How to eat Successful extraction of nutrients from your food is as essential as eating a good diet. However, many people have poor digestive function.

How to maximise your digestive function. Make sure you’re in the right frame of mind for digestion: Avoid eating if you are stressed, rushed, anxious etc. Your digestive system will not work under those conditions!Stimulate and support the digestive processBitter tastes stimulate the production of stomach acid and enzymes

o Take a few drops of Angastura, or herbal bitters in water 10 minutes before eating. Other bitter things include, raw chicory – try making a small raw salad before meals.

Support and supplement your enzymes:o Raw vegetables are particularly helpful:

Try a chicory, or watercress salad as a daily addition to your diet (these have the added advantage of being bitter).

Try raw vegetables with humus or guacamole. Take an enzyme supplement with your food (see

supplement recommendations below).Increase your stomach acidity

o Try “live” apple cider vinegar: 1-2tbs in 15ml of water 10-15 mins before eating.

Chew really well, to better break down your food, both with your teeth, and the enzymes contained in your saliva. This will cause you to eat more slowly, giving your stomach more time to prepare itself for digestion.

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Match your meals times better to your digestive system:Try to eat a much smaller evening meal, eg. A small salad with soup, or plates with mixtures of chopped apple, sliced carrot and dips. Try to always eat before 7pm. This should make it easier for you to fuel your day with a hearty breakfast. Eggs would be an excellent option. Yoghurt with nuts and seeds is another good option.Drink enough water (but not with meals)Your requirements vary hugely depending on your size, level of activity and temperature / humidity of the environment. However, most people don’t drink enough water. Anything between 1.5 and 3l would be a normal requirement for an average woman. Avoid foods which feed stomach bacteria or raise blood sugar levels:

Sugar Sweet (even “sugar free”) drinks Carbohydrates, especially bread, pasta, biscuits, snacks

etc. Bicarbonate of soda stomach acid test – if you want to find out whether you have adequate levels of stomach acid for healthy digestion.

First thing in the morning, add ½ tsp bicarb to a small glass of water and drink it on an empty stomach. You should be burping within a minute or two. If not, this is suggestive of low stomach acid levels. Remedy: See “increase your stomach acidity” above.

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What to EatEat Real Food – Not processed

Whole vegetables and meat and diary as near to what comes from animals as possible. Preferably organic.

Not too much Small plates, small portions. eat slowly enough to know when

you’re no longer hungry. Then stop!Adequate protein

Protein is essential, we are largely composed of protein, which is constantly being regenerated. Eat meat, fish, nuts, seeds,

eggsHealthy Fat

Our cell walls are made up of fat, hormones are made from fat and our brain is particularly hungry for fat. Eat plenty of olive oil, coconut oil, coconut milk and fat rich foods like eggs, nuts,

avocadosLots of Vegetables

The plant fibres and chemicals (vitamins, minerals, flavonoids, tannins, anthocyanins, catechins and many others) are vital for our health. We will wither and die without them. The more we can eat, every day, the better. Aim for variety, particularly in colour. Fruit is good in moderation, with an eye on the sugar

(fructose) content.

Food isn’t just fuel – it’s actionable information for your DNA, one bite at a time.Our cell walls contain thousands of genes, and the way those genes express themselves can be switched on or off by our diet and lifestyle. (There is a whole new branch of science devoted to this very issue, called epigenetics).The area of healthy nutrition is filled with confusing and conflicting information.

The food industry has its own, commercially motivated messages. Real food, straight from the farm or the

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ground will never make as much money for big industry as processed food.

Governments also have their own political agendas. The food industry, and Industrial Agriculture are forces to be reckoned with. Huge amounts of money are involved and lobbies are extremely powerful.

Pharmaceutical companies are also responsible for misleading the public. Cholesterol blocking drugs, for example rely on the widespread belief that Cholesterol is bad and we should avoid foods rich in cholesterol. This is totally incorrect. There is no scientific evidence to back these assumptions. Cholesterol rich foods will NOT give you high cholesterol. Quite the contrary, they will enhance a healthy cholesterol balance.

The Rules – what makes a good diet

Eat organic foods which are in season if you possibly canThese will be much fresher, contain much higher levels of vitamins, minerals and enzymes, and will not contain toxic pesticide residues. Box schemes can be quite good value for money, and local farmer’s markets can be excellent.

