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Our bodies are detoxing all the time through our livers, kidneys, lungs, skin. But depending on the diet, lifestyle, quality of the air we breath, how much chemicals we are exposed to, it's good to give our bodies the extra support to help it to detoxify. One of the ways is to provide the body detoxifying foods. Below salad is an inspiration from Liana Werner-Gray book: Anxiety-Free With Food. And since I had another fresh batch of broccoli sprouts and we had our family Easter lunch coming up, I decided to prepare this salad. You can learn more about the benefits of sprouts and how to sprout at home here. Spring detox salad For 8 people Ingredients For the salad: 3 oranges, peel away the outside and the skin as well, slice thinly 2 cups of baby spinach leaves and arugula leaves 1 red onion, thinly sliced (you can also soak the slices in a slightly salted water to reduce the strong taste of onion if you want to) 2 avocados, peeled and sliced 250g of snap peas, washed, ends removed and cut into smaller pieces For the salad dressing: 1 tbsp of cold pressed sesame oil 3 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil 1 tbsp of maple syrup Juice of half a lemon 2 tbsp of freshly squeezed orange juice Black pepper and sea salt to taste For the salad garnish: 2 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds (I used a mix of white and black) Handful of chopped fresh parsley Handful of chopped fresh cilantro 1 cup of broccoli sprouts Instructions Put the washed baby spinach and arugula leaves on a big serving plate. Add the orange slices, sliced avocado, red onion slices and snap pea pieces. Mix together all the salad dressing ingredients in a jar, shake well and pour over the salad. Garnish the salad with cilantro, parsley, toasted sesame seeds and finally top with broccoli sprouts. We enjoyed the salad with slow-cooked pieces of lamb. You can enjoy it with a protein of your choice- baked chicken, fish, red meat etc.

I belong to the club of 'Chocolate lovers'. Dark chocolate contains magnesium, iron, manganese, copper, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, vitamin K, selenium and calcium and also fibre to contribute to better digestion. Dark chocolate is also good for: heart health (thanks to flavonols) improving cholesterol profile (thanks to cocoa butter and polyphenols) improving blood pressure (as it increases nitric acid in the body) brain health (as the flavonols are said to increase the blood flow to the brain) cancer prevention (thanks to flavonoids and antioxidants) skin health due to helping with hydration and blood flow to the skin stress reduction Considering the above and that dark chocolate also contains serotonin and tryptophan- feel good hormones- what's there not to like about dark chocolate. But it's important to choose the right kind of dark chocolate- with more than 70% cocoa content (higher -percentage dark chocolate contains a higher percentage of anti-oxidants). I like dark chocolate with 90-100% cocoa content, but it's a matter of preference. The darker the chocolate, the less you want to eat it as normally one to two squares of dark chocolate is satisfying enough if you slowly let it melt on your tongue. Always check the content of the dark chocolate you purchase, the less ingredients the better and ideally purchase organic where possible. The main ingredients of good quality dark chocolate are cacao or cocoa, cocoa butter or coconut oil. If they have been sweetened, better options are sweetened with coconut sugar, honey, pure maple syrup or raw cane sugar. The darker the chocolate you choose, the lower the sugar content. Also, do know that lecithin is not necessary to make chocolate, which is added to many supermarket chocolates to help to blend the flavours and keep the cocoa and cocoa butter from separating. In Estonia you can purchase good dark chocolate for example from Biomarket (like the brand Vivani), Ökosahver (like the brand Rapunzel), Chocolala, Roosiku. I also enjoy visiting Chocokoo as I know they make their chocolate with passion and dedication and customer service is always great there. If you live in Estonia and can recommend some good dark chocolate brands, please put them in the comments below. Here are some organic dark chocolate brands to try outside Estonia: Alter Eco, Hu Kitchen, Mast, Raaka, Evolved, Venchi. And if you want to explore the best tasting chocolates awarded by the International Chocolate Awards, visit this site. But back to banana bread recipe. Below recipe is gluten, refined sugar and lactose free, but having the moist from apple sauce, sweetness from bananas and maple syrup and beautiful flavour from chocolate. Banana bread for chocolate lovers 1 loaf Ingredients 4 ripe bananas 2 eggs 2 tablespoons of apple sauce (I peel, boil and blend the apples to make the sauce and freeze in smaller quantities to use in recipes) 1 tsp of cinnamon 1 tbsp of vanilla extract 2 tbsp of maple syrup 1 1/2 cups of almond flour 1tsp of baking powder 1 tsp of baking soda 1/2 tsp of sea salt 100g of chopped dark chocolate Handful of chopped walnuts Instructions Preheat the oven to 175 degrees (350F). Grease a loaf pan and set aside. Mash or grate the bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix eggs, maple syrup, apple sauce, vanilla extract with the bananas. In a separate bowl mix together the almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add the flour mixture into the banana mixture and stir until properly mixed. Add in the chopped walnuts and dark chocolate. Mix through. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until the toothpick inserted in the centre of the bread comes out clean. Cool down the bread, slice and enjoy!

This recipe was shared with me by a friend and is from one of the very first health promoting persons, Jessica Sepel, I started to follow and read books from back in 2017. She inspired me to take my own health to another level with her books The Healthy Life and Living the Healthy Life. As I very often do, I modify the recipes where I see necessary. Since quitting eating refined sugar foods in 2017 my tastebuds have shifted quite a bit and I am sensitive to too sweet foods. So I have modified also this recipe from Jessica Sepel to include less sweetness. Sweet potato and caramelised red onion salad Serves 4-6 people Ingredients 1 large sweet potato, peeled and sliced into bite size pieces 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil Sprinkle of sea salt 2 red onions, finely chopped Olive oil, ghee or avokado oil for frying 1 tbsp of balsamic glaze (I had ran out of balsamic vinegar) 2 cups of baby spinach leaves 1/2 cup of toasted almond flakes Goat's cheese or feta cheese to crumble on top (I used both) For the dressing: 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar 2 tsp of Dijon mustard 2 tsp of maple syrup 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon Instructions Preheat the oven to 200C degrees (395F). Line a baking tray with baking paper. Spread the sweet potato pieces on the baking tray, drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil and sprinkle over sea salt. Mix well. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. To make the caramelised onions, heat the the olive oil, avocado oil or ghee on the pan, add in the onions and sauté for 4 minutes over medium high heat. Then add the balsamic glaze to the onions. Cook for 7-10 minutes until the onions are caramelised. To make the dressing, put all the ingredients in the jar, close with the lid and shake properly. To assemble the salad, take a nice big salad plate, lay the washed baby spinach leaves at the bottom, then add sweet potato pieces, toasted almond flakes, caramelised onion, feta or goat cheese and drizzle with the salad dressing. Enjoy! If you are looking for some more salad recipes, you can also try this sweet potato and beetroot salad or grilled fig, pear and goat's cheese salad.

It's almost impossible to find a healthy granola from the shop in Estonia- majority of them have added ingredients like cane sugar, glycose-fructose syrup, cane molasses, palm oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, wheat, wheat flour, corn starch, syrup, emulsifiers, flavourings. If you do pick granola from the shop, always check the ingredients list and nutritional value. I have written an article how to shop healthy at the grocery store and how to read product labels. It's important to read labels with packaged foods like granola, especially if you eat it on a frequent basis, as it can just mean that you are having a dessert for breakfast. That takes your body on a blood sugar rollercoaster ride from the morning. If you don't know why is blood sugar balance important for good health, read this article. Below are some examples of the granolas sold in store in Estonia and their sugar content: Kelloggs Crunchy Nut contains 19g of sugar per 100g, which is 4 tsp of sugar. Nestle Fitness Granola Honey contains 17.9g of sugar per 100g, which is 4 tsp of sugar. Sante Crunchy fruit contains 21g of sugar per 100g, which is 5 tsp of sugar. Axa wholegrain granola with chocolate, almonds & cashews contains 21.2g of sugar per 100g, which is 4 tsp of sugar. Lizi's granola with chocolate contains 15.5g of sugar per 100g, which is 3.8g of sugar Granola ICA with dates and almonds contains 13g of sugar per 100g, which is 3.2 tsp of sugar. As I can't find a good granola from the store, I am making my own. Below is a recipe, I tried from Liana-Werner Gray the other weekend and modified it a little. You can change up the nuts and dried fruit or add extra as you prefer. Homemade granola recipe Ingredients 1 cup of oats (I buy these gluten free oats) 1 1/2 cups of almond butter (you can also use sunflower seed butter, cashew butter) 1/2 cup of almond flour 2 tablespoons of honey 1/4 cup of chia seeds 1/4 cup of hemp seeds 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts 1/2 cup of almond flakes 6 dates, pitted and chopped 2 tablespoons of coconut oil 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt 1/2 cup of goji berries 1/2 cup of cocoa nibs 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon of cardamon Toppings Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, crushed linseeds etc Instructions Preheat the oven to 160C (325F). Mix all the ingredients thoroughly in the bowl till they stick together. Put the mixture on the lined baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Enjoy with almond milk, coconut milk, yoghurt or with a milk of your choice. I have also a muesli recipe in my blog if you are looking to make a non- crunchy version.

