Blueberry-Orange Parfait

by | May 18, 2018 | English, Healthy Snack Ideas, Recipes

How about the combo of blueberries with orange in the vest of a velvety cream of fruity goodness that you can consume as a dessert but also for breakfast?

And what about having the added bonus of vitamins and fibre from vegetables hidden in there?

Then this blueberry-orange parfait might just be the thing for you!

I developed this recipe quite a few years ago, when I was eating predominantly raw food. I have to say, I did feel pretty awesome during that period and I want to go back to incorporate more raw food again into my diet. I will never be a 100% raw foodie, as there are too many wonderful recipes out there that I love or want to try out hat require heat in some form. But consuming more raw veggies plus fruits and nuts and seeds definitely has a very beneficial impact on my health and that’s what I need right now.

And this season, towards the end of spring, start of summer is the easiest time to do this.

So without further explanations to keep us from the goodies, here is the recipe. Maybe you want to try out more raw food as well. This is a perfect finish to a heavier meal and can be easily adapted with other types of fruit to make endless variations. It can also be a delicious and healthy breakfast option.

  • Prep time: 10 minutes 
  • Cooking time: 5 minutes 
  • Yields: 2 people

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups blueberries
  • 1 cup zucchini/courgette (peeled and chopped)
  • 2 dates, pitted
  • 2 TBS orange juice
  • 1 TBS lemon juice
  • 1 TBS almond butter
  • 1/2 tsp grated ginger or minced ginger
  • ½ tsp orange zest (keep a couple of strands for decoration)
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla powder or ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • Pinch of Stevia or 3-4 drops of liquid Stevia
  • Pinch of himalayan or sea salt

Directions: Put all the ingredients in a high speed blender and blend into a smooth cream. Blend for a little longer than you would normally do, since blueberries have a lot of natural pectin, which, when released, helps this parfait to get the right consistence. Serve in glass bowls and decorate with some extra strands of orange zest. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. I hope you enjoy it!

Why smoothies can be important for breakfast

Why smoothies can be important for breakfast

by | Aug 16, 2017 | Healthy Living, Healthy Snack Ideas, Recipes

Hey there, how are you doing with your breakfast habits?

And how do you feel throughout the day? Do you get those moments when your energy crashes, maybe mid morning or after lunch? I guess you have heard it before that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? And it really is. Sometimes it just doesn’t fit into our schedule though, the way it should or we don’t really feel hungry early in the morning when we are getting ready for our day ahead. That’s what it is like for me, it’s very rare that I can really eat something at 6 or 7. Then I only have my glass of lemon water and a cappuccino with hazelnutmilk.

But how we begin the day will determine how the rest of the day goes.

It will determine if we feel energized or if we feel dragging with a lack of energy. What we put in our bellies is directly related to how we physically feel. So if you are a skip-breakfast and grab-the-coffee-mug morning person then this blog is for you. We all need and crave energy. Sometimes it is so easy to want to grab a quick bowl of cereal or even forget breakfast and just get through the morning on 1-2 cups of coffee for the energy needed to survive the day. I don’t want you to just survive through the day though; I want you to thrive through the day. I also don’t want you to go on the “crash and crave” roller coaster for the entire day. If you begin your morning with caffeinated coffee and sugar and don’t have anything else for energy you will crash, and you will be either too tired to make it through your responsibilities or you will be reaching for another cup of coffee to get through a few more hours.

Smoothies are a wonderful quick alternative to a fast breakfast that can help energize us throughout the entire day.

When you toss in some greens, a little fruit, and a healthy liquid like coconut water you are bound to feel energetic and ready to take on the day. Starting the day with a smoothie also gives you well needed antioxidants which help protect our bodies from free radicals, and it is a great low glycemic start. Eating a low glycemic breakfast will help curb your sugar cravings for the entire day and it will also help with not crashing. So here comes the caveat: for it to have a low glycemic impact it is important that the smoothie contains a high content of greens plus little fruit and maybe even some healthy fat in the form of flax, chia or hemp seeds. Almost all of the store bought, ready made smoothies you find nowadays in the cooling shelves of supermarkets are at the contrary of a very high glycemic impact, as they mostly contain fruit, so they should be really avoided or be an exception. Make sure you always read the ingredient list! The great thing about a smoothie is that you can take it with you if you don’t fancy having it early in the morning, but maybe around 9 or 10 or even later. When you are about to consume your smoothie always stop for a moment and take 3 deep breaths, thinking about the wonderful food you will be enjoying, maybe even smelling it. This centers you and calms you down, so that then you can drink it slowly and chew every sip. Yes, chew it! I know it sounds strange, but it is so important as it ensures that the digestive enzymes in your saliva can start with the digestion. It also helps the release of hydrochloric acid into your stomach, which will help further with the digestion.

