THURSDAY BASICS: the wrap up.

The last one is here. The wrap up. The compendium. The whole she-bang.

See, in 2016, I set myself up for a weekly task. And in 2019, I set the intention to update each of those posts, and make them more relevant, delivering in an order that made more sense.

✨Read up if you’re wanting to Keep Well.
✨Read up if you’re keen to Tame the Inflammation Dragon.
✨Read up if you want to Kick Chronic Disease to the Curb.
✨Read up if you want to Defeat the Blood Sugar Beast.
✨Read up if you want to Balance your Hormones.
✨Read up if you want to Feel Real Good.

2019: THE YEAR THAT WAS.
I present to you, all the #thursdaybasics posts from this past year. 🥳🎆🎇

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Welcome to the last post of 2019.

I hope this finds you well, dear one. Today’s post is a wrap-up of the re-posts from a series I lovingly called The Monday Health Basics, back in 2016.

For 2019, I endeavoured to update the information and links found within those earlier posts and log them in an order that made more sense. The idea was, if you were following along, you could implement one good thing at a time to help make sense of this Holistic Nutrition world.

See, back in that first week of January 2016, with a year of possibilities ahead, I set out for myself the task of coming up with 52 simple and effective changes you could make in order to help you achieve optimal health. The idea was to post one new concept every Monday, in order to build content on my website and explain my approach, but also to connect with food- and health-loving people out there.

What I got in the end was this gift of developing ideas, jumping off points for classes and class material, and extra support I could offer to my one-on-one clients. This blog series is the gift that keeps giving.

There were simple ideas, and there were more complicated ones. Most ideas revolved around food (I am a Holistic Nutrition Practitioner, after all...), but there were some concepts that were aimed at lifestyle kind of things too. All in all, these were meant to be suggestions to up the ante for you to improve not only your quantity of life, but also your quality of life.

Today's post is the wrap up. Consider this me, setting the lay of the land, in order for you to implement these concepts or steps one at a time for yourself. Whether you are looking for improved health, or support with an existing condition, or just aiming for a better quality of life, these ideas are for you.

Thank you for coming on this #thursdaybasics journey with me this year. I am forever grateful for your stories, your struggles and your involvement. May 2020 be a year of discoveries for you, a year of joy with plenty of health.

I have broken down the 51 ideas into six categories in this compendium, if you will. Peruse at your liking, click on the ideas that interest you. Hit the 'share' button at the bottom of this article to share with someone you really dig! Bookmark this page, and make a plan to implement one idea a week for the year ahead, in order to help support you through any current health concerns be they chronic degenerative diseases, raising a young family and fuelling your days or the desire to ensure health and vitality as we age!

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FIRST THINGS FIRST

These go over the rules of the game, as it were. Or the rules of engagement.

1. ON EATING: Ways to think about eating, and why we do it. This is about being human. It's called On Eating.

2. ADD ONE GOOD THING AT A TIME: Start with where you are. And add only one good thing. Only one good thing at a time. Building the positive. And here's the secret: it feels better.

3. PANTRY STAPLES: An essential primer on how to stock your pantry with the essentials, what to keep, what to toss.

4. PRACTICE MINDFULNESS: In order to help support your body's ability to digest, I recommend you start carving time out for meals and practice mindfulness at these times. We are working on improving your body's ability to digest, and so it is imperative we don't just talk the talk, we also walk the walk!

5. EAT TOGETHER: We have a golden rule in our house, and it's one that I will insist upon until the day I die. Dinner is a meal meant to be shared, a meal that requires we are all around the dinner table, together. Let's talk about the power of connection when it comes to mealtimes. 

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WHOLE FOODS PRINCIPLES a la Weston A. Price

This section focuses on the major tenets of what it means to eat whole foods, the reasons you want to reach for whole foods. This means a traditional way of food preparation which encompasses the words live, natural and good quality: full of nutrients, low in pesticides, additives and other toxins, minimally processed, nourishing foods and from good sources. Read on to grasp some of these major ideas.

1. J.E.R.F.: One of the biggest changes you can make in how you approach foods. I realize I'm probably preaching to the converted here, but bears repeating. Just Eat Real Food. JERF.

2. EAT BUTTER: I invite you to read on the importance of including butter in your daily routine. There are more ideas too that make it easy to do so, so get playing with your food. Butter is the newest superfood!

3. EAT GOOD FATS: Good tips on how to incorporate some good fats in to your every day, speaking to the importance of this macro-nutrient in our diet. This is a controversial topic at times: read this article to understand which fats to eat, which fats to ditch and why you would want to. 

4. GO FULL FAT (one of my favourite topics): This article is on the importance of switching your dairy products, salad dressings, mayo and other foods to the full fat version. Look here for good tips and easy swaps in order to bring down inflammation and provide your body with those all important fat soluble vitamins.

5. EAT EGGS: I did a wee write up on the importance of including eggs in your diet, if you can tolerate them. They are a cornerstone of the full GAPS diet, a big influence on my practice as a Holistic Nutrition Practitioner.

6. CHOOSE GRASS-FED: This piece is about choosing meats and all animal products like dairy and fats, and reaching for grass-fed or pastured options when you're able to.

7. MEAT STOCK: Meat stock is one of the most nourishing foods you can eat; prioritizing this in your weekly menus will go far in supporting a reduction in inflammation and improving gut health. Meat Stock vs Bone Broth? Meat stock every time. Check this link for a video how-to.

8. FERMENTED FOODS: This is one of the pillars of my work: fermented foods. We run through all of the benefits + help you figure out if something is fermented. It is a basic pillar of the WAPF way of things, and also a big player in the GAPS protocol, a gut-loving protocol. 

