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Put Some Green In Your Spring

I’m attempting a greener spring, and not just outside but inside as well. When I think about how many chemicals my family is exposed to, inside the house, it makes me a little sick. I try to do the right thing and have as little impact on the is planet as I can but, let’s face it, we are all used to our modern conveniences. I’m typing this on a computer made up of lots of plastic and metal, connected to electricity and a modem, in a warm, well lighted house. All of those things come together for one little … Continue reading →

What Oils Are Essential In Your House?

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Oil: it has a bad rap. The price of the stuff that you put in your cars is going up, and the cost of the oils that you put into your body is something that the doctors tally. High gas prices, high cholesterol. Yuck, oil. But there are a few beloved oils that I need to have in my home. They nourish my body and my house looks and smells wonderful because of them. Some are actual oils that come in bottles from the grocery store. Others are what are called essential oils, distillations of the oils of plants that … Continue reading →

Ask a Health Blogger: Dry, Bloody Nose

Lately when I blow my nose, I see red or brown streaks on the tissue. What’s going on? I’ve had a stuffy nose lately — but I thought it was just fall allergies. Should I be worried? I don’t think you have an emergency on your hands. My first question in response is: how dry is it in your house? When I have blood in my snot (red or brown streaks), it’s often because things are dry. I also tend to get nosebleeds a LOT during the winter. Something as simple as running a humidifier in your bedroom might help. … Continue reading →

How Clean is Your House – TV

As I was flipping through the channels last month, I saw something that caught my attention. A woman with a British accent was explaining all the bacteria she’d found in a family’s home. The father looked a little frightened. The mother looked as if she were going to be sick. I stopped flipping, and sat down to watch. And after the show was over, I got up and cleaned house in fear of what nasty bacteria were lurking in our sinks. This half hour show is called “How Clean is Your House” and can be seen on BBC and Lifetime. … Continue reading →

3 Healthy Cooking Oils

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Did you know that using healthy cooking oil as opposed to corn oil will cut the fat in your dish almost by half, not to mention the fact that it will provide other health boosts to your meal? Substituting a healthy cooking oil for regular vegetable oil is very easy to do. Here’s the skinny on 6 of the most healthy cooking oils. Enova Oil Already marketed in Japan, this is essentially a hybrid oil of soybean and canola oils. Not only claiming to be healthier, it claims to actually help you lose weight when eaten with other parts of … Continue reading →

Spring Proofing Your Pet: Allergies

Spring brings a lot with it, like warmer weather, blooming flowers, and spring cleaning. But just as people suffer from springtime allergies, so do pets. Below are the most common irritants pets suffer from at this time of year, along with tips for reducing their discomfort. Pollen The attack of itchy eyes and runny noses plague humans allergic to pollen. Pets get the itchies too –in the form of itchy skin that is. There are lots of ways to treat the itchies, such as: • With supplements to ease them (e.g. fatty acids or vitamin A and E oils). • … Continue reading →

Plants To Try In Your Herbal Tea

There are a lot of good reasons to drink herbal tea. They usually lack the caffeine of black tea, and lots of herbs come with other health benefits! If you’ve got a green thumb, there are a ton of flowers, herbs, greens, and even weeds that you can dry out and steep in boiling water for a delicious and unusual tea experience. Edible (and drinkable) flowers alliums (flowers and young shoots) bee balm carnations hibiscus blossoms hollyhock honeysuckle flowers (avoid the berries; they are highly poisonous) Johnny-jump-ups (flowers and leaves) lavender (blossoms and leaves) nasturtiums (flowers, buds, leaves, seedpods) pansies … Continue reading →

Homemade Hand Sanitizer

The other day, I visited my best friend in the hospital. She had surgery for ruptured discs and although the operation went well, I still wanted to stop by and see her. We visited during my lunch hour then I left to go back to work. Once I got in the car, I realized I hadn’t washed my hands. I am probably not as fanatical about washing my hands as I probably should be, but for some reason, I always feel incredibly germy after leaving the hospital. I was afraid I’d stick my fingers in my mouth unconsciously, so I … Continue reading →

One Green Step At A Time

I really try to live a greener life, to have as little impact on the planet as possible. It’s not always easy and sometimes when doing the green thing takes longer or is more work, I’ll slip back into my neglectful ways. There are simple things you can do to reduce your family’s impact at home, things that don’t require a lot of thought and effort which means you will actually do them. The easiest thing is to implement meatless Mondays, or really any day you want, but one meatless day a week. Swap our your cleaners. As you run … Continue reading →

A Scentsible Home

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What makes your home smell like home? We’ve all walked into the house one day, taken a deep breath, and known that we were home. Similarly, we’ve all likely walked into the house, taken a deep breath, and wanted to walk right out again. Yuck! Whether it’s the smell of an overcooked meal that still lingers or the smell of all of those delightful furry critters we share our homes with (I may or may not mean the kids), sometimes the house smells a little under the weather. What can you do to make your home smell like home again? … Continue reading →