Have a healthy fall

Fall is my 

New Year.

It was always an exciting time: a few new clothes, new books and new pencil crayons!
Of course that was a while ago, but I still get butterflies in my stomach every fall.

When we get back to the fall school routine and when kids go back to school (3-25yrs), we’re all going back to a petri dish of germs and bacteria in; mass transit, school railings and public door handles. Building up a good immune foundation to face these little critters will help you avoid getting sick is essential.

As a practitioner I work with my patients and their families to improve their immune systems so that they can avoid cold and flu completely. 

Here are a few tips.

What are some immune boosters? 

Drink filtered water. Water is the oil that runs our engine. Mild dehydration can make you feel tired and dry membranes are more prone to nose bleeds and infections. The rule is 2-2.5L/day for adults and 1-1.5L for kids. Try peppermint or herb teas to help flavour your water and avoid artificial sweeteners to flavour your water.

Eat your dark greens. Dark greens are loaded with protective vitamin A, D, E, C, K, calcium, potassium, manganese, folic acid, magnesium, antioxidants, natural pre-biotics and fiber to flush out your system.

Brightly coloured fruits & vegetables. Orange, yellow and red fruits are the best bio available source of natural vitamin C, vitamin A, E and contain lots of antioxidants to help maintain health. Fruits should be eaten as whole foods and not as juice.

Good probiotic yogurt. Our immune system powerhouse is in our intestines so keeping up with good probiotics will help boost your immune system. The most beneficial are BioK and Kefir, sources of natural probiotics without all the sugar that most conventional yogurts contain.

Oats and Barley. These grains contain beta-glucan, a type of fiber with antimicrobial and antioxidant capabilities more potent than Echinacea and boosts immunity.

Garlic. This pungent little bulb contains the active ingredient allicin, which fights infection and bacteria. A British study has shown that those that ate 2 raw cloves a day were 2/3 less likely to catch cold.

Fish. The Omega 3 rich fish like: salmon, herring, sardines and mackerel contain anti-inflammatory EPA decreasing the inflammation in the lungs from respiratory infections. Shellfish contains selenium that is a great antioxidant, helps maintain elasticity in our veins (including ones in the lungs) and increases white blood cells to help us fight an infection.

Immune booster smoothie:

1 1/2C filtered water
1C frozen blueberries
1/2C frozen raspberries
1/2C raw almonds
1 sachet of ginseng tea
1tbsp flax seed oil or fish oil
1tbsp phyogreens
1 scoop hemp protein powder
1tbsp agave nectar

• Place all of these in a blender and blitz until it's well blended.
Makes 1Lt, serves one.

Get outside! Comparing an indoor walk and an outdoor walk, British studies found an outdoor workout increased energy and decreased frustration, more than the indoor walk. With exercise you increase the oxygen into your system including more oxygen to your brain, making you more effective processing stress.

SMILE! Positive attitudes have a great benefit to good health, these people get sick less often, and they deal better with stress and recover faster. Laughing brings the focus away from negative feelings and provides a physical and emotional relief. Plus smiles are a good contagion, spread them happily!

Homeopathic medicines.
Homeopathic medicines are great at preventing the flu and cold and they’re also amazing to treat cold and flu symptoms. We can actually give homeopathic medicine to prevent flu's and colds.  They’re safe for anyone at any age and stage of health; even expecting mothers, newborns and the elderly can benefit from taking homeopathic medicines. Interested in the Free Flu Clinic? Click here for more information http://homedica.ca/free_flu_clinic.html

What are the immune busters?

 

Besides the standards: overeating, large deposits of body fat, high processed foods, artificial sweeteners and over indulging in alcohol.

Stress. Ok I know you hear this all the time but this sucks your immune system dry. Kids get a recess to recharge; you need to give yourself a recess. Walk 1/2hr in the morning, walk 1/2hr at lunch and another 1/2hr after dinner. You’re removed from the stressful situation, you’ve added
1 1/2hrs of exercise; you’ve increased your oxygen intake and reduced your stress levels.

