If you or anyone you know would like some guidance with the following areas of nutrition please reach out:
• Female and male sports nutrition
• Pre-conception nutrition
• Nutrition & the menstrual cycle & female hormones
• Overall well-being & general nutrition goals

I am available in person at Evado Studios Hawthorn or online via zoom. To book in with me for a one on one consultation please either email me at bec@becstone.com.au or contact your local Evado Studios reception.

For sports nutrition presentations please contact me via email.

I look forward to working with you soon 🙂

I won’t be gone too long though, I’ll be back in clinic in late October 2023.

If you like to be super organised you can book in appointments (in-person or via Zoom) for my return now at:

• Radius Health, Melbourne – 7064 5222
• Evado Studios, Hawthorn – 9882 7556 (or contact your local Evado studio)

If you’re interested in booking in a sports nutrition presentation, please inquire via email at bec@becstone.com.au and I’ll try to get back to you in a timely manner. Please ensure you have provided some available dates (21 October 2023 onward) in your email.

Thanks everyone, look forward to working with you later in the year!

Trimester 1 involved a little more nausea (and food not staying down) than I hoped for, but it really wasn’t that bad. Below are a few suggestions I have for anyone who needs them while feeling a bit green in trimester 1, fingers crossed they work for you or your loved one.

Tips to help you deal with nausea in trimester one:

• Have a snack on your bedside table to eat 1st thing in the morning. This helps to stabilise your blood sugar levels before you get up – it really helped ease my morning nausea. I snacked on nuts, bliss/protein balls, dates stuffed with nuts or homemade frozen yoghurt bites which really hit the spot as they were cold – see recipe below!
• If your prenatal supplement smells too strong and sets you off, store it in the fridge, this really helps reduce the strong smell.
• Avoid getting hungry. The more hungry I was, the worse I felt! I always carried mixed nuts, bliss balls, True protein bars, Mary’s Gone Crackers & carrot sticks in my handbag as a back-ups to eat when I felt myself getting hungry and nauseous.
• Breakfast was hard to stomach, so I became obsessed with smoothie bowls and smoothies for breaky- cold things were so much easier to get down. I loaded them with beetroot, berries, kale, spinach, mango, fresh ginger, yoghurt & INCA organic’s protein powder – do whatever works best for you!
• I wore Sea-Bands – they help with sea sickness and I found they really helped with my nausea. You can find them at chemists.
• If you can stomach it, try and get some protein and good fats coming into your main meals instead of just carbs. Getting some protein and good fats coming in helps stabilise your blood glucose levels much better which helps reduces nausea. Meat, fish and eggs are good sources of protein, but if you’re like me and found these hard to keep down focus on getting a good quality protein powder coming in like INCA organic’s natural whey protein powder, Greek yoghurt, cheese, legumes (lentils, beans, chickpeas, and pastas made of legumes too). I ate lots of nuts and seeds and raw nut butters, Made by Cow full cream milk, quinoa cooked in organic chicken broth. When I could stomach it, I got grass-fed mince meat coming in too.
• When I was craving chocolate cake I made home made chocolate muffins loaded with raw cacao powder, mashed banana, oat flour, maple syrup, coconut oil, eggs and dark chocolate chips.

Nutrition is something I love, so I really focused on both mine & Mitch’s preconception nutrition before we started trying. This is not everyone’s jam & I totally respect that, but if you’ve been thinking about adding to the fam & want to make sure both you and your partner are brimming with nutrients please reach out!

Homemade Frozen Yoghurt Bites:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup of Plain Greek yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or grass fed ghee
• 1 tablespoon of collagen powder
• 1/4 of a cup of strawberry chia jam – check out this simple online recipe
• 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds or home-made granola

Method:

• Mix melted coconut oil/ghee and collagen powder into the yoghurt
• Use a mini muffin tray (silicon trays are easiest to use) and scoop 2 heaped teaspoons of yoghurt mix followed by 1 teaspoon of strawberry chia jam and a sprinkle or pumpkin seeds or granola into each muffin cup
• Freeze for 2 hours and keep stored in the freezer until eating
• In the AM get your partner or housemate to grab you out a frozen chia yoghurt bite to eat while in bed to help ease your nausea
• Enjoy 🙂

During the luteal phase of our cycle the hormone progesterone is high. While progesterone is fantastic for mood (amongst other things), it can  make us feel more fatigued, sluggish and less powerful when we exercise. However, this does not mean that you can’t get a PB during the luteal phase! We just need to understand and adjust our training and food intake to help us perform at our best.

