15+ Eco-Friendly Bathroom Cleaning Ideas

Eco-friendly bathroom cleaning starts with the sink.

Cleaning the bathroom isn’t always the easiest or most fun chore, but eco-friendly bathroom cleaning takes a lot of the hard work and ick factor out of it. In my last post, I introduced cleaning green with vinegar, baking soda, and kombucha vinegar. If you haven’t already, you should check it out to learn about how these ingredients […]

Kernal Peanuts: Tasty, Healthy Snacks Grown Locally

Bowl of Kernal Peanuts (shelled, unsalted)

Finding local nuts isn’t something we generally think of doing in Ontario — and we’re right not to try too hard. But the peanut isn’t a nut, though it’s eaten just like one. It’s a legume — the kind we can get as close by as Norfolk County near the shores of Lake Erie, from Kernal Peanuts. We’ve […]

Certified Organic Beauty From The Green Beaver Company: Personal Care Made Safe

Green Beaver toothpaste (green apple and frosty mint flavours)

Some time ago, I wrote about Plain Jane Soap, the Azilda-based company that hand makes most of the beauty products I like to use. Afterwards, I was asked about certain items which hadn’t made the list at all, especially those I use in liquid form. Admittedly, I prefer to use solid products whenever possible for water conservation reasons, […]

Keeping Honey Bees At Creekbend Farm

Bee carrying pollen in the center amid other bees.

The beekeepers of Creekbend Farm are perhaps better-known for their maple syrup operation, Sucrerie Séguin SugarBush, but they’re just as passionate for and knowledgeable about their bee colonies. Dan and Tracy Séguin partner with Michel and Louise Demers to manage the sugar bush, but they operate the bee business on their own. While the sugar bush has been […]

Farming in the North: The Poultry Problem

Farming in the north is more challenging, so sign on to the We Want Northern Chicken campaign to ask for fairer marketing board rules!

In the French River area as in the rest of Northern Ontario, chicken farmers (and their egg and dairy counterparts) are faced with challenges unknown to Southern neighbours, but yet must play the same game. The rule makers are concerned with profits, not food security. And so, farming in the north is more difficult than many people may […]

Kombucha Tea 201: Tips and Tools

Glass of kombucha tea wrapped in a red, white, and green striped holiday bow.

I’m not much of one to equate the New Year with new beginnings, bummed as I get by snow and darkness, which is maybe the reason why half-hearted resolutions never work for me. This year, though, I feel like looking forward to the future’s opportunities is somehow more meaningful. Perhaps having entered the Age of Aquarius has already […]

Boreal Forest Teas: Sip Happy, Sip Healthy

Northern Lights tea beside by an elegant tea setting.

When you close your eyes and picture yourself taking a deep breath over a steaming cup of tea, you imagine a relaxing moment, whether the setting you conjure involves sitting at a window side on a rainy spring day, reading by a lakeside early on a bright summer morning, strolling through colourful countryside on a crisp autumn afternoon, […]

Kombucha 101: Benefits and Preparation

A fermented SCOBY is what gives kombucha tea its nutritional benefits.

I got my first kombucha culture from my uncle. A good many of my relatives have always made the most of nature’s bounty, especially easy around here since we all spend so much time out in the bush. My uncle ordered the kombucha online, though. His kombucha culture had a baby, which he gave to me once mature. […]