August

Raising Healthy Children

Holistic nutrition can benefit not only you but your entire family. Find tips and tricks, articles, and kid-friendly recipes to help with picky eaters, proper nutrition for children, allergies, healthy habits, and more. We’ve got every stage covered, thanks to our community of holistic nutrition professionals. 

This article addresses why it’s important to find out if your child is adversely affected by foods, some common food allergies, and how you can help. Education about this matter is important as it can affect them into adulthood.

Whole foods are better than processed foods as it can prevent health problems down the road, prevent obesity in children, help you get the maximum amount of nutrients, and more. Kids will benefit when you eat like this as a family and model healthy habits and attitudes towards whole foods. This blog post shares 5 ways to eat more whole foods. 

Jess Sherman is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist™ professional who arms parents with a powerful understanding of nutrition and the body so their entire family can relax, learn and grow. She has created a virtual clinic and community to teach parents the core dietary strategies for supporting physical and mental resilience, which are also outlined in her book, Raising Resilience. Jessica also hosts the podcast “Feeding Families” on EcoParent. 

Do you have a game plan ready for when school starts again in September? Here are 10 tips for better and healthier school lunches. Get inspired and set your kids up for success! We also share some insight from holistic nutrition practitioners in this post about why kids eat the way they do.

We’re sharing this article from Karen Kerr, R.H.N. for Our Children Magazine in Halifax. This is about how you can expand your child’s culinary world and encourage curiosity and creativity. There is also a recipe included for quick and easy egg bites. Check it out!

The skin’s outermost layer is dependent on good fats. A sign of a healthy child is lustrous hair and skin. Everything is connected and you may notice other improvements when addressing skin health with nutrition. This article provides some practical tips on how to incorporate essential fatty acids into their diet and start their health journey when they are young. 

This easy meal will become a family favourite in no time because you can make it in less than 30 minutes. This is a great meal for kids too as you can have a tasty array of colourful veggies. Recipe from Stacey Deering, C.H.N.C.

This is a family-friendly breakfast that is packed with protein and easy to grab on the go. It’s also a great recipe to use up any overripe bananas you have lying around. Recipe from Caelin Folsom, R.H.N.

This Tuscan-inspired meal comes together quickly for a cozy delicious dinner. It also happens to be dairy-free, using coconut milk which is packed with MCTs and anti-inflammatory properties. Recipe from Jamie Ames, C.H.N.

Keep energy up with this playful spin on a popular snack. This nutrient-dense snack has carbs for energy, nut butters, hemp hearts, and coconut to prevent blood sugar spikes, and cinnamon to help with blood sugar control.

A super immune smoothie is a yummy way to eat the rainbow! This is one of our favourite ways to get those important antioxidants and vitamins into your kid’s diet.

Here are some fun ways to incorporate a balance of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and proteins. Brain Booster Boards can be made many different ways to include a variety of vitamins, healthy fats, proteins, textures, and tastes to keep things fun and interesting!

This is a quick and refreshing treat for the hot summer days. It’s also super simple to make and beautiful to look at. Dairy-free and gluten-free, this vegan sweet treat is great for everyone! Recipe from Delia Mota, R.H.N.

What is a Holistic Nutritionist?

CSNN graduate Sisley Killam shares her experience with the Natural Nutrition Diploma Program, what brought her to holistic nutrition, and how her career has flourished. 

This is a healthier version of this popular kid’s snack. This elevated recipe has brain-loving ingredients to help support growing minds. Recipe from Neurotrition.

CSNN graduate Alexa Torontow shares her recipe for 4-ingredient soft and gooey “breakfast” cookies. Super simple and quick to make! 

Chocolate Cherry Nice Cream

CSNN graduate Amy Longard shares her recipe for Cherry Chocolate ‘Nice’ Cream, a quick DIY dairy-free banana-based ice-cream.

Helping Children Have a Healthy Relationship with Food

Good healthy habits start young. CSNN graduate Debora Palmieri gives some tips and insight on how to raise holistic children, one meal at a time. Article via EcoParent.

Zoodles & Turkey Meatballs

Instead of spaghetti and meatballs, CSNN graduate Marisa Ricci shares her healthy and delicious take on this classic kid-favourite dish. 

Better Breakfast Routines and Hacks

CSNN graduate Jessica Sherman shares some important information on how to build better breakfast routines to build a healthy lifestyle. Article via EcoParent. 

Recommended Resources:

  • “The Resourceful Mother’s Secrets to Healthy Kids” – Meredith Deasley, R.H.N.
  • “No More Junk Food!: 80+ Delicious Recipes to Replace Popular Processed Foods” – Wendy McCallum, R.H.N.
  • “Nutrition Guide For New Moms” – Lisa Millar, R.H.N.
  • “ADHD is Not a Four Letter Word: Drug Free Strategies for Managing the Gift that is ADHD” – Karen Ryan, R.H.N.
  • “Raising Resilience: 36 Ways To Help Your Kids Relax, Learn and Grow” – Jessica Sherman, R.H.N. (Watch Jess Sherman’s TV interview on Daytime Ottawa where she discusses her book)
  • “100 Healthiest Foods To Eat During Pregnancy” – Allison Tannis, R.H.N.
  • “A Natural Foods Approach to Children’s Nutrition” – Shara Vickers, R.H.N.
  • “Overweight Kids in a Toothpick World: How to solve the childhood obesity puzzle and get your kids in balance” – Brenda Wollenberg, R.H.N.

Children’s Books:

  • “Did You Eat Your Vitamins Today” – Ena Sabih, R.H.N.
  • “The Yummy Adventures of Celia and Cedric” series – Laara Exsnar, B.Ed., R.H.N. and Erin Kurt, B.Ed.
  • “Love to be Me”, “I Am Magical Me”, and “The Hue in You” – Sarah Kraftchuk, R.H.N.
  • “Everyday Superhero” and “Headstrong” – Stefania Moffatt, R.H.N.

Natural Nutrition Program 

The Pediatric course presents information on how to conceive and raise a healthy child in today’s world – a world in which our children’s health is declining at an alarming rate. Children’s nutritional needs and challenges differ from adults and require a unique approach. Students learn dietary, supplementation, and lifestyle recommendations from pre-conception, through pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding to raising healthy school-age children. This course also discusses ways to naturally manage allergies and food sensitivities, to establishing a healthy intestinal microbiome, healthy weight, the picky eater, the GAPS protocol and much more.

Learn more about our courses here.

Nutrition Tips for Kids

  • Rice Cereal – Friend or Foe? – If you are thinking about introducing solids to your baby, this blog post is for you. As a new mama, there is so much information out there that can be overwhelming. Caelin Folsom, R.H.N. sheds a little light on this topic.
  • How to Pack Your Kids’ Lunch with Confidence – Even when keeping packed lunches simple, there are many ways to be creative and make it fun for little ones. Ciara Morin, R.H.N. shares some tips for packing lunch, including focusing on functional and nutrient-dense foods to keep energy up.
  • 10 Ways to Bond or Connect with Your Unborn Baby – Denise Chiriboga, R.H.N., shares a list of ways that you and your partner can bond with your unborn baby to make baby feel safe, and let baby know that they are loved and cared for.

Reading Recommendations

We have lots of reading recommendations from our CSNN graduates, from nutrition guides for pregnancy, moms, and children, to fun children’s books where they can learn more about the food they eat and how it helps them grow strong and stay healthy.