So what should you put in your smoothie?

What greens can you put into your smoothie? Basically all dark leafy greens, think fresh spinach, kale, parsley, coriander, basil, lettuce, romaine salad, lambs lettuce, rocket, chard greens, bok choy greens and even wild greens like nettles. For a starter I would suggest to go with spinach, lambs lettuce or salad, as they taste milder. But it’s good to rotate them anyway, so just start to try them out or the ones you can get your hands on. If you can’t get fresh greens which is always best, there is also an alternative: dried and powdered greens, which often contain the highly nutritious wheatgrass powder and much more. You can get them in health food stores or online, there is a wide variety of them available. So next time you want a quick breakfast, try a delicious smoothie that will leave you feeling energized and motivated. A morning smoothie will provide your body with the nutrients it needs to produce natural energy and naturally boost your metabolism. So, what are you reaching for tomorrow morning? I know I will be making my blender sing and getting ready for some long lasting energy.

Here are 3 smoothie recipes, so that you can get an idea of the ingredients and try them out.

But then feel free to experiment with your own ideas and ingredients.

BERRY BEAUTY

  • 1 cup romaine
  • 1 cup kale
  • 1 1/2 cup water or non-dairy milk (coconut, hemp, or almond milk)
  • 1/2 cup strawberries
  • 1/2 avocado
  • 1 tablespoon flax meal

 GREEN MAGIC

  • 2 cups spinach
  • 1 handful of parsley
  • 1 1/2 cups water or non-dairy milk (coconut, hemp, or almond milk)
  • 1 banana
  • 1/2 cup berries
  • 1 tablespoon flax meal

SUPERFOOD ENERGY

  • 2 cups spinach
  • 1 1/2 cups water or non-dairy milk (coconut, hemp, or almond milk)
  • 1/2 cup frozen mango
  • 1 tablespoon flax meal
  • 2 tablespoons bee pollen (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon chia seeds (optional)

Blend all ingredients & enjoy! Any questions or comments, let me know!

I am looking forward to see you making smoothies and having glorious days! 🙂

This is just one way of having a healthy breakfast and I will be sharing more ideas in the coming weeks. Stay tuned by connecting via my facebook page or why not download my 4-day eating plan here below with recipes and tips, in that way you can also receive further information from me via email as long as you want.

In any way: it’s great having you!

Martina

How to beat Cravings with these Chocolate Covered Vanilla Cookies

How to beat Cravings with these Chocolate Covered Vanilla Cookies

by | Mar 28, 2017 | Healthy Snack Ideas, Recipes

 

I love a healthy snack!

 

I love simple recipes! I love recipes that only require a few ingredients and that only contain staples I basically always have in my kitchen.

 

So today it was time to combine some of those staples into a relatively healthy (meaning not messing too much with the blood sugar levels) power snack / sweet / dessert / cookie. Yes, many different names, because you certainly could eat one or two of these Vanilla Macaroons/Cookies in any of those occasions. After your workout, after a light lunch or with a cup of tea. They are very flexible in being called different names and don’t mind. 🙂 They are actually quite dense and solid, so I’ll stick to the term cookies from now on.

 

So what makes this a ‘relatively healthy snack’?

It’s the fact that they are gluten free, lactose free, refined sugar free and that they contain lots of fiber (in the shredded coconut), healthy fats (again the coconut plus coconut oil and nut butter) and protein (contained in the protein powder and a little in coconut and nut butter). Little powerhouses, dense and full of nutritional value, sweet, chewy and very satisfying. Difficult to eat more than one or two. Which is a good thing!

 

It’s like this for me: when I eat ‘normal’ sweets, meaning that packed with refined sugar and often even with gluten containing flour, I can’t stop. Is it maybe the same for you?

In my case: there it goes, the whole bar of chocolate. Or an entire packet with cookies. They might be organic, they might contain less sugar, they might be made from spelt flour… still the same, one cookie – can’t stop.

