Whole Foods recently invited me to participate in and blog about their 28 Day Health Challenge. Featuring the plant-based diet outlined in “The Engine 2 Diet” by Rip Esselstyn, the challenge asks that I cut out all meat, dairy, eggs and oils and consume only vegetables, fruits and grains.  Proponents of this lifestyle contend that [...]

I love living in a big city.  We never suffer a shortage of things to do, I walk e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e., we have plenty of friends nearby and just about anything we could possibly need is with a few blocks of our home.  City living offers so much. But, I often lament my lack of private green [...]

I am a cookbook geek.  Whenever I have a few minutes to myself, one of my favorite things to do is read through a good cookbook.  In the same way most people devour a delicious novel, I pour over every page of a new cookbook hoping to uncover inspiration and new ideas.  It seems like [...]

We recently took a lovely trip to a small island off the coast of Mexico.  With warm temperatures, sunny skies and soft sandy beaches, I was in heaven. The only issue? I couldn’t really relax. With two little ones it takes a mom about 12 seconds to realize that mom doesn’t get a vacation, and [...]

I was recently asked to take a look at Bare by Solo, an “eco-forward” line of single-use plates and cups from the popular Solo brand.   As a Homemade Mother, I just do not buy disposable plates and cups, and I am especially wary of mixing food with plastic.  So, my first instinct upon receiving the [...]

I am always tinkering with homemade ways to clean my home.  I don’t like the expense and chemical overload associated with conventional cleaners, so more often than not I turn to old-fashioned staples like white vinegar and baking soda to get a job done. For a while now I’ve wanted to make a homemade cleaner [...]

I grew up without a microwave in our house.  It wasn’t until recently that I realized this was odd.  When I asked my mom why she never installed one in our kitchen, she said quite frankly, “They kinda freaked me out.” Good enough reason for me! Although I now have a microwave in my small [...]

Some of my tricks for re-purposing common household staples were recently published in an article on Mint.com.  While I’m no fan of house cleaning, it actually becomes kinda fun when I experiment with new methods of taking care of common chores.  Products like vinegar, baking soda and banana peels take on a whole new life [...]

My grandma just sent me an urgent message about an upcoming decision from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on deregulating genetically engineered alfalfa, a clover-like forage crop.  As humans don’t normally consume alfalfa, it may seem like an unimportant issue for us.  However, when you consider the food chain it is easy to see [...]

We are very fortunate to live in a generously sized downtown Chicago apartment.  When we first moved in two years ago we thought two bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, a dining room and in-unit laundry all spaced on two floors would be more than enough room for our young family. Oh, how foolish we were… Christmas [...]