Are you one of those women, who puts herself an intense training plan in place and follows it no-matter what? Maybe you like HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), cross-fit, running, spinning classes, hard-core training classes, hitting gym to do heavy weight-lifting several times a week etc. You might be the one who says, I am going to take up running and then run every day of the week for 5-10 kilometres. Some weeks are harder than the other ones, but you still keep pushing. Or you might be the one, who really listens to your body and gives it exercise what it wants and when it wants- I am happy for you to be in-tune with your body. Unfortunately I know many women who don't do it and who go and exercise hard all the time. I have been in the past one of them as well. In recent months, I have been listening to a few doctors like Dr. Stephanie Estima sharing how our hormones work, how women should exercise and eat based on their monthly cycle and this is what I want to share below. Photo: Unsplash Why you want to eat and exercise according to your cycle? As you know, when it comes to hormones, we women are different. During the course of 4 weeks every month our hormones like oestrogen, testosterone, progesterone either go up or go down. This has an impact on our mood, our energy levels, our eating habits, but also on our fertility, our libido. In order to experience your body the best possible way you need to get to know your body. Each of the menstrual phases actually need specific diet and exercise to help your hormones function as they should. Our hormones are impacted by what we eat, how we eat, our lifestyle- sleep, exercise, stress management. Many women tend do the same thing week in week out- we eat the same way, we do the same workouts, but often we are still struggling with weight issues, with mood issues. Our bodies don't operate that way- they need different treatment at different times of the month. Same happens in the nature, the tides come and go, the seasons change, mornings turn into evenings. You must have also heard about moon cycle. If our bodies are in balance, we tend to align with the nature, where we ovulate during the full moon. Our body is more fertile when the earth is most fertile. If we learn to eat, exercise, live more based on our cycles, we become more balanced, more productive and more in tune with our bodies. Courtney Bursich says if you really tune into your body, you can actually experience all four seasons during the monthly cycle. I have written in the past as well about how to eat right for your monthly cycle, so do refer to this article as well, where I write also about seed cycling and how it can support your hormones. How to eat and exercise based on your cycle? Week 1- Menstrual phase The week starts when your menstruation starts. Most of the hormones during this week are relatively low. This is the winter season of your monthly cycle. During this time it's good to rest more, do introspective work, journal, set some intentions for the rest of the month. As your left and right brain are also more balanced during this week you are able to connect more emotional and factual things- therefore you can make better decisions. From a diet point of view it's a good week to try more ketogenic way of eating- high quality fat, moderate protein and low carbohydrate. Think around 70% fat, 20% protein, 10% carbohydrates. It's also good to focus on consuming blood building foods like organ meats (liver, heart, kidneys), dark green leafy vegetables, beetroot, sweet potatoes, red peppers, garlic, cherries, raisins, beans and lentils, nuts and seeds, eggs, red meat, turkey, chicken, shellfish, oysters, fermented dairy products, cheese. This is a good week to focus on slower pace exercise- walking, yoga, pilates. Week 2- Follicular phase This is the week after your menstruation. Oestrogen and testosterone are starting to increase. This is the spring season of your monthly cycle. Since your energy levels are increasing, you are able to be more productive. You experience good problem solving capabilities, better verbal skills. It's good to execute on projects and take on speaking engagements. This is the time, where you get work done. From a diet point of view, double the intake of protein and carbohydrates. Try 40% fat, 40% protein, 20% carbohydrates from your meals in a day . Focus on eating the rainbow (broccoli, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, yams, green leafy vegetables etc). During this week, you tend to consume less calories, burn more fat, put on more muscle. If you can show up for yourself in terms of exercise till ovulatory phase, you will see more muscle growth. This is a good time to use heavy weights in the gym. Try and stay away from heavy cardio as our tendons tend to be stiff this week. Light jog or elliptical are good choices. Week 3- Ovulatory phase This is the summer season of your monthly cycle and the pinnacle of your cycle. This is the time where we women feel the best- we are more social, glowing, libido is high. This week is a good week to return to a ketogenic diet, but add in more resistant starches (for example cooked and cooled rice and potato, green bananas, legumes, oats, whole grains, seeds). Try to eat 70% healthy fat, 20% protein, 10% carbohydrates in your meals during the day. From exercise point of view it's good to focus on strength training: 8-12 repetitions for the weights you lift. Week 4- Luteal phase This is is the autumn season of your cycle. Oestrogen level is starting to come down and progesterone is starting to rise. This is the time to slow down. Consume 40% fat, 40% protein and 20% carbohydrates during your meals. As your body is naturally hungrier this week, don't deprive it of food. It's best to avoid hard exercise during this week of the month. Try yoga, pilates- exercises that are putting you in a rested state. If you want to lift weights in the gym, go for lighter weights with 15-20 repetitions. We tend to be more inflamed during this week, therefore exercise and muscle contraction helps to release anti-inflammatory compounds. Alcohol consumption We want to be mindful of our liver, especially women in their 40s and 50s, when we consume alcohol. With the age our metabolism slows down, we become more insulin resistant, we loose muscle, we gain more fat. Liver has a very important role in the body, amongst many other functions creating hormones and detoxifying our bodies of excess hormones. Alcohol, environmental toxins, what we put onto our bodies (cosmetics), into our bodies (food, pharmaceuticals) etc all puts strain on our liver. If our liver is sluggish, it affects the rest of the body. Learn from here how you can support your liver health. Intermittent fasting and cycle It's important for women to be in tune with their bodies and not practice long fasts, especially if you are stressed, have eating disorders. In the first week of our cycle our bodies can handle fasts better, so you could try a day of water fast. If you have PCOS- then you can practice water fasts throughout your cycle. In the second week of your cycle you can practice intermittent fasting or time-restricted eating. Eat for example in 8 hour eating window. But don't practice extended period of time with no food. In luteal phase, if you have hormonal issues, you tend to have more issues with sleep, your rings on your fingers might get tighter, you tend to retain more water, your bowel movements slow down. If you have oestrogen dominance, you could try bone broth fast (helps to reduce inflammation in the body). You can learn more about intermittent fasting from this article. As you can see, not all weeks are the same when it comes to hormones and it's good to have a different approach caring for your body. Learning how your body is evolving during your cycle every month can help to use your menstrual cycle to your advantage and provide better functioning. You will be more balanced and more productive as a person. If you are not someone who tracks your cycle yet, I can recommend Flo, an app I have used for years to track my monthly cycle. If you have health goals you want to reach, whether it's around weight, stress management, sleep, exercise, don't hesitate to reach out to me for health and nutrition coaching at info@katrinpeo.com.

