The Road to Health through Cooking & Gardening

The Road to Health through Cooking & Gardening

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What This Site is About:

Simple Comfort Food

Banana Vanilla Wafer Pudding layered in glass bowl with whipped cream and wafer crumbs on top. — Southern Banana Pudding

Teas & Wellness Tisanes

Green sencha and pomegranate brewed tea — Teas and Tisanes

Grow Your Own Food

Picking a handful of ripe blueberries from a Minnesota blueberry bush. — Growing Guides

Diet & Health Guides

The autho by a stream on a hike in Colorado — Slow Carb & Low Carb

Summertime!

Southern cream biscuits on top of a peach and blueberry cobbler.

Southern Cream Biscuits for Fruit Cobblers

Fruit blend iced tea in glass with metal straw from HeathGlen Farm.

How to Make Big Batch Iced Tea: 4 Methods That Work

Seafood boil with corn and potatoes

Seafood Boil Timing Chart: How Much to Buy, Cook Times, and Party Tips

Skillet blueberry cornmeal cake with piece cut out.

Blueberry Cornmeal Skillet Cake Recipe: Low Sugar

Blueberry Bourbon BBQ sauce in a jar with spoon.

Blueberry Bourbon BBQ Sauce Recipe for Burgers, Pork Chops or Salmon

Strawberry shortcake on a white plate with sides of strawberries and biscuits.

Best Sweet Cream Biscuits for Strawberry Shortcake (No Butter or Buttermilk)

Blueberry lime and yogurt popsicles stacked on top of each other with blueberries sprinkled around.

Blueberry Yogurt Popsicles (Healthy Low Carb Grab-and-Go)

Seafood corn chowder in a large bowl with a side of oyster crackers

Seafood Corn Chowder: Without Shellfish

Tall glass of horchata with cinnamon stick and red pepper garnish and chile. Lime spiced peanuts in background.

9 Refreshing Mexican Drinks for Hot Summer Days (Non-Alcoholic)

Baked or roasted squash blossoms with swiss chard and ricotta

Squash Blossom Recipe: Baked and Stuffed (Not Fried) with Ricotta and Swiss Chard

Classic BLT sandwich with basil mayonnaise and heirloom tomatoes

Classic BLT with Basil Mayonnaise

Watermelon agua fresca in glass with sprig of mint

Watermelon Agua Fresca (Agua de Sandía)

Gardening Guides

After photo of a container vegetable and herb garden in Denver Colorado. Getting set up to have remote drip irrigation system.

How to Water Container Gardens When You’re Away

Italian garden mid-July

How to Start a Vegetable Garden: A Beginner’s Planning Guide

Balcony vegetable garden with dog drinking out of watering can

Mini Vegetables for Balcony Gardens and Small Pots: Best Varieties and Pot Sizes

Example in hand of how wet potting soil should be when starting seeds.

Homemade vs Commercial Potting Soil: (Plus Preventing Damping-Off)

A variety of herbs and edibles growing in different size pots.

Growing Vegetables in Containers: 6 Keys to Success

Italian garden mid-July

Italian Vegetables: What to Grow for Italian Cooking (Including Italian Herbs)

2-year old blueberry plants in pots growing on deck.

Wintering Over Blueberry Plants in Pots

landscaping with blue plants, including blueberry bushes

Blueberry Companion Plants: Best and Worst Companion Plants for Blueberry Bushes

2-year old blueberry plants in pots growing on deck.

Growing Blueberries in Pots: Best Container Size, Varieties and How Long They Live

Tumbling Tom small tomatoes hanging in clusters from a pot.

Hanging Tomato Plants for Baskets and Balconies: Best Varieties and Growing Tips

A balcony garden with a railing full of plants and two large windows behind it.

How to Grow Herbs on a Balcony (or Deck): A Detailed Beginners Guide

Large black grow bag showing bark chip mulch as topping and small seedling.

Reuse Grow Bags for Tomatoes: Cleaning, Storage, and Soil Tips

Teas and Herbal Teas

Brewed Lapsang Souchong looseleaf tea (Builders Brew). A purple teapot with brewed cup on a round of wood with lemon wedges on the side.

Lapsang Souchong and Smoky Teas: A Guide to Drinking, Cooking, and Pairing

Five different homemade drink syrups on a platter. Five fruit flavored drink syrups for tea, coffee, sparking water or cocktails.

Flavored Simple Syrups for Iced Tea

Strawberry mint infused iced tea made with berries and green tea from HeathGlen Organic Farm.

Fruit-Infused Iced Tea: How to Make It with Fresh Summer Fruit

Herbal moka java looseleaf wellness tea from HeathGlen Organic Farm. Brewed in a cup and loose in a spoon. looseleaf from Dorothy Stainbrook's Wellness tea collection

Tea for Liver Support: Gentle Herbs That Help Your Body’s Detox System

Cup of turmeric tea with tea ingredients on the spoon

Teas and Tisanes for Autoimmune Support: Gentle Herbs for Fatigue, Flares, and Immune Balance

Licorice root and spice looseleaf herbal tea from Dorothy Stainbrook's Wellness tea collection

Herbal Tea for Women’s Hormonal Health: What Works for PMS, Perimenopause, and Menopause

Herbs for joint pain: rose hips, nettle, ginger, turmeric and chamomile.

Herbal Teas for Joint Pain: Which Herbs Actually Help and How to Use Them

Iced tea made with looseleaf white tea and hibiscus syrup from HeathGlen in glass with lemon garnish on the deck in summer.

Tea for Skin Health: What Drinking Tea Can (and Can’t) Do for Your Complexion

Green sencha and pomegranate looseleaf wellness tea from Dorothy Stainbrook's Wellness tea collection

Teas for Metabolism: What the Research Actually Shows

Black currant, sage and rosemary brewed tea from Dorothy Stainbrook's Wellness tea collection

Tea for Energy: An Alternative to Coffee

Herbal moka java looseleaf wellness tea from HeathGlen Organic Farm. Brewed in a cup and loose in a spoon. looseleaf from Dorothy Stainbrook's Wellness tea collection

Teas for Digestive Health: What Actually Works for Bloating, Indigestion, and Gut Issues

Cup of rooibos tea on deck at sunrise in Lake Tahoe

Teas and Tisanes for Anxiety: Which Herbs Actually Help and How to Use Them

3 cups of herbal tea from HeathGlen Farm with flowers scattered in front.

Tea for Sleep: Which Herbal Teas Actually Work and How to Use Them

Black currant looseleaf tea in a white heart shaped dish.

Tea Grading: What Does OP and BOP Mean?

Glass jars with dried tea herbs.

How to Store Tea to Keep It Fresh

Fruit and elderberry looseleaf tea blended at HeathGlen Farm for sale at St. Paul Farmers Market.

Microplastics in Tea Bags: What the Research Shows and Why Loose Leaf Is Safer

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