Choices Market is a locally owned and operated grocery store here in the Vancouver area (they just recently added a new store in the BC Interior town of Kelowna, as well). As Western Canada’s largest retailer of natural and organic foods, Choices has always been a leader in the local business community and have always placed a focus on supporting local growers and producers. They have also led the way in making choices (pun intended) and taking action to ensure that their stores operate in the most sustainable way possible.

And they listen to their customers! (How often do you encounter that in a large retailer these days?) Choices customers have voiced their opinion that less packaging is better, and as usual, Choices is listening. They’ve created the Sustainability Program.

From their web site (choicesmarket.com): The Choices Sustainability Program will allow proactive Brand Owners the opportunity to fully close the recycling loop.

The program is simple.

* Select Brand Owners will approve the return of all their packaging to Choices Recycling Centre
* Shelf signs with the Choices Recycling Centre logo will be placed in front of products that may be returned to Choices Recycling Centre
* Consumers return authorized packaging to the Choices Recycling Centre
* Packaging is collected by the Choices Recycling Centre and sent off to the appropriate recycling depot
* Any revenues for collected materials will be donated to local charities.

Choices Markets strives to take responsibility for the full life cycle of the products we sell. We are proud to incorporate this program into our store and we are excited to be an integral part of the solution.

From everyone here at HippyGrandma, congratulations once again to a community leader, Choices Market, for a great idea and for taking one more step toward a fully sustainable future.

namaste,
Zoey

Zoey Ryan

founding hippy at hippy grandma

life, business & leadership coach for women

inspiration * clarity * wisdom * enchantment

604-323-3700

“Coaching for your heart & soul and the heart & soul of your business”

Are you a heart-centered and “soulful shopper”? Know of a new baby arriving? Keep the heart, soul & hippy love flowing for generations with purchases from Hippy Grandma: an Eco-Boutique selling fair trade, earth friendly treasures.

Through your purchases, you help local artisans, hand-crafting grandmas on a pension, women’s fair trade co-ops and programs designed to support high risk mamas & babies. Please share Hippy Grandma widely and wildly with your soul sisters. www.hippygrandma.com

Enjoy this article by Shannon Rosnau: Mystic Mama, Shakti Sage Life Coach, Advocate of Love
~
“Mystic Mama’s Infusion of Inspiration and Delight for Conscious Parents…

“Families are meant to be centers of love which radiate their love outward to other families. When people understand this purpose and can share the experience, then they can create joy and peace throughout society.” ~ Swami Rama

When I happened upon this quotation a few years ago, my heart filled with remembrance. “A-ha! This is what family life is all about!”

Beautiful and so simple, isn’t it?

Yet, making the choice to parent and grow one’s family in a conscious, unconditionally loving way takes courage and fortitude. A healthy dose of self-knowledge and willingness to let go of the “known” comes in handy, too. J

Approaching parenting and family life in a “non-traditional” manner is a revolutionary act. We are in uncharted territory. Not many of us, who find ourselves on the conscious parenting path, had the experience of “being parented’ in such an unorthodox fashion. Therefore, we are very much making things up as we go along! This can be a challenge.

Personally, I have chosen to approach family life in a way that is quite different from that which I experienced in my family of origin. My choice has to do with being true to my own heart and being aware of the wisdom of my children’s hearts, too. Still, I know how challenging it can be to break away from established parenting norms….

Over the years, I have learned that nothing and no one is “perfect” and families are always in “process”. Being conscious on our parenting journey has more to do with authentic love, forgiveness and a willingness to learn and evolve than anything else.

Love starts with each of us. By caring for ourselves and modeling self care to our children, we are breaking long established patterns. By holding our families as sacred centers of love we are changing the world. This is monumental.

How are you making your family a center of love?
How can you share the love cultivated within your family with others?