Sugar. Think about when the flu season really begins – after times of indulgence like: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentines Day. It’s not only the candies and cookies that kids indulge but the alcohol adults consume. One small cube of sugar = 4g, enough power to reduce our immune system 60% for up to 4 hours. Moderate how many goodies you indulge in to maintain your health.

What to do if you start to feel under the weather?

Echinacea It’s a great way to ward off the onset of a cold. Start at the first sign of; sneezes, sore, scratchy throats or sniffles, but dose yourself for two weeks only, after that it reduces your immune system.

Zinc is essential to your immune system. When you start to feel the tell tale sore throat, you can suck away on zinc lozenges to help reduce or even stop your illness in it’s tracks.

Vitamin C (as a full bioflavonoid) can be taken as a supplement all season long. We lose Vit C through urine so it’s something we can take all day long to maintain our immune system. If you take a lot and start getting diarrhea, cut back on your dose until the diarrhea stops.

Let your child have a fever.

Physicians are now realizing that a child with a fever is a good sign that their immune system is working. There are caveats to this: if your child has a high fever but is playing happily (just quieter than normal) keep and eye on the fever but let them ride it out. I’ve let my kids shoot up to 104ºF, they were in good spirits and liked the cool bath and homemade popsicles.

If a child has a high fever and is listless and not very responsive this is much more concerning. This is a time when you want to bring the fire inside them under control quickly, cool baths, homemade popsicles, lots of clear liquids and if needed a dose of children’s medication will bring it under control.

In Conclusion

Like everything in life, moderation in indulgences, live, love, laugh, maintain a positive attitude and homeopathic preventative medicines you’re set to have an illness free winter season (and life).

You donate it, but would you actually eat it?

(Ok, I'm getting on my soap box a bit here, so forgive my passion)

Every major city in Canada depends heavily on charitable organizations to provide food to people living in poverty. In Toronto, food banks serve about 60,000 people every month. More than 650,000 charitable meals are served every month in drop-ins, hostels and similar meal programs. Based on recent Toronto study, 20% of the $17 billion spent annually on health care in Ontario can be traced to diet-related health problems.

Yes we donate, but would you eat it? 
When we are called to donate we all do our best to fill the bins in the grocer, high schools and fire halls. Do we consider what we’re donating? I know those that donate cases of boxed mac & cheese, and of one person who admits that she would “never feed that to her own children” but she's ok to donate it. 

So why is it ok to donate crap food to the poor?

It’s an education when you accompany someone through the food bank, a box is prepared with mostly canned or boxed white pastas or rice, you get a limit of vegetables and frozen meats that have to last you a few meals or a week. I still can't believe what people are forced to live on.

This recent Canadian study(1) cites alarming rates of obesity are the ticking time bomb on our health care system with the poor being at the highest risk of: diabetes, heart disease and breast and colon cancers.

Kids in poor families have an alarming rate of obesity in Canada.

Fast food meals in a bag, or prepackaged boxed meals, feeds the family and if you’re a parent with 2-3 jobs and no time to cook, sometimes it feels like the only option. These meals offer little to no nutrition value, too much sodium and bad fats, compound this with no money for exercise programs, you have a generation of kids that will die before their parents. These ‘gut fill’ foods fill the belly but don’t nourish the body at all, they actually rob the body of vital nutrients.

Poor nutrition takes a toll on your physical health and your mind!

What's happening in the UK right now is a good example of the effect of poor nutrition on health and mental issues causing aggression in teenage girls. Violent teen-girl gangs are on the rise (2) and the newest threat on the streets. Roaming girl-gangs intimidate in numbers, push, mug, throw stones and knife, sometimes-innocent people without provocation. These girls are obese, rely on fast food and usually come from lower income families where parents aren't around due to job hours.

It’s no coincidence that the UK (but particularly Scotland) has one of the worst diets and one of the highest sugar consumption per person than anywhere else in the world and is experiencing this girl-gang phenomenon. How can we wonder why these acts of violence are on the increase, when there are clear indicators of diet and aggression? As a society we’ve condemned these children to their fate.

