Things That Make Me Happy

Above:
Olivia Reading her books & A Fruit Box a patient gave to me, made my day!



I've been sitting here trying to find some inspiration to write. It's so funny how things come into the mind, usually just before I'm about to drift to sleep or when you least have a pen and pad handy. I find this happens to me a lot. I have brilliant idea's, I almost always forget what they are by the time I sit to write!

Just now I was flicking through my phone, smiling at the pictures I had taken through-out the week. The more I looked, the more I smiled. I had captured many things that made me happy this week. Some materialistic, some heart warming and others totally random. Bottom line is that these little things keep me going.

In the busy lives we lead, we often don't make room to stop and do things for ourselves. We're either not in the habit of it, or we feel indulgent. But how can you expect to be at your best when you don't have time for you? So many signs and symptoms we experience are directly pointing to your bodies craving and need for R & R. We let the problem snowball, and it's sometimes not until it smacks us hard in the face, that we realise what we have been missing all along. I recommend to all patients that they take, at the very least 4 hours to themselves each week. 4 hours isn't much, unless you have kids/friends/family, households and work to fit in! You must make time for it. This is especially appropriate to those visiting me for fertility reasons. Clearing the calendar for a few hours each week is essential. Doing the things that make YOU happy mean that your mind and soul is getting it's needs met. We know we can't seperate the mind and the body. So it's inevitable that by practicing this, the whole body benefits.

I thought I would share with you some images from my phone of things that have made me happy this past week. I hope you enjoy them. Why not start capturing 'things that make you happy' yourself, so that at the end of each week, you too can reflect and start the new week happy and healthy. Happy, healthy people make happy, healthy babies.



From L to R:
1. My keep cup! 2. I won a prize!! (Jane Iredale Bronzer) From Checks & Spots Blog go check it out, its an awesome blog! 3. A nail paint brightens any woman's day!

MAEVE magazine - you'll find me there!

I'm quite excited. You see, I will now be regularly contributing to MAEVE magazine. Ok, I lie. Im not 'quite excited' I'm actually over the moon to be part of such an awesome read. Seriously, have you read it? Do yourself a favor and head to the latest edition online MAEVE Spring Edition and then, once you have finished there, don't stop, you must then wander to the MAEVE Winter Edition and if you love that (that was the first edition, so I'm not keeping any good stuff from you) stay tuned for the upcoming Edition. You're in for a treat, as always with this little beauty.

The BEST red curry recipe ever. As requested!

This is such a delicious recipe - you have to try it tonight!


Pumpkin & Veggie Thai Curry with Rice



(This is a good one if you are cooking for the family – you can cook chicken separate and add it to the others dishes at the end)
2 cups brown rice, cooked
Red Curry paste (it should just be herbs and spices with nothing else added – read the label, no sugar or anything else added)
1 onion diced
1 piece of crushed garlic
½ butternut pumpkin diced into 2cm cubes
2 potatoes diced
1 red capsicum
1 bunch spinach or similar
1 can coconut milk (full cream, don’t do low fat its REALLY bad for you)
4 dates chopped
Method:
Use 2tbs of curry paste and fry with oil in a pan until fragrant.
Add garlic and onion and stir.
Add pumpkin & potato, dates, coconut milk and if necessary a small amount of water to create enough liquid. Allow to cook until pumpkin becomes soft.
Add capsicum & cook for a further 3-4 minutes before adding spinach.
Season with Salt and pepper, serve with brown rice.

Post Cleanse - What now?

original image here

Can you believe you've nearly finished! You have two days in which you will follow the 10 steps and then you will be in what I have tagged the "Post Cleanse Phase." The official end of the cleanse is Wednesday morning. You need to be aware that if your planning on finishing the cleanse you should slowly introduce foods back into the diet and be sure not to do it in one foul swoop. If your enjoying the cleanse and you don't want to fully finish, your not alone! I will be with you. If your finishing up, please be careful that you don't overdo it. I strongly recommend you take notice of the following:

~ for the next three days, have at the most one meat/chicken etc meal per day
~ continue to drink plenty of water and get adequate rest
~ avoid alcohol for these 3 days
~ should you be re-introducing coffee, I suggest using soy milk
~ wait three days (with the introduction of meat) before you introduce dairy, so that it is gradual.
~ continue with lemon water and pro-biotic each day

Of course you don't have to switch back! You have done such a magnificent job, and I'm certain you are feeling so much better for it, you may not want to undo all the great work!

