Author Archives: opticals

THE BEST gluten, dairy and egg free chocolate cake ever!

  By opticals | February 10, 2012 - 12:31 pm | Blog
Comments Off

This is simply the best cake I have had in ages and considering its gluten free, (wheat free), dairy free and egg free, this recipe is UP there with the BEST!!!

I must confess that this is not my “home made secret recipe.” The really amazing people from Roar (Gold Coast based cooking group), and Pandoras Heirloom have passed it along.

Why I love it…

* This cake doesn’t require cooking

* There is no added sugar

* It is gluten free, dairy free and egg free and still tastes fantastic

* It has protein, superfoods, omega threes and is healthy. I am sure you could nearly live on it.

Base

Blend these following three ingredients in a blender.

1/2 cup soaked dried apricots

1 cup organic nuts

1 cup of shredded coconut

Press the blended mix into a cake dish or tray

Filling:

1 1/2 cups of dates

1/2 cup of coconut oil (optional for icecream)

2-3 avocados

1/2 – 3/4 cup of cacao.

Mix all ingredients in a blender and place in the base. Allow to set in the fridge.

Delicious!


Irritable Bowel gets worse around period time

  By opticals | January 30, 2012 - 7:42 pm | Blog, bowel, embarrassing, estrogen, female, health, health queen, hormone, hormones, ibs, irritable, irritable bowel syndrome, natural, natural medicine, syndrome, woman, women
Comments Off

Are you one of the 20-25% of the population that suffers with unpredictable bowel motions? Sometimes embarrassing urgency, cramping and comprimising tummy gurgles can all be exacerbated around or just before our periods.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) affects a large percentage of people and by in large, I find the cause is usually a combination of food intolerances, bowel dysbiosis (eg parasites, worms), stress and hormone imbalances.

Particularly for women, an estrogen imbalance can lead to bloating, constipation and a general feeling of fullness. Some women can gain 2-4 kg the week prior to their period. Normally this is due to increased estrogen and fluid retention not bowel related causes, however the two can be confused.

If you have other symptoms of high estrogen levels (lumpy or tender breasts, acne, headaches, fluid retention, mood changes) then ask for some professional advice, tune into a webinar or do one of the home hormone kits.

There is no need to put up with IBS or other bowel symptoms – find someone in the health industry that you can trust, get them to find the cause and then make action steps to improve your life.

Fat Loss Tip # 7. Optimise your Thyroid

  By opticals | November 7, 2011 - 8:00 am | adrenals, beau, Blog, fat, general health tips for skin, hashimotos, hashimotos disease, health queen, healthy skin, infertility, naturopathy, queen, thyoid disease, thyroid, underactive thyroid, weight loss
Comments Off

Your thyroid is a small gland that sit below your adam’s apple. It is responsible for many things in your body, including metabolism, mood and general overall health.

Your thyroid is very sensitive to stress and has a close (and dependant) relationship with your stress glands, the Adrenals.

Sometimes with prolonged stress, your thyroid can become underactive. The classic symptoms of this are fatigue, very low energy levels and motivation, dry skin, you will notice the cold more, you will probably feel depressed to some degree and you may gain weight.

If your thyroid becomes over active, you will experience life at a fast pace! Everything speeds up, including metabolism, so you lose weight, you will need little sleep, your heart might skip along very quickly and you can feel anxious.

An underactive thyroid is much more common and can be the first signs of an auto-immune condition called Hashimoto’s Disease.

This is a clip about thyroid disorders. If you are worried book in for an appointment or see you GP.