My first Detox.

I am embarking on a 14 days detox challenge run by NutriAdvanced, as I want to know as much as possible about the science behind the detoxification of the body, but I also want to experience it

in order to know what future clients will be going through.

I am going to be an official nutritional therapist starting August 2016, and I want to make sure I am as ready and knowledgeable as I can be and help as many people as possible.

So, THE DETOX: I have been provided with a list of foods allowed (PLENTY, and including lean meats, fish, nuts and seeds, veggies, fruits etc..), and I am to eliminate gluten, dairy, sweeteners, nightshade vegetables (such as aubergines), eggs, soya, corn, alcohol (not an issue for me but I am thinking about everyone who actually enjoys a drink), caffeine (again, not an issue for me as I do not drink coffee but I know so many people who love it), no sugar or artificial sweeteners.
Drinking plenty of water (at least 2L per day), and herbal teas to my heart's content!
I can also juice and have smoothies from the list of veggies and fruits provided, aiming for 9 portions of vegetables and 3 max. of fruits per day. All these should provide plenty of vitamins and minerals..

Basically you are feeding your body lots of clean wholefoods, organic whenever possible.

We also received a big box with 5 different supplements, aimed at supporting liver function and supporting excretion of toxins..If you're going to release toxins from you liver into your body, you better make sure you have regular bowel movements (increased hydration should help with that) and exercise in order to get them out of your body to avoid them recirculating and actually making you feel worse :(

Additionally, in the starter pack I got lots of delicious recipe ideas and a specific plan to guide me on when to have the supplements each day.

There will be 3 liquid days where you can have soups and smoothies and the Ultraclear powder ( a blend of  protein, vitamins and minerals that also helps support the liver). Mine is vanilla flavoured, I tried it today after my workout and it was absolutely delicious!!!

Finally, I am now part of a Facebook group with all the other participants where we can ask questions about the programme, and support each other or share menu ideas.

This is important actually, if you decide to embark on a detox, make sure you are guided by a professional health practitioner as we are from the nutritionists at NutriAdvanced. You want to make sure you are getting the right kind of nutrition even if you are cleansing your body, in order for it to work efficiently and get the best results!

I find really helpful being part of this group, it helps to see that we are all going through the same challenges together and we are supporting each other. A bit like what's been happening in these 4 years of Nutritional Therapy training that has almost come to an end.

So a good idea could be to embark on a detox programme with a buddy, to help each other get through it in a delicious, fun and supportive way!

I will be writing a short post every day until the end of the challenge in order to keep track of my achievements and challenges. I hope this might help anyone who is trying a detox as well or who is thinking of embarking on one. Maybe even with my help in August, who knows?

DAY 1
The only real challenge today was the 7 capsules I had to take at breakfast, I am not a fun of taking too many supplements, however I did not have an issues digesting them so it was all good.
My post workout shake was delicious and I am actually looking forward to the next one..
I tried a new breakfast by making porridge with buckwheat groats instead of oats. Very happy with that.

I also learnt a new cooking skill: I poached cod. It was insanely delicious and took 10 minutes in total. A total winner.

I did get a little hungry mid afternoon and had a few nuts which helped.

Looking forward to dinner now..The other piece of poached cod is waiting, with steamed spinach, green beans and a fresh salad.

So far, so good!

xxx

Foodolina

PS: I am not being endorsed by any company to write this.x

Cacao Strawberry Pancakes

I whipped up these pancakes last week as I needed a filling breakfast that felt naughty but was actually good for me...

They are made with half buckwheat and half brown rice flour which means 1) protein 2) fibre and 3) gluten free goodness..

And because I wanted them to be truly scrumptious... I added cacao and fresh strawberries. Boom! Winning combination!

It doesn't take longer than 5 minutes and these are a great option as a pre workout breakfast, say an hour before or a post workout brunch ( ideally you'd want to eat within half hour of training to help muscle recovery).

So what do you need and how do you make these yummy pancakes?

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup brown rice flour

2 tsp baking powder (or use 3 tsp arrow root instead)

1 tbsp ground linseeds ( anti inflammatory plant omega 3 action)

2 tsp cinnamon ( helps balance blood sugar)

2 tbsp raw cacao (antioxidant action and energy fuel)

1tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp honey (or raw honey)

1 egg

1 cup almond or any other unsweetened dairy free milk

1/2 cup sliced strawberries

coconut oil ( I use a cold pressed one from Lucy Bee) for frying in the pan

Toppings

Smooth Almond butter (no added sugar)

a few more sliced strawberries

HOW TO DO IT....

It's very complicated...Pop all the ingredients in a bowl and mix till get a smooth batter, about 30 seconds. I know, are you sweating yet?

Heat up a tablespoon of coconut oil in the pan, then use a ladle and pour a little bit of your mix in, don't fill the ladle to the top, do half otherwise you won't be able to fit many pancakes in at the one time..

