Set yourself free

I’m a big fan of gifts from the heart. So how about making someone you love some homemade toasted muesli? Put it in a cute little glass jar and they'll love you forever.

TOASTED MUESLI
2 cups coconut flakes
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup almonds (roughly chopped)
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup pepitas
1/3 cup chia seeds
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup of your fave dried organic fruit (roughly chopped) eg. figs, peaches, sultanas
3 Tbsp organic butter or coconut oil
3 Tbsp rice malt syrup

METHOD
1. Mix all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the oil/butter and rice malt syrup.
3. Pour over muesli mix and stir to coat well.
4. Line a tray with baking paper and evenly spread out muesli.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 120 degrees for 15-20 mins or once muesli is golden and dry. Keep a close eye on it! Move it around every now and then to get an even golden coverage. Store in a glass jar in the pantry.

To me, toasted muesli is a “sometimes food”. It’s a yummy breakfast, afternoon snack or dessert served with yoghurt and fresh fruit.

111. Top Five Things I LOVED This Week:

1. Picking lemons from heavy branches with dad.
2. Cozy dinners with new friends.
3. Pukka ‘Refresh’ tea that we drink from tiny cups every week at meditation group. I bought myself a box for home this week.
4. I had this dream the other week where I ended up in a library and it was one big party! I knew heaps of people there and I was having a great time! So I took it as a sign and became a member of the Coffs Library. Didn’t have the same nightclub vibe when I walked in, but I walked out with a Jamie Oliver cookbook, vintage Frankie mags, a Sex and the City dvd, a prenatal yoga dvd, parenting books, a cd of Brazilian street music and a kids book called The Penguin and the Cupcake to read to the bump.
5. Doing the Running Festival (I walked) with my parents and husband this Father’s Day.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. I want to leave you with a passage my husband read to me the other night in bed from The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman:

An old man and his son worked a small farm, with only one horse to pull the plow. One day, the horse ran away.
“How terrible,” sympathized the neighbors. “What bad luck.”
“Who knows whether it is bad luck or good luck,” the farmer replied.

A week later, the horse returned form the mountains, leading five wild mares into the barn.
“What wonderful luck!” said the neighbors.
“Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?” answered the old man.

The next day, the son, trying to tame one of the horses, fell and broke his leg.
“How terrible. What bad luck!”
“Bad luck? Good luck?”

The army came to all the farms to take the young men for war. The farmer’s son was of no use to them, so he was spared.
“Good? Bad?”

*MATERNAL MONDAYS*
~Happy pills~

I eat well. It’s part of my job description. But my feelings are, no matter how fantastic your diet is, there is such a demand on the body when growing a baby (and breastfeeding) that it can be tricky to get the right amounts of all your nutrients at a THERAPEUTIC level.

MY SUPP'S:
Morning:
1 x MyGen Fertility Multi
1 x BioCeuticals Ultrabiotic Pregnancy Care

Night:
1 scoop x BioCeuticals Ultra Muscleze Night
2 x BioCeuticals DHA Omega

IN A NUTSHELL:
BioCeuticals Ultrabiotic Pregnancy Care (probiotic)
Keeps all the friendly bacteria in good a positive balance in the gut, urinary and reproductive tracts.

BioCeuticals DHA Omega (fish oil)
Prevents post natal depression and assists with nervous system and eye development.

MyGen Fertility Multi (multivitamin)
Tops up all my vitamins and minerals including iodine which is essential for brain development.

BioCeuticals Ultra Muscleze Night (magnesium powder)
Relaxes the muscles and calms the nervous system.

Something worth noting is that these supp’s were prescribed to me by my herbalist whom I have regular consultations with and she keeps an eye on my blood tests. I am also very particular about the QUALITY of my supp’s which is why I take practitioner-prescribed brands.

Which supplements did you find most useful during pregnancy?

Emma the Naturopath xx

(19 wks –size of a mango)

112. Top Five Things I LOVED This Week:

1. The gasp you let out when you see your bank balance dramatically jump up. Then you realise your tax return has arrived.
2. A 10km ride around Coffs creek in the glorious Spring sunshine.
3. A morning meditation class followed by hot gluten-free banana bread with salty butter and cinnamon ricotta. Both are equally good for the soul.
4. Being wide awake at 5:30 each morning because I’m STARVING, then having 3pm naps in the afternoon to catch up. It all started because that’s when my husband gets up to go surfing and now the baby starts moving around at the same time. They share a special bond those two.
5. Finding a fat caterpillar (named Fred) in the bunch of flowers on the dining room table and checking on him every day.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS.
“She wore the scent of early spring on her delicate neck and every kiss I stole tasted of bright yellow flowers and buzzing bees”
-Michael Faudet

Spring is here beautiful people… Soak it up! At a “Spring Health” talk I did at One Conscious Breath Yoga Studio this week, I asked everyone to say a word that they associate with spring. Such answers included:

Jasmine flowers
Green
Healing
New beginnings
Sunshine
Freshness
Change
Lighter afternoons
Gardening

*MATERNAL MONDAYS*
~The 20 week scan~

My husband and I were adamant that there was no way we were going to find out the sex of our baby until we were holding it in our arms. That was, until we had our 20 week morphology scan last week.

