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Nuts and seeds are great. But I noticed that I was not feeling very well after eating them straight from the bag. So I decided to find the way how to eat nuts and keep my tummy happy at the same time. Maybe this post will be helpful for you too!? Let me know what do you think!
I remembered that during my Nutritional Therapy lectures in BCNH we studied that nuts&seeds contain lectins, phytates, and enzyme inhibitors (I will call this bunch LPEs), which may be one of the causes of the above mentioned conditions. I must mention, that “enzyme inhibitors” are good nature’s way of “protecting” them from heat, etc. before “right”conditions come (eg. rain) for the nuts to grow into trees.
By soaking nuts you can not only minimise the impact of LPEs, but also enhance the flavour of nuts!In a way, you are “tricking” the nature, by providing conditions when nuts&seeds may “relax” and start releasing all good minerals and micronutrients.
Also, you need to remember that roasted nuts from the shop are most likely not soaked first which means they still have LPEs. There are a few brands though which actually soak the nuts before they roast or dehydrate them, check out LivingRaw nuts, or Raw Ecstasy but they are not very cheap.
So, why not to try to prepare and “activate” your nuts yourself, it is super easy! Let me show it to you 🙂
Check out timings for each type of nut/seed here. But! Just not to overcomplicate things too much, a few hours would be good. For example, arrange all in the morning and it is ready for the evening or make preparations in the evening and the nuts are ready for breakfast!
And finally a recipe!!! 🙂
Preheat the oven for 200 C, mix all the spices and nuts in a dry bowl and put the mixture to the baking sheet. In 25-30 min the AWSOME nuts are ready to eat! 🙂
Note! It is better to add bee polen 10 min before the nuts are ready, so it doesn’t burn 🙂
Awesome Roasted nuts and seeds
There are so many people who eat sometimes because it is simply “THE ONLY solution to the issue which you can do at the moment”.
Why does it happen? Well there are a lot of people discussing why and how it happens from the chemical point of view.
I would prefer to focus on one KEY “simple” thing – you need to feel in LOVE with yourself and try to be kind not only to people around you, but to yourself too.
Easier said than done, right?
There are a few strategies which might be useful for overeating.
BEFORE
Trigger feeling: Sadness about…/Loneliness/Boredom/
You feel like: Need to have to eat this cookie/chocolate/5 apples/cereal pack/chips…(insert your variant)
Your thoughts: “I must eat now”
Your body reactions: Heart rate goes up/Hands shaking/Irregular breathing/Any other change from normal, calm you…
Goal: Calm down
Actions to help you out at this stage:
1) OBSERVE what is happening in the body (don’t judge). Simply observe, like a scientist, like an observer, a very interested journalist – When you can notice how you are feeling (in which part of the body there is a change from normal), the chemical reactions in your brain changes and it calms down the urge to eat.
2)Deep breath 5 times (3 count in-3 count out)
2) Stretching (Hands up and on the sides/close your eyes and stretch the neck)
3) say loud WHAT do you feel (if you are in the office maybe a good idea to go to the meeting room not to freak out your colleagues 🙂 ) – “I feel angry that they did this”/ “I feel bored and thats stupid to waste my time like that”/” I feel lonely”…
4) Look at the mirror and just try to smile at yourself! try again, until you actually smile.
5) Relax the muscles of your face. Yep! Each muscle on the face needs to feel relaxed and without any tension.
DURING
You feel like: NOTHING (you usually don’t feel anything at this time, as you are concentrated on the process of eating)
Your thoughts: “why am I doing this?”
Your body reactions: eating “like a rabbit”/ very fast, no chewing
Goal: “Wake up” your unconscious brain
Actions to help you out at this stage:
1) Slow down!!! Yep, slow down the speed at which you are eating. Try to chew slower and sower and slower.2)Put your feet on the ground and FEEL the ground under your feet (if you are standing already, concentrate on the FEELING of the ground, feel your soles, feel the fingers touching the ground)
3) Say out loud ” I love myself”/”I accept myself”/ “I am strong”
4) Look outside to the street/ think about how each tree looks like, how fast cars are passing by/ just focus on something that is happening outside
AFTER
You feel like: low/upset/frustrated
Your thoughts: “Why did I do this???”
