Wednesday 22 March 2017

Tips for a Growing Belly

Ah pregnancy: a time of wonder, a time of change, a time for advice!!!

As many Coach House patients know I am embarking on this wonderful journey of pregnancy and motherhood for the first time (our little girl is due to arrive May 11th) and with all the books, websites, social media outlets etc... it can be very overwhelming!

The benefit of working at the Coach House, besides our amazing patients of course, is that I am surrounded by not only other parents but, those who work in medical fields, especially natural ones. Plus, with our network of fellow natural based businesses, it has really helped guide me to some healthier and more natural options while my body is going through these changes.

Below are a few examples of things that I have discovered along the way that really worked for me! With anything regarding your pregnancy, of course check in with your primary care physician or naturopathic doctor first.

A Growing Belly AND Winter Skin?!?!?!?

Yup- this happened! January and February were brutal on my skin not only from because my fascia was stretching to meet the demands of the growing belly, but add to that the cold weather and heaters turned up in the office, car, everywhere: I was going CRAZY!

Our Naturopathic Doctor, Dr. Jessica, to the rescue! She introduced our clinic and patients to an incredible line of natural skin care products made right here in Kitchener Waterloo, Cocoon Apothecary. Trust me: the ENTIRE staff (and our hubbies) are addicted to this line: It's amazing!

According to Dr. Jessica: "The best way to keep your skin hydrated is by keeping your whole body hydrated- drinking water. But, especially during the winter months, we can use a little extra topical support. However, standard moisturizers (petroleum based like Vaseline) often only provide a barrier without actually hydrating the skin. This can actually make dry skin worse because it not only tries to lock moisture in, it also blocks air and moisture from getting in! It can also clog pores creating break outs. So skip the chemical based 'moisturizers' and opt for natural oils that don't clog pores and that provide both moisturizing and hydrating effects."

When you hear it like that it makes sense, right? So I immediately purchased Cocoon's Purist Unscented Body lotion and you could totally tell the difference from a texture point of view from the very first use. And guess what: in less than 2 days my winter skin 'dry patches' were completely gone! Bye bye irritating, night time scratch-a-thons!

I now use this product all over, including the belly, after every shower. If I get one of those days with 'itchy, growing belly' a little of this and *poof* itching gone! And trust me, as Dr. Jessica says, with this product being natural oil based a little goes a long way- I still have a lot in my bottle, and that's having to cover an ever increasing belly!

Another product our staff was introduced to and have used is Substance Belly Jelly. We featured this product at our "Birds n' Bees" seminar with the help of Nimira Husein, owner of Tadpole Children's Shoppe in Uptown Waterloo.

Described on parentingbynature.ca as "A rich emollient balm designed to intensely moisturize the skin.  Packed full of oils high in vitamin E, Belly Jelly increases the skin's elasticity, allowing it to stretch with your growing belly.  Rich shea butter, oats, lavender and a special blend of essential oils further nurtures the skin to add that extra ounce of prevention." which translated means this can help minimize stretch marks!

As I am in my last 2 months of pregnancy, the months of most growth, I'm super excited to try this product. The Belly Jelly of course can be used throughout all stages of belly growth but for my belly (and don't forget: everyone's fascia is different!) I found using the Cocoon Apothecary up until this stage worked for me. They even have a travel stick! It's available at Tadpole Children's Shoppe (you can do a registry online as well) and don't worry: if it's sold out as it was when I went in due to popularity, Nimira and staff will take your name and call you as soon as an order arrives. 

Staying Hydrated...Safely

So. very. thirsty! was and still is a common theme in pregnancy and it's very important for mom and baby to stay hydrated. According to the Dieticians of Canada pregnant females should aim for 2.3L or 9 1/2 cups of water per day. Although my body wanted water I found I got so bored with "just water" throughout the day.

