diet

21 Day Nourish & Glow Round Up

So my 3 week program is done and I enjoyed every minute of it. (Ok, except for the first few days where I felt like I was going backwards, my body adjusting to some new food groups) The fact that I could still have my (daily) 2 cups of coffee & a steak was a big win! What I’m taking away or adopting from the 21 Day Nourish & Glow Program is:

*Starting the day with hot/warm lemon water (Read up on the benefits here!)

* Switching from milk to sugar free almond milk (I’m less bloated)

* Adding smoothies to my diet (A great way to pack as much goodness & skin glowing ingredients into one meal) I’m going to be alternating them with eggs or grain-free granola for breakfast. (Here are some recipes from week 1 if you missed it)

* reigning in my alcohol intake to a few nights a wk – i.e. no booze Sun-Thurs (well lets see how we go, I aint no saint when I hear POP, FIZZ!) I sleep better, more motivated and productive!

*Colour!! Think red cabbage, peppers, spinach – the more colour the better!

* Lots of healthy, easy new recipes – (Marlien even puts your shopping list together!)  And here’s my gift to you! Marlien’s Grain-Free Granola Recipe. It’s so comforting, nutritious and more-ish!

RECIPE: Grain-free granola with tahini & honey:

½ cup of raw cashew nuts

½ cup of raw almonds

1/3  cup of raw sunflower seeds

1/3 cup of shredded coconut

1 tablespoon of coconut oil molten/ slightly warmed

Tahini & Honey (see instructions for qty)

Fine pink salt

In a bowl, stir the coconut oil through almonds and cashews, adding a pinch of salt. Next place them on a baking sheet and put them in a 150 degree Celsius preheated oven for 7 minutes, then remove and set aside to cool.

Next lightly toast the seeds and shredded coconut in a large dry pan for 7 minutes on medium heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, when coconut become golden remove the pan from the heat and allow the seeds and coconut to cool, still giving it a stir now and again whilst cooling.

Now simply stir all the nuts, seeds and coconut together until it is well mixed and make sure it is properly cooled before storing it in an airtight jar/ container.

Serve the grainfree granola with 2 tablespoons of tahini & 1 tablespoon of honey. (I can’t get enough!)

Results you can expect from the 21 Day Nourish & Glow Program: 

Glowing skin (Definitely improved!)
Weight loss (Tick)
Clear mind (Tick)
Clear eyes (Tick)
Faster metabolism (Not sure but I did lose weight)
Decreased anxiety (Tick)
Stronger immune system ( Well I’ve not been sick 🙂  )
Dramatically increased energy levels (Mmmm I still crave a power nap – but I still wake up at night for a toddler)
Better quality of sleep (Tick)

If you feel like you’re in bit of a slump – I can highly recommend this tailor-made programme (R550) Find Out More Here! 

*Side note: My thoughts on Sugar & Low Carb – now if you’ve followed my blog for a while, you’ll be asking, now what happened to Banting Kim? Most of Marliens Smoothies have 2 fruits in – and I think a little fruit sugar & raw honey is fine – they have amazing health benefits. It’s more about being aware! As Sarah Wilson from “I Quit Sugar” said, she would have 3 fruits, dried fruit, honey in her tea and some dark chocolate after lunch and dinner and think she was being healthy – that’s around 25 teaspoons of sugar! And sugar is sugar – be it from fruit or a coke!

So I’m still staying away from sugar with the exception of 2 fruits every other day and some honey. I’m also staying away from the carbs, but adopting some slow release, starchy veg/legumes like chickpeas and sweet potatoes. And look, I use this as a general lifestyle & way of eating. I’m not the sugar police – cheesecake still makes me week at the knees!

It’s about experimenting and listening to your body and fueling it with what makes you feel GREAT! xx

Nourish & Glow 21 Day Program Week 2

2 weeks in and I’m still loving my 21 Day Nourish & Glow Challenge, well, not too much of a challenge, I love eating healthy food, but it has been slightly different to my previous way of eating (Low carb) … If you missed week 1, you can read it here!

Loved this weeks smoothie of almond milk, banana, nuts, cinnamon and honey! Again, the meals have all been easy to prepare and filling! (Never mixing starch & protein) Marlien adjusts your program according to your needs & concerns. Having told her that I’ve been living the low carb lifestyle, she’s only slowly introduced starchy foods like legumes, quinoa, sweet potatoes. I’ve not worried too much about portion control (I love food & I love to eat!) when it comes to lunch & dinner and I’ve lost 2cm around the waist. Being off the wine for 2 wks means getting up in the mornings has become a lot easier, my sleep still on and off but certainly of better quality.

Better sleep has certainly motivated my running (Some views below from our run) and I’ve made some ground in terms of training. (We’ve entered the Dublin Half Marathon in September) My mood feels more stable, positive and I feel like I look less tired in the mornings! (Fist pump!)

