Blissdom: Green Shout-Outs

by on January 31, 2011
in news · 6 Comments

This past week I spent a few days in Nashville for the fabulous Blissdom blogging conference.

The conference was at the amazing Opryland Hotel, which has some beautiful grounds filled with lush atriums full of blooming foliage and waterfalls– a true oasis!

I learned a lot that I hope to put into practice here on Simple Organic, but for me the highlight was the people I met and spent time with. I got to spend a lot of face time with other Simple Living Media editors– the first time we all were together in person.

[Read more...]

Giveaway: Simple Food {for winter} Cookbook

by on January 28, 2011
in book reviews, giveaways ·

I‘m so excited to present you with a great giveaway today. On Monday, we heard a real-life-real-food story from Shannon of Nourishing Days as she told as about her journey to a healthier, more nourishing way of eating. Just recently Shannon published her very own cookbook, all about eating real food in winter.

As Katie mentioned in her excellent post on seasonal winter eating, it can be a challenge to find and prepare real food when it’s not as readily available as it seems to be during other times of the year. The truth is, there are a lot of delicious meals that can be made to nourish us and our families this time of year; many times we just need a little guidance.

Simple Food {for winter} is just what the doctor ordered for some wintertime inspiration for your dinner (and lunch) table. It is full of hearty recipes for meals that will warm you up, and nourish you with some of that in-season real food. As a bonus, she includes some basic reference recipes that are great to have on hand, such as her take on homemade stock, which I used to make a delicious turkey stock.

I personally can’t wait for Shannon’s release of cookbooks for the remaining seasons, which she hopes to do, also emphasizing real food and sustainable living.

The eBook is only $10, which is a steal in my opinion when you consider its fifty-eight pages, including thirty recipes (all of which are grain free), and three essays. To read more about the cookbook, and get a sneak peak at one of the recipes, you can read Aimee’s review of it over on Simple Bites).

Giveaway

Today, two lucky Simple Organic readers will win a copy of Shannon’s cookbook, Simple Food {for winter}!

To enter, simply leave a comment describing your favorite winter meal.

Giveaway ends Saturday, January 29th, at 11:59 pm PST.

10 Healthy Changes To Make To Your Personal Care Routine

by on January 26, 2011
in personal care & beauty · 74 Comments

Written by contributor Emily Clements of Live Renewed.

As we’ve been talking about green goal setting for the upcoming year, one big area that gives us lots of opportunities for change is our personal care routines.  I have been making changes to my personal care products little by little, over time, sometimes having to try a few different options before I’ve found what works best for me and for my routine.

Making changes to your personal care products may seem overwhelming when you think about all of the different products that you use throughout the day, especially when you have favorite products that you’ve been using for a long time.  What’s more overwhelming, at least to me, is thinking about the thousands of chemicals that we are exposed to each day from our personal care products, most of which have not even been tested for their safety.

You can revamp your personal care routine by choosing safer and more natural products, and by taking baby steps – changing one product at a time until it becomes a normal part of your routine. Here are some changes you can make to green your personal care throughout your day, from your morning routine, ’til you’re ready to hit the sack at night. [Read more...]

A Real Food Journey

by on January 24, 2011
in health, nutrition, & food · 27 Comments

We’re very honored to have a guest post from Shannon of Nourishing Days today. She’s a definite real food inspiration, and I think you’ll love reading about her journey, and maybe even relate to it a little.

I have a theory about real food: people are either born into it or they find it out of illness and desperation. I fall into the latter category.

I grew up eating your typical standard American diet (SAD). There was a lot of sugar, skipped breakfasts, a ton of processed food, and did I mention a lot of sugar?

Not surprisingly, I was sick a lot. Every winter I came down with severe colds, bronchitis and pneumonia. I never knew what it was like to feel well.

I was overweight from the age of 6 or so. While I played sports and enjoyed being active, I was never at a healthy weight. My last year of high school I became so frustrated with my weight issues that I tried everything to shed pounds.

Some of my efforts were good – like exercising more and just being aware of what I was putting into my mouth. Others were much more harmful – like drinking diet soda, taking “diet” pills and not eating at all. I never went as far as anorexia or bulemia, but my unhealthy relationship with food continued. I no longer ate for comfort, but now I was terrified to eat anything. Food was the enemy, so I thought, and eating as little as possible was the goal.

[Read more...]

Giveaway Winners

by on January 24, 2011
in giveaways · Leave a Comment

Thanks to everyone for entering our weekend giveaway and congratulations to our six winners of the Modern Alternative Mama books. Winners, look for an email from me in your inbox.

  • Roxy Schow ~ Sounds great – thanks for the giveaway!
  • Mariam ~ Both of those books sound great, I’ve started to become really interested in cooking much more healthy food at home!
  • Megan ~ I’m trying to make the move to using more real food, but it’s harder than I thought!!
  • MichelleH ~ We’ve been slowly moving towards real foods and would love some guidance.
  • Melissa ~ I am transitioning to a real foods diet in our home. I’ve read so much info and at times it can be overwhelming, so we are taking it slow. The great news is we are already starting to feel better! I would love to have these resources to help guide our path.
  • Lesley ~ Wow! Great giveaway!

If you didn’t win, but would still like to check out the books, Modern Alternative Mama has offered a coupon code for Simple Organic readers!

Just enter ORGANIC25 to receive 25% off Healthy Pregnancy Super Foods and SIMPLE25 to receive 25% off Real Food Basics. These codes expire at 11:59 pm on 1/28/11.

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