9. PICK SPROUTED OR FERMENTED GRAINS: May I propose we take a gander at how to make grains more easily digestible. This post is not for everyone; but the information found within may help explain a bit behind the idea of traditional food preparation methods, and the wisdom found within. Let's talk about the wisdom of sprouted and/or fermented grains.

10. USING REAL SWEETENERS: I have an article on the importance of using real sweeteners, and reducing our intake of refined sugars and artificial sweeteners, and the ills they present. Let's sweeten naturally.

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GOODFOOD BASICS + EASY TRICKS

These are practical ideas and recipes or tricks I have come up with in order to help you play with your food more confidently. They are usually easy one-offs to work on, where I walk you through how to prepare these foods or incorporate them in to your everyday. There are recipes in this section: this is fun and delicious work, my friend.

1. SWAP YOUR TABLE SALT FOR REAL SEA SALT: This idea is one that is a pretty basic change that is fairly easy to implement, but is one topic that also raises many questions and controversy. We're talking SALT.

2. SWITCH TO FILTERED: We're talking water, of course. We're talking nix the straight up tap water, instead filtering it so it's of gentler support to your body. There are lots of reasons: all of this disinfecting comes with a price.

3. WATER: This article goes in to the benefits of water consumption and why we need it, but especially when and how to consume it. Timing and temperature is of the essence, here.

4. LEMON WATER TO START YOUR DAY: It takes all of 3 minutes to prep once every two weeks, and a little forethought every night before hitting the hay. We're talking the pros of starting your day with a glass of lemon water.

5. HOW TO THINK COFFEE: I love coffee. It can contribute to inflammatory things and blood sugar balancing things though, taking a toll on our adrenals. Here's a good way to think about that delicious elixir: there are good pro-coffee points here, and ways to mitigate the negative effects they can have on the work we have at hand.

6. REDUCE PACKAGED FOODS: In order to help your body reduce overall inflammation, with the intention to support gut health; loving your guts has a tendency to reverberate outwards, to all other systems in the body. This article is one more step towards reducing inflammation and supporting the gut lining.

7. MAKE YOUR OWN GREEK YOGURT: This article talks about two of my favourite things: dairy and fermentation. This blog post is for you if you like dairy. This blog post may also be for you if you are saying to yourself right now “Well Luka, I can't do dairy because I'm lactose intolerant”. It may also be something you want to check out if you find yourself reaching for that greek yogurt at the grocery store. Today's post is about how to maximize that probiotic hit, lowering the lactose and making sure that greek yogurt in your breakfast bowl is best going to support you through the day ahead.

8. BUY FROZEN FRUIT + VEG: Concerned about nutrient density? Want more bang for your food bucks? Frugal with your time? Buy frozen fruit and veg. Allow me to explain.

9. SOAK SEEDS FOR SMOOTHIES: This post is for those early birds who are regular consumers of smoothies come morning time. This article goes over some basic easy steps you can take in order to make that smoothie really count and nourish you from head to toe.

10. FLAVOUR YOUR WATER: As another option to help you increase your water intake (and reduce consumption of juice or sodas), may I recommend you infuse your own water with some tasty flavours.

11. SALAD DRESSINGS: Let's talk about making your own salad dressings, and why this is a good idea. We'll talk about how to manage this at home, and how to manoeuvre this idea whilst on the road.

12. MAKE YOUR OWN SEASONING MIXES: This easy tweak is a fairly simple thing you can do in your kitchen, in order to bring down the list of additives and other nefarious ingredients in your meals. We're looking to keeping it real food, mes ami(e)s.

13. BLITZED PULSE PASTE: I just like the sound of this. This article presents the idea of making a big batch of pureed pulses (lentils or beans) and freezing in small portions in order to use for easy protein and fibre additions to meals down the road.

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A BAKER'S DOZEN OF BIG CHANGES

This section encompasses thirteen pretty big ideas and changes. This section is the heavy lifting, if you will. It's the section where you will find more complicated recommendations, or multi-faceted ways of supporting your body. You'll also find recipe round-ups in this section. Read on to find a topic that really resonates with you!

1. BREAK FOR 12: This one is about liver support. Let's go over the idea of a 12 hour break, in order to give your body that rest it needs to recoup from the day and prepare for tomorrow. This is about reducing inflammation and supporting your body's detox work.

2. LIVER LOVING BREWS: What a great way to augment your intake of water. I have a write up on liver-supportive teas with a recipe for a homemade brew of medicinal mushrooms, incredibly supportive to reduce inflammation in the body.

3. GOOD FATS via EFAs (Essential Fatty Acids): This explains the benefits of these all-important fats in your life. It is one that I think about every live long day, and it involves choosing foods that will support just about everything going on in your body.

4. EAT YOUR GREENS: This is the why + how to up the greens in your life. They are supportive to every inch of your body. SO GOOD! Make it delicious.

5. ADD NETTLE: I am a big lover of all things nettle. Further to the post just above, it's a fabulous green that is easy to add to your daily cooking. It is a fantastic anti histamine herb, works hard at bringing down inflammation, and rich in minerals. 

6. ADD SEAWEED: Further in to this discussion on consuming your greens, this may help you figure out how to incorporate mineral-rich seaweed in to your kitchen creations. The benefits are manyfold on this super green.

7. EAT PREBIOTICS: This write up is on the importance of eating your fruit and veggies every day. There is a method to the madness! Feed the good bugs, my friend.

