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Go Forth and Forage: A Must-Have Guide for Mushroom Foraging

March 8, 2025 0

Spring is elusive here in the Appalachian forest. I’m excited for spring adventures being in full bloom! Living in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, I love exploring the woods. Still, this year, I have a new guide in hand to take my mushroom foraging skills to the next level—Go Forth and Forage: A Guide to Foraging Over 50 of the Most Common Edible & Medicinal North American Mushrooms by Whitney Johnson (a.k.a. the Appalachian Forager).

Foraging for wild foods has seen a huge rise in popularity over the past few years, and for good reason! There’s something incredibly rewarding about finding, harvesting, and preparing food straight from nature. Mushrooms, in particular, are fascinating—nutritious, delicious, and abundant in the right seasons. But for beginners and experienced foragers alike, the challenge has always been how to confidently and safely identify the right species. That’s where this book comes in.

A Personal Foraging First in the Rockies

The first time I ever went mushroom foraging, I was living in Colorado. A Russian friend took us deep into the Rocky Mountains and introduced us to the world of wild mushrooms, teaching us how to identify which ones were safe to eat and which to leave untouched. It was an unforgettable experience—wandering through alpine meadows and dense pine forests, filling our baskets with chanterelles and boletes. That adventure sparked a lifelong curiosity about foraging, and now, living in the Appalachian Mountains, I’m eager to expand my knowledge and put it to use in a whole new landscape.

A Season-by-Season Mushroom Foraging Guide

One of the standout features of Go Forth and Forage is how it walks readers through the process of mushroom hunting in all four seasons. From morels and woodears in spring, to black trumpets, chicken of the woods, and boletes in summer, and lion’s mane, oyster, and enoki mushrooms in fall and winter, this book is packed with detailed identification cues, full-color photos, and responsible harvesting tips to ensure you can forage safely and ethically.

Each mushroom profile includes:
✔ Easy-to-follow identification guides
✔ Tips for safe and responsible foraging
✔ Culinary preparation advice and recipes
✔ Guidance on medicinal uses, including tinctures and teas

More Than a Mushroom Guide—A Forager’s Handbook

Whitney Johnson’s signature down-to-earth and folksy tone makes Go Forth and Forage not just a reference book, but an enjoyable read that feels like learning from a trusted friend. Beyond identification, she dives into the skills every successful forager needs, including:

🍄 How to locate wild mushrooms (hint: tree identification is key!)
🍄 Understanding mushroom anatomy for better identification
🍄 Foraging gear recommendations—from knives and bags to clothing and boots
🍄 How to use spore prints for accurate species confirmation
🍄 Common mushroom myths debunked
🍄 The ethics of responsible foraging—because sustainability matters!

Meet the Appalachian Forager

If you haven’t come across Whitney Johnson yet, you’re in for a treat! She’s built an incredible online community with nearly 2 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook (@appalachian_forager), where she shares educational and quirky videos about foraging, Appalachian culture, and self-sufficiency. A proud Appalachian through and through, she’s not only a foraging expert, but also a wildcrafter, gardener, and cook who loves sharing her deep-rooted connection to the land.

Why This Book is a Must-Read for Aspiring and Seasoned Foragers

Whether you’re completely new to mushroom foraging or you’ve been exploring the woods for years, Go Forth and Forage is an invaluable resource that belongs on your bookshelf (or better yet, in your foraging bag!). The book strikes the perfect balance between science, tradition, and practicality, making it an essential guide for anyone eager to explore the wild world of mushrooms.

This spring, I can’t wait to put Whitney’s wisdom to the test, stepping into the Appalachian forest with a newfound confidence in identifying and harvesting mushrooms safely and ethically. If you’ve ever been curious about foraging, now’s the time to dive in—and this book is the perfect place to start!

📖 Go Forth and Forage is available now—grab your copy and get ready for a season of delicious discoveries!

