My Nourished Soul

04/06/2023

WATER AND WHY WE NEED TO STAY WELL HYDRATED!

One of the first thing I learned when I studied functional nutrition, is that our body is made up of mostly water.

Water is a vital component of our bodies, constituting a significant percentage of our bodies.
Things like age, s*x, body composition, and overall health influence the exact proportion. Water is indispensable for proper bodily functioning, fulfilling essential roles such as regulating body temperature, nutrient transportation to cells, waste elimination, and joint lubrication.

Remarkably, our brain is composed of approximately 75% water. This high water content is crucial for optimal brain function, as water participates in various biochemical processes, including the transmission of nerve signals.

When we fail to maintain adequate hydration, what happens??

Dehydration… and this can have severe implications, ranging from fatigue, dizziness, and headaches to reduced cognitive function and impaired physical performance. In more severe cases, it may even lead to complications like kidney stones, urinary tract infections, and heat exhaustion.

While recommendations may vary, some suggest drinking 2-3 litres of clean, filtered water per day. But did you know that mitochondria cells, through cellular respiration, produce water as a byproduct, contributing to cellular hydration. Consequently, many individuals find that consuming 1-2 liters of water is sufficient when following a nutrient-dense diet, engaging in exercise, and adopting a healthy lifestyle.

If you find yourself feeling thirsty, you are already starting to dehydrate.

To maintain overall health, it is crucial to ensure you have adequate water intake and strive to stay hydrated throughout your day.

💚🌱 Leanne

22/01/2023

𝓑𝓐𝓝𝓐𝓝𝓐 𝓑𝓡𝓔𝓐𝓓

Gluten, Dairy and Sugar Free
The only sweetness in this bread comes from the very ripe bananas.

4 small very ripe bananas, mashed well
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
4 large eggs at room temp
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 C Coconut oil melted
1 3/4 C Blanched Almond meal
1/2 C Tapioca flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1/4 tsp pink salt

Instructions
preheat your oven to 180c
Line a medium loaf tin with baking paper
Mix together all the dry ingredients in a bowl, including nuts if using, and set aside.
Whisk the eggs together and add the mashed bananas, vanilla and coconut oil until well combined.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients using a wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not use an electric be**er as you will overmix the batter which may prevent the bread from rising.
Pour the bread mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the oven for 50 mins or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the pan for 15 mins before using the paper to lift the bread onto a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

NOTES:
The bread mix can be spooned into muffins pans lined with paper cups and cooked for around 20 mins, for individual servings.
Sliced banana bread is great to freeze. Defrost on the bench.
Banana bread is delicious fried in a pan with a little butter and topped with greek yoghurt, nuts and a drizzle of honey.
If your bananas arent quite very ripe, add a couple of tablespoons of honey for sweetness if you really need it.

🍌 🍌

01/12/2022

I had a few people asking for my recipe for the homemade mayonnaise I make on the regular!
This mayonnaise is ridiculously easy to make!
I have a thermomix, but any food processor is fine!
The trick is to make sure the eggs are room temperature and pour the oil in slowly!
And PLEASE…. Don’t use cheap nasty hydrogenated oils!

The purpose of making food from scratch is to avoid chemicals such as bleaches, (yes your food is bleached 😳) sprays used in the growing process (such as glyphosate or commonly known as round up) synthetic vitamins/ minerals (such as folate added to bread) and preservatives such as citric acid (which is commonly made using mould 🫣)

Next time your in a supermarket, check out the mayonnaises and look at the ingredient lists! So many numbers and names which no one knows unless you have a good understanding of what they mean! They're not things our body knows how to process.

My recipe here has just 4 ingredients, and they are all real whole foods! This Mayo is thick creamy and tastes delicious 😋

2 Egg yolks
1/4 tsp pink salt
1 Tblsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1 C oil (olive, avocado, macadamia)

Place the eggs, salt and vinegar into the bowl of your thermomix or food processor and blend together well!
Leave the machine running at a slow speed (thermi speed 2.5) and slowly pour in the oil.
The more oil you add the thicker it becomes until all the oil is used and you have a thick mayonnaise!
That’s it.. job done! Takes less than 5 mins, and tastes so good 😊

19/11/2022

Chronic inflammation is a chronic problem…

Did you know that most diseases today are due to chronic inflammation?⁠⁠
⁠⁠
Inflammation damages your cells and arterial walls and can cause all kinds of problems, including chronic inflammatory conditions like cardiovascular diseases and arthritis. ⁠⁠
⁠⁠
The best way to fight inflammation? Through a diet filled with these anti-inflammatory foods.⁠⁠
⁠⁠
Learn how to incorporate these 15 foods into delicious recipes, plus find out which foods cause inflammation, when you head to https://bit.ly/3ExRm6y.

