5 simple steps to survive a Hangover this festive season.

The Cure. We all are searching for that elusive cure to prevent the day after the night before being absolutely ruined! How many days have I spent in a stupor, glued to the couch, eating more salty snacks than is humanly possible and ruining all the good work I've done all week! I shudder to think!

But is there really a cure? Prevention is the best cure they say and in a way I have to agree. I regularly don't drink and in fact I often have as good a night out not drinking than when I do drink. I never judge someone for not drinking and support people's choice to be adults and drink if they want and don't if they don't!

I am all for having a relaxed, social time, not limiting yourself or restricting yourself, especially over the festive season. But there are lots of things you can do to ease the hangover that doesn't involve complete abstinence!

I for one can no longer drink the way I used to and so for me these preventative measures are tried and tested and get me through the next day!

All the symptoms of a hangover are either dehydration (as alcohol is a diuretic) or mild poisoning from all the sugar and alcohol. So re-hydration and detoxing is the name of the game for me. I've listed some steps here on how you can best achieve these.

1) Water Water Water!

It's not good enough to drink lots of water the next day. Start early and the day you are going to be having drinks get as much water into you as possible. This way the body will already be hydrated and can process the alcohol as it is entering your system. Trust me on this one it will make the world of difference. I usually try and drink a litre while I am getting ready.

You can read more about adequate hydration on my post HERE

2) Water Water Water!

No this isn't a typo. Number 2 is water again! That's how important it is. I find if you drink one glass of water for every one drink of alcohol throughout the night then not only will you spend less money and drink less you will feel so much better the next day! Every time you go to the bar ask for your drink and a glass of water and either drink them together or one after the other!

3) Water Water Water!

Again not a typo! Re-hydration the next morning is also key. It's all about preparation. Keep some water next to your bed for when you wake in case it is so bad that you can't leave the duvet! Do this the night before as you are getting ready to go out as let's face it 'drunk you' may not remember when you stumble in that nigh/morning!

4) Oil Pulling - Detox

Wondering why you have a fuzzy mouth when you wake up? That's those blasted toxins that your liver just couldn't handle. You need to get them out as soon as possible or you will just swallow them back down into your gut to make you feel even worse! I can honestly say I haven't had a killer hangover since I started Oil Pulling. Actually I have felt the benefits throughout my daily life, booze or no booze! This is not something to try on the morning of a hangover but something to master at least a week before. Start slow with maybe 1-2 minutes and build up each day. It is the first thing I do every morning and my skin, hair, nails, digestive system and overall health has improved so much! I go into more detail on how you do this HERE

5) Work out that Liver!

As much as moving or exercise might seem like the last thing you want to do these super detoxifying and liver boosting yoga postures will help eliminate those toxins in your system faster than you can say Cirrhosis! It should take only 10-20 minutes and it will mean you'll be able to enjoy being a couch potato so much more! You can see full pictures and descriptions HERE

So there you have it guys. 5 simple steps to ensure you don't lose a whole day of your life (if not 2!) and survive that night of merriment!

Happy Boozing my Jeanies!

Peanutbutter Cups - A healthier version!

So my Facebook and Instagram news feed went crazy when I posted a picture of a home made Peanutbutter cup that I made. I was inspired by the popular brand available in America. However, I wanted to make one that was healthier, tastier and all round better for you.

As always I didn't follow a recipe but just experimented in the kitchen and came up with this. I have had rave reviews from those lucky enough to try them so I'm hoping you will enjoy them too!


