Black Bean Seaweed Salad

By on May 14, 2012 in recipes, salad, superfoods

The sun is shining and the hot weather has arrived. This taste-bud pleasing salad is a must for picnics and BBQ’s. It is incredibly easy and can be made in about 10 minutes or less. The secret ingredient will help speed up your metabolism, keep reading to find out! Ready?

Here is what you will need:

2 cups black beans (if you are choosing canned I recommend Eden Organics)

1 cup grape tomatoes

1 red pepper diced

1/2 cup cilantro chopped

juice of 2 limes

1 tbsp kelp powder

1 ripe avocado

sea salt & pepper to taste

optional: 1 tbsp olive oil

In a bowl combine black beans, tomatos, peppers, cilantro, lime juice & kelp powder. Top with salt, pepper, and avocado. Gently mix in the avocado.

Kelp – a type of seaweed – is a rich source of iodine which helps the thyroid function and speed up metabolism. Side effects may include weight loss, improved energy, and quality sleep.

Enjoy!

xoxo

Kat

Registered Holistic Nutritionist

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The Secret to Balance: Trust Your Internal Guide

By on April 22, 2012 in lifestyle

When I am not listening to my inner guide I have a hard time feeling balanced in my life. You know when your inner guide (your intuition) signals something, but that devil hanging out on your back talks to you and convinces you otherwise? That’s what I am referring to.

Trust your internal guide and you will find balance. That’s the secret. Trust.

It’s not necessarily ‘negative-talk’ from that little guy on your back, although might commonly be referred to as that. The voices are testing you, they are there to strengthen your own beliefs and values, to ensure that they are rooted deep. That they are your truth.

Let’s bring this lesson into eating choices. My inner guide was telling me to eat meat again. Specifically fish and chicken. My body craves it at this time in my life. There were voices in my head testing me, making sure that my values were in check and that I was OK with introducing animals into my meal. In the span of a week I met 3 vegans, 2 of which were raw foodists and spreading the joy of a vegan lifestyle. Test.

There was a time in my life when the vegan lifestyle was right for me. My body craved legumes, nuts and seeds, tempeh, whole grains, vegetables and salads. There was a time in my life when a vegetarian lifestyle was right for me and I enjoyed all the foods that I did eating vegan, but also consumed goat cheese, yogurt and eggs.

Do we need to define ourselves for life? Or should we go with the flow of life, listening to our body and its’ needs in different stages?

Should we eat for health?

The guy hanging out on my back put up a huge fight when I was lead to consuming meat again. “But you’ll seem like a flake”, “a plant based diet is the healthiest choice”, “it’s the only way to maintain your weight”, “you must restrict food groups to stay healthy, or skinny, or lose weight”, “what will your friends say to you, what will they think of you for ‘giving up’ this lifestyle choice?”

In the end my internal guide won the battle. This self-judgement and external judgement, I realized, didn’t matter to me…nor did most of it exist outside of my mind.

I trust. I feel balanced.

Please comment, question, criticize :-)

xxoo

Katherine Feeney, RHN


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Pregnant or Considering (Someday)? 5 Awesome Health Tips

By on April 17, 2012 in Uncategorized

If you are currently pregnant or considering conception it is important to take a look at your health. Men, this includes you too! Here are 5 things that you can do to make this stage in your life happy & healthy. It’s never too late to improve your physical and emotional health. It’s also never  too early to live healthily.

 

 1. Clean water: Depending on the water system in your area, tap water can contain chlorine, fluoride, and/or synthetic estrogens. To ensure a healthy immune system and increased chances of conceiving be sure to drink filtered water. It tastes better too!

 2. Clean food: Eating whole, unprocessed, hormone free foods to ensure that your body is equipped with all the nutrients required to help keep you healthy and grow a healthy baby. Eat a variety of foods and colours. Listen to your intuition, if you have cravings for foods (ice cream?) your body is most likely craving protein and fat. While it’s ok to reach for the ice cream sometimes, take a look at healthy ways to add protein and fat when these cravings arise. (Don’t fear, there will be more on this in future posts).

 3. Moderate exercise: Keep your body moving by walking, practicing yoga, hiking (perhaps not Kilimanjaro if you are pregnant) or your favourite  activity. We have all seen the super mom-to-be running races. If that feels right to you, go for it. But remember that pregnancy is a yin time where your body is reserving energy to build a baby. Dad-to-be, this includes you. Exercise will keep you energized and healthy to deal with lack of sleep once the baby comes along. Kids grow fast and you’ll want to keep up with them once they start running away.

 4. Supportive relationships: It is very helpful and important to continue to build the bond between you and your partner. Reaching out to the community and staying connected is also important. Your emotional health is extremely important both when trying to conceive and through pregnancy.

