The Green Parent
Raising kids with conscience
Blog
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Apr 25 2012
Happiness and lifelines
We are just in the process of putting issue 47 to bed. It’s been an easier lifeline this issue as we’ve been able to work with the energies of the New Moon. This always makes the whole process smoother and less stressful. If only it was possible to schedule the lifeline for every magazine with the New Moon. Actually looking at our schedule for the new two editions, we will be aligned with the dark moon so each magazine should be a breeze!
We’ve chosen a Go Wild theme for our next edition and there’s so much inside to inspire. Articles on wild swimming, camping with teens and foraging for food sit alongside pieces on biodynamic beauty and how to create a baby naming ceremony. Plus one of our readers went meat-free for a month with her family and shares her diaries of the experience. We have lots of simple tasty family meal ideas and a gorgeous craft project too.
As well as heaps of great articles in the mag we’ve put together a packed guide to the summer with our Free Festival Guide. This free pull out guide has loads of green events taking place this year and a chance to win tickets to plenty of them. Jez has put together a new design for the guide this year and it’s really fun and exciting.
We received a review copy of Natalie Fee’s new book; The Everyday Alchemist’ Happiness Handbook and are super proud that this brilliant author writes for The Green Parent magazine. Her book is vibrant and life-enhancing and packed with tools and techniques for readers to bring greater joy into their lives. This would make a great pick me up pressie for when the weather is soggy and grey.
Apart from the good soaking that the garden is receiving, another plus point is that working at a computer is easier when the weather is like this – the rain is pouring down in torrents outside the window and I don’t feel as though I’m missing out so much. So, better plough on…
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Mar 18 2012
Enter our awards
There’s a real buzz around our 2012 beauty awards this week. We are currently gathering thousands of products, which will be sent out to a team of natural beauty testers in the first week of April. To find out how you can get involved read on…
Each item has to meet strict criteria regarding ingredients, manufacturing, packaging etc. In 2011, the Green Parent Natural Beauty Awards were highly respected in the industry because we had strict guidelines and only the cleanest, greenest products received awards. Another plus point cited by industry insiders was the fact that our testing process allowed the small scale cottage industries to do as well as the larger brands.
ENTER YOUR PRODUCTS
If you sell beauty products and would like to enter them into our 2012 awards, you still have time. The lifeline for this is 26th March. If you have not received forms for entry please email info@thegreenparent.co.uk and I’ll get more info sent out to you.JOIN OUR TESTING PANEL
If you are a natural beauty guru and would like to be considered for our panel of testers, you can read more about that here.We’ve had an amazing response to our survey, which is now available on our Facebook page – check it out. Tell us what you think of The Green Parent and you could win a whole array of goodies. We are getting lots of requests for more content relevant to those with older children. So we are currently working on a way to make coverage of older children and teens a more regular and more visible part of the magazine. Many of the articles in the magazine deal with all stages of family life; communication, natural home, wellbeing, learning etc. But we do have a special section for Green Babies every issue, which we feel is really important for our new parent readers. Perhaps we need a special section each issue for older children too. Any suggestions welcome!
GROWING THINGS
This week has seen us making a proper start in the garden. I’m planting by the moon so I have sowed leaf (spinach, oriental greens, lettuce) and fruit (sweetcorn, beans and peas) seeds into pots and insulated with a bit of bubble wrap and created some plastic bag mini greenhouses so the soil stays warm enough for them to germinate. Leaves should be sown when the moon is in a water sign (Scorpio this week), and fruit when the moon is in a fire sign of the zodiac (Sagittarius). There is conflicting advice as to whether seeds should be sown in the next couple of weeks as the moon is ascending through the zodiac signs. Some sources say this is the best time for germination, others recommend not sowing at this time as all the energy is concentrated upwards and you end up with tall, spindly plants. Am undecided which source I trust most at the moment. I think if I am tempted to get some flowers in tomorrow (the moon is in Aquarius, an Air sign until Tuesday morn) I just will. I have some exciting flower seeds saved from last year – cornflowers, aquilegia, calendula, nasturtiums and more.We are also building a herb spiral using some discarded stone from a house re-fit up the road. Perfect timing! It’s in its primitive stages but should be up and running in the next week or so which is exciting.
