Through her small business, certified holistic nutritionist and forest therapy guide Jodi Forestell is not only helping locals across The Kawarthas build healthy lifestyles, but she is building healthy communities.
Residing in Buckhorn in the Municipality of Trent Lakes, one of eight townships in Peterborough County, Forestell began her online business Jodi-Lee Nutrition & Wellness after she found herself dealing with anxiety and feeling unwell in her mid-forties.
After finding healing through holistic solutions, she wanted to share her discoveries with others and became a Natural Nutritionist Clinical Practitioner, Metabolic Balance Coach, and Forest Therapy Guide. By focusing on four main pillars of health (stress, sleep, nutrition, and exercise), Forestell helps individuals who struggle with a lack of energy, weight gain, brain fog, and stress to get them back to feeling like themselves again.
Through her six-month Metabolic Balance program, Forestell creates a customized nutrition plan based on a client’s lab test results and lifestyle and provides them with accountability. She is also updating the Nourish & Thrive Formula she designed to help women nourish their bodies and reduce symptoms of menopause through stress management, sleep, gut health, movement, and nutrition. The improved eight-week group course will be launching in 2026 and Forestell is currently searching for test group participants.
“I really want women to understand that, yes, nutrition plays a major role in their well-being,” she says. “But I also want them to understand that those other three pillars — sleep, stress, and movement — can have a major impact on their health.”
To support her practice and help clients feel like their best selves, Forestell often recommends local businesses that align with her own work and values. Some of these businesses include holistic health practitioner and menstrual cycle guide Heather Litster of Peterborough’s Moon & Bloom, Gravity Pilates Studio in Peterborough, and naturopath Dr. Meaghan McLaren. To gather ingredients and vitamins for the nutrition plans, Forestell supports regional farms like Davis Orchards in Douro-Dummer as well as Jo Anne’s Place Health Foods in Peterborough and Lindsay.
Earlier this year, Jodi-Lee Nutrition & Wellness was the nutrition support for a challenge being done at F45 Training PTBO Central. She has also hosted nutrition workshops for the gym’s clients, as well as for the Peterborough Regional Health Centre and for students at Fleming College through the Peterborough Sports and Wellness Centre.
To further contribute to making healthy communities, Forestell donates her time as a forest therapy guide to various organizations. She regularly leads walks with Hospice Peterborough and will soon be hosting some for the clients at the YES Shelter for Youth and Families as well as the Kawartha Land Trust. Further giving back to her community, Forestell is a member of the Women’s Business Network and 100 Women Peterborough.
For more information on Jodi-Lee Nutrition & Wellness, visit www.jodileenutrition.ca or email Forestell at hello@jodileenutrition.ca.
The Local Advantage in Peterborough County is a branded editorial feature series about locally owned independent businesses in Peterborough County, created in partnership with Peterborough County’s Economic Development & Tourism Division.
As part of its response to the impact of U.S. tariffs, Peterborough County is showcasing the many unique businesses located in the county, both by sharing their stories of success and how they support both residents and other businesses in their communities.
Whether by shopping at local businesses, dining at local restaurants, staying at local accommodation, or enjoying local experiences, residents and visitors can enhance the economic resilience of Peterborough County during these challenging times and help establish a sustainable foundation for the future.
For more information about economic development and tourism in Peterborough County, visit www.ptbocounty.ca/ecdev and The Kawarthas Tourism at thekawarthas.ca.