When they start to bubble on the top, flip them over and leave for another minute. Place them in your favourite plate, add some more coconut oil if you haven't got much left in the pan and pour more batter till all your mix is gone.

I made these pancakes today as well, and 6 came out  but that's because I made three in the shape of Mickey Mouse head...Yes, 36 years old and that's what makes me happy...

So if you make regular medium sized round pancakes you'll probably get 8 or 10 out of this.
Stack them up and sprinkle with more strawberry slices and swirl around some almond butter too for extra flavour, texture and protein.

I can honestly say they taste delicious and the protein content keeps your tummy fuller for longer!

So there you go, enjoy this guilt-free treat. From me, to you.x

Immune Boosting Mushrooms

These past few days it's been getting pretty chilly and apparently it will be even worse next week, so I intend to keep my immune system strong by eating as many immune boosting foods as possible. 

Mushrooms are immune boosting thanks to the polysaccharides (sugars) beta glucans they contain and they are also a source of both vitamin D and B.

Garlic is a natural antibiotic and also helps detoxification.

Parsley helps with bone health as it contains vitamin K (it also helps with blood clotting, so should you be on warfarin, do not suddenly start eating more or fewer vitamin k foods. Ask your practitioner for advice.)

This recipe is very quick and I grew up with it. my mom used to make it all the time and I absolutely love it and have it very often especially in winter.

You can have it as a side, or you can add some cooked quinoa and spinach to have a delicious and light main meal.

Here's what you need:

4 Flat mushrooms or a pack of chestnut ones.

2 garlic cloves chopped teeny tiny

a handful of roughly chopped fresh parsley.

2 tbsp extravirgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Just take the mushrooms' stalk out and scoop the gills out too. I quickly clean the outside with a wet paper towel, slice them and they are ready to go. 

Add the garlic to a pan with oil on medium heat, when the garlic starts to brown add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and mix it up. Just let it go for about 5 min mixing every now and then, if at any point they seem to become dry just add a little water. After 5 min add the parsley, stir and leave it for another 2 minutes.

They should now be dark, soft, smell amazing and ready to eat!

xxx

Foodolina

The Healing Post.x

Hi everyone!

First, let me apologise for the length of time that has passed since my last post..Over a month. Shocking.

I have been pushing myself a bit too far I guess between working my normal job and as an actress, studying to prepare for my first day at uni (now been and gone) and desperately trying to find a new home as me and Patch will be leaving our current one next week (still looking by the way, so should you know of any 1 bed in Crystal Palace....). A lot to take in.

The final blow hit me about 10 days ago, I had just worked non stop for 7 days, done my first weekend at uni which I found very overwhelming and then flew to Rome the morning after for an acting job.

Even though I absolutely loved being in Italy, getting the chance to see my best friends and working with some wonderful people, I also managed to catch some kind of virus but still the show had to go on, so I pushed my body through 4 performances and then collapsed at the airport on the way back.

The reason why I am telling you this is because I am always very good at telling my friends to take care of their bodies, mind and spirit but turns out I obviously didn't quite listen to my own words.

Yes, I have always eaten a pretty healthy diet, unfortunately taking the time to relax and breathe wasn't as high a priority on my agenda lately as I thought I was too busy for that but let me tell you, now that my body has decided to go into reboot mode, downtime has shot up to first place in the chart.

The diagnosis at the ER was acute gastroenteritis which means I basically haven't been able to eat almost anything for the past week and since I heard that lots of people are getting sick out there, probably due to the weather or maybe the very same bug I caught..I thought I'd share with you what I DID manage to eat and made me feel better while recovering. Maybe it  might help you a little.

The first 24 hours i literally couldn't handle anything so I had one lemon tea (kindly offered to me by my ER doctor) and little sips of water throughout the day.

Then I moved on to rice and corn crackers. They literally saved me life. I couldn't even smell anything remotely sweet or with a bit of flavour and these were savoury but not too salty and the perfect consistence.

And now the Italian heritage comes in. My next stop was Fette Biscottate. I'm not sure what they'd be called here in the UK, toasted mini bread?Here's a picture to make your life easier..

The can be subtly sweet and in Italy we have them for breakfast with jam or Nutella or dipped in our caffelatte...Mmmmm..

 I bought mine from an Italian deli here on Northcote Road and they fed me for the next couple of days, first two every couple of hours (my stomach has shrank ridiculously, so a bit of food at regular intervals...), plain or maybe dipped into a camomile to make them mushy and easier on my stomach.

then when i felt a bit bolder, i had them with some mashed avocado on top.

And a couple days later I added some smoked salmon on the avocado. So good.

It felt incredible to finally have something tasty after all these days..

Now, avocado has played a big part in my recovery as it was easy for me to digest and full of nutrients and good fats and since I have lost a lot of weight that it exactly what I needed.

