LJ Nutrition

26/10/2022

An interesting read on how to handle Halloween sweets.

“Kids won't learn to listen to their own hunger cues if you're constantly telling them what and when to eat, she explained. "They either restrict or they have all of it.”

Health police parents, it's time to turn in your badges.

14/06/2022

Chocolate overnight oats, quick and easy to prepare and leave in the fridge for an easy breakfast for a day or two:
*60g jumbo oats
* 1 TBSP chia seeds
* 1 Cup almond milk
* 1 TBSP Peanut butter powder
* 1/2 TBSP organic cacao
* 1/2 TBSP pure maple syrup

Mix in a jar and leave in the fridge overnight, perfect for on the go or when time is short. Clean ingredients, full of nutrients and very tasty!
Enjoy 😉

29/03/2022

Decided this article I recently wrote on gut health for a magazine needed a place on the grid and a chance for you to read it properly.

Here are my top tips for achieving good gut health:
1. Eat mindfully and slowly away from screens, chewing your food properly.
2. Increase the fibre in your daily diet by eating fruit, vegetables, whole grains, pulses, nuts and seeds.
3. Manage stress through breathing exercises, mediation or exercise.
4. Eat more pre and probiotic foods such as yoghurt, kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, pickles, miso, tempeh and kimchi to increase the amount of good bacteria in your gut.
5. Drink more water – two to three litres a day is ideal.
6. Try to eliminate refined sugar and refined carbohydrates and choose foods that are as close to the natural source as possible.
7. Leave gaps between meals - your gut tissue cannot regenerate while it’s constantly digesting food.
8. Leave three to three and a half hours between your main meal at night until going to sleep to give your body a chance to digest and absorb nutrients properly.
9. Get enough sleep. Lack of sleep can raise cortisol (the stress hormone) which affects gut permeability.
It also affects your hunger hormones and your ability to make good dietary choices.
10. Limit alcohol and caffeine - both stimulate the digestive system and can disrupt the digestive process.

To get in touch for a complimentary 20 minute chat, contact me on info@ljnutrition.com.

28/03/2022

Let’s talk about meal prep, do you do it? How often do you do it? Do you find it helpful?

For many of my clients and for myself this is key to eating well and eating consistently and backing your blood sugar throughout the day to avoid binges.

I’ve got a busy week ahead and had a little bit of time today to get organised, nothing too complicated and nothing that takes hours but being prepared and having food and snacks on hand makes a BIG difference in your health journey.
🥚 Boil eggs
🥕 Cut up crudités
🍗 Chicken goujons with GF cornflakes
🥧 Chicken pie base
🍪 Protein Energy bites

Let me know in the comments below if you set aside a couple of hours a week for meal prepping and how you find it?

20/12/2021

My kids don’t always eat as well as I’d like them to or as well as everyone may think they do!
🍚 But today my eldest was inspired by and her great aunt who makes a similar dish. What’s brilliant for me is that the desire to cook comes from her and more often than not I’m saying “not now” so I don’t have to clean up the mess 😂
🧅 Today she made orzo (pasta rice) by frying onion, garlic and peppers in olive oil then added the orzo to the pan with water and turmeric. Great for the immune system (garlic & turmeric) and quick and easy to make.
🫑 Why not encourage your little people to help in the kitchen during the holidays while there’s more time, especially if you have a picky eater. The benefits are huge even if they’re exposed to food and not actually eating it 🍥🥗🥚🥕🥦
#2021

22/11/2021

Do you love cereal but once you start eating it you can’t stop? Most of the delicious cereals are full of extra sugar which makes them very addictive and don’t keep our blood sugar stable.