This study from the American Journal of Psychiatry (3) states these issues with malnutrition start early in life “…children with malnutrition signs at age 3 years were more aggressive or hyperactive at age 8 years, had more externalizing problems at age 11, and had greater conduct disorder and excessive motor activity at age 17”.

Can this be plainer?

“If you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners corrupted from infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded, sire, but that you first make thieves and then punish them?”  Thomas Moore ‘Utopia’

As we see in here in Canada and in the UK, it’s the poor that pays the price with their health and the rest of us that pay the health care costs, with diseases we've helped give them.

What can you do?

Donate to your local food banks, of course, but have a bit of social consciousness when you fill up the donation bin. Reach for food that feed the body like: dried or canned legumes, canned vegetables, whole grain pasta, whole grain mixes, brown rice, olive oil and nut butters that are free of HFCS.

These healthy and inexpensive alternatives offers low-income families nutritional options that are more than gut fill. One can eat well and inexpensively on a vegetarian diet, $250 can feed a family of 4 for a month. Including fresh vegetables. If they are given the resources to eat this way, with socially conscious donations.

Education is key. Educate the poor on the benefits of a good diet and how to eat within an non-existent budget. Educate those that generously donate, even the corporations, on making more socially conscious decisions on donations. 

Everyone deserves to a healthy diet and a healthier life.

(1) http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2010/08/13/f-taylor-poverty-obesity-children.html

(2) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-566919/The-Feral-Sex-The-terrifying-rise-violent-girl-gangs.html

(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1570126/

 

Hot flashes...in this heat! Oye!

It feels like an all day hot flash, as we bathe in a sea of hot, humid weather here in Toronto.

I feel for all those women who have to contend with menopausal symptoms on a daily basis. Some women get them only a night, some get them throughout the day, others get severe mood changes and sweats. First thing you should know is...EVERY woman experiences perimenopause and menopause differently, it's a natural progression of the female life cycle.
It's not a disease to be treated, we're not sick.

What are some of the signs of perimenopause & menopause?

Hot Flashes

Sweats
Fatigue

Sleep disturbances
Acne
Fibroid, breast or uterus
Heart palpitations
Blood pressure fluctuations
Bloating & heartburn
Edema
Weight Gain
Incontinence
Yeast & urinary infections
Increased serum cholesterol

Here are some the dietary changes you can make to help you cope with this transition of life.

•Water, filtered 2L/day 

•Fresh lemon juice, helps support your liver and your GI system

•Soy - raw beans, milk, firm, silken tofu, phytoestrogens

•Dandelion greens and tea

•Fresh homemade juices, including the pulp

•Vit B & C rich foods

•Low Glycemic foods - berries, whole grains

•Gluten free grains, in moderation

•Agave nectar, organic unpasteurized honey, stevia

•Eggs

•Green tea

•Ground chia seeds and cinnamon, good for blood sugar regulators

•Dark green vegetables

•Flax seed, ground and oil, lignans- anticancer, phytoestrogen, antioxidants, protect cardiovascular system

•Calcium foods - dark greens over dairy

•Potassium rich foods help reduce blood pressure

•Magnesium rich foods help reduce nerve twitches, muscle cramps, and improves heart function 

•Oily fish, salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring, anchovy 

•Good fats, monounsaturated & polyunsaturated 

•Good sat fat-coconut oil

Foods to limit or avoid 

•Excess salt

•Spicy foods, increase heartburn and hot flashes

•Caffeine, coffee, black tea, chocolate

•Alcohol (yeast based - wine, beer, sulphites)

•Processed fruit juices

•White sugar

•Deep fried fats

•Margarine

•Trans or saturated fats

•Fermented foods, watch for reactions

•Red meats, lunch meats (nitrates, nitrites, sulphites, salt)

•Nightshades (if inflammatory issues)

Here's some supplements that may help your discomfort: 

•Multi vitamin/mineral, general health maintenance

•Vit C&E for flushes of heat and blood pressure 

•Vit D and Iodine or Lugol’s solution for fibrocystic breasts

•Dong guai, hormone regulator

•CoQ10, great for heart, muscle and nerve function and has been shown to reduce blood pressure 

