The Real Nutritionist

Good health through real food

Recipe: Easy Moroccan Chickpea Stew

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Easy Mid-Week Meal – Gluten-free | Dairy-free | Nut-free | Vegan
Moroccan Spices

This is a quick and easy family meal to make – great for Meat-Free Mondays! The chickpeas are a great source of plant-based protein and fibre. Serve with veggies on the side, or add to the stew during the cooking process – grate first to cook quicker!

I’m always on the hunt for easy, quick recipes that the kids will enjoy too. This recipe is pretty forgiving, so you can switch around the spices if you don’t have some of these in your spice rack. Try cinnamon, paprika, cumin, ginger and cloves for an alternative Moroccan flavour. Ready in 20!

Easy Moroccan Chickpea Stew

Time: 20 minutes | Serves: 4

What you need:

  • 1/2 cup vegetable broth/stock
  • 2 onions (medium, diced)
  • 2 cups chickpeas (cooked, rinsed) or 1 tin chickpeas, drained
  • 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or paprika
  • 3 tomatoes (large, diced) or 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup parsley
  • 1/3 cup pitted Medjool dates (chopped)

What you do:

  • Add the stock and the onions to a pot over medium heat. Cook for about 3 minutes until the onions begin to soften.
  • Add the chickpeas, salt, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, and cayenne pepper. Continue to cook for 3 more minutes.
  • Add the tomatoes, parsley, and the dates to the pot and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the pot with a lid. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Divide between bowls and enjoy with a side of steamed vegetables and quinoa, rice or mashed potato.

Enjoy!

Lucy x

P.S. Photos to come!

9 Simple Teas That Work Wonders On Your Wellness

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If you’re anthing like me, you need the odd cuppa to help get you through the day…whether that’s a cup of tea, a mug of coffee, a glass of wine or a tumbler of gin! Oftentimes, making a cup of tea becomes an automatic process, and drinking our black tea with a splash (or three) of milk and a teaspoon (or two) of sugar becomes the norm.

Whilst black tea does contain some health benefits (for example antioxidants), they are generally outweighed by the negative aspects of the caffeine content. Decaf tea may seem like a good option – and it is a good option for an occasional black tea – it is often decaffeinated using a chemical process (much like coffee), which means you are drinking those chemicals. And even if it isn’t, the many benefits of black tea are lost through whichever decaffeination process is used.

Which is why herbal teas are a great option. Not only are they naturally caffeine-free, but they also offer many health benefits beyond just antioxidants. In fact, they are a great way to incorporate beneficial herbs into your day-to-day routine.

Teas for Day-to-Day

Here are some of my favourite herbs to use in your day-to-day teas:

  1. Peppermint – as well as its digestive benefits, like relieving gas, bloating and indigestion, strong peppermint tea is great for a caffeine-free morning kick-start! Put a good handful of leaves into a small coffee plunger and let them steep overnight, then add some freshly boiled water in the morning before enjoying that powerful zing.
  2. Nettle – a gentle diuretic, nettle leaf helps the body to remove toxins. It has been used for centuries as a skin purifier and helps lower blood sugar levels. This is a great addition to a tea blend.
  3. Turmeric – this offers many benefits, including boosting immune function, reducing inflammation, helping with IBS symptoms, and supporting liver function. There are some great tea blends that include this potent spice (technically not a herb!).

Teas for Digestion

Here are some great herbs to help with digestion. You can get some great-tasting tea blends which include these herbs – bear in mind they may not taste as great on their own!

  1. Dandelion root – this pesky weed is actually considered a herb by botanists and has some wonderful benefits. Often known as a ‘liver tonic’, dandelion root tea is a ‘bitter herb’ used for digestion. It also helps the liver to detoxify, acts as a diuretic, reduces water weight, and is full of antioxidants. If you are looking for a good coffee substitute, then roasted dandelion root ‘coffee’ is worth a try.
  2. Licorice – whilst this is a herb, it is the root that is used in tea preparations. It is used to soothe gastrointestinal issues, by speeding up the repair of the stomach lining and restoring balance (especially after food poisoning, stomach ulcers or heartburn). It can also help with gas and bloating. Be mindful that licorice root is not recommended during pregnancy (although small amounts of it in tea will be okay), or if taking medication to control low potassium levels or blood pressure and some other medications (please check this before using if you are on any medications).
  3. Fennel – this highly aromatic and flavourful herb is part of the carrot family (explains the feathery leaves on top!) and tastes a little like aniseed. It helps to smooth and relax the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract, reducing gas, bloating, and stomach cramps. It can also help to boost metabolism, regulate appetite, speed up digestion, and reduce water weight by encouraging urination.

Teas for Sleep & Stress

  1. Chamomile – this little flower has long been linked to relaxation and improving sleep. It contains an antioxidant, apigenin, which binds to the receptors in the brain that help promote sleepiness and reduce insomnia.
  2. Valerian root – this herb helps reduce anxiety and improve sleep by promoting calmness in the brain. It is often included in herbal bedtime tea blends.
  3. Lemon balm – another wonderful calming, soothing herb, great for stress, anxiety, and insomnia. As to be expected, this is a lemon-scented herb making it great in a calming tea blend. However, it can have interactions with some medications and shouldn’t be taken for long periods of time. Do check interactions if you take medications, before using this in your tea.
Images by various photographers, sourced from Unsplash.com

Which Tea?

This list is by no means exhaustive and there are plenty of other great herbs and teas that offer health benefits. And of course, you can create your own blends of herbal teas, using the loose leaves – but this can be quite a fine art, so I recommend trying one of the many pre-made blends that are out there.

