It’s been a long time since I’ve posted something about DIY natural skincare. I used to tinker in my kitchen, mixing up concoctions using beeswax, cocoa butter, and other ingredients to create natural deodorants, lip balms, and dry shampoos.
It was a lot of fun but these days I don’t bother because now my go-to is this tallow salve.
I started putting tallow on my face when I learned that coconut oil was too drying. I needed something to solidify the castor oil and rosehips combo I was putting on my skin before bed and I learned that because tallow’s fatty acids are heat stable, it can moisturize while protecting the skin against free radical and sun damage. Saturated fats are less prone to oxidation, and therefore tallow with its CLA and stearic acid (plus the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K) can help protect the skin.
I have combination skin that’s prone to greasiness. I also have large pores that clog and I’m prone to milia, blackheads, and cystic acne. After using this mixture for about a month, my skin has never looked better.
I’m happy with how my skin looks– the acne that I’ve struggled with throughout my 20s and 30s has disappeared (even during that dreaded high-acne pre-period week). My skin tone is even and feels incredibly soft.
The mixture absorbs really well into skin leaving it non-greasy. I can put BB cream or makeup on right after, using this as a moisturizing base, especially during the dryer winter months in Canada.
Rosehips oil adds extra sun protection and vitamin C. Castor oil is highly emollient, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory and helps to relax and reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
In fact, the entire concoction is anti-inflammatory, moisturizing and pro-skin protection and repair. It doesn’t clog pores or feel greasy, and can reduce rashes, acne, uneven skin texture, and clogged pores.
Ingredients:
Grassfed tallow
Rosehips oil
Castor oil
Sesame seed oil
(all preferably organic)
Fill half of a glass container with melted grass-fed tallow. Then mix equal parts castor, sesame and rosehips oil. Stir until even. Refrigerate until the mixture is solid. Store at room temperature.
You can apply it twice a day or more to face, body, and the ends of the hair. You can also use it as a hair mask that you wash out later for deeper conditioning.
This salve is not to be used to treat any medical conditions. Talk to your doctor, dermatologist or healthcare provider to determine if this salve is good for your skin.
You know how you just want the recipe and yet you have to scroll through someone’s long story about their cat and their grandma and a blistery winter day?
Forget all that. I made this curry.
Here’s the recipe (you’re welcome 😜 ):
Ingredients:
1 can coconut milk (full fat, Arroy-D)
2 heads broccoli, chop off the florets into small pieces
2 large bell peppers, chopped into slices
1/2 jar of Thai Kitchen red curry paste (nice, clean, delicious, free of seed oils 👍 )
4 large chicken breasts
Salt, pepper, olive oil.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (you can also do all this in the air fryer). Add chopped chicken breast to a baking pan, add broccoli and peppers, drizzle with olive oil. Cook for 45 minutes (or until everything is cooked).
In a large stir-fry pan, add cooked vegetables and chicken, add red curry paste and coconut milk.
You can serve on rice, but you don’t have to.
Filling, rich in protein and veggies. Delicious, warming. I love Thai curries on snowy days.
When helping someone improve their daily nutrition, it helps to start with one meal at a time.
With my patients, I first tackle breakfast, the most important meal of the day for glucose control, which has major implications in mood and hormone regulation for the rest of the day.
Once that’s covered, we go after The Afternoon Snack.
You know the one I mean: it’s after lunch. You’re at the office. The clock is moving backwards. Your brain is barely functional.
You’re hungry… or are you? You’re tired. Kind of. Not physically tired, but…huh? What were we talking about just now?
There are Halloween candies in your desk—what month is it again? It was from last Halloween, right? Or the one before that?
How long is the Tim Horton’s line?
You think about making it through the last two hours of the work day, consider slogging over to the gym, feel a sinking feeling somewhere in your empty abdomen at the thought of your evening commute.
You wonder what the hey is going to end up on the table for dinner.
Take out, probably.
So, yes; once breakfast is sorted, this is the time of day I go after next.
Generally, I try not to recommend snacking.
Ideally our blood sugar is so on point that we have 3 big meals a day (or 2 for some people, maybe 4 for others), spaced out by about 5 to 6 hours, and then a nice, long nightly fast of about anywhere from 12 to 15 hours, or longer, depending on your body, goals, and so on.
That being said, there are few reasons some of us might need to snack:
Your blood sugar is off the rails and, while you have the goal of getting into a more stable 2 to 3 meals-a-day kind of routine, you need something to tide you over in the meantime while you heal.
Your adrenal glands are off the rails and, while you have the goal of sleeping soundly, and getting your cortisol up and moving at the right times (with the right breakfast), you need something to help keep things balanced in the meantime while you heal.
You’re sorting out your insulin and leptin, or other hormones involved in satiation.
You have a medication you need to take at this time that must be taken with food.
Your healing goals involve listening to your hunger signals. You are healing from emotional eating and learning to trust your body, which means that your meal times might not be predictable.
You don’t have time for a big lunch, or your lunchtime is too early for you to be hungry enough to eat a big meal (teacher’s often have this problem).
Your schedule fluctuates.
You’re swamped with the kind of work where all you can do is shove something portable into your mouth during an 8-hour shift or else you’ll pass out.
You have a hard workout right after work.
Your digestion doesn’t allow you to eat 2 to 3 big meals a day.
You’ve tried eating 2 to 3 big meals a day and, even though your hormones are seriously sorted, you find it just doesn’t work for you and your body.
You have dinner late: your partner gets home late and you want to share a meal with him/her, or you take a hip hop cardio, abstract drawing, or throat singing class at night, and then try to get some food into you afterwards.
You snack at night and are working on healing that pattern by trying to eat more during the day. Snacking helps with this.
You are on insulin or drugs for diabetes and need to eat whenever your blood sugar drops.
And so on.
When patients ask me what they should have for snacks, I enthusiastically exclaim, “a quarter cup of pumpkin seeds!”
My enthusiasm is rarely returned, even after I excitedly spell out the health benefits.
Sometimes, I think, people just want to be told which carrot muffin is the healthiest or which birthday-cake flavoured protein bar I recommend. However, while snacks can certainly be fun, I look at food primarily as fuel, especially if we’re going to heal our mood, stress signals, and hormones.
If your snack goals involve looking for an excuse to eat chocolate fudge snack protein bars with 1 g of sugar per serving (oh, just have an actual chocolate bar and get on with it!), then snacking might not be right for you.
Snacking is not:
An excuse for emotional eating: “Ugh, the boss is a dick—time for a scone!”
A response to riding the blood sugar rollercoaster: if you need a snack to stay stable we have some deeper healing to get into.
