Zucchini and chilli pepita salad is a simple dish that I love for shoulder seasons where we are still having some nice days but the weather is getting colder. It’s still got a lot of freshness about it but the grilled zucchini is easier to digest than raw salad and the chilli pepitas give it some warmth. The lemon, dill and feta really get your tastebuds going.
This dish is super yummy as a BBQ side salad with just about every type of protein – fish, tofu, tempeh, chicken, red meat, falafel, chickpea or lentil burgers. If I have some leftover I often have it for breakfast on a slice of dense wholegrain bread with a poached egg on top.
Zucchinis are very high in fibre, which feeds beneficial gut bacteria and helps you to feel full and satisfied, as well as aiding healthy bowel movements. They are also very low in carbohydrate. All of these things are great for hormone balancing, general health and are compatible with a PCOS diet, if that is what you are aiming for. Being dark green in colour, they are a natural source of antioxidants and folate, making them great for fertility and pregnancy.
Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) add a good source of zinc – helpful for skin, hair, immunity, fertility and so much more.
Ingredients
4 large zucchinis, sliced lengthwise
A large handful of pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
A pinch (or more as desired) of cayenne pepper (chilli powder)
Half a bunch of fresh dill, leaves picked
30-40g of goat’s chevre or goat’s feta
Half a lemon, juiced
Olive oil
Salt
Method
Brush zucchini slices with olive oil and cook them on a grill plate until soft and browned, flipping halfway. You could also roast them in a 200 degree oven on trays (don’t overcrowd the trays or they’ll go soggy before they brown).
Toast the pepitas in a fry pan with a splash of olive oil, pinch of salt and the cayenne pepper until just starting to go light brown, then remove from heat to cool on a plate.
Assemble the salad by tossing the zucchini with the dill, lemon and olive oil, crumbling the feta on top and sprinkling over the pepitas.
Weight loss improves just about every aspect of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Whilst it is often more difficult to lose weight when you have PCOS, even modest weight reductions can have a significant impact on PCOS symptoms plus reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
How do I know if I need to lose weight?
Being overweight, especially around the waist, causes insulin resistance (even if you don’t have PCOS) because fat cells release substances that mess with insulin sensitivity. This means that being overweight increases insulin levels even more, worsening PCOS signs and symptoms. In short, being overweight is bad news for PCOS.
Body mass index (BMI) is a good guide to determine if you are in the overweight range or the healthy weight range. You can calculate your BMI using a simple online calculator and plugging in your height and weight (there are many available).
How to get started on weight loss
It’s not so simple to just lose weight and if you have PCOS with insulin resistance, this can be even more difficult because insulin is a hormone that promotes fat storage. Both diet and exercise matter when it comes to weight loss but if you need to make changes in both areas, start with diet and once that is a routine for you work on your exercise routine – changing everything overnight is hard and you don’t want to set yourself up to fail.
When it comes to diet, head over here and get your copy of my free PCOS & Diet eBook. It outlines the dietary changes that have the most impact on weight loss for people with PCOS. If you check out the eBook but still need more help or have questions, you might need to work with a naturopath to work out the best diet for you as an individual.
What’s the best type of exercise for weight loss and PCOS?
There are two types of exercise that have been shown to be effective for PCOS and weight loss:
Resistance training
Resistance training means moving your body against a resistance. The resistance can be your own body weight (e.g. push ups, planking or yoga) or equipment such as bands or weights. You can do resistance training at home if you’ve already got some experience with how to do it safely. If not, get help from a professional PT to ensure you adopt the correct posture and alignment, avoiding injury.
If you can’t afford a personal trainer, join a gym and ask the staff for assistance in getting your posture and alignment right on their equipment. If the gym is not your thing, join a strength yoga class such as Iyengar, Ashtanga or Vinyasa.
Resistance training is designed to build muscle mass. Increasing muscle mass has a positive effect on insulin resistance and boosts metabolism, meaning your resting metabolic rate is faster; you burn fat while at rest.
Research has shown resistance training can reduce androgens, waist circumference, body fat percentage and fasting blood glucose: all good things for PCOS. However, the best results come with doing a combination of resistance and aerobic exercise.