Have you ever tried foraging for wild mushrooms? Drop a comment below and let’s chat about your favorite finds! 🍄✨

Living Naturally and Eco-Friendly: From Skincare to Cleaning House

December 16, 2024 0

Living an eco-friendly lifestyle has never been more important. From our skin care choices to how we clean our homes, small changes to daily habits can have significant effects on both ourselves and the planet. In this blog, we’ll look at practical tips and ideas on incorporating natural practices into everyday life to form cleaner, greener living environments.

Beeswax Is Versatile

Beeswax, an all-natural and sustainable ingredient, boasts multiple uses in natural skincare and household products. With its waxy texture and unique properties, eco-conscious people have many ways to use natural wax from bees to incorporate sustainable practices into their lifestyle. DIY lip balm or candles can both use beeswax products as a base ingredient. Beeswax offers such benefits that prioritize both personal wellbeing as well as environmental consideration.

Natural Skincare Solutions

Cleanse, Nourish and Protect

When choosing skincare products that will benefit both you and the environment, look for natural and organic ingredients that are gentle on both. Use natural cleansers on your face, plant-based moisturizers to nourish skin from within, and mineral sunscreens as additional layers of defense from UV radiation.

DIY Beauty Treatments

Put your creativity to use in the kitchen and try creating your own natural beauty treatments at home. From homemade face masks using ingredients such as honey, yogurt, and avocado to body scrubs made with sugar and coconut oil, DIY beauty treatments not only give you greater control over what ingredients go into them but can help cut waste due to excessive packaging.

Sustainable Fashion Choices

Consider Secondhand and Vintage

When it comes to fashion, consider opting for secondhand and vintage clothing as a smart way of saving both money and reducing textile waste by prolonging the life cycle of clothing production. Thrift stores, consignment shops and online marketplaces provide an abundance of unique finds at greatly reduced costs. This can help extend its useful life while simultaneously decreasing textile waste from production processes and lessening environmental impacts associated with the fashion industry.

Consider Sustainable Fabrics

When looking for clothing, opt for brands that prioritize sustainable fabrics like organic cotton, linen, hemp, or recycled materials, as these tend to offer superior comfort and durability while being eco-friendly.

Eco-Friendly Home Cleaning

Natural Cleaning Products

Opt for non-chemical cleaners like vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, and essential oils for effective home cleaning solutions. You can easily create an all-purpose cleaner by mixing vinegar and water or make an aromatic citrus cleaner by combining lemon peels with vinegar.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Adopting sustainable cleaning practices also involves minimizing waste. Instead of disposable paper towels, try switching to reusable cleaning cloths. Consider refillable containers for cleaning products or purchasing bulk so as to limit packaging waste. Be sure to recycle whenever possible and search out eco-friendly options for items like plastic bottles or packaging materials.

Conclusion

By making intentional choices in our daily lives, we can all contribute to creating a more sustainable world. From using natural skincare from bees wax and sustainable fashion choices, to eco-friendly home cleaning practices, every small step counts towards building an eco-friendlier future. Commit yourself to living more naturally and sustainably.

5 Eco-Friendly Ways to Plan for Thanksgiving Dinner

November 15, 2024 2

Hello, Friends! I am pretty excited, Thanksgiving is right around the corner. To get you started, there are many eco-friendly ways to green your Thanksgiving dinner – all of which are easier to implement if you plan ahead. Many of these ideas will save you money and time while cutting down on the amount of waste that can accumulate from a big family dinner. Read on to learn my 5 favorite eco-friendly ways to plan your Thanksgiving dinner and start planning today!

1. Decorating 101
You don’t have to spend any money when decorating for Thanksgiving, instead use items that you already have or consider bringing natural items indoors. We always have a handful of pumpkins leftover from Halloween that we use as Thanksgiving decorations. And Eben and I like to take a nature walk to collect natural elements (pine-cones, acorns, branches, and leaves) to display as our Thanksgiving table centerpiece.

2. How Much is Enough?
It is really easy to go overboard when planning the Thanksgiving menu. Consider the dishes that you will be serving and ask yourself if you are making more than is necessary. Choose a few dishes that you are sure your guests will love and skip the rest. Also, consider which parts of Thanksgiving dinner you want to or can afford to purchase organic and whenever possible, avoid pre-packaged items.