Thankfully there are a number of websites that offer various diffusion recipes using fruit and/or vegetable to help stave off boredom. These recipes and guidelines can actually be found on a previous Blog we did dated January 11th of this year. Feel free to visit that Blog for a lot of great information regarding dehydration and of course an easy chart for fun and tasty water recipes.

 http://thecoachhousetc.blogspot.ca/2017/01/tasty-water-recipes-to-stay-hydrated.html


Not only is it important to stay hydrated, but the type of glass you use to consume your fluid is just as important. Dr. Jessica has some very clear advice when it comes to plastic water bottles etc.. and your health: "DITCH THE PLASTIC. That BPA-Free label really means nothing when it comes to whether or not the plastic is healthy. Whether BPA-free or not, it will leach chemicals that you do not want to be exposed to." You can read more about how the BPA-free label is very misleading in her Facebook post dated January 12/17 on our Coach House Therapeutic Centre page featuring the following article: http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/bpa-free-plastic-alternative-bps-may-not-be-safer-after-all-1.2184973



Thankfully Coach House friends fenigo.com are here for us. Located on Lexington Road in Waterloo this store is a treasure trove helping you go plastic and litter-free! Their glass water bottles are great and even better: they have glass travel mugs for coffee, tea etc... which is incredibly important as you do not want any chemicals leaching from the heat. That's just the beginning of the great and healthy products they provide!


  

A Snuggle Buddy for Sleep...Rest for your Aching Back

As the belly grows so does the discomfort. Whether it's restlessness at night time with your body getting adjusted to the new changes in your posture, or to the lower back pain most females feel with the growing belly this is definitely an issue for most pregnant females. Besides stretch marks (and the actual birth of course) the idea or threat of lower back and hip pain along with lack of sleep is usually at the top of our lists, especially heading into the third trimester.

May I introduce your new best friend: The Snoogle by LeachCo!

I have my best friend Michelle to thank for this little gift from heaven that I received as a Christmas present when I was approximately 5 months along. I 'thought' I was sleeping alright as that's right around the time my 'baby bump' really started to make an appearance. OH. MY. GOODNESS! What an incredible difference! I didn't realize how restless I actually was until I used this pillow and I slept like a baby from night one!


Being an RMT we are of course trained on how to give therapeutic massages throughout all stages of pregnancy. We know how to pillow the patient for safety of mom and baby, and of course for support. I was doing some pillowing every now and then between my knees but this pillow blew that away. 

The pillow comes with instructions on how to use it in 8 different positions, whether sleeping in bed or sitting up and watching TV. It alleviates pressure and pain on your hips, lower back, glutes and of course supports the belly.The following 2 minute YouTube video tells you all you need to know about this great product:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5CUFF7d_Eo

To prove the point even further, I unfortunately went through about 6-8 weeks of catching every little bug and virus that went through the clinic. With these fever flashes I didn't use my Snoogle for approximately 2-3 weeks as it was making me hotter. Upon getting healthier and back to work I noticed my lower back right at my sacroiliac joints were in pain/sore by the end of my shift. Being 6 months along I thought "Uh oh, well guess it's the size of the belly, having to stand all day and this is how it'll go for the rest of my pregnancy." WRONG! I brought my Snoogle back to bed and by the next day at work no pain! And this is from someone who had to stand for approximately 7 hours a day, and run up and down stairs.

This pillow is definitely worth the approximate $85-$100 investment. Super comfortable and supportive, you don't have to worry about adjusting random pillows throughout the night and to get some proper sleep before Munchkin arrives? Priceless!

Wrapping Up

So there you go: I'm throwing my little bit into the 'pregnancy advice' ring. But again, I find I'm at an advantage not only working with other natural modalities but having a large cross section of the population in my patient base who have passed on tricks that have worked for them. 

These are of course things that have helped me- every pregnancy is different. This and other concerns that you may have for your pregnancy (nausea/morning sickness, low iron etc...) should be discussed with your primary care physician or book an appointment with someone like our fantastic Dr. Jessica who has 2 munchkins of her own, so not only has she studied these elements at school but has actually utilized them and more!

Here's proof: visit our Coach House Therapeutic Centre YouTube channel for a great video on DIY Baby Wraps at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KviLWMdjmUg&t=90s

Wishing you nothing but health and happiness on your own pregnancy journey and make sure you cherish every step of the way. And of course: here's wishing all of you a safe (and quick!) delivery to welcome your beautiful bundle of joy to the world!

