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Unmask the Sugar Baddies + Rescue Your Health!

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Sugar is a hot topic right now, with the World Health Organisation stating the health benefits from halving their recommended daily sugar intake to six teaspoons per day.

But what do we recognise as sugar?

Sometimes it’s obvious – the cakes and sugary sodas we know we shouldn’t be eating!

But it can be less obvious when it’s hidden away inside low-fat foods and even products that we assume are healthy.

For me and my clients, the story doesn’t end there… because baddies can be very stealthy! Watch my video to learn what I’m talking about…

 

Yup. There are other foods that have similar effects on our body as sugar, but do not fall under the sugar umbrella – the Ninja Foods ;-)
But they are often more harmful simply because we are less aware of their unhealthy properties and keep consuming them.

If you’re wondering whether these ‘Ninja’ foods are affecting your health – causing high blood sugar; fat storage; low energy; digestive disturbances and even auto-immune disorders such as celiac disease, food intolerances, hashimoto’s, arthritis, etc., use my Sugar Baddies Test when you’re making food choices.

 

Are you allowing Ninjas to infiltrate your shopping trolley?

Are they secretly affecting your health goals?

Do not fear! There are oodles of genuine ‘good guys’ just waiting to take their place and restore your health.

Try these simple alternatives to pasta and bread and kick those ninjas out the door!

Instant Pesto Zucchetti

pesto courgette zucchini pasta

Use Courgette/Zucchini as a healthy alternative to pasta

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is such a quick dish to rustle up for lunch, with just a few flavourful ingredients making a big impact.
Courgette/Zucchini are a fab replacement for pasta and even quicker to prepare.
Healthy No-Bread

healthy grain free gluten free bread alternative

delicious, grain-free alternative to bread

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can make this in advance and store it in the fridge or freezer for those moments when you just want bread! This will actually balance your blood sugars instead of spiking them.

Is there a Food Ninja you could kick out of your kitchen?
Have you had a health win from cutting down on these foods?
Please comment and share with us! 

 

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Are You Missing Something?

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Do you ever feel like something is missing?

No, I’m not talking about that Monday meeting that left you needing carbs covered in cheese!

Fill the Gap

we often notice the gaps when life challenges us

There are times in life when we recognise there is some vacant space that needs filling in order for us to make progress.

  • It may be a gap in our qualifications that needs work for us to advance our career.
  • Or an absence in our relationships where we’re seeking something deeper and more fulfilling.
  • And sometimes we have a health challenge that highlights all kinds of gaps – in our knowledge; in our motivation to get better; gaps in the right help we need to make progress.

When life throws a challenge at us, the gaps in our support network become very acute.

 

I remember this feeling from when I was sick with chronic fatigue and leaky gut syndrome: many people doubted I was even ‘really’ sick, and my real friends were well intentioned but not equipped to really help me.

Friends can be a source of great strength and encouragement.
But they often don’t have the knowledge or skills to help you fully.
They are also having their own life experience and this affects the way they view you – projecting their own lives onto you, often with good intentions and sometimes not. It’s not their fault, we all do it!

It can be hard to find impartial, practical, emotionally supportive advice in your regular life.

I got lucky. I had a boss who was rather like a health coach and this was my first introduction to being helped by someone who knew things I didn’t know.

Every week or so he would ask me about my health; my thoughts about an article he’d sent me; had I been practising the breathing exercise he suggested, etc.
It kept me on top of my game because I didn’t want to say, “No I haven’t done that.”

There was a sense of positive accountability that I had not experienced on my own.

It also opened my eyes to the benefits of being coached in a regular, focused format.

I come from a working class background, and the idea of paying someone to help me with my health and happiness felt frivolous and selfish! I had never invested in just myself before then and I had a lot of guilt around the idea.

Who do I think I am, something special?

How can I justify spending money on myself for this when I can just google anything I need?

And so that’s what I did:

  • I joined online forums for gluten sensitivity and chronic fatigue
  • I googled gluten free foods
  • I joined the celiac society.

And a year later I was a walking catalogue of every gluten free product on the supermarket shelves, I was depressed from reading online forums and I was no healthier.

I felt like I had walked around in a big circle for a year when I could have just made the investment and walked a much more direct and fruitful path. Doh!

I remember the first coaching session that I paid for.

I remember the sense of relief from realising that I had been walking around in this circle judging myself:
For not being knowledgeable enough;
For not being motivated enough;
For not being able to ‘fix myself’ on my own.

I remember the relief of talking to someone who accepted what I said about my health, life and fears and didn’t start each reply with, “oh you should do this,” or “don’t be silly!
It felt so much more collaborative than that.
Gentle but positive.

I knew that this collaboration would get me to my goals quicker and more efficiently than any combination of doing it on my own, help from well-meaning friends and forums.

And truly it was the best decision I ever made. Not only for my health but for my life in general, because I was able to make changes in my diet; how I organise my life; in my career; relationships with others; re-connecting with my creativity and other things that make me light up.

