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WHY RAW LIVING FOODS! For Healing Diseases and Autism. . .

What’s the nutritional difference between cooked and raw foods?

When you cook vegetables, you change their chemical composition making them unable to be utilised by the body. Depending on the method and time, cooking reduces the amount of antioxidants in the plants.
This is especially true for water-soluble and heat-sensitive nutrients, such as vitamin C, glucosinolate and polyphenols. Cooking can reduce a nutrient’s ease of absorption into the body, making them useless for the body and it becomes a mucus forming food making it toxic for the body and thus causing inflammation.
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We are all energy so eating foods high in energy, vitality and life force will help us have that energy and vitality ourselves. When you eat raw living alkalising foods you feel alive! The food moves through your body faster feeding your cells with high nutrients and a high water content hydrating you from the inside, better than plan water alone in some foods like cucumber, lettuce and watermelon. When you eat heavy, acidic, fatty cooked foods you want to sleep as your system is so overburdened and toxic it removes the energy and oxygen from the brain and muscles. And has to work hard to digest the heavy fatty foods sitting in the intestines, fermenting and dehydrating the body and causing an acidic state which leads to disease and cancer.

Food combining and why is it essential for health!-chart.
If your new to a plant based diet, even though you lose some nutrients value when cooking vegetables, I would still suggest building your vegetable intake up first moving to a 100% plant based diet and removing all animal products, with lightly steamed vegetables and greens. Then when you can and feel ready swapping cooked vegetables for as many raw vegetables as possible to help build your enzymes up in your gut and help PH balance your body, allowing for detoxification of the blood and lymphatic system – remembering fruit and raw vegetables and lots of greens are the only way to detox your body and remove heavy metals and mucus thus healing your body from disease and sickness. Cooked foods are mucus forming and lacking in enough nutrients to build your body to health. We are all so deficient these days with the quality of our soils, food, water and air . . . so to remove nutrients from our food by cooking it is not helpful. Also cooked foods are feeding the parasites and fungus our body are becoming imbalanced with because of it being to acidic. When the body is acidic and deficient in minerals and enzymes, diseases start and cells mutate into cancer. We want to make the body alkaline and thriving!

Hannah’s Gut Healing Protocol.
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Knowing how detoxifying raw living foods are, start slowly when adding them in. Swapping 1 meal a day to a completely raw meal combined correctly, and build up. Or eating raw foods till dinner then a lightly steamed dinner. . . until you have regained enzymes to break the food down and the detox symptoms are manageable (this way of eating will not give you full healing properties as the cooked foods will stop you detoxifying fully). Or like me go 100% raw over night ride out the few days of detox and feel amazing and vibrant faster!

Either way increasing your raw greens, fruit and sweet young vegetables will benefit your body so much. You will see it in your skin, energy and vitality. If you can eat a food without doing anything to it bar peeling it then it’s a good raw food for the body. If you have to season it or cook it to make it palatable then it’s not our food.

Why Leafy Greens are so good for you and the Nutritional breakdown.

Contact me directly if you would like my assistant in transitioning to a natural living lifestyle and transitioning to raw foods to overcome your health struggles and take back your health!

0414967763 – hannah@nourishtohealth.com.au

Much love x x

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Why Leafy Greens are so good for you and the Nutritional breakdown.

Not many foods can compare to the high nutritional value of leafy greens. Researchers are finding that eating your greens may be even more important than previously imagined. In putting together this article I found lots of quotes that stated “it was common for our ancient ancestors to eat up to six pounds of leaves per day”. Recent research shows that a gene that is essential for producing critical immune cells in your gut, responds to the food you eat—specifically leafy green vegetables. So eat your greens!

We now know that these greens are packed with an array of antioxidants and other disease-fighting compounds. Researchers also believe that these vegetables play an important role in controlling food allergies, inflammatory diseases and obesity, and may even prevent the development of bowel cancers (see Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for more on that).

