Books:

The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee – Tracing one scientist’s journey toward understanding the crucial importance of the microbiome, this revolutionary book will take readers to the forefront of trail-blazing research while revealing the damage to our health that is caused by overuse of antibiotics, including its contribution to the rise of obesity, asthma, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer.

Missing Microbes by Martin J. Blaser – Tracing one scientist’s journey toward understanding the crucial importance of the microbiome, this revolutionary book will take readers to the forefront of trail-blazing research while revealing the damage to our health that is caused by overuse of antibiotics, including its contribution to the rise of obesity, asthma, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer.

The Untethered Soul by Michael A Singer – What would it be like to free yourself from limitations and soar beyond your boundaries? What can you do each day to discover inner peace and serenity? The Untethered Soul -now a #1 New York Times bestseller-offers simple yet profound answers to these questions.

Taking the Leap by Pema Chodron – Best-seller Pema Chödrön draws on the Buddhist concept of shenpa to help us see how certain habits of mind tend to “hook” us and get us stuck in states of anger, blame, self-hatred, and addiction. The good news is that once we start to recognize these patterns, they instantly begin to lose their hold on us and we can begin to change our lives for the better.

Products:

Raw Reserve by Amazing Grass: this is my favourite greens powder

Simply Bars: Made in Canada, no fake ingredients with soy and whey options available

Prana Products: this is a Canadian company that sells the most amazing nuts, snacks and nut butters. They also have a great recipe section.

Local Services:

Ocean Bottom Soap– Ocean Bottom Soaps are chemical free, environmentally friendly and 100% biodegradable.  The soaps are handmade, using organic, all natural and exotic ingredients. Deodorant and body bars are also available

Shop Eco: Tired of feeling confused about how to find brands that were truly safe for herself and her family, Debra Purdy began researching cosmetic and cleaning product ingredients when she took over ownership in 2012. Since then, she and her team have transformed ShopEco into a local destination for some of the best green beauty brands in the business. The result is a shop that does the thinking for you – our motto is, “We read the labels so you don’t have to.”

Websites:

Ewg: this an indispensable resource to help you find safe beauty care products, sunscreen and food.

less toxic guide: The objective of this site is to provide information about potential health risks of commonly used products, help identify less toxic alternatives for personal care, household cleaning, baby care, and household pest control and provide information to help you evaluate products not in this Guide in order to choose the safest ones for your needs.

OhSheGlows.com: Oh She Glows Every Day is filled with delicious, wholesome, and accessible plant-based recipes.

Local Restaurants:

Healthy Mama: Healthy Mama sticks to mostly organic and non-gmo ingredients. Their primary focus is vegan and vegetarian food, however most of their items are ALSO raw.

Carrots n Dates: Carrots n’ Dates is cozy cafe specializing in wholesome, gluten free and 100% plant based food made with the freshest and finest ingredients. All of our food is sourced local and GMO free when possible.We believe that food is an essential source for health, energy, happiness and well-being.

Taloola Cafe: Taloola Café specializes in healthy food, organic and fair trade coffees, teas, creativity, and charm. Come in and treat yourself to friendly people, quiet corners to talk or read in and, of course, great food