With work demands, family responsibilities, and the need for some downtime, some days just seem to have too little time to allow for healthy eating. But the reality is that even on our busiest days, we can prioritize nutrition with some quick tweaks to family favorites. This month our blog posts are focused on how to build healthy habits in 10 minutes or less.

My family and I love the creamy mouthfeel and distinct flavors in both sweet and savory recipes that call for butter, sour cream, cheese, or any other dairy product. I get even more enjoyment when I know the dairy products I am cooking with and feeding to my family are as nutrient dense as possible.

Ahh, summer time! The skies are blue, the flowers are blooming and the children are out of school. “Mom, what is there to eat?” will soon ring through the house on a regular basis.

If overindulgence in treats and too much eating out has left you feeling bloated and tired, it might be time to consider a dietary detox boost. The liver is always working to make our bad decisions not so bad for our bodies, and as a thank-you, we can bulk up on the foods that bathe the liver in the nutrients it needs to do its best work.

Tomorrow, September 1^st, we are kicking off the celebration of Organic Month here at your organic headquarters, Natural Grocers, by giving every customer* an organic apple in a small reusable bag!

About a month ago I noticed the first festive lights go up in my neighborhood and I realized that the holidays were right around the corner. In the coming weeks, our relaxed family weekends would be replaced with events and parties, and the overscheduled, emotionally demanding season would be in full swing.

I first heard the term “antibiotic resistance” almost a decade ago in a microbiology class.

You’ve probably heard of gluten free or a gluten-free diet, but what is gluten? And why would you want to avoid it? Where did gluten come from and why is it only in the last decade that gluten-free has gained prominence?

Sugar used to be considered a delicacy, a treat that was enjoyed only occasionally. But with the advent of the processed foods industry, sugar made its way into every nook and cranny of our food supply, and now it’s so ubiquitous that we’re often not even aware we are eating it. While a novelty coffee drink or slice of cake is an obvious sugar trap, many foods are not: Added sugar in bread?

Back to school! Three simple words that can leave parents scrambling to figure out quick and easy foods to feed their children over the next months. But before you send your children off to school with pre-prepared meals and snacks, carefully consider what is in those snacks.

The loss of muscle mass and strength is a common occurrence during the aging process. In fact, it is estimated that most people lose between 1-2% of their muscle mass each year after the age of 50, and this accelerates after the age of 60.¹ This loss of muscle mass is even more pronounced in the elderly with diabetes or cardiovascular disease.

As winter sneaks up on us, we should all be thinking about what we can do to stay optimally healthy over the holidays. One thing recommended by Natural Grocers Nutritional Health Coaches, academics, and many health conscious people alike is taking a vitamin D supplement throughout the winter months. The robust endorsement of vitamin D speaks to its multifaceted role in the body.