This week, do something that expresses the unique loveliness of your family. Create a family song. Dance together in the sun (or rain J). Bake muffins. Break out the magazines and cut and paste a family dream board. Make up a new game. Do whatever brings you all a giddy feeling of love and happiness. And don’t forget to share your joyful experiences with other families. This is part of what we’re here to do.

Each and every family is a unique flower in our global garden….Enjoy one another!”

What a wonderful reminder of what family’s are about! Thank you Shannon.

Namaste,

Zoey

Zoey Ryan

life, business & leadership coach for women
inspiration * clarity * wisdom * enchantment
www.shaktisage.com
604-323-3700

“Coaching for your heart & soul and the heart & soul of your business”

Are you a heart-centered and “soulful shopper”? Know of a new baby arriving? Keep the heart, soul & hippy love flowing for generations with purchases from Hippy Grandma: an Eco-Boutique selling fair trade, earth friendly treasures.

Through your purchases, you help local artisans, hand-crafting grandmas on a pension, women’s fair trade co-ops and programs designed to support vulnerable mamas & babies. Please share Hippy Grandma widely and wildly with your soul sisters. www.hippygrandma.com

A little while ago we wrote about some of the great reasons to eat seasonally and locally. One of our favorite parts of summer and early fall here at Hippy Grandma, is shopping for produce at our local farmers’ markets. We are very fortunate that there are many in our area, including the Ladner Market and the various Vancouver farmers markets.

One of the reasons we love to eat locally, is that we can become friends with and support local farmers. As we all become increasingly used to big box stores and ordering merchandise online, it can sometimes be easy to forget that there are people and lives behind the food that ends up on our table.

One such family has been providing healthy, organic fruits and vegetables for tables here in BC for more than three decades. Organic farming is definitely not a flashy trend that the Forstbauer’s from Chilliwack have just caught onto. They’ve been farming organically for over 30 years! In the late 1990s they also began to farm biodynamically. (You can read more about biodynamic farming here.)

It can’t ever be easy to be a farmer, and at a time when Statistics Canada is finding a steep decline in the number of family farms in our country, we suspect it’s even more difficult than ever. Luckily there are still a few people, like the Forstbauer’s, who are passionate about healthy food and healthy families.

Why not hug your favorite local farmer this week? Better yet, buy some of his great produce!

namaste,
Zoey

Zoey Ryan

founding hippy at hippy grandma

life, business & leadership coach for women

inspiration * clarity * wisdom * enchantment

604-323-3700

“Coaching for your heart & soul and the heart & soul of your business”

Are you a heart-centered and “soulful shopper”? Know of a new baby arriving? Keep the heart, soul & hippy love flowing for generations with purchases from Hippy Grandma: an Eco-Boutique selling fair trade, earth friendly treasures.

Through your purchases, you help local artisans, hand-crafting grandmas on a pension, women’s fair trade co-ops and programs designed to support high risk mamas & babies. Please share Hippy Grandma widely and wildly with your soul sisters. www.hippygrandma.com

Let’s talk healthy skin! Here in southern BC the temperatures soared this summer. We broke temperature records in July, and although the sun is less intense now, there’s always a need to take care of our skin and our children and grandchildren’s skin.

So that brings to mind some natural ways to do this. Two of our favorite product lines are Keys Natural soaps and skin therapies and the Tawna Hill Baby line of chemical-free products.

Keys has an international reputation for providing products that are chemical-free, vegan, gluten free, and therapeutic. Not to mention that they never do testing on animals. The company was founded by Wendy Steele after her bout with skin cancer. Her research about cancer and its causes, and her sensitive skin, made her realize that so much of what we put on our skin is actually full of chemicals and very bad for us. Her company’s products are consistently ranked high on the list of safest brands by the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Report. (Key’s sunscreen is #1 again this year.) Wendy’s mission is to increase awareness that products that are clean, green and therapeutic are a better choice that those filled with chemicals. They even have products for pets! You can go to keys-soap.com and search for a retailer in your area.