Make your food taste good!The simplest dishes can be hugely enhanced by the addition of lemon juice, butter or olive oil, black pepper, toasted almonds, toasted seeds or spices (toasted caraway, cumin or coriander seeds) and fresh herbs. Try adding my green sauce (see recipe section) to meat or vegetables for a super extra portion of greens, and bags of taste.

Avoid Sugar and sugar substitutes (retrain your palate)

Everyone is becoming more aware of the relationship between poor health and sugar consumption. The less you eat, the less

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you want it. After a few weeks of minimal sugar, you will begin to find many foods you used to enjoy disgustingly sweet!

On the other hand, you’ll find that you have more energy and you won’t be as hungry when you switch to eating real, one-ingredient foods. You will also eliminate artificial sweeteners from your diet. There is absolutely NOTHING good about artificial sweeteners!

Avoid: sorbitol, saccharin (Sweet-N-Low), aspartame (Equal), and sucralose (Splenda). These are harmful toxins! Many studies are now confirming the damage they can do.

All sweet tasting things will provoke in insulin response in the body (which we should seek to avoid where possible). Sugar replacements of any kind (except occasional good quality honey) should be avoided.

Check for hidden sugars. Read labels – you will be amazed where sugar crops up. Sugar comes in many disguises. Any word with “ose” at

the end is a sugar (Glucose, fructose, galactose, maltose, sucrose, dextrose etc).

The following are all sugars: Corn syrup (including “high fructose corn syrup” HFCS), corn sweetener, cane juice, fruit juice concentrate, maple syrup, raw sugar, xylose, sorghum.

Drinks can be a particularly harmful source of sugars. Avoid all fruit juices / squash / wine or beer/fizzy drinks (except pure water).

For sweetness add cinnamon to foods. Grated apple or carrots add sweetness, or figs and dates.

Carbohydrates - Avoid grain based carbs and sugar. Highly refined, processed carbohydrates (biscuits, cakes, snack foods, even some bread) will be quickly converted into sugar in your gut. This can disrupt your blood sugar balance, disrupt your gut microbes, disturb your sleep, cause you to gain weight, and rob you of energy.

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Grains are the only major food group which isn’t essential to human health. Many people these days are arguing that we should remove grains altogether from our diet. If you have problems with weight management, sustained energy, sleep or mood, you may well benefit from removing grains from your diet. Please see my recipe information for many excellent alternatives.

What about Gluten ? Many people have a hard time properly digesting gluten.

Gluten is extremely indigestible and modern foods contain so much more gluten than we have ever been exposed to before. Also, the modern digestive system is not nearly as robust as that of our forebears. (Thanks to our environment, lifestyles and diets).

Gluten plays a role in a host of both psychological and physical problems, from depression and anxiety to reflux and IBS. Worse still, gluten is associated with a host of auto-immune diseases, such as psoriasis, thyroid problems, cardiovascular problems, skin conditions, inflammatory bowel diseases and many others.

Should you eliminate gluten from your diet?The best way to find out, is to eliminate gluten totally from your diet for a minimum of 14 days. Be absolutely strict. Read all labels, and ask at restaurants.

Note your health in the following areas: Joints Gut health: Bloating, IBS, discomfort, constipation,

diarrhoea Sleep Mood (depression, anxiety)

After a minimum of 14 days, re-introduce gluten. Keep noting all symptoms related to the above bullet points. It can take 3-4 days for some symptoms, such as depression, to become apparent.

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Then decide for yourself if you will benefit from coming off gluten.

Eat protein with every meal Protein is essential for building and maintaining lean muscle mass and stoking your fat burning metabolism. Along with fibre, protein keeps you full between meals, so your meals and snacks should always include protein.

The best protein foods include grass fed meat, poultry, wild (not farmed) fish, organic eggs, and some dairy products (like whey protein, yogurt, and kefir, a little cheese), nuts and seeds.

How much protein should you eat? An easy rule of thumb is to eat 1 gram of protein per pound of desiredBodyweight, so if your ideal body weight is 10 stone (140lb), you should be eating 140g protein per day.

In practise, 1-2 eggs + one average sized piece of meat or fish + some nuts and seeds, or a little cheese or yoghurt should be adequate for most women. If you are undertaking intense exercising or training, you may need more protein.

