Avoid drinking (water) with meals

Try not to drink anything during eating (for about 30 min before/after meal) as it dilutes the saliva and stomach acid which makes digestion harder for the body and ultimately less nutrients are absorbed. If you have to, take small sips not big gulps.

For more on what water is best click here!

Cinnamon + Blood Sugar Regulation

If you have blood sugar issues (crave anything sugary, constantly hungry, feel major energy dips between meals… get really hangry?), add some cinnamon to your food (e.g. into porridge in the morning) it helps regulate blood sugar levels over the course of the day.

The best cinnamon is CEYLON rather than a normal off the shelf one. All cinnamon helps, but if you are having large amounts or cinnamon daily then normal Cassia cinnamon contains Coumarin, a substance we want to avoid in high amounts otherwise it can cause liver damage.

Click for more info on cinnamon!

Why not to drink coffee when you first wake up

Whilst you are sleeping your body is essentially fasting. Waking up and having a coffee first thing sets off the adrenal system (fight or flight), setting your body into overdrive & causing you to crash later.

Having a lemon + hot water (careful not too hot or it can destroy your tooth enamel) or a bone broth (will explain more about bone broths soon!) first thing would be a far nicer way to wake your body up!

Citrus flavours stimulate the digestive system, getting it going before you’ve had your breakfast.

If you’re going to drink coffee, try have it 30-60 minutes before or after eating anything. Coffee blocks a lot of nutrients, minerals, vitamins from what we eat being able to be absorbed if consumed with food.

Please click for more info on coffee & it’s benefits.

Protein - How much & Where from

Proteins are one of the essential building blocks that help build and repair our body tissues, such as bones, skin, blood and muscles. They make enzymes, hormones and the antibodies of the immune system. Amino acids (AAs) are compounds that when combined, form proteins. Our bodies need 20 different AAs for our health and normal functioning, 9 of which are essential AAs, meaning our bodies cannot make them, we can only obtain them from food.

So how much protein should we be eating? The recommendation is to go for 0.8-1g x your body weight. I.e. if you weigh 55kg, you would aim for 44g of protein per day. Remember this doesn’t mean eating e.g. 44g of chicken, it means 44g of protein (for example, in 100g of chicken breast there is only 31g of protein). If you are pregnant you should be consuming around 10g of protein per day above this amount. If you are breast feeding, add 20g more per day! If you are an athlete, or engage in regular sports you should certainly be consuming more protein too. 

Adding protein to ALL meals (yes, including breakfast), is a great way to make sure you are properly satiated (full). Proteins are broken down slowly, meaning they keep you fuller for longer compared to simple sugars/carbs (e.g. white pasta). This means that they also help regulate your blood sugar, meaning you won’t get dramatic peaks and crashes in energy. If you are someone that always gets a dip in energy alongside feeling hungry for a naughty snack at around 3pm then this is a sign that you are not regulating your blood sugar properly, and adding protein to your lunch would be a good idea. 

Try and opt for plant based sources of protein as often as possible - unlike in meat, plant based protein come with a huge amount of other benefits too, for example legumes like lentils and chickpeas are phytoestrogens, meaning they help regulate your hormones. Plus they are full of fibre helping feed your gut bacteria, and regulating your stools. 

Most people find breakfast the hardest meal to add protein to so here are some breakfast ideas that contain adequate protein:

• Egg on brown toast with avocado and spinach - protein, plus fibre from the brown toast, healthy fats from the avocado + eggs and lots of vitamins from the spinach.

• Porridge with nut milk/butter with some nuts and seeds on top (which will also add some healthy fats and minerals too), or even better, go for millet porridge which is a high protein grain.

• Overnight oats with almond butter, chia + hemp seeds, raw almonds, shredded coconut, blueberries

• Smoothie made with nut butter, nut milk, seeds, nuts, banana, avocado, spinach and coconut

• Greek yogurt with berries, nuts and seeds

Protein snack ideas:

• Protein balls made from raw cacao, almond butter, dates and coconut oil - deliciously Ella do some great ones

• Rice cakes topped with nut butter + banana + honey

• Hummus or nut butter + vegetables for dipping

Protein food ideas and rough amounts:

• Avocado with a poached egg - 7g

• Avocado + humus - 2.5g

• Peanut butter (sugar free real stuff, no Skippy!) on toast - 8g

• Porridge (depending on oat kind) + nuts/seeds or a nut butter - 4g

• A handful of nuts/nut butters - 3g

• Lentils cup cooked - 16.2g

• Quinoa (my favourite as its a complete protein, full of fibre, vitamins and nutrients and is a complex carb!), cup cooked - 8g

• Beef (fillet steak) - 22g

• Chicken breast - 40g

• Edamame cup cooked - 18.5g

• Chickpeas cup cooked - 14.7g

• Kidney beans cup cooked - 14g

• Amaranth cup cooked - 9g

• Black beans cup cooked - 16g

• Hemp seeds - 3g per tablespoon

• Soybeans cup cooked - 31.3g

• Almonds (raw) 6g per 1/4 cup

• Seitan - 21g per 1/3 cup

• Tempeh cup cooked - 33.7g

• Pumpkin seeds - 8g per 1/4 cup

• Chia seeds 1.6g per tablespoon
  
  

…so its about adding bits together to make up that total amount for you!