I caved with all the excitement. “Are you SURE we don’t want to know?” I asked my husband repeatedly from across the room during the scan. The sonographer told us to look away if we didn’t want to know, while he zoomed in on the pelvic area. I saw my husband turn around and face the corner while I squinted to work out what the hell what was what on the screen. No luck.

Boy or girl -we’re stoked either way. I want a little daughter to cook and bake with, but the thought of a mini-Brett melts my heart.

Did you find out or wait for the delivery day? What were your reasons?

Emma the Naturopath xx
(20 weeks –the length of a banana)

SALT AND VINEGAR ALMONDS

I was flicking through my I Quit Sugar cookbook the other week (page 146 in the Savoury Snacks section for those of you playing along at home) and stumbled across a super easy recipe for salt and vinegar almonds. The recipe in the book says add 50ml of ACV and 1 Tbsp of salt to 1 ½ cups of almonds, but I’ve experimented and found that the below recipe works best for me.

Add to a bowl:
2 cups of almonds
1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
2 tsp pink Himalayan salt

Stir well so the nuts are coated then spread out in a lined baking dish. Bake at 150 degrees for around 15 mins –stirring every 5 mins til the nuts are mostly dry. Store in a glass container in the pantry. They are sooooo morish hot out of the oven!!

113. Top Five Things I LOVED This Week:

1. The excitement of upcoming weddings: booking flights, finding a dress, buying and wrapping presents. The whole kit and caboodle (not kitten caboodle like I used to think the saying went).
2. Standing out in my garden watering all my plants and then doing yoga after breakfast. My favourite way to soak up some vitamin D.
3. Receiving 3 incredible bunches of flowers in 4 days. My house and shop are filled with colourful poppies, freesias, sunflowers and lillies. Thankyou Tamika, Jas and Bretty xx and once again the talented Precious Petal girls
4. Strawberry lassi: two handfuls of strawbs, fresh mint, a handful of ice, 2 Tbsp goat yoghurt, nutmeg, cinnamon and filtered water. So refreshing.
5. When your friend texts you going “Just made quinoa nori rolls and a spelt orange and chia seed cake with coconut ganache. Would you like to share if we bring it over later?” Um yes Sherrin, Y-E-S!

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty”
-Maya Angelou

I have great respect for delayed gratitude. It is always worth acknowledging a well behaved child, a steady yoga pose, a uni graduate or a gradual loss of weight. The sacrifices and discipline we make in the short term equate to admirable achievements in the future. Like they say, there is no shortcut to anywhere worth going.

*MATERNAL MONDAYS*
-The reality check

Since hitting the 20 week half way mark a few things have happened lately that made me take a deep breath and go “Oh my god… We’re actually having a BABY…”

THE FIRST THING: seeing the delicate little baby on the 20 wk ultrasound. It looked a lot less like a squid like in the first scan. I turned to my husband that night with a spooked look and said “It’s never just going to be the two of us ever again…” I suppose it already isn’t.

THE SECOND THING: so many generous people have given us baby gear. My husband brought home a high chair last week and set it up next to our dining room table. Woah…

It’s so ironic because we planned this little baby and we are beyond excited but I suppose I just felt like I’d be pregnant forever because 9 months is such a long time... Do you know what I mean? When did reality sink in for you?

Emma the Naturopath xx
21 weeks

"The act of forgiveness takes part in our own mind.

It really has nothing to do with the other person."

-Louise L Hay

Um, may I just say, WOAH...!

There I was sipping my spiced dande and snacking on blueberries, just minding my own business, then I read this powerful quote that the lovely Georgie Cooke Quantum LifeSkills Coaching & Counselling posted.

All the grudges, resentment, hurt and sadness that we feel towards others is our own "stuff". We have made the choice to hang onto it and carry it around with us. People are who they are and we can't control that. But we can forgive them, and set us both free.

Emma the Naturopath xx

Essential Health

0266 514 533

carrots_and_apples@hotmail.com

Facebook: Emma the Naturopath