Your body reactions: feel like a bubble/ lay on a couch and can’t move/ feel like hiding under the blanket
Goal: Help your body to feel better and help your mind to move on
Actions to help you out at this stage:
1) Drink hot water with ginger. Continue with warm water with some lemon squeezed in. It should help your digestion.
2) Take a shower if possible – it will help you to “freshen up”, so you don’t lay on a couch feeling like “a big jelly fish”
3) Do some EASY stretching (as its to hard to run/jump around/ do weights when you feel really super full
4) Raise your arm and quickly move it down and say “F..k it, it happened” 🙂 Just accept that it happened and MOVE ON. You will try your best next time, and next time again and you know what? Eventually you will stop at the point “before BEFORE” 😉
Have a fab journey x
Salads are awesome – a lot of vitamins, phytonutrients and fibre. But seriously, eating a salad every day CAN become boring. And then…and then you need to make Norice-salad sushi! 🙂
This is what I have done today to perk things up a bit:
Norice-salad sushi
-100g cucumber grated
-2 beetroots grated
-1 parsnip grated
-bunch of dill
-2 Yaki Nori sheets (bought in a Korean store)
In big bowl mix all ingredients and add any dressing (I have added: 1 tbs Extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp apple vinegar, 1 tbs hemp oil). Prepare sushi mat (also could be bought in a Korean store) by putting 1 Yaki Nori sheet.
Then squeeze the juice from the salad – otherwise you are going to get a “sushi ocean” on your plate:)
Place the salad on the sheet, BUT make sure that you have left 2 cm (1 inch) from the top of the sheet – to avoid salad “jumping” from the sheet while you are rolling a sushi roll.
Roll and enjoy! SUPER easy and fast! :)…and OMGsoTASTY!!!! 🙂
Yesterday i was making banana pancakes and in the evening i thought that it would be cool to have some sweets in the morning. The challenge was that I didn’t have a lot of ingredients at home…so had to be creative:)
And this is what I have ended up with, super simple and quick (as usual with all cooking that i do) and TASTY!
FROZEN BANANA BITES
1 ripe banana
1 tbs lucuma powder + 3 tbs water
1 ts cinnamon
1,5 tbs bee polen
Cut banana in a few pieces. Mix water, lucuma, cinnamon. Dip banana in lucuma mix and then roll it in bee pollen. Put on a baking sheet and place in a freezer overnight. Cut/Dip/Roll/Freeze – Simple!
Other dipping alternatives: nut or seed butter/chocolate/yogurt
Other rolling alternatives: nuts or seeds/crushed dry berries
This is quite sugary, but it is a treat, right?;)
Absolutely amazing research was made recently, which suggested that its not only your gens (from your mom and dad), but also your body cells that affect your kid’s health and wellness…And it is very important to understand this concept, because cells of your body are constantly going through the phases of renewal following the influence from what you drink, eat, think and do! OMG!!! If you want to learn more about this research, check out this great website
Now, there are zillions of blogs, books, websites, etc teaching you how to eat and why. Well, to be honest, not all information provided there is SCIENTIFICALLY justified, soooo it may lead to a lot of really weird and to be frank not very clever decisions (eg eat one type of fruit a day and feel great, eat more of goji berries and feel more energetic, and list can go on…).
If you are really interested to learn some basics and more science based info (and have some time for it too). You could read/listen a course about nutrition. Usually this type of course costs about £200+, BUT! I have found for you super interesting, super engaging, on-line course, which you can take from anywhere in the world and enjoy the power of knowledge for…ABSOLUTELY FREE!!! It was produced by a respected university and it is just a great summary of some basics, which can help you to navigate in the busy world of on-line nutrition. Here is the link to the TUFTS FREE nutrition course
Enjoy!! xx
Sometimes we feel like “aghhh….” like a broken machine, tired, feel bad after eating food, bloated, and the list can go on and on and on. What is the reason? Well, there could be many thyroid issues, gluten sensitivity, etc…
But you can NEVER go wrong with one thing – SUPPORT your LIVER to feel better.
