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Crunchy-Chewy Mama

Living naturally, most of the time.

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Holistic Health

A day of focus

January 5, 2013 by Jessica Leave a Comment

That crazy sound you hear is my head spinning so fast I think my eyeballs will melt from the inside out. In other words, today blew my mind. I left the house at 9 a.m. for a workshop with healer Dr. Claudia Welch on breath, Ayurveda, and hormones. I left that gig an hour early…

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Filed Under: D.C. Metro, Featured, Holistic Health, Uncategorized Tagged With: Alfie Kohn, Ayurveda, Beloved Yoga, breath, Claudia Welch, education, healing, Holistic Health, hormones, parenting, school

Food for thought

November 28, 2012 by Jessica 2 Comments

I can’t stand it. After 27 days of writing poetry, I want to write about nutrition! Aside from the fact that tomatoes are out of season and that I didn’t preserve any local ones, and aside from the fact that I’d once all but banned even gluten-free pasta from our house as a processed food…

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Filed Under: Activism & Politics, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: food, health, Holistic Health, Kaayla Daniel, NaBloPoMo, nutrition, poetry, real food, soy, thyroid

Balance is overrated

November 27, 2012 by Jessica Leave a Comment

Another night out, this time tutoring. In two hours, I have paid for three days of childcare. But what really is the cost? I would rather make less easy money to make money that is more meaningful to my everyday existence. And that doesn’t require me to go out 8-10 p.m. But I also value…

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Filed Under: Holistic Health, The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: family, NaBloPoMo, poetry, priorities, tutoring, work, working mother

Not so serious

November 25, 2012 by Jessica Leave a Comment

My husband and I have both been seeing a holistic doctor who prescribes homeopathic remedies and other things to address emotional energy patterns and blockages. There is a brand of sprays (by SafeCare Rx) for which he tested to need “Serious,” and I tested to need “Grief.” I can’t speak for him, but I do…

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Filed Under: Holistic Health, The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: children, cynicism, joy, laughter, NaBloPoMo, poetry, priorities, toddler

It’s the most ___ time of the year

November 10, 2012 by Jessica Leave a Comment

Routine Whenever I worry that my middle name is inconsistency, that erratic behavior disrupts my chances at bliss and my children’s balance, stepping outside reminds me that the leaves turn only once each year. And not for 30 minutes every morning. Then they fall and a new generation, long waiting in promise before gingerly pushing…

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Filed Under: Holistic Health, The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: beauty, consistency, contradiction, NaBloPoMo, nature, poetry, priorities, rhythm, routine, seasons

Lessons from my children’s first teacher

November 7, 2012 by Jessica Leave a Comment

What I want my children to learn from me Singing is your heart smiling out loud. Passion is that heart getting warm, and flexible, and strong. Quiet is laying your head on a pillow, gently, as though it were a feather on a cloud. Food is a gift we give ourselves, our mouths for joy,…

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Filed Under: Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: beauty, health, love, modeling, NaBloPoMo, poetry, priorities, real food, teaching, volunteering, wetlands

Upcoming conferences & events for healthy living

October 16, 2012 by Jessica Leave a Comment

It’s hard to keep track of all the amazing events coming up in the next few weeks! Here is a snapshot. Let me know what I should add! Thursday, October 18 Holistic Moms Network Arlington/Alexandria chapter presents: “Breathing Techniques” Learn about different breathing techniques and how they can contribute to health and wellness from VitalSelf…

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Filed Under: D.C. Metro, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Uncategorized Tagged With: birth, breathing techniques, breech birth, healing, health calendar, Holistic Moms, Holistic Moms Network, homebirth, midwives, natural birth

Gluten-Free Expo returns to D.C.! + Giveaway

June 15, 2012 by Jessica 10 Comments

The Celiac Disease Program at Children’s National Medical Center is all about getting and keeping kids healthy and is hosting the second-annual DC Gluten-Free Expo this afternoon and evening at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel, 1201 K Street NW from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. If I’d eliminated gluten from my diet as a child, my…

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Filed Under: D.C. Metro, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Uncategorized Tagged With: celiac disease, Children's National Medical Center, DC Gluten-Free Expo, GAPS diet, gardening, gluten, gluten-free, Rudi's Gluten-Free Bakery

What’s to like about a c-section?

June 12, 2012 by Jessica 32 Comments

Welcome to the June 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Embracing Your Birth Experience 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 written about at least one part of their birth experience that they can hold up and…

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Filed Under: Activism & Politics, D.C. Metro, Holistic Health, Uncategorized Tagged With: birth, breastfeeding, c-section, Carnival of Natural Parenting, cesarean, home birth, homebirth, ICAN, placenta, water birth, waterbirth

What makes me feel like a parent

May 23, 2012 by Jessica Leave a Comment

The first time I’d heard of a “touch truck” event was in a With the Kids article in the Washington Post Weekend section. Herndon Truck Days sounded like a blast! And the article also inspired me a year later to pitch an article about the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra’s Children’s Music Festival. It was published and…

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Filed Under: D.C. Metro, Holistic Health, The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: Arlington Children's Chorus, family, Herdon Truck Days, Live It Up, Market Common Clarendon, mothering, music, priorities, Washington Sports Club