Eat daily healthy fats.

“Healthy fats are good. Healthy fats help you LOSE fat fast.” It’s true!

Fats will help you feel full for longer, and they are the best source of fuel for your cells.

o For cooking use: Butter, ghee, coconut oil, beef dripping, goose fat

o To add to salads or vegetables, use: Plenty of olive oil (with lemon juice or vinegar)

o Enjoy fat rich foods such as eggs, nuts, seeds and avocados

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o Avoid margarine and vegetable oils (except those listed).

o Omega-3 fats are particularly important. You can enjoy these in wild fish (such as salmon) and even walnuts. But it’s hard to get enough to compensate for the damage our modern world inflicts on us. You may well benefit from a high quality Omega 3 supplement

Fast for at least 12 hours between your evening meal and breakfast

Intermittent fasting can be very helpful, not only for losing weight, but also, for balancing blood sugar levels. I strongly recommend you avoid snacks before bed.

Our body benefits hugely from significant gaps between meals. You may well benefit from occasional missed meals (Either supper or breakfast), for a longer gap. For more information on the many benefits of intermittent fasting,

Drink only water and green drinksDrinking more water and eliminating fizzy drinks, “sugar-free” drinks, fruit juice, black tea and coffee will make a dramatic change in your health.It’s likely that you’ll have better digestion, fewer headaches, and less overall body pain. The liquids you consume are extremely important for your health. Start your day with 2 cups of cold, clean, filtered water + the juice of ½ a lemon to get off to a healthy start. (See my information about water and hydration) Don’t consume too much water too close to bedtime, though, as this will interrupt your sleep. One to two cups of coffee per day is ok, but avoid developing a large-Starbucks twice per day caffeine habit.

Swap one of your coffees for Green Tea. It still contains caffeine (most versions) but tea comes with many health benefits of its own. Research suggests that drinking Green Tea with breakfast and lunch will help you stay full longer.

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Feast on fibreIt will help sustain and increase your energy. The fibre found in nuts, seeds, fruit, vegetables and beans, helps avoid bloating and maintains bowel regularity, and keeps hunger at bay.

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GOOD FOODS / BAD FOODS – WHERE DO YOU START?

AVOID BECAUSE

Diet or “sugar free” drinks

Aspartame (used to sweeten many diet drinks – often disguised by different names, such as sucralose) is in the running to become one of the most toxic chemicals consumed on a regular basis. Studies repeatedly show this chemical to be associated with a large increase in cardiovascular disease (up to 50% increase in heart attacks1i), kidney failure and neurological disease. Avoid all artificial sweeteners.

Fruit juice, squash,

wine, beer

These contain too much sugar (fructose). Even natural, freshly pressed fruit juice. When the body is confronted with large amounts of sugar but no fibre, fat or protein, it is severely stressed. Repeated sugar stresses lead to dysfunction in sugar metabolism and many other problems.

Cheap Table Salt

Cheap table salt is highly refined, and potentially damaging to our health. However, we need sodium chloride. Use sea salt instead.

Sugar Try to avoid adding sugar to food or drinks, and avoid foods with added sugar.

Unhealthy Snacks

and biscuits

Good snacks include apples, nuts, oatcake + cheese, avocado, nut butter on cucumber slices, hard boiled egg,

Inflammatory Oils

For cold food (salads etc) use olive oil. For cooking, try to use coconut oil, butter, or animal fat (goose, beef dripping etc). These fats which our ancestors used (at a time when heart disease was almost unheard of!), are much

1 UI study finds diet drinks associated with heart trouble for older women. University of Iowa study of 60,000 women. Results presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 63rd Annual Scientific Session in Washington, D.C. 31st March 2014

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healthier than other vegetable oils.Margarine

or fat spread of any kind

That anyone believes this is healthy is a triumph of marketing. This highly refined, rancid and disgusting substance is deeply unhealthy and should be avoided! Use butter – (there is a considerable body of research confirming that this is not bad for you!)

RecipesUseful equipmentI don’t know what I would do without my Moulinex vegetable grater. This is a mechanical grater (it cost me around £18 from Amazon). You put your carrots / apples or other vegetables into the grating compartment and just turn the handle. It saves your knuckles and It’s easy to clean too. (Alternatively, you may have grating attachments on your food processors).