I have covered bone broth topic in the past, but feel it's such a great addition to a health-promoting diet, I wanted to cover it again and share some different ways you can make it at home and how to use bone broth in your daily cooking. Bone broth is one of the top health foods for human body. It heals and supports gut health, it's easy to digest, nutrient-dense and rich in flavour. Bones, skin, feet, tendons, marrow, ligaments, that we can't eat are boiled and simmered over a period of time to help to release healing compounds like collagen, glycine, proline, glutamine. Bone broth contains minerals like magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, silicon, sulphur. It also contains chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine which are know to help reduce joint pain, arthritis and inflammation. Bone broth helps with: metabolism immune function by helping healing leaky gut maintaining healthy skin (contains also hyaluronic acid) the growth of good bacteria in the gut fighting food sensitivities expelling waste, supporting liver's function with detoxification supporting bone and cartilage health due to being a natural source of gelatine and collagen The best way to get the best bone broth is to make it yourself at home. You can make it from chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, fish and more. I tend to either buy a whole chicken, first make couple of dishes from roast chicken and the use the bones from the chicken to make the bone broth. Or I go to the market and buy some different bones, bone marrow, etc. I use a 5 litre slow-cooker pot for making the broth and glass jars to store them. But you can use a 3l or 5l stainless steel pot and simmer it on the stove as well. I typically put one third of of the broth in the fridge to use during the week and the rest in the freezer to use during the following week or two (remember to leave 1.5cm free space at the top of the glass jar and also put the lid on loosely- I also put the jars in a leak proof plastic bag to avoid any accidents in the freezer but so far haven't had them). With all of the below recipes peel and chop the vegetables coarsely. I cook bone broth anything from 8h to 10h, but you can also go longer. A good time to use to cook the broth is during the weekend when you are at home. Asian broth (filtered water, chicken bones, 2 onions with skin, 1 head of garlic, 2.5cm of fresh ginger root, 3 celery stalks, 3 carrots, 3 cups of shiitake mushrooms, 1 lemongrass stalk, 1 tsp chilli flakes, 1.5 tsp sea salt) Beef broth (filtered water, beef bones (ideally grass-fed), 6 celery stalks, 2 carrots, 1 tbsp of black peppercorns, 1tbsp of sea salt, 2tbsp of raw apple cider vinegar, 3 bay leaves, 3 parsley stems). You can boost your broth with 1/2tsp of ground turmeric, dry basil. You can also roast the bones a bit in the oven to get deeper flavour to the broth. Chicken broth (filtered water, chicken bones, 1 red onion with skin, 1 yellow onion with skin, 3 carrots, one bunch of celery with leaves, 1 head of garlic, 1 branch of fresh rosemary, 2tbsp of raw apple cider vinegar, 3 bay leaves) Fish broth (filtered water, fish bones, shrimp shells, 1 onion skin on, 1 head of garlic, 2 carrots, 3 celery stalks, 2.5cm fresh ginger root, 2tbsp raw apple cider vinegar, 1tsp of turmeric or 2.5cm fresh turmeric root, 1tbsp of fresh parsley stems, 1tsp of sea salt Galangal broth- for people who are vegetarian, vegan, histamine sensitive, this is a good recipe to try. Use filtered water, 2 carrots, 6 celery stalks including greens, 3 bay leaves, 3 green onions, 1 garlic head, 2.5cm of galangal (if fresh root) or a 5 slices of dried galangal, 2 stalks of lemongrass, 4 kaffir leaves, 1tsp of black pepper, 1tsp of sea salt. Use fresh cilantro springs for serving. You can also omit galangal and add for example dried thyme, dried basil, ground turmeric. Ways to use bone broth in cooking: as a liquid base for soups (you can also use meat stock as a base) sip hot bone broth on its own to sooth a sore throat or aching stomach use in stews and casseroles for more flavour make your savoury porridge with bone broth (oat, rice, quinoa, buckwheat, millet in gravies and sauces make cauliflower rice with bone broth in mashed celery root or sweet potato when steaming and sautéing vegetables with scrambled eggs (add also some turmeric, cilantro add it to a homemade beef liver or chicken liver pate If you are struggling to make your own broth, there are companies who produce them as well for convenience (always check the ingredients). In Estonia Food Studio makes good broths. I have also heard of the following companies being recommended outside of Estonia: Kettle and Fire, Fond. If you know of any other good ones, please do add them to the comments below. I have also used bone broth protein in my morning smoothies- I love the airy consistency it gives to the smoothie besides it's health benefits. Ancient Nutrition and Paleo Valley are two I know who produce bone broth protein. If you want to improve your cooking skills at home for better health, better gut and liver support, better skin health, contact me for health and nutrition coaching at info@katrinpeo.com.

Our brain is the most complex organ in the body. This 1.3kg control and command centre contains more than 80 billion neurones, which facilitate every action, every feeling and every thought in our bodies. Brain contains also blood vessels and capillaries, which provide brain cells with the oxygenated and rich blood they need in order to thrive. There are also hormones, neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin etc) that help pass neural messages from cell to cell. Photo source: Unsplash Our brains consume 20 percent of everything we eat and the foods we consume provide the nutrients and energy to produce and support each element that makes up our brains. For example B vitamins help with conducting nerve impulses; selenium, magnesium, zinc provide building blocks to form cells and brain tissue, but also help with synthesising neurotransmitters. If our bodies are deprived of any of the below brain-healthy nutrients- our mood, cognition, overall function will ultimately suffer. If we don't consume enough B12, iron and folate containing foods, our bodies can't make the adequate levels of serotonin, which is important mood-enhancing chemical. People who have experienced depression, anxiety, brain trauma know how brain has the influence to affect your overall wellbeing dramatically. I have experienced it first-hand and know the importance of food as one of the several pillars important for healing from brain injuries, brain surgeries, reduce anxiety and depression. In the below article I will cover the 14 nutrients that are important for better brain health, why they are needed and how to get them from foods. Vitamin A Carotenoids, like lycopene, serve as an antioxidant and protect the brain; lutein and zeaxanthin protect your vision. Found in chicken liver, beef liver, sweet potato, mustard greens, carrot, pumpkin, butternut squash, kale, broccoli, spinach, red bell pepper, green peas, tomato, butter, egg yolk, cod liver oil, raw whole milk, cheese, mango, papaya, peach, cantaloupe melon, dried apricots, oatmeal, basil. Vitamin B1 (thiamine) Thiamine helps to turn glucose for usable energy. Low thiamine will contribute to low energy, apathy, brain fog and irritability. Found in nutritional yeast, spirulina and other seaweeds, sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts, pecan nuts, black beans, lentils, organic soybeans, navy beans, white beans, pinto beans, mung beans, peas, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, beef liver, pork, trout. Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) Important for tryptophan production (mood enhancing hormone and precursor for serotonin), helps to fights inflammation, reduces homocysteine (build up of this amino acid causes inflammation), lowering depression. Found in turkey breast, wild salmon, grass-fed beef, chicken, pistachios, tuna, pinto beans, avocado, blackstrap molasses, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, chickpeas, bananas, potatoes. Vitamin B9 (folate) Folate regulates mood, sense of pleasure and clarity of thinking. Also, folate processes homocysteine. Found in chickpeas, Brussel sprouts, asparagus, lentils, black-eyed peas, chicken liver, beef liver, spinach (cooked), Romaine lettuce, avocado, broccoli Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) Protects your brain cells, needed for making serotonin and dopamine, reduces inflammation (homocysteine) Found in beef liver, sardines, Atlantic mackerel, lamb, wild-caught salmon, nutritional yeast, feta cheese, grass-fed beef, cottage cheese, eggs, oysters, mussels, clams. Vitamin C It’s highly concentrated in the cerebral spinal fluid that surrounds your brain and is important for cognitive performance Found in black currant, red pepper, green bell pepper kiwi, guava, orange, strawberries, papaya, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, parsley, pineapple, mango, lemon, grapefruit, honeydew melon, peas, tomatoes. Choline Needed for brain development, function, learning and memory. Found in beef liver, salmon, chickpeas, navy beans, eggs, grass-fed beef, turkey, chicken, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, scallops, goat milk Iron You need iron in the form of hemoglobin to transport oxygen to the brain. Iron helps to make serotonin, dopamine (feel good hormones). Found in spirulina, beef and chicken liver, grass-fed beef, lentils, dark chocolate (85% cocoa), spinach, sardines, black beans, pistachios, raisins, pumpkin seeds, eggs, chickpeas, kale, chicken, sesame seeds, oysters. Here I have a full article on the importance of iron and iron rich foods. Magnesium Important for the proper function of the nerve cells and brain cells; stimulates brain growth, helps to control blood sugar. Found in seaweed, amaranth, cooked spinach, kale, chard, sunflower seeds, black beans, mung beans, soybeans, mackerel, cashews, flaxseeds, almonds, dark chocolate, pumpkin seeds, avocado, banana, broccoli, Brussels sprouts. Here is my detailed article on magnesium and magnesium rich foods. Monounsaturated fats Both monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are important for brain health, helping lowering depression. Found in olive oil, beef, fish, almonds, salmon, flaxseed oil, hemp seeds, mustard, grass-fed meat Omega- 3 fats DHA especially (in fish) in Omega-3 helps to build brain cells, fight inflammation in the brain. Found in wild salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring, cod liver oil, tuna, caviar, oysters, walnuts, leafy greens, ground flaxseeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, soybeans, natto, egg yolks. Potassium Every nerve impulse and each of your heart beats depends on potassium. Caffeine can negatively affect potassium absorption. Found in avocado, lima beans, Swiss chard, beet greens, acorn squash, kale, spinach, sweet potato, wild-caught salmon, dried apricots, pomegranate, coconut water, white beans, banana, broccoli, sardines, peas, beets, grapefruit. Selenium Selenium helps with the production of glutathione (an important antioxidant in your brain), improves blood flow. Offers protection from oxidative damage. Found in Brazil nuts, salmon, tuna, halibut, shrimp, lobster, turkey, cottage cheese, chicken, mushrooms, eggs, navy beans, sardines, sunflower seeds, grass-fed beef, oats, beef liver. Excess selenium can be toxic, therefore supplement only short period of time. Zinc Zinc is key to your immune function, which protects you from infections, excess inflammation, and cancer. Found in oysters, lamb, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, grass-fed beef, chickpeas, lentils, cocoa, cashews, kefir, yoghurt, ricotta cheese, mushrooms, spinach, avocado, chicken, almonds, eggs. Food has the power to improve mental health, preventing conditions like anxiety and depression or helping to alleviate these symptoms. It's our choice how we want to feed our brain. If you have health goals you want to reach, health challenges you are trying to conquer and are looking for a health and nutrition coach to support you on your wellness journey, don't hesitate to reach out to me at info@katrinpeo.com.