Try this recipe for a filling alternative full of nutrients, healthy fat, omega3 fattyacids and protein. It will keep you fuller for longer and is also excellent to balance your hormones:
2 TBSP jumbo oats
1 TBSP chia seeds
1 TBSP flaxseeds
1 TBSP pumpkin & sunflower seeds
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Small handful raw unsalted nuts (2 almonds, 2 pumpkin seeds, 2 walnuts or Brazil nuts)
Soak in plant milk and water (about 60ml of each) and leave for 30 minutes.
Enjoy and tag me if you make it 🥣 😋 🥜

29/07/2021

Did you know your body can only produce vitamin D from April - September?

Here’s a quick check for when is the best time of day to get sun exposure without covering up or applying cream.
Vitamin D is important for overall , . Make the most of the sunshine ☀️

03/06/2021

Are you drinking enough in the hotter weather?

Some tips on how much you should be drinking and how to keep check.

If you struggle with plain water try adding some fresh mint/lemon/lime/berries or anything natural that you like.

🍓🫐🥥🍋 🌿 🌞

20/04/2021

Let’s talk about portions sizes for kids.
🫐🍓🍇🍒
Do you often dish up your kids meals for them and then wonder why they don’t finish everything on their plate?
Often we as adults think their tummies are bigger than they are or that they need more food than they do. I always tell my clients to look at what a child has eaten over the day or even week as like adults some days they may be hungrier than others and some days they may refuse food. This can be because:
1. they’re simply not hungry and had what they needed at the last snack or meal
2. are over tired or
3. need to go to the toilet for a poo!

One way to help children regulate their own appetite and hunger cues is by letting them dish up their meals for themselves. You’ll be surprised at the amount they serve up for themselves and how much they eat. If you prefer to dish up for them or like this morning I packed their snacks for school, you can see I gave my younger one far less than her big sister.

✋ Something we use a lot at home especially with my pickier eater is using the size of her palm to measure the amount of protein needed at a meal. Give it a try and help your kids to establish their own hunger and fullness cues rather than insisting they eat everything on their plate. This will serve them well in the future too and avoid pressure around food.

24/03/2021

A really simple way to upgrade any meal or snack (yoghurts, smoothies, salads) is to add a mix of seeds - they add more vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, protein , healthy fats and fibre as well as numerous health benefits.

🔸Pumpkin seeds (magnesium & potassium)
🔸sunflower seeds (vitamin E & selenium)
🔸 linseeds (omega 3, fibre)
🔸 h**p seeds (protein,fibre)

3️⃣ Omega-3 fats are healthy unsaturated fats. It is important that we get them from the foods we eat such as: fatty fish, flaxseeds, avocado, walnuts, soybeans, tofu etc

Omega-3 fats play a role in brain, nerve and eye development, skin health as well as help keep your immune system healthy.

6️⃣ Omega-6 fatty acids are a type of essential fatty acid (EFA) belonging to the same family as omega-3 fatty acids.

EFAs are fats that the body needs but cannot make on its own. Foods containing omega 6: soybeans, corn
safflower and sunflower oils, nuts and seeds, meat, poultry, fish and eggs.

Most people eat more omega 6 foods than omega 3 and need to increase these foods in their diet for the optimal ratio.

22/03/2021

Quick and easy side salad to add to any meal full of goodness:

▪️Tinned Black beans
▪️ Diced Avocado 🥑
▪️ Diced red pepper

Drizzle over some red wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil - don’t ask quantities as I just throw them in! Stir through and let it sit for a short while before serving if you want the flavours to soak in!

Enjoy 😊

06/03/2021

Roasted chickpeas, great as a snack or as a side or on top of salads.

🔸 Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas
🔸Dry excess water
🔸Add salt, paprika, olive oil
(add cumin or cayenne pepper for more of a kick!)
🔸Turn oven to 190 degrees fan (or do in air fryer) and roast until crispy/ for about 20 minutes

Chickpeas have a low glycemic index which help support healthy blood sugar control.

They are high in fibre which benefits your digestion by increasing the number of healthy bacteria in your gut and also a great source of plant based protein.
A versatile, convenient and an inexpensive way to add more protein, vitamins and minerals to your diet.

