Whether it’s school supplies, Christmas gifts, or some new cozy threads in the shopping cart, the change of tone that comes with fall can put some weight on our pocket book. But thankfully there are many minor tweaks you can make at the grocery store to ease the financial pressure – some so easy that you’re family/ others you shop for likely won’t even take notice!

As you’ve very likely heard and/or noticed personally, both oats and oatmeal provide us with special digestive benefits – this is largely due to this foods viscosity (or thickness). To get a little technical, while keeping things simple overall, the thickness of the food we eat impacts its rate of flow through our gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Too little viscosity means too quick of a flow (and resulting reduced blood sugar regulation by the body) – with the opposite also holding true. Slow and steady digestion has many far reaching benefits to our health and feelings of wellbeing that go beyond healthy blood sugar regulation & appetite control – but as these two are big ones, we’ll focus our attention here.

Think grilling season is synonymous with high calorie eats? Think again! By nature, barbecuing is actually a very health promoting and figure friendly cooking technique to embrace. We love that minimal cooking oil is needed to keep the food from sticking to the grill and excess fat from meats used has the opportunity to drip off the grates; not to mention the food produced is typically absolutely delicious! But some care must be taken in the methods you use/ what you grill to ensure barbecuing supports you in achieving your health and body composition goals. Whether your menu includes simple burgers or something more elaborate, a little preparation can help you serve up a healthy meal…

Though you may have a good sense over-all which foods work well for you and your body on a daily basis, it seems inevitable that even the most sensitivity-aware of us will come down with the occasional stomach upset. And especially during the eventful summer months, experiencing discomfort in this way can really put a damper on our plans. Food can often be the best medicine and has been used as such for thousands of years with great success - so let's talk specifics...

As longer and notably warmer days slowly become more of a mainstay in our lives (buh bye winter weather!), one room in your house is usually begging for a little attention – you’ve got it! We're referring to your faithful food environment; namely your pantry, fridge, and freezer. While spreading the love in the kitchen is always encouraged, the entry of consistent spring weather strikes us as the ideal time to give the nourishing center of your home a solid once over. With a kitchen full of nutritious fresh and frozen foods you’ll be able to make regular nutritionally sound meal choices to foster a foundation for optimal health.

There’s little debate that meal prep can be our saving grace when we’re working to establish health promoting, sustainable eating habits; and maintaining a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be time consuming or difficult! With a little bit of planning and preparation you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.

The creative food enthusiasts of today typically rave about spices as a delicious way to enhance a recipe without adding extra salt, sugar, or fats. But spices not only excite our taste buds with a next-to-none calorie impact, they are composed of an impressive list of phytonutrients, essential oils, antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins to promote good health. Needless to say, they are well equipped to boost our overall wellness while supporting delicious flavour variety in our diets.

Through mindful macronutrient and calorie adjustments over time, you can maintain your metabolic potential to keep you progressing towards your goal. The key really is in the execution, as an ill-formed approach to weight loss, muscle gain, or metabolism improvement has the potential to wreak havoc on your long term progress and success, not to mention your health and feelings of wellbeing.

In todays pop culture crusted world, "cleansing" and "detoxing" have become fashionable terms associated with leading a glamorous and vibrant life; this practice is generally promoted to improve health by 'cleansing' the bowel and otherwise removing toxins from the body. But despite all the hype, in reality, cleanses can be cumbersome, stressful, and (depending on the regime)  downright dangerous. For many reasons, they don't need a place in your health and wellness routine.

When you think about practicing the principles of 'balance' with food and nutrition what comes to mind? If your first thought is a plate cut into thirds, containing 50% colourful veggies, 25% fibrous starch, and 25% lean protein, you're certainly not alone. But the truth is, there is so much more to balance when we're talking about food. Let's take a closer look.