Just like traditional mayo, this 30-second version requires only simple ingredients - oil, egg, vinegar and salt. Whip up a batch to use countless ways across the week.
Earlier this week Abbie was on Seven Sharp answering a few questions about how Future Foody, a new company that delivers organic baby food to your home compares to the current baby food products available on our supermarket shelves.
Healthy means different things to different people. What an be 'healthy' for one person may not be very...healthy for another. Read our interview with our very own Danijela Unkovich to find out what healthy means to her!
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Healthy means different things to different people. What an be 'healthy' for one person may not be very...healthy for another. Read our interview with our very own Danijela Unkovich to find out what healthy means to her!
...Click on the title or image to read the article :)
Healthy means different things to different people. What an be 'healthy' for one person may not be very...healthy for another. Read our first interview with Jane from The Yoga Connection to find out what healthy means to her!
...Click on the title or image to read the article :)
Yes yes, have a laugh at the title, but this is something that we pay special attention too...read on to find out why you should soak your nuts and why they should be stored in the freezer :)
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The latest slew of shows (Spring Summer 2017) had the world’s top designers boasting body parts like upper abdomens at Fendi, obliques at Celine and hips at Louis Vuitton. These are more obscure than the traditional décolletage and legs which traditionally were revealed by women.
Abbie was interviewed by Harper’s Bazaar and asked to share her perspective as a nutritionist who works with all shapes and sizes, what her thoughts were on this evolution by the fashion industry. The article is in the March 2017 Australia Harper’s Bazaar Issue.
Read below for the transcript of the full interview to see where Abbie sits on the topic of fashion, body types and more importantly, how important body confidence is, when working with the women of the world.
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Feel Fresh Nutrition's owner Abbie O'Rourke had the pleasure of judging a competition between The Food Truck's Michael van de Elzen and nzherald.co.nz's Sarah Harris. Who could spend less than $50 at Countdown Supermarkets on two kids' lunches for five days.
...click on the title to read post
Over the last 12 months you’ve probably heard of gelatine. It’s been hailed loudly - and rightly so - for it’s gut-healing properties. Gelatine is found in nutrient-dense foods like bone broth and more excitingly can be used to make healthy lollies - or gummies.
However, have you heard of it’s equally important and vital brother, collagen?
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So, here we are again. The start of a new year. The base of a mountain we’ve told ourselves to climb and conquer. For some reason we like to set aside January 1st as the day to start all manner of dedication - and possibly torture - to change our lives for the better.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with self improvement, however the point of this blog is to help you frame your desires and resolutions towards what you actually want, while making these changes realistic and sustainable.
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In her book "Move your DNA", Katy Bowman has a powerful message. She states that 'your body is never out of shape, it is always in a shape created by how you have moved up to this very moment”. Our guest author Hazel Boot, tells us what this means to her.
...click on the title to read blog entry by Hazel Boot
There are so many ‘diets’ or ways of eating available to us now it can seem like everybody is following a particular eating style. Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatrian, Clean Eating, Raw… the list goes on. Today I want to talk about an important aspect of nutrition many people don’t understand when they initially come to see us at Feel Fresh Nutrition.
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It’s been said that it can be easier to change a person’s religion than their diet. This says a lot about how strongly people believe in the choices they make relating to food – especially where issues such as ethics and morals come into play.
Movies such as Cowspiracy, Forks Over Knives, and Food, Inc. have gone a long way in pushing people towards a more plant-based diet – or even an exclusively plant-based diet. These movies simultaneously pull at the heart strings, while appealing to your inner environmentalist – the parts of you that don’t want to ever see another living creature harmed, and that does want to see a thriving, healthy planet for your children.
So what do we mean by plant-based?
...click on the title to read blog post
I was recently gifted some of this bread from a client, and have proceeded to eat my way through my rations in a few days. It’s that good. I emailed her and told her it was the answer to gluten free low carb bread that doesn’t need expensive ingredients. High praise. Then I promptly asked for the recipe.
She obliged, so here it is!
This recipe is adapted from the My New Roots Life Changing Loaf. I love this recipe because you can make any substitutions that you want. The original recipe uses oats and almonds as well as a little sweetener but I omit these to make it completely gluten free and nut free so it can go to school and daycare.
I also love this recipe because it uses ingredients I almost always have in the cupboard and doesn’t require that I have 8 eggs or 3 cups of ground almonds.
This bread also freezes really well, but you need to slice it first as it is hard to slice once it has been frozen and thawed.
Some of my favourite flavour combinations include avocado, lemon juice and sprouts. Ricotta and fresh figs, tahini and tomato, or good old fashioned peanut butter.
Ingredients:
1 cup sunflower seeds
½ cup flax seeds
½ cup pumpkin seeds
1 ½ cups buckwheat flakes. You could also use oats or quinoa flakes.
