Bet you'd never think constipation would have anything to do with bedwetting at night - but it might. I couldn't believe how many people struggle with constipation in their toddlers, and it's possible that those solutions will help the nighttime potty accidents as well! I have plenty of personal experience, unfortunately:You don't expect to have three kids in diapers when you have them all three years apart.My first two potty trained very easily, both before two-and-a-half years … [Read more...]
Why I Won’t Listen to Consumer Reports on Sunscreen
I get it. Consumer Reports is widely respected and well-known for really knowing how to do reviews and being very thorough. I'm just a mom who has spent the last nearly-decade testing over 100 natural sunscreens on her family in a mostly organized but sometimes haphazard way.I don't have a testing lab.I don't have a team of researchers.I don't even have perfect documentation on everything I did.But I am still going to shout my disagreement with Consumer Reports' 2017 sunscreen … [Read more...]
Healthy Summertime Popsicles Made by Kids (No Added Sugar!!)
Why bother making healthy popsicles? Because nobody wants to turn on the oven to bake homemade chewy granola bars in the summer!Our neighborhood is packed with kids, and they love hanging out together. When the weather is hot, popsicles tend to come out and get shared with friends.What's a household to do when we try to avoid artificial colors in food, think artificial sweeteners are dangerous for kids, and really don't want to consume a ton of white sugar either?The choices aren't … [Read more...]
Meal Planning Basics for the Boss of the House
Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to be the boss of your meal planning like you're the boss of the house! (a little throwback to my old Monday Missions!)It turns out that planning a menu for the week is a massive help in being a good kitchen steward, perhaps even more than making and choosing natural green cleaners: it saves you time, money, helps your family eat better, reduces food waste AND totally improves sanity. I'm sure of it. That last one is probably scientifically proven … [Read more...]
Natural Wasp Spray: We Got Rid of our Wasps, No Raid Required!
Long pants and a hoodie sweatshirt on a 95-degree day?You bet, if you're trying to get rid of bees (just remember not to nab honeybees!).At least, we thought we were trying to get rid of bees, which is what we call everything that buzzes and threatens to sting, but really it's most likely that we were aiming to get rid of a wasp nest.I hope you didn't think that was our new sun protection solution! ;) No, and in fact we're always adding to our massive natural sunscreen review so that … [Read more...]
Perfect Healthy Camping Meal Plan (& a Heart-Warming Story)
Now that we've gone camping every summer since our second child was 2 months old, we feel like we're old pros. We have the same whole grain "camping pancakes" every time, and I've definitely learned how to avoid have them explode like this gluten-free version did once!We have plenty of healthy, real food meal ideas to menu plan for camping with, and we always print the packing checklist from The Family Camping Handbook (only $6.95) and rely on it heavily for meal planning. There are lots of … [Read more...]
Healthy (and Tasty!) Fruit Pizza Recipe
With a name like "fruit pizza," you'd think you were making a healthy dessert that might actually have some nourishment for your kids.But...Every recipe I've ever seen for fruit pizza uses sugar cookie dough as the base. Usually they call for pre-packaged, trans-fat and white-sugar laden monstrosities, and super sugary frosting too. That bums me out.Since Kitchen Stewardship is all about real, nourishing foods and striking a balance/not going crazy, fruit desserts should be great … [Read more...]
Secrets to Cooking Real Food, One Step at a Time {GUEST POST}
This post is from guest writer Katy of Finding HomeIn our family of six, three of us are gluten intolerant. When we realized we had to cut out an entire group of foods, we didn’t immediately turn around and try to bake a cake. In fact, the first time a birthday rolled around, I actually bought a boxed cake mix for the first time in years because I was intimidated by gluten free cakes! (I wish I had known about Katie's alternative birthday cake options!)There were too many new ingredients … [Read more...]
You CAN Put Sunscreen on Babies Safely – Best Choices Here!
Because of all my work finding the best natural sunscreens for you guys, I get asked a LOT about safe sunscreens for babies and what the best choice is for those tiny bodies, especially parents whose babies have struggled with sensitive skin, reactions to other sunscreens and tender eczema.I have plenty of thoughts! It's been a journey for me over the years for sure, and I want to help you avoid the health and environmental mistakes I made and not waste money on brands that just don't … [Read more...]
Earthpaste’s Dry Little Cousin…Earthpowder {Reveiw}
When you have to write, "Clean toothpaste off walls...and cupboards," on your to-do list, you know you have kids.Our toothpaste has always surprised people because it looks like mud instead of being bright blue and pink. I like it that way. :)Except...when it squirts out of control onto the mirror or the wall! Then I wish it was clear!I was hoping that when I reviewed Redmond's new Earthpowder, the dry version of their toothpaste made from bentonite clay, Real Salt and other natural … [Read more...]
