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Inspire - Functional Nutrition, Waikanae (2025)

13/09/2021

Growing microgreens made EASY!! 🌱

I was so grateful that a very good friend (who knows me really well) sent me this microgreen kit from micropod for my birthday earlier this year.

It makes it SO easy and means you have an incredibly nutrient-dense version of some of your favourite full sized vegetables. Mostly I put them in smoothies or salads and is such an easy way to include many antioxidants, vitamins and minerals in your diet 😊

The seed mat growing in the photo has over 400 individual seeds and is a combo mix of mild winter microgreens - Mizuna, Chia and Purple Pak Choi.

The seeds are sown for you in a seed mat and all you do is add water over the seed mats and into the grow tray, pop the lid on and wait!

What are microgreens?

Well it all comes down to the lifecycle of the vegetable you’re growing.

In the first 3-5 days, the seeds burst open and start to develop their root system and first leaves as they prepare for photosynthesis. At this stage, the plant is called a sprout.

After 7-14+ days, the first leaves start to open and begin to turn bright green, signalling their transition from sprout to microgreen. This point is the height of a plant's nutritional density, meaning the plant contains more vitamins, minerals and antioxidants by volume compared to any other stage in the growth cycle.

I’m not an affiliate and I don’t get anything for promoting this, but wanted to share with you as it’s such an easy way to include more nutrients in your diet.

Check out their website for full details www.micropod.nz

10/09/2021

I have just uploaded a new blog post on the Inspire FN website!! ✨

https://www.inspirefn.com/blog/blood-sugar-101

This is BIG 😮 It’s one of the most important foundations of health that I help clients with.

You’ll definitely want to check this one out as managing your blood sugar will have incredible positive impacts on your health 💯

I’m not just talking about if you Type 2 Diabetes, this information is important for EVERYONE!!

This blog post covers:

- Why you should care about blood sugar
- How your body regulates blood sugar
- How diet, stress, exercise and sleep have an impact
- How your body uses different nutrients as fuel
- How to support your blood sugar levels (no fad diets here!)

Grab a herbal tea, have a read and reach out if you have any questions 🙂

07/09/2021

Just as we’re about to come out of lockdown Level 3 (for many kiwis!), I’ve been thinking….🤔

I remember during the previous lockdown that for me, there were some positive daily habits (movement, food and stress management) that by being at home, I’d either started or gone back to. I was feeling good about that 😊

How my body was feeling each day was more obvious to me during this time, things like:

- How consistent my energy levels were during the day
- The clarity of my thinking, mood and memory
- Digestive niggles
- How different foods made me feel after each meal
- How the quality of sleep affected me
- How the amount of water I drank impacted how I felt

Have you also been noticing these things more over the past few weeks?

I was quite determined to hold onto these new or reignited habits and that I wouldn’t let the busyness of life get in my way….😇

My determination to thrive, be active and continue to try new healthy habits (and get back on the horse when I fall off!) is not only for myself, it’s for my family ❤️

Mostly, I was able to keep some habits going, but others dropped off as life got back to some sort of “normal” 😔

Have you been thinking about any new commitments to yourself, during this lockdown that will improve your heath and how you feel? ✨

Do you want to learn how to nourish your body in a sustainable and long-term way so you improve any symptoms, banish cravings and have great energy throughout the day? ✨

Or have you just had enough of waking up not feeling good day after day? 👊

If you feel like you’re coming out of this latest lockdown not feeling wonderful (due to existing symptoms, new symptoms, worsening symptoms or an existing chronic condition playing up), then get in touch and start your journey to feeling great again - it is possible! 😃

Flick me an email or go to my website and get hold of me using my Contact form - I’d love to have a chat - together we can talk about how I can help.

www.inspirefuncitonalnutrition.com/contact
Kat@inspirefn.nz
Zoom and in-person consultations available in Waikanae and Paraparaumu

03/09/2021

I wish you could taste this Lemon Keto Cake 🍋 Yum!

Our lemon tree is laden at the moment so my daughter called for some kind of lemon cake 🤔 and this was the recipe we found at https://kirbiecravings.com/keto-lemon-cake/ .