3. Consider the Table
Do you have enough dinnerware for everyone at your dinner party? If not, consider borrowing place settings from close friends or family members instead of purchasing new. If you aren’t a china and tablecloth kind of family and choose to go with disposable place settings, choose a great compostable version that is made from 100% recycled materials.

4. Think Seasonal
When choosing fruits and vegetables for your Thanksgiving menu, think seasonal. You want to avoid purchasing produce that is imported from far away. You may consider joining a local CSA for the holiday season – not only will you have delicious, local foods to serve this Thanksgiving, but you will be supporting a local farm too.

5. Plan for Leftovers
What do you plan to do with the Thanksgiving dinner leftovers? If you are planning on sending goodies home with your guests, have glass reusable storage containers ready to go. If you made more than your family can consume, you could donate some of the leftovers to a local food bank, freeze them for later or have a menu plan for the days after Thanksgiving so all of the leftovers will be used.

How do you green your Thanksgiving dinner? I would love to hear – please share your thoughts in the comments!

How to Upcycle Wine Corks into Thanksgiving Place Card Holders

November 14, 2024 0

When Eben was little, I would encourage him to spend some time creating something fun for the Thanksgiving table. Over the years, he has made apple printed napkins, pine cone turkey centerpieces, and floral arrangements. Several years ago we really wanted to utilize the corks we have saved – so we started brainstorming fun crafts. We decided to use the corks along with a handful of other supplies from the recycling bin and craft closet to make turkey inspired place cards.

This project is super simple and will keep your child busy Thanksgiving morning while you are cooking, baking, cleaning, and getting ready for the big day. At the end of the project, your child will have these fun colorful place cards to offer as part of the Thanksgiving table decor. Then, as your guests leave after the feast, they can take their turkeys home with them as a memento of a cherished day together.

7 Great Ways to Run a More Sustainable Business

July 17, 2024 0

Sustainability has become more and more of a focus around the world in recent years. Countless people now make it a priority in their daily life, and this affects which companies they buy from. Because of that, you could need to run a more sustainable business.

Doing this offers more than a few benefits, like:

Bringing in more customers and increasing customer loyalty
Helping to reduce your overall costs and increasing your profit margins
Letting you attract and retain top talent in your industry
Developing a competitive edge in your market

As appealing as all of these are, you’ll need to actually put the time and effort into achieving them. That’s where many companies could struggle, as it seems like a lot of time and work.

While there’s no getting around the work you have to put into it, it doesn’t have to be as much of a struggle as you could think. Using the right strategies could be relatively straightforward, and they’ll have much more of an impact than you’d expect. They’re worth diving into.

Run a More Sustainable Business: 7 Great Strategies

1. Make Sustainability a Mission

There’s no point in just putting a little bit of time and effort into sustainability. You wouldn’t end up doing much if you’re not taking it seriously.

By making sustainability a part of your mission, you change your mindset about it. You’ll take it much more seriously, and you’ll end up actually giving it the time and effort it deserves. As part of this approach, develop a sure-fire strategy to become more sustainable and make it a part of your company’s culture.

While this takes a bit of time and effort up front, it’ll reap dividends in the long-term.

2. Consider Your Back Office

When you’re trying to run a more sustainable business, it’s natural to focus on some of the more customer-facing areas. These are far from the only areas you’ll need to consider.

You’ll also need to think about the back office. There are more than a few steps you can take here to be more sustainable. Reducing or completely getting rid of paper usage is an obvious idea with this. The same can be said for more than a few other steps to take.

Figure out what you can change and make more sustainable in your office going forward.

3. Manage Chemicals Safely

There’s a decent chance you use chemicals in your business, especially if you’re in manufacturing. These can have a significant impact on the environment.

Make sure you properly manage your chemicals throughout your business operations. The proper disposal of them, as per legal guidelines, is a large part of this. At the same time, it’s worth using EPA-approved chemicals wherever you can. These wouldn’t harm the environment nearly as much as other options.

Don’t overlook your cleaning products when you’re doing this, as these could have more of an impact than you might’ve thought. Go with the safest options you can.