Three years on, I help women who are feeling as crappy about their health and their life as I was, to take practical and fun steps every day toward their goals.

:: Whether that goal is cutting out bread because you know it bloats you
:: Or never wanting another debilitating migraine
:: Or getting your blood sugars to healthy levels or planning a meal strategy that will keep you energised alongside a hectic job…
:: Or even if you can’t think straight enough to even know what your goals should be!

Why not take a step out of your comfort zone and arrange a complimentary Health Barrier Breakthrough Session with me.
It will only cost you the time it takes – about 30 minutes – and it could save you a lot of walking around in circles.
Believe me, I know this from personal experience! :-D

life after bread free session






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Gluten Sensitivity – Are You Making This Rookie Error?

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Are Gluten Free Products Keeping You Sick?

gluten free packaged foods

gluten free packaged foods may be harming your health

 

Being diagnosed with gluten sensitivity was like a saviour and a curse at the same time.

It was such a relief to finally know that gluten sensitivity was making me sick and what I needed to do in order to get better.

But… never eat soft, doughy bread again??? Really???
Not another Big Mac? Like, not even just one? Ever?

The only thing that made this whole gluten sensitivity thing easier to bear was learning there were some gluten free foods such as breads and pastas available (this was 10 years ago, the supermarket shelves were not heaving with them!).

Phase One of my post-gluten life consisted of trying every gluten free bread, pasta and cake product I could find. I scoured supermarkets and specialist websites. I became an authority.

Phase Two came when the packaged offerings had all been tried and I was fed up with sandwiches reducing themselves into breadcrumbs in my lunchbox. I wondered if I could re-create my favourite bready products myself? With the help of the internet, of course.
My kitchen became a laboratory. I tried to perfect that delicate balance of unfamiliar flours, eggs, vinegars, thickeners… It was the culinary equivalent of a historical re-enactment; trying to capture that elusive elasticity of gluten using fancy new saviours such as xanthan gum.
I was obsessed like Frankenstein working desperately to bring his monster to life.
My gluten free baking experiments were often a horror story too!

I spent a year in my kitchen.
And you know what I learnt about recreating gluten free versions of favourite foods?
Don’t bother.
Because not only will they never taste as good as your memories, you will likely delay the healing in your gut.

And healing your gut is the key to recovering your overall health.

Those cocktails of rice flour, maize flour, potato starch, xanthan gum, guar gum, etc, are not doing your damaged intestines any favours. In fact, they are likely to be keeping you sick.
Those flours may be technically gluten free (although this is debatable and another blog post on its own), but they are still concentrations of finely ground starchy carbohydrates.
They are spiking your blood sugar and keeping you in a vicious cycle of energy depletion. Not to mention the increased risk of diabetes, a condition closely associated with gluten sensitivity/coeliac disease.
These grain flours and concentrated extracts can still irritate your intestines, preventing healing and compromising absorption of nutrients. This again leaves you bereft of energy and also keeps your body under-nourished, unable to repair itself.

These are just two of the many reasons why you will not fully heal and recover until you get over your obsession with gluten-like foods.

This is the reason why so many gluten sensitive and allergic people do not get better on a gluten free diet. If you just replace your old favourites with gluten free substitutes, you are simply replacing gluten with a cocktail of other irritants.

What is the solution?

Real, whole foods. Forget the white powders. Eat real food instead.

This way, your gut can begin to heal the damage, your blood sugar can start to regulate itself and your body will feel safe. When your body feels safe, your whacked-out immune responses will normalise. Only then are you on the road to recovery and reducing your risk of developing further auto-immune diseases.

And you know what? In a short time you will adapt. Your taste buds will recover and you will enjoy the taste and texture of foods other than soft, doughy-ness. You will forget what your old favourites tasted like and you won’t miss them (honest!). If you approach this with the right attitude and celebrate your recovering health, the thought of ‘cheating’ will never feel worth it.

And you don’t have to feel denied. You can enjoy food that actually tastes of something instead of simply being a carrier for other flavours or a method of packaging fillings.
You can enjoy healthy, guilt-free versions of your favourite treats in the knowledge that your body still feels safe and satisfied.

And we all need a little treat every now and then!
That’s why I created this new recipe for grain-free, guilt-free chocolate brownies.
You can enjoy a treat that gets its sweetness naturally from real foods that retain their fibre content. That fibre will keep your blood sugar stable and also means you won’t feel the need to binge on them – you will feel satisfied with less.

gluten free grain free chocolate brownies

sign up to get this grain-free choc brownie recipe

Bake up a batch of these and keep them in the fridge all week. Like people, they get better with age ;-)

This recipe is one of five smart swaps for starchy carbs that I have compiled in my latest free ebook.
You can sign up here for a free download of the book:
No Pasta? No Bread? WTF Do I Eat Instead?! EBook Download

Take Action Now

  • Sign up for your free copy of my EBook
  • Share this post with anyone who needs to know that eating packaged gluten free foods will not make them feel better.
  • Comment and tell me if you plan to try the Grain Free Guilt Free Brownies recipe.

