Month: September 2018

What are you going to feed your kids as they make their way through the school year? How is their food going to boost their immune system, support healthy sleep, help them focus and balance their moods?

As kids are heading back to school, it is time to put some real thought, effort, energy and love into their lunch boxes. Start your kids off on the right track this year with healthy whole foods. This is essential for focus, attention, memory, good grades, long and lasting energy and fuel for their extra-curricular activities. It will also help their physical appearance by providing the right nutrients to prevent acne, dandruff, greasy hair, body odor and excess weight that so many kids get picked on for.

Below are some essential tips to get your family fueling the right way. Also, read Tip #66 in this book for many healthy ideas for snacks: Journey to Optimum Wellness Through Sound Nutrition by Amy Bondar.

 

1) Start the kids’ day with protein. Protein will leave them with long and lasting energy and will help them to feel satisfied and satiated throughout the morning.

• Scrambled eggs with fresh fruit
• Fried eggs on a slice of sprouted bread, sourdough spelt bread (available at Lakeview Bakery or gluten-free bread)
• Protein shake (Learning Factors protein power (available at health food stores), water, coconut milk, blueberries, banana and tsp ground flaxseed)
• Cottage cheese or Organic Full Fat yogurt with fresh fruit and hemp seeds (if not sensitive to dairy)
• Organic chicken sausages from the Calgary Farmers Market or Spolumbo sausages (free of MSG and nitrates)

2) Pack nutritious snacks that include essential fats which will nourish their brains and prevent desires for sugar

• Sunflower and pumpkin seeds and piece of fruit
• Celery with 100% seed butter (hemp, pumpkin, sunflower or pea butter)
• Avocado slices with a sprinkle of sea salt and lemon juice
• Homemade granola or power bars
• Olives
• Yogurt with ground flax

3) Ensure lunches are full of protein, essential fats and vegetables

• Deli roll ups (oven roasted turkey or bison rolled with cucumber, sprouts, bell pepper and lettuce)
• Tooth pick lunches – healthy sausage, mozzarella cheese and tomato on tooth picks
• Nori wraps – any protein, veggies and a spread of hummus
• Mini burger bites with cut up vegetables
• Homemade soups or chili in a thermos

4) Send your kids to school with a 1 litre stainless steel water bottle to ensure they are hydrating throughout the day.

5) Welcome them home from school with a healthy snack to rejuvenate them before homework or extra-curricular activities,

• Bowl of soup or chicken, vegetable or beef broth
• Cut up veggies with hummus
• Cheese, fruit and rice crackers
• Celery stuffed with cream cheese, nut butter or hummus
• Corn chips, guacamole and salsa
• Bison pepperoni sticks

6) Sit down to a family dinner 3 times a week or more. Find out what your kids liked most in their day and disliked most in their day as you eat a nourishing meal cooked from scratch,

7) Get your kids involved in meal planning and preparing their lunches. Connecting to their food and understanding what eating well is all about will raise their odds of embracing a healthy whole food lifestyle.

 

Nourishing our children is one of the most important roles we have as parents. May you fill their bellies with love and nourishment!

We just love this time of year – the transition from summer to Fall. The colors of leaves are changing, weather and temperature is changing, schedules and routines are changing, kids are back at school, and our lives are ready for an overall change.

 

Every season brings an opportunity to change our diet and our lifestyle and it is such an important practice to cultivate to help bring and maintain balance in the body, mind and soul. One of our favorite nutritional teachings is Seasonal Eating which comes from the wisdom of Ayurveda – an ancient form of East Indian healing. Ayurveda teaches that in order for the body to be well it must be in balance. Changing our diet and lifestyle with each season allows us to achieve just that.

 

If you still eat all of your summer fruits and vegetables, cooling foods and keep your unstructured summer lifestyle as we move into Fall, you will be more prone to getting sick and fatigued. Colds and flu are so common at this time of year but if you change what you are eating and how you are living and how you are taking care of your health, you can prevent getting sick.

As we head into Autumn we need more grounding, warming meals – soups, stews, stir-fry, root vegetables, warming teas, an increase of ginger, cinnamon and cloves to keep our immunity high. The kinds of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, proteins and essential fats we choose are very specific to this season. For example less berries and melons are desired as we open the door to apples, pears and grapes. Warming vegetables are more satiating than cold raw salads. Do you notice that your cravings and desire for certain foods are changing? Mother Nature gives us the perfect foods we need to eat each season and when we understand what those are and embrace them we achieve seasonal balance and therefore wellness.

 

Change can be challenging for some people. It can trigger resistance, anxiety, stress, emotional eating, digestive upset and panic. But if we learn to embrace change, it can teach us to let go, to breathe, to lean in, to trust and to surrender. When we approach change from this conscious place we are able to receive the lessons, the benefits and the gifts of walking through a new door.

 

Ayurveda teaches us to follow nature’s lead.  Just as the leaves are changing and the trees are releasing them to fall to the ground, what can you change and let go of in your life this season? What is your body asking you to release, what is your mind ready to shift and what is your soul calling you to do differently? What do you desire to change in your life? What do you desire to change with your nutrition and your wellness lifestyle?