It’s GF (uses almond flour and coconut flour) and I swapped the butter for coconut oil (so it’s DF too) and it turned out fabulously!

Almond flour and coconut flours are high in healthy fats, fibre and protein as well as other vitamins and minerals. A way better choice than any refined flour 👍🏻

These flours are now easy to find at most supermarkets, health food shops, or online whole food stores like 😃

I wouldn’t say that switching to using these means it’s open slather to eat cakes, muffins and baked goods all the time, as we should focus on other fresh sources of nutrients. But if you do want to bake something occasionally, then these are a great option.

The sugar lookalike on top is a mix of lemon juice and stevia/erythritol sweetener that won’t spike your blood sugar. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol which is a type of ‘low-digestible carbohydrate,’ a category that also includes fiber and resistant starch. If you find you get any digestive reactions from Erythritol, then there are other natural (not artificial) sweeteners you can try like xylitol, stevia, monk fruit and yacon.

My only caveat here is that if you know you struggle with sugar cravings, then having something sweet even though it’s not impacting your blood sugar, can still fuel the desire for more sweet food 😈

Savour and enjoy a small portion and then ensure you always eat balanced meals with all 3 macronutrients (carbs, fat and protein) 😇

01/09/2021

Beautiful greens!!! 🥬🥬🥬🧊🧊🧊

It’s super easy to always have dark leafy organic greens on hand when you turn them into ice cubes 👍🏼

Eating a variety of dark leafy greens is super important for everyone but even MORE important if you have a health challenge.

There literally isn’t enough room here to list all the vitamins and minerals you get from eating these greens, but trust me, you’ll feel the difference in your daily vitality if you add just 1 serving per day!

If it wasn’t for some pesky white butterflies and their caterpillars the leaves I used for these would have been out of my garden, so this time I brought 3 bunches from Commonsense:

- Curly Kale
- Calvo Nero
- Red Stem Silverbeet/Swiss Chard

I steam mine first for 5-8 minutes to remove/reduce oxalic acid, as dark leafy greens have naturally higher concentrations. Oxalic acid binds to minerals (like calcium, iron and magnesium) and then they get excreted out in your urine. Oxalates can cause a host of other issues too. Turns out your Grandma was right about cooking those greens! 👵🏼

This isn’t a problem when having the odd salad with raw greens, but you can unknowingly increase levels dramatically when eating a lot via smoothies or juices.

I find this so ironic when people often eat spinach as a plant based source of calcium, only to potentially p*e it out 🤷‍♀️

If I’m going to go to the trouble of steaming several batches of greens post-shop, I want to make sure they last!

This is where the ice cubes come in handy. Because they’re wilted, you can poke A LOT into a single cube. My trays have quite generous sized cube holes and I can fit what would have been about 1 cup of raw greens into a single cube!

I use these in my morning smoothies to sp*ed up the process and you could also easily pop them into other dishes.

Up to you how small you tear or cut them first, really depends what you’re going to use them for.

I went for a triple dip this time with some of each green, in each cube - I think they look amazing!

31/08/2021

Delicious Zucchini, Broccoli and Basil Pesto zoodles 😋

I had a hankering for that basil pesto flavor which makes my mouth water just thinking about it!

It’s been a while since I had my spiralizer out so that was it - zoodles it was!

This is super easy and to sp*ed things up I also used a pre-made whole food plant-based pesto by the amazing Genoese.

Zuchinni, Broccoli and Basil Pesto zoodles

2 large Zucchini’s spiralized
4 cloves Garlic crushed
6 Broccoli florets chopped into small bits
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4C Genoese Plant based basil pesto
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tblsp Olive Oil

Heat olive oil in the pan. Add crushed garlic and cook for 2 mins.
Add zucchini and broccoli florets and mix. Cook on medium heat until just tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir through basil pesto while zucchini and broccoli are still in the pan. You could take it out first, but I like it to warm through a little!
Season with salt, pepper and a sq**rt of lemon juice.

Serves 2 as a side dish 👍🏼

30/08/2021

Mid afternoon naked beef snack patties 😁

To avoid the mid-afternoon snacking (kids and grown-ups 🤣) spiral, I decided to whip up some yummy little beef patties - easy peasy!

