December 20, 2011

Favorite Winter Herbal Remedies: Colds and Coughs, Stomach Viruses, and Headaches

herbal medicine

Written by Kate Tietje, Contributing Writer It's winter time (already!  I'm still in denial!) and we're in the thick of the "sick season."  In fact, we've just gotten over our first round of "major" colds.  That's no fun. We choose not to use any form of over-the-counter or other pharmaceutical products in our home -- at least not without an excellent reason (and we haven't found one in the last three years).  Certainly we don't for the run-of-the-mill winter blahs, like colds, flu, stomach viruses, [...]

Filed Under: Healthy kids, Herbs, Natural Remedies Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , 28 Comments
November 10, 2011

Treating First Aid Situations Naturally

4162423720_a5e0c9e355

I have used my NaturoKit natural first aid kit more than 5 times in the past two weeks. I usually think of first aid kits as getting more use during the outdoor, summer months, but our family is rapidly disproving that theory. What did I need it for?  An upset stomach due to travelling and bizarre food options. Twice. (Thank goodness for activated charcoal!) My 4 year old burned his finger on our gas fireplace. Apparently he didn't believe me when I said it was actually hot. [...]

Filed Under: Healthy kids, Living healthy, Natural Remedies Tagged With: , , , , 13 Comments
November 8, 2011

Homemade Herbal Vapor Rub to Relieve Coughs and Congestion

herbal vapor salve ingredients

Written by Courtney, Contributing Writer Seeing our children suffer from a cough is no fun at all. However, coughs have their place in healing and should usually not be suppressed. If we prevent a cough from doing its part in recovery, we can set our child up for a much more serious illness. What starts out as a simple cold could quickly turn into bronchitis or pnemonia if mucous is allowed to settle in the chest. At times, a cough can interfere with recovery when it [...]

Filed Under: Children, Healthy kids, Herbs, Natural Remedies Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , 60 Comments
October 21, 2011

Treating Depression During Pregnancy, Naturally

pregnant belly

This post is the follow up to last month's post on Stacey's experience with Depression in Pregnancy. The first post was intended to bring awareness to the issue and offer hope and encouragement, and this second post takes a closer look at some of the natural and wholistic methods of treating depression while pregnancy. There is another detailed post on this site with natural remedies for treating depression, but please note that that post does not take into account the safety of various remedies during pregnancy. [...]

Filed Under: Living healthy, Natural Remedies, Pregnancy Tagged With: , , , , , , 15 Comments
October 20, 2011

Family Friendly and Pregnancy-Safe Liquid Herbal Products: TriLight Health Review and $100 Giveaway

Trilight 00190-1-logoImage

I'm a big believer in using herbs to naturally and gently treat many health concerns, as well as to nourish the body with additional nutrients. The easiest form of herbs for most amateurs is usually dry herbs, made into simple teas, poultices, baths and that sort of thing. However, the most effective form of herbs is usually a tincture, which is a powerful liquid extract made from either a single herb or a combinations of herbs. Tinctures are absorbed better and faster, and tend to provide [...]

Filed Under: Giveaways, Herbs, Natural Remedies, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , 312 Comments
October 14, 2011

Boosting Your Immunity: Mushroom Soup with Herbs

porcini_mushroom_soup_recipe

 Written by Meg Dickey, Contributing Writer Our Valley finally began it's annual cooling trend last week. After several months of nearly 100 degree heat, we were able to enjoy a rainstorm, complete with chilly temperatures and a delightful nip in the air. Along with those blissful breezes come the sniffles and sneezes... when we start to feel like we're running down, I like to put a pot of this luscious soup on to simmer.  It does a wonderful job of soothing sore throats, boosting [...]

Filed Under: Herbs, Natural Remedies, Real, whole food, Recipes, Traditional foods Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , 35 Comments
July 19, 2011

Sunburn Soothers: Herbal Remedies for Summer’s Ailments

Written by Meg, Contributing Writer Herbal Remedies for Sunburn Once your skin is burned and there’s no turning back (or when your skin has been overexposed to hot, drying sun and wind or chlorinated swimming pools), use the same herbs, essential oils and vitamins recommended to treat any injured skin. My first choices are lavender, aloe vera and calendula to repair damaged skin cells. The essential oil of geranium has skin-rejuvenating properties that encourage healing. Expensive, but exquisite in scent and skin-healing properties, are rose [...]

Filed Under: Herbs, Homemade, Natural Remedies Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 30 Comments
November 1, 2010

Home Remedies Carnival: Share Your Resources for Staying Healthy Naturally

After spending an entire month focused mainly on natural home remedies, herbs, homeopathics, real food prevention and more, I still feel like we've only scratched the surface. Though most of it isn't complex (in fact, often home remedies are very quick, simple and inexpensive) it does take some reading, research and trial and error to find the right remedies that suit the needs of your family. Being able to glean from other women and moms, and learn their favorite and tried-and-true remedies helps to take [...]

Filed Under: Healthy kids, Herbs, Living healthy, Natural Home Remedies and Illness Prevention Month Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 24 Comments