these blog pages contain affiliate links which may earn Green and Prosperous a small commission if you click or purchase products using them. You can find our privacy statement here.

Want to keep up to date on our latest blog posts or easily access our blog archives? Subscribe to the RSS feed by clicking the icon to the right.

Want to access our library of free resources? Check out some of our offerings and sign up by clicking the button below.

June 08, 2020

CBD Oil for Managing ADHD: Does It Work?

June 08, 2020/ Kelly Pemberton

Guest post by Jessica Smith

What is CBD?

Cannabidiol (CBD) needs no introduction. However, for the uninitiated, CBD is one of more than 120 extracts of the cannabis plant, which medical experts recommend for the treatment of various diseases.

Cannabis is a plant genus that produces several variants, including hemp and marijuana. Cannabidiol can be extracted from either of these variants. However, the substance is mostly derived from hemp because hemp-derived CBD contains insignificant traces of the psychoactive cannabis compound – tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

June 02, 2020

These Air Purifying Plants Can Improve Your Mental and Physical Health

June 02, 2020/ Kelly Pemberton

Guest post by Mona Freund

It’s no secret that spending time outside is good for us. Studies show that only two hours per week spent in nature can be beneficial to our health. It doesn’t really matter whether you get this outside time while hiking, gardening or simply sitting in your backyard. If you’re not fortunate enough to own a backyard, you can still bring a touch of green and fresh air into your life by adding plants to your interior decor. Plants increase our ability to focus, boost our happiness and reduce our stress level, which makes them the perfect addition to any inside space.

April 03, 2020

Stir-fried cabbage and bok choy

April 03, 2020/ Kelly Pemberton

Many of us have been doing a lot more cooking now that we’re observing some level of lockdown and social isolation. Whether you’re working from home, out of work, currently on furlough, or newly retired, you may have found yourself eating home-cooked food more often than usual. Although I cook on a regular basis, having to cook 3 times a day most days has been wearing on me (as I’m sure it has for many of you who are now cooking more than usual!) For that reason, I’ll be publishing a series of blog posts every Friday this month that focus on making quick, healthy dishes that even mediocre, reluctant, or bored-with-the-usual cooks can easily create. Looking for something new to add to your repertoire? Then keep reading!

March 18, 2020

The Best CBD Oil For Diabetes: Our Top 5 Picks

March 18, 2020/ Kelly Pemberton

Guest post by Derek Edison

Are you living with diabetes? Do you wonder if CBD oil can help you with it? Well, if the answer to either of these questions is yes, you are in the right place. With the recent legalization and increasing popularity of CBD, it has become a household name. While people have been using cannabis and its byproducts for recreational use, it is now making waves in the wellness industry due to its therapeutic properties. Amid the never-ending list of diseases that CBD may help people with, diabetes is the latest addition. If you are wondering how and which CBD oil you can use for diabetes, read on and find out.

March 03, 2020

Why you should be drinking hibiscus water

March 03, 2020/ Kelly Pemberton

You might recognize the large, colorful red, yellow, white, or peach flowers of the hibiscus plant, especially if you live in one of the tropical, sub-tropical, or temperate climates in which it grows. In the Caribbean, hibiscus is used to make sorrel, a sweet drink that is made from the dried boiled leaves of the hibiscus sabdariffa species, flavored with spices like cinnamon and ginger, and frequently consumed around the Christmas holiday season. Did you know that aside from adding a rich and vibrant display to your garden that attracts beneficial pollinators, or providing a delicious beverage for the holiday season, hibiscus has several different medicinal uses? The flowers and leaves of this plant have been used for millennia for culinary purposes, and to make teas and liquids that can remedy a number of medical conditions, including high blood pressure, upset stomach, and bacterial infections.

April 14, 2019

Yogurt Bread

April 14, 2019/ Kelly Pemberton

In my last year of college, one of my housemates and best friends was a guy who knew how to make the best potato breads I’ve ever tasted. That was my introduction to bread making, and I’ve loved it ever since. Making bread at home is a pretty basic DIY skill that anyone can master with a little practice, and basic bread requires few ingredients – flour, water, sugar, salt, and yeast. Check the store brands you buy – most have added ingredients, and if you see a lot more ingredients in that list than the ones I’ve named above, then you know the bread is over-processed, full of preservatives, and possibly contains chemical substances – like phosphates -- that have been linked in clinical studies with intestinal inflammation, kidney disease, osteoporosis, and heart problems when they are eaten on a regular basis. Store-bought breads are also not cheap, and a single artisan loaf or “healthy” brand can cost $5 or more.

So learning to make bread at home can not only save you money, it can also help you avoid some of the health problems that come with regularly eating processed foods.

March 27, 2019

Set for Your Spring Clean? These 50 Marie Kondo Quotes Will Help Motivate You

March 27, 2019/ Kelly Pemberton

Guest post by Natalie Atterbury

Have you KonMari’d any of your home or belongings yet? By now, you may have heard about Marie Kondo and her famous decluttering and tidying methods. Whether you’ve heard of her from her “Magic of Tidying Up” book, her very own (and very addictive) series on Netflix, or maybe you really haven’t ever heard of her before, this is one woman on a mission to make a difference with tidying and to change people’s perspective on clutter. Marie Kondo is an organising consultant and her “KonMari” method is to simplify and organise the home – just a quick warning though, her idea of clutter is probably far from your own idea of clutter.

