Living Naturally
August 8, 2022
Hurrah! It’s corn-on-the-cob season across the nation, and I grew a few rows of corn this year. Corn is great for eating, but its many other uses range from crafts to medicine. Discover how to use the entire corn, including the kernels, husks, silks, and cob, to make delicious recipes in the kitchen, natural remedies to heal, fun crafts, and more!
Corn’s On!
For me there’s…
August 6, 2022
Be it for a cat nap or a full night's sleep, find out which sleeping position is best and how your favorite sleeping position affects your health. We'll also show you how providing pillows to support your sleeping position can help reduce stress on your body and get you sleeping better.
Is There a Best Sleeping Position?
Front, back, right side, left side? Curled up, straight as a…
July 29, 2022
When inflation causes food prices to increase, what do we do? Here at the Almanac, we’ve been through the Great Depression, wars, and various ups and downs. Here are 10 helpful rules to get you through this time—as well as 10 bang-for-your-buck recipes!
It Started With Covid … .
Many Americans, especially younger adults, learned to cook during the first year or two of the Covid…
July 28, 2022
Not fond of veggies? Or just looking for creative ideas to add more vegetables to your menu to get to that five-times-a-day recommendation? We have 10 creative, fresh ideas for eating more vegetables!
I’m always on the lookout for ways to add veggies to our meals. This works out well with my growing passion for vegetable gardening (despite being in a two–person household).…
July 22, 2022
Ever heard of “eating the rainbow” of vegetables and fruit? Nature’s pigments are amazing at protecting plants—and us! Each plant color offers a different health benefit, so you need variety. If you are a gardener, consider growing plants from each color category, as each one offers unique benefits for your health.
Mom knows best: eating your veggies improves your…
July 21, 2022
How healthful are cucumbers? It depends on whether you eat the skin! Learn about the cucumber’s many health benefits—plus, all the ways you can use cucumbers in the kitchen and as a natural remedy, including cucumber hydration!
Close relatives of squashes, melons, and gourds (aka, the cucurbit family, Cucurbitaceae), cucumbers originated in northern India around 4,000 years ago…
July 20, 2022
As temperatures spike, how can you beat the heat? From closing blinds to using a fan (not just A/C), here are tips for keeping your body cool.
Don’t Sweat It… Or Do!
Actually, we should sweat in the heat. Sweating is part of the complex system our bodies have evolved to dissipate heat. Sweat cools the body as it evaporates from the skin. I’ve never lived or worked…
July 13, 2022
As anyone who reads my column knows, I’m a big fan of home remedies and homemade house-cleaning products made from readily available natural materials. However, “natural” remedies don’t always work and can even be harmful. Here are seven popular remedies that are not a good idea!
I enjoy researching the old ways of using what’s at hand for healing minor ills and meeting the…
July 1, 2022
Got dry skin? Turn herbs into a healing salve. Herbal salves have come down through the ages as the premier household first-aid for chapped skin, scrapes, and more. While the word “salve” may sound fancy, what it refers to is really just a two-ingredient ointment that takes 30 minutes to make, start to finish. Learn how!
A salve is simply an oil (olive oil, almond oil) infused with…
June 29, 2022
We all have times when we experience strong negative emotions—anger, panic, fear, anxiety, frustration, sadness, hopelessness, and resentment. Here are eight simple calming strategies to help.
I’ve found that I can’t do much to prevent the rise of negative emotions, but I have found ways that help to halt a downward plunge. I call it “calling down the calm.”
Negative emotions are often…
June 28, 2022
I love rocks! Do you? Just like early farmers, I put them to good use, too. If you have rocks, stones, and boulders that litter your landscape, they may be a blessing in disguise.
In my home state of New Hampshire, the Granite State, you see evidence everywhere of the boulders that our forefathers and their sturdy beasts dug up and hauled away to make room for pastures and…
June 28, 2022
Not only are nuts tasty, but also they can help with weight control and so much more. Find out which nuts are healthiest. Let’s go nuts about one of nature’s most perfect foods!
Nuts and Weight Control
If you love nuts of any kind as much as I do (providing you don’t suffer from allergies to them*), you’ll rejoice at this published research suggesting that, on…