•Ginseng, supports adrenals

•Calcium / Magnesium, heart function, muscle pains and cramps

•Chasterberry (vitex), hormone regulator PMS

•Black Cohosh - better as a homeopathic, hormone regulator

•Licorice root, reduces blood pressure short term

•Vit B complex + B6 & B5 Energy and hormone regulation

•High EFA Fish Oil, inflammation

•Phytogreens, balance out acids, help liver detox

•Chlorella, binds & removes heavy metals like mercury and lead

•Chlorophyll, liver cleanse improves function and may reduce LDL

•GLAs Evening primrose oil, Borage oil, Prilla Oil, hormone regulator

•Chromium, level out blood sugar

Homeopathic medicines
Homeopathic medicines are as individual as each person who uses them, but here's some popular remedies that help women cope with the changes in their bodies.

Lachesis: If your flashes emanates from the top of your head, are worse just before sleep and immediately upon wakening and are accompanied by sweating, headaches, makes frequent mistakes in writing and speaking, chronic depression or manic behaviour needs to do everything quickly, anger, high blood pressure, palpitations, fainting and headaches.

  

Pulsatilla: If you flash less outdoors, flashes followed by intense chills, sour musty sweat, sweats on face and scalp, profuse sweat in morning,external heat is intolerable, headaches from rich foods (pastries, fats, ice cream), thirstlessness, changeable moods, craves affection, emotional cries easily, likes consolation.

Phosphorus: Cold clammy sweats, profuse at night in sleep, perspires on slight exertion, sweats exhaust, smell of sulphur, mostly sweats on head and feet, profuse bleeding of little wounds or profuse discharges, chilly alternating with heat wanting very cold drinks, aversion to warm foods and drinks.

Sulphur: If you feel the heat rising up from your waist to your face, profuse sweating especially the head with little exercise, sweat has sulphur odour, a person who doesn't do well with heat and seek cold drinks and compresses to cope, weak memory, very industrious or lazy, bored easily, unhealthy skin, breaks out easily, weak stomach 11am, dry skin with great thirst.

Sepia: Poor circulation, edema in extremities, cold sweats at night and are debilitating, sweats easily with offensive odour, reduced libido, dry skin from low estrogen, bearing down sensation in pelvic region-bladder, bowels or cramps, weak bladder, hot hands with cold feet, or visa-versa, palpitations, angry and sensitive, mentally and physically worn out, indifferent to loved ones

Mind spirit connection what can inhibit healthy body functions:
•Fear: money, being alone
•Unfulfilled expectations
•Stress
•Negative self-talk, even self-deprecating humour needs to stop
•Chatty-Cathy brain- preventing sleep, making lists
•Numbing out emotions; food, alcohol, smoking, recreation drugs and prescription drugs, coffee, become unplugged to yourself and your body

Become more connected to yourself, what makes you happier and strive to achieve what you desire•Find positive releases for tension and stress: exercise, yoga, laughing yoga, laughter, meditation, pilates
•Explore spirituality – Dr Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, Eckhart Tolle
•Get back into your religion or explore other religions
•Find your passion, if it’s lost take 'the passion test' to see if your passion has evolved
•Journal, Positive thoughts and aspirations and stay away from fears and negative talk

Since every woman is different, so is their plan to help alleviate their discomfort and help them transition into a healthy post-menopausal life. For a free 15minute consult, contact me at homedica.ca.

“I’m going to starve to death!”

About 5 years ago I was a new nutritionist and I had a patient that I knew I had to take off all nightshades and gluten. He’s Italian. When I told him about his plan, I wasn't prepared for his reaction. He sat in front of me, mouth gaping, eyes wide, completely gobsmacked, stammering  “I’ll starve to death… I can’t eat anything!”. I hadn't the heart to tell him cheese was next off the list.