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Here’s a nutritional breakdown of the top readily available leafy greens:

Kale:

  • Excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K
  • High in Calcium (for a vegetable)
  • Also supplies Folate and Potassium

Collard Greens:

  • Excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K
  • Good source of Folate, Manganese, and Calcium
  • Cancer preventatvive glucosinolates (glucoraphanin, sinigrin, gluconasturtiian, and glucotropaeolin)
  • Similar in nutrition to Kale but more chewy with a stronger taste

Swiss Chard:

  • Excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K
  • Good source of Magnesium, Manganese, Potassium, Iron and Vitamin E
  • At least 13 different Polyphenol Antioxidants, including Kaempferol and Syringic Acid
  • Unique source of Phytonutrients called Betalains (provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification support)

Turnip Greens:

  • Excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K
  • Good source of Folate, Manganese, Calcium, Copper, Vitamin E and Vitamin B6
  • Bitter taste linked to high Calcium (4x more than cabbage, 2x more than mustard greens)
  • High glucosinolate content (phytonutrients with cancer-preventing properties)

Spinach:

  • Excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K
  • Good source of Manganese, Folate, Iron, Vitamins C, B2, B6 and E
  • Showed evidence of significant protection against the occurrence of aggressive prostate cancer.
  • Glycoglycerolipids help protect the lining of the digestive tract from damage — especially damage related to unwanted inflammation.

Beetroot Greens:

  • Excellent source of vitamins A, C, E and K
  • Good source of Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorus, Zinc, Vitamins B6

Valuable source of Lutein/Zeaxanthin (good for eye health)

Lettuce:

  • Excellent source of vitamin K. Vitamin K has a potential role in the bone metabolism where it thought to increase bone mass by promoting osteotrophic activity inside the bone cells. It also has established role in Alzheimer’s disease patients by limiting neuronal damage in the brain.
  • Fresh leaves contain good amounts folates and vitamin C. Folates are part of co-factors in the enzyme metabolism required for DNA synthesis and therefore, play a vital role in prevention of the neural tube defects in the baby (fetus) during pregnancy.
  • Vitamin C is a powerful natural antioxidant; regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals.

So don’t over look the humble lettuce it’s my favorite green to have in the fridge . . .

How to Choose Leafy Greens

When choosing your greens, you should always look for leaves that are crisp. You want to hear a slight snap when you crack the stems. If they are wilted, soggy, or slimy, keep looking! Ideally, they have been stored in a cool place but watch out for greens stored in ice and the leaves will burn. Greens are loaded with water. Ice can crystallize the water and the greens may end up mushy by the time you get them home.

The leaves should smell fresh and, well, really green!

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Colour is also important. If you have a choice, pick the darkest leaves. Don’t worry about a few brown spots, that’s perfectly normal, especially at the farmers markets. However, if the edges are consistently brown throughout all the leaves they are not good. Last but not least, is smell. The leaves should smell fresh and, well, really green!

NOTE: Non-organic greens can be very high in pesticides. This is one of those items that are definitely worth buying organic.  It is to buy from a local grower when possible. Make sure your growers are practicing sustainable farming practices and not using heavy chemical pesticides and herbicides. If you can’t buy from a local farm or farmers market, then make sure to choose organically-certified greens at the grocery store. There’s no skimping on greens they should always be organic where possible.

Eat your greens! Add them to each meal in smoothies, juices, salads, use as wraps and serve with dips.

I do not suggest cooking greens . . . if they are not sweet enough to eat raw, then do not eat them at all. Once you cook leaves you loose the nutrients of them and the healing properties they hold.

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Raw Mexican Nut Free “TACOS”!

Mexican style raw tacos are a favourite in our home for our special treat meal . . .you will love them too…great messy finger food for the kids and packed full of flavour while being healthy and low in fat and the option to make them starch free too. Dress them up with toppings or just eat them simply . . .

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What you will need:

Makes for 4-6 serves.

