NaturalCounselor Health and Wellness Blog For Women

How are you feeling right now? Feel overwhelmed, frustrated, angry, emotional?  You might suffer from seasonal depression – sometimes called the winter blues.

To boost the levels of serotonin necessary for dealing with seasonal depression you may need more tryptophan. The legumes: peas, beans, and lentils are some foods rich in tryptophan.

So, to feel better and overcome depression and the winter blues, you may want to try one of these three lentil recipes.

French Lentil Soup for Fighting the Winter Blues

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped 
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 cups green lentils
• 8 cups bouillon
• 1 potato, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 pinch cayenne, to taste
• 1 pound swiss chard, chopped
• Juice of one lemon
• pepper and salt to taste

Directions:

Bring the onion, garlic, celery, lentils and bouillon to a boil in a large pot. Add the potato and spices, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the swiss chard and cook 15 minutes more, or until the lentils are just tender, not mushy. Stir in the lemon juice and Immunity Boosting Spices. Serve with ground pepper to taste.

Healthy Lentil Pate Recipe for Seasonal Depression

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry green or red lentils,
• 2 medium carrots chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced finely
• 2 tbsp/olive oil
• 1 tbsp. ghee
• 1 tbsp tomato pasta
• black pepper and salt to taste

Directions:

To cook lentils, cover them with water and boil for 1-2 min. and then simmer for 15-20 min. (until tender). While cooking lentils, saute onion and carrots in olive oil for 7-10 min., add garlic, tomato pasta, lentils and ghee. Mix thoroughly, season with black pepper and salt. Don’t forget to add Immunity Boosting Spices. Serve warm. You can also use food processor if you want it smooth.

Tasty Pomegranate Lentil Soup to Help Overcome Depression

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup lentils, picked over
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 cups (2 quarts) water
• 1 cup long-grain rice
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• ½ cup chopped green onions
• 1 cup pomegranate juice or 1/4 cup grenadine syrup
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint or 2 teaspoons crushed dried leaf mint
• 2 Tablespoons raisins

Directions:

Add water, drained lentils, rice, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer on low about 45 minutes, until lentils and rice are tender. Add basil, green onions and pomegranate juice to the soup. Simmer an additional 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a small skillet, add mint and saute until butter turns golden. Divide soup into serving bowls. Drizzle each with the mint brown butter and sprinkle with a few raisins to serve.

Bon Appetit!

Breathe, smile and be happy.

Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach and Counselor

Happy and Healthy New Year!

Do you have frequent colds, mood changes, nervousness, headaches, constipation, insomnia, or backaches? These symptoms might be signs of toxicity.

We can get toxins from everywhere: the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, our, make up, the household products we use, the clothes we wear, in other words, just about anything we touch.

Just by using shampoo, eye shadow, lipstick, mascara, and perfume, you can be exposed to hundreds of chemicals.  And we wonder why we get headaches, rashes, hormonal changes, allergies, infertility and cancer.

During the winter season, many of us consume much more fat, sugar, alcohol, meat, etc., causing our bodies to become even more toxic

So why wait till spring to detox, when you can feel better all year long with a super simple detox.

Just by drinking more water and shifting from the most congesting foods (sweets, diary products, bread, fats, fried foods, refined flours, meats, hydrogenated fats, drugs) to the least (fruits and vegetables, grains, nuts and legumes) you can achieve weight loss, and detox at the same time..

After stressful holiday season support your liver and cleanse your blood and lymphatic system, with some New Year healthy and natural weight loss detox tips:

Tip I. Take Milk Thistle twice a day.

The active compound in this antioxidant herb is silymarin, which helps to repair liver, remove alcohol, metals and pesticides from the body.

Tip II. Incorporate more detoxifying foods into your diet:

* Sulfur rich foods such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onions, garlic, parsley, celery, watercress, dandelion greens, turnips, avocados, radishes, bell peppers, cranberries to support the liver.

* Fiber rich foods, such as lentils, beans, grains, fruits to get rid of constipation and eliminate toxins.

* Lean protein (wild caught salmon or other fish, organic chicken) is rich in amino acids to prepare toxins for elimination.

* Cleansing herbs, such as red clover, garlic, echinacea, dandelion root, yellow dock root, burdock root, milk thistle, parsley, cilantro, peppermint, licorice, flax seeds to cleanse liver, blood, lymph, kidneys, colon, skin.

* Cleansing spices, such as turmeric, cumin, coriander, cayenne, ginger, fenugreek, clove, cayenne to detoxify the liver and blood, aid digestion, cleanse gallbladder, colon and kidneys.

Let us be detox smart if we want to feel and look fabulous and have happy and healthy New Year, shall we?

Breathe, smile and be happy.

© Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach, Counselor, and Relationship Expert