In his mind, I’m sure he thought I was punishing him for his obesity. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Yes he was class 1 morbidly obese, but an increase in activity and a decrease in calories would have brought down his excess weight without any issues.
This alone wasn’t going to solve all of his health problems. In all of his complaints I saw inflammation from head to toe with signs of gluten sensitivity and diabetes or heart disease looming nearer on his horizon.
I gave him his plan and off he went and a month later, at his first follow-up, he returned. He felt a lot better but was struggling trying
to adapt to his new lifestyle. Life, love and family were always shared around a table and for him it was going against nature and his family
not to eat the way he had grown up. The calorie-reduction was fine
but to avoid tomatoes, peppers and wheat was too much for him.
It didn’t matter that his heartburn and headaches were dramatically reduced; he was overwhelmed with all of the changes.
After that first follow-up, I never heard from him again.

Over the years, I have learned that some patients aren’t ready for serious change in their life to prevent disease and need to have a diagnosis of a disease before they’ll take action on their health.
Sad but true and I see it all the time. What people don’t realize is that they are not their diagnosis and in fact they can avoid diagnosis if they change their lifestyle, including the foods they eat. Is it a serious commitment, yes, absolutely. It’s also fun to use new foods in different ways, if you’re willing to learn.

With my first hard lesson under my belt, I now take time to evaluate my patient needs, see how willing they are to make serious changes and in some cases, ease them into a new lifestyle. I try to support them with meal plans and recipes to help them get started.

With my new quest outlined, I began researching, adapting and developing recipes without nightshades and gluten. It’s been a fun gastronomic journey, with a more than a few recipe duds along the way but here’s a substitution guide I learned, to help get you started.

For those naysayers – YES, you can still eat well!

What are nightshades anyway?
Nightshades are inflammatory foods: potatoes, peppers of all kinds, eggplant, paprika, tomatoes and tobacco. Although these are packed with valuable vitamins and minerals they contain a chemical alkaloid called solanine that can trigger pain in people who are susceptible. So, how do you know if you need to remove these from your diet?

Why should I avoid nightshades?
Nightshades should be avoided if you have an inflammatory disease like: arthritis (RA/OA), IBD, IBS, GERD (heartburn), heart disease, eczema or psoriasis, asthma, COPD, PMR, PMS, diabetes, depression, fibromyalgia, cancer, chronic headaches or migraines. For people who are trying to or have quit smoking the avoidance of these foods apply to you as well, especially tomatoes as they contain nicotine, yes nicotine.

How would I know if I’m having a problem with nightshades?
Stop and listen to your body after you eat these foods and see what it’s telling you. It can be as simple as; cramping or bloating in the gut (bowels not stomach), increased breathing problems, heartburn, a mild headache or even body aches and pains can increase subtly after eating these foods. It doesn’t mean you have to double over in pain to be affected; you may feel more pain and stiffness in your susceptibility areas (headache, gut, breathing, mood and joints) that no amount of massage, stretching or yoga can relieve.  

Ok one step at a time. Take out the nightshades.

What do you eat instead of nightshades?
This seems like a daunting task to remove all of these foods since they’re in most of our favourite recipes but be patient, experiment and see what works best for your palate. All the substitutions here offer the same or more nutrients and vitamins than the nightshade foods, which is great, more nutrient bang for your buck! 

In a macrobiotic diet it avoids nightshades completely, so head to your local library for a good macrobiotic cookbook that offers you recipe solutions to get you started on your gastronomic journey to wellness.

Potatoes
• Sweet potatoes or yams are a great substitute and offer valuable beta-carotene to your diet.
• White kidney beans or garbanzo beans offers protein, texture and thickening to soups, stews or pasta dishes without a strong taste or colour.
• Cauliflower gives you great added flavour, thickens soups and stews or can be used on their own instead of mashed potatoes.

Sweet Peppers (green, orange, yellow)
• Kohlrabi, a member of the turnip family, gives you lots of vitamin C and are great raw, in salads and can be cooked in a soup or stew. Make sure you cut off the tough exterior to get at the crunchy, turnip/radish like texture inside.
• Radishes for salads offer colour and texture with a little heat.

