HMN Blog

Family Media Use

Gretchen

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

Gretchen

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

Gretchen

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

Gretchen

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

Gretchen

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!

Gretchen

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

Gretchen

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

Gretchen

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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Sowing Seeds: Seed sourcing and saving

Gretchen

Some of the healthiest food we can find is what we grow ourselves. Even in the tiniest of spaces we can produce some amount of food to eat. Whether you are growing in pots on your patio, have a community garden plot or your own substantial home garden, seeds are where it all begins. In addition to the care of our plants during the growing season, the quality of the seeds we choose is important. Where your seeds are sourced from and what you grow can be just as important as how you grow it! When selecting seeds consider choosing diverse varieties to increase the genetic diversity in your garden. If you have space, plant a couple types of each […]

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Celebrating Spring Equinox

Gretchen

As winter bids us farewell and the days begin to stretch longer, we approach a significant celestial event—the spring equinox. This moment marks the balance of light and dark, as we transition into a season of renewal and growth. At the coming equinox on March 19th, 2024 everyone worldwide will experience nearly equal amounts of day and night, with the sun rising due east and setting due west. Celebrated by cultures around the world for centuries, the spring equinox, also known as Ostara, is a period of joyous celebration. It signals a powerful time to realign our energies with the rhythms of the Earth and welcome the new beginnings that this season brings. It’s a time to honor the awakening […]

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