A tour around some Omega-3s

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When clients come for an initial consultation they often tell me they’re already taking an omega-3 supplement. Sometimes it’s on the advice of a physio for a painful knee, or a dermatologist for a skin complaint, an optometrist suggesting it may help protect against macular degeneration. Others have read an article, a book, or listened to a podcast explaining how certain omega-3 fatty acids might help heart or brain health, or their rheumatoid arthritis, or even increase life span.

This is all to some degree true.  Either there is evidence showing clear benefits, or at least promising possibilities.  Certainly good reason for these fatty acids to be on everyone’s radar.  If we understand what they are, and how they might support our health, we can make more informed choices about what we eat and whether or not supplementation is right for us.

So here’s a tour – shorter at least than a full-day seminar these fatty acids could easily warrant – focusing on two omega-3s which have held centre stage in the health world for several decades.

What’s in a name? Are omega-3s, fish oils, and EPA/DHA all the same?

Omega-3s are a family of fatty acids (= components of dietary fat).  The name “omega-3” comes from their chemical structure, and not, as someone once suggested, because there are three fatty acids in this family.
These three key family members all have tongue-twister names, thankfully shortened to acronyms:

  • ALA (alpha-linolenic acid): a plant-based omega-3 with excellent health benefits of its own (a topic for another time or else this blog will turn into a book).
  • EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid): two marine-based omega-3s that will be the focus of this tour, owing to their wide-ranging health benefits and the extensive body of research surrounding them.

Where do EPA and DHA come from?

Unlike cholesterol, our bodies can’t make EPA and DHA, which is why they’re called ‘essential’ fatty acids because we have to get them from our diet – from fish.

All fish contain some EPA and DHA because they either eat microalgae – the original source of these fatty acids – or they eat smaller fish, which have eaten microalgae.
Good news for plant-based eaters since microalgae supplements are widely available, and more food products are now being fortified with algae-based EPA and DHA.

Back to fish!  While most species contain some omega-3s, fatty fish are definitely the stars of the show. Cold-water fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, anchovy, sardine, and herring (SMASH, an easy acronym) store more fat, and therefore have more EPA and DHA than lean white fish. They need these fats for energy in cold waters and to keep their cell membranes supple.  EPA and DHA have similar effects in the human body, helping our arteries stay flexible and making blood ‘thinner’ or less sticky. Both actions are part of their bigger heart-protective role.

Given this marine link, it’s easy to see why the names EPA and DHA are often used interchangeably with “fish oils,” but I’m going to nitpick here:   fish oils contain EPA and DHA, but they also contain other nutrients such as vitamin D, vitamin A, and various minerals.
This is important when you’re supplementing.  If it’s specifically these two anti-inflammatory fatty acids, EPA and DHA, that you’re after, do check the supplement label.  A bottle may state “1000 mg fish oil”, but the ingredient list may show it only contains 200mg EPA and 120mg DHA.  Or, as someone recently discovered, as little as 18mg and 25mg.

How much do we need?

General recommendation is around 1000 mg per day, although some sources suggest lower, around 450mg, and some clinical trials use much higher doses.
Acording to Dr Bill Harris in this Zoe interview  an average serving of oily fish contains approx 1200 mg EPA & DHA, so, ideally, we should be eating some sort of oily fish around 4-5x weekly.

In the above podcast interview Dr Harris adds that DHA and EPA in supplement form can be in any ratio; a split like 600mg EPA to 300mg DHA is fine.
The reason for these varying ratios is due to research suggesting the two fatty acids have different qualities.  DHA may be more supportive for brain health, whilst EPA may be beneficial for mental health and depression.  EPA is also thought to have stronger anti-inflammatory effects and also might be better for heart health.
However, as a believer in the ‘whole being greater than the sum of its parts’, and given that fish and microalgae contain both these fatty acids, I usually like to recommend supplements with similar (ish) ratios.

The elephant in the room: contaminants

One concern with fish oil is heavy metal contamination. Mercury often gets the spotlight, but other heavy metals can accumulate too, depending on where fish live.

Large, long-living predatory fish at the top of the food chain tend to build up the highest levels (for example, tuna, swordfish, shark, king mackerel, and marlin), so, avoiding these will help reduce your toxic load.

Here are some useful links on safer fish choices (USA based):

US FDA: Advice about eating fish (PDF) Advice for pregnant women, but with a mercury section

And the NRDC fish guide

High-quality fish oil and microalgae supplements are normally screened for contaminants and companies will often detail their purification processes online.  If not, you should be able to email them and ask if these processes are in place.
You may find IFOS (International Fish Oil Standards) certification on some labels, which means there has been third-party testing for contaminants.

A quick aside here:  not all supplements are created equal.  Price will often reflect quality, although, saying that, you don’t need to buy the most expensive omega-3 supplement on the market.  There are good options that are more affordable.   More important is to be wary of random “special offers” online unless you know the product and its quality control.

As for microplastics and BPA, they are a huge problem we’ve created in our plastic-riddled world.
I read that some supplement companies are using ultrafiltration techniques regarding the removal of micro plastics, but I believe this is more to do with the water where sustainably farmed fish live.  I haven’t found reliable or consistent information about the guaranteed removal of BPA and micro plastics in fish oil supplements sourced from ocean fish.
If you have, please let me know!

Meanwhile, the best we can do is:

  • Minimise new plastic purchases.
  • Reuse and recycle where possible.
  • Stick to the safer oily fish choices mentioned above.
  • Choose supplement brands which are transparent about contaminant testing.
  • And finally, support your body with a high-antioxidant diet, that rainbow-on-your-plate, which is at least 30 different plants, herbs, and spices a week.

Inflammation:

The first time I learned about EPA and DHA at college, it was concerning their anti inflammatory support.
Inflammation is a natural process: we get an infection or we cut ourselves and subsequently have an acute inflammatory response that’s geared to clearing the pathogen, or making us want to remain immobile so we rest and heal.  A temporary inflammatory response.
Chronic inflammation, however, is a prolonged even ongoing response, and it plays a role in many of today’s illnesses, whether it’s something as harmless as hay fever or as serious as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and neurodegenerative disorders.    