Happy Mother’s day – hope you’ve enjoyed a day full of love and laughter xx
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Mar 07 2012
New issue arrived
The latest edition of The Green Parent has just landed on my desk – it has a gorgeous fresh cover and plenty of enticing cover lines. Jez and I are really pleased with how it’s come out and want to say a big thank you to everyone involved in our forty sixth issue! This is a our Natural Home special; inside there’s article on going off-grid, clearing clutter and how to make space for learning at home. Other exciting features include Claire Ashbourne on how to heal your children’s teeth, Lisa Hassan Scott on Awareness Parenting and Sally Butcher on jewel-like edible delights from the Middle East. Tasty!
An interesting book also arrived this week – Moontimes by Lucy Pearce takes a look at the menstrual cycle and explores ways in which we can celebrate each part of the process from ovulation through to our blood time. There are some great ideas for tuning into the body and a wealth of heartwarming information that I needed to read on the Crazy Woman time of the month! I particularly enjoyed the section on creating a menarche ceremony, written by Rachel Hertogs. Her story was inspired by many years of planning and co-ordinating these ceremonies at the Sacred Arts Camp, which takes place every spring in Oxfordshire.
Talking of camps, whispers of festival plans have been heard in the office this week. We’re planning our Family Festival Guide, which will be free with issue 47 (out on 11th May) and we’ve enjoyed the first burst of spring-like weather, prompting us to think about plans for the summer. A favourite and annual treat is Sunrise Celebration in Somerset, which this year will be held on the Solstice. Jez and I will have just put an issue to bed as the gates open to this marvellous event so we’ll be there as soon as we can after finishing. I expect the actual Solstice will be spent by the sea in Sussex, getting creative, making fire, night swimming and enjoying the company of friends and family.
Another festival that we’d love to be part of this year is Buddhafield. We had such a magical time last year. There was a real sense of love and heart centre expansion during the festival, which lasted long after we had left the beautiful wooded site near Taunton. I’d like to go back and allow each of us to experience the freedom and joy that we enjoyed last year. I had hoped to teach yoga here but spaces get booked up almost before they become available. Maybe in 2013?
Our enewsletter is going out tomorrow with some juicy content. You’ll be able to read about ways to celebrate Spring Equinox with your family, get some knitting inspiration and explore a month of meat free meals. It’s free to sign up.
Have a great week!
PS: Great pic for this week’s post features the treehouse at Bewilderwood in Norfolk, featured in our Green Holidays on the Coast article in the current edition.
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Feb 03 2012
Snow Moon
The Full Moon falls on the 7th of February – the Sun in Aquarius and the Moon in Leo. Astrologically, this is a Fire Moon as it falls in the fiery house of Leo, creating a powerful, if volatile energy. Conversely in folklore it is known as the Snow Moon. Read on to find out what energies to focus on at this time.
This full moon is named the snow moon because there is snow upon the ground or it is at its most deepest at this time of the year. Other names include Moon of the Seer, Storm or Quickening Moon. It marks a time when the night of the year is drawing to a close and we are entering the half of the year with greater hours of daylight and warmth. However, just as a storm can flare up just before it ends so too can winter be most fierce just before Spring. We may feel drawn to continue our inner work – working with and uncovering our personal truth. It is said that this full moon brings light to illuminate our own darkness.
I like that analogy although I understand that that means some challenges in acknowledging and accepting the darkness within. I am going to use divination to help illuminate those parts which I might not otherwise be prepared to look at. And to find out which areas I need to focus upon in the coming month. At the moment I am using Wisdom of Avalon cards, which are beautiful and work on many levels, the Druid Plant Oracle, which I love because I feel drawn to plants and for a fluffier and empowering reading, the Goddess Guidance cards. I thought it would be a good time to create my own divination tools so am going to make myself a deck of tree cards over the next month.
I am also going to deepen my practice of really observing the messages that nature offers us. Last week, when driving back from a workshop with a carful of friends we came across an amazing, majestic stag, standing motionless by the side of the road. We stopped the car and everyone became completely silent just watching this beautiful beast. He continued standing there, staring back at us. In Wiccan belief the stag represents grace, gentleness and swiftness. I will never forget the image of him, white against the dark forest behind. And a day or so later when late and rushing to pick up my children from a party, feeling anxious, a white dove flew past and settled on a rooftop nearby, bringing calm and a sense of perspective to the situation. So now I am trying to be alert to further symbolism from the natural world.
