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!
Salad dressings are a great thing to start making yourself. Not only will you save money, but the flavor is so much better with fresh ingredients, and you can avoid vegetable oils and additives. This balsamic vinaigrette is one of my favorite homemade salad dressings and it is incredibly easy to make at home. Balsamic …
My kids really like beef jerky, and actually I do too. For a long time, we never had it in the house because a) it’s expensive and b) unless its full of sugars and nitrates, it is really expensive! When a road trip left me desperate for some kind of portable protein, I tried an …
The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson was one of the first books I read on the primal/paleo way of living. I had already arrived at many of the same conclusions but was glad to find such a well researched and well written summary. Though Mark approaches healthy eating and lifestyle from a slightly different perspective, …
I’d been wanting sushi for a while, but hadn’t yet found a way to get it without rice. As I’ve found with many things, if you want a healthy option, you have to make it yourself … so I did. If I’d known it was this easy to make sushi, I would have done it …
I’ve talked before about how much we use coconut oil and shared my list of 101 uses. We use coconut oil in everything from deodorant to toothpaste to cooking. I even use it in my coffee… I often get asked and wanted to share my favorite brand of coconut oil: Tropical Traditions Gold Label. (check …
I’ve written before about my Irish heritage and the foods I’ve adapted from my family’s traditional recipes. One traditional Irish favorite that I’ve adapted to my real food lifestyle is Irish bangers & mash. Like many Irish dishes, it involves meat and potatoes, but I make it without the potatoes. This is a simple and satisfying …
You’ve probably heard horror stories of 3 foot tapeworms that cause serious problems for some people, but did you know that most parasites are very tiny and some can only be seen by microscope? Did you know that there is actually a very good chance that you could have a yeast or parasite infestation? The …
I resisted trying Jamaican jerk seasoning for years. It seemed strange to me to add cinnamon to savory dishes. Then, I married someone from Cincinnati and was introduced to Cincinnati Style Chili which also uses cinnamon in a savory dish (along with chocolate!). I figured if I could learn to love cinnamon in chili, I …
These sweet potato fries are a kid-approved substitute for regular french fries or conventional potato products and are packed with nutrition. A kid favorite at our house, the kids often help slice these or cut them in to crinkle cut chips before baking. They are fast and easy to make and go with a lot …
When I first became a mom almost a decade ago, I started to question the ingredients in everything I put on my baby. Unfortunately, there were not good answers to most of my questions. One product I was surprised to find had problematic ingredients was baby powder. The Problem with Baby Powder… Innocent though it …
Note: this article is long and goes into a lot of science. If that isn’t your thing, watch the movie Fat Head. It explains much of this in a very entertaining way! I’m sure you’ve heard or seen the commercials telling the dangers of high cholesterol levels and the various life saving drugs that lower cholesterol …
Mayonnaise has always been one of my favorite condiments, but while the store bought stuff is a convenient and cheap option, it is filled with such nastiness as soybean or vegetable oil, preservatives, and chemicals. My homemade, healthy mayo on the other hand is packed with protein and good fats, and it tastes delicious! This …
Everyone loves a good casserole and they are such an easy meal idea. Everything goes into one pan and gets put in the oven, making serving a breeze. Casseroles are frequently great options for batch cooking and freezing too. This recipe is made easiest with pre-cooked chicken (I frequently cook extra chicken on weekends or …
Healthy eating doesn’t have to mean forgetting pizza forever. This gluten-free pizza recipe tastes like regular pizza but is much more filling and protein packed. The basic idea is that instead of a flour crust, you use ground beef and spices instead. The texture is amazingly similar, and this “Meatza” is great cold for breakfast …
Ever want a smoothie, but don’t want one packed with sugar that will leave you hungry in half an hour? For a filling snack or meal without the insulin spike, consider this delicious coconut-based smoothie that is similar in taste and texture to a milkshake, but much more satisfying. It is even a fast on-the-go …
Keeping active during pregnancy is always a good idea. It is important to check with a doctor or midwife to make sure there aren’t any particular concerns for your pregnancy, but in most cases, a woman can continue normal exercise routines during pregnancy and even add exercises like walking or swimming to have a fit pregnancy. …
Apple pork chops are an easy and fast recipe that my kids love. I keep pork chops in the freezer for nights I know I will be in a rush. The apples add great flavor to the pork and the balsamic vinegar gives a bit of a sweet and tangy taste. I love that this …
This recipe is almost too good to be healthy, and amazingly, it is one of my family’s most delicious and healthy dessert recipes! Chocolate Coconut Clusters These chocolate coconut clusters also have only 5 ingredients, are simple to make, and kids love them! My kids eat these like candy…. in fact, they prefer these to …
Asian five spice is a blend of five spices (of course) and often salt. It is great for seasoning fatty cuts of meat like pork or duck but is also great on seafood. It is a staple in my kitchen. I make a large batch so I always have some on hand. The core five spices …
If you haven’t already gotten rid of the junk in your pantry, now is the time! To make the transition easier, I compiled a list of ways to use those non-foods for other household purposes. I hate to waste as much as the next person, but I finally had to realize that my body is …
Ever checked the ingredients on your baby wipes? Yeah, I hadn’t either. The Cosmetics Database gives you a complete list and a hazard rating of the different brands of wipes. For instance: Pampers Clean and Go Wipes Contain Water, Disodium EDTA, Xanthan Gum, Caprylic Triglyceride, PEG 40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Sodium …
Being of Irish/Scottish descent, the adjustment away from potatoes was a tough one! I used to make shepherd’s pie regularly every couple of weeks because it was easy and the kids loved it. When we first got rid of grains, potatoes, and sugars, I thought this was a recipe I would have to forget. Until …
Diabetes rates are rising, in fact it is now considered an “epidemic” in the medical community. The American Diabetes Association reports that: 23.6 million Americans have diabetes 57 million Americans are pre-diabetic 1.6 new cases of diabetes are reported each year For those over age 60, almost 1 in 4 have diabetes Diabetes is the …
I was diagnosed with autoimmune disease almost a year ago and I’ve felt incredibly better by following a modified autoimmune protocol and making sure to eat enough protein in the morning per my doctor’s recommendation. At first, it was difficult to get enough protein first thing in the morning and I was getting tired of …
