MAMA FROG- Alternative Parenting Blog

I'm pretty good at getting through the cold and flu season without being wiped out. I'm not sure if it's because I'm pregnant or because the weather is so miserable this year, but this week I was really suffering with a yucky cold. Being pregnant there isn't much I can take to treat colds from the pharmacy, so I started to look into foods that could help cure my cold.

If you want to grow vegetables but don't have any ground to grow in, there are still plenty of ways you can grow your own food.  From barrels, to hanging packets, plastic pots and poly sacks we've pretty much tried it all in our attempt to grow a kitchen garden. 

I've taken a giant leap of faith and have started my degree in Psychology. It's quite scary because I've just seen my tutor assessment dates, and I will be due to hand in one assignment a week or so after sissy's due date.

What can I grow this January? After the business of December, January has hit me like a sledgehammer. I'm bored. I need a new project, and what I really want to do is get on top of my allotment and kitchen garden.

Start your day with these delicious dairy and sugar free muffins. Packed full of oats and containing five fruits, it's a  great way to kick start your morning. January blues are best beaten away with healthy eating. These scrummy muffins are dairy and sugar free, plus are packed full of fruit. My dairy free baking habit was kick started after my son was born. He had a milk protein allergy, so I had to kiss dairy good bye in order to keep breastfeeding him. In the run up to my daughter's birth I'm experimenting with some dairy free bakes, to freeze and thaw once she is born, so I can cut dairy out of my diet again.  To make these five fruit brunch muffins: Ingredients to make two dozen muffins One punnet blueberries One punnet raspberries Two Apple's (chopped) Two bananas (mushed) One cup of raisins Two cups of oats One cup of self raising flour One tablespoon cinnamon One tablespoon local honey One table spoon of flax seed Half cup of fruit juice ...

Just a quick post to share our bed time lantern. The bed time lantern is part of our new daily routine, designed to make life with a toddler a little more organised, without turning to sleep training or a structured we do this, at this time routine. The daily rhythm revolves around the simple chores of the day, housework, eating and washing. It's inspired by Waldorf education and Steiners view of child development in the first few years.

It's January which means everyone is on either a health or budget overhaul. There's all sorts of nasty bugs in circulation, so eating healthy at this time of year is particularly important. We all know that veggies are good for us, but did you know that goats cheese is a superfood with lots of health benefits? I didn't until this week, so I picked some up to add extra flavour to our meat free meals. This recipe is particularly frugal as it uses left over potatoes from Sunday roast, but even if you were to make it for scratch you could still put this tasty nutritious meal on the table for less than 60p a portion. A photo posted by Hannah Newman (@hippiemama.inpearls) on Jan 12, 2015 at 2:44am PST

If you use cloth nappies , your already saving the planet and your budget unIt. But if you fancy taking that eco friendly and budget savvy awesomeness a stage further then you can choose to use soap nuts instead of detergent. I've been using cloth for nearly 18 months now, but only made the switch from homemade laundry detergent to soap nuts 4 months ago.

Our house is not the most organised or routine led place. Our lives as pub landlords and parents, mean a schedule is often impossible. We frequently have to change plans at the drop of the hat because of business demands. With a new born this was fine. Babies are so separate from the idea of routines. Ask a new mum what her babies schedule is, and she'll tell you it changes like the wind. So we just pottered on. Going with the flow. But now frogs a toddler, baby number two is on her way, and I've just signed up to do a degree in psychology, things need a little more structure. I made several resolutions this year. One was to read more, so this week I started leafing through this book-

Happy New year everyone. I hope whatever you chose to do to mark the end of 2014, you had a good time. Being publicans my husband had to open til late, so I spent my new year hanging out with Froggy, til he crashed at 8.30, then I just got an early night with a glass of bucks fizz and Mad Men box set. It's a glam life. In the same way that I'm not really one for NyE celebrations, I don't really do new years resolutions either. But this year I thought of six resolutions, that are totally manageable but hopefully will change our lives. My new years #resolutions- #barefoot #greenliving #happy A photo posted by Hannah Newman (@hippiemama.inpearls) on Jan 1, 2015 at 12:00pm PST 1. De-clutter - what I no longer need I will give away. We are very blessed. We aren't rich. We don't own a property or a posh car. But you know what we have enough. Our business keeps a roof over our head. 2014 has been a good year. So what we have in excess we will share.