Progressive Pioneer

Herb Fairies Book Club

You guys, I'm super excited about this Herb Fairies Book Club I just signed up for, but I feel so bad because the sign up period has already closed!  I found out about it just before it closed and only barely got in in time, otherwise I totally would've mentioned it on here earlier.  But it will open up again next April, so bookmark it, or pin it, or whatever, because it looks awesome! 

Remember the board game Wildcraft?  Well, the creators of that, have created a year-long book club that teaches all about healing herbs. 

Preparing for Cold Season

We make a batch of these every year.

How to Get Ready for Birth

Okay, this post is totally not because I'm anywhere near getting ready for birth!  I haven't had that urge (yet?).  But I imagine this advice is plenty pertinent for quite a few of you, or someone you know.  There are so many things I wish I had known before getting pregnant and giving birth, things I wish I had prepared for.  If there is a third baby in our future, I'll definitely being trying a few of these tricks!

Super Nutrition for Babies

When Clay saw me reading this book he was like, "Why do you need a whole book?  Can't you basically feed them like adults, only less?"  Well, yes, more or less, except that what passes for food now (adult food and baby food) is so hugely different from what kids should actually be eating, that I think yes, we do need this book.  Everyone needs this book!  Check out these super scary statistics.

Deep Breath

I find myself taking a lot of deep breaths lately.  But I've found something even more helpful in managing the craziness that is motherhood.

The Oatmeal Dreams Are Made Of

I know, this picture does not look like a good start to dreamy oatmeal, but just trust me.

Sweet Potato Power

Were I not already a lover of sweet potatoes, this book could have hooked me with its opening reference to Anna Karenina!  Of course, I am not surprised that a thoroughly researched, brilliantly written book full of powerful information and delicious recipes should open with a literary reference.  The reason?  It is written by one of my dearest friends, an all-around renaissance woman who can quote Tolstoy while whipping up a perfect sweet-potato frittatta!

Do This. You Will Thank Me.

This little jar is changing my life.

Healing Springtime Soup

Has anyone else got the springtime-sneak-attack-flu in their house?  Here's a little recipe from the archives, shared on Plan to Eat for our healing springtime soup.

 

The Essential Herbal for Natural Health

Wouldn't it be nice if someone boiled down all the magic and mystery of herbal medicine making into one tidy little book?  Something manageable, something you would actually use?  Oh, wait they did!  It's right here.

The nice thing about Holly's book is that she focuses on thirteen basic herbs that she calls the essential herbs. 

The Mother of All Herbal Remedies

I've had this powerful stuff brewing on my counter for about a week and a half and I couldn't wait to try it out!  Well, not on myself, but on some unsuspecting person with a cold coming on.  Truthfully I was a little afraid of its awesome power!  The recipe is SUPER simple, belying its cold-fighting super powers.  If you want to mix up a batch yourself, here's what you do. 

The Great Granola

The GAPS diet we're doing is no sugar and no grain (among other things); I thought I would miss sugar the most, but that hasn't been the case at all.  I'm actually pretty okay without it.  But I do really miss starches and grains.  So, this recipe for GAPS granola has been on my list to try.  It was such a hit!!  My mom who is in town for a month and has gamely been sticking to the diet with us (and by the way, feels great, has lost some weight and her arthritis is hardly bothering her at all where it was quite bothersome before) declared it was the best granola she has ever tasted, with or without grains!  I must admit, we're all pretty crazy about it.  The original recipe is from the Internal Bliss cookbook, but I modified the recipe quite a bit, so I'll share our version here:

1 cup pumpkin seeds

2 cups sunflower seeds

3 (or maybe 4, I can't remember) cups dried coconut, the large flakes

1/4 cup honey (warmed, if necessary)

1/8 cup oil (something mild-tasting; I used safflower)

some salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup dried fruit pieces (I cut up apricots, apples, dates and then tossed in some raisins and cranberries too)

A bit of coconut flour (optional, but I used it to toss the cut dried fruit pieces in so they didn't stick to each other and clump up in the granola)

Mix everything but the fruit and coconut together, spread it out on a cookie sheet and bake it at 350 for at least fifteen minutes.  Mix in the coconut and give it another five minutes, but keep an eye on it and stir it every few minutes as it browns quickly.  Finally, toss it with the dried fruit and then pour yourself a big bowl and enjoy!  We think it's soooo yummy; let me know if you try it and love it too!

