Guilt and gluten free banana bread

Healthy Banana Bread

Ingredients:

 

• 3 ripe bananas

• 3 eggs

• ½ cup coconut oil

• ½ teaspoon bicarb of soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon stevia

• 1 cup almond meal

• 1 cup coconut flour

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees and grease a loaf pan.

In a blender/thermomix or electric mixer mash up bananas. Add cinnamon, bicarb of soda and stevia. Add in coconut oil and eggs and mix until well combines.

Add coconut flour, almond meal and baking powder until folded in and batter is smooth.

Pour batter into baking pan and bake for 55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Spread with honey or maple syrup for extra sweetness, top with almond butter or regular butter or enjoy as is.

Crunchy nutty chocolate snacks bites

What I love about this recipe is that it full of so much goodness all packed into a delicious snack bite. There are many vitamins and minerals from the nuts and seeds as well as being a high protein snack. It is crunchy, healthy and you still feel like you are eating chocolate.

Chocolate and nut snack

Ingredients:

1 cup mixed nuts and seeds

½ cup buckinis

½ cup desiccated coconut

½ cup coconut oil

½ cup cacao powder

1 tablespoon tahini

2 tablespoons almond butter

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons stevia

In a saucepan melt the coconut oil. Add in cacao, tahini, cinnamon and stevia and mix until all blended through.  Combine with the remaining ingredients and mix until all nuts and seeds are evenly covered with liquid chocolate mixture.

Pour onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Refrigerate overnight and cut into chunks.

Even the men will love this one!

Wanting to conceive in the near future? A detox may be in order!

Preconception care is extremely important when it comes to the health and development of the foetus. It is often an area that is overlooked and many people are unaware of how important it is to prepare the body before even beginning to attempt to fall pregnant.

By preparing the body for pregnancy we are giving the baby the best chance possible for not just health in utero but we are giving them the opportunity to be as healthy as possible for the rest of their lives. You are also giving yourself the best opportunity to fall pregnant, have a safe and healthy pregnancy and birthing process.


Detoxification is one thing that is particularly important when it comes to preconception care. Living in this modern world we are bombarded with chemicals and toxins on a daily basis. They are literally impossible to avoid from EMR from phones, computers and all things technological, to petrol’s and fumes in our environment, to chemicals and pesticides in our food, chemicals in our skin care, make up, cleaning agents and even in our plastic containers, water bottles are receipts.

 Now you may wonder what happens to all these chemicals that we inhale, consume and lather onto our skin? Our bodies naturally excrete some but our eliminatory system is not able to keep up with the burden and the majority are stored in our cells. So what does this mean for our babies? Did you know that our babies are born already polluted with a much too high toxic load for their tiny bodies? An American study found that a total of 232 toxic chemicals in umbilical cord blood; another found 287 different industrial chemicals and pollutants—180 of which are known to cause cancer in humans and 217 of which are toxic to the brain and nervous system. There has been a huge increase in many health conditions such as asthma, eczema, autoimmune disease and autism in children and all these have been linked to high toxin exposure.


Not only are these toxins unhealthy for the developing bub but high levels of toxins and heavy metals are one reason many people are having difficulty falling pregnant in the first place.

In my daily life I encourage a detoxifying lifestyle but I also encourage everyone to do a detoxifying program at least once a year to help flush out those unavoidable chemicals present in all of us. These are particularly important for men and women thinking about trying to conceive in the near future.


However, I must stress that if you are currently trying to conceive or thinking about starting in the next couple of months a detoxification program is not appropriate. This is because during detoxification, many toxins are released from the cells and are flowing freely through out the body. This means that they will flow right into the foetus giving them a much larger toxic burden and being counter productive. This is why I encourage people to begin their preconception care are least 6 months prior to actually attempting to conceive. By this time they should have a clean slate.
What can and should be done by those trying to conceive is to live what I call a ‘detoxifying’ or ‘clean’ lifestyle. To be honest this is actually what I encourage for all people all (well at least the majority) of the time.