Some great organic and plastic-free herbal tea brands include Pukka Herbs, Indigo Herbs, Teapigs, Heath & Heather, Dr. Stuarts, Clipper, and Yogi Tea. Besides the Pukka teas, these brands are often in single herbs rather than tasty blends, therefore they may be more therapeutic but potentially a little less palatable.

Please remember that herbs in teas are still therapeutic, and can be contraindicated in certain health conditions or with certain medications. If you have any health conditions or medications, please check the safety and interactions before drinking herbal teas. The odd cup is generally fine but if you want to enjoy several a day, it is important to check first.

If you are struggling with digestive issues, insomnia, or stress, let’s see how I can help. Herbal teas may be helpful, but they are often just a small part of the recovery puzzle. Get in touch or book a FREE discovery call so we can discuss how I can help.

7 Best DIY Detox Baths for Tired Mums

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When was the last time you enjoyed a bath (or shower) by yourself? TODAY? What! You are KILLING IT at this mum lark. I honestly struggle to get any bath or shower alone time – if I want to fit in washing my hair, I bundle all the kids into the shower with me. True story.

So, if you’re like me and you have not had a bath ALONE recently, then this blog post is especially for you. And your challenge is to have a relaxing bath by yourself this evening.

Maybe you’re a mum who really makes time for an alone bath, and you’re already reaping the benefits of that. If so – huge kudos to you! But for BONUS points, why not make it a detox bath?!

We come into contact now with more toxins than ever – in our food, our hygiene and body products (from body wash to make-up), our water, and in the air we breathe. A detox bath is a simple and gentle healing therapy we can do to support our body’s natural detoxification system.

5 Top Tips for Taking a Detox Bath

  • Add your detox bath ingredient to a tub-full of warm-hot water. The hotter the water, the more you’ll sweat and detox. Then immerse yourself in the water as much as possible – relax for at least 20 minutes.
  • When you finish, get out of the bath carefully as it’s common to feel a bit light-headed. You can always rinse off with cool water to help cool back down.
  • Don’t use products after your bath that contain artificial fragrances, perfume, dyes, or toxic chemicals as your pores are more open and can more easily absorb the chemicals in those products.
  • Hydrate! Drink plenty of water before and after to help support the detox process and avoid dehydration.
  • Have your bath before bedtime – they can leave you feeling drowsy, and a good sleep after a detox bath is a great way to support the process.
Detox baths can be useful for children too – particularly Epsom/magnesium salts and oats.

Some other things to note:

If the detox bath is making you feel uncomfortably nauseous or lightheaded (common side effects of intense detox) then try reducing the amount of detox ingredient, trying a different ingredient, using cooler water, or bathing for a shorter length of time.

These detox baths are generally safe for children but you should reduce the amount of detox ingredient used, and not make it too hot. Epsom salts are probably the best option for children.

The 7 Best DIY Detox Baths

1. Epsom Salts

The most popular of the detox bath ingredients, Epsom salts are made of magnesium and sulphate. Both are important nutrients for your body but can be poorly absorbed from food. However, soaking in Epsom salts helps as these minerals both absorb readily via the skin. They are commonly used to stimulate detoxification, reduce inflammation in sore muscles, lower blood pressure, promote healthy circulation, and help with relaxation and normalizing sleep patterns.

How: start out by adding one cup of Epsom Salts to your bathtub and gradually increase to two or three cups.

2. Baking Soda

This is soothing for your skin, naturally alkalising, and helps to detoxify by boosting liver function. It’s a simple ingredient most households have, and is great after a workout. It’s also a natural exfoliant and can help with acne.

How: dissolve two cups of aluminum-free baking soda in your bathtub and soak for 20 minutes.

3. Bentonite Clay

This is a great way to remove heavy metals from the body. Bentonite clay is a naturally-forming clay that magnetically pulls toxins and heavy metals from the body through the skin.

How: use between one-quarter of a cup and a cup of clay in a bath of hot water, breaking up the clumps. It is usually recommended to start by having a clay bath once a week, then reduce to once a month for maintenance.

4. Apple Cider Vinegar

This bath is great for inflammatory issues like arthritis, for candida overgrowth issues, and can help with body odour. It is the type of bath that will make you sweat, which aids your body’s detox process, and you may even continue sweating for a bit afterwards.

How: add one to two cups of pure unfiltered apple cider vinegar and soak in the tub for up to 30 minutes.

5. Ginger

This is another sweat-inducing bath, helpful to fight off sickness at the first sign of any cold symptoms, clearing congestion, or for headaches. If you don’t have access to a sauna or steam room, the ginger bath is a simple and sure way to induce a sweat, clearing out all those nasty toxins out of your body and leaving you feeling energised and cleansed.

How: add half a cup of grated ginger to a hot bath and soak for 15-20 minutes. The ginger bath will make you sweat profusely for at least an hour afterwards, so be sure to wear something you don’t mind getting sweaty. Note: test on your skin first, as it can cause sensitive skin to react.

6. Coconut Oil

Not so much for detoxing, but great for soft skin and for it’s anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic and anti-fungal properties.

How: add to warm running water to help moisturise the skin.

7. Oats

Again, not for detoxing, but great for itchy, irritated skin or for treating eczema and psoriasis. It’s even great for sunburn, nappy rash, chickenpox or shingles. Oatmeal is anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant, and contains compounds that reduce itching. It was too good an ingredient not to mention here!

How: using rolled oats, grind them into a fine powder using a blender, coffee grinder or food processor. Start by adding half a cup of ground oats to a lukewarm bath (not hot) and soak for no more than 15 minutes. You can work up to one and a half cups. You can also add the oats to a cloth or tights and tie the top so they don’t spill out – this makes the bath less messy afterwards.

Images by various photographers, sourced from Unsplash.com

So, with all that in mind, what will you add in your bath today?

