September is here! Make it a healthy one

Summer is almost ready to bid us goodbye. The balancing act of making fall an organized and healthy affair for the family is always a tricky one. Getting ready to school (if in session), organizing schedules and outings along the way, dealing with those bits of anxiety every new beginning brings along, we’ve all been there.

How to do it all and do it right? With a healthy start, literally. Here are a few suggestions to help you keep your family well and happy as you sail into the new season.

1. Choose healthy foods. Fall is when summer’s lushness materializes into bountiful yumminess. Take advantage of the farmer’s market this time a year for a great supply of fruit and veggies. Menu planning is easiest now when crops become colourful ideas themselves. Fall is the perfect season to start experimenting with light stews while still having plenty of good fresh produce to eat just like that.
2. Stay off sweets. As soon as the air turns colder, many of us reach for comfort foods, and often times that means a handful of sweets. But fall is when cold bugs return to haunt us so tempt your family with healthier options instead: bake apple or pear crisps, or make the fruit into a sauce you’ll eat with yogurt. Add nuts and seeds for an extra boost of healthy oils and great taste too.
3. Go outside and move often. It’s true: fall comes with rain, wind and occasional miserable days. If you choose to see them as such that is. The temperature may be colder, but that means crisp, fresh air. Take yourself out, and your children too, for walks, bike rides and hikes. Paddling is great in the fall when leaves turn various fiery shades. Just make sure you add a few extra layers and a thermos with hot drinks.
4. Get enough sleep. Nothing undermines the immune system like lack of sleep. When change is in the air – school, work and weather – getting enough sleep will ensure happy moods and health. Adjust your sleep schedules to take advantage of shorter days and use the early morning for a speedy walk or your usual morning exercise routine; you’ll boost your immune system two ways. Do the same for your children. Walk to and from school if possible, it’ll be a great connection time and also ensure that your children get part of their daily exercise.

Some of us love summer and dread fall, and some are the opposite. What stays true regardless of your preferences, is that seasons follow each other as they always have and you can make the best of every one of them and keep yourself and your family healthy, which might just make you enjoy every season that much more.