Wellness Mama®
Simple Answers for Healthier Families
This tutorial was created by my (super creative) 6-year-old daughter as a smaller version of my original reusable heat packs. Hand Warmer Heat Packs She loved having the heat pack on her feet or hands on cold days, but the kids were often fighting over them. She loves the hand warmers you can buy and …
At our house, boredom is not allowed and is never an excuse to watch TV or complain. My children know all too well that complaining “Mom, I’m bored,” is a fast way to get assigned an extra chore or two. Recently, while visiting a friend, I saw an intriguing system she used to help encourage imagination, …
Note from Katie: I’m excited to welcome my friend Elizabeth (also a mom of five) to share her recipe for solid shampoo (shampoo bar soap). If my homemade natural shampoo didn’t work for your hair type, this may be the answer. I know you’ll love it as much as I do! Enter Elizabeth… When I began my …
Two recipes that are staples in our kitchen, especially at this time of year, are kombucha and elderberry syrup. Kombucha is a great source of beneficial bacteria, enzymes, and vitamins while elderberry is a traditional remedy to ward off illness. Combine the two and you get a delicious, fizzy, and immune-boosting “soda” that is delicious and …
A friend recently asked how we had helped my son’s spider bite a few years ago and I told her our protocol of poultices of activated charcoal, baking soda, bentonite clay and plantain (alternating). She said: “Great, but what is a poultice… is that recipe on your blog?” I realized it wasn’t and I can’t …
Mark Twain famously said that “truth is stranger than fiction,” and some historical reading I stumbled upon lately brought that quote to mind. In fact, when I started reading, I checked several times to make sure I wasn’t reading a satire site. The Worst Thing to Eat in the Morning? In his recent book, The …
I recently posted the natural remedies for acne that helped me finally achieve and maintain clear skin. One thing I mentioned was the benefit of probiotics on the skin, and a probiotic face mask is one of my favorite inexpensive ways to get them on the skin naturally. Why Probiotics on the Skin? As I mentioned in my …
Essential oils are all the rage lately, and with good reason. They are, in a sense, a pharmaceutical grade natural remedy with incredible power. But with great power comes great responsibility, and there are many essential oil resources online giving worrisome blanket advice about their use. Don’t get me wrong. I love oils and I use …
The other day, I was trying to find a picture of me when I was in high school to show my kids. I couldn’t find one because I was so photo shy at that time… mainly because of my acne (and regular teenage girl insecurities). At that time, I tried every natural remedy for acne I could …
Years ago, I shared my recipe for homemade bone broth and recently I recorded a podcast with Brothvangelist and Chef Lance Roll about its many health and nutrition benefits. With the recent release of the book Nourishing Broth and the surge of news articles about broth, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about the benefits …
In our family, we have a tradition of holding one gift to open on January 6th, which marks the feast of the Epiphany and the end of the Christmas season for us. I wanted to find a fun way to teach our kids about this traditional feast which celebrates the arrival of the three kings …
Salt is often a hotly debated topic in the natural health community. It was literally once worth its weight in gold, and now added dietary salt has come under scrutiny in the health and medical communities. The problem with the advice to avoid salt is that studies about salt intake almost all use basic chemical …
I’m super happy to finally get to share about an amazing new company that I’ve been using like crazy lately. In fact, I was so excited about this company that I said “heck yes!” when I was asked to be an advisor (and investor) with them so that I could help them choose products moms and families need …
This post is on a pretty basic topic that isn’t necessarily specific to natural living, but is vitally important for health, especially this time of year. Preventing carbon monoxide poisoning takes less time than oil pulling, costs less than fermented cod liver oil, and is an important safety topic for your family to prepare for. …
I’ve been making my own soap for a long time, both by cold process and hot process in a crock pot. It can seem really intimidating to begin making your own soap, but everyone I know who actually tries it is amazed at how simple it is. Hot vs. Cold Process Soap As I explained before, …