And if you are feeling like your body needs a good cleanse from the inside out, get in touch to find out when my next mum-boosting “Bounce & Bloom Detox” is happening!

4 Simple Ways To Ensure Your Baby Gets Enough Iron With Baby-Led Weaning

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Thinking about Baby Led Weaning for your bub, but worried about them getting enough iron? Read on …

baby led weaning getting enough iron
Enjoying solids at 7 months old

We know that iron is important, after all it helps the body build red blood cells which circulate oxygen around the body. It also helps with cognitive development and building a strong immune system. But one of the biggest concerns parents have when introducing solids is whether bubs will get enough iron. Especially when doing Baby Led Weaning (BLW). But can BLW provide enough iron? The short answer is ‘yes it can’. Here’s how…

Increased needs

Yes, it’s true that babies have an increased requirement for iron once they reach six months. Their own iron stores, built up during the late stages of pregnancy, have started to run low. Of course, this doesn’t happen overnight! But from around six months their needs begin to increase.

Although there is iron in breastmilk, there is a smaller amount than that found in formula. Having said that, the iron in breastmilk is much more absorbable – around 50% is absorbed vs 10% [1] in formula. Meaning both breastfed* and formula-fed babies receive similar amounts.

*Dependent on mum’s iron levels when breastfeeding.

So, from six months, all babies still receive some iron from their breastmilk and formula, but they need a little extra from the foods you introduce to them. This is why solids are also known as ‘complimentary foods’, as they compliment baby’s milk.

But how much do they need, and where should they get it from to ensure they get enough?

Is your baby getting enough iron?

Iron is a critical nutrient for brain development, so iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) can be a concern for some parents, as IDA could lead to poor neurodevelopment [2]. But did you know that excess iron may have an adverse effect on growth?  So, it is important to take a leaf out of Goldilocks’ book and find the amount that is ‘just right’.

Firstly, it is important to remember that not every baby is the same. This is as relevant for iron levels as it is for hitting milestones. Just like the variations from baby to baby in how many teeth they have at six months, or what age they start sitting unassisted, their needs for iron vary too.

Iron needs may vary simply due to the levels in the milk they drink and their own abilities to absorb the iron. But more significantly, a baby’s iron needs depend on: their mother’s iron levels before, during and especially in the last trimester of pregnancy (and afterwards if breastfed); if they were born prematurely, since babies’ iron stores build in the last few months of pregnancy; and if they had a low birth weight, even if born full-term.

If any of these are the case, then your baby will likely have higher iron requirements, which should be discussed with your GP/paediatrician and nutritional therapist for advice specific to your child’s circumstances.

How much iron?

So, how much iron does a full-term, healthy-weight baby need? The average iron intake from age nought to six months is 0.2 mg/day (based on breastmilk consumption). The estimated average requirement for age seven to 12 months is 7 mg/day, whilst the recommended daily intake is 11 mg/day [3], which equates to 500g of lean beef mince!

Whilst their requirement doesn’t make this huge jump overnight, it is a big increase which we should work up to as quickly as possible. Which is why it is important to include as many iron-rich foods throughout the day as possible, and BLW is a great way to do this.

The best sources of iron for BLW

If you have decided to skip the iron-fortified baby cereal (which has low absorption rates anyway), you may be wondering where your baby’s iron is going to come from now. You do not always need to jump straight to supplementation (unless advised by your GP of course), which can cause their own issues (like constipation). Just take a look below…

The top sources of iron [4, 5] are:

  • Meats: beef, lamb, pork, veal, liver (including pate), chicken, turkey – strips that they can hold and suck on are a great place to start, as well as softly cooked mince and slow cooked meats. Fish is also a good option – tuna, sardines, salmon etc.
  • Eggs: egg yolk is high in iron, but serve whole so baby receives the whole nutrition from the egg – serve scrambled, medium-boiled and sliced lengthways, or omelette strips.
  • Legumes: kidney beans, black beans, butter/lima beans, baked beans, lentils, chickpeas – cooked until softened so easier to digest; a great tool to practice that pincer grip! Natural peanut butter is another good source.
  • Nuts & seeds: almonds and cashews (as nut butters, not whole due to their choking risk!), sesame seeds (in the form of tahini – try baking veggies in a coating of tahini mixed with a little water).
  • Fruits & vegetables: potato, sweet potato, broccoli, brussels sprouts, green peas, beans, spinach*, and dried apricots.
  • Grains & cereals: amaranth, spelt, oats, quinoa, rice, iron-fortified cereals and bread
  • Other: hummus, blackstrap molasses, quinoa, tofu – great sources of iron.

*Spinach is high in oxalic acid so, to err on the side of caution, wait until 8-10 months before introducing spinach to your baby. Oxalic acid reduces the absorption of iron, but can be reduced by cooking, so serve spinach cooked not raw. It is unclear whether baby spinach has lower oxalic acid levels than mature spinach, so again, best to serve it cooked, and in small quantities, until baby is older (8 months plus).

I don’t believe in focussing on numbers and exact amounts of iron/foods to give, which becomes too stressful. However, I do think it is useful to know the amounts of iron found in realistic serving sizes of some of the foods mentioned above. Here are a few examples with approximate iron levels in brackets:

  • one egg (0.6 mg)
  • two tablespoons of beef mince (0.5 mg)
  • one tablespoon of kidney beans (0.9 mg)
  • one tablespoon of almond butter (0.6 mg)
  • one tablespoon of hummus (0.4 mg)
  • one tablespoon of tahini (1.3 mg)
  • half a cup of potato (0.6 mg)
  • half a cup of broccoli (0.4 mg)
  • half a cup of oats (1.5-2 mg)

A few things to bear in mind…

Firstly, heme iron, the type found in meat and animal sources, is more easily absorbed by the body than non-heme iron found in plant sources, and it is best for a baby to have a good mix of both.

