Healthy Life Lessons

One of the things that makes me reluctant to go all in with my own food company is that the wellness/nutrition industry is incredibly elitist. Whether you choose products for health, nutrition or for environmental awareness, you are going to have to pay a premium. That's why there is such a strong relationship between health and socioeconomic status! So I was thrilled to be offered the chance to review Liv B's Vegan on a Budget cookbook. Who is Liv B? Honestly, I had never heard of her (aka Olivia Biermann) before now. Perhaps that is because I am not vegan, though I suspect it has more to do with the fact that she is a Youtube star and I don't watch Youtube. In any case, turns out she is a 24-year-old (a baby!) with a huge following already. I have written before about how to eat healthy on a budget, but I was curious to see what Liv's take on it is for eating vegan. The book is packed with 112 recipes divided into chapters including: Staples & Sauce...

The world of supplements is confusing right? I mean, probably more confusing than food nutrition. If you eat real, unprocessed foods including lean proteins, fruits, veggies and whole grains, you are likely getting what you need, but what about supplements? Do we need them? If so, which ones? We have to eat, but do we all need to take supplements? They're expensive! The recommendations seem to change constantly. Take calcium...don't take calcium, it can do harm...take Vitamin D...take more Vitamin D...Take fish oil...no take plant based omegas...Take a multi...don't take a multi, few people need them...take probiotics, no probiotics should be consumed from food...ahhhhhhhhhhhh! I will be the first to admit that just because I have been taking some sort of vitamins since childhood, I would feel uncomfortable taking nothing. But over the years what supplements I take has changed a lot. Currently I take Vitamin D, CoQ10, biotin, probiotics, B2 (for migraines) iron, a...

I knew nothing about Instagram until several years ago when my business consultant who helped me set up my konjac business told me businesses HAVE to be on Instagram. What? Why? Well, because this is the society we have become. People don't have the interest, patience, or attention span to do anything except look at pictures. My account is a joke because I hate taking pictures, I suck at taking pictures (though I have never bothered to try and learn anything about photography), and I hate posting. It didn't take long to figure out that certain hashtags are necessary (at least in the food business) to get likes. It's all pretty revolting to me. I am also horrified by reports that teen girls often have 4-5 different personal accounts and can spend up to 8 hours a day on Instagram, trying to get 'likes' for their photos. WTF??? I also hear from my Millennial counselling clients that they use it to communicate with friends as well as to meet people (as in, someon...

Happy 2019! How is your year going so far? If you make one resolution for this year, I suggest its eliminating any toxic people from your life. This is something that comes up for so many of my counselling clients. It is often easier said than done, especially if the toxic person (or people) is/are part of your family. Nevertheless, my philosophy is that its matters not at all who the person is, your mother, sibling, uncle, cousin, etc. If they are toxic, get them out of your life! This also ties into my belief about what family actually is. According to the dictionary, family means: 1. a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household, and 2. all the descendants of a common ancestor. I say this is bullshit. Family are the people around you who love and support you unconditionally. Blood and DNA be damned. This is relevant for my fertility/infertility clients building their families using donor sperm and/or eggs, and its relevant for my c...