Category: Wellbeing

Two cake recipes for you today, although as always, with a twist to pack in as much nutrition as possible. Both are low/no sugar and full of extra benefits specifically designed and tested to support perimenopause and puberty – and everything in between! The orange and chia is a take on lemon and poppyseed… orange juice from leftover oranges/satsumas etc gives you a vitamin C boost (lemons would too, to be fair) but chia packs a much stronger nutritional punch than poppyseeds! Full of protein, fibre and crucially omega 3 fatty acids these tiny seeds will help your digestion, support your hormones and help you feel fuller for longer. My kids loved these for lunch boxes. 
Sweet potato “choc” brownies – well, who doesn’t love a chocolate brownie? Except these are full of fibre, vitamin C and A, and A and iron (in the cacao). Remember my blog about enhancing iron absorption? Here it is again – the vitamin C in the sweet potato is a super way to make iron more accessible here. I’m really giving my family a big nutritional boost at the moment as we head through the last days of winter towards the spring light and these are two recipes that taste great AND provide a greater depth of nutrition AND school lunchbox friendly.

Orange and chia seed muffins: makes approx 12

100g wholemeal self raising flour

100g ground nuts/seeds/flax

4 eggs

Juice from 3-4 oranges/satsumas (see how many need using up in the fruit bowl)

100g butter

100g chia seeds

Dash of milk

Sprinkle of baking powder

Optional dark chocolate drops

What you do: combine all the ingredients except the chocolate drops, in a food processor. Whizz until smooth. Stir in the dark chocolate drops. Check the taste. Likely to be sweet enough with the orange juice, but stir a drizzle of honey if not. Distribute into muffin cases. Bake for 20ish minutes at 180 degrees. Enjoy!

Sweet potato chocolate brownie – makes approx 20 depending on how big your slice!

250g butter

3 tablespoons cacao

1 table spoon cinammon

4 eggs

4 large sweet potatoes/6 or 8 small skinny ones

150g wholemeal self raising flour

100g ground nuts/seeds/flaxseed

Packet of dark chocolate drops

Dash of milk of your choice

Possibly a dash of honey if you need it

Sprinkle of baking powder

What you do:

Roast the sweet potatoes, skin on, until soft and gooey. Combine with all the other ingredients (except the chocolate drops) in a food processor and whizz until fully mixed. Check the taste. Likely it is sweet enough already but add a bit of honey if not and whizz again to combine. Stir in the chocolate drops. Pour into a prepared tray/tin to bake for approx 20 mins at 180 degrees. It should look baked on top like a normal cake, but the cake consistency is likely to be softer than normal cake, due to the sweet potato consistency.

Some of my clients like to come for a treatment with their partner. This means you can enjoy your massage with your partner in the room, reading quietly whilst enjoying the relaxing ambience of my treatment room, before it’s their turn for a massage. I think this is a lovely thing to do together as you should both feel really relaxed by the time you leave.

Others like to go for a coffee while they wait for their turn. So I thought you might like to know some nice local places for coffee or a snack, while you wait! With Cowley Road less than five minutes walk from my treatment room, you’re spoilt for choice really. My absolute favourite place to go is Door 74 – local, seasonal, delicious food and friendly staff – it is probably a 10 – 15 minute slow walk away as it is towards the ‘town-end’ of Cowley Road. There’s also the Truck Store – about a 7 minute saunter – I haven’t been myself but clients highly recommend it for it’s speciality coffee. Then there is Kazbar for a mint tea, Coco’s for lunch – both again around a 15 minute meander away towards town. There are also lots of new places springing up – Miro’s is a middle eastern and Mediterranean coffee bar which looks lovely and Rick’s is also good. There is also a Costa and Coffee Republic, but personally I prefer the little independent places.

If you come on a Saturday morning, there is a local farmer’s market which has fabulous bread, cakes, gifts, milk, cheese, meat, veggies – and a lovely cafe. It opens 10 – 1pm in the school hall behind Tesco.

There’s also a myriad of charity shops, hair dressers, jewellery and bike shops on Cowley Road all well worth a visit and a pleasant browse while you wait!

A wonderful poem, full of good advice, although not always easy to follow:

 

The Guest House

~ Mewlana Jalaluddin Rumi

 

This being human is a guest house

Every  morning a new arrival

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

Some momentary awareness comes

As an unexpected visitor.

 

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they are a crowd of sorrows

Who violently sweep your house

Empty of all its furniture

Still treat each guest honourably

He may be cleaning you out for some new delight.

 

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

Meet them at the door laughing

And invite them in.

 

Be grateful for whoever comes

Because each has been sent

As a guide from beyond.

I’m delighted to report that my new deep tissue massage machine has finally arrived! Many of you have heard me talk about this machine and suggest it will be good to help relieve your deep tissue tightness – and here it is! It’s great for necks, shoulders, upper, centre and lower backs, thighs, calves, hamstrings, arms, and the soles of your feet.

This machine works by vibrating the muscles and warming them at the same time. I’ll be using this in conjunction with deep tissue treatments from today onwards. I’ve had great fun testing it out on my own shoulders and back this afternoon and can thoroughly recommend it! I look forward to trying it on you soon and receiving your feedback on my facebook page.

A friend, of a friend recently created a fantastic app called ‘MyFoodCircle’. You can keep a visual food diary by uploading pictures of what you eat and sharing them with your chosen friends. It’s a great way to keep a real record of what you eat, perhaps motivate you to eat more healthily/lose weight by actually seeing what you’re eating (!) and get encouragement from your friends to do so.

You can download it for free and start using it straight away. Keep an eye on this blog for more healthy eating suggestions as I complete my MSc in human nutrition at Oxford Brookes uni. Which reminds me… I should be studying…!