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Spruce tips are one of my childhood memories as our grandparents farmhouse was surrounded by tall spruces, so in spring, early summer we were munching away on sour spruce tips. Little did we know, that they had so many health benefits. So my father asked me this weekend if I wanted to pick some spruce tips as they have a spruce hedge next to their house. They had themselves made some spruce tips syrup and apparently it was very good. So, I thought why not explore and try the different ways how to use them in food. What are spruce tips and why to eat them? The spruce buds are the tips of the spruce branches that emerge in Estonia spring, early summer and they have this beautiful fresh green colour. Spruce tips have several health benefits, they: are high in Vitamin C (fresh or dried) are rich in magnesium and potassium contain carotenoids, which enhance your immune system contain chlorophyll, which is good for healing and growing tissue, healing wounds they help to relieve sore throat and cough transport oxygen to cells, therefore boosting energy help with weight loss as help to control blood sugar balance help to control cravings relieve constipation and gas bonds poisonous metals in your body What are the ways to consume spruce tips? You can eat them raw as they are or freeze them for winter to add into food. You can add them into smoothies- a little goes a long way. I created a smoothie from avocado, banana, kiwi and added couple of spruce tips. You can add them into salad You can make a pesto out of them (I used basil leaves, pine nuts, nutritional yeast, spruce tips (little goes a long way), olive oil, salt, pepper). You can use them as a flavour for your water You can use dried spruce tips for the tea You can make syrup out of the spruce tips and use it as a sweetener in tea, drizzle it on pancakes, in a greek yoghurt, drizzle over soft cheese (like goat cheese), use as a glaze on meats. I tried and made syrup ready to be used immediately. And I also tried something different- where I mixed the spruce tips and coconut sugar together and letting it now to stand and mature in the sun for a month- let's see whether and what comes out. It's said, that you get a very flavoursome syrup out of spruce tips giving it time to do it's job. I hope you'll get inspiration from this post and give the spruce tips a try.

If you are looking for a bit of a break from the summer grills and want something different, healthy and delicious- then give the below pizza recipe a try. Photo taken by my friend Anne-Ly I took the inspiration of this recipe from Simply Quinoa and this has been a pizza we have made in our family for a few times already. Quinoa is a complete protein, containing all 9 amino acids, that our bodies can't make on our own. As you know quinoa is naturally gluten-free, is rich in antioxidants- and has more protein and fibre than white rice. So definitely a healthy choice. Artichoke is actually not really a vegetable, but a type of thistle. It helps to lower blood sugar, improves digestion, is great for your heart and liver health. Artichoke is a great prebiotic and probiotic food and contains apart from fibre, protein, carbs, vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, C, K and minerals like calcium, zinc, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and potassium. Artichoke is considered one of the most antioxidant-rich of all vegetables. I made the below recipe lactose free, but you can easily use parmesan cheese in the pesto instead of nutritional yeast and also top the pizza with some chunks of buffalo mozzarella or some shavings of goat's cheese Ingredients 4 persons For the pizza crust: 1,5 cups of quinoa- soaked for 6-8 hours in water 2 cups of fresh spinach 1 tsp of baking powder 2 tbsp of olive oil 1 tsp of Himalayan salt 1/2 of water For the pesto: 2 pots of basil leaves 150g of pine nuts a squeeze of lemon 2 tbsp of nutritional yeast 0.5 tsp of truffle oil 1 clove of garlic a pinch of salt and pepper Blend it all up with the hand blender Additional toppings: 1-2 cans of cooked artichoke hearts (I used canned, either in olive oil or in water) 2-3 tbsp of nutritional yeast Microgreens , like broccoli Instructions Heat the oven to 215C (425F). Line your baking pan with parchment paper and slightly oil it with olive oil. Rinse the quinoa properly after it has been soaking in the water. Add all the pizza crust ingredients into the high-speed blender and blend until creamy. Pour the batter into the pan and bake in the oven for 16 minutes. Now is the perfect time to make the pesto and drain the artichokes. Then take the pizza out from the oven, put a new piece of parchment paper on top of the pizza and flip it over. Remove the parchment paper that was under the pizza in the oven when you baked it. Then put pizza back in the oven for another 8 minutes. Top the pizza with artichoke and nutritional yeast and put it back into the oven for 2 minutes. Remove the pizza from the oven, top it with micro greens and serve immediately.

