It's that time of year again, my absolute favourite season, Fall is here! Part of me can't believe there are only 4 months left in 2015 but the other part is thrilled that the cooler weather is setting in and pumpkin spice everything is back! 

This is also the time of year that is the perfect opportunity to revamp your health with a nutritional detox. I have talked about why I prefer to do detoxes with a focus on diet many, many times before. For myself, and in my practice, I like to use a 'detox' as a way to get healthy practices and diet back on track as I find life generally derails them a bit.

After many basic gluten/dairy free detoxes, I upped the game a bit this past Spring by doing a Whole 30 as my Spring detox. I really liked it. You can read more about my experience with it here (mid way point) and here (at the end). 

What I liked most about it was the focus on removing sugar. Sugar has a huge impact on our health and as a society, we consume far too much, much of the time without even realizing it. So, for this detox, I will again be focusing on the basics- gluten/dairy AND removing sugar. 

Interested in following along with me? Here are the details:

• I will be cleansing for 2 weeks (14 days).
• I will share my 2 week meal plan including recipes for what I will be eating.
• It will focus on whole, real foods. I will provided the list of foods that I will be eating and those I will be avoiding.
• The kick off will be after Thanksgiving weekend in October..
• I will also give an online talk/webinar on why my detox/diet plan focuses on what it does, why foods are included/excluded, how to read food labels, sneaky non 'health' foods, and more.
• And the best part...it's FREE! Just sign up below and watch your inbox!

This cleanse can also be customizable depending on your specific health goals. If you would like to add supplementation to support certain organ systems or have specific health goals/concerns, you are of course welcome to book in to discuss them further so we can create a tailored plan just for you!

The fine print:
This cleanse and recipes provided are what I will be personally using, this may not be best for everyone and it does NOT replace individualized care from your health care provider. Like any diet changes, it's important to check with your health care professional if you have any health conditions such as 

• Pregnancy or lactation women
• Gallstones or obstructed bile passages
• Hepatitis or obstructed liver function
• Obstructed bowels
• Kidney dysfunction
• Heart disease or diabetes
• Cancer
• Recovering from surgery
• Are on any prescription medications
• etc.

Though these conditions may not be absolute contraindications, it is important to discuss it with your health care professional. At no point should this be a substitute for professional medical advice. And of course, if you would like to participate but aren't sure, you are welcome to book an appointment to discuss it further.

Disclaimer: Naturopathic Doctors strive to provide individualized health care. 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 an ND for individualized health recommendations.

Only on Day 2 of school lunches and already starting to struggle for ideas? A few months ago I posted about my daughter's lunches....with a great response! However, there was a common thread- "Do you have any ideas that are nut free?" haha I hear ya! Because my daughter is in a home based Montessori which also happens to be a vegetarian home, it has no restrictions on nuts but animal proteins are a no go. At home, however, we are not vegetarian and once my daughter transitions to public school her lunches won't be vegetarian based either. So, I started to document some of the lunches she has had in the last few weeks (and even put them in the Planet Box!) to help with public school lunch ideas. I don't have a tonne of pictures...yet. But because this has had such a great response, my goal is to start a monthly series to keep you going with 5 new lunchboxes a month, because, let's face it, by Thanksgiving creativity is usually dwindling...
So, here is my first (technically second) instalment of Lily's Lunchbox! 

Lunchbox 1
Mini Cucumber
Apple slices and grapes
Left over Bacon Braised Brussels Sprouts (I wasn't lying about her loving Brussels Sprouts..) Recipe (just leave the Pecans off for nut free)
Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs with Teriyaki Dip Recipe
Jelly Bean Treat

Lunchbox 2
Cucumber and Peppers
Grapes
Watermelon
Pasta Salad- Brown Rice Pasta, Grilled Greek Marinated Chicken, Cucumber, Peppers, Tomatoes, Goat's Feta with Olive Oil and Vinegar

Lunchbox 3
Cauliflower
Field Green Salad with Cucumbers, Tomatoes and Olive Oil and Vinegar
Left over St Jacob's Market Schnitzel
Nectarines
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

Lunchbox 4
Peppers, Cucumber, Tomatoes
Greek Lemon Potatoes (potatoes, chicken stock, water, garlic, lemon, salt, pepper)- left over
Greek marinated Chicken (Red wine vinegar, olive oil, oregano, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes)- left over
Grapes, Kiwi, Watermelon
Dried Cranberries and Cherries

Lunchbox 5
Egg Muffins (Red peppers, Mushrooms, Broccoli, Egg)
Romaine and veggie salad with cucumber
Peaches
Watermelon and Strawberries
Dried fruit

A few notes:

• Yes, all these lunches require cooking, however, all of cooking part can be done in bulk ahead of time. Even the chicken is actually just left overs and I actually packed that lunch as I put left over supper away! Doesn't get much easier than that...
• All of these can be customizable- mix up the fruits and veggies based on availability/season and what your child likes!
• Generally we are dairy and gluten free, however, none of us are extremely sensitive so we do consume some in small amounts. Some of these lunches contain dairy (Goat's feta) and gluten (Schnitzel breading) but can be easily left out if there is a sensitivity.
• Need some more ideas? You can find my original Lily's Lunchbox post here. Most of these contain nuts, however, the nuts can easily be substituted for a non-nut protein whether it is animal based or not. 

Happy Lunch Box Packing!!!

Disclaimer: Naturopathic Doctors strive to provide individualized health care. 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 an ND for individualized health recommendations.