Helen Macklin Nutritional Therapy

Some very easy and useful tips that we can all try and incorporate into our diets!

Back to where I trained for a three day course, heading into Day 2:
Cancer: Nutritional Support before, during and after treatment and beyond.
Delighted to be listening to hugely knowledgable and inspiring lecturers. So much to understand and learn but hoping to take away so much information to support my work at Breast Cancer Haven, Hereford.

What have you done to move today? We have all got to find ways to be less sedentary but this really doesn’t have to be viewed as yet another chore to schedule into our massively hectic lifestyles. I openly admit I hate the gym so I don’t go. I also hate running so I don’t! I am not as fit as I could be but I do move - swimming, yoga, walking, FitSteps and Barre fit nicely into my week. They make me smile and they make me feel great! Even making time for a simple walk in the fresh air can boost our health with research suggesting it can contribute to a reduced risk of chronic disease, improved quality of life and mental well being. It is a beautiful sunny day so get out there and move!

Nearly time to go home after three weeks of inter-railing with the family around Europe and we have certainly eaten some interesting food. We have tried local; some amazing, some not, (although I can’t tell you how good Austrian beer, sausage and cheese soup is when it is just plain wrong on so many levels 🤷‍♀️). Some of it has been healthy and balanced whereas some places have left me craving vegetables! We have gone with it and thoroughly enjoyed it all! What an amazing experience. It has certainly not been a quiet or restful holiday and we have walked miles in the heat but I am certainly feeling relaxed, stress free and inspired to get back to my kitchen and some home cooked food! Happy summer everyone ☀️

Iron rich steak salad.
If you are looking for a bit of inspiration for a perfect summer salad that hits the perfect flavour combination then look no further. This recipe is extracted from The Happy Kitchen which is a fabulous cookbook that is a firm favourite of mine. My picture doesn’t do the recipe any justice as there is lots of colour under the green but I can assure you this was devoured by my family of five!
If you wish to make this dairy free omit the feta, swap crème... fraîche for coconut yogurt and check the horseradish sauce contents!
Ingredients
For the dressing 1 tbs crème fraîche 1 tsp horseradish sauce 1 tsp cider vinegar 1 tsp honey 1 tsp olive oil 2 x 250g rump steaks –3cm thick
For the marinade Handful parsley, chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 6 tbs of extra-virgin olive oil Juice and zest of ½ lemon 4 drops Tabasco sauce (optional)
For the salad 80g flat-leaf parsley, chopped 6 sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped 4 artichoke hearts, quartered 100g rocket, washed and drained 8 red radishes, thinly sliced 70g feta cheese, crumbled 4 tbs pomegranate seeds (optional) 2 tbs toasted pine nuts (optional)
Method First make the dressing by combining all the ingredients and shaking them together in a jar. Trim the harder fat off the steaks, brush with oil and season both sides with salt. Heat a griddle or heavy-based pan, and add the meat once hot. Cook for 4 minutes on each side. If you prefer your steak well done, then leave for another 1−2 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, make the marinade. Whisk together all the ingredients in a dish big enough to accommodate the cooked steaks. Place the steaks in the marinade for 8 minutes, turning them halfway through. Then remove them to a board and slice them thinly on the diagonal. While the meat rests, combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Pour over three-quarters of the dressing and toss everything together. To serve, place the sliced steak on a bed of the salad and pour over the rest of the dressing. Scatter with toasted pine nuts, if so desired.
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I am very much looking forward to talking to this lovely group of women on Thursday. It is all about hormones 😊

Eat the 🌈 It is so glorious to see all of the bright and beautiful colours of the rainbow appearing in my garden at the moment and I try and make my plates of food equally colourful each and every day. Apart from the fact that a rainbow plate looks far more appetising than beige beige and more beige, the variety supports a greater spectrum of antioxidant intake. Antioxidants help reduce the effect of free radicals damage within the body (also called oxidative damage/stress...) considered to be contributory to disease. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals leading to other chemical reactions that can damage our cells. So ensuring a variety of antioxidants in your diet can help to counter free radical damage. My lunch today was super easy pulling together lots of colourful salad bits. In order to add some protein and fat for a balanced plate I made a beetroot dip. There is so much of it I have put several portions in the freezer to ensure quick and easy lunches ahead. Look at the colour of it! I have to say I am not a particular fan of the earthy flavours of beetroot or tahini so I didn’t want to make an exact houmous so I adapted a couple of recipes I found and love the mild taste of this!
Beetroot Dip 2 x medium/large beetroot (cooked and peeled). 10g of fresh dill (chopped) 1 clove of garlic 400g cooked chickpeas 1-2 tbsp of sesame seeds Juice and zest of 1 lemon Good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil Salt and pepper to season I put it all in a blender - simple as that!
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I am looking forward to breakfast tomorrow. I tend to “freestyle” a little when making granola based on what I have in the cupboard and today’s experiment adding orange zest has worked a treat. The smell in the kitchen whilst I was cooking this was heavenly!
Ingredients 1 x 250g bag of mixed nuts - roughly chopped 250g approx of oats... 2 tbsp of coconut oil 2 tbsp of maple syrup 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste or essence Zest of 1 orange 1 x handful of coconut flakes 1 x small bag of dried cranberries
Method 1. Place the nuts and oats in a large mixing bowl. 2. Gently heat the coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and zest in a pan. Once melted add into the bowl and mix the ingredients well. 3. Spread on two baking trays and cook for 15 minutes at 180 degrees. Check after about 10 minutes to turn everything over. Leave to cool. 4. Sprinkle the cranberries and coconut flakes over the trays and mix everything carefully with a spoon. 5. Place in a big container for storage - probably a good 10 servings that will keep for 2-3 weeks!
To serve Place 2-3 large spoonfuls in a bowl and add milk of choice (mine’s almond) and stewed fruit.
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I love discovering something new, simple and delicious. Thanks to the fab Sensory & Rye, I was introduced to Dukkah last week and I have discovered it is so easy to make. I now have a big jar in the cupboard and I am sprinkling it on soups, boiled eggs, salads, basically anything! It tastes divine with the flavours of cumin, coriander and fennel subtly seeping through and it smells amazing. Also, it provides a fantastic source of fibre, good fats, vitamin E and the minerals, copper and manganese.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/dukka h