Secondly, remember that 11mg is an average requirement (from breastmilk/formula and food) for ages seven to 12 months. There can be a big difference in size and appetite between a 7 month old and a year old child. 12-month olds will need more iron than seven-month olds, but they can also eat more food, so they will work up to this amount gradually. The great news is that babies progress very quickly to consuming a fair amount of food with BLW.

Getting enough iron from nuts and seeds
Sources of iron

My 4 simple tips on getting enough iron into your bubs (6-12 months)

  1. Continue providing adequate breastmilk or formula as baby’s main source of nutrients. At this age, solids are complimentary foods used to boost baby’s nutrient intake, and to gradually get their digestive system ready to transition completely to solids.
  1. Ensure every meal includes some iron-rich foods right from the start – including meat, egg, legumes or nuts ensures a good source of protein too.
  1. Combine iron-rich foods with vitamin C-rich foods, as this vitamin enhances the absorption of non-haem iron (especially in legumes) into the body. Breastmilk provides vitamin C, but so too do capsicums, tomatoes, broccoli, citrus fruit and berries, as well as other fruits. Beef mince in a tomato-based sauce is a perfect combo.
  1. Avoid calcium-rich foods at the same time as iron-rich foods, as this inhibits the uptake of iron. A sprinkle of grated cheese is probably not going to have a significant impact, but a glass of milk with dinner is not a good idea (not to mention it will fill them up too much to eat their dinner!). Same goes for adults – ditch the cup of tea or coffee with your meal, as the polyphenols inhibit the iron uptake.

When’s the best time to start introducing solids? Check out my blog post here. For more tips on introducing solids, as well as other early childhood nutrition, check out more of my blog posts where I’ll be adding more over the coming months!

Sources:

[1] Recommendations to Prevent and Control Iron Deficiency in the United States

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22123641/

[3] https://www.nrv.gov.au/nutrients/iron

[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2528681/

[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4549838/

Recipe: Sweet Paprika Chicken Tray-Bake

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Easy Mid-Week Meal – Gluten-free | Dairy-free | Nut-free | Tomato-free
Chicken Tray-Bake

This easy chicken tray-bake is a fabulous midweek meal to throw together quickly, pop in the oven and have a family-friendly meal ready to go less than half an hour later! Full of sweet flavour, it’s a crowd pleaser. A great source of fibre, carbs, protein and healthy fats, plus you can switch up the veg options for whatever is in season. AND 2-3 serves of your daily veg!

As we begin to settle into some kind of ‘routine’ (well, some days we do) in the UK, one of my biggest challenges is getting a meal ready whilst my two girls desperately want me to play tea parties/Elsa and Anna/hide and seek. In our last house, we had an open-plan kitchen-diner with a door straight into the lounge. This made it easy for the girls to play in and out of the kitchen and be near me whilst I prepped dinner. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a challenege, but I could find something to distract them long enough to get dinner ready.

In our current (short-term!) home, the kitchen is much smaller, and the lounge is along the hallway, so the girls evidently don’t feel close enough to me when I’m cooking and they’re playing! And there’s not enough room in the kitchen for them to play, without me tripping over them (trust me, they try…the kitchen usually ends up as some kind of temporary storage room for the toy pram, giant bunny, and what ever big toy they can find!).

I’ll get to the point. Sometimes (or often) we need a meal that is either
super fast to cook up, easy to throw together and chuck in the oven to do its thing, or both! This meal is the latter really. Especially if you cut the chicken breast horizontally to create two thinner pieces. Give it a go and see what you think!

Sweet Paprika Chicken Tray-Bake

Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking Time:  35 minutes | Serves: 4

What you need:

  • 300g butternut squash/pumpkin, cut into thin wedges or slices, skin on
  • 3-4 chicken breasts (depending on size), sliced horizontally
  • 1 onion (brown or red), cut into wedges
  • 3-4 cups of green vegetables – I used brussel sprouts and asparagus
  • 1/2 lemon, cut in half
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tbsp honey/fruit syrup/maple syrup/other syrup alternative
  • A few sprigs of thyme (or 1 tsp of dried thyme)
  • Olive oil
  • Sea salt and pepper

Mustard Mayo

  • 4 heaped tbsp mayonnaise
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard (more if you like more of a kick)
  • 2 tsp honey/syrup (as above)
  • 1/4 lemon, squeezed

What you do:

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180oC fan/200oC/gas 6
  • Place the squash or pumpkin slices into a large roasting tin, drizzle with a little oil and rub in so they are coated, and place in the hot oven for 10 minutes whilst you prep everything else.
  • Prep the other ingredients whilst the squash is cooking – slicing the chicken, lemon and other vegetables.
  • After 10 minutes, remove the roasting tin from the oven and add the chicken, onion, and green vegetables. Squeeze the two lemon slices over the chicken and add the slices into the tray.
  • Drizzle some olive oil over the chicken and vegetables. Drizzle the honey/syrup and sprinkle the paprika over the chicken. Add the thyme and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
  • Return the roasting tin to the oven for 20-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken, until cooked through.
  • When ready, remove the roasting tin and let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving. During this time, combine the mustard mayo ingredients together in a bowl and serve with the chicken and veggies!

Enjoy!

Lucy x

Recipe: Easy No-Nut Oaty Bars

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Dairy-free | Nut-free | Vegan | Gluten-free option | Refined sugar free

These super-food chewy oaty bars are a fabulous source of protein, fibre, healthy omega-3 fats and a whole range of vitamins and minerals. Containing only natural fruit-based sugars, and several ingredients that help balance blood sugar levels, you can be sure they won’t give your kids (or you) a sugar spike. Instead you’ll get a slow-release of energy to see you through the afternoon! Perfect for the school lunchbox!!