The “Taco” mixture:

  • 2 corn on the cobs kernels removed (optional if you are no starches at present)
  • 6 semi dried tomatoes soaked
  • 2 dates soaked and pitted
  • 4 fresh large tomatoes halved
  • 1/2 punnet cherry tomatoes quartered
  • 2 sticks celery one for the blender and 1 finally diced
  • 1/2 tsp smoky paprika
  • 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cumin powder
  • 8 brown mushrooms and a pinch of dried mushroom if you have it
  • 1 finally diced zucchini
  • 1/2 red capsicum diced
  • juice of 1 lime and zest
  • 1 loose cup coriander chopped
  • 1/2 loose cup mint chopped
  • 1/4 loose cup parsley chopped
  • soaking water (about 2-3 tbs)

To serve:

  • Iceberg lettuce or coz lettuce to serve as tacos
  • 1 cup finally shredded red cabbage
  • Sprouts or micro herbs
  • Sliced avocado
  • Pesto or dip (optional)

 

How to make these:

  1. Soak the dates and tomatoes in very little water till soft (you use the water in the mixture so only use a little, so you keep all the flavour.
  2. In a blender add the 4 large tomatoes, 1/2 the mushrooms, celery, dates, semi dried tomatoes, cumin, paprika’s and soaking water and blend till smooth but still with texture. Then add the remaining mushrooms and pulse till textured.
  3. In a medium bowl add the corn kernels, 1 stick of diced celery, diced capsicum, diced zucchini, lime zest and juice, chopped herbs, quartered cherry tomatoes and stir together.
  4. Add the tomato sauce from step 2. and stir again.
  5. Spoon the mixture into the lettuce cups which I would suggest lining with shredded red cabbage…and top with your favourite toppings!

This mixture gets more flavoursome with time, so I suggest making it in the morning. This will also allow the mixture to set and the liquid to drain off allowing the “tacos” or lettuce cups not to get wet…

Finish with micro herbs or sprouts and slices of avocado or vegan chipotle mayonnaise or vegan sour cream….I used coriander pesto! Dairy and soy free sour cream.

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Raw oil free salad dressings.

These are my favourite salad dressings. . .

 

  1. Chipotle Dressing – 1 red capsicum, 1/2 clove garlic (optional), 1 zucchini peeled, 1 tbsp tahini, 1 large celery stalk, 1 small lemon, 1tsp sweet paprika, 1/2 cup sunflower seeds – blended till smooth.

 

  1. Oil Free Pesto – 1 peeled zucchini, 1/2 clove garlic, 1 cup basil, 1

small lemon, 1/2 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds-blended till

smooth.

 

  1. Zesty and Creamy– 1 whole orange, 1/2 avocado, 1/2 cup fresh

mint- blended till smooth.

 

  1. Asian Style -1 small lime, 2 tbs coconut aminos (or tamari), 1/2

chilli (optional) 1 clove garlic (optional) 1 tbs tahini, 1 inch ginger grated, 1 pitted date,  1/4 cup pineapple juice – pestle & mortar together. Add sesame seeds in once it’s made for decoration.

 

  1. Simple & Easy– juice from 1 small lemon, 2 tbs tahini – whisked together.

 

  1. Creamy Basil Dressing – 1 avocado, juice 1 small lemon, 1/2 cup basil, 8 brazil nuts – blended till smooth.

 

  1. Tropical Bliss – 1 mango cheek, 1/2 red capsicum, 1 cup fresh

mint, 1 cup coriander, 1/2 cup sunflower seeds – blended till smooth.

 

  1. BBQ Sauce – 4 organic soaked & drained semi-dried tomatoes, 2 soaked dates, 1/2 red capsicum, 1 clove garlic, 1/2 cup fresh

coriander, 1/2 cup fresh mint, 1 tsp sweet paprika, 2 fresh

tomatoes, 1 peeled zucchini – blended till chunky or smooth

which ever you like & add some of the date water if you need to

adjust the texture.