I love making salads and try out new recipes. For this Christmas, to accompany the the usual roasted pork, roasted potatoes, sauerkraut, I decided to try a recipe from Max Lugavere from his Genius Kitchen cookbook. But as I did not have all the ingredients and I did not want to make the salad as acidic, I modified the recipe a little bit. Also, as not everyone loves the taste of fennel (I happen to love it), I topped half of the salad with fennel and left the other half without it. But everyone said, it was a lovely salad. Citrus salad with avocado, fennel and pomegranate Serves 8 people Ingredients Salad dressing 2 shallots, finely minced juice and zest of 1 lemon (buy organic if possible) 1/5 of a cup red wine vinegar 1/2 cup of extra-virgin olive oil 2 tsp of Dijon mustard 4 cups of rucola, rinsed and dried (I used the salad spinner) 1 bulb of fennel, thinly sliced 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into matchsticks 1 grapefruit, peeled and cut into smaller pieces (best if you also remove the inner skin between the slices) 4 oranges, peeled and cut into smaller pieces (recipe called for blood oranges, but could not find them in the store, so used normal oranges) 8 kumquats, peeled and thinly sliced 4 avocados, peeled and thinly sliced Arils (seeds) of one ripe pomegranate 1 cup of chopped fresh mint Instructions Mix in a bowl together all the salad dressing ingredients and leave to stand. I used a large salad plate, laid the rucola salad on the plate. Then added then apples, oranges, grapefruit, kumquats, avocados and topped with pomegranate arils and chopped mint. Finally I spread the salad dressing with a tablespoon evenly over the salad.

I attended a full day Pharma Nord seminar on health and beauty last weekend, where dr. Hiie Wipf, who is an endocrinologist as well as the owner of the anti-aging aesthetic clinic in Estonia, gave a very thorough overview of how our health and wellness affects our skin and vice versa. As skin is our largest organ (a side note, that our largest internal organ is our liver and the largest immune-organ is our gut), it's vital to take care of it, both inside and outside. In the below post I share what I learnt in the seminar. Photo: Unsplash What influences skin ageing? There are multiple things that can speed up your skin ageing- it's good to evaluate in your own life, which area needs attention- where could you bring more health and balance: Nutrition Smoking Stress Lack of sleep Environment Sun radiation Pollution Extreme temperatures Our genes determine the type of our skin, whether it's normal, dry, oily or mixed and the colour of our skin. You can influence a lot how fast your skin ages with your lifestyle. What shorten the telomeres and how can you preserve them? Telomeres are segments of DNA at the end of our chromosomes, that control ageing. For better understanding, they are often compared to the plastic tips at the end of our shoe laces, that keep the laces together. Telomeres also help similarly preventing chromosomes from tangling with each other or fraying. If that happens, it can cause genetic information to get mixed up or destroyed, causing cell malfunction and therefore leading to disease or shorter lifespan. Each time a cell divides, its telomeres get shorter. If telomeres get too short, cell becomes inactive or dies. This is how our body ages, but this is also what causes cancer and higher risk of death. Things that shorten telomeres: Age Stress Smoking Alcohol Environment toxins Viruses Chronic infection Hormonal dysbiosis Hormones regulate our body's activity, keeping glycose, electrolytes, water, calcium and functions (sleep, cell regeneration, mood, motivation, libido, growth, appetite, satiety, etc in their normal borders and in balance). We have over 40 different hormones, produced by different organs in our body. You might know thyroid hormones (TSH, T3, T4), stress hormones (cortisol), sleep hormone (melatonin), a feel good hormone (dopamine), a love hormone (oxytocin), hunger hormone (ghrelin), satiety hormone (leptine) etc. As we age, several of our hormones decline, including testosterone, oestrogen, melatonin, growth hormone, pregnenolone, which affect our health, like for example: poor sleep (supplemental melatonin affects our sleep, but it's not a sleep medicine, it's more a sleep rhythm regulator) increased blood sugar slower digestion lower bone density body fat percentage increase But there are also hormones that increase as we age, like TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone), FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone), LH (Luteinizing Hormone), norepihephrin, epinephrin, parathyroid hormone. How can you preserve telomeres so you can stay healthier, feel and look younger when you age: Eat a variety of foods for vitamin and antioxidant benefits, including healthy fats Regular physical activity Get quality sleep Control and reduce stress, practice yoga and meditation Get fresh air, walk in nature Practice intermittent fasting Consume collagen rich foods and take small doses of supplemental collagen D-vitamin (from sun, foods and through supplementation) E-vitamin Astralagus What are the important nutrients for the healthy looking body and skin? Our skin is the protection barrier, immune system frontline, sensing organ and vitamin factory. Below is a list of nutrients that's needed for healthy looking skin. Though I always recommend food first approach to get your vitamins, minerals, essential fats from whole foods, supplementation might be necessary to get to a good level for a specific person. Omega 3 Regulates skin oil production Improves balanced hydration Slows ageing May help to slow down or prevent acne Best source is animal source by consuming oily fish (salmon, sardine, mackerel, herring, anchovies) and other fish as they contain both the EPA an DHA. Plant sources like walnuts, chia seeds, hemp seeds, flaxseeds also contain omega-3, but they contain ALA, which take a lot of energy from your body to convert to DHA and EPA. Vitamin C Antioxidant Helps with collagen and elastin production Strengthens skin immune system Oxidises fast, so don't add to creams. Only use in single-size doses if wanted. Found in camu camu berries, amla berries, Acerola cherries, black currants, red pepper, kiwi, guava, orange, green bell peppers, strawberries, papaya, broccoli, kale, parsley, pineapple, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, mango, lemon, grapefruit, tomatoes etc. Selenium Antioxidant Protects from infections Reduces DNA damage Lengthens the telomeres People who smoke, drink too much coffee or alcohol, eat a lot of white rice tend to be deficient in selenium. Also people living in certain areas or countries are suffering more from selenium deficiency (like in many parts of Estonia). But it's also important to note that you should not take selenium supplement in high doses or for a long period of time- it is a micro-mineral, which means our body needs it in small quantities. Found in Brazil nuts, salmon, turkey, tuna, cottage cheese, mushrooms, chicken, eggs, sardines, sunflower seeds, grass-fed beef, beef liver, oats. Collagen Collagen contains all essential amino acids, except tryptophan. There are 28 different types of collagen (I, II, III type collagen- these we have the most in the skin). How long does it take for collagen to work on the body: skin (1-3 months) hair (unknown) nails (6 months) ligaments (4-6 months) muscles (3 months) bone density (12 months) tendons (3-6 months) You need on a daily basis the following amounts of collagen: muscles (15-20g) skin (2.5-10g) bone density (5g) ligaments (2.5-5g) It's important to note that if you take too much collagen, it reduces tryptophan in the body, which can cause depression. Also, when you purchase collagen, make sure it's clean and check who is the producer and its background (should be a credible source). It's better to take small doses of collagen. Found in beef, chicken, fish, egg shell membranes. It's great to also consume bone broth, and if you have access to bone broth protein, like the one from Ancient Nutrition. Making a soup using meat stock also helps to make sure you get the necessary collagen into your body. Beta-carotene Powerful antioxidant Helps with collagen production Helps with skin cells reproduction May help to protect the skin from sunburn Found in orange and yellow vegetables and fruits, but also in greens (carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato, apricots, mango, cantaloupe, spinach, kale, collard greens, dandelion greens, turnip greens). CoQ10 Provides energy to skin for healing and recovery Reduces sun damage Supports collagen production Helps to reduce thin lines and wrinkles Helps with brighter complexion Found in grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, herring, trout, sesame seeds, pistachio nuts, cauliflower, broccoli, oranges, strawberries, eggs, sardines, mackerel, liver. Biotin (vitamin H (B7)) Calms the skin Anti-inflammatory Enhances energy production Evens out skin tone Found in organ meats (liver), fish, eggs, nutritional yeast, avocado, cauliflower, berries, mushrooms, legumes, feta cheese, goat cheese, sweet potatoes, bananas, oatmeal, almonds, sunflower seeds. Zinc Reduces excess oil and acne Prevents clogging of pores Protects against UV-rays Supports skin healing Reduces hyperpigmentation Keeps the skin hydrated Found in oysters, lamb, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, grass-fed beef, chickpeas, lentils, cashew nuts, cocoa powder, yoghurt, kefir, ricotta cheese, spinach, mushrooms, avocado, chicken, almonds, eggs. Niacinamide (vitamin B3) Protects against infections Evens out skin tone Lengthens telomeres Regulates sebaceous glands Not to be confused with niacin, which is a different type of vitamin B3. Can be naturally obtained from meat, fish, milk, eggs, green vegetables, beans, mushrooms. Hyaluronic acid Our bodies produce, consume and synthesise hyaluronic acid on a continuous basis. It's mainly found in skin tissues. In our 30s the natural production and synthesis of hyaluronic acid starts to slow down, which reduces the skins ability to maintain its hydration levels. Hyaluronic acid production is supported by vitamin-C rich foods (citrus fruits, tomatoes, broccoli, paprika); zinc (almonds, chickpeas, red meat, poultry, oysters) magnesium (green leafy vegetables, almonds, lentils, milk products), flavonoids (citrus fruits, tomato), phytoestrogens (tofu, soy products, linseeds). Vitamin E Anti-inflammatory, repairs damaged skin Antioxidant Strengthens skin immune system You can add it to creams. Found in sunflower seeds, almonds, hazelnuts, mango, avocado, butternut squash, broccoli, spinach, kiwi, tomato. Vitamin D Helps with regeneration of skin cells Helps with skin metabolism Helps to decrease apoptosis (cell death) Strengthens skin immune system Helps to destroy free radicals Helps to heal damage from acne The best source is sun, but we don't have access to it 365 days a year. If you are living in a country, where you have more sun, try and get 10-15 minutes of sun exposure in the morning or in the afternoon. In foods, vitamin D is in two different forms (D3- in animal-based foods, like fish; D2 is found in mushrooms). Vitamin D3 is the more active form and also added to supplements. Food sources are cod liver oil, wild-caught salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines, beef liver, eggs, caviar, shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, fortified milk products and orange juice. As a supplement take with vitamin K2- helps with skin elasticity. Glutathione A master antioxidant that is produced by the liver and the central nervous system nerve-cells. Glutathione contains 3 amino-acids: glycine, cysteine and glutamate. It is involved in both liver phase 1 and phase 2 detoxification process, mitochondrial health, healthy cell growth, mercury detoxification, antioxidant function. You can get glutathione from sulfur rich foods like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, vitamin C rich foods, selenium rich foods, milk thistle, avocado, spinach, whey protein, curcumin extract. You can also take cysteine as a supplement to help body to produce glutathione. Cysteine is also an anti-dote to paracetamol. Glutathione helps to even out skin complexion. If you have an active cancer-growth, then glutathione is not recommended. I hope the above gives you a few things to try or change in your lifestyle and diet to support healthy skin. I you are looking for guidance and help how to implement the dietary and lifestyle changes, don't hesitate to reach out to me for health and nutrition coaching at info@katrinpeo.com.