There has been considerable research into the effectivement of omega-3s and auto-immune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, IBD, psoriasis and asthma.   Studies are promising but “still more research needed”.  However, there are convincing results regarding rheumatoid arthritis, with omega-3 supplementation improving joint health and lessening morning stiffness, tenderness and pain.   

Brain and eye health

About 60% of the brain is made of fat, with DHA forming a vital structural part.  It’s therefore no surprise that omega-3s play a significant role in brain health during all phases of life, from pregnancy, where they may lower the risk of preterm birth, to foetal brain development, right through to old age and their potential to lower the risk of dementia.

Here is a link disussing maternal DHA status during pregnancy & its impact on infant neurodevelopment, Nutrients, NLM, 2020

And brain health researcher and neuroscientist, Louisa Nicola, discusses Alzheimer’s and omega-3 near the end of this fascinating podcast with Dr Chatterjee

Dr Bryce Appelbaum, a neuro-ophthalmologist in the US, notes that “good levels of omega-3s are associated with larger hippocampal volume”, which translates to “improved memory, learning, reasoning, and enhanced neural communication, with a lower risk of vascular dementia”.

Interestingly, studies also suggest omega-3s, especially EPA, may support mood disorders such as depression.  The evidence is still mixed, hence ongoing research is needed, but consider how easy it would be to try increasing your oily fish intake to the recommended amount, and see if it helps your depression!

Regarding eye health, many opthalmologists recommend omega-3 supplementation for numerous eye conditions.  These range, a.o. from dry eyes and blurry vision to its possible benefits regarding glaucoma.  Given that the retina, at the back of our eyes, has the highest amount of omega-3s in our body, it makes sense that EPA and DHA play a supportive role in the health of our eyes.

Longevity

“Biological age reversal” has become such a buzzword, with a lot of focus on intermittent fasting, resistance training, nasal breathing, cold water immersion to name but a few.

EPA and DHA appear almost every time there’s a longevity discussion, whether in research, books, or podcasts.  This may be due to their anti-inflammatory role or heart and brain protection, or potential cancer-protective effects.  In addition, some studies have shown that omega-3s may play a role in the biology of our telomeres (the caps on our DNA), slowing cellular ageing, although results regarding this are inconsistent (which could be due, in part, to differing dosages and the types of supplements used, not to mention the exisiting variations in the participants’ diets).

If you’d like to learn more I’d recommend podcasts or interviews with some doctors considered experts in this field, such as Drs Peter Attia, Andrew Huberman, Steven Gundry, and Mohammed Enayat.

Heart health

Omega-3 supports the heart in many ways:  making blood less sticky and reducing clot risk, keeping vessels supple and improving blood flow, stabilizing heart rhythm, lowering triglycerides.

In recent years some studies have raised questions.  Results have been inconsistent or confusing, so more research is needed.  A meta-analysis of a number of clinical trials suggest slight risk of atrial fibrillation among high-risk heart patients taking a very high dose supplementation (3–4g daily).

This Zoe podcast interview with Dr Bill Harris (founder of OmegaQuant omega-3 tests)  gives a good summary of well-researched omega-3 benefits, some of which I’ve incorporated into this blog, as well as some interesting points he expresses relating to the above atrial fibrillation results.
Another link related to this AFib result is also here in this Omegamatters video.

In spite of inconsistencies to do with supplementation, dosages and effectiveness in some trials, when it comes to a heart-healthy diet it’s widely agreed upon that omega-3s from food, such as oily fish or microalgae fortified foods, are safe and very beneficial.

Gut support

Our microbiome influences so many aspects of our health, from our immune system to metabolic health and beyond, so it’s fascinating to read that omega-3s can exert positive changes in our gut.

This abstract discusses how a diet providing 600 mg omega-3 daily boosted production of butyrate, a beneficial short-chain fatty acid with well documented anti-inflammatory effects. (PubMed abstract)

The afore-mentioned benefits of omega-3s to mental health may not simply be about levels of DHA and EPA in our brain and nervous system, but also the beneficial changes these fatty acids bring about in our microbiome.  Another example of the gut-brain axis at work!

Other health benefits

Research is on-going in so many other areas of health, from reducing the risk of cancers to potentially supporting bone health or helping reduce the severity of headaches to name but a few.

  •  Here an article regarding breast cancer  based on the DO-HEALTH trial of over 2000 older people, showing omega-3s’ potential in lowering the risk of breast cancer.  “Vitamin D, omega-3s and exercise may reduce cancer risk in older people”  Breastcancer.org, 2022
  •  And “The influence of PUFAs (polyunsaturated fatty acids) on the deveopment of skin cancers,  Diagnostics, NLM, 2021
  •  And this publication from the Medical Journal of Oncology, looking at the “Benefits of a high omega 3 and low omega 6 diet over a year in reducing a biomarker for prostate cancer progression and metastasis…”; ASCO publications, Medical journal of Oncology 2024
  • Despite observational studies suggesting benefits of omega-3s regarding osteoporosis, clinical trials show mixed results.  Nonetheless, this paper makes for an interesting read indicating how a higher omega-3 intake was inversely associated with osteoporosis risk, Frontiers in Nutrition, NLM 2025.
  •  And here, a video clip on headaches  by Dr Huberman, discussing how omega-3s may help “multiple types of headaches” and reduce their frequency and intensity.  Dr Huberman has many links to omega-3 benefits if you want to do one of his omega-3 tours!

Testing your levels

NHS doesn’t offer omega-3 testing, and medical professionals will probably give you a blank look if you ask to be tested.
There is a home kit test available in UK, The OmegaQuant Index test, founded by Dr Bill Harris (and no, I have no affiliations!)  It’s an easy finger-prick test available to order online, which measures red blood cell levels of EPA and DHA.
The recommended test result is  8% or higher, however average levels are often very poor, closer to 3–5%.  As processed food intake has increased, the consumption of fish appears to have declined.

We are all unique, and will absorb and utilise nutrients differently.  If a group of us took the same daily dose of omega-3s, our blood levels would likely vary.  For this reason it’s useful to have a base line so you know YOUR levels so you can then decide whether you need to increase SMASH fish, or add a supplement or simply continue with your current diet.

Rounding off the tour

This was never meant to be an omega-3 world tour, so I’ll stop now.

There is no magic bullet to better health, no single pill or one food.  However,  with all the comprehensive research and promising outcomes in so many different areas of health, I hope this tour has highlighted how these two omega-3s are worth having in your life.

