The Anti-Viral Anti-Anxiety Menu

I had originally planned to post a “Put a Spring in Your Step Menu” next weekend to celebrate the official advent of spring March 19. But with the spread of coronavirus and the stock market in free fall, it just didn’t seem appropriate. It is hard not to be anxious in times like these. So I looked back at the article I posted in my most recent Dishing It Up blog post, Feeling Anxious About the Coronavirus and the Flu? Eat This and, instead, created this Anti-Viral Anti-Anxiety Menu from these foods.

I challenged myself to include all the recommended foods in a single day’s menu. And I’m happy to report that I succeeded. Well, sort of…instead of cherry juice I used whole cherries. I’m guessing you weren’t expecting dark chocolate and cherries making an appearance at breakfast or blueberries and yogurt as dessert!

I hope you enjoy the recipes. Remember to always wash your hands thoroughly before preparing food and before eating. And please feel free to share this menu with your family and friends (while keeping two metres away from them for the time being). Stay healthy and don’t forget to breathe – ideally outside in the fresh air! Exercise is a great stress-reducer and it’s fantastic for lung health. Sign up here to receive the recipes and see you in April!

Anti-Viral, Anti-Anxiety Menu

Breakfast: Cherry Chocolate Buckwheat Porridge (chocolate contains theobromine, an immune-boosting antioxidant, and it makes me happy)

Lunch: Slow Cooker Chicken Soup (the Greek physician Galen recommended chicken soup as a cure for fever, among other things, in the second century AD – read on about its immune boosting properties below; I always add a few handfuls of dark leafy greens to soup)

Afternoon Tonic: Warm Citrus, Maple & Ginger Tonic (the throat-soothing honey in this drink may help with a cough and has anti-viral properties, as does the ginger)

Dinner: Coconut Chickpea Curry (this contains three foods from the list, including broccoli for vitamin C, ginger, and red onions – see below)

Dessert: Blueberry Almond Frozen Yogurt (this is super simple to make and elicits happy thoughts of warmer weather to come)

Join The Nutritional Reset community here to receive this month’s menu today (as well as each month to come)! And read on for some nutritional tidbits about a few foods featured in the recipes…

March 7, 2020

Dishing It Up for March 2020

In this month’s issue of Dishing It Up…

Spring Forward Toward Restful Sleep
Feeling Anxious About the Coronavirus and the Flu? Eat This
9 Healthy Foods That Lift Your Mood
There’s an Epidemic That’s a Bigger Threat Than the Coronavirus
Half the Sugar, All the Love

Here’s a taste of each from the sampler platter…

February 22, 2020

Under Pressure Menu

In my last post, Top 10 Reasons to Love Your Leftovers, I blogged about how leftovers are the BFF of any busy person wanting to eat healthily. A pressure cooker (or slow cooker for that matter) is an indispensable tool for the busy cook. Why? Because:

it’s fantastic for cooking big batches,
the recipes that work best in it are usually suitable for freezing,
it requires very little supervision while working it’s magic,
and the “delay start” and “keep warm” functions give you a lot of flexibility around preparation and serving times.

So for the cook who is short on time and under pressure, here is my Under Pressure Menu, a day’s worth of delectable recipes made in a pressure cooker. And you can easily adapt them for a slow cooker if you prefer. All the dishes keep for up to four days in the fridge or you can freeze them for future use.

I hope these recipes spur those of you who have an Instant Pot languishing on your shelf to whip up a batch of yummy chocolate oatmeal, wild rice & mushroom soup or Thai chicken curry. Feel free to share the recipes with your family and friends. Better still, I encourage you to recruit two friends and each of you whip up one dish and then swap. You’ll get three meals for the effort of one! Sign up here to receive the recipes – it’s time to thrive under pressure!

Under Pressure Menu

Breakfast: Pressure Cooker Chocolate Steel Cut Oats (cacao is a natural mood booster and helps regulate appetite – what better way to start your day?)

Lunch: Pressure Cooker Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup (I serve this up with some baby spinach or kale stirred in just before serving – it’s a great way to amp up your intake of dark, leafy greens)

Dinner: Pressure Cooker Thai Chicken and Vegetables (this curry is vibrant with colourful veggies – if you like it spicy like I do, some organic Sriracha, like this one by Simply Natural, is a must)

February 9, 2020

Top 10 Reasons to Love Your Leftovers

Toronto Holistic Nutritionist Laurie McPhail Leftovers I was at the Yoga Warrior Winter Reset Retreat last weekend to “dish the deets on detox” and a few themes came up whenever talk of cooking arose. One was that no one has any time to cook and the other was how much everyone loved their Instant Pot. So with that and Valentine’s Day coming up, I feel it is time to confess my own love affair … with leftovers! And since I am usually cooking just for two, the Instant Pot and leftovers go hand-in-hand!

But I actually plan for leftovers. In fact, leftovers are a meal planning secret weapon to make my life (at least my cooking life) easier. And when providing meal planning services, you can bet that leftovers are a part of the plan for my clients too.

Leftovers get a bad rap. Even their very name makes them seem like discarded, lonely old things that no one wants. But, to me, leftovers are pure gold! As they should be to any time-pressed person out there who wants to eat healthy food. And isn’t that most of us? So, to explain my attraction to leftovers, I’ve put together my top 10 reasons why you, too, should love your leftovers!