8. LOVE YOUR HEART: This is a post that originally came about as summer was making its first appearance. Through the Traditional Chinese Medicine lens, summer is the season of the heart. In this blog post, we look at how Holistic Nutrition can best support your ever-lovin heart. This one is a good one at any time of the year.

9. LOVE YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM: This post came about as Old King Winter was making his first appearance. We cover some basics here, and talk those easy things we can do to love up our immune system.

10. PUT UP THE HARVEST: This post came about at harvest time. This blog post is meant to inspire you to take full advantage of Mother Nature's bounty and gifts, and to celebrate this most wonderful time of the year. Friends, it's time to put up the harvest. (In small batches. Do-able things. Easy things. Delicious things. One good thing at a time. Your future-winter-self will thank you.)

11. SMOOTHIES: I built a template explaining how to think about building smoothies. These nutrient dense offerings are a great way to boost certain nutrients, and are perfect vehicles to get some of those all important nutrients that will support your current health concerns. 

12. SNACK WELL: This one focuses on good ideas for snack foods. I like to think of this list as a possibility for snacks, or maybe piece a few of these together to make for easy take-to-work lunches. Go play with your food!

13. LUNCH BOX PLANNING: I wrote an article with ideas on how to think about packing lunches, be it for the littles or the bigs in your life (and that includes you.) There are nutrient-dense ideas that are fairly easy to pull together, making lunch time a delicious and nourishing thing.

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THE PRACTICAL IDEAS

This section zeroes in on the practical tools to help you make these changes do-able tasks, and ones that will carry you forward. Tools to your toolkit, you could say.

1. DIRTY DOZEN/CLEAN FIFTEEN LIST: This is the latest list of Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen that is put out every year by the folks at the Environmental Working Group. In the interest of reducing toxins in your every day life, use this list to help make trips to the grocery store a bit more manageable.

2. TAKE NOTES: This is a good place to start, in terms of the practical. Let's talk about writing down where you're at, noticing how you're feeling and really taking stock of where you begin this journey. This one's called Write This Down.

3. MEAL PLANNING TIPS: I wrote an article on meal planning, and tips on how to approach it. I find it helps to make mealtime easier during a busy family week night. I hope you find it useful! 

4. BATCH COOK: This write up focuses on good ways to think about batch prep work. Batch prepping is meant to be one task you undertake once a week in order to supply easy to incorporate things for the meals in the week ahead. It's all meant to make meal prep during the weeks a bit of an easier task. It's also meant to help ease in to this whole-foods preparation with a bit of an easier time.

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CRITICAL LIFESTYLE SUPPORT

These ideas are integral and critical to supporting good health, and keeping inflammation at bay. Remember, this is all about manageable things to make this a good life. And implementing these components? Perhaps the funnest and easiest ways to ensure vitality and health. And feeling good, top to bottom.

1. SLEEP LIKE A CHAMP: This idea is one that can get overlooked, one that can often fall to the back burner. Good quality sleep is critical to supporting health, allowing for the important rebuilding and repair work to take place. And rejuvenating. Start counting sheep!

2. TAKE A WALK: It's time to get practical, kids. Getting outside for a walk a day, even if it's a short walk, will do wonders to help support your body through the work it wants to do. The benefits are manyfold – I mean name a system in the body, and you are sure to find that walking would support that system's function, nay I'd go so far as to say improve that system's work.

3. GO GREEN: This one is about lessening that toxin load on your body, bringing down the number of nefarious substances your body has to filter or move out. It's about supporting the liver, in turn helping reduce inflammation. It's about going green when it comes to your cleaners.

4. DITCH THE DRYER SHEETS: This is a practical in-house thing you can easily swap out or eradicate from your home. We're talking dryer sheets my friends. What they are, why you want to get rid of them, and some simple swaps you can add to your cupboard this weekend and know you've reduced the toxin load in your home already.

5. BREATHE DEEPLY: This is the perfect time to add this tool to your arsenal: this write up touches on the importance of reducing stress via grounded breath. It leads you through the how-to, and the benefits behind this easy (and free!) practice. Breathe deeply.

6. CULTIVATE JOY: In the interest of having fun and bringing down inflammation, supporting blood sugar regulation, it is imperative that you play. Every day. Here is a wee write up and explanation, with a long list of inspiration or ideas to get you started.

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THE COLES NOTES VERSION

For those who'd rather just get the basics of what to aim for:

1. Eat real food. From good sources.

2. Reduce toxins everywhere, from your foods, your cleaners, your clothes, your household purchases. This could also speak to reducing the negativity in your life.

3. Sleep like a champ.

4. Play. Cultivate the joy in your life. Seek it out in the every day.

5. Connect with people.

6. Repeat.

Sorry to say it, but no one is getting out of here alive. So let's make it a good day, shall we?

All the best to you and yours at this magical time, dear one.
May 2020 be good to you, and may you discover some good things.

Now go play with your food.

THURSDAY BASICS: cultivate joy.

#tbt day here at #goodfoodHQ, as we look back on the #mondaybasics series of 2016. Second to last one!!!

This is one of those pillars I touch on in every. single. class. I run. From now until the end of time. It’s time to enjoy this one delicious life, friend-o-mine.

CULTIVATE JOY

COLES’ NOTES:

1. This is one of those things to help further reduce chronic inflammation.

2. Cultivating joy / chasing compassion / conjuring calm / doesn’t matter what you call it.

3. It’s one of those practices that requires diligence + practice. Super fun practice.

See, when you flip something difficult or stressful around 180 degrees, it can sometimes feel MUCH better and lend itself to a better success rate.