Wednesday 15 March 2017

DIY-ing with Eco Well


Welcome to another edition of Wellness Wednesday! This week, in honour of our Customer Appreciation month, we invited Jen Novakovich of Eco Well to join us and share a couple easy DIY skin care recipes with you. A very special Thank You to Jen and for more information check out our guest blog post from Jen below and be sure to watch the how to video above! 

About The Eco Well

The Eco Well is a Waterloo local cosmetic manufacturer and educator. We're passionate about making uber clean, evidence driven and therapeutic skincare products. We also do public talks on clean cosmetics and host DIY Beauty workshops throughout Ontario. We're working hard to engage our community about sustainability and transparency, and to empower them to make better informed decisions about their skincare purchases. In addition to all of this, we host monthly local entrepreneur networking nights, donate to local businesses and do fundraiser events for different local organizations.

The Eco Well products can be found at Kultrun Market, Full Circle, Fine Fettle Kincardine, Uptown Woods, Healthoholics, Sante Elora, The Stone Store & Old's Cool General Store as well as online at www.theecowell.com. Learn more about us on our twitter, instagram and facebook feeds!

About Jen

Jen, the owner of The Eco Well is a graduate of the Nutrition & Nutraceutical Sciences program at the University of Guelph, where she took a special interest in cosmeceuticals. She's passionate about public education, science, sustainability & supporting her local community. In addition to running a business, she's a yoga teacher, music lover and a long time rock climbing enthusiast!

AN EASY BODY SCRUB RECIPE

The products we made for the Coach House video were two simple body scrubs, using ingredients you probably have at your fingertips in your kitchen. Though we made 2 separate options, that's by no means the limit! One of the beautiful things about DIY Beauty is, you get to create your recipes and tailor them to what you like. With a little bit of knowledge on different ingredients, you can really start to formulate products that will work for your skin type!

Recipe 1: Brightening & Clarifying Turmeric Sugar Scrub

The first recipe we made was a clarifying sugar scrub with turmeric! Turmeric is one of my favorite ingredients to use for my skin because of how therapeutic it is for a wide range of skin conditions. For acne spot treatment to dull skin, turmeric is a great go to! As discussed in the video, be sure to wash your scrub off well as it stains (but totally worth it). We complemented the scrub with a cheerful blend of essential oils with clarifying effects. Feel free to sub in other essential oils if you prefer another blend (Check out our blog post on Essential Oils to learn more about them!). Finally the oil we chose for both of our scrubs today was avocado oil, a soothing oil that is very low on the comedogenic scale (how likely an oil is to clog your pores). Again, feel free to sub in another oil if you have a preference, although if you tend to get acne, I recommend checking out comedogenic ratings (e.g. coconut oil is quite comedogenic and is more likely to clog your pores). A few other notes on oil, go for good quality oils, just like you'd do for your diet. If you don't have avocado oil around, extra virgin olive and high oleic safflower oil are excellent alternatives that you probably already have on hand.  

Ingredients:
  • 4 tbsp Fine Sugar
  • 4 tbsp Avocado Oil
  • 1 tbsp Turmeric Powder
  • 10 Drops Sweet Orange Essential Oil
  • 10 Drops Grapefruit Essential Oil
  • 8 Drops Rosemary Essential Oil
Directions: 
1. Mix all of your ingredients in a bowl.
2. Pour them into a container of choice.
3. Enjoy!


Recipe 2: Invigorating Coffee Sugar Scrub

Wake up your tired skin with this invigorating sugar scrub! Just like the morning boost we get from our first cup of coffee, coffee grinds are also great for dull and tired looking skin. Pro-tip, use used grinds! All the good stuff in the coffee will be more available to your skin! Note, be sure to use this scrub within a day or two of making it. When water's added to your recipes, they're more prone to microbial growth if not preserved. We complemented this scrub with a blend (lavender, geranium and tea tree) of essential oils that helps to soothe itchy skin, combat acne and promote the appearance healthy looking skin! A note about both of these scrubs, while facial sugar scrubs are very popular on the market, they can be a little abrasiveness on the more sensitive skin on your face. Subbing the grinds used for ground oatmeal, a far gentler option, or even just using a wet towel on your face to exfoliate may be a good option, especially if you have sensitive skin. 

