March is national nutrition month in Canada, which is a great reminder to assess and reset our workplace eating habits. For many of us, making healthy food choices at work can be challenging. Here at CVS, we know that many of us are on the go and sometimes that can make it difficult to eat healthy.

Here are some easy tips to help us make healthier nutrition choices while we’re on the job.

Make a Plan

Creating a meal plan at the beginning of the week can help you stay in control of your options. Be mindful of your schedule, where your routines are disrupted, and how much time you can take to eat your meal. Prepare as much food in advance as you can to help save yourself some extra time.

Pack your Lunch Wisely

Depending on your workplace, you may or may not have a fridge or food prep area available to you. Don’t be discouraged if a fridge or microwave isn’t an option! Get creative with how and what you pack for lunch by bringing food that can be eaten cold and packed in a cooler.

Keep Healthy Options on Hand

Stock up on healthy items that you can reach for when you forget a lunch or when snack cravings hit! Items such as canned fish, instant oatmeal, nuts, and seeds are great items with a longer shelf life. They’re perfect for keeping on hand for when you need it.

Reduce Salt

Packaged and processed foods often have too much salt and eating too much salt in our diets can lead to a number of health issues. Try to reduce salt by choosing fresh foods. If you want to add salt to food, do it in moderation.

Drink More Water

It’s hard to resist having multiple coffees throughout our days, but it’s important to be mindful of how much water we are drinking as well. Try adding some fresh fruit or herbs to your water for a little extra flavour!

Have fun with these tips but we\’d even love to hear of other tips you use to keep fit & healthy. Comment below to let us know what you do to stay healthy…

DisDaBomb is gearing up for one of our favourite holidays, Easter. It\’s only about a month away and our ladies in Port Coquitlam have been working hard to start pulling some great bath bombs ready. We have great shapes and scents for your little ones and adults too!

Not only can we pull together beautiful Easter boxes, we also can do individually wrapped bath bombs (great for Easter grab bags!) as well as gift baskets.

If you\’d like to place an order, please send us a Private Message through our Facebook page or email us at [email protected].

This past week, hundreds of families and advocates of children with autism protested at the Ontario legislature to plead with the government to reverse changes they say will leave kids without the therapy they need.

Children, Community and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod announced last month that in order to clear a waiting list of 23,000 children, kids with autism would receive direct funding to pay for treatment.

Families will get up to $20,000 per year for treatment for children under six and $5,000 a year for children six to 18, but intensive therapy can cost up to $80,000 a year.

Parents are calling for the funding to be based on children’s individual needs, instead of just their age.

From the stories of the individuals this effects, it appears that many individuals will be severely underfunded for support.

While these changes are specific to Ontario and don\’t impact the individuals we serve in BC, we really feel for the individuals. Getting the right level of support is critical for development in children. It is sad to see that appropriate funding isn\’t being allocated based on need. We can only hope that the voices of these individuals are being heard and something is done to resolve the situation for those in need.

To read the full story, click here.

2018 was a great year for our very own social enterprise, DisDaBomb. We grew our reach across the Tri-Cities and got our name out there in the community at a range of local events. The ladies in PoCo were busy throughout the year producing and packaging our beautiful bath bombs with direction from Dawn Walsh and the Support team in PoCo.

Alongside that, we truly expanded our product line and tested out some great bath bombs for a range of customers. Some of the highlights of 2018 were partnering with Save-on Foods to roll out two bath bomb campaigns to raise money for BC Children\’s Hospital, becoming an approved sponsor of the Tri-Cities Mom\’s Group and stocking our bath bombs at Pomme Natural Market in Port Coquitlam.

The team is always testing out new ideas in our PoCo location. One that they recently came up with is a Rainbow bath bomb (check out the video below) that is perfect for kids and just in time for Easter. It\’s still being perfected, but this video shows how excited kids are going to be for this bath bomb.

We\’ve also taken the time to look through all the products we launched in 2018 and really focus on the products that were our biggest sellers as we head into 2019 & beyond.

If you are looking to place an order for any bath bombs, please email us at [email protected]. Thank you to everyone who has supported us and we are excited for 2019 as it\’s already shaping up to be a year filled with success!

An Okanagan mother is speaking out about current staffing levels at schools in Kelowna.

Christine McKay, whose six-year-old son Isaac has autism, says the Central Okanagan School District didn\’t have a resource teacher teacher at the beginning of the academic year, creating gaps in his education at South Kelowna Elementary. McKay is reaching out to state that more support workers are needed throughout the Okanagan to ensure children like her son aren\’t let down, and can thrive. With no resource teacher, McKay says there was no study plan for Isaac. McKay said that instead care workers walked the boy around the school\’s hallways throughout the school day.

The school district has responded, noting that they are meeting their requirements. McKay is one mom who is trying to take a stand for her son and whether the responsibility lies with the school district or the government to get her son further support to help with his needs, McKay makes a valid and important argument.

To learn more about Christine\’s story, click here. Tell us what you think about staffing levels in your local area and across BC as a whole. We\’d love to hear from you…

Vernon welcomed over 800 athletes in February to the Special Olympics Winter Games in BC. It sounds like this was a great event and everyone in attendance – athletes and volunteers – enjoyed the event and look at it as a big success for the Special Olympics.

The chairperson of the organizing committee for the Special Olympics B.C. Winter Games, Glenn Benischek, was overjoyed with the event. Benischek said that the event was \”a highlight of my life, something I’ll never forget. Just seeing the appreciation and having the athletes come up to me individually, sharing their experiences and how exciting this event was for them in their lives.”

More than 800 athletes, coaches and mission staff converged on the North Okanagan for the largest Winter Games in Special Olympics B.C. history. Athletes competed in front of large crowds in five-pin bowling, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, floor hockey, snowshoeing and speed skating. The competitors qualified to advance to the 2019 Provincial Games by competing in regional qualifiers in 2018. They come to the Games with their regional teams representing the eight sport regions of B.C. and the Yukon.

To find out more about the Special Olympics games, check out this news article and to find out more about the Special Olympics in BC, click here.

myBooklet BC was directly inspired by Julia, a vibrant and funny girl with complex health challenges. Julia has many gifts and strengths. She also has a very active life in her community. The Family Support Institute of BC collaborated with Julia\’s family to turn Julia\’s booklet into a FREE online tool. The tool aims to help, support and inspire families and people with disabilities in BC to create a person-centered plan using myBooklet BC.

The goal is that myBooklet BC will create opportunities for every person with disabilities in BC to have a rich life with active participation in the community, a strong sense of contribution and a social life free from isolation!

As mentioned in one of our blogs in January, the Family Support Institute of BC hosted a workshop to help with myBooklet BC. To learn more about upcoming workshops, click here.

Creating a free, online account is simple. Click here to start now or to learn more about myBooklet BC.