A response to not setting up good sugar control (i.e.: not liking breakfast, not feeling like eating what you brought for lunch, not feeling full from your protein-sparse lunch, etc. See above).
A reward for getting through the work day. “It’s 2 o’clock… I guess I can head over to the muffin tray now—I’ve earned it!”
An excuse for a break. If you’re not hungry, take a walk instead.
An excuse to eat something “not awesome” for you, unless it’s a once-in-a-while treat you’re really savouring.
So, that being said, what makes a good snack?
The anatomy of a good snack is as follows:
It consists of about 100-400 calories, depending on your goals for the snack (Workout fuel or brain fuel? How long does this snack need to last you? What is your body doing with the energy?), your energy requirements, your health goals, your health status. Most people’s snacks are around 250 calories.
Snacks should contain protein to keep blood sugar steady (aim for about 10-20 g of protein, depending on the size of the snack).
Snacks should contain healthy fats.
Snacks should be nutrient-dense, containing essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs to keep its enzymes and chemical reactions and hormones buzzing.
Most of all, however, snacks should feel good in your body, which means: you aren’t sensitive to them, they don’t suck more energy from you hours later, and they help balance your blood sugar. How do you know that this is what’s happening in your body? You feel good, strong and clear-headed after your snack. You don’t feel the need to snack at night, and you feel insatiable cravings diminish.
Here are some of my favourite snacks:
Pumpkin seeds. A great snack is just this: 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds, or pepitas, the green kind. These little babies have about 23g of protein per serving, zinc, magnesium, healthy fats, and tons of fibre. A great, low-carb, satiating snack.
Macadamia nuts: 10-20 macadamia nuts are delicious nuts consisting of the “good” fats, heart-healthy, anti-inflammatory monounsaturated fatty acids, or MUFAs, also found in olives and avocados that help lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL.
Date balls:Which can be combined with any form of dates/nut butters/chocolate/coconut/seeds and nuts. Just go easy on the dates. Teachers and those who work in nut-free environments can experiment with tahini, pumpkin seed, and sunflower seed butters.
Fat bombs: Using a combination of coconut oil, avocado, cocoa butter and stevia, blend ingredients and then freeze in muffin tins. Add some protein powder, nuts and/or seeds to them to round out the macronutrients.
Hummus and veggies: Make your own hummus to avoid the canola, corn and soy oil that is often snuck into store-bought versions. I love this fuchsia beet hummus recipe.
Smoothies: Always a great go-to. Remember: the perfect smoothie combines a) a leafy green b) a scoop of protein powder c) a healthy fat, like coconut oil or avocado, and d) something for sweetness like berries, a banana, or stevia.
Yogurt parfait: I often mix some coconut milk yogurt, pumpkin seeds, cacao nibs, a few drops of liquid stevia, and gelatin together for breakfast. It also makes a yummy snack.
Chocolate avocado pudding: One of my go-tos for snacking. Mash one avocado with 2 tbs cocoa powder. Add in some protein powder and liquid stevia drops.
Homemade Jello:Get your collagen a-building. You can take any liquid, creamy or clear, warm it up in a saucepan until steaming, add gelatin (1 tbs per cup of liquid), and let it cool down to room temperature, then cool further in the fridge overnight. Try putting it into gummy bear molds, or experimenting with gelling up golden milk, or teas. The possibilities are endless if you’re a jello fan.
Sardines: The kind in the can soaked in olive oil, or water (avoid the canola oil or soya oil versions, please). Your brain will love the omega 3 fatty acid hit.
Leftovers! I often tell my patients to bring a big meal with them to work: a salad with protein and avocado, or a cabbage “rice” pad thai with chicken thighs, or a paleo chilli with kale and spinach packed into it and curry spices. Eat one half for your early lunch and the other half at 3pm.
What about a piece of fruit?
Fruit on its own, while a portable snack, is often a disaster for blood-sugar regulation. To keep it more satiating, add some nut butter to it, or throw it into a yogurt parfait or smoothie. Alternatively, add some dried fruit to your pumpkin seed, macadamia and almond trail mix for sweetness.
Remember: the goal of snacking is to balance blood sugar.
Through good blood sugar balance, we have better stress hormone responses, healthier weights, better hormone balance, clearer focus, and brighter mental health.
I often recommend smoothies as an easy way to manage mental health symptoms, balance blood sugar, reduce inflammation and increase energy. I discuss the types of foods I put into my morning smoothie and their benefits on the body and mind.
Hello, everyone. My name is Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, I’m a naturopathic doctor with a special focus in mental health and emotional wellness and today I’m going to talk to you about how to make one of my favourite breakfasts to recommend patients: the morning smoothie. I always recommend smoothies in the mornings because it’s a great way to take care of a lot of your daily recommended nutrients in terms of protein, vegetable, anti-oxidant-rich berries and a healthy source of fat.
I always recommend somewhere between 20-30 grams of protein in the morning for people with depression and anxiety as well as digestive issues, hormonal imbalances, anything like fatigue or chronic stress because when we wake up in the morning we’ve been fasting for at least 8 hours. Sometimes in healthier cases, it’s actually better to fast for 12 hours and so throughout the night our blood sugar hasn’t been stimulated, we haven’t been increasing our blood sugar throughout the night and so, when we start our morning with something like, in North America, like we usually start, with a piece of toast or some sugar-rich cereal, our blood sugar goes from the lowest point, since we’ve been fasting for so long, and spikes. And then around 10 am, a couple hours after we’ve had our breakfast, our blood sugar will drop again, causing symptoms of hypoglycemia, which can worsen stress, it can trigger cortisol release and cause fatigue, worsening of anxiety and depression. And then throughout the day our blood sugar’s going to go up and down as we start to crave sugar again and it’s more likely to throw us off our balanced state that we want to be in.
So I start by recommending 20-30 g of protein to my patients in the morning and they often ask me what they can eat. And I’ll recommend something like leftovers from the night before, like a chicken breast has about 30 g of protein. Other patients ask “can I eat eggs?” And eggs are wonderful to eat but in order to get 30 g of protein you need to eat about 5 or 6 eggs, which is not typical. We usually eat 1 or 2. Although eggs is a great addition. You can throw eggs into your smoothie as well.
It’s also important to get a nice source of fat in your smoothie. So this is something that we often leave out, we don’t put sources into smoothies and so I recommend something like ground flaxseed or coconut oil, olive oil if you have that lying around, avocado, you can even through your fish oil in, if you’re that kind of person.