 

References

  • NIH: Omega-3 Fatty Acids Information Sheet
  • Frontiers in Nutrition (2025): Insight into the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on gut microbiota
  • ScienceDirect (2016–2024): Omega-3s in neuroprotection and inflammation
  • BMJ Medicine (2024): Regular use of fish oil supplements and cardiovascular outcomes
  • NED Nutrition Evidence Database (2020): Effect of Omega-3 on cardiovascular outcomes
  • UK Biobank (2025): Fish oil supplementation and atrial fibrillation risk
  • Nature (2025): Omega-3s and biological ageing
  • MyVisionFirst.com: Which supplements to take for vision
  • American Heart Association Journals (2023): Are you getting enough omega-3s?
  • Huberman Lab resources
  • Healthspan (2024): Omega-3 benefits for heart, brain, and eye health
  • British Heart Foundation (2024): Omega-3 foods and your heart
  • Zoe Podcast (2025): Omega-3s and brain health
  • The Longevity Paradox, Dr Steven Gundry

 

Chilled cucumber soup

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The last few months have been hot, hot, hot.  Out in Kefalonia, late May began to feel like the thick of a tinder-dry August; back here in England we may be having the sunniest start ever to our summer!  I half expect to hear those Mediterranean cicadas take up their daily buzz in our Dorset garden.
So yes, it’s been perfect salad weather except after two months of variations-on-a-salad I’ve had my fill, so here’s a delicious chilled soup to cool you off, an old recipe of my mum’s from those salad days (sorry, couldn’t resist) growing up in Sydney.

There’s nothing hard about this recipe, in fact I could’ve almost called it a smoothie but that really doesn’t do its delicate flavour justice.
Cucumber is naturally the star ingredient, so do check that your guests love it (some really don’t!)

Many of the other components are interchangeable, replacable, whatever your garden or fridge yields.
Instead of basil you could use more dill or mint; instead of dill you could pick some fronds off that rampant fennel plant.  Instead of lime, there’s lemon.  I’ll stop here…
Perhaps the only hard part is the planning.  This soup needs at least 4 hours in the fridge before you serve it.  I tend to cool it overnight to make sure it really is CHILLED and will therefore give me that rush of cold I’m hankering for when the sun is dialled up high.

Ingredients for two

1 large cucumber (c 400g)
150g yoghurt, either Greek or plant-based
30g olive oil
juice from 2 lime
2 pressed garlic cloves – or 3 to give it more of an edge
approx. 10 large basil leaves, give or take (I was limited to the number of leaves on my new basil plant)
2 tbsp chopped dill
2 tbsp mint – and extra for garnish
OR
1 tbsp chives for garnish
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method

Cut six thin slices off that cucumber for the final garnish, then roughly chop the rest and put it in a blender with the yoghurt, oil, garlic…everything, in fact, except the garnish (mint or chives, your call), and the decorative cucumber slices.
Blend until smooth, do the usual taste test and add whatever you’d like more of, and that’s it!

Refrigerate a minimum of 4 hours, but as I mentioned, overnight means you’ll be organised if it’s part of a feast the following day, plus it’s then guaranteed to be cold, and yes, it does seem to get a little more body overnight.

Ladle into two bowls, drizzle with a little oil, add garnish – and enjoy x

PS.  this bread alongside is delicious, an excellent gluten-free recipe I keep meaning to repost (but really you can simply google for yourself ‘life changing loaf’ from New Roots)

 

 

Calcium for bone health

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I’ve never been a fan of numbers, not in maths at school nor in my work as a nutritionist. Counting calories, for instance, has not been a tool I’ve wanted or needed when helping people gain or lose weight. Not only can calorie counting rob food of its delight and purpose, but it can morph into an unhealthy preoccupation, become disordered, turning into a cause of mental distress.  There are far easier and more enjoyable ways to lose or gain weight.

Back to numbers.  Despite all the above proclamations I have been counting over the past month, not calories or days till our hols, but milligrams of calcium.

This is mainly due to two women I saw in clinic, both of whom have osteopenia (reduced bone density) and are concerned about the progression to osteoporosis, a disease of serious bone loss and fragility. This alerted me, among other alerts, to their calcium intake.

Both their food diaries showed a distinct lack of calcium foods.  One woman, in her early fifties, is lactose intolerant and therefore not eating dairy (dairy being the biggest calcium source, although admittedly not always well absorbed due to other health factors).
The second client, in her early sixties, is following a vegan diet which, again, lacks these dairy sources, but is also low in the stand-out calcium-rich vegetables, and too high in spinach intake – a calcium blocker – and low in fortified plant yoghurts or mylks.

Osteoporosis is known as the silent killer.  We don’t know we have it, that we’re losing bone, until we fall or simply trip, and end up with a fracture.  Or a tooth falls out, or gum disease is advanced.  Our blood and body tissues require stable calcium levels, so if we’re not ingesting/absorbing enough calcium from food our bodies will rob calcium from our stores, namely from our bones.  Back pain, a stooped posture, loss of height, these are all possible early signs of bone loss before that fracture happens, so, if this speaks to you, or if osteoporosis is in the family, I’d recommend asking for a bone density scan to assess your risk.

Women, especially menopausal women over 50, are more susceptible to osteoporosis (bottom line is that our bone-protective oestrogen does a dive in menopause).  Other reasons for this susceptibility include lifespan – women tend to live longer than men – and also women generally have smaller, more delicate bones which means less mass to lose without consequences.
However, diet, gut health, hormones, inflammation, genetics, exercise, all play a role in bone health, so if any of these are stacked against you then, male or female, you may be susceptible.  An excellent book about osteo by someone who had it is by Keith McCormick  , a male, case in point.

Back to counting.
Ideally, if you’re a woman over 50, you want to aim for 1200 mg daily calcium intake.  For women between 19 and 50 years it’s 1000 mg;  for men 19-70 it’s also 1000 mg.  And after 70 years, 1300 mg is the recommended daily intake for both men and women.

