The Nourished Life

Sugar: Prisoner of War

2012-05-23T12:41:00.003-05:00

If you want to wage war against food, there are plenty of ways to do it. We have vegans, who writhe in disgust at the thought of eating animal foods. And we have meatatarians, who eat animal foods almost exclusively (and writhe in disgust at the thought of being vegan). There's low-carb and low-fat, high-protein and low-glycemic. Raw or cooked. Good fats and bad fats, good carbs and bad

Homemade Whipped Coconut Oil Body Butter Recipe

2012-02-07T09:16:00.004-06:00

Does your moisturizer make you nervous? Let me guess: it's either filled with questionable ingredients or wildly expensive. Or both. Like you, I've been seeking a natural alternative to those bottles of creamy (but chemical-laden) conventional lotions. It hasn't been easy. Coconut oil has always been a top contender, but it wasn't until I tried a new homemade whipped coconut oil body butter

Real Food Myths: Attitude Doesn't Count

2011-11-08T15:55:00.000-06:00

Food affects our moods. This concept is well known in the real food community and I've written about it several times myself. It's also an idea that hits close to home for me, because the reason I became interested in real food nutrition was because my own emotional health (or lack thereof) was really putting my life and my family through the wringer. When you're plagued with mood swings that

10 Reasons Why I Love Butter

2011-11-01T12:27:00.000-05:00

How do I love thee, butter? Oh, let me count the ways... 1. Butter is real. I love food that doesn't need an ingredient list. And butter is as simple as it comes: cream. That's it. No hydrogenation necessary, no flavor additives, no preservatives. Just my style. 2. It's delicious. When it comes down to it, healthy food should taste amazing. And butter definitely fits that bill. Who

5 Steps to Winterize Your Vegetable Garden

2011-10-11T15:57:00.000-05:00

While your garden may be sleeping for most of the coming winter, plenty of tasks can be done to prepare for next spring. It may not seem like it, but this is the perfect time to begin preparing the garden for a dynamic growing season next year. Now is the time to give your garden a head start by taking these important steps to winterize your garden: 1. Clean up. Remove all the debris from

Tips for Growing Carrots this Fall

2011-09-27T12:10:00.000-05:00

It’s no mystery why carrots are one of the most popular vegetables grown in the home garden: they're easy to grow and healthy to eat. Carrots are also one of the most versatile vegetables in the kitchen and can be used in everything from soups and stews to muffins or stir fry. And of course, most people can enjoy crunching into a carrot fresh out of the garden, too. There are a variety of

Video Recipe: Healthy Collard Greens Wraps with Tasty Mexican Ground Beef Filling

2011-09-20T11:04:00.000-05:00

by Margaret Floyd, auther of Eat Naked: Unprocessed, Unpolluted, and Undressed Eating for a Healthier, Sexier You Looking for a creative alternative to your standard wheat or corn tortilla for your wraps and rolls? Collard greens are an excellent, unusual, and delicious option. It makes a grain-free wrap and is a fun way to sneak more vegetables into your dinner. Collards have nice, big,

Cinnamon Tingle Cod Liver Oil Success With Kids!

2011-09-16T10:43:00.000-05:00

When I got this email from last month's Green Pasture giveaway winner, I knew I had to share it with you all. I think most of us feel some hesitation about investing in a bottle of quality cod liver oil if you fear your kids will never consent to taking it every day. But a lot of parents are surprised when they realize it's often not the battle they expected! Here's what this email said: I got

Yummy Homemade Almond Flour Muffins

2011-09-14T11:30:00.001-05:00

Need a nutritious, grain-free snack on the go? Try out this simple almond flour muffin recipe from Charles and Julie Mayfield, authors of the real food cookbook Paleo Comfort Foods: Yummy Almond Flour Muffins Ingredients2 1/2 cups almond flour 1 tablespoon cinnamon 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups carrots, peeled and grated 1 large apple, peeled, cored and grated 1 cup shredded

Why Vegetable Rotation is Key for Organic Gardening

2011-09-13T10:53:00.001-05:00

Vegetable rotation probably never crosses the mind of the average home gardener. But rotating crops isn't just for the big agriculture players: it can also benefit small home gardens as well. For organic gardeners, vegetable rotation is especially important because it can help eliminate the need for fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides by maintaining balance in the soil. Why Vegetable

How to Brush Your Teeth for Gum Health: The Bass Brushing Technique

2011-09-12T17:49:00.005-05:00

Recently I shared a list of natural toothpaste alternatives, but did you know that how you brush your teeth can be just as important as what you use on your toothbrush? In fact, the type of brush you use plays an important role as well! Today Will and Susan Revak from OraWellness share instructions for the Bass brushing technique, an important step in reducing gum disease, improving oral

Video: How to Make Yogurt Cheese and Fresh Whey

2011-09-01T09:00:00.004-05:00

The first step to culturing your own probiotic foods at home is making whey. Whey is what kicks off the lacto-fermentation process and helps beneficial cultures develop in healthy real foods like homemade ketchup, sauerkraut and many others. How do you make your own whey? It's incredibly easy! Jenny from Nourished Kitchen put together a great video tutorial on making yogurt cheese and whey--she

