Registered Holistic Nutritionist Rachelle Wood is honored to welcome Nutritionist Jolene Coffin to our Charlottetown consultant team!

Jolene Coffin brings with her 6 years of experience in the Nutrition field, majority of her focus has been on weight loss.  She is a member of The Canadian Society of Nutrition Management and graduated in 1997 with a diploma in Food and Nutrition from Halifax, NS.

Jolene and Rachelle share the same the same beliefs in Nutrition and follow the same guidelines to help our clients achieve their optimal goal – Health and Wellness! Our bubbly blonde personalities paired with our extensive experiences helping others, makes Jolene and Rachelle and unstoppable team.

Jolene is a loving wife, mother of two and healthy living enthusiast. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family, running, cooking and reading.  She is considered a weight loss specialist by all that she has worked with.  She also enjoys public education and motivational speaking.

Her personality and knowledge in this field makes her an excellent fit at Rachelle Wood Nutrition.  Rachelle is very happy to welcome Jolene on board and feels our in office and online programs and services are unbeatable! Jolene and Rachelle are the most experienced and educated weight loss consultant duo in the Maritimes.

Jolene and Rachelle have worked for several other weight loss approaches. Infact they even worked for the same company in 2003 (where Jolene was Rachelle’s boss).  Jolene is looking forward to working with new clients and welcomes any past clients in need of our services.

Rachelle and Jolene are now booking new group Weight Loss Programs and Workplace Wellness Workshops for Fall 2010. Let us come to your workplace or community to inspire and educate you! Please call 892-SLIM or email us to book your free first in office weight loss consultation – you’ll be so happy you did!

Tea can be as simple as hot water over some mint leaves, when you have an upset tummy, to a 9 Billion dollars annual industry in Canada.  There was a time when tea meant the same to everyone. When you offered someone  a cup of tea, it was understood that you were being offered a cup of  orange pekoe tea. 1 of  3 brands (depending on what part of the Maritime provinces you were in) either, Red Rose, King Cole or Tetley.   To us here in the east, Orange Pekoe is a traditional cup of tea. The kind of tea you would have with your Nanny, who by the way, makes the best cup of tea ever (minus the whole milk and sugar cube.)

Tea is rapidly becoming much more about health and  lifestyle than about just getting your caffeine jolt. Want to add some zip to the tea pot (lots of cool tea accessories too, really fun stuff out there) try a new flavour. With so many different kinds of teas some of which are: Black, White, Green, Oolong, Yerba Mate, Matcha, and Rooiboos (my personal favorite). Basically all tea comes from the leaves of the same plant, the Camellia sinensis.  With tons of  health benefits and an lots of kinds of tea, why not try a new one today. Lots of teas' taste good iced as well. Tea can be good to warm you up or cool you down. A year-round friend.

To caffeine or not, that is a good question. I personally do not recommend a lot of caffeine. I know some athletes swear by it. I think a little in moderation is fine as long as you know how it will affect you and the medications you may be on. Keep in mind that caffeine is an artificial stimulant, which stimulates your metabolic rate. The trouble with caffeine is that it makes your own natural stimulants, your thyroid and adrenal glands redundant and can become lazy. If you use caffeine to get you out of bed in the morning you may have a problem. 

When purchasing tea it's a good idea to purchase from someone who knows tea. One of my favorite spots to purchase Tea when I am in Halifax, is at the Halifax shopping center at Davids Tea. When purchasing tea at a grocery store make sure to read the ingredients. We assume it's just tea, not necessarily, for example when I picked up a box of Lipton Green tea - Raspberry Passion fruit. ( the one time I don't read a label, and it comes back to bite me), found more then just tea. After I got home and found the tea really sweet. I read the ingredients, are you sitting down? The ingredient list was: Green tea, Hibiscus, Corn Matodextrin, Rosehips, Apple Cinnamon, Sugar, Orange Peel, Natural flavors, Rose and Marigold Petals, Raspberry pieces, Passion fruit concentrate, modified corn starch (I mean really), Banana puree, Soy Lecithin. I just wanted a cup of Raspberry tea to make ice tea out of. Well that will teach me to read labels 100% of the time instead of 99.9%.  I don't believe I will be purchasing Lipton again.

If you like blackcurrant tea give this recipe a try:

6 Black Current tea bags

2 Cups boiling water 

2 TBSP of honey  

3 Cups of cold water

Splash of Cranberry Juice to taste 

Ice

Pour boiling water over tea bags and steep for 90 seconds; then remove bags. Stir in honey to dissolve and add cold water. Next add cranberry juice and ice. The sip and watch the corners of your mouth turn up. Great on a hot day.

A good site to find more information on tea

What's your favorite tea? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Post your comments below. 

Happy Friday!! This summer I’ve decided to take Friday afternoons off (as a ME day) and explore the beautiful Island I call home. Prince Edward Island is paradise and summer never seems to last long enough.

Shortly after lunch I loaded up my car to take off on my Eastern PEI adventure.  Bike, lots of water, bathing suit and sunscreen – I had my adventure covered.  

It was 28 degrees mid afternoon. Sunroof down, Sirius radio tuned up ( I love channels 15, 24,50). 

I landed 40 minutes outside PEI at the Greenwich National Park. Did you know that Saturday July 17th you can visit the PEI National Parks for FREE Help celebrate the 125th National Parks Anniversary by enjoying one of PEIs beautiful parks.

In PEI you’re never more than 20 minutes away from the beach. It’s the benefit of living on an Island.  The north shore is traditionally colder with beautiful sand dunes.  While on the south they catch better shellfish and the water tends to be warmer. Greenwich is on the north shore just outside of St Peters.