Ingredients:
  • 4 tbsp Fine Sugar
  • 2 tbsp Fine Coffee Grinds
  • 4 tbsp Avocado Oil
  • 10 drops Lavender Essential Oil
  • 10 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil
  • 10 drops Geranium Essential Oil
Directions: 
1. Mix all of your ingredients in a bowl.
2. Pour them into a container of choice.

3. Enjoy!







A special thank you again to Jen for sharing her DIY recipes! We hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: The information contained in these topics is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, it is provided for educational purposes only. This information shouldn’t take the place of seeing a Naturopathic Doctor or your primary care provider for individualized health recommendations.

Tuesday 14 March 2017

Making Healthier Choices with your Slow Cooker

By now some (hopefully most) of you have lugged that slow cooker out of your basements and have conquered your fear of this appliance!

To help your family meal plan and stay on a healthy track for 2017 I'm adding a few more hints and tricks to help you become Slow Cooker Aficianados. By adding a slow cooker to your weekday meal routine, not only will it save you time and stress but will allow you to make healthier choices.

As mentioned previously, Googling for recipes is a great, fun and inventive way to spice up the old meal routine but be wary: most of these recipes are more of a "open box or packet, throw in veggies and heat" type of meal where the sodium and sugar can be off the charts! Changing just a few ingredients can make all the difference in the world without sacrificing taste- and this is exactly how I stumbled upon this recipe.

Planning my meals for the week I noticed I had some peppers about to turn and some pork in the freezer, but also no time with my schedule to make a meal. What to do...what to do... TO THE GOOGLE and by typing in "peppers, pork, slow cooker" I stumbled upon: Slow Cooker Thai Pork with Peppers! The recipe in its originality is as below from allrecipes.com:


1 cup chicken stock            
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tbsp. honey
6 garlic cloves, minces
2 tbsp. minced, fresh ginger root
1 tsp.crushed red pepper flakes
2 red peppers, thinly sliced into bite size pieces
1 pound boneless pork chops

Place the chicken broth, soy sauce, peanut butter, honey, garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper flakes, red bell peppers, and pork chops into a slow cooker, stir together, and set the cooker on Low. Cook for 5 to 6 hours until the pork is tender, and remove the pork from the sauce. Shred the pork, return to the sauce, let cook until hot, and serve.

Now that doesn't look too bad does it? Take a look at the nutritional breakdown:

Nutrition Facts

Servings 4.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 516
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 29 g 45 %
Saturated Fat 9 g 43 %
Monounsaturated Fat 8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 96 mg 32 %
Sodium 1408 mg 59 %
Potassium 824 mg 24 %
Total Carbohydrate 23 g 8 %
Dietary Fiber 3 g 11 %
Sugars 18 g
Protein 39 g 79 %
Vitamin A 37 %
Vitamin C 127 %
Calcium 0 %
Iron 9 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

The sodium is off the charts! If we take a couple of moments and substitute some of the main "bad guy ingredients" it's a whole different world. Pictured below are two easy substitutions, most people feel they are doing better by choosing "low sodium" and or "Light" alternatives, and in some cases of "low sodium" that may be right but beware: making something "Light" means they have to substitute the fat and taste somehow and in most cases it's with sugar!








VS.





Instead of the regular shelves at the grocery store where we're tempted to grab the original variety of an ingredient, or sometimes worse the "light" version, by heading just a few aisles over to your Nutrition or Green area it makes for the greatly healthier option. In my recipe I substitute peanut butter for almond or cashew butter still giving it that Thai kick and a new ingredient our naturopath Dr. Jessica introduced us to during our detox: coconut aminos. Trust me it's tasted exactly the same and is great to have in the kitchen for recipes, stir frys etc... both can be found in the natural section of your grocery store or any health food store.

Another easy substitution is the chicken broth: So.Much.Sodium! By choosing the low sodium or no sodium added option you're ahead of the game but why stop there? Why not make your own chicken stock or better yet, have our friends from Stock Exchange Bone Broth do it for you! See our Blog from February 15th, 2017 for more information on this power packed and healthy alternative.