Borscht soup has been one of our family favourite soups, so I try and make it at least once a month during the colder seasons. In the past I used to make bone broth or purchase bone broth liquid from the store and use that as a base for the borscht. But the last two times I made my own meat stock and used that as a base. And it really makes a difference- meat stock makes the soup so much heartier and nourishing. I have shared a meat stock recipe also in my blog. I normally make the soup in a 5l pot as it saves time in the kitchen and can be eaten the next day as well. Borscht soup For 8 people Ingredients 2 bigger carrots 1 small white cabbage 4 beetroots 1 onion 1 clove of garlic 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar Ghee for frying Meat stock 500g carton of tomato puree 3 bay leaves Meat from the meat stock (you can also omit meat if you want) Salt and pepper to taste Parsley and sour cream to serve Instructions Peel all the vegetables. Finely chop the cabbage, grate the carrots and beetroot. Chop the onion and garlic. Fry the onion and garlic in the pot with ghee. Add carrots, beetroot and apple cider vinegar. Fry for a few minutes. Then add cabbage and pour meat stock into the pot. Add the bay leaves. Boil until the vegetables are almost soft. Add in the meat from the meat stock, tomato puree and season with salt and pepper. Boil another couple of minutes. Serve the borscht in a bowl with parsley and sour cream. Enjoy!

I have been sharing in my several posts in the past about the health benefits of bone broth, as well as an easy recipe if you want to make bone broth at home. But what is a meat stock and what's the difference between the bone broth and meat stock? I will cover this below and share a recipe for making your own meat stock. Bone broth is made using bones with little or no meat and cooked for 12 to 24 hours or even longer depending on the bones. Longer cooking time extracts more nutrients from the bones and tissues. Bone broth is known to be a great gut healing food as well as supportive for the immune health, skin health and more. Bone broth is richer in minerals in addition to the amino acids found in meat stock. But bone broth is high in histamine and glutamates due to long cooking time- therefore could affect people with histamine intolerance. High concentration of glutamic acid may be problematic for some people- like people with ADHD, autism, MS or other neurological diseases. Meat stock is made using meaty bones, different parts of the animal and cooked for 1.5 hours to 3.5 hours depending on the meat. Meat stock is considered even better for healing gut lining and ulcerations in the gut. It contains a good amount of gelatine and two very important amino acids, glycine and proline, which are part of all the connective tissues in our bodies and are like the glue that holds our bodies together. The gelatinous protein from the meat and these amino acids are particularly beneficial in healing and strengthening connective tissue such as found in the lining of the gut, respiratory tract and blood/brain barrier. Making meat stock is very easy. You can make it from beef, lamb, chicken, fish etc. With the below recipe I used different parts of beef, but you can take for example a whole chicken and make a meat stock out of that. This will also give you a lot of cooked chicken to use in other meals. When you have access to organic meat, pasteurised meat- the better the nutrition of the meat stock. To make the meat stock as nutritious as possible, it's good to use different parts from the animal. Like with chicken meat stock, also add chicken feet, chicken neck. Bones that contain bone marrow, cartilage, and connective tissues are best- important is to use meat that is close to a joint as this meat is very gelatinous, which is the most healing property of the stock. You can also add vegetables like onions, garlic, carrots, celery, ginger, parsley or cook the meat on its own. To help to draw the nutrients from the bones, add apple cider vinegar and salt. When you are done cooking your meat stock, you can take the bones and cook your bone broth from those. Meat stock recipe 5L of meat stock Ingredients Different parts of meat, with bones, including tailbones, bone marrow Filtered water 1tbsp of sea salt 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar If you want to add vegetables (carrots, celery, onion, garlic) to the meat stock, add those coarsely chopped in as well Parsley Instructions Rinse the meat pieces, dry them and cut into the joints with a knife. Put in a 5L pot. Add the sea salt and apple cider vinegar and fill the pot with filtered water. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and cook meat for 3-3.5 hours. Remove the foam from time to time when it forms at the top of the liquid. If you want to add vegetables, add them into the water in the last half an hour of cooking. Add parsley at the very end, 10 minutes before you are done cooking the meat stock. Cook chicken stock around 2 hours and fish stock 1.5 hours. If you want extra flavour, you can also roast the meaty bones at 190C (375F) in the oven until browned before starting to make the meat stock. After boiling, cool the meat stock down, remove the meat from the bones, including the connective tissue and marrow if you used bone marrow and strain the liquid into mason jars. The meat you removed from the bones, you can use the same or next day in the soups, sauces, salads, pies etc. You can store the meat stock in the fridge for 1 week to 1.5 weeks or 3 months in the freezer. Don't remove the fat that forms at the top of the liquid, it keeps the stock fresh and is very healing to the body. Add the meat stock to any recipes that call for stock, including soups, sauces, roasts, curries, boil grains like quinoa, buckwheat, oats in them or warm it and drink as it is. Enjoy!

Halloween is not far and I am all for it to try and consume the whole pumpkin that's left from pumpkin carving (the flesh and seeds), whether to make a nice pumpkin soup, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin spice smoothie or make pumpkin puree to use in coming weeks and months in various recipes. I had still a bit less than half of pumpkin left from my 10kg sized pumpkin, so I decided to gut it into pieces, bake them all at once in the oven and then make pumpkin puree. Majority of it I put in the freezer and some of it I kept outside to make this spicy pumpkin fudge, where the pumpkin spice gives such a nice and gut-soothing feeling. A perfect petite sweet taste to savour slowly in your mouth. You can also check out another fudge recipe in my blog- a fat fudge from tahini, cacao, turmeric and spices. Spicy pumpkin fudge Makes 24 small fudge pieces Ingredients 2 cups of nut butter, like almond or cashew (unsweetened and unsalted) 1/4 cup of maple syrup 2/3 cup of pumpkin puree 1/2 cup of coconut oil 1 1/2 tsp of pumpkin spice 1 tsp of cacao powder A pinch of cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract Topping: pumpkin seeds, cacao nibs, hemp seeds, goij berries for garnish Instructions Mix all the ingredients together in a big bowl except the garnish. Put the batter in the silicone moulds, or in a square dish lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with the toppings and put in the freezer for minimum 25 minutes. If you used a square dish with lined parchment paper, you can then cut desired fudge pieces out from it and store in the freezer in the container.

