Thanksgiving ideas: How to give back as a family this Thanksgiving season

Considering the time of year, I couldn’t let a post go by without taking this opportunity to give thanks and talk about the things I’m grateful for.

WHAT I’M GRATEFUL FOR
I’m grateful for my husband, my children, my family and friends, who remind me on a daily basis how lucky I am to have them in my life.

I’m grateful for organic food.

I’m grateful for the people who work tirelessly to make organic food – that is the farmers.

I’m grateful for the current food revolution that is taking place. I’m grateful for the advancement in nutritional science. I’m grateful for the outliers in this field that are pushing the envelope and changing the way we look at our healthcare/sick-care system and are focusing on dietary, lifestyle, psycho-spiritual and emotionally based interventions.

I’m grateful for the Internet and social media and the hundreds of documentaries that are available to us that offer free information about health and wellness. We don’t have to wait for the medical community or government to finally catch up to inform us of what we need to do to create healthy lifestyle habits. This information is only a click away.

I’m also grateful that my son and I were not well a few years ago. I know this sounds strange, but I was told once that we should look at our illnesses as a gift that has come to teach us lessons about ourselves. When I really stopped to think about that idea, I realized that my son not feeling well catapulted me into a passion I never knew existed. It made me re-evaluate my family’s eating habits and as a result we’re in a much healthier and happier place today.

I am so grateful that I came to this place in my life and I never want to go back to the “pre-nutritionist Tracy,” who gobbled pints of ice cream every week, relied on fast food take out for dinner and never made time to make sure her body (or her family’s bodies) was getting all of the nutrients it really needed.

And last but not least, I’m grateful for all of you who visit my website, share your thoughts with me and are on a mission to improve your health too. Maybe I’m a bit of a fanatic about health, but I am also truly inspired about what feeling good really means and all I want to do with my time is impart that feeling to anyone who is interested.

So thank you for being a part of my own dream and mission.

GIVING BACK

In the spirit of giving, here are 3 ways to give back this Thanksgiving:

1. PlanCanada.ca
This organization has been near and dear to me for the last decade. When my first child was born, I felt so lucky to have him in my life but I also felt like he was so lucky to be born in Canada, one of the safest countries in the world with access to healthy, organic food, all year round. I felt the urge at that time to sponsor a child that did not have this fortunate circumstance and since then I’ve had the privilege of watching a beautiful young boy from Bolivia named Eduan grow up from the age of 8 to 18.

When Christmas time comes around, my kids and I have a tradition of setting a budget and donating things like bed nets, school supplies, medicine, and goats or baby chic’s. Year after year they are always surprised that kids around the world don’t live like them.

2. Oakvillefoodbank.com

The Oakville Fare Share Food Bank is completely 100% volunteer run and serves 350-400 needy families in Oakville per month. Consider dropping off good food or donating your time to this important organization.

3. VolunteerToronto.ca
VolunteerToronto.ca helps connect volunteers to organizations that need them. If you don’t know what to do but want to do something, reach out to this organization.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

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