Yoga festival season gets underway

May 10, 2012 by Jessica Leave a Comment

Yoga festivals might seem counterintuitive for those seeking a peaceful, quiet practice, but they are great opportunities to try different styles and experience a sense of community. There’s something special about doing sun salutations in a group of two hundred people from around the country; it’s as though you all agree, which somehow makes lofty…

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Filed Under: D.C. Metro, Featured, Holistic Health

I don’t have a village

May 8, 2012 by Jessica 18 Comments

Welcome to the May 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Parenting With or Without Extended Family This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how relatives help or hinder their parenting. Please read to the end to…

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Filed Under: D.C. Metro, Holistic Health, Uncategorized Tagged With: Carnival of Natural Parenting, childcare, family, generations, home, priorities, relationships

Investigating Ayurveda + a giveaway

April 17, 2012 by Jessica 2 Comments

Last spring, my sister-in-law advised me that the best thing I could do for my health would be to give myself a daily oil massage and to have a consistent schedule of sleeping and waking. And that would include a midday nap. Right. According to her, yoga instructor Charlotte Clews, when she advised me last…

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Filed Under: D.C. Metro, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Uncategorized Tagged With: Ayurveda, Cheeseslave, GAPS diet, Holistic Moms Network, John Douillard, juice, juicing, Lisa Wilson, Monica Corrado, Perfect Health for Kids, Raw Food Institute, Real Food Media, Take Back

Holistic health conference addresses body, mind, and planet

April 13, 2012 by Jessica Leave a Comment

If the organizers of this weekend’s Take Back Your Health conference could have any say in the health care debate, food would probably be listed as a medicine. Well, healthy, local, nutrient-dense food, that is. And the means to detoxify from all the chemicals in our air, water, and earth. After the success of last…

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Filed Under: D.C. Metro, Holistic Health

Diary of a wimpy kid’s mom

April 11, 2012 by Jessica 7 Comments

My son is not strong. He is, as the kids say, a shrimp. On the soccer field, the kids complain when picking teams, “But he’s so small.” When one of his good friends found out he was taking a sports class after school, he told my boy, “You suck at sports.” I imagine he’s probably…

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Filed Under: Holistic Health, The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: allergies, athletics, baseball, biking, endurance, Frisbee, From Left to Write Book Club, health, hiking, Holistic Health, running, school, sports, strength, weakness

Back on the mat: $5 class special at Radiance!

March 22, 2012 by Jessica Leave a Comment

When my friend and neighbor asked if I would watch her son so that she could take advantage of a $5 yoga deal, I said, “How about I offer up my babysitter instead and go with you?” I’ve been meaning to get to Old Town Alexandria’s Radiance Yoga for a while, but it’s just a…

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Filed Under: D.C. Metro, Holistic Health, Uncategorized Tagged With: adrena, Holistic Health, mental health, mental wellness, thyroid, yoga

Blooming trees and buzzing Bs

March 18, 2012 by Jessica Leave a Comment

Eighty degrees in March, and nothing is at rest. The flowers are up, stretching their arms after nary a winter’s nap. The magnolia has exploded into blossom way before its time, dropping its once-precious petals onto the ground where they turn slipper and slimy like a million mini banana peels. After she sat down on…

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Filed Under: Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: adrenal fatigue, exercise, GAPS diet, healing, health, Holistic Health, home, mental health. self-renewal, renovation, thyroid, yoga

Mediocre would be good enough

March 9, 2012 by Jessica 3 Comments

No one has to convince me not to try to be perfect. Okay, I do have perfectionist tendencies in some areas, but when I read about mothers having epiphanies that they don’t need to keep the house spotless, I feel like I am living on some other planet. One with lots of spots. My floors…

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Filed Under: D.C. Metro, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: adrenal fatigue, GAPS diet, health, Holistic Health, mental health, mental wellness, priorities, thyroid

Let them eat lunch, from home

February 20, 2012 by Jessica 7 Comments

Eating close to the source is something I’ve been working toward for several years, ever since I started trying to get my health on track in the face of major digestive issues, infertility, and Graves’ disease (autoimmune hyperthyroidism). I was almost embarrassed to request Barbara Kingsolver’s 2007 Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life…

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Filed Under: Activism & Politics, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Uncategorized Tagged With: food, food politics, From Left to Write Book Club, nutrition, real food, thyroid

The pull of escape, the pull of retreat

January 31, 2012 by Jessica 3 Comments

This time of year is always good for smacking me around. Even on a sunny day like today, when the quince and camellia are blooming and you swear it can’t be January it’s so warm, winter is in my bones. And my mom’s too.  Right around this time in 1995, while I was doing my…

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Filed Under: D.C. Metro, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: celiac, conferences, family, From Left to Write, healing, health, parents, partner, playful parenting, priorities, relationship, research, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

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Welcome to Crunchy-Chewy Mama, where the wilderness meets the sidewalk. Around here, I do my best to live as healthfully as possible. But compromises abound.

I also publish the resource blog Mindful Healthy Life of Metro DC. To learn about my writing and appearances and for details about the writing, editing and consulting services I offer, visit JessicaClaireHaney.com.

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