More Naturopathic Gift Ideas

by | Dec 16, 2014 | Family, Gifts, Health, Relationships, Tea

It has been two years since I wrote this popular post. While we’re still strapped for cash, I decided to create an updated version of gift ideas for naturopathic students, doctors and people alike. These gifts are designed to fit the tastes and lifestyle of a health-conscious individual and are geared towards creating a minimal impact on the environment and your wallet while supporting local business and artisans. Happy Holidays!

Supplements:

I have decided that this year my family is receiving vitamin B12 shots and vitamin D drops. I love the d-drops that Shopper’s Drugmart sells. They are inexpensive and have only medium-chain triglycerides and flaxseed oil as additives. This provides the fat needed for vitamin D absorption. Each drop gives you 1000 IU so it’s quick and easy to dose. Vitamin D deficiency can result in autoimmune disease and decreased immunity, hair loss, fatigue and increased risk of certain cancers. So supplement daily from fall until spring. Other great go-to supplements are fish oils, probiotics and herbal tinctures. Talk to your naturopathic doctor about quality brands and the correct dosing and indications.

Teas:

This is a fan favourite. You can visit David’s Tea or Teavana or other local places for ready-made, delicious loose leaf teas. I found some great teas at Adagio Teas and ordered a massive bag. Or you can shops at Perfect Herbs (for practitioners), the Herbal Dispensary or Clefs de Champs, and mix and match herbal concoctions according to the personality and health needs of your family members. Is your brother suffering from premature hair loss and work-related stress? Mix in some Fo-ti and liquorice root. Is your father always on edge? Add in some chamomile and lavender to calm his nerves. Put the containers in a mason jar and create fancy labels and instructions for them. Consider infusion teapots of these Libretea glass mugs, recommended by a friend and colleague.

Natural Body Care:

You can make your own (start with my recipes page or wellnessmama.com), which I prefer, or you can buy from local businesses and artisans; you can start with some amazing products from these lovely herbal ladies or visit a crafts or health fair. Alternatively, Winners often amazes me with some of the organic and natural products that they sell for decent prices, including a face cream with hyaluronic acid made in Italy and argon oil serums. If you’re pressed for cash, I’ve made a great face mask out of matcha green tea powder, castor oil and coconut oil.

Natural soaps, snacks and healthy baking essentials:

Bulk Barn is my new favourite natural haven. I found $1 handmade soaps of evening primrose oil and goat’s milk. I also saw $3 bags of kale chips with vegan seasonings like hemp cream and chives. You can put together a body care and snack package, hooking your loved one up with a selection of gluten-free flours, cereals and even protein powders. You can even purchase glass jars for creating pretty packaging.

Castor oil:

Seems silly, but this really is the gift that keeps on giving. Include a package of instructions on how to create castor oil packs (you can even include a hot water bottle), hair masks and full-body massages. I love castor oil and use it in some way everyday. Alternatively, you can also buy your loved one a quality coconut oil.

Books:

Always a great idea for a gift and the prices range dramatically, making them appropriate for any budget. On my wish list are, Healing Depression Naturally, Motivational Interviewing 3rd Edition, Narrative Practice and Food and Healing. Ebooks are often free or very inexpensive. They are another great option and easily accessible on any tablet, smartphone or e-reader.

Coffee Passports:

Toronto Indie Coffee Passport: just because that’s what I want for Christmas (and out of life in general).

A session (or two) with a naturopathic doctor:

Intakes are $150 and covered under most extended health insurance plans. Give your loves ones the gift of health while supporting a local professional. Related options are a package of massages, a gift certificate to Body Blitz or a series of yoga or meditation classes.

Handmade items:

I love Etsy. Also check out Christmas markets and one-of-a-kind shows. Or get in touch with crafty friends who are selling their handiwork. Last year I bought “magic bags” for the whole family, which were made by a particularly crafty friend. Now whenever anyone has sore muscles, indigestion or a headache, we microwave or heat up a bag and enjoy the warmth.

A night out:

This is usually my go-to gift for my father who much prefers quality time over material items. We take him to a movie that he wants to see, a comedy show at Second City ($15 a ticket for students), Art Battle Toronto (held one Tuesday night a month) or Toronto Poetry Slam and out to dinner. Or you can cook a nutritious and delicious dinner at home. And in that case, you’ll need to buy:

A bottle of local wine or a case of craft beer:

I love Ontario wines and they are usually pretty inexpensive, sometimes organic and local. Light a fire, put on some wool socks and Christmas music and enjoy a bottle of red with some organic chocolate from ChocoSol (the most delicious thing I’ve eaten in a long time) and enjoy each others’ company.

A homeopathic first aid kit:

A must-have for any natural health nut, these kits contain a variety of acute, low-potency homeopathic remedies for any health occasion. These contain remedies for a variety of acute conditions including post-surgeries, bruises, bug-bites, coughs, colds and headaches. You can also consider a drainage kit or homeopathic detox kit.

Wall art:

Another personal go-to. I took pictures of mossy, graffiti-covered walls while traveling in India, printed them in 8×10’s and framed them for my brother’s new house. It adds colour, love and memory to your walls and transforms a space while being a meaningful yet inexpensive gift.