Naturally Easing Constipation in Toddlers
I am not sure I'll ever forget the televised image of Jon from the TLC show "Jon and Kate Plus 8" where Jon proved his Super Dad status: he pulled poop from his constipated child's behind, in the vehicle, while the family was out shopping. Awesome stuff.Although I have recently turned to a bunch of natural home remedies for constipation myself, I've been lucky enough not to have constipated toddlers or young children, but I know a lot of families struggle with this issue. I turned to the … [Read more...]
Natural Alternatives to Beat Constipation
Let's just start off on the right foot here: I'm not a doctor or health professional, and I won't be able to treat, cure or heal your constipation – naturally or otherwise.That said, I hope some of these ideas from our gut healing diet make you poop, which should cause some relief.They worked for me! Natural Home Remedies for Constipation Most of these natural remedies - and of course choosing the right foods for constipation - will be fine for both kids and adults, but I'll also … [Read more...]
DIY Greens Powder and the Easiest Way to Preserve Your Greens
“Mom, is this a stick in my soup?”I admit that we eat some weird food around here, but I really wasn't serving a soup quite that rustic (on purpose). I'd used some of my homemade greens powder made from dehydrated kale and spinach, but I had neglected to remove the stems before dehydrating it. Dehydrated kale stems are a lot like sticks.I got busted on a little corner cutting, but I'll let you learn from my mistake.This story was originally posted in 2013 but I updated it with some … [Read more...]
Do You Feel Ready For An Infestation?
It's ok if your skin is crawling looking at that picture! I can hardly stand it!Typically to fulfill the mission of Kitchen Stewardship, we're sharing science geek info on things like why aerosol sunscreen is dangerous (and safe, frugal sun options for your family) or time-savers like beef barbacoa in the Instant Pot, but today, I have a PSA of a different kind.Plain and simple, y'all need moth traps. And I need to go swap mine for new right now! (brb, k?)They're not very expensive. … [Read more...]
3 Reasons You Should Never Touch Spray Sunscreen
Is spray sunscreen dangerous?The FDA hasn't decided yet, but in the meantime, Consumer Reports recommended that people avoid it until we know better, particularly on kids. After personally testing over 80 natural sunscreens, I'm treating it as NOT SAFE for three huge reasons, the third of which you'll see right away in this video:If you can't view the video above, find it at "spray sunscreen is dangerous" on YouTube. What do you think? Is spray-on sunscreen bad for you? The FDA … [Read more...]
Frugal Options to Protect your Family NATURALLY from the Sun
The average per-ounce price of my top 7 recommended sunscreens from the massive safe, natural sunscreen review is (gulp) over $5.30. That means that for a fairly standard 3-ounce tube, which is really quite small, you're paying over $15 (and could be up toward $25).Technically, an adult should use that tube up in just 3 applications on their full body. Ouch.What's a large family on a budget to do?Spreading the lotion more thinly so that you use less reduces its SPF – in fact, it's … [Read more...]
Meal Planning to Get Started with an Elimination or Gut Healing Diet (GAPS, Grain-free, etc.)
When you have a food and nutrition blog, people talk to you about digestive issues quite a bit.People ask me about stomach pain after eating, diarrhea, constipation, indigestion, and everything in between. When my husband had undiagnosed Crohn's Disease, stomach pain after eating was a major symptom and telling factor. Seven blissfully symptom-free years after surgery to remove part of his small intestine, when he had chronic diarrhea for two months, the medical establishment couldn't do … [Read more...]
Sun, Sunscreen, Skin Cancer and Safety: How Much do You Need?
Does sunscreen cause cancer? Like almost any topic in the field of health and wellness, it seems there is a tangled web of research and opinions when it comes to cancer, sun exposure and sunscreen ingredients. Should we wear SPF 50 sunscreen for our walk from the house to the mailbox, or should we shun all sunscreens in our quest to increase our Vitamin D levels as much as possible? Do we buy sun protective clothing to safeguard every inch of our skin from the damaging UV rays, or should the … [Read more...]
Natural Sunscreen Review: Over 80 Mineral Sunscreens Tested by One Family!
Crazy but true - our family really has tested and reviewed over 80 mineral sunscreens, and we know the best natural sunscreens that really work! In this comprehensive sunscreen review, we share which ones stay on in the water or when you sweat, which brands make you look white like a ghost and which go on smoothly, what got us burned and what natural ingredients are REALLY the best (and the brands that are tricking you with their marketing). We've learned a lot about sun safety and sunscreen … [Read more...]
Eat the Orange, Skip the Juice
Ever heard of an orange juice tree?Dug up a potato, only to find it skinless?Seen a picture of people harvesting white rice?In nature, we find unprocessed foods with starch and sugar in them also have a good amount of fiber:Grains in their whole form include the bran, full of fiber. Sweet fruits, packed with fructose, always come in a fibrous skin or have a hefty dose of fiber included in the package. Starchy vegetables, like potatoes and legumes, also bring fiber along … [Read more...]
