I’ll be at Hollingworth Lake Visitors Centre on Sunday 15th September for the Mind Body Spirit festival doing a free talk on Good Nutrition is Your Superpower. Details of the talk are in the video below. If you can make it, it would be lovely to meet you and answer any questions. The talk starts at 10am, but I’ll be there all day at my stall, and there will be some special offers.
“We all start off in life as superheroes, but the Standard Western Diet is our human Kryptonite. Over time, poor dietary habits are making us sick, tired and weak. Sadly, many of us feel old before our time. Just about every health condition and symptom, at its core, is linked with the inflammatory foods we’re putting into our bodies. This talk is about why this happens, and how you can take control to help get your superpowers back.”
So tomorrow I’m going to be at the first Milnrow Yoga & Wellbeing Festival. I’m very excited about this.
The Rochdale area where I live isn’t renowned for being at the forefront of health and wellness – in fact, I think it’s one of the top unhealthy places in the country – but recently there has been an surge of interest, and this is the second festival I will attend this year (the third will be at Hollingworth Lake in September – watch this space!)
The festival will take place in Milnrow Park, and fortunately, the weather is forecast to be sunny, which is GREAT! Sunny weather means more people are likely to come to learn about all the good things that can be done to help both your physical and mental wellbeing.
There are going to be lots of tasters and sessions for people to join in with. Bring your trainers and look at the schedule when you get there if you’d like to participate in the Zumba or Yoga! No need to bring your mats though as these are being provided by a local company.
I can’t wait to meet like-minded people from the local area. On my stall I’ll have information about ways to improve your diet and relieve stress (a huge factor in poor health), plus some recipes for healthy snacks and desserts. I’ll be handing out some sweet treats too that are actually good for you, and offering a chance for someone to win an initial consultation worth over £100. If you’re interested in improving a health condition, please take part. There’s no greater investment than looking after yourself.
So, that’s all for now, but if you are attending the festival tomorrow, please come over and say hello. It would be a real pleasure to meet you.
Yesterday was a fantastic day. It was the first Littleborough Wellness Festival at Littleborough Cricket Club, organised by Littleborough and Area Ladies Circle, with all proceeds going to Rochdale & District Mind. I met some great people, both the stallholders and people who came to visit.
I was blown away by how many people were looking for more natural ways to deal with their ill health or improve their health. There’s a lot of interest out there for changes to the way we eat and live our lives. What I was hearing, however, was that there is so much conflicting information out there that people often get confused and don’t know where to start.
Healthy eating doesn’t have to be complicated. A good starting point is with the BANT Wellness Plate and their 7-a-day Eat a Rainbow handouts. I was explaining to the people who came to chat with me that half their daily intake of food should be focused on fruits and vegetables, but also, that it’s important to eat a wide range of colours and types of plant-based foods. Our gut bacteria thrives on different varieties of fibres and polyphenols within plant-based foods, so diversity is key. The spectrum of colours available in fruits and vegetables offer different benefits – helping immunity, mood, energy, hormones, digestion, cardiovascular and skeletal health etc.
The healthy snacks tasters I made – energy balls and chickpea & cashew blondies – went down a treat
Although eating like this is beneficial to everyone, sometimes it doesn’t improve the symptoms we may be experiencing. Depending on what’s going on in our bodies, it may even make things worse. At this point it’s advisable to see a professional who, during their consultation, will try to identify the potential root cause of your issues. We are all individuals, so a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. The triggers and drivers for our illnesses differ from person-to-person, even if they are suffering with the same condition.
Just before the doors open. Everyone’s just finishing setting up!
One of my favourite parts of the day was talking to representatives from MIND and the University of the Third Age who expressed interest in me participating in workshops and talks with the general public. This is very exciting, as it means I can spread the word about the benefits of dietary and lifestyle interventions to a greater audience. Nutrition has an important role in mental health and healthy ageing, but it’s not always so easy to be able to implement dietary advice when you might be living alone or struggling with mental health issues. It would be great to offer support and strategies to these groups in ways that suit their individual needs.
Finally, I’d like to thank my friends Natasha Sophia Sarak (of Prestwich Health Heroes) and Pauline Holt, who turned up yesterday to support me. Cheerleaders help us move forward, and feel positive and focused! I really appreciate them taking precious time out of their day and I certainly felt the love. Thanks guys!
Really appreciate the support I got from my fellow nutritional therapy buddy
Getting more green leafy vegetables into your diet needn’t be difficult. Personally, I find it’s all in the planning, so that I’m not having to overthink it, or spend all my free time preparing and cooking. (Please see my previous post if you want more information about what exactly a green leafy vegetable is, and what benefits they offer).
Chop up a salad and store it in the fridge for a few days. Use rocket, spinach, watercress, romaine and, if you’re feeling adventurous, even kale! Herbs such as parsley and coriander (if you are a fan) also offer a new flavour dimension. Add salad portions as a side to your meals, or even better, eat it before your meal to kickstart your digestion.
Stir-fry spring greens, broccoli, pak choi, sliced Brussels sprouts or savoy cabbage with onions, garlic and your favourite spices to make a delicious side. It’s also great with added soy sauce or tamari. If you make a large batch you can store it in the fridge and add it to your meals. I really like greens stir-fried this way with added cashews or as a bed for a home-made fat spicy bean burger to sit on.
I find a really quick way to get in the greens is to add them, finely chopped, at the end of cooking. They add texture and colour to soups, stews and casseroles. I particularly like adding a big bunch of spinach to a sweet potato and chickpea curry. Or kale or spring greens are great in a chilli.
Make a green smoothie. Fill up the blender beaker with at least half leafy greens (I like kale and spinach the best for this purpose), then top up the rest with other vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds or anything else you enjoy or will satisfy you.
Finely chopping parsley and/or coriander is a highly effective way to add nutrients, colour and flavour to a pilaf made of brown rice or quinoa. You could also boil up some wholewheat or red lentil pasta, or buckwheat noodles for a change, stir-fry some onions and garlic, then add in a chopped bunch of gorgeous herbs (or other greens, such as spring greens, savoy cabbage, or pak choi) for a really nutritious but simple meal.
Next time I’ll be giving you some more tips on how to up your green leafy intake. See you then.
If you found the information here useful or if you have any requests for future blog-posts, please post in the comments below.
My name is Sally and I’m a registered nutritional therapist based in the Todmorden and Rochdale area.
Lots of people say they’d love to take more care of their health, but they don’t have the time, or don’t know where to start. I totally get that. I’m the mum of a young person with complex learning and health needs, so I fully understand how tough altering the way you eat or drink, or making adjustments to your lifestyle, can seem when you are time-limited. By setting up this website, I want to make people who could benefit from dietary and lifestyle support aware of my services. However, I’m also hoping that by sharing my experiences and tips, it will be easier for you to juggle all that life has to offer and look after yourself too.
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