Alternatives to grainsReplace any grains you normally eat (breakfast cereals, rice, couscous, pasta, wheat).

Quinoa (it’s a seed which you can use like rice) Available from most supermarkets. Makes great porridge, and fantastic for salads.

Sweet potato – This is less starchy than regular potato Butternut squash – you can peel this, chop it into squares,

cook it and mash, adding butter. It’s very tasty. - Cauliflower rice:

o Cauliflower, grated and steamed with butter for “rice” or cooked and mashed really well with butter, makes a remarkably good addition to a meal (people often wonder how I get my mashed potato to taste so delicious, and are amazed when I tell them it’s cauliflower!)

Alternatives to bread: Avoid “gluten free” bread if possible. This is often highly refined, and, in my opinion, rather unpalatable.

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- Pancakes made by combining eggs with ground almonds (click for a basic recipe). I add things like grated carrots or apples or courgettes for sweetness and interest.

- Buckwheat pancakes – I always soak mine overnight with yoghurt or apple cider vinegar plus a bit of water.– see THIS recipe for the rationale

- Sweet potato bread (click for recipe)

Interesting websites, books and sources of information

Hemsleyandhemsley.com – lovely gluten free, dairy-free recipe ideas, maybe not practical for every day. Their book (by the same name) has many excellent recipes, and I highly recommend it.

Nomnompaleo.com – loads of gluten free, dairy-free recipes (scroll down the page). Lots of them are straight forward, easy.

MarksDailyApple.com – again lots of ideas. This website is worth exploring further if you have the time. There is a lot of valuable and interesting information.

DeliciouslyElla.com Lots more GF, DF recipe ideas. An inspiring website. She has also written a book. The recipes are good, but contain some ingredients which have to be ordered on-line.

Chriskresser.com There is a wealth of very useful health information on this website, along with recipes. Green juice

Combine 1 apple, 1 stick celery, 1/3 cucumber, (small bag or big handful of spinach), ½ courgette. Juice of half a lemon, small (1/2 in sq) ginger.

Sauces and dipsGreen SauceThis sauce is a great, tasty way to add flavour to your meal, and add a load of extra greens to your diet.Combine the following in a food processor

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One - two handfuls of any of the following fresh herbs that you have available mint, parsley, coriander or basil (they all go well together if you have them all)

Watercress (1 bunch or bag) Juice of ½ lemon A good dollop of olive oil (add enough to give it a sauce

consistency. Honey to taste (a little goes a long way – ½ tsp or less is

usually sufficient)Wonderful, spicy GuacamoleI think this dip was an influential factor in my husband’s decision to propose to me! It’s truly delicious In your food processor combine

1 avocado 1 large bunch of coriander Juice and zest of 1 lime A little olive oil (if needed to give a suitable consistency) 1-2 green chillies (put a tiny bit to your tongue to assess

how spicy they are, and add according to your taste). ½ ripe tomato 1 lump of fresh ginger (about 1 cm square) 1-2 cloves garlic (depending on size and your taste) ½ small red onion. Pinch of sea salt

Make your own dip upTahinni (ground sesame seed paste – easily available in most supermarkets) is a great ingredient for form a base for dips.In your food processor combine any of the following vegetables: Courgettes, carrots, red pepper with 1 -2 tbs tahini (depending on consistency), a little olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic, lemon or lime juice, to make a tasty dip.

Breakfast

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Your first meal of the day is important. It affects your energy levels significantly, and influences the way your body treats food throughout the day. A sparse or absent first meal, can suggest to our body that food is in scarce supply, therefore as much as possible should be stored in our fat cells.

Avoid Carbs for breakfast: Cereals and toast will raise your blood sugar levels disrupting your metabolism and leading to big dips in energy later in the morning. If you love your porridge, check out my Bircher Muesli recipe below, which balances the complex carb based oats with protein and fat. .

“But I don’t eat breakfast”If you’re not hungry at breakfast time – it’s possible that you ate a large meal, mid to late evening, which isn’t properly digested by morning. Try eating a smaller evening meal, eating earlier, or skipping your evening meal. This will have the added benefit of improving the quality of your sleep.

If you’re very rushed in the morning, try making up one of the following recipes the night before and taking it into work, or even make your breakfast at work if you have the facilities (you may need to get to work a bit earlier).

