I am healing!

Lately, I have been feeling great. The past month has been the best month I have had in over 18 months. In the past 2 weeks I have only had ONE bed bound day.
My energy is so much better, and my pain levels have gone down significantly. I am really starting to feel like my old self again. I believe that I have had such success in my recovery due to a lot of hard work. I have been very strict with my diet, meditation, spiritual healing and of course a lot of help from some great doctors (Chinese doctors, naturopaths & kinesiology).


I have been volunteering in a Chinese medicine clinic and am a student apprentice there as well. I have also officially enrolled to study Chinese Medicine at University next year! Although my Lyme journey has took me through hell and back, I am so grateful and happy to have found my passion - helping others heal through natural modalities. I am so excited to begin my career in Chinese medicine, to help others heal from chronic illness and to treat people in a holistic manner.

With time, self love and a lot of effort, healing is possible.
Although my healing journey is not yet over, I am confident that a Lyme free me is just around the corner. Sending my love & blessings to all!

Gut healing broth

Recently, a few people have been asking me how I make my broth. I thought that it would therefore be a great idea to make post about my broth recipe!

In recent times, broth has become very popular amongst the health community. Broth contains many health benefits, its most sought after benefit however is its ability to aid with digestion by healing and sealing the gut. It has also been proven to improve joint health and boost immunity. You can read more about the health benefits of bone broth here: https://draxe.com/the-healing-power-of-bone-broth-for-digestion-arthritis-and-cellulite/ 

TIP: I usually collect my left over vegetable scraps into a bag that I leave in the freezer, then when it is time to make my broth I just add all my leftovers to the pot!

GUT HEALING BROTH RECIPE

Ingredients:

(preferably organic)

- 4 cloves Garlic

- 2 Onions

- 2 tablespoons coconut oil

-Fresh ginger root

-Fresh turmeric root

- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

-organic chicken bones (or bones of your choice)****

-for a vegetarian option, add some fresh, local mushrooms instead of bones

-fresh herbs (I use lots of parsley and coriander) 

-any left over vegetable scraps or vegetables you have in the fridge 

-half a lemon 

(lemon is important when using leafy greens such as silverbeet or spinach in your broth as citric acid from lemons and other citrus fruits can help prevent the formation of calcium oxalate fluids found in)

- himalayan salt

-black pepper

-2 litres of purified water

**** BONE TIP: You can purchase organic free range chicken bones from your butcher at a very cheap price. I usually cook with a whole chicken carcass, chicken necks or wings. Alternatively you can also use lamb or beed bones, however I try to avoid red meat and prefer the taste of the chicken broth****  

Method:

1. Place a large stock pot on the stove and bring to a medium heat. Add coconut oil, garlic and onion (you can leave the garlic cloves whole & just cut the onions in half with skin on).

2. Grate or finely chop the ginger and turmeric, add to the coconut oil mix. Add the rest of your vegetables, herbs as well as the bones or mushrooms to the pot. 

3. Next, add the apple cider vinegar and enough purified water to fill the pot. Bring to the boil.

4. Bring the pot to a simmer and let the broth simmer with a lid on for a minimum of 24 hours. I usually cook my broth for two days.

5. Turn off the heat, and let the broth sit until it has cooled down enough for you to handle it.
6. Strain the broth into jars and store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
7. Add the gut healing broth to your favourite soup, slow cooked dish or simply have it on its own :)

Fish Broth I have made in the past 

Broth & breakfast :) 

Paleo Lemon Slice

PALEO LEMON SLICE 

This slice is gluten, sugar, soy, grain and dairy free! And rather delicious...

Time:  45 minutes (soak cashews overnight prior to baking the slice)

Ingredients:

Crust
1 cup of almond meal
3/4 cup of coconut flour
2 eggs
4 tablespoons melted coconut oil
4 tablespoons xylitol (use honey or other sweetener if not trying to avoid sugar)
2 tablespoons tapioca flour
pinch of salt


Filling
Juice of 2 lemons
Rind of 1 lemon
1 cup raw cashews (soaked)
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon vanilla bean powder
4 tablespoons xylitol (use more honey or other sweetener if not trying to avoid sugar)
1 tablespoon honey
pinch of salt

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°c and line an 8x8 inch square baking tin with baking paper.
2. Add all crust ingredients into a large mixing bowl and kneed with hands until it forms a dough consistency.
3. Transfer the dough to the baking tin and spread it out by placing more baking paper on top and using a cup to push the dough to all edges (this will prevent the dough from sticking to the cup). Ensure that the dough is spread out evenly on along the tin.
4. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until dough is just starting to brown.
5. Place the soaked and drained cashews into a high speed blender along with all the other ingredients used in the filling. Blend until smooth and creamy.
6. Pour the filling over the crust and spread into an even layer.
7. Bake the slice for a further 20 minutes.
8.  Let the slice rest for 10 minutes before transferring it to the fridge.
9.  If you don't want to try the slice warm, let it sit in the fridge for an hour.
10. Cut the slice into rectangular slices and add your favourite berries, more lemon rind, honey or nuts for extra flavour. (I used blueberries, muesli & coconut yoghurt)

ENJOY!

Paleo Falafel Wrap

I had a lot of pumpkin going to waste in the fridge so I decided to improvise and make some grain free falafels! They turned out to be delicious....