Living a detoxifying or clean lifestyle:


1. Eat organic where possible. Certain foods are more important than others when it comes to organic. The toxic load from chemicals in our food only takes a few days to leave the body.
2. Use all natural skin care. This includes ANYTHING you are putting on your skin from deodorant, to moisturisers to make up.
3. Drink filtered water.
4. Swap to natural household cleaners.
5. Store food products in glass not plastic containers.
6. Eliminate processed, high sugar, high trans fat and highly refined food from the diet.
7. Be active daily.
8. Get outside and get some fresh air and vitamin D for 20 minutes a day.
9. Incorporate massage or skin brushing into your routine.
10. Be sure to be detoxifying your mind too. Negative thought patterns, stress and emotional issues all contribute to inflammation and need to be worked though constantly.


If you are 6 months away from tying to conceive then I encourage incorporating some more intense detoxifying strategies. These include:


1. Consume foods that aid in detoxification such as cruciferous vegetables including broccoli, kale, brussel sprouts, bitter vegetables such as rocket and radicchio as well as increasing your fibre intake (fresh fruit and vegetables, linseeds and chia seeds).
2. Use herbal medicine to support your body’s natural detoxification pathways. The main herb used to liver support is St Mary’s thistle. There are many other wonderful liver herbs including dandelion, globe artichoke, turmeric and Schisandra.
3. If you have high heavy metals then doing a chelation program with your practitioner.


These are the major detoxification principles I employ and encourage anyone thinking about having children in the near future to begin now. Our children deserve the best opportunity at life possible and it is your responsibility to give them that chance.

If you have any health conditions please discuss this with your health care practitioner prior to commencing.


Wishing you and your family all the best for this exciting journey xx

What's the point?

Sometimes I sit and wonder what is the point of all this?

We wake up each morning and head out to work mostly looking forward to the day ending or the weekend so we can relax.

We do this to make money. Money is essential ­to survive, yes. However, we also have the belief that with money we will find happiness, a feeling of success, freedom and security. To some extent this is true. Money can make certain aspects of life easier but does it have the value we place on it?

We complain that life is so hard, that the world can be a terrible place, that we would much prefer to still be in bed rather than doing whatever it is that takes most of our time.

We look at others. Judge others and compare ourselves to others. We do this mostly in a critical way, sometime more in an envious way. This is despite having no idea what is going on in their world.

We have decided what is most important in our society and once again this comes back to money, power and this to us means success.

But if we really are on the right path, if we really are progressing as a society, moving forward and achieving greatness than why don’t we feel AMAZING.

Why do we feel stressed, anxious, unsettles. Why are we all getting so sick? Why are we making money but not feeling happy, or simply just not making enough money at all. Why is life so hard and why do we crave time away from the place we spend most of our waking hours, being our work?

I’ve been pondering many things of late. Our priorities as a society, the fact that despite advancements in many fields we as a human race only appear to be becoming more disconnected from one another, more unhappy, more tired and more sick.

Everything in my logic explains that we are moving forward. There are new medical advancements all the time, new scientific discoveries, more technological creations to make our lives easier, more ways of communication (even from the comfort of our own homes), more convenient and cheap food, easy accessibility to clean water, rules and regulations to make the workplace safe and fair. With the Internet the world and all the knowledge we could ever desire is literally at our fingertips.

But as a society are we really happy? I mean truly happy, filled with joy? Are we actually healthy? We may be living to an older age but who doesn’t have something wrong with them? How rare is it to find someone over the age of 50 not taking any form of medication?

So what is missing?

I believe it comes down to one fundamental thing. That thing is LOVE. SELF LOVE. We are totally missing this in our society. It is so not a priority. Even worse than that it even has a negative connotation.

“Look how much that guy loves himself.” Does that sound like a compliment? No.

What we fail to realise is that true self-love is not narcissistic but pure, generous and honest. Narcissistic people don’t love themselves or they wouldn’t need to show off and would treat others with the same love and respect they give themselves.

Take a moment and really look into yourself. Do you honestly, openly and without judgement love yourself?

If you completely and genuinely do then why would you allow yourself to suffer so much and so often. Why would you fill your body with what we know to be toxic or unhealthy? Why would you spend your entire life doing tasks you don’t enjoy? Why wouldn’t you prioritise time to do things that bring you joy and inner peace?

I mean really what the point of this life if you are not truly living it. Life is too short to spend each day miserable, or even just neutral. Life should be fun, full of joy, personal growth and most of all love.

