Health Works Chiropractic & Wellness Centre

12/19/2025

If you've grown accustomed to lackluster hot chocolate made from ripping open an envelope of powder and pouring it into a cup of hot water, I'm here to tell you that real hot chocolate awaits. And it's just as easy to make. Rich, thick, and velvety smooth, hot chocolate is made using a few simple ingredients that make all the difference. If the weather outside is frightful, warm up with a cozy cup of homemade hot chocolate (not to be confused with hot cocoa, more on that later). Read on to learn how to make the best hot chocolate from scratch.
What's the Difference Between Hot Chocolate and Hot Cocoa?
While the terms are often used interchangeably, there is a real difference between hot chocolate and hot cocoa — and it turns out it's right there in the name. Hot chocolate is made with whole chocolate (and sometimes a little cocoa powder) and hot cocoa is made from just cocoa powder. This is why hot chocolate tends to have a thicker consistency than hot cocoa.
The Best Ingredients for Hot Chocolate
For the richest hot chocolate, go for the highest quality chocolate: dark chocolate that is 60 percent cacao or higher. In terms of dairy, hot chocolate recipes tend to call for thicker forms of dairy such as half-and-half, heavy cream, or whole milk. A good dairy-free alternative for hot chocolate is coconut milk, which can also be mixed with other alternative milks to reduce the coconut flavor.
How to Make Hot Chocolate
Learn how to make homemade hot chocolate based on this Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa from recipe creator Aurora. This recipe makes one serving.
Ingredients:
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 ½ teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
Instructions:
1. Heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Add brown sugar and stir until dissolved.
3. Stir dark chocolate until it's completely melted. About 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the cream and cinnamon.
5. Top with whipped cream, marshmallows, crushed peppermint, or any other topping of your choice.

12/19/2025

Don't even worry about lighting a candle! Instead, put together a simmer pot, aka stovetop potpourri.
For a warm, welcoming smell throughout your home, a realtor’s advice is often to bake homemade bread or chocolate chip cookies. But one family can only eat so many loaves of bread or batches of cookies! For a shortcut to a house that smells amazing, whip up a simmer pot. It’s a natural DIY room scent that eliminates pesky kitchen odors and keeps your space fresh.
Read on for our curated list of simmer pot recipes to enhance every season.
What is a simmer pot?
A simmer pot is simply a pot, usually a Dutch oven, filled with water and aromatics (like herbs and spices) for the express purpose of making a space smell good. Rather than relying on scented candles, people are turning to natural stovetop potpourri concoctions or simmer pot recipes.
Simmer Pot Recipes for Every Season
While simmer pots are especially cozy during the winter, they are truly a welcome sight, or smell, throughout the entire year.
Spring Simmer Pot Recipe
Williams Sonoma, the original simmer pot creator, has the best light, fruity, springtime stovetop potpourri. This simple recipe will welcome guests to your home with notes of citrus and fresh herbs.
1. Gather all aromatic ingredients. These include 5 springs of fresh thyme, 3 slices of grapefruit, 1 sliced Meyer lemon, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon peppercorns.
2. In a Dutch oven, add 8 cups of water. Combine with all other ingredients.
3. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Then simmer, uncovered, for a couple of hours.
Summer Simmer Pot Recipe
The Travel Bite has our favorite summer stovetop potpourri recipe. Think of bright, fresh fruits that will freshen your kitchen and beyond. You can almost taste the sunshine with this summer pot!
1. Rinse then slice one lemon, one lime, and one orange. Add to stovetop Dutch oven.
2. Gather a tablespoon of peppercorns (any color), 2-3 springs of fresh time and 1 sprig of fresh rosemary. Combine with the prepared citrus fruit.
3. Cover with water until about half the vessel is full.
4. Simmer on low for two hours; to go longer, check water levels and add more if necessary, up to about four hours.
Also, check these instant pot deals that will surely level up your cooking.
Fall Simmer Pot Recipe
Life with Lainee has a simple simmer pot recipe designed to usher in fall. She describes it as a combination of crisp apple cider and warm apple pie, both classic autumn scents.
1. Start by filling your Dutch oven with water, leaving at least an inch of room at the top.
2. Add the aromatic ingredients. In this case, that includes one halved apple, an orange cut into slices, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1 teaspoon whole cloves, 1 teaspoon fall spice blend (your choice of pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice!), 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 bay leaf.
3. Turn the burner on low to simmer and enjoy! For a lower-maintenance simmer pot, this recipe also works in the Crockpot.
Please note, the recipe developer pours her aromatics mix into a container to refrigerate and re-use the next day (with fresh water); according to Life with Lainee, this will keep for two or three days before she needs to make another batch.
Winter Simmer Pot Recipe
We love this Christmas simmer pot recipe, full of holiday homeyness, but here’s another favorite from Williams Sonoma to help fend off pesky winter blues. (This is the signature scent that greets customers at the upscale kitchen mecca, so it’s likely to be a favorite/be recognized and adored by guests). According to the retailer, this recipe should invoke the feeling of a soothing cup of tea or a luscious lemon-scented custard.
1. Gather all of your ingredients: 3 sprigs of rosemary, 1 sliced lemon, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon black peppercorns.
2. Combine everything in a Dutch oven. Cover with 8 cups of water.
3. Bring to a simmer, uncovered, for up to two hours.
How long do simmer pots last?
It depends on both the recipe and the type of storage, but generally, four days is the maximum you’d want to re-use the same simmer pot ingredients. If aromatics are drained and stored in a cool, dry location (like a refrigerator), then reinvigorated with fresh water, they can be used for up to four days. If there are no fresh fruit slices in your recipe, simply turn off the stove and cover the pot with a lid in between uses. Reheat when you need another dose of stovetop potpourri. According to the Happier Homemaker, with this method, your simmer pot can last four days.
A Taste Of Home

