Welcome back! I apologize that your August freebie is a bit late this month, as we returned a bit later than expected from our annual Tennessee trip last weekend. (It has been quite a busy summer, to say the least!)

However, I've got a fun little video class to share with you this month, and if you've ever been curious about the health benefits of mushrooms, you'll definitely want to tune in!

Did you know that humans have been using mushrooms for thousands of years for their health-promoting and medicinal properties?

In fact, there are thousands of edible mushroom species in the world - and approximately 250+ of them so far have been identified as having healing properties.

East Asian traditions and Indigenous cultures have always embraced mushrooms to treat all manner of ailments — and now Westerners as well are beginning to recognize their nutritional and medicinal superpowers for the body, mind, and even the spirit.

Dr. Christopher Hobbs, internationally renowned author, herbalist, botanist, mycologist, research scientist, and faculty at the University of Massachusetts, believes that "by incorporating mushrooms into our diets — fresh, cooked, or as dried adaptogens — we can help prevent and transform a myriad of debilitating issues."

And on this Wednesday, August 11, Professor Hobbs will share some scientifically supported benefits of making mushrooms a part of your daily regimen. He’ll tell you the ways that this fungi can strengthen and fine-tune your immune system to help stave off cancer, prevent heart disease, keep bones healthy, improve digestion, aid cognitive function, and much more.

Register here for Mushrooms as Medicine: Discover the Science-Based, Practical Benefits Mushrooms Add to Your Diet, Healing Regimen & Spiritual Evolution - or learn more below...

Today's guest post addresses a common "health food" that has become mainstream over the past decade or so.

While billions of dollars in advertising by the soy industry would have you believe that soy products such as soy milk, soy protein, soybean oil, and other processed soy foods are "healthy" for you, in fact the evidence shows something quite different.

The truth is that processed soy has a number of potential negative health effects on the body, and in the form in which soy is sold - at least here in the U.S. - it is typically NOT a health food at all.

This isn't to say that all soy is bad. In fact, in small amounts, certain types of soy foods may be quite beneficial for your health. But as with many other types of food, the manner in which soy is grown and processed has a lot to do with whether it should be considered a health food, or just the opposite.

The guest post below explains the real truth about soy.

I'm back, and I apologize for the delay in getting your July freebie posted! I had intended to post last weekend, but we arrived home from vacation much later than expected, so I wasn't able to get to it...

We had a lovely trip to Minnesota and it was wonderful to see and spend time with the family! We experienced many different types of weather, including heat and humidity, chilly blanket nights, a perfect day on the lake, and a fun day trip to Duluth and our favorite malt shop. We also ate way too much amazing food, as my Minnesota family are wonderful cooks and also enjoy growing lots of their own food. (It was amazing to see that their gardens are almost as advanced as ours here in Ohio, despite not being able to get them in until June!)

Unfortunately, I returned to find the scourge of gardeners everywhere (deer!) had gotten into my garden for the first time ever, and chowed down on my beans, tomatoes, and beet greens. :-(  Now that they have discovered the bounty within the fence, they have been visiting regularly, and the battle to save my precious garden begins... Scattering a bag of dog hair (which usually protects my raspberries and tulips in the spring) did not seem to help, so now I'm trying Liquid Fence, and plotting how to improve the actual fence for a more permanent solution.

It has been such a rough garden season so far (we also got nearly 6 MORE inches of rain while we were gone, plus 2" more since we've been back - for a total of 15" in the past 3 weeks), having to deal with the deer issue on top of everything else is very discouraging. :-(

Speaking of gardening, since we're in the heart of garden season, this month's freebie is all about growing your own amazingly nutritious "superfoods"!  Learn more and download your copy of this awesome resource below...

This week, I've got an interesting recipe for you...

With the plethora of eggs we've had this summer, my husband and I have been interested in all ways of cooking, eating, and preserving them. The molt is coming and we know they'll be slowing down soon, so finding ways to preserve some of them for the less plentiful months is top-of-mind right now.

There are a number of ways to cure and preserve eggs - from pickling, to freezing, and more, but one of the more interesting methods, in my opinion, is salt-curing. Salt-cured egg yolks are purported to be reminiscent of Parmesan or other hard cheeses, and may be used in a similar manner.

While we have not yet tried this method just yet, we are planning on making some soon, and since this recipe was tried by America's Test Kitchen, I figured it's hard to go wrong! :-)

Gut health has become front and center in the health community in recent years. For so long, we simply thought of the gut as our digestive system, but science is now finding that it is SO much more...

In fact gut health is linked to just about every other aspect of our health - from our immune system, to our brain and mental health, and even our oral health!

Gut issues have been implicated in everything from heart problems, to auto-immune diseases, to periodontal disease, and even addiction, depression, and other mental health disorders. With all of these implications, doesn't it make sense that we should do everything we can to improve our gut health?

Yet despite the attention that the gut (and it's accompanying microorganisms) has received recently, few people truly understand how to actually improve their overall gut health and support the all-important microbiome.

In this episode of The Doctor's Farmacy, Dr. Mark Hyman interviews Dr. Emeran Mayer, author of The Gut-Immune Connection and The Mind-Gut Connection, and founding director of the UCLA Brain Gut Microbiome Center, about how to nurture the microbiome to support your gut and overall health, and fight the modern epidemic of chronic disease.