So go ahead. Cultivate Joy, friend. Share with us how you plan to do it in the comments below!

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I feel like we are living in this really incredible time in history right now. I promise not to get into political things here. Hear me out.

There seems to be a lot of big changes going on in the world, either politically, or personally in peoples' lives. I was thinking the other day how this obvious increase in dis-ease and dis-comfort for people is on the rise. I see this discomfort and disordered health as signs of inflammation.

Certainly at the root of most chronic diseases out there, is inflammation.

The way some things seem to be exploding right now on the world stage, or in medical circles? In faith, in communities, across the board? In the way the commerce world is going? How we receive our information, how it is packaged for us? It seems the inflammation is reflected there as well.

Do not be disheartened.

I really deeply feel this inflammation is a harbinger of change. And a call to action. A call for us to pro-actively choose for ourselves what fits, what we want, and what we wish our outcome to be and that of those around us.

No longer are we to sit idly by while things happen to us. This inflammation (be it in our bodies, or in our social circles) is a call to take charge of our own destiny, to be pro-active in our own pursuit of health, and to be active participants in choosing quantity and quality of life.

At the core of this whole not-so-quiet revolution currently taking place, in this our work to reduce inflammation on every level, is the ability, the invitation, and the occasion to cultivate joy.

From the get-go in January of 2016 (and again, for the entirety of 2019), I decided to write an article a week, focusing on an easy-to-implement idea for prospective clients. My motives were simple: committing to writing an article a week would force me to develop online content, which would help me really explain what I'm all about as a Holistic Nutritional Practitioner.

It would be an exercise in discipline; as it turns out, it was an exercise in really figuring out what my bent is, my approach to food and how it can best support a person. It became clear halfway through the year that my interest in supporting people lies in reducing inflammation and improving digestion, as key players in overall health. It's all about the gut, love. (Look for the full list and links to each weekly article from 2016 here.)

In the interest of reducing inflammation in the body in order to best support optimal health, let's talk about how your mindset and intention to cultivate joy can be a key player in reducing said inflammation.

Reducing stress is one of the key components in reducing inflammation. Earlier this year I spoke about the idea of Practicing Mindfulness around meal times: remember the idea on how stress shuts down the digestive process? In order to digest like a pro and get at those nutrients found in our meals, we need to be calm, cool, collected when it comes time to sit down to a meal.

In a stressful event, should you be eating or digesting, this function goes on the back burner and those foods you have just put in your belly will not be completely digested. These incompletely digested morsels now contribute to inflammation in the gut.

Another reason stress may hinder things: the stressful response calls on your adrenals to release cortisol, which in turn now frees sugar in your blood stream. The idea here is that you get a quick hit of energy to your muscles.

When this reaction came about so many millions of years ago, that stressful reaction meant you were face to face with a saber toothed tiger. Insta-sugar hit to the muscles meant you could run like the dickens, away from the tiger. You would live to see another day. (Ummm those who didn’t develop this response never lived to tell the tale. Sadly.)

Unfortunately, this stressful reaction we experience in our day to day lives nowadays is more like 75 saber toothed tigers every day, as opposed to one every two years as it was when that evolutionary piece came along. It's that teeter totter effect of blood sugar levels up and down many times during the day that tax our bodies, our adrenals and contribute to low grade inflammation.

So I'm tying together here stress, blood sugar imbalances and inflammation. Which now contributes to impaired digestion. Which begets more inflammation. Oy.

So sure, today's post is about reducing stress + inflammation.

But let's not call it that.

Let's turn it into a positive thing to add to your to do list: let's talk the power of cultivating joy.

Having fun and prioritizing good times can play a pretty big part in reducing inflammation. It helps bring down stress, which is a contributor to ongoing inflammation; it helps improve circulation to get nutrients to where they need to go to work on the problem and keep inflammation down.

Having fun releases chemicals in the brain that help reduce inflammation there and in fact, end up protecting your noggin against inflammation.

The heart is central to feeling and expressing joy; when joy is missing in our lives, it is the heart and the circulatory system that feels it keenly according to Chinese Medicine. Making a point to ensure joy in every day will go far in supporting a healthy cardiovascular system, and a happy heart.

Your immune system is also quite sensitive to stress and negativity. By choosing joy and actively seeking out a more positive spin on things, you will be doing your immune system a service and proactively protecting it.

Here is your prescription then for cultivating joy on the daily:

• Prioritize fun! Every day!

• Go to the park (whether or not there is a little in your life)

• Call a kid in your life, dress fancy, and take them out for tea and cake

• Play games, find a games cafe in town

• Have a night out with your honey or bestie or favourite kid: go to movies, comedy shows, go dancing, buy season's theatre tickets

• get involved in something that is important to you, in order to connect. Volunteer somewhere!

• Take a walk – this helps my kiddo immensely on days where she is in a funk

• get a pet – they are a good reason to go out for a walk every day, plus the love is so unconditional

• practice self care - find your own definition for this.

• soak in an epsom salts bath with your favourite magazine

• start a book club

• movie night with the gang – in summery times, find some outdoor films in town!

• Check out a nearby town for antiques or farmers markets

• Reconnect with a hobby you had when you were wee

• Joint a community theatre troupe (like my honey just did)

• Dust off your skis, your bike or skateboard and get out there. Move your body!

• Join a choir like you always wanted

• Find those who bring out the best in you, and make time for them. Call them more often.