This is the second post I’m doing on the menstrual cycle, how it affects your sports performance, and how nutrition can help. Make sure you’ve read Sports Performance and the Menstrual Cycle – Part 1 – Menstruation.

So what is the luteal phase and how does it affect sports performance?

• The luteal phase starts after ovulation (when your ovaries release an egg) and before your period starts. This is the phase where progesterone is higher than oestrogen and is normally the 12-14 days before your period.
• When progesterone is higher, we actually need to be eating slightly more good quality food (mainly protein & good quality carbs), as we can burn up to 300 extra calories per day.
• If we don’t eat enough when in this stage to make up for this extra burned energy, then our body starts to steal amino acids (proteins) from our muscles.  This causes muscle breakdown, slow recovery, increased inflammation, hormonal imbalances and makes the body believe we are in starvation mode and starts to store more of our food in our adipose tissue than use it for energy!
• In the luteal phase we find it harder to access our stored carbohydrates when exercising. This causes us to feel a lot more fatigued and sluggish and we struggle to hit high intensity levels like we normal would. So, when at training and competitions during this phase you really need to make sure you regularly get some carbs in. This ensures your body has more carbs to use making it easier to turn these carbs into energy, reduce fatigue and promote optimal performance.
• Progesterone also increases our bodies temperature, so we sweat more when in the luteal phase, meaning we need more water and electrolytes than normal to prevent dehydration.

So should I train hard during the luteal phase?

• Training during the luteal phase is completely fine, including high intensity training, however you need to fuel yourself really well.
• Please also be kind to yourself – if you can’t hit target times don’t stress, they will always come back.  And if you feel super fatigued, please pull back and use this time to do more relaxed paced endurance training or focus on skills and technique.
• If you have the ability in your training schedule during your luteal phase to focus on moderate endurance training, skills and recovery, this would be ideal. However, I know this is not possible for everyone, and you may have a competition that falls during this time of your cycle. If so, don’t stress – see my tips below

Nutrition tips to help you preform at your peak during the luetal phase:

• Increase your daily carbohydrate intake at each meal so you have sufficient energy on board for training
• Carbs to focus on: coloured rices, sweet and white potato, pumpkin, fruit, traditional rolled oats, quinoa, legumes, wholemeal pasta, buckwheat and good quality sourdough or rye bread.
• Your body is also in more of a breakdown state, so be sure to get 30g of protein per meal and after all exercise!
• Increase intake of omega 3 rich foods, as these help you access stored carbohydrates from your muscles better. Good foods to include are: salmon, sardines, anchovies, hemp seeds, raw walnuts, chia seeds and cold pressed flax seed oil.
• When training/competing in the luteal phase you want to be eating small carbohydrate snacks more regularly throughout workouts and races to help you access some carbs for energy.
• Aim to start fueling after the first 45 minutes of exercise and then fuel every 30 minutes onwards.
• If your exercise session goes for more than 45 minutes, you must hydrate with both water and an electrolyte drink.

Good carbohydrates sources to eat during exercise are:

• Spring energy gels
• Dried Figs
• Bliss balls – either home-made or brands like Tasti, Tom & Lukes or Carmen’s
• Clif bloks
• Dates
• Carmen’s oat slice or Clif bars
• Super Hero Energy Muffins
• A good quality electrolyte drink that includes carbohydrates, such as Pure Sports Nutrition Electrolyte or Pro4mance Produrance (HASTA approved)

Daily supplementation that can really help reduce fatigue, PMS and support carbohydrate access in the luteal phase:

•  250mg magnesium bisglycinate
• 45mg zinc
• 1 gram of omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)

Please take all of the above supplements with a meal.

If you are a drug tested athlete, you must only use HASTA approved supplements! Even if you are not a drug tested athlete, I highly recommend you seek advice on the best quality supplements you are taking, not all supplements are good quality!

Do you want to learn more about improving sports performance during the luetal phase, or how to track your menstrual cycle so you can train and eat according to your body’s needs? Then please reach out to me so I can give you some individualised advice 🙂

I know menstruation can definitely be a hard time for some females, they can feel lethargic, bloated, suffer from cramps and can bleed quite heavily. This is quite common but this doesn’t have to be your normal!