There are many books on osteoporosis with meal plans and recipes which will be looking at the total picture and which I’d highly recommend for anyone concerned about their bones.  However, if it’s calcium alone that you’re now thinking about because perhaps you don’t eat dairy, or you’re wondering whether you should supplement, there are online calcium calculators, a free way of working out your daily calcium intake.  These calculator sites are not an exact science, I’ll say that now.  There are some discrepancies between them which I’m assuming are due to variations in growing methods, countries, environmental conditions at source, and processing.

However, the general message is pretty clear.  There are some stand out plant-based calcium sources.  As far as vegetables are concerned, kale, turnip greens, broccoli, bok choy, chinese cabbage are all leafy greens with high to high-medium calcium levels.
Chickpeas, navy beans, soybeans and white beans have good amounts.  Almonds are high in calcium (also high oxalates so go easy), and sesame seeds are high (think tahini paste in dressings, sauces…)
Two dried figs will give a 65mg hit and an orange 55 mg.
In addition, choosing a calcium fortified plant mylk or plant yoghurt will make a big daily difference.

And if you eat animal protein, a small can of sardines in your lunch salad will pack a big punch, more than canned salmon with bones, which is nonetheless a good source.  Eggs surprise me as they give us so much, but here they offer very little calcium (unless you munch on the shell, which I’d not recommend),

These above-mentioned foods – as well as dairy, of course –  kept coming up on various sites.  There was good consensus about their calcium worth.  I used the International Osteoporosis Foundation calcium calculator list as well as the Bone health and osteoporosis foundation, and an NHS site.
When I couldn’t find some foods I like to eat (samphire or seaweeds), I typed in amount of calcium for that food.  I cross checked a few because of some oddities (who the heck is eating uncooked chickpeas or raw butterbeans?); also due to some striking variances in Ca milligram amounts.  As stated above, I can only put this down to different sources, growing conditions in different countries/oceans and different processing.

Googling lists, and checking milligram in calcium may feel a bit ho-hum tedious, but you only need to do the maths once, then you have your very own calcium score.

Apart from the above, I’ve listed below a few random high-to-moderate calcium foods to help you get started.  Also some info about oxalate foods, which can block calcium.  I’ve included a few of the disparate ranges from different sites in the hope that someone out there will find some definitives – let me know please 🙂

A final word, no maths, no counting.
When it comes to health, very little works in isolation. Strong bones are not simply about calcium, but this post isn’t about the other players like magnesium and phosporus, boron, D3 and K2.  Nor is it about the importance of gut health and nutrient absorption, immunomodulation, and the gut-brain-bone axis.  I’m also not touching on the very essential role resistance or weight-bearing exercise plays, how it stimulates bones, egging them on to remodel and strengthen; the same mindset as use it or lose it, or do or die.

I’ve focused on calcium because it’s so often NOT on our radar, and also because food is a safe way to improve our calcium levels.
Saying that, if your calcium intake remains low even with some food changes, you can now work out how low it is, and supplement accordingly, instead of taking a one-size-fits-all high dose which may cause bloating or digestive issues and potentially lead to hypercalcaemia, kidney stones or possible heart problems.  There are a number of calcium supplements which range from low to higher levels. Contact me if you can’t find them.
And if you’d like to read more about bones, the full gamut on how to avoid osteoporosis, the above McCormick book, The Whole body approach to Osteoporosis, is very good. However, there are many other good books out there.

Wishing you all a happy weekend, and if you’re in a sunny place, grab lots of Vit D3.  Among many other talents, Vitamin D3 is also a big player in bone health 🙂

 

Food list:

kale, cooked, 1 cup/c130g = 170-200mg calcium
broccoli, cooked 90g   =  50 – 100mg (yes, different lists!)
bok choy, cooked 70g = 160 – 180mg
turnip greens, cooked 52g = 100 – 190 mg
2 dried figs = 65 mg
1 orange = 55 mg
tahini, one tbsp, 15g = 50 – 60mg
tofu, firm, 100g = 120 – 300 mg
plant-based mylk, soy, almond, oat 100 ml = 120mg (a chai latte therefore could be c 240mg Ca)
chickpeas, 100g = 60 – 100mg
soybeans, 150g = 170-470mg (!)
white beans (eg. butterbeans, cannellini beans) 1 cup = 160mg
canned sardines or pilchards, small tin = 350 mg (however I also found a list stating 500mg – due perhaps to different ocean source & processing?)
canned salmon with bones, small tin:  70mg – 200mg (one source, Cheena, a Canadian wild sockeye states a whopping 2000mg for their large 180g can)
almonds, 10 nuts, c 12g = 32mg
sesame seeds, 15g = 100 mg
kelp (like kombu) and wakame, 100g =  150 – 168mg
samphire, 100g = 150mg

Dairy:
cheddar, 30g = 240 mg
fetta, 60g= 270 mg
full fat yoghurt, 170g = 310 – 380mg
semi skmmed milk, 200ml = 240mg

Note: spinach has high calcium content but is also a very high oxalate vegetable, much higher than, say, kale.  It is often mentioned as NOT being a recommended calcium source food since oxalates are compounds that bind with minerals, preventing their absorption;  minerals such as calcium and magnesium.  So it would be wise to eat far less-to-no spinach if you have osteopenia.  If you do a search for high oxalate foods you may find you’re eating too many of them daily, so, reducing them would be recommended if you are concerned about bone loss.  

Green cannellini beans with rice

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There’s good reason why cultures like Mexico, Africa or South America often eat rice with their beans.  By combining the two you get a complete protein meal with all 9 essential amino acids.  Beans are low in methionine (= amino acid), but rice is quite high.  Rice is low in lysine (another amino acid), but beans have good levels.  A perfect union!

This recipe has the added benefit of hemp seed and nutritional yeast, both complete proteins, albeit in small amounts, hence my suggestion to have rice alongside.  I usually choose a brown, red and basmati mix which I rinse twice before cooking.  Often I’ll add small florets of broccoli or grated carrot into the pot 3/4 way through the cooking time; another opportunity to increase vegetables in meals.

When it comes to protein you might like to listen to this interview on The Doctor’s Kitchen, with Rupi Aujla.  If it sounds like I’m banging on about protein it’s because I’m seeing really low intake in my clinic. With the message out there that people should be eating more plant-based foods, many are reducing their animal protein but not finding plant based alternatives.

