Natural Parenting News

Fall 2012

Now that the kids are back in school and fall is upon us, here are some tips for parents, soon-to-be parents and want-to-be parents!

Easy Snack Recipes for Everyone

Now that the kids are back in school, here are some easy snack recipes to make creating after school snacks a snap, even when you are on the run. You likely have plenty of healthy snacks for kids at your fingertips already, you just don't realize it. For those of you that have toddlers, healthy snacks provide opportunities to develop coordination. If you are pregnant or want to get pregnant, these are excellent foods for you to munch on too!

Healthy snack ideas are hard to come by when you are stressed, but the fact is, if you stock your house with healthy foods as described in our Importance of a Healthy Diet and Healthy Eating Guidelines, you likely have plenty of healthy after school snacks in your kitchen or pantry already! Check out our comprehensive list of our Healthy Snacks. Short on time? Here are a few quick snack ideas:

Healthy Snacks – The Short List

• Carrot Sticks
• Celery Sticks
• Fresh Fruit
• Banana
• Dehydrated Fruit (chips, leather & raisons)
• Nuts (walnuts, almonds, peanuts, etc.
• Seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, etc.)
• Yogurt
• Apple Sauce
• A glass of Milk or Kefir
• Cheese
• Hardboiled Eggs

Fall Eating

Now that the weather is turning cooler, it is time to start breaking out your favorite soup and stew recipies. If you have a garden, now is the time to cook up large quantities of soups and stews. Freeze them in meal size portions for easy reheating while you are busy during the holidays! Here are some of our favorite Crock Pot Recipes that can make meal preparation easy at the same time you provide your family nutritious food.

Fall is Cold and Flu Season, Here Are Tips for Staying Healthy

As flu and cold season approaches, many mothers and mother-to-be get concerned about how to avoid getting sick. The most important thing you can do to prevent getting sick is to eat a Nutrient Dense and Organic Diet while at the same time avoiding all processed foods, simple carbohydrates and especially sugar. Did you know that consuming sugar will lower your immune response for several hours after you eat it?

Before you embrace getting a flu vaccine or back to school vaccines this year, do some research about vaccination so that you can be sure that it is the right choice for you and / or your children. This is especially important for pregnant women since vaccines administered to you will go right thru the placenta and expose your baby. Here is a good article to get you started 5 Things to Consider Before Getting Vaccinated. Be sure to read to the end for a great list of recommended reading and references.

Here are some great tips for dealing with a fever. Regardless if it is you or your child, we have been conditioned to fear running a fever. This is a great article about the role that fever plays in you or your child's immune response and includes some great information for what to do. Read about Fever.

Finally, we would love to hear from you! We will be giving away one hour of consulting to the lucky winner of our forum contributor raffle. Do you have something on your mind that you would like to discuss with one of our pregnancy, childbirth or child raising experts? Perhaps you are overwhelmed by work and motherhood and would like to talk to someone who can give you some great tips for getting things back under control! Visit our Forums Page and submit a question, share a story or share your own advice in our Pregnancy, Birth, Breastfeeding or Advice forums. If you choose to submit anonymously, be sure to tell us which forum post you wrote by clicking on "contact us" and submitting your name and contact information so that we can get in touch with you if you win.

Wishing you Natural Health and Wellness!

The Natural-Parenting-Advice.com Team

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