I love making salads as they allow me to put my creativity in full action. I often take inspiration from somewhere for a salad and change the ingredients in the recipe where I need. But with the below salad from Kelly LeVeque , I actually did follow most of the guidelines and this salad has been turning into our summer hit salad. Broccoli salad Ingredients Serves 8 2 broccoli heads 1 pack of bacon 1 red onion 4 tbsp pumpkin seeds 4 tbsp hemp hearts 1/2 cup of raisins For salad dressing 1 cup of mayonnaise (I make my own, see ingredients and guidelines below) 2 tbsp of white wine vinegar 1 tbsp of maple syrup 2 tbsp of olive oil Salt and pepper Instructions Preheat the oven to 180C. Put the baking sheet on the pan and lay the bacon strips on there. Put in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes. While the bacon is baking in the oven, chop the red onion into small pieces (I put the onion to soak in salted (Himalayan salt) water for 15 minutes as it helps to lower the intensity of the onion taste). Double chop the broccoli florets and the thinner stalks. I keep the the bigger stalk and use in other recipes (soups, sauces, vegetable juices, smoothies, dips etc). Pour the chopped broccoli on a service plate or into a bowl. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a pan on the stove. To make the mayonnaise, take 2 room temperature eggs and separate the egg yolks. Squeeze 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice and whisk through. Then when vigorously whisking, add very slowly extra virgin olive oil. Continue whisking until the mayonnaise takes a desired consistency. Add salt to taste. Make the salad dressing, by adding the white wine vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, salt and pepper to the mayonnaise. Mix well. Mix the raisins, toasted pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts into chopped broccoli. When bacon is nice and crispy, take it out from the oven and cool it down. Chop into smaller pieces and add to broccoli mixture. Pour the salad dressing on to the broccoli mixture and mix well. Enjoy!

It has been very hot last couple of days. If you are looking for a cooling healthy snack, try and make the below frozen, chocolate, banana, nut butter bites. I got the recipe from my school's IIN social media page and served them as a welcome snack to my dear sister's family when they visited us in Estonia. Frozen chocolate, banana, nut butter bites For 8 persons Ingredients 2 bananas (yellow, but not so ripe where bananas have brown spots on the peel) 150g of dark chocolate (I used with 87% cocoa content chocolate) 2 tbsp of coconut oil Nut butter- I made with both almond butter and peanut butter Instructions Slice the banana into 1cm thick pieces. I used a silicone mould for cookies, but you can also place them on a parchment paper-lined plate. Put them in the freezer for 30 minutes. Take the banana slices out from the freezer and add a small spoonful of nut butter to every other banana piece. Then lay the slices without nut butter on top, so you have sandwiches. Freeze again for another 30 minutes. Melt the chocolate with coconut oil on the stove. Dip the banana sandwiches in the chocolate. Sprinkle with sea salt and put them into freezer for 10 minutes or so. Then they are ready for serving.

I tried another new salad this week and was asked to share the recipe. Since I was privileged to pick fresh kale from the field, I thought I would want to try and make a salad from kale. I typically search for inspiration from quite a few nutritionists, dieticians and functional medicine doctors I follow. The below recipe is inspired from Culinary Nutrition and goes very well with grilled meat. Kale and quinoa salad with cilantro balsamic vinegar dressing For 6 people Ingredients A large punch of kale 1 cup of quinoa, rinsed before boiled 2 avocados, pealed and cubed 1/2 cup of dried cranberries, unsweetened if possible 1/2 of slivered almonds 1 big Granny Smith Apple, peeled and diced Optional add-on: goat's cheese you can crumble For salad dressing Juice of 3 lemons 1/2 cup of olive oil 2 tbsp of white balsamic vinegar 2 tsp of fresh ginger, finely grated 1/2 tsp of dried parsley 1/2 tsp of dried basil 1/2 tsp of dried oregano 1/2 tsp of dried marjoram Pinch of salt A little bit of pepper A small bunch of cilantro You can also add a garlic clove, this time I didn't Instructions Wash thoroughly and boil quinoa. It should take 15 minutes to cook, then let it stand for 5-10 minutes. Cool the quinoa down. Wash kale, remove the leaves from the thick stem and then chop into small pieces. Add some lemon juice and then massage the kale with hands. This really helps to turn kale softer, so it's not hard to chew. Let the massaged kale stand in a salad bowl while you make the salad dressing. Put all the salad dressing ingredients in a bowl where you can use a hand blender or put all the ingredients in the normal blender. You should blend until the dressing becomes creamy. Add the apple, avocado, cranberries to the kale. Then mix in cooled down quinoa and finally add the salad dressing. If you want to also add goat's cheese, add it at the very end and don't mix into the salad. Rather crumble the goat's cheese on top of the salad. Enjoy!