You only have one life and you are the only one in control of it. This year, 2017 is one of new opportunities and if you are reading this and it resonates with you then I believe this is the wake up call you need. Don’t spend another minute living the life that society dictates instead of the one you know you have the potential to live. Most of all don’t forget the infinite power of love. Love yourself and love others unconditionally.

How to conquer anxiety naturally

Do you ever get that niggling feeling that something just isn’t quite right? Those butterflies in your stomach, your heart beating just that bit too fast, sweaty palms, inability to think clearly or remember the correct words to say? Do you ever find yourself lying in bed at night unable to sleep as concerns and thoughts travel unnecessarily through your mind? Do you go about your day-to-day life feeling slightly unsettled despite nothing being seriously wrong?

Do you wish for the sense of inner peace and clarity? Do you long to just feel yourself without these unpleasant thoughts or feelings?

Anxiety is something I personally have suffered from my whole life. It prevents you from truly being yourself as you are so caught up in these unpleasant feelings, unable to fully relax and just be. Throughout my life I have taken a back seat due to unfounded fears and worries. I have said no to social events, said no to expressing my true opinions and feelings and by doing this essentially said no to allowing myself to be fully accepted for who I am.

Back at school I remember how terrifying it was to simply put my hand up in class to answer a question or contribute to a discussion. There were so many inescapable thoughts going around in my head.

‘What if my answer is stupid and everyone thinks less of me?’

‘What if my beliefs are not in sync with those of my classmates and I am no longer accepted?’ 

‘What if all the attention is on me and I mess up?’

Not to mention the horrible physical sensations when I merely thought about putting up my hand to contribute. The pounding of my heart, the blurriness of my mind and the feeling that I am no longer grounded in my body. For me the journey has been an interesting one leading me through a lot of self-discovery and ultimately to my career. I have been determined to constantly work on my self-development and use the tools I have learned to then help others. Although I cant say I have 100% eliminated all feelings of anxiety I certainly have come a substantially large way since those teenage years and have learned many tools for coping and ways of balancing the nervous system so my feelings will never return to the way they were back in my insecure childhood days.

Being a teenager I thought I was the only one who experienced such feelings and thoughts. But did you know that anxiety affects more than 2 million Australians? Many of us experience some form of these feelings on a day-to-day basis and simply do not know what to do to stop them or even that there is a way out of these reoccurring situations.

There are many questions I often ask:

Why is anxiety so prevalent in our society?

Why does the number of people suffering appear to be increasing from year to year?

Why do people think it is just a part of who they are and that nothing can be done about it?

Why does seeking help appear to be such a taboo?

There are many factors that contribute to anxiety including:

·      Ongoing stress

·      Family history of mental health issues

·      Depression, insomnia or other mental health conditions

·      Personality factors

·      Chronic physical illness

·      Substance abuse

·      Dietary factors

·      Poor gut health

There are also several health risks associated with ongoing anxiety:

·      Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

·      Dyspepsia

·      Respiratory disease

·      Cardiovascular disease

So what exactly is anxiety?

Anxiety presents with ‘feelings of worry, nervousness, or a sense of apprehension, typically about an upcoming event where the outcome is uncertain, or whether the person feels he or she might not be up to the task’.

Signs and symptoms of anxiety:

·      Feelings of worry or anxious thoughts

·      Stress

·      Situation avoidance

·      Poor concentration

·      Restlessness

·      Accelerated heart rate

·      Dizziness

·      Shaking

·      Sweaty or clammy skin

·      Tingling

·      Gastrointestinal upset

There are also several types of anxiety disorders including:

·      Generalised anxiety disorder

·      Phobias

·      Panic disorders

·      Obsessive compulsive disorder

·      Social anxiety disorder

·      Post-traumatic stress disorder

Treatment

As anxiety is so multifactorial with many different possible causes it is important to seek help with a health care practitioner in order to truly work through the condition and establish the underlying cause. However, there are some more generalised treatments that may be of benefit to all those who are suffering and that can be incorporated into your treatment plan or used as a treatment for less severe anxiety conditions.

1.     Relaxation techniques are of utmost importance in these conditions. These should be incorporated into your daily routine. Relaxation techniques include deep breathing, mediation, mindfulness, aromatherapy or yoga as some examples. It is important for the individual to establish which technique works best for them and then make a commitment to practicing that technique daily.

