Did anyone else completely miss and forget about April fools day yesterday? I did and was slightly gutted – I love pranks and have fond memories of my Mum turning the entire breakfast table upside, dying our milk green and hiding our lunch or something else devious on April Fools. Maybe this is what happenes when you get older….nooooo!!!!
But anyway back on the task at hand. Today I am merging two topics – a paleo breakfast bar recipe and April’s dreams/goals. A great combination in my books. But instead of the normal dreams and goal set up I am going to give you a bit of health update in general as that impacts the coming month and you know me – I like to be an open book when it comes to life and health.
(Also if you want to be a Super Naturally Healthy insider and get all the healthy gossip before anyone else then make sure you sign up to my newsletter. I will be sharing an exciting incumbent in tomorrow email that is going to help you get your healthy glow after the Easter celebration – so click here to sign up!)
In terms of last months goals I failed at half of them due to being preoccupied and overly busy. Last week I had a bit of minor melt down of health and life (I am pretty sure I am not the only one who has this??) In terms of health I am in such a better place now than I ever used to be and am so so grateful about how much healthier I am now – yay!! No more diarrhoea, constipation, pain, cramps, fatigue or depression!!! But in the last few months some things have started to go slightly awry. I am walking up with aching knees and my wrists and my right hand if often sore and swollen making task like holding mugs and opening doors at times problematic. Plus I have bloody rash on my tummy and back that is harmless but refuses to go away after a million weird and wonderful hippy treatments and prescribed creams and trips to the dermatologist (who have no idea what to do except prescribe my antibiotic cream!?).
Now none of these things are a massive deal but they re all signs of inflammation and it feels like a kick in the teeth to be honest, like I have somehow failed. I am freaking health coach and mini expert of gut health, yet my body is a bit inflamed and unhappy. So I have to say I threw myself a mini pity party last week. Plus I got quite upset after seeing the doctor after they pretty much said I had rheumatoid arthritis without any tests being done to confirm that. Needless to say I am being tested for a bunch of stuff (I don’t think I have arthritis at all but it is good to check) but it took me off guard and made me a tad sad. I am honestly the healthiest person I know so its an utter mystery to me why I am not in perfect health.
BUT after a bit of bouncing, crying, praying and more bouncing I shook it off and made a plan. I love making plans for all my one2one clients (and seeing how amazingly successful they are!) and in true health coaching style have made up a simple ‘Reduce the Inflammation‘ protocol for me for April. Now I am very wary of just restricting loads of foods and keeping on restricting my diet. If I followed everyones advice I would only be eating spinach and that sounds like an eating disorder to me and I have been there done that and not going down that road again. So I am planning on following the advice that I give to all my clients and people on my Flourish eCourse and focus on abundance and on adding MORE food to my diet and more good practices to my life – not on restriction.
So fellow wellness warrior this is what Aprils goals are and here is a sneaky peek into my ‘Reduce Inflammation and Kick Ass‘ protocol (catchy title don’t you think?)
- Prioritise sleep. So aim to be in bed by 10pm and sleep in if my body needs it and the birds nesting outside my window let me!
- Eat friggin tons of turmeric, ginger, bone broth, liver, coconut oil, herbal teas, sweet potato, dandelion root and sauerkraut, salmon, organic mince and maybe even a steak or two – fancy!!
- Go supplement heavy. I don’t tend to take loads of supplement but I am wondering if my body needs the boost of them to help heal and seal my gut .
- Have rest days on Tuesdays and Thursday . This feels a tad crazy to be as I am really wanting to develop the Super Naturally Healthy business, do one2one coaching and write some awesome recipe eBooks for you (seriously I am lying in bed dreaming about recipes!) but I want to make it happen. So am going to plan in to see people on those days so I am forced to rest.
- Read a non nutritional based book – i.e fiction. I borrowed a Detective Ladies Agency one from my mum so that’s going on the pile above my herbalism course work and books on cholesterol:)
So I have managed to pick myself out of the self pity pit that was last week and I am now excited to see how my body responds to dialing up all the good stuff even more and hitting it hard with some supplements. And of course I will keep you in the loop!
And what better way to get over some feeling sorry for yourself then by eating and making healthy cake. I love cake and cake type things really I do and recently pecan have been my obsession.
Plus some mornings are a bit mental are they not. Sure I love to start my day with fresh juice or eggs but some days you sleep in (or fall asleep in the shower) and you need to leave pronto. These paleo pecan coconut bars are the perfect on the go, running out the door breakfast bar. Filled with loads of fats from the coconut and pecans, zinc from pumpkin seeds, vitamin E, protein, oleic acid from pecan and the full for longer factor from all the fats and proteins. So these breakfast bars pack one nutritional punch!
Store them in the freezer or fridge and grab and go – simple!
Pecan and Coconut Breakfast Bars
Ingredients
- BAR
- 100 g creamed coconut concentrate
- 100 g/1 cup pecans
- pinch salt
- 100 g/1cup desiccated coconut
- tbsp chia seeds
- 3 medjool dates
- 2 tbsp pumpkin seed
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 3 tbsp scoops of coconut oil
- 30-50 ml water
- CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE - optional
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp organic cocoa
- tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
- In a food processor place the dates and creamed coconut and maple syrup. Blend for about 30 seconds. Then add a little bit of water at a time until a buttery paste forms. Then the other ingredients and pulse the processors few times to get a chunky finished , or blend until 1-2 mins for a smooth texture.
- Push mixture into a lined glass dish and use a jar or glass to even out the top. Place in freezer for 30min.
- Melt the drizzle ingredients in a pan on a low heat. The remove bar from freezer and just drizzle over the top. If you want a thicker chocolate layer then just double the ingredients.
This is amazing, just shared on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Training-Centre/293564727482855?ref=hl love it!!!
Yay thanks Becky – glad you enjoyed it:)
Can I make creamed coconut concentrate from a tin of coconut cream? Perhaps leave the liquid to drain?
Yep just scrap of the cream at the top and remove the watery coconut:)
Sorry to hear you had such a crappy time of it, I think it’s so frustrating when challenges keep coming at you, but you’ll definitely get them sorted, you are certainly doing the right things, I often try and treat myself like a client when I need that perspective!
Thanks Laura – feeling more positive now and done exactly that – created myself like I do my client – lots of kindness, grace and easy strategies and already feeling better:)