Breakfast recipes1. Courgette fritterAlthough these are great for breakfast, I sometimes make up a courgette fritter for a quick lunch. You can throw it together in just a few minutes. (Add a tbs of ground almonds to the mix before cooking, for a more substantial meal if you are really hungry).

Ingredients per person1 medium size courgette1 medium size spring onion2 large eggsSalt & pepper to taste2 tbsp coconut oil for frying

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Method Grate courgette into a small bowl. Finely chop 1 spring onion and mix with the courgette. Add the raw egg, salt and pepper and whisk with a fork. Heat oil in frying pan and spoon mounds of the courgette

mixture (about 3 mounds) into the pan to form fritters. Fry until lightly browned, pressing down to flatten. Flip fritters till browned on both sides.

2. Apple Fritters I love these! Not every day, but once or twice per week.

Ingredients per person1 eating apple1 heaped dessert spoonful of ground almonds1 egg½ tsp cinnamonButter, coconut oil or ghee for frying

Method

Grate or finely chop apple into a bowel. Add ground almonds, cinnamon and raw egg Whisk with a fork Heat fat in frying pan

3. Bircher Muesli This breakfast was developed by a Dr Bircher for patients in a Swiss sanatorium. It’s a firm favourite in our household! Not only healthy but also very tasty.Ingredients per person

1 small handful of rolled oats (preferably gluten free) 2 heaped dessertspoons of natural full fat yoghurt +

enough water to make the mix sufficiently moist (it will soak up a lot of liquid if you leave it – this is good! As it introduces lots of moist fibre into your bowels.

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1 grated or finely chopped apple Small handful of raisins Small handful of chopped nuts (hazel nuts, almonds or

walnuts) Tablespoonful of ground almonds or ground seeds (your

choice of linseeds, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame seeds). You can grind seeds in a coffee grinder, alternatively, soak them overnight, to make them more digestible.

½ tsp cinnamon (brilliant for keeping blood sugar levels in check).

MethodCombine all ingredients the night before. The beneficial microbes in the yoghurt will help to break down the starch in the oats, making this a very healthy, beneficial breakfast, full of health promoting microbes.VariationsTry using coconut milk, almond or oatmilk instead of yoghurt if you are intolerant to dairy. Goat and sheep milk yoghurt are more digestible than cow’s milk.

Lunch Ideasif you want to stay awake and have sustained energy in the afternoon avoid sandwiches, baked potatoes, pies, quiches and other starch / carbohydrate rich foods. The ideal lunch will contain a combination of vegetables or salad, with protein (meat, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts).

If you have a good work canteen, Go for meat / fish / vegetables / eggs / salads. Avoid chips, rice, potatoes (to avoid an mid afternoon energy dip). But make sure you have a good portion of protein otherwise you will be hungry later in the afternoon.

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Lunch-box ideasCombine one of the following sources of protein with one of the salads listed. A little bit of forward planning goes a long way towards making this a very quick and convenient lunch. sProtein for quick lunches

Chicken drum stick (cook up enough for 2-3 days, for quick packed lunches)

Salmon steaks (cook up enough for 2-3 days, for quick packed lunches)

Supper left overs (cook up two portions of your evening meal)

Breakfast fritters (see breakfast recipe) – go very well with salads.

Grated red salad with meat or fishI make up enough for 3 days. It should last well in the fridge. If working away from home, I fill half my sandwich box with this salad, then put my choice of cold meat, fish, cheese, or egg on top.

In a large bowl, Make up a salad dressing using approx. 50ml olive oil, 1 tsp Dijon mustard and 10ml balsamic (or apple cider) vinegar. (alter this to suit your taste, eg you could add a little honey or tamari, or tahini).Add

2 – 3 grated raw carrots 1 grated raw beetroot 1 grated apple.

Give this a good mix, so that everything is coated in dressing, then add your choice of additional ingredients from any of the following :Fresh finely chopped ginger, finely chopped red or spring onion, toasted spices eg, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, black seeds, caraway seeds. Toasted seeds eg, sunflower, sesame, pumpkin. Chopped dried fruit, such as apricots.

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Slightly sprouted lentil salad.I’m not a great fan of raw sprouted legumes (I don’t particularly like them), however, cooking makes them much nicer and the sprouting process renders them much more digestible, also, they cook much faster when they are sprouted. In this recipe, puy lentils are sprouted for 24-48 hours, then cooked very lightly for just a couple of minutes (all they need when sprouted). I think this makes a very tasty salad, much better digested, and much less starch than unsprouted lentils.