GRAIN FREE PUMPKIN & CAULIFLOWER FALAFEL WRAPS

Makes 4 Wraps (1 & 1/2 falafels per wrap)

Ingredients:

Lettuce of choice for wrap (I used swiss chard) 

Falafel Mix 

- 2 cups pumpkin puree 

- 3 cauliflower florets (cut into pieces) 

- Generous amount of flat leaf parsley (chopped)

- 2 teaspoons cumin 

- 1 teaspoon cinnamon 

- 2 teaspoons paprika 

- 4 garlic cloves 

- 1/2 cup of soaked cashews

- 1/2 cup almond meal

- 1/2 cup coconut flour

- 1 egg

- salt - pepper

- 4 tablespoons melted coconut oil

    

Tabouleh 

- 1 bunch round leaf parsley 

- 3 garlic cloves 

- 2-3  florets of cauliflower 

- 1/4 of large cucumber 

- 1/2 punnet of cherry tomatoes 

- 1/2 red onion

- 1 whole lemon juice

- 4 tablespoons olive oil 

“Hummus" Sauce 

- 1/2 cup tahini

- 3 tablespoons of tomato paste

- 1/2 an avocado 

- 1 lemon (juice) 

- salt

- pepper 

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

2. Add all ingredients for falafel mix into a food processor except for the coconut flour and coconut oil. Blend until all ingredients are combined. Slowly add the coconut flour until the mixtures texture resembles that of falafels (you made not need to use the whole 1/2 cup). 

3. Roll the mixture into falafel sized balls and place on an oven baking tray lined with baking paper. You should get about 8 balls with this mixture. 

4. Cover the falafels with coconut oil and place in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden. 

5. Meanwhile, prepare the tabouleh by roughly chopping the parsley and placing it into a large bowl. 

6. Finely chop the garlic, and roughly chop the cucumber, cherry tomatoes and red onion. Add to the bowl.

7. Process the cauliflower florets in a food process until they form a grain like consistency. Add to the bowl.

8. Add lemon juice and olive oil to the bowl. The tabouleh is now ready. 

9. To make the hummus sauce, mix all ingredients together in a small mixing bowl.

10. Finally, serve the falafels on top of the swiss chard, hummus and tabouleh (as seen in the mixture below)

Enjoy :) 

Anti-inflammatory Vegan Pumpkin Soup

Todays lunch is organic pumpkin soup topped with fresh parsley. This soup is full of vitamin C and has great anti-inflammatory properties.

VEGAN PUMPKIN SOUP RECIPE:

Ingredients:

- 1 brown onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 3/4 whole organic kent pumpkin
- 1 can of organic full cream coconut cream
- 400 mL of vegetable (or chicken for non-veg option) stock *preferably home made
- 1 red chilly
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon fresh turmeric
- generous pinch of nutmeg
- 4 tablespoons of fresh coriander
- salt
- pepper
- fresh parsley to top

Method:

1. Put coconut oil to a large pot, along with the roughly chopped garlic and onion. Cook on medium until onion is transparent.

2. Add pumpkin (cut into medium sized squares with skin off) into pot. Add all spices and cook, stirring on medium for 1 minute.

3. Next, pour your stock into the pot and bring to the boil.

4. Bring the pot to simmer and place a lid on top. Allow to cook for one hour or until pumpkin is soft.

5. Turn off the heat and add the corriander (roughly chopped), Allow to cool for 15 minutes.

6. Pour the coconut cream into the soup and process with a hand held processor until smooth.

7. Serve with fresh parlsey, salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Brisbane trip

I recently embarked on a trip to Brisbane, Queensland. A group of my incredible friends from Brisbane surprised me for my birthday by buying me a flight voucher to go and visit them.  I was over the moon when I received the gift - I am truly blessed to have such kind friends.

I stayed in Brisbane for just over a week. I was feeling pretty good before leaving but wasn't feeling all that good when I arrived in Brisbane. I think that the flight took it out of me a bit.
I still had a fantastic time away in the sunshine. I was feeling well enough on some days to go to the beach and to do things that normal people do. Although I was experiencing some migraines, joint pain and fatigue, I was generally feeling pretty good 😊.

However, while I was away it was hard to stay on top of my strict diet. This resulted in me indulging in a few food items that I shouldn't have eaten. I ate a gluten free bun and rice noodles on the 2nd day that I arrived in Brisbane... Lots of grains that I usually avoid as they upset my stomach and cause inflammation in my body. Unfortunately the food really didn't digest well and I ended up having internal bleeding as well as a loss of appetite and nauseousness for the following three days.
I feel as though this setback, as well as a few other issues that have come up - have sent me backwards in my recovery process. Since returning back home to Melbourne I haven't been feeling my best. I feel as though I have a had a little relapse. I have been experiencing deliberating migraines, vertigo and lots of joint pain. My ears are also severely infected which means they have a lot of fluid built up in them which causes noise sensitivity, pain and dizziness. As a result of all this physical pain that I have been dealing with, it has been difficult for me to stay on track with my routine that I had going. I haven't been doing much exercise other than the occasional 10 minute walk and some stretching here and there.

After doing a one day juice fast, having an epsom salt bath and performing a coffee enema on myself.. I am finally starting to feel better. Let's hope that I continue to experience less pain :).

Here are some photos that I took of my time in Queensland...
It's amazing to look back on these photos and see that I was feeling so good only 3 weeks ago!!
I feel so lucky to have spent such a beautiful time with my friends, doing many of the things that I have been unable to do for so long.
These photos were taken on my film camera: Nikon FM10.
Enjoy!

Lifestyle tips for healing chronic infection