And I always throw in a leafy green, which you can’t taste. A cup of something like spinach or kale is a source of leafy greens. It’s full of fat-soluble vitamins as well as things that help us detoxify the estrogens from our body and keep our hormones balanced. This is something I always recommend for women with irregular periods or heavy periods, or things like PCOS, Polycystic ovarian syndrome, endometriosis, infertility. Anything that causes estrogen to go off and if you’ve read some of my articles you know that a lot of us suffer from estrogen-dominance. This is just more estrogen than progesterone in the female body. Even men can suffer from this and that’s because we’re just exposed to so many things, so many toxins in our environment that are activating estrogen receptors. So by eating leafy greens, we allow our bodies to detoxify a lot of those xeno-estrogens, those toxic estrogens in our environment.
So all you need is a blender. I like to throw in some baby spinach, pre-washed. I just eye it and throw in a couple of handfuls. That amount. Just a couple servings of spinach. The nice thing about things like spinach is it blends really well. You don’t taste it and depending on how much other ingredients you throw in, your smoothie might not even be green, so you can also fool your kids by throwing some spinach in their smoothies.
I always throw in some frozen berries. You can put in blueberries or a berry medley. I get it from No Frills for about $11 for a bag. Frozen’s nice because your smoothie gets icey. It might not be the best for winter but the days are still warm our digestive fire is still strong enough to be able to digest things that are cold.
Today the fat I’m going to add is coconut oil. Coconut oil is a saturated fat, but it contains medium-chain triglycerides, which our body doesn’t need to convert into sugar to be used as energy so we can just use them right away as an energy source. It’s great for the skin and it’s great for gut-healing because of its anti-fungal properties. It’s also really good for balancing blood sugar and boosting our metabolism. 2 tablespoons, I put in.
Fats are great medicinal foods. You can throw in a couple tablespoons of olive oil if you have cholesterol issues, blood sugar issues. The right kinds of fats are very anti-inflammatory and we know that inflammation is implicated in things like digestive issues, depression and anxiety, stress and so, by making sure we’re getting the right balance of fats in our diet, you can start in your morning smoothie, by setting your fat balance on the right track, be able to balance inflammation and feel really good throughout the day.
This smoothie will also keep you full really long, well into the afternoon because of the source of fats in it. I like to throw in things like eggs as well, just raw eggs. It’s difficult for me to really recommend it universally to all my patients because there is, of course, the risk of salmonella in raw eggs. So, at your own risk you can try it out, but I find it really makes it taste nice and rich as well as give us a good source of cholesterol. And cholesterol’s a good thing, because we need cholesterol to make hormones. Especially in depression and anxiety. You don’t want to be sacrificing cholesterol or taking—of course this depends on your health history—but there’s a risk of depression in people who are taking statin drugs, cholesterol-lowering drugs that are lowing our cholesterol in the body because how are we making our hormones if we don’t have enough cholesterol.
You can also throw in something like an avocado, it makes it nice and thick and rich or some peanut butter or almond butter, or nut butter. I’m also going to throw in some ground flaxseed.
Flax has two really great medicinal benefits. I use it for hormone-balancing in a lot of my patients with things like period irregularities or amenorrhea, this is not getting your period, infertility. So what flax does is it activates estrogen receptors. But it activates them weakly so if you’ve too much estrogen, the flax competes for the estrogen by binding to receptors preventing those hyper-estrogenic effects and if you don’t have enough estrogen, so in the case of post-menopause or ovarian failure, flax binds to estrogen receptors and causes the estrogen effects that we really want, like libido and energy and the expression of female sex characteristics. It can also clear skin and it’s great for acne, it’s great for regulating periods. It’s great for balancing heavy periods, bringing periods back and making them more regular.
Flax is also great for constipation because it’s a good source of fibre and you need to grind the flax, it needs to be milled. And this is because our body can’t break down whole flaxseeds. So you might have seen breads or crackers where there’s whole flaxseeds and they advertise flax on the package, well it really doesn’t so us any good. It just passes right through the body. It’s not adding those fibres or medicinal fats.
Finally, this is a protein powder that I just got from Bulk Barn. I find that Bulk Barn is the cheapest in terms of protein powders. I use a vegan protein powder. So this is great is you’re vegan or vegetarian. Whey is the best absorbed protein, but personally I have a food sensitivity to whey, caseine and other dairy products, so I go with vegan protein, which is a mix of pea protein, hemp protein and rice protein. But you can also use whey. If you’re sensitive to dairy and not sure if you’re sensitive to whey, always go with a whey isolate, because whey isolate doesn’t contain caseine, which is the protein in milk that most people react to. So it’s just pure whey.
In my protein powder, I also mix gelatin. So gelatin is just a crystalized powder. I put in one scoop of protein powder for 30 grams of protein. So gelatin comes from the hooves of animals. It’s rich in collagen and it can actually increase the amount of collagen in the body. It’s an incomplete protein, so it has a lot of an amino acid called glycine, which most of us are deficient in because we don’t get a lot of glycine from the meat of animals. It’s actually located in the collagen. Glycine’s a really calming neurotransmitter. We use it to bind minerals, so if you’re my patient you might have been prescribed magnesium glycinate, which is an easier absorbed form of magnesium, also a source of glycine, to help calm the body. It activates those suppressive neurotransmitters, the GABA pathways in the brain so it’s great for calming anxiety and great for preparing us for sleep. But it doesn’t make you tired for the rest of the day. What’s great about getting a source of collagen is that it can help with gut healing. It can help with the integrity of the gut in leaky gut situations and it’s great for the skin and hair because we know our skin is made of collagen as well as our joints. So, if you have acne, acne scars, if you’re suffering from premature aging or sun damage, a couple tablespoons of gelatin or collagen hydrosylate is a great thing that you can do every morning.
So I’m just going to add in, as your liquid source you can add in something like water, I usually just use water or almond milk. I’m going to use coconut milk today because it’s delicious. I’m going to mix a little bit of coconut milk with water. Just tap water. I’m going to add some tap water. So how much water you add depends on how thick you want your smoothie and the quality of your blender. I filled it up to about 500 ml. I like to eat a lot in the mornings.
Put it into your blender. So this is my smoothie pre. And then you just pour your smoothie in a glass. Mine’s kind of on the watery side. It turns out purple, not green at all, so you can still fool the kids. If you want to make it sweeter, you can add in half a banana, or even some maple syrup. But it tastes pretty good. It tastes like berries.
So this is great because liquid is obviously, it’s pre-chewed, so it’s easier for our body to absorb the nutrients, which is nice in the morning, especially for people who aren’t really into breakfast. It’s also really portable you can put it in a mason jar or a glass container and take it to work. You can drink it half before leaving for work and half while in your in the car or commute or on the subway. A lot of your nutrition for the day is taken care of. So, even if you, have not-an-ideal lunch or dinner you’ve gotten a great source of highly-absorbable protein, you’ve gotten some gut-healing in in the form of gelatin. You’ve gotten some healthy fats and a serving of leafy greens and anti-oxidant-rich berries. So, you’re on your way for a healthy day.