12/15/2025

If you are interested in having thermography done, they will be at Health Works on Tuesday March 17th, 2026. Call 1-800-403-2041 to book your appointment.

12/12/2025

Understanding Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy
Pelvic floor physiotherapy is a specialized treatment focused on enhancing pelvic health. This approach addresses concerns such as incontinence, pelvic pain, and sexual dysfunction by utilizing targeted exercises and therapeutic techniques. The primary goal is to strengthen and relax the pelvic floor muscles, which play a crucial role in core stability and the regulation of urination, bowel movements, and sexual function.
Recognized as a first-line therapy, pelvic floor physiotherapy is often recommended for individuals experiencing pelvic floor dysfunctions, including pelvic organ prolapse and painful in*******se. By improving muscle control and flexibility, this treatment supports overall pelvic health and well-being.
Benefits of Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy
• Improved Bladder Control: Strengthening the pelvic floor muscles can help manage urinary incontinence, leading to noticeable enhancements in bladder control.
• Pain Relief: Many people find immediate relief from pelvic pain after beginning therapy. This alleviation can improve comfort during daily activities and sexual in*******se.
• Enhanced Sexual Health: Pelvic floor physiotherapy can increase sexual sensation and comfort, directly addressing pain experienced during in*******se.
• Support During Pregnancy and Postpartum: The therapy assists with pregnancy-related changes and supports recovery following childbirth. It helps manage pelvic pain and fosters better overall pelvic health.
What to Expect During Therapy
During your initial pelvic floor physiotherapy session, the physiotherapist will conduct a comprehensive review of your medical history and discuss your symptoms. The evaluation may include both external and internal examinations to assess muscle tone, elasticity, and any pain or tenderness in the pelvic region. Following this assessment, the physiotherapist will develop a personalized treatment plan tailored to your needs, which may consist of exercises designed to strengthen or relax the pelvic floor muscles.
Conditions Treated by Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy
• Urinary and f***l incontinence
• Pelvic organ prolapse
• Chronic pelvic pain
• Sexual dysfunction
• Pregnancy-related pelvic issues
To schedule a comprehensive pelvic examination with Sandya, please call
705-526-6900.

12/05/2025

For the month of December, the hydro therapy bed will be 50% off. Treat yourself to a relaxing water massage. Call 705-526-6900 to book your appointment.