Ingredients:
Makes 12-15 cups
300g of Dark Chocolate (ideally 75% plus)
1 dash of Olive Oil or teaspoon of Butter (real NOT margarine) or Coconut Oil
1 tablespoon of Raw, Organic Honey/Mayple Syrup or leave this out for a lower sugar version.
1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
1 dash of Vanilla Essence or some real Vanilla bean
2 Tablespoons of organic nut butter with no sugar (don't use peanut if staying Paleo) 
Sprinkle of Pink Himalaya Rock Salt (you can read all about the benefits of this here)

Method:
Melt the chocolate gently in a pan with the fat of choice (Oil, Butter or Coconut Oil). You can do this in a glass bowl over a pan with some water or directly in the pan. I find the bowl over water works best and you can keep it melted for longer without burning.
Once it is melted add the vanilla, cinnamon and honey and stir well.
Line some muffin tins with paper cases.
Add a thin layer of chocolate to the bottom of each case, you can shake the tray to evenly spread the chocolate.
Allow these to cool and set in the fridge for about 5 minutes. 

 

Please excuse the state of my muffin tins. They are inherited from my mum and about 20 years old. They have served me well over the years!

Meanwhile leave the bowl of melted chocolate over the hot water (but with no heat from the cooker) and begin to make the filling. 
Take 2-3 heaped tablespoons of your nut butter of choice and place in a bowl. 
Add in a dash of olive oil/coconut oil/melted butter.
Add in some freshly ground pink salt (taste as you go as some nut butters come already salted so add according to taste) and mix well. 
Once the chocolate base is relatively set place a teaspoon or so of nut butter mix onto each base. Spread out and flatten down without touching the side.
Using the still warm and melted chocolate mix fill the paper cases until the nut butter is adequately covered. They will be more shallow than the case.
Again shake or tap the tray to flatten out the chocolate. 
Place in the fridge to chill. 
Eat straight from the fridge or at room temperature depending on your preference!

It really is that simple. It takes minutes to make and I often make a double batch and keep some in the fridge for when I'm feeling like a treat (if they last that long!)


Prep Time:
5-10 minutes

Cooking Time:
None! Just leave to harden in the fridge.

Dietary Information:
Paleo (ish!) the higher % chocolate the better with this
Good fats - from the oil and seeds/nuts/coconut
Full of antioxidants from the high chocolate content
Full of natural sweetness from the honey
Vegetarian
Vegan (if you use coconut oil and dairy free chocolate)
Gluten Free
Wheat Free

Storage Instructions:
I keep this in a sealed container and it will last weeks in the fridge - provided you don't eat it all.

For similar chocolate, no bake treats check out my Choocolate Bark recipe here

Enjoy Jeanies and as always feel free to comment, share and send me pics of your creations!

Smooth Operator - Healthy and Tasty Smoothies for all the family

Smoothies have been around a long time now and at first I wasn't that convinced by them. They seemed packed with sugary foods that taste good but weren't actually that good for you.

However, I have slowly come around to them as a way to pack a lot of nutrients into one meal or as a way to mask some not so tasty ingredients that you know are just so good for you! So long as you make them yourself and don't add too much fruit or lots of fruit juices they are just fine as part of a balanced diet.

This is especially useful for children. I know parents are constantly trying to get as much nutrition into kids as possible without them realising what they are eating is healthy! I was the fussiest eater when I was a kid and I know my mum used to tear her hair out trying to get veggies into me! If you sell these to your kid as a treat, something exciting and fun like a milkshake then they won't even notice you are nourishing them from the inside out! Put them in a fun glass with a cool straw and they will love it.

So I've put together a few smoothie recipes here for you to try out. If you aren't a morning person then these can be made the night before and stored in a sealed container in the fridge. However, like most things in life!, these are best served fresh. 

If you don't have a blender or Nutri-Bullet (which I don't so hint hint family! Christmas is coming!) then you can get relatively cheap hand held blenders in most shops and trust me it is worth the investment!

Black Forest Smoothie:

Ingredients:

1 Banana

Handful of frozen spinach
Handful of frozen berries
1 teaspoon of Spirulina
1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
1 teaspoon of Raw Honey
Milk (dairy or non diary such as Almond, Rice milk etc) or water/Coconut water added to achieve your desired consistency.