The protein and fat will help the kids last until dinner time 👍🏼 You will need to decide how many to give your family so you don’t fill them up too much before dinner 😬

This has much so more nutrition than any processed and packaged snack foods and bars 💯

Leftovers can be used for lunches or snacks the next day.

Naked Beef Meat patties:

400g Beef mince
Half an Onion finely chopped
3 Cloves of Garlic minced
1 tsp dried Basil
2 tblsp Coconut aminos
2 tblsp Coconut flour
1 Egg
1/4 C H**p seeds (optional, but adds Omega 6 and 3 - also undetectable by the kiddos)
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Squish all ingredients together by hand and shape into 1/4 C pattie servings. Fry in the pan in a healthy fat (I like coconut oil) on both sides until brown and completely cooked through.

Makes about 12.

Serve with a piece of fruit, carrot sticks and/or your favorite whole food dip.

28/08/2021

Stress negatively affects our digestive system more than you probably realise.

When we are stressed, our SYMPATHETIC nervous system is activated – this is our FIGHT or FLIGHT response 😬

When we are relaxed, our PARASYMPATHETIC nervous system is activated – this is our REST and DIGEST response 🧘🏽‍♀️

For all the many parts and processes of our digestive system to work properly, we need to be in the REST and DIGEST zone 😎

Do any of these sound like meal-times at your house?

- Rushed, not chewing food properly
- Stressful or noisy
- Trying to wrangle kids to stop fighting and/or eat dinner
- In front of a screen (TV or phone)
- Reviewing your stressful day either out-loud or in your head
- Eating while working or doing something else
- Eating while standing up

Why do we need digestion to be working properly?

Because this is how we get all the nutrients from our food, that we need to be HEALTHY.

If you are eating when stressed, then all that effort you put into selecting and preparing delicious healthy meals, is being hijacked and could be why you’re not feeling as great as what you think you should be.

EVERY SINGLE CELL in your body needs nutrients (water, vitamins and minerals, carbs, protein and fat) in order to work PROPERLY.

Try focusing not only on WHAT you are eating, but also HOW you are eating and see the difference 👍🏼✨

TIPS:
- Do a quick breathing exercise before eating
- Have a gratitude ritual when you sit down to eat
- Explore ways to make food prep easier and reduce rushing
- Commit to always sitting down and no screens when eating
- Always chew each mouthful of food for about 30 seconds, put your cutlery down in-between each mouthful. You want the food to be a smoothie consistency BEFORE you swallow!

27/08/2021

At any time, no reason or explanation needed, know that’s its ok not to feel ok 🙂

I’m holding space for myself and for you, so I’m not going to try to offer advice, fix any problems or cheer anyone up today.

Nobody needs fixing and nobody is broken just because they don’t feel ok today, yesterday or tomorrow.

Just sending out love and light ❤️✨

25/08/2021

Commitment has a huge impact on if and how much you can positively impact your health journey!

I don’t want to sound like a washed-up sports coach trying to motivate a team of underdogs by throwing around the word commitment 😂…hear me out!

This type of commitment is different. This is like a promise to yourself, where you are the one and only benefactor. The only person who will know if you keep this promise or not - is you (and maybe me, as your practitioner!).

Sometimes after years of chasing health solutions, beginning a new fad diet, falling off the wagon, starting a new exercise regimen…on Monday, no next Monday when that doesn’t work out, feeling like you just can’t stick to anything - can you imagine how having the value of self-compassion ❤️ would help you pivot out of this cycle?! Or resilience, patience, humour, courage…….

I can provide clients with a bit of accountability, all the relevant and important knowledge, tailor nutrients and food to exactly what a body needs, and dig through a novel-sized medical history to find root causes, but I can’t be with a client 24/7 to help them make all the hard decisions that will pave the way, brick by brick, to a healthier future.

What I know for sure, is that those clients who truely value their health and have a core set of values they know and use to help themselves connect back with what’s truly important, do see steady, sustainable improvements in all aspects (physical, mental and emotional) of their health.