Ingredients 1 cup (250ml) Puy lentils (available from most

supermarkets – these are small, plump brownish green lentils with a particularly nice, nutty flavour).

Dressing of your choice (I normally combine 2-3tbs olive oil with 1-2tbs lemon juice or ½ tbs vinegar and 1tsp Dijon mustard) + plenty of sea salt (lentils need a lot) and pepper.

Any of the following: Chopped mint, finely chopped red onion, chopped peppers, chopped cooked bacon, chopped parsley, chopped dried apricots, chopped tomatoes, chopped cucumber, toasted seeds (toast sunflower, pumpkin, sesame seeds in a frying pan until they begin to smell nice, you could also toast coriander and cumin seeds for a delicious, spicy touch), chopped green leaves (baby spinach, rocket, watercress).

Method1. Soak your lentils in plenty of water for approx. 12 hour.

Drain them into a sieve, and leave (in the sieve) for another 12 hours. Rinse, drain and leave for another 12 hours. You want to repeat this process until you see tiny white sprouts just beginning to show – usually 24 – 48 hours depending on the temperature. It’s important not to let them completely dry out, rinse slightly more often if it’s very hot.

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2. Cook your lentils in boiling water for just a minute or two (don’t worry about this timing if you’re used to cooking dried lentils, they hardly need cooking at all when they are sprouted). You just want to heat them through really. Too long and they will go mushy.

3. Add your cooked lentils to your salad dressing, chopped vegetables and fruit, toasted seeds.

Cauliflower RiceThis is a brilliant alternative to real rice. It soaks up sauces, and fills that hole on your plate, and it tastes good.

Cut a cauliflower into 1in cubes Put into your food processor and process until it reaches a

rice consistency Melt a large knob of butter or coconut oil in a saucepan

and add the cauliflower. Cook for just a minute or two – avoid it going mushy. Add a little more butter / lemon juice / sea salt and black

pepper to tasteCauliflower Mash – you won’t believe how delicious this is!

Remove the leaves, and cut the white parts of your cauliflower into large segments and steam until it is soft, but not mushy.

Put into your food processor with a good knob of butter or generous dollop of olive oil. Add salt and pepper and process until it is smooth and creamy.

Evening MealsRules:

Eat early – ideally, at least 3 hours before your bed time. Avoid eating a heavy meal in the evening. Avoid alcohol if you have trouble sleeping. Avoid carbohydrate based meals (eg, pasta, pizza)

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Any combination of meat, fish, eggs or legumes with a good variety of vegetables (avoiding very starch vegetables such as potatoes).

DesertsRules:

Special treats, rather than every night No sugar (especially not artificial sugar)! Avoid carbohydrate based deserts.

Banana and coconut milkFor a delicious, quick easy desert, I sometimes add 1 chopped banana to some coconut milk in a saucepan and simmer it for a few minutes. It’s surprisingly delicious. Adding toasted sesame seeds makes it even better. Banana pancakes 2 ripe bananas 2 eggs – beaten.Method1.  Mash up your bananas, then add your beaten eggs and stir well.2.  Heat some butter, ghee, or coconut oil in a frying pan. When it’s nicely hot, drop in several ladle fulls of mixture (depending on size of pan), to form several small pancakes.3.  When the bottom of the pancakes have browned, turn them over, and cook for a minute or two on the other side.4. Serve straight away with butter.

Mango Ice creamI love this creamy, dairy free, sugar free treat!In a food processor, combine frozen mango chunks or cheeks with coconut milk (keep adding until an soft ice cream like consistency is reached) Add approximately 1 heaped tsp of honey and a few drops of vanilla essence.

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Put in the freezer, taking it out 15 minutes or so before you want to eat it, for easier handling.

Smoothies

General Guidelines1. It’s worth investing in a good blender. Look at blenders

specifically designed for smoothies, eg. Nutribullet2. I use a coffee grinder to grind nuts and seeds (this many

not be necessary if you have a powerful smoothie blender).

