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Maria Blanco - photo by Tom Wyble

Maria Blanco is a Certified Family Herbalist and is currently a candidate for degrees in Holistic Nutrition and Naturopathy.

Maria considers diet and nutrition to be the single greatest determinant of health, disease prevention, and healing and she delights in sharing knowledge of how to naturally establish and maintain homeostasis in all of life’s varying stages.

Maria's other passion is her family. She enjoys writing articles based upon her experiences in elder care, child rearing and home and time management.

As a home-schooling mother-of-nine, and primary in-home caregiver to her mother who suffered from Lewy Body Dementia, she has a wide range of experiences upon which to draw.

Maria Blanco's Interests

Beyond health and family, Maria's interests are considerably varied. She reads voraciously on many topics, including medicine, religion, Eastern Traditions, psychology, family dynamics, politics, science and technology.

Having been reared in a well-traveled military family with traditionally Catholic Cajun roots has served to augment her natural fascination and love of cultural and ethnic diversities.

Her hobbies include painting and sculpting, jewelry design and manufacture, home herb and vegetable gardening, designing original hand-knitted pieces, and exploring world cuisines.

She is currently writing a book on feeding the family from a Catholic perspective, and is also developing a Nutritional Health and Wellness training course for publication in the near future.

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Additional Background and Education

• A past member of the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC); Maria worked as a Directional Drilling Applications Engineer within the oil and gas industry until 1993.
• As an independent contractor, Maria is an Invigilator on behalf of the International Well Control Forum (IWCF) based in Montrose, Scotland.
• Her early education includes studies in Computer Science (scientific option) and in Speech Pathology & Audiology at the University of Southwestern Louisiana.

Editor’s Choice Award

• Emergency Disaster Preparedness and Elder Care: Disaster Planning for Older Adults and Their Families

This article is based on Maria’s experience in planning for and surviving the 2005 twin disasters of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita while maintaining a large family and caring for her elderly bedbound mother.

Featured Articles

In Southern Cuisine:

• Southern Fried Chicken Wings Recipe with Fresh Lemon Dipping Sauce
• Cajun Cake Recipe - La Mache-pain
• Authentic Homemade Cajun Boudin Blanc
• Mom's Cornbread Dressing Recipe - Cajun Style
• 2 Mexican Chilaquiles Recipes: Black Beans and Tomatillo Chicken

In Single Parent Time Management:

• Morning Tips and Tricks - Advice for Single Moms and Dads
• Healthy Lunch and Snacks for Kids - Help for Single Parents
• Single Parenting Advice - Slow Cooking for Easy Nutritious Dinners

In Vegetable Gardening:

• Summer Salad Gardening Tips and Fresh Lemon Dressing Recipe

In Seasonal Cooking:

• Chicken, Chickpea and Zucchini Stew Recipe

In Men's Health:

• Manly Eats for Football Game Day Get Togethers
• Iceberg Wedge Salad with Bacon and Blue Cheese Dressing
• Treatments for Thinning Hair and Balding
• Undescended Testicles: Cryptorchidism Treatment Options
• Pilonidal Cyst, Abscess and Sinus
• Male Eating Disorders: Resources for Men and Their Families
• Athlete's Foot Fungus: Natural Remedies for Tinea Pedis
• Testosterone - Help for Aging Men?
• Is it Low-T? Testosterone Therapy Risks and Effects