Avocados: Creamy, Delicious and Extremely Nutritious

Aside from being one of the tastiest additions to a boring salad, avocados are rich in nutrients that good for the body - inside and out!

Avocados are a good source of vitamin K, dietary fibre, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate, copper and potassium.

Avocados have a high fat content, but this 'fat' is 'good fat' that the body needs for optimal health. A typical avocado contains 30 grams of fat, but 20 of these fat grams are health-promoting monounsaturated fats.

Health Benefits

• Helps lower cholesterol
• Helps regulate blood pressure
• Helps to keep your heart healthy
• Aids in stroke prevention
• Protects against breast cancer
• Increases the body's ability to absorb health-promoting carotenoids that vegetables provide
• Protects against eye disease
• Aid in prostate cancer prevention 
• Aid in the fight against oral cancer  
• Has anti aging properties
• Strengthens and adds shine to hair
• Strengthens your nails
• Helps maintain overall health

Take a few minutes and read: The Health Benefits of Avocados  

Looking for a natural do-it-yourself avocado beauty treatment? Check out: 4 avocado beauty treatments 

Nutritionista's Recipe Corner:

Energy-Full Warm Salad

This is a layered salad; the layers are as followed:
Brown rice
Mixed raw salad greens
Sliced tomatoes
Sliced avocado
Cooked shrimps
Chopped coriander

Add chickpeas to one side of the plate, and two artichoke hearts and a few green olives to the other side.

For the dressing, mix:

Lemon juice
Agave nectar
Crushed garlic
Ground ginger
Mustard seeds

Drizzle the dressing over the salad and Bon Appetit!

Stay Healthy!

From Dull to SKINtastic!

'March is Nutrition Month'

Let’s face it our diet affects everything in our body. Food fills you up, gives you pleasure and plays a vital role in how you look, feel and age. You’re a walking product of everything you’ve chosen to consume. Doesn’t it make sense to nourish your body with the best possible ingredients???

Your skin is yours FOREVER… The best advice I’ve ever gotten: “Take care of your skin NOW! It’s the one thing you can’t fix later on. It’s the one thing that will make you look youthful or make you look old.”

True, True and Very True!

The Basics:
Beta-Carotene rich fruits and vegetables are essential for healthy skin, scalp and mucous membrane. These include tomatoes, squash and carrots. For a complete list click here.  

Introduce Omega-3 and Omega-6 Essential Fatty Acids into your diet. It’s the single most important factor in preventing dry skin. They promote longevity by decreasing cholesterol, improving insulin sensitivity, reducing inflammation and facilitating weight loss. These include salmon, mackerel, flax seeds, olive oil, dark leafy greens, avocado, soybeans, tofu, miso, nuts and seeds.

Orange seafood, such as salmon and lobster, contain astaxanthin a potent antioxidant that protects skin from environmental damage, age spots and wrinkles.

Nuts and seeds are rich in vitamin E, which protects the skin from UV sun damage.

Foods rich in vitamin C promote anti-aging, skin-firming collagen and antioxidants. For a list of vitamin C rich foods click here.  

Unrefined whole grains help repair aging and damaged skin, hair and nails. Their high fibre content will help fill you up with fewer calories. For a list of whole grains click here.

Water is important to the well-being of your skin. Water keeps skin hydrated and keeps cell walls strong. You should drink 8 glass (8oz = 1 glass) of water per day!

Some of us don’t absorb all the vitamins and nutrients we need from our food. Take a multi-vitamin to get the essential nutrients your body needs.

Anti-Aging Super Foods:
Tomatoes, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, berries, grapes, garlic, onions, citrus fruits, green tea, soybeans, tofu, miso, salmon, mackerel, herring, turmeric, cinnamon and cumin.

Reduce Puffy Eyes:
Asparagus and parsley reduce bloating. Bananas and citrus fruits are potassium rich, which help maintain a good balance of fluids. Cayenne and pepper help with circulation and lymphatic drainage around the eyes.

Acne:
Beta-carotene also converts to oil reducing vitamin A that helps protect skin from acne. Leafy green vegetables contain B vitamins that minimize swelling, which reduces pimples. 

Dull Skin:
Green and orange vegetables increase vitamin A levels, which makes skin cells shed faster for a radiant, glowing complexion. Soybeans and yams contain plant estrogens, which help brighten skin.

No-No's:
Refined, white, carbohydrates
High sugar intake
Exposure to the sun without the use of sunscreen!
Smoking
Too much alcohol consumption
Make sure you clean your face regularly and exfoliate to allow your skin to breath

For Skin Cleansing Advice and Products CHECK OUT:
Let's Get SKINtimate
GLOW BABY GLOW
the MASK

Nutritionista's Recipe Corner:

Spicy Carrot Soup

2 teaspoon Sunflower Oil

6 Carrots, chopped  
1 Apple, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
1 tablespoon Curry Powder
2 cups Vegetable Broth
1 cup Almond Milk



Heat the oil in the pot and cook the curry powder for one minute.
Add the carrots, onion and apple to the pot, stir well and cover.
Leave pot covered over low heat for about 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, move the ingredients from the pot into a food processor and add the two cups of vegetable broth and the one cup of almond milk. Process until smooth. Move back into pot, heat and enjoy!