No-nut Oaty Bars

Since arriving in the UK 6 months ago, life has been a bit topsy turvy, and home baking healthy snacks for the girls has kinda gone out the window. There’s something about having your own kitchen, pantry, ingredients, space, time…. So, any baking or making mojo went out the window, and in its place came convenience foods – the healthiest ones I could find in the store, admittedly, but still not my day-to-day ideal.

As a result, my four-year-old has become rather fixated with oaty bars. I have been meaning to make some myself so that I can feel confident they are getting a dose of nutrient-dense goodness, especially since we finally moved into our own place at the end of November. But what with pregnancy fatigue (it’s kicking my butt!) and the whirlwind that was December, it’s taken me until mid (ok late-ish) January to finally put these together.

Now, they should be pretty quick to make – I took a bit of a guess at 15 minutes prep time – but if you enlist the help of your four-year-old and almost-two-year-old, it will take you over an hour!! Can’t say I didn’t warn you… No, really, it makes for a fun Sunday activity 😉

Benefits

Oats are full of protein and fibre, providing a filling snack as well as slow-release energy. They can also help lower cholesterol, and improve blood sugar control.

Chia seeds are a fantastic source of protein and fibre, as well as omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants. They also contain calcium, magnesium and a host of other vitamins and minerals. A teeny tiny food powerhouse!

Seeds are rich in B complex vitamins, essential for a healthy nervous system, as well as tonnes of other vitamins and minerals. They’re also a fabulous source of fibre, protein and healthy fats. They can help reduce blood sugar levels, cholesterol and blood pressure.

Cinnamon is another great ingredient to lower blood sugar levels, as well as a gorgeous flavour. It is loaded with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties (which reduces the inflammatory response in the body).

Tahini, or ground sesame seeds, are a fabulous nut replacement in recipes, great in both savoury and sweet dishes. Sesame seeds are a great source of calcium, and in comparison to the calcium found in milk and other dairy products, it is much more bioavailable to the body. Tahini is also full of healthy fats and amino acids (the building blocks of protein), vitamins and minerals including B vitamins, copper and iron. And yet another ingredient that regulates blood pressure and cholesterol.

No-Bake No-Nut Oaty Bars

Preparation: 15 minutes | Refrigeration Time:  2 hours | Serves: 16

What you need:

  • 9-10 Medjool dates, pitted and halved
  • ½ cup tahini
  • 1/3 cup fruit syrup (or maple syrup or honey if not vegan)
  • ½ tsp vanilla paste or extract
  • 2 ½ cups rolled oats (if needing to be 100% gluten free, use gluten free oats or quinoa flakes)
  • ½ cup mixed seeds
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • ½ – 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • ¼ cup apricots, chopped, sulphite free ideally (these are the brown ones – the sulphites act to preserve the colour of the apricots, but aren’t so good for us)
  • For a different flavour combo: replace apricots with cacao nibs or chopped dark chocolate

What you do:

  • Prepare a baking tin (I used whatever I could find which happened to be around 27cm by 17cm, but slightly smaller would be better if you prefer thicker bars) – line it with baking paper.
  • Place the dates into a small saucepan with a little water (about halfway up the dates) and bring to the boil for about two minutes, until the dates are softened, and the water has mostly evaporated.
  • Add the dates to a food processor, along with the tahini, syrup and vanilla, and process until smooth (a minute or two).
  • In a large bowl combine the oats, seeds, chia seeds, cinnamon and salt. Add the tahini mix into the oat mix and combine well.
  • Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and spread into an even layer. Use a sheet of baking paper over the top to press down on the oat bars until firmly packed.
  • Place in the fridge for around two hours. Once set, remove and slice, and enjoy!

Combining the oaty bar ingredients, with a little helping hand…!

Do you use tahini in your recipes? What’s your favourite recipe that uses tahini? And let me know how you get on with these oaty bars!

Lucy x

The Great Detox Debate: do you really need to detox?

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Do you really need to detox? And when you hear the word ‘detox’, what does it make you think? Does it make you think of juice or tea diets, deprivation and hunger? Or perhaps it makes you roll your eyes and think “What a crock of … Our bodies already know how to detox!”?

There’s certainly some truth here. Our bodies do know how to detox (more on that in a moment). And if you’re unfortunate enough to do a juice or tea-based ‘detox’, you probably will be hungry and feel deprived!

Do you need to detox?

But it’s not all bad!

The term ‘detox’ has had a bad rap. It has become an umbrella term encompassing all manner of ‘diets’ and fads. Most of which hold little long-term benefit (if any). They will help you to lose some weight in the form of water. But they may also cause you to break down muscle, as your body looks for fuel – so, yep, guaranteed weight-loss there! But not in a good way…

So, it’s no wonder they’ve gained a bad reputation. But a true detox really shouldn’t fall in the same camp as these kinds of ‘diets’. If done correctly, and in the right circumstances, detoxing can be a much-needed boost for your body. It all depends why and how you are doing it.

Understanding detoxing

True detoxification is the process whereby your body removes toxic chemicals via the gut, liver and kidneys. There is also a thing called detoxication, which is the way your body prevents damaging compounds to enter. One example of this is via the gastrointestinal lining – the cells are tightly knitted to prevent anything getting through, unless the substance is allowed to via the cells themselves (like vitamins). They’re like teeny-tiny, miniature bodyguards: if your name’s not on the list, you’re not coming in!

We all know how we ‘should’ be eating. Nutritious (ideally organic) vegetables and fruits, along with some lean protein and healthy fats, and some wholegrains (depending on whether you can tolerate them). And we would all totally eat like that all the time, if it weren’t for our pesky modern-day way of life, and all its deliciousness! So yes, if you ate like this, even 80 per cent of the time, your body would undoubtedly have no trouble in detoxing the few toxins it came across.