Different the story with my homemade cookies or cakes or – like today – cookies! They are so nutrient dense and filling that I actually don’t want to eat them all up. I am satisfied after one or two and can stop! Wow! Actually a strange feeling for somebody who has always been ruled by those cravings for more of the sweet stuff! So yes, I have been a sugar addict! And with sugar addicts it’s the same as with any addict: you gotta avoid your drug completely in order to not get hooked again! What’s important to understand about this is that a rapid drop of the blood sugar (which happens a short while after we have eaten something like white bread or pasta or something sugary) lights up the region of the brain that is connected to addictive behaviors! So I am not making this up!

As little as 3-4 days without any refined sugar or gluten containing food are enough  to feel more empowered and in control of my appetite, my cravings. And every additional day makes me more sugar-resistant. Every additional day helps me to develop a good sense of taste again and actually finding ‘normal’ sweets way to sweet and not delectable anymore.

 

But how do you get over those first 3-4 days without sugar?

 

It helps me a lot when I eat a lot of greens, so a green smoothie in the morning with lots of spinach or lamb’s lettuce starts me off in the right way. Whenever I drink those kind of smoothies regularly I feel less cravings and less hungry (and have a lot more energy!).

And I also feel better when I eat food that is rich in healthy fats and protein. Think avocado and egg for example. And of course it’s good to have some healthier snack options without refined sugars at hand. Enters the scene the mighty Vanilla Macaroon!

But before we get to the recipe let me do this:

Let me clarify a bit more what I mean with ‘relatively healthy’

 

Apart from the fact that we are all different and our bodies react differently to specific foods, my own experience and that of my clients has shown me that a balanced sugar free, gluten free and lactose free diet is beneficial for all of us.

So this healthy snack would hit the mark here. But the cookies do contain maple syrup, which is still a sugar. While it does contain minerals and is considered a healthier alternative to sugar, it still does spike blood sugar levels. With a value of 54 against a value of 65 for refined sugar, it is just a little lower on the glycemic index scale. That’s why I usually add some stevia in combination with honey or maple syrup or coconut sugar to my recipes. Stevia does not impact blood sugar levels and lowers the glycemic index of a dish as we use less of those other sweeteners. Its taste is not so great on its own though, that’s why I love it in combination.

 

But back to our cookie, which is a very dense little creature with its fat and protein content. Even if the fat content in it counteracts a little the blood sugar issue by slowing down or delaying the rise of blood sugar, that doesn’t mean we should eat lots of it.

As the old saying says: ‘a little goes a long way’!

This is totally true here!

And here it comes: if you have been reading carefully until here you might have gotten to the following conclusion already: if our bodies are naturally satiated when we consume small amounts of healthier foods, the risk to overeat them is relatively small. So it’s a good idea to always have some healthy snacks at hand, because in this way we don’t even get tempted to pop to the shop to get our cookie or chocolate fix.

We have our own healthy cookie + chocolate fix at home!

 

Chocolate Covered Vanilla Cookies

INGREDIENTS

For the Macaroons

  • 3 cups (210g) unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 3 tablespoons protein powder (I used Sun Warrior Vanilla) or almond meal
  • 1-3 tablespoons vanilla extract (taste test after 1 tsp to your liking)
  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup + a few drops stevia extract (taste test)
  • pinch of Himalaya salt
  • 1/4-1/2 cup liquid (almond milk or coconut milk or even just water)

 

For the Chocolate Dip

  • 50g dark organic chocolate
  • 2 tablespoons almond butter (or other nut butter)
  • 1 tablespoons coconut oil

Note: This dip will stay a bit soft on the cookies if not kept in the fridge, so if you want a fuzz-free version then just melt a little dark chocolate instead.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit/170 Celsius.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  • In a food processor, combine the shredded coconut, protein powder or almond meal, salt, and sweetener. Pulse a few times to combine.
  • Add in the coconut oil and vanilla extract and process until combined and crumbly.
  • Add in some of the almond milk very slowly and stop when you have the right consistency (not too crumbly, not too wet, mixture should together when you press it between two fingers). You may need to stop and scrape down the sides as you mix.
  • Roll about 1 Tbsp of the mix into tight balls and place on the cookie sheet.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Let stand to cool.
  • While the cookies are cooling, melt chocolate, cashew butter and coconut oil over low heat or even better in a double boiler.
  • Dip cookies one at a time half into the melted chocolate. Place back on parchment with the chocolate on top. Once all cookies have been dipped put in the fridge to set and store.

Serve slightly chilled. These will keep in the fridge, in a sealed container, for around one week. You could even make these raw, without baking by the way! Just pop them into the fridge instead of the oven and you are all set!

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do! I’d love to hear how you liked them!

And if you want more recipes plus 5 great tips you can download my free collection of headache strategies.

