I love oatmeal. It's nutritious, with plenty of fiber and minerals and Vitamin B1, and has many health benefits. It's filling. It can be seasoned any way you like. Quick-cooking oats are really easy to make--I don't even bother cooking them in a pot, just mix them with boiling water in a bowl--and very low-priced, … Continue reading DIY Instant Oatmeal: Ditch the Packets!
health
The Common Cold and the Common Cup: Does Communion spread germs?
I'm an Episcopalian. In almost every service at our church, we receive Communion this way: The priest tears a morsel off of a round, flat bread and places it in the palm of your hand, and you eat it. The chalice-bearer holds the silver cup of wine as you sip from it, then wipes the … Continue reading The Common Cold and the Common Cup: Does Communion spread germs?
Knock Out a Cold Quickly and Naturally!
Last Wednesday, I felt like I was coming down with a cold: runny nose, itchy throat, ominous heavy feeling in the middle of my head. The typical cold lasts 7-10 days. Bummer. Today is Tuesday. I'm still having an episode of sneezing and nose-blowing every few hours, but otherwise I feel great! I've been feeling … Continue reading Knock Out a Cold Quickly and Naturally!
Easy Dental Health Tip for New Moms
When you're taking care of a little baby, it can be hard to get around to doing basic things like brushing your teeth--you seem to always have your hands full, and then when you finally get a moment, you forget or you're too tired! One thing I have learned is that I am more likely to do something if I can reach it quickly when I get a moment to set down the baby. It feels like a big deal to go do something several rooms away or on another floor of the house. Keeping supplies near me makes me more likely to use them.
Refreshing Herbal Iced Tea from Loose Leaves
In this hot weather, it's important to drink plenty of water...but plain water gets boring. Soft drinks and juices are expensive and bad for your teeth, unless they are sugar-free and sweetened with weird chemicals. Here is a calorie-free, caffeine-free drink that tastes great without any sweetener and even has health benefits! I make herbal … Continue reading Refreshing Herbal Iced Tea from Loose Leaves
Humidify Your Home the Cheap and Easy Way!
Our house has forced-air heat: The furnace blows warm air through the ducts and out through vents in most of the rooms. Our vents are in the baseboards, so they push out the air horizontally at floor level. This tip also would work with a wall vent that is just above a shelf or table, … Continue reading Humidify Your Home the Cheap and Easy Way!
My kid doesn’t have to wear a coat.
I'm an easily chilled sort of person. I like to feel warm and cozy, and being cold upsets me. In any given weather conditions, I'm usually wearing at least as many garments as the average person, often more. My son Nicholas seems to feel warm most of the time. He's often quite calm and comfortable … Continue reading My kid doesn’t have to wear a coat.
Mammograms and Monthly Cycles: A Public Service Announcement
If you are a 40-year-old woman who has never had any symptoms of breast cancer, your doctor or your health insurance company probably will nudge you to get a "baseline mammogram" or "screening mammogram" done. This could detect any tumor that might be lurking, but most likely you won't have a tumor and this procedure … Continue reading Mammograms and Monthly Cycles: A Public Service Announcement
Prevent the Post-Party Sugar Crash!
My eight-year-old has attended many birthday parties at a bowling alley or similar venue where guests are served pizza (with white-flour crust), chips, soda pop, frosted cake, ice cream, more soda pop, and sometimes candy too. That's a lot of simple carbohydrates! It's the kind of meal that may be enjoyable while you're eating it … Continue reading Prevent the Post-Party Sugar Crash!
Why I Don’t Drop Acid
From the time I first learned what LSD is until just a few days ago, I had thought of it as one of the many interesting experiences Earth has to offer and put it in the category, "Things that aren't a high priority for me to try but that I might get around to, someday, … Continue reading Why I Don’t Drop Acid
How to Wash Your Hair with Vinegar
I wrote a guest post for The Greenbacks Gal on the natural, money-saving method of washing my hair that I have been using for the past nine years! This is an updated version of my vinegar hairwashing article from a few years ago, with some new tips...and a photo of me. I decided it makes … Continue reading How to Wash Your Hair with Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar as Facial Toner
You may have heard the old saying, "You'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." I know I've heard it, and many clever variations on it, many times since I started using both honey and vinegar in my beauty routines! First I started washing my hair with white vinegar, then I started washing my … Continue reading Apple Cider Vinegar as Facial Toner
Cloth Wipes for Bedroom, Bathroom, and More!
I am excited to be a contributing writer in the Green in 365 series at Live Renewed! Check out my article on how to use cloth wipes instead of paper tissues to save trees, reduce pollution, save money, and just have a better experience in so many ways. I mean, look, aren't they pretty? I've … Continue reading Cloth Wipes for Bedroom, Bathroom, and More!
Healthy Alternative to French Onion Dip for Veggies or Chips
I served this dip at coffee hour last Sunday and got many questions about the ingredients and requests for the recipe, so here it is! I actually developed this recipe for a coffee hour not long after I joined my church in 1996, when I was not as much into healthy eating as I am … Continue reading Healthy Alternative to French Onion Dip for Veggies or Chips
Emergency Creamy Tomato Soup (healthier!)
Okay, it wasn't really an emergency. It was just that our eight-year-old Nicholas really wanted creamy tomato soup for dinner when both parents were recovering--more weakly than we'd hoped--from a stomach virus that the kid had several days earlier. Daniel and I both were very sick Monday, a little better Tuesday, and then I went … Continue reading Emergency Creamy Tomato Soup (healthier!)
Less Acid Spaghetti Sauce, January 20 Version
Spaghetti with marinara sauce is my favorite food. However, tomato sauce and spices can be irritating to a stomach that's been having that burning "acid" feeling or a tongue with inflamed taste buds at the very back. I have been having both problems lately...but I really wanted to make a new batch of spaghetti sauce...so … Continue reading Less Acid Spaghetti Sauce, January 20 Version
Milk: What kind we buy, and why
I love saving money, yet I routinely buy half-gallon cartons of milk that cost twice as much as the cheapest milk in the supermarket! Furthermore, two half-gallon paper cartons cost more than one gallon plastic jug, for the same amount of milk! What am I thinking?! Several years ago, Daniel and I decided that milk … Continue reading Milk: What kind we buy, and why
Babies and Television
Children younger than 2 years old should not watch any television at all. The experts have been saying this for more than a decade, yet a lot of the parents I know think this is such an absurd idea that nobody could possibly comply with it. We did. Almost. We occasionally took Nicholas to restaurants … Continue reading Babies and Television
I don’t wear makeup.
I used to wear makeup. From age 12 to 16, I added more types of makeup to my daily routine each year, and I went through that daily routine even if I wasn't planning to leave the house. I continued for a while into college before I realized that the insanely stressful life I was … Continue reading I don’t wear makeup.
How We Survive Without Air Conditioning
Today's Works-for-Me Wednesday lead article is about staying cool in the summertime. The author lives in Texas, where it is a lot hotter right now than it is here in Pennsylvania--but we do get hot weather here, we've had several 90-degree days already this year, and we know a lot of people here who think … Continue reading How We Survive Without Air Conditioning
The Earthling's Handbook 