 

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Bread-Free Wraps – Your Lunchtime Saviour!

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Bread, bread, bread… what to eat instead???!
bread free wraps

Finding healthy, tasty, EASY replacements for lunchtime sandwiches and on-the-go bites is by far the biggest challenge for anyone reducing their bread intake.

These days it is easier as mini marts stock shelves of colourful salads with dinky plastic cutlery…

But what if you don’t want a dressing with a zillion ingredients to it?

What if you’re not sure it has no gluten lurking in the unpronounceable additives?

What if you actually want to choose your own filling?!

These wraps are your path to freedom!
Freedom to create your own delicious lunches and snacks, knowing you are eating healthful ingredients.
Once made, they keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days, meaning you can make up a batch and have them on hand to save you from reaching for the bread loaf.
They also freeze well and defrost quickly. Just take them out of the freezer the night before and they’re good to go in the morning.
Tip: make up your filling the night before too, so you can grab both as you fly out the door in the morning.

Not only are these great because they contain no sugar-spiking, digestion-disrupting grains, they are veggie based so you get better nutrition and they don’t need any added salt. The fibre in the veggies mean you get sustained energy and you can tick one of your daily veg portions off the list ;-)

If you’re concerned because you’re not a huge fan of cauliflower, please just give these a try because they don’t taste overly cauliflowery!
And if you’re really not keen on cauliflower, they taste absolutely amazing made with broccoli instead! Click Here for Broccoli Wraps Recipe

The only thing that makes these wraps too good to be true?
They won’t make themselves! Yup, you’re going to have to set aside 30-40 minutes to make a batch.
But if you are prepared to do that, I think you will be as converted to them as I am.
After all, not only are they gluten free and veggie-based, they have taste! You can replace that floury tortilla wrap or bland white sliced bread with something that actually has flavour. Who knew!

Here we go with the extensive ingredients list…

Ingredients

200 grams Cauliflower (approx. 4 large florets)
2 Eggs
Olive Oil
Yup. That’s it!

Equipment you will need:

  • This recipe is written with the use of a hand (stick) blender. You can make it with a jug blender.
    If you don’t have either, you can even make them with the use of a grater or even just a knife and some commitment ;-)
  • Baking sheets – preferably 2 of them, each big enough to fit two 15cm (6 inch) diameter wraps on it.
  • Greaseproof/Baking Paper
  • A wide, flat spatula/fish slice, preferably a non-stick one rather than metal

Make The Magic

Magician’s Note: I have been experimenting with the best method to make these for weeks. But honestly, if you have different equipment to me, just experiment because it’s very difficult to get these wrong.

  1. Preheat oven to 190c / 370f
  2. Prepare your baking sheets by cutting greaseproof paper to fit each. Place a piece of paper on each baking sheet, pour a teaspoon size of oil on each and brush evenly over the whole surface [yes, you’re applying oil to greaseproof paper – trust me ;-)
  3. Next you need to get your cauliflower down to the finest texture you can:
    My favourite method for this is to chop them up roughly and then transfer to a measuring jug.
    Then I use my hand blender to really mush it up as fine as possible.
  4. Add the 2 eggs to the mushed up cauliflower and keep blending until it’s as fine as you can get it.
  5. Add a Tablespoon of olive oil to the mixture and blend again briefly.
  6. In the centre of one half of a baking sheet, spoon 2 Tbsp of your cauli mixture.
  7. Spread the mixture with the back of the spoon to create a roughly 6 inch round. It will be thin but make sure it’s even and you can’t see the paper beneath.
  8. Repeat this to make three more rounds on your baking sheets.cauliflower wraps on baking sheet
  9. Place on two shelves in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
  10. Remove from the oven.
  11. Carefully grab the baking paper with one hand and gently ease your spatula between the wrap and the paper to loosen it from the paper. Work around the edges of the wrap. It doesn’t matter if some of the wrap sticks to the paper, it’s the inside of the wrap anyway.
  12. When you have all of the wraps worked loose and free, flip them over on the baking paper and put them back in the oven for another 5 minutes.
  13. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
    You can fold them in half at this stage if you like as they are at their most malleable.grain free wraps

Once cooled, you can store these in freezer bags. They will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for longer.

Use instead of flour wraps or bread sandwiches and enjoy with your favourite filling!

Take Action Now:

Please comment below and tell me if you are prepared to invest the time to make these delicious wraps. If not, what would stop you?

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Is Gluten Getting You Down? The BEST Way To Find Out For Sure

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is gluten getting you down

Do you ever worry that your low moods, brain fog and lethargy are actually [gasp!] depression?

I remember driving back early from work with yet another migraine.

Barely able to concentrate, crying and so depressed, I contemplated simply driving straight on into the trees instead of turning into the bend ahead.
I mean, I felt lifeless anyway so what was the point of this constant battle?

At that time, the only thing that stopped me was the thought that I might not succeed and end up in more pain than I already was!

