Meals that Heal

Another recipe blog!

Here are some recipes for meals so high in nutrition they're actually medicinal. One of the ancient forefathers of medicine said "let food be your medicine and let your medicine be your food". We're beginning to discover how right he was; science is discovering that we absorb nutrients most effectively from food and not so effectively from supplements. What a shock, Mother Nature had it right the first time! Humans still can't beat her complex system.


So include these kinds of meals regularly in your diet and feel the vitality!


Grapefruit and Avo Salad (to serve 2)

Grapefruits are awesome food. They actually clean the liver! Only Mother Nature provides substances that clean the liver at this stage, modern medicine hasn't yet come that far. A clean liver is important because the liver regulates the health of our entire body. It's the body's filtration system. A healthy liver burns more fat, increases immunity to disease, prevents allergies like hay fever and asthma, balances cholesterol, balances hormones and allows you to feel energetic and vital, free from toxic accumulation and hyper-acidity.

Apart from grapefruits, eating more raw foods will help to clean the liver.


1 large pink grapefruit, segmented and cut into chunks
1 large avocado, cut into chunks
fresh salad greens, like baby spinach
handful of sprouts, like alfalfa
a few tbsp organic olive oil to dress

In a bowl toss the salad leaves with the alfalfa to distribute evenly, then arrange pieces of avo and grapefruit over the top. Drizzle with oil and serve with fish, tempeh or chicken.



Stracciatella Soup

This is a traditional soup from the region of Lazio in Italy. (Rome is in Lazio.) It's made for any ill person who doesn't want solid foods, and it packs some fantastic nutritional value into every spoonful. This one was passed on to me by my Dad, so it's particularly special.

2L home made chicken stock (see Eating Warm part 1 for recipe)
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
4 eggs
big handful fresh chopped parsley

Bring stock to the boil and simmer. Whisk eggs and add grated Parmesan and chopped parsley. In a thin stream, add to the simmering stock while whisking to separate. Simmer another minute or two to cook through, then serve hot.


Turmeric Cabbage

A double dose of greatness! Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory with an affinity for the liver. As a concentrated medicine it can be used to treat inflammatory conditions from arthritis to hepatitis to colitis. As a spice in cooking it's a great preventative for all these things. Also, the mustard seeds have anti inflammatory properties.

Cabbage is a fabulous alkaliser, and therefore also great for reducing inflammation. Studies also show that cabbage has special anti-cancer properties, especially when gently cooked as in this recipe. It's one I've adapted from my Hare Krshna cookbook, one of my prize possessions!

Half a head of cabbage, shredded
4 or 5 medium tomatoes cut into wedges
2 tbsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp asefetida
1-2 tbsp turmeric powder
1 small cinnamon stick
2 cloves
ghee
salt


In a large pan heat the mustard seeds until they start to pop. Add ghee then asefetida, cloves and cinnamon stick, stir for a minute, then add cabbage and turmeric. Sweat the cabbage down gently and turn to coat with spices and ghee. Add tomato wedges and cover for about 5-10 minutes over low heat. You want to retain some crunch in the cabbage. Warm through, covered, then serve with rice and dahl.




Sprouted Quinoa and Coriander (cilantro) Pesto


Coriander is a wonder-herb. Recently scientists found it's capable of chelating heavy metals. In English that means it safely removes Aluminium, Arsenic, Mercury &c. from the body. Those metals don't belong in our bodies, but when they get in there they can cause chronic ill health; fatigue, lowered immunity, poor metabolism etc. They get into us via dental fillings, cookware, vaccinations, contaminated food eg shellfish, etc


When quinoa is sprouted and prepared raw its nutrition is increased enormously. Sprouting foods increases the vitamin content so much that they become medicinal. If you add sprouted quinoa to your diet you can prevent lifestyle diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Quinoa is also well known as a helpful food in female reproductive disorders from painful periods to infertility, and helps to increase breast milk for lactating mothers.

Pine nuts are the highest protein nut, so combined with the protein from the quinoa this recipe is very low GI, therefore a perfect snack for anyone seeking to loose weight or increase muscle mass.

2 cups chopped coriander leaves and small stems
1 cup sprouted quinoa
1/2 cup chopped pine nuts
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic

To sprout the quinoa soak a cup of dry white quinoa in a bowl of cold water for at least 4 hours.


Blitz all of the above in a little blender. Use it as a dip with some vegie sticks, or stir it through rice for flavour.

A healthy lifestyle without cramping your style

Fact: we live in the developed western world. We have lifestyles to maintain, often very busy ones, kids to keep up with, money to make. We prioritise everything but our own health, mentally, physically and emotionally. While we know our lifestyle choices are creating substandard health, we often can't see how life could be fulfilling or rewarding if we did things diferently. People say "sure, I'd love to breathe clean air, eat clean food and drink clean water, but I don't want to move to the middle of nowhere to get it!"

