Let's Get Fishy

Suffering from muscle or joint soreness after exercises? Well fish oil can help in assisting your recovery process. As when we work out, oxidative stress occurs which creates inflammation within your body. So ensuring that your body recover properly mean we will be able to train harder at a greater intensity for longer!

Fish oil is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids that can help to lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation and prevent heart disease. Fish oil is derived from the tissue of oily fish with the best source of fish being cold-water fatty fish. Humans consume fish oil through fish themselves or fish oil tablets.

Why we need it? As our bodies are able to make most of the fats we need, this is not true for omega-3 fatty acids. When it comes to these essential fats, we need to get them from omega 3 foods or supplements.

So if you are someone who eats fish 2-3 times per week, you may not need to supplement but if you aren’t a fan of fish than supplementing fish oil into your diet will provide great benefits. Or alternatively there are plenty of other foods to help you reap the heart-healthy, brain-boosting, and inflammation-fighting benefits of omega-3 fatty acid. These foods include: Wild Rice, Flaxseed and Flaxseed Oil, Eggs and Walnuts.

One last fact to convince you about how good fish oil is! Scientific studies have and will continue to back up all of the incredible fish oil benefits from eczema and fertility to heart disease and many types of cancer!! How amazing!

Omega-3 Boosting Simple Salmon Salad (Serves 2)

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
2 salmon fillets
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoon of lemon juice
4 handfuls of spinach leaves
1/2 of an avocado
Pinch of sea salt
Pinch of cracked pepper

METHOD
1. Turn on your oven and preheat it to 375ºF.
2. Place the ground flaxseed, olive oil and lemon juice into a bowl and combine.
3. Place one side of each salmon fillet into the bowl and leave for a minute. Remove the salmon fillets and place on a baking tray.
4. Use a spoon to put any remaining flaxseed mixture on top of the salmon fillets. Use a fork or your fingers to ensure the flaxseed mixture is lightly pushed into the salmon fillet.
5. Season the salmon fillets with a pinch of sea salt and cracked black pepper.
6. Place the baking tray with salmon fillets in the oven and leave for 20 minutes. Check the flaxseed crust is moist and crunchy when removed from the oven.
7. Prepare the fresh baby spinach leaves and diced avocado on a plate with a squeeze of lemon, then add the flaxseed crusted salmon fillets and Enjoy!

Nothing but avocados!

Nothing beats a perfectly ripe avocado with a squeeze of lemon, pinch of chilli flakes and a touch of Himalayan salt! Avocados are a true super hero! Not only are they are great source of vitamins C, E, K and B-6 but they are also full of healthy fats that help in keeping you full and satisfied so you don’t crave sugary foods! Eating healthy fats supports skin health, enhances the absorption of vitamins and minerals! This is way it is so important to include healthy fats into your diet! If you want to learn more about healthy fats check out my blog post HERE!

Start your day with protein!

Are you finding that you are eating breakfast, ensuring you have balanced meals and snacks throughout the day but you are still hit with mid-afternoon munchies and late night cravings??

Well, I can give you some insight into why this happens! Protein rich foods take longer to leave the stomach, therefore keeping you fuller for longer! Protein also keeps your blood sugar level steady, which prevents the sudden spikes in hunger that occur after dramatic drops in blood sugar. And since the body requires more energy to digest the nutrient compared to fats or carbohydrates you will burn more calories! Yes eating protein with each meal may help you stay full protein it is particularly important at breakfast!

Yes making protein the focus of your morning meal can take more time than slathering nut butter on toast or microwaving oatmeal but trust me it it is worth the effort! Planning is key to ensure that lack of time doesn’t become the reason behind you falling back into old patterns. You can easily overcome this by making up extra beans, vegetables or hard boiled eggs early in the week so that you have foods ready to go when you are pressed for time.

A few ways to help you transition to a high protein breakfast include…

• Keep the smoothie, but decrease the fruit and any sweeteners. Add nut butter, low-fat cottage cheese or almond meal to increase the protein.

• Eat more eggs. Why not bulk up the protein and the serving size by adding in some egg whites.