Considering the fact it was a beautiful sunny day I expected more beach goers. The parking lot was not even a quarter full.  It takes approximately 4 1/2 minutes to walk from the parking lot, down the long path to the beach.

Hello sunscreen. Good day water, long time no see. I approach the water and dodge the rocks close to the shore.  It’s where the crabs hide.  Its jellyfish season on the north shore right now and I’m a little worried. I’ve same in the ocean each summer my whole life and have never been stun.  If you are stung by one, read this article to learn what to do.

Greenwich had a lifeguard and completely eco friendly washroom. It has solar lighting and recyclable non flushing toilets. I suppose that’s why we pay to go to the national park, the amenities.

The water was lovely and refreshing. An instant cool down on a hot summers day. I swam in the supervised lifeguard area which I shared with 6 other swimmers. It was so much fun and I stayed in the water for ½ hour, spotting 2 jellyfish and meeting a lovely couple from Montreal. 

I decided to go for a walk down the beach and dry off. The sand dunes at Greenich last for miles and miles. It’s a very walkable deserted beach.  You can enjoy beautiful nature trails at the other end of the park as well. 

When I reached complete dryness, I walked back to my car in search of more water.  Success. Perhaps it’s time to leave the beach and take off on another adventure.  My bikes in the car and ready to go. Morell here I come.

They say biking can burn over 500 calories at a moderate pace.  I wonder how many more calories I burned due to extreme heat and my high endurance spin class training?  There are very few things that feel better to me than biking. However swimming in the ocean falls closely behind.

It’s a crime to drive a bike with no helmet in PEI as it is in most provinces.  Mine is white and blue. I wear the largest pair of sunglasses I own underneath it.  Big shades act as a better bug shield. I tend to spend most of my time in 14th gear or higher. Last week I biked from Morell to St Peters in 1 hour (26 km), but today it took an extra 15 minutes. I blame the cell phone call I received, as well as the extreme heat

I actually keep my Schwinn mountain bike in the back seat of my car at all times. The front wheel detaches and I can just fit the body in (helmet and front wheel in the trunk.

Summers are so special but short lived.  It’s my favorite time of year.  Have I told you I’m a Leo?  My birthday's in 2 weeks.  Another reason to love summer much more.  

Not sure what’s on the agenda for my next adventure. Is it Friday yet? To be continued…..

Rachelle Wood, Prince Edward Islander

Looking for a funky new salad to bring to your next family gathering? Well this recipe is sure to be a hit. Packed full of protein and summertime vegetables, the flavor in this vegetarian dish improves with age. I suggest making it a day prior to your special event. This tasty dish is high in fiber, protein and magnesium.  It makes me salivate just reading the ingredients list. This recipe is compliments of Rachelle Wood Nutrition and the online weight loss program See Results.

Moroccan Salad        serves 6

½ pound button mushrooms
2  cups cooked chick peas
2  cups cooked kidney beans
12  cherry tomatoes, halved
1   cucumber, seeded and chopped
3/4 cup chopped green onions
2   green bell peppers, chopped
2    red bell peppers, chopped
1    cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
2   garlic cloves, crushed
2TBSP olive oil
1TBSP lemon juice
1TSP lemon juice
1TSP ground cumin
1/8TSP ground turmeric
Salt and pepper
Lettuce leaves for garnish

Steam mushrooms over boiling water 5 minutes; cool. In a large bowl, combine mushrooms, chick peas, tomatoes, green onions and bell peppers. Cover; chill 2 hours. In a small bowl combine yogurt, mayonnaise, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin and turmeric. Season with salt and pepper. Cover; chill 2 hours. Just before serving, lightly toss mushroom mixture with some of dressing. Serve on lettuce leaves and enjoy! This dish tastes great on its own for lunch, or with grilled chicken for supper.

Do you have a healthy recipe to share with other blog readers? If so email it to me. Have you tried this recipe? Don’t forget to post your review below.

My taste buds are on overdrive, and we’re in 4th gear. Driving towards the homestretch I take another gulp. Succulent and surprisingly tart, I just may need another cup.  This new healthy beverage has got me hooked.  I’m talking about Tetley Tea Infusions.

If you’re tired of drinking just water, and aren’t a fan of artificial sweeteners….this product is for you.  Tetley tea infusions are concentrates of brewed teas, fruit juices and cane sugar.  Sold in single serving sizes, this tea is the perfect choice for any healthy lifestyle. With several flavors to choose from these teas infusions contain no sweeteners, preservatives, flavors or colors. Sounds fantastic, but how do they taste?

This week I sampled the white tea+ cherry + orange blossom flavor. I followed the directions correctly by adding 1 packet to 500 ml of filtered water, and then mixed well. Success, this drink is fantastic but perhaps a little too sweet.  Check out some lovely free Tetley tea recipes here.

One thing I didn’t like about this product is the nutritional label. Although this product is sold in liquid packets, the serving size states ½ packet or 15 ml. So really you must multiply by 2 if you’re drinking it according to the directions. Pretty sneaky with 100 calories per serving on average.

Prior to trying this product, I enjoyed my own version of infused tea. Here’s my recipe 

1.    Brew 2 of your favorite tea bags in 4 cups water.
2.    Let it brew for 1 hour.
3.    Pour tea into a glass container, fill with filtered water.
4.    Sweeten if desired ( coconut sap, cane sugar, setvia, honey )
5.    Place fresh lemon/lime/orange on top or fresh mint
6.    Serve in a glass with plenty of ice and enjoy.

I’m giving this new product 3 stars,

Do you have a healthy product for Rachelle to review? Email your suggestions..