11/21/2025

Rose hips are the fruit, or seed pods, that come from various types of rose plants. When spent flowers remain on rose bushes, the plants produce small, edible, 1/2-inch berry-sized seed balls left on the tips of the stems. Most growers tend to prune the faded rose blossoms down to the next stem node to encourage more blooms, so the hips are not often seen. The fruits are ornamental, and look like small red or orange crabapples, but may ripen to purple or black in the late summer and fall, to the delight of birds who enjoy eating them. Read on to learn how easy it is to harvest rose hips to make tea, jelly, and more.
Benefits and Uses of Rose Hips
Both rose hips and rose petals are edible, and rose hips are considered healthy. All roses should produce hips, though rugosa roses—native shrub rose species—are said to have the best-tasting hips. These hips are also generally the largest and most abundant, and typically used for the following:
Jellies and syrups
Sauces, soups, and seasonings
Fruit leather
Rose hip tea
Warning
Don't use rose hips from plants treated with a pesticide not labeled for use on edibles. If you're unsure, it's best to avoid using pesticides if you plan to consume the hips.
How to Harvest Rose Hips
Time the Harvest and Hip Removal
The best time to harvest your rose hips is after the first light frost has nipped the leaves and before you experience a hard frost that freezes the hips. Light frost helps sweeten the flavor.
Waiting until after a frost is also suitable for the plant, since cutting the hips before frost could encourage the rose to send out new growth that will be killed back at the next frost.
The hips should appear firm and have good color. Typically, rose hips are red or orange at maturity. Leave shriveled or dried rose hips on the plants for the birds to enjoy; they won't be as tasty and may be too mushy to pick. To remove the hips:
Don garden gloves to avoid being pricked by the thorns on the rose canes.
Pluck fully ripe hips off the rose canes or clip them off with a knife or scissors.
Clean the Hips
Trim off the stem and blossom end from the hip. Hold the hip securely and slice it in half. You can do all this trimming with scissors if the hips are too small to use a knife.
Remove the Seeds
You can use whole, fresh rose hips, but the seeds inside have an irritating, hairy covering, so removing the seeds before eating is best. Cut the hips in half and manually scoop out the seeds. You don't need to remove the seeds if you're making jelly.
Rinse, Process, and Store the Hips
Thoroughly rinse off the rose hips by running water over them in a colander. The hips can be used immediately or dried, or frozen to be stored for future use.
Tip
For the most healthful impact, use rose hips when they are fresh. Drying rose hips causes them to lose most of their vitamin C.
Edible Uses for Rose Hips
Two common ways to use and preserve rose hips are for jelly and tea.
Rose Hip Jelly
Rose hips can be cooked to extract the juice for jams and jellies. The juice can be strained and used immediately or frozen for up to a year. When making jelly, rose hips are often mixed with other fruits, such as apples or cranberries.
Remove the blossom remnants and stems from the rose hips to extract the juice to make jelly.
Wash the hips in cool water.
Add the rose hips to a pan, cover with water, and simmer for 15 minutes.
Cool, then strain through a cheesecloth into a container. One pound of rose hips equals about 2 cups of juice.
Tip
Rose hip juice can also be used to flavor cocktails, mocktails, and as a refreshing, tart drink when you add a few tablespoons of the juice to cold water.
Rose Hip Tea
To dry rose hips for tea, spread them out over baking trays and dry them in an oven or dehydrator set to 110°F until the hips are dry and brittle. When completely dry, store them in airtight jars.
For fresh rose hip tea, steep four to eight rose hips in a cup of boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes. Don't use aluminum pans or utensils that could discolor the hips; aluminum also affects vitamin C absorption from rose hips. Stainless steel is fine.
To make dried rose hip tea, you will need about half as many rose hips (two to four in this case) as if you were using fresh ones.
Tip
If you want to try out the flavor of rose hips but don't have any in your garden or aren't up to all the seeding and prep work involved, rose hip tea is widely available in many grocery stores.
FAQ
Can you eat rose hips from any rose?
The rose hips from all types of roses are edible. Just ensure they haven't been treated with any pesticides.
Are rose hips safe to eat raw?
Rose hips are safe to eat raw. However, you'll want to remove the itch-producing hairs surrounding the seed first.
What do rose hips taste like?
Rose hips have a floral, slightly sweet, and tart flavor. They are similar in tartness to citrus.
When should you harvest rose hips?
The best time to harvest rose hips is in the fall, shortly after the first frost. Some believe that the cold weather causes the sugars to concentrate, making rose hips sweeter.
What is the best way to process rose hips?
One of the easiest ways to process rose hips is by drying them. You can dry them in the sun, in the oven, or a dehydrator. You can dry rose hips whole, though whole rose hips will take longer to dry out fully.

Thespruce.com

11/14/2025

Registered Massage Therapy for infants has a variety of benefits. The benefits are as follows:
Improved Circulation: Gentle massage strokes stimulate blood flow promoting better circulation and oxygenation of tissues, which can aid in growth and development.

Enhanced Digestion: Massage can alleviate gastrointestinal discomfort by promoting better digestion and bowel movements. Techniques like "bicycle legs" and gentle belly rubs can provide relief for infants experiencing digestive issues.

Pain Relief: Infant massage can reduce pain and discomfort associated with medical procedures, teething, and muscular tension. The release of endorphins during massage helps soothe and comfort the baby.

Boosted Immunity: Regular massage can stimulate the lymphatic system, helping to strengthen the infant’s immune system and reduce the risk of infections.

Relaxation and Sleep: Massage promotes relaxation by reducing stress hormones (cortisol) and increasing levels of relaxation hormones (oxytocin), leading to improved sleep patterns and overall better rest for the infant.

Neurological Development: Sensory stimulation through touch is crucial for the development of the nervous system. Infant massage enhances neural connections, supporting cognitive and motor development.

If your baby is fussy, does not sleep regularly, or is not feeding properly; massage could be the answer for you.

