explore, learn, grow….

Broccoli Salad

(from www.loveandlemons.com)

Ingredients:

500g broccoli crowns

3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp mayonnaise (can use vegan mayo if you wish)

1.5 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp maple syrup or honey

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ tsp sea salt, more to taste

1/3 C diced red onions

1/3 C dried cranberries

Smoky tamari almonds:

½ C almonds

½ C pumpkin seeds

1 Tbsp tamari/soy sauce

½ tsp maple syrup

¼ tsp smoked paprika, more to taste

Instructions:

1. Pre heat the oven to 350 F/ 180 C and line a tray with baking paper

2. Chop the broccoli florets into 1cm pieces and any remaining stems into 5mm dice (peel any woody or coarse parts from the stem first)

3. In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, mayo, apple cider vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, garlic and salt. Add the broccoli, onions, and cranberries and toss to coat.

4. Add the almonds and pumpkin seeds onto the baking tray, toss with the soy sauce, maple syrup and smoked paprika and spread into a thin layer. Bake 10-14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes (they’ll get crispier as they sit).

5. Toss the almonds and pumpkin seeds into the salad, reserving a few to sprinkle on top. Season to taste and serve.

Notes:

I had run out of red onion, so used spring onion from my garden and it still tasted great.

I also make double the smoky tamari almonds and store them in a jar in the pantry once cooled, as they make a great topping for lots of salads.

Easy and healthy warm winter salad:

Root veges of your choice (think kumara, parsnip, carrot or anything else you like) along with red onion, chopped in chunks, tossed in 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted in oven pre heated to 200 Celsius for 35-40 minutes. If you are carb sensitive you could try roasting non root veges such as cauliflower or broccoli with lower carb root veges like carrots.

While that’s cooking, make an easy dressing by mixing 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, 3 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs (eg: parsley, chives, basil) or 1 Tbsp dried herbs, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper.

Once the veges are roasted, remove from oven and leave them to cool a little while you place lettuce (or even baby spinach or kale, or a mix of green leafy salad leaves) onto your plate(s).

Top with the roasted veges, then some of your salad dressing and a small amount of crumbled feta cheese if you like.

Enjoy!

Sleep is the time our mind and body completes repair cycles. Without good, deep restful sleep we can suffer with mental health issues, poor energy and brain fog, and muscle aches and slow healing.

A few strategies that can help with improving your sleep are:

1. Sticking to a regular bedtime and wake time every day of the week.

2. Spending time outdoors in the morning, especially early morning. As little as 15 to 30 minutes exposure to outdoors light in the mornings helps restore your natural sleep cycle.

3. Avoid eating meals and drinking fluids for 3 to 4 hours before bedtime. If your body is busy digesting food it will keep you awake.

4. Avoid alcohol before bed - you may fall asleep but alcohol prevents you from entering deep phase restorative sleep.

5. Caffeine sensitivity - some people are more sensitive than others but caffeine can take up to 12 hours to be processed out of your body and can definitely affect sleep if taken after midday.

6. Bedroom temperature - the optimum room sleeping temperature is around 18 degrees Celsius.

If you want to explore more detailed strategies for your sleep, feel free to book a consultation.

Did you know that the definition of physical activity includes any movement of the body using your muscles, that causes you to use energy over and above your body’s baseline? We are not necessarily talking sweating and lycra here :)

Research has clearly shown that, for example:

Exercise is better than medications in post stroke treatment

Exercise is equivalent to medications in preventing worsening of coronary heart disease and pre diabetes.

Exercise can reduce risk of getting bowel or breast cancer by 10%

This doesn’t mean that I am suggesting you stop all your medications immediately! There can be some benefits in combining medication and specific levels of physical activity to get even better outcomes. It’s important to know what options you have for treating yourself, and taking control of your own lifestyle to improve your health over time.