2.     Focus on creating a mindful attitude in life. This means actively focusing on the present moment rather than allowing your thoughts to travel to the ‘what ifs’ of the future. This is something that takes a fair amount of practice before it can be mastered for most people. The best way to being mindful is to create a specific scenario daily where you can be fully present and focus purely on this activity. For example one of my favourite daily rituals is to start my day with apple cider vinegar in warm water. I take this outside and stand in my garden when I drink it. As I take each sip I focus on a particular plant. I analyse the colour, texture and shape of the leave. I make sure my full attention is on this plant and its beauty and do not allow my thoughts to wonder off into the day ahead. For me, using nature is one of the easiest ways to bring myself into the present moment.

3.     Identify your triggers or causes for the anxiety and work out a solution. For example if you give presentations at work regularly and the fear of speaking in public is causing you grief then your solution would be to make sure you are prepared for each presentation. You will find if you arrive well prepared, with plenty of practice, your anxiety about the situation will lessen, as you know exactly what it is you are going to say. Also write a list of all potential questions you may be asked and prepare appropriate answers.

4.     Dietary changes can have a huge impact on anxiety and mental health. Certain foods increase anxiety and should be avoided or reduced. These include caffeine, nicotine, sugar, gluten, alcohol, processed food and refined carbohydrates. All of these substances have been shown for different reasons to upset the nervous system and contribute to feelings of anxiety (even if initially they may provide some relief).

5.     Certain foods should also be increased in the diet due to their anti-anxiety affect. These include protein especially (meat, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds), whole grains (gluten free), leafy greens, fermented foods and avocados.

6.     Supplementation is often initially required to correct any vitamin or mineral deficiencies that may be a contributing factor. The main supplements to include in your daily routine are a good quality B vitamin, magnesium and a probiotic, which includes the Lactobacillus helveticusR0052 and Bifidobacterium longumR0175 strains due to the gut/mood connection.

7.     Herbal medicine can also be of huge benefit. Kava is a particular herb that has been used in the Fijian custom for decades. Its anti-anxiety affect is next to none I have seen before in any herb. It is fast acting, effective and without the known side effects of anti-anxiety pharmaceuticals. I have prescribed it to many clients and used it myself with the effects evident within one hour. Kava can be a very useful adjunct to other treatments, reducing the symptoms as we being to uncover and eliminate the underlying causes. However, if you have a known liver condition kava should be avoided.

Anxiety is a rather complicated and convoluted condition that too many people have to bear on a day-to-day basis. It is increasing dramatically in our society and it is my mission to help reduce the suffering of those who do not see a way out or are unaware that it is not a battle they must fight daily for the rest of their lives. It is not a personality characteristic but more a symptoms of un underlying disharmony within the body that simply needs to be balanced in order for you to heal and find tranquillity.

Can’t sleep? Read this!

Sleep disturbances are one of the most common problems in Australia. Did you know that sleep disturbances affect 1 in 3 people?

So if you have trouble sleeping you are definitely not alone!

Insomnia can be defined as:

·      Difficulty getting to sleep

·      Staying asleep or

·      Having non restorative sleep despite having adequate opportunity for sleep

·      Together with associated impairment of daytime functioning

·      With symptoms being present for at least 4 weeks

Some risk factors for insomnia include:

·      Advancing age (45 years plus)

·      Overweight and obesity

·      Hormonal disturbances

·      Poor diet and lifestyle factors

·      Chronic disease

·      Mental health issues

Why is sleep so important?

During sleep there are many physiological processes that occur in the body. Both hormone production and cellular repair takes place. There is tissue growth and repair occurring, energy is restored and hormones are released. Poor sleep even disrupts cortisol and insulin production so insomnia can then trigger a stress response, increase sugar cravings and predispose you to metabolic syndrome.

So what can be done to ensure you are getting an adequate night sleep?

As a first line treatment there are several dietary and life style factors to consider.

1.     Avoid stimulants after 2pm. This includes caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, sugar and chocolate. As all of these substances are stimulating they stop the body from relaxing and make it nearly impossible to wind down.

2.      Turn off all technology at least 1 hour before bed. This includes your mobile phone, computer, TV or other personal devices. The blue light these devices emit disrupts the body’s natural production on melatonin- our sleep hormone.