18/02/2021

Just received this amazing email from my client who is type 1 diabetic. We only had our initial call this week and she’s already taken on board the changes we discussed to balance her blood sugar so it doesn’t dip too high or too low.

With her insulin pump she has to manage this very carefully with what she eats and as she said in her email her blood sugars were perfect which has never happened before.

No quick fixes, no fad diets just working closely with her to manage her individual requirements and support her through the changes to form new habits.
🥤🍓🫐🍌

24/01/2021

Great article about brain foods for children and their growing brains and which foods are particularly beneficial to their memory, concentration and overall health.

There are a lot of foods that can improve learning, understanding and memory. Brain power relies on many factors, including physical activity, sleep and food.

Here are the key take outs, have a read for more:

🫐Blueberries: Rich in Flavenoids - They help improve your memory, ability to learn and general thinking
🫒Olives: A Source of Good Fats
🥜Nuts: full of Vitamin E which reduces the risk of degenerative diseases
🐟Fish: An Omega-3 Food - help enhance problem solving, concentration, and memory
🍫Dark Chocolate: Full of Flavenols - increases blood flow to the brain, and improves thinking and mood
🥑 Avocado: A Delicious Healthy Fat - improves blood flow to the brain, a natural way to enhance brain ability
🥚Eggs: Good for Memory due to choline and contain iron, folate, vitamin A and D (if enhanced), which are important for normal growth and development.

Food and nutrients have the ability to help your child's brain grow and develop. Boost your child's brain power with these sources of brain food.

29/12/2020

Have you indulged the past few days and feeling a little sluggish due to the weather, food, lockdown?
Don’t wait until the 1st Jan to get back to routine or exercise whatever that is for you. Use these few days to start no matter how big or small your goal is.
For me it was getting back on track after a few indulgent days so I started the day with a run and a smoothie. It could be a 10 minute walk, yoga, meditation or even just meal planning.
🏃‍♀️🥙🍽🥑
Studies have shown that sugar suppresses the immune system which makes it harder to fight off infections.
Here to help if you need support with starting a new goal, healthy eating or habit changing. I run various different programmes all tailored to you with ongoing support.
No quick fixes, shortcuts or fad diets.

So what goal will you start with???

04/11/2020

***New Lockdown Package just launched***
Are you feeling anxious about lockdown and worried about eating everything in sight or undoing some of the progress you’ve made? I’m here to help!
A month of 1-1 support with me to support you through lockdown be it to stay on track and not overeat, lose some weight, work on a specific health goal? Now is the time!

Limited to 10 places only so I can offer 1-1 personalised attention.
For more info https://www.ljnutrition.com/lockdown-package.html and feel free to get in touch for a FREE 15 minute chat, Lindi x

04/11/2020

***NEW LOCKDOWN PACKAGE JUST LAUNCHED***
WATCH VIDEO BELOW FOR MORE INFO

https://www.facebook.com/ljnutritionuk/videos/360724248526696/

03/11/2020

Kids dinner tonight presented as a snack plate for THEM to choose what they want to eat.
🥗
My little one hasn’t been eating so well and I always have to resist the temptation to encourage her to eat as then it becomes a power struggle which is very common with picky eaters and the phases kids go through with their food! As I put the plate down she said “I’m not eating those” pointing to the chicken burgers and I simply said “you don’t have to”.
🥕
Based on the division of responsibility we decide what to make and when to serve it and kids decide if and how much to eat.
🥑
There’s a little bit of everything from smoked salmon and homemade chicken burgers to cut up raw veggies and some nuts and seeds for extra protein and healthy fats and because I know she likes some of them.
🥜
Give it a go at home and put a few foods on the plate you know they like alongside a few other new ones.
Place it down in front of them and say NOTHING! You’ll be surprised by what they take and how much and what foods they’re exposed to by looking, touching or smelling them!