The key to having healthy, delicious meals on the go is organization. I explain how I overcome a busy schedule by doing a focused grocery-shop, heating up the oven and batch-cooking seven or more whole-food, healthy meals in under three hours.
You know the feeling: you’re finishing up a long day of work, your blood sugar levels are dropping, and you’re wondering what you’re going to eat once you get home. When you assess the situation, you realize that you’re coming home to a fridge that’s empty, and your Julia Childsesque inspiration levels are at an all-time low. You decide on frozen pizza (freezer burnt and sad), and a half-eaten jar of pickles.
My patients sometimes tell me that they don’t have time to cook and so they end up microwaving a Lean Cuisine or throwing limp fish sticks into the oven once they’ve dragged themselves through the front door. I find this interesting because I know that I can stick some chicken breast, squash and broccoli in the oven and have it ready quicker than you can say “leaky gut”. I believe, though, that the secret to success is preparation, mindset, a little bit of organization and nutritional know-how.
I frequently get caught in the “what-am-I-going-to-eat” spiral but, with a fridge stocked with foods that are already cooked and can last for days, I usually end up eating something that’s pretty good for me. Here’s what I do on a weekend, or weeknight when I have a little more wiggle-room in terms of time: batch-cook. With the right prep you can throw together an endless combination of meals with minimal waste that requires very little prep and assembly the day of. What’s more, all of these meals are grain-free and nutrient-rich to keep hormones stable, energy sustained and mood high.
Step 1:Grocery shopping. On the way home from my clinic, I whip out my portable grocery bag and make a quick stop at the grocery store, or meat store and fruit and vegetable markets. When grocery-shopping I’m in and out in record time, and this is because I forgo straining to read complicated labels, or getting lost in heavily-processed middle aisles, and just stick to the peripheries: fruits and vegetables, deli, meat, fish, freezer. 95% of grocery-shopping should be about stocking up on perishables like proteins, veggies and fruits. I buy:
2-3 bags of pre-cut coleslaw, chopped kale, baby spinach and boxes of baby arugula from the pre-washed salad section
fennel, zucchini, broccoli, eggplant, tomatoes from the vegetable section
a bag of apples and avocado from the fruit section
goat cheese and natural sliced turkey breast from the deli section
chicken breast or chicken thighs, ground beef, steak and/or fish from the meat and fish section
eggs from the dairy fridge
frozen blueberries from the freezer
At home, in my cupboards, I know I already have things like: coconut milk, curry spices, salt, pepper, tomato salsa, tomato paste, frozen shrimp (in the freezer), chicken broth, and things like gelatin, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, vinegar, oils, etc. I also have onions, garlic and lemon in the fridge. If I didn’t have those, I would have picked them up too.
Step 2: Get cooking. When I get home I toss the heavy bag on the counter, wash my hands, grab the chopping board and knives out of the drawer and get to work. I throw on a favourite podcast (try Invisibilia, The Jordan Peterson Podcast, The Mental Illness Happy Hour, Shrink Rap Radio, Chris Kresser, or Found My Fitness—I welcome your suggestions for future batch-cooking sessions) and begin the batch-cooking.
I chop up the broccoli, eggplant and tomatoes. Setting the oven to 400 degrees, I drizzle coconut oil over the broccoli with some salt and pepper and get it browning in the oven. Next I line a baking sheet with tomatoes and eggplants and some sliced zucchini, add a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and spices and bake those (when they’re cooked, I’ll add some flaxseeds to give them a breaded-kind of taste with none of the refined carbs and all the hormone-regulating fibre and healthy fats).
I drizzle the chicken breast with lemon and spread tomato salsa on top. Done. When the vegetables are finished I’ll cook it at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Then I’ll slice the chicken up to throw on salads or to warm up and have with vegetables.
I start browning the beef with onions, garlic and grass-fed butter. Once beef is browned, I add the shredded cabbage from the bags of coleslaw I bought, and possibly some of the shredded kale. I add coconut milk and curry spices and a little bit of chicken broth, salt and pepper. Thai-style paleo stir-fry done!
I get out a big container and chop up fennel. I mix that up with arugula and store it in the fridge. I’ll add some chicken breast, chopped apple, pumpkin seeds and goat cheese to this tomorrow for a delicious, protein-rich salad lunch. I make dressing out of lemon, tahini, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and store that in a little jar in the fridge, so that I can throw it on the salad in the morning. I can also add cut-up sliced turkey breast to this if I run out of chicken.
I pre-spiralize some left-over zucchini with my vegetable spiralizer and store the noodles in the fridge. I make pasta sauce by adding Italian spices and olive oil to diced tomatoes or tomato paste. All I need to do for a low-carb pasta is add the sauce and some shrimp to the noodles and lightly cook until the noodles are soft. Voila: zucchini-noodle shrimp pasta. Also, a major delight of mine are Miracle Noodles, zero-calorie noodles made of glucomannan prebiotic fibre. All you have to do is rinse them. They’re super filling and taste just like rice noodles.
I cook kale, goat cheese and tomatoes together. I add the mixture to muffin tins and add eggs (I add all 12 eggs to make 12 frittatas). When the oven’s free, I cooked everything at 350 degrees until the eggs are cooked through (about 20 minutes). Sometimes I cut up the sliced turkey breast to add or I use it to “line” the muffin cups, for added protein. I let the frittatas cool and then store them in an air-tight container in the fridge.
When the time comes, right before I’m ready to eat, I’ll cook the steak or fish on the stove. Steak takes me about 3-4 minutes to cook it, tops. I just brown eat side for 2-3 minutes and add salt and pepper. Salmon takes no time at all; I might bake it for 15 minutes or sauté it after pre-marinating it with some lemon, butter and dill, or Sriracha hot sauce, garlic, tamari sauce and dash of maple syrup.
I mash up the avocados with cocoa powder, some coconut oil, gelatin, protein powder and a bit of liquid stevia to make avocado pudding. I also save some avocados to eat with meals, add to salads, and mix into smoothies, or sprinkle with salt for a healthy-fat snack.
That’s it! I pack everything up in containers and store in the fridge. All I need to do when I get hungry is spoon out portions, warm and eat. I can also opt for freezing some things if I don’t think I’ll get to them in the next few days.
The verdict: 7+ meals prepared in the time it took me to listen to 1-2 podcast episodes. Here’s what I eat for the next few days:
Breakfasts:
Mini frittatas with kale, goat cheese and tomatoes. I grab 2-3 on my way out the door.