Fermented Feast

This week we started the GAPS Diet (hence the light posting; I've been passed out on the couch from major detoxing even though I'm only partially doing the intro diet).  We have some friends whose son was recently diagnosed with autism so they started the diet.  We thought now would be the perfect time to start so we could simultaneously support them and have someone to talk with about it.  Although, they've ended up being more of a support to us since they started first and can assure us that there is indeed a light at the end of the tunnel!  We've been wanting to do the diet for awhile to help Sam get his digestion back on track after all his abdominal surgeries and the major load of antibiotics and hard drugs that were involved.The silver lining of this crazy diet is that I was inspired to make lots of yummy, femented veggies!

I mostly used recipes from Nourishing Traditions, plus that exotic beet one from the Nourished Kitchen.  We found that the Nourishing Traditions recipes were a bit too salty for our taste, so I think I'll cut back next time or just try a vegetable starter culture and skip the salt altogether.
But what fun it was to fill jars and jars and line them all up on my counter to work their magic!  It makes me smile every time I look at them.  And, of course, now that they're ready to eat it makes me smile to eat them too:)Sam is a good helper; his favorite job is grating the ginger:)  After several days of being so lethargic and having no appetite I was so thrilled when he requested some saurkraut, of all things.  He's really quite good at listening to his body and knowing what it needs.

We made the beets with orange zest and spices, daikon radish, gingered carrots and a medley of turnip, golden beets (such a gorgeous color!) and onion, and I've got a pineapple waiting to be combined with some cilantro and other goodies for a fermented chutney!

PS If you're thinking about doing this diet, totally get the guidebook .  Dr. Campbell is brilliant, but I found myself hunting through the book for information; it just isn't organized in a super user-friendly way.  I also just ordered the cookbook ; I'm excited for a little variety:)

Snooze Tincture

Sometimes when I finally lay my dog-tired bones down at night, so excited to get the rest I've been looking foward to all day... I can't fall asleep!!  Does this happen to anyone else?  All of a sudden my mind just goes into overdrive and starts thinking about and processing all the things I haven't had time to stop and think about during the day.  Then I start thinking about how Vivi is going to wake up to nurse in only a few short hours and how I really need to get as much sleep as I can before then, and it gets even worse!  Sometimes I'm awake for hours...  Enter, the Snooze Tincture!
I've been crazy busy lately, so this pre-mixed herb blend was so perfect.  It's got all sorts of good things in it; chamomile, hops, lemon balm, passion flower, all sorts of dreamy stuff.  All I had to do was toss it into a mason jar with a little glycerin and water.  Now it sits on my counter, patiently extracting all those good sleep-inducing, eyelid-drooping juices.  A few shakes a week and one month later and I should be falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. What I'd really like is Sam's ninja master trick of falling asleep mid-play:)

PS I overstuffed mine; don't cram quite so many herbs into your jar!  I guess mine will just be extra strong?

Sit Awhile

Remember the sauna?  I know, it was started so long ago, we practically forgot about it ourselves.  Well, just me really, Clay hasn't stopped thinking about it, he just hasn't had a spare moment to work on it.  Until recently.  And now, with a finished sauna, and me no longer pregnant (apparently they're a no-no when you're preggie), we've been basking in the warm, woodsy heat of the sauna at least once a week.  It sure makes winter more bearable.

There's something sort of primal about the sauna; the dimly lit, cave-like interior; the elemental smell of the heat and the wood; the way you leave behind not only your clothes, but the worries and demands on your time that somehow seem so pressing only moments before you step inside.

It's a funny thing about the sauna, time doesn't seem to hold the same properties once inside.  On occasion I've only been in there a mere ten minutes, yet it seems as if time lengthens like melted honey.  Other times 30 or 40 minutes can easily drift quickly by. 

"When I sit in the sauna," Clay says, "I feel like a king."  It's true.  Life just doesn't get much better than the simple bodily pleasures: good food, soft beds, healthy bodies.  It's a richness that doesn't necessarily come from dollars and cents (this sauna, in fact, was pretty much free, made all from reclaimed materials and the wiring work was a trade).  I'm often reminded of the rustic tujs I bathed in while living in Guatemala.  Like a stone sauna, one would crouch in through the low door.  The same combination of hot rocks and water turned the somewhat ugly, cinder block structure into something of beauty.  No spa treatment I've experienced comes close to the relaxing, rejuvenating effect of a simple tuj (or sauna!).

Lotions and Potions

The cold and flu pills I made really were a piece of cake.  It was slightly time consuming to fill all the little pills, but that was outweighed by how much I just love that little capsule-making gadget.  But making a tincture was even easier!  I used the same combination of herbs (goldenseal, echinacea, licorice root, and ginger) and put them to soak in glycerin and water for a few weeks, shaking the jar a few times a day.  I kept it where I'd see it regularly so the herbs could get a good toss every once in a awhile. Once it was done I just strained it into jars and it was ready to go!