I’ve started my final week and will report back once I’ve finished the 21 Day Nourish & Glow Program. I still think there’s something to be said for “Low carb, high fat” – but all these diets again depend on the person, your concerns etc. 2 weeks in, I’m certainly feeling nourished, a new zest for life & inspired by Marliens way of eating! x

Nourish & Glow 21 Day Program Week 1

So it was that wake-up call I needed when Marlien mailed me to introduce me to her Yoga Retreat, and so that’s how I found out about her Nourish & Glow 21 Day Program. Having moved countries, cold weather, lots of travel, Easter, my Birthday etc – I felt like my diet & health were slowly, sliding downhill. Having enjoyed the low carb, high fat diet – I thought Marlien’s approach would be interesting to try and compare. Although I find that the low carb diet works for me (When you’re not drinking champagne & eating Easter bunnies), one can get stuck in a rut of the same recipes, ingredients etc – and I felt like a complete “reboot” as Marlien calls it, is what I needed too!

Week 1: 

Every morning I start the day with hot/warm water and lemon, then 20 minutes later I can have my coffee. I was most relieved to hear I could keep the coffee! However, I had to cut the dairy – and so I’m now embracing unsweetened almond milk and already pretty used to the new flavour.

My breakfast has been a green smoothie and has surprisingly kept me full until lunch. Lunches and dinners have been hearty, tasty and I’ve been enjoying trying some new recipes. All the meals have been really easy to prep & cook! From a fragrant thai fish red curry to salmon, roast chicken and crunchy salads. I’ve certainly never felt deprived!

The first two days I was pretty grumpy however- I break it down to possibly the introduction of sugar (i.e. fruit and I was by mistake buying almond milk that has sugar in it, instead of the unsweetened one)  Also, no wine!! Haha! I also felt rather bloated after the lentil dhal soup, again, my body not used to the carbs. I also felt rather week and tired.

But by day 3/4 I had started sleeping on a MUCH deeper level. My mood was incredibly positive and my mind clear. I’ve also cut back from 3 coffees to 2/day. (My coffee intake increased after the birth of Harry!) On my Saturday morning run, I felt the strongest I’ve felt in a while! For me, I think cutting out dairy & alcohol is the game changer! (Boo but yay!) I am allowed one cheat meal per week (still no dairy or unprocessed carbs though)  and so I didn’t cheat on my meal, but I did have 2 glasses of wine and a cappuccino with milk (naughty, but I was in a pub!) I was awake all night! PAIN! Getting enough sleep is another game changer. When one is not rested one gets hungrier, moodier and me, well just plane nasty!

So I’m excited to see how I feel after week 2. I’ve been given a new smoothie to try this week, the Post Practice Protein Smoothie which is DELICIOUS! Here are 3 smoothie recipes from Marlien for you to try. I’ll be back next week with a progress report! Happy week ahead x

Post-Practice Protein Smoothie: (All smoothies are gluten, grain & dairy free vegan and paleo friendly).

1 cup of almond milk

1 ripe banana

8 raw almonds, soaked overnight

8 raw cashew nuts, soaked overnight

2 tbsp hemp seeds, soaked overnight

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp raw honey

Add all the ingredients to the blender jug, and then simply blend until you have a smooth texture. Remember that your nuts and seeds need to be soaked overnight to get a smooth texture.

Health benefits:

Almonds are rich in vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids, protein, manganese, zinc and calcium. I recommend soaking almonds overnight before use as this deactivates the enzyme-inhibiting compound found in their skin.

Cashews are high in magnesium, a mineral which most people are deficient in due to large-scale farming. Magnesium is involved in over 200 functions in our bodies. Cashews also contain vitamin E, copper, iron and selenium.

Bananas are high in potassium. An excellent prebiotic (food for good bacteria), they are also rich in folic acid and other antioxidants.

Raw, unprocessed honey has powerful antibacterial and anti-fungal properties as well as trace enzymes, minerals, vitamins and amino acids. It is one of nature’s true healing gifts to us. Raw, locally produced (from your area) honey can help relieve allergies and makes an excellent natural cough mixture if prepared properly on low heat with lemon rind and juice.

Enzyme & Vitamin A Smoothie:

Serves 1 large smoothie or 2 small smoothies

1/3 cup of fresh pineapple

1/3 cup of papaya

1/3 cup of mango

¼ cup of hemp seeds

Add all the ingredients to a blender jug and simply blend until you have a smooth texture.

Health benefits:

Enzymes are essential for good health as they assist in energy production, absorption of oxygen, fighting infections and healing wounds, reducing inflammation, getting nutrients into your cells, breaking down fats in the body, proper regulation of hormones and carrying toxins out of the body. Papaya and pineapple are both especially rich in enzymes.

