After conquering her own health issues by changing her eating habits, Sarah Green found her passion to help others do the same. She became a Holistic Nutritional Consultant with the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition and has counselled individuals and families since 2003. Understanding that lack of time is an issue for most people, Sarah has a very practical and realistic approach to nutrition. She understands the challenges of life today and how they affect the ability to provide healthy meals for you and your family. With a step-by-step and organized approach, Sarah has helped many achieve their health goals and lessen the confusion that meal planning often brings to the table. Sarah's advice is based on a solid foundation of knowledge and experience and is delivered to you with compassion, patience and support.

A Note From Sarah

My name is Sarah Green and I have the privilege of working as the in-house nutritionist at O-YA. It has been fantastic watching the children of Osgoode, and the surrounding area, embrace healthier food choices and enjoy learning about nutrition.

As a nutritionist, my goal is to gently open up eyes and minds to the good and bad of the food we choose to eat. I encourage everyone to read product labels and really think about what our food is doing to our bodies - both for better and worse. There are SOOO many choices out there and SOOO many articles, books and websites on the subject of nutrition. It can be very confusing and overwhelming. I hope to help alleviate some of the confusion and, at times, fear about eating. I understand how difficult it is to always provide home cooked, organic meals for our families – due to both time and financial constraints. Although we all wish we could provide these things for all snacks and meals, we must be realistic (and try not to feel too guilty about it!)

The food philosophy at O-YA is “everything in moderation, but try and stick to natural, whole foods whenever possible!”

The recipes available on the O-YA website attempt to keep things simple, quick and affordable.

For example, when I bake with the afterschool program I will use TURBINADO SUGAR. This is a more natural product than brown sugar, but the recipes on the website will list brown sugar. This discrepancy is due to the fact that TURBINADO SUGAR is crazy expensive!! If you can afford it, great. If not, use the brown sugar. Although it is not much better than white sugar from a nutritional point of view, it yields a better flavour in baking (which usually translates into not needing as much). I have lessened the sugar content in our recipes when compared to more traditional recipes…and feel free to try lessening even more. Healthy fats and whole grains are always incorporated in the highest amounts possible.

(I do highly recommend the use of organic (or at least free run) eggs at all times. I also recommend organic milk. I believe these products are well worth the extra couple of bucks.)

I am walking along the fine line between giving too much potentially disturbing information to the children about the food industry while trying to help them understand why carefully choosing what we eat is so important! Hopefully they won’t be coming home and raiding your cupboards of anything considered “bad” for you!!!

Working with the staff and children at O-YA is a positive and uplifting experience. There is a genuine interest from all to do better for themselves and their family. To the parents of the children who come to O-YA, I am enjoying every minute with your fabulous children! To those of you visiting this website, thank you for taking the time to have a look!

Sarah