3. My favourite smoothies combine fruit with greens and some nuts or seeds.

4. Useful fruits include frozen banana, frozen mango and frozen berries. Apples can be good to in certain combinations

5. Greens: Frozen spinach is good (you hardly taste it). Frozen kale (chop up fresh kale and put in portion sized bags in the freezer). Avocado’s are useful too, for their creamyness

6. Nuts: Almonds are good. 7. Seeds: linseeds add extra omega-3 oils, and healthy fibre. 8. Liquid. Use any of the following, alone or combined:

water, coconut water, almond milk or coconut milk.9. You can add ground almonds, sesame seeds, chia seeds or

any other ground seeds of your choice10. Cacao makes a great addition for a chocolate

smoothie.

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Smoothie ingredients

FruitApples Not used often, but they are fine.Bananas Always great in a smoothie!Raspberries Delicious! Masks other ingredientsBlueberries Very healthy! Will turn everything purpleStrawberries Classic addition. Very tastyBlackberries Very healthy. Will turn everything dark bluePineapple Can leave an acidic tasteMango Use once in a whileWatermelon Fresh tasting, but not used often in smoothiesOranges Use occasionallyDates Good for adding sweetnessAvocado Makes it very smoothGreensSpinach Easy, tasteless. Frozen chunks are convenient,

but you need a good blenderKale Much stronger flavour than spinach.Broccoli You need a powerful blenderCelery Can be too strong (just use a minimum)Cucumber The taste can be overpoweringOther things you can addAlmonds Tough to blendWalnuts Easy to blendPecans Not often usedCashews Avoid using too often (high level of inflammatory oils)Sunflower seeds Tough to blend, but add texture (I use a coffee grinder)Vanilla Adds sweetnessCinnamon A great and very healthy addition (1/2 tsp is good)Desiccated coconut Very tasty, and adds texture. Make sure it’s unsweetened.

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Cacao This is powerful! You do not need more than 1tsp for a great, chocolate flavour.

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Healing recipes - great for healing the gut.

Bone BrothIf I have recommended this fantastic gut healing broth to you, you should consume variations of the following broth at every meal.

1. Please get hold of some good quality bones, butchers are often happy to give you bones: Any of the following are fine

a. Organic or free-range chicken carcass (Battery /cheap chicken is no good, it contains insufficient nutrients).

b. Beef bones (ask the butcher to cut them up so you will be able to get the marrow out).

c. Lamb bonesd. Fish bones

2. Put your bones into a slow cooker (crock pot) or large pan and cover with filtered water (tap water contains chlorine and many other unpleasant chemicals).

3. Add some meat, such as chicken drumsticks or wings, or cheap lamb stewing pieces or beef stewing cuts.

4. You can add a few herbs and peppercorns. Ginger and turmeric are good but you should avoid garlic / onions / leeks or any starchy vegetables such as potatoes, parsnips. See list of “banned” foods. Do not add any stock cubes or similar or soya sauce. Do not use normal table salt, only Sea salt or rock salt should be used.

5. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer on a low heat for 2 ½ - 3 hours (or overnight if in a slow cooker). Fish takes 1 – 1½ hours.

6. Sieve the broth and strip off any meat. Do not skim the fat off – this is very nutritious and an important source of energy giving nutrition for you. Save the meat and store

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the broth (it will keep in the fridge for up to 7 days or it can be frozen.

7. Extract marrow from lamb or beef bones (use a chopstick or cocktail stick or bang the bones). This is particularly nutritious. Save it in a small bowl.

To Serve: Add a portion of the broth to some meat and some bone

marrow. Some of the saved meat (or fresh meat if you prefer). Add some of the bone marrow. Add any of the following vegetables: Carrots, kale,

spinach, broccoli. Stewed ApplesApples have many healing and anti-inflammatory benefits, especially when combined with cinnamon and yoghurt. Ingredients6 large organic apples½ cup water½ cup raisins / saltanas2 tsp cinnamon.

Method: Peel and core the apples and chop them into small evenly sized pieces. Put all the ingredients into a covered pan and cook for around 15 minutes, stirring Regularly. Cook until they are soft and a little mushy. Eat warm or cold.Stage II (Only after symptoms have resolved). Add 1 x Saccharomyces Boulardii capsule (250mg) sprinkled on top.1 x bifidobacteria (5 bn CFU) sprinkled on tip. Organic natural yoghurt.Blueberries and chopped almonds as desired1 tsp manuka honey if desired.

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i