Having a job you hate is not fun. Furthermore, it can bear significant risks to your health. Here are five benefits to working in a field you really love.

5) You’re Happier – When you’re in a job you care about, you tend to be happier and more productive. Regularly performing drudging, mundane work can actually cause depression, which then potentially leads to problems like obesity, anxiety, and even diabetes.

Before electricity, the fireplace or wood stove was the heart of every home. For those of us that live off of the grid, we know that fire is life, just as it was back then. Fire is everything: it provides heat for warmth and cooking and provides light at night.

Everything about fire serves a purpose in one way or another:

“Do not set your eyes on things far off.” – Pythian Odes

Several people lately have asked me some iteration of “What are the gifts where you are?” so I’ve been spending some time reflecting on this question

Sometimes, when people dabble in gardening, they get frustrated all too quickly and quit altogether. If your garden is not looking quite as nicely as you’d like it to, or you’ve come across a problem you can’t seem to fix, don’t convince yourself that you haven’t been blessed with a green thumb just yet. Before you seek out a plethora of gardening chemicals, take a look around your house first.

As a person who loves to play outside for extended periods of time, I’ve found it can be discouraging and difficult to do so with dietary restrictions. As a person with multiple allergies, as well as a low FODMAP follower, finding the right food with enough calories to sustain and last throughout my adventures can be a challenge. However, I’ve found that with a little planning, it can become easier than you might think. I’ve listed a few of my favorite tips below.

Getting a healthy breakfast in every morning is important. It gives you that energy you need to jumpstart your day. Unfortunately, sometimes people have a tendency to skip eating breakfast because they may not have the time to make it. The good news is that if you don’t have the time to make breakfast, you can pre-make it! Here is a simple, delicious and healthy breakfast bar recipe for your hustle-n-bustle mornings.

Ingredients (serves about 10 bars):

Tinctures are a wonderful addition to the household medicine cabinet. A tincture is a concentrated liquid herbal extract.  Tinctures are really easy to make and highly effective. They are made using consumable alcohol and medicinal plants, herbs, roots, berries, or bark. For those of you who do not use alcohol, a similar product can be made using apple cider vinegar, vegetable glycerin, honey, or white vinegar.

Do you want a healthy, environmental friendly, organic way to condition the soil for your home garden? In order to grow anything organic successfully, the soil needs to contain an adequate amount of nutrients and minerals. Essentially, the soil needs to be broken down into organic matter known as compost. With time, you can create your own compost by making a compost pile. For those who would like to know how, here are seven basic steps for creating a compost pile.

Basic Tools:

As the sun sits high in the sky and beats down profusely, the thought might cross through tired summer minds of reaping cool relief for all ages with ingredients that are simply lying around the garden and in the kitchen fruit bowl. With just a few limes, a handful of mint and some sweetener, the most delicious summer mint-lime cooler can be produced in just a few minutes, and is sure to please the whole crew.

Ingredients (for one pitcher full):

Juice of 6-7 limes

Mornings aren’t for everyone, and for some, getting out of bed requires immediate caffeine consumption! However, how you begin the day plays a very important role in how you feel and how you tackle the rest of the day, so hold off on that first cup until you’ve warmed up the body! Ayurvedic philosophy emphasizes the importance of morning rituals in your overall health and wellbeing, and sticking to a few of these rituals can align and cleanse your body, helping you gain energy and release toxins, balance your doshas and commit to a practice that can have a huge impact on your life.