Hot peppers (cubanele, pimiento, pepperonini, paprika, poblano, ancho, jalapeno and chipotle chilies). This is the hardest sacrifice for the spicy food lovers, but rest assured these are good solutions for your heat fix.
• Horseradish, raw, grated into recipes will add heat without masking the flavour of your favourite recipe.
• Wasabi powder (without the green food colouring) adds lots of heat when needed and you can make it as concentrated (as hot), as you want.
• Garlic, adds great depth of flavour to any meal.
• Turmeric is a great to add colour to your recipes.
• Hot mustard is great to add in soups, savory baking and stews.
• Ginger, fresh grated or minced is a great option for a bit of a bite to snacks like hummus or in chicken soup.

Eggplant
• Summer squash – green or yellow zucchini offer a similar texture and great colour to any traditional eggplant recipe like moussaka.
• Sweet potato or squash are great, have a similar texture and offer amazing colour and taste to any recipe.

Tomatoes (red, yellow or orange)
This fruit is so popular and used in so many international dishes that is a hard to give you a one off substitute for every recipe. It’s more of a “substitute as you go” fruit given all its uses, but here’s a guide.

Salsas:
• Papaya or mango green or ripe, offer great sweetness, texture and colour to a traditional salsa recipe.
• Beets, offer amazing colour and sweetness raw or roasted.

Tomato Sauce:
• Pesto. Why stick with the traditional basil, pine nuts and parmesan cheese pesto - get inventive with different pesto’s: walnut and parsley, pepita and cilantro, almond and basil and instead of cows milk use Spanish goat Manchego in your pesto or use firm tofu for lactose free recipes.
• Cauliflower, mashed with garlic, caramelized onions and anchovy’s are a creamy solution to a creamy pasta or tomato sauce that doesn’t make you feel deprived.
• Roasted garlic with olive oil and a bit of unsalted butter offer a great spread as a pizza base or tossed with a gluten free pasta.

Ketchup:
This is the most popular condiment in the world and is added to most rubs and BBQ sauces, so how can you avoid it? Make your own, it’s not that hard to do.
• A puree of carrots, pears and apple add a beet or ground pomegranate (used in East Indian cooking) for colour with spices (including tamarind) and it’s a yummy substitute for any dish, adapt and make your own BBQ rub and sauce.

Indian foods
Oh the spices of India, the curries, dahl and chutneys that we know here in North America contain a lot of nightshades. Look for recipes from Africa and the south part of India, they don’t use a lot of tomatoes in their recipes.
• Tamarind is a popular African and South East Asian cooking paste, tamarind is sour when young but left to mature it’s sweet and can be used in, chutneys, jams and sauces (we have it in Worcestershire and HP sauce)
• Most curry spice blends may have cayenne, paprika or hot pepper based spices as part of the blend, which means it’s a no-no. It’s easy to make your own blend if you have a mortal and pestle or a coffee/spice blender. For whole seeds like cardamom or coriander you need to toast them in a dry pan before you blend them into a powder, to remove their bitter taste.

When in doubt on what to eat or how to cook your favourite dishes, look to your local library as your resource for all types of international recipes. The net also can have some great recipes but be aware that some may still contain some nightshades like potatoes or peppers even though they may not include tomatoes.

Chickpea Soup  Serves 4

1 tbsp Olive oil

4 Garlic cloves, minced

3 Shallots, chopped

2tsp Cumin

2tsp Coriander (dried or 1 tbsp fresh chopped)

5C Vegetable Stock

3 Sweet potatoes or Yams, diced

540mL Chick Peas, drained and rinsed

1tbsp Cornstarch

2tbsp Tahini (sesame butter)

1-2tsp Horseradish, fresh grated
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan cook the onions and garlic in the olive oil until softened, add salt and pepper, stir for another minute. Pour in the vegetable stock, sweet potatoes or yams and horseradish and cook until they almost tender but not mushy. Add the can of rinsed chickpeas to the soup let them heat through- only takes 5 minutes. Add the tahini and cornstarch and using an immersion blender, blend until smooth.

Vegetarian Nightshade Free Chili      Serves 4-6

This chili recipe is free from all of the common allergens AND it is free of nightshades (tomato, potato, peppers, paprika, eggplant).