You could also add protein powder if desired to make a great pre or post work out shake.

Or if you are on an intense work out programme or just started exercising and have very sore muscles then some cherries or cherry extract would not only taste delicious but also aid with that muscle pain! You can read more on how cherries aid muscle recover here.

Method:

Blend and enjoy!

Storage instructions:

This will keep for about 24 hours in the fridge in a sealed container. But it is best eaten fresh.

Dietary Benefits:

Full of iron, potassium, antioxidants, minerals and vitamins.

Good for the skin, nails and hair.

Gluten Free

Sugar Free

Dairy Free

Paleo

Vegetarian

Vegan

Raw

Breakfast Berry Delight

Ingredients:

1/2 avocado‬

‎1 banana‬
Handful of ‪‎berries‬
Handful of ‎spinach‬
‪‎2 table spoons of chia seeds‬
‪‎1 teaspoon of cinnammon‬
‪‎Coconutwater‬ or water/milk/almond milk etc added until you reach your desired consistency.

You could also add protein powder if desired to make a great pre or post work out shake.

Method:

Blend and enjoy!

This is a great one for kids as it's naturally sweet and looks like a strawberry milkshake but is packed full of ‪greens‬ and goodness. You could even make it the night before and have it ready to go for the morning school dash! You or your children could drink this in the car on the way to work/school in the morning.

Storage instructions:

This will keep for about 24 hours in the fridge in a sealed container. But it is best eaten fresh.

Dietary Benefits:

Full of iron, potassium, antioxidants, minerals and vitamins.

Good for the skin, nails and hair.

Gluten Free

Sugar Free

Dairy Free

Paleo

Vegetarian

Vegan

Raw

So there you have it Jeanies. I'd love to hear from you if you have another super smoothie recipe and I will feature it on the blog. Stay healthy.

Tuesday's Change Week 34 - Roam Free

You might have seen a discussion that started on my Facebook page recently over the difference between battery farmed/caged chickens and free range, organic chickens and the subsequent eggs they produce. I hope you all learned something new and if you missed it let me elaborate here.

Animal rights aside (I won't get into that discussion here!) the health benefits of eating properly reared animals and their by-products are vast. Take eggs for example.

Organic, Free Range eggs have been proven to contain:

• Twice as much omega-3 fatty acids.
• Three times more vitamin E.
• Seven times more pro-vitamin A beta-carotene.
• A quarter less saturated fat.
• A third less cholesterol

than caged or indoor chickens. (Source can be found here)

Now if that's not enough of a reason to buy Organic, Free Range eggs I don't know what is! - Oh yes that's right it's also kinder to the animals!

Female chicks are grown in extremely cramped and dark conditions and fed a processed diet full of hormones, pesticides and antibiotics. Once they reach laying age, they are put into cages less than half the size of an A4 sheet of paper, their feet often become deformed as a result.

Not only is this cruel and harmful it is not healthy for the chickens, their eggs and as a result, for you.

Unfortunately, some large-scale egg farmers have exploited lax definitions of free range chicken and have been able to use this label, even when they only allow their confined chicken out occasionally to concreted areas. See above. 

These are not true free range eggs. For this reason I always buy Free Range AND Organic. 

So your Tuesday's Change for this week is to switch to Organic, Free Range eggs. Eat as many as you like. I often eat up to 6 eggs a day. I have healthy hair, skin, nails, strong muscles and bones and NO my cholesterol is not through the roof. That is an absolute MYTH!

And you don't have to stop here. I urge you to start looking at where all your produce comes from. How are the animals treated? Are there unnecessary and dangerous chemicals being passed on through the food chain to you? 

For my followers in Ireland I know Dunnes Stores do 6 Organic Free Range eggs for €1.99 (just 10c more than their non Organic ones!). For my German followers Rewe do Organic and Free Range eggs again 6 for €1.99.