Modern-day eating

Unfortunately, life is not like this. We don’t eat the way we did merely two or three generations ago. We encounter more toxins in our food, like pesticides. And we encounter more toxins in our environment, like xenoestrogens – chemicals found in plastics and toiletries, that act like the hormone oestrogen in our bodies, ultimately causing hormone imbalance.

In addition, we encounter fewer bacterium than we once did (thanks to our need to sanitise and sterilise) and therefore are experiencing an imbalance of good bacteria in the gut – ‘dysbiosis’. This leads to a compromised detoxification system, due to the impact gut bacteria has on your liver metabolism. Good bacteria are actually needed by the body to detox, as they help your liver process certain drugs and chemicals.

The role your gut plays in the need to detox

Your gastrointestinal tract (small intestine and large intestine or colon, aka your ‘gut’) plays a key role in helping detoxicate and detoxify. When it’s all working as it should (and your body is successfully removing toxins), then we don’t notice how busy the gut is working on this. But when toxins start to build up, we actually begin to notice that the gut is struggling to function optimally.

If we can just go back to the teeny-tiny bodyguards’ analogy for a moment… Some of us have the misfortune of not tolerating certain foods. Those foods can damage our intestinal lining. This causes the miniature bodyguards to stand further apart (aka intestinal hyperpermeability, or “leaky gut”). When this happens, uninvited guests (like food compounds and toxins) pass through rather than being removed from the party, adding to your body’s ‘toxicity’.

Another issue that can hinder successful detoxification is constipation. After toxins have been processed by the liver, they get packaged up to be removed (yes, in the poo). They sit in the lower intestine for a while until you’re ready to drop the kids off at the pool (can I say that here?!). However, if you have lacklustre teeny-tiny bodyguards, insufficient fibre and fluid intake, perhaps as well as dysbiosis, then you’re looking at constipation too. The problem with this is that the poo sits there longer than it should, giving those packaged toxins a chance to get out and be reabsorbed into the system! *facepalm*

The ‘Why’

Why do you need to detox? Needless to say, our bodies have not yet evolved to cope with the additional toxins they are exposed to, and the gut issues being faced. What’s more, it’s not just chemical toxins you need to think about. Your body must also control hormone levels, including ‘detoxing’ and excreting them. Hormonal issues are becoming more prevalent in today’s women. But men can suffer too, and are prone to oestrogen excess (think ‘moobs’).

So, a helping hand in healing the gut and supporting the detoxification process is a no-brainer, surely? But you can also see that just drinking juices or teas is probably not going to fix the problems. It requires a multi-faceted approach, tackling food intake, gut healing, intestinal function, and liver function. From a general perspective, detoxing falls in to two categories: the once-in-a-while gentle detox or ‘cleanse’; and the full heal-the-gut, liver-supported detoxification.

The gentle cleanse or the full detox?

The gentle cleanse is great if you’re feeling a bit ‘blah’, a bit bloated, a bit like you overindulged at Christmas. It helps your body to process all the stuff it had recently, by not overburdening it with heavy foods and booze. It gives your natural detox system a chance to recover and get back on track. And you will feel better for it! You may or may not need some additional gut help, depending on your own personal symptoms.

The ‘full detox’ is for those with a build-up of hormones, toxins, heavy metals, or who have issues in the detoxification process. It helps your body get rid of the build-up by gently encouraging the detoxification process in the liver (which can be sluggish in some people). However, healing the gut, correcting the microbiota balance and removing health obstacles like constipation, are all key components of the process too.

        Time to detox?

So, do you need to detox?

It’s a case of changing how we look at detoxes. Be aware that they are not all the same. Be mindful of what you want to achieve. Drinking tea for three days before you walk the red-carpet at the Oscars probably will achieve a flat stomach. Oh, and hunger, and very little nutrition, and possibly bowel issues, but not much else.

The “need to detox” is forever debatable. However, a proper, supported detox may help you if you:

  • are feeling ‘blah’, sluggish or tired;
  • have overindulged recently;
  • are suffering with constipation or ‘slow bowels’;
  • have other gut-health issues;
  • are struggling to lose weight;
  • have a poor immune system;
  • are noticing some hormone-related issues;
  • have been exposed to toxins/heavy metals;
  • have issues with your liver; or
  • have compromised detoxification function.

I can help you with tailoring a detox to suit you and your requirements. Get in touch to enquire about a personalised detox, or book in for a ‘Cleanse & Reset’ programme.

Which Probiotics? Product Review: Gutsy Probiotics

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Who else is finding their new year good intentions are already proving hard to stick to? I know I am! In addition to my yoga goal for the month, there’s also my general nutrition ‘goals’ (targets? requirements? things I’d like to achieve? Whatever you’d like to call them). Like getting enough vegetables each day, snacking sensibly (lactation cookies, anyone?), and remembering to take my probiotics.

Why probiotics?

Probiotics are shown to improve health by balancing your gut bacteria. Gut bacteria help you to digest foods, produce some vitamins, aid the absorption of nutrients, neutralise toxic digestive by-products, and discourage ‘bad’ bacteria. Your gut bacteria, or microbiota, are also now known to be linked to your mental health and immune health. So, pretty important. And after an indulgent month like December, it’s a great time to give your gut and microbiota a helping hand to get back on track. But which probiotics should you be taking?

which probiotics

Forgot your probiotics?

It’s not always easy to take probiotics: keeping them refrigerated, then remembering to find the capsules hidden in the fridge, or spooning out the right amount of powder. Seriously, a third of a teaspoon?! How much even IS that?

So, it definitely helps matters if your probiotics happen to be a delicious drink. Who doesn’t want to drink a delicious, thirst-quenching, fruity drink?