20 Flowers that Attract Butterflies to Your Garden

2011-08-30T16:05:00.004-05:00

Flowers are nice... but butterflies are better! At least I think so. And if you plant the right flowers, you can attract these ethereal little creatures to your garden throughout the spring, summer and fall. That's right: while butterflies tend to be abundant in spring, that doesn't mean you can't have flowers that attract butterflies to your garden during the summer and fall as well. Below

How to Cook Real Food: Learn to Cook the Nourishing Way

2011-08-24T17:48:00.002-05:00

When I first read Nourishing Traditions, I fell in love. But as with any romance, the inevitable bumps in the road quickly emerged, including one stark reality: I was a terrible cook! The idea of eating traditional foods like our ancestors is a romantic thought that appeals so deeply to many of us. But if you're anything like me, what seems so natural doesn't exactly come naturally in the

What Price Said... About Cod Liver Oil

2011-08-18T15:36:00.005-05:00

Once upon a time a man went on a quest that touched every corner of the earth: a quest to find out what made folks healthy. The man was Weston A. Price and he came back from his journey with a clear idea of how nutrition can affect our health. He put these ideas into print in his book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. Price is known for recommending grass-fed butter, real whole milk, offal

Got Tomatoes? Try These 7 Delicious Recipes!

2011-08-16T10:29:00.004-05:00

Hopefully your garden has been showering you with tomatoes this season. Although our tomatoes didn't fare so well this year, we've been flooded with tomatoes coming from friends and neighbors who had more than they could handle! I personally love to eat them sliced, sprinkled with sea salt and grated parmesan cheese, and topped with a bit of crushed red pepper. Simple and delicious. But of

Exploring the Root Causes of Acne

2011-08-10T12:15:00.003-05:00

There comes a point when you've tried every single over-the-counter product you could find in your battle against the dreaded blight of acne... and yet still the battle rages on. You may have even crossed over to more natural methods of skincare like the honey face mask, homemade toner and coconut oil. And while these certainly help (I know from experience!), they fail to do one important thing:

The Best Homemade Toner for Acne Prone Skin

2011-08-09T12:20:00.008-05:00

A homemade toner for acne prone skin should be two things: simple and economical. No long list of required ingredients, and no sourcing ingredients all over town (or all over the internet!). And of course, it needs to be effective for problematic, blemish-prone skin. Luckily, all of these requirements are fulfilled easily by two simple ingredients: green tea and apple cider vinegar. (See below

Coconut Oil for Clear Skin

2011-07-27T13:24:00.003-05:00

In deciding what topics to focus on when writing about natural acne solutions, I knew right away that coconut oil would be at the top of my list. While I don't agree with outright food worship, I have to admit that coconut oil deserves a lot of the attention it gets. When it comes to promoting clear, healthy skin, coconut oil is definitely just what the doctor (dermatologist?) should be ordering

Raw Honey Mask for Acne

2011-07-25T09:29:00.002-05:00

The best face mask for acne can't be purchased at a pricey department store. In fact, it only contains one ingredient and it's probably already in your pantry! It's one of my personal favorites: the raw honey face mask. Raw honey has been prized for its healing properties since ancient times--it was even used like a modern-day antibiotic ointment on burns and scrapes. The raw honey mask for

Gigantic Zucchini (Not in a Store Near You)

2011-07-19T11:26:00.003-05:00

We've all heard dozens of times that the fruits and veggies we see in the produce aisle aren't quite the same as what you can grow at home. But as they say, seeing is believing. And I had no clue that it was physically possible for a zucchini to grow over a few inches long until I saw one of these in my garden last year. This one just came out of our garden last week. It measures at about 18

How to Increase the Minerals in Your Garden Soil

2011-07-12T12:16:00.007-05:00

In his book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration Weston A. Price said, "The most serious problem confronting the coming generations is this nearly insurmountable handicap of depletion of the quality of the foods because of the depletion of the minerals of the soil." One of the best parts of growing your own food at home is that you have better control over soil quality--which, in the end,

Organic Gardening Link Love: Getting Started!

2011-06-28T11:24:00.002-05:00

It's said that a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step... and isn't that first step always the hardest? Gardening is no different. It's usually the getting started part that holds everyone back! Well, it's also said that knowledge is power, so today I want to share a few of my favorite blog posts about getting started with organic gardening: 1. Start Growing Your Own Food and

The Number One Ingredient to Avoid

2011-06-20T10:57:00.024-05:00

There is a detrimental ingredient lurking in our food. Often we don't even realize it's there. It could be in the ice cream you ate last night or the pizza you ordered yesterday. It could be in the homemade fermented sourdough bread you have every morning for breakfast. And--believe it or not--this ingredient could even be hiding in your grass-fed burger, your pastured eggs or the fresh

Pics from My Garden This Year

2011-06-14T11:14:00.004-05:00

How is your garden doing this year? Spring is nearly over and the summer heat is in full swing here in Alabama. The temperatures are pushing 100 degrees every day and the rain hasn't graced us with a reprieve from the heat in quite some time. So things are dry (to say the least!) but I'm glad to say our garden is still pulling through nicely. Our first crop of potatoes is doing well this year.