Liver: It is your “factory” for processing all types of toxins and good nutrients in the body, which “arrive” to the liver via blood. Toxins could be as from food and also from environment, and even form the normal metabolic processes in the body. And nutrients come from the food you are eating. So liver, basically, can process both good staff (making it available for the whole body and your heart) and also can be part of the elimination process of the bad staff (toxins) that your body doesn’t need (yep, so you can pop/pee it). Interesting, that at the moment there is no artificial device which could match all the functions which your liver do! So its kinda very very very important to make sure that your liver works well.
So you can see now, that liver is constantly working and it is pretty easy for it to be slightly “clogged” or sometimes it is really in a bad state, which is called “fatty liver”, when the cells of the liver can not filter any more and then they become swollen with fat – which makes a situation pretty dangerous…ANYWAY.
Don’t worry and lets try to see if YOU need some liver support:)
First – some signs that you need a liver cleanse:
Now, if you feel like OMG – this is MEEEE. Don’t worry – we can try to get it sorted naturally.
First – try to incorporate some cleansing foods in your diet for the next 2 weeks and try to eliminate environmental toxins (smoking) and some food related toxins (you know I am talking about alcohol and processed foods, right?:) ). Check out this video about 14 foods to clean your liver
Second – Try to go on this Detox for a 1-2 weeks.
Third – Get SLOWLY out of the detox. Introducing first fish for a week, then meat in the next week.
Hope this will make you with reducing your “ahhhhhh” state! xx
Easy Detox:
15 minutes before you are ready to eat breakfast, squeeze the juice of a lemon in a medium glass of hot water and drink it.
Breakfast:
-Beetroot juice: 8 ounces. You can take more if you desire but make sure that you take 8 ounces at least.
-Low fat goats cheese: 5 level tablespoonful’s. No more – no less.
-Low sugar fresh fruit (e.g. berries): 1⁄2 pound. You may eat MORE but be sure to eat at least 1⁄2 pound. You can eat only one kind of fruit or you may mix/or you can have a vegetable salad
-Herb tea: 1 cup (if you want). May add a sweetener like honey, maple syrup (I prefer to have the tea without…but its your choice)
Between breakfast and lunch you should drink all the vegetable juice you can hold. Also eat fresh raw vegetables and berry fruits. The more live food you put down – the more thorough will be the cleansing. Make up a lot of vegetable broth (see recipe). Drink lots of this broth. It is full of minerals.
Lunch:
-Vegetable broth: Drink 2 cups during the meal.
-Salad: Make a chopped salad of fresh raw vegetables. Use a dressing of fresh extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and amino acids (you may add crushed garlic or apple cider vinegar). Eat at least 8 level tablespoonful’s of salad, more if you desire. Use 4 of the vegetables listed below: Artichokes, Asparagus, Beans, Beets, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Cucumbers, Celery, Dandelions, Dark Green Lettuce, Endive, Egg Plant, Fresh sweet Corn. Fresh Green peas, Green Peppers, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Lotus, Okra, Onions, Parsley, Parsnips, Pumpkin, Radishes, Spinach, Sprouts, Tomatoes, Turnips. (You may use the leaves or tops also).
Mid afternoon snack: Berry fruit dessert • Herb tea and water
Between lunch and dinner drink all the vegetable juice you desire. Eat all the fresh berry fruit and vegetables you want.
Dinner:
-Vegetable broth: Drink 2 cups during the meal, more if you desire.
-Cooked vegetables: Select 3 or more of the different kind listed above. Eat a generous helping of each. (No potatoes) You may add a tbs. of garlic with lemon or liquid aminos.