I didn’t know then that the root cause of my symptoms was something I was eating every day.
Gluten almost killed me. It was making my body sick, but it also almost drove me to kill myself.

Do you feel like you just can’t cope with everyday stresses as well as other people?

Exhausted. All. The. Time.! Can’t think straight and your memory is so bad these days?

Maybe it’s your age??? Like, WHAT?! Already???

I felt like this at age 30, but it took me years to figure out that gluten was the cause of my craziness! And there is growing scientific evidence to suggest it could be the same for you.

One of the lesser known effects of gluten intolerance is that it can fundamentally affect your cognition.

Awareness of celiac disease and gluten sensitivities has thankfully become more prominent in recent years. But most information covers physical effects such as bloating, abdominal cramps, diarrhoea, constipation and physical fatigue.
Not so much is said about the effects gluten can have on our minds, our emotions, memory and thought processes.

But these symptoms can often be associated with gluten and can be equally devastating when you’re suffering with them.

What’s happening in your body?

When you are sensitive to gluten, your gut becomes inflamed and the walls of your intestines become damaged and permeable. This is often referred to as leaky gut syndrome.
These leaks in your intestines allow food particles and other pathogens to travel from your intestines and into other parts of your body…

It’s a complicated process but put very basically, these particles travel via the bloodstream and set off a myriad of responses in your body:

  • They cause inflammation in your organs.
  • They trigger an immune response that can lead to many different auto-immune diseases (ME/chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, arthritis, etc)
  • They disrupt the production of hormones in your brain, thyroid and adrenal glands

Think about what you know so far about being happy…

I bet it includes references to ‘happy hormones’, right?

Or maybe you’ve heard that depression is caused by a ‘chemical imbalance’?

If you’ve googled your symptoms you may even have come across the term ‘adrenal fatigue’

The common factor in all of these is that they each describe some type of hormonal activity.
And a leaky gut can cause havoc with those hormones as your immune system goes to war on the invaders infiltrating your body.

In addition to hormone disruption, gluten can be a real bitch to your ability to absorb and use nutrients vital to the health of your nervous system and brain function.

When your intestines are damaged by gluten, it reduces your ability to absorb nutrients from your food. These vital nutrients include the B vitamins, minerals such as magnesium and chromium, and essential fatty acids that help keep your brain and nerve function healthy.

It makes sense to at least rule out gluten as a possible cause of your symptoms.

So, what do you do?

As a health coach, my first suggestion would be to try an elimination diet, excluding all gluten (and possibly other common allergenic foods) for at least 2 weeks.
If you have a busy life this can sound like such a daunting prospect!
But it really is the best way to find out for sure if gluten is causing or exacerbating your symptoms.

I often lead clients through the process of an elimination diet and this involves much more than just waking up one day and deciding you won’t eat any more gluten!
To be successful it takes forward planning and a good serving of practical and emotional preparation.

Your First Step [It’s probably not what you think]

The most important step in this process is to actually decide you want to do it and make a commitment.
Sounds obvious, right?! But it’s so important to give this step the attention it deserves because it will see you through the challenges ahead.

Take time to acknowledge your resistance points. By this I mean those thoughts that stop you from taking the plunge. Those things that you tell yourself in your head, such as:

“It will be so inconvenient to think of what to eat when I’m busy”

“I have no idea what to eat instead of pasta and sandwiches!”

“I’m worried that my loved ones will think I’m over-the-top if I do this”

Write all of these resistances down. Don’t skip this! This process gets them out of your head and helps you to formulate solutions and move forward.
Better yet, ask someone supportive to go through your list with you. Simply acknowledging these resistances weakens them.

When you do this, you give yourself the impetus to take action. Trust me, this really works!

Take Action Now:

Do you have something stopping you from finding out if gluten could be the culprit of your symptoms? Tell me!
Use the form below to tell me your biggest concern or question about trying an elimination diet. I can help by answering you in future blog posts (don’t worry, I won’t use your name).
Whatever your resistance is, I guarantee you won’t be the only person that has it. You can help yourself and others by submitting your concern.

 

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world’s leading questionnaire tool.

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When Life Hands You Lemons – 4 Step Strategy

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life and lemons strategy
You’ve been working really hard on getting healthy and then you get the sickest you’ve been in years…

You work crazy hours and then lose that prestigious account…

Or how about: You promised yourself you would stay sensible during ‘wedding season’ and yet here you are stuffed with wedding breakfasts and champagne hangovers every weekend! (not so much life handing you lemons as life leaving free lemons on the table and you minesweeping them…)

When we get that knock-back, it’s so easy to go into panic and tailspin mode.
We start to question everything about ourselves and our lives, not just the problem at hand.
We judge every single component of ourselves, examining each element under our critical lense.

