Nourishment November

For so long we have talked about how Balance Me aims to support you through pillars outside of our current nutrition pillar. 

At Balance Me, we believe that health and quality of life are developed through different interconnected domains

• Nutrition
• Community
• Education
• Movement

While no pillar is more important than another, we believe that what we do to work these pillars into our life makes up our overall health and the resulting quality of life.

Over Nourishment November, we want to engage different pillars, show you how these pillars affect your life and break down the myth that nutrition and movement is the be-all and end-all of health. 

Firstly, at different points in your life, you will need different pillars. For example, at the start of this year, I found myself fit and healthy but lacking the social support of my community. I hadn't nourished this pillar enough and my body and mind were feeling it, I felt disconnected. I swapped my gym sessions for walks, coffee dates, and pot lucks with friends and I couldn't tell you how much my life DRAMATICALLY improved.

The key is that even when we know all of this information, we still need to be reminded and this is what Nourishment November is all about. Breaking down the stereotypical norms of health

• creating an interconnected understanding
• remind you at different stages of your life you will need to fulfil each value differently. 

Mental health is not just a brain condition, it is a full-body, life condition. Similarly, breaking a bone isn't just a body condition, your brain-mental health will also need support. 

So to (re)introduce you to these pillars 

Nutrition is all about diversity, helping you to eat more plants. A common misconception about Balance Me is that we are trying to turn the world plant/based or vegan. However, our goal is very different. It is to support everyone in diversifying their plant consumption. So often we find ourselves eating the same 3-4 different fruits, 5-8 different vegetables, maybe 2-3 different grains, and don't even get me started on nuts or seeds. This needs to change, we have a goal of 30 plants per person a week. Presenting different foods with an array of vitamins, minerals, fibre, phytochemicals, and enzymes feed and support the development of an active microbiome. The more diverse and active your microbial enzymes are the healthier you are. For example, 80% of your immune cells are created by your gut microbiome! These little microbes are fed from your diverse foods. The more diverse you eat, the bigger your microbiome community, and the more resourceful that 80% of immunity will be when fighting something off. 

Another way I like to explain this is to imagine being stuck in the dry desert land or the Amazon Rain forest for 30 days. Where can you be more resourceful with the hope of survival? While I dislike bugs, I would 100% choose the Amazon Rain Forest. 

Community is all about who you have around you. Your family, your friends, your workplace, and your hobbies. Do these people bring you up or down? When you tell them your goals and dreams, do they believe in you, support you, and check in on you? Human connection is imperative to life. On this windy road, you may feel like you are going backwards, left or right and your community are the people that ground you down and maybe sometimes give you the reality check or the kick up the bum you need. That's the beauty of your community, They want to see you succeed. Balance Me wants to see you succeed.

Education is all about gaining confidence and understanding in the steps towards your goals. It might be coming to a live cook-along so you cook a recipe with us and ask any questions along the way. It might be trialling a new grain and using our cooking resources (coming soon) to see if you like it and add it to your diversity toolkit, joining a new class to learn more about your passions, or heading back to school. Educating yourself empowers you and your decisions. 

Movement is all about moving in a way that supports you, your body, and your mind during different times. For women, this could be evaluated depending on your cycle stage, and for males depending on the time of the day. However, the most important is the stage of your life. What other stresses do you have right now? Are you doing this type of movement because 'you should' or does it actually feel right? As humans, we underestimate the impact of small daily movements or actions and overestimate the impact of big actions. 

I am so excited to be developing these other health pillars and to show you how Balance Me can support you outside of our regular meal delivery. 

Without further ado, over Nourishment November Balance Me will be doing giveaways, adding a special gift to every order, doing live cook-alongs, busting plant-based and health-conscious living myths (blogs, reels, and lives), and events (watch this space).

So come along with us over Nourishment November to deep dive into these pillars, build your inner health toolbox and explore how you can nourish yourself differently. We can't wait to support you on your incredible journey!