Inspired by a recipe from Plantbaes I’ve changed some ingredients and amounts, replacing the spinach with kale or greens because raw spinach is high in oxalates which can interfere with our absorption of minerals necessary for strong bones and energy, hormones, immune health… you name it.  Easy to google ‘high oxalate’ foods if you want to go down this rabbit hole!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp virgin olive oil for cooking; another tbsp to drizzle before serving
4 medium garlic cloves, pressed
1 red onion, chopped
1 medium or 2 small courgette, sliced
1 bunch of basil, c 25 – 30g
50 g chopped kale and/or spring greens
2 tbsp cracked hemp seed
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp lemon juice
1  400g tin rinsed-twice cannellini beans
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds, for serving
sea salt and black pepper
plant-based yoghurt to dollop on top before serving

Optional: sprinkling of chilli flakes added to blender

Method

Whilst your rice is cooking, pour oil into a pan and add the chopped onion. Cook on a medium heat for a few minutes until transparent.  Next add the squeezed or finely chopped garlic, then the sliced courgette and kale/spring greens.  Cover and cook until the kale has softened.  Turn off the heat and add the basil leaves to the pan with cover and leave a couple of minutes.

Put the cooked greens and wilted basil into a bowl and add the lemon juice, nutritional yeast, hemp seeds, some sea salt and pepper (& a pinch of chilli if you want).  Blend with a hand-held blender, or add the lot to whatever blending machine you’re using.

Now’s the time to do a quick taste test!
If your green blend is thick because you used lots of kale, add a little water, however you still want it to have body and not be a runny sauce.  At this point add extra pepper, salt or chilli if your taste buds want.
Put the sauce back into the pan and add the rinsed cannellini beans, heating through and stirring now and again so it doesn’t catch.

When your rice is cooked spoon into two shallow bowls, add your green bean blend and then dollop a tbsp of plant-based yoghurt on top.  Garnish with pumpkin seeds, some basil leaves and a drizzle of oil.  Serve hot or at room temperature.
Enjoy and let me know how it goes 🙂

 

 

Cold and flu remedies

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Frosty cold days last week here in Dorset has prompted me to share a few of my favourite flu and cold remedies, a round-up of some easy herbals and nutrients.
Whether it’s a cold, flu or Covid there are loads of studies and articles showing how the nutrients below may work, either by shortening the duration of the infection, or by cutting down on the severity – or both.

Garlic (allium sativum)

Most of us will have a garlic bulb or two in the kitchen, ready to use if we suddenly feel a scratchy throat or the sniffles coming on.  Garlic has so much science behind it, inhibiting viral reproduction, boosting our natural killer cells that help fight infection.  Such an effective antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral.

It’s the allicin component in garlic that is responsible for its health benefits – and for its intense smell!  Interestingly, this allicin is only released when you cut into the clove (which makes me often ponder about roasted whole bulbs; delicious, but not much antimicrobial action left).

Maximum benefit is when you eat garlic raw, but that won’t always work in daily life.
When cooked, some of that allicin might remain, especially if you keep to a light, quick steam, however, garlic’s Vit C, B6 and mineral content will be reduced, literally cooked away.

Add a clove or two of garlic to stews or soups at the last minute, just before serving, to keep as many of these benefits alive.
If you’re thick with cold or flu try a garlic broth, pouring hot water over a squeezed or chopped clove, adding grated ginger and miso paste, so easy to digest.

If colds are doing the rounds, a preventative drink to make is chopping 4 garlic cloves in a large preserve jar and topping with boiling water.  Steep the garlic for about ½ hour then add lemon juice and honey, and drink warm as a ‘tea’ up to 3 or 4 times throughout the day.

Precautions:
Very high amounts, eg. a whole RAW bulb (unlikely, but good to be aware!),  can cause digestive upset, heartburn, possibly diarrhoea.

Garlic can also increase bleeding so if you’re on an anti coagulant medication or have a bleeding disorder stick to minimal amounts in cooking, and, if planning to have surgery, avoid for at least 5 days beforehand.
Garlic may interfere with some chemo or HIV drugs as it can influence liver enzymes which help the metabolism of the drug you’re taking.

If pregnant, eating garlic in meals is fine, but high doses as a capsule or tablet are not generally recommended.

Ginger (zinziber officialis)

This is my go-to for everything.  Ginger soothes aches and pains, helps alleviate nausea and digestive problems and is a great anti inflammatory.  With a sore throat, drinking hot water with chopped ginger, lemon and honey will be soothing and supportive as it’s an effective antimicrobial.  Ginger is also warming if you have chills, and it’ll help break a sweat with a fever.

The active ingredients are the gingerols, the main phenols, and shogaols, which inhibit respiratory pathogens and suppress the production of cytokines – chemicals we produce which lead to inflammation.

I like to start my day with chopped ginger in hot water, a herbal ‘tea’ I steep for 10 minutes, topping it up throughout the day and drinking either hot or cold.  This summer I made ginger ice cubes, squeezing grated ginger into the ice tray, then adding the cubes to some cold water and pomegranate juice, delicious.

Like garlic, ginger adds flavour to stews, stir fries and soups and will retain more of its health benefits if added at the last minute.
Ready-bought ginger teabags have very little gingerol in them, however dried ginger is apparently high in these beneficial phenols.  Important to find a reputable source; I recommend Steenbergs herbs and spices online store here in UK.

When full of cold or flu you may not feel like eating, however replacing the water lost from sweating is important.  The above miso broth is great as a light, nutritious and hydrating meal or snack.

Precautions:
Ginger is a safe tuber/spice although high amounts may cause reflux…or, bizarrely, nausea (which, in normal amounts, it helps prevent).
Again, like garlic, it has a mild anti coagulant effect, hence if you’re on aspirin or have a bleeding disorder avoid large amounts.
Because ginger can increase bile production large amounts could potentially aggravate gall stones especially in supplement form.

Ginger in food is safe during pregnancy and can help with morning sickness.

Thyme (thymus vulgaris)

Thyme is another herb you might have growing in the garden, or in a pot in the kitchen.  It’s easily found in most supermarkets.  Thyme has a long history in the Mediterranean as a traditional medicinal plant that’s very effective for coughs and colds.

Not only does thyme contain vitamins and minerals (like garlic and ginger) but its essential oil, thymol, found in the leaves, has powerful antimicrobial properties, especially for upper respiratory infections, working well as an extectorant (clearing mucus).

