SUPERFOOD MIX & PROBIOTICS

Publication en français en bas de la page

I always get asked what Superfoods I use in my smoothies. Apart from my fresh veggies and fruits, I always use functional foods in a powder version so that I get all the nutrients my body needs. 

WHAT DO YOU USE & WHY?

The mix I have used daily for the past few months is from VEGAVERO. I love their products, it is a German brand and everything is organic and vegan. 

The Superfood Mix I use contains 17 superfoods such as Wheatgrass*, Barley Grass*, Spirulina*, Moringa*, Aronia powder*, Chlorella vulgaris*, peppermint leaf*, pomegranate seeds*, Matcha*, orange peel*, lemon peel*, ginger*, turmeric*, beetroot*, spinach*, cinnamon*, nettle* (*from organic cultivation)

it is delicious and one or two teaspoons in your smoothie is enough to get you all the above micronutrients you need in a day and start detoxing the body. 

You can also get probiotics from the same brand for better digestion.  Probiotics are microorganisms/live bacteria that is good for you and your gut. You usally find it in fermented products such as sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, kefir... The problem is that these products are not always on the menu so to be sure to get your daily dose, get it here. Click on the photo and let me know how you get on! 

You can use the code HOLISTIC10 to get 10% off if you live in France.

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On me demande toujours quels super-aliments j'utilise dans mes smoothies. A part mes fruits et légumes frais, j'utilise une poudre de plantes qui me fournit tout ce dont j'ai besoin quotidiennement.

QU'EST CE QUE C'EST & COMMENT CA MARCHE?

Le mélange que j'utilise tous les jours depuis des mois maintenant est de la marque VEGAVERO. C'est une marque Allemande et leurs produits sont bio et vegan.

Le mélange SUPERFOOD MIX contient 17 super-aliments: agropyre, herbe d'orge, spiruline, moringa, poudre d'aronie, chlorelle, feuilles de menthe poivrée, graines de grenade, poudre de matcha, zeste d'orange, zeste de citron, racine de gingembre, curcuma, betterave, épinards, cannelle de cèdre, racine de persil et ortie. 

Tous ces ingrédients sont de culture biologique et permettent au corps de mieux de désintoxiquer. Une à deux cuillères à café dans un smoothie vous fournira la dose de super-aliments ci-dessus nécessaires à un bon fonctionnement de l'organisme. 

Vous pouvez aussi vous procurer les probiotiques de la même marque. Je conseille les probiotiques à mes clients afin de réintroduire la bonne bactérie dans l'intestin pour reconstituer la flore intestinale et protéger les intestins.
En général on trouve cette bactérie dans les produits fermentés comme la choucroute, le kimchi, le kombucha, le kefir entre autres. Le problème est que nous n'en consommons pas tous les jours et il est donc plus sûr d'avoir sa dose quotidienne dans une capsule. De plus, le produit contient aussi de l'inuline. L’inuline est un prébiotique qui favorise la prolifération des bactéries ayant un effet bénéfique sur l’organisme. Grâce à ses effets symbiotiques sur le transit intestinal, l'inuline, en nourrissant et stimulant la croissance des bifidobactéries dans le côlon, active le système immunitaire et agit de façon préventive contre les bactéries pathogènes.

Cliquez sur la photo ci-dessus et utilisez le code HOLISTIC10 juste avant le paiement afin de bénéficier d'une réduction de 10%
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Tarte tatin (Vegan, GF and oil free)

Recette en français en bas de la page après les photos

INGREDIENTS:

5 cooking apples (peeled and cut in thin sticks)
1 lime juice

DRY INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 mug oat flour (grind oat flakes if possible)
1 mug almond flour (grind your own if possible)
1/3 mug coconut or Muscovado sugar
1 TBS cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 pinch baking soda
1 pinch of pink Himalayan salt

WET INGREDIENTS:
1 banana (mashed)
2 TBS maple syrup
1/3 mug oat milk or plant-based milk of choice

METHOD:

Preheat oven at 180°C. Line a tart pan with recycled parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir all dry ingredients and half of the lime juice.
Add the mashed banana and milk and stir until well combined (add a little milk if needed). Put aside.

In another bowl, put your apples in thin sticks with the maple syrup and the other half of the lime juice and stir until apples are coated.

Put apples first in tart pan then spread the "cake" mixture over it making sure it covers all of the apples sticks.

Bake for 30 minutes until brown on top. Wait until it cools down to flip it over. Delicious warm or cold.

INGREDIENTS:

5 pommes à cuire (épluchées et coupées en allumettes)
1 jus de citron vert

INGREDIENTS SECS:
1 1/2 mug farine d'avoine (moudre ses flocons si possible)
1 mug amandes en poudre (moudre ses amandes si poss)
1/3 mug sucre de coco ou Muscovado
1 cuillère à soupe de cannelle en poudre
1 cuillère à café de mélange pour pain d'épice
1 pincée de bicarbonate de soude
1 pincée de sel rose de l'Himalaya

INGREDIENTS LIQUIDES:
1 banane écrasée
2 cuillères à soupe de sirop d'érable
1/3 mug lait d'avoine ou amande ou de son choix

METHODE:

Préchauffer le four à 180°C. Chemiser le moule à tarte avec un papier sulfurisé recyclé.