Smoothies: with baby spinach, frozen blueberries, coconut oil, protein powder (already had some), gelatin, water. I throw these in a blender and enjoy.
Avocado pudding
Lunch/Dinner:
Arugula salad with cut up chicken breast, pumpkin seeds, goat cheese, fennel, apple and lemon tahini dressing
Chicken breast and roasted vegetables and/or roasted broccoli
Salmon or steak with broccoli, roasted vegetables, or salad
Cooked eggs with avocado and some arugula salad
Cabbage and ground beef coconut curry (I can add zucchini noodles or Miracle Noodles to this)
Zucchini noodle shrimp pasta with tomato. I can also forgo the shrimp and serve with steak, salmon or chicken breast.
Snacks:
I’ll eat a handful of pumpkin seeds, apples and peanut butter, mini frittatas, turkey breast slices or avocado pudding. I’m usually not much of a snacker, though.
As a naturopathic doctor, one of the first things I recommend to my patients is a breakfast overhaul. Adding healthy fats, protein and vegetables to the first morning meal can change your hormonal signalling and improve your energy and mood.
When it comes to writing my patients prescriptions for pills, even natural ones, I tend to be a minimalist. This means I try to limit my supplement recommendations. Depending on my patients’ concerns, I prefer to work with their diets and lifestyles, making useful tweaks and suggestions to their daily routines. I find my patients appreciate this and often stick to these mini changes in the long-term, which means that a) these changes are easy and sustainable and b) they work! When I begin to work with a new patient for the first time, some of the first recommendations I make is that they begin to rethink the way they do breakfast.
The Standard America Diet may be SAD in many ways, but the main meal that brings a tear to my eye is our affectionately termed “most important meal of the day”—breakfast, when we break our nightly fasts and engage in the consumption of low-nutrient, high-carb atrocities like breakfast cereals, muffins (aka mini cakes) and instant oatmeals packed full of sugar.
If the meals we eat in a day could be viewed as a series of performances, then breakfast would be the opening act. It sets the stage for our blood sugar and hormone-regulation for the rest of the day. When we begin our days with simple carbohydrates (the composition of the above-mentioned breakfast foods), we strap ourselves in for a blood-sugar roller coaster ride that throws off the signalling of all the other hormones in the body, taxing our adrenal glands, our sex hormones, our mood and mental health and even setting the stage for weight gain and chronic inflammation.
I tend to believe that some people do genuinely do well without breakfast. There is some research that suggests that fasting for a portion of the day (at least 12 hours a day) can regulate blood sugar and insulin levels and help us manage our weight and day-time energy levels. It can even help us sleep more deeply. However, for those of us who are hungry in the morning (or a few hours after), there is evidence that getting a complete meal into our bodies within the first hour of waking can start the circadian clocks present in our livers and digestive organs, priming us for a day of abundant energy, good digestion, and an efficient metabolism. In fact, the research on intermittent fasting seems to indicate that skipping dinner, rather than breakfast, might be more beneficial, as our bodies are more insulin-sensitive in the morning and therefore more able to use food for fuel, rather than storing it as fat, at that time of the day.
When we first wake up, our cortisol levels should be at their highest. Cortisol is a stress hormone, yes, but also responsible for giving us feelings of wakefulness and alertness. Eating, especially on a consistent schedule, can help boost cortisol levels, thereby boosting early-morning energy levels. Additionally, like the brain, the liver possess its own circadian rhythms. It punches in its time clock for work once we eat our first bite of food or take our first sip of a non-water beverage, allowing us to digest, detoxify, and process certain hormones in the body.
When it comes to the first meal of the day, there are two basic Breakfast Laws I live by:
The first is to get adequate protein. For most people this means eating at LEAST 20, but preferably 30, grams of protein (about the amount in one decent-sized portion of chicken or beef) in the morning. Protein is the building block of the body: it constructs our neurotransmitters, enzymes and the structure of our cells. When we get adequate amounts at meal-times, it keeps blood sugar stable, which balances mood and energy. Those of us who experience the energy tank around 3pm and crave sweets or require caffeine to get through the rest of the day, often notice that our energy remains stable throughout the day when we eat a high-protein breakfast. However, getting 30 grams of protein in the morning means rethinking what a traditional breakfast looks like: one egg only contains about 5 to 7 grams of protein, depending on size. One cup of oatmeal has only 6. Therefore, I suggest my patients concentrate on adding animal products, such as meats, yogurt and eggs, or vegetarian protein sources like tofu, legumes, peanut butter, and protein powder, to their first meal, or to mix different protein sources (such as turkey and eggs) to get their protein levels up to that 20 to 30-gram range.
The second Breakfast Law is to include healthy fats. Breakfast is a meal, arguably the day’s most important, as that’s when our digestive system is working optimally, our insulin receptors are at their most sensitive, and our metabolism is the most revved. Since a balanced meal contains all of the macronutrients, it’s important not to skip fat in the morning. Fat satiates us and keeps blood sugar stable. It nourishes our brain, cell membranes and forms the backbone of our hormones. Ensuring that we include healthy fats like avocado, olive oil, fish oil, nuts, seeds, grass-fed butter, and coconut, keeps us feeling full and energized well into the afternoon, while giving us a boost to our metabolic rate and improving our fat-burning potential. I tend to recommend coconut oil at this time of day, as the medium-chain triglycerides in coconut oil bypass the digestive system and are used as immediate energy, giving us a much-needed morning boost.
Since the patients I work with are often busy individuals with demanding lives who struggle with chronic stress, hormonal imbalances, mental health concerns and digestive issues, I often suggest beginning the day with a ketogenic breakfast. This means having a breakfast that is high in healthy fats, has a decent amount of protein and micronutrients, from leafy greens or other vegetables, and is low in carbohydrates. By avoiding high levels of carbohydrates early in the morning we harness our body’s fast-burning capacity and regulate our blood sugar and insulin levels. This, in turn, balances our other hormones, such as neurotransmitters, stress hormones and sex hormones. It also keeps inflammation levels low. Eating a high-fat, low-carb breakfast encourages the body to make ketone bodies for energy, which have been shown to promote mental alertness and to balance mood. Patients who take on a ketogenic breakfast for a month often report life-changing effects: more energy throughout the day (avoiding that 3pm crash), brighter mood and mental clarity, less sugar cravings, and greater feelings of satiety that bridge them all the way to lunch-time.
Finally, I often recommend getting a serving of micronutrient-dense leafy greens into the morning meal. We North Americans tend to skimp on our vegetables, especially the majorly health-promoting green leafy ones. Getting one or two servings of vegetables out of the way early on in the day is a great way to boost our vegetable intake.
