Healthy, vibrant later years

The human body is extraordinary, it fights, often against the odds, to achieve balance and vibrant health. Successive years of stress, lack of exercise and eating foods that are less than vital can take their toll creating an imbalance leading to ill health.

It's never too late to change, or indeed enhance an already ok diet, to ensure that your later years are healthy & vibrant.

 

 

Look after your immune system

The ideal immune boosting diet is no different from the ideal diet we should be eating every day. Therefore a well balanced protein, fat obtained from good essential fatty acid sources, whole grains, together with plenty of fresh seasonal vegetables and fruit rich in vitamins and minerals is the way to eat for maximum immunity. This juice is a great immune booster.

 

Immune booster juice

serves 1

2 carrots scrubbed

2 sticks of celery including the leaves

handful of watercress

1 apple

½ lemon

 

Cut the vegetables so that they fit into the machine. Juice and serve immediately in 2 tall glasses

 

White bean & garlic soup

serves 4

200g white beans soaked overnight  

 3 tbsp. olive oil

1 onion chopped

4 cloves garlic finely chopped                                                          

1 celery stalk chopped

1 carrot chopped                                          

½ tsp. thyme leaves   

1.25l vegetable stock                                     

4 tomatoes -peeled, seeded & diced                         

chopped chives

 

Cook the onion and garlic in the oil until soft, add the well-drained beans and stir well, add the celery, carrot & thyme, tip in the stock and cook for approximately 1½ hours or until the beans are soft.  Cool slightly, tip into a food processor and blend until smooth.

Gently reheat, divide between 6 bowls and top with tomatoes & chives

 

Look after your bones

Osteoporosis affects one in three women, and one in 12 men, over the age of 50.  To preserve bone health  all nutrients are important but especially calcium found in yoghurt, sardines, dark green leafy vegetables and wakame, vitamin D found in eggs, oily fish, shiitake mushrooms and daily sun exposure; vitamin K2 found in green leafy vegetables; zinc found in eggs, pumpkin seeds & whole grains; phosphorous found in oats, seafood and nuts & magnesium found in whole grains and dark green leafy vegetable.

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Potent bone builder salad

serves 4

200g shiitake mushrooms sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves finely chopped garlic

1 tablespoon grated ginger

handful chopped parsley

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoons light miso

3 tablespoon olive oil

1 head of broccoli broken into small florets

1 handful soaked pumpkin seeds

handful of dulse briefly rinsed & chopped

18 soaked almonds finely sliced

4 handfuls of green salad leaves

4 handfuls sprouted alfalfa

4 tablespoons hulled hemp

 

Gently cook the shiitake in the oil.

Mix the garlic, ginger, parsley, cider vinegar, light miso & olive oil together. Stir in the shiitake and broccoli and leave to marinade for 30 minutes. Mix in the pumpkin seeds, dulse and sliced almonds

To serve - divide the salad leaves between 4 bowls add a handful of alfalfa to each bowl and top with the broccoli mixture and finally the hemp seeds.

Alternatives – replace the hemp with a soft boiled egg or a fillet of oily fish

 

Support brain and cognitive function
The brain looses volume as neurons die and this is inevitable however there isn't necessarily a loss of cognitive ability. You can help to keep your mind sharp by ensuring an adequate intake of omega-3 fatty acids, protein, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.

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Brain supporting smoothie
serves 1
1 heaped tablespoon shelled hemp seed|
teaspoon grated ginger
teaspoon raw cacao
100g frozen blueberries
handful of spinach leaves
8 fl oz water

Blitz well together and serve.

 

Look after your heart
Heart disease can be prevented even if there is a strong tendency towards heart problems in the family avoid eating too much meat, altered fats and refined carbs. The best foods include plenty of vegetables & fruit, unrefined grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, olive oil;  fatty fish, butter &  eggs are good if you choose to include them in your diet.

 

Kale with sweet potatoes & hemp

serves 2

250g kale cavelo nero is particularly good

2 medium sweet potatoes diced (peeled or unpeeled – up to you)

2 tablespoon olive oil

salt, pepper

2 handfuls of sprouted lentils

2 tablespoons shelled hemp seeds

Dressing

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon honey

2 cloves garlic very finely chopped

1” piece of turmeric grated

salt & freshly milled black pepper

 

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Toss the sweet potatoes with 1 tablespoon of oil and spread on a baking tray. Season and roast for 20 minutes, remove from oven, gently stir, and return to oven until soft in the middle and crisp on the edges.

Discard any large stalks from the kale and shred.

Over a low heat toss the kale in the remaining tablespoon of oil along with one tablespoon of water until wilted and the water evaporated. Place in a bowl.

Put the dressing ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake well. Pour over the kale and gently mix. Divide the kale between 2 bowls, pile the sweet potato on top, then the sprouted lentils and top with hemp seeds

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