Healing Foods. Chocolate Advent Calendars.
- Sophie Ward
- Nov 16, 2016
- 5 min read
Quote of the day:
'Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.'
Hi everyone,
So Healing Foods by Neal's Yard Remedies is an amazing book that really is educational on all foods, spices and herbs. I love referring to this publication when I am having an off day or feeling unwell to try and work up a recipe to help my body recover or soothe it in the best way possible. So here are just a few of my fave foods I probably eat the most of and their benefits. I really recommend checking out the book too! Shout out to my Mum for mine - angel.
The book begins: 'The food we eat has an overreaching effect on our health and well-being, whether we are conscious of it or not. Becoming more aware of your diet and the healing properties of the food will help you make necessary adjustments to meet the needs of your body - and it will do an enormous amount to maintain and improve your health.'
I have made the words bold as they have in the book. I do strongly believe that the words above strongly reflect and describe a plant-based lifestyle perfectly. It's always about having a base - you build around that base as you wish to. Allowing your body to heal and blossom in its on way but with maximum health benefits.
First of all the 6 main illness/disease areas and the best healers: Nausea - GINGER. Coughs - HONEY. Heart- GARLIC. Liver - BRUSSEL SPROUTS
Memory- BERRIES.
Cholesterol - NUTS & SEEDS.
Food, Food, Food:
Apples:
-Helps balance blood sugar levels
-Helps strengthen bones
-Helps lower cholesterol
-Tackles diarrhoea and constipation
How to get the best from it: keep the skin on, that is where all the fibre, vitamin C and iron is contained.
How to use: simply eat raw, make into desserts ( apple crumble, apple pie etc), make into a smoothie, make apple sauce.
Cherries:
-Helps promote sleep
-Helps increase insulin production
-Reduces post-exercise inflammation
-Can help prevent gout
How to get the best from them: Pick sour over sweet, they contains higher levels of antioxidants.
How to use them: eat them raw, make into sweet pies, add to smoothies, add to sweet treats ( top cakes with them, add to brownies, flapjacks etc.)
Grapes:
-Helps reduce risk of cancer
-Helps prevent hardened arteries
-Helps mild diuretic action
-Helps balance sugar levels
How to get the best from them: having grapes dried ( raisins ) really helps converts fructose into soluble fibre, which absorbs and removed cholesterol.
How to use them: eat them fresh, dried, in rice and salad dishes, fruit salads, frozen grapes ( THE BEST ).
Blueberries:
-Slows the growth of prostate cancer
-Helps prevent cognitive decline
-Effective against gastroenteritis
-Helps protect eye health
How do I get the best from it: eat organic to reduce chemical contamination.
How to use it: Smoothies, pies, pancakes, jam, fresh and dried as a snack.
Cranberries:
-Fights urinary tract infections
-Helps fight gum disease
-Helps alleviate heavy periods
-Helps prevent stomach ulcers
How to get the best from them: fresh juice gives you the best benefits from the fruit.
How to use them: eat fresh and dried as a snack, enjoy in cakes, flapjacks, fresh juice, smoothies and to top salads with as dried.
Bananas: -Helps strengthen bones
-Protects against ulcers
-Contains slow release sugars
-Lower risk of heart disease and stroke
How to get the best out of them: Eat them when they are fully ripe - the browner the better, the nutrients are at their richest and the fruit itself is so much sweeter.
How to use them: make 'nice' cream, smoothie, fresh, dried, banana chips, blend with milk to make banana milk.
Of course there are many more fruits - but I would be going on forever, you have melons, mangos, raspberries and so on.
Moving on to vegetables!
Artichoke - NEW LOVE FOR THIS VEG!
-Helps balance blood sugar levels
-Helps lower cholesterol
-Aids digestions of fats
-A mild diuretic
How to get the best from them: eat both the leaves and the heart, they are both easy to digest and help the liver so much.
How to use them: Boil them, make into a dip, add to veg curries, dishes and salads.
Aubergine: I loveeeeee this veggie so so much!
-Protects the heart and blood vessels
-Helps balance blood sugar levels
-Helps remove toxins from the body
How to get the best from them: Leave the skin on, bak, roast or fry and you will get all the nutrients in.
How to us them: stuff them, add to pasta dishes, sauces, dips, top pizzas with them.
Sweet Potatoes:
-Helps balance blood sugar levels
-Fights free-radical damage to skin
-Protects infection
How to get the best from them: keep their skins on.
How to use them: Mash them, boil them, fry them, bake them, add to curries, eat as a jacket potatoes, sweet potato chips, add to salads and pies. You can even make sweet dishes out of sweet potatoes like brownies and pancakes.
Mushrooms:
-Cleansing and ant-inflammatory
-Feeds good bacteria in the gut
-Good source of protein and vitamin D
-Contains anti-cancerous substances
How to get the best from them: Eating them raw allows you to get the most nutrients from them, once cooked mushrooms lose a lot of their nutrients.
How to use them: You can eat them dried and top these with curries, salads and so on, add them cooked to pasta and rice dishes, make cream sauces out of them, stuff them with garlic and cheeses for starter dishes, add to soups.
Again there are SO many more veggies but we would be here all night. So here are my two fave spices!!
Ginger ( of course):
-Has powerful anti-inflammatory oils
-Helps alleviate arthritic pain
-Reduces symptoms of nausea
How to get the best from it: Peel it carefully, look for young roots and eat it fresh.
How to use it: make teas, add to curries, make sauces, add to salads, add to baked goods, crystallize and flavour sweet pies and desserts.
Turmeric :
-Helps relieve arthritic pain
-Helps prevent hardened arteries
-Fights free-radical damage to the brain
-Contains anti-cancer substances
-Great for the immune system and anti-inflammatory
How to get the best from it: Fresh or dried allows you to get the max nutrients.
How to use it: in teas, in curries, rice and pasta dishes, sauces and mix with milk ( or alternative ), ginger and apple cider vinegar for a cold remedy.
I hope this helps you understand your fruit, veggies and spices a little more. As I have said these are just a few of my faves we would be here all week if I listed all the 'earth foods' and all the different ones I stock my kitchen with. However if there is/are any you want to find out more about please reach out let me know and I will give you the info or do another blog post on this topic ( I may do anyway ) as there is SO much to cover.
I hope this helps and educates you in what you are cooking up in your meals.
Not long now until my book release!
So much to do and so little time - SO excited and can't wait for Shield Crest's press release on the day.
Little VIP tip to readers and followers - you can buy your book straight from Shield Crest, via my webpage which I will give you the link to on the day.
I have received another Goodness Direct box of goodies which I can't wait to open, I know it is full of allergy-free chocolates and my advent calendar ( couldn't miss out!) I have purchased the MooMoo's advent calendar as the Plamil one was currently out of stock however I want to purchase the Plamil ones because as we all know their ginger chocolate is my fave go to chocolate and I want and hope to compare as never had anything from the MooMoo's brand yet.
MOUTH IS WATERING AT THE THOUGHT.
Head over to Goodness Direct to get your own advent calendar using the link http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/affiliate/SOPH/script/home.html
You will find lots more goodies there too.
Thank you for reading and if you want more info let me know!!
Follow me on Insta: sophiewardy and Twitter & Snapchat: sophwardy
Love and peace to all
xo.
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