Friends, food, family, good cheer… there’s so much to be thankful for this time of year! It’s a time when we all enjoy memories with those closest to us. However, though the holidays are a wonderful time, they can also be busy, stressful, and run your body down! There are plenty of things you can do to keep yourself healthy and happy during this holiday season. Here are ten quick tips to keep in mind!

1. Plan ahead to avoid stress! This includes planning for gifts, materials, meals, and events.
2. Simplify your activities. You can’t do a million things at once! Don’t overbook your time, and make sure you can handle what you do book yourself for.
3. Keep hydrated; drink water. With all the running around of the Christmas season, our bodies need water more than ever. Plus, it will help with the digestion of heavier meals and drinks.
4. Double dose on vegetables. If you’re going to be indulging this holiday season, keep in mind that carrots and broccoli and all their friends need to be included in your diet as well!
5. Just have a small sample of dessert! You don’t need the whole piece of pie – you’ll get the same satisfaction with a small bite, without all the bloating!
6. Get plenty of fresh air! Enjoy the smell of winter in the air and take a walk to observe all the beautiful decorations this time of year. It will help relax and rejuvenate your body!
7. Don’t skimp on sleep. Don’t skimp on sleep. Don’t skimp on sleep!! We can’t stress this enough. You’ll need all the energy you can get!
8. Think of your New Year’s Resolutions. Start them today, instead of January 1st! Or, at the very least, keep them in mind, and start building towards them.
9. Take some time for yourself. With all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it’s easy to forget that you need some me-time. Take a bath with epsom salts; read your favourite book by the fire; or make a calming cup of tea.
10. Relax, and enjoy the holidays!!

From our family to yours, we wish you a very happy and healthy holiday season!

Can’t sleep on Christmas eve? Insomnia is not just a problem for excited kids. Many people suffer from sleeplessness, and not just on Christmas eve, but on every eve. Insomnia affects one out of every three people. Some have trouble falling asleep, while others have trouble sleeping through the night.

There are many causes of insomnia, and if you can target what causes your insomnia, it makes fighting it a whole lot easier. Causes of sleep difficulties can include: use of stimulants, such as caffeine; depression, anxiety, tension, and/or stress; hormone imbalances from menopause; blood sugar swings; indigestion; and adrenal depletion. There are many solutions to solving the sleep problem. Besides addressing the causative factors above, there are many natural remedies and techniques that may be of help to you.

Maximize Melatonin! How? 
1) 5-HTP increases serotonin, a precurser to melatonin, the natural hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle.
2) Sleep in a quiet, dark room; you shouldn’t be able to see your hand in front of your face, as darkness releases our natural melatonin from the pineal gland. Wear a sleep mask if necessary.
3) Maintain a regular sleep/wake cycle. Set a reasonable time for bed each night and stick with it.

Herbal Help!
1) Try passionflower for racing minds, or avena sativa, valerian, and hops for nervous tension and restlessness.
2) Lavendar oil can help reduce stress and has a calming effect on the body and mind.

Blood Sugar Balance!
1) PGX is proven to help!
2) The Lifewatcher lifestyle benefits as well

Homeopathy to the Rescue!
1) Calms and Calms Forte are homeopathic remedies that nourish the nervous system and often give excellent results.
2) Rescue Sleep works quietly and safely
3) Sleep Well can remedy sleeplessness caused by a variety of factors

Needed Nutrients
1) Sufficient magnesium is needed for a good night’s sleep.

Lack of sleep can make you sluggish and irritable and can lead to other health problems down the road. Come into any Goodness Me! location and talk to us about a plan for a good night’s sleep… and very Happy Holidays!

The coconut is becoming an ever-popular item in the food industry. Everyone seems to be jumping on the coconut bandwagon, from coconut water and coconut milk to coconut yogurt. What’s so great about it, anyway?