This is the time when a clear set of instructions is actually really helpful.
You know, the ones you’ve read in advance and don’t have to figure out when the crisis hits. So even if you’re riding high right now, sign up for my Life & Lemons Workbook for future reference ;-)

Here is my simple list of actions for those moments when life hands you a bunch of lemons:

STEP 1: Call Time-Out

When you’ve invested so much time and energy into something that doesn’t work out the way you want, it’s so tempting to just keep battling away.
You feel if only you had worked harder you could have made it work.
Or maybe that you failed and don’t deserve to take a break. You punish yourself.
But this is exactly the time to stop for a short while and re-group.
Trying to push on through when you’re exhausted, physically or emotionally or both, is just plain counter-productive. You won’t make good decisions when you’re emotional and panicky.
It’s also a danger time for your physical health: our appetite is all out of kilter because we’re stressed, our sleep is restless or even elusive, our energy is drained and it’s tempting to rely on caffeine and junk to get us through, comfort or even punish ourselves.

If you can take 24 hours out of your situation, as your (official or unofficial) health coach, I am writing you a permission slip.
It’s vital to nourish your body at this time. Giving yourself fresh, living foods will support your nervous system, reduce the effects of stress and restore your energy.
Take on this mantra: “When life hands you lemons, make smoothies!”
Try this recipe to support your body. It takes a few minutes to put together, so it’s ideal to keep you going when you really can’t be bothered to cook.

stress busting smoothie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During your time-out, be sure to focus on self-care routines.
Be sure to do things that make you feel good, nourish you – there are suggestions in the Workbook.
And try your absolute best not to feel guilty about it – feeling relaxed and refreshed is for your ultimate good and is the best circumstance to deal with your problem.

There are more self-care suggestions in the Life and Lemons Workbook I have created to accompany this post. You can receive your Free Copy HERE.

STEP 2: Time to Feel It

Once you’ve given yourself some essential replenishment, if you feel like you need to vent, do it now. But set yourself a time limit.

Set a timer for 10 minutes… now, GO! Really feel all those negative thoughts. Wallow. Get angry. Drop F-Bombs. Cry. Whatever comes up be sure to really feel it.
But feel it without judgement. It simply is what it is. Write it all down if it helps. Say it all out loud to yourself or to a friend if you prefer. But don’t try to fix it. It isn’t time for that just yet.
Have awareness of where you feel these thoughts in your body: is it your chest? or your tummy? your head?
10 minutes up? Ok good, now it’s time for…

STEP 3: Shake It Out!

Think of your body like a memory foam mattress: you stay in the same position and your body will hold those negative feelings in that same place.

When you move your body, the shape releases, the memories shift, and you will find the negativity releases quicker.

Although walks in nature and other soulful activities have their place, if you’ve just spent 10 minutes really feeling your negged out emotions, now is the time for something a bit less subtle! Short bursts of high activity are a great way to release those tensions from your body.
I’m a big fan of dance breaks for this – just crank up a tune and get moving! Feeeeeel that negativity getting shaken out of your muscles!
You can get literal here and use of one of my fave neg-busting choons:
Shake It Out by Florence & The Machine.

shake it out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feel free to sing, wail, shout, throw offspring-embarrassing shapes, chuck everything at it!

If you need more inspiration for dance break tunes, sign up for my Life and Lemons Workbook [It's Free!]

Ok, feeling cleansed yet? Good. Now and only now is it time to…

STEP 4: Get Real

You’ve taken care of your physical and emotional needs.
You’ve speed-ranted.
You’ve danced the negativity away.
Now is the right time to sit down and figure out what happens next.

Use the questions in the Workbook to really drill down the issue and craft positive action.
It’s also really important to acknowledge what is going RIGHT in your life! And the workbook will help you to focus on that too and use that information to help solve your current lemon-flavoured dilemma.

So tell me, what was the last lemon-flavoured situation life threw at you?
Did you take steps to preserve your health and sanity?
Or did you soldier on through?
I would love to read your story in the comments below.

And don’t forget to claim your FREE Life & Lemons 4-Step Plan (also known as the Sh!t Happens Survival Strategy)

life and lemons workbook signup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 






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Are You Being Spiteful to Yourself? 3-Step Formula to Find Out + Fix It

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Are you spiteful to yourself When I look back to the origins of my gluten intolerance and subsequent years of chronic fatigue, one realisation still makes me go “Doh!”:

My actions were rooted in spitefulness… against myself. And the consequence was a sick body.

Ooh that’s a hard thing to admit!
But let me explain how this lesson can keep you in check and identify harmful thinking when it tries to hold you back in your health and happiness goals.

 

When I moved from my home town to live with my boyfriend, everything about my life changed. But one of the biggest shocks for me was that my man would not cook. Not even a boiled egg. I knew he could cook, he just wouldn’t. And that got me so mad! I LOVED cooking! But not all the time, right?

My indignant feelings about having to provide all the meals altered my whole attitude to food. I got into a thought pattern of “well, if he isn’t going to spend time in the kitchen, why should I?
We spent a year living on microwave meals and takeouts. He was fine with that. I hated it. Go figure!

Then I got sick. It was ironic that a takeout sandwich gave me food poisoning. You may say that was just bad luck. But honestly, I had it coming.
A year of eating terrible food had taken its toll on my gut and my immune system… I had been steering myself toward a fall.