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.

My mother's garden is overflowing with zucchinis (courgettes, as they are called in some parts of the world), so I have had the privilege to eat fresh organic zucchinis now for couple of weeks. I have really had them in so many different ways, but today since I was told I will have surprise visitors coming, I decided to make a quiche with zucchini and chanterelles. Since I am gluten-free for years, I was looking for a recipe that had an alternative base to wheat-flour base. I used this recipe from Light Food Full of Flavour as a basis. Zucchinis contain potassium, manganese, riboflavin, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin K, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, thiamine, niacin, calcium, zinc, selenium, iron, choline and vitamin E. As you can see zucchini contains a fare amount of nutrients. Quinoa quiche with chanterelles and zucchini For 8 persons Ingredients For the gluten-free quinoa quiche pastry: 2/3 cup of quinoa flour 1/3 cup of corn starch 1/4 cup of ground flax seeds 110g of butter 2tbsp of goat's yoghurt For the filling: Ghee for frying (you can use also olive oil) 1 large red onion, finely chopped 1 garlic glove, crushed 3 cups of chanterelles (you can use also other types of mushrooms but as chanterelles are in season, I chose to use those) 1 medium-sized zucchini (courgette), halved and thinly sliced 1tsp of fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 tsp of dried thyme 4 cups of fresh spinach 3 large eggs 145g of soft goat's cheese 5tbsp of goat's yoghurt A little bit of truffle oil (optional) Salt and pepper to taste Instructions Pre-heat the oven to 200C degrees. To make the pastry, mix in a bowl together quinoa flour, corn starch, ground flax seeds (I milled mine in the coffee grinder). Then add in cubed butter and mix with your hands thoroughly through. Add in the goat's yoghurt and mix. The dough should feel soft. Grease the pie dish. Flatten to dough, place it in the middle of the pie dish. With your fingers keep pushing the dough down and outward and up the sides of the dish as well. Put the pie dish in the fridge for 30 minutes. While the pastry is in the fridge, fry the onions 5 minutes on the pan, then add crushed garlic, zucchini (I removed the inner seeds so it's less watery), mushrooms and thyme and cook for 10 minutes. Finally add the spinach and mix until spinach has wilted (1-2 minutes). Season with salt and pepper and lift the pan off the heat. Take the pie dish out from the fridge, prick a few holes with a fork all over the bottom. Place the pie dish in the oven and bake for 17 minutes. Take it out of the oven and leave to cool down for a few minutes. In a small bowl mix together the eggs, goat's cheese, goat yoghurt- season with salt and pepper and pour the mixture into the cooked vegetables. Bake the quiche in the oven for 25 minutes. Cool down a bit before serving. Enjoy!