The story of Tawna Hill Baby products has more than one commonality with Keys. Tawna Hill’s baby line is chemical-free, preservative-free and has no carcinogens. But even more interesting is that this company was also started after a battle with cancer. Tawna received the news that she had a brain tumor while she was pregnant with her daughter Olivia, and so began educating herself about the dangerous chemicals and preservatives found in the products we put in and on our bodies. One mom we know swears by these products so completely, that even though her “babies” are now 8 and 5 she still uses the Baby skin care line – especially for herself! For a retailer in your area, click on ‘Retailers’ at the bottom of the page when you go to TawnaHillBaby.com.

Stay safe (and green) in the sun all year long!

Zoey

Zoey Ryan

founding hippy at hippy grandma

life, business & leadership coach for women

inspiration * clarity * wisdom * enchantment

604-323-3700

“Coaching for your heart & soul and the heart & soul of your business”

Are you a heart-centered and “soulful shopper”? Know of a new baby arriving? Keep the heart, soul & hippy love flowing for generations with purchases from Hippy Grandma: an Eco-Boutique selling fair trade, earth friendly treasures.

Through your purchases, you help local artisans, hand-crafting grandmas on a pension, women’s fair trade co-ops and programs designed to support high risk mamas & babies. Please share Hippy Grandma widely and wildly with your soul sisters. www.hippygrandma.com

Another Way of Looking at Childhood Weight Imbalances

By Victoria Pawlowski RD, MEd
www.springwellnutrition.com

It is natural for children to grow at a fairly predictable growth pattern – sometimes filling out with extra weight and sometimes spurting up in height. This is normal. However, if a child’s growth suddenly veers upward from his expected growth curve, there are a few things to consider.

Take a look at what your child is drinking. Offer juice, milk, and soy/grain beverages only with meals and encourage water the rest of the time. Pop is not recommended for toddlers and preschoolers.

Introduce the concept of ‘everyday foods” and “sometimes foods’. Fill your kitchen cupboards with healthy, minimally processed everyday foods such as whole grain breads, pasta, cereal, crackers, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, eggs and legumes. Chips, cakes, cookies, candy, pop and fast food are “‘sometimes foods’.”

Limit screen time in front of the television, computer and game consoles. Studies show that when total screen time is limited, children will seek activities such as jumping, biking, swimming, hiking and sports.

Make eating meals together at the table a family priority. Studies show that positive family meals help protect children against overweight, obesity and disordered eating.

Do not put children on a diet. Research shows that childhood weight issues are generally multi-causal, and not a simple matter of ‘calories in and calories out’.

Consider a parenting framework that includes the concept of ‘division of responsibility in child feeding’. This is fundamental to raising children with a good relationship to food, nutrition and body image. Our job as parents is to choose and prepare foods and serve them in an environment that is calm and predictable. Our child’s job is to choose from those foods and learn to trust her own hunger and satiety, within the framework of boundaries we offer. Many problems around food, weight and power struggles can be traced to a crossing of boundaries in this area. This can be very challenging work for any family, so don’t hesitate to ask for support if you need it.
Never, ever, talk negatively about your child’s body size and shape. Monitor your own ‘weightist’ thoughts: make it a value in your family not to judge other people by their appearance. Let your children know you love them unconditionally and that you trust they will grow into their own best healthy size and weight. Teach them about genetics and how that influences differences in people.

Research is clear that childhood weight issues are best handled using a family systems approach. For more information and nutritional counselling contact Victoria at Springwellnutrition.com

We hope you enjoyed this great article by Victoria!

Namaste,

Zoey

Zoey Ryan

founding hippy at hippy grandma
life, business & leadership coach for women
inspiration * clarity * wisdom * enchantment
www.zoeyryan.com

“Coaching for your heart & soul and the heart & soul of your business”

Are you a heart-centered and “soulful shopper”? Know of a new baby arriving? Keep the heart, soul & hippy love flowing for generations with purchases from Hippy Grandma: an Eco-Boutique selling fair trade, earth friendly treasures.