Coconuts don’t just have one great nutritional feature; they have many! In one little coconut, you can find an energy drink, a balanced meal, an antiseptic, a skin and hair moisturizer, mild sun protection, natural anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial properties, and, of course, great taste! And while we don’t have coconut trees popping up around the Hamilton area, we can get these many benefits from different coconut products.

If you prefer to drink its flavour, you can enjoy coconut water or coconut milk. Coconut water is filled with electrolytes and is one of the most nutritious beverages you can consume – especially if you’re an athlete or physically active. It’s nature’s gatorade! Coconut milk is great to drink on its own, and gives your coffee an unbeatable flavour. Alternatively, you can enjoy the meat of the coconut. Shredded or in flakes, organic coconut is a great addition to a snack or meal. Try mixing some shredded coconut with a few nuts, seeds, and raisins – you’ll have energy in no time. And, just recently, Goodness Me! has added a delicious Coconut Yogurt to our shelves! Already a customer favourite, So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt offers a dairy-free alternative to the coconut-loving market. And it truly is delicious – you may even feel guilty eating it! But it’s full of lauric acid and medium-chain fatty acids, both of which are beneficial for weight management and supporting your immune system.

One of the best ways to enjoy coconut, though, is coconut oil. Coconut oil is an excellent alternative to other cooking oils, as it’s very heat-stable. You can use it in everything: stir-fries, making popcorn, pancakes, and even eggs. It’s also tasty mixed into your morning smoothie for your source of healthy fats.

Coconut oil is very helpful for weight loss and management, as it makes a nutritional replacement for conventional vegetable oils that are full of bad fats. The fat in coconut oil gets used by the body as energy, instead of being stored, so you don’t have to worry! In fact, people in tropical coastal areas who use coconut oil daily are normally never overweight. It’s easy to digest and also helps with healthy functioning of the thyroid. Coconut oil also increases metablism by removing stress on the pancreas, therefore burning more energy and more fat.

Not convinced? Come visit Goodness Me! for more information on coconut oil and healthy fats. Or, come pick up your new favourite coconut product, whether it be coconut water, coconut milk, coconut yogurt, coconut oil, or coconut flakes or shreds. You be the judge: why will coconut be YOUR most perfect food?

This year, Goodness Me! is celebrating our 30th anniversary. With 4 successful stores, thousands of healthy products, friendly and knowledgeable staff, great educational courses, and delicious deli food, we’re happy to say that we are ever growing to serve our communities and customers. And this weekend, we have lots of events planned to commemorate our 30 years in health, and we hope you’ll join us! But first, let’s take a look at Goodness Me’s journey.

1981: WE STARTED AS ONE…

30 years ago, Janet Jacks made a commitment to improve the health and quality of life for her family, friends, and the community around her. Her research pointed her in one direction: nutrition. Motivated by her husband’s diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, and discouraged by the lack of quality health products available, Janet opened the first Goodness Me! store in Hamilton.

It wasn’t easy, at first. Janet was the only employee in this first small store. She ordered products, stocked shelves, engaged with customers, ran cash, and even baked. Her passion and enthusiasm to educate people about health and nutrition kept the first store alive!

2011: WE’VE GROWN TO MANY…

Now, 30 years later, Goodness Me! has grown into 4 successful stores and hundreds of knowledgeable, friendly staff. Janet Jacks has her own radio show on AM900CHML called Just for the Health of It, which airs Saturday mornings at 8:00am. Goodness Me! offers countless educational classes, including our 10-week Lifewatchers course. We carry a range of products and a wealth of information. Our deli and bakery areas have developed greatly to include a variety of fresh, gourmet foods made each and every day to please your appetite. Much has changed but some things stay the same, like our commitment to you and your health!

This weekend, Friday Oct. 28th-Sunday Oct. 30th, visit our Burlington (3455 Fairview St.) and Waterdown (74 Hamilton St. N.) stores for our anniversary events. We’ve got FREE food samples all weekend long, exclusive anniversary classes and cooking demos, demos set up throughout the store, face painting for kids, and much, much more! Whether you’re a loyal Goodness Me! customer or wondering what we’re all about, this is your chance to discover everything we have to offer. We promise we’ll have something for you!