 

  1. Ranch Dressing – 1 cup soaked & drained macadamia nuts, 1

clove garlic, 1/2 cup fresh dill, 2 sprigs thyme, 1 tbs apple cider

vinegar, 2 spring onions, 1/2 lemon – blended till very smooth

adding water if needed. Once blended add thinly slice spring

onions and more chopped chives.

 

  1. Pina Colada- ½ cup pineapple juice. ¼ cup fresh mint. ½ cup coconut milk, 2 tbs tahini, 1 inch grated ginger, ½ garlic clove, 1 tbs coconut aminos, squeeze lime- blended till smooth.

 

Of course if you cannot eat garlic or nightshade or spices or nuts substitute these or keep it simple. I do not recommend processed oils or vinegars or salt and pepper – spices are to be kept at a minimum too – oils like olive oil stop the body digesting the food it’s eaten with . . . slowing down the digestion!

 

https://nourishtohealth.com.au/2014/11/07/good-fats-and-bad-fats-and-how-to-use-them-inyour-

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Fight or flight and how it works and how to counteract it?

Well that’s a title!

Your body goes into fight or flight when it is needed to run, jump into action or fight something. But in modern day life most of us are in this state each day and that keeps us in an unhealthy acid state where our cells are inflamed no matter how “healthy” we are. Things like watching mind numbing TV and violent dramtic bad news, pushing your body beyond it’s capacity, living or working in an emotional state or bad environment or dealing with less desirable people, living with child on the spectrum or with a disability, all these situations can put and keep you this state of fight or flight and beyond what is a healthy response.

How does it all work?

My Mickel Therapy taught me to break down this response and by understanding it I could stop it and reverse it. I learnt that I can control my response and I can control how I react to a situation and that although my body naturally puts me in to this fight or flight state to protect me or make me respond, it does not have to live here and I can bring myself back down. To produce the fight or flight response, the hypothalamus gland activates two systems: the sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal-cortical system. The sympathetic nervous system uses nerve pathways to ignite or fire on reactions in the body, and the adrenal-cortical system uses the bloodstream. The combined effects of these two systems are the fight or flight response.

When the hypothalamus tells the sympathetic nervous system to kick into gear, the overall effect is that the body speeds up, tenses up and becomes generally very alert often the body finds strength and power it did not know it had. If your baby is stuck up a tree you are going to have to take action and fast even if you cannot climb trees or are afraid of heights! The sympathetic nervous system sends out impulses to glands and muscles and tells the adrenal medulla to release epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) into the bloodstream. These “stress hormones” cause several changes in the body, including an increase in heart rate and blood presure. You often hear of mothers lifting cars of their trapped babies. Of course in a relaxed state this would be near impossible.

Introvert_12parasympaheticsystem_zpseb7a2579So once you have gone into a flight or fight response, how do you return to a relaxed state and return to your parasympathetic nervous system?

Well if your body has just dealt with an emergency or had to run away from danger. Naturally your body will adjust and calm it self down. But if your in fight or flight continuously through what we spoke about earlier, then this process is much harder and needs balance to force it self into a relaxed state. Which is why some people find shavasana and mediation so hard, their bodies are just not used to relaxing and need to train their brain to send chemicals to counteract this and learn how.

We know your muscle get activated and tighten– so to counteract this, sitting calmly or using shavasana or child’s pose will help to unwind the muscles. If you can have a warm bath or a hot shower this will help too. Using certain essential oils may help in this process.

We know your breath gets short and rushed and your respiratory system shuts down– so breathing deeply and slowly in for the count of 5 and out for the count of 8 will help control the breath and bring oxygen back to the muscles and relax the body and the digestion system.

