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!
After more than a decade of writing about wellness, I’ve come to the realization that not only is there no “one-size-fits-all” approach to health, but that the idea of trying to find one may actually be harmful. I found the things that worked for me to reverse my Hashimotos and gut issues, but those things …
Fitness is a vital part of any overall wellness regimen, though it should follow a healthy diet and lifestyle, rather than take the place of it. There are hundreds of options for improving your fitness, from gyms and weights, running, swimming, and numerous others. Since I have approximately zero hours of free time to drive …
I’ve written about the many benefits of humic minerals and fulvic acids and how they can dramatically impact health and I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how to practically incorporate these substances. To recap, these substances can improve digestion, cell function, energy levels and even brain function. When combined with soil based probiotics, there is …
If you’re here, that means you are interested in some aspect of healthy living. Maybe you are improving your diet, working on sleeping, or drinking more clean water. You’re working to make sure that you are only ingesting healthy foods, and it’s important to make sure you aren’t using the unhealthy ones on the outside …
Smoothies can be a great and fast meal on the go. If made correctly, they can be a source of nutrients, protein, healthy fats, and probiotics. Without these healthy ingredients, many smoothies contain as much sugar as juice or soda. If protein powder is used, many contain processed whey or artificial sweeteners. As with any …
One (of many) problems that I see with our modern diet is that it is not varied and the majority of the foods we consume contain similar (but boring) ingredients like processed grains, potatoes, sugars and vegetable oils. Around the World… Many cultures around the world have consumed a much more varied diet, including some …
If you eat grain free, you likely eat a lot of eggs for breakfast. I’m always looking for new ways to mix up the breakfast menu, and this is my latest creation. Huevos Rancheros… Huevos rancheros, or “ranchers eggs” is based on a traditional Mexican recipe. Originating on rural Mexican farms, this breakfast fare is …
A common theme I’ve noticed among many women today is an obsession with the number on the scale. It is so easy to get caught up on the number, rather than the health behind it. One of the most frustrating assumptions of conventional wisdom is that calories in = calories out and that obesity is caused …
Stir-frys are one of my biggest mommy hacks. They are full of flavor, only take one pan to make, and come together in just minutes for a fast and simple meal. This summer squash sausage stir-fry is especially good as a seasonal recipe when squash and zucchini are in season because they are so inexpensive …
Often a healthy diet and fried foods seem incompatible, but this doesn’t have to be the case. When using quality ingredients and oils that are safe to use at high temperatures (like coconut oil or tallow), fried foods can be an acceptable part of a healthy diet. This onion rings recipe is one of my …
One of my favorite things about spring is the fresh lettuce at the farmer’s markets and the return of the amazing flavors of fresh vegetables and herbs. When spring finally arrives, we are all excited for radishes, peas, fresh strawberries, and greens! These spring salad recipes are the perfect way to really showcase garden produce and …
Since my husband is Italian, I’m always looking for healthy versions of Italian dishes that he likes. Some favorites so far have been one-pan spaghetti over cabbage noodles, zucchini lasagna and chicken cacciatore. We had a lot of eggplant recently in the garden and CSA, and since all I’ve ever known to do with eggplant …
I often get this question from people who are new to a healthy way of living and are experiencing some uncomfortable symptoms. Especially if you are switching from a conventional low-fat, high grain diet, you might be noticing that you are tired and have some uncomfortable symptoms like headache, fatigue, achy muscles or brain fog. …
If you are as busy as I am, a meal that requires little attention and only needs one pan to cook makes life a little simpler. This recipe is also a delicious way to introduce Brussels sprouts (aka baby cabbages in our house) to your family if they haven’t had them before. Oh, yeah, and …
This isn’t one of the most visually appealing recipes to emerge from my kitchen, but one of the simplest! It’s a quick and easy take on spaghetti without the grains. It even got an un-prompted “This is actually pretty good,” from my Italian husband! My favorite part… it only takes one (oven-safe) pan to make …
Now that we are just on the verge of tomato and pepper season, I wanted to share this recipe for cultured salsa. Fermenting salsa is an easy way to make it last longer without canning and it adds a probiotic boost. We eat and drink a lot of fermented foods, from water kefir soda to …
At my house, we make almost all of our own toiletries, including deodorant and toothpaste. I’d read plenty to convince me that conventional shaving soaps were relatively toxic, but for a long time, I just used natural bar soap instead. Over time, I developed my own shaving soap recipes that work better than soap and …
There are many natural beauty tips, tricks, and recipes that you can make at home, and your kitchen contains all the ingredients you’ll need. 1. Oil Cleansing Use olive, coconut, or almond oil with Castor oil to clean your skin instead of a harsh soap. This will cleanse your skin naturally and keep from pulling …
With all the news about the old USDA Food Pyramid being replaced by the new MyPlate (which only cost the government $2 million to create!) I thought that an in-depth look at the old Pyramid is in order. I actually had a post planned about how the Food Pyramid desperately needed to be updated, but …
If you’ve ever bought spices from the store, you probably noticed that they often contain ingredients like “anti-caking agent” or “natural flavor” (aka MSG). Many often contain trace amounts of soy or other fillers, and sometimes these don’t even have to be listed on the ingredients. Mystery fillers aside, these spices also often sit on …
This is by far the most used tincture in my homemade herbal remedy cabinet. It is simple to make, but very effective against early pregnancy nausea, motion sickness, and tummy aches that happen when the kids eat unhealthy food when we are not at home. I’ve used this herbal digestion tincture in transition during labor …
Oh, pregnancy…. that wonderful time when everyone offers unwanted advice and your body changes in ways you didn’t know possible. Since I’m now in the third trimester of pregnancy myself, and starting to really “feel” pregnant, I thought I would offer my own completely unsolicited advice for a healthy pregnancy. (If you’re pregnant, you are …
Cauliflower is not a vegetable my husband loves, in fact, he doesn’t care for it at all. He eats it (when I load it with butter), but it is certainly not on his favorite list … except when I make it like this. Everyone in my family ate this, including our one-year old, who also is …
Soap seems like a pretty straightforward substance with a basic goal- cleaning. In today’s world, there are hundreds of varieties of soaps for many different purposes. Soap for dishes, soap for laundry, soap for skin… the list goes on. There are antibacterial soaps, scented soaps, vegan soaps, animal based soaps, hypoallergenic soaps, etc. In general, soap …