In hindsight, I could see this thought pattern had reared its head in lots of areas of my life:

He never cleans the bathroom, so why should I?
I gave in when I began to feel dirtier stepping out of the shower than when I stepped into it!

The guys at work just expect that I’ll do the washing up, but why should I?
Eight years of taking my own cup to work and back every day and only ever making my own drinks!

Why do we do (or not do) things that ultimately hurt us more than they hurt the person we are annoyed with?
It all comes down to how highly we value ourselves. I know, ironic, right?!
I mean, we withdraw our co-operation because we don’t feel the co-operation from someone else.
We withhold love because we don’t feel it from the other person.

If I had valued myself more…

  • I would have fed my body healthy food.
  • I would have recognised I was stopping my own shower time being an enjoyable experience.
  • I would have got the support of management to implement a washing up rota.

Can you identify this pattern of thinking in your own life?

You can use this simple formula to figure out if you’re thinking this way.
Are there any parts of your life for which you could fill in this statement?

Step 1 – The Formula:
[Name] is not doing [Action], so I won’t do [Action].

Step 2 – The Cost:
If you can fill in those blanks, ask yourself next, what is it costing YOU?

By not doing [Action], it is costing me [Consequence].

It doesn’t even have to be directed at another person. You can be equally spiteful against your own actions/inactions:
I am terrible at time management, so I’m not going to make plans for the weekend.”

Step 3 – Re-Frame:
Now, how can you re-frame that first statement into positive action that shows love for yourself?

“I am going to [Take This Positive Action] because I value my health and happiness.”

The Cost of my spiteful behaviour against myself led to gluten intolerance and six years of healing my gut and my health.
The Re-Frame was that I began to cook for my health. I learned to love the kitchen again! And my boyfriend installed my dream kitchen for me to spend time in.
Although ultimately we ended our relationship, when I left he asked me where he could buy replacements for the non-toxic, non-teflon pans I used. I bought him a set of those pans as a leaving gift.
Soon after, I met the man who is now my husband. He loves to cook for me! And it’s all healthy, gluten-free food. He values my health because I do.

Please comment and tell me your story of how you have been spiteful against yourself and your health. Can this formula work for you, to re-frame that withdrawal into love?

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How 1 Hour In The Kitchen Can Save You 10

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roasted root vegetables


One of the biggest challenges my clients come to me with is this:

“I really want to eat healthier but I just don’t have the time”.

It’s especially challenging when cooking for one, as it’s so easy to just grab
the nearest hunger-filler rather than cooking from scratch for one serving.

But with a little forward planning, healthy and delicious food is not only
achievable but can actually save you time.

Here is an exercise I set for many of my clients and you can try it too.
The forward planning starts with getting a stock of great tasty vegetables
ready for a good ‘ole cookup.

Try this shopping list to get started:
8 sweet potatoes, 1 medium size squash, 2 courgette/zucchini, 2 carrots, 1 beetroot, 1 parsnip, 1 turnip, 2 cups quinoa.

You will also need several storage containers to store your cooked up goodies, and two baking sheets. Freezer bags or paper bags are really handy too.
Got all that covered? Let’s cook!

1.      Preheat oven to 200c 390f Gas Mark6

2.      Cut the squash in half, rub olive oil into the flesh and place both halves flesh side down on a baking sheet.

3.      Rub olive oil into the skins of all the sweet potatoes and place these onto the same sheet.

4.      Place the baking sheet on a shelf in the oven.

5.      Now peel all the root vegetables and chop into approx. 1inch chunks. Toss them in olive oil then transfer them to your second baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and any herbs you like.

6.      Place these on another shelf in your oven.

7.      Leave all your oven ingredients to bake while you do the next step: cook your quinoa

8.      Thoroughly rinse quinoa in a sieve under fast running water then transfer to a cooking pot.
Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil.

9.      Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes.

10.  While your quinoa simmers away, it’s time to do some real ninja veg prep: courgette/zucchini strips to use instead of pasta!

11.  Top and tail your courgette/zucchinis and cut lengthways at 1/2 inch intervals. Now take each ½inch slice and cut ¼inch slices lengthways until they all resemble tagliatelle strips.
Here’s an infographic 

12.  Place these strips in a paper/plastic bag or container and refrigerate to use within 3 days.

13.  Check your quinoa and remove from heat when cooked.

14.  Check your oven now to see how those roasted roots are doing. Go on, try a few. Softened but still some ‘bite’? Perfect. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

15.  Your sweet potatoes and squash should be done in about 45minutes, so check those too. The potatoes should be squashy and brown on the outside. Remove from the oven when cooked and set aside to cool.

So you have all this fabulous cooked food, now what do you do with it?

 

Sweet Potatoes
sweet potato pancakes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Use one or two as straight baked potatoes for dinner
  • Cut the rest in half and scoop most of the flesh from each half. Transfer this lovely flesh to storage containers to use later for mash, a base for healthy pancakes, potato cakes and even as a base for chocolate pudding.
  • You can freeze this flesh and defrost when required.
  • Don’t trash those skins! They make amazing loaded skins with toppings like salsa, guacamole, chilli, etc. You can freeze these for future use. They only take 30 minutes to defrost.

