Friday 30 May 2014

Low digestive functioning is something that I see with my patients a lot. This can lead to a whole host of digestive health problems ranging from excessive gas and bloating to food allergies and food intolerances.

In order to break down food efficiently and effectively, your body needs a sufficient supply of digestive enzymes. Some of these digestive enzymes come from the pancreas, others are produced in the stomach, while still others are secreted by the salivary glands and glands in the small intestines. Raw foods also contain natural enzymes that make their own digestion easier, but the more foods are refined, the more digestive enzymes your body must produce on its own to assimilate them properly.
As we age, however, our digestive system becomes less efficient and we begin to produce fewer digestive enzymes. As a result, our digestive tract gradually becomes more alkaline and it becomes more difficult for our bodies to completely break down the proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in the foods we eat.
The solution is to re-acidify your intestinal tract and improve your overall digestive capabilities by supplementing with digestive enzymes.


Here's how:

Try taking two tablets of digestive enzymes about 30 minutes before meals and two more about 10 to 15 minutes following a meal.
When shopping for digestive enzymes, look for a product that contains enzymes to help you digest the three main types of nutrients: proteases (for proteins), lipases (for fats), and amylases (for carbohydrates).




Dr Clare also stocks a fantastic product "Dr Clare's Bitters".
This contains herbs that stimulate the body to naturally produce digestive enzymes.

Here is a simple chart to show you where the enzymes are produced and their actions.

Michelle




Wednesday 28 May 2014

Sweet Potato Chips.



Shred some sweet potato thinly and put in the dehydrator for about 3 hours. 
If you do not have a dehydrator you can pop them in the oven on a very low heat for the same length of time.
This is one of my favourite snacks.
Sprinkle with some nutritional yeast or flavour with paprika or chilli.
It is a great one for the kids or anyone who is on a gluten, dairy free or raw food diet.

We are now stocking the Excalibur 9 tray dehydrator.
For more information contact us on 091 583260.

Michelle.

Monday 26 May 2014

What to eat when you can't eat anything - Week 4

It was a week of old favorites and new flavour sensations this week! I think I'm finally getting into the swing of this new eating plan. And it's amazing how my food cravings have gone away, I hardly ever think of eating chocolate any more. I just wish I could cut down on my crisp habit (Both King and Hunky Dory's Cheese and Onion crisps have no actual cheese in them, so I've been indulging in them a LOT).


Breakfast

1. This week I tried a new breakfast from my favourite Chocolate Covered Katie site, it's a dish I've made before but even though I only put in about 1 tablespoon of sugar (she suggested 2) I still found it too sweet. Next time I'll just rely on the raisins to add some sweetness as I'm not a fan of sugary breakfasts anyway. This keeps well for a couple of days so I made it the evening before for breakfast - and had tons left for the next couple of days.


Lunch

1. Aubergines were on sale in my local supermarket so I thought I'd try making an aubergine based dip for my lunch (once again I waited to make it until I was using the oven anyway as it seemed crazy to use that much electricity just to cook one aubergine). I was afraid it would turn out bitter but I was pleasantly surprised, it was really tasty with vegetables, salad and bread. Unfortunately it think I needed a protein source as well as it wasn't quite filling enough for me. The next time I make it I'll have some hummous with it for a proper mezze plate.

Lunch is where I struggle most to find interesting recipes that aren't soup, I tend to have leftovers a lot, so any suggestions are welcomed! 

Dinner

1. This is a great fish pie recipe I've made many times. I wasn't sure how it would turn out using non-dairy milk (Koko dairy free), sunflower spread and no cheese, but I thought it was worth a try. I was really surprised. It was very similar to the original, just a tiny bit sweeter (I think it must have been the type of milk I used). I left out the eggs so it's only 3 steps :D 
I served it with fresh broccoli and lemon garlic kale for a great weekend dinner.


2. Thai vegetable curry with mae plow red curry paste
I had a craving for some thai food during the week, so I made a simple thai vegetable curry and just threw in any bits of veg I had in the fridge and freezer. 