It was a hot, summery weekend on the homestead, and the tomatoes are finally starting to grow! I got the last of the summer seeds in (green beans and corn), and started putting out the tomato cages (hampered all the while by our overly-friendly adopted "barn cat," who I'm beginning to suspect was never remotely "feral"...)

We also had a great time chatting with our local chicken suppliers - there's something so wonderful about personally knowing the people who raise your food; it's kind of hard to describe until you experience it! We brought home some delicious pasture-raised chicken, and a large pork roast to share for our upcoming trip to Minnesota.

And, I got to spend at least a few minutes out in the hammock, so I guess this weekend was pretty much perfect, even though it was only 2 days long this time. :-)

Anyway, this month's freebie is a pretty cool one, although the event is partway over, so be sure you go check it out while it's still going on! (If you miss it, they will be replaying all the episodes over this coming weekend, so go get registered now.) It's all about scientifically proven health alternatives and healing breakthroughs that you won't hear about in the mainstream media...

While the "official" start of summer is still a few weeks off, for me, Memorial Day weekend always seems like the real start of the summer season.

Typically, I celebrate by planting tender crops like corn, beans, melons, squash, and okra. But this year, an unexpected cold front put the brakes on those plans, so I probably won't get those seeds in the ground for another few days. In the meantime, I was able to plant some flowers, work on the big flower bed project, and do some mulching, so there was still plenty to do! :-)

We also spent some time introducing our new kitty (Charles, AKA Kitty Chuck) to the outside world, in hopes that he will start controlling our over-abundant population of chipmunks and voles. (He has spent the past week getting acclimated to the garage, where he has thoroughly explored every nook and cranny.)

Fortunately, Monday should be warmer, so we plan to celebrate the start of summer with a cookout. Other than a green salad, there won't be much from our garden just yet, but I did want to share this delicious-looking recipe with you. It's packed with healthy antioxidants like lutein, lycopene, and beta carotene, and also high in vitamins A, C, and folate, and has an interesting variety of flavors and textures to provide a unique experience for your palate.

While tomatoes are still a while off here in Ohio, for those of you who live in warmer climates and are lucky enough to have ripe tomatoes, this looks like a delicious summer treat! In the meantime, I'll bookmark it for August... :-)

There has been a lot of debate out there in recent years about vaccines, and the COVID-19 vaccine only added fuel to the fire. How safe are vaccines, really? Are they worth getting? Do the long-term benefits outweigh the risks?

While I can't answer these questions for you, I can tell you why I chose to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

First of all, I want to make it clear that I do feel getting vaccinated should be a personal choice. If you choose not to get the vaccine, I'm not judging you! I do think that we aren't always told about all the side effects that may occur from vaccines, and as I have discussed in a previous post, there are plenty of people who would say that they can be much more dangerous than the mainstream medical establishment would have you believe. However, vaccines have also provided untold benefits to human society, and we almost certainly would not be as successful and long-lived as a species without them.

All this to say, I am not an "anti-vaxxer," but I would describe myself as a "responsible vaxxer." (I do think it is completely irresponsible to give a baby with a developing brain of a few months old a cocktail of multiple drugs designed to protect against diseases they likely won't be exposed to for many years, if ever, but that's a discussion for another day.)

As a natural health blogger, a number of people have asked me my thoughts about the COVID vaccine, and while I was initially on the fence, here's why I ultimately decided to get vaccinated.

Welcome to May - my favorite month of the year! (And not just because of my birthday.) :-)

This time of year is so beautiful, with everything green and growing and blooming! Usually it's not too hot, and bugs aren't too bad yet, and although it is the beginning of the busiest time of year for me, it's enjoyable work like planting and mulching and watching things grow.

I even put the hammock out this weekend - a bit earlier than usual, but since we were enjoying an 80-degree afternoon, it seemed fitting. :-)

Anyway, on to this month's freebie! I'm pretty excited to share this with you, as Marjorie is one of the homesteaders I respect the most. She has such a fun-loving personality, and she's always sharing new and interesting ideas about health, gardening, homesteading, and more. She has a new book coming out this year on all of these topics, and to celebrate and promote her book launch, she's hosting a 3-day online event on sustainable living, medicine making, growing your own food, and more! Check it out below to learn more and register to attend for FREE.

Are you washing your hair too much?

It may seem like a weird question, but surveys show that Americans wash their tresses an average of 4.59 times per week. Most hairstylists and dermatologists agree that this is way too much. Kind of like with clothing, washing your hair creates wear and tear that can damage your hair over time, leaving it limp, dry, oily, and unhealthy.

Most experts agree that for most people, you should wash your hair no more than 3 times per week. This gives your hair and scalp time to rebalance and recover from the stresses of washing.

However, this doesn't mean you have to walk around with dirty hair half the time! In fact, part of the problem is probably the commercial shampoo you are using. Most commercial shampoos contain harsh detergents that strip your hair of its natural oils and disrupt its pH balance. This leads to over-production of scalp oils, which, in turn, leaves your hair feeling greasy and limp in between washes.

It's a vicious cycle, and in order to break it, your hair may need to go through a little "detox" period after going off commercial shampoos. But if you can power through, and choose healthier shampoo alternatives for washing your hair, you will soon discover you have the naturally shiny, bouncy, and vibrant hair that those shampoo commercials have been promising all along!