We know the body goes into fear– so the moment the fear has gone you must not give momentum to the fear but to flip it to a positive vibe. How do you do this? See the positives in what just happened. Stop telling the story. Stop reliving the drama. Once it is over breath and let it go. Do not keep reliving what happened over and over as it keeps you in that place of fear and negative feelings. Instead think ‘oh gosh that could have been worst’ or ‘at least that didn’t get worst’ or ‘I can see how I can learn from this and move on to be a better vibration’ or ‘I will learn from this and not respond like that again’ What is a ‘Health Coach’ and how can they help you achieve your goals?

We know your body takes momentum from your current emotion- so do not allow others to push your buttons, control how you react to others words or actions. Remove yourself from situations and places that keep you in a negative space or in an angry, jealous, upset space. do not give momentum to the issue and keep your self at that lower vibration. To do this, balance is key! For every bad situation find a positive one. For each bad energy or negative person in your life find a positive person or situation to balance it out. For each stressful conversation walk in nature, or go to a tai-chi class or yin yoga class or meditation evening. For each physical exertion balance it with a yin movement and cleansing fuelling foods. Balancing out the impact to stress is vital as when you are in fight or flight the body shuts down and stops nutrients getting to the cells the body absorbing water and the brain getting oxygen. Which will cause fatigue on the body and the adrenal gland to crash. When you an action you are coming from a higher place and a higher vibration and far from a place of fear. How do you get more oxygen when you’re stressed? Walk, take an action, exercise gently, eat green leafy vegetables, feel and think positive thoughts, mediation, laugh and dance!

We know cortisol is released when you are in fight or flight– so to quieten your system and encourage the endorphines to take over from the cortisol and other fear induced chemicals is to calm your usual reactions to fear. The four A’s can help you do this and they are Avoid, Alter, Adapt, Accept. This is a good rule to live by! Remember accepting the situation you are in and to make peace and let go, does not mean you cannot change it and involve from it.

We know your digestions stops when you are in fight or flight – so look to your diet to help with this. Dietary choices or lack of nutrition can provoke and increase a sense of anxiety and worry if you’re lacking in healthy nutrients, have blood sugar swings, and if you’re fueling up on unhealthy foods most of the time. Caffeine and sugar are culprits in fueling your flight or fight responses. Decreasing anxiety through food can be achieved by increasing your intake of complex carbohydrates ie lots of fruit and vegetables, green leafy vegetables, eating smaller more frequent meals, drinking plenty of water away from food, and limiting or better still avoiding the intake of caffeine, sugar and alcohol. and not eating to late at night. Be careful to avoid food sensitivities as these can heighten your sense of anxiety and fear if you have a reaction to them. Increase your intake of foods that are high in tryptophan. Tryptophan helps boost your brain’s calm mood and relaxes you. Try such foods as bananas, organic chicken, nuts, natural peanut butter and sesame seeds. eating good healthy fats will help fuel your brain as it is made from 60% fat and needs good omega 3-6 and 9 to regenerate and be at it’s full potential. I have found many of my young ASD clients improve there anxiety and stress levels and stimming so fast upon introducing good fats to their diets. There’s a difference between choosing healthy foods to help quell stress responses and “stress or emotional eating”. If you notice that you’re turning to “comfort foods” to relieve stress, or after a tough situation, be mindful choose an action instead like walking, breathing or laughing or talking to a friend who brings your vibration up (not one who will help you stay in the lower vibration i.e. talking about the issue over and over and fishing for the drama). Blood sugar level swings will feed fear because you lack strength and energy as a result of them, causing you to feel physically weaker. As your blood sugar soars, you feel exuberant but as it crashes, your sense of fear will return and leave you feeling irritable, unresolved, and worried. Hence making it all worst. Never eat when you are stressed or upset the body will not digest the food. Once you are calm then eat mindfully. A simple guide to understanding Nutrition and the part it plays on your body, and how to heal your own body!

We know your brain goes to the primal back brain when you are in a fight or flight mode– so to move the energy back to your pre frontal cortex and not allow your body to leak energy. Plan your time and plan your strategy and do not make decisions from a place of fear, id advise you not to contact or speak to people from this negative place, as I know very well it will back fire on you. Fuel your brain with healthy good fats and water and clean air. Only make decisions when you are calm and in the right brain function. Breathe and be in the present and make choices from this place, not the fear based impulse that can cause drama and keep the issues alive.