 5. BREATHE! Remember to breathe. Take deep breathes. Meditate, strike a yoga pose, sit, stand, whatever it takes remember to breathe and release tension and stress or whatever you might be carrying around with you.

Awesome news! You can now book in for consultations with me at my new office in North Vancouver at Canopy Integrated Health. I’m really excited about this next step in my business.

note: I’m still available via Skype (anywhere) & to come to your house if you live in the Vancouver area.

Lots of Love and Health,

Katherine, RHN

 

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a different approach to the anti-obesity & diet method

By on March 27, 2012 in Uncategorized

I was inspired after reading an article today titled “Pressures to diet weighing in on children”, published here. The article discusses how the message being sent today surrounding obesity and how preschool children are developing eating disorders. The number of children under 12 with eating disorders has risen noticeably.

With millions of dollars spent on diets and weight-loss programs each year, the obesity rate still continues to rise. Does anyone else see that this is NOT working? That dieting is NOT the answer to the obesity issue? Statistics show that over 95% of dieters regain the weight they lost and often even more.

Eating is a both physical (the need for nourishment) and emotional (the feeling of nourishment).

Connect With Food: The Answer to a Healthier Lifestyle

I propose a different approach to preventative health care wherein one of the results is a healthy body, but weight loss is not specifically the goal; proper nourishment is the goal. The real issue is that we are no longer connecting with our food. Most of us are not aware of where our food comes from, how it was prepared, and why eating whole foods is important to the health of our bodies and the health of the planet. Most of us don’t pay attention to how we feel after eating certain foods. If we do pay attention, we think it is normal to feel that way because “we always have”.

Changing Your Lifestyle: SLOW and Steady

It takes time to learn what your body needs, to understand your cravings, and to erase common health myths so that you can begin to focus on optimum nutrition.

The best way to make any BIG change is to take small steps. While some people are able to leap into something new without looking back, others take more time. I was part of the group that took a long time to change my lifestyle. Making sudden changes throws me off balance. If you are like me, slow and steady is the way to go.

Here are 3 things that helped me change my lifestyle & that I know will help change yours:

1. Drink more water. Drink more water. Keep drinking more water. Water is needed for every single function in the body including METABOLISM. If your metabolism is out of balance, drink more water. If you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Drink more water. And make it good quality. …I think you get it.

2. Each week or month set a goal that gets you excited. For example having a Kale Spa Smoothie for breakfast twice a week, having a dark leafy green salad before or with dinner, swapping 3 unhealthy snacks a week with a piece of fruit and nuts/seeds. Drinking 1 more glass of water each day until you reach 8. Or perhaps trying a new grain or recipe each week. Get excited about it and visualize how great you will feel after implementing your goal. Eat More Real Food. 

3. Focus on Whole Foods (you know, the ones that are unrefined, unchanged, not packaged) and the amazing delicious looking (and tasting) healthy recipes you want to try rather than looking back on the unhealthy ones that you know leave you feeling tired and sluggish. When we focus on what we can’t have, we want it more. Try something new at the farmers market, buy some local vegetables you’ve never eaten before. Trust me, there is a recipe waiting for you online.

Stay tuned for a new page on this website that will contain links to all the cookbooks I recommend for amazing, quick, inspiring, healthy recipes that everyone can and will enjoy. 

 

Happy Eating 

Katherine, RHN

 

 

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Quinoa Tempeh Stir Fry

By on March 2, 2012 in meals, recipes

This meal makes my cells happy & will make your cells happy too. This is a meal that will nourish your body, mind & soul with superb nutrients.

Quinoa Tempeh Stir Fry is excellent for rainy days, snowy days, sunny days, active days, inactive days, busy days….I think you get the point, this recipe is good any day! It’s also gluten free and dairy free!

What you’ll need:

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed

1 small – medium yam, chopped into cubes (leave the skin on = VITAMINS)

2 cups broccoli, chopped

1 block tempeh, chopped into 1 inch cubes (fermented soy, great for a healthy gut)

1 Tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp turmeric (anti-inflammatory properties!)

1 tsp cayenne (metabolism booster)

nutritional yeast to top it off (rich in Vitamin B12)

In a pot, bring 1.25 cups water + quinoa to a boil, reduce to simmer and add sweet potato then cover the pot. In a pan heat up 1/2 tbsp coconut oil on low-med heat and add the tempeh and broccoli. After 20 mins the quinoa and sweet potato will be cooked. Turn off stove and add the quinoa & sweet potato to the pan. Add spices & remaining oil, mix it up, serve on a plate. Top with nutritional yeast.

Enjoy!

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xxoo

Katherine, RHN

 

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