Dans un grand saladier, mélanger tous les ingrédients secs et y ajouter le demi jus de citron vert.
Ajouter la banane écrasée, le lait et bien mélanger. Ajouter un petit peu de lait si nécessaire. Réserver.

Dans un autre saladier, mettre les pommes coupées en bâtonnets avec le sirop d'érable et l'autre moitié du jus de citron vert. Bien mélanger jusqu'à ce que les bâtonnets soient bien recouverts.

Mettre les pommes en premier dans le moule à tarte puis étaler le mélange par dessus afin de bien les recouvrir.

Enfourner pour 30 minutes jusqu'à ce le dessus soit bien doré. Laisser refroidir avant de retourner la tarte. Délicieux tiède ou froid.

Vegan panna cotta with mango coulis

Recette en français en bas de la page après les photos


INGREDIENTS: (makes 4)

1 ripe mango (peeled and chopped, save some little cubes for the topping)
200 ml coconut cream
1/2 teaspoon agar agar (2 g)
3 tablespoons coconut sugar (or Muscovado sugar)
Some desiccated coconut

METHOD:

Cook the coconut cream, sugar and agar agar over medium heat stirring at all times using a whisk. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for another minute, still stirring.

Take off heat and pour into ramekins. While this is cooling, cut the mango and put all the bits in a high speed blender (save some cubes for later) and blend until you get a puree.

Pour over your panna cotta, add the little cubes of mango and the desiccated coconut on top.
Chill in fridge for a minimum of three hours.

Panna cotta avec coulis de mangue

INGREDIENTS:

Une mangue mure (épluchée et coupée, gardez quelques petits cubes pour la déco)
200 ml crème de coco
1/2 cuillère à café d'agar agar  (2g)
3 cuillères à soupe de sucre de coco (ou Muscovado)
Noix de coco rapée pour la déco


METHODE:

Mettre la crème de coco, le sucre et l'agar agar dans une casserole et cuire à feu moyen jusqu'à ébullition en ne cessant de mélanger avec un fouet. Une fois à ébullition, baisser le feu et continuer de mélanger pendant une minute.

Mettre la crème dans 4 ramequins. Pendant que cela refroidit, couper la mangue et mettre les morceaux dans un blender et réduire en purée.

Couvrir la crème de ce coulis dans les ramequins puis décorer avec des dés de mangue.
Saupoudrer de noix de coco rapée. Metre au frigo pendant trois heures minimum.

Nutty Banana Bread

Recette en français en bas de la page après les photos

Send help! I can't stop eating this! It is so moist and delicious I just cannot resist.... which is totally fine (I keep telling myself) since it is free of refined products and made with wholefoods. Let me know in the comments if you make this!

INGREDIENTS:

3 medium ripe bananas (+1/2 cut lengthwise to decorate)
5 tablespoons grape seed oil
3 tablespoons coconut sugar (or Muscovado)
1 level mug spelt flour (gluten free flour works great too)
1 large pinch baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons almond milk (or 3 TBS aquafaba)
2 large handfuls of nuts and dried fruit of choice (in this case, I used almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, walnuts, sultanas, pumpkin seeds and cranberries)

METHOD:

Preheat your fan oven at 180°C (350°F).
Line a loaf pan with parchment paper or oil your pan.

Peel the bananas and mash them all up in a glass bowl. When you've pureed them, add the oil and stir thoroughly.
Add the sugar, stir, then the flour and baking soda and mix everything.
You can then add the spices and nuts and finally the dairy free milk.

Transfer the mixture into the pan. You can decorate the top with pumpkin seeds and a banana sliced lengthwise.

Bake for around 35-40 minutes until golden brown and until your knife comes out clean.

Cake à la banane et noix à coque

INGREDIENTS:

3 bananes moyennes bien mûres (+ une demi coupée dans le sens de la longueur pour la déco)
5 cuillères à soupe d'huile de pépins de raisin
3 cuillères à  soupe de sucre de coco (ou Muscovado)
1 mug de farine de petit épeautre
1 grosse pincée de bicarbonate de soude
1/2 cuillère à café de gingembre en poudre
1 cuillère à café de mélange pour pain d'épices en poudre
1/2 cuillère à café de cannelle en poudre
2 cuillères à soupe de lait d'amande (ou 3 d'aquafaba)
Deux grosse poignées de fruits et noix à coque de votre choix (j'ai utilisé pour cette recette, des amandes, des noisettes, des cajous, des noix, des raisins secs, des graines de courge et des cranberries)


METHODE:

Préchauffez votre four  à chaleur tournante à 180°C.
Mettez un papier sulfurisé ou huilez votre moule à cake.

