Lauren Brady, RHN

09/12/2025

Why wait for New Years Day to start working toward your personal health goals? If you started today, you would be almost 4 months in by 2026!

Whether you want to just eat healthier, have more energy, improve digestion, lower inflammation, release body fat, shore yourself up against peri-menopause, or support your mental health through brain health, I am here to guide you with a no BS approach to nutrition and holistic lifestyle changes.

I offer in-person or email appointments and I look forward to working with you!
Book online today:
https://brightsideintegratedhealth.janeapp.com/ #/staff_member/14

09/09/2025

With so much dodgy nutritional information out there on the inter-webs, I thought I would share a YouTube channel that I discovered tonight. The Doctor's Kitchen is the real deal and I especially love his videos on anti-inflammatory nutrition, which is what I preach to almost all of my clients - I hope you check it out!
https://www.youtube.com/thedoctorskitchen
His website has some great free recipes:
https://www.thedoctorskitchen.com/home_recipes.php

I want to help you feel your best with food. I'm Dr Rupy, a medical doctor and nutritionist with a passion for cooking delicious, healthy recipes and helping people improve their health with lifestyle and food. My aim is to bridge the gap between conventional medicine and the amazing world of Food a...

09/03/2025

One Day?
Or Day One!
Actually I'm on day 70-ish of being sweaty and red-faced!
If you are starting a new exercise routine this fall and want to know how and what to eat to support your goals, I can help with that!
https://brightsidehealth.ca/holistic-nutrition/

09/02/2025

Why not try something a little bit different? I can highly recommend this eco-tour! 🍄🌱

08/22/2025

It's Friday! And to conclude my Back to School series this week... let's talk snacks. Kids' snacks should be simple, unprocessed, real food (you may notice a recurring theme). Skip the packaged stuff and choose snacks that combine two macros - for example apple slices and almond butter; organic cheddar cheese and Mary's seed crackers (one of the rare packaged crackers that are healthy and nutritious); Greek yogurt with berries; veggie sticks with hummus; or a boiled egg with red pepper spears. This allows the snack to act as a mini-meal to nourish and sustain your child much longer than Teddy Grahams, or whatnot.

Need some more inspo? Joyous Health has a whole snack recipe section on her website!
https://www.joyoushealth.com/7-blogcat-recipes/?jsf=epro-posts&tax=recipe_category2:158/

What about after school, when your kiddo comes home ravenous, or needs a quick snack before running off to their after school activity or sport? Well, the same idea would apply as above, but one of my favourite at-home (and yet portable) snacks is the mighty SMOOTHIE. Smoothies are great for getting nutrition into kids (and picky eaters) easily. A banana, some frozen blueberries, baby spinach, plant milk of your choice and maybe some yogurt or protein powder, if they need it. This is also where you can sneakily add in supplements such as Omega-3/fish oil, probiotics, etc., if you're so inclined. If you need a blender, I highly recommend the NutriBullet Ultra.

I hope this gave you the confidence to resist the cutesy processed stuff and fuel your kids with real food that is hearty and filling. It might be a shift for yourself and your kids, but it is a shift worth making. Investing in our kids' health really does pay off with better physical AND mental health in the future.🍎

https://brightsidehealth.ca/holistic-nutrition/

08/20/2025

So, you've sent your child off to school, after a nutritious breakfast to keep them going and support their learning for the morning. What should you pack for lunch? My favourite "hack" is to invest in a good quality, wide-mouth food thermos and fill it with hot food - pasta with turkey balls, vegetable soup, chili, a loaded baked potato... anything! It's easy because you can use leftovers from the previous night's dinner and it's substantial, real food. Add whatever you need to balance it out - some fruit or veggie sticks and you're done. Skip the goldfish crackers and the cookies - you want the good stuff to be eaten.
Here is a link with some thermos lunch inspo!
https://www.momables.com/category/lunchbox/thermos-lunches/

What else? Sandwiches are easy and can be nutritious, depending on the quality of ingredients used. Whole grain or sourdough bread is infinitely better than commercial white bread, which is essentially just sugar and empty calories.
Some sandwich inspo:
https://www.eatingwell.com/gallery/8026324/healthy-sandwich-recipes-to-pack-for-work/

Veggie wraps with a protein (tuna, salmon, chicken, eggs, cheese, tofu, beans, hummus) are also great - make them on top of a piece of parchment paper and just roll it up! Need something fast and only take-out will work? Sushi is a great choice.