Add fresh or dried thyme to stews, soups, stir fries, or use it in an infusion.  Add one tablespoon of the herb to hot water, let steep for 15 minutes, then sieve out the leaves and either drink like that or add a little honey and/or lemon.  With an active infection, sip throughout the day to soothe coughs and calm down inflammation in the airways.

Precautions:

If you have any mint family allergies, don’t use it.
Large doses – far greater than the amounts I’ve mentioned – can also cause nausea.

Thyme essential oil should never be ingested.

Thyme in food, fresh or dried, during pregnancy is safe, but, as it may cause uterine stimulation it’s best not to infuse/drink the above thyme tea.

Echinacea purpurea

Echinacea is an excellent broad spectrum antiviral as well as an antibacterial and antifungal.  Often used to support upper respiratory infections, it works a.o. by stimulating the immune system through its bioactive phytochemicals.

Available in tincture or tablet form as well as echinacea herbal tea. The latter, however, isn’t nearly as well absorbed or immune effective.

It can be taken as a preventative, but I don’t recommend long term supplementation.  When I travel I’ll often pack a small bottle of tincture so I can stop a cold in its tracks, dosing 30 drops 3 or 4x daily (this depends on the strength of the tincture, so check the label)

As a preventative, short term, 20-30 drops once a day or 1000 mg tablet is generally the recommended dose.

Precautions:

Due to echinacea stimulating the immune system, anyone with an auto immune disease should be cautious as it could potentially cause a flare.  I’ll generally not recommend echinacea to auto immune clients unless they tell me they’ve tried it in the past and not had problems. There are enough other natural food-based antivirals to use.

If you have an allergy to ragweed or daisies, be aware that the flowering part of the Echinacea plant – not the root – can cause problems.

Ascorbic acid, aka Vitamin C

Vitamin C is probably the most researched nutrient as far as immune support goes, albeit a controversial one when it comes to dosage.

Again, like garlic and ginger, Vitamin C is shown to reduce the duration and severity of colds and flu.  It improves the function of phagocytes – a type of white blood cell that engulfs viruses and bacteria in the blood stream -, and lymphocytes, another white blood cell which fights pathogens.
It also reduces inflammation by lowering the afore-mentioned pro-inflammatory cytokines and is a fab anti oxidant (which is a substance that protects cells from free radicals generated by infection, air pollution, stress, poor diet, smoke, pesticides…)

Foods containing good amounts of Vitamin C are often red or orange-coloured, like strawberries, papaya, mango, persimmons, oranges (all citrus in fact), acerola cherries (Malpighia emarginata), cantaloupe, kiwi fruit, guava, blackcurrants, bell peppers, chili peppers, tomatoes, but also green veg like broccoli, kale, parsley, Brussel sprouts…
Adding these vegetables to your diet when you have a cold will be beneficial overall, but they won’t have the therapeutic effects of lowering cold severity and duration that a supplement will offer.

Recommended dose for prevention, tablets or powder, for adults is c 500 – 1000 mg daily.

With an active cold or flu it’s safe to double this amount, and many will add that it’s safe to take 1000 mg every 3 hours, up to 10,000mg daily.  This is very individual and research studies, pro and contra, are not always reliable or accurate, hence the controversy continues.  Many swear by higher dose C.. and just as many don’t!

Saying all that, a useful indication that you may be over-supplementing is if you reach a point where stools become loose and possibly your gut will feel ‘off’.
Not dangerous, as the body will eliminate what it doesn’t need of this water-soluble vitamin, however, it’s a useful and sure indicator that whatever dosage you reached was too high for you; simply reduce the dose next time, or try buffered Vit C which is easier on the gut.
Also, don’t panic if your urine is yellow as that is the colour of Vit C leaving your body.

Precautions:

Kidney stones (esp oxalate stones) can be worsened by high Vitamin C supplementation.   High doses may also interact with some chemo drugs and with glucose readings.

During pregnancy high doses are not recommended.

Zinc:

This trace mineral is another effective antioxidant which also works a.o. as an antiviral, inhibiting replication and blocking the virus entering the cells, especially rhino viruses.

Zinc lozenges are particularly useful for a scratchy throat.  Best to start at the first onset of symptoms, sucking 3-4 over the course of the day, however not on an empty stomach as it can make you feel nauseous.  Supplement doses vary from 15mg – 60mg, depending on the brand.

Foods containing zinc include oysters (high!), crustaceans, red meat, chicken, seeds and nuts – especially pine nuts – dairy products and some fortified cereals.  Greens and mushrooms a.o. contain some zinc as well, however none of these foods will have the same therapeutic effects as supplementation.

As a preventative in the cold season, one tablet once daily, however if you’re taking a multi be aware of the amount of zinc in it so you’re not exceeding c 60mg.

Precautions:

Zinc can interfere with some medications such as cholesterol-lowering drugs if you take high doses. Zinc has been shown to be toxic at levels around 150mg.
Many zinc nasal sprays have been removed from the market as they were shown to lead to permanent loss of smell.
Chronic overuse can cause something called zinc-induced copper deficiency anaemia which results in neurological symptoms, so treat zinc with respect!

And there we go, my round-up of cold and flu remedies which I hope you’ll find useful.

There are of course more out there such as eucalyptus oil, so good for inhaling, or black elderberry syrup.  If you have any other tried and tested favourites please share here below or on my social media pages.

Wishing you all a cold-free festive season wherever you are in the world x

(at the moment I would happily be sitting in this chair below!)

Gf Chocolate pear cake with raspberry coulis

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We’ve had a birthday month – friends and family – so I wanted to try out some new gf recipes, as I’m on a mission to find a perfect one for a wedding next year.
I love this cake because for me hazelnut + chocolate = gianduja which is a fave chocolate of mine.  The cake obviously doesn’t rise, but the pears give it some height and style especially when dusted.
This photo below was my first attempt when I cut the pears into smaller pieces, but I now know quartered pears work best.
You can make it dairy free by using plant-based butter replacements.  I’ve not tried it yet but that’ll be my next taste test.
The raspberry coulis is optional.  Last time I baked it was for a birthday so we had whisked oat cream, raspberry coulis and ice cream for those who wished.  Went down a treat!

