Living Naturally
August 14, 2020
Elderberries! The branches of these humble roadside and streambank shrubs, festooned in summer with flat-topped clusters of airy white flowers, now drip with gorgeous, deep-purple clusters of berries. Learn how to turn those berries into elderberry syrup.
Botanists treat our common American elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) as a subspecies of the European black elderberry (Sambucus nigra), used since prehistoric times for food, drink, and medicine. The plant also boasts a rich folklore. ... more
August 4, 2020
Welcome to our Pressure Canning Guide for Beginners! When you preserve your harvest or farmers’ market haul through canning, you maintain the flavor of garden-fresh food at its peak—to store and savor all-year long. Here is our step-by-step guide on how to use a pressure canner safely—and which foods can be pressure canned. Let’s get started!
What is Pressure Canning?
Pressure canning (not to be confused with pressure cooking!) uses special equipment to process food at a higher temperature to... more
July 17, 2020
Sure, we all know that what we eat is important for our physical health. But can what we eat also affect how we feel? Let’s explore better eating can help us feel better—less anxiety, stress, and depression.
Interestingly, there’s a whole new field dedicated to this question: “Nutritional psychiatrists” counsel patients on how better eating may help lead to better mental health.
Specifically, Nutritional Psychiatry aims to provide “a comprehensive, cohesive, and scientifically rigorous evidence... more
July 16, 2020
Have you ever canned tomato sauce? This super-basic canned (jarred) tomato sauce contains only tomatoes—with a little lemon juice or acid for safety. We seal the jars in a boiling water bath. No special “canner” needed. Get ready to use up all those end-of-summer tomatoes!
I grew up in a family that tended a big vegetable garden, fruit trees, and berry bushes in a small-town neighborhood. We three siblings helped our parents grow the food and fill our cellar shelves with tomatoes, applesauce... more
July 15, 2020
I love rocks! Do you? Just like the early Americans, 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 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 row crops.
It’s a hardscrabble landscape, where the soil’s freeze-thaw cycles break up and thrust rocks deposited by the... more
July 9, 2020
Ready to de-stress? Release tension with this deep breathing technique. It really works! As with fitness, deep breathing exercises can actually promote health and relaxation. Learn more—plus, find two simple breathing exercises. See how it works.
From the moment we take that first breath, we keep breathing until we stop for good. Breathing happens automatically and most of us rarely think about it, until we come down with a respiratory ailment or find ourselves puffing with exertion.
Practice... more
June 23, 2020
For centuries, people have been using fruits, vegetables and other natural products to nourish their skin and hair. Here are four easy DIY recipes: for a cucumber face mask, honey yogurt face mask, banana hair mask, and lip color. All use products straight from your kitchen! Have fun!
History of Natural Beauty
Avocado, cornmeal, cabbage, honey, milk, eggs, potatoes, cucumbers, apple cider, yogurt, lemons, cottage cheese, wine, oils, lard, ground spices, herbs, salt, bananas, tomato pulp,... more
June 22, 2020
What is the town dump? In my town, it’s the endearing name for the “transfer station” where all the residents deposit their trash. Maybe there’s a transfer station in your town? Sure, it sounds like a place to be avoided, but with a “swap shop” and even a secondhand bookshop, it’s actually a place to recycle, reuse, and socialize!
In my town and many nearby towns, we still call it “the dump,” even though it’s no longer a final resting place for trash, but a “transfer station,” where residents... more
June 18, 2020
Bad breath? Stinky feet? Sweaty armpits? Learn about natural ways to tame body odors. Scientists have determined that each of us has a unique “odor-print,” as distinctive as our fingerprints!
Nope, this odor-print isn’t altered by your recent garlic-laden meal or by perfumes, aftershaves, or deodorants. Your individual odor-print is created by different amounts of 120 chemical compounds.
When there is disease, your body produces different odors, some of which dogs can identify! Some day,... more
June 8, 2020
The family dogs and cats seem to enjoy the outdoors as much as we do. But the warm months bring special challenges to pet owners—fleas, ticks, skunk encounters, and more! Here are some common summer pest problems—from ticks to fleas—and solutions.
Dogs roll in smelly things. If they aren’t fenced in, cats that go outside sometimes bring in small animals they’ve killed or just want to play with. Both dogs and cats on the loose may be attacked by wildlife or run off chasing wild creatures, have a... more
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"Living Naturally" is all about living a naturally healthy lifestyle. Margaret Boyles covers health tips, ways to avoid illness, natural remedies, food that's good for body and soul, recipes for homemade beauty products, ideas to make your home a healthy and safe haven, and the latest news on health. Our goal is also to encourage self-sufficiency, whether it's relearning some age-old skills or getting informed on modern improvements that help us live better, healthier lives.
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