Tuesday's Change Week 48 - Cold and Flu Season

So Halloween is over and 'Silly Season' has finally begun. It's a time when we all eat and drink too much, have too many late nights, the weather gets suddenly cold and we spend way too much money leading to stress and feeling worn out. Saying all that it's what makes the festive season what it is and we probably wouldn't change it even if we could!

But there is a way we can try and lessen the effects of the season. Keeping your immunity boosted is the easiest way but you need to put in the ground work well in advance to keep those dreaded colds and flus at bay.

This is my go to trick when I feel a cold coming on. I try and battle it head on before it develops into a full blown illness that leaves me missing a Christmas party, work do or even worse the Christmas Markets here in Germany!

Ginger is a natural antibacterial and antiviral so regardless of the cold or flu this should help to boost the immunity and attack the nasty bug before it can take hold. Garlic is similar and can be added to foods easily, providing you aren't planning on getting too close to anyone underneath the mistletoe! Ginger also tastes nicer in a hot drink and so I tend to add garlic to food and ginger to my drinks.

I take about 2 inches of fresh ginger, peel it and grate it into a bowl.
Fill the bowl with freshly boiled water and allow the ginger to stew for at least 5-10 minutes. The longer the better.
If you don't like the bits then feel free to sieve out the ginger.
This makes a 'cordial' of sorts and I place this in a sealed jar or jug to be used throughout the day.
To make a nice tea that will help clear your cold/flu in no time follow the instructions below:

- Add some of the cordial made above to a mug, about 5 tablespoons, or the more the better!
- Add boiling water, a squeeze of fresh lemon, or a slice, a sprinkle of cinnamon (optional) and a teaspoon of honey (optional).
- Mix well and enjoy.

I try and drink this at least 3 times a day if I feel any sort of illness coming on. Even from the first sip you can feel your head clear and the fuzziness lift. Not to mention it tastes nice!

You can read more about the benefits of ginger here.
This will not only fight colds and flus it will also help relieve bloating and digestive pain from over indulgence on food, help ease nausea from a hangover and warm you right up on those cold winter days. The benefits really are endless.

So that is it my Jeanies. This week try and drink a cup of this tea at least once a day and stave off that dreaded illness of the festive season. You won't regret adding this to your routine and you can make it easy and hassle free by preparing the cordial in advance and even adding the honey, cinnamon and lemon to it also. This way even if you are out and about you can ask for hot water and make your own!

Paleo Lemon and Blueberry Loaf

I, like many people, just love to watch the Great British Bake Off. It's just such an entertaining show and it's one that encourages people to get back into the kitchen! What more do you need? Now if you are anything like me you will need to watch this show stuffed to the brim or have some nice healthy cakes to hand. Otherwise you will spend the entire show drooling and/or repeatedly going to your cupboards hoping some baked creation will have magically appeared.

To prevent such sweet cravings I try and have some sort of cake made and waiting to fill the void. I recently tried this lemon and blueberry loaf and really enjoyed it. It's light and tasty with just enough stodge to satisfy. It is moist and so easy to make and keeps for a few days (if you don't polish it off in one sitting!)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of ground almonds
1/4 cup of dessicated coconut
1 teaspoon of gluten free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
4 organic, free range eggs
1/2 cup of organic coconut oil - melted (Cold pressed/Extra Virgin if possible)
1/3 cup of raw honey (organic and local ideally)
Juice of 1 lemon (organic and unwaxed)
Zest of 2 lemons
1 - 1 1/2 cups of organic blueberries

Optional glaze:
1/3 cup of full fat butter - melted
2 tablespoons of softened coconut oil
2 tablespoons of raw honey
2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C or Gas Mark 4.
Mix all the dry ingredients together except for the blueberries.
Slowly add in the wet ingredients, one egg at a time.
Ensure the batter is mixed thoroughly.
Line a bread loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
Place 1/2 the batter in the tin. Using 1/2 of the blueberries place them gently on top of the batter.
Cover with the remaining batter and then the remaining blueberries.
Cook in the oven for 30-35 minutes covering with foil if turning too brown.
When it is cooked allow it to cool on a wire rack.
If you wish to use the glaze then mix all ingredients together and once the loaf is fully cool drizzle the glaze over the top and allow it to soak into the cake.
Slice and enjoy!

Prep Time:
5-10 minutes

Cooking Time:
30-35 minutes

Dietary Information:
Paleo
Gluten Free
Wheat Free
Sugar Free
Diary Free
Vegetarian
Good Fats
Blueberries are one of your 5 a day and provide many anti oxidants which are great for repairing and healing resulting in better skin, hair, nails and overall health.

Storage Instructions:
Like most cakes this is best eaten warm from the oven! But it will keep for a few days in a sealed container. If you have good will power you could slice the loaf and freeze in individual slices to be defrosted and eaten when wanting a quick treat!

Enjoy this dish guys. I really do and it definitely fills a gap for stodgey, sweet treats without breaking free from eating clean.

Week 1. Tuesday's Change. Drink more water!

It's the first week of my 'Tuesday's Change' series and for most people this week will be based around returning to normality, routine and work. For that reason I have kept this week's change simple!

All you have to do this week is drink more water. That's it! Sound easy? Well it's all about detox this week and helping the body slowly get back into ridding all the toxins and bad food consumed over the last few weeks. 

Check out my post here entitled 'Are you taking the Piss?' where I outline the benefits of proper hydration for not only detoxifying the body but also to allow proper daily function of all your systems. 

We all need different amounts of water depending on how our body operates, what physical activity we do, how well our body is functioning and how good old genetics have decided to make us. So I can not sit here and tell you the exact amount you should drink everyday. 

The guideline of 8 glasses a day is a good one but like I always say we are all different so there is no one rule for us all.

A good marker to check your hydration is your urine. Yes it's true, you have got to start looking at your pee!

So here are 4 easy steps to help you drink more water!

Step 1: Monday - measure how much water you ordinarily consume naturally in a day. You can do this by filling a water bottle of known volume and seeing how much you drink. Note down the volume. Do not include teas or coffees or milk and juices. Just water!

Step 2: Tuesday - Make the change! Decide to slowly increase your consumption of water. Make it an extra 500ml a day (or more) to begin with until by Friday/Saturday you should be up to at least 3 litres or as much as you need so your urine is comparable to levels 1-3 on the above chart! You'll eventually begin to get really thirsty as the body starts to realise it is now being adequately hydrated and it will begin to look for more. Yes, you will have to go to the toilet more but eventually your bladder will adapt. And remember every time you go to the toilet you are ridding the body of more waste! Winning!

Step 3: Begin carrying  a reusable water bottle with you. Everywhere I go I bring one. This is a handy way to ensure you can always have water and you aren't wasting money or damaging the environment with bottled water. I got my bottle here and it was worth every penny. Try and get BPA free plastic or a glass bottle if you are concerned about chemicals leeching into the water.

Step 4: If you are finding it hard to drink just plain water then feel free to add fruit slices or herbs to the water. Just nothing with sugar! My favourite (and best for detox, health and flat belly - winning!) is pictured bellow. Make it up the night before and bring it with you for the day.

Super Valu have trays of fresh ginger at the moment for 89c. You can't get cheaper than that!

So that's it guys. More water. Simple. Stick it out for the week and I promise you'll be feeling amazing in no time. 

Running a body dehydrated is like trying to run a car with low oil. Yes it works but things start to break, creak and just don't work as well. 

I know with the current water charges in Ireland this might be the last thing you wanted me to say but remember it's your health and body. Look after it. It's worth every penny!

Keep drinking and keep looking at your pee pee!