Pancakes have been our family Sunday morning tradition as long as I can remember. And over the years of my life we have really had different recipes from sour milk small fluffy pancakes that our mother and grandmother used to make, to thin big crepes. Kids enjoy still the big crepe pancakes the most we actually make two types of pancakes on Sunday morning. Since I went gluten-free in 2017, we also introduced gluten-free banana pancakes to our Sunday breakfast menu. I don't follow really any recipe when making banana pancakes as I used different gluten free flours, like almond flour, coconut flour, pumpkin seed flour, cassava flour, gluten-free oats flour- depending what we have available in the house. And most of the times I mix different flours together to increase the nutritional value of the pancakes. Almond flour is nutritious, containing 7g of protein, 15g of fat, 5g of carbs, 3 grams of fibre (in 1 1/4 cup serving) as well as iron, manganese, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, calcium. Cassava flour (1/4 cup) contains, 31g of carbs, 2 g of fibre, 0 g of fat, 0g of protein, potassium, calcium- it's nutritionally relatively low, but contains resistant starch, which is fermented in the large intestine (food (prebiotic) for your gut bacteria and may improve blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Coconut flour is made from coconut flesh that has been dried and ground. It has high nutritional value, where 1/4 of a cup contains 10g of fibre, 18g of carbs, 6g of protein, 3 g of fat, 6 g of sugar, iron and potassium. Pumpkin seed flour contains in a 1/4 a cup, 7g of carbs, 12g of protein, 1g of fat, zinc and iron. Below is a banana pancake recipe from today's breakfast, which we enjoyed today and will be able to also have for breakfast tomorrow. Easy and healthy banana pancakes For 4-6 persons Ingredients 5 eggs 2 bananas (I buy bananas when they are still slightly green at the ends, yellow in the middle, as then they are richer in resistant starch) 1 cup of goat's milk yoghurt (you can use also Greek yoghurt) 1/4 of a cup almond flour 1/4 of a cup coconut flour 1/4 of a cup pumpkin seed flour 1/6 of a cup cassava flour 1/2 tsp of Himalayan salt 1/2 tsp of baking powder 3 tbsp of liquid coconut oil or melted butter For serving: You can use really different options from berries and fruits. We like to use wild blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and sometime mango. We also use almond butter, cocoa nibs, bee pollen, sometimes hemp seeds. For kids we also have an ecological hazelnut chocolate cream, maple syrup and they sometimes use cinnamon-raw cane sugar mix with a squeeze of lemon juice. Instructions We put all the ingredients in a high speed blender and blend a minute or so. We mix the melted butter or coconut oil (melted) into the batter and we don't use any additional fat on the pan- makes it easier and hassle free to bake the pancakes. We do have a pancake pan and a normal pan for frying, so frying is mostly shared between myself and my husband at the same time. Now and again kids take the frying over, but they often tend to sleep long on Sundays. We also watch watch a cooking show like Iron Chef at Netflix , while frying the pancakes, to get some inspiration and our mouths watering for breakfast ;). Enjoy!

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 ) 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, 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 coach and nutrition counsellor 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!

I have been asked many times what is it exactly that I am doing, what is integrative nutrition health coaching. So I thought I'll bring more clarity around this to a wider audience. Photo by Portraits by Katery What does an integrative nutrition health coach do? I am a wellness guide and a supportive mentor for people looking to improve their health or wanting to achieve specific health goals. I empower clients to choose health-promoting behaviours that work for them. I am guiding people through the too many dietary guidelines and diets in the world, help them to discover the way of healthy eating that works for them and also that works with their lifestyle. It's very much a bio-individual approach towards every person as we all have different backgrounds where we come from, how we were brought up, how was our diet and how is our diet today, health challenges in the past and present, physical movement practices we engage in on a regular basis, our emotional needs etc. Health coaching is definitely NOT about one diet or one way of living. I raise awareness and offer support as clients move in their own bio-individual ways- I help to make connections, identify patterns, shift limiting beliefs using a growth mindset. I coach clients to be experts on themselves and find their own answers. Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) where I studied for a year, emphasises that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to health and wellness. I am helping my clients to discover how to fuel their bodies, live a healthy lifestyle, and how to become the happiest, healthiest versions of themselves by discovering exactly what works for them. I consult clients all around the world, in English or in Estonian. What IIN also taught me to discover both about myself and my clients, was that there are things that feed us on the plate (which is what we eat and drink and what IIN calls secondary food) and off the plate (relationships, physical activity, social life, spirituality, career, finances, joy, home environment, home cooking, and what IIN calls primary food). And it's in many cases where the primary food is much more important to focus on and improve in order to heal. How do I work with clients? When a potential client reaches out to me, first I get the client to fill in a registration form, that gives me an overview of the current and past health challenges, the habits related to health (stress, sleep, exercise, alcohol, cigarettes), briefly the daily schedule and reasons the client contacted me. I also request the client to keep a food diary for 3-5 days so I get a better understanding of the current nutrition. Then we schedule a first session together either online (Zoom, Google Meet) or face to face. The first session takes anything from 60 minutes to 90 minutes . I will provide feedback to the client about their current nutrition based on their current energy needs, which is influenced by weight, exercise, age, goals etc. We focus in that session also on the goal the client has and what are the one to two activities the client can do around nutrition and health to get closer to that goal. If the client has multiple aspects in the nutrition and health they want to improve and they know they need support and guidances, they can choose to sign up for my 3-month or 6 month nutrition and health coaching program . In the 3-month and 6-month program I would meet virtually or physically twice a month with a client for 45 minutes, where the client tells me what they want to focus on around their nutrition, health and goals, what has been going well and in every session client chooses after our session 1-2 new healthy habits from our discussion to implement during the upcoming 2 weeks. I also provide supporting materials, recipes, links to read further, what's needed to support the client. Client can definitely extend the program after 3 or 6 months to another 3 or 6 month program if they feel they need further support and guidance. With the majority of my clients, they come to me with a goal to improve their nutrition, loose weight, heal their relationship with food, heal their digestion issues or hormonal issues, improve their sleep, improve their skin etc. I often recommend the client also to go and get their most important blood markers tested through their primary healthcare practitioner, family doctor or go directly to the laboratory (like Synlab in Estonia), so client knows where their current health is at and then retest after several months when they have implemented healthier eating and lifestyle habits. Depending on the client, I'll also bring in after couple of sessions the primary food areas and I get the client to evaluate where they are at in the areas of relationships, physical activity, home environment, home cooking, career, finances, social life, joy, spirituality and we'll see together how to bring more balance into these areas. If a client wants to make healthier food choices in the grocery store and wants advice on what to buy in the store, what not to buy, how to read the ingredients and nutritional information on the packages, we can make a trip to the store or the market together, where I can advise on what is important to focus on when buying food and how to make healthy choices in the grocery store. As an nutrition councelor and integrative nutrition health coach, my passion is really to be there for the client, to actively listen, to look at my client holistically, to support and to guide my client towards the best and healthiest version of themselves. If the above is something that raises interest in you, whether you want to improve nutrition, have health goals you want to reach (or know someone who could benefit from a nutrition councelor and health coach), don't hesitate to reach out to me. You can contact me via e-mail at info@katrinpeo.com or reach out to me via Facebook Messenger or Instagram . Institute for Integrative Nutrition Health Coach