Aerobic exercise
Aerobic exercise is also known as ‘cardio’ exercise and refers to any exercise that gets your heart and lungs to work faster. You breathe harder, your heart pumps faster and you work up a sweat. There are many ways to do this and lots of them are actually fun! Dancing, swimming, sex, aqua aerobics, team sports, cycling, HIIT, circuit training and jogging are just a few of them.
Beyond improving insulin resistance, aerobic exercise has many benefits. Aerobic exercise improves circulation, increases energy levels, increases endurance, reduces risk of heart disease and diabetes, reduces body fat, maintains a healthy weight, improves mood and improves sleep.
How much exercise do I need to do?
Based on the research you should do 1hr of resistance training three times weekly but you should start slowly and build up to this. On alternate days you should do 30 minutes of aerobic exercise. Have one day off per week to give your body a rest.
More is not better
If you push yourself beyond the above guidelines you run the risk of pushing your stress hormones too high, which inhibits weight loss and increases insulin.
My top 4 tips for success
Get friends and family in on it
Making a time to exercise with friends or family increases your motivation and makes exercise more enjoyable. It makes you accountable for showing up. Likewise, a healthy diet, such as outlined in my PCOS & Diet eBook, is something that can be done as a family or with friends. It is a health choice that is beneficial for everyone, not just those with PCOS (if you have children they can eat the same as you, just let them eat freely of healthy carbohydrates rather than limiting their intake).
Any type of exercise is better than no exercise
If all you can do today is just go for a walk then it’s better than nothing – you are still having a beneficial impact on your hormones when you exercise, even if weight loss is not achieved.
Set realistic goals
If you can’t stick to a strict regime as outlined in the exercise section above, just do what you can. Any sort of increase in physical activity is better than none.
Set a goal of something you can do that is easily achievable. Once you can stick to that for 3 weeks, set a higher goal. For example, if you currently walk for 10 minutes per day, increase this to 15 minutes. Or get a pedometer and increase your daily steps by 2000 each week.
Prioritise it
One of the excuses you might give yourself is that you simply don’t have time exercise and prepare food. This is when you need to sit down and make a list of all of the things that take up time in your life and prioritise which ones are going to make you the happiest. Chances are that being healthy is going to be near the top of your list.
Other things might have to take a back seat in preference of your health. You might find that some things can be combined. For example, seeing friends and exercising could be rolled into one on some days. Preparing food and family time are other things that could be done together. How you shape your life is up to you but one thing is for sure: if you don’t prioritise time for weight loss, it won’t happen.
Need more help?
Losing weight can be really tough, so don’t be afraid to reach out for help if you need it. Some great choices are personal trainer or exercise physiologist, naturopath, nutritionist, osteopath, acupuncturist and psychologist or counsellor. All of these professionals can help you tailor a plan that is most effective for you as an individual and help keep you accountable and motivated along the way.
Josephine is currently offering free 10 minute consults to everyone. These sessions give both practitioner and patient the chance to see if the therapeutic relationship is a great fit, as well as to get you started on the path to feeling better, whether that be prescriptions on the day, referral for testing, or simple extras that you can incorporate to support yourself even more.
We are here to help you – it’s what we love to do. This COVID care package is for you if you:
Want better health, rest and body-wide repair,
Want help with navigating the complexities of making your Fertility Plan,
Have PCOS and want to start making healthy recovery strides simply by adjusting your diet,
Need help creating better breathing and respiratory health habits to carry you through a COVID climate,
Are experiencing frayed mental edges that need soothing,
Want relief, attention and release of areas that experience cyclic or persistent pain,
Love to have beautiful restorative sleep,
Want insights into how to ramp up the health of your diet and your digestive tract
How can we help?
You may have noticed that we’ve enacted an outpouring of free things to you since the inception of COVID. We have made a concentrated effort to create free resources for you with love from many of our wonderful practitioners, to support your mind, body, and sense of connection through all the recent challenges and beyond.
These resources have felt like a lifesaver for many people who have felt disconnected, stressed, in pain, anxious and fearful with reverberating body-wide repercussions like restlessness, digestive issues, insomnia, panic attacks, breathing difficulties, muscular pain and more. It’s important that you pay attention to your health with even more precision during stressful times like these.