 

Wishing you happy thoughts & happy (food) choices!

 

Martina

The #1 Healthy Surprise Recipe for Chocaholics

The #1 Healthy Surprise Recipe for Chocaholics

by | Jan 18, 2017 | Healthy Snack Ideas, Recipes

I promised you the recipe for this wonderful healthy Chocolate Pudding.

 

So how do those two words together: chocolate pudding & healthy??

Sounds somehow not right, does it?

I know, I had the same feeling when I first discovered this quite a few years ago and could not believe that it could ge that great with this very unusual ingredient in it: Avocado! Avocado? In a chocolate pudding?

Yes, indeed… but hold your horses, as this was like a revelation.

 

With the avocado being a little powerhouse full of health fats, vitamins and antioxidants plus fibre, it brought the whole concept of chocolate pudding as a dessert or treat to a different level.

This meant: you could actually have chocolate pudding for breakfast and still have a very good start into the day!

 

Let me say that again:

You could have chocolate pudding for breakfast!

 

Now how does that sound?

If you are a chocaholic like me you might like the thought of this. Although, I have to admit, I only had this once or twice for breakfast, there are so many other things to choose from that it did not occur to me.

 

But why then is it so healthy?

 

Well, let me just focus on the avocado for today:

 

It’s actually a fruit, although I don’t think most of us regard it as such. That’s because it is not really sweet and has the least amount of sugars of all fruits.

It contains a rather high amount of vitamins and minerals like Folate, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6 and many more, like Potassium.

 

Potassium is very important for a healthy blood pressure regulation.

In one of my video posts I talked about the importance to have a healthy circulatory system and how this aspect is especially important for migraine sufferers. So this is a good one for you!

 

What other goodness is hidden in this creamy gem?

Well, a lot of fat! But almost exclusively healthy fats. Monounsaturated fats, high in Oleic Acid. Those fats are are said to help in reducing inflammation and even help to lose abdominal fat or help in preventing weight gain.

 

 

It is also packed with the highest amount of dietary insoluble fibre of any fruit. Dietary fibre helps digestion and ensures everything is moving as it should, so really great for our wellbeing each day!

 

 

So, what do you think? Would you like to get more avocados into your diet?

Then maybe you haven’t so far because you only find unripe, hard avocados in the stores or overripe ones?

 

Here’s a tip: buy a few avocados at a time, at a distance of a few days and then let them ripen in your kitchen. If you want them to ripen quicker, put them into a paper bag and to speed things up even more you can put an apple or a banana in the bag with them.

Once they are ripe you can stop them  a little from deterioriating by putting them in the fridge. But don’t forget them there, like I have done before. And kitchen-wise it’s one of the saddest pictures to have to throw an overripe avocado into the bin… Don’t do it! Make Chocolate Pudding instead!

 

Chocolate Pudding

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 ripe avocados, pitted and skin removed.
  • 4-5 tablespoons (ca. 40 g) raw cacao powder (cocoa powder is okay as well)
  • 2 tablespoons (ca. 30 g) almond butter
  • ½ cup (ca. 120 ml) water
  • 2-4 tablespoons maple sirup plus some stevia (taste test and adjust to your liking)
  • 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • a good pinch of Himalaya or sea salt

 

Directions:

  • Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and combine until smooth. You can even do this with a fork and mash/mix together. It does not become that smooth, but it would still work.
  • Taste test and adjust sweetness to your liking.
  • Enjoy straight away! But this tastes best if slightly chilled through, so cover and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

 

 

I would be very happy if you feel inspired to try more healthy AND delicious recipes. Just to start out you can find 4 days worth of recipes plus awesome lifestyle tips in my free mini-migraine-detox, which you can get from here.

 

Happy thoughts!

Martina

 

Start Your Day with Lemon Water

by | Jan 7, 2017 | Healthy Snack Ideas

What does lemon water have to do with headache and migraine relief you might ask.

 

I’ll tell you

 

It alkalizes the body! Often it’s when our bodies get too acidic that we could become prone to get a headache or migraine attack! So this is not a quick fix when you already have an attack of headache or migraine, but rather a long term strategy for your wellbeing.

 

Yes, lemon tastes sour or acid, but yet it helps to keep those pretty cells of yours alkalized and happy!

 

In life everything needs to be in balance. Specific type of balance for specific scenarios. And our bodies need to have a slightly alkaline PH value in order to function best. Because there is acid and there is alkaline. Those two situations always try and outdo each other!