4. Properly Manage Your Waste

Your company will inevitably produce waste as it does business. This isn’t often sustainable, but the trick is to actually manage your waste the right way.

Investing in a commercial waste management software and taking steps to reduce your waste is a great step in the right direction with this. With the right tools, you can figure out exactly how you can cut down on your waste going forward.

After that, it’s a matter of actually putting the time and effort into these strategies.

5. Give Back

There could be plenty of times where you’ll need to replace older equipment and other company assets, despite the fact they can still be decent to use. Do something good with this.

By donating them to charities or nonprofits whenever you can, you elongate their lifespan. This is much more sustainable than simply throwing them away. Even donating a percentage of your profits to environmental causes can be a great way to give back and look after the environment.

Figure out the best strategy for you to give back, and you shouldn’t have much of a problem.

6. Improve Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency is always a great area to focus on when you want to run a more sustainable business. It’s also one of the easier areas to get through.

There are more than a few ways you can do this. Replacing older equipment and electricals with more energy efficient counterparts is a great start. A lot of machinery is rated for this, so you can find them easily. Using LED lights instead of more traditional options is also a quick and easy way to help with this.

Once you put the effort into this, you should even see your company’s utility bills come down.

Energy efficiency is always a great area to focus on when you want to run a more sustainable business. It’s also one of the easier areas to get through. There are more than a few ways you can do this. Replacing older equipment and electricals with more energy efficient counterparts is a great start. A lot of machinery is rated for this, so you can find them easily. Using LED lights instead of more traditional options is also a quick and easy way to help with this.Once you put the effort into this, you should even see your company’s utility bills come down. Beyond physical infrastructure, a significant amount of energy is consumed by digital operations, particularly websites. Many businesses overlook the environmental footprint of their online presence, yet inefficient websites can contribute substantially to carbon emissions. By optimizing website code, server requests, and image loading, companies can drastically reduce their digital energy consumption. This focus on sustainable web development not only benefits the planet but also improves site speed, user experience, and even SEO rankings, making it a win-win for modern businesses.

7. Get Certified

While you mightn’t have thought about it, you can get certified for your sustainability. Once you’ve implemented various initiatives, this could be worth focusing on.

There are more than a few agencies and nonprofits that focus on giving this certification. Each of them will have their own criteria you’ll need to meet first. By looking into these and meeting this criteria, you’ll make your business more sustainable long-term. It gives you goals to work toward.

At the same time, the certification you get can help with your marketing and branding, helping to bring in more customers in the future.

Tips For Running a More Sustainable Business

As much as each of the above strategies can help you run a more sustainable business, they mightn’t be the only areas to focus on. Sometimes, it could be worth adding a few tips into the process, too.

These could help you get through the process a lot more effectively than you’d think. Some of the more notable of these are:

Embrace Customer Feedback – Customers can often have preferences when it comes to sustainability in the companies they buy from. It can often be worth getting feedback from them to help you find the right sustainability initiatives for your company.
Work With Your Suppliers – Your suppliers can have an impact on your environmental friendliness. Take the time to work with them to develop a relationship that’s actually sustainable. Focusing on environmentally friendly suppliers also helps with this.
Get Employees Involved – While you’ll be the key decision-maker in your business, it doesn’t mean others shouldn’t have a say. Let employees have an input on your sustainability initiatives, and it’ll help more than you’d think.

Adding these to the strategies above should help you run a more sustainable business much better than you would’ve thought. You shouldn’t have a problem getting there, though it’ll still take some time and effort to get there.

Run a More Sustainable Business: Wrapping Up

It’s always worth putting the time and effort into becoming a more competitive and profitable company. It helps you succeed more and more long-term, and there are several ways to do this. One of the more notable of these is to run a more sustainable business.

It helps you bring in new customers, attract top talent, and increase your profit levels. You’ll even care for the planet a lot more than you currently do.

Many entrepreneurs struggle with actually doing this, though. They’re not sure where to start, and they mightn’t be sure about the best path forward. Thankfully, this doesn’t have to be too much of a problem. With the right strategies, you’ll get there before you know it.

You’ll end up with a more sustainable business than you would’ve thought.

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