I have been posting a few recipes for muffins in the past, like these autumn inspired muffins , macadamia and cashew nut muffins , or these blueberry muffins and pumpkin muffins . Muffins are an easy breakfast when you have kids and also a good snack to give kids along, when they need to have extra energy before their sports activities. One of the reasons my kids are waiting for winter is because of gingerbread cookies. So I thought I'll bring them the taste of gingerbread into autumn and baked some apple sauce and gingerbread muffins. These are gluten and sugar free, getting the sweetness from the apple sauce, a little bit of honey and maple syrup. Apple gingerbread muffins Makes 12 Ingredients 3/4 cup of millet flour 3/4 cup gluten free oats flour ( I buy these and mill them in the coffee grinder) 1/4 cup sunflower seed flour (I grind sunflower seeds in the coffee grinder) 1tsp of baking soda 1tsp of baking powder 1/2 tsp of cardamon 1tsp of cinnamon 1/2 tsp of ground ginger 1/2 tsp of freshly ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp of ground glove 1 tbsp of ground flax seeds Pinch of salt 4 tbsp of almond flakes 1 cup of apple sauce (I gut 6 apples up, removed the core, gut the apple pieces into smaller pieces, put them in a pot, with a little bit of water- and boiled for 10 minutes until apples were soft. Then I blended with a high-speed blender into smooth apple sauce). 2 eggs 2 tbsp of maple syrup 1tbsp of honey 1/4 cup of blackstrap molasses (I did not add it this time, but you can add if you want your muffins sweeter and darker in colour). 1tbsp of apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup of coconut oil Instructions Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Grease the muffin pan with coconut oil or butter. Put the muffin liners in the holes. First start with making the apple sauce as per instructions above. I do not peel the apples if they are local and organic as peels contain several important vitamins and minerals like vitamin A, C and K, calcium, potassium. Mix together all the dry ingredients. Whip the eggs and add in maple syrup, honey, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil and also the apple sauce. Mix well. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Scoop the mixture into the muffin liners and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. You can scoop some greek yoghurt or spread some soft goat's cheese on muffins. Enjoy the taste of winter!

This is a smoothie perfect to drink during autumn and winter- it can be drank room temperature or slightly warmed up as it contains those lovely warming spices, like ginger, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg. Plus it's filled with vitamins minerals, good dose of fibre and good fat- and very soothing for the gut. Pumpkin spice smoothie Ingredients 1 1/2 cup of almond milk (make sure it contains only almond paste, water and sea salt. I buy this one in Estonia .) 1/2 cup of coconut milk 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree (I made a bigger batch of oven baked pumpkins the other evenings and using it for different recipes) 3 Medjool dates, pitted ( I buy these ones in Estonia ) 1/4 cup of hemp hearts (leave a little bit for serving). I buy these in Estonia . 1/2 tsp of cinnamon (leave a little bit for serving) 1/4 tsp of ginger 1/4 tsp of cardamom pinch of clove powder (I use coffee grinder to grind clove) pinch of grated nutmeg 1tsp of vanilla extract 1 tbsp of collagen powder (optional, but a good way to get protein in) Instructions Blend all the ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth. You can then serve it as is from the glass and topped with cinnamon and hemp seeds or warm it up to your preferred temperature. Enjoy!