Which probiotics?

It just so happens I have come across a probiotic drink that even my hubby and threenager want to be involved in. And my husband never wants to be involved with food and drink that includes the term ‘healthy’, so that’s a real testament!

which probiotics

My drink that my hubby ‘stole’!

Gutsy have a range of probiotic sachets that make improving your gut health in 2018 super-easy & super-delicious. Proven by my husband, who drank my whole glass, when he was only meant to ‘taste’ it! I struggle to get him to drink more water, but elderberry & lime flavoured probiotics he will do!! #gutsylife

What Gutsy does.

Gutsy uses specific probiotic strains that act as ‘starter bugs’ which work to repopulate your gut with the good guys, helping to balance your gut microbiota, keep you regular, & improve your immune health. Especially useful if you have taken antibiotics in the past, ever had gastro, or struggle with bowel regularity!

which probiotics

Individually wrapped serves, and no need to refrigerate!

Gutsy also contains a prebiotic, which essentially is food for the probiotic bacteria, to help them settle into their new home with a slap up meal! Plus, it uses natural fruit juices and a natural sweetener, to help give it that delicious taste. So, they’re even great for our smaller household members (kids aged three and over). That’s win-win in my book! And now you know which probiotics!

Different probiotic strains help with different conditions. But if you’re looking for an overall boost to your microbiota and well being, then Gutsy might just be the ticket! Check them out at https://www.gutsy.life/

Lucy x

Note: Gutsy were kind enough to send me a sample of their delicious probiotics to try. However, the opinions in this post are all my own.

Should you set New Year’s Resolutions?

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Welcome to 2018! New Year, New Year’s Resolutions?

It has sort of hit me with a bang! I definitely knew it was coming. And yet I don’t quite feel prepared for a whole new year; I don’t think I even fully got going with 2017! Did I even achieve what I wanted to achieve? The answer for me is usually ‘no’, since I set myself such ridiculous goals. But for 2017 the answer is mostly, yes: it was a big year and I did a LOT with a new baby. But all those self-promises to get back to yoga after having my second child… well they resulted in me managing to get to one class just before Christmas. Gosh it felt good, I wish I had done it sooner! But one class it was, and now I have to come to terms with the fact that my ‘baby’ is about to turn 1 in a few short weeks’. Now, that I am NOT ready for!

Planning, planning, planning!

In the meantime, I am planning, planning, planning for the next few months here at The Real Nutritionist. I’m busy writing up some super-useful content for you to enjoy and learn from. This includes some key topics around nutrition over the coming months: dieting and detoxing; gut health; fatigue; and female health.

New Year’s Resolutions.

But first, I want to touch on the elephant in the room. New Year’s Resolutions. Have you made any? Or have you become completely jaded by the sheer notion of setting yourself some lofty goals that you’ll probably then forget come February, and feel guilty for the rest of the year. Seriously, who wants to add to their guilt burden?! I’ve got enough mum-guilt, thank you very much! (After all, I’m a perfectionist as well as a mum.)

But what if you were to set yourself some smaller health commitments or goals, or even new habits? Whichever description fits best for you.

New Year's Resolutions Little Steps

Don’t run before you can walk. Take baby steps instead.

Small stepping stones.

Rather than turn January into a month of hell, how about make it the first, small stepping stone to better health? Perhaps that might be increasing your water intake, increasing your day-to-day movement (go for a morning walk, or try a 10-minute work-out at home), or ensuring you have 3 alcohol-free days a week. And rather than have the next 12 months loom over you, focus on just getting through January, or maybe even just the next one or two weeks. Big goals equal big failure and big disappointment. If you do have a big goal, break it down in to bite-size chunks before you tackle it, and lay your focus on each of those instead.

Whatever it is, make it a little adjustment to your current lifestyle. Something that is small and achievable means you are much more likely to commit, succeed, feel awesome about it, and be ready to make another small change next month. Keep it small. Keep it REAL! Just because you’re not doing 100 burpees a day, or going for a 5am run, or ‘eating clean’ at every meal, doesn’t mean that your achievements are any less important or impressive. Because the chances are, those that take on huge new year’s resolutions will have given up on them before January is through!

My goals.

One of my big goals is to improve my yoga-game back to where it was pre-children. Now, I know that’s not achievable overnight, or even in a month. So, my goal for January, and my first stepping stone, is to get to yoga at least three times. Less than once a week because I know that at least one week this month I won’t get there! But mostly because I bought a 10-class pass, and if I don’t get at least three sessions in this month, I won’t get the 10 done in the three-month time frame!!

New Year's Resolutions Yoga

Yep, that’s not me right now! #yogagoals

What I won’t be doing? I won’t be completely cutting out chocolate or alcohol. (LOL! I. Am. Human.) Instead, I will aim to keep them both balanced – not with one another though (!), but keeping them in check and in moderation. I also won’t be hitting the gym every morning. I barely have time to get us all dressed before we leave the house; so, I do not need to make my mornings any more stressful.

Which leads me to my over-arching goal for 2018: to reduce stress where I can, and work on ways to manage it the rest of the time. I know that I can push myself too hard sometimes, or give myself goals that are too big and I am set to fail. A blessing and a curse. Know your weakness, and find ways to manage it this year!

And that is enough for January health goals. It’ll be February before we know it, anyway!

What are your health goals or commitments for 2018? And how are you going to achieve them? Have you made them into bite-size pieces? Comment below with your New Year’s goals!

And if you want some delicious, easy and QUICK lunch ideas for the new year (that happen to use health-boosting foods for women!) to help achieve those goals, then check out my “Nutrient-Boosted Lunches for Women – in 10 minutes or less”.

Happy New Year!

Lucy x

Kids’ Cutlery: when should you give your baby a fork?

