The Season of Giving Hope

It's the Giving Season, y'all! What does that mean to you? Do you give just to your family? Your friends? What about total strangers? In early December I will write my annual Crunchy Chic Gift Guide to help you buy gifts for friends and families consciously and stylishly, but today's post is about giving to TOTAL STRANGERS and those in-need. My family and I always participate in philanthropic endeavors during the holidays. We have volunteered and donated many things to many organizations. Then, about a month ago, Aaron showed me the video I have posted here, and it gave me an idea for a new way to give this year.

This video reinforced for me that the total impact of giving hope to someone, of allowing a person to feel confidence, love, and respect, has the potential to be massive. I want to participate in that. And I invite you to join me! Let's spread our giving arms wider than ever this year to be the loving, humanitarian crunchy chic gifters that we really are! Let's give the gifts of love, hope, and happiness to those who could really use them. The more of us who participate, the more of the world can be touched! Read more to learn about ways to give and the idea that has me really excited for Giving Season 2013!

Combating Day Care Cruds

My little unicorn on Halloween,
cough and congestion-free!

Good evening everyone! Tonight's post shall be dedicated to a newly-acquainted topic, as I recently became a working mom; it's a topic that may be really familiar to you as well. Noëlle has been in day care for 2 months, and I am both frightened and delighted by the fact that she is now exposed on a daily basis to the big world and all its germs. Over the last 8 weeks, Noëlle has contracted 2 different colds thanks to--as Aaron asserts--"the sick kid who licked her at day care." And each time that "kid" does lick her and she comes down with something, thanks to years of research and experimentation with natural remedies, as well as the advice and support of our Naturopathic pediatrician, Dr. Ash, Noëlle has successfully kicked the crud out of those nasty bugs! And it happens in a way that boosts her immune system instead of tearing it down and leaving it vulnerable. This is by no means a chance to wag my finger--no, no, no--but it is an opportunity to share with all you moms and dads out there who could use some tips on fending off those nasty critters, especially as we enter cold and flu season. Please read on to learn mine and Dr. Ash's tips on fighting off the day care cruds, or if your baby is not yet in school or day care, the LIFE cruds!

The Divine Grind

It's one of the biggest questions out there when it comes to health: Should I love or hate salt? The classification of "salt" is vast, and it encompasses a range of products that in some cases bare little resemblance, chemically, to one another. So it's important to get it straight: What is salt? Is all salt bad? Are some better than others? And should you avoid them altogether to be healthy? A self-proclaimed "salt lover," I have done my research. Some salt is plain old sodium-chloride, which actually has no nutritional value, and some salt actually contains minerals that are necessary for life. Do you know which kind you're eating and whether it's the "good kind"? For those who don't, let me see if I can help you save some time, confusion and unnecessary restriction on something that, in its greatest and truest form, is actually good for you! There are myriad websites and blogs dedicated to sharing the facts on salts: the chemistry, the origins, the uses, etc. But I am going to tell you what I use and love because it brings the flavors out of foods and it's healthy!

It's Soup Season!

My crock pot getting to work on squash soup!

Hello everyone. I know, I am late again on posting. Finding it harder than ever to sit down at my computer for any length of time. Oh but I so enjoy it when I do. One of the things I have noticed about being a working mom is that not only is blogging a challenge, but finding time to plan and make nice meals for my family is harder than ever. It's hard enough as a full-time mom, but throw a long workday in there, and forget it. I know whether you are a parent or not, that many of you probably struggle with finding time to make truly healthy meals. And that is why I want to talk about that wonderful contraption, the Crock Pot. Awww, the Crock Pot. While my understanding is that a crock pot can even bake bread and cake and even cook spaghetti, what I use it for mostly are soups and stews because they are complete meals and even easier to make in a Crock Pot. For those of you who struggle with finding time to eat healthfully in the evenings, I think that the crock pot may be exactly the solution you need to avoid greasy nightly take-out and canned soup or cold cereal dinners. It certainly is how Aaron and I avoid it, and in doing so, how we make some of the yummiest meals we have all year! One of my favorite things about this cooking method is that it's so much less work than the step-by-step stove-top recipes. Aside from browning some meat or making a roux to thicken stew, you pretty much chop and add the ingredients (in 1-2 stages), turn the crock pot on, and leave it! Aaron and I often prep the ingredients at night and then in the morning toss them in before we leave for work. By that evening we have a delicious meal waiting for us! I'm telling you, even with us both working now this 'ol gal has ensured that we continue to eat healthfully. So grab a pen and paper, get your allrecipes and foodnetwork.com fingers ready, and let me share some of my favorite ideas so that you can keep you and your family healthy and well-fed this fall and winter.