3.     Make sure your bedroom is a peaceful sleeping environment. This means it should be pitch black, free from noise, comfortable in temperature, comfortable bed and pillow, free from disturbances from family members or pets. These eliminate outside causes of insomnia.

4.     Exercise regularly. Exercise is so great when it come to sleep promotion as it exhausts you both physically and mentally so you can easily fall asleep. It reduces your cortisol levels so that stress isn’t keeping you up at night. It also enables you to keep to a healthy weight eliminating obesity as a cause of insomnia.

5.     Exposure to natural light helps to enhance the body’s natural circadian rhythms. Try going outside first thing in the morning to get some sun and in the evening before bed to get some moonlight. This will allow your body to produce melatonin at the correct time.

6.     Use meditation or relaxation practices before bed. You may have been wondering when I mentioned to switch off you devices 1 hour before bed what you would do in this time? This is the time for relaxation, so take a bath, practice meditation or deep breathing or relax in bed listening to soothing music. This will calm your nervous system, relaxing your body so you can easily drift into sleep.

7.     Eat foods high in tryptophan, which support melatonin production in the body. These include turkey, chicken, lean red meat, pumpkin seeds, beans and hard cheeses.

8.     Use herbal support and supplementation to reduce stress, enhance relaxation and regulate your sleep/wake cycle. Some essential nutrients to promote sleep are magnesium and B vitamins. There are many herbs with different actions that can help with sleep. Different herbs will be effective for different people depending on the cause of insomnia. A few include:

·      Lavender- Calming on the nervous system

·      Kava- reduces stress and anxiety

·      Withania- calming on the nervous system, mood boosting and anti-anxiety

·      Valerian- regulates circadian rhythms

·      Hops- Helps maintain sleep in those with sleep maintenance issues.

·      Zizyphus- calming and cooling so helps when hot flushes are keeping you up at night.

·      Passionflower- calming on the central nervous system

·      California poppy- has a sedative quality and also helps to reduce pain if chronic pain is contributing to insomnia.

Why preconception care is so important.

Pregnancy and preconception is the most important time in your child’s life. It is the time of most rapid growth and development. As a mother you have a responsibility to put your child first and give them the best possible opportunity for a healthy and happy life and this begins even before conception.

I was shocked to hear one of my friends say to me that she expected falling pregnant to just be simple. That all she thought she needed to do was stop using protection and the rest would take care of itself.

As a health care practitioner who has also spent a lot of extra time doing research and further study into prenatal and pregnancy health this was completely alarming to me. Women do not seem to be educated about the importance of creating the best environment possible for their babies to thrive and have the best opportunity for a healthy life. Having a baby is the biggest decision in a person’s life. What people often don’t know is that this responsibility begins before the child is even conceived. You are carrying this individual inside of yourself, so if your body is not in the best possible state then you are not giving your child the best chance at health. This encompasses mental, physical and spiritual health.

Epigenetics is the study of changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression rather than alteration of the genetic code itself. Nutrition has been shown to be so important when it comes to epigenetics in terms of which genes will be expressed in your child and could be to blame for many diseases manifesting.

Your child’s health framework for their entire future is being laid down in utero and as a mother only you have the power to change this for the better or for the worse. If you don’t want your child to suffer from health conditions present in your family; now, being before falling pregnant is the time to do something about it. It sounds overwhelming having to change your diet and lifestyle but these few years are really just a small dot in the timeline that is your life and the life of your child. A lifetime of health conditions that could have been avoided is much worse.

Preconception care should really start at least 6 months before you start trying to conceive. This is the amount of time the body needs to prepare itself for such a major task! Preconception care for Dad is also equally important and should begin a few months before trying to conceive as well. Don’t forget, it takes 2 to tango.

In these months of preparation you are:

1.     Ridding your body of any toxins and chemicals you may be storing in your bodily tissues.

2.     Making sure you are getting adequate nutrition through diet and supplementation. Building up your vitamin stores of those important vitamins and minerals needed during pregnancy.

3.     Learning stress management tech­niques and balancing stress hormones.

4.     Working on any health issues you have before it all becomes about the baby.

Foetal exposure to stress, toxins, under nutrition and obesity have been shown to play a role in the development of many common chronic diseases. This is why being prepared and making sure you and your partner are in the best health possible is so important.

Your health care practitioner can create a preconception plan specifically suited to you and your family.