 

So you enjoy coffee and bread in the morning, meat with fries for lunch and then some coffee again and a piece of a colleague’s birthday cake in the afternoon. In this way you are going down the acidic route already, since these are all acidic forming foods. Add some stress and there you go, full shebang, alkaline does not have a chance.

 

In order to give it a chance start to give your body the gift of fresh lemon water first thing in the morning, room temperature or slightly warm so as not to shock your system. Squeeze half a lemon into a glass of water.

And add lots of veggies and some fruit to your daily menu, cut out a bit of the bread and fries and…. no, keep the cake for now! It’s a special occasion and I want you to start slow.

Make a small change, one that is doable. Lemon water!

 

Every morning or as often as you can.

If you can only get to your lemon water in the afternoon, have it then.

If you are concerned about the enamel of your teeth, drink it with a straw and make sure to not brush your teeth for 30 minutes afterwards. Maybe rinse your mouth with water after drinking it.

But to be honest: with all the not so healthy stuff we let pass our lips day in day out lemon water might be the safest! So just start somewhere with something you feel you could get used or even enjoy!

 

Is there even more to it?

 

Yes, there is! It contains Vitamin C, it super-hydrates your body and it helps to detoxify by stimulating the liver! Everything that helps to detoxify is super welcome in my world! Car analogy: what if you drive your car with a blocked exhaust? Not good, no? Same for our body: when we can’t detoxify our body gets clocked up with toxins and that can lead to symptoms like headaches or migraines and later even to severe disease.

 

What do you say? Is it worth a shot of lemon water then?

 

Try it out for a week! I am looking forward to hear your experiences with this new habit!

 

Happy thoughts!

 

Martina

 

 

 

Healthy Snack Ideas

by | Jan 4, 2017 | Healthy Snack Ideas

Cravings happen even to the healthiest of us!

Often, when a craving hits in the afternoon or the evening after dinner, we get the urge to snack. Snacking can be a bad habit to get into, because the snacks we choose are often junky, un-nutritious, and high in calories, sugar, or fat and most of them increase the chances to get a headache or migraine, maybe the next day.

The trick to snacking without causing a headache or migraine attack is to find healthy alternatives to the regular snacks you might normally reach for. Having healthy snacking options available is so important and not too difficult if you plan ahead. Some of them, like nuts, you can easily keep at hand in your office drawer, others you need to plan for, but it’s so worth it!

Usually, when we get a craving it is for either something sweet (chocolate!), savory (potato chips!), creamy (ice cream!), or crunchy (crisps!). Obviously, my examples are foods you shouldn’t eat all the time if you want to feel good in your body. But that doesn’t mean you have to fight your cravings. Instead, you just need to substitute.

Next time you get a craving for something sweet, why not try:

• fresh, whole fruit or apples and almond butter, maybe even with some cinnamon
• dried fruit (eat with some nuts to keep the blood sugar from spiking too quickly!)
• dates stuffed with almond butter or other nut butter
• green smoothies
• banana “ice cream” (peel a banana, freeze, blend in a food processor with nuts, berries or  raisins ,and serve)
• organic dark chocolate chips or carob chips

For your savory cravings, try these healthy alternatives:

• olives
• pickles and pickled vegetables, such as gherkin, carrot, daikon, beets
• hummus
• steamed vegetables with tamari/shoyu or umeboshi vinegar
• freshly made salsa or guacamole
• Sauerkraut (will also knock your sweet craving right out!)
• Simple cucumber, tomato, avocado salad with just some herbed salt

Your creamy cravings can be met by eating:

• smoothies
• chia pudding
• avocados
• dips and spreads, like hummus and baba ghanoush
• puréed soups
• mashed sweet potatoes

Finally, don‘t cave and reach for the Pringles, when you can eat these crunchy (but still healthy) snacks:

• apples
• celery with nut butter and raisins aka ‚ants on the log’
• frozen grapes
• carrots (particularly the sweet, organic baby carrots)
• raw, unsalted nuts like cashews, almonds, and walnuts
• rice cakes
• light popcorn or plain popcorn (use coconut oil to pop in a covered pan)

Don’t fight your craving. Instead, listen to what it is your body wants specifically and choose the healthier option that will be good for you!

Stock your pantry or office drawer with some base ingredients so you don’t have an excuse to hit the vending machine!

What about keeping some raisins and a jar of almond butter at hand and then you just have to remember to purchase fresh sellery for ‚Ants on the log’.
You will be surprised how tasty this snack is and so satisfying on a number of levels as it is crunchy, creamy, slightly salty and sweet! A total winner!