Fair enough, neither do I. But I do want to show respect and care for my whole self. That's a priority for me, because I like to feel energetic, to think clearly, have balanced emotions and look my best, and I know my diet and lifestyle choices have the greatest impact on those factors. I don't always succeed, and sometimes I do fantasise about moving to the middle of nowhere to be rid of temptation, but I know that it's possible to be healthy in the midst of it all.

So here are some thoughts about living a normal life in a healthy way. Please email me any more you think of.

PS: Yes, the following can be used as a weight loss regimen. The healthy, maintainable way.


At home: This is where you have the greatest influence, make the most of it!

- Avoid the supermarket. Get your fruit and vegies organic from a specialist shop or delivered to your home. (Delivered feels like decadence, I promise! Plus the food is fresher that way.)Get organic meat too. Once you're eating predominantly organic you're most of the way there, since organic food has a higher nutritional profile, you don't require as much to satisfy, and your body won't keep asking for more nutrients.

- Filter your water. Heavy metals, flouride and chlorine are the enemy of health, especially of the thyroid

- Don't allow junk foods into your house, ensure your partner is on board with this. Keep nuts and fruit for snacks. Keep yourself satisfied using these foods and you won't miss a thing, especially when you see the effect.


Out for dinner: You'll find something healthy on most menus, as long as you know what you're looking for.

- Avoid wheat including bread and pasta. Empty, nutrition free calories will just get stored

- Opt for Asian if you can. Asian food is some of the healthiest around, which is why those cultures tend to look so good and have lower incidence of lifestyle diseases.

- Go for high vegetable content options like salads and soups, clean proteins like fish, chicken or tofu, or at least neutral dishes like risotto

- If you have to have an alcoholic drink with dinner choose red wine

- Don't do dessert


Friends over:

- Serve snacks like a bowl of roasted nuts, it's amazing how moreish these are, you won't miss the sugar. Other options include dips like mashed avo, hommus, or find a brand that doesn't contain E numbers, serve with carrot and celery sticks and rice crackers.

- Make sure you've eaten well (protein and veg) before people arrive so you're genuinely not hungry anyway.

- If they're over for dinner make something easy and healthy like risotto or a roast or some fish and veg. If they offer to bring something tell them salad, which means you have control over dessert, not them. See Baking section to sort this out.

- If others bring junk with them it can throw a spanner in the works, especially at the beginning of the regimen. If it's soft drink I find that easy to avoid, as I prefer sparkling mineral water anyway. If it's chocolate I may have a problem, in which case I try to ignore it and tell myself "it's not mine, they brought it for them". Always give any left over back to them before they go.


Out for coffee:

- Drink green or herbal tea. Coffee disrupts your Cortisol/DHEA cycle, inhibiting weight loss and depressing immunity by preventing deep sleep. It doesn't matter what time you drink it.



Movies:

- Popcorn and water, not lollies and soft drink

- Fizzy water if you must


Quick meals:

- Stir fries are super fast, fresh and loaded with nutrition

- Soup. So easy, so light, so what your body will love

- 4 bean mix salad with some rice or quinoa (see quinoa blog) and few chopped crunchy veg. Also kid friendly, but a nice dressing and some fresh herbs makes it adult friendly!

- Omelette, with just about any vegetable on hand. Great 'loose ends' meal

- Don't make the mistake of thinking that the expensive, packaged frozen 'diet meals' are going to help you. You might lose weight but you won't gain nutrition, therefore you won't gain health. Without health you won't maintain the weight.



Takeaway: You can't fault the diets of healthy races like the Thais!

- Thai - I don't think they make anything heavy. Coconut is a good fat

- Indian - here opt for dahls, vegie based dishes and avoid the heavy, meaty, creamy ones and the breads

- Malaysian - laksas and vegie dishes


Out for drinks:

- Stick to spirits like gin and vodka, mix with soda water and real lime, or grapefruit juice.


Brunch with the girls:

- Choose bircher muesli and yoghurt or a bowl of porridge, or fruit and yoghurt.

- Drink water or mineral water. So European. So chic



Baking:

- If this is a hobby of yours, buy some Xylitol. It's a natural sugar substitute made from a plant extract that doesn't move your blood sugars, therefore it won't disrupt your pancreas and, in turn, stuff up your whole hormonal system the way sugar does

- Buy some gluten free, or at least wheat free flour, because refined wheat is not much better than sugar


- Fruit based desserts are great when you have people over. Apple crumble with a topping made from oats and almond meal, poached pears, baked peaches etc can all be served with a little organic cream, which won't move your blood sugars. Much better for you than ice cream. Also much easier and quicker than cake baking



Tips that don't take much effort:

- Drink 2 big glasses of water on rising, before anything else goes in.

