While on vacation with a friend who doesn't exactly share the same views about food as I do, we got into a disagreement about chicken nuggets. We were food shopping for the week and my typical frozen free-range chicken nugget brand wasn't available. Among the rows and rows and ...read more
I never really considered living in a large house; large houses were for people unlike me—people with either a lot of time to clean and fill it up with expensive goods, or who had enough money to hire help to clean and fill it up with expensive goods. I’m perfectly happy with my ...read more
Recently, my husband, Andy, and I talked about going away for the weekend. But, with the cost, the packing, the organizing, the hiring of dog and cat sitters and the travel arrangements, it seemed more like a headache than a vacation. So, ,we decided to commit to a stay-cation. ...read more
There are certain translatable words in the healthy living dictionary. Words that are easy to understand or roll off the tongue with ease. 'Sustainable' is not one of those words. Talking to a friend the other day (someone who lives in one of the environmentally-friendly ...read more
When my son was about five, we had our first grocery store temper tantrum over a bag of chocolate chip cookies. You’d think this would have happened much sooner in his life, but I had always managed to successfully steer him in the direction of a healthy choice like a ...read more
I'm a self-professed hippie: I buy organic foods for myself and my family. My kids rarely eat junk food. I get acupuncture. Go to yoga. But since I've turned 40, and since that deep crease between my eyebrows is no longer a cute crinkle, like the kind of crinkle I used to make ...read more
(Image by Eserro) I think of my container gardens as an extension of my garden, not just an alternative for limited space (although containers are wonderful in tiny spaces too). I have a backyard and a designated vegetable garden, yet I still rely on my container gardens—mainly ...read more
While I love my dog, Daisy, a 12-year-old mix—I even hired a mobile groomer who gives her a Reiki massage and a blueberry facial, though Daisy mostly licks it off, don’t ask—I never owned a dog house for her. After all, why should she sleep in a dog house when she’s got the ...read more
Livin' on a Prayer? Yes. Livin' the healthy life at the Jersey Shore? Not so much. No surprise, the Jersey Shore isn't exactly known as a beacon of natural health. (A good slice of thin boardwalk pizza, now that's a different story.) But peel back a layer of salt-water taffy and ...read more
Elke, 2, is my adventurous eater. Breakfast is eggs with cheese. Fruits of all kinds. Pancakes with blueberries. Scones. Breakfast burritos. Jake, 7, eats cereal. Every. Single. Morning. No joke. Our top two are Cheerios and Organic Clifford Crunch. No milk. Dry. Three grapes or ...read more
My son is the pickiest eater on the planet. I know your child is picky too, but don't fight me on this because my son is even pickier. Promise. Here's a good example about his quasi-relationship with vegetables. He considers six peas his vegetable serving for the day. He wipes ...read more
I've road-tripped it across this heart-breakingly beautiful country of ours four times. (Read: I've done my share of camping.) Though I'm less inclined—at least my back is—to sleep on a rocky tent floor these days, outdoor living is still part of my makeup. I've been ogling these ...read more
About a month ago, I was out for dinner at my favorite restaurant in Manhattan—Il Buco on Bond Street. With its Tuscan barn-like aesthetic, it’s as if you’ve stepped into an Italian farmhouse. Chandeliers are made of old metal oil cans, kitchen tools and copper arms. Mismatched ...read more
What does it say about our food practices if farmers are having trouble getting into a farmers market? File this one under outrageous. Last week, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer discussed a new study that detailed the obstacles in farmers gaining access to NYC-based ...read more
While still pregnant, an environmentalist friend of mine announced that she was going to skip diapers altogether and go straight to communicating with her baby about going to the bathroom on the toilet. Say, wha? I have two children. Diapers were changed at least six to eight ...read more