​With so much about superfoods, what you should eat etc, I thought I’d look at what might be the healthiest food we have growing here in Ireland.  It was no surprise to me that it was KALE. It is so easy to grow kale here in Ireland as it is a fairly hardy plant that can weather our seasons.
 
Kale is packed with a high level of nutrients and fibre.  So what makes Kale the king of our homegrown foods?

• High in fibre – good gut health is the foundation of all health
• High in antioxidants 
• High in nutrients, especially – Calcium, Potassium, Vitamins C and K and Beta carotene
• Chlorophyll

 
So that means very little to most so what does it mean for you?
The above nutrients are key in helping to fend off common conditions such as:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Type II diabetes
• Reduces toxic load for those who are diabetic
• Binds to carcinogens and removes them from the body
• Improves the appearance of your skin and hair

 
There are a number of ways to add kale to your diet:

• Add to morning juice or smoothie
• Replace your spinach and other greens (half of the time) with kale
• Kale chips – these are roasted kale with herbs, spices and oil in the oven.

N.B. the main thing to remember when cooking with kale the king is to remove the stem to get rid of any string bits but leave those on if juicing, smoothieing or souping.
 
 
You can follow carina at:
www.itsanaturalchoice.com
www.breaking-fads.com
Rest & Reset webinars - https://bit.ly/3UKdkZH
Follow her journey on Facebook & Instagram:
@itsanaturalchoice
@welovebreakingfads
Rest & Reset
 

We live in an age of endless information available, but it can be hard to decipher what is relevant to you and what to ignore.
 
My motto is always KISS – Keep It Simple Sweetie.  Often things are made more complicated than there is any need for.
 
So if I had to give some general advise for eating healthy this would be it:
 

1. Learn to listen to your body’s cues – stop eating when you’re full, you don’t have to clear your plate anymore
2. Set mealtimes – eat at regular times as much as possible
3. Cook from fresh produce – 90/10 rule. 
4. Focus on your food – no laptops, phones, computers, tv’s when you are eating
5. Chew Chew train is coming – chew your food 10-20 times per mouthful
6. Stock your fridge and cupboards with tasty, healthy foods – this way it’s easier to eat healthy and harder to eat unhealthy
7. Don’t follow the trends, they change constantly.  The basis of a healthy plate is protein (animal produce, beans, tofu, nuts, seeds), carbohydrates (grains, potatoes, beans, lentils etc), plenty fresh fruit and vegetables and healthy fats
8. Don’t be afraid to eat fats – healthy fats are essential – Unsaturated fats are thought to be the healthy ones (monounsaturated fats-MUFA and polyunsaturated fats -PUFA) The fats you want to avoid are trans fats.  Saturated fats fall in the middle, a little but don’t go crazy (these come mainly from animal fats)
9. Go a little exotic – by adding in foods that may not be 100% traditional to our own culture we can add in extra nutrients, like lentils in curry, beans and avocado’s in Mexican, paprika in Spanish, these all add another layer to our healthy eating.  Mix this in with traditional foods from your own culture
10. Fish once a day or take a krill oil – many modern diseases have some form of lack of omega 3 element linked.

 
 
The main rule is start at a level you can maintain and keep improving until it’s just a fun, enjoyable part of your life with the added bonus it is keeping you healthy.
 
 
You can follow carina at:
www.itsanaturalchoice.com
www.breaking-fads.com
Rest & Reset webinars - https://bit.ly/3UKdkZH
Follow her journey on Facebook & Instagram:
@itsanaturalchoice
@welovebreakingfads
Rest & Reset