If you feel hungry after dinner, eat fresh berry fruits and drink vegetable juice – ALL YOU WANT.
VEGETABLE BROTH
-7 carrots
-1 small bunch of celery – cut fine.
-Big handfull Parsley
-Big handful spinach – cut fine
-3 litres (or slightly less) hot water
Place carrots and celery in water and simmer for 15 minutes. Add parsley and a large spinach. Simmer 10 minutes more. Drain off the juice or broth. Flavour with onion, green peppers or garlic, lemon, amino acids and cayenne. Store in refrigerator. You may add tomato or other vegetable juice for variety of flavour and texture. It can be used hot or cold. The purpose of this broth is to FLUSH. Drink lots of it during the 7 days. It is full of minerals from the vegetables.
Another great “new” place in Notting Hill…reopened just a few weeks ago and now has super chilled modern trendy feel to it. Great menu, tasty food and nice people. What more would you want on a weekend? Ah yes, a nice hidden garden! so you enjoy the summer weather without the crowds of portobello road. Fantastic!
Tom’s Menu is just simply nice:) And cool thing is that you could choose various sizes for your dish – so you can take a few smaller portions and taste a different dishes, fab! When I say smaller btw I dont mean tuataras-like size, Its like a “double tapa”;)
Food is very delicious, it is probably the first time in a few month when I couldn’t leave anything on the plate. I mean literally the plate looked so clean after I finished that you could barely say someone has eaten from it:)
I have been there with a friend of mine and we have tried a few very nice dishes…Must say that very thorough testing/questioning the staff regarding ingredients/origin of ingredients didn’t “freak” them out, and we even got quate a lot of answers…cool!
Ta-da-m! here are the dishes which we have tried:
“Ceviche” from Tuna and scallops…well, not really a ceviche:) but! raw Tuna with marinated veggies, but very tasty fish and veggies! Plus in the centre of the plate was a frozen cucumber coolis…it was yummy and look how great this looks on the plate? Right?
Then there was a very tasty looking Roast salmon with a LOT of veggies…
and absolutely awesome salad with avocado pure and tomatoes. So simple, but so incredibly tasty!
Atmosphere: lazy, cosy, friendly, bright and light – great for breakfast and lunch.
Menu: loads of tasty dishes and amazing, simple but very modern presentation – just right!
People: Great, smily, knowledgeable very nice people serving food
Price: from £7 for sides and higher. And you can choose if you want the whole portion or just half of it.
Occasion: kids friendly, family friendly
I am definitely coming back – great place!! 🙂
Check out the website: www.newtoms.co.uk
Opened just 6 month ago in a busy and touristy Bayswater area Raw is a peaceful paradise:)
The food menu is quite intriguing and most ingredients are organic. There is also a separate drinks menu, which has smoothies, moktails and juices.
However when it comes to serving its not really super fancy. And taste is ok-ish. I however really liked white miso sauce.
Here are some of the menu items.
Wiled spinach salad: easy to make at home guys!:) Avocado, spinach and white miso as a sauce – taste very nice 🙂
Zucchini “Tagliatelle” again with miso sauce.
And some dessert (cacao+coconut flour+coco butter – baked 20 min in an oven) and veggy cocktail 7,5£ (avocado+almond milk+cucumber+pepper). Gorgeous lady was very excited to see the cake as you can see;)
All in all, the place is ok for a nice tea and a chat, or if you are somewhere around and need to spend a few hours relaxing in a shade of trees (and 5 min stroll to Hyde Park simply seems tooo far away)…
..BUT I would not recommend to come here for food at the moment.
Atmosphere: relaxed and chilled, very modern style, a lot of space!
Menu: simple and straight forward, no fancy staff
People:service would be like 3 out of 5. Slow and not very attentive people
Price: £5+. A decent lunch will cost you £25 for 1 person
Occasion: well, if you are in the area of bayswater and want to spend some time with friends in a quite modern cafe
OMGsoTasty 