Through your purchases, you help local artisans, hand-crafting grandmas on a pension, women’s fair trade co-ops and programs designed to support high risk mamas & babies. Please share Hippy Grandma widely and wildly with your soul sisters. www.hippygrandma.com

Green School Lunch Tips

From Melody Owen at Ethical Consumer

“The kids are back to school and I am back to making lunches and yelling up the stairs, “Have you brushed your teeth yet?” This is a good time to make changes in our school year routines and habits. How can we make the school year greener and more affordable?

Green lunches
Packing lunch is one of my least favourite parenting tasks. I can see the temptation to buy prepackaged food, wrapped individually. It certainly would be a time saver. These foods are usually not very nutritious and the packaging often ends up blowing around the school yard. Try buying larger packs, divide items up and then send them off to school in reusable containers. Better yet, making soup or spaghetti for dinner? Make extra and put some in small freezer containers. In the mornings, grab one, warm it up and put it in a thermos. Don’t forget that cucumber, carrots sticks, apples and pears are really nutritious lunch items that are healthy and relatively easy to prepare and package”.

Melody, thanks for these great tips!

Namaste,

Zoey

Zoey Ryan

founding hippy at hippy grandma
life, business & leadership coach for women
inspiration * clarity * wisdom * enchantment
604-323-3700

“Coaching for your heart & soul and the heart & soul of your business”

Are you a heart-centered and “soulful shopper”? Know of a new baby arriving? Keep the heart, soul & hippy love flowing for generations with purchases from Hippy Grandma: an Eco-Boutique selling fair trade, earth friendly treasures.

Through your purchases, you help local artisans, hand-crafting grandmas on a pension, women’s fair trade co-ops and programs designed to support high risk mamas & babies. Please share Hippy Grandma widely and wildly with your soul sisters. www.hippygrandma.com

Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, has been doing a series of articles this year on different book clubs from around the country. The articles show up periodically in the Focus and Books section of Saturday’s paper and have profiled clubs from Moncton to Victoria.

As the series has unfolded, one of the most interesting aspects of it has been that every book club profiled has been so different from every other one. What they have in common is that the members love books and reading, after that the commonalities stop.

The latest article features a club in Ontario that meets just three times a year, rather than the more common once-a-month. This group of retirees has created a club schedule that fits into their busy lives.

Another club that we were fascinated to read about was a mother-daughter club, also in Ontario. Founder Karen von Jagow came home from her adult book club a few years ago to find herself peppered with questions from her then-11-year-old daughter. Von Jagow realized that her daughter had observed how important her mother’s club was to her and was, in her own way, expressing a desire to be involved with a group in a similar way.

The idea for a mother-daughter club was born and they’ve been meeting now for three years. One beautiful thing the mothers have noticed is that their girls have transformed from being a bit shy about talking about the books to being more confident about hosting, leading a discussion and creating provocative questions for the group to discuss. The added bonus of keeping conversational doors open between parent and child during the teenage years is one we’re sure these mothers are happy about too!

Do you belong to a book group?
If not, would you like to create one?
Who would you invite to join you on the reading journey?

namaste,

Zoey

Zoey Ryan

founding hippy at hippy grandma
life
business & leadership coach for women

inspiration * clarity * wisdom * enchantment

604-323-3700

“Coaching for your heart & soul and the heart & soul of your business”

Are you a heart-centered and “soulful shopper”? Know of a new baby arriving? Keep the heart, soul & hippy love flowing for generations with purchases from Hippy Grandma: an Eco-Boutique selling fair trade, earth friendly treasures.

Through your purchases, you help local artisans, hand-crafting grandmas on a pension, women’s fair trade co-ops and programs designed to support high risk mamas & babies. Please share Hippy Grandma widely and wildly with your soul sisters. www.hippygrandma.com