NaturalCounselor Health and Wellness Blog For Women

If you are ready for a healthy breakfast idea to start your New Year with, then this delicious and healthy Pumpkin and Cinnamon Pancake recipe for weight loss might be a good start for you.

Pumpkin is rich in beta carotene to keep your eyes healthy and your skin look younger, as well as fiber to keep you regular and help you lose weight naturally.

Cinnamon will help you keep your hormones in balance and your metabolism under control which always helps women lose weight or at least not to gain extra pounds.

Oats are not only rich in fiber to lose weight and protein to beet cravings, but also help to stabilize your blood sugar and lower your cholesterol.

Healthy Weight Loss Breakfast Recipe: Pumpkin Cinnamon Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 can pumpkin pure
• 1/2tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tbsp baking powder
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar or as needed
• olive oil as needed

Directions:

Mix all ingredients thoroughly, cook on medium heat and serve with sour cream, Maple Syrup or mix or berries and fruits.

Bon Appetit!

Click to listen to the Tips on Weight Management for Women – How to maintain your weight After 40 on Holistic Health Talk Radio for Women “Feel and Look Fabulous with Irina“.

Breathe, smile and be happy.

© Irina Wardas, HHC

If you are one of 60% of the population who has Celiac disease or are gluten-intolerance, these gluten free recipes are just for you. You can use these gluten-free and low glycemic recipes if you need to manage your weight, lose weight naturally, or want to feel and look fabulous.

I would like to share with you two gluten-free recipes with super healthy nuts/seeds to help you lower your risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart disease.

Sunflower seeds are also rich in vitamin E to help us reduce inflammation, prevent certain cancers, hot flashes and maintain your hormone balance during menopause.

Cashews, which are rich in Copper help us have more energy and improve flexibility in bones and joints. According to Dr.OZ, we need 12 cashews a day to prevent colon cancer.

Gluten Free Curried Sunflower Pate Recipe for a Healthy Heart, Menopause and Hormone Balance

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup organic Sunflower Seeds, germinated
• (soaked in purified Water for 4 –8 hours, rinsed well daily and used within two days—will be about 1/ 3cup after soaking)
• ¼ tsp organic Curry Powder
• ¼ tsp organic Cumin
• ½ tsp Braggs Liquid Amino Acids; or
• 1/ 16 tsp Celtic Sea Salt

Directions:

• Blend all the above in blender or food processor.
• Serve in bowl or shaped on a plate in whatever fashion you like, along with sprouted flax seed and vegetable Crackers (health food store —raw section) or veggie Chips (p. 8), but cut some Veggies in cracker-size squares, such as the Chinese Cabbage, especially the thick par t of the leaf, and the Red Cabbage.
• If you have large Carrots, cut them at an angle, such as you see in Chinese food, and they may be good for spreading on as well. Also, Celery, about four inches in length, can hold the dip nicely. Raw Yams, sliced thinly, make a nice bed for this flavor as well.
  

Gluten Free Lemon Cashew Curry Recipe to Lose Weight Naturally

Ingredients:

• ½ cup soaked organic Cashews (soak for four hours or more, then rinse)
• ½ cup pure Water
• ¼ tsp organic Curry Powder
• ¼ tsp organic Cumin Powder
• 2 tsp Braggs Liquid A mino Acids
• ¼ t sp Celtic Sea Saltor ¼ t sp Pink Himalayan Salt
• 2 tbsp organic Lemon Juice
• ½ tbsp organic Lemon Zest
• ½ cup angle-sliced organic Carrots
• ¼ cup chopped organic Onion
• ½ cup angle-sliced organic Bok Choy
• ½ cup angle-sliced organic Zucchini
• Tamari-flavor Roasted Cashews
  

Directions:

• 1. Blend in blender (for Sauce); Cashews, Water, Curry, Cumin, Braggs Aminos, Salt, Lemon Juice and Zest.
• 2. Chop and stir fry in wok or pan: Carrots, Onion, Bok Choy, Zucchini.
• 3. Add Sauce to Veggie mixture. 4. Garnish with Tamari-flavor Roasted Cashews.

Bon Appetit!

Breathe, smile and be happy.

Women’s Holistic Health Coach and Nutrition Counselor © Irina Wardas

Most of  people think that having cravings is a bad thing and that we have to do our best to get rid of them.

It’s not true!

Our cravings tell us that some brain chemicals are missing in our bodies. Having cravings is a unique way of our bodies communicate with us and a wonderful tool for finding which foods work best for us.

In general, we might have cravings if we:

• don’t drink enough water (dehydration is considered to be a mild hunger);
• are bored, stressed out, dissatisfied with our relationship, (emotional eating);
• eat too much sugar, salt, processed food;
• don’t eat enough seasonal foods;
• have hormonal changes;
• don’t eat some foods for a long period of time.

Tips to Beat Sugar and Chocolate Cravings

Whenever we have cravings, our body tries to tell us something, which means it’s time to learn how to listen to our body in order to understand its needs and imbalances.

• Feel like eating sweet foods?

It always means that your blood sugar is low and your body is asking for energy.

Try to eat more sweet potatoes, yams, winter squash, beets, carrots.

Whole foods such as grains, beans, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds will be very helpful because they contain complex carbohydrates – chains of three or more single sugar molecules linked together- and are digested slowly and steadily.

Studies show this helps control blood sugar, diabetes, and insulin levels. Because whole foods are rich in fiber, they can help with weight loss and detox of your body.

• Feel like eating chocolate?

Did you know that chocolate (dark, healthy for us) is very rich in Magnesium? People who crave chocolate may have a  low Magnesium level. They can also eat more whole foods, such as beans ((mung, aduki, black), whole grains (buckwheat, millet, barley), nuts and seeds (almonds, cashews, sesame seeds). A good source of Magnesium is spirulina, dried seaweeds, chlorella.

Learning how to listen to our bodies can be a rewarding process.

Let us be crave smart to feel and look fabulous, shall we?

Breathe, smile and be happy.

©Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health Coach and Nutrition Counselor