I am struggling to find good quality bars on the market, that I can buy for my kids, that are a good source of protein and energy at the same time- and which are a good healthy snack between their school and daily sports activities. So I am experimenting now creating my own bars. It will take some practice, especially if kids have different preferences for ingredients and flavours. And of course these can be used by grownups as well as a snack before and after exercise. The inspiration for these bars came from a lovely woman named Michelle from my IIN coaching circle group. Almond butter protein and energy bars Makes 15 square bars Ingredients 1 cup of chopped dates ( I have bought these ones in Estonia)- remove the pits 1/2 cup of oats ( I buy these in Estonia) 1/2 cup chopped almonds 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1/2 cup of unsweetened desiccated coconut 1 tsp of cinnamon 1/2 tsp of sea salt 1/2 cup of almond butter ( I bought this one - yes you can make almond butter with a good quality high-speed food processor yourself) 1/4 cup of protein powder (you can use clean pea protein, hemp protein, I used this time Sunwarrior Vanilla protein ). If you use unflavoured protein, you can taste the mixture and see if you would want to add a 1 tbsp of honey. Instructions First blend the pitted dates in the food processor until smooth. Add finely chopped nuts, coconut, cinnamon, salt, almond butter and protein powder. Blend until all ingredients are properly mixed together. Line a square or rectangular baking dish or a bowl with parchment paper. Spread mixture into dish and press down to even layer. Let the mixture cool in fridge 1-2 hours till its firm. Take it out from the fridge, take the mixture together with parchment out from the dish and cut into square or rectangular bars. I wrapped them in smaller parchment paper for kids to be able to easily take them with to school. I store the bars in fridge.

I am always looking for options to broaden the healthy nutritious breakfast options for my family. And since pears are still in season and I happened to pick quite a few of them from our garden couple of days, I thought I'd try and make a pear bread using one of my banana bread recipe as a basis but making modifications to the recipe where needed. I do have times when my creativity around baking does not end with the result I expected, but this time I did not fail. Pears have high amounts of fibre, vitamin C, vitamin K, copper, potassium, boron. They also contain antioxidants, especially in the skin- therefore I do not peel the pears when using them in food. If you have constipation, struggle with high cholesterol, you want to strengthen your heart health and nourish the skin.- then pears are a good addition to your diet. Healthy gluten-free pear bread Makes 10 thick slices Ingredients 6 medium sized pears (use local organic or home grown if possible) 1/2 cup of butter 2 eggs 1 tbsp of honey (melt it in a very low temperature, (don't boil it)- to turn it into a liquid 1 cup of almond flour 1 cup of millet flour 1tsp of baking powder 1/4 tsp of baking soda 3/4 tsp of sea salt 1/2 cup of buttermilk Squeeze of lemon 1/3 cup of mulberries (you can also use raisins) Handful of pecan nuts, chopped 1tbsp of cocoa nibs (you can also omit if you don't like chocolate) Instructions Pre-heat the oven to 180C degrees (350F). Wash and grate the pears with skin on, discarding the inner part with seeds. If you don't have access to organic local pears, peel the pears. Save 2 pear for the top. Squeeze a little bit of lemon, to avoid the browning of the pears. Mix well. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and add the melted honey. Then add in 2 eggs and mix thoroughly together. In a separate bowl mix together almond flour, millet flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt. Then pour the dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Add in the buttermilk and finally chopped mulberries, chopped pecan nuts and cocoa nibs. Grease your bread mold or pan and pour the mixture in there. Gut the one pear you left for decoration into pieces and lay them on top of the batter. Bake in the oven for 1h. Remove from the oven, cool down, slice and enjoy on its own or top it with a tablespoon of greek yoghurt, coconut yoghurt. You can also add some berries, like raspberries, blueberries.

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 for nutrition counselling and health coaching.

I tried another recipe for a bread since I wanted to make some chicken-liver p âté 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 p âté 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 p âté . ***** Chicken liver p âté 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.

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.