Just make sure you get ripe ones because there's nothing worse than a hard tasteless avocado.

Here's how I quickly prepare my Magic Avocado Mash:

1 ripe avocado

Juice of less than half a lemon

Pinch Himalyan or sea salt

1/2 tbsp extravirgin olive oil

A little ground pepper to taste (optional. i didn't have it while ill but on a regular day I'd definitely have it on top)

Spoon the avocado flesh in a bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mash with a fork till smooth.

Spread on Fette Biscottate or Dark German Multi seeded bread (another of my favourite things when on a normal diet) and add toppings of your choice or just eat like that.

As for keeping hydrated, I could only take little sips of room temperature water for the first couple of days, then I started with slowly sipping on a cup of hot water with a squeeze of lemon in the morning and if I felt that food wasn't going down too well or started to give me pains I would quickly prepare my Healing Ginger Tea. This fresh tea has helped me through cold and nausea so far so here's the recipe:

1 thumb size piece of fresh ginger root

1 tsp manuka honey

1 squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Peel and slice the ginger and boil it for 15-20 minutes. 

Pour it in your favourite mug (leave out the ginger bits!) and add honey and lemon. Stir, breathe and enjoy.

A few other things I built up to after all the dry foods were steamed spinach with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt or boiled courgettes with that same dressing. Everything back to basics in order to give time to my stomach to heal.

I'm still on the mend but slowly and surely moving towards full recovery which makes me oh so happy. 

Before I leave you though, please make sure you understand that everything in this post is what worked for me and that everybody is different so these are ideas you could try but it doesn't necessarily mean they are going to have the same effect on you.  

The main thing is for you to listen to your body because nobody knows it better than you.

Have a beautiful weekend everyone!

Love, 

xxx

Valentina

Meet my new best Friend: D'Mix

This past weekend I was in Uni and during our lunch break we always head over to Planet Organic which we are lucky enough to have just around the corner from our school.
On both days, after finishing my meal, my classmates have looked at me slightly confused as they saw me munching on a small teaspoon of  mixed seeds with a satisfied look on my face and started asking questions about what exactly I was putting in mouth and why.. So this post is for them and for anyone out there who has ever suffered for any type of digestive problem.

After a pretty violent food poisoning last summer, my digestive system had been completely ruined and I was having difficulties processing almost every meal. Acid reflux, bloating, some very sexy unexpected burps...lovely. I've been seeing a nutritionist, I still am, who prescribed some digestive enzymes and antimicrobial to kill the bad bacteria in my gut and replace them with the good ones in the form of probiotics. All of that did help but being the lazy person that I can be, I was tired of taking all of these pills every day..
Around the the same time, I was looking for a flexible job that dealt with healthy food.
And searching online I discovered Conscious Food.
On top of being some incredibly lovely and positive people to work for, they introduced me to their biggest selling product : The Digestive Mix, now also called D'Mix.
A blend of delicious herbs and seeds that helps reboot your digestive system and gets it to work properly again.

All the ingredients are organic and hand blended and they are the result of a long research and collaboration with ayurvedic doctors, nutritionists and medical herbalists to find the perfect type and amount of ingredients that would work in synergy.
I read tons of testimonials of enthusiastic customers who had finally found a solution to all their digestive issues some similar to mine and some more serious so I thought I should at least give it a shot, especially as I would have to sell it and I didn't want to promote something I didn't believe to be effective.
AND I HAVEN'T LOOKED BACK SINCE.
I haven't needed any enzymes or antimicrobial pills since my first dose of D'Mix.
All I do is take 1/2 teaspoon after every meal (3 times a day), chew until it liquefies (as chewing activates the saliva gland and starts the digestive process) and then swallow.That's it.
It's not something you need to take for the rest of your life like you would do with commonly used antacids which calm the symptoms momentarily but do not get rid of the root cause.
Ideally you want to take it for two months to completely reset your system (unless you have more serious conditions like Chron's etc..in which case you need to take it for longer), after that if you want to take processed food and sugars out of your diet you can stop it otherwise you can just take it every now and then  to keep your system balanced without drastic changes to what you eat.
I personally suggest staying clear of processed food anyway as there are so many  fresh delicious products you could feast on out there, Real Food Market on the South Bank anyone?

I could go one forever to tell you about it but the best thing is to head over to their website and see for yourself, read the testimonials and see if you recognise yourself in any of them..I certainly did.

I hope this post has been helpful to at least some of you, I know how frustrating and sometimes embarassing digestive problems can be in everyday life and especially to people who really love their food like I do..
This was my own experience but I did want you to at least know there is a natural product out there that you can try should you choose to.
Feel free to leave any comments or questions you might have for me.x

PS: Genius that I am, I completely forgot to tell where you can actually buy it..Sorry!
You can order it online from their website or here's a list of shops and markets  you can go to.