Meal planning can save you money, time, and energy. Don’t let these myths keep you from adding it to your life. MYTH 1: Meal planning takes too much time. TRUTH: Meal planning does take a bit of time at first, but when you have a plan, you can blast through a meal plan in minutes. You don’t have to spend hours a week meal prepping. MYTH 2: Meal planning means eating the same thing every day. TRUTH: You don’t have to eat only chicken breasts, rice, and broccoli. Meal planning simply means planning your meals, so plan whatever you like! MYTH 3: Meal planning makes you eat gross leftovers. TRUTH: You don’t need to cook once and eat the same thing all week long. You can meal prep for only a couple days; even simply spending 10 minutes to pre-chop vegetables can save you tons of time during the week.

Allyson Potrebka, Holistic Health Coach, HealthAndHappiness.ca/meal-planning

When someone has been labelled with a ‘learning disability’ (ADHD, OCD, autism, etc.), people tend to have the point of view that there is something wrong with those individuals because they don’t learn the way the rest of us do. Many times, people assume that children who don’t ‘fit in’ need to be taught how to behave so they can learn to function as if they were ‘normal’ and ‘average’. The reality is that these children pick things up in a totally different manner and we need to step up and find out how they learn, not try to teach them using methods that might have worked for us but definitely don’t work for them. What if what we perceive as a wrongness in them is actually a strongness? Access Bars is a great option to explore for both you and your loved one dealing with a learning disability.

Kori Gordon, FindingYouNow.com

In June, we celebrate Father’s Day and this is a perfect opportunity to prove that essential oils (EOs) aren’t just for women! Most men are scared off by EOs because they either think that they won’t work on them or are scared they’ll smell too girly. But in fact, there are many EOs that are used specifically for men’s issues and lots of essential oils are used in men’s colognes, so they inherently smell manly! Men have different needs than women do, and there are many interesting ways for men to use EOs for a variety of concerns. Examples include wintergreen and copaiba to soothe sore muscles, marjoram to reduce snoring, peppermint to relieve heartburn, cedarwood to tackle hair loss, tea tree to treat athlete’s foot, lemon to remove goop and grime from hands, and peppermint to cool the skin while working outdoors in warmer weather!

Sylvia Provenski, CanadianMoms.ca

Fireworks can be fun for humans, and with all of the coming summer weekends, they are inevitable. Dogs don’t always hold the same enthusiasm, however. Here are some tips for helping your dog cope with fireworks season. Make sure your dog is wearing identification or has a microchip in case they run away. Keep your dog indoors during the fireworks, as far away as possible from the noise. Place a thick blanket over their kennel to help muffle the sounds. Make sure the kennel is in an area where they will not overheat. Make sure your dog is tired by nighttime when the fireworks begin. Lots of exercise may be necessary during the day. Give your dog something yummy to chew on in their kennel, such as a Kong toy filled with goodies.

Rob Lamont, APetLovers.com

Pelvic floor muscle-training exercises can strengthen the muscles under the uterus, bladder, and bowel. They can help both men and women who have bladder and bowel control problems. It has been described as pretending that you have to urinate and then holding it. You should feel movement in the muscles: the vagina, bladder, or anus closes and moves upwards. You should not feel other areas of your legs, hips, or pelvis move or lift. It is important to keep other muscles relaxed while performing a pelvic floor muscle exercise. However, many situations exist which create a different picture. Sometimes, the pelvic floor muscles are held tight and cannot relax or let go. Because this is often not recognized by the individual, it might appear there are no contractions. For women who have a tight pelvic floor, concentrating on contracting the muscles would be extremely difficult.

Marita Dowsett, B.P.T., Physio 4 U, Physio4u.net

Learn how to create your own natural First Aid Kit using Essential Oils. Not everyone wants to reach for harsh chemicals or medicated creams when faced with a mild “boo boo”, so as an alternative, I’ll show you my favourite essential oils to have on-hand to help ease minor mishaps.

There are six common essential oils (EOs) that every natural first aid kit should contain Lavender, Tea Tree, Chamomile, Rosemary, Peppermint and Eucalyptus.

Lavender: Lavender is probably the most popular EO and there is good reason why. In fact, if you could have only one essential oil in your arsenal, this would be it! Lavender is great for treating minor cuts and scrapes, as it is known to have anti-bacterial properties. It also encourages healing, can prevent scarring of cuts and burns and it can relieve minor pain and itching (which is great for pesky bug bites). However, beyond that, Lavender is also known for its calming properties, perfect for not only soothing “boo boos” but also soothing your soul!

Tea Tree or Melaleuca is one of the strongest and safest natural antiseptics known and is often used to prevent and treat infection. It is a helpful essential oil for cold sores, rashes and scrapes. We have often heard of Tea Tree used for acne because of its anti-bacterial properties. Not only is it anti-bacterial but also anti-fungal, so is also used to treat fungal infection such as athlete’s foot.

Camomile essential oil has natural anti-inflammatory and analgesic (pain reliever) properties. It is also valuable as it is one of the few essential oils gentle enough to safely use on children. Great for treating bumps, bruises, and sprains. Keep in mind that there are several different kinds of Chamomile essential oil. However, only two of them, German Chamomile and Roman Chamomile possess the healing properties useful for your essential oil first aid kit.

Rosemary is a good all-purpose EO. It contains similar properties as those mentioned above by relieving aches & pains, being anti-bacterial, and soothing minor cuts/scrapes. But Rosemary is also useful for relieving digestive discomfort. Another useful property that Rosemary has is that it is a mild stimulant, which can come in handy when needing to boost alertness.

Peppermint is another EO that can also boost alertness, but that is not its only benefit. In addition to this Peppermint is great for relieving nausea, motion sickness or indigestion. Furthermore, applying it your scalp, or at the back of your neck can help relieve irritating headaches. Because of its cooling sensation, Peppermint is also often used to cool the skin if sunburned and can even help reduce body temperature.

Eucalyptus is a great EO to have around for coughs & colds and to help sooth respiratory issues. It is often found in cough drops for this reason. In addition, Eucalyptus makes a great insect repellent to keep those stinging/biting bugs away!

The common applications of essential oils are: topically (directly on the skin using a carrier oil), via inhalation (drop oil into palm of your hand, then cup your hand around nose to breathe in), or by diffusion (using a room diffuser).

As with any type of herb or natural medicine, make sure that you are purchasing the best quality essential oil on the market. Lower quality oils may state that they are 100% pure, but that does not necessarily mean they are 100% pure essential oils. They may contain fillers! I like to use oils from companies that use third party testers to ensure the quality. A few companies out there do this type of testing.

Now that you know a handful of good oils to keep on hand for an emergency, you need to know how to use them properly. Essential oils are very potent and powerful– start low and go slow and dilute with carrier oils. In most cases, using 1-2 drops at a time is adequate and using more may waste product. Proper usage is indicated on each Essential Oil label. It’s very important to follow label instructions

To learn more about how to use essential oils or to see what my favourite oils are, go to my website CanadianMoms.ca or contact me at SProvenski@gmail.com