We are robust and resilient when given the right ingredients for thriving and surviving.
Your COVID Care Package Freebies
We are dedicated to supporting you now and beyond – download any and all of the freebies contained below in our free COVID Care Package. We have built all of these resources for you and will be adding to this package often over the coming months, so keep your eyes peeled on our newsletters and Instagram OR Facebook pages so that you can grab each freebie as it comes out.
It is our pleasure and mission to support your glowing health and healing always.
Free 10-minute Naturopathic Wellness Consults
Book herefor anyone who needs preventative wellness strategies for immunity, symptomatic relief for an acute condition and general health enquiries. We will, of course, refer you if needed for more complex issues/conditions, but this is a great way to make a start toward your healthier life.
Immune Essentials E-book
Nine simple steps to enhance your health and resilience written by our wonderful naturopathic team.
Get instant free access and start taking simple actions every day to improve your immunity and stay well this winter.
Your Fertility Plan
Naturopath, Sage King, is putting together a free 6 part series designed to help you navigate your fertility journey. Sage touches on everything from preconception care, pathology screening, to assisted reproductive technology (ART) and how to optimise your outcomes with Naturopathy. Register to be notified when the series is released.
Free PCOS & Diet Guide
Do you have PCOS? Access this simple Naturopathic guide to get started with balancing your body through your diet. Inside you’ll receive delicious PCOS friendly recipes, detoxification details, information on how to approach carbohydrates, fats and proteins, food swap charts, as well as steps that you can take to really kickstart your healing. Well known PCOS treating Naturopath, Josephine Cabrall, has put this together to help anyone suffering with PCOS start to find the path to healing. Get your free copy of this fantastic resource.
Deep Sleep Yin Yoga
Jane Holland, yoga teacher, international retreat facilitator and educator has lovingly created this Deep Sleep online series in collaboration with Fertile Ground at The Melbourne Apothecary.
These yin classes are designed to guide you into your body to fully inhabit sensation, find release and arrive in spaciousness, allowing you to melt tension and move into a deep state of rest. Jane is generously offering to everyone to come and experience their first class free.
Free Buteyko Starter Pack for Healthier Mask Breathing & Nervous System Relief
Mask wearing and mask breathing is really hard. Why? Much of it is to do with carbon dioxide which, when understood and used to your advantage, can actually be used to improve your health rather than hinder it. In fact it can be part of the solution to many health issues beyond respiratory protection. Use this Starter Pack to begin to address your foundational respiratory health.
The Starter Pack includes 3 x 15 minute Buteyko embedded meditations and comprehensive instructions about duration, frequency, what to expect as results. Made with love by our breath specialist naturopath Carly Woods
Carly has also made a hilarious and informative online quiz entitled ‘Are you a Dirty Mouth Breather?’ So go ahead and find out – are you a Dirty Mouth Breather?
Acupressure for Stress Relief
Stressed? Understatement of the year perhaps.
Download this wonderful Acupressure for Stress Relief Guide from Acupuncturist, Chinese Medicine practitioner and Naturopath, Holly Peyton-Smith (thanks so much Holly).
This fabulous Super Soups Ebook has been built for you with love by Naturopath Tina Jenkins. Do you want to ramp up your Winter wellness in an oh-so-delicious way?? If so, make sure yougrab your copy here.
Phew! That’s A LOT of resources for healthy living that you can use right now or access later as you need. Feel welcome to share it with your friends too – these resources are for everyone.
Have a great time consuming all of these wonderful resources packed full of actionable health-enhancing goodness. Thank you to all of our loving practitioners and team for putting these together for our community so quickly and with such care.
Brought to you by Carly Woods Director, Naturopath and Breath Specialist, Fertile Ground Health Group and The Melbourne Apothecary.
Lots of people are asking me, “How can I support my health during this pandemic?”.
My answer? Start with your diet.
There are, of course, many aspects to having a well functioning self. Diet, however, is so incredibly foundational and something we can all attend to daily to help amplify health that it’s one that I recommend you pay attention to straight away.