I hope the takeaway is that simple is better. Just use quality real ingredients, balance the macros (protein/fat/fiber) and skip the processed stuff! You might start to notice a real change in your kids - a more stable mood, better focus, improved sleep.
Keep going - you've got this!

https://brightsidehealth.ca/holistic-nutrition/

08/18/2025

I was in the grocery store today and they had all the "Back to School" foods out. Most of these, even in the "healthy aisles" are just ultra-processed fluff and not conducive to your child's growth and development. Consider sending your child off to school with a hearty breakfast in their belly, and a simple but balanced lunch and snacks in their lunch bag. Those cutesy ideas that you see on social media might look inspiring, but they are often unrealistic and could leave your child over fed but undernourished - or just get wasted.
Have a kiddo with ADHD? It is especially important to feed their brain properly and keep their blood sugar steady. This week, I will post some practical ideas for breakfasts and snacks.
Let's start with breakfast. It should be real food (not from a package) and have all of the macros (protein, fat, carbohydrates/fiber). It doesn't have to be what we typically think of as breakfast food - a bean burrito, leftovers from last night's supper, or it could be classics like eggs on ezekiel toast with fruit, oatmeal with apples and cinnamon, or Greek yogurt parfaits with low sugar granola and berries. My kid loved avocado toast with smoked salmon!
All recipes for the photos below are found here:
https://yumyummer.com/category/good-mornings/

https://brightsidehealth.ca/holistic-nutrition/

08/12/2025

Starting to think about school lunches and healthy snacks for your kiddos? Give this recipe a try from the Minimalist Baker!

Ingredients:
2/3 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
2 Tbsp h**p seeds (hulled)
2 Tbsp chia seeds
1/2 cup tahini
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions:
Cook the quinoa - scant 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa will yield ~2/3 cup cooked.
Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
To a medium mixing bowl, add 2/3 cup cooked quinoa. Then add the rolled oats, pumpkin seeds, h**p seeds, and chia seeds and stir well to combine. Next, add tahini, maple syrup, baking soda, sea salt, and optional chocolate chips. Stir well to fully incorporate.
Scoop out dough in 1 ½ Tbsp amounts and place on the prepared baking sheet - recipe should make 12 cookies. Gently press them with the palm of your hand then bake for 14-18 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Let cookies cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack – they'll firm up as they cool.

Nutrition (1 of 12 servings)
Serving: 1 cookie
Calories: 157
Carbohydrates: 11.5 g
Protein: 5 g
Fat: 11.2 g
Saturated Fat: 1.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 5 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 4.1 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 83 mg
Potassium: 137 mg
Fiber: 2.9 g
Sugar: 4.3 g
Vitamin A: 2 IU
Vitamin C: 0 mg
Calcium: 30 mg
Iron: 1.7 mg

08/09/2025

Today's post is brought to you by Creatine.
Wait - isn't Creatine for gym bros? Not anymore!🏋️
Creatine is a compound that comes from three amino acids and is found mostly in your body's muscles as well as in the brain. Most people get creatine through seafood and red meat - though at levels far below those found in creatine supplements. The body's liver, pancreas and kidneys also can make about 1 gram of creatine per day.

People may supplement with creatine to improve athletic performance, increase muscle mass, or for certain brain disorders, or neuromuscular conditions. 💪
As a vegetarian, perimenopausal woman who lifts weights, I'm taking 5g per day to help increase lean muscle mass. I'm interested to see if it improves cognitive function as well!

Want to learn more about Creatine, including the benefits and risks, and if it might be right for you?
Book a personalized nutritional assessment with me today!
https://brightsidehealth.ca/holistic-nutrition/

07/30/2025

I think Dr. M. C. Haver is awesome for shining a light on menopause and being a solid source of information on the subject. Do I agree with everything she says? No, but YES to the vast majority of it! For example, this post is super valuable for knowing what to request when your doctor orders blood work.
A doctor may be reluctant to run certain labs if they aren't confident about interpreting the results, or they don't value the information.
It's important to self-advocate!
I take my blood work results to my Naturopathic Doctor for interpretation, which is very helpful for designing a protocol, which includes an effective nutritional plan.
Are you perimenopausal or postmenopausal and looking for support?
My Brightside Integrated Health colleague, Dr. Robin Roeslen, ND, and I are available to help!
https://brightsidehealth.ca/dr-robin-roeslen/
https://brightsidehealth.ca/lauren-brady-macaulay/

07/29/2025

If you've never done a foraging eco tour before (or even if you have), I highly recommend this! I learned almost everything I know about mushrooms from Jolanta - she is a wealth of information and the food is always amazing.🍄