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
4 Tbsp. psyllium seed husk
1 tsp. fine grain sea salt
1 tsp. Kelp powder (optional but great source of iodine)
3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil, olive oil or ghee
1 ½ cups / 350ml water
Directions:
1. In a flexible, silicon loaf pan combine all dry ingredients, stirring well. Whisk oil and water together in a measuring cup. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix very well until everything is completely soaked and dough becomes very thick (if the dough is too thick to stir, add one or two teaspoons of water until the dough is manageable).
Smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. Let sit out on the counter for at least 2 hours, or all day or overnight. To ensure the dough is ready, it should retain its shape even when you pull the sides of the loaf pan away from it.
2. Preheat oven to 175°C.
3. Place loaf pan in the oven on the middle rack, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove bread from loaf pan, place it upside down directly on the rack and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool completely before slicing.
4. Store bread in a tightly sealed container for up to five days.
We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
When starting to make changes to any diet, the biggest stumbling block we see with clients is breakfast time. Often eating the “right” foods at lunch and dinner comes a bit more naturally. Protein and veggies are acceptable at dinner, but they seem a bit out of place at breakfast.
The fact is, nothing would set you up more for a day with even blood sugar levels, energy and brainpower than some protein or veggies at breakfast. Yet, when I tell clients that I had last night’s leftovers with a poached egg for breakfast that morning, they look at me like I’ve grown four heads.
There’s a couple of reasons why I think people resist meat, veggies and things like soup and curry for breakfast. The first is that they just seem so different from the current sugar-filled muesli and breakfast options pedalled to us. The second is that a cooked breakfast appears as though it will take a lot of time.
The first thing I always tell clients is that reframing the way they think about their meals really helps. Try not to think of it as breakfast, lunch and dinner. There really are no rules that say you should eat x at breakfast and y at lunch, but they can’t be interchanged. Think of your meals as meal one, meal two and meal three. Once you take the association of conventional foods away from the particular time of day, you can make an objective choice about what might be the most nutritious choice in that moment.
The next problem is one of convenience and time. Let’s face it. Mornings can be hard. Regardless of whether or not you love your job, have slept a solid 8 hours, snuck in a quick morning walk and have enjoyable things planned for your day, they can still be hard.
Here at Feel Fresh Nutrition we think the reason muesli and sugar-laden cereals have resisted the raft of scientific evidence against them is because they represent palatable convenience. So, how can we implement a few life hacks to help us out at the start of our day?
Finding your solution
When figuring out a meal that will fit into your lifestyle, it can be helpful to identify what you struggle with in the morning. We have a couple of scenarios with solutions to help.
1. You have no time in the mornings.
We could tell you to set your alarm ten minutes earlier to make a smoothie. But that's not always easy because... sleep. Right?!
So the best solution in this scenario is to prepare something the night before.
Chia puddings are a great idea as they require the overnight time for the chia seeds to soak.
The internet is also filled with soaked oats recipes with veggies grated into them. Google Zoats (zucchini oats) for an example. This is another great option if you tolerate oats. Instead of cooking them as per the instructions, combine all the ingredients into a bowl the night before. Simply stir in the morning, adding more liquid if necessary. Heat and eat. Or eat them cold. Up to you.
Another great tip is to prepare all your smoothie ingredients in the blender the night before and chuck it in the fridge. Leave out any ice or liquid. Add these just before blending.
2. You want to eat the same meal as your kids.
I totally get this. As a mother, you want to set a good example for your children while ensuring that they are getting a good start to their day. Even if your child loves eggs, they might not want them everyday at 7am.
One solution is this epic No grain bircher. It's delicious. Every child I’ve come across has demolished it. If you require a bit more protein, eat a boiled egg on the side.
3. You're not hungry as soon as you wake up.
There is no reason you have to eat just because it is conventionally "breakfast time". In fact, numerous studies have shown that an extended overnight fast can help with weight management and insulin sensitivity. One option is to eat your breakfast once you've gotten to work or after you've dropped the kids to kindy/school/daycare. This way you can eat sitting down and you’re not in a rush. Ham and egg muffins or Frittata are great for taking with you and reheating (or eating cold) once you've gotten to work.
Lastly, if you're kitchen at work has a stovetop and a fridge you could consider buying a small amount of veggies and some eggs and storing them at work. This way you don't have to pack anything the night before and can cook up an omelette or fried eggs once you get to work.
Leftovers are also great for breakfast. Who says dinner is only for dinner?
The key thing to remember is there is no right way or time to eat breakfast. Find a solution that works for you and give it a try. Eating breakfast is important, but there is no one way to do it. What we do know is that consuming refined grains or sugar in the form of toast, muesli or breakfast cereal will set you up for an energy crash later in the day.
A Feel Fresh Nutritionist can help you find some breakfast solutions to fit into your lifestyle. Book an appointment with us here.
Thanks, from Team Feel Fresh Nutrition.
Use this link if you want to know more about our other services.
Read our testimonials page to see what our clients say about Feel Fresh Nutrition!
