Lamb & Vegetable Moussaka

2 tbsps butter/ghee/coconut oil

1 onion, peeled & chopped

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

1 cup of sliced mushrooms

1 courgette, sliced

½ an aubergine, sliced

1 medium sweet potato, peeled & sliced

1 lb minced lamb

1 tin chopped tomatoes

Splash of balsamic vinegar

Splash of red wine

Splash of Mic’s chilli or any chilli sauce – optional

1 dsp of fruit chutney – optional

2 eggs

2 cups of natural yoghurt

1 cup of hard cheese, grated

Sea-salt & black pepper

1.       Preheat the oven to 160c.

2.       Begin by salting the aubergine slices, place in a colander and put a heavy weight on top to extract the bitter juices.

3.       Heat half the fat in a large pan/wok and add in the onion, garlic, mushrooms and courgette.

4.       Saute until softened. Then add in the lamb and cook until browned. Remove any liquid before throwing in the tomatoes, vinegar, red wine, chilli and chutney. Taste and season well.

5.       Heat the remaining fat on another pan and cook the sweet potato and aubergine slices until softened.

6.       In a jug, whisk the eggs and mix in the yoghurt and cheese, season well.

7.       In a large casserole dish, begin the layering process of transferring half the meat mixture, then a combination of the potato and aubergine, followed by the remaining meat and top with the yoghurt mix.

8.       Bake for 25-30 minutes until nicely browned and bubbling on top.

9.       Serve with a large green salad dressed with a nice olive oil and balsamic vinegar mix and some goat’s cheese crumbs and chopped dried figs.

1 tsp. ghee/butter/coconut oil

1 small onion

1 clove garlic

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 cup of rice per 2 people

2 cups vegetable stock

Seasalt & black pepper

1.      Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil and add in the cumin seeds until they pop.

2.      Add in the rice and stir for a few minutes.

3.      Then add in the stock.

4.      Cook until most of the water is absorbed, turn off the heat and cover with a lid for a few minutes.

5.      Season and enjoy with a nice curry.

This is one of my favourite Indian dishes, packed with taste and nutrients and very easy to make if you have the ingredients at hand. You can make your own paneer cheese quite easily by boiling milk (raw preferably) and adding a splash of lemon juice to make it curdle, then allow to separate and pack solid cheese into a container to set..or you can buy a block in any Asian store! It is something that keeps quite a while in the fridge so a good one to have on stand-by. This can also be made with lamb if you don't like paneer. Who says Indian food is unhealthy…this is full of iron, magnesium, calcium and B vitamins not to mention the brilliant medicinal properties of the lovely spices…anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and liver detoxing. Proof that healthy food can taste delicious! 

1-2 onions, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1” piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 tbsp ghee/butter/coconut oil

300g paneer cheese 

½ tsp. garam masala

½ tsp. cumin powder

½ tsp. chilli powder

½ tsp. turmeric

Bag of frozen spinach, defrosted

1 cup of vegetable stock

sea-salt

1.       Heat the fat on a hot pan before adding in the chopped onion, garlic and ginger. Saute before adding in the cubed paneer and brown on all sides.

2.       Next add in the spices and mix.

3.       Then combine the spinach in a large bowl with the vegetable stock, puree with a hand blender or in a food processor and add to the paneer mix. Heat thoroughly and season with sea-salt if need be.

4.       Enjoy with my cumin spiced rice.

Eat Well, Feel Well!

Nutrition as Preventative Medicine – Connecting the Dots!

By Lynda McFarland

Food is one of life’s greatest pleasures. However, it should also be something that nourishes us, gives us energy, heals us when we are sick and indeed, prevent sickness. As a nutrition consultant and trained chef, I believe the nutritional properties, the flavour and the enjoyment of food are all equally important. After one month of healthy eating and lifestyle choices, a client told me he hadn’t felt that good in twenty years and his blood pressure and blood sugars were normal for the first time since he started checking them.

My clients come to see me with a variety of health issues including digestion, hormonal imbalances, low energy, respiratory issues, weight control, skin problems, poor sleep, blood sugar imbalance, heart health and low immunity and what they often find interesting is the overall connectedness of the human body. Various symptoms which they thought had no connection whatsoever often clear up once a healthy diet and lifestyle is put in place. Take the liver as an example, it plays a major role in hormone regulation in the body and is a vital digestive and detoxification organ so someone in need of nutritional and lifestyle liver support may be experiencing PMS, polycystic ovaries, endometriosis, sluggish digestion, nausea, difficulty digesting fats, fatigue, severe hangovers, skin problems etc. Another good example of the connectedness of the various bodily systems is the role of the endocrine system. The thyroid and adrenals are part of this system and from my experience, the vast majority of people have issues with one, if not both, of these organs. Symptoms can include low energy, hormonal imbalances, blood sugar dysregulation, digestive disturbances, inflammation and lowered immunity.