Here are some healthy and easy-to-throw-together alternatives to that greasy breakfast sandwich lying under a warming lamp in your company’s cafeteria. I swear you’ll never look back:
1. Any variation on the home-made omelette/scrambled eggs/breakfast sandwiches. Grab a bunch of your favourite vegetables, leafy greens preferred, and cook them down in a pan. Add scrambled eggs, a few slices of natural turkey breast, leftover steak, salmon, natural sausages, or tofu (if you’re a vegetarian). Play around with different ingredients like olives, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted zucchini and squash, goat cheese, avocado, arugula, etc. If you need some carbs, serve on gluten-free or sourdough bread, or roll up ingredients into the egg.
2. Mini frittatas. Similar to the omelette idea above, mini frittatas are a pre-prepared version for those of us who have limited time in the morning. You can make these out of virtually anything: ground turkey, kale and goat cheese; sun-dried tomatoes, basil, oregano, olives and arugula; avocado, ham, cheddar and broccoli; thai curry paste, coconut milk and cauliflower; even zucchini, spinach, flaxseed and cocoa powder. Cook up your ingredients sans eggs, then throw everything into a blender (add enough so that you can get your 20 to 30 protein grams from one to three frittatas), ground flaxseed and gelatin (for gut-healing and added protein). Pour into muffin cups and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until eggs are cooked through. Freeze them or store them in the fridge, then grab some on your way out the door to warm up at the office.
3. Smoothies. Smoothies are one of my favourite ways to do breakfast, simply because blending everything together gives you the opportunity to pack a bunch of nutrient-rich foods into one easily digestible, portable place. They tend to taste great too, depending on how you do them.
My three general rules of thumb for creating smoothies is to add: 1) Leafy greens: kale, spinach, chard, etc. 2) Protein: usually in the form of protein powder. I like Vega and Sun Warrior, as vegan sources, but whey isolate also works, if you’re ok with dairy. Pick a protein powder that has no added sugar and at least 20 g of protein per scoop. 3) Fat: half an avocado, or a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil, ground flax or nut butters, etc. After following the three rules, feel free to doctor the smoothie up for variety: add berries, banana or honey to make it sweet and palatable; gelatin/collagen, guar gum or chicory root for gut-healing; cocoa powder to make it chocolate-y (who doesn’t want that); or lemon, spirulina or cilantro to boost your body’s detoxifying prowess in the morning. The possibilities are endless.
My go-to smoothie consists of spinach, frozen blueberries, flaxseed, avocado, coconut oil, water and protein powder. I blend those ingredients up and drink them on the go, or I add nuts and granola on top of a thicker blend and eat it with a spoon as a smoothie bowl. I’m usually full until 1-2 pm.
When my patients protest that their morning routine doesn’t allott them sufficient smoothie-prep time, I suggest they add the unblended ingredients to their blender the night before, storing everything in the fridge. In the morning, all they have to do is hobble over to the “blend” button, throw a lid on everything and fling the entire concoction into their lunch bags. Easy peasy.
4. Yogurt bowls. For those who “do dairy”, one cup of greek yogurt has about 25 grams of protein. I tell my patients to get the highest-fat kind they can find (grocery stores mainly carry up to 2%, whereas natural food stores carry higher fat-content brands). This is because 0% fat yogurt is just bad news; skim milk was used to fatten up pigs in the early 20th century by making them hungrier—it was a well-known trick amongst pig farmers that, for whatever reason, never seemed to become common knowledge for humans. I also encourage my patients to opt for unflavoured, unsweetened yogurt to avoid unnecessary sugar and chemicals. Kefir, or fermented milk, contains multiple strains of gut-loving bacteria and is an effective probiotic, so I often recommend that to patients whose guts needs some love.
To the yogurt, add a combination of chia, flaxseeds, nuts, gelatin, coconut oil, cinnamon and berries. You can store everything in a jar in the fridge overnight (or make a big batch) and grab and go on your way to work. For those who are dairy sensitive or lactose intolerant, coconut yogurt is a delicious alternative. It is protein-sparse, however, so getting protein from other sources, or adding a scoop of protein powder or a few tablespoons of gelatin, is needed to round out the macronutrients.
5. Fat bowls: When I’m in the mood for tons of fats, I make a fatty Paleo “granola” out of various nut and seed butters: tahini, peanut butter (the natural kind where the oil rises to the top) and/or almond butter. I add coconut oil, coconut flakes, ground up nuts (walnuts, almonds, brazil nuts, cashews) and flaxseeds. Then I add cocoa powder and a few drops of liquid stevia and a pinch of sea salt. The whole thing is delicious; like a kind of crunchy, healthier Nutella. You can add one to a half scoop of protein powder or gelatin to boost the protein content. Another fat bowl idea is avocado pudding: add one whole avocado, chocolate protein powder, cocoa powder and some liquid stevia together, and mash everything up by hand or blend in a blender.
6. Ketogenic, low-carb pancakes. Blend 3 eggs, 2 tbs of almond butter, 2 tbs of flaxseed, gelatin, a dash of vanilla extract and sea salt to make the batter, then cook like regular pancakes. You can also make these thin by adding a bit more liquid (water, nut milks, coconut milk), and use them as breakfast wraps, wrapping up things like avocado, goat cheese and arugula with them.
7. Leftovers. Most of the time I have non-breakfast food for breakfast. As I’m personally really into the efficiency of batch-cooking, I always have a few servings of protein (chicken, beef or fish) and ready-cooked vegetables in my fridge. I might also have a pot of curry, a stir-fry, paleo chilli or soup in the fridge as well. Many cultures enjoy savoury and spicy foods for breakfast and there’s no reason that leftover curried vegetables and chicken breast don’t make an awesome first meal of the day.
As a student of naturopathic medicine, I didn’t quite get herbs. They were natural, sure, but why would I prescribe them in lieu of homeopathy, dietary changes or nutritional supplements? I didn’t get it.
I liked herbs; I understood the idea of synergy—the fact that the effect of the entire plant is greater than the sum of its parts. Also, I knew that plants often have superior effects to some drugs in that they often contain active ingredients that balance the side effects otherwise caused by most pharmaceutical medications. For example, anti-inflammatory herbs like turmeric and licorice root also support and strengthen the immune system, rather than suppress it, as most anti-inflammatory drugs tend to do. For most drugs that lower inflammation, a common side effect is severe immune deficiency. This is not the case for herbs that lower inflammation, which actually benefit the immune system. So, I knew herbs were cool.
