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This is a bit of a different style to the previous podcast/videos I’ve done which talk about conditions and naturopathy. In this episode Laura Burton and I talk about our favourite ‘health food’ items and discuss how we use them and what their benefits are. There are links to the items we mentioned in the podcast breakdown below.

But the most exciting bit about this video is that there’s a GIVEAWAY! The good folks at Loving Earth and the Gingerbread Folk have been particularly generous in donating some items for the giveaway, and Laura and I have chipped in a few goodies as well. Find the link to enter below.

Want to subscribe to get podcasts automatically? You can do that here: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/health-wellbeing-podcast/id1006574743

Laura is a clinical naturopath practicing in St Leonards and Dural. Her key areas of interest are female hormone disorders, digestive health, stress & adrenal fatigue. Through her clinical experience Laura has identified the prevalence of stress in our everyday lives and sees it as the most common cause or exacerbating factor of her patients health conditions. Laura believes that we need to get back to basics and work on our ability to release and manage stress in order to prevent and treat disease.

Last year Laura set herself the mission to reach beyond the walls of her clinics and send her de-stress message out to Australian and New Zealand households through the Burton Health Tea Club. Each month she sends love letters and tea packages to her members to inject joy and excitement into their days and to remind them to slow down, relax and reconnect while sipping on a cup of organic herbal tea.

You can connect with Laura via her website www.burtonhealth.com.au, on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.

If you’ve got something nice to say about the podcasts please leave a review on iTunes, but I’m also keen for any constructive feedback if you want to comment below!

Podcast Breakdown

2.00 Our favourite snacks

2.10 Nut Butter on brown rice crackers (Deli Grains with black sesame)

4.00 Pic’s Really Good Peanut Butter

4.20 Seaweed – Sea Shanti Sea Crisps and Sea Flakes

5.46 Bounce Balls

6.55 Miso Soup

8.07 Gluten free ginger bread – Gingerbread Folk

9.00 Crudites and dip (here are my recipes for guacamole and Baba Hummus)

9.25 Condiments

9.32 Ghee

10.22 Seaweed Salt 

11.23 Savoury Yeast Flakes

12.15 Honey

13.10 Maca Powder

14.11 Apple Cider Vinegar – try to get a brand that contains the ‘mother’ for probiotic content such as Melrose and/or Bragg

16.05 Saurkraut – Peace Love Vegetables or Kehoe’s

17.20 Coconut Oil – Melrose, Loving Earth, Coconut Magic

18.30 Great Lakes Gelatin (read more about gelatin here) Aussies can buy it here, but it’s also available on iherb here.

20.00 Jarred tomatoes – Blis, and BPA free tinned tomatoes from Global Organics

22.00 Achieving balance with the more expensive but ‘healthier’ options

23.53 Caramelised Buckinis – Loving Earth

24.35 Chia Seeds – The Chia Co

27.18 Sardines – Fish 4 Ever and Wild Planet

29.27 Raw cacao – Power Super Foods, Loving Earth

29.54 Cacao nibs – Loving Earth

31.06 Coconut sugar – Loving Earth

32.30 Our favourite drinks

32.40 Kombucha – Mojo, Tonicka, Remedy or make your own! (recipe coming soon)

35.08 Burton Health Tea – Shop Here

35.40 Coconut Water – Pure Natural Raw C

37.10 Keep Cup

38.10 Burton Health Tea Club –  Click here to learn more

40.34 GIVEAWAY!!! – Click here to learn more and to enter

The post Our Favourite Health Foods (PLUS A GIVEAWAY) – with guest Laura Burton appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

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Recipe by: Kellie Holland from Tonik Health

Love Banana bread but wish it was a bit better for you? Well wish no longer because this recipe gives your standard banana bread a health kick, and it tastes good too.

Egg free, gluten/wheat free, nut free, dairy free.

INGREDIENTS

• 1¾ cups spelt flour (for a gluten free version, use quinoa or coconut flour)
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1¼ tsp bicarb soda
• Pinch of Celtic sea salt
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 4 tbsp flaxseed oil (you can also use olive oil)
• 3 over ripe bananas

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees celsius. Grease a loaf tin with coconut oil and line with baking paper.
2. Sift the spelt flour, baking powder and bicarb into a bowl, mix through the salt.
3. In another bowl add the bananas and mash like crazy. Add in the vanilla, maple syrup and flaxseed oil and mix really well.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until your batter forms.
5. Pour into your prepared loaf tin, smooth the top out and for extra prettiness add half a banana (sliced lengthways) on top.
6. Add to the oven and cook for 45 minutes – check with a skewer to make sure it’s cooked through.
7. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve warm!

About Kellie:

The post Healthier Banana Bread appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

I love my dehydrator, and in summer I seem to have it running almost every second day. I like to make all sorts of snacks in it like jerky, kale chips, dried fruit and even good old fruit leather (I loved roll ups as a kid).

Store bought dried fruit often has sulphur added to preserve it and retain the colouring (especially so for apricots) which can flare up the symptoms of asthma and other allergies. Making it yourself is easy, affordable and satisfying.

These are some of my favourite things to make with the dehydrator, if you don’t have one at home you can use the oven at really low setting and it will usually turn out just as well.

Dried fruit

SO simple to do, all you need to do is to cut the fruit into bite sized pieces and lay them out on the trays, then dehydrate at the lowest setting for a few hours or until dry. They will keep for a month or so in an airtight container, if they don’t get eaten before then that is! 

Fruit leather

In a blender blitz the washed and diced fruit until it forms a paste. If you wish you can add a little water, sugar or lemon juice to thin it if if it particularly thick. If using fruits like plum, apple or pear you may need to cook them down a little first.

Line the dehydrator trays with baking paper (allowing a gap at the outside for air to move through) and pour on the paste, spreading into a thin layer. You could sprinkle with chia seeds at this stage to add a bit of extra crunch.

Dehydrate at the lowest setting for 4 hours or until it turns into the right texture (it may need longer but you don’t want it to dry out too much so check it every hour after 4 hrs).

Flavour ideas:

• Strawberry
• Strawberry and Peach
• Raspberry and Peach
• Blueberries and Pear
• Blueberries and Goji
• Banana and strawberry
• Banana and Peach
• Plums
• Green apple, cinnamon and baby spinach
• Apricot, honey and lemon

Kale chips

You can make these in the oven, but it’s also super simply to make these in the dehydrator. Just cut or tear the kale leaves into bite sized pieces and lay out on the trays. You can sprinkle with a little salt or spice. If you want to get fancy with oil based flavourings these may be best done in the oven.

‘Cheesy’ Capsicum and cashew kale chips

• ½ red capsicum (finely chopped)
• ½ cup nutritional yeast
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 cup cashews, soaked overnight
• Pinch of garlic powder, cumin, smokey paprika, cayenne (optional)
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 bunch kale (the curly leafed version is best)

In a small blender whiz up a handful of pre-soaked cashews, half a capsicum (finely chopped), lemon juice, nutritional yeast, the spices, salt and pepper. Blitz together until it forms a paste, adding a little water if needed to make it blend more easily.

Wash and dry the kale and spread the paste onto the leaves, trying to get it evenly distributed. It probably won’t stick to it perfectly, so you’ll need to pat some extra on once you’ve laid them out.

Spread the kale leaves onto the dehydrator trays and leave to dehydrate at 45C for a few hours or until crispy. Alternatively you can lay them on a tray and bake in the oven at a low heat for 40-50 minutes.

The post Dehydrator Fun appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.