Happy and healthy, this eco-friendly mom spreads the love

Every week, I will be profiling an extraordinary human being who lives in our community. If you know someone who is doing something interesting with their life, I want to hear about it. Send me an email at [email protected].

All of a sudden, it became very clear to Kelly Mattice: if she wanted her kids to be happy and healthy, then she needed to be happy and healthy herself.

“I was heavier than I’d ever been in my entire life,” says the 29-year-old mother of two, who just happens to be the sixth generation of her family (the Mattice’s) to reside on Golf Course Road. “So when my daughter started eating solids, basically I decided I was going to eat what she did.”

That meant making a big decision to cut out unhealthy food from her diet. Kelly has shed a whopping 70 pounds simply by eating right. She looks as healthy as she is. She has a gorgeous head of beautiful, shiny curls, and her skin is pretty flawless, too. She’s got a sunny disposition and positive outlook on life to match. And the choices that she’s been making over the last three years definitely have something to do with her overall well-being.

When she opened her eyes to a whole new way of clean and healthy living, Kelly wanted to share that with people. She started Health Mama Muskoka, a Facebook page that offers useful and insightful tips on a variety of topics that all pertain to health and wellness. I don’t know how she does it, but in between working three days a week as a dental assistant and caring for her two young girls, Kelly makes it a priority to post something every day. If she’s inspired, she will share it with her 500-plus followers.

Kelly Mattice at her kitchen table with her tablet, which she uses daily for posting on her Facebook page Health Mama Muskoka.

“Anything on eco-living, from food recipes and makeup choices, to lifestyle topics like yoga or home ideas like non-toxic house paint – if it’s something I find interesting or think other moms will benefit from, I want to share it.”

In order to bring other local moms (or ladies just looking for a good time) together, Kelly started organizing monthly events. An evening of Burlesque dancing, a workshop at Totem Juice Co. that taught ladies how to juice, and a delicious dinner at Café Wilgress where divine food was prepared from scratch are just some of things she’s organized already. Next month, hot yoga is planned, where the ladies will get their sweat on doing yoga in a steam room. Owners of local businesses have called Kelly expressing interest in her holding an event at their venue, a sure sign she’s doing something right.

Holding a monthly event for ladies to get together is important to Kelly. She wants to bring people together in a non-judgmental, stress-free way. Sure, our husbands are wonderful, caring beings, says Kelly, but they don’t give you the same encouragement or inspiration as other women.

“They don’t relate the same way, especially with motherhood,” she says. “I wanted to find other people who like the same things I was now promoting or I found vital in my life. I felt we needed that in the town. I not only do the events on healthy eating but I’m trying to inspire ladies to do something they wouldn’t normally do for their mental well-being.”

Kelly will be the first one to admit she wasn’t always healthy or even interested in looking for a way to get healthy. When Kelly learned that Nahanni had an allergy to dairy products, it meant a big shift in what she was going to feed her. It was when she had her second daughter, Ila, that she really kicked into high gear and made a complete lifestyle change. Kelly never went to the gym, but she exercised. She attributes her drastic weight loss to eating all the right stuff. She started reading articles on the toxins in makeup and slowly started going through her bathroom cupboards and throwing things out. All of the interior paint in Kelly’s home is non-toxic. She buys organic shampoo for her kids, which might be a bit more expensive, but lasts three times as long as regular shampoo. She uses stainless steel bottles, eco-friendly frying pans and drinks loose leaf teas (one that even has real chunks of dark chocolate in it!) and the spices she uses to cook with are all organic, too.

“When I had my second daughter, I realized this is my passion,” she says of her lifestyle change. “This is what I want my whole life centred around, and that’s why I started Health Mama Muskoka. I put my whole heart into it. I do an article every day. My followers are mostly women from Huntsville or the Muskoka area, but I’d love to have followers from all across the world.”

Kelly’s philosophy?

Our vibe attracts our tribe. That’s where it started. You want to get out and find other people who you can relate to. I wanted to get a really great group of women together in town and meet new people. I’ve always been interested in longevity in life. I believe you should surround yourself with friends and family who have the same values in their life.

Kelly will continue to inspire other mothers out there with her Health Mama Muskoka Facebook page. She feels extremely grateful to have the opportunity to share information that has the potential to improve the quality of life for other moms. She likes to be involved in the community. At first, she didn’t know how she was going to do it. But now everything has fallen into place. This is something that gives her a deep sense of gratification and fulfilment.

“I have so many goals for this to be bigger with more women involved. I think it’s important to instill healthy choices in our lives, and for our mindfulness as well.”