I know there are many messages out there that a girl on her period should rest and take it easy, however when we look at the science this is actually not true. The time to pull back and focus more on skills, recovery style training, and optimal rest is actually in our late luteal phase (the week before our period – I will discuss the luteal phase in more detail in my next post).

During the week of our period our sex hormones are at their lowest point and this is actually an advantage for sports performance. Having low hormone levels makes us more resilient to physical and mental stress and is the optimal time for females to participate in high intensity exercise as we recovery much quicker when both our progesterone and oestrogen levels are at their lowest.

That said, some women do not feel amazing during their period because they suffer from heavy bleeding, severe cramps and fatigue. If you do not have a medical condition associated with these issues, then they can often be addressed through diet and lifestyle changes, so you can then perform better during menstruation.

Things that you can do to ensure you have an easy menstrual flow are:

• Fuel adequately in the week before your period! Females athletes need to be consuming up to 300 extra calories per day during the luteal phase, I will explain this is greater detail in my next blog post.
• Please do not limit your food intake the week before your period. Particularly focus on eating before all training sessions and refueling with both carbs and protein within 30 minutes after all training sessions, to ensure you don’t go into your period malnourished and fatigued.
• If cramping is an issue for you, focus on magnesium and omega 3 rich foods and good quality supplements in the lead up and during your period. They help reduce inflammation and prostaglandins, which cause period pain, and help relax the muscles of the uterus.
• If you have heavy bleeding* I highly recommend you work with a practitioner to help you understand why this is happening and also get your iron levels tested. It is likely you will be deficient in iron which will cause you to feel lethargic during your period and can actually cause periods to be even heavier!

*Heavy bleeding is considered a loss of more than 80ml of blood during your whole period. A regular tampon holds about 5 ml of blood so this equates to 10 fully soaked regular tampons throughout your whole period. If you loose more blood than this than it is considered a heavy period.

If you supplement with magnesium, look for the form magnesium bisglycinate and aim to have 300mg daily the week before and during your period. With fish oil supplements please talk to a health care professional as there are a lot of poor quality options on the market!

Hope that helps and please reach out to me if you’d like some more individualised advice on how to eat and train throughout your menstrual cycle 🙂

When you exercise, regardless of whether it is aerobic or strength training, your body uses glycogen to fuel the majority of the training session. This glycogen will come from the food sources you eat before training sessions as well as the stored glycogen in your muscles and liver.

After training, your body is primed to make move carbohydrates (glycogen) back to your muscles, to replace the used glycogen stores. Your body does this from the carbohydrate-rich foods you eat after you finish your training session. This newly stored glycogen will then be used as energy for your body during the rest of the day and in your next training session.

Post-training nutrition recovery window

In both males and females, glycogen storage rates are at their highest within 60 minutes after a training session has finished. However, males can continue to store carbohydrates reasonably effectively for up to 18 hours post-exercise! But if you’re doing AM and PM training sessions, you wouldn’t want to wait this long, otherwise you’ll enter your next training session with depleted glycogen stores and reduced energy.

On the flip side, if females delay eating after training, less carbohydrate/glycogen can be stored – females really need to aim to get carbs coming in the first 60 minutes after exercise.

Missing this recovery window results in a decrease in glycogen stores, which leads to lower energy levels for the rest of the day and a reduction in sports performance in your next training session or race. When we’re tired and low in energy, we’re also more likely to crave sweet treats and other high sugar snacks.

Cortisol levels and stress

Regardless of the above information on glycogen storage rates, I always encourage both male and females to get carbs coming in as quickly as possible after exercise. This is because cortisol levels (our stress hormone) become quite elevated during exercise. After exercise both males and females need to stabilise their cortisol levels as quickly as possible, by consuming some good quality carbohydrate-rich foods (oats, fruit, starchy veggies, rice, legumes).

High quality starchy carbs bind to the excess cortisol and clear it from the body. The longer you wait until you eat some starchy carbs after training, the higher your cortisol levels will rise. You want to avoid elevated cortisol levels after training because this kills off your good gut bacteria, which will then reduce the body’s ability to digest and absorb protein, carbs and iron-rich foods at your next meal.