Harnessing your energy and stopping leaks of energy will happen if you follow the rules above. I hope you find this helpful.

“Mental energy and focus is your greatest asset”

What does “Mindful Eating” really mean and how can it help your food intolerance?

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Carbs carbs carbs . . . good, bad and how many is right for you?

Carbohydrates are an essential building blocks for health and healing but getting the right ones is the key. The key is choosing them wisely, and timing them properly. Used optimally, carbs can enhance your fitness regimen. Settle your hormones and promote sleep or derail it all and cause sickness and disease.

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Since I was 16 I’ve heard all the “rules’ about carbs, I remember my old hairdressing clients when I was 18 on the Atkins Diet which was strictly no carbs and the no carbs after 5pm . . . you have seen them all right? But are you confused as I was?

Well I went on a research rampage over the last few years and through my nutrition training this is my take and personal experience with carbohydrates.

From being a vegetarian fruit, vegetable, grain and whole food eater. I went on the ‘low-carb’ bandwagon and I even tried Ketosis (extremely high fat, high protein and very low too NO carbs) and it was the sickest I’ve ever been although I was sick before, but it made me much worst. It has a great effect on obesity as you can loose weight dramatically but not correctly, or on very sick epileptic children who need a high fat diet for the brain to cope . . . being ‘low carb’ can work for some and can be stepping stone to get you where you need to go in short time but it is my belief and through my research that a prolonged time of ‘low-carb’ is not good for the brained can do more harm. I have seen when people cut out all fruit and go low carb the body can not cope and goes into shut down mode, the more I was trying to clear by body and loose weight the worst I got as it was starved of all glucose which is essential for the brain to function for the glands to produce a healthy balance of hormones and for my body to thrive. The Paleo way of eating is still ‘low-carb’ as is the Gaps Diet which promote real foods and healthy living so again can be a stepping stone in your healing journey, so this information below can still be used in conjunction to that way of eating. I still stand by my body feeling so much better without soy, grains, legumes and sugar but it did not go so well with the much needed simple healthy carbohydrate.

So now I eat an abundance of healthy simple carbohydrates in the form of fruit and vegetables each day, at each meal and I have not gained any weight and I’m slowly building the much needed muscles I lost through my Adrenal Fatigue and Fibromyalgia, as simple carbohydrates release energy slowly in to the cells I have energy! Yay to that fellow Chronic Fatigue suffers- you can have it too.  I can now exercise without crashing back to bed for days and my hormones are balanced. This has taken a year of trailing how much carbs my individual body needs and slowly slowly introducing the right type of exercise for my body and it’s needs-blocking out the latest fads in exercise and ways of eating and listening to my body and what it needs each day- not comparing my body to any one else body and loving the ride.

So let’s break this information down . . . when you work out, have a busy life you need energy or in my case having Fibromyalgia meant each night as I slept my body switch on the muscles like I was running a marathon; thus waking me up with exhaustion and achy muscles. This is because the muscle needs an energy source or they will start breaking down the muscle for energy. If your food source is low in natural glucose and fructose from fruits the body can not sustain energy and then that effects your endocrine system and your whole body. In others words your body is starving or thinks it’s in starvation/famine so it eat’s the muscles and keeps the fat  . . . oh gosh the opposite of what we want huh? By feeding your cells and brain with good healthy complex carbohydrates the body uses what it needs and you get energy stored in a healthy way.

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So what’s the good carbs and the bad carbs?

All “Complex Carbohydrates” are nutrients that break down into glucose, your body’s primary source of energy and essential for the brain, and most foods contain them. Fruits and Vegetables!