• Add a gratitude practice to the start of your day, actively focus on your blessings

• start a jam night with friends

• check out some new local music, head out to a local club, get tickets for a big show and call a friend

• host a games night with friends and neighbours

• downsize your commitments (Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne was a huge book for me that helped me figure this one out)

• start a garden

• join a yoga class or a local tai-chi group in your area

• take up pottery like you always meant to (check your city’s recreations department to find a class that appeals to you!)

• share a meal with a honey in your life (eat together!)

• take a cooking class

• get season's tickets to one of your fabulous theatre companies or orchestras in town

• schedule in regular date nights. In pen. Don't back out.

• have an imprompty kitchen dance party with your fam jam

• GO OUTSIDE! OFTEN! GO WALKING! DANCING! SING TO THE TREES! Whatever it takes to get you out there. And do it daily.

Take heart. Please play. Aim for everyday. That is your recommendation this week.

THURSDAY BASICS: love your immune system.

#tbt day here at #goodfoodHQ, time to dive back in to the #mondaybasics series of 2016.

As the colder climes set in, so our attention usually turns to this trend of waning immunity. It doesn’t have to be so, you know?

LOVE UP THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.

COLES NOTES:
1. Learn the five key points to supporting your immune system. (Guess where ground zero for immune system lovin is?)
2. Garner a deep understanding of why stress/trauma/worries can tip the scales when it comes to immune health.
3. Learn which foods help, and which hinder in the picture of immune system support.

This is about your foundation of health. It’s a long one - I’m pulling this in to a full class in the new year. Keep your eyes peeled for that. Better yet, sign up for my newsletter to get in on the action first-hand!

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Without fail, the colder weather creeps up on us as it does this time every year. And with the temperature dropping, we often start talking about taking care of the ole immune system. Let's cover some basics today, and talk those easy things we can do to love up our immune system.

Your immune system does so much for you: it, along with your gut, is your foundation to good health. Let's go over the components you can put in place that are essential to immune health.

FIVE KEY COMPONENTS ESSENTIAL TO IMMUNE HEALTH
Look after your gut
Eat Real Foods
Prioritize sleep
Reduce stress
Reduce your toxin load

Let's break these down in to the practical, shall we?

LOOK AFTER YOUR GUT

You gotta love your guts. See, there are estimations that roughly 70% of your immune system resides in your gut. The two work hand in hand in keeping you well, in keeping potential harm at bay and moving it out in a timely fashion so that you can get through your days.

It is your immune system that acts as your main line of defense against everything you come across, from cuts and bruises to incoming pathogens like bacteria and viruses. It has a pivotal role in keeping cancer at bay.

This part isn't news to you; what might be news is how intricate the connection is between our gut and our immune system.

The good bacteria living in your gut (called your “microbiome”) have developed intricate interconnections with your intestinal and immune systems; they help calibrate your immune system so it is working in tip top shape, able to recognize what is 'you' and what is 'other'.

Your microbiome plays a big part in regulating overall body inflammation, starting in the gut and radiating outwards to all of your organs and body systems. Those little bugs? Well they are also key players in supporting overall immune health.  

As we embark on this new season where we are finding ourselves more indoors than out, it is imperative we give our immune systems a little support by looking after our Good Gut Guardians, our microbiome.

THE GOOD GUT GUARDIANS

There are a few good ways to repopulate your gut with those healthy bugs: a good place to start is by slowly introducing live or raw fermented foods into your diet. These foods contain the 'good bugs' that contribute to keeping your microbiome in good stead. Think probiotics, only in food form. And when those things come via foods, they are part of the traditional ways our ancestors before us would have had them, and ways our bodies will be able to assimilate.

One of the key components then to loving your gut, is to make sure you get some fermented foods into your belly. They'll take care of the rest. (If you are new to the idea of fermented foods, look to this article for a comprehensive look at how to go about it.)

FEED THE GOOD GUYS

We also need to provide your body with those foods that will best fuel the cells of your intestinal lining. Ensuring these foods on a regular basis will go miles in supporting your immune system, and reducing overall inflammation.

My top pick? Why it's my good friend, Mrs. Meat Stock! Look for a full write-up including a recipe at this fairly recent post. 

Next up, you'll find butter on the list of foods. While I love it for the nutrients it provides to your immune system for optimal function, I also looooooove the nutrients it provides to your intestinal lining, ensuring integrity in this very important area. Plus it's delicious. Check in here for more reasons you can love butter.  (You're welcome.)

FIGURE OUT WHAT’S OFFENDING

Food allergies and sensitivities place a stressor on our immune system. It is important to look into what foods are contributing to a negative impact on your digestive system, and do that work to support the gut lining and improve your body's ability to digest, in order to reduce the impact of food sensitivities and allergies on your immune system. *Get in touch if you’re trying to figure this piece out. I’ll be your ally.

Gut love is where it's at, my friend.

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EAT REAL FOODS

There are loads of nutrients that offer targeted support to your hardworking immune system. Protein is one of those key foods, providing the building blocks that are being assembled for the response when there is a perceived threat at hand. Reaching for good quality protein is important.

If you're able to, ensuring your animal products come from animals that were raised on pastured will afford your body a better complement of nutrients to help support the immune system and lend a protective effect to the gut. Look for a more in-depth article on the importance of sourcing your animal products from grass-fed sources here.

FOODS + NUTRIENTS TO ADD IN

In the same vein, ensuring good quality wild-caught fish will best serve this system. Both the pastured meats and wild caught fish will also provide an excellent source of those all-important Essential Fatty Acids. Read up on the hard work these nutrients do in the body here, and how they play an essential role in your body's immunity.

