HMN Blog

Reflecting on 21 Years of HMN: Nurturing Families and Communities

This October marks a meaningful milestone for HMN, as we reflect on 21 years of creating community and providing support for families who embrace a different path. For more than two decades, we’ve walked alongside parents as they navigate choices that align with their values, offering education and connection in the spirit of holistic living. While many things have changed, one thing remains constant: the transformative power of community. Families often come to HMN feeling overwhelmed or set apart by their choices. Yet, within our chapters, they find understanding, belonging, and the confidence to continue their unique journeys. As The Sacred Space of Motherhood reminds us, parenthood is often a deeply personal and sometimes isolating experience, but community can nurture […]

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Holistic Halloween

Halloween kicks off the start of months of holiday celebrations filled with treats running all the way through Easter and with it a barrage of decisions for holistic families around sugar, food dyes, seed oils, and allergens that many conventional candys and snacks contain. Online I see parents debating collecting candy and giving it to the switch witch, donating it to troops through dentist collections, allowing unlimited access for a short time before tossing the rest, avoiding trick or treating all together and dozens of other ideas to control the flow. One of our HMN chapters has started hosting their own holistic truck or treat, requesting that families bring only dye free and low sugar treats or non-food items. Picking […]

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Family Media Use

With the start of the new school year many families find that they are struggling with the use of screens. Perhaps screen time use was relaxed over the summer break and switching back to the school routine is challenging or new demands for devices are constant as kids head back to school and see what friends have. You are not alone! Responsible media use is challenging for all families. Research continues to mount that social media use is causing a mental health crisis among young people so its worth your time to think about your family’s boundaries around media use as well as set a good example for healthy media use yourself! Depending on the age of your children you […]

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Fermented Pine Soda

Make your own bubbly “sprite” like beverage with foraged pine needles, honey and water! This quick fermented drink is great to make with kids after going on a hike to forage your needles. It has tons of vitamin C and is tasty and refreshing. Ingredients: White pine needles Raw honey or maple syrup Water (filtered preferred) Flip top bottles or pint mason jars Funnel if using flip top jars. For each flip top bottle or mason jar you will need around 1 cup of pine needles and 1 1/2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup. Lightly rinse pine needles and add to the jar. Add honey and water, close the container and shake to mix. There […]

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Fall Foraging with Family

Foraging as a family is a great way to get more outdoors time, learn about your local ecosystem and improve your health! Many foraged foods and medicines are readily available across the country in the fall and are easy to find even in your backyard. Here’s a few simple to find and easy to identify plants you can use for a variety of culinary and household applications. Make sure you only forage items that you are clearly able to identify and that are away from roadsides and any pesticide use or pet debris. Consider grabbing a beginners field guide for your region to help you correctly ID local plants and learn their uses Tree Nuts: Acorns, walnuts and hickory nuts […]

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Healthy Zero Waste Lunches

by Gretchen Whitcomb Before you even pick what to make for school snack and lunch there are questions about what to pack it all in to. We all want to avoid toxins in packaging like BPA, phalates and lead as well as eliminate single use waste but the options can be overwhelming. Prepackaged snacks and foods are convenient but we we can eat healthier and help the planet by packing our own in reusable containers. We asked our community members for their favorite lunch boxes, water bottles, utensils and more so that you can feel as great about what you pack your lunch in as what is inside! Lunch Boxes: EcoLunchBox– has a few styles of stainless containers, from nestable […]

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Finding Your Rhythm

Summer is a time of expansion, the days grow longer and possibilities seem to multiply. After a school year of more regular schedules it can suddenly feel like there is no consistency. If you are a few weeks in to summer vacation and feeling more chaos than freedom its time to more intentionally consider a family rhythm to carry you through the remaining summer weeks. The concept of rhythm comes from the Waldorf educational philosophy. A good rhythm creates systems that help build connection, consistency and ritual that allow us to flow through our days in a predictable way, freeing up mental energy for creativity and helping to ground us with the seasons. Daily, weekly and yearly rhythms help children […]

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Get Outdoors More!

We know we need to get outside more, but bringing kids, especially infants, can make some of us feel overwhelmed and unsure where to get started. Spending time outdoors from infancy is a great way to start a healthy habit as a family. Most locations are free to visit and you don’t need anything special to get outside! The fresh air and sunshine promote better sleep and exposure to microbes in the dirt help build the immune system and can even help prevent allergies and asthma. The variety of textures, sounds and colors outdoors are great for cognitive development and uneven terrain helps build motor skills. Tips for getting outside with infants Sunscreen is not recommended for children under 6 […]

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Thriving in Community

by Nancy Peplinsky, Founder, Holistic Moms Network In a hectic and anxious world often dominated by screens and schedules, there’s a quiet but profound force that holds the key to well-being: community. For mothers and individuals invested in natural and holistic living, this sense of connection goes beyond social interaction. It becomes a lifeline for navigating parenthood and powerful source of support, wisdom, and inspiration. Motherhood, with all its joys and challenges, can sometimes feel isolating, especially as a holistic-minded parent. In the pursuit of raising children, maintaining a household, and perhaps even balancing a career, mothers often find themselves stretched much too thin. With the additional layer of navigating holistic and natural options for their families and dealing with […]

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Allergy Relief: Tea and DIY Massage

If you are looking to help relieve seasonal allergies using more natural methods, try our herbal tea and a gentle massage! Tea is hydrating, which can help thin mucus and the warm steam also helps with sinus pressure and congestion. This tea has simple to find ingredients you can find at many health food stores or even grow at home! Nettles provide antioxidants and may have an antihistamine effect. Peppermint has anti-inflammatory properties, helping to relieve sinus congestion. Chamomile is anti-inflammatory and antihistamine. Adding raw honey for local pollen and sweetness finishes off this lovely tea. If you are not a fan of peppermint or want to switch things up, feel free to swap out for a slice of fresh […]

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