But not all carbs are created equal and we know not all calories are created equally. Sugars that are added to foods, baked goods, pastas, cakes, crackers, muffins and refined grains (even gluten free products) such as white rice are broken down quickly by your body as these are a simple chains of 2 sugar molecules “Simple Carbohydrates”. That means they provide almost-instant energy, but it doesn’t last and spikes insulin to be released which then has to be stored outside the cells and this kind of sugar can not be used within the cells, the body then sends in hormones to cope and candida to mop up the excess sugar. This unbalances the bacteria and the whole body goes out of balance this is the onset of diabetes and fatigue, all while not fuelling the cells and feeding the brain so you crave more sugar and you are on a roller coaster of energy and emotions. When you eat a complex carbohydrate (fruit or vegetables) in a whole food state that fruit or vegetable is a complete package of fibre, minerals, fructose that can be converted to glucose-remember the brains food. FRUIT DOES NOT SPIKE INSULIN. Other carbs, such as those found in whole grains, vegetables and legumes, take longer to digest, so you get a steadier supply of energy but that can come at a price if you are not combining them properly or our body is backed up with waste.

Simple carbohydrate rich foods like bread can be very high in calories. But many foods that contain complex carbs, such as fruits and vegetables, are low in calories and high in vitamins and minerals so you can eat them in abundance without gaining weight. Others fall somewhere in between: Whole grains contain a lot of nutrients and calories, while white bread has no nutrients and still a lot of calories. Neither are good options for digestion and brain health and especially Autism or behavioural issues.

What does this mean? Remove simple carbs like added refined sugar and refined grains like breads, biscuits, cookies, pastas, pastries, sweets, lollies and crackers (even gluten free) and consider all other healthy none processed carbohydrates to be a productive food to fuel your body and can be eaten in abundance like all fruit and vegetables.

What carbs when?

“Complex Carbohydrates” or “Natural sugars” are essential for the brain and if they are lacking in the body the gut can not produce the hormones it needs for proper function i.e. Serotonin and Gaba. So by increasing your healthy none processed carbs you slowly over time balance your energy, brain function and hormones. Loosing symptoms like brain fog, low energy, skin conditions and low mood and low libido. But don’t be fooled to thinking refined sugars “Simple Carbohydrates” will do this as they will cause the symptoms I have just listed . . . so NO lollies, sweets, chocolates and biscuits and trying to justify it’s good energy for the body, you know it’s not even in moderation!

Eating your fruit in the morning to wake up your digestion and allow your body to exercise or work hard is important. If you eat breakfast of fats and proteins your body will have to work hard to convert that into glucose for the brain. Unless you plan to rest for 1-3 hours after each meal, this will not digest and you will then be adding more food on top throughout the day and feel tired and have brain fog. By eating fruit as your first meal to break your fast (sleep) this is easily digestable food and the body will not need to use as much energy to digest it and that energy will go to you for your work or exercise. Then lunch could be a light meal as well like a salad or fruit without fats or proteins so you fuel your brain without loading your body with heavy to digest foods. Dinner can be a light steamed cooked meal with  fats if you wish for that as you have 12-18 hours after say dinner at 7pm to digest it. You can of course continue with a light meal of fruit or a salad to aid digestion further and give your body chance to heal. Remember no fruit after proteins, fats and starches!

Team this information up with learning about fruit and how it can heal your body and give you sustained energy and feed your brain; The truth about fruit . . .

So in conclusion Carbohydrates are a great essential food for your brain and cells but you must choose nature offerings not man kinds to get these benefits.

 

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Getting your child to drink green juices!