I know the English Market in Cork has a Chicken stand where the animals are all antibiotic free, free range and live happy lives. They have really competitive prices too! Wherever you live try and find a place where you're sure the chickens are healthy and happy!

My biggest advice is start to looking at where your food comes from. Get to know your suppliers and farmers. Question everything. For your health and those of the animals!

Tuesday's Change Week 26 - Chocolate

Yes, yes you did. You heard that right. This week's Tuesday's change is to eat chocolate. Now woah there boy, before you get too excited have a good read below.

There are many benefits to dark chocolate and it is often considered a bad food. It is bad when it's milk or white chocolate but anything above 70% can contain the following.

A 100 gram bar of dark chocolate with 70-85% cocoa contains:

• 11 grams of fiber.
• 67% of the RDA for Iron.
• 58% of the RDA for Magnesium.
• 89% of the RDA for Copper.
• 98% of the RDA for Manganese.
• It also has plenty of potassium, phosphorus, zinc and selenium

It is also a powerful source of anti-oxidants which trap nasty free radicals in the body and prevent them from damaging cells and causing illness.

It may also help improve blood flow and lower blood pressure as a result of the flavanols in dark chocolate which stimulate the endothelium, the lining of arteries, to produce Nitric Oxide (NO), which is a gas and causes them to relax.

Other studies have shown it can lower LDL Cholesterol (bad) while helping to increase HDL Cholesterol (good).

It can also help protect your skin from the sun! The flavonols can protect against sun-induced damage by improving blood flow to the skin and increase skin density and hydration.

Finally it can help improve brain function by increasing blood flow to the brain. Cocoa may also significantly improve cognitive function in elderly people with mental impairment. It also improves verbal fluency and several risk factors for disease.

Please refer to this link here to see all the scientific research that lead to these claims.

So here's the fun part. How can you increase the amount of high quality Cocoa in your diet? One easy way is to ditch the regular, sugar filled chocolate bars and replace with 70% cocoa bars or higher. You may feel you need only 1 or 2 squares to get your chocolate hit!

Add some 100% Coco to your plain yogurt or any baking you are doing. I use Green and Blacks 100% Organic Coco and you typically can find this in most large supermarkets.

Also here are some recipes on the blog that contain tasty 100% cocoa.

Click here for Chocolate Pancake Recipe

Click here for Chocolate covered fruit

Click here for Paleo Chocolate Mousse

Click here for Choco Berry Granola

Enjoy! I knew you would all love this one!

Sweet Summer Treats

Since moving to Germany I decided to join a book club. It is with the ladies I work with and we keep it relatively casual and as an excuse to get together, have some nice food and chats away from the work environment. We also actually talk about the book!

Each person brings a food dish and it makes for the most lovely evening. This week I decided to bring dessert. The weather is warm here and there are so many strawberry farms near by I thought Chocolate covered strawberries would be perfect. Cheap, easy and healthy to boot. They went down an absolute treat with all in attendance! Here's how you can do the same:

Ingredients:
60%+ Dark chocolate (I usually use 75-80%)
Strawberries
Desicated Coconut
Chia Seeds
Drop of Olive Oil

Method:

First you need to prepare your strawberries. Wash them well, leaving the stalks intact. Allow them to dry completely or pat dry with kitchen paper or a towel. Any moisture will prevent the chocolate from sticking.

Using a metal pan on low heat break the  chocolate into pieces and melt with 2-3 drops of oil. The oil allows you more time to work with the chocolate and also gives it a lovely sheen.

As the chocolate is melting stir every few seconds to prevent it burning. You can also melt the chocolate in a glass bowl over a metal pan with the base covered in water this is known as the bain marie method.

As the chocolate is melting prepare a tray or plate with some grease proof paper. Have the strawberries near by and get two small bowls filled with your toppings. Here I used dedicated coconut and chia seeds. Other options are crushed nuts, ground goji berries, almond flakes, crushed pistachios or orange zest. Equally you can just serve them with plain chocolate.