Epluchez les bananes puis les écraser à la fourchette dans un saladier. Ajoutez l'huile et mélangez.
Ajoutez ensuite le sucre puis la farine et le bicarbonate. Mélangez à nouveau. Incorporez les épices, les fruits secs, les noix puis le lait.
Mélangez jusqu'à obtention d'une pâte homogène.

Transférez dans le moule à cake puis décorez avec des graines de courge et la demi banane coupée en deux dans le sens de la longueur.

Cuire pendant 35 à 40 minutes, votre couteau doit ressortir sec.

Curly hair routine

It is always a surprise when people ask me about my hair. I was regularly made fun of at school because I stood out in the middle of an ocean of straight and thin hair. It affected my confidence growing up and of course I ended up straightening it chemically to blend in until I realised, years ago, that it was time to embrace what I was given and that I was, in fact, very lucky to have something different and beautiful. 

There are many methods out there for curly hair ... If you go on Google or YouTube, you will find endless articles and videos. Now, let's be clear, I am not a beauty blogger ... but I do love health and this is just what I do for my hair to be healthy. 

The most important thing is to know what hair type you have.  Mine is dry and curly (type 3B/C) and I have A LOT of it! I probably get that from my Italian side... thank you Dad! haha

I tend to use natural and organic products as much as possible. I deep condition once a week every week the day before I wash my hair. I'll use a generous amount of softened or fractionated organic coconut oil in my hair and leave it on overnight as a mask then put my hair up in a loose bun before going to bed. (Protect your pillow but covering it with a microfibre towel).

The next day, I either use a solid shampoo bar or a moisturising paraben and silicon free shampoo. I love SHEA MOISTURE products but they do not have a lot of plastic free options yet. I try to live plastic-free as much as I can these days and I'm probably about 80% at the moment. (The rule is to finish everything I own right now and never buy anything plastic again). I love LUSH products for that. 

I rinse out the shampoo, then apply a solid conditioner bar or a coconut based conditioner throughout until my hair is well coated and I get a good slip. I flip it over and brush it through. I rinse it out and coat my hair again with the same conditioner.

This is where my routine may differ. I do NOT rinse out. I brush it thoroughly then apply a good amount of water based gel with prayers hands then I scrunch my whole head (it should make a squishy noise).

I put my hair in a micro fibre towel and leave it on to soak up the excess moisture for about 10 to 15 minutes. I then diffuse on cool air until my hair is dry. If I have time, I let it air dry but I find that my curls are always more defined with the diffuser.

At night, I put my hair up in a messy bun when I go to bed and just refresh my curls in the morning with a water spray and lavender and rosemary essential oils (I use DoTERRA) or a little leave-in SHEA MOISTURE conditioner.

It takes a while to find a routine that suits you so don't be shy to experiment. Let me know how you get on. For me, it is all about hydration and hold. What about you?

PS: This post is not sponsored. I just genuinely like and use these brands. 

3 reasons to snack on nuts

Nuts are amazing (except if you're allergic then well... they're not... obviously)

They are bite size, easy to grab on the go and are so nutritious. They aren't all equal though. My top three would be almonds for fiber, walnuts for Omega 3s and peanuts for protein (fun fact: Peanuts are legumes, not nuts... they belong to the same family as beans and peas. Did I just blow your mind?)
So let's dive in.

1- THEY ARE NUTRITIOUS POWERHOUSES

Recent studies have shown that, even though they are high in fat, it is the good kind of fat, the fat that we need for our heart health. They are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and omega 3s and 6s. Studies have also shown that they also do not contribute to weight gain... so go nuts!


2- YOU CAN LOWER YOUR RISK OF DISEASE

Most nuts are high in monounsaturated fat and eating them everyday will decrease bad cholesterol (called LDL) and inflammation in the body as well as high blood sugar. They also help with respiratory disease, diabetes, cancer and gallstones. They have an anti-inflammatory effect on the body and can help repair tiny muscle injuries so they are great for runners or athletes.

3- BE FULLER FOR LONGER

Eating nuts such as almonds or walnuts will keep you full and satisfied meaning that you will not have the need to reach for unhealthy snacks. You will eat less during the day: The protein and fiber contained in nuts will suppress hunger while nourishing your body.

                                                           ~ OTHER NUTS ~
Hazelnuts are great to lower blood pressure and they can contribute to better heart health if you eat about 20 a day. Pecans are also good for cardiovascular disease and are the highest in antioxidants so eat about 8 to 10 a day. Cashews, however,  must not be eaten everyday. They contain zinc, copper and magnesium but a portion (about 15 to 20 cashews) contains between 2 and 3 grams of saturated fat.

Add nuts to your daily diet but whatever you do, buy them raw, unroasted and unsalted, without any added oil. You can roast them yourself if you need to but always at a low temperature.
What is your favourite nut and why? (Don't be cheeky eh!) Happy snacking!