 Stay Healthy!

It's time to raise our glasses in celebration!

“Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.”

Clement Moore

It’s the time of year where indulging in hearty meals, rich chocolates and festive drinks is unavoidable. You keep asking: ‘What can I do to avoid the extra calories? And is there anything ‘natural’ for a hangover?’

I want to remind you that the holidays only come around once a year so enjoy them. Don’t spend your time consumed with what you’re consuming!


It’s time to raise our glasses in celebration and be thankful for the past year, those around us and the upcoming new year.

To ensure we all get through it with fond memories and not time spent sweating through stuffed bellies and painful hangovers here are some recommendations to cut calories and get through the headache, nausea, stomach discomfort, fatigue and dehydration experienced the morning after a few too many drinks.


Plan your day ahead:
• Keep your non-festive meals light. Enjoy some cottage cheese with a fruit or a green salad with freshly squeezed lemon dressing.
• More than likely starchy foods will be apart of your festive meal so leave them out of your other two meals.
• Avoid heavy creamy drinks or have as few as possible.
• Make sure to get your 8 glasses (8 oz = 1 glass) of water in! Drink some water before bed and the morning after to help clear out the extra salts consumed. Your best bet is to match each alcoholic drink you have with one glass of water while drinking and a glass of water every hour the day after.
• Eat slowly and stop when you’re full!


Too much to drink???
• For breakfast the next morning avoid acid-forming (greasy and fried!), fried eggs, bacon, black tea, coffee and white foods (bread). Choose foods that are lighter on the stomach and easier to digest such as brown rice, cooked vegetables, rice milk, nuts and seeds.
• Ginseng tea is found to clear alcohol from the liver, detoxify the system, reduce blood alcohol levels and take care of nausea.
• Alcohol tends to deplete B vitamins from the body. Replenishing these vitamins will help with your body’s recovery, fatigue and memory. B rich foods include sunflower seeds, bell peppers, cauliflower, spinach asparagus, lentils, salmon, green peas and whole grains.
• Alcohol tends to rid the body of antioxidants. Replenish by incorporating blueberries, pomegranates and oranges into your day.
• Extract of milk thistle can reduce the ‘morning after’ feeling. You can find this is capsule or tea form.
• Vitamin C helps strengthen the body and give you energy. You can get this through effervescent tablets in a glass of water. Incorporate vitamin C rich foods into your day.
• Alcohol dehydrates the body. Water! Water! Water!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!

I wish you all only the best of everything and may this New Year be filled with wonderful memories, laughter, love, joy and happiness!

May all your dreams & wishes come true…

Stay Healthy!

Your immune system...

It's that time of year again...

Outdoor Christmas lights, decorated store windows & Santa's in town!

ReD, gREen, SilVeR, bluE, GolD

Hot chocolate, pumpkin pie, candy canes, snowflakes...

And unfortunatly:

colds, runny noses, coughs, sneezing, fevers and how can we forget...

H1N1!!!

Since TV, magazines, newspapers, radio, etc., etc., seem to have this 'pandemic' covered I've decided to focus on something else...

Your Immune System

Your immune system is responsible for destroying bacteria and viruses that invade your body and make you sick. Many peoples immune systems break down because of stress and bad nutrition. Stress depletes the body of vitamin C, B vitamins and many immune strengthening minerals.

In order to help your body fight intruders, you need to work on your immune system. This includes incorporating immune boosters into your diet.

Immune Boosters

1) Eat from a variety of colourful fruits and vegetables.
2) Fruits and vegetables should make up the majority of your daily diet.
3) Drink 8-10 glasses of water a day.
4) Pay attention to your fat intake. Avoid trans fats and fatty foods.
5) Avoid having animal protein everyday. Try to limit consumption to 3 times a week.
6) Supplements: multi-vitamin, vitamin C, calcium and B complex
7) Try to get your 8 hours of sleep.
8) Juicing!

Foods to Incorporate

The following foods are rich in nutrients that boost the immune system:

Juicing

Many fruits and vegetables can be turned into a concentrated form of nutritional energy by juicing them. Raw, fresh juices provide the easiest way for the body to ingest vitamins and minerals found in these foods. Fresh juices are also alive with enzymes, which deliver vitality and energy to every cell of your body.

Some of my favourite immune boosting juice combinations are:

Blueberries + Grapes + Apples

Carrot

Orange + Carrot

Give them a try and see how you feel...

Stay Healthy!