Elevated cortisol levels after exercise also interfere with the balance of the female sex hormones progesterone and oestrogen, both required for optimal sports performance, a healthy menstrual cycle and needed in ideal levels to promote fat burning. Elevated cortisol also weakens the immune system, some studies suggest athletes need to aim to eat within 10 minutes of finishing exercise to support optimal immune function!

Protein

After exercise you need to focus on more than just carbohydrates – protein is just as important! After exercise, the body is in a catabolic state (breakdown state),where the muscles and immune system are being broken down. To stop this breakdown state we need to eat food ASAP (within 30 mins) to turn the body into a building and repair state, and we need to eat a combination of carbohydrates and protein, both are equally important. If this catabolic state is not turned into a building and repairing state, the immune system will become compromised, the muscles will not repair and rebuild properly, and the clearing of lactic acid will be reduced.

Protein’s main purpose after exercise is to rebuild and repair our muscles and our immune system. One of the most import amino acids to be getting in post-exercise is leucine! Leucine is needed to stimulate muscle protein synthesis in both males and females. Similar to carbs, the amount of protein required after exercise differs for both males and females.

Females need to be getting in 30g of total protein and 2.5-3g of leucine, within 30 minutes of finishing exercise. Whereas, males still need approx 25-30g of total protein but only need around 2 – 2.5g of leucine and again they have a longer nutrition recovery window. Males could push their protein intake out to 2 hours post-workout from a muscle recovery point a view, but for optimal immune function I still recommended males aim for 25-30g of protein within 30 minutes.

Common protein sources, including Leucine levels:

* Protein powders I recommend using are INCA Organics and True Protein.

3 quick ways to get protein and carbs in after exercise:

• A smoothie with 1 heaped scoop of good quality whey protein powder, fruit of choice, some hemp or pumpkin seeds and milk/almond milk
• A main meal with meat or fish or organic tempeh in it with some starchy veggies or coloured rice
• 40g of whey protein powder mixed in water, and 2 dates or 3 dried figs – perfect for recovery when on the go!

In summary, I always recommend both female and males aim to eat a mix of protein and carbs with in 30 mins of finishing training. This ensures the body is adapting to your training load, repairing and rebuilding your muscles correctly, supporting and repairing immune function and reducing raised cortisol levels.

This will also ensure female hormone levels are balanced, meaning the body will be less inflamed, produce more energy and be more primed to burn fat instead of hold on to it. For both males and females eating within 30 minutes of training will ensure you have energy for the rest of the day, avoid the mid-afternoon slump, ensure you go in to your next training session with fully stocked glycogen stores, support optimal immune health, hormone health and promote fat burning and muscle building.

Both females and males can benefit from optimising their preconception nutrition! The food we eat has a big impact on female egg quality, as well as male sperm health.

If this is something you or someone you know would be interested in learning more about, then please come along and join me on Thursday the 18th of November at 7.30pm.

I will be discussing everything preconception nutrition and how to best nourish your body before becoming pregnant. Best of all it is a FREE event 🙂

You can join me in person at my new work location, Radius Health in North Melbourne or jump online and join me via zoom from the comfort of your own home!

Make sure you sign up below before next Thursday to join in the fun!

If you are coming along in person then please sign up here

If you are joining via zoom then please sign up here

Look forward to seeing you next Thursday 🙂

It can be very varied, as I always tailor meal plans to individuals depending on their needs, how much time they have, their food preferences, age, gender and their activity levels and exercise goals. However, below is a basic guide and some information on what a day’s food intake should look like for an active individual who doesn’t have any food intolerances or allergies.

Before an early morning work out session do I need to be eating something?

If you are a male and you are exercising for 60 minutes or less you don’t have to eat.

However, if you are doing some really high intensity exercise in the morning (a HIIT class or an intense interval running/bike session), research shows having a small snack before these sessions really helps you perform at your best.

That said, if you are hungry when you wake or don’t like working out on an empty stomach, then please eat regardless of how intense you’ll be exercising.

A great morning workout snack is half a banana.

If you are a female, you need to eat before all exercise sessions in the morning.

The reasoning behind this is complex, so if you want some more detailed information on this please come and see me. But in short, females should never train fasted!

This is very bad for our oestrogen and progesterone levels which results in hormonal imbalances, and makes out cortisol levels skyrocket. This can promote weight gain, negatively effects our digestion, good gut bacteria levels, and promotes excess muscle break down.