Clay swears by this stuff.  There's been a cold knocking at our door the past week or two and we've mostly kept it at bay by dosing ourselves with this mixture and some lobelia tinctured in apple cider vinegar from Clay's mom.

For our handmade sibling gift exchange this year I drew Clay's little sister Molly's name.  I made her a kit of all sorts of herbal remedies, salves, lotions and potions with a cute rice bag tucked in (I wish I had a picture; somehow I didn't take pictures of any of the rad gifts this year!).  It was really fun to try some new recipes and learn as I went.  I feel so much more capable now and the whole process seems more straightforward and less like mystical wizard science.  Herbal remedy making is one of those things you just have to jump into and get your hands a little messy before you can feel confident.  But once you do it's like a whole new world of possibilities opens up.  I'm much less intimidated now and feel like I can experiment and improvise a bit. 

PS If you're local, Industrial Container is the place to go for little glass jars and droppers and all sorts of things.  They're prices change daily, so just go there and browse around.  It's really inexpensive, as in  pennies per jar.  If you're not local, Mountain Rose Herbs has lots of great, reasonably priced containers too.

Preparing for Winter with Homemade Remedies

This winter I'm going to start dosing my boys with herbal remedies at the first sign of a sniffle!  Clay and Sam always pick up the same germs; if one of them has something I know it's only a matter of days before the other one's got it too.  But now I'm prepared!

I ordered some powdered herbs from Mountain Rose Herbs and made this anti-viral, anti-bacterial blend to be used for all sorts of things.  Even though I ordered the smallest amount it still made a ton!  I need to find some friends to split it with.  I made about half a mason jar full of the pills so we'll have plenty on hand and I may make a tincture in glycerin as well.  I feel so safe and empowered knowing that I can make things to take care of my family.  And, as often happens when I learn to do something new, I think, "Well for heaven's sake, this is so easy!  Why haven't I been doing this all along?!"

I love, love, LOVE this little gadget!  You just put in the capsules, pour your herbal mixture in and tamp it down, then snap on the top and pop out these perfect little pills!  So satisfying, and SO easy!  And I think it was only $15 or something.  Seriously, why did I ever buy pills at the store?

The wonderful thing is that I know exactly what went into these; no filler, just packed tight with fresh, organic herbs.  The recipe I used was so simple too.  It's just equal parts echinacea, ginger, goldenseal and licorice root.  You can totally do this!

I had such a nice time making these.  Sam was napping (a rare treat these days) and Vivian was sitting in her bouncy seat, happily supervising my work.  The afternoon sun was coming through the window as I sat quietly filling and refilling the machine as my stash of capsules grew.  I'm so excited about how easy this was and I can't wait to try some different recipes.

Baby Yoga

This is a guest post from Stephanie of Mama and Baby Love that didn't make it up during my blogging "maternity leave," but I thought I'd share it today.  Sam and I have been doing a little yoga from the Yoga Today site lately.  He'll do the poses on his own little yoga mat right next to me for the first fifteen minutes or so.  Then it's off to play, or to climb on Warrior I Mama to make the pose extra challenging.  Viv hasn't gotten in on the action yet, but doesn't this look like a fun way to start?

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Going to a mama-baby yoga class is great.  But what if you don't have a baby yoga class in your area?  How do you get started?  First, learn a little yoga from a book, DVD, or my blog.  Don't try to learn all the poses at once.  Take a look at one pose and try it out.  Once you have that one down, take a look at another and try to incorporate that into your yoga routine.  Just one step at a time. Baby steps, for baby yoga!

Second, instead of trying to find a time to "do" yoga, incorporate it into your baby's playtime on the floor, or as you go about your day.  You can do Toes to the Nose, while you are changing a diaper, Moon Toe while you are nursing, or you can do Down Dog when you are potty training and need to wipe a tiny bum!

Third, the only thing you need is you and your baby.  No mats, no supplies, nothing.  All you need is for baby to be in comfortable clothing.  All that really means is no jeans, or long dresses.  You can do baby yoga anytime of the day, though I would wait about 10 or 15 minutes after eating.  Another time you don't want to do yoga, is if your baby has a fever or is sick.  Just like you shouldn't exercise when you are fighting a cold, so your body spends its in energy in rejuvenation. 
Lastly, just do it!  Make a commitment to a few yoga poses a day with your child.  Even it’s just a couple of deep breaths.

I love doing yoga with my daughter because no matter how busy our day is, I can always carve out time to do yoga with her and instantly reconnect with her.

Bottoms Up!