- Have a high protein breakfast to keep you going and reduce cravings for naughty foods (see blog 'What's for Breakfast' for ideas)

- Carry fruit and nuts with you at all times to ward off evil

- Drink 2+L water daily

- Eat grapefruits regularly. I have a great recipe somewhere for red grapefruit salad, I'll share it when I find it!

- Switch to a natural sea, rock or river salt. Processed, refined salt is bad news

- Take a probiotic and a good quality multi every morning with your first glasses of water.

- Do exercise you enjoy. If you don't enjoy something, do something else. I love to walk, swim, do yoga and go for PT sessions. I once loved to dance, that probably worked better than anything!


- Ignore calories, eat real foods - the ones nature made. Remember, it's the excess sugar in refined, processed foods that you're trying to avoid. Fats will not make you fat. In fact, not enough fat makes you fat, and makes your skin saggy. So eat plenty of avo and nuts and fish and tofu and eggs.

- Decide on a "worth it" food. What's the naughtiness that gives you the most indulgent pleasure? Make it something great, for example you may decide on fresh vanilla slice from the french patisserie. Mentally categorise all chocolate, lollies, pastries, chips, pies, pasta, boxed breaky etc as not worth it and ignore them. Give yourself vanilla slice very occasionally because it's 'worth it'.



For me, using these tips doesn't make life any harder. I can still do all the things I usually do, only the small, insignificant choices are altered. Sometimes some foreplanning is involved, but that's a matter of habit, which comes with determined persistence.

There are times when it's really hard. Especially in the first week when your blood sugars are out of balance (see blog Easter Special for info on blood sugar balancing). But as these tips become habit you'll most certainly notice the difference. I can promise that avoiding processed, sugary foods will work to create health. They're the sole problem with the western diet. It's just a matter of getting used to it.

Best of luck and give me feedback! I want to know what the hardest parts are for you.

Candidiasis - my journey

I've been meaning to write about Candidiasis for a while now, and I've even been asked to by patients who struggle with it, but I haven't yet. This is because it's such a boring subject by itself. A description, some recommendations...yawn...

Yet it's totally integral to good health. Without good intestinal health, we can't be healthy at all, physically, mentally or emotionally. The intestines are the crux of our total health.

Candida albicans is a yeast which lives in our gut along with many other microbes (bacteria such as acidophilus & friends, e-coli etc) which function in a perfectly balanced ecosystem to digest our food. When we mistreat our 'intestinal flora' (the collective name for all these yeasts and bacteria) with sugar, alcohol and excessive antibiotics, the candida becomes too prolific, because the others can't keep it in check. This results in poor digestion of food and poor absorption of nutrients, and without enough nutrients no system can be healthy, including our immune system (allergies, colds & flu, recovery time etc), liver, kidneys, heart, muscles, bones, hormones (which affect weight, fertility, stress) and nervous system (and therefore emotions). This situation is known as 'malabsorption syndrome'. Then of course there are the other little complications such as bloating, gut cramps, oral and vaginal thrush, urinary tract infections, and other rashes and fungal infections anywhere else on the body.

I learned the importance of balanced gut flora the hard way, and it's probably the reason I became a Naturopath. So instead of listing all the treatments for intestinal candidiasis I'm going to share my story, which may be very familiar to you, because it's common amongst little kids. Some of us lucky ones are taken to a natural health professional and recover, others continue with modern medicine and the story continues into adulthood.


As a small child (I'm told) I had many recurrances of urinary tract and ear infections. Each time my Mum would take me to the doctor and I would be prescribed antibiotics. Over and over again. That many courses were probably enough in themselves, but I was also consuming cereal and milk and bread daily, and possibly too many biscuits at Grandma's house! So, by the time I was 8 or 9 I had such a rampant case of candidiasis that I developed very bad vaginal thrush. I remember this part well; no 9 year old should ever have to endure thrush. At the time it was the worst thing that had ever happened to me. At her wit's end, my poor Mum took me to a Naturopath. This Naturopath, though I don't remember her at all, changed my life. I was sent home with an eating plan which involved eliminating all sugar in all forms. That is lollies, cakes, biscuits, commercial fruit juice, soft drinks, dried fruit, bread, pasta and other wheat products, and dairy, (with the exception of plain, natural pot-set yoghurt). These high GI foods are what candida albicans loves to eat. I was also given a probiotic powder (these days we have capsules, I did it tough!) to recollonise my gut with good bacteria (the ones the antibiotics killed), and the most vile liquid herbal, to kill the excess candida, both to be taken daily.