If you are a female please eat before any workout! A simple thing to have is half an apple or half a banana and a heaped tablespoon of raw almond butter. This is all you need to counter the above negative effects.

After my morning workout, when should I eat next?

Males and females should both be eating within 30 minutes of finishing any workout!

Males have a longer recovery window for protein synthesis (muscle rebuilding/repair) than females do, however both males and females need to eat within 30 minutes of finishing all exercise/training sessions to support their immune system, lower their cortisol levels and support optimal digestion of nutrients for the rest of the day.

Again, for more detailed information on this come and see me, I love explaining why timing food correctly around exercise is so important for your sports performance, recovery, energy levels, immune function, weight management and digestion.

Some examples of breakfast ideas to have within 30 minutes of finishing a morning workout are:

• Apple and cinnamon overnight oats – see recipe below
• A protein smoothie – see below as well
• 2 eggs done any way you like with a slice of good quality sourdough toast, spread with avocado, goat’s cheese and topped with cooked mushrooms and wilted greens

Morning and afternoon tea:

If you are hungry, please eat a snack at either morning tea and or afternoon tea. Learning to listen to your hunger signals is key here! Check in with your body –  are you actually hungry, or are you really just thirsty, bored or stressed?

If you are actually hungry, please eat, this helps you avoid overeating later in the day and helps stabilise your blood sugar and energy levels.

Some basic snack suggestions are:

• A piece of fruit with a small handful mixed nuts and seeds
• A True protein bar
• 5-6 Carmen’s seeded crackers with some SSS hummus (available at Woolies)

Lunch:

Lunch is a main meal, please eat a main meal not a snack here! For example:

• 1 – 1½ cups of quinoa salad with a palm sized serving of leftover meat or a can of salmon in extra virgin olive oil
• A slice of baked frittata – make sure it’s packed with lots of colourful veggies
• Quick simple buddha style bowl – see recipe below

Dinner examples:

• Beef, chicken or organic tempeh and veggie stir-fry serve with ½ – ¾ of a cup of cooked quinoa, black rice or brown rice
• 150g fillet of salmon with ½ – ¾ of a cup of mashed sweet potato and some stir-fried greens – asparagus, broccolini, green beans and bok choy
• 1 – 1 ½ cups of veggie lentil dahl serve with ½ – ¾ of a cup of cauliflower rice, quinoa or coloured rice

This is a very basic guide of what to eat in a day, if you would like some more targeted advice and a complete 2-week meal plan that is tailored to your needs and provides you with a range of recipes and brand options, then please feel free to book in and see me. I do lots of zoom appointments so you can easily see me from the comfort of your own home in these crazy times!

Recipes

Apple and cinnamon overnights:

• ½ a cup of traditional rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• ½ a large apple diced (leave skin on)
• ½ a cup of raw almond milk (Nutty Bruce is a good brand)
• 2 teaspoons of pure maple syrup
• ½ – ¾ of a cup of plain Greek yoghurt
• 1-2 heaped tablespoon of ground flaxseed
• Mix all ingredient together in a jar or container and keep in the fridge overnight
• Have the next day topped with fresh berries and chopped almonds or raw almond butter
• Last in the fridge for 5 days
• Enjoy 🙂

Protein smoothie

• At least 30g of raw natural protein powder
• 1 cup of raw almond milk or coconut water
• ½ – ¾ of a cup of frozen mixed berries
• ½ a frozen banana
• 1 tablespoon of traditional rolled oats or plain Greek yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon of raw nut butter (almond or peanut)
• 1 teaspoon of raw hemp seeds or chia seeds
• Blend all ingredients and drink

Buddha bowl

• ½ a cup of cooked brown or black rice (you can make rice in advance and freeze in portion sizes)
• 3 tablespoons of well rinsed legumes (dress legumes in EVOO, salt & pepper)
• 3-4 different veggies (cooked or raw)
• ¾ of a palm sized serving of meat, fish or organic tempeh or 2 boiled eggs
• Cook/reheat/prep everything, throw it in a bowl, and eat!

Our digestive tract, mainly our colon, contains trillions of friendly and beneficial gut bacteria, known as good gut bacteria. These good gut bacteria positively affect our health in many different ways. However, the balance of these beneficial gut bacteria can be easily disrupted by some dietary and lifestyle factors, which results in negative health effects, poor mood and decreased immune function.