I will be introducing some soy milk, spelt bread, and maybe some dark chocolate to the mix. Im planning on remaining vegan for a week or so and then probably remaining vegetarian for a few weeks. I have done this many times, sometimes for up to a year because I know I feel better for it. Having said that we are not all genetically the same! Some people function better with more protein in the diet, others a balance of protein, fat & carbohydrate, and if your like me very little meat protein is necessary. You are going to need to listen to what your body is telling you; I'm quite sure that after the past week, you have learnt to listen to your body that little bit better.

I love how clean I am feeling! Every single time I cleanse, I love the result. I have never been disappointed, not ever.

I know because you love the recipes so much I'm going to leave you with this beauty!

Nat & Sara's homemade baked beans

When Sara and I were at uni we literally lived off this recipe! Its so delicious - if you do re-introduce bread, its awesome on toast!
I prefer to use dried beans that I have soaked overnight, but if you are happy to use tin beans, you can use any variety. I prefer mixed beans.

1 onion diced
2 cups of 4 bean mix (or a tin of beans)
3 fresh tomatos chopped (or one tin)
1 red/green capsicum
I bunch of corriander
Salt and pepper to taste

In a pan, use a few tablespoons of coconut oil (or olive oil - coconut oil is my preference as it is much better for you) and place diced onion in. Add the capsicum and stir. Cook for a few minutes before adding the tomato, salt and pepper and allow to cook for approx 10 minutes or until it has the consistence of relish.
Add beans and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes.
Mix through corriander
Season to taste.

You can also use this as a vegetarian version of burritos filling.

So delicious!


Nat's Veggie Burgers
(these are for the post cleanse phase as they contain egg)

1 grated zucchini
1 graded carrot
1 grated onion
1 grated potato - fluid squeezed out
1 cup chopped parsley
1 cup spelt flour (or regular flour)
1 egg
Grated cheese (once your not cleansing!)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and allow to sit in the fridge until ready. Roll burgers into the size you prefer and cook on BBQ or in shallow pan.

All the good stuff - Vegan Treats!

I've stumbled upon one of the best blogs I have ever seen. I found 101 Cookbooks via Sarah Wilsons blog, so I can't take the credit for snooping this one out, but it has some wonderful Vegan (and otherwise) recipes on there. Certainly stuff for the whole family. Im going to share a few with you that we tried out last night. I've taken these directly from her 101 Cookbooks blog.

I have two words. Absolutely Delicious. You need not ever feel like your missing out with mouth watering dishes like these!

Sautéed Zucchini
I hate to say this, but if you want to do a larger amount, double the recipe, but divide and cook the zucchini in two pans. If you crowd the squash too much, it steams rather than browns, and loses too much structure, which isn't what you're after.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 medium shallots or new red onions, thinly sliced
fine grain sea salt
2 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch thick coins
a good handful of dill, chopped
1/4 cup Marcona almonds or toasted almond slices

In your largest skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic and cook until it starts to take on a hint of color. Stir in the shallots and a big pinch of salt, and cook until they start to soften, a couple minutes. Add the zucchini, stir to get it coated with a bit of oil, and arrange the coins in as much of a single layer as your pan permits. Dial the heat up a bit if needed, add another pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally until the zucchini browns - ten minutes or so. Remove from heat and fold in the dill and almonds before serving. Taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary.