Using the green stalks as a hand hold dip the chocolate into the pan of melted chocolate covering as much as possible. Immediately dip the berry in the topping of your choice. Place on their side on the greaseproof tray and allow to cool.

These are best served from the fridge on a warm summers day.

The perfect quick, healthy and tasty end to a summer's meal.

Prep Time:
Less than 5 minutes!

Dietary Information:
Gluten Free

Wheat free

Sugar Free 

Paleo 

Vegetarian

Nuts are packed with good fats, omega 3s (brain food) minerals and vitamins.

Chia seeds are full of protein, antioxidants and make you fell full for longer.

Dark Chocolate is packed with anti-oxidants and helps lower LDL cholesterol (the bad kind).

Storage Instructions:

These can be made in advance and when cool stored in a sealed container or frozen. 

You don't have to use just strawberries. Sliced Banana is also good and looks wonderful with lots of different toppings.

Enjoy!

Tuesday's Change week 21 - Chia Seeds

This week's change is a tasty one! Chia Seeds. Start adding them to your daily meals or shakes. You won't regret it!

Why should you start eating Chia Seeds?:

I mean there isn't much more I can say about that is there? The benefits are immense and they take on the taste of the food you add them to so they can taste how you want them to!

I get my Chia Seeds in my local health food shop and some large suprermarkets also stock them. If it's something you want to invest in for the long haul you might be better off buying in bulk. I got some here and they are Organic. They may seem expensive but they go a long way and last for ages.

Here are some suggestions on how you can add them to your diet:

- I often add 1/4 cup of chia seeds to my Oat Bread, Recipe here

- You can add them to your breakfast or make my Choco Berry Granola, Recipe here

- Add them to soups or smoothies, they act as a thickener.
- Add them to your eggs in the morning.
- They go great in rice dishes especially risotto.
- They are great to bulk up cupcakes and buns like my Carrot Cake Breakfast Muffins, Recipe here
- Use them to thicken mousse like my Paleo Chocolate Mousse, Recipe here
- Use them to make puddings. There are some great recipes here.
- Sprinkle them on salads.
- Have them with some yoghurt in the morning

So there you have it. Lots of ideas and yummy recipes to add to your routine.

As always any questions just ask!

Paleo Burger Bar

Eating a particular way or sticking to a clean diet doesn't have to be boring or tasteless. You just have to get creative with it!

I recently had some friends over for a dinner party. There was myself and another guest who (try!) and eat clean and eat a mainly a Paleo lifestyle so I wanted to cater for us. However, I'm a big believer in not forcing other people to eat a certain way, they should chose to eat healthy themselves and need to be in the right mindset. Saying that, you can give as much advice, encouragement and knowledge to them but do not force others for your benefit. They will come to it when they are ready.

Anyway this idea of a Burger Bar came to me and I realised it would be ideal to suit all tastes and requirements and no one would miss out on the flavour stakes.

I made home-made burgers (recipe below) and then set out a selection of toppings. This gave people the power to chose the toppings they desired and didn't force anybody on a particular diet to eat something that didn't agree with them.

Options for the Burger Bar I included were:

Ketchup

Mustard

Peppercorn Sauce

Gherkins

Tomatoes

Chopped Red Onion

Sliced Cheddar

Brie

Diced Bacon

Shredded Lettuce

Salami

I also set out 2 types of buns, made sweet potato wedges (recipe here), did a salad of rocket and sun-dried tomatoes and my red cabbage and apple salad, recipe here.

It went down an absolute treat and everyone was satisfied and happy...we also served lots of booze but let's pretend that it was all about the food!

It was also a nice sociable meal as people felt involved and chatted as they passed various toppings and accompaniments. It also meant people could eat as much or as little as they chose, they were always in control.

For dessert I served my Paleo chocolate mousse, recipe here, and again the non-paleo guests were very happy. 'A revelation' one guest said!

