12 Things To Help Keep You Healthy This Summer

The WellNow Co Summer

I wanted to put together a post with lots of helpful tools, gadgets and products for you to feel more healthy, organsied, eco-friendly and amazing all at the same time this summer. I thought this list of 12 things to help keep you healthy this summer should hit the spot for most people. You’ll find all these products are really practical and useful and will help you make better choices to stay healthy and well along the way.

Whether you are looking to get more handy in the kitchen while we continue to dine at home a lot more than before, or looking for useful on-the-go products for when you’re out and about picnicking with family and friends, or you want to give your skin and hair a bit more love and attention. It’s all here, we’ve got you covered. 

You can find a wider selection of products than this summer edit in our shop. And like our shop, this article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small fee for promoting the products, but you won’t pay any more.

Cool Kitchen gadgets

1. Ice Pop Moulds

Cool down with these fun ice pop moulds

Ice pop moulds are one of the most used ‘toys’ in our kitchen over the summer. They are such a great way to have a cooling, sweet treat that isn’t packed with additives and loaded with added sugar. You can have great fun playing with flavours – pineapple and mango is a firm favourite. I particularly love these because of the lids being attached to the body of the mould. It avoids anyone distractedly throwing the lid out by accident!

2. Glass Storage Containers

The WellNow Co Shop Pyrex Cook and Freeze rectangular dish with lid

The great thing about using glass storage containers is that you can avoid cling film and still be really organised. These ones can be stored in the freezer and used in the oven. Reducing food waste has a huge impact on the environment, and your wallet too!

The WellNow Shop Glass Preserving Jars

These fermenting jars come in loads of different sizes. I have a range of them and use them for so many things from pasta and rice, to nuts and seeds. They keep everything really fresh, are handy to bring to bulk food shops and look pretty too!

3. Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls

The WellNow Co Shop Set of 5 stackable stainless steel bowls with lids

These were a game-changer for our kitchen. I always had a mish-mash of bowls, so to have a selection of different sized bowls, that stack so don’t take up much space and have lids so can store things and keep them fresh is amazing. They clean well and easily and I’m now never short of bowls when prepping multiple salads, dressings and marinades.

4. Stainless Steel Coffee Pod

The WellNow Co Shop Stianless Steel Reusable Coffee Pod

I used to feel a pang of guilt every time I used a plastic pod in the coffee machine. When I discovered these I was so excited. I now have a swagger as the machine goes bbbrrrrrr with the coffee I love in it.

On The Go

5. Mother Reusable Bottles

The WellNow Co Shop Mother Reusables Urban 2 Obamerama

The beautiful range of stainless steel bottles from Irish company, Mother Reusables are like a work of art. They are an ethical company with serious credentials. You are not just supporting Irish, but helping the environment by reducing single use plastic water bottles and for every bottle sold they will plant a tree. The bottles will keep you cold drinks cold or hot drinks hot. Perfect for a day outing!

The WellNow Co Shop Mother Reusables Dinky 4 Captain Planet

They even have a gorgeous range of kids bottles which are a really handy size. Check them out for the full range.

6. Bento boxes for picnics

The WellNow Co Shop GA Homefavor Stainless Steel Bento Lunchbox

These bento box lunchboxes are so handy for summer picnics, not to mention school lunches and work lunches. They are great for bringing a variety of salads, food types and flavours and not have them all crossing over. They come in different sizes and configurations but this is my personal favourite. Easy to manage and the perfect size.

7. Stainless steel straws and cutlery

The WellNow Co Shop Longzon Stainless Steel Straw 12 pack with silicone tips

Whether you’re looking to reduce your plastic at home or on-the-go, these stainless steel straws are a really smart option. There are 12 straws and they come with different coloured silicone tips to make it easy to claim your own. It also comes with two handy cleaning brushes and a cloth pouch to keep them all together.

Another handy option for picnics, but also for when you’re back working at the office and getting take-out lunches, is this neat set. A stainless steel cutlery set with chop sticks and two straws. So handy for on-the-go.

The WellNow Shop Timgou 7 piece stainless steel travel cutlery set

8. Coffee Cups

These stainless steel Keep Cups are the ultimate in re-usable cups. They keep your hot drinks hot for longer or cold for longer. They are easy to look after and designed for life. Get yours now!

PERSONAL CARE

9. Indeora deodorant

WellNow Shop Indeora Deodorant Discount Code

For any of you that already follow us on Instagram or Facebook you will know that Indeora is our fave healthy deodorant. No nasty chemicals so perfect for keeping your toxic load under check while also adding magnesium. Good for you, and also great for teens and tweens in these warm sporty months. Use ‘WELLNOW15‘ for your discount of 15%.

10. Yogandha Oils

The WellNow Co Shop Mindfulness Pack

We have been using Yogandha Oils for years and just can’t get enough. The quality and texture of the oils is just luxury in a bottle . The range covers relax to muscle soothe to balance and beyond. This Irish company is internationally renowned and I can’t recommend enough. I use the roll-on oil in the morning to balance my mood and instead of perfume. Try it for yourself!

11. Green People Sunscreen

You may be aware of our bulk shopping offering. We have loads of home cleaning and personal care products in 5 litres sizes to help reduce plastic use, save money and be super convenient too. We added the award winning Green People sunscreen to this offering. Note: The sunscreen is not a bulk item but compliments any busy family’s bulk order perfectly!

12. Faith In Nature Shampoo & Conditioner

WellNow Shop Bulk and Clean Products - 5 litres

These are our favourite shampoo and conditioner. We have a whole range of their beautiful scents. They say it best themselves:

“All our natural vegan shampoos are animal cruelty free, are SLS and paraben free and are vegetarian. We use no synthetic colouring, fragrances or artificial preservatives in our shampoos to ensure that they are as natural as possible. We pride ourselves in creating paraben free shampoos made with 100% natural fragrance.”

