NI nutrionist Jade Bradley launches new seed mix range

It is often said, ‘you are what you eat’, and with this in mind nutritional therapist Jade Bradley set about creating a new seed mix as an alternative to the unhealthy snacks we might reach for when we need a boost.

Jade, 35, launched her business, Balance: Food to Go, in the new year and is confident it will offer consumers and a good snacking alternative, promoting a good diet, lifestyle and wellbeing.

The ingredients in each jar include a mix of seeds, local Broighter Gold flavoured rapeseed oil, tamari soy sauce, coconut oil and dried spices, with no artificial colourings, flavourings or preservatives.

They come in four flavours, savoury, salty, smokey and spicy.

“The big thing for me, because I am gluten and dairy intolerant, is that I wanted to make sure allergens are well managed,” said Jade.

“The seeds are vegan and they’re made using gluten free ingredients.”

Jade, who changed careers when she was 28, believes there is a need to educated people about the mental health benefits of good food.

“I went to London and studied to become a nutritional therapist.

“I did that for three years, and whenever I qualified, I came back to Derry, and you know, I saw the need for support.

“There are a lot of services for mental health, but most of them weren’t supporting nutritional changes, and holistic lifestyle change to a great extent.

“That was until I was lucky enough to cross paths with Caroline McMenamin, CBT therapist and founder of Replenish, a local mental health service.

“Since then myself and Caroline have worked closely to combine nutritional therapy, and CBT to support health and wellbeing.

“We have seen amazing results and most recently in our Smart Cookie programme (@smartcookie_newfoodhabit) that supports healthier relationships with food for health and wellbeing whilst moving away from toxic diet culture that is so common nowadays.”

She added: “My initial business is Restore Nutrition.

“Over time I began working with private clients, charity groups, community groups and educating them on nutrition and how it supports health and wellbeing.

“Food is a passion of mine.

“I love cooking and making food tasty which is also healthy and nutritious.

“I don’t really like to use the word ‘healthy’ because I think it’s kind of in the eye of the beholder if you know what I mean.”

Jade has been using the Foodovation Centre, which is a commercial kitchen in the North West Regional College (NWRC).

She said that the Foodovation Centre was key in the development of this product.

“We’ve been working on different products, not just the seeds, mostly plant-based products, well they are all plant-based actually.”

“The seed mix evolves with different flavours, so it has gone from being one seed mix to a range of four.

“The Foodovation Centre helped with all the red tape and the loopholes with environmental health, and making sure you are doing everything right.

“I’ve been literally labelling them here at home and packing them up.

“I haven’t been making massive amounts, but I actually sold the first batch off the back of one Instagram post.”

And Jade believes it’s ‘just the beginning’ for Balance.

“If you notice online, the social media handle is Balance: Food to Go. I want this to grow into a bigger concept. It’s not just a snack range.

“The seed mixes add flavour, texture and bring nutritious benefits to meals.

“In the future I would see there being a premises and, you know, in time, there could be Balanced chains around Ireland and the UK.

“I am continuing to grow the business, but I don’t really see that there’s any kind of limit to where it can go really.”

For more information visit theBalance: Food to Go pages at Instagram: @balancefoodtogo or on Facebook @balancefoodtogo.