As the winter holidays quickly approach, many people may experience a mixture of excitement, anxiety, anticipation, and sadness, along with many other emotional states that come and go. Holiday rituals and the changing of the seasons can bring both celebration and introspection. We may enjoy spending time with loved ones, decorating, spiritual practices, or shopping, and we may also be grieving losses, evaluating the year behind us, and planning for changes to come. Hopefully, as we all go through our own unique holiday experiences, we can make self-care a priority.

Tips for Hosting a Stress-Free Thanksgiving Feast

The truth is that I’ve never hosted a Thanksgiving, but I have made an entire meal spread for it. When you’re vegan and gluten-free, the growling tummy that comes along with not grubbing with everyone else at family functions becomes tiresome. So, I went for it. Those murals make it look effortless, but making a cornucopia of food from scratch was quite a handful. Since last year, I’m thankful to have thought of some ways to relieve the stress and pressure of preparing so much food in so little time.

Thanksgiving is a time for celebrating the abundance in our harvest, and in our lives. Most families center the celebration around the meal, but because so many of us have dietary restrictions, offering delicious options for everyone can be a challenge.

Fear not! Behold the sand-scrutinized recipes for good mouth-feel and good flavor, which is something we really want from our treats on a holiday. With these five gluten-free fall treats, you can spend less time fretting over the menu, and more of your holiday being present and joyful both in the preparation, and the celebrating!

There is just something about the great outdoors that makes us feel alive. The fresh air, flowing water, and life everywhere.

There is so much more to Mother Earth’s medicine than just the plants provided. If I were a doctor I would fill out prescriptions for camping trips and outdoor events. Two of the most important things doctors will tell you is to get a lot of fresh air and to drink plenty of water, but that’s simply the beginning of it. The healing goes as deep as a tree’s roots travel and flows much like a steady river.

Many of the organic gardening techniques used today have been adopted from Native Americans. One of the most popular of these is the Three Sisters technique, which is also commonly known as companion planting. This technique was based off an Iroquois legend, which involved a story about corn, beans, and squash. Legend has it that the three vegetables were three inseparable sisters who would only flourish when they were planted alongside each other. This method of planting works well because each of the plants benefits one another.

Vegan Thanksgiving Series: Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms & Pumpkin Pasta Entrees

In the first and second part of this series, I shared my favorite vegan appetizer and side recipes to make up a delicious Thanksgiving meal.

The Karmic Tools Weekly Forecast covers the current planetary transits which affect people in different ways and to various degrees of intensity.  Take notice when it is a Personal planet (Sun / Moon / Mercury / Venus / Mars) interacting with a Social (Jupiter/Saturn) or Collective planet (Uranus / Neptune/Pluto).  And pay extremely close attention when it is a Social planet interacting with a Collective planet because that means something *big* is brewing that will move large groups of people along their evolutionary paths. Tun

As a little girl, I took joy in watching my mother come home from work. One of my greatest accomplishments was getting my first job at 14. It was grueling work, and for whatever reason, I liked that I could help pay some bills, and still have splurge money left to buy clothes and candy. I took pride in the fact that my mom was a provider, and seeing her provide instilled a strong work ethic in me.

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably already planning out your menu for that upcoming traditional Thanksgiving feast. Since unforgivingly dry turkey will not be showing up on my dinner plate, I’m paying close attention to which seasonal fruits and veggies can steal the spotlight on the last Thursday of November. Put those boring old sides on the back burner; turn the tastiest produce November has to offer into unforgettable, out of this world dishes that will surely wow your entire family.

Chia is a species of the sage plant which produces pods filled with tiny seeds. It is a New World plant that has long been used by the Native Peoples of Central America, northern South America and southwestern North America. The term chia is the Aztec word for strength. When soaked in water, it changes into a gelatin-like consistency that was used to make refreshing drinks and porridges. The Aztecs also dried and ground the seeds to make flour for baking breads. They sprouted the seeds for salads and sprinkled them on many dishes and stored the seeds for future use.