One of the great things about paying attention to your diet is that you can get started immediately and see results quickly. So here they are – some of my best tips for optimising your diet during a pandemic.
Stay hydrated
Aim for 2-3 litres of water per day. Remember, the following drinks can boost your hydration for the day: decaffeinated tea, mineral water, broth, and fresh, raw, cold-pressed vegetable juices. To help you stay hydrated, carry a water bottle with you everywhere you go (and make sure it’s not a plastic one).
Don’t skip the protein
Protein helps build and repair every part of the body. Without enough of it, you can feel run down, lethargic, and your immune system can’t function as well as it should. Meats, eggs, poultry, and seafood are excellent sources of protein, but so are certain vegetables. High-protein plant foods include beans and legumes, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, lentils, nuts and seeds, oats, potatoes, spinach, and wild rice. If you’re sick, aim for 1.5g protein per kg of bodyweight per day.
Eat plenty of healthy fats
Healthy fats will help support brain and heart health while keeping you feeling full and providing your body with much needed energy to keep you motivated whilst working from home. Opt for more omega-3s (from avocados, fatty fish, nuts and seeds, olives, sea vegetables, grass-fed meats, etc.), and fewer omega-6s (from processed foods, salad dressings, and sauces; as well as processed vegetable oils like canola, grapeseed, safflower, etc.). Keep in mind that low-fat and fat-free products contain a lot of added sugar and artificial fillers, these are best avoided and swapped for full fat versions.
Opt for carbohydrates from vegetables
Most people only associate carbohydrates with grains. But bread, pasta, cake,
cookies, etc., are not the only sources of carbohydrates. Many whole foods like fruits, vegetables, and legumes fall into this category, too. When balancing your diet, try to get the bulk of your carbohydrates from vegetable sources. The fiber found in vegetables helps balance blood sugar and improve digestion.
Eat the rainbow
Our bodies function best when they take in nutrients from all different types and colours of wholefoods. Aim to eat at least six different colours of fruits and vegetables each day.
Experiment in the kitchen
Play around with different foods and cooking methods to discover what you like. Try at least one new recipe per week. If you’re not confident in your cooking skills, watch a youtube video and learn a new skill! Practice makes perfect! The goal is to become more comfortable with cooking. The more comfortable and enjoyable cooking is for you, the easier it will be to incorporate into a regular routine. Cooking and preparing food for loved ones is a great joy – there is no better time to get started than during lockdown!
Limit sugar and processed foods
We know that the excessive intake of refined sugars and grains contributes to many chronic health issues. In order to stave off illness and reverse symptoms, limit your intake of refined sugars and grains. Both of these are found in highly-processed foods like shelf-stable cakes and cookies, lollies, and other snacks. Read food labels carefully, and select foods with no added sugar (or very little added sugar). Excellent swaps for a sweet treat include: a whole, fresh piece of fruit, vegetable sticks and dip, a teaspoon of fresh nut butter, stewed apples, yoghurt and nuts.
Include probiotic and prebiotic foods
This will support both immune function and digestive function. Supporting digestive function ensures optimal absorption of nutrients and vitamins from food, replenishing the resources available for immune function. Probiotic foods are those that contain beneficial bacteria. Great probiotic foods are sauerkraut, natural yoghurt/coconut yoghurt, kombucha, kim chi, naturally preserved pickles, miso soup, or tempeh.
Prebiotic foods are those that support the function and health of the good bacteria in our digestive system. They are typically foods that are high in fiber such as banana, seeds, wholegrains, Jerusalem artichoke, leek.
Everything in moderation
After all, we’re locked inside! It’s important to allow yourself some wiggle room and listen to your body’s cravings. Enjoying a healthy, balanced diet includes being flexible and limiting your rules. Make a point to indulge occasionally without any guilt or stress about your food choices.
Freya Lawler, Fertile Ground/Melbourne Apothecary naturopath and functional nutritionist is passionate about food. She believes that in order to optimise your health from the ground up, you must begin with your diet. She loves to identify simple ways to make a huge difference in your health, through optimising your diet and creating tailored nutritional plans. Whether it be for balancing hormones, clearing your skin or improving digestion – Freya can guide you back to your best health through functional nutrition.