2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, diced
2 large carrots, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1/2L Low sodium vegetable stock (Imagine or Kitchen Basics)
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/2 tsp coriander
1tbsp grated horseradish or ginger root
salt & pepper to taste1 lb chicken ground (optional)

Saute veggies in oil until onions until they're slightly browned. Add all ingredients into a crockpot and cook on low 6-8 hours. Or into a stockpot and let simmer for 1hr and serve with gluten-free corn bread. 

You can use extra-lean ground meat or ground chicken in this recipe, just make sure you brown the meat with the onions and the garlic.

Now to tackle gluten-free… stay tuned for a gluten-free substitutions and recipes in the near future!

Ever done a cleanse? Let me know your experiences....

I'm writing a book on cleanses and would like to hear what cleanses- boxed or food based cleanses you've done. I would like to hear about: what cleanse you did, how did you feel, your energy levels, your BMs (not extreme detail), your mental state before and after (better, worse, same). No symptom is too small and no comment or question is wrong so feel free to comment on anything.

I'm looking forward to your comments!

Looks great, tastes even better, gluten free crepes

These gluten-free crepes with a creamy filling topped with a warm berry compote are great for a special Sunday breakfast or impressive dessert. Easy-peasy delicious meal that makes you look like 5-star pastry chef. This meal can be made ahead of time and assembled just before serving.

Crepes

1 1/2C Bob's Red Mill Pancake Mix

2tbsp ground flax seeds

3/4C milk

1 large egg

1tbsp grapeseed oil

1/2tbsp vanilla extract

In a 10" medium-hot seasoned pan or crepe pan, pour in 1/4C pancake mix, spread around into a 9" thin crepe. Let it cook for 2 minutes and turn over, let cook for another 1-2minutes. Remove from pan and place onto a plate. Repeat until all the pancake mix is done.

Filling

Using a combination of mascarpone and whipping cream makes these crepes creamy and rich without making it feel heavy. This you can make a few hours ahead of your meal and refrigerated until you need to assemble your meal.

1C Mascarpone

1C Whipping cream

2Tbsp vanilla

2tsp fresh mint, finely chopped

Whip the cream until thick and light, fold into the mascarpone cheese, mint and vanilla. Set aside for assembly.

Topping
Berries are low glycemic fruits that are great for adding flavour and sweetness without sending your blood sugar through the roof. You can also use this compote to sweeten Irish or Scottish oatmeal while adding valuable antioxidants to your breakfast. This is another part of the meal you can make ahead of time and reheat just before serving.

1/2C Wild Blueberries, frozen or fresh

1/2C Raspberries, frozen or fresh

1/2C Rhubarb, frozen or fresh

3/4C water

2tbsp Prune puree*

pinch salt

Place all the ingredients into a small sauce pot and let simmer until the berries are warmed through and the liquid is thick.

Assembly

Place 1/4C or the mascarpone mixture in the centre of the crepe, fold in the sides of the crepe and spoon over the warm fruit compote. Serve warm garnish with fresh berries, sliced raw almonds and a few sprigs of mint on top.

 

Serves 4 people, 2 crepes per person. Serve with Prosecco and enjoy your special occasion!

*Prune Puree can be used when making any baked goods that you would like to add more natural vitamins and minerals. I've added this mixture to brownies, compotes, cakes, muffins and it can add a little raisin like flavour but mostly is undetectable. 

Prune Puree

1 package of prunes

1/2C apple juice 

Place in a food processor puree until smooth, place puree in a freezer container and use as needed.

(What I love about making crepes is that you can make a huge batch and freeze them. After letting the crepes cool, place a piece of parchment paper between each crepe and place them in a Ziploc freezer bag. They separate easy with the parchment paper between, defrost and easily warm up with a warm compote.)

Gluten Free workshop

I'm hosting a Gluten Free tasting workshop this Thursday April 14, 2011 7-8pm at Hands on Health Family Chiropractic.

Come and explore new foods you may not have known where available or never dared to try. Since the focus is on Gluten Free there will be: homemade baked goods, crackers, breads, alternative grains- raw and cooked all for you to try as I show you the benefits of a gluten free diet.

To register call the clinic (416) 237-0069 to reserve your spot! See you there!