Now as a Naturopath I would struggle to believe any 8 or 9 year old would follow this regimen. And of course it is largely up to the parents to ensure the programme is followed, however I remembered and remember still what that thrush felt like. I was more than willing to do whatever was required to ex it. And when I noticed one day that my bloated tummy was now flat, I was hooked!

It wasn't easy at first though. Back then there weren't as many wonderful alternatives to wheat as there are now. The bread for my school lunches was dry and had a nasty habit of crumbling. The wheat free pasta was woeful, I'd rather have eaten brocoli than the wheat free biscuits of the day and all of it was hard to source. Forget the existance of a health food asile in the supermarket. There were no wheat free breakfast cereals that were also sugar free so on schoolday mornings I ate puffed something-or-other, which tasted like cardboard, with either goats milk or yoghurt. We soon abandoned the cereal/milk thing in favour of real food; fruit, yoghut and nuts or eggs or baked beans or rye bread toast with almond spread. (Now I have a lot of porridge too, but Mum has bad childhood memories of the stuff and couldn't bring herself to feed it to us.)

One of my Mum's favourite memories of my first couple of days was about 72 hours into the programme, when I announced that "I feel better in my feelings". When asked to explain I said that the girl down the road was "still annoying, but I don't feel like killing her anymore."

There was pent up irritability that just disappeared. There were loads of physical symptoms that disappeared, including the bloating, and the infections. I was a much happier kid in general, and I never forgot the instant difference the treatment plan made for me. After a while I discontinued the herbal, and only took a course of the probiotics here and there, but I stayed on the diet for the most part. There were, of course, times when it wasn't possible, like our family trip to Rome over Christmas when I was 9 and a half. Thanks to the abundance of sugar and pasta and bread (mmmmmm) some symptoms returned. It's happened like that over the years; I start eating sugar and flour and after a week or so I feel different. But it's never been severe and out of control again. I now know how to manage my gut flora and still live a normal, restaurant-loving Melburninan life.

Now that I'm about to start a family of my own I hope that I can help them to maintain gut flora balance, and prevent all that pain and discomfort. Here are some of the things I will do to ensure their health:

Breast feed and never give formula. There are herbs I can take if there's a supply problem.

Ensure they eat real food at all times, ie fruit, veg, nuts, seeds, legumes, meat, fish, real yoghurt, oats, rice and quinoa. This ensures they get plenty of nutrients and don't get sick much in the first place.

Ensure they never drink soft drinks and grow up knowing that they're poison

Ensure they dont drink processed cow milk

Keep sugary foods (including breakfast cereals) for very special occasions like Christmas, Easter and Birthdays, and even then keep it to a minimum

At home, cook mostly wheat free foods, so that when they are out it's not as big an issue.

Treat ear infections with a drop of garlic oil and a homoeopathic, no need for antibiotics

Treat colds with homoeopathics and (when they're older) herbs unless it's a critical situation


So these are the preventative measures you can use for candidiasis. The great thing about raising kids this way is that they'll be really healthy in general, and you'll never know what other diseases you've prevented. You'll most certainly use less pharmaceuticals because there will be less need for them. They are less likely to develop allergies because their little livers will be clean, and they'll be more emotionally balanced and mentally at their best.

If you're treating yourself for candidiasis, these are the two products you can get from your pharmacy or health shop









Or you can see your Naturopath for an individualised treatment plan. If you also have thrush I find garlic tablets work very quickly, and they don't have to be fancy ones, Natures Own Odourless Garlic works fine, 2 tablets 3 times daily til it's gone, in conjunction with the diet, probiotics and herbs. With garlic treatment thrush is usually gone in a day or so.

If you need to take a course of antibiotics, and I stress the word 'need', as I believe they should be used in very rare circumstances, then always take a course of probiotics immediately after you finish them and spend some time on the diet as well.

Exercise and sleep are also important for treating candidiasis. Exercise is known to boost the immune system in several ways; by increasing happy brain chemicals and by encouraging good quality sleep. During good sleep our bodies replenish, and the immune system is strengthened. If you're not waking feeling refreshed then you're not getting good quality sleep. The clean eating plan alone will probably recitfy this.

It's important to remember that candidiasis is endemic to the westernised world, where we consume highly processed foods every day and feed them to our kids, and overuse antibiotics. As a Naturopath I tend to find it at the core of most of my client's ill health, because we can't be healthy without a perfectly balanced intestinal system. The good news is that the intestinal system regenerates itself very quickly; in 3 months it's an entirely new gut. This means that if you remain on the treatment for 3 solid months you have a gut that's made from good food, and will be functioning beautifully.

If you want more info on candidiasis or you want to share your story, please comment or email me


Wishing you great gut health!