COME SEE WHAT WE’RE ALL ABOUT!

Fall is the perfect time to enjoy seasonal harvest fruits and vegetables. Apples, pumpkin, squash… these fruits of the harvest are versatile, delicious, and great for your body. One of the season favourites is butternut squash. This pear-shaped, tangerine-coloured fruit (technically a fruit, since it has seeds on the inside) not only tastes wonderful, but is full of beneficial nutrients and vitamins. Let’s take a closer look at this powerhouse of nutrition!

Though butternut squash has a pale, hard skin, its flesh is vibrant and denser than many of its squash relatives. It’s rich in phytonutrients and antixoidants to help fight damaging free radicals and keep your skin from looking aged. It is particularly high in the antioxidant vitamin C, so if you don’t feel like peeling an orange in the colder months, pick up a butternut squash instead (vitamin C is great for strengthening your immune system!). Its high antioxidant content has also been linked to anti-inflammatory effects. All of this is alone is fantastic – but there’s more!

Butternut squash is also good for your heart. It’s very rich in dietary fibre, which is a heart friendly choice and important for a balanced diet. The folate content in butternut squash is also beneficial for your ticker. Furthermore, butternut squash is high in potassium to contribute toward bone health, and has a good amount of vitamin B6, which is beneficial for the functioning of nervous and immune systems – just what we need in cold and flu season!

Better yet, butternut squash is a versatile fruit. You can serve it stringy, in cubes, mashed, in a casserole, as part of a delicious sauce, or, my personal favourite, as the main ingredient in butternut squash soup. That’s the perfect dish for fall: it’s warming comfort food that makes us feel good inside and out!

Starting tomorrow, Goodness Me will be featuring a delicious Butternut Squash soup at our deli. Prepared fresh with the best ingredients, this may just become your favourite dish of the season. Come on by to try it out and reap the many rewards that butternut squash can bring!

It’s just about that time of year again. You hear people sneezing, coughing, sniffling. You see them walking around like zombies, completely energy-deprived. You keep your distance so you don’t get whatever awful illness it is that they have. That’s right – it’s cold and flu season!

There are many things one can do to prevent the onset of colds and flu, and strengthen the immune system. Supplements, homeopathics, essential oils… but are there foods that we can eat to give our immune systems a kick in the butt? Absolutely!

We’re got just the recipe for you: Lemon and Garlic Roasted Chicken. It’s simple, easy, delicious, and promotes a number of health benefits without you even realizing it. The lemon (which is used to season the outside and the inside of the chicken) is full of antioxidants and vitamin C which help neutralize free radicals. Free radicals can cause inflammation and swelling of the internal and external body systems, and the properties in lemons help to prevent this. Lemons also promote a strong immune system, which is just what we need this time of year.

Garlic, which also flavours the chicken, is loaded with manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and selenium. These properties help protect against oxidative stress, and also carry anti-inflammatory benefits. Furthermore, garlic has anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties, which help support our immune system in times of stress and invasion. It’s a great food to include to prevent colds and flu!

Lastly, rosemary. Rosemary not only smells and looks lovely, but it carries a number of health benefits. Rosemary helps stimulate the immune system, increase circulation, and improve digestion. This little green herb does it all!

Furthermore, you get all the protein and nutrients that chicken brings to your body.

Now, for the recipe. If you know how to roast a chicken, you’ll have no problem whipping this up. It’s delicious, immune-boosting, and feeds a whole family. Enjoy!

1 roasting hen
juice of 1 lemon
3 cloves finely chopped organic garlic
2 cloves whole organic garlic
2 sprigs rosemary (optional)
1 organic lemon, quartered
1 tsp Herbamare or sea salt
2 tbsp dried rosemary
fresh cracked black pepper

Set the BBQ to high. Rinse off chicken and pat dry with a paper towel. Combine lemon and spices. Rub mixture all over chicken. Place whole garlic, rosemary sprigs, and a couple lemon quarters inside chicken. Grill chicken on high about 2 minutes per side. Turn off 1 burner. Leave the other burner on high. Place chicken on the side of the BBQ that is off. Close lid. Turn over after 30 minutes. Chicken should be done in approximately 1.5 hours, depending on the size. Enjoy!