I also liked the idea that each tincture was individually created for the totality of symptoms a patient presented with. Creating a specific medicine for each individual seemed to fit with the idea of singularity in medicine, which I resonated with. However, for a long time I didn’t get herbs. And I’ve often been reluctant to prescribe herbs in my practice.
First of all, I don’t have my own dispensary so sending patients off to buy tinctures created a kind of disconnection from the source of my prescriptions. Secondly, as many of you who have tried it can contest, tinctures (or herbs extracted in alcohol) taste terrible and make compliance hard, even for myself. Thirdly, tinctures are quite expensive. Each 50 ml of tincture can cost upwards of $5 making a month’s supply of herbs quite costly. This is funny because many of the herbs that are so costly to buy grow like weeds in southern Ontario (dandelion, for example, is often considered a weed) and tinctures aren’t that difficult to make. Fourthly, I didn’t like to prescribe tinctures because, as I understood it, people would only feel better while actively taking the herb. In my mind, the herb worked like a drug in that once you stopped taking it, the positive effects would diminish. This differed from my understanding of homeopathy, which stimulates the body to heal itself, correcting nutritional deficiencies or looking for and treating the root cause of symptoms. I doubted whether the way we were taught to prescribe herbs did in fact treat the root cause. This is important because the guiding principles of naturopathic medicine dictate that we aim to do this whenever possible.
I had no doubt, however, that herbs were effective. Taking a tincture seemed to be far more effective for me and the patients I treat than taking supplements. Herbs are nutritional—they are a food and a medicine and therefore contain a myriad of health benefits beyond treating what they are prescribed to treat.
It wasn’t until I read author and herbalist Matthew Wood’s works on herbalism that I began to internalize the idea that herbs do in fact stimulate the body to heal itself. Plants contain an inherent wisdom, according to Wood and his studies in western and Native American herbalism. Plants eradicate disease by stimulating the healing powers of the body and strengthening the body’s capacity to heal itself from disease. The body is constantly trying to heal itself from ailments and, when these processes become blocked for one reason or another, disease symptoms begin to manifest. Herbs can strengthen the body’s healing processes, when prescribed in a certain way, and large doses for long courses of time are not necessary. Further, once the disease is eradicated, the herbs can be stopped. When prescribed as a healing catalyst, disease doesn’t return once the herbal prescriptions have done their work.
Wood writes, “It should be understood that herbs can be used either way: to stimulate the self-healing powers of the organism to return to health, or to artificially manipulate the organism to fit an artificial goal.” He uses the examples of goldenseal, which at high doses can kill bacteria or viruses that have invaded the body and in smaller doses can increase the mucosa and digestive systems of the body to rid itself of the invaders and, in turn, strengthen the body against future invasions.
In regards to the cost of herbal tinctures, there are relatively simple ways to get the effects of herbs by making your own tinctures.
Read on to support liver detox, hormonal health and cardiovascular health by creating your own rosemary tincture using dried rosemary, one of my favourite herbs of the moment, and a bottle of white wine:
Rosmarinus officinalis, is the latin name for rosemary, a member of the mint family. While better known for its ability to perfectly complement roast chicken, it has a number of health benefits. Rosemary’s energetic actions are stimulating and warming, according to Matthew Wood. It clears up phlegm and dampness, stagnation and sluggishness in the tissues.
Rosemary has the ability to boost metabolism and increase the absorption of sugars and fats, which make it an appropriate nutritional supplement for people with diabetes. It can help drive glucose into the cells, diminishing the need for the body to release large amounts of insulin, re-sensitizing cells to insulin and lowering blood sugar. It can help nourish the entire body and has a special affinity for the heart, lungs, spleen, liver and kidneys.
Rosemary is currently often used to detoxify toxic, exogenous estrogens from the body while promoting the conversion of health-promoting estrogens in the liver. It is a powerful stimulator of liver detoxification. It therefore serves as a cheap and useful remedy for seasonal, full-body detoxes or coming off oral contraceptive or synthetic hormones, such as the fertility drugs given before IVF treatments. It is also useful for promoting circulation and lymphatic drainage, moving sluggishness and excess weight and creating warmth and vitality in the body’s circulatory systems.
Herbalists use rosemary tincture or oil applied topically to the head and neck to treat migraines from tense shoulder and neck muscles. Its scent is aromatic and stimulating and can improve memory and cognition. It is an effective remedy for mental-emotional depression when taken internally, especially where patients feel damp, sluggish, lack motivation and experience feelings of mental dullness.
As a digestive aid, rosemary can help relieve abdominal bloating and flatulence. It also helps stimulates appetite. It helps burn up phlegm in the stomach and can aid in weight loss.
In addition, rosemary contains antimicrobial properties, meaning it can be used to kill bacterial and viral infections, especially when taken at the beginning of a cold.
It is a powerful heart tonic, especially where there is edema and circulatory stagnation, such as early signs of congestive heart failure. It also can help with arthritic pains and joint stiffness when applied topically to joints or taken internally as an anti-inflammatory.
In Matthew Wood’s book, The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism, he recommends creating a rosemary infusion (infuse fresh leaves and flowers in a pot of boiled water and keep covered) or a tincture using white wine as the alcohol base.
A few days into taking this tincture (mixed with a little water to dilute the strong taste), I’ve noticed my skin clear, my digestion improve, my stomach flatten (I no longer have any bloating and I’ve been experimenting with eating wheat again for the first time in years), and my energy increase. My symptoms of PMS this month subsided before my period even came. I had a canker sore in my mouth that immediately went away once I started taking rosemary wine. I’ll certainly be adding this cheap and effective DIY remedy to my self-care and general health-promoting regime.
Here’s how to make your own.
Rosemary Wine:
Ingredients:
1 handful (approximately 250 ml) of rosemary leaves, dried, cut up as small as possible (you can use a packet of rosemary spice from the grocery store). Extra points for organic.
1 bottle (750 ml) of white wine (Wood recommends a good quality wine, I used a cheap homemade one I was given as a gift).
1 empty glass bottle/jar
Directions:
Put rosemary in the empty glass jar. Pour entire 750 ml bottle of white wine over rosemary and let stand in a cool, dry place for 2-3 days. Then strain out the herbs and store the liquid tincture in a cool, dry, dark place, like a cupboard.
Talk to your naturopathic doctor about appropriate dosing, though most botanical prescriptions involve 1 tsp of tincture 2-3 times a day away from food. This will vary according to your health challenges and health goals, among many other factors.*
Reference:
Wood, Matthew. 2004. The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism: Basic doctrine, energetics and classification. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books.
*This article is not to be confused with medical advice from a licensed naturopathic doctor. If you suffer from one of the above-mentioned conditions and believe rosemary might help, please book an appointment to receive an appropriate assessment.