This Mae Ploy brand of curry paste is really delicious (but quite high in salt so I only use it occasionally). It isn't vegan, it has fish paste in it, but it is dairy free which is something. You can get it in most asian shops, and the taste is streets ahead of any jarred thai curry sauce, and it requires very little work. Just fry about a heaped tablespoon of the paste in a saucepan for a minute or two, add a can of coconut milk, stir well to incorporate the paste and then add your meat or vegetables and simmer until cooked. Check their cooking instructions for meat, I simply add diced root vegetables first as they take longer to cook, then other veg when they are about halfway done. Then serve with rice.

3. I was told by a friend that Alpro soya cream was really nice, so I made up my own recipe for a vegan ‘carbonara’ style pasta dish. I simply sauteed some red onion, garlic, sliced courgette and added some quorn bacon slices that I cut into strips, then added alpro soya cream and some nutritional yeast (just to give it a bit of savoury flavour) and served it with spaghetti.

4. This vegetarian moussaka is another old favourite of mine. To modify it I replaced the white vinegar with cider vinegar, left out the feta and parmesan and added some goat's cheese instead.  I also grill all of the vegetables untill they soften - no oil necessary so it's much healthier. It's just a bit more work unfortunately, I usually make this at the weekend when I have a free afternoon. This dish takes quite a bit of time, but it makes enough for four dinners, and leftovers taste even better the next day! 

5. And finally, here is a recipe for a healthier version of Old El Paso fajita spice mix
  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • 2 tsp caster sugar
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp oregano (preferably the Mexican variety)
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp dried onion powder
  • 1 tsp dried garlic powder
  • 1 tsp chipotle chilli powder (use smoked paprika if you can't find this)

Mix together the ingredients and store in an airtight jar. This recipe makes about 5 tablespoons of spice mix.

The instructions on how to cook with it are at:

Friday 23 May 2014

Sleeping on the radio

Not literally sleeping on the radio, but I'm gathering  my thoughts together because I will be talking about sleeping problems on RTE national radio next week with Sean O'Rourke on Monday 26th May 2014 between 10.30 am and 12 md. So here are some tips for improving your sleep:





Taking my Apple Cider Vinegar shot. 
In recent years it has been singled out as an especially helpful health tonic.
It is great for digestive problems, heart burn, skin conditions, soothes a sore throat,lowers cholesterol,aids weight loss and much more. 
I take 5ml(1tsp) twice a day in a little warm water.
Always let the staff member know if you are on any medication.

Michelle

Thursday 22 May 2014

Bloom




Bloom is Ireland's biggest garden festival. It is a gardener’s paradise - offering an array of herbs, plants and inspirational gardens. It is also a great day out for people of all ages. I love the fact that it is all based around the enjoyment and promotion of nature.



Last year, I spoke at the Active Retirement tent and spent the weekend wandering around Bloom. The weather was glorious and I enjoyed the event enormously, and picked up some unusual herbs and plants along the way.



This year looks as if it will be just as exciting again. There is a Humanitarian and Envirnomental zone, including the Beekeepers Association and Birdwatch Ireland, a Food Village including an Organic School Garden and an Artisan Village and lots of show gardens to give us all inspiration and ideas on how to use our gardens. There are lots of other things on offer including a family fun area, entertainment and a number of tents and demonstrations.


I will be speaking at the Woodies Garden Expert Stage at the following times – Friday 30th May at 5pm, Saturday 31st May 12pm and Sunday 1st June at 1pm. Please come along if you are attending Bloom. I hope to see you there.







Monday 19 May 2014

What to eat when you can't eat anything - Week 3


I was a little miserable this week, I'm hoping that it's my body adjusting to my new regime, but I'm not sure. I'm sticking with this new lifestyle anyway for a while longer in the hopes that I wake up one morning feeling marvelous and full of energy! To cheer myself up at the weekend though I had a pizza night, using the cheeses I'm still allowed to have and I think it really helped ;-) 


Breakfast:
1. For breakfast I made these oatmeal cupcakes this week: 
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2013/01/08/breakfast-oatmeal-cupcakes-to-go/ I substituted cocoa powder for the chocolate chips as I haven't been able to find vegan chips and cacao chips are much more expensive (I know they're much healthier, but my bank balance is refusing to let me invest in them). I think the chips would have been a bit nicer, and added texture but they were very handy, healthy and tasty. 

