Avocados:
Like Nadia Lim I also love Avocadoes. You can have them on toast, in sandwiches, plain, in a dip, in salads, grilled or as a chocolate mousse.
Avocados are high in monosaturated fat which makes your hair/skin and everything look awesome, they also have double the amount of potassium than a banana, with folic acid, and magnesium, and Vit E. Plus bonus they are high in fibre, and as we are non fibre eating people nowadays this helps you get to the required 18g a day. They also help boost your absorption of nutrients, like fat soluble carotenoids. Good news.
Cherries
Cherries have these amazing things called carotenoids and flavonoids. These guys help lower blood pressure (if say the family is stressing you a little too much) and help lower blood sugar levels, (if maybe you, like Santa, had one too many cookies). They also help reduce inflammation. Ideas for cherry incorporation can be as simple as; raw, freezing them/adding them to your water, or making this 3 ingredient bar:
1 ½ cups dates
1 cup cherries
1 cup almonds
Process altogether. Take out and press into a wax papered board/tray. Cover with wax paper and press/roll with a rolling pin. Fridge it to make it solid.
Dandelion greens
It sounds strange but dandelion greens are so good for you. Bonus fact is that since it’s a weed, there are pretty much no excuses for saying I can’t afford/find it. Unless you are a super keen gardener and you have none around – in that case, feel free to visit me….
They are rich source of antioxidants, also making them anti inflammatory. Random fact – 3 cups of these guys into a soup, smoothie etc gives you 5gms of protein pretty much the same as an egg!!! Also it gives you 6gms fibre. Just under a cup of the leaves kindly gives you 100mg calcium and 2mg iron. Plus bonus vitamins K and A. Throw them into a salad, steam them, stirfy the. Eat them raw. Your bones will thank you and maybe your family if they also hate weeding…
Sesame seeds.
My favourite thing for a while now has been sesame seed milk. Easy as to make. 1 cup soaked sesame seeds, 3 cups water, cinnamon and dates, blend blend and that’s it.
Sesame seeds are a source of magnesium, zinc, fibre and protein. One tablespoon contains 1.5gms protein; they are also a good source of lignans which have antioxidant and anti inflammatory properties. You can either have sesame seed milk, tahini spread on toast, sesame oil on salads, or make my salted caramel slice with it (recipe on website).
Ginger.
This guy divides people. Some people just hate ginger, I love it.
The reason why ginger is super is because it helps reduce inflammation, which means it can help reduce pain. Ginger can help to thin blood, similar to the anti inflammatory effects that aspirin has within the body. Ginger is widely known to help with nausea this is because it has high antioxidant and anti inflammatory properties that can help calm upset stomachs. If you were to say, have had too much to eat or drink you could use between ½ tsp – 2 tsp of ground ginger or ¼ - ½ tsp fresh ginger in some warm water to help you feel a little better. Maybe throw some honey in as well and quietly sip that while you wear your Audrey Hepburn glasses and sit in the shade, feeling half sorry for yourself but mostly smug because you are somewhat fixing last nights transgressions ( I cant help you with the drunken dials, or the broken tables sorry. I mean that’s what I hear some people get up to…).