 Here's how I made the burgers:

Ingredients:
(This makes about 6 generous burgers)

400g of minced Beef (I use Organic lean beef)
2 eggs (Organic and Free Range)
3 cloves of grated/pressed garlic (Organic)
2 teaspoons of Smoked Paprika
2 teaspoons of Cumin
1 teaspoon of Ginger
(feel free to experiment with different spices)
5 heaped tablespoons of Ground Almonds (Paleo) or Ground Oats (eating clean)
Salt and pepper to taste.

Method:
Mix everything together in a bowl until it starts to bind. Add more Almonds/Oats if you feel the mixture isn't holding together.

Using clean hands mold the mixture into burger shapes, depending on the size you require. I often make these and cook some fresh and freeze others uncooked, ready for the next time you want burgers and are in a rush!

Once they are molded you can fry or grill them until cooked to your liking. Be gentle with them as they may fall apart easily.

Small one for me, large for my husband...surprise surprise!

Prep time:

5-10 minutes

Dietary Information:

Paleo

Gluten Free

Wheat Free

Sugar Free

High in Omega 3 (If you use grassfed Organic beef)

Garlic is antibacterial and antiviral so excellent for fighting colds and flu.

High in protein

Low in carbohydrate

Eggs are full of protein, high in vitamins and minerals and great for your hair, skin and nails.

Ginger is good for digestion issues, nausea, natural anti-inflammatory and boosts the immune system. 

Cumin aids digestion, lowers blood sugar and prevents hypoglycaemia (excellent for people with diabetes), fights viral infections, rich in Iron and many other benefits you can read here.

Paprika is high in Vitamin A, E and Iron. It also has anti ageing properties, prevents hair loss and promotes sound sleep.

Storage Instructions:

Can be frozen raw.

Serving Suggestions:

I served these with sweet potatoes (recipe HERE), salads and various toppings.
They are also great with mash, chips or on the BBQ.

Enjoy!

Tuesday's Change Week 13 - Read the ingredients!

This week's change is one that I instigated into my life a few years ago and it has really stuck with me. It's simple in in it's concept and may revolutionise the way you eat.

All you have to do is read the ingredients on back of every packet of food you eat. Read them right to end and if you don't know what the ingredient is then maybe you should think twice about whether you should be eating it!

Of course the ideal is to only eat foods that don't come in packets with an ingredient list. As in real, whole foods. Meats, eggs, fish, vegetables, fruit, rice, oats, nuts, seeds, spices etc. But for the time being just start looking at what you are eating and the list of ingredients and ask yourself are you really happy putting that into your body? What effect is it having on your insides, you hair, skin and nails? Is it making you gain weight by disrupting your hormones? Is it something you would feed your children? If it sounds like something that came from a laboratory...it probably did and it is not real food!

That really is it. So simple.

I'd love to hear your feed back on what you discover while reading the ingredients so be sure to let me know.

Tuesday's Change Week 2 - Eat your '5 a day'

So how did everyone get on for week one? Do you feel better? Sleep better? Look better? Let me know any benefits you felt. I'd love to hear from you. Week one's post here. Now try and keep it up while tackling Week 2.

This week's change is another one that sounds simple, we all have heard of it but how many of us actually do it? Eat your 5 a day! It's a common slogan bandied around in the media and you often see it on food labels. I'll discuss this in a bit but first let me outline the challenge.

See if you can eat 5 portions of Vegetables everyday for 7 days. 

Notice I have said veg and not fruit. Feel free to eat portions of fruit on top of your 5 Vegetable portions. Just ensure you are getting 5 portions of vegetable as well!

Here is some more information on the specifics:

1) A portion is roughly 1 hand full. 

2) Try as much as possible to eat organic vegetables only.

3) Raw is preferable to cooked but if you are cooking make sure not to over cook. Steaming or baking is good! Keeping the skin on where possible is also added benefit!