Glow Smoothie:

1 cup of baby spinach OR kale, washed & dried

1 small avocado, peeled

1 small banana, peeled

1 kiwi, peeled

50ml of water

1 tablespoon of wheatgrass powder (optional)

Health Benefits:

The avocado provides good fats and will give you sustained energy throughout the morning; Avocados are also rich in vitamin E, folic acid and antioxidants.

The leafy greens in this smoothie promote glowing health with huge amounts of Phytonutrients, fibre, vitamin A, C, K as well as folic acid and potassium.

 For more recipes, check out Marlien’s Blog Here!

Nourish & Glow 21 Day Program

After discovering The Yoga Kitchen Retreats, I decided to try Marlien’s Nourish & Glow 21 Day Program. Now if you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know I’m big into low carb – but every now and then I believe in a good reboot! Plus, these two concepts or “diets if you will”, can work together beautifully.

Marlien tailors your programme according to your concerns so no two diets will be the same.

I’ve been starting my day with eggs and so the thought of starting it with a smoothie had me worried. “But I’ll starve?”. Wow, just the opposite – my reboot, morning smoothie, has been delicious and kept me full until lunch. Anyway, I’m on day two! Will report next week on how it’s all going!

At the market sourcing some fresh ingredients.

Smoothie time! (I love how quick & easy it is to prepare!)

Tomato & cannellini bean soup.

The soup was also surprisingly filling and super tasty! Looking forward to trying more of Marlien’s recipes xx

The Food Industry: The myths & lies – Banting Buddies Week 4

So I’m still really enjoying the Banting lifestyle. If since cut out milk (keeping all other dairy) and now feeling even better. Cream in my coffee keeps me full for ages and gives me a little Happy-High!

Below are a few facts, myths and lies I learnt this week: 

Eating protein in the am is a good way to combat hunger later in the day. But don’t over do protein, it’s converted into glucose and we now know excess glucose is stored as fat.

Pure Organic Virgin Coconut Oi is best to cook with as it’s the only oil stable enough to resist high heat damage.

Your body only needs one teaspoon of sugar to function optimally.

I used to drown my salads in flaxeed oil as I was too told how healthy it is! Rather, it’s packed with Omega 6 which is highly inflammatory! (You want to eat pure Omega 3’s) It’s basically toxic! You’ll learn heaps of other reasons on the course. (Over flooding the body with Omega 6 leads to premature ageing, feeds cancer cells, leads to high insulin levels and more) You will get a whole list of oils to avoid like the plague on the course.

Butter is good! Filled with Vitamin K & D – the margarine business lead us to believe it was bad. You just have to look at the ingredients list on a good block of butter and a margarine tub and compare! Also the process of making butter is so simple – no heating / chemicals etc

Avoid salt. Not true. By cutting out all the processed food in your diet, you’ve already eliminated most of your salt intake. Pink Himalayan Salt can liberally be used over food to make veggies more tasty as we do need some salt. (Normal white salt is bleached)

And I hear it ALL the time! But how can fruit be bad? Well, it’s full of fructose that gets stored as fat in the liver. Fructose is the exact same sugar found in sweets. The odd piece of fruit is fine. But just 5 servings of fruit a day is equivalent to a 500ml soda.

Sugar raises Cholesterol and feeds heart disease, not fat. Sugar causes you to store fat, raises bad cholesterol, raises blood glucose and insulin levels.

Meat is linked to diseases. Well if you eat a battery chicken then sure! But people have been eating meat since day 1 with very little disease dating back to our grandparents time and before. (i.e. Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, infertility to name a few) The first real heart attack was recorded in the 1030’s , the time when grains where introduced.

Grains contain a mineral blocker that prevent the absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc.

In the last 130 years of grain consumption, the average weight of the population has increased.

Vegetable oils are usually GMO and are extracted using chemicals. In a nut shell – seeds oils are heated to very high temperatures and use chemicals to strip the rancid taste and pumped with more chemicals to give it a nutty flavour. It’s just down right evil!

Avoid Soya!! It’s pretty much GMO 99% of the time – with massive links to infertility, miscarriage and breast cancer.

These are just a few of the scary things I’ve learnt this week. The course goes into way more details! Every week I am more and more convinced by this way of life! Find out about the Banting Buddies Course Here. And for more info, follow them on Facebook Here.  There is now also a 3 week course being offered! 

P.S. Remember to READ your food labels. Big retailers – even the health ones, sell organic / nut butters etc – but the biltong can be coated in sugar, the nut butter full of vegetable oil etc

Great places to food shop:

Frankie Fenners

Faithful-To-Nature

Garden Route Goodies 

Creeds

Gogo’s Deli 

Buy the best produce you can afford. xx

 

 

 

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