Recipes in my Free Recipe Series, so sign up if you haven’t already!

Roasted Squash
butternut squash soup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Scoop out flesh and transfer to storage containers to refrigerate or freeze.
  • Use to make satisfying soups or stir into quinoa for a healthy alternative to risotto.

Roasted Roots
roasted roots salad 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Transfer to storage containers and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
  • Use as a side to a meal, a base for veggie chilli or casserole, add to quinoa for a healthy warm or cold salad with herbs and pine nuts.

Recipes in my Free Recipe Series, so sign up if you haven’t already!

Quinoa
quinoa porridge 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Transfer to a storage container and refrigerate for up to 5 days
  • Use as a side to chilli or curries
  • Make a big ‘ole wholegrain salad with some of your roasted roots – perfect for packed lunches.
  • Make quinoa porridge for a protein-packed breakfast with almond milk and fresh or dried fruits.

Courgette/Zucchini Strips
pesto courgette

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Saute lightly instead of cooking pasta/noodles

Recipes in my Free Recipe Series, so sign up if you haven’t already!

 

My math calculates that you will save about 10 hours of cooking time over cooking each of these options from scratch. Plus you’ll have great, healthy food choices on hand for every meal of the day.

For more recipes to use these great ingredients, sign up for my Take5 Series of healthy food inspiration.

Do you forward-plan and batch cook your food?
Have a fave time-saving food trick?
I would love to know your tips, so please leave a comment!

 

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Juices + Smoothies – Health Hit or Miss?

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So, you’ve become a convert to liquid nutrition!
But are you falling into this common trap?

Fresh smoothies and juices have catapulted in popularity in recent years, with the sipping of colourful concoctions in fancy containers becoming commonplace.
And they are a great way to pack more fresh nutrients into your day rather than chowing down on a bag of raw kale!

But before your next smushing session, take a moment to check you’re not falling into this easy trap:

I call it… Dah dah DAH! Fructose-Aggedon!

Many of us hauled ourselves on the liquid nutrient bandwagon to kick a sugar habit of some description. It may have been Diet Coke or pain-au-chocolats or too many caramel lattes. Whatever it was, that sweet tooth can still nag at us to make our healthy alternative just as sweet and palatable. Here are some pointers:

Keep it moderate:

  • Be careful how much fruit you are adding to your juice or smoothie mix, because even though fructose is a naturally occurring sugar in fruits, it still spikes your blood sugar. Your body may choose to store that excess sugar in fat cells, it may feed a bacteria imbalance, it may exacerbate inflammation in your body…
  • When using the whole of the fruit in a smoothie, you keep the benefits of the fruit’s fibre content. This reduces the blood sugar spiking effect.
  • But when you push fruits through a juicer, all the fibre remains in the pulp that you throw away, so you get liquid vitamins, phytonutrients, etc… and fructose.

You will adjust:

  • If you’re loading up your blender with fruits, keep in mind that it only takes a few days for your taste buds to adjust to a lower level of sweetness, and this is a good thing all round! After all, wouldn’t it be great to sip a soda and realise it’s actually sickeningly sweet and you genuinely don’t want to drink it?! I promise you, it happens!
  • Eating naturally sweet vegetables also helps to curb our desires for super-sweetness. Add carrots, bell peppers and beetroot to your juices and smoothies to get a more subtle level of sweetness and lots of vital nutrients too.

Try alternative sweetness:

  • You could forego the fruit altogether and add a pinch of natural stevia leaf to your veggie drink. Stevia leaf is one of the most potent sources of natural sweetness on the planet, and it has a negligible effect on blood sugar levels. It’s subtle aniseed flavour works well with vegetable juices and is certainly worth a try for the health benefit potential of drinking purely veg-based juices and smoothies.
  • Beware of common brand names that are a play on the word Stevia. Most of them will be packed with additives such as maltodextrin, they contain very little Stevia, making them not only bad value but not exactly a health food. You can also buy stevia extract as a super-sweet white powder – fewer additives but still a processed version of the natural leaf.
  • Personally, I buy pure, dried stevia leaves – it’s not exactly a chore to crumble some into a smoothie or juice!

Herb and spice things up:

  • Experiment with herbs to add flavour, variety and extra health benefits to your drinks. Parsley and coriander (cilantro) are potent detoxifying herbs. Mint makes for a really refreshing elixir and naturally aids digestion.
  • Spices can also add new flavour profiles and nutritional value to your drinks.
    Try ginger for warmth, spiciness and immune-boosting and digestive benefits.
    Cinnamon helps to curb blood sugar spikes and promotes satisfaction.