Want to read another blog post - click here to head back to the start :)
Image: Henrique Felix
How often do we set goals for ourselves? "In five weeks I'll be x weight..." "I'm going to buy this dress in a size 10 because I'll fit it next month."
Often we are so fixated on the result that we forget to think about the process. What the journey to reaching your goals might actually look like. Here at Feel Fresh Nutrition, we like to call this the “before your after”.
Media hasn't helped this phenomenon. Before pictures are juxtaposed against svelte, joyous after photos. Often with better lighting, more flattering clothes, smiling faces and hashtags designed to motivate others. #thiscouldbeyou. Except it couldn’t be, because that’s them and not you.
This may seem pretty harmless, but the thing we see time and time again working with clients is that weight loss is less about what you eat, and how much you exercise and more about your MINDSET. Our most successful clients are those with the right mindset and those who make consistent changes over a period of time. When we focus solely on the end results we can’t appreciate the positive changes we are making regardless of the outcome. I.e we create the wrong mindset.
If we buy into the before/after picture scenario, it implies that the person - or you - is less in their before. Less healthy, less happy, less worthy. Some of these things may be true, but your outward appearance actually isn’t the best judge of this. What actually matters is your health behaviours.
If you change your mindset towards health, with weight loss as a byproduct, you will undoubtedly be healthier and you will still be as worthy as a person at every stage of your journey.
The other reason thinking about weight loss as a before and after process is flawed is because it implies that we MUST have our own after picture in order for our life's work to have been a success. It also suggests - not too implicitly - that the process was easy, linear and sudden. Logically we know the person did not simply exercise for a week, eat some salad and wake up with washboard abs.
In all likelihood, their journey had more downs than ups and it was only consistency over time that led to good results. But before's and after's don't show this. What we think is most helpful is to think about what YOUR life is going to look like BEFORE your AFTER.
Is it going to be a straightforward process?
Are you never going to eat cake again?
Are you going to avoid every single social setting until you can wear that size 10 outfit or 34" jeans.
Are you going to avoid a glass of wine or beer on a Friday night with your colleagues or friends?
Or are you going to develop habits that are enjoyable and sustainable but will still get you there?
I hope you can tell from this list that at Feel Fresh Nutrition we strongly support the last statement.
We do not have to hate the process or even what our picture or context looks like 'before'. When you set goals you are working towards achieving something that is important to you. It isn't necessarily about making yourself better. You as a person, right now, are perfectly imperfect as you are.
You are not less worthy of love, especially self-love, than the person who 'appears' to have it all because they are tall and slim. You don't suddenly earn the right to be happy and love yourself when you finally get to publish the 'after' picture.
To some people this may seem like common logic. Some people know that small but consistent changes will lead to the results they want. But, because of our current culture and the dieting industries claims that we can lose “10kg in 2 weeks” some people get discouraged and proceed to indulge in self-destructive behaviours.
So it’s important to tell this message. Even if we were to give people the best nutrition plan in the world, geared towards aggressive weight loss, it’s not going to be a simple equation of "do this" to convert your before to your after.
Goals are good. They provide context and remind us of what's important. But they shouldn't come at the expense of sanity, rational thought and uplifting practises of self-respect and enjoyment. The thing about goals is that they aren't always a destination. Between where you stand now and those goals is this thing called life, and it's for living.
So what does this all mean? How do we learn to enjoy the time before the after?
If your goal is weight loss, don't weigh yourself every day. Weigh no more than once a week.
If your happiness is pinned on a number decreasing solely based on your personal relationship with gravity, don't weigh yourself at all.
When working with clients in the clinic we use weight as a reference point, but we also check body composition, energy and other factors such as improvements in hormones, acne, fertility or digestive issues. You’re not necessarily going to lose weight every single time you jump on the scales. And that’s ok. We can adjust and change your plan based on the new information we have gathered. Because really, that’s all that weight is. Information about your body.
Set yourself some non-scale barometers. We call these non scale victories. Do I have more energy? Is my skin better? Are my IBS symptoms improving? How many compliments have I received? Are my clothes looser? Is my relationship with food or myself better?
Set yourself micro goals. You aren't going to get there overnight so break up the journey. At the one month mark, regardless of your results, take yourself out for a nice lunch, massage or pampering session. Buy yourself tickets to a show or game you've been wanting to see.
Do not compare yourself to others. This is the biggest part of putting your journey into perspective. You don't know what stage someone is at on their own journey. You don't even know what their journey is. For you it might be weight loss and you resent their apparent ease with weight management. They may be grappling with anxiety or confidence or any number of things that have nothing to do with weight. Again, their worth as a person isn't less because they haven't reached their own after.
They are awesome as they are, just like you.
Thanks, from Team Feel Fresh Nutrition.
Use this link if you want to know more about our other services.
Use this link to book your consultation today.
Read our testimonials page to see what our clients say about Feel Fresh Nutrition!
Want to read another blog post - click here to head back to the start :)
Image: Julia Caesar