Sandhya is a certified RMT and PT certified in infant massage. Call 705-526-6900 to book an appointment.

11/12/2025

Why we do what we do:
To inspire acts of kindness. We believe kindness can have a positive impact on individuals and society as a whole.
To improve mental health and well-being. Research has shown that performing acts of kindness can have a positive impact on mental health. By performing acts of kindness, one can reduce stress, anxiety and depression.
To foster community connections. The RAK Foundation believes that communities can grow when connections are created and strengthened through kindness. People have a stronger sense of belonging and social cohesion when they are connected through kindness.
To provide opportunities for service. We believe that serving others through random acts of kindness can be a powerful way to cultivate feelings of empathy and compassion. Offering resources that encourage people to serve others promotes a sense of selflessness and responsibility.
To create a ripple effect. We know that every small act of kindness can have a ripple effect, inspiring others to be kind.
To create a sense of belonging. The foundation believes that we can help people feel more connected to their community and promote a sense of belonging through our three areas of focus.
To inspire change. We believe every act of kindness has the potential to inspire positive change in the world.
Here are some ideas on how you can participate in World Kindness Day:

Visit a senior and deliver a kind surprise
Donate a book to a library
Be a friend to a lonely neighbour
Cook a meal for someone who is struggling
Celebrate someone you love
Hide handmade bookmarks at your local library
Donate used towels or blankets to a shelter
Donate blood
On November 13th try to perform at least one act of kindness or better yet try to do as many as you can.

Random Acts Of Kindness Foundation

11/11/2025

11/10/2025

This simple move will help loosen up your back, hips, and core before you exercise or anytime you feel tight.
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, and hands on hips.
Move your hips in a clockwise circle (forward, right, back, left), making larger circles as your muscles warm up.
Continue for 30 seconds, and then repeat in the opposite (counterclockwise) direction.

11/07/2025

For the month of November the Hydro therapy bed will be 50% off. Hydro therapy has many health benefits and all you have to do is lay there and enjoy. Call 705-526-6900 to book an appointment.

11/03/2025

There's a good reason why people rake leaves off the lawn in fall. Ignoring them and allowing them to stay on the grass all winter invites fungal diseases. But that doesn't mean the only solution is leaf removal.
Another option is to mulch the leaves, which has the added benefit of boosting your lawn's soil. Sounds simple, right? But the devil is in the details. Here are the tips you need to turn those troublesome leaves into free fertilizer.
Why You Can Leave Leaves on the Lawn If You Mulch Them
When you ignore the leaves that fall on your grass and let them lie there all winter, they mat down over time. The bigger the leaves (such as red oak tree leaves), the bigger the problem. Matted leaves form a coating that impedes air circulation. Without proper circulation, harmful fungi have an optimal environment for invading your lawn.
But when you mulch a leaf, you reduce its surface area, minimizing the potential for matting. The smaller you can make it, the better.
The goal is to grind down each leaf into fine particles. Such particles, rather than matting down, will permeate down into the soil.
Do I Need a Mulching Mower?
Mulching mowers are designed to chew up grass blades into fine particles. Using a mulching mower allows you to leave grass clippings on the lawn after mowing. But a mulching mower also does a great job of grinding up leaves. So you may wonder if you have to own a mulching mower to turn leaves into fertilizer.
While you don't need a mulching mower for this task, it certainly helps to have one. It takes more work, but you can also do the job with a regular mower. You will just have to make more passes over the leaves with a regular mower, checking on your progress with each pass.
You will know you have achieved your goal once the particles are so small that you don't even recognize them as leaves anymore. At that point, you can just leave them to sink into the earth over time.
Tips for Mulching Leaves With a Regular Mower
While mulching leaves with a mower is not overly hard work, there are certain things to keep in mind to facilitate the work and get the job done right:
Don't mow after it rains: Do not mow when the leaves are wet. Wet leaves will not break down as easily. In fact, generally speaking, when the grass is wet, that is not the right time to mow.
Stay ahead of the leaves: Do not attempt to mulch leaves if they have formed a thick layer. For this reason, it is best to start the project early in the fall. Each time the trees drop another thin layer of leaves, go back and mow again.
If you fail to stay ahead: If the leaves have piled up on you, all is not lost, but you will have to alter your approach. One option is to skim off the bulk of the leaves with a rake, transporting them to your compost bin. They will eventually break down (although shredded leaves will break down faster) into compost. When the compost is finished, you can sprinkle it over your lawn. If your mower has a bag attachment, you can skip the work involved in raking and just bag up the excess leaves, dumping them into the compost bin afterwards. Either way, after removing the excess leaves, you can mulch the remaining ones into the soil.
Adjust the mower wheels: Raise the wheels on your mower to the highest setting for this project.
thespruce.com