Even though our garden is still producing plenty of late-season veggies, I'm thinking ahead to our standard fall and winter "wheatgrass ."  When we start feeling that sense of deprivation that comes from consuming only pale and limp grocery store veggies, we break out the trays and the juicer and start our own indoor meadow right there on the counter top.

It really is so very simple.  And in addition to providing healthy juice, it's pleasant to have something vibrant and green to rest your eyes on.  The only catch is that you have to have a juicer ; don't even try it in your regular blender or juicer.  It'll mess it all up.  But they're not too expensive and it's a fun gadget to have around.

Sam loves helping pick the grass and turn the crank.  He can do the whole operation by himself.  The only thing he doesn't do is drink the juice.  He tried it once and that was enough for now:)

If you want to try it yourself all you'll need are some wheat berries, trays and the juicer.  Just put some dirt in the tray, cover the top with wheat berries, water it and let it sit, covered with another tray, until they begin to sprout.  Once they sprout, take off the cover and let the grass grow, keeping it watered.  You'll be surprised how fast it grows; you can practically see the little blades stretching toward the light.

And you'll be able to get more than one harvest out of your tray.  Start at one end and snip off a couple handfuls of grass for each "shot" of juice.  By the time you get to the end of the tray, that first row will have grown tall again and will be ready for round two.  Enjoy!

41.5 and Counting

Good morning!  Sorry about the lack of a Make and Do post this morning.  I usually write them the night before, but last night I was blissed out at Rebecca's massage clinic and had tapioca for brains when I got home.  I just poured myself into some PJs and fell blissfully asleep; here's a visual below to give you an idea of just how relaxed I was:)  She totally worked me over with all her late pregnancy tricks; clary sage essential oil, various acupressure and reflexology points etc.  I'm amazed at how she can find the exact perfect spot, and also at how sore these random little spots can be.  I could tell when she'd found one for sure!  And she's so good about working on a spot until it's really done.  So often I'll get a massage and the person moves onto the next spot before they've really worked out the soreness in the first one; they just stick with their routine.  But Rebecca's really intuitive and her massages are amazing!

Tomorrow morning I'm heading in to our midwife's and we're going to try sweeping the membranes and taking some black and blue cohosh to get things started.  Monday will be 42 weeks and after that UT law says a licensed midwife can't attend you at home.  But, with Rebecca's fantastic massage and a bit of help from the cohosh, I think we'll be able to have a little birthday party this weekend.

I'll keep you posted!

Gardens and Belly Bliss

The other morning Sam and I met up with the rest of the learning co-op at Red Butte Garden for a field trip, wrapping up our month of nature lessons.  I was surprised at how long we were able to spend meandering through the paths with a gaggle of little ones.  They LOVED exploring the paths and plants.  At the end we spent some time in the children's garden where they were able to get thoroughly soaked in the fountain, climb on enormous lizard statues and crawl inside vine-covered houses.  It is a really magical place- for kids and grownups. Then, as if the day weren't lovely enough already, I dropped Sam off at his aunt's house and went and had the most blissful prenatal massage of my life!  Ooh, just thinking about it makes me go all squishy and relaxed again...  I had a few massages when I was pregnant with Sam, and they were good.  I mean, it's hard to go wrong with a massage, especially when you're pregnant and achy.  But this was in a whole separate category of its own.  Rebecca Overson (remember her beautiful birth story?) has a peaceful little office just around the corner from my house where she works muscle magic.  The thing that made her massage different is that I could just tell that she had been pregnant before.  She just knew exactly where the sore spots were and how to work them out.  Oh, and the coolest thing?  I got to lay on my stomach!  That alone was practically worth it.  I havn't laid on my stomach for months, and it's one of those random things you miss.  But she has these special adjustable pillows so you can lay all supported and face down. 
I'm such a believer in taking time for Mom.  I was so sweet to Sam and Clay after having a little pampering myself.  And it doesn't always have to be something like going out and getting a massage (but sometimes, it does!), a quiet walk, half an hour with a book or in a bubble bath, these go a long way to restoring balanace and sanity and making me feel human again.  But, if you're preggie right now, a few massages from someone who knows about pregnancy aches and pains, are just what the doctor ordered!  And seriously, if you have a pregnant friend, forget the cute baby clothes, toys etc.  Just get her a certificate for a prenatal massage.  You will be her best friend!  I think Rebecca even has a few specials going on right now, including a new client special.  You can also get credit toward your own massage if you refer friends (doesn't everyone know at least have a dozen pregnant ladies?).