There are so many nutrients necessary to proper immune function. I would rather you get hung up on the foods that will best support your endeavours though, instead of trying to micro-manage what you're getting and what you need to get. If you are looking for a more focused approach on micro-nutrients, this is where the help of a Nutritional Consultant may be of benefit. (Get in touch!)

I have pulled together a list of foods I would recommend, providing your body with important micronutrients necessary to immune function, but also abundant in nutrients supportive to the intestinal lining. Eat the ones in bold more often, and make sure you're reaching for the others on a regular basis:

• Meat stock

• fermented foods

• cod liver oil

• butter / ghee

• eggs

• garlic and onions

• grass-fed meats

• organ meats

• avocado

• asparagus

• all berries

• beets

• brussels sprouts

• cabbage

• carrots

• cauliflower

• cinnamon

• cranberries

• horseradish

• kiwi

• all leafy greens

• lemon

• nettle

• oranges

• oysters

• papaya

• pineapple

• sardines

• seaweed

• shiitake mushrooms

• thyme

• wild caught salmon

• pumpkin + sunflower seeds

• sea salt

FOODS TO TAKE OUT

Reducing your intake of simple sugars and refined carbohydrates will serve you well, as they suppress your immune system. I remember one of our profs in school, a local Naturopathic Doctor mentioned one teaspoon of sugar ties your immune system up for eight hours. EIGHT. HOURS. !!!!

While I can't find the exact study that explains this on PubMed, I did find this article that would support the notion.  

I think it's important to note here that I would also lean towards the idea of regulating your blood sugar levels, which would of course involve curbing your intake of refined flours and simple sugars. I would also add you need to look at consuming some good fats my friend, to help balance those sugars. Read here if you want to explore the concept further. 

And hey, want help on the real food front? I have a program for that.

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PRIORITIZE SLEEP

I have written a lengthy article about the benefits of sleep. In it, I talk about how important it is to make this a priority, as it is where our body's repair and rebuilding work happens. Look for that article here, along with some good tips on how to achieve better sleep.

The take-away?

Aim for at least 7-9 hours a night. Turn your cell phones to airplane mode, or better yet, take them right out of the room. Get some serious black-out curtains. Reduce your exposure to electronics in the last hour before beddy-byes. Sleep like a baby.

Nay, rather more like a teenager.

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REDUCE STRESS

I know I know, sometimes by just saying' reduce stress!' the end result is we've ramped it up. But you really should know that science indicates (as do your memories of exam days whilst in University if you go back!) that stress really does weaken the immune system. It's really important to keep a positive frame of mind to help support your immune system.

One of my top recommendations is to GO HAVE SOME FUN. Prioritizing the good times can play a pretty big part in bringing down stress, and have a protective effect for your immune system.

Here is my favourite list of ideas for you, may you find one or two that resonate:

• go for a walk – everyday! (so simple. So good.)

• head out to a cafe to play cards with a friend or honey

• host a games night with friends and neighbours

• find the comfy chairs at the library and settle in with a good book

• start a book club

• visit a nearby town and check out antiques or farmers' markets

• schedule a little me time (self care is the best!)

• breathe deeply

• soak in the tub; make it an epsom salts soak, bonus points!

• take your littles (or your friend's littles!) to the park or an indoor water park

• downsize your commitments (Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne was a huge book for me that helped me figure this one out)

• start a garden

• join a yoga class

• start your morning with a sun salutation

• start a meditation or gratitude practice

• join a local tai-chi group in your area

• take up pottery like you always meant to

• check out a comedy night in town

• check out some new local music, head out to a local club

• have a movie night with the fam

• share a meal with a honey in your life!

• take a cooking class

• get season's tickets to one of our fabulous theatre companies or orchestras in town

• schedule in regular date nights. In pen. Don't back out.

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REDUCE YOUR TOXIN LOAD

I love that you've read this far. Let's get to this one last important component in supporting the immune system.

Toxins in your life, be they from toxins you ingest through your skin via personal care products or compounds found in the air you breathe, toxins found on our foods, toxic thoughts even, or toxins produced in our bodies via regular metabolic functions, they all add up to compromising our immune function. You can add in here the toxins produced in your body from the interactions you have with the toxic people in your life.

Ugh. Sorry.

Here is a start for ideas on how to reduce your toxin load:

• consider stopping smoking

• ditch the dryer sheets (please!)

• use filtered water instead of regular tap water

• start your day with a glass of water with lemon to support liver's detox

• consult the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen to reduce exposure to pesticides and herbicides

• consider J.E.R.F.

• support your liver's detox work with good teas

• swap your home cleaning supplies to green versions

• change your furnace filter on a regular basis

• use clean products for personal care and beauty regimen

• open your windows in the car when you first get in to help air out dangerous chemicals emitted in that 'new car smell'

• place a few houseplants in different areas of the home to clean your air

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OK gang. What are the five main points for immune lovin again?
Take care of your gut.
Eat Real Food.
Sleep like a champ.
Destress like a three toed sloth.
And reduce those toxins.

Do what you can. Baby steps. One thing at a time. You got this.

THURSDAY BASICS: breathe deeply.

#tbt day here at #goodfoodHQ, as we look back on the #mondaybasics series of 2016.

I do go on about food here on Good Food + You. (Heck - it’s in my title.) But food isn’t the only thing to think about when reaching for vitality, or reaching for optimal health. The idea today is an easy one to implement, and the benefits are incredible.

BREATHE DEEPLY.

COLES NOTES:
1. Great tool to add to your toolkit: you always have this on you.
2. It’s about turning off the Fight/Flight and turning on the Rest/Digest mode.
3. Bonus: it helps protect your brain from atrophy.