Plants:

Decorative or practical (herbs, spices, vegetables), plants are always a natural go-to for the lover of all things green. I’ve seen cool bags for making living walls at local nurseries, which can reduce the carbon footprint and increase the feeling of nature and tranquility to any indoor space.

What about you, what are your favourite go-to gift ideas for the healthy and environmentally conscious individual?

DIY Vanilla Spice Sugar Scrub

DIY Vanilla Spice Sugar Scrub

by | Mar 12, 2013 | Beauty, DIY, Gifts, Natural Body Care, Skin health

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In search of something to tame unruly eye-brows I went back to Shopper’s Drugmart one day. I perused the “natural” cosmetic counter, peering at the ingredients list of face washes, moisturizers and acne creams. What constitutes “natural” ingredients? I wondered. Surely a case can be made that petroleum is natural because it was derived from the earth at one point. However, when it comes to cosmetics, for me, at least (and call me demanding), I believe that what goes on your body should also be safe to go in your body. After all, that’s where it will eventually end up; our skin is a giant sponge. Alas, even the “natural” products at most commercial drug stores and even many health food stores don’t fit that criteria (i.e.: being edible). Many of them still contain additives and preservatives. Many of them even contain harmful chemicals. And, of course, slapping the word “natural” on the product, despite being cheaper to make, automatically justifies a 90% price increase. Save yourselves.

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DIY Natural Nutritive Lotion

DIY Natural Nutritive Lotion

by | Feb 6, 2013 | Anti-aging, Beauty, Gifts, Home Remedies, Recipes, Skin health

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Of all the cosmetics to make, lotions are one of the hardest. The reason is basic grade 6 science: oil and water don’t mix. This lotion recipe, however, contains no water, just fats. It goes on smoothly, leaves no greasy after-feel and keeps skin soft for days. The best part? Any botanical or skin-healthy oils can be added to it for extra nutrient-rich punch. I adapted it from this recipe, on wellnessmama.com, a great site for finding DIY beauty product recipes that can be easily made at home.

 

DIY Natural Nutritive Lotion

Just like the rest of our body we need to feed our skin. While good skincare starts on the inside, sometimes it’s helpful to apply nutrient-rich lotions and moisturizers to give skin a vitamin boost. Antioxidants, vitamins and minerals can help heal skin of a variety of conditions, such as acne, the signs of aging, uneven tone, wrinkles, sun damage, dryness or allergic conditions. Rather than investing in expensive creams and lotions that have limited effects, create your own lotion that will last you forever, is far more cost-effective and only contains ingredients that are good for your skin, no fillers or preservatives.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of a light oil, such as olive oil, apricot kernel oil (which has excellent moisturizing and anti-aging properties), grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, etc. For extra skin-healing powers, I used 1/2 cup of my calendula oil infusion. Calendula is anti-inflammatory and healing for skin. To create a botanical-rich lotion you can create an oil infusion with calendula, camomille or even green tea and add it in here.

1/4 cup of beeswax pellets (to help lock in moisture)

1/4 cup of coconut oil

1/8 cup shea butter (2 tablespoons). Shea butter is packed full of skin-healthy vitamins that help moisturize skin and neutralize free radicals that can cause aging.

1 tsp vitamin E oil (an antioxidant that is very nutritive to skin)

Optional: Any skin-healthy items you want to add. I added 20 drops of sea buckthorn (a hot ingredient in natural skincare that is a potent skin antioxidant and helps nurture and heal skin cells) and 20 drops of neem oil, which is great for skin that is prone to acne or allergic conditions. Watch out, though, it can be drying.

Optional: essential oil for fragrance, if that’s your thing. Adding a few drops of vanilla extract makes this lotion smell like cookie dough. However, if you’re going to apply it as a face lotion, I’d refrain from adding fragrance.

Directions: 

In a double boiler, add the shea butter, beeswax and oils together, stirring until they’ve melted.

Remove from heat and add in the rest of the ingredients. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature while stirring frequently to keep the lotion airy and light.

Sea buckthorn gives the lotion a yellow colour. It should only be applied within a lotion, never directly to the skin, as it will turn you yellow! The lotion has a soft and creamy texture once applied and may give skin an oily sheen. It absorbs nicely, however, and keeps you moisturized for the entire day. It’s also a great base for creating a super lotion: packed full of whatever healing ingredients your skin needs.

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This recipe makes 1 cup of lotion, which should last you a long time. There’s just one disclaimer: this product was tested on animals. I rubbed some on Coco’s paws!

 

10 Cheap and Holistic Gift Ideas for the Naturopathic Medical Student

10 Cheap and Holistic Gift Ideas for the Naturopathic Medical Student

by | Dec 21, 2012 | Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, Creativity, DIY, Family, Food, Gifts, Health, Holidays, Student, Student debt

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If we weren’t broke before coming to this program, after about 2.5 years you’ll bet we are now! There’s no time to get a job and no money to be spent on expensive, luxurious gifts. So, what’s a naturopathic student to do? In order to partake in the materialism of the holiday season (and I actually do love giving gifts), here are some very cheap, fun, healthy and easy gift ideas for the entire family that will actually be used and enjoyed!

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