I think the cake actually tastes better after a day in the fridge!  Makes the chocolate slightly fudgy, but I’ll leave that to you.  It’s a tough call putting a freshly baked cake away for a day or more, 🙂 but Mr C agreed it tasted better after an overnight in our fridge.  Just saying 🙂

Equipment you’ll need:  23cm or 25cm loose-bottomed tin.
Nut/seed grinder or blender for dry ingredients
Whisk, hand mixer
Baking paper, cut into a circle to fit base
Sieve for coulis

Ingredients

For 8 delicious slices

90g butter (or plant-based), plus 1 tbsp extra for the tin (or use light olive oil for greasing the tin)
70g golden caster sugar, plus extra 1 or 2 tbsp to line the tin
100g 72% dark chocolate, broken up
3 eggs, separated
85g roasted hazelnuts, ground in a coffee or seed grinder
2 ripe large pears, peeled, halved, quartered and cored
icing sugar to dust when the cake has cooked

Method

Heat oven to 180 degrees C (160 fan).  Melt the chocolate and butter (or a butter replacement) in a bain-marie over a pot of hot water.  Stir gently when it’s melted; let cool.
Prepare your tin!
Rub butter or swish a little oil on the tin’s base and sides, then line the base with your circle of greased baking paper.
Find that extra caster sugar mentioned above, spoon and swirl so it sticks to the sides and paper base, tipping out any excess.

Separate your eggs and whisk the whites to soft peaks.  Put aside.

Clean your beaters, whisk the egg yolks with the 70g caster sugar until the mixture is thicker and paler.  Fold this into the cooled melted chocolate together with the ground hazelnuts.
Now add your peaked whites in batches, first, mix half into the chocolate, then gently fold the rest.  Don’t be too rigorous with your mixing ‘coz you want those whites to give your cake some lift.
Spoon your finished wet cake into the tin and arrange your pear quarters on top.

Bake for 30-40 mins.  Check with toothpick or skewer after 30 mins to see if it comes out dry.

Optional easy-peasy Raspberry coulis

This recipe is generous (I am always grateful for leftovers to freeze)

Ingredients

¼ cup caster sugar
2 tbsp water
300 g frozen raspberries, defrosted
optional:  1 tbsp Grand Marnier

Combine the water and sugar in a small pot, stirring till dissolved.  Add the raspberries and gently cook until they’re soft & falling apart.
Cool enough so you can strain it, using a spoon to mush it down through the sieve.  Add the Grand Marnier – or not – to the sieved berry mix and serve either warm, cold, or keep in the fridge up to a week (or in the freezer a couple months).

Serve the cake as is or with whipped df oat cream or regular cream or ice cream.  I know someone will be adding custard, whatever floats your boat!
Give it a try and do let me know what you think.

Roasted curry veg with herby yoghurt

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After making this dish about six times in the last month I can truly say it’s become – yet another! – favourite.
It was inspired by Sarah Cobacho’s plantbased baked curry vegetables with raita sauce but I’ve added and tweaked, changed amounts and called the sauce a more prosaic, but equally scrummy, ‘herby yoghurt’ as raita means something else to me.   I’m so happy to have found Sarah’s delicious recipe to play with and reinvent.  I hope you enjoy playing as well, and making it your own.

Ingredients

2 very generous servings… or 4 modest ones

The herby yoghurt sauce:

250 g plant-based yoghurt (I used Greek-style Koko or Alpro; thicker, creamier than most other plant-based)
1 heaped tbsp grated ginger
2 cloves garlic
juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garam masala
small bunch coriander, (chopped = about ½ compact cup)
small bunch mint, chopped = c ¼ cup)
chili flakes (optional, for the chili lovers out there.  The roasted veg below also have some chili)
sea salt to taste

The veg and protein:

350g small or new potatoes with skins, halved
½ small butternut squash, peeled, cubed
½ cauliflower, cut into florets
½ broccoli, ditto florets
1 red onion, cut into 1/8
150g cherry tomatoes
250g cooked chickpeas (I used left-over cooked lentils one time instead; also worked although I added them later, with the kale, so they kept soft)
big handful of shredded kale
40 g roasted slivered almonds, to decorate the finished bowls

The oil mix to slather

½ cup olive oil
1 tsp garam masala
dash, or more, of chili powder or flakes
2 tsp curry powder
juice of one lemon

Method:

Use three bowls – 2 small, one large – for your vegetables.  The two small ones are for the potatoes and kale resp. and the large will hold the rest of the vegetables and cooked chickpeas.
Mix all the oil ingredients together and massage into your respective veg bowls.

Preheat your fan oven to 180 C.
Blend the sauce ingredients at least 1/2 hour before needed so the yoghurt sauce isn’t too ‘sloppy’.  Ideally make the sauce ahead of time, the day before, and refrigerate.
As always, taste test to see if you want to add more of any sauce ingredient you especially love.

Place the halved and oiled potatoes on the oven tray and roast for 15 minutes.  Flip over and add the rest of the vegetables and chickpeas (not the kale), and roast for another 20 minutes, adding the oiled kale for the last 10 minutes.  Test with a fork to make sure it’s the texture you like, and be mindful nothing roasts ‘dry’ or burns.

To serve: spoon the green yoghurt sauce into the base of the bowls, then top with roasted vegetables and chickpeas.  Scatter the roasted almonds on top, delicious!

Butternut soup

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A hearty soup for this week’s cold snap, here’s a butternut, sweet potato & carrot combo which is a powerhouse of fibre, vitamins and minerals.
The colour alone tells us it’s loaded with beta carotene.  This is an antioxidant we convert to vitamin A, which supports our immune health, our vision, skin, reproduction, lungs, heart… & the list goes on.
Such a well tolerated soup, I always share it with clients who want an easy nourishing recipe.
And if you’re not a fan of garlic just leave it out; same with the onion (or you could try replacing it with the green part of a leek).
This soup freezes really well, so it’s ideal for batch cooking.

Ingredients

(for 6 small or 4 large soup bowls)

Olive oil, a generous dollop
1 red onion, chopped
500g butternut squash, roughly chopped
200g sweet potato, also roughly chopped
200g carrot, ditto…
2-3 garlic cloves, squeezed
fresh ginger, 3 cms peeled & finely chopped
1.2 litre veg broth
lime juice from 1 lime (optional)
coriander leaves to decorate
pumpkin or sunflower seeds also to decorate (missing in the photo, oops!)