Lunch:
For lunch I made a big bowl of red lentil and sweet potato dip which lasted a couple of days.
1. http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1897679/red-lentil-and-sweet-potato-pt and the only substitution I needed to make was swopping the red wine vinegar for a little cider vinegar. This was filling and satisfying with bread and salad. 

but I swapped the corn for some heated pinto beans. I also added some cumin and chilli powder to the beans to make them more interesting. This was surprisingly filling. I love that avocados are becoming both cheaper and more flavourful this time of  year :D

Dinners:
1. I made a simple tomato-based lentil, courgette, rosemary and thyme bake with a garlic potato topping. This was perfect comfort food when I was miserable, like a vegan shephard's pie! 

2. I also had a very simple 'fish and two veg' dinner of a salmon fillet with  boiled new potatoes and broccoli with a garlic and parsley white sauce. More comfort food! 

3. To break out of my potato rut I made a tofu based curry with whatever veg I had lying around. This curry is very versatile and requires very little work once the vegetables are chopped: http://www.thisrawsomeveganlife.com/2012/07/curry-with-tofu-grilled-vegetables.html#.U1f5L85aC8D

4. I bought a beautiful basil plant and decided to make some fresh vegan pesto before I inevitably kill it through neglect or overwatering!  Vegan pesto tastes practically the same as regular pesto - I've never really noticed any cheese flavour from it anyway. And as pine nuts are so expensive these days I did a little investigating online to see if sunflower seeds could be substituted for them, and my hunch was correct. This recipe came out really well, and is freezable to, I call it 'Peasant Pesto' as it's so cheap to make. Just use a good quality extra virgin olive oil if you can. 

5. And for my most indulgent dinner of the week, I bought two Biona gluten-free pizza bases and made a simple tomato based pizza sauce.
I topped one pizza with aldi goats cheese with herbs, spinach and sundried tomatoes,
and the other with courgette, Buffalo mozzarella, red peppers, olives and my homemade pesto.
I served them with home-made sweet potato fries. Both pizzas were delicious but because Buffalo Mozzarella is so expensive, it will be a rare treat. Yes, I'm obsessed with the price of food at the moment! (I also had company eating them, I don't think I'd be able to manage two pizzas plus fries in one sitting, but I would have tried :D) 

Snacks:
I only made one snack this week, here's a new dish I discovered that I think would make a good snack or side dish: 
Roasted cauliflower tastes fabulous - much better than boiling it, and if you google it you will find a ton of toppings or dips to accompany them. 

Time to start looking for some new healthy yet indulgent recipes to cheer myself up!

Here are the two pizzas, they're not particularly pretty, but we didn't care:


Monday 12 May 2014

What to eat when you can't eat anything - Week 2

I still haven't noticed any much change with my health really, I don't have any more energy than I had, but at least my stomach hasn't been giving me any trouble. But It's early days yet, and I'm still enjoying finding new recipes to try out. And as I suspected, I've only been able to meet people for coffee or tea. It can be difficult as well when you can't just grab something to eat for dinner on the way home from work when you're in a hurry and don't have any leftovers. I can see a lot of omelettes in my future! 



I was pretty boring with breakfasts this week and just had the same as last week: homemade granola, oat smoothies and eggs at the weekend. 

Lunch
1. Gigantes Plaki (butterbeans baked in a tomato sauce with oregano, cinnamon and parsley) with bread.
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/12229/gigantes-plaki This is unusual, tasty, and simple to prepare, especially if you use tinned beans. The only flaw is that it takes ages to cook in the oven, so I only make it when I'm ovening something else for dinner.
2. Hummus with a variety of vegetables, bread and salad.

Snacks: 
Curry quinoa crunch (just make sure the curry powder you use is gluten-free, many contain wheat)

Dinners: 
1. Creamy cauliflower alfredo sauce
This is a really quick and handy recipe when you see a special offer on cauliflower, can't resist buying it, and then don't know what to do with it! 