What exactly does our beneficial gut bacteria do for us

• Assists with digestion and absorption of nutrients
• Synthesises B group vitamins (helps give you energy)
• Supports and stimulates up to 70% of our immune function!!
• Enhances bowel function by improving motility, stool formation and helps keep you regular
• Inhibits the invasion of pathogenic, disease causing bacteria and viruses
• Is linked to improving and preventing depression & anxiety symptoms
• Produces over 80% of the happy hormone serotonin
• Assist in the production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA’s)
• Helps with weight loss and sustained weight management

What disrupts our good gut bacteria balance?

• A diet that is low in fibre and polyphenol (antioxidant) rich foods
• Processed foods, artificial colours, flavours, sweeteners, trans fats and pesticides
• Excessive sugar intake
• Alcohol
• Smoking
• Increased physiological or physical stress (increased cortisol levels)
• Antibiotics and medications

To help maintain beneficial levels of good gut bacteria it is important to maintain a healthy, well-balanced diet that is high in fibre and polyphenol rich foods, avoid smoking and artificial ingredients, and limit your intake of alcohol, sugar and processed foods.

Our good gut bacteria includes many different strains that are fed and strengthened by different coloured prebiotic fibre and polyphenol rich foods. Therefore, eating a wide variety of different coloured, good quality, fibre rich foods will ensure you are feeding and strengthening all strains of your good gut bacteria in your digestive tract not just a few of them.

Below I have provided a Immune Dahl recipe, that is high in a variety of fibre rich polyphenol foods to help feed and strengthen your good gut bacteria. Give it a try, it is delicious and freezes really well so is great to made in advance or in bulk.

Prebiotic and fibre rich polyphenol foods

Prebiotics are carbohydrates that ferment in the colon to make short chain fatty acids. These short chain fatty acids feed your good gut bacteria and also assist in repairing the gut wall. Polyphenols are the coloured pigment of the fibre rich food. These also feed and strengthen your good gut bacteria, as well as help clear free radicals from the body.

Examples of some prebiotic and polyphenol fibre rich foods to include into your diet regularly are:

• Orange foods – sweet potato, carrots, apricots, orange lentils, pumpkin, orange capsicum, fresh turmeric
• Brown foods – mushrooms, brown lentils, almonds, chickpeas, ground flaxseed, chicory root, cacao, brown rice
• White foods – garlic, onion, cooked and cooled white potatoes, traditional rolled oats, leeks
• Green foods – brussel sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, green leafy veg, celery, artichoke, green tea, fresh green herbs
• Red foods – raspberries, tomato, red capsicum, strawberries, cherries, red kidney beans, beetroot, apples
• Black foods – black rice, wild rice, black lentils, black beans, blackberries
• Purple foods – purple carrots, purple cauliflower, purple sweet potato, purple grapes, purple cabbage

Probiotic foods

Probiotics are good gut bacteria that when ingested increase the amount of healthy gut bacteria in a person’s digestive tract. They help to re-balance your digestive tract.

Examples of probiotic foods to include in your diet are:

• Greek yoghurt: chose plain, natural, Greek or coconut yoghurt with NO flavours or added sugar
• Tempeh: fermented soybeans, similar to tofu but has a nutty taste and much better for you
• Miso: fermented soup base from rice, barley or soybeans.
• Kefir: fermented milk drink, similar to drinkable yoghurt, found in health food stores & some supermarkets
• Sauerkraut: fermented cabbage, can buy in health food stores or make your own – recipe here:
• Kombucha: A fermented tea drink that can be found in health food stores or brewed at home – instructions here:
• Probiotic supplements: Great to use after taking a course of antibiotics, if you are feeling immune compromised, or if you are under high levels of mental or physical stress.

Immune boosting Dahl recipe

Ingredients

• 2 brown onions, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp of virgin coconut oil
• 1 tsp of fresh ground turmeric
• 1 tsp of fresh ground ginger
• 1 tsp of mustard powder
• 1 tsp of curry powder
• ½ tsp of cinnamon
• ½ tsp of cayenne
• 1 cup of dried green lentils
• 1 ½ cups of veggie broth or chicken broth
• 1 can of organic pure coconut milk
• Fresh parsley or coriander to serve with
• Brown rice
• Veggies to stir-fry, e.g. shiitake mushrooms, broccoli, red capsicum and green beans