I tried another recipe for a bread since I wanted to make some chicken-liver pate for this week. Quinoa and millet are better grain options as they are gliadin free (one of the main gluten proteins in wheat, barley and rye). Quinoa supports heart health, may help with weight loss due to its protein and fibre content, may help fight cancer due to its antioxidants and is also a good source for bone health. Quinoa contains a lot of nutrients, including manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, folate, copper, iron, thiamine, zinc, riboflavin, B6, potassium, selenium, vitamin E, niacin and calcium. Millet, apart from being a great food for birds in winter, it's are very good food for humans too. Packed with fibre, high in protein, containing also antioxidants, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and folate- it's a great grain for those with digestive issues. Liver is nature's superfood, as its high in essential nutrients, in some cases higher than the plants and berries. Liver is packed protein, iron, vitamin A, B vitamins, selenium, vitamin C, phosphorus, zinc, copper, manganese. Not everyone enjoys liver, but you can try liver pate if eating liver is not your thing. Organ meats, also called offal, have been part of the traditional diets for centuries and they are far nutrient tense than the muscle meats we are used to consuming. For example, beef liver contains 50 times more vitamin B12 than a steak and by far more B vitamins and folate than other foods on the planet. It's recommended to consume different organ means from animals to support the same organs in human body. Animal organ means have also highest amounts of CoQ10 per 100 grams, which is an essential element required by every single cell in our bodies. Lack of CoQ10 in the body is thought to be linked with heart disease, cognitive decline, diabetes, cancer, fibromyalgia. Quinoa and millet bread (I used this recipe from Botanical Kitchen for inspiration) 12 slices Ingredients 1 cup of quinoa flour (I buy this one in Estonia) 1 cup of millet flour (I buy this one in Estonia) 1/2 tsp of baking soda 1 tsp of fine sea salt 4 tbsp of psyllium husk (I used this one) with a 1 cup of water 3 tbsp of olive oil 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar 3/4 cup of water You can add dried rosemary, small chopped pieces of olives, small chopped pieces of sun-dried tomatoes to add additional flavour to the bread Mix of seeds to sprinkle at the top (I used these ones + I added some hemp seeds) Instructions Pre-heat the oven to 165C (325F). Use a silicone loaf pan (grease inside). Or you can use a standard loaf pan, where you put the parchment paper inside and grease well. Soak the psyllium husk in water for 10 minutes. Mix together dry ingredients. Then add in the dry ingredients soaked psyllium husk, olive oil, apple cider vinegar and finally some dried rosemary or olives or sun-dried tomatoes. Pour the mixture in the pan and sprinkle the seeds to the top. Press the seeds gently, so they stick better to the batter when baking. Score 4 diagonal / / / / lines with a knife on top of the bread to allow the steam to escape while baking. Bake for 45 minutes. The score again 4 diagonal / / / / lines on the top of the bread (it is very important). Bake another 45-60 minutes in the oven- try if the skewer or a match stick inserted comes out clean. Take the bread out from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. Then remove from the pan, cool down and cut for serving. Enjoy with the below chicken liver pate. ***** Chicken liver pate Makes 2x250g jars Ingredients 400g of chicken liver (if you have access to organic, the better) 1 cup of chicken broth 3 portobello mushrooms 1 medium sized onion 2 garlic cloves 150g of butter 1 tsp of dried thyme 1 tsp of dried rosemary 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar Salt and pepper to taste Instructions Melt 100g of butter in the pan. Fry the chopped onions and garlic. Add in there roughly chopped portobello mushrooms, thyme, rosemary, balsamic vinegar. Sautee for 6 minutes or so then set the mixture aside in a bowl. Put the rest of the butter in the pan, and fry the chicken livers for 8 minutes. Add salt and pepper to the chicken liver. Then mix the mushrooms and chicken liver together and add the chicken broth. Fry another 2 minutes and leave it in the pan to cool down. Then take a hand blender, pour the mixture from the pan into a bigger bowl or glass jar and blend the mixture until smooth. It's ok to look like a thick, a bit runny batter as when you put it to set in the fridge, it will get thicker. Enjoy with the above quinoa and millet bread.

Food is information for our body cells, it either helps to fight inflammation or feed inflammation in the body. We need to know that not all food sold in the grocery store is food- edible and nutritious. As a consumer it's important to have the knowhow how to shop for your groceries, how to make the best choices for your own health and your family's health. Here are a few guidelines, if you want to shop mindfully in the grocery store: a simple first tip to follow is to purchase single ingredient food products: vegetables, fruits, plain fish, plain meat, eggs, raw nuts and seeds, legumes (beans, lentils), extra virgin olive oil, extra virgin coconut oil etc. Avocado does not come with a food label. a second good rule to follow is to always read the product label: if the label has ingredients you don't recognise as food, don't buy it- your body does not know either what to do with it, how to digest it and will do what it can to protect you (cause inflammatory response to the foods). Ingredients to avoid: shortening, sodium nitrates, sodium nitrites (in processed meats- bacon, sausages, ham), MSG (monosodium glutamate), artificial colours (red 40, blue 1, yellow 5 etc), guar gum (in ice creams, salad dressings, non-dairy milk products, sauces, soups), carrageenan (in almond milk, ice cream, vegan cheese), sodium benzoate (in pickles, fruit juice, salad dressings, condiments), xanthan gum (in sauces, salad dressings, soups, syrups), artificial flavours, yeast extract etc. foods are listed in the ingredients list based on their amounts in that produced food, so if the sugar is listed first, that product contains the most sugar etc. check the sugar content in the packaged food. On the product label, first check the grams of sugar. Then if there is any fibre listed, subtract the fibre amount from the sugar amount. Only then you get the sugar amount in that food. And remember 4g of sugar equals 1tsp of sugar. A tub (for example 370g of wild strawberry Greek yoghurt can have 11g of sugar per 100g, which makes it around 33g of sugar for the tub, which is 8 tsp of sugar per the yoghurt tub, if you ate the whole tub at once). the longer the ingredients list, the better to put that food back to the shelf, especially if majority of the ingredients listed are unrecognisable. Inflammation is at the root cause of every chronic degenerative disease, like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis etc. We all have some level of inflammation, important is that we keep our inflammatory levels in the body under control. Keeping inflammation in check, helps to make sure, our pathogens load is low and chances to get infections is low. Chronic inflammation does not happen over night, but is developing over months or years of practicing inflammatory lifestyle. When inflammation gets out of control from the food we eat, from stress, environmental toxins- then we drive up inflammation in the body where we affect different parts of our body systems, including: the digestive tract (digestive problems, constipation, bloating, diarrhoea, heartburn) the brain and nervous system (brain fog, anxiety, depression, poor memory) the immune system (causing in the long-run autoimmunity- IBS, Multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, skin conditions) the detoxification system (including kidneys, liver, gallbladder, lymphatic system)- causing waste buildup in the system, swelling, frequent rashes the endocrine system (affecting thyroid, adrenal glands, sex glands- thinning of hair, dry skin, weak nails, mood swings, low sex drive, irregular periods the blood sugar/insulin system (managed by pancreas, liver and cellular insulin receptor sites. Inflammation here can cause unstable blood sugar, which could lead to pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, weight gain) the structural and musculoskeletal system (joins, muscles, connective tissue)- inflammation can cause joint pain, muscle pain, fibromyalgia, joint stiffness. Apart from the ingredients to avoid listed above, below are foods you want to avoid in your diet in order to keep the inflammation at bay: Sugar, artificial sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup You are really supposed to have not more than a teaspoon of sugar in your blood stream at all times. When your sugar goes up too high in your blood- it starts to damage tissues and cause oxidative stress. Sugar is rusting you from the inside out, accelerating the ageing process. High blood sugar also throws out a lot of insulin, which is a fat storage hormone- so it stops fat burning process in your body. You can read more about the sugar and different forms of sugar from this post , also what natural sweeteners can you use instead to bring sweetness to your diet. Artificial sweeteners, like aspartame, suclarose, acesulfame K, saccharin etc, are all disruptive to your microbiome, killing good bacteria in your gut. They are very often added to protein powders, protein bars, sugar-free candies, chocolates etc. High-fructose corn syrup increases the risk for fatty liver disease. Fructose does not cause the insulin increase in the blood, but goes straight to the liver, where liver needs to metabolise it- it increases your LDL cholesterol level, your triglycerides, uric acid levels, blood pressure. Trans fats Avoid also trans fats, processed /hydrogenated vegetable oil or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (these are artificially made fats), which promote inflammation. All fats we consume they get into our cell membranes, which are important for our hormonal health. Poor fats lower our resistance against viruses and also cause insulin resistance. Trans fats can be found in baked goods (cookies, pies, doughnuts, potato chips, frozen pizza, refrigerated dough, french fries etc.).   You can read my post about healthy fats here . Processed meat Processed meat is any meat that's smoked, salted, cured, canned, dried in order to enhance its flavour and extend shelf life. This includes bacon, salami, cured ham, beef jerky, ham, sausage etc. Refined carbohydrates Refined carbohydrates, which are carbs with fibre not present, like white flour, white pasta, white rice, white bread, pastries are stripped from vital vitamins and minerals, therefore opt of wholegrain where possible. Focus on consuming whole foods, with some examples below, to help lower inflammation in your body: Vegetables: broccoli, beets, cabbage, asparagus, bell peppers, sweet potato, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, garlic, cucumber, onions, ginger, etc. Fruits: blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, limes, lemons, oranges, pears, apples, pomegranates, watermelon, etc. Legumes: white beans, black beans, kidney beans, Azuki beans, pinto beans, lima beans, chickpeas, lentils Mushrooms: shiitake, porcini, medicinal mushrooms etc. Nuts: walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, pecan nuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts Seeds: hemp seeds, chia seeds, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds Whole grains: quinoa, buckwheat, millet, brown rice, black rice, amaranth Healthy fats: extra virgin olive oil, extra virgin coconut oil, ghee, avocado oil, MCT oil, grass-fed butter (if lactose is tolerated). Note that fats have different smoking points, so best to enjoy extra-virgin oils (extra-virgin olive oil, extra-virgin coconut oil, extra-virgin avocado oil) raw and use avocado oil, olive oil, coconut oil, ghee for cooking Dairy: kefir, goat milk, goat cheese, Greek yogurt, raw milk (if you are not lactose or casein intolerant). Better to focus on goat's milk products as it's better tolerated. Fish: wild-caught salmon, trout, mackerel, sardines, herring Meat: grass-fed beef, lamb, venison, wild game Poultry: organic chicken, turkey, duck, goose Eggs: cage free organic Herbs and spices: basil, rosemary, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, paprika, cumin, black pepper, oregano, clove, thyme etc. Natural sweeteners: stevia, raw honey, dates, monk fruit, maple syrup Condiments: apple cider vinegar , mustard, balsamic vinegar, coconut aminos Beverages: water, green tea , kombucha , bone broth , kvass Of course, it depends on your health, where your body is with inflammation at the moment. If you are suffering from bloating, gas, acid reflux, constipation, diarrhoea, sinus, skin issues, seasonal allergies, dust allergy- you might want to consider doing an elimination diet for 3 weeks to really calm the body down and then re-introduce different food groups at a time to understand how your body reacts and what foods cause reaction. If you feel stuck with your digestive issues, skin issues, joint pain and want support from a health and nutrition coach, who can help and guide you through the elimination diet and uncover other lifestyle factors that could influence your health, don't hesitate to reach out to me . Book a free 50min health history session, after what I would be able to tell you how and where I can help and support you around your health goals.