2. Buckwheat noodles and vegetables with peanut sauce 
This was like a simple satay sauce. I had to make a few substitutions, and I think that ginger would have tasted better than the galangal but it was really enjoyable anyway. (i also used Braggs aminos and left out the carrots) and I served with buckwheat noodles noodles instead of pasta.

3. Black bean enchiladas
I had to make this with a white sauce with added nutritional yeast as I can't eat cashews. It was nice, but I bet 
the cashew cream was even better! The recipe says to drain the liquid from the beans when you cook them, but the first time I made this I forgot to and it made it much tastier. I also made my own simple salsa, as I find bought salsa is very salty and expensive. My recipe is just chopped tomatoes, garlic, red onion, red chilli, fresh coriander and black pepper.

4. Butternut squash lasagne with goat's cheese, sage and breadcrumbs.
I made this at the weekend as there was a little bit of work involved. I roasted the butternut squash the day before when I was cooking the enchiladas, to save time and electricity and added an extra clove of garlic :) I didn't try to substitute the Pecorino Romano (similar to Parmesan), I just left it out and it was still delicious. 

Dessert: 
I was getting tired of dark chocolate (which is probably a good thing, as I used to eat too much chocolate in general) so to make it more of a treat I decided to add my own flavourings. I used a silicon egg poacher to melt a few squares of dairy-free chocolate and stirred in a few drops of peppermint food extract. When the chocolate had solidified again, I simply peeled the chocolate out of the egg poacher. No waste, no fuss, and I had some tasty mint chocolate. It just doesn't look very pretty unfortunately. This also worked well with a little bit of spiced rum and some raisins. Cayenne chilli chocolate is next on my list to try :D 

Monday 5 May 2014

What to eat when you can't eat anything - Week 1

I have just completed Week 1 of my new intolerance regime, and I didn't find it TOO difficult. I haven't really noticed any changes with my health yet though, my energy levels are still low.

The hardest part was having to prepare all my lunches from scratch. The only pre-made soup I can find that I can eat is http://www.justfood.ie/moroccan-chickpea.html but I'm saving that for emergencies. (It tastes lovely, but I can't eat it too often). It's also difficult to find foods that I can eat out so I'll be eating at home a LOT for the next few months and only meeting friends for drinks or coffee :(

Here are some examples of the meals I had. I hope you can tell that I'm not going hungry at all :)


Breakfast:
I tend to have the same few breakfasts all the time and most of them are easily adaptable to my new eating plan:

1. Granola with Koko coconut milk  (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1315/crunchy-granola-with-berries-and-cherries)
2. Oat smoothie: I just blend up some porridge oats, flax seeds, banana, peanut butter and Koko coconut milk in my blender and drink it like a smoothie. It's simple, tasty, adaptable and takes no time to prepare! 
3. Tofu scramble (there are a million tofu scramble recipes out there on the internet, you just need to find one that suits your palate!) 

Lunches:
1. Fat Around The Middle pancakes with blueberries.
These are really filling, and if you can cook them up the night before. Recipe available from: http://glenvillenaturalhealth.com/lucy/weightloss/oaty-banana-pancakes/
2. I also threw  together a tomato, lentil and basil soup which I ate with bread, hummus, salad. 

I really miss having cheese at lunchtime as it's so easy and filling!

Dinners:
1. Spinach, lentil, cauliflower dhansak with rice (From the Cafe Fresh Cookbook)
2. Cooked baby potato and shredded smoked salmon baked with white sauce made with onion, and dill. Served with roasted herbed veg.
4. http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1658649/cajun-spiced-salmon with lemon parsley potatoes and stir-fried garlicked kale

I don't bother with dessert often but I made this and it was a hit with all who tried it. 

1. And here is an AMAZING dessert I made with the leftover half can of coconut milk I opened for the Nigel Slater recipe:  http://cooktj.com/node/132 A coconut milk chocolate mousse. It's so simple tasty and filling, I think a few chocolate chips or cacao nibs would have added a nice texture to it. 