The New and Improved:
Above is the look of the finalized ingredients, minus the meat. I like to switch it up for taste and colour by having a red and a green pepper. Remember though: peppers are on the EWGs "Dirty Dozen" (https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty_dozen_list.php) list for pesticide use so ensure to wash them thoroughly and use sparingly in everyday cooking.

And here is the nutritional break down- see the difference especially in calories, fat and sodium?!?!

Nutrition Facts

Servings 4.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 373
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 18 g 28 %
Saturated Fat 3 g 15 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 75 mg 25 %
Sodium 599 mg 25 %
Potassium 137 mg 4 %
Total Carbohydrate 25 g 8 %
Dietary Fiber 4 g 15 %
Sugars 21 g
Protein 27 g 53 %
Vitamin A 32 %
Vitamin C 107 %
Calcium 8 %
Iron 11 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

Trust me when I say this is a GREAT recipe to try. I'm by no means a spicy person (my tongue is a wimp actually) but this has just enough kick to make it enjoyable. I follow the recipe as instructed and it smells and tastes incredible. To finish off I serve over bulger wheat or brown rice noodles, or in a pinch a bit of brown rice. Garnish with green onions and shaved nuts (whether cashew or almond, depending on the butter you used) and it's divine.

And there you have it: not only how to use your slow cooker but how a couple of quick and easy substitutions will make it even healthier for those creative days you Google your recipes.

Happy cooking!












 


















Monday 6 March 2017

CUPCAKES

From Client Appreciation Afternoon


Thank you. 

Thank you for being amazing clients and for all of your support for The Coach House and its team. We wouldn't be here without you and we so badly wanted to show you how much you mean to us! We hope you enjoyed our matinee showing of Lion. 

Many of you enjoyed our cupcakes and asked for the recipes as well...maybe you were surprised that these little sweets were actually GLUTEN FREE! 


Say what? I know, you couldn't even tell could you? When most people hear gluten free they think of something resembling crumbling cardboard. But the truth is the trick to getting good gluten free treats is the flour. I have tried may different versions, some homemade mixes and pre-made mixes- usually some kind of combination of rice and/or bean flours, sometimes requiring the addition of a 'gum' (xantham or guar).

My favourite was Bob's Red Mill standard gluten free mix. This version did require the addition of a gum and was a bit dense. So I dabbled with a few basic DIY mixes I found on Pinterest. My favourite contained a mix of rice and coconut flours. This was until Bob's Red Mill released a new gluten free flour- 1:1 Baking Flour which needs no additions AND you can substitute into your favourite recipes as if it was regular gluten containing flour! 

This is the flour we used for all the cupcakes and the recipes, and all the recipes were just standard Chocolate and Vanilla cake recipes from Martha Stewart's cookbooks (Cupcake and Cake, respectively). The lemon recipe came from i am baker's blog. The icing was basic buttercream (icing sugar, butter and milk) with the addition of either vanilla, peppermint or lemon. I don't actually have a recipe for this as I just add and adjust ingredients until I get the right consistency.





But, before any one gets the wrong idea, these cupcakes were most definitely NOT healthy. They were a treat. Whether gluten free or not, cupcakes are loaded with sugar. To make them healthy, you would have to remove the sugar and let's be real, what you would be left with would NOT be a cupcake.

The point of using gluten free flour or a non dairy milk isn't to make them 'healthier' per say but to allow those who can't eat those ingredients- whether due to Celiac Disease (an autoimmune reaction to gluten) or a Gluten Sensitivity (this can present with digestive upset, diarrhea, eczema, unwell feeling, etc)- to enjoy a treat. Even if you don't feel you are sensitive or allergic to gluten, a reason to consider using gluten free flour is to mix up the grains that you are exposed to. We tend to over consume wheat/gluten (bagels, cereals, bread, baked goods, etc) while not consuming many other grains. By mixing up the flour you use, you get a more varied diet and a break from the overconsumption of gluten/wheat.

This is important to remember however, a cupcake is a cupcake. Whether it's organic, gluten free, dairy free, or vegan.
It. Is. Still. A. Cupcake.

So, eat the cupcake and enjoy the sugar (just don't do it every day)!




Thank you again for being a part of our journey, we wouldn't be here without you and we are so glad we were able to give you a Thank You treat!

~The Coach House Team~