3) At least 2 or 3 of your 5 portions should be of green, leafy vegetables like Spinach, Kale,  Brocolli, Rocket, Salad greens, Pok Choi, Cabbage etc. The rest should be a variety of brightly coloured options e.g. Red Cabbage, red and yellow Peppers, Beetroot etc.

3) You can eat them raw or cooked but never from a packet (i.e. you can not include processed or tinned fruit and veg) and try and cook the veg yourself if having it cooked.

4) If a label on a packet says "this is one of your 5 a day portions" ignore this. If something is in a packet (besides whole fruits and vegetables that come in trays or packaged for the supermarket) then it has been processed and so lots of the benefits and nutrients are lost on processing. You are more than likely just getting the sugars left over. And we all have enough of those in our diet.

5) Plan your day in advance the night before. Where am I going to be? Will I have access to fresh food? Do I need to bring food with me? And plan accordingly so you are prepared.

Ok now you have all the information here are some tips on how you can easily add in the portions to your everyday diet.

1) Add vegetables to your breakfast. This way you start the day right and have half your portions done before you leave the house! Make an omelette with some spinach, peppers and onions. Recipe here.

2) Make a smoothie for breakfast! Adding vegetables to a smoothie is a great way of having a portion of vegetables without realising. Making a berry smoothie with some natural yoghurt, blueberries, cinnamon and honey tastes great. Adding a handful of spinach and blending will not alter the flavour too much and tastes just as good! This is a nice sweet treat on a Saturday morning!

3) Eating a large salad for lunch or dinner and get your 5 portions into you in one go! I like to use mixed salad greens with spinach rocket and baby lamb's leaf then add some spring onion, peppers, grated carrot and courgette. You can add some left over meat from the night before or cook some fresh and you have an entire meal. If you want to bulk it up a bit cook some sweet potato wedges as a side. Drizzle the with extra virgin olive oil if you find it too dry.

4) Snack on celery, cucumber and carrot sticks between meals if you are hungry. Have them chopped and ready in the fridge, sealed in a container to keep them fresh. Reach for these instead of biscuits or bread when you are famished and waiting for your dinner to cook.

5) Hide vegetables in food! Take what you might consider a regular dinner. Shepard's pie, Pasta Sauce etc. Try chopping vegetables into the sauce or if you have very picky eaters in the house you can even blend the vegetables into the sauce to thicken it. They won't even know!

6) If you are finding the vegetables bland then season them. Freshly grated black pepper is delicious on salads or cooked veg, try a small sprinkling of organic rock salt (link here), Simplee do an amazing range of salt free seasoning like paprika and lemon or chilli. Mix it up and try new spices! Link here.

7) Cook your least favourite veg with your favourite food! Brussels Sprouts taste amazing when stir fried in a small bit of bacon! A green, leafy salad is delicious when sprinkled with some olive oil and parmean cheese! All in moderation of course!

So here is a comprehensive list of veggies you should aim for that are available in most large supermarkets. Alternatively places like Quay Co-Op in Cork, Ballincollig and Carrigaline for the Cork followers (link http://www.quaycoop.com/) or organic vegetable shops will have a great range!

Spinach
Kale
Cabbage
Rocket
Lettuce
Pok Choi
Brocolli
Asparagus
Celery
Beetroot
Peppers
Red Cabbage
Carrots
Courgette/Zucchini
Onions

P.S. 'Vegetables' that are good for you but don't count as 5 a day and are more connected to the carbohydrate family are:

Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Parsnips
Peas

FYI: Lentils, beans and peanuts are not vegetables. They are legumes!

Vegetables to avoid: 

Sweetcorn. This is not a vegetable it is a grain and a GMO one at that! More on this is a future post.

So that is it Jeanies! Do you think you are up for the challenge? I have no doubt. Planning is key and let me know if you need any more information on anything!

#EatClean