As we start to move into winter, the cooler weather brings with it a natural inclination for warmer foods. Slow-cooked dishes, casseroles and stewed fruit are meals that are lovely to have over the winter period. Some of my favourite warming meals to have are nourishing soups.
Pea & Parsnip Soup with Basil Oil
Serves: 6
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 Litre chicken broth/stock
2 cups of water
3 parsnips (400gm), peeled, thinly sliced
500gm frozen peas
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Basil oil
Ingredients
1 garlic clove
1 bunch basil, leaves picked
1/3 cup olive oil
Sea salt to taste
Method – Soup
Heat olive oil in saucepan and cook onion until soft but not brown.
Add water, stock and parsnips and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes or until parsnips are tender. Stir in peas and cook for 3 minutes.
Puree soup with a stick blender in the pot or in a food processor in batches until smooth.
Method – Basil Oil
Place garlic and basil into a food processor until finely chopped.
Add oil and seasalt (to taste) process until combined.
Place in a container with a lid until ready to serve (otherwise it can discolour).
Ladle soup into bowls. Dollop and swirl with basil oil. Drizzle with a little oil.
Roasted Tomato Soup is one of my favourite winter recipes. Roasting the tomatoes brings out their natural sweetness and enhances the flavour. You don’t have to add the wholegrain sourdough/ciabatta into the soup although that does make it more filling. I usually double or triple the recipe and stock up the freezer with it so it’s easy to take out the night before for a very quick dinner the following day (all you have to do is pop it on the stove to reheat and it’s ready in minutes) 😊
Serves 6
Ingredients
½ bulb of garlic
2 kgs of ripe tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 Litre of vegetable stock
4-5 sprigs of fresh basil + additional leaves for garnish
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Break the garlic up into cloves and slice the tomatoes in half. Lay out the tomatoes (cut-side up) on a roasting tray and scatter over the garlic cloves (unpeeled). Sprinkle over the oregano, salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in the oven for 50-60mins until the tomatoes are soft and sticky.
Remove the tray from the oven and pick out the garlic cloves. Tip all contents of the tray into a large saucepan. Squeeze the sticky insides of the garlic cloves into the saucepan and throw away the skins.
Add stock and roughly chopped basil (including stalks). Tear the bread into pieces and add to saucepan. Bring to the boil, then simmer for about 10 mins.
Add the red wine vinegar and then blitz in a blender until smooth.
Serve in bowls, drizzle with olive oil and remaining basil leaves.
Enjoy your delicious and nutritious Roasted Tomato Soup.
We all know veggies are good for our health but who really feels like eating salads in the middle of Winter? The solution? Delicious baked Winter veg made interesting with magic green sauces! Green sauces are herbaceous, full of flavour and packed with immune boosting antioxidants and vitamin C. A little garlic adds a bang to the flavours whilst keeping those winter bugs away. Green sauces are a tasty way to sneak in some extra greens and jazz up roast veggies to make sure you are meeting your vegetable quota.
The best thing about green sauces is that you be sure to use up all of those half bunches of herbs that would otherwise sit and wilt in the fridge. They never have to go to waste again because there is no wrong or right way to make a green sauce – just throw in whatever you have and blend! Some guidelines are good to get you started though, and after some practice you can just use your instinct. Here are our favourites:
Rocket pesto
This twist on regular basil pesto is great for getting the digestion going as rocket has that gentle bitter quality to it. The bitterness is balanced out by the other ingredients though, making it a flavour party for your palate. Top any roast veg with it, such as sweet potato, cauliflower, eggplant, zucchini, pumpkin, beetroot, carrot, parsnip, fennel or red capsicum. If you chop the veg into bite sized pieces you can easily toss them into a salad with some green leaves and add the pesto on top as a wonderful dressing. A dollop of rocket pesto on top of your scrambled eggs is also wonderful.
1 small garlic clove
Pinch of sea salt
25g pine nuts, walnuts or cashews very lightly toasted in a dry frypan or in the oven
50g rocket
1 bunch of basil
25g Parmesan, finely grated (optional)
Juice of ½ lemon
125ml cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
Salsa verde
This classic Italian green sauce goes wonderfully with any roast veg but also on fish, chicken, poached eggs or steak. You can swap the mint out for fresh coriander or rosemary as you please.