The weather calls for only one thing this evening - a hearty chicken and vegetable soup. Loaded with organic chicken thighs, carrots, onions, celery, kale, leeks, courgette, spinach, fresh thyme, fresh parsley, homemade chicken stock (but a cube would do just fine) and a small handful of brown rice. The rice being the important ingredient that is the difference between my fussy eater eating this soup or not 🙄

It can be the case when time is limited or we are really hungry that we think the only solution is to reach out for convenience or processed foods. Sometimes I also need to remind myself that this isn’t the case especially when I am very busy. I also benefit from planning my meals in advance so even though my motivation was a bit low this lunchtime all I needed to do was give myself a bit of a kick! This took me less than 5 minutes to prepare.
Beetroot is high in immune-boos...ting vitamin C, fibre, and essential minerals like potassium (essential for healthy nerve and muscle function) and manganese (which is good for your bones, liver, kidneys, and pancreas). The mackerel provides a source of vitamin D, protein, some B vitamins and selenium. It's also a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids.
I placed the mackerel skin side down in a dry pan and fried it until the skin was crispy and warm whilst quickly whipping up a horseradish and plain yogurt dressing which I drizzled over leaves and beetroot. It was delicious and worth that little bit of time!
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I am fed up with my own phone habits and I know the amount of time I spend looking at my phone isn’t good for me. So much so a couple of weeks ago we decided to make some real changes in our household including a “screen free until 3” on a Sunday for all electronics, turning all notifications off and putting my phone away in the evenings - something I often tell my clients to do but often fail to do myself! I have realised I look at my phone far too often checking whether there is another message, email, post......since the last time I looked 10 minutes ago. I have had enough!
I read this article this week and thought I would share. It is sobering and made me even more determined to stick to my guns on this one!
https://www.itstimetologoff.com/digital-d etox-facts/

Blueberry Muffins
These were an experiment. A Friday night request to do some baking and very much the result of what was in the fridge/cupboards but they have come out rather well!
Ingredients - 12 muffins
... 125ml of almond milk 125ml olive oil 125ml maple syrup 225g of plain flour (I used a 50:50 mixture of whole spelt and a gluten free plain flour) 2 teaspoons of baking powder A pinch of salt 150g of fresh blueberries 100g of frozen strawberries/blueberries
1. Mix the wet ingredients together 2. Add in the dry ingredients and mix together. 3. Gently fold in the fruit 4. Drop the mixture into muffin cases. 5. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for about 25 minutes!
Enjoy 😀
Have a great weekend!
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So easy and reasonably priced to run a test from home with Thriva - great for someone like me who usually faints at a blood draw. I can do this in about 30 seconds without feeling lightheaded at all! Looking forward to the results of this panel! The hardest thing was writing my d.o.b which I managed to get wrong 😬🙄

I was just starting to get hungry and think about my lunch so very grateful to get a knock on the door with delivery of my weekly fruit and veg box. Perhaps slightly more expensive than the supermarket but on the plus side it is very fresh, organic, limited plastic, lots of local veg and nothing too weird and wonderful that the children will turn their noses up at. I can rustle up a quick soup now on a cold and wet day! Perfect!

What a fun day and a first for me! Fronting a cooking demo in aid of St Michael’s Hospice and Aylton Church. What a fab group of lovely ladies with lots of interesting nutrition questions! I hope I managed to answers them adequately whilst cooking up lunch! On the menu; salmon and sweet potato fishcakes with a warm winter salad and veggie chilli with stuffed sweet potatoes. For pud, home made banana ice cream with a salted caramel sauce and spiced poached apples. Healthy puds of course! Lots of money raised and food did get put on the table (I had some worries). Win win. Thank you for asking me.

I am busy making this shopping list and menu plan into something far more legible for my nutrition group starting the New Year New You Programme on Monday. There is still time to join us to kick start 2018. I promise no calorie counting or feelings of food deprivation. Instead you will be provided with a 55 page recipe book full of delicious, healthy and nutritious recipes to help you make sustainable changes with on tap advice and support from me throughout. Click on the link to book, give me a call or send me a message.
https://www.facebook.com/events/140780273 373601/?ti=icl