March 17, 2019

Turkish lentil soup

March 17, 2019/ Kelly Pemberton

This fast, easy, and healthy recipe for kırmızı mercimek çorba, or (Turkish) red lentil soup, is one of my family’s favorite. My 8-year old requests it every week. It’s one of several ways that this soup can be made: you can omit the carrots and Hungarian paprika if you prefer, or take more time and strain the soup through a sieve if you like, creating a thinner consistency (which is the way you will usually find it being made in Turkey). You can also add more water to make it less thick and hearty.

March 11, 2019

Why You Should Avoid Taking Antibiotics Whenever Possible

March 11, 2019/ Kelly Pemberton

Ok, at least here in the US, we’re nearing the end of cold and flu season (or so I thought!), yet there are still plenty of people around me getting sick. Several of my students had emailed in sick these past 2 weeks, and others came in to class anyway, even though they clearly should have stayed at home in bed!

So I thought it was time to write a post about not resorting to antibiotics to cure yourself from many of the sicknesses that will resolve on their own, or that can be cured by other means.

Let me say one thing from the start, though. This is NOT an anti-vac post or anything like that. Even though we do not take the flu vaccine in my household (and never get sick, even when we are exposed to the flu), we have all our required shots. Whether or not you take antibiotics is ultimately up to you, and there are definitely times when you absolutely should take them. The problem with antibiotics is that many people take them when they should not, and that is ultimately what this post is about: why you should avoid the unnecessary use of antibiotics.

Here are 4 reasons to avoid antibiotics when they are not absolutely necessary:

February 17, 2019

creamy potato-sweet potato soup (recipe)

February 17, 2019/ Kelly Pemberton

(vegan option)

This is a thick, rich, and creamy soup that is perfect for the cold season. Even better, it is quick and easy to make – 45 minutes from start to finish! It has a number of different variations you can try to suit your particular tastes, variations that range from the sweetness to the thickness to spices used in this soup. You can even choose to make it vegan by skipping the last part, that adds a dollop of plain yogurt to the finished soup.

January 22, 2019

Jeff's Luscious Red Pepper Sauce

January 22, 2019/ Kelly Pemberton

This was a recipe invented by my ex-husband Jeff, who besides being a gifted gardener and landscaper who could revive even the saddest-looking plants, is also a great cook. This recipe is fast and easy to make, and the sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in in the freezer for up to 3 weeks.

January 13, 2019

Staying Healthy at Work: An Actionable Guide

January 13, 2019/ Kelly Pemberton

Guest post by Brenda Snow

You spend a significant part of your life behind a desk. Desk jobs can be a blessing and a curse.

On the one hand, it’s nice to not be a roofer working on top of a skyscraper in the middle of a hot and humid summer or freezing cold winter. On the other hand, being tied to a chair is not without hazards, either. In fact, sitting in a chair for hours at a time, let alone all day, without getting up to move, can cause a number of health problems, both acute and chronic.

January 05, 2019

Paprika chicken wings (recipe)

January 05, 2019/ Kelly Pemberton

This is one of my favorite go-to recipes for a quick and healthy dinner. It doesn’t require any marinating beforehand (although you can do that if you like for richer flavor), and with a few simple ingredients you can have it on the table in under an hour! It’s a favorite with my kids, too, and we rarely have leftovers!

The real secret to the rich taste, though, is good-quality Hungarian paprika. Hungarian paprika is one of several kinds of paprika (including sweet, smoked, and Spanish pimentón) used in cooking. It has a complex flavor (with at least 8 varieties) and ranges from mild (flavor) and bright red (color) to spicy and pungent with a pale orange color.

September 05, 2018

Back-to-school healthy eating: starting out right, staying the course

September 05, 2018/ Kelly Pemberton

With the beginning of another school year comes the inevitable question for every parent whose child has dietary restrictions, or whose kid’s school doesn’t have a cafeteria: what should I pack for lunch? In the first weeks of school this may not be much of an issue: you try the old standbys, only to eventually become bored with them. Maybe this year you want to make more of an effort to pack healthy (healthier) lunches. Maybe you are weaning your kids off packaged processed convenience foods that you know are not healthy for them.

August 10, 2018

Sick Building Syndrome: a hidden cause of stress at your workplace?

August 10, 2018/ Kelly Pemberton

Guest post by Toby Dean

A workplace involves a myriad of stressors, and each individual in the same office environment copes with the same stress differently. Apart from stress coming from human beings and situations, there could be unexplained health issues at the workplace that could be creating a problem in your life. This is especially likely if you have shifted to a new office building, have been transferred to a different place, or changed your job. If you have experienced sudden shortness of breath, chest pain, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, runny nose or blocked sinuses, itchy eyes and skin, etc. as soon as you enter your office building, and if these symptoms subside on their own when you step out of the building, then you are suffering from Sick Building Syndrome.