1 clove garlic
1/2-1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
1 bunch of fresh basil
1 handful of fresh mint
1 small handful of capers
6 anchovy fillets
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
8 tablespoons cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
Zhoug
This Middle-Eastern version of pesto is traditionally made with green chilli and is quite hot. Its a wonderful winter warmer but feel free to modify the heat level or omit the chilli. You can also add lemon zest if you like a more punchy flavour. Zhoug is magical with roast pumpkin and labne, over roast eggplant and cauliflower, or on meatballs, felafels or boiled eggs.
4 jalapeño chillis
4 cloves garlic (peeled)
1/2 cup parsley
1/2 cup fresh coriander (leaves and stalks but be sure to wash the sand out thoroughly)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 cup cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste
Green Tahini
This sauce is addictive so consider making a double batch to keep in your fridge and spread over everything. Goes well drizzled on roast veg, roast chicken, felafel or on toast.
150ml tahini
70ml lemon juice
150ml water
1 clove of garlic, crushed
30g (or one handful) flat-leaf parsley leaves (you could also use coriander or a combination of both)
salt to taste
Chimichurri
This Argentinian green sauce with its dominant parsley and garlic flavour is an excellent sauce or marinade for meat and vegetables, or can be used as a condiment to spice up just about anything you can imagine.
1/2 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar, or more to taste
This recipe is one of my all-time favourites! It is great anytime of the year and is a real powerhouse of nutrients. It’s also such a beautiful looking dish to serve up to guests with the gorgeous greens of the fresh herbs and the bright red pomegranate seeds.
The recipe below is a modified version of George CaIombaris’ Cypriot Salad (from his Hellenic Republic restaurant). I have changed the grain to quinoa (instead of freekah) for more protein and left out the honey in the dressing to reduce the sugar content.
The greens in the salad are rich in folate and antioxidants which are important nutrients to support a healthy conception and pregnancy, whilst the nuts and seeds are high in zinc (great for sperm health!), magnesium and fibre. There is another anti-oxidant hit with the delicious pomegranate seeds on top and some beneficial gut bugs in the form of probiotics if you use a good quality yoghurt (not to mention the additional protein and calcium in the yoghurt).
It is a really delicious crunchy salad and pairs well with a slow cooked lamb or grilled fish. It’s also a great vegetarian dish on its own with the protein from quinoa and the lentils (the latter also being a vegetarian source of iron). Enjoy!
Quinoa Salad with Yoghurt Dressing
Ingredients:
1 bunch coriander, chopped
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 cup quinoa
1/2 cup Puy lentils
2 tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp toasted slivered almonds
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
2 tbsp baby capers
1/2 cup currants
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp extra virgin olive
Sea salt to taste
1 pomegranate, deseeded, to serve
Dressing
1 cup thick Greek yoghurt
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
Method
Cook quinoa and lentils separately in boiling water until both just cooked. Drain well and allow to cool.
In a hot pan toast the nuts and seeds. Remove and allow to cool.
In a medium bowl mix the salad ingredients (except pomegranate) and season to taste.
Top with mixed cumin & yoghurt dressing and pomegranate seeds.
For the original recipe by George Calombaris click here – Cypriot grain salad
Just Eat Your Greens! – it’s that easy. Written by Sarah Harris, FGHG Paediatric Naturopath.
It is an unfortunate fact of modern life that our children are constantly exposed to all manner of toxins; in their home, places of learning, sporting fields and parks, in the air they breathe, the food they eat and the water they drink. These often unavoidable toxins can do a lot of damage to their growing cells through a process known as oxidation (or free radical damage). In healthy children, a balance exists between free radical production and antioxidant defences. Disturbances in this balance may contribute to poor health or disease. But nature has a solution; eating greens and plenty of them!
You are passing on wise advice when you encourage your children to ‘eat your greens’!
