Wellness Mama®
Simple Answers for Healthier Families
Have a vegetable hater in the house? Then you need to try roasted carrot coulis. Seriously. If there ever was a recipe that shows off all the glory of healthy veggies (besides a salad), it’s this one. A quick rough chop of sweet carrots, savory red bell peppers, and spicy sweet sliced onion — roasted …
Being a mom is hard work. Really hard work (but that’s preaching to the choir, right?)!! I love my children, but that doesn’t make caring for them 24/7 any easier. As moms our help and support is in constant demand … but you can’t constantly give when your own cup is running dry. (Unless the …
Ever heard of switchel? It is a fermented beverage that hasn’t seemed to gain the popularity of kombucha … yet (though I suspect it will soon!). It relies on pre-fermented apple cider vinegar and does not have a long fermentation process like kombucha or kefir do, making it a great first drink for anyone new to …
Stress kills. No, really… Even if a person has all the other factors right, high levels of stress can derail health. Unfortunately, just knowing stress is a problem doesn’t fix it. If you’re like me, the need to reduce stress just adds another item on the “to-do” list. Laundry… check. Dishes… check. De-stress… not so …
You all know I’m a fan of using olive oil on skin and hair, but another all-star natural moisturizer for these uses and more around the home is shea butter. (Something about the name just even sounds luxurious, doesn’t it?) This luxurious butter is very thick and solid at room temperature but has a buttery …
Dust … it’s everywhere and seems to multiply. It has a way of accumulating on furniture, books, and in little hidden places. Dusting furniture is one of those time-consuming chores I can’t stand, so I decided long ago to use natural homemade cleaners like this wood furniture cleaner and polish in place of chemical-laden conventional ones (so I …
I’m constantly on the lookout for more ways to get the all-important vegetables in our diet. Don’t get me wrong, I love a salad, but in the fall/winter a warm and savory way to enjoy veggies is especially nice. This roasted vegetable salad is quick to make and easy on the eyes. Add some chicken …
Whatever our walk in life, as moms, I’m pretty sure we all want to find ways to be more calm, loving, and collected. We know we should manage our stress through exercise, eating a healthy diet, and maybe journaling, prayer, or meditation. We do our best, but sometimes we need that little extra something (or …
Activated charcoal has been part of my natural medicine cabinet for years, but now it is showing up in beauty magazines and DIY websites for its many other uses! Activated charcoal is one of those rare areas where ancient traditional medicine and today’s medical literature agree. Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine used this sooty, jet-black powder for thousands of …
Groundhog Day has come and gone, and if you live in the northern parts of the U.S., this is the time of year you may be getting a little weary of cold, snow, and gray skies. Personally I’m all for snow on Christmas, but outside of that I take my sunshine and vitamin D seriously! …
If a doctor told you that there was one simple thing that you could do to lower your risk of illness, reduce your stress, and at the same time increase your ability to eat healthy and exercise, you would probably do it, right? Well, it turns out that researchers have been hard at work investigating this impressive …
Panna cotta (Italian for “cooked cream”) is a delicious dessert that originated in northern Italy. It is made from simmering a mixture of cream, milk, and sugar (and don’t forget the fresh vanilla bean!) and then adding gelatin and chilling until set. I’ve also dressed up this dessert for special occasions (like a date night in) …
If you have been a Wellness Mama reader for very long then you know my story and how it took me over seven years and eight doctors to finally figure out I had Hashimoto’s and start to find answers. I know firsthand how difficult it can be to get testing, even when you think you …
We don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. I should re-word that to clarify that we have no vendetta against the occasion, we just try to avoid any “Hallmark Holidays” as my husband calls them. (We avoid Mother’s, Father’s and Grandparents’ Day for similar reasons, but we make a point to celebrate the purpose of these many times …
When the flu bites, when the cold stings … these are a few of my least favorite things! (And I bet I’m not alone!) Fortunately, it is possible to protect against some cases of illness with natural remedies that boost the body’s amazing natural immune system. Even once an illness has struck, there are things …
Conjugated Linoleic Acid, or CLA for short, may sound like a mouthful, but this healthy fat offers some impressive benefits. I’ve covered CLA briefly in my article on grass-fed beef, but today I want to dive a little deeper. I’ve found some evidence-based benefits of CLA and how best to add it into your diet. …
I was first introduced to castor oil as my due date approached with my first child. Like any mom, I was eager to meet my little one so I turned to the expansive wisdom that is Google to find ways to speed up my body’s natural process of going into labor. I found many folk remedies …