A lot can happen in 30 years, and a lot HAS happened from 1981 to today. Think about it: the internet has become a mass phenomenon, we’ve invented hybrid cars, developed a green movement to help preserve our environment, and we have the world at our fingertips through cell phones and laptops. The world has made momentous advancements in the last 30 years, and so has Goodness Me!

We began as a small store built and run on the passion of Janet Jacks, Goodness Me! founder. Janet opened the store as a way to help her family, friends, and the people of Hamilton live healthier lives by nourishing themselves with good food and quality supplements. What began as one woman’s dream has grown into a successful business with 4 locations, dedicated and knowledgeable staff, and the best selection of organic and natural products. It’s been quite a journey!

So, what are we doing to celebrate this milestone? We have a range of exciting events planned to recognize our 30 years of health, and it’s all starting in October. A month from tomorrow, from October 21-23, we are celebrating our 30th Anniversary at our Upper Gage and Locke St. locations; the following weekend, October 28-30, we will be celebrating at our Burlington and Waterdown locations. Mark the days in your calendar now!

What do we have in store for these weekends? Something for everyone! Outdoor food fairs, in-store demos and health professionals, back-to-back classes with international speakers and our very own Janet Jacks, professional cooking demonstrations, activities for kids, fantastic prizes to be won, and so much more! We will be releasing details day by day as we get closer to the events, so make sure to keep checking back for updates.

It’s going to be a wonderful time for everyone. For all classes and events happening in our classrooms, check our online calendar at www.goodnessme.ca. We hope to see you there!

If you’re anything like me, your allergy season doesn’t start until late summer, when all that lovely yellow pollen fills the air. You wake up in the morning feeling groggy with a heavy head, stuffy nose, itchy eyes and throat – ringing a bell? Most people equate allergy season with the Spring, but that’s not always the case. Until the first frost, we sniffle and we suffer.

So what can we do? A first step is to watch your diet. About 80% of your immune system lives in your gastro-intestinal tract – so taking care of your digestion is key to immune health. Concentrating on a cleansing, anti-inflammatory, easy-to-digest diet will go a long way during allergy season. Focus on real, whole foods and avoid hard-to-digest flour products, wheat, dairy, corn, and sugar. This kind of diet will be gentle on your digestive system and will support your immune system. Eating this way also helps rid your body of toxins, which also helps those suffering with allergies. Try adding cleansing herbs or other helpers to assist this detoxification process.

Probiotics are another good way to support the immune system and gut. Probiotics nourish and support the digestive and immune systems, and can help lower your allergic responses over time. In addition, fermented foods like kvas, unpasteurized sauerkraut, kefir, and Molkasan whey provide beneficial bacteria to help develop healthy gut flora.

What about other supplements? One excellent all-purpose herb is amazing nettles, which is nourishing, mineralizing, and balancing – all at the same time! It helps normalize the body and reduce your allergy symptoms, both inside and out. Taking Quercetin, a natural anti-inflammatory and anti-histamine, throughout the allergy season is another great step. Quercetin stops the over-production of histamine, and taking it (along with Vitamin C) ensures that you will enjoy the outdoors instead of fear the symptoms being outside can bring.

Lastly: homeopathics. Pollens 19 is a combination of the 19 most common Canadian tree pollens that will actually reduce your symptoms year by year. This follows the principle of “like cures like”. Start taking it now and throughout your personal allergy season, and don’t forget to start early with it next year – you might rid yourself of allergy symptoms gradually all together!