Many vegetables contain protective plant-based phytochemicals, particularly Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, bok choy, cabbage, cauliflower and, yes, brussels sprouts. These protective compounds (known as isothiocynates) contain sulphur, which can make them taste bitter or hot (they are also constituents of mustard, wasabi and horseradish). One of the more important isothiocyanates is sulforaphane.
Broccoli has been called the ‘Queen of Vegetables’ for good reason – it is particularly rich in sulforaphane, and regular consumption is an important part of a healthy diet for a healthy life.
Sulforaphane is a component of broccoli that may help to provide protection against the stressors of modern living, thanks to its ability to clear toxins and reduce free radical damage, helping your kids and their cells feel healthier and happier.
Clean up your cells!
Sulforaphane not only gently stimulates detoxification – the process of removing toxins from the body; it is a potent antioxidant as well. This means it helps to clean up your kids system and repair cellular damage at the same time. These actions are immensely useful, and sulforaphane from broccoli has been shown to improve a wide range of health conditions including allergies, asthma, autism and many more.
Greens are great but a rainbow of vegetables and fruits is best for healthier kids.
Ensure your children’s diet contains a wide selection of coloured fruits and vegetables; these are rich in antioxidant phytochemicals for optimal health.
To help support your child’s natural detoxification processes and reduce oxidation:
Start a home grown broccoli sprouts project with your kids! Having a combination of both broccoli seeds and sprouts is one of the most effective ways to get sulforaphane. The seeds contain the main ingredient (called glucoraphanin), which gets converted to sulforaphane with the help of an enzyme found in the sprouts.
Try this fantastic recipe from the Happy Healthy Mama website to get those fussy eaters to eat their greens! Broccoli Bites Recipe
Vitamin C is naturally occurring in broccoli and helps speed up this conversion. This is a great example of Mother Nature’s wisdom, with different parts of the broccoli plant working together to deliver higher amounts of sulforaphane, for greater therapeutic benefits.
Your Paediatric Naturopath, Sarah Harris, can further support your children on how detoxifying and antioxidant support may benefit you and your children.
This granola is very low in sugar, has around half the carbohydrate content of the average supermarket granola or muesli, is higher in protein, is easy to make and best of all, it is still delicious!
Like most commercially available cereals, store-bought muesli are super high in sugar and needlessly so, when you can make one that tastes absolutely delicious with far less of it. Personally, I think this recipe tastes better than any pre-packaged muesli I’ve tried (and I’ve tried a lot).
So why would being lower in carbohydrate and sugar be an advantage? Well, most of us are having too much carbohydrate and sugar on a daily basis (they’re in most convenience and packaged foods), without enough protein and fats, and this causes blood sugar dysregulation. Basically, when we eat in this way, our blood sugar rises and our pancreas goes into overdrive, pumping out lots of insulin to deal with the glucose load, which then leads to a blood sugar drop and sugar cravings. As you can imagine, starting your day like that can set you up for a day of eating poorly and feeling crappy. If repeated, this can lead to hormonal dysregulation, weight gain and contribute to fertility problems.
So start your day with this delicious granola instead. The protein and healthy fats in the nuts and seeds will keep you full and satisfied for longer than your average cereal, setting you up for a good day. Plus your taste buds will be happy too. Enjoy!
Ingredients
1.5 cups oats
½ cup flaked almonds
½ cup other nuts (choose from pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews or pistachios)
½ cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup shredded or flaked coconut
1 tablespoons real maple syrup
1.5 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract or vanilla powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Method
Preheat oven to 160 degrees Place oats, almonds, other nuts, pumpkin seeds and coconut in a large bowl Melt coconut oil in a small saucepan with maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and sea salt Pour wet ingredients over dry in the large bowl Stir until thoroughly combined Place mixture on a tray lined with baking paper Bake for 20 minutes, stirring once after 10 minutes Serve with milk or yoghurt of choice and fresh berries or kiwi fruit
Tips
You can double this to make two trays and store in an airtight glass jar in the cupboard
Josephine Cabrall is an experienced, FGHG naturopath and trained fertility teacher with a special interest in fertility, IVF support, reproductive health and pregnancy. Her own health experiences have left Josephine with a passion for helping people (whether trying to conceive or not) with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), acne, gut health and stress reduction.
