Best Recipe Websites for Inspo!
If you are seeking me out to hand over endless customised meal plans, you have come to the wrong person. A few years back I dabbled with starting a recipe blog. At the time there weren’t as many options as there are now. But it all ended very quickly when I started feeding the chickens too many times with my failed recipe attempts. I just couldn’t handle throwing my creations into the chook pen anymore (coconut flour is a real pain in the arse to work with).
I LOVE cooking and I also enjoy eating too! But with so many recipe websites available now, it can get a little overwhelming to know what is right for you and what also tastes good too.
Over the years I have noticed that I generally recommend the same websites over and over. So now is the time to share these websites with you!
If you are anything like me, I often go to a recipe and adjusted it if I don’t have the ingredients or I would rather choose a different ingredient.
The list you have been waiting for!
The Healthy Chef- Teresa Cutter
You might notice that many are Australian and a few that live in Perth, Western Australia…
If I have forgotten any, I will update this again (or if I discover new ones!)
Enjoy!
Supporting Your Mental Health
As things start to return to normal for us folk in Perth , Western Australia, there are other places in Australia and the rest of the world that are still feeling the pinch of Coronavirus.
Today I visited my local beauticians. I am not generally one for waxing and spending money on such things, but I guess it is the usual feeling of when things are suddenly taken away from you- you miss them!
There have been many a funny meme on social media of image of (mostly women) people that had regrowth, broken nails and hairy legs and eyelashes falling of their faces. You honestly have to laugh of the first world problems that we live in.
While many businesses have their staff working from home, I am back at taking face to face clients. It was so lovely to step back into the space that I know and love - EarthPoint Energy Centre in East Perth. It is a combination of the smell, the amazing women that I work along side with and the atmosphere that does something supportive to your nervous system.
I hindsight, I hope this pandemic has made more people aware about the importance of mental health during these times. Fortunately for me I have been one of the lucky ones. But for many, the home environment can be volatile and unsafe. Or the workplace can be for some people their only interaction with others and gives them a sense of belonging.
Has this time been a positive or negative experience for you?
The amount of online services supporting people’s wellbeing has increased greatly from free mediation sessions, online yoga classes and Zoom meetings.
My 3 pillars to health: MIND, MOVEMENT & MICROBIOME are always at the forefront of my mind for creating an ideal life for my clients. For if we don’t have a balance of all of these components, then we can become out of balance and experience low mood or digestive upsets.
I know living or even attempting to live a healthy lifestyle can be daunting and overwhelming. Knowing where to start can be off putting and can often lead to no action at all.
My approach is always taking one step at a time and focus on what is the easiest for you. No use in setting you up for failure before you have even started!
If you feel you need support with your mood or your tummy troubles….fill out my online enquiry form and see if I can help you.
Celebrating International Yoga Day!
Friday the 21st of June celebrates Yoga in all its forms, internationally. It's a day that we can share our love of yoga through connecting with the community.
Friday the 21st of June celebrates Yoga in all its forms, internationally.
It's a day that we can share our love of yoga through connecting with the community. Many yoga teachers and yoga studios usually provide special events or practices to recognise the day. This year I decided to share a little of my morning meditation and yoga practice by a LIVE Facebook event on my FB business page.
For those that have missed the event or would like to watch the replay, I have provided the LIVE stream by clicking HERE.
Know Your Stress Triggers
There is one culprit that has a lot to answer for, and that my friends is stress. Many times I will have a client in front of me that has symptoms due to long term stress. And they will often reply 'But I don't feel stressed!'
There is one culprit that has a lot to answer for, and that my friends is stress.
Many times I will have a client in front of me that has symptoms due to long term stress. And they will often reply 'But I don't feel stressed!' Then 3 months later I will see them again and they may have made some significant changes in their life such as quitting their job or reducing their daily load. And many of them will reflect and say...'Yeah, I feel so much better now I think I was under a lot of stress back then.'
By all means I don't want you to race out and quit your day job (unless you really want to). But it's when we finally slow down and STOP, that we realise how busy we are and what for?
Our bodies are very adaptable vehicles and will adjust your responses to stress in a way that we can adapt without noticing. Think about all of the little 'stresses' we have in our daily lives......
24/7 access to notifications (email, texts, group chats, social apps and calendar reminders) from your mobile (don't forget the 'pings and dings' that can come with those notifications)
Work demands
Health demands- Fitness, diet and lifestyle
Community demands- Clubs, schools, business, friends all expecting a piece of you
Future concerns
Past conversations going over in your head
Financial worries
Relationship concerns
Expectations that you need to fit it ALL in with ease.....
How does our body respond to these little stressors?
Your adrenals will release cortisol and adrenaline to get ready to fight the threat. You see, our mind has no way of differentiating between a real stress (the Saber tooth tiger kind) or the answering your daily email stress- it's all the same!
With this added adrenal spark, your sympathetic nervous system will kick into action- your pupils will dilate, heart beat will increase, blood pressure will rise, digestion will slow down, sugar will stay in your blood stream (so you have enough energy for action) and your immune system will kick in to put out the potential fire threat.
Have you ever gone on holidays and then on the first couple of days you end up getting sick? Argh! So frustrating! This happens because when you are busy at work, your adrenals are in full swing- putting out the fire with all the anti-inflammatory guys (a.k.a immune system). As soon as the fire goes away (work), so does your cortisol levels. And then bingo! A bug comes in from the back door and you get sick from exhaustion.
Short term this is okay, but long term stress can disrupt your bodies natural response and end up getting what is called cortisol resistance. Your body starts to not respond because the stress is there ALL THE TIME. Your immune system will drop and inflammation gets out of control...
How do you react to stress?
I know when I have a full schedule on the things that are good for me and would actually support me in times of stress (or even busyness), are the first to get dropped.
Exercise? Who has time for exercise when your chasing your tail?
Eat well? (scoff), Let's just be thankful that the family gets some form of food into them (even if it is just from one food group and the same colour). No prizes for best phyto nutrient dish in this house that's for sure!
And generally that's not where it ends. Because your day is so time poor you end up staying up later = less sleep.
You may reward yourself with a bickie or two. You may even feel the need to 'unwind' with a glass of wine...
At the time these stress releases may seem ideal, but you will end up burning the candle at both ends and disrupting your circadian rhythm and increase more of your sympathetic nervous system by adding stimulants as your coping mechanisms.
We have all done it. But how can you make better choices to support your stress response?
The most difficult part is identifying your stress triggers. Most of the time we just continue in the rat race thinking this is normal. Think about your actions AND your emotions (sometimes this is the easiest at the end of the day- but whatever works for you). Make a little self note of you might be reacting to a situation instead of responding to it.
Like I said, this is not easy. Even if you do know what your triggers are, the hardest part can be changing your reaction. Short term rewards that aren't beneficial to your health may seem great at the time (otherwise we wouldn't do them!), but how are they affecting you long term.
Are you stimulating your nervous system instead of supporting it? (eating sweets, staying up late, watching copious amounts of T.V, drinking coffee or alcohol, eating take away foods with little nutritional value).
These go-to's can be okay as a one off. But repeating this behaviour is not helping you in the long run. Try replacing these responses or actions with things that will nourish you. Here are some examples:
Go for a walk
Read a book
Put your T.V watching on a timer (30 minutes)
Have a bath
Go in a quiet room, close your eyes and notice the sensations of your breath as you breath in and out
Ring a friend or relative - sharing (or venting) does wonders for your soul)
Unplug- yep you heard me!
Schedule some joy into your life
To help you identify your triggers, download my Know Your Triggers Work Sheet here
If you would like to ask a question regarding your health, please contact me.