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This may seem very far off for you to imagine, or you might be ready to add more greens in to their current juices that they drink now. Either way be mindful that green juice is something that takes more caution when giving it to children. Because greens are very nutrient rich and a potent detoxifier, our bodies naturally begin detoxifying a bit quicker with greens then other juices. Not that this is bad and when you are trying to heal Autism this is essential, but it can make you/them feel ill if you do it too fast. If you feel that your child needs to detoxify, their bodies will naturally do it through a good diet full of fruit, herbs and vegetables combined with fresh green juices and or green smoothies over time and a chemical free happy environment. But start slowly and build up so they are used to the taste and their bodies get used to detoxify anything that needs to come out. With my boys we started with carrot, cucumber and celery juice and built up to removing all root vegetables and now they have a few different greens like spinach kale, celery, lettuce and cucumber with lemon, and sometimes ginger and turmeric . they have this most mornings before their breakfast. In the afternoon they might have a beetroot or carrot juice but we personally don’t add fruit as they find it sweet enough and I like them to eat their fruit on its own with out mixing with vegetables, this helps their bodies digest it better. As with my smoothie post go slowly and build them up.

The truth about fruit . . .

The difference between a smoothie and a juice, is when you make smoothies they contain fiber which means you can only eat a certain amount at each meal before feeling full (we need the fiber so keep making them!) That is the reason I do not suggest fruit juice  as it doesn’t have any finer in it. Even cold pressed organic fruit juice.

How to get your child drinking and loving ‘green smoothies’ . . .

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But with juicing you can include a large amount of greens that you normally would not be able to fit in to your body in one go. A juice is a large amount of vegetables and it’s a nutrient dense shoot of goodness for the gut and each and every cell! Would your child sit down to a large green salad? Maybe not but a green juice sweetened with some apple might go down well.

Here are a few suggestions that taste yummy and mask the bitter flavour some greens can have.

  • I recommend starting with fruit and wining them off fruit till it is just vegetables as fruit spikes the blood sugar level and causes hormonal crashes. Coconut water is a better option to add with greens.

These recipes are for 1-2 glasses of juice

Carrot Celery:

  • 2 carrots
  • 2 celery sticks
  • 1 cucumber (with skin)

Beetroot Apple:

  • 1 small beetroot
  • 1 celery stick
  • 1 cup spinach
  • Cucumber Apple:

 

Cucumber Pear:

  • 1 cucumber (with skin)
  • 2 pears
  • Small handful of kale

Cucumber Orange Grapefruit:

  • 1 cucumber (with skin)
  • 1 small handful of spinach greens
  • 1 orange peeled
  • 1 grapefruit peeled

Broccoli Pineapple:

  • 4 broccoli florets and stalks
  • ½ pineapple
  • 1 small bunch of parsley

Broccoli Apple:

  • 8 broccoli florets and stalks
  • 1 small bunch of parsley
  • 3 apples

Green Citrus:

  • 1 small handful of spinach
  • 2 sticks of celery
  • 1 handful kale
  • 3 oranges or 1 lemons peeled

Cucumber Watermelon:

  • 1 cucumber (with skin)
  • 1 thick slice watermelon
  • 2 sticks of celery
  • 1 lemon peeled
  • 1 handful mint
  • 1 handful of parsley

Green Bullet!

  • 1 cucumber
  • 2 sticks celery
  • 1/4 lemon
  • hand full of coriander
  • hand full of parsley
  • 1 cup coconut water

Simple Green:

  • 4 sticks celery
  • 2 cucumbers
  • 1/4 lemon

Melon fantastic:

  • 1/4 water melon
  • 1/4 cantaloup
  • 1/4 rock melen
  • 1 hand full of fresh mint

Why Leafy Greens are so good for you and the Nutritional breakdown.

Enjoy trying them all and play with what your child likes!

Tips: I suggest finding glasses and cups that are fun and even using flowers on top to diguse the colour so they try without making assumptions. Also get the kids involved in chopping and making them it will encourage them to want to try it more.

Good luck and remember they sense your fear and emotions – if you are hesitant and scared they will not go for it. Be confident and set an example by eating well yourself. Monkey see monkey do. Kids can not buy their own food, so only stock the best at home and choose only the best when you are out. If you are suffering with self sabotage and food binging and cravings. Contact me to coach you to break free of these . . . like I did.

Much love and Thanks Hannah xx

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