• Add beans. Whether it be black, pinto or chickpeas – beans add both lean protein and fiber. Add vegetables. Replace your grain-based complex carbs like toast and bagels with sautéed spinach, roasted cauliflower or stir-fried peppers and onions. Try adding a handful of spinach or other leafy greens to your morning smoothie!

• Eat dinner for breakfast. Lean meats like fish or chicken are just as good when eaten in the morning. Serve them up in an omelet or create a brekky salad!

Here are a few protein packed breakfast ideas to help you kick start your day right!

 

Berry Quinoa Parfait

1/3 cup of quinoa
¾ cup of plain low fat greek yogurt
¼ cup of blueberries ( or raspberries/blackberries/strawberries)
Handful of walnuts
Teaspoon of cinnamon
Teaspoon of pure vanilla exact

Combine 1/3 cup cooked quinoa, 3/4 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt, pure vanilla extract and teaspoon of cinnamon. Using 1/4 cup blueberries and walnuts, create layers of the quinoa/yogurt mixture, blueberries and nuts in a glass.

 

 

Mushroom & Tomato Omelette

2 Eggs
½ cup of sliced mushrooms
½ tomato, chopped
½ cup of spinach

Combine eggs and beat lightly. Using a cooking spray, cook eggs in non-stick pan. Add mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach in the center of omelet. Cook until eggs are set and fold over.
 

Paleo Brekky Bowl

2 fresh eggs
2 ounces wild smoked salmon (roughly 2 thin slices)
1/2 cup rocket
1/4 avocado, diced
Squeeze of fresh lemon
Pinch of freshly ground pepper

Heat a teaspoon of coconut oil over medium heat and swirl around in a nonstick pan. Slowly put 2 (unscrambled) eggs into the pan and cook until done, about 6 minutes. While your eggs are cooking, assemble your arugula, avocado, and smoked salmon in a shallow bowl. Squeeze lemon juice over everything, and sprinkle with pepper. Once your eggs are fully cooked, slide them into your bowl, and Enjoy!

The good fats and the bad fats, not exactly what you thought...

Avocados are a monounsaturated fat and are considered hormonally neutral in that they don't affect your inflammatory levels.

We are all raised to think fat is bad and that it makes us fat... what a lot of people don'tnt  know is that if we eliminate all fat from our diet then our body will manufacture fats for it's survival. Fat is critical for our hormones, cell structures and vitamin absorption amongst other things. In fact vitamin A, D E and K are all fat soluble vitamins. So don't shy away from fats. 

There are a few different kinds of fats. Saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Today we are going to talk about the UNsaturated fats.  There is much contention about polyunsaturated fats. People think that they are all good for you because they are UNsaturated, but it all depends of whether they are an Omega 3, 6 or 9 polyunsaturated fat and how they are processed. Omega 6 polyunsaturated fats are everywhere in our diet.They are found in cooking oils such as canola, sunflower and safflower oil (which I don't recommend using, but that is a whole other blog). Other Omega 6 polyunsaturated fats we consume regularly are peanut butter, mayonnaise and salad dressings. Omega 3 polyunsaturated fats are found in fatty  fish such as salmon, tuna or sardines.  These polyunsaturated fats affect our hormones and our inflammatory levels. Generally speaking Omega 6 polyunsaturated fats increase  inflammation and  Omega 3's decrease  inflammation. 

Most of us have diets that are way too high in Omega 6 fatty acids which is why we suffer from the myriad of inflammatory based disorders such as asthma, eczema, arthritis, high blood pressure, depression, and the list goes on. In order to lower our levels of inflammation we need to consume more Omega 3 fatty acids such as fish, sardines and salmon.  If you can't handle all the fish, then take fish oils - but high quality oils, in small jars, found in the refrigerator. 

Monounsaturated fats on the other hand (which are also a liquid at room temperature) are considered hormonally neutral in that they don't affect your inflammatory levels. Fats found in avocados, almonds  and olive oil are ideal. 

So next time you freak out about fats, remember that they aren't all bad, but also remember that the ones you thought were good may not be so good for you. Stay away from the canola oils, mayo and salad dressings even though they may be unsaturated and opt for fish, avocado and olive instead. Replace peanut butter for almond butter. Your joints, skin, heart and just about everything will thank you!