Wellness Mama®
Simple Answers for Healthier Families
The Wellness Mama blog provides simple answers for healthier families through research, tutorials, recipes, humor, and living life with lots of kids!
I recently read the book Making Shi(f)t Happen by Dean Dwyer from BeingPrimal.com. I’ve read Dean’s blog in the past, and I like his no-holds-barred approach to health and nutrition. To give a little background, Dean was a former Vegan/Vegetarian who, at age 45, decided to try a new approach. He re-introduced meat into his diet …
I’ve recently had the opportunity to try using microfiber and now I’m kicking myself for not trying it sooner! A reader sent me some great info and a few Norwex products to try out. I certainly had my doubts that a single cloth could clean everything, especially without water, and I was pleasantly surprised. Since trying …
Plantain is a useful herb that is often considered a weed by most people. It is native to Europe and parts of Asia, but was said to have been introduced to North America when the settlers came from Europe. It’s scientific name is Plantago Major, and it likely grows in your yard. The leaves are …
I was recently (ok, not quite so recently) sent a copy of the The Healthy Gluten Free Life by Tammy Credicott to review, and with my husband’s extended hospital stay and a few conferences in the last month, I am just now able to actually write the review (oops!) The thing that is unique about …
Chicken pot pie was one of those dishes I didn’t love as a kid (store-bought version) and then loved as an adult (homemade version) and had to say goodbye to when we switched to a grain-free, real food diet. Flour and vegetable shortening crust…not so much! I just recently attempted a healthy version of chicken …
There has been a lot of buzz around the internet lately about the new film “Hungry for Change” and I’ve seen some relatively strong opinions on both sides. (Not to be confused with the Hunger Games, which I know much less about but which is getting a lot more attention…) I watched the film when …
This recipe was born when I wanted to find a way to use my lemon and lime peels from my chicken picatta recipe and other recipes so they wouldn’t go to waste. I used them in cleaning products some of the time, but I also figured out a way to dry/dehydrate them for food use. …
I have a confession … prior to my real food conversion, I absolutely loved Chinese food. Yep … that MSG, fake salt, and high fructose laden Chinese food. I loved it and ate it much more often than I’d like to admit! Once we gave up the junk food, I’d still occasionally wish I could …
I must admit, smothered pork chops were something I had not tried before we switched to all real food eating, so I don’t technically know how they are supposed to taste. I do know that this version is really, really good, so while it may not be an exact replica of the not-so-healthy version, it …
You’ve probably heard of Catnip herb before, and true to its name, you probably heard of it in reference to its properties that are highly attractive to felines. What is much less well-known, are the practical uses of this herb for humans. Catnip Uses Catnip is one of my favorite herbs for children. I use …
Most people are deficient in Magnesium… in fact, you probably are too. Magnesium is the second most abundant element in our bodies, and is used in regulating over 300 enzymes and reactions in the body. I’ve written before about how the depleted magnesium levels in our food and water, and the imbalance of nutrients in …
I’ve been on an Italian chicken variation kick lately. I absolutely love chicken piccata and finally figured out a great recipe for it which inspired a lot of chicken cooking around here lately. I’ve made healthy variations of chicken cacciatore, chicken Florentine, chicken Marsala, and chicken carbonara. In restaurants, this is often made with an extremely …
Natural and organic recipes for homemade taco seasoning, curry powder, Seasoned Salt, Ranch Mix, French Onion Soup Powder, Chili Seasoning, Fajita Seasoning, Chinese 5-Spice Seasoning, Pumpkin Pie Spice and more
I’ve shared before the supplements I take regularly, and which ones are I add in specifically during pregnancy or nursing. Supplements for Children… Another time when nutrition is incredibly important and sometimes difficult to accomplish is during childhood. I can’t emphasize enough how important a healthy diet is for growing children, but some nutritional gaps can still occur because …
One of the questions I get the most by email and in the forum, is how to help kids make a switch to healthier eating in a world where unhealthy options are marketed to them and pushed on them constantly. Certainly, it seems that many take the position that kids “just won’t eat” the healthy …
A question I get relatively often from readers is if I take any supplements, and if so, which ones? I’ve been pregnant or nursing for much of the last ten years, so I often just focus on my core supplements for pregnancy and nursing, but there are a variety of other supplements that I take for various reasons. …
Once upon a time in Belgium, my boyfriend (now husband) and I went on a date to an amazing Greek restaurant. It was shortly after we met while walking across the country and it was our second official date. He first asked me out on the bridge going into Washington D.C. after we had walked 3,200 …
“Is a Low Carb Diet Healthy?” This question has been swirling around the blogosphere lately with many different answers. Some claim that really low-carb is the only way to go, others claim that eating low carb messed up their thyroid or other hormones. One important distinction that must be made is between low-carb and grain-free. …
Seasoned salt is one of those seasonings that can be used on almost anything. I usually keep a pint or even quart size mason jar of this in my spice cabinet because it easily goes in soups and stews, on almost any chicken dish or beef dish, and even adds some kick to eggs and …
When trying to implement nutrition changes, it can often be overwhelming to think of all the changes that need to be made and figure out what should be done first. Choosing healthier, unpackaged food options requires more planning, so I’ve outlined below some of the most important steps to take in order of importance. Nutrition …
In the early days of my marriage, when I was pregnant with our first child, I had a daily ritual of cleaning the entire house each day from baseboards to ceiling (nesting, anyone?) and then watching the food channels for dinner inspiration. My husband is Italian, so I learned how to cook from Giada, Emeril, …
Nutrition has a tremendous impact on overall health, and is a huge focus of the Wellness Lifestyle. If you’ve been a Wellness Mama reader for a while, you know that I’m not a fan of grains, sugars and starches, or vegetable oils and recommend removing them from your diet. My real food prescription, in a nutshell: In …
I was excited to get an advance copy of Sarah Fragoso’s new book, “Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship” to review. It actually came while I wasn’t home and when I got back, I had to wrangle it from my kids to read it and review it. Just like Sarah’s other book, Everyday …
Grains are a controversial food in modern times, and perhaps with good reason. They aren’t the food they were thousands of years ago, or hundreds of years ago, or even 50 years ago. Are All Grains Bad? Maybe you’ve wondered why grains have become so controversial when people from other countries (usually Asia and Italy …