17/11/2022

So I thought I would try out an all American style chia pudding! I had some leftover roasted pumpkin so thought I would do the flavours of the thanksgiving pumpkin pie!
Gotta say I wasn’t really a fan, but I didn’t dislike it! Pumpkin, coconut milk, nutmeg and cinnamon.. but no sweetener at all… not even a splash of maple syrup! I found the flavour very savoury even with the sweetness from the goji berries! Id probably try it again but give it some sweetness, the Mr had to have a bit of maple splashed over his 🥰

16/11/2022

Jackfruit 😍 my new fruit favourite as of last year when I discovered them! Just love North Queensland fruit right now, it’s so delicious!
I can tell you that they are amazing! Best part is that you can use all the bits.. except the skin.. that I know of 😝
The are three distinct parts to the jackfruit for eating! The seeds, Avrils and Rags! Seeds need to be boiled (taste just like white potato) then roasted! Sprinkled with salt they are scrumptious! The Avrils taste just like a sweet bubblegum.. no other way to say it! Very tasty and I’ve used them in fruit salads and smoothies! Lastly the rags, they’re the hairy type little white bits between the Avrils! Today is my first crack at cooking it! I’ve done what seems to be popular which is tomato and Mexican style flavours! Paprika, cumin and garlic! It’s actually really tasty and apparently it’s a favoured meat replacement for vegans in tacos, nachos etc! I’m not really sure how my meat eating Mr is going to feel about it, but this is what he’s having tonight.. wish me luck 🥰

15/11/2022

Who would love some recipes that I’ve been trying out?

15/11/2022

One of this weeks tropical fruit find at the markets was this White Sapote! Nothing like the chocolate one from last week! This one has a different texture altogether and large seeds!
I hadn’t had one before, and I found the white flesh to be soft and creamy with a little tang of citrus going on! And that’s because this sapote isn’t related to the black sapote at all but to the citrus family 🤷🏼‍♀️ yeah I know.. I was confused too 🤭
I enjoyed this fruit, the taste was delicious, texture lovely, there just wasn’t a lot of it because the seeds were huge! 3 for $2 was reasonable cost of this fruit, they’re about squash ball size. I’d definitely buy them again… will likely plant the seeds at home and see what I get 😁

13/11/2022

I’ve been chasing the sweet stuff this last week! Instead of a block of chocolate which is always doable.. I made these bliss balls! I loosely followed a recipe from his snack book, but as usual I didn’t have this but I had that… didn’t have that but I had this. 🤣😂 they do taste good, especially with my coffee!

13/11/2022

Sunday morning markets… I love getting up early and heading to these markets! So much fresh produce, home baked goods and hand crafted items!
This is the place I get my tropical fruits that I love so much!
Today I got a beautiful big Jackfruit. It will need a day or two before it will be ready to cut open, but I can’t wait for it 🤭😋

13/11/2022

This is why I bang on about citric acid being no good in our food anymore … mould.. that’s what it’s made from.
And we all know what mould does for our health! 🤮

Are you aware that citric acid found in food products (organic food products as well). cleaning agents and nutritional supplements is more than likely to derived from mould!! 😲

Many people are under the impression that the citric acid in today's food comes from the fruits such as oranges, lemons and grapefruit. However, some food companies simply find it too costly to use the actual fruit that way. The food additive has been created to boost acidity, enhance flavour and preserve ingredients.

Be curious and always questions food ingredients! Don't be ignorant to what some food ingredients can be, and always read food labels.

To learn more, click the link below.
https://thenutrition.academy/lets-talk-all-about-synthetic-biology-a-synthetic-route-to-natural/

11/11/2022

I do tend to struggle with getting the sourdough loves perfected when we’re travelling and I have limited space, especially in the fridge and then baking on the BBQ! The heat escapes when you open the bbq lid to put the bread in .. and the list goes on… but after much practice, I am turning out respectable edible loaves 🥰