Moms do not appreciate the government telling them how to feed their children and restricting their access to what they feel is a healthful food. On November 1, 2011, mothers from around the country will protest outside the Food and Drug Administration building in Silver Spring, Maryland to protest the FDA’s restriction on the purchase…
Activism & Politics
A weekend of holistic health and blogging
A tale of two conferences I’ve had a split personality this weekend. Much of my time has been spent at the wonderful blogging conference, Blogalicious. Since I first arrived at the conference Friday morning, I’ve met great people, caught up with friends, and learned a ton about social media and media resources in general. A…
Real Food heals: Blog Action Day
When my nutritionist friend suggested I try integrating some animal protein and animal fat back into my diet, I was offended. Didn’t she know how bad it was for the earth to waste all those resources on raising animals instead of vegetables and grain? Didn’t she know that a low-fat diet was healthier? Since I…
Support VBAC in October!
When I first met my friend Elaine, she spoke warmly of her two homebirths. I had just one child who was born via c-section, which saddened me. Now I am the proud mama of a home VBAC — Vaginal Birth After Cesarean, or HBAC. And today Elaine is writing at TheDCMoms.com about homebirth. Here are…
Holistic Moms to host “Traditional Diets” guru
The first time I heard of the Weston A. Price Foundation was the day after Thanksgiving 2003. My face was full of acne, my belly was full of gas, mind was muddled, and I hadn’t had a period in almost three months. Not exactly the picture of health. But I was still offended when the…
Interview with nutritionist Dr. Keith Ayoob
I was invited to participate in an interview recently with Dr. Keith Ayoob, a nutritionist who appears regularly on “Good Morning America,” CNN, and ABC news and who writes for SchoolMenu.com. One of my favorite articles of his is called “D Pressed;” it highlights the importance of Vitamin D to mental health. Anyone familiar with…
Gluten-free expo comes to D.C.: win free entry!
Going gluten-free in 2004 was part of my holistic effort to bring my body into balance and heal my thyroid from Graves’ Disease, autoimmune hyperthyroidism. My goal was to get off anti-thyroid medication and get healthy enough to get pregnant. Although I also hoped to go off anti-depressant medication, I didn’t really expect that a…
I’m a top Mental Wellness blogger!
I’m pleased to announce that I made it into the Top 25 Mental Wellness blogs at Circle of Moms. Thanks to everyone who voted. More details to come!
D.C. to host world premiere of film about war on family farms
If you consider yourself a locavore, a supporter of family farms, or just a parent concerned about your children’s health and the future of the planet they will inherit, be sure not to miss the world premiere of Farmageddon–the Unseen War on American Family Farms, a mom-created film that documents the FDA’s raids on small …
The transition begins: Waldorf to public school
Just how many different people can I be in my head in one day? Well, at least two solid positions are staking claim to my mental landscape. One is incredibly sad that yesterday was my son’s last day at his Waldorf school, and the other is very excited for our family to become part of…
Rally for Food and Farm Freedom brings a cow to the Capitol!
What a great day to celebrate food choice — and to protest the government’s efforts to curtail those choices. The sun shone brightly today at Upper Senate Park for the rally to protest the arrest of an Amish farmer selling raw milk. It was inspiring to see so many Real Food and raw milk supporters…
Talking Real Food with Robyn O’Brien
When Robyn O’Brien’s youngest child had her first allergic reaction to eggs, I had already — over two years earlier — given up vegetarianism and soy in a quest to regain my fertility and, a few months later, given up gluten and dairy in a quest to heal my gut and my body overall from…
When life gives you chocolate, make coconuts: Fun Food Friday
We went to an Easter egg hunt that had candy prizes. We don’t eat candy. My son knows to save it for the Switch Witch, who will “magic” it into fun toys or craft supplies. But this time, we did some magic of our own. The chocolates looked so much like coconuts, we made our…
Farm Rally coming up: Leave our milk alone!
I’m so excited about Real Food right now! I’m about to head to an event at Restaurant Nora (“America’s first certified organic restaurant”) with Robyn O’Brien, author of Unhealthy Choice: How Our Food is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It. And on Monday, I’m going to attend a rally to protest…
Unfolding into nature: May Carnival of Natural Parenting
Welcome to the May Carnival of Natural Parenting: Growing in the Outdoors This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have shared how they encourage their children to connect with nature and dig in the dirt. Please read…
Photo Fundraiser: This Mother’s Day, support a mom with breast cancer
Back in January, I wrote about my friend Liz, who was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has now completed her first round of chemo and is on to her second. She’s keeping folks posted on her blog, http://helptohealmama.blogspot.com/ It’s been so amazing to see how many people are coming out to support her, whether through…
Just take those sugary characters off the shelf
Long before I’d even come close to letting my son watch a Clifford video, his eyes lit up at the big red dog on the Cascadian Farms cereal box. Come to think of it, that was probably even before I ever let him eat any cereal. (Any cereal always been gluten-free and character-free, and I’ve…
The 12 days of spring break
On all twelve days of Spring Break, Mother Nature gave to me: lots of pollen falling from trees. There were only supposed to be ten days. And they were going to be full of activities we don’t have the time or energy to do when school is in session. But then there was pollen. So…
Baby’s first dress
Well, she’s been out about as long as she was in, and it’s gotten pretty warm here in the D.C. area. So I went ahead and put my almost-nine-month-old girl in a dress. For the first time. When my son had taken it out of the box sent by my mom a few weeks back,…
Putting a public face on “holistic”
Welcome to the April Carnival of Natural Parenting: Compassionate Advocacy This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have shared how they advocate for healthy, gentle parenting choices compassionately. Please read to the end to find a list…