Baked Sweet Potato Falafel Recipe

2 medium sweet potatoes (orange inside), around 700g or 1 1/2 pounds in total
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 small cloves of garlic, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 big handfuls of fresh cilantro/coriander, chopped
Juice of half a lemon
a scant cup (120g) gram /chickpea flour
a splash of olive oil
a sprinkling of sesame seeds
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425F degrees (220C) and roast the sweet potatoes whole until just tender - 45 minutes to 1 hour. Turn off the oven, leave the potatoes to cool, then peel.

Put the sweet potatoes, cumin, garlic, ground and fresh coriander, lemon juice and gram/chickpea flour into a large bowl. Season well, and mash until smooth with no large chunks. Stick in the fridge to firm up for an hour, or the freezer for 20-30 minutes. When you take it out, your mix should be sticky rather than really wet. You can add a tablespoon or so more of chickpea flour if necessary (the water content of sweet potatoes varies enormously).

Reheat the oven to 400F/200C. Using a couple of soup spoons (put a well-heaped spoonful of mix in one spoon and use the concave side of the other to shape the sides) or a falafel scoop if you have one, make the mixture into falafelly looking things and put them on an oiled tray. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and bake in the oven for around 15 minutes, until the bases are golden brown.

Makes about 18 falafel, enough for 4 - 6.

We have people for dinner tomorrow night. With so many great recipes I will be able to make something we can all lick our lips over. I will send the men out to the BBQ, they can have meat and I will have veggie burgers held together with chick pea or spelt flour. I will whip up Grilled Salt and Vinegar Potatoes - of course, because I can eat that! Throw together a toss salad and we will all be happy.

Oh and whilst on the topic of 101 cookbooks. When I finish cleansing I plan on making this, and also this oh and also this not necessarily in that order! If you can't tell, I have spend countless hours drooling over all things this blog has!

I feel like I now need to slap us all across the face to bring us back to alkaline mode. Today is your 4th Day. Your over halfway - well done. Some of you have had a few slip ups, but keep going, Tuesday will be here before you know it!

Day 5!

image from here

Wow - the feedback has been amazing from all the cleansers! Im really proud of how well you are all doing. You are going to thank yourself next week when you reach the end, you will be shining from the inside out!

Today I put up the final 2 steps of the Step-tember Body Clean out. With these you will now have 10 in total, and you will continue with these for the remainder of the cleanse - this will be for a further two days before we then hit the post-cleanse phase, where we slowly reintroduce foods and gently slide you out of cleansing mode. For those of you who wish to continue, you may. You might want to stick to some of it but add a little more protein, its up to you. Just know that I'm more than happy to answer any questions you have.

Here is day 5!

Step 9.
SLEEP – Make it count.
Minimum 8-9 hours sleep is essential to assist in the cleansing of your body. Aim to be in bed at 10pm each night. From a Chinese Medicine perspective, this is when your body is cleaning itself out. Each hour before midnight is the equivalent to two hours after midnight.
Step 10.
SUNSHINE – you need to get some in.
So wether it is whilst you walk each day, or sitting down to read for 10 – 15 minutes in the sun, Vitamin D is essential for good body function.

“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”
- Mahatma Gandhi

Day 4!

original image here

You can be proud. You have lived to see through Day 1. I would love you to leave your comment below and report back to me how you are traveling. Like I have said in the past, day 1 and 2 are the most difficult because not only are you eating different foods, you are also withdrawing from stimulants, sugars and toxins. Did you have a headache? I did. It wasn't too bad, but it was right across and behind my eyes. Today I'm seeing clearer. I'm feeling great.

The steps to Implement as of Day 4 are below.


Day 4.
Step 7. Time to go VEGAN.
Eliminating meats for the next 3 days isn’t as hard as it sounds. I’m going to allow you to have fish ONE of the next three nights, but only if you must. I promise you, you already have some awesome recipes, you won’t even miss the meat!

Step 8.
EMOTIONS – you need to pay attention to this.
Cleansing doesn’t just rid the body of physical waste but also emotional waste. This is a great thing! You may need to address a few issues that rise to the surface to get “cleansed”! In any case, go with how you’re feeling. Should you need a little more direction, talk to your support person or to me.

I look forward to hearing your feedback - please keep me informed with how your going. Have a great day!