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Ever wondered how on earth your little one is going to get to grips with kids’ cutlery? From spoon-feeding and self-feeding with their hands, to then needing to learn a completely new skill of feeding with a fork? Needless to say, it’s often a long and messy journey.

My almost-three-year old is only just now really getting good at using her fork. She’s always preferred the speed and efficiency of using her hands, having been brought up on Baby-Led-Weaning and self-feeding. So now, going through the same process with my second daughter, who’s now 9-months, I started to wonder, “Is there a better way?”.

kids' cutlery - baby-led weaning

Perfecting her self-feeding skills, pre-cutlery

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Rennae from Grabease Australia, a company that makes innovative cutlery for little hands. I was really curious about the cutlery, and wanted to try it out with Addie. But first, I had a few questions for Rennae . Here’s what she had to say…

My 5 Questions for Rennae from Grabease

What is a good age to start using cutlery and why?

Technically there is no right or wrong age, but I would say, the earlier the better. Grabease is suitable from 6 months. I think with anything, the more a baby handles something and gets the opportunity to play with it, the more competent they will become.  I started using Grabease with my daughter at 7 months and put them out for her with every meal. Now at 12 months she has a very finely developed pincer grip and already has her pencil grasp because she has been practicing for the last 6 months.

What are the benefits from starting kids’ cutlery at a younger age?

Just like Baby-Led Weaning, cutlery is all about nurturing a baby’s independence. The earlier they familiarize themselves with utensils, the sooner they will be able to self-feed, which alleviates a lot of frustrations for both baby and parent around mealtimes. A happy baby makes a happy parent, right! As well as this sense of achievement, Grabease are a developmental tool. Your baby will not only be emotionally content, but will be physically developing fine motor skills that lead into so many other aspects of childhood development, particularly the pincer grip and pencil grasp. Delaying introduction is limiting a baby’s capabilities.

How does introducing cutlery tie in to introducing solids/BLW

Baby-Led Weaning and using cutlery go hand-in-hand. One does not replace the other, they complement each other. The BLW journey with hands is very important as it helps a baby to experience texture and it is all important for the gag reflex. Utensils then bring to the table the next developmental step in learning about mealtime etiquette and motor development, as well as speech development. The thing they have in common is that baby is in complete control and is self-feeding, which is everything that Baby-Led Weaning stands for.

kids' cutlery

Image from Grabease Australia

What issues do parents/children face around traditional kids’ cutlery? What is your solution to that?

Let’s talk about traditional children’s cutlery. They look very much like adult cutlery, just scaled down to a small size as perceived by an adult. However, if you put a traditional child’s spoon next to a baby’s arm, you will see that a “child size” spoon is actually the same length as a 12-month old’s forearm! If adults used the same proportions in utensils when we ate we’d be eating with a serving spoon.  So, therein lies the major design flaw. Traditional children’s utensils are too big.

Then there is improper hand-hold. Due to the long handle a child can’t use a proper vertical hand grasp to use them, so they hold these handles with a fist. This doesn’t encourage fine motor development, if anything it hinders it because the handle is always too long to hold vertically. Why is this vertical hand grasp so important? The vertical hand grasp is a baby’s natural hold, and is how they develop their pincer grip and pencil grasp. So, if they aren’t using those hand muscles correctly they aren’t going to develop it properly for school age.

There really is only one solution and that’s Grabease. They encourage vertical and horizontal hold because of the short ergonomic handle and have been endorsed by Occupational Therapists due to this revolutionary feature.

Tell us a bit about Grabease cutlery and why you love it?

I’m a Mum of two. When I had my son, who is now 5, I did Baby-Led Weaning with him and noticed so many gaps in the feeding product market and I had ideas all those years ago to start my own line of smocks and utensils. Skip ahead 4 years and I had just had my daughter when all the same problems started cropping up again, with the lack of good quality feeding products, so I decided to design my own. When I set the wheels in motion I also started a blog to help other families with Baby-Led Weaning and through that process I found Grabease on Instagram. I couldn’t believe it! It was pretty much the design I had in my head! So, I contacted the developer and here I am, the proud face of Grabease Australia.

kids' cutlery

Getting to grips with Grabease

The reason I loved them so much was that they were the right size for a baby and were made for their current and developing skill set. They aren’t JUST utensils, they are a developmental tool. They nurture independence, they are non-toxic, they have a choke guard for safety. Really, Grabease ticks ALL the boxes! When I first gave them to my daughter at 7 months she could instantly pick them up and bring them to her mouth. From that moment, we haven’t looked back. Grabease is the only choice in infant cutlery, I can confidently say, that no other utensil even comes close.

Thanks, Rennae!

Rennae very kindly sent us a set of Grabease cutlery and Addie has given them a go! She is able to pick them up and get them to her mouth without a problem. Yippee! However, getting food on them and into her mouth will take a good bit of practise. But I’m eager to see her develop this skill! As Rennae mentioned, it’s critical to offer that regular exposure to the cutlery. This way, babies learn that cutlery is a part of meal times, and with practice, they’ll soon master the new skill.

I’m so excited to see how Addie gets on with her Grabease cutlery. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook, and I’ll keep you updated as Addie gets better with them! And if you want to check out the cute and colourful cutlery yourself, and maybe grab a pair for your own little one, then hop over to Grabease Australia’s website page, Facebook page and Instagram for more!

BONUS: get my FREE eGuide now – click the title below:

“Stress-Free Solids: A guide to introducing new foods while managing intolerances and allergies”

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~Taunton Nutritionist ~

The Real Nutritionist is about optimising your health and wellbeing. It's honest and holistic, yet balanced and realistic.

It's about what is best for you, to help reach your health goals, in an achievable and sustainable way.

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