What is very positive and worth remembering though is that the body has an amazing ability to recover and bounce back once it is given the right support. Healthy eating need not be tasteless or boring, I try to encourage my clients to develop a passion for sourcing, cooking and eating good food. Good foods have all the natural flavour and nutrients, we just need to prepare and cook them in such a way that we are benefiting from these properties.

Recipes and nutrition & cookery wall-charts on www.athlonenutritionclinic.com or www.lyndamcfarland.com

Lynda holds private consultations, workshops and cookery demos in Athlone & Dublin.

Athlone Nutrition Clinic, 2 Garden Vale, Athlone.

Phone: 090 6470897 / 087 7927471

Hot Apple & Cinnamon Punch

1 litre good quality apple juice

2 cinnamon sticks

Orange slices

Cloves

Lemon zest

Grated ginger

Grated nutmeg

1. Place the cloves in the orange slices and heat everything together in a saucepan.

Treatment for IBS, IBD, food intolerances, bloating and other digestive issues at Athlone Nutrition Clinic

Did you know that approximately 70% of the immune system resides in the gut? And that problems associated with low stomach acid are more common than those with excess stomach acid; however both conditions have similar symptoms but very different treatment protocols. Also a lot of behavioural issues and mental ill-health problems have a connection with gut health, which if we stop to think about it makes perfect sense because if we are not absorbing nutrients properly our mental as well as physical health is going to suffer as a result. 

Food intolerances and a great deal of digestive problems are actually immune responses. When our digestion is impaired, food particles are not broken down effectively and this can lead to our immune systems responding to food as if it were an invader. 

Digestive issues can be treated in a very straight-forward manner once the under-lying issue is addressed. The body has an amazing ability to heal itself once the right support is given and it is worth knowing that complete recovery from digestive issues is achievable. No-one should have to live with digestive discomfort. The old adage "you are what you eat" is now being replaced by "you are what you digest and absorb" because the best diet in the world could be rendered useless if the food is not digested properly or the nutrients absorbed. 

Digestive health clinics take place at Athlone Nutrition Clinic, 2 Garden Vale, Athlone. Phone 090 6470897 or  087 7927471 for further info; alternatively check out www.athlonenutritionclinic.com

Ingredients:

A handful of nuts – almonds, hazelnuts etc. (roast them first for a nicer flavour)

A handful of dried fruit  - dates, apricots etc.

1 tbsp almond nut butter

2 tbsps dessicated coconut

Pinch of ground ginger

Method:

1. First grind up the nuts in a food processor; then add in all the other ingredients – you may need some liquid e.g. a little apple juice to gel the mix together.

2. Then roll into little balls and coat with a little extra coconut.

3. Refrigerate until ready to eat. Enjoy.

Eat Well, Feel Well - Health & Weight Management Programme

A 10-week pre-Christmas health and weight management programme is kicking off in Athlone Nutrition Clinic in Garden Vale. The one-to-one sessions guarantee results in both weight loss and health improvement by sensibly coaching participants to address sugar and carbohydrate cravings through blood sugar balancing and boost energy levels so that exercise is enjoyed and not dreaded.

The 10-weekly sessions involve initial completion of a comprehensive nutrition questionnaire and detailed food diary so that a specific individual plan can be drawn up to help kick-start the programme. Each subsequent weekly session will monitor results and focus on improving energy, digestion, sleep, mood, immunity and heart health. Participants will also be invited to attend optional cookery demonstrations taking place over  the course of the 10 weeks.

The programme does not involve counting points or calories but rather empowers participants with the knowledge to innately choose nutritious foods and the skills to prepare and enjoy them in a frame-work that suits their schedule and budget. The focus is very much on encouraging participants to develop a passion for eating and cooking good food and taking responsibility for one’s health.

Eat well today and prevent sickness in the future.

For details : Athlone Nutrition Clinic, 2 Garden Vale – phone: 090 6470897 / 087 7927471

www.athlonenutritionclinic.com

http://www.advertiser.ie/athlone/article/43566/eat-well-feel-well

http://www.advertiser.ie/athlone/article/42803