Sign me up! This requires no special tools, don’t have to shell out a penny for it. Consider this a reminder, if nothing else.

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Every day is a good day to start this practice. It’s an easy one to add to your roster. A dependable tool to add to your toolkit.

Breathe deeply.

The science behind the deep breath

• When stress levels are elevated, we tend to breathe more shallow.

• When we are in the sympathetic nervous system mode, we are on high alert and getting ready to fight or flight. Short shallow breaths are a part of the picture.

• Shallow breathing exacerbates or amplifies the stress response.

• Taking deep breaths or being more mindful about our breath calms that stress response, and triggers a shift in our adrenal glands.

• Slowing our breath slows down our body's manufacturing of stress hormones.

• Slowing down the breath influences the parasympathetic nervous system to kick in – think rest + digest mode, sometimes called calm + connect.

• Slowing our breath allows our heart rate to return to normal. This allows our blood pressure to self-regulate.

• Slowing our breath allows our mental chatter to calm down.

• Slowing our breath allows our body to turn on digestion, allowing us to better break down foods into nutrients necessary for every cell of our body.

• Deep breathing is focusing on releasing carbon dioxide just as much as taking that oxygen in.

For a full rundown of the science of the breath, I invite you to read up on the importance of deep breathing on this article at Psychology Today.

Why I love it:

• It's free.

• It works.

• It is your number one tool to bring down the ill effects of stress.

• It is a super tool in times of anxiety. Excellent at helping regulate a racing pulse.

• You can do it anywhere.

• You don't need special tools.

• It stimulates the vagus nerve.

• It invites you to that physical state where your body can focus on resting and recouping, digesting and doing repair work.

• It helps to relieve muscle tension that could be contributing to headaches or migraines, and other minor aches and pains.

• It also helps your brain grow, keeping brain atrophy at bay!

The How To:

• Sit up straight, reducing distractions around you (turn off the radio, put away your phone, take a break in the washroom if that's the only quiet place right now).

• Breathe in through your nose for a count of say, four or five.

• Breathe right down in to your belly, allowing your diaphragm to expand.

• Hold for a count of 4-8, building on this with time.

• Release the air through your mouth on a count of eight or ten, essentially twice as long as you spent taking that breath in.

• Do this at least 10 times, in a quiet spot.

If you like or are able, you can close your eyes to help create that safe space.

Try visualization at this point if it would help; use your mind's eye to see a restful space, a spot in the woods, your favourite place. It all contributes.

If you're able to extend this into a 20 minute mindfulness or meditation practice, you will be doing wonders for your brain, heart, immune and overall health. Start your day with this kind of deep breathing and mindfulness exercise, and you will see how setting this calm intention at the beginning of your day may be of benefit to you. End your day with this kind of deep breathing and mindfulness exercise, and you will see how this could improve your ability to fall asleep and perhaps stay asleep better, longer.

Start a yoga practice: it's all about mindful breathwork. 

Share this tip with the littles in your life: they too need help manoeuvring through this life.

Go breathe my friend. You got this. 

THURSDAY BASICS: Batch Cook.

#tbt day here at #goodfoodHQ, as we look back on the #mondaybasics series of 2016.

This week’s missive is about making your kitchen work FOR YOU. This blog post has now morphed into one whole module in my new program, the Real Food Reset. It’s the practical side of things!

BATCH COOK! 🍲🥘🍵

COLES NOTES:
1️⃣Maybe a Big Cook is in your future.
2️⃣Maybe a mini version of the Big Cook.
3️⃣Or may I propose we keep it simple, and you aim for one batch item a week?

In the interest of keeping it real and meeting you where you’re at, think about doing one batch item a week. It is one of those essential practical things to put in place where older you will reap the benefits of younger (and wise!) you!

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#mondayhealthbasics: batch cook.

Monday Health Basics: a weekly blog post where we explore simple things to add, in order to support ourselves to aim for optimal health. If you're new to the blog, or curious to peruse the other posts on the subject, might I recommend you click on the tag at the bottom that says “monday basics”? Good fodder there to get you started.

This week's idea is one that I have implemented in my weekly approach to making meals an easier and more attainable task, and has evolved over time. So let’s talk BATCH COOKING!

In the last six or seven years, I have slowly winnowed out packaged and prepared foods from our family's regimen and have been aiming for more and more whole foods from scratch.

It all started with my few years of working in the kitchen at my daughter's school, helping to prepare the school's hot lunches. Batch cooking is really at the heart of making meals for large groups, and some of these tenets can be taken into your own kitchen, albeit on a much smaller scale. Let me save you that five years' of ruminating I did, and skip to the good part.

The concept of batch cooking might not be as foreign to you as you think. Some people call it The Big Cook, others get a gaggle of friends together to make a shwack of meals (yes, that's the technical term) for everyone to divvy up and take home.

I participated in one of these group sessions for meal making, and it was a breeze. We decided on the recipes before hand and sent our grocery list to the woman hosting, and then spent that whole day assembling meals in foil containers and freezer bags. We each took home two full family-sized servings of every meal that was pulled together that day. It was amazing!

I can't imagine how much organizational work went in to it on behalf of my superstar friend organizer Cindy, but it truly brought such a fabulous group of women together, and we all ate better for those next few weeks, let me tell you. It was a gargantuan grocery bill as you can imagine, but we all divvied up the cost and the labour, and if you can add 40 family-sized meals to your freezer for the coming days and weeks with only one day's work, I'd say you're way ahead of the game. Thank you for that memorable day, Cindy.