This winter has been particularly harsh for chapped lips and itchy dry skin. I’ve been tempted more than a few times to buy red clover salve, a skin treatment made with Trifolium pratense, a skin-soothing plant full of antioxidants. Red clover is excellent for treating skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, acne, rashes, dryness and other skin disorders. It softens and nurtures skin while also providing anti-inflammatory effects, reducing pain, redness and itchiness.
Health food store salves are expensive, however. Some of them contain unwanted ingredients, even if they are natural—sometimes I prefer not to apply essential oils to my skin when it’s red and raw, as they can cause an aggravation. The tubes are also tiny and inadequate for covering large patches of affected skin. Fortunately it’s easy and cost-effective to make your own salve. I often encourage cash-strapped patients to make their own botanical skin treatments at home.
Within minutes of applying this balm to my skin, my chapped lips and itchy legs were soothed and redness was calmed. My skin felt smoother, moisturized and less flaky. I’ve even distributed some to small pots to use as a lip balm throughout the day.
DIY Red Clover Salve
You need:
Trifolium pratense (red clover) 100 g dried herb
Liquid oil of choice—I used olive and avocado—enough to cover herbs
1 small mason jar
1 cheese cloth or absorbent paper towel
Pot, stove, slow cooker
Beeswax
Instructions:
Step 1: Oil Infusion
There are two steps to making a salve. The first is to create an oil infusion from the dried herbs. This process extracts the medicinal properties from the plant using oil. The proper, herbalist way to do this is to cover the herbs in the oil of your choice and leave them in the sun for a week or two. However, since I’m pressed for time, I make oil infusions in the slow cooker.
Put the herbs in the small mason jar and cover completely with oil. Fill the slow cooker with water, so that the water level meets the level of oil in the mason jar. Place the mason jar inside the water in the slow cooker. Cook on low overnight.
Step 2: Salve
After the oil has been infused with the active plant constituents, strain out the dried herbs using a cheese cloth. Make sure to squeeze out all the good, nutritious oil from the herbs so that none is wasted.
Create a double boiler by setting a pot filled with water (I reuse the same water from the slow cooker) on the stove and turning the temperature to high.
Sit the mason jar containing just the oil infusion (no herbs) in the water. Once the water is boiling, slowing add in beeswax. A 1:5 beeswax:oil ratio creates a pliable, creamy salve. You can start with less keeping in mind that you can always add more later by reheating the salve in the double boiler. You don’t want to go overboard and add too much beeswax, creating a salve that is too hard. Allow the beeswax to melt into the liquid oil while stirring.
Remove the jar from the stove and allow it to cool to room temperature.
Once cooled, apply to affected skin areas and enjoy the smoothness.
It’s hard to please everyone nowadays. Some people won’t eat grains, others want to protect the animals. Still other people prefer to cut down on their sugar or avoid foods cooked over certain temperatures to preserve nutrients. How do you satisfy this diverse group of foodies with one one-size-fits-all dessert? The search ends here. These chocolate mint squares are raw, vegan, Paleo, low sugar – the only thing they aren’t is hard to make. They take a few minutes to prepare and all you need are the ingredients and a decent food processor or blender.
They somewhat resemble their tooth-achingly sweet cousin, the Nanaimo Bar, with their pretty layers and chocolate finish, but with a health-promoting twist. While these still count as a dessert, they contain healthy fats (avocado, coconut oil and walnuts), fibre and, well, chocolate. We all love chocolate. They’re also decadent with their bright green middles.
Ingredients:
1 cup large dates, pits removed
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup walnuts
3 small avocados
coconut oil
1/4 maple syrup or honey
bakers dark chocolate, or dark chocolate baking wafers (available at Bulk Barn)
2 tsp of peppermint extract
Directions:
Base layer:
Lay some parchment paper on a small baking pan. In a food processor blend together the dates (add a little water to the mixture), cocoa powder and walnuts. Spread the blended ingredients over the parchment paper and place everything in the freezer so that it hardens.
Middle layer:
Blend together the avocados, 2 tbs of coconut oil, the maple syrup and 1 capful of peppermint extract. I like to squeeze in a little lemon to keep the avocados looking nice and green. When the base layer is hard, pour the middle layer on top, then return to the freezer for minimum one hour.
Top layer:
In the microwave or small sauce pan, melt a handful of chocolate, 1 tbs coconut oil and 1/2 capful of peppermint extract. Mix together until everything is liquid and uniform. Pour a thin coating of the chocolate layer on top of the frozen avocado layer then return everything to the freezer.
When everything is set in place, carefully cut the recipe into small squares. They will be hard to cut if the top chocolate layer is too thick, as it cracks when hardened. It helps to heat the knife with hot water and slowly cut the squares. Store everything in the freezer and serve cold.
Finding the time and energy to cook during the winter can be tough. However, one of the best things you can do for your health (and wallet) is cook meals at home. Knowing a few slow cooker recipes is essential for getting through a cold, dry winter. Soups, stews and curries are warming and easy to digest; these healthy comfort foods help us feel energized and keep our immune systems strong. Slow cooking is a great way to prepare healthy, hearty meals while you watch the Mindy Project or spend the day working or hiking in the forest. This recipe makes a good amount of eggplant masala, which is perfect for leftovers and lunches. The meal is gluten free (if served with rice) and dairy free as well as vegan. It is high in healthy fibres, healthy fats (if cooked in coconut oil or avocado oil) and protein. The recipe is an adaptation from one I learned at a cooking class I took while traveling in Northern India.
Eggplant Masala (from North India)
Ingredients:
4 medium-sized eggplants
4 large tomatoes (or a can of diced tomatoes)
3 white onions
10 cloves of garlic
1 can of chickpeas or lentils
5 tbs mustard oil, coconut oil or another heat-stable oil (I had avocado oil on hand)
4 tsp ground coriander
3 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp red chilli peppers
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seed (I couldn’t find fenugreek when I was in the grocery store, and my dog was waiting, tied outside, so I didn’t include it in this recipe. The recipe still tasted lush without it).
a blender, stove and slow-cooker (optional)
Directions:
Heat oil on medium heat, add in the spices to release the flavours.
Blend together tomatoes, onions and garlic. Chop eggplants into 1 inch squares.
Add all the ingredients – eggplants, oil + spices, and vegetable blend, including the lentils/chickpeas – to a slow-cooker and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4. Take a walk with your family, meet your friend for coffee, ride your bike, have a bubble bath or leave for work. Another option is cooking the ingredients on a covered pan over medium-high heat for 40 minutes to 1 hour, or until eggplants are soft.
When ready, serve over rice or with chapati or naan.