Tip: If what I described above sounds familiar, you may just need to build some self-trust as a first step. Pick one small healthy choice that you can commit to doing EVERY day, it could be having a cup of herbal tea in the morning or a glass of water and setting a reminder on your phone. Giving yourself a daily win, can help you regain self-trust that you can commit to and follow-through on a healthy choice.

25/08/2021

Having healthy Digestion is hugely important to your Immune System health!!! This includes your entire digestive system from mouth to…well your butt! 😳

Here’s why:
- Having adequate and strong enough stomach acid (HCL) is a first line of defence to neutralize pathogens (bacteria and viruses)🦠
- 70% of your immune cells live in the gut mucosal tissue in your gut lining
- Undiagnosed or unaddressed food reactions that happen in your gut can use a big amount of immune system resources that could otherwise be used to protect the body
- Healthy good gut bacteria in your large intestine help stimulate the immune system and crowd out the bad bacteria
- A healthy digestive system helps you to breakdown your food and absorb the nutrients. Your immune system relies on many different nutrients to perform optimally!

Digestion is a key foundation I work on with ALL clients as it impacts how well the rest of the body can function.

Any of the following COMMON digestive symptoms are NOT NORMAL and can mean problems are brewing:
- Dry mouth
- Bloating
- Gas
- Stomach pains/cramps
- Frequent diarrhea or constipation
- Heartburn or reflux
- Undigested food in your stool

Stay tuned for ways to improve your overall digestion!

24/08/2021

The best fudgy keto brownies 😋

The kids were keen to do some lockdown baking and so this is my go-to brownie recipe as it’s keto so doesn’t affect your blood sugar 👍

Recipe is from https://www.wholesomeyum.com/best-fudgy-keto-brownies-recipe/ and she does a truckload of testing on all her recipes to make sure they live up to their name!

I did some little swapsies and used coconut oil instead of butter and a monk fruit sweetener instead of the powered Allulose - but all in all they were still fabulous ✨

These are made with Almond Flour (not meal) and you can’t substitute this for anything else!

We leave off the optional walnuts as not everyone is a fan in our house 😬

Give it a go!!

23/08/2021

Go on……give it a go!

This was a double batch so we can have some in the fridge during lockdown 👍 It’s also totally freezable!

This has coconut cream and homemade chicken stock/broth (healthy fats!) in it which will help balance out the carbs, but make sure you have this as a part of a meal that also includes some protein to help keep your blood sugar balanced 😉

**double batch quantities**
2 kg Pumpkin - cubed (you can swap out and add other root veg to suit your taste)
8 C Stock (chicken, beef or vegetable)
6-8 cloves Garlic roughly chopped
2 inch Turmeric root roughly chopped
2 inch Ginger root (2 tbsp dried ginger) roughly chopped
2 bunches fresh coriander (2tbsp dried coriander) roughly chopped
1 lemon squeezed
2 400ml cans of Coconut cream

Add chilli flakes, coriander leaves and coconut cream to serve 😁

23/08/2021

Minimal effort, delicious dinner!!! 😁

Whatever way you like to slow cook (crockpot, instant pot or Thermomix) now’s the time to use it if your lockdown days are full-on and busy!

BONUS TIP: You can cook a whole fresh chook in the slow cooker! Easy Peasy! Add flavorings (I like lemon juice and tamarind paste) and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours (check you own specific device guide for timings).

Slow cooker left-overs are also great in lettuce wraps, in a salad or just reheated for your next meal!

22/08/2021

A bit of Sunday afternoon cuteness and sunshine 😊☀️ x

21/08/2021

Now is the time to try that new or different recipe you’ve always wanted to!

Caveat is you need to make sure you have the ingredients 😬

Your family or significant other will appreciate something new, or at least that you tried 😂

There’s nothing worse than getting into a monotonous food rut. During lockdowns food becomes a big focus of the day, helps create a normal routine and is a great way to check-in with each other.

Stay tuned for more tips!

Inspire - Functional Nutrition

13/09/2021

10/09/2021

07/09/2021

03/09/2021

01/09/2021

31/08/2021

30/08/2021

28/08/2021

27/08/2021

25/08/2021

25/08/2021

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Tuesday	9:30am - 2:30pm
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