I have joined with friends since then to do mini versions of this big cook idea, and had great success. It really does make meal prep in the ensuing weeks immensely easier. I'm up for anything that takes a load off and makes things easier.

KEEP IT REAL

I don't know about you though, but I can't sustain a day or a full afternoon of batch cooking every few weeks. I simply don't have the time, unfortunately. And so I have winnowed this idea down over the course of these last few years, to make it an accessible task for myself when it comes to meal prep for our family.

I aim to do one batch cook prep item per weekend for the week's meals ahead.

How I come to choose which item, well that depends on a few things. Some weeks, I will pick an easy enough condiment that will be the base of many of the coming week's meals. (Mayo anyone?) I have been known to prepare big batches of lentils, nuts or seeds and allowing them to pre-soak in order to deactivate anti-nutrients. Doing a whole shwack (see a pattern?) means I only do it once for a bevy of meals down the road. And yes, I have two freezers.

Making a double or triple batch of Butter Chicken is a great batch item!

When out for groceries for the week's meals, I sometimes come across some incredible savings on produce and so stock up. Once back at home, I tuck these discounted veggies into bags destined for the freezer. Other weekends I may have a pot of meat stock happily bubbling on the stove for meal plans in the week ahead. It really all depends what I have going on, or what kinds of things I need to stock up on.

And so today, my food-loving friend, I wanted to offer my suggestion on how to make this whole-foods journey a bit easier, and a more manageable task. Every weekend, I think of one thing I need to make in order to make the coming week's supper time a more manageable task when it comes to preparing food for my family. Below, you will find my list of ideas; click on the titles to find spots online for recipes or how-to.

To be clear, just choose one thing to make on the weekend!

Next weekend, it will be something entirely different. But slowly, over the course of time, you will be building your resources and stock piling some delicious offerings that will help make mid-week meal prep an easier task. I'd love to hear what kinds of tips you can share that have worked for you!

Easy One Batch Cooking Ideas
for weekend planning to ensure ease of meal making in the week ahead (click on items that interest you for full instructions and how-to)

• Pre-soak 8 cups of lentils for 12 hours along with 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, drain then cook 40 minutes or until cooked to desired consistency. Tuck in smaller portions in freezer bags for future quick protein for salads, soups and lunch bowls. (Follow this link to find more info on how to properly soak & cook beans and legumes)

• Make a big batch of pizza sauce and freeze in ice cube trays for easy retrieval on pizza night

• If you are planning to order a side of beef or pork, ask your farmer if they would sell you the fat from the animal and intend to make a batch of lard or tallow (couldn't be easier!)

• Make a curry paste from Jamie Oliver's fab set of recipes, and intend to use it up in myriad ways in the coming weeks

• Have milk going bad soon? Make your own yogurt!

• Go the easier route with dairy that is going off (or that 50% whipping cream at the grocery store). Make a big batch of creme fraiche! It will extend the shelf life of your dairy by at least 3 weeks.

• If chicken is on sale, consider throwing it all in your slow cooker with a 1/2 cup of water for 8 hours on low. Shred the meat off of the bones and tuck in freezer bags for quick protein additions to later meals, and save the stock that has gathered. Delicious.

• Make a batch of meat stock - great base for all kinds of meals.

• Make a homemade ketchup or BBQ sauce (bonus points if you try your hand at fermenting them!)

• Homemade bread is so much better than store bought. Whip up this batch of Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day, and it will keep in your fridge for up to 12 days. You need only pull out enough to make a loaf, tuck the rest in the fridge for later that week.

• Double or triple a big batch of soup or chili on the weekend, and tuck into individual-sized containers in to the freezer for quick lunch grabs or dinner re-heats on hockey night.

• Greens getting wilty in the fridge because you never got around to them during last week's dinner intentions? Get some fresh herbs and make some pesto or chimichurri by replacing half of your herbs for those wilty greens

• Making your own mayo is infinitely easy and serves as a great base for flavours in this week's meals. Look for some great alterations to standard mayo recipe to dress up the next days' meals here.

• Found some zucchini on sale this week? Shred it and tuck into smaller plastic bags in the freezer for later retrieval. Kale was deeply discounted and looking a bit sad? Snip and freeze! Overload of collards on a good deal? Dehydrate them til crispy, and then chop in a food processor to tuck in a glass jar in the pantry, to increase the nutrient density of meals.

• Make a double batch of granola for breakfasts ahead

• Make a big batch of easy homemade kale chips

• Pre-soak and sprout one kind of nut or seed at a time, and dehydrate. Do this in as big a bulk you can afford and have room for, and tuck in freezer bags in to the freezer for easy retrieval.

• Buy three or four vegetables for the meals coming up. Wash and peel if necessary, and chop into individual containers in the fridge for quick add-ins to the meals you have in mind. Cuts down on your prep time during busy weeknight meals!

• Roast a half dozen sweet potatoes while prepping Sunday night's dinner, and keep them in the fridge again for easy suppers mid-week.

Batch cooking day with a friend.

Keep it simple

There you are. Just a few ideas to get you started. My idea here is to offer some ideas on doing one good thing a weekend to prep for meals coming in the week ahead. As you build on this one-thing-a-weekend, soon your pantry and freezer will be loaded with quick things you can add to your week's meals. At the core of it all, I want to underline the word simplicity. Keep it simple. Good-enough-meals are just what should be on the table. No company is coming over, nothing fancy nor drastic is required. Just simple, and good enough. 

Please go play with your food. And comment below with ways you keep it simple and tasty!