Here are two recipes that will help you get the balance right

juices and smoothies
Super-Green Juice Boost

1 small cucumber – peeled if not organic
1 celery stick
1 Kiwi fruit
1 large handful of spinach or kale
1 small handful parsley
1 courgette (zucchini)
1/2inch slice ginger
1inch slice lemon or lime
pinch stevia leaves
Juice all the ingredients except the stevia. Crumble the stevia leaf into the juice, stir and enjoy!

Special Choc-Mint Smoothie

½ banana
½ avocado
3 dates, pitted
1 tablespoon chia seeds, soaked in a little water
1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
1 handful spinach leaves
A few mint leaves
Pinch of stevia to taste if required
Whizz all the ingredients in your jug blender or with a hand blender until smooth. Thin with water, coconut water or almond milk to required consistency. Sip and enjoy.
Tip: One of my clients takes this to the cinema as an alternative to a soda or milkshake.

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Have You Got A Hot Body In All The Wrong Ways? 7 Signs of Inflammation + What To Do About It

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We all want a hot body, right?

We want rock-hard abs; a beach-volleyball player’s butt; energy to dance all night and still get up the next morning.

But what’s going on under the surface?

Could your internal fire be the reason you’re not looking or feeling as hot as you’d like?
This internal heat is known as inflammation and one way or another it will get your attention.

Inflammation is kinda like your body’s pet puppy:
When your puppy is happy and well trained, it will behave and only bark at the door to alert you to a possible danger.
But if you neglect your puppy and let the local ginger tom into the house, cutesy turns into crazy-commando-dog and will destroy all in its path in its quest to catch the cat!

Let’s take a look at our two puppies in turn:

Happy Puppy is inflammation that knows exactly what its role is. You trip over in the snow and sprain your ankle and inflammation reacts by swelling up the area to protect it and alert your body’s healing mechanisms that they have work to do.

Neglected Puppy gets fed all kinds of junk each day, doesn’t get walked or cleaned, which eventually makes it cranky and confused until it bites us to get our attention!

Chronic Inflammation is your body’s neglected puppy – if peeing on the couch doesn’t work, it will bite to get your attention! [Click To Tweet]

Our modern lifestyles mean we constantly bombard our bodies with things that trigger inflammation responses. Eventually this chronic inflammation in our body will bite to get our attention. But sometimes we don’t even realise what’s biting us.

If you have any of the following conditions, you have a hot bod in all the wrong ways, and it’s trying to get your attention:

  • Overweight/excess belly fat
  • Stomach problems – IBS, reflux, constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, gas, etc
  • Unexplained Fatigue and/or Brain Fog – inc. PVFS, CFS/ME, Fibromyalgia, etc
  • High cholesterol/High blood pressure
  • Type 2 Diabetes/pre-diabetes
  • Skin problems – eczma, psoriasis, acne, etc
  • Chronic pain – joint pains, regular headaches, migraines, etc

And beware, because if you don’t pay attention now, your body will bark louder and bite harder.

So, if you’ve figured out that your body is barking at you, I guess you’re wondering what happened to make your bod all hot and bothered. There are many causes of inflammation, and modern living means most of us will probably tick more than one of these boxes:

  • Poor diet—too much sugar, processed food, trans fats, etc
  • Lack of exercise
  • Stress
  • Hidden allergens such as gluten or dairy
  • Hidden infections with viruses, bacteria, yeast, or parasites
  • Toxins such as mercury or pesticides
  • Molds—mycotoxins, black mold, etc

If you think that your body has a slightly crazy inflammation puppy running around it, and you have an idea of what turned the cutesy into commando, what do you do?
Do you need to call the Body Dog Whisperer?

The really simple solution to getting rid of chronic inflammation is:

  1. Treat any underlying infections (with care)
  2. Take out the stuff that’s causing inflammation
  3. Put in stuff that reduces and heals inflammation

Here’s How:

  1. Deal with infections
    While your first port of call will most likely be your doctor, be mindful that tests for infections, toxins or food allergies are often not top of the list of offerings. You may need to go equipped with your own research and a clear picture of what you want.
  2. Take out the bad, put in the good
    Many of us get stuck on this part… what is good and what is bad??? They may not be what you first think!
    This Infographic can help you make healthy choices. Pin it to your board, put it in your purse or stick it on your fridge to remind you to make healthier decisions…

You will see that some of the causes on the list are lifestyle choices. These are often the most difficult changes to make. Working with a professional such as a health coach, to create and implement lifestyle changes can really keep you on track and make sustainable improvements. 

Contact Me if you would like to arrange a no-obligation Health Breakthrough Session (It’s Free)

If you have a problem, please take this advice and deal with it NOW. I work with clients at various points on the inflammation scale, from fatigue problems to medicated diabetes. Believe me, it is much easier for my clients to reverse health problems lower down on the scale!

If you are popping antacids or painkillers on a regular basis, having trouble sustaining energy for your normal life or looking in the mirror wondering where that belly fat came from, you are at the perfect time to take positive steps to reduce your inflammation and recover health before it turns into something more serious.

Comment Below and tell me what part of your body you think may be barking to get your attention.
Please SHARE to help your friends pay attention to their barking body!

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