BACKYARD GARDENING
WITHOUT THE BACKACHE
How to Make Healthy Homemade Granola (Recipe)
There’s something about the smell of warm granola cooking in the oven, earthy and sweet, that means home to me. When I was a kid I would smell it from up in my room, and I could just picture my mom mixing it up, spreading it on baking sheets, and tending the oven to pull it out at just the right time. She even made sure to leave a few big chunks for me not broken up, just how I liked it. I’m lucky in that we were never without fresh granola - as soon as my mom noticed the jar getting low, she would quickly pop another batch in the oven to fill up the jar all over again.
How to Save Sunflower Seeds
If you’re wondering if sunflower seeds are good for you, here’s what you need to know: a quarter cup of shelled sunflower seeds has almost 6 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber, and the seeds are packed with nutrition, providing a variety of vitamins, iron, copper, calcium, selenium, zinc, potassium, and manganese. Sunflower seeds are helpful to our bodies in many ways, from decreasing risk of heart disease to boosting our immune systems.
Health benefits of sunflower seeds include:
Benefits of Lavender and How to Grow Your Own
Lavender is beautiful, but that’s only one of its many benefits. Its soothing scent makes it a much-loved ingredient in soaps, sachets, lotions, eye pillows, and shampoos.
The aroma itself comes from oil in the small flowers, which grow together on long stems above the silver-green foliage. Lavender essential oil has been studied for a variety of potential medicinal uses, including preventing hair loss and reducing agitation in people with dementia. Its antiviral and antibacterial uses are also being studied.
Slow Living in the Garden with Chronic Illness
In August, the garden becomes a jungle dense with life, the most self-sufficient it will be as established plants require less and less of my daily attention.
I do not take for granted that the systems I labored to put in place all year long have finally paid off, the dividends materializing in the form of bell peppers, beans, squash, broccoli, chard and more. But I still like to think I am needed in this season, if only to fend off errant pests and the occasional drought. Feeling needed in the garden is one of the most fulfilling pieces of working with the land.
Sustainable Swaps For Your Home
Sustainable swaps can be a fun way to incorporate more eco-friendly practices into your slow living journey. Just a couple of important notes:
First of all, it is better to use up what you already have even if it is a disposable product before making your swap.
And second, many ‘effortless’ swaps are not effortless unless you come from a place of privilege. There are many who cannot make these swaps due to lack of resources or varying health conditions. So, while these changes can be a fun way to feel more connected to the earth and our environment, real change happens on a global and national level with our leadership. We must enact policies that protect our planet and regulate the huge corporations that are currently leaving us, the consumers, to clean up the pieces of their dirty work.
That said, here are some ideas for what you can swap out to save money and, at least slightly, limit your personal impact on the planet.
How to Grow, Care for and Arrange Hydrangea Flowers
I’ve been somewhat frantically snipping blooms for the kitchen, because the shift of seasons is in the air and I’m determined to make the most of every summer moment before it’s too late.
Slow living is all about letting go of worries about the future and living in the moment so we can fully enjoy the present. When I smell fall in the air and feel a moment of panic that a long, cold winter is on its way, that’s my cue to take a deep breath and make an effort to notice and enjoy what’s happening around me. One of the first places I’m likely to turn in order to reground myself is my garden.