They are super healthy and taste great. You can make a bigger batch for the whole week and enjoy in your salads at home or to go. They take only minutes to make.
 
Green Goddess Dressing
This is a rich and creamy dressing and avocados are an excellent source of monounsaturated fats and other nutrients important for healthy skin and hair.
 
Ingredients:
½ small avocado
½ cup water
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 Tbsp. raw apple cider vinegar/freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ tsp. sea salt
1 small handful fresh parsley
Yield: about ¾ cup
 
Instructions:
Place all the ingredients, except for the parsley, in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Add the parsley and blend on low speed until combined. Store in the fridge to have on hand for the week. 
 
 
Creamy Garlic-Hemp Seed Dressing
This is creamy, nut-free, dairy-free dressing ideal over your favourite green salad.
 
Ingredients:
½ cup hulled hemp seeds
½ cup water
2 Tbsp. raw apple cider vinegar
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled
½ tsp. kelp granules
¼ tsp. sea salt or Herbamare
Optional:
1 handful fresh cilantro
1 handful fresh parsley
1 handful fresh basil
Yields: about ¾ cup
 
Instructions:
Place all the ingredients in a blender (except the optional additions) and blend until smooth and creamy. Add any optional ingredients and blend again on low speed to incorporate. Store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to a week.
 
 
Creamy Sunflower Seed-Parsley Dressing
Ideal as a creamy dip for carrot sticks or cucumber slices or over salad of organic greens, grated raw beets, grated carrots, and broccoli sprouts.
 
Ingredients:
½ cup raw sunflower seeds
¼ cup water
3 Tbsp. raw apple cider vinegar
1 garlic clove, peeled
½ tsp. sea salt or Herbamare
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small handful fresh parsley
Yields: about 1 ½ cups
 
Instructions:
Soak the sunflower seeds in a small bowl of filtered water for 6 to 8 hours, or overnight. Drain and rinse the seeds and place them in a blender along with the water, vinegar, garlic, and salt. Blend until super smooth and creamy. Then add the oil and parsley, blend on low speed until combined. Store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to 10 days. 
 
 
Lemon-Garlic Dressing
Use this dressing in your salads or to top a bowl of lightly steamed vegetables.
 
Ingredients:
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 to 2 garlic cloves, crushed
¼ tsp. sea salt
Yields: ½ cup
 
Instructions:
Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Store in the fridge for up to a week.


The recipes above come from the book ‘The elimination diet’ by Alissa Segersten and Tom Malterre.

This is a great recipe for those, who try to increase good fats in their diet –very important for our health! Also great when you need energy kick or extra brain power. Much better than another cup of coffee or sugary snacks. You can replace coconut oil with MCT oil to make it even more powerful.
 
I have omitted lime zest from the original recipe as I prefer milder taste. They turned out great, very light (in spite of all the fat) and refreshing. I’ll work on dairy free version and post in the future.

Please enjoy sensibly :)
 
Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. ghee (clarified butter) or good quality butter (like Kerrygold)
• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil
• 1 lime juiced
• 1 tsp lime zest
• 1 tsp pure vanilla powder
• 1 tsp raw honey (or xylitol/stevia if you avoid sugar completely)
• ½ cup kefir or yoghurt (organic, natural and whole fat)

 
Instructions:

• Blend everything well. It can take some time in cold weather.
• Poor into small ice cubes silicone trays and put into freezer.
• When ready, pop one out and enjoy.

 
This recipe comes from Healthy Gut Girl! youtube channel.

I had a pleasure to attend Chris Kresser’s event in London this month. He specializes in ancestral health, Paleo nutrition and functional and integrative medicine. I especially value his thorough, in-depth research and very honest attitude. He has a great integrity in his approach.
I liked Chris’s short breakdown about functional medicine approach versus conventional health care. It’s not a critique of the standard health care as it can be and often is life-saving. It has some limitations though. In a perfect word, which I believe we are aiming for, we (allopathic and alternative) practitioners would work together delivering the best of both approaches to the clients. Functional medicine seems like a beginning of such a movement.
This is just a short description and my interpretation (not in exact words) of Chris’s explanation. I hope it can be interesting for those, who want to find out more about functional medicine approach, which I follow in my practice.

Functional medicine sees the person as a whole, not just a collection of organs. It doesn’t focus on a disease but on the person instead -with all complex processes to evaluate. Conventional approach is often limited to disease management, especially in chronic conditions so common nowadays. We often leave the doctor with a prescription and no other dietary or lifestyle suggestions.

Why medication shouldn’t be the only strategy towards better health:

• It doesn’t, in most cases, address the root of the problem.
  
• It may supress the symptoms but at same time impairs important functions of the body, often leading to worsening of the condition over time. As an example NSAIDs (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) used for arthritis reduce blood flow to cartilage making condition worse with prolonged use.
• Often corrects one imbalance but causes another –hence the side effects, which often required another medication to correct and so on.
• Nothing in the body is redundant. What we often think as having purely ‘negative’ impact on the body is usually necessary for proper function of another process. When we suppress it we cause damage somewhere else. Histamine is a good example, causing inflammation and allergic symptoms but needed in the brain where it increases function of the neurons. This is why we feel drowsy on antihistamines.
  

In contrast functional medicine is:

• Investigative, looking for root causes of the symptoms.
• Holistic, whole body (systems) oriented.
• Often safer, producing fewer side effects and complications –achieved by addressing the cause of the disease and incorporating diet and lifestyle advice as well.
• It is patients centred. Treats patients not a disease.
• It empowers and educate patients, who are encouraged to play an active role.
• It is integrative, combines allopathic and alternative approaches.
• It is preventative versus just reactive.
  
