5 Spring Super Foods and Spring Sun Safety

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By Kate Tietje, Contributing Writer I am so excited that spring is finally here!  In the last few weeks, my kids have been obsessed with playing outside and have spent several hours out each day.  We're lucky to have a fenced-in backyard, so I can send them out and watch from the kitchen window.  They dig in the dirt, run, kick balls, and come up with lots of creative games. The shifting of the seasons means that it's time to start thinking differently: local, fresh, [...]

Serving My Family Real Food in Imperfect Situations

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Did you know that eating real food isn't dependent on eating a set menu, based on particular "health" foods that you have to be able to find or afford? (did I just hear a collective sigh of relief?) This winter we've talked a lot about real food made simple-- what it is (and isn't), how to take baby steps towards eating better, how to afford it, and even how to buy it in a regular grocery store. I feel like I'm on the ultimate real food [...]

Review of Trim Healthy Mama

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By Natalie, Contributing Writer Sporting a hefty 619 pages, Trim Healthy Mama by Serene Allison and Pearl Barrett is one of the newer healthy eating reads on the block, having been released in August of 2012. You might benefit from reading this book IF you: Struggle with your weight Have a hard time sticking to a diet Lack energy Are still learning about healthy eating and nutrition Want to learn a bit about the science behind food - in an easy-to-understand format Want to find [...]

Safe Bath Products for Kids

Safe bath products for kids

Written by Kate Tietje, Contributing Writer When I was expecting my first baby, I bought so much stuff.  Some of what I bought was all the "usual" baby care products -- shampoo, baby wash, baby lotion, and so on.  All of that stuff makes babies smell so good! Then, when my daughter was a few months old, I was putting on her baby lotion after her bath one night and I watched an angry, red rash appear immediately. Wow! We never used that lotion again. [...]

5 Ways to Get More Fruits & Veggies into your Diet

5 Ways to add more Friuts & Veggies into your diet COVER

              Written by Rachel, contributing writer Are you working to ditch processed foods and put more real food on the table? This month we're running a series called Real Food Made Simple: A Beginner's Guide to Eating Better. Our goal is to answer the questions you might have and make the transition a whole lot easier! We all want a healthy family, right? Some of us deal with picky eaters, and when it comes to getting little ones (and [...]

Raising Kids on Real Food

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Written by Courtney Dunkin, Contributing Writer Are you working to ditch processed foods and put more real food on the table? This month we're running a series called Real Food Made Simple: A Beginner's Guide to Eating Better. Our goal is to answer the questions you might have and make the transition a whole lot easier! After several generations of playing around with the latest and greatest advancements in food technology, today's homemaker is longing to return to real food. Unfortunately, the modern advancements that [...]

5 Ways to Use Oil as Part of a Natural, Skincare Routine

5 ways to use oil

Written by Stacy Karen, Contributing Writer Switching to non-toxic skin care is a logical step for those wanting to lead a healthy and natural lifestyle. Using natural products on our skin is helpful in reducing the toxic load we carry since the skin so readily absorbs whatever we put on it. Many mainstream skin care products contain a number of harmful substances, such as parabens, phthatalates, and a variety of other synthetic ingredients. Thankfully, creating your own skin care products is not difficult and can [...]

First Steps to Eating for Fertility

First Steps to Eating for Fertility

Note from Stephanie: Many years ago, I connected with fellow blogger Donielle Baker through the realization that we shared a common struggle of infertility due to having a diagnosis of PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). What bonded us further was that we were both using real foods, herbal remedies and supplements, and making natural lifestyle changes to address the hormone imbalances of PCOS-- and wonder of wonders, these lifestyle changes really worked! While I continued to focus on healthy living and homemaking in general, Donielle saw [...]