apartment in a typical southern France neighborhood, complete with peeling blue and green window shutters, climbing vines on stone walls and potted flowers everywhere, stray cats, narrow and winding lanes, and tiny bakeries that make the best bread and chocolate croissants, ever. It's truly lovely here and France is one of the places my husband and I have fallen in love with.

At the end of this 10 day period in France, we'll head down to Spain, where my husband and oldest daughter will take a plane back to Canada for two weeks so that he can deal with important business details back home. Meanwhile, I'll take the younger three children further south, to the small town on the southern coast of Spain where we'll be renting a house and spending a large chunk of the summer.

Seeing as I'll need to get settled in a new place without my husband for that time, I'll be taking a few weeks off of my work and writing here at KOTH at that time, leaving things in the capable hands of my incredible team and writers. Traveling while working with our young family this spring has been more exhausting than we expected (much as it has been wonderful and a true blessing), and my focus will be on rest and refreshment. I want to ensure that I have the energy to really care for and love my family well.

Plentiful sleep, eating really well and staying off of sugar, walking lots, reading my Bible and other encouraging books, playing with my kids, Skyping and emailing with friends and family back home... these are all part of my plan and it sounds really, really good after two months of constant travel and hard work.

For now, I'll just soak up as much of France as I can. If I choose to eat an extra chocolate croissant (or two), you won't tell, right?

What refreshes you when you've been feeling worn out?

We love our sponsors:

• Plan to Eat: Plan To Eat was born from our desire to eat real food — great food — prepared at home, together as a family. Plan to Eat is an online menu planner that uses your recipes, scheduled for the days you want them, automatically generating your grocery list, organized the way you like to shop. Eat well. Eat together. PlanToEat.com.

The post Weekend Links appeared first on Keeper of the Home.

Written by Stacy Karen, Contributing Writer

My mother-in-law is very talented when it comes to arranging flowers and making wreaths. I've admired her skills for years, but never ventured into wreath-making myself because I thought it was too difficult or time consuming.

Recently, I asked my mother-in-law to help me make an herbal wreath and was surprised to find it quite easy.

We took pictures along the way and recorded the instructions so you could make an herbal wreath, too. I hope you will because they smell so good!

An herbal wreath is such a nice way to bring nature-inspired decor into your home and, if you have an herb garden, it could be an extremely frugal craft project.

How to Make an Herbal Wreath

Supplies

• Grapevine wreath (these come in a variety of sizes and can be purchased at your local craft store)
• Paddling wire
• Floral wire (we used the kind that comes in stems, but it would be fine to use other floral wire, you will just need to cut it each time you want to wrap a bunch of flowers)
• Herbs of your choice (we used rosemary, lavender, mint, and thyme)

Method

Rinse and dry and herbs that were cut from the garden to remove dirt and bugs.

Choose an herb for the base and tuck stems into the grapevine wreath until it is mostly covered. We used rosemary (and did it smell good!).

Try to keep the herb stems going in the same general direction.

Once the herbs are covering most of the grapevine wreath, you are ready for the next step. There are no rules, so add as many herbs as you like depending on how full you would like the wreath to be. This is how ours looked at the end of this process:

Instead of using an herb, the base could be covered with moss. Most craft stores carry a variety of moss for these purposes.

Wrap paddling wire over the herbs, pulling fairly tight.

It was difficult to get a good picture of this step, but the general idea is to keep the herbs in place and create a sturdy base for the next stage. It's similar to putting lights on a Christmas tree, just wrapping them more tightly.

Once you have wrapped the entire wreath, cut the wire and tuck the end into the grapevine.

Next, make small bundles of herbs and wrap the stems with floral wire.

We chose to mix herbs in each bundle, but creating bundles of single herbs would work well, too. It just creates a different effect.

Tuck the bundles into the wreath, making sure the stems all face the same way.

Wrap the paddling wire around the entire wreath again, then tuck in extra herbs to cover any bare places.

Once you are finished, choose the top and wire a hook onto the back of the wreath. We do this at the end because you just can't tell which way the wreath will look best once the flowers and herbs have been added.

A simple loop can be made by tucking five or six floral wire stems through the grapevine, forming a loop and twisting together.

Hang and enjoy!

I had a great time making this wreath and am inspired to make them more often. I'm also motivated to plant more herbs so I can simply snip a few anytime I want a pretty wreath for my kitchen.

Some herbs will dry quite nicely, which will allow the wreath to be kept for a long time, however, I used mint, which wilts quite easily and my wreath was only enjoyed for a short while. in fact, I actually fried the entire thing in my dehydrator, hoping to dry it out quickly. I turned the dehydrator too high. Oops.

Lesson learned: most herbs need to be dehydrated at around 95 degrees F, which is one of the lowest settings on most dehydrators.

If you like nature-inspired home decor, you might enjoy another simple project I made recently: dried lavender pots.

Have you made an herbal wreath before? Which herbs do you think would go well in one?

We love our sponsors:

• Plan to Eat: Plan To Eat was born from our desire to eat real food — great food — prepared at home, together as a family. Plan to Eat is an online menu planner that uses your recipes, scheduled for the days you want them, automatically generating your grocery list, organized the way you like to shop. Eat well. Eat together. PlanToEat.com.

The post How to Make an Herbal Wreath appeared first on Keeper of the Home.