This beautiful painting has been created by Carol – here’s her myspace page.
Tell us about what this full moon holds for you. I’d love to hear from you.
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Dec 21 2011
Natural Nutrition
I am fascinated by nutrition and as well as having a seasonal appointment with a NatNut trained nutritionist, I also like to read anything I can get my hands on, attend lectures and experiment with different ideas in the kitchen.
The most enduring for me is the work of Barbara Wren, who I had the pleasure of meeting this spring, whilst on a retreat with the inspirational Kirsten Chick and Hayley North.
I discovered Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon a few years ago and unearthed a whole new way of thinking about food. It is a very traditional approach based in part on research done by Weston Price at the beginning of last century. He was a dentist who travelled the world in the 1930s and observed peoples untouched by civilisation, living solely on local foodstuffs. Most of these tribespeople ate seafood and animal proteins, including organ meats. They saw animal fat as vital to good health. Everything that they ate was in it’s natural unrefined state. The one thing that was noticeable about these groups was that they were free from degenerative disease, dental decay and mental illness.
Sally Fallon started the Weston Price Foundation in 1999 in the United States and wrote Nourishing Traditions (a recipe book literally packed with recipes for traditional foods) to bring his work to a wider audience. I use the recipes from this book regularly, although we’ve yet to cross over to the meat eating side (we enjoy raw dairy and eggs from our chickens instead). I really like her ideas for providing nutritious food for your family on a budget.
- DON’T BUY BOXED COLD BREAKFAST CEREALS, even those made of whole grains. They are very expensive, poor in nutrients and difficult to digest. A serving of the best quality oatmeal costs half the amount of the average boxed breakfast cereal and is infinitely more nutritious. For optimum nourishment, you need to think ahead and soak your oatmeal overnight.
- MAKE YOUR OWN SALAD DRESSING. You can make your own dressing using the finest ingredients for about the same cost as the average bottled dressings, most of which contain rancid vegetable oils, trans fatty acids and numerous additives. With practice, it takes no more than a minute to produce a delicious dressing for your salad.
- ALWAYS BUY BUTTER. Margarine may cost less but it is a false economy, one that leads to numerous impoverishing diseases. If the cost of butter is prohibitive, use lard.
- MAKE STOCK AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK.
- IT’S BETTER TO PUT YOUR MONEY INTO WHOLE FOODS THAN VITAMINS. However, most benefit from a daily teaspoonful of cod liver oil. Lacto fermented beet kvass contains a large array of nutrients in easily assimilated form.
- GOOD QUALITY DAIRY PRODUCTS ARE WORTH THE PRICE.
- THE LESS EXPENSIVE VEG INCLUDE SOME OF THE MOST NOURISHING. Potatoes, cabbage, carrots, courgette, onions, broccoli, chard, beets and kale are all easy to prepare. Always prepare or serve veg with butter for best assimilation of the minerals they contain.
- DON’T FORGET EGGS AS A LOW COST PROTEIN. It pays to buy the best quality.
- MAKE SOUPS PART OF YOUR REPERTOIRE. Blended soups can be put together in very little time and are very nourishing.
- MAKE KOMBUCHA! The taste is better than the most expensive soft drink, beer or wine.
TRY NOT TO OVERECONOMISE ON FOOD. Instead cut out all the junk food, prepared cookies and cakes, soft drinks, frozen foods, fast foods etc. – and use the savings to buy good quality whole foods. Above all use good quality fats – they keep you healthy during times of stress.
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Welcome to the new blog from the Green Parent office. Here we'll talk about what's going on in the small and quite leafy headquarters of the UK's leading green lifestyle magazine. We'll share news that interests us and talk about green issues and natural parenting. We'll share advice and information from our own experiences of living a green lifestyle. And we'll even tell you what we are reading, eating, drinking and thinking. Hope you get plenty of food for thought here.
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The Green Parent is the UK's leading green lifestyle and natural parenting magazine. A truly inspiring read, TGP is like nothing else on the newsstand, with insightful intelligent journalism covering topics from babywearing and attachment parenting to home-education and alternative medicine. Each issue features regular columns on Organic Gardening, Seasonal Food and Drink, Green Travel, Ethical Fashion and lots more.