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’ve talked a lot about fermented foods and drinks lately, from my favorite water kefir, to homemade sauerkraut. Lately, I’ve been enjoying trying things like fermented condiments, salsas, and more. Most of these recipes use whey to speed the lacto-fermentation process and for a long time, I avoided these recipes because I simply didn’t have …
Are you grain free now, but sometimes wish you could indulge in a pasta dish without the insulin spike and “brick in the stomach” feeling? My husband had been requesting pasta for a long time, and I’ve been meaning to experiment with a good grain-free lasagna recipe. Thanks to reader Desiree for the inspiration! I …
I often (ok, basically always) encourage readers to ditch the grains for the sake of their health, and many do see tremendous health improvements by doing so. One question/objection I often get is “If grains are unhealthy, why are they consumed in the Bible and why did Jesus use so many references to bread” or …
Thyme is an amazing herb that originated in the Mediterranean and that has been used for thousands of years. From Mountain Rose Herbs: An aromatic herb in the mint family, thyme grows to a height of fifteen inches (about 40 cm), with small rounded leaves and pink flowers on woody stems. Today the plant is …
In my younger years, I absolutely loved Chinese food (especially of the PF Chang variety) and ate it often. I cringe to think how much MSG, high fructose corn syrup, and other terrible ingredients I consumed back then. When we switched to real food, I stopped eating the processed versions of my favorite foods, but …
Hippocrates was once quoted for saying “all disease begins in the gut.” Time is proving Hippocrates to be a pretty smart guy, and science is even now linking poor gut health with a myriad of health problems. From eczema to poor immune health, it seems that our gut health influences much more than we previously …
Keeping a well-stocked, real food kitchen is essential for sticking to a healthy lifestyle. If you’ve got healthy foods at your finger tips all the time and no processed foods to fall back on, you won’t be tempted to reach for the cereal on a busy morning. For me, keeping a kitchen well stocked and …
It’s a probiotic… it’s a carbonated drink… it’s water kefir! I started making this as part of my mission to get more probiotics in our diet and it has worked like a charm! The kids love it and ask for it each morning. Water Kefir Culture You will need one unusual ingredient for this recipe: …
Before I started eating real foods, ferments like sauerkraut, plain yogurt, kombucha, and aged cheese were not even on my radar. These fermented foods tasted and smelled too strong to me, and I had no interest in eating them. I preferred my bland carbohydrates, thank you very much! Fast forward a couple of years, and …
I’ve written before about water kefir, and it is definitely my husband’s favorite way to get probiotics naturally. It doesn’t have the strong taste of kombucha and is faster to make. Where to Get Water Kefir Grains? If you’ve never made water kefir, it is really simple to make. I get live water kefir culture …
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 …
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 …
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. …
