If you don’t have a hankering for chocolate, I don’t think we can be friends. I kid, of course. We can be friends—we just won’t talk about chocolate. I’d have to prove you wrong every time the topic came up, and that’s no way to treat a friend. When it comes to the health benefits […]
Author Archives: Paula Widish
04
Feb
Feb
What cause always gets you riled up and ready to pitch in? Most people have at least one thing they feel so strongly about that it never fails to get their attention—and their support. My cause has always been food and hunger. I believe every living being deserves to have this basic need met on […]
28
Jan
Jan
The avocado is a delicious little mystery. It has a pit, so it’s technically a fruit, and yet it’s almost always used as a savory element in recipes. In fact, I have yet to open up one of my cookbooks and find the avocado listed as the star ingredient in any of the desserts. All […]
21
Jan
Jan
Have you ever found yourself in the grocery store thinking something along the lines of, “Ugh, what types of oil did that article I just read say to avoid?” Okay, maybe it wasn’t what kind of oil to buy or not to buy, but surely you’ve experienced something similar. You read a great article from […]
14
Jan
Jan
Have you ever given any thought to the water you drink? If you’re like me, you probably didn’t think much about it for the first half of your life. It was always there, and you assumed all was well as you drank the recommended amount. But we might be wrong in our assumption that water […]
07
Jan
Jan
There’s an easy way to avoid the toxic chemicals that lurk in commercial cleaning products—make your own! I’ve been doing it the DIY way for quite some time, making my own laundry and dishwasher soap, among other products for around the house. For much of your sanitizing and cleaning needs, the switch can be as […]
31
Dec
Dec
If my boys had a nickel for every time I tried to convince them they really did like a particular food, despite their claims to the contrary—well, let’s just say they’d have a lot of nickels. Why do parents do this? Sure, it’s our job to expose our kids to new foods—“eating the rainbow” and […]
24
Dec
Dec
Scalloped, sautéed, baked, roasted, French-fried, cottage-fried; in a hash, in a stew, in a gratin, as a soup, with a roast—the potato can do all this and more. And now this versatile root vegetable —once all but eliminated from our regular menu rotation—is making a comeback. Why did we start avoiding potatoes in the first […]
17
Dec
Dec
Quick! What are you making for dinner tonight? And do you have what you need to make it? If you answered, “I’m not sure,” then you’re just like I used to be—before I discovered the beauty of the weekly meal plan. It simplified my life in a way that I can only describe as glorious. […]
10
Dec
Dec
The gift giving season is here! Every year, I try to dream up the perfect idea for everyone on my list. There’s always the latest and greatest toy that my nephew might enjoy. And for my dad, there’s this year’s newest time saver for gardening that everyone’s been raving about. But many times, these things […]
03
Dec
Dec
Okay, folks. It’s time for a quiz. What common household product has been used for medicinal purposes since the time of Hippocrates, “The Father of Medicine,” in 400 BC? What comes in a bottle and soothes sunburns and insect bites? What can be poured in your bath water to relieve sore muscles and achy joints? […]
26
Nov
Nov
I just learned something that blew my mind! But perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself…Show of hands: how many of you are familiar with the old wives’ tale about making your loved ones chicken soup when they get sick? Everyone’s hand is up, right? Well, what if I told you this isn’t just an old […]
Thanksgiving is almost here—and so is the first wave of invitations to holiday parties and gatherings with friends and family. It can be a rough time for those of us who want to stay away from certain foods or who favor a certain type of food preparation. Unless you’re planning to host all of these […]
12
Nov
Nov
The holidays are a busy time of year when our regular exercise routine can easily go by the wayside. How do you make sure your physical activity level doesn’t plummet during the season, even when you’re traveling? Our holiday travel always involves a visit with family, which means I can’t take advantage of a hotel […]
05
Nov
Nov
When was the last time you paid attention to your lymphatic system? If you’re in the same boat I was in about two years ago, you probably answered, “Um, what exactly is my lymphatic system?” It’s not that I woke up one morning and said, “Hey, today I think I’ll do something nice for my lymphatic system.” […]
29
Oct
Oct
Halloween has never been my favorite holiday. I don’t enjoy being scared, and I definitely don’t enjoy the movies and stories of the season. Growing up on the farm, we never went to town to trick-or-treat—we hopped in the car and drove around to our neighbors’ houses instead. I was always so envious of my […]
22
Oct
Oct
It’s been several years since I’ve had the daily, glazed-over look of a sleep-deprived new parent. But I can still recognize—and sympathize—with other new moms and dads from a mile away. You see them now and then out in the world. In the grocery store, they may ask where the bananas are, even if they’re […]
15
Oct
Oct
Does the thought of eating liver make you shudder? I have vivid memories of my siblings and myself staging a mutiny every time our mom cooked it for supper. She never even had to tell us it was on the menu—we could smell the liver and onions frying away. That was our signal to drag […]
10
Oct
Oct
Have you ever resisted a simple nutritional suggestion made by a trusted professional, for no particular reason? Ugh! I’m guilty as charged. My family has seen our clinical nutritionist for more than two years now, and I’m fairly certain she’s urged me to make my own bone broth from day one. I wouldn’t say I’ve […]
03
Oct
Oct
Have you ever craved a particular food so much that you find yourself mixing it with just about anything you can think of, no matter how crazy? That’s how I’ve been feeling about sesame seeds lately. Luckily for me, they have a pretty neutral flavor—though I wouldn’t necessarily recommend them in tea. Yes, I said […]