Healthy Eats on the Road

My post at Simple Organic is up today.  One of this month's themes is staying healthy while traveling.  So, I put together a few ideas for avoiding eating out while traveling.  Packing and preparing healthy food for road trips is actually one of my favorite things; I think it's so fun.  And cooking while camping?  Love it!  So, pop over to Simple Organic and check out some of the ideas, and share some of your own.  They also have some neat posts about WWOOFing, baby wearing, CSAs and a fun DIY market bag tutorial if you scroll back a few days.

Family Pictures

Awhile ago we had our good friend Steve take some family pictures.  We wanted something a little funky, so we dressed up, got out some musical instruments and even incorporated Clay's old motorbike into a few.  It's fun having a friend do the photos because you don't feel (too) silly doing offbeat stuff.  Steve and his wife (who acted as his assistant) were so fun and easy to work with.  They played music and made us feel nice and relaxed.  I, in particular, tense up in front of a camera and do this goofy smile.  But, he just kept clicking away until I finally relaxed and he was able to get a few good ones.  He took the photo I use for my profile picture on the about page and various other places. 

Unfortunately Sam was feeling a bit under the weather and declined to smile during the whole shoot.  He just wanted to be held and make his cute, sad face.  I still love the pictures of him though.  In fact, we have so many pictures of Sam beaming (they're easy to get) that I kind of like having a few serious ones.  I have plans to blow a few up really huge and frame them for the walls. Steve also does really amazing outdoor adventure-type photography, as well as family portraits and some commercial stuff (he also helped us with an ad for Ivory Bill).  So, if you're local, or local-ish (it'd be worth the drive), look him up!

Making Your Own Herbal Remedies

Last weekend I went to this wonderful class (from the same woman that did Herbs 101 and is organizing the Holistic Living Conference) about how to make your own herbal remedies.  It was so empowering to learn about doing something that I've previously relied on other people to do for me.  I'll use single herbs here and there, and certainly essential oils.  But I've never gone full out and made my own salves or tinctures.  It just seemed a bit too involved and overwhelming.  But watching the teacher demonstrate as she talked about the process, it just seemed so doable! 

She first demonstrated making a salve.  She used a Dr. Christopher (a Utah herbalist that practiced in the 50s) formula called Bone, Flesh and Cartilage that's for all sorts of problems with any of those things; sprains, burns, breaks, rashes, bruises etc.  She'd had the combination of herbs soaking in olive oil for two weeks.  Then she just strained it, squeezing out the extra oil, and mixed it with some beeswax in a crock pot and poured it into cute little tubs.  She added a few drops of lavender essential oil at the end too.  So easy though, right?  She sent us each home with a little jar of the BF&C salve, which I've been using on a  scar on Sam's hand (he got a chemical burn from a faulty IV at the hospital and still has quite the scar).  But as soon as it's gone I think I'll try my hand at mixing some up myself!

She also showed us how to make tinctures and encapsulate dried herbs.  Encapsulation was also amazingly simple, so much so that you wonder why you would ever buy herbal supplements when it's so easy and cheap to make them yourself and you can know exactly what goes into them.  You basically just have this little box with the capsules in it, pack in the powdered herbs, snap on the top and then pop out your perfect little herb pills- genius!  And making tinctures was about the same as making a salve, except that you soak the herbs in glycerin, alcohol or vinegar for two weeks instead of olive oil, then strain it and put it in little dropper jars.  She sent us home with a blend of herbs designed to balance your hormones, perfect for the pregnant mama!  I'd totally recommend taking her classes (they're free!) if you're local, or finding someone to teach you if you're not.  You could also just get some books at the library if you learn well that way.  I just love seeing someone demonstrate, it's so easy for me to absorb the information that way.  Keep your eyes out for some homemade remedies showing up here in the next few months as I try my hand at my own lotions and potions!

Homemade Toothpaste

Rachel, from Lusa Organics, sent me this great recipe for homemade toothpaste.  I was excited to try it out as I've been looking for a good alternative for our family, especially since Sam seems to think it's a pre-bedtime snack more than a cleaning aid!

I melted my coconut oil a bit (I love these stainless steel measuring cups because I can put them right on the stove).  It made it easier to blend everything up. The only thing I would change is using a bit less sweetener.  I used both the xylitol and the stevia, but next time I think I'll just add the xylitol and then taste it and add stevia as needed, as it's quite sweet.  I also tripled or quadrupled the recipe so I wouldn't have to be making it as often, though based on the tiny amount we use each time, this will probably last quite awhile!

I used peppermint and sweet orange oil and I think it's a nice flavor combination. Sam is nuts about it and is much more excited about brushing his teeth now, even obliging me when I ask if I can brush them first.  His form of brushing is mainly just sucking the toothpaste off the brush.  Thank goodness I now know exactly what's in there!