  

There is also a new model of thinking of health and disease and its primary driver, which is called EXPOSOME. Disease is no longer thought of as being caused by one single factor like a pathogen (virus, bacteria etc.). Instead all our non-genetic exposure starting from conception are responsible for our health or disease processes. It includes: our diet, water, exercise, pollution, climate we live in, social interactions and personal relationships but also internal factors like metabolism, gut flora and cellular processes. This is very empowering as it shows that we have an active role and our choices are important determinants of our health. As an example it’s estimated that pollution, smoking and our diet compromise as much as 50% of the exposome. We often can’t do much about pollution (at least to some degree) but can fully control the other important factors like the food we eat and smoking and of course we can seek help when it becomes challenging. I believe this knowledge is very important and sets out a good start for changing our bad habits. In contrast, genetics is thought to be the cause of only 10% of diseases, which means, we are not doomed (with some exceptions of course) to get ill. Even genetic susceptibility can often be balanced with healthy lifestyle. More importantly, the choices we make now are going to affect future generations -our children and grandchildren (through epigenetic and gene expression).

The following graphic shows the process of a disease as descried above.

Exposome –all non-genetic exposure.
Pathology –underling mechanism like blood sugar dysregulation created by exposome, genome and epigenome.
Disease –disorder in structure or function that produces symptoms.   
 
 


Conventional medicine usually starts at the symptoms level while functional medicine approach is to intervene at the exposome, genome and epigenome level. This is what is more likely to bring true cure or prevent any symptoms from occurring in the first place.

To find more information and multitude of health related articles, podcasts etc. please go to ChrisKresser.com. I hope you will enjoy Chris’s work as much as I do.

Paleo, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Sugar-free, Yeast-free, Corn-free, Grain-free, Nut-free, low-carb
 
This is my son’s favourite grain free bread, which is also extremely easy and quick to make..and it tastes great. It’s perfect for toasts, sandwiches, lunch boxes etc.
Below is the original recipe from Healthfulpursuit, which I have adapted slightly. I usually replace avocado/olive oil with melted extra virgin coconut oil –perfect cooking fat. I don’t mind the coconut taste and to be honest I can’t even taste it so much in this recipe, possibly because I’m used to it. It may make the texture less 'fluffy' so please do experiment. I also add one level tablespoon of lavender flowers (not too much as it can be overpowering) to make it even more flavourful.
I’ve just made one and decided to share.
 
Original recipe
Author: Leanne Vogel
Prep time:  10 mins
Cook time:  20 mins
Serves: 12
 
Ingredients

• 2 cups roughly ground flaxseed
• 1 tablespoon gluten-free baking powder
• 1 tablespoon Italian herb mix
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 5 large eggs
• ½ cup water
• ⅓ cup avocado oil or light olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a 13x9 baking pan with parchment paper draped over the sides. Set aside.

1. Combine flax seed with baking powder, herb mix and sea salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine fully and set aside.

1. Add eggs, water and oil to the jug of your high-powered blender. Blend on high for 30 seconds, until foamy.

1. Transfer liquid mixture to the bowl with the flaxseed mixture. Stir with a spatula, just until incorporated. The mixture will be very fluffy. Once incorporated, allow to sit for 3 minutes.

1. Drop mixture into prepared baking pan. Smooth with the back of the spatula and transfer the pan to the preheated oven.

1. Bake bread for 20 minutes, until top is golden. Remove from the oven and lift bread (from the parchment paper sides) to a cooling rack. Peel the parchment paper from the bottom of the bread and allow the bread to cool on the cooling rack for an hour.

1. Cut into 12 pieces.

1. Bread can be toasted or frozen. Keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.

 
http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2014/08/flaxseed-focaccia-bread/

If loosing extra pounds is a struggle it is important to check for and address any possible underlying health problems. It could be your underactive thyroid, excessive stress, lack of effective coping strategies, blood sugar imbalances or dysbiosis (an imbalance between beneficial and harmful organisms in your gut) to name just a few.

Is it all just about calories? No, it’s not! The ‘calorie in, calorie out’ model has been proven faulty. Did you know that if you transfer gut flora of an obese mouse to a thin mouse the thin one will get fat and vice versa. If you inject cattle with hormones (unfortunately a common practice today) it will gain weight faster on the same diet. This is just an example that the calorie intake itself does not determine our weight. It turns out that there are good calories and there are bad calories and we don’t have to feel hungry to have a healthy weight and feel great about our body. We can also get rid of our cravings and don’t let them take over our minds so we have more focus and brain power for other important tasks and activities throughout the day. It also explains why exercise is not so effective for many. I am a big proponent of exercise for health reasons but not as the only strategy for weight loss. It’s not just about burning extra calories. Your diet determines how your body responds to exercise so you can burn fat instead of the muscle mass.

There are of course a lot of factors to consider when you struggle with weight loss including your genetics, current health status, emotions, your diet and your lifestyle. When you identify them and address appropriately you will feel better, have more energy and mental clarity. The weight, most optimal for you, will be an extra bonus.
​
Please consult a qualified practitioner before trying any new protocols and make sure your dietary choices are healthy and appropriate for you.

To find out more information I recommend:

'Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health' by Gary Taubes. 

'No Fail Fat Burning for Women' by Skye St. John