One of my clients recently said that she is struggling to stay on healthy eating habits when travelling, especially as there are not really good options when having to wait for the flights at the airports, food choices at airplanes etc. Many of the petrol stations you drive past where there is a cafe, shop, don't focus on providing lots of healthy food options, but rather hamburgers, hotdogs, kebabs, pies, pastries. So how can you make sure you don't run into a food emergency when travelling and can still follow your healthy eating habits? Below I will share with you some ideas to try. 1. Have your own trail mix along It's very easy to create your own trail mix of nuts, seeds, dried berries or fruits. They are packed with healthy fats, protein, fibre, vitamins, minerals and keep you satiated till your next meal. Make a mix of any of the following, you can also toast nuts and seeds slightly in the oven: walnuts, pecan nuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut chips, hemp seeds, goji berries, dried figs, dried apricots, dried plums, mulberries. Make sure you purchase dried berries and fruits preservative free (no sulfur dioxide). You can also add cocoa nibs to the mix. 2. Vegetables with hummus Depending on the travel distance and mode of travel, you can also cut some vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, paprika, celery, endives, kohlrabi and make a hummus from chickpeas, lentils- so you can get a good amount of fibre, protein, healthy carbs, fat, minerals and vitamins. 3. Boiled egg or omelette If it's not a long-haul flight or long-distance travel, where you don't have an option to keep food cold (cooler bag, car fridge), you can boil couple of eggs or make an omelette along. Eggs are a nutritious food, filled with healthy fats and protein- keeping you full for hours. You can also put some hummus into the omelette before eating. 4. Nut or seed butters with vegetables or fruits Nut butters travel well (make sure you put them into small below 100ml jar if you travel by airplane as it's a liquid). In some countries you can purchase easy nut butter travel packs. You can eat the nut and seed butters with fruits (like apples, pears) and vegetables (carrots, celery). You can of course have some rice or buckwheat crackers along and spread the nut or seed butters on those as well. Nut butters you can purchase in the store or make yourself: almond butter (I have bought in the past these easy travel packs of nut butter from Jason's peanut butter (make sure you purchase ecological that contains only nuts and sea salt to avoid any unnecessary ingredients and also exposure to mould as peanuts are more susceptible to mould than other nuts or legumes cashew butter tahini (from sesame seeds) sunflower butter (from sunflower seeds) 5. Seaweed with rice, vegetables, guacamole Take along seaweed sheets (that you use for sushi making), some sushi rice (you can also skip the rice), vegetable sticks (cucumber, paprika, celery), guacamole (mashed avocado with some lemon or lime juice, some salt, pepper or cayenne pepper). Easy to assemble if you need a quick meal. 6. Olives Olives are a great nutritious snack to take along. You can purchase them pitted so they are easier to eat or stuffed with for example garlic. 7. Tapenade on cracker bread You can make your own tapenade or purchase a jar. To make your own, chop finely some olives, pistachio nuts, grate some parmesan or pecorino cheese and add olive oil- mix all together. 8. Beef strips, beef jerky There are healthier options for packages beef strips or beef jerky. In Estonia, Liivimaa Lihaveis sells beef jerky in different flavours. Always check the ingredients list, that it doesn't have any preservatives, dextrose. 9. Protein bars, seed bars, energy bars These are a great options for a quick snack and diminish the biggest hunger, but please do read the ingredient list before purchasing. Many bars on the market are nothing but overpriced candy bars filled with artificial sweeteners. What you want to have in your bar is: protein (pea, hemp, collagen) healthy fats (nuts, seeds, MCT oil, cocoa butter, coconut oil) if sweeteners then natural sweeteners like dates, honey or other fruits or berries are the best. Stevia is also ok as it has no impact on blood sugar. Erythitrol is ok, though can cause unpleasant gastrointestinal issues for some. Better options for non-nutritive sweeteners are allulose and monk fruit. You can check my post on sugar for more options for healthy and unhealthy sweeteners. What you don't want from a protein bar is artificial sweeteners, like sucralose, maltitol, aspartame, dextrose etc. A bar should ideally contain less than 5g of sugar (and fructose and agave are not healthy sugars). look for a bar that contains at least 5g of fibre- whether as nuts, nut butters, chia seeds, flaxseeds, inulin. If the manufacturer has fortified the bar with vitamins and minerals, be aware, as often they are cheap and poorly absorbed by the body (sulfate, gluconate, magnesium oxide etc). Also make sure that the bars don't contain any gluten, dairy, soy, peanuts, if you have food sensitivities. Here are a couple of bars on the market to try: RXbar, Aloha, Epic, Bulletproof, Lärabar, Sakara, Truvani The Only Bar Loodusvägi, Ampstükk, BeMore in Estonia also have bars, but they are higher in carbs, some lower in protein but definitely healthier options than other protein bars, energy bars sold in Estonian market. Nakd bars is also healthier choice but has also higher carbohydrate content due to dates and raisins in the bar. Puls (can also be bought in store in Estonia) in Finland has two bars, a chocolate bar and peanut butter bar which I have bought for my teenage son for energy or after-workout quick snack. 10. Canned salmon, sardines, mackerel, tuna with a cracker bread If you fly, this is not a good option, but if you travel by car, this a quick and easy snack to have. Just make sure, you purchase the canned fish in water or olive oil (avoid other oils as these can be inflammatory). These fish are full of protein, healthy fats- just don't overdo with tuna as tuna contains mercury unlike the other suggested canned fish options. For cracker bread, you can purchase rice crackers, buckwheat crackers or other non-gluten options. 11. Avocado on a cracker bread Avocado is packed with healthy fat, fibre, vitamins and minerals. It's easy to take along a ripe avocado, use a knife to cut it in half, scoop out the mixture (discard the pit) and mash it with a fork or a knife on a cracker bread. 12. Homemade muffins Good thing with muffins when you make them at home is that you can really make them nutritious, choose what you put in there and they travel well. I have a few recipes I have shared in the past for muffins: macadamia and cashew nut muffins, pumpkin muffins and blueberry muffins. 13. No-bake protein balls These are a great snack you can also get your kids involved creating. Blend together in the food processor gluten-free rolled oats, nut butter (almond, peanut, cashew), chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts), some dried fruit for sweetness (dates, raisins, prunes, apricots, cranberries), shredded coconut, protein powder (pea protein, hemp protein, bone broth protein etc), cocoa nibs. Roll into small bite-size balls and put in the cooler. I hope you found some tips for easy healthy snack foods to take along on your trip alone or with kids. If you have any other healthy snacks you have tried, please do share in the comments below.