January 26, 2020

Dishing It Up for January 2020

In this month’s issue of Dishing It Up…

Dry Feb
Nonalcoholic Cocktails’ Most Unexpected Fans: Kids
Study finds dopamine, biological clock link to snacking, overeating and obesity
Winter Vegetables: Discovering New Roots
FDA Sunscreen Report Raises Concern Over Chemicals
Warrior Reset Spring Tune-Up

Here’s a taste of each from the sampler platter…

January 4, 2020

Dry January Dinners

Toronto Holistic Nutritionist Laurie McPhail Dry January Dinners Dry January, a one month alcohol-abstinence campaign which started in the UK in 2013 with 4,000 people, has officially become a thing. By 2018, four million people participated in dry January. And this year Whole Foods Market has named “zero-proof drinks” as one of its Top 10 Food Trends for 2020.

This is interesting in the year that also marks the 100th anniversary of Prohibition. Then, the prospect of an alcohol-free existence was met with a more sober/less enthusiastic response. And also a less sober one – it backfired greatly and drove drinking under the table. Apparently Mary Pickford’s mother bought up the stock of an entire liquor store before the sale of alcohol became illegal to seize upon a loophole allowing folks to consume alcohol already in their homes. Talk about proactive!

December 27, 2019

New Year’s Eve Nosh

Toronto Holistic Nutritionist Laurie McPhail New Years Eve Nosh Congratulations to us! We’ve made it through December and all the holiday parties! Just one more to go. I find that by New Year’s Eve, however, I just want to relax and “be” at home.

I do like to make a special dinner to give thanks for all the gifts of the past year and offer a toast in excitement and anticipation for the year to come. But I want it to be super colourful and flavourful with minimal work required, much of which can be done in advance. And this menu fits the bill.

So ring in 2020 in smooth and stylish fashion with these succulent cinnamon and orange infused braised lamb shanks in the starring role.

New Year’s Eve Nosh

Salad: Fennel, Radicchio & Grapefruit Salad (you may substitute orange for grapefruit if you wish – clementines are fantastic this time of year)

Main: Braised Lamb Shanks (this slow braised dish will perfume your house with festive scents of orange and cinnamon and requires very little last minute attention)

Side: Cauliflower Mash (feel free to use frozen cauliflower here to save time – read on to find out why it is especially good to eat on New Year’s Eve)

Dessert: Chocolate Nutty Baked Pears (a little like fondue-on-a-plate, these pears can be baked well in advance and rewarmed; when ready to serve, just garnish with pomegranate seeds and drizzle with chocolate)

December 6, 2019

Feast Festively without Piling on the Pounds (regifted)

This post proved so popular last season that I’m re-gifting it, along with some extra tips and an all-new collection of healthy holiday recipes that will expand your festive repertoire, not your waistline.

Did you know that the average North American gains 7 to 10 pounds during the holidays? Fear not – you can feast festively without piling on the pounds!

Click here to join The Nutritional Reset community and I will email you Healthy Holiday Eating, a selection of festive recipes which show that you can eat meals that are both healthy and delicious – not only at the holidays but all year round!

Read on for a few healthy eating strategies to make this holiday season your sveltest yet…

November 28, 2019

Beans, Beans, They’re Good For Your Heart!

Toronto Holistic Nutritionist Laurie McPhail Beans Beans They Are Good For Your Heart Beans, beans, they’re good for your heart, the more you eat, the more you… Well, you know the rhyme. Their flatulent effect is the stuff of legend. But not many folks are as aware of how heart-healthy beans are. So I thought it high time to write a post on the benefits of beans for cardiovascular health. And anyone who knows me knows why this is a topic near and dear to my heart.

With the recent demonization of carbohydrates and great swathes of the populace adopting the ketogenic diet, it seems we may be forgetting that carbs are not all created equal. Yes, sugar, white rice, white flour, processed baked goods and their ilk should definitely be only occasional indulgences. But as I said in the post for my Winter Warm Up Menu, vegetables and fruits are carbs as well, and these are about the only foods undisputed by experts to be absolutely healthy for you.

So drastically reducing all carbs is akin to throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater. I think the healthiest diet is a prudent, personalized mix of healthy carbs, protein and fats. Think of them as three legs of a stool – without one leg, there is no balance. And beans are undeniably in the healthy carb camp.

Surprisingly, when I advise my clients to add even a modicum of beans to their diet, I get more push-back than when I ask them to forgo their beloved crusty white baguettes. Pretty much everyone complains about flatulence. But here’s the thing. As well as providing heart-healthy antioxidant power and fibre, the nutrient profile of beans is chock-full of energy promoting B-vitamins. So beans really do help put the wind in your sails! As for that other wind, there is a lot we can do about that, so I invite you to read on.

November 18, 2019

Dishing It Up for November 2019

Dishing It Up serves up a selection of stories, studies & so on from the world of wellness & nutrition each month.

In this month’s issue of Dishing It Up…

Make a plan for calm this holiday season
4 Ways To Practice Active Meditation If You Can’t Sit Still
Fiber in Fruits and Grains Protects Against Diverticulitis
The Food Lab: How to Steam Vegetables in the Microwave
Nourishing Autumn Face Oil

Here’s a taste of each from the sampler platter…