Method

• Cook onion and coconut oil in med pot over med heat.
• Add spices and cook for 3 more minutes, then add the lentils, veggie broth and coconut milk.
• Bring to boil and then reduce to low heat and simmer uncovered for 45-60 minutes (until lentils have absorb most of the liquid)
• While lentils are cooking stir-fry your veggies in some coconut oil or grass fed butter and tamari sauce
• Turn off heat, add the garlic immediately and stir for 1 minute.
• Serve the dahl with veggies, some brown or black rice, fresh parsley/coriander and a large dollop of plain Greek or coconut yoghurt

Our good gut bacteria makes up close to 70% of our immune system, and includes many different strains that are fed and strengthened by different coloured fibre rich foods:

• Orange foods – sweet potato, carrots, apricots, orange lentils, pumpkin
• Brown foods – mushrooms, brown lentils, almonds with skin on, chickpeas
• White foods – garlic, onion, cooked and cooled white potatoes, traditional rolled oats
• Green foods – brussle sprouts, asparagus, celery, green leafy veg
• Red foods – raspberries, tomato, strawberries, cherries, red kidney beans

Foods for optimal immune support

• VEGGIES – the more variety (type and colour!) we eat, the more strains of good gut bacteria we’ll strengthen
• BERRIES – are all high in vitamin C and polypehnols that feed your good gut bacteria
• SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS – high in vitamins and minerals and have been found to fight infectious diseases
• GARLIC – contains an immune boosting compound called allicin which helps prevent and reduce the severity illnesses
• ONION – a great source of vitamin C, packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and can also inhibit the growth of bad bacteria
• GINGER & TURMERIC (fresh) – both help reduce inflammation, have high levels of antioxidants and the curcumin in turmeric has anti-viral properties
• LEMON (fresh) – high in vitamin C and has antiviral and antibacterial properties – excellent in hot water with fresh ginger, turmeric & RAW honey
• COLOURED RICE & LEGUMES – both high in fibre and polyphenols that feed your good gut bacteria, plus both contain protein which is needed for optimal immune function

With all this in mind, the below vegetarian shepherd’s pie recipe is super satisfying, packed full of immune-boosting nutrients and is simple to make (although a little time consuming).

Vegetarian shepherd’s pie

Ingredients

• 5 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed
• 2 cans of lentils drained and well rinsed
• 3/4 cup of traditional rolled oats
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 brown onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon of Pink Salt
• 1-2 teaspoons of black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil (or extra virgin olive oil, or grass fed butter)
• 450g of a mix of shiitake and button mushrooms, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• 500ml of vegetable stock (or use chicken stock if you’re not a vego)
• 1/2 a cup of chopped fresh parsley
• Cheddar cheese to grate on top
• Extra Parsley to serve on top

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 200°c.
• Prick each sweet potato several times with a fork and place on a baking sheet
• Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until very soft, set aside to cool
• In a medium pot, combine the lentils, rolled oats, bay leaves, salt, pepper and stock
• Simmer uncovered for 15-25 minutes, or until rolled oats are well cooked and liquid has been absorbed, stirring occasionally to keep the oats from sticking to the bottom of the pot
• While the lentils and oats are cooking, chop up the onion, mushrooms, carrot and celery
• Warm the oil or butter in a large pot over medium-high heat
• Add the diced onions and mushrooms and a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until browned and soft
• Add the chopped carrot and celery and cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes
• Lower heat to medium and add the lentil and oat mixture, paprika, fresh parsley and a few grinds of black pepper
• Simmer mixture for 2 minutes, taste, and salt/season as needed, then add in crushed garlic
• Evenly spread the lentil mixture into a 9-x-13-inch baking dish (smaller is fine, but it will be nice and high)
• Drop the oven to 175°C, peel sweet potatoes with your hands and place in a medium bowl
• Use a fork to mash them into a smooth paste and season with salt and pepper
• Evenly spread the lentil mixture into baking dish
• Spoon the sweet potato mixture on top and smooth with a spatula
• Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until the filling is bubbling at the edges
• Grate cheddar cheese on top and serve with some extra fresh parsley
• Enjoy 🙂

Extra notes:

• Both the filling and the roasted sweet potatoes can be made ahead and refrigerated up to 2 days before assembling and baking.
• This recipe freezes well. Thaw it overnight in the fridge and bake uncovered at 175°C for 35-45 minutes, or until filling is bubbling.