Hopefully next week will bring some dramatic health changes and some new recipes!



Friday 2 May 2014

This is the question a very despondent client asked me a few weeks ago and the simple answer is yes. Anyone who is not emptying their bowels at a minimum of every 36 hours has sluggish bowels. Ideally you empty every 18-24 hours. A simple transit test is to eat some corn kernels(without chewing them) and see how long they take to appear in your toilet bowl will give you an indication of the speed of your digestive system.
So why the secrecy?embarrassment?


Indeed it is not the most glamorous of subjects but we all have to do it. Go and talk to your nutritionist, therapist, dietitian, doctor or local healthfood store. There are always ways to help you through it and nothing to be afraid of in mentioning it. After all, what goes in must come out!
Be aware of the colour, consistency and shape of your stools.
If you notice blood in your stools go to your doctor for a check up. It is probably nothing serious but better safe than sorry.
A simple exercise to help you 'get moving' is to soak a dessertspoon of linseeds in water for 12 hours. It will turn into a gloopy jelly that you either knock back or mix with juice, water or your porridge.
Magnesium, found in plant chlorophyll is an friend of your colon wall to make them relax and promote peristalysis. Juice some greens and add the linseeds to it even better.
There are lots of other gut friendly aids so don't despair and be reassured in the knowledge that behind the bathroom door others are thinking exactly the same as you.

Happy health.

Spring into Gentian Summer

Every year I look forward to the blooming of the Gentians, they are a marker for me of the transition from Spring to Summer. They are a very special plant to the specialist terrain of the Burren in Co Clare. This is a limestone area with very unique and challenging soil conditions for plants. This is why there is a special flora in the area.


But what is less well known in these parts is that these specialised conditions are continued into a tail end of limestone conditions into Co Galway, are I am lucky to have these flowers growing within walking distance of my home.
The thrill of seeing the first one, then the second close by and then clusters nearby until they seem like dots of blue stamps on the hillside. They are a spectacular blue, the pictures cannot convey the deep translucence of the blue. When I imagine the energertics of plants, this one seems electric.



It is also spectacularly bitter. The most powerful known to us, as far as I know. We need bitters now more than ever, they stimulate bile and stimulate the digestive enzyme release from the pancreas. What is more relevant is that they coordinate the timing of the passage of food with these secretions.
The effect of bitters on the vagus nerve directly connecting the upper digestion to brain function has the effect of calming the fight/flight reaction. This is an overall calming effect.



So the beautiful vibrant energising plant energy helps us in many ways and I am lucky to have it on my doorstep.

Gentians usual habitat is at high altitude in the Alps, they have found a niche habitat in Clare and Galway and they must not be picked or dug up for any reason.

Dr Dilis

Thursday 1 May 2014

Spring into Gentian Summer by Dr. Dilis


Every year I look forward to the blooming of the Gentians, they are a marker for me of the transition from Spring to Summer. They are a very special plant to the specialist terrain of the Burren in Co Clare. This is a limestone area with very unique and challenging soil conditions for plants. This is why there is a special flora in the area.


But what is less well known in thes parts is that these specialised conditions are continued into a tail end of limestone conditions into Co Galway, are I am lucky to have these flowers growing within walking distance of my home.

The thrill of seeing the first one, then the second close by and then clusters nearby until they seem like dots of blue stamps on the hillside. They are a spectacular blue, the pictures cannot convey the deep translucence of the blue. When I imagine the energerics of plants, this one seems electric.

It is also spectaculary bitter. The most powerful known to us, as far as I know. We need bitters now more than ever, they stimulate bile and stimulate the digestive enzyme release from the pancreas. What is more relevant is that they coordinate the timing of the passage of food with these secretions.
The effect of bitters on the vagus nerve directly connecting the upper digestion to brain function has the effect of calming the fight/flight reaction. This is an overall calming effect.

So the beautiful vibrant energising plant energy helps us in many ways and I am lucky to have it on my doorstep.

Gentians usual habitat is at high altitude in the Alps, they have found a niche habitat in Clare and Galway and they must not be picked or dug up for any reason.

Dr Dilis