Turmeric for Health
Everyone seems to be mentioning turmeric for health, these days. And it’s not just about a spice that you put in your curry. A proud member of the ginger family, turmeric is said to be an immune system builder and powerful antioxidant. I got the scoop from Randi Ragan, holistic well-being expert, founder of GreenBliss EcoSpa and author of the brand-new book A Year of Living Mindfully: Seasonal Practices to Nourish Body, Mind and Spirit. This beautifully-illustrated book is chock full of recipes, teas, tonics, exercises and daily practices—including instructions on how to make an easy turmeric for health tonic, which I’ve included below. All are designed to reduce stress, avoid…
Easy DIY Natural Skin Scrub Recipe
My teenaged daughter gave me the best holiday gift last year. In a small recycled jar, she’d mixed together sea salt, grapeseed oil and mint essential oils into a natural skin scrub. This heavenly blend not only turned my shower into a spa, it transformed my skin: When I scrubbed it on and then let the oil soak in before toweling off, my cracked and chapped winter skin was suddenly soft, smooth and hydrated. With this miracle in mind, I discovered a natural skin scrub recipe that’s easy to make in minutes.
Mommy Greenest Approved: RareEarth Natural Perfume + Video
If you’ve been following Mommy Greenest for a while, you know that I like to make my own natural perfume. I made my first natural perfume video back in 2013, and when some readers commented that they were worried the natural vanilla extract base would stain their skin or clothes—never a problem for me, btw—I made another natural perfume recipe video, using rose water. But my natural perfume formulas are typically two or three “notes,” meaning scents that I layer together. (I’m getting all perfumer-y on you know, I know.) So when natural perfume manufacturer rareEARTH challenged me to recreate one of their essential-oil based rareESSENCE perfumes—I went for it. Check out my DIY video…
Mommy Greenest Approved: Allgood Provisions Healthy Snacks
Shouldn’t all snacks be healthy? That’s what I think. But, like many of us, I often concentrate on cooking healthy meals, only to fail in the healthy snack department. That’s why I love organic, non-GMO Allgood Provisions, which are not only delicious–they’re nutritious, too. Want to try? Enter to win and you could be one of the first to experience an Allgood Provisions Oven Stoked Organic Roasting Kit!
DIY Natural Bug Repellant Perfume
Tis the season for bugs. And although I happen to love the scent of citronella, others—I’m not naming names, but we could be married—hate it. So I whipped up a new recipe for DIY natural bug repellant perfume that employs three of my favorite scents, with no citronella in sight. Want to try? I’ll show you how!
Make Your Own Perfume for Spring
Want to avoid phthalates? Make your own perfume. Those pesky toxic chemicals have been linked to obesity, among other health problems. And because fragrance manufacturers don’t have to tell us what’s in their formulation there can be as many as 3,000 different chemicals in one bottle of perfume, many of which are phthalates. One way to make sure you know exactly what’s in your signature scent is to make your own perfume, as I started doing last year. But after a few Mommy Greenest readers commented with worries about my vanilla-base perfume staining clothes and skin, I figured out a new recipe, a rose-scented number that’s perfect for spring. And it’s clear! Want…
Natural & Homemade Laundry 101
Think your laundry can’t make a difference? Think again: According to Seventh Generation,which pretty much established the natural cleaning products industry in the United States, if every American household replaced one bottle of petroleum-based detergent with a plant-based one, we could save 149,000 barrels of oil—enough to heat and cool 8,500 homes for a year. But do plant-based natural and homemade laundry products really work? Absolutely! In fact, once you wean yourself off synthetic soaps—laden with those petrochemically-derived scents that you used to associate with clean laundry—your clothes will be cleaner than ever. Plus, your family might notice less allergies and skin irritations, such as contact dermatitis and eczema. Here are…
Easy Upcycled Halloween Crafts
I am not a crafty person. I like to DIY beauty products—as long as they’re three ingredients or less—and occasionally I post some cute craft ideas on the Mommy Greenest Loves Pinterest page, but in general my art ability is limited and I can barely sew on a button. But because I’m hosting The Pump Station’s Great Green Halloween Play Date parties later this month, I figured I should find some Halloween crafts that are easy enough for a toddler to manage (with a little help) and also show how much fun upcycling can be! The Pump Station’s party is part of Green Halloween, a national movement empowering parents to think…