That should keep you healthy and well for the summer! If you have any suggestions of products that have really helped you stay on track with your health goals, I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a line at suzanne@thewellnowco.com and let me know your top products so I can share. And if you use any of the above I’d love to hear how you get on with them too!

5 SIMPLE WAYS TO OPTIMISE YOUR FAMILY’S HEALTH DURING THE PANDEMIC

Virtual Family Health Coaching Package

Silver linings are few and far between at the moment. We all now know first hand how hard living through a pandemic is. And while the pressures are very individual, nobody has escaped some form of hardship. However, the silver linings may be the best prize we get out of the situation.

What is undeniably true, is that the pandemic has given us the opportunity and the time to focus on ourselves and our family, enjoy the outdoors and nature more and to put in place the necessary routines to ensure that we come out of this in a healthier and happier place. So, let’s grab that silver lining and run with it.

1. Review Your Eating Habits

While many of us are at home trying to work and homeschool, feeling like we are not nailing either, it can be a great time to look inward at our family’s eating habits. Increasing awareness around what we eat, how much we eat and when we eat it can be really helpful to improving our families’ health through nutrition. Keep a food diary over a few days with as much detail as possible and be as honest as you can. Then review it and see where you can cut back or change anything. Some things to look for:

  1. Are you eating enough fruit and veg? Don’t worry, most people don’t. So consider where you can squeeze in a few more portions each day.
  2. Nearly everyone puts the blinkers on around their snack consumption. Be really honest about what you’ve eaten each day – yes, that third biscuit counts! You may need to look at decreasing sugary treats.
  3. From a health, environmental and cost perspective many of us need to consider reducing the amount of meat we eat (if you’re not vegan or vegetarian). Think about eating more plant based foods or vegetarian options.
  4. Fibre is such an important aspect of our gut health and the western diet is naturally low in it. Increase fibre by replacing white with brown – bread/rice/pasta
  5. Hydrate – It’s difficult to remember to keep our water intake at the optimum level regardless of time of year. Use a water bottle and fill it at the start of the day, and refill it throughout the day until you have reached your goal of approximately 2 litres.
Healthy eating the WellNow Co

2. Time to delve into your nutrition-related pain points – Fussy eaters, food waste & overspending on food?

You are not alone if you find yourself whipping up two or three dinners for just one sitting in order to accommodate the different (fussy!) palates. Very often our children reject foods and we take the path of least resistance as we pick our battles carefully! Not only is this not sustainable for the busy working parent who is already stretched to their limits, but it’s not helping our child develop tastes and interests in other foods. It is also a huge source of food waste, and with food waste, there is money waste also.

Now is the time to help your kids really understand why we should eat a certain way and what the benefits to them are. By realizing they can enhance their learning ability, and their running speed from choosing the best foods for them is a good start. Empowering them is rewarded with buy-in from them. Broadening their food horizons is good for their health, your time, your wallet and the environment. Two effective activities to task them with are:

  1. Let them create their own meal plan for their lunches during the week. It helps taking the daily thinking out of it for parents and they can keep doing when they go back to school.
  2. Do an ‘Eat The Rainbow Challenge’ for the kids or the whole family. See how many portions of the different colours everyone eats across a week. This can highlight where increases or changes can be made to your eating habits, but done in a fun and engaging way.

3. Take the time for a Household Audit

Scrambling from week to week is no way to live. Most of us would like a calmer life to allow us to enjoy ourselves more and feel optimally productive. A really effective approach to improving how you run your home is to do a ‘Household Audit’. Three effective ways to make your household more efficient are:

  • Look at your household budget to help you to optimally understand and refine your spending.
  • Meal Planning and shopping list templates will help you reduce costs, waste and trips to the shops.
  • A review of your household cleaning and personal care products will allow for clarity. Should you buy certain products in bulk, reducing waste and costs. Could you look at buying a more environmentally clean product which is better for you personally but also the planet.
Organising bulk products to be more efficient and sustainable at home.

4. Think it, plan it, do it!

Each and every choice we make for ourselves has an impact on our health and how we feel. Some habits we have we know we want to change. Becoming aware of what we would like our life to ultimately look like and deciding what it will take to get there will help inform what new habits we want to form, and what old ones we want to lose.

Whether stress is a big factor in your life, or whether you want to increase your exercise and movement, or if poor sleep is impacting your life or your work/life balance is out of whack, establishing clear goals is critical to succeeding with positive behaviour change. A couple of ways to help figure out what your goal is, and the action steps to make it happen are:

  1. Ask yourself how you want the situation to look when you have succeeded in achieving your goal. Use this visualization to look realistically at what changes need to be made in order to get there.
  2. Write out the list of things that need to change to achieve your goal. This can be a long or short list depending on your circumstances and what the goal is. Then rate how ready you are to make each of the items on the list from 1-10. Choose the three top-rated steps that you are most ready to change first, and work your way down the list.

5. Find your pot of gold

The silver linings may end up being your pot of gold when the pandemic finally ends. Taking a simple approach with small steps of change we can look at our lives in terms of nutrition, lifestyle and how we want to change them. Tap into your positive thoughts to make it happen.

If you would like to make a change for either yourself or your family, The WellNow Co has a range of one-to-one virtual health coaching packages sessions. Alternatively, they have a range of Online Wellness Programmes available from meal planning to stress management. In addition, they also have Workplace Wellness packages available for corporate clients.