Beets are filled with phytonutrients called betalains that support liver detoxification. They contain fibre and vitamins and minerals like folate, manganese, copper, potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and iron- all important for heart health, bone health, brain health, energy production etc. Beet kvass is a probiotic drink, similar to kombucha or coconut water kefir- a perfect blood tonic and an excellent liver cleanser. Probiotics are important for our gut health, to increase the quantity of good bacteria. Beet kvass is made similarly to making sauerkraut, pickles, where you ferment beets in slightly salted brine for a few days. The taste is similar to fermented vegetables- lightly sour, a little bit sweet and salty. Easy beet kvass recipe Makes approx 500ml Ingredients 2 cups of cubed beets 2 tbsp of juice from your sauerkraut or other fermented vegetable. You can also add 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar (make sure you use the one with 'mother' in it) 1/2 tbsp of sea salt or Himalayan salt 2 cups of filtered water I like to add boosters like grated fresh ginger and fresh turmeric when making the beet kvass. Instructions Wash the beets and place them in a 1l (1 quart) glass jar. Add the fermented vegetable juice or apple cider vinegar, together with the salt. If you like ginger and turmeric, add these grated in in there as well (a thumb size grated or so). Cover with a cheesecloth or with a coffee paper filter an an elastic band. Leave on the counter or in a warm place at room temperature for 2 days. Consume 1/4 cup or so daily as a blood tonic and to support your liver health. Stores in the fridge for 6-8 weeks. You can also mix some raisins or strawberries in there, or add some mint leaves for additional flavour. Don't discard the beets, you can use them as a nice garnish together with steamed greens to add some tangy flavour.

My kids started school again yesterday and I wanted to make a couple of different types of muffins for their class picnic. Inspired by Kelly LeVeque Kitchen Sink muffins (not sure why they are called with this name), I wanted to bake muffins that are nutritious, healthy, contain the spices like cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, vanilla and that I can use the marzipan apples and zucchinis from my mother's garden. Since I made quite a few of them, I was able to take muffins to picnic, a few for my brother on his birthday, gave one muffin to a friend for breakfast and took a couple to my mother. They turned out very good and definitely something that I will bake again in coming 2 weeks. Autumn inspired delicious muffins For 6 persons Ingredients 1 cup of grated carrots 1 cup of grated zucchini (I did not grate the inside part, which has seeds and is more watery) 1 cup of grated apples (I used marzipan apple, but any apple would work) 1 grated banana (use a ripe one) 2 eggs 2 heap tablespoons of coconut oil 1tsp of vanilla extract 1 cup of almond flour 1/2 cup of coconut flour 1tsp of baking soda 1tsp of cinnamon 1/2 tsp of cardamon 1/4 tsp of nutmeg 1/4 tsp of sea salt 1/2 cup of raisins 1/2 cup of raw walnuts Instructions Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees (350F). Grease the muffin pan holes with coconut oil or butter and put muffin liners into the muffin pan holes. Grate the apples, carrot and zucchini into a clean kitchen towel. Turn the kitchen towel into a roll and squeeze out the excess liquid from the fruits and vegetables. I used the liquid as a base for my morning green smoothie, where I added a celery stalk, a small cucumber and knob of ginger. In a big bowl, mix together egg, shredded apple, carrot, zucchini, banana, vanilla extract and coconut oil. In another bowl mix together almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, sea salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add in raisins and break in walnuts. Mix well. Take a tablespoon and put the batter into the muffin liners. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Cool down and enjoy!

The last couple of crisp mornings inspired me to try something new for breakfast, that's healthy, has good amount of prebiotics and probiotics and is heart and body warming. And since I am also trying to increase the breakfast options for my kids, a pear crumble from locally grown organic pears seemed like a good one to experiment with. I baked it last night and both husband and kids enjoyed it this morning for breakfast, including myself. Breakfast pear crumble For 6 persons Ingredients 6 pears 1/2 cup of raisins 6 dried apricots (make sure you purchase organic without sulphites) 2 cups of rolled oats (I have purchased these gluten free oats from Elovena) 2 tbsp of maple syrup 1 cup of walnuts 1/2 cup of slivered almonds 2-2.5 tsp of cinnamon 1/2 tsp of cardamom 50g of butter 2 cups of water Instructions Pre-heat the oven to 190C (375F). Gut the pears into cubes (I did not peel the pears, since the skin contains a good antioxidant called quercetin and is a good source of fibre). Mix the pears with 2tsp of cinnamon, cardamom, raisins and chopped dried apricots in an oven dish. In a separate bowl mix together oats, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, maple syrup, melted butter, slightly chopped walnuts and slivered almonds. Spread the mixture on top of the pears. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until crispy on top. Serve as it is, with your choice of milk or top it with plain yoghurt (I used plain unflavoured coconut yoghurt) and add berries, hemp seeds, cocoa nibs if you like to upgrade your bowl further. Enjoy!

Our microbiome, which is is the collection of microbes, like bacteria, viruses, fungi and their genes, talks to our mitochondria to make more energy, talks to our brain to determine our mood, talks to our DNA. Most of us know about the probiotics and prebiotics, but not so many know about the postbiotics. In the below article I cover what are they and why do they matter to your body. What are postbiotics They are a byproduct of a friendly bacteria in your gut (probiotics) when they eat what fertilises and grows them (prebiotics). So essentially postbiotics are a waste left behind by your body after digesting both probiotics and prebiotics. And it's these bacteria you need to make a difference in your health. In order to have more postbiotics produced by your gut bacteria and actually get the health benefits linked with prebiotics and probiotics, you need to consume more prebiotic and probiotic foods on a regular basis. Below are various types of postbiotics produced in your body: short-chain fatty acids (these are produced by the body from the fibre you eat and support the health of the intestinal mucosa) enzymes (help digest food, participate in other metabolic processes and help the body get rid of toxins) vitamins (such as vitamin B and vitamin K) amino acids (the "building blocks" of proteins) organic acids (help maintain the correct pH level in the intestine) immune system compounds (support immune cells) bacteriocins (make it more difficult for the bad bacteria to grow) neurotransmitters (transmit messages between nerves and the brain) nitric oxide (important for cardiovascular health) What are the health benefits of postbiotics? Although postbiotics are a waste product of probiotic bacteria, they offer several health benefits to your body. Boost your immune system A short-chain fatty acid, butyrate, can stimulate the production of T cells in your intestine. T cells help to control the majority of your body's immune response. Reduce the inflammation Cell wall fragments and supernatant from healthy bacteria increase the production of anti-inflammatory chemical messengers called cytokines that help to reduce inflammation in your body. Reduce digestive issues People with irritable bowel disease produce less butyrate in the gut, which is important for regulating immunity and inflammation in the gut. Reduce diarrhoea May treat diarrhoea as postbiotics reduce bowel motion frequency, bloating and relieve pain. Help with weight loss and manage blood sugar levels Short-chain fatty acids may help with weight loss by suppressing hunger signals and keeping your blood sugar levels more stable. Help with allergies Allergies happens when your body's immune system overreacts to a perceived threat. Since postbiotics help to boost your immune system, they also improve your immune response by decreasing allergic reactivity. By consuming more variety of different probiotic and prebiotic foods (kefir, kimchi, kombucha, tempeh, yoghurt, sauerkraut, miso, cottage cheese, fermented pickles, garlic, flaxseeds, oats etc) on a regular basis, you make sure your body produces a good amount of postbiotics to support your overall health. If you struggling with your health and are looking for a health and nutrition coach to support you and help you to achieve better health through nutrition and lifestyle modifications, don't hesitate to reach out to me at info@katrinpeo.com.

Autumn with its first chilly days, trees changing colours, the morning fog and dew call you to go inward, reach for warming foods and generally slow down with cooking in the kitchen- especially during the weekend. And since autumn for me has also been the pumpkin season, I am incorporating more dishes with pumpkin, butternut into our menu. Today I made some butternut squash and portobello mushroom risotto, which does take a little bit of time to prepare but is well worth the effort. Butternut squash and mushroom risotto For 5 people Ingredients 1 medium butternut squash 2 big garlic cloves 1.5 cup of risotto rice 1l of chicken bone broth 4 medium sized portobello mushrooms, sliced 2 tbsp of tamari sauce (this is a gluten free version of soy sauce) 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 branch of rosemary finely chopped 150g of pecorino cheese, grated Salt and pepper to taste Chopped parsley for garnish Instructions Heat the oven to 180C degrees (356F). I use the roasting function of the oven. Cut the butternut into 1 cm slices and then half them. I don't peel them before cooking as the peeling is rather difficult. But you can do that if you want to. I peel the butternut after cooking and remove the seeds before the cooking. Put the butternut pieces on the oven pan and also put the two gloves with the peel on. Sprinkle a little bit of olive oil and sea salt on the butternut pieces and mix with your hands. Spread the pieces out on the pan and put in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. At the same time fry the finely chopped onion with ghee or butter on the pan until golden, then add the risotto rice and cook for 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth to the rice and cook on a medium heat, stirring from time to time. In a separate pan add a little bit of ghee and fry the portobello mushrooms. Add tamari sauce and a little bit of salt and pepper to taste. Once the butternut is ready, take it out from the oven. Cool it down and then remove the skin from the butternut pieces and chop into smaller pieces. Mix into the rice. Also, remove the garlic from the peel and mix the soft garlic pieces into the risotto. Then add the grated pecorino cheese, finely chopped rosemary and grind some fresh pepper and sea salt into the risotto. Scoop the risotto into bowls, garnish with parsley and serve. Enjoy!