Method:

Gently heat the olive oil then add the chopped onion and stir occasionally until transparent.  Next add all the vegetables and half the chopped ginger.  Stir briefly before pouring your broth into the mix.
Cook on a medium heat for about half an hour until the vegetables are soft, then add the squeezed or chopped garlic cloves and the rest of the ginger.  Adding these at the last minute will mean their flavours are more potent, and the beneficial phytonutrients in the garlic and ginger not completely ‘cooked away’.
Cool a little before blending, then add the lime juice and decorate with sprigs of coriander or parsely, and toasted or raw pumpkin seeds. Drizzle with a little olive oil and enjoy!

 

 

Glenys’ vegan oriental rice

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Sometimes we need easy and straight-forward recipes especially if juggling work and life.  This rice dish has been in my heart and on our family table for many years.  It’s one of several a dear Sydney friend, Glenys, shared a long time ago, written in her lovely script in my now raggedy falling-apart recipe book.  Everytime I make a Glenys dish it’s such a mindful meander down memory lane I want to call her instantly, then I realize it’s way past midnight in Sydney.


Growing up, I was never a fan of rice salads.  Usually very white, sometimes gooey, and not enough going on in them to win me over.   The combo here of snibbled crispy veg with nutty and/or seedy crunch plus the tamari-lemony garlic works a treat.
I can’t say I’ve found any other rice salads I love as much apart from one with lentils, so if you have a secret scrummy rice salad please share with me anywhere you want – text, email or even snail mail (how I’ve loved these past weeks of hand-written post! Thank you to all snail mailers, let’s keep it going xxx)

This salad could be part of a shared feast, or enjoy with supper or lunch alongside any protein you love.
Do tweak the amount of tamari or garlic or lemon so it suits your tastebuds before you lavish it over your finished creation x

Ingredients

For 4

250g  brown or mixed rice (eg.wild, red & brown basmati)
5  spring onions (or 3 large ones), finely chopped
1 red & 1 green pepper, finely chopped
2 smallish carrots, finely chopped
3 tbsp sunflower and pumpkin seeds
150 g almonds, toasted and roughly chopped (last time I used some left over delicious Spanish Marcona almonds and didn’t roast);   1 tbsp to decorate at the end
150g cup currants (soak if you’ve had them stored far too long, overnight or at least 6 hours)
One generous handful, or 120g each, of chopped coriander and parsley

Dressing:

120g cup olive oil or avocado oil
3-4 tbsp gf tamari sauce (start with 3 then taste test and adjust if necessary)
3 tbsp lemon juice (ditto)
2 cloves garlic
sea salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Method

Cook the rice and let cool.  Meanwhile toast the skinned almonds until golden brown, cool and chop roughly.  Mix all the finely chopped vegetables and herbs with the currants, nuts and/or seeds, and the cooled rice.
Pour over dressing and mix; top with tbsp chopped almonds.
Can’t get much easier, right?

Vegan savoury strudel, gf and df

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This recipe was inspired by Elke’s Austrian take on a Greek spanakopita (spinach pie).  Instead of the usual triangle slices of a traditional spanakopita, she opted for the strudel “log” shape, and added loads more delicious spinach than one normally finds in these pies.
I’ve tweaked the recipe yet again by adding more vegetables to the spinach.  So it’s no longer a spanakopita but a roasted sweet potato, spinach and leek ‘strudel’!  And with a gluten-free puff pastry and dairy-free fetta; a vegan version to see how it works.
Worked a treat!

The store-bought ‘Jus-roll’ gluten-free puff pastry makes it all so very easy and quick.  And Violife’s vegan Greek fetta is delicious and a great option for anyone going vegan, or with a casein (dairy protein) or lactose intolerance.
You can steam the sweet potato cubes, definitely the healthy option, but as I was roasting a lunch the day before I decided to add the sweet potato cubes to the oven; also the pine nuts right at the end.  Less work the following day when I was playing with this recipe.

Ingredients:

For six slices

1 packet Jus-roll gluten free puff pastry (or regular Jus-roll puff; or filo.. shortcrust, whatever you like)
400g packet spinach, roughly chopped
green part of one leek, finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, squeezed (two at the start, one added near the end)
1 large sweet potato, about 250g, cubed, then either roasted or steamed before you start your log
dollop of olive oil for a light fry and to lightly brush onto the log before baking
80g toasted pine nuts
100g Violife ‘Greek white’ (or non vegan, regular Greek fetta)

Method:

If you haven’t roasted your pine nuts, nor your cubed sweet potato, do this first.  When done put aside where no one will be tempted to have a nibble.

For the filling, pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a pan on a medium heat then add the sliced leek and 2 of the pressed garlic.  Gently fry until the leek’s transparent.
Toss in the roughly chopped spinach and wilt.  Hover near the pan otherwise your delicious leafy spinach pile will vanish to an overwilted green sludge.  The same goes for the pine nuts, keep close, for if you leave the kitchen even for a moment they are bound to burn.  Hover.  Keep watch.

Add the roasted/steamed sweet potato cubes to the pan of spinach to warm through, then that last garlic clove.  Stir in the roasted pine nuts.

Wait for everything to cool before adding the crumbled fetta.

With ‘Jus-roll’ you can literally unravel it from the box and start filling it with your cooked veg, so easy.
However, if it’s too thick for your taste roll it thinner and larger.  Whatever you decide, ensure you have parchment underneath it (the paper it comes wrapped in its box), so you can easily lift the filled roll onto the oven tray.

Spoon the filling along the long side of half the pastry, leaving a clear 2-3 cms edge all around so you can seal it without the filling oozing out.  To make your log just fold over the pastry and, with water-wet fingers, press the edges closed then go over them with a fork to create a neater, tighter finish.  Brush with oil and prick the pastry, to stop a gap forming inside as it cooks.

Bake in a moderate fan oven, about 180 C degrees (c350 F), until light golden brown, approx 30 – 45 mins (depending on everyone’s unique oven.  Like us, they have personalities and might decide to take longer to colour your strudel).

Slice and serve with a leafy colourful salad, or as part of a delicious summer garden spread.

Kali oreksi! Bon appetit x