These are a few stepping stones on the right path for the reduction of allergy symptoms. If you’d like to find out more about these products, or learn others that might help you and your individual symptoms, come in to any Goodness Me and talk to our knowledgable staff. The end of summer and beginning of fall should be a beautiful time to enjoy the outdoors – free yourself from allergies and get out there!

It’s the last day of August, which means September and the fall are literally around the cornor. This means different things for different people – back to school, back to work, more hectic schedules, and no more long, lazy days in the sunshine. But don’t forget – fall is beautiful, too, as long as the stress and busy-ness doesn’t wear you down! Before the stress of impending deadlines and busy days overloads your body, take some actions now and enjoy your fall as much as your summer.

As with anything, your diet plays a role in your stress levels and response. If your body isn’t getting the nourishment it needs through diet, it puts stress on your entire system, which quickly tires you out. Not to mention the extra hormones and chemicals found in many processed foods! Start your defense against stress by following a natural diet abundant in protein, healthy fats, and fiber. It will keep your body well-stocked with the materials it needs to fight stress.

Long, busy days and less sleep does more than produce bags under our eyes. It puts strain on our adrenal glands, which are the glands responsible for releasing hormones in response to stress. When this happens, we need to support our adrenals to avoid the unpleasant symptoms adrenal fatigue can cause (exhaustion, dizziness upon standing, headaches, eyes light-sensitive, etc.). We can support our adrenal glands and stress response by avoiding stimulants (caffeine, sugar, alcohol), eating more veggies and proteins, including adaptogenic herbs like Siberian Ginseng and Ashwaghanda, supplementing with a vitamin B complex or adrenal support supplement, and enjoying herbal teas like chamomile and lemon balm. Your adrenals – and your whole body – will thank you!

When our days get jam-packed and double-booked, it’s easy to forget to take some “me time”. But if we want to lower our stress levels, we MUST take time for ourselves! Every day, aim to spend half an hour pampering yourself. Whether that means taking a bath with lavender and epsom salts, curling up with a good book, meditating, praying, doing yoga – whatever it is, just make sure you do it, and enjoy it! It will restore your breathing and give you a sense of calmness.

Now for everyone’s favourite part – exercise!! If it’s not your favourite thing now, it should be – especially if you’re stressed out. Exercise releases endorphins, which help give you an overall joyous feeling of wellbeing, so you’ll actually feel better and happier once you’re done! And it’s a great way to blow off steam in a productive way. Grab a friend or put on your favourite tunes and get a move on!

These are just a few suggestions to help battle stress. Come into any Goodness Me to talk to someone for more information on any of the above tips, or to get more information on how to battle the stresses in your life.

The summer might be almost over - but the sun is still shining brightly, and will be for weeks to come! You’ve probably been protecting your skin from harmful UV rays with sunscreens, umbrellas, and hats, and healing your skin with aloe vera gel or a natural moisturizer and toner. However, there’s another small trick you might not have considered yet: a little wonder called vitamin E.

For the remainder of the summer (and even in the colder months), especially if you’re going to be spending a lot of time in the sun, vitamin E should definitely be included in your daily activities and travel bags. Vitamin E has powerful antioxidant properties, making it vital in protecting skin cells from harmful UV light, environmental pollutants, lipid oxidation, drugs, and other elements that contribute to the production of cell-damaging free radicals.

So, what exactly do free radicals do? One of the common dangers of free radicals is premature aging. Since vitamin E is an antioxidant, protecting against free radicals, this means that vitamin E not only protects skin from harmful elements, but actually keeps skin looking and feeling healthy and younger – and who doesn’t want that? This means that your skin can keep that healthy, fresh, sun-kissed glow through the remainder of the summer and into the coming months!

Another danger of free radicals is that they can lead to the development of various disorders, such as cardiovascular disease or even cancer. Vitamin E is your way to protect yourself from the damaging effects of free radicals. Enjoy your days in the sunshine while they’re still here, and let vitamin E help you out! And don’t forget to include it when you jet away in the colder months to go on vacation… you’ll come back looking fresher than ever.

Come into Goodness Me! and ask about vitamin E!