Elena, Health and Food

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Elena, Health and Food

I am Elena, a Registered Nutritional Therapist (MSc Nutritional Therapy). I use my research skills, Hello! Do you suffer from indigestion or frequent colds? Elena
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I am Elena, a Registered Nutritional Therapist, educator, and researcher. I am passionate about health, science, food and cooking and I use my knowledge to improve my clients’ health. Do you feel low in energy or mood, do you find it difficult to concentrate? Do you want to have better physical performance or maybe you have skin problems? Or perhaps you would like to improve your nutrition and general wellbeing and to have better health in the future? Are you confused by all the contradictory information “out there” – in papers, magazines, on TV? …

I am here to help you and to show you that healthy eating can be fun! Be healthy and happy!

09/11/2025

For today's Recipe Sunday – an absolute Masterpiece of a hearty and warming dish.

There is no need for me to start banging on about this season of sniffles, bugs, and buggers. Likewise, there is no need for EHF to start droning once again about the immune-supporting properties of mushrooms. Or leeks, or bell peppers, or spices – in this space, all these topics have been covered more than once. (But please don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions or would like to know more!)

Without delay, Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup (from the ForksOverKnives website) for you. Run, get cooking!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups hot water plus an extra 1/4 cup water for mixing the flours
• 2 tbsp Marmite or any other yeast extract
• 240g/8-ounces button mushrooms, trimmed and quartered (or use cream or white mushrooms, sliced)
• ¾ cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed and drained
• 1 small leek, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 carrot, carrot
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup almond flour (or add another 1/4 cup chickpea flour, muuuuch cheaper and equally as great)
• ¼ cup chickpea flour
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped (or use one heaped tsp dry thyme)
• Black pepper and hor chillies, to taste
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1. Dissolve the Marmite in four cups of hot water. (You can use vegetable stock instead.)
2. Combine the 'Marmite stock', mushrooms, wild rice, leek, and garlic in a 5-quart Dutch oven or soup pot. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 45 to 50 minutes or until the rice is tender (kernels will start to pop open).
3. Stir in the bell peppers, carrot, and salt. Cover and simmer for 8 more minutes.
4. Combine the almond and chickpea flour in a small bowl; stir in ¼ cup water, black pepper, and chillies (if using).
5. Add the mixture to the soup. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes until thick and bubbly or until it reaches your desired consistency.
6. Stir in the thyme and vinegar, serve, and enjoy!

07/11/2025

Once again, it is time to share this post about one of my favourite seasonal fruits. I hope you love them!

Do you like persimmons? We are at the peak of their season, which will last until early spring. These luscious-looking and tasting fruits, also known as kaki or Sharon fruit, are native to Japan, China, and Korea, but currently they are also cultivated in California, South America, Israel, and southern Europe.

Markedly astringent when unripe but mouth-wateringly sweet and mouth-meltingly delicate when fully ripe, these bright orange fruits are a great source of vitally important nutrients.

Gut-friendly soluble fibre, immune-supporting vitamins A and C, vital for the nervous system, energy, and red blood cell production, vitamin B6, blood pressure-regulating potassium, metabolism and bone health-supporting manganese, and a massive quantity of powerful antioxidants, such as carotenoids and flavonoids – all contained within that delicate and delectable fruit! Great for heart, bone, and immune health, energy, skin, and – because of their deliciousness and beauty – mood – quite a gift from nature, isn't it? (Just one warning – do not squeeze persimmons too hard when handling very ripe ones – you could end up covered in dripping bright orange goo!)

But do you know what is truly exceptional about persimmons? They are always 'organic' (unless the tree grows near a busy road or in heavily contaminated soil). The persimmon tree is remarkably resistant to diseases and parasites, and, therefore, does not require any treatment with pesticides or other chemicals. Beat that!

05/11/2025

My followers know that I am a relentless brassica (aka 'cabbage family'), herb (oh, that sounds dodgy!), and spices pusher.

I am also a pulses and legume pusher. The quite extensive but very detailed and informative article below only scratches the surface of the countless health benefits of various pulses and legumes, which are some of the reasons why I advocate them.

Just a taster:
– "Peas are rich in lysine (an essential amino acid) and minerals, including iron, calcium, and zinc."
– "Consumption of lentils is associated with reduced risk of dyslipidemia, colon cancer, and type 2 diabetes, owing to their rich composition of macronutrients and minor compounds. Lentils are a source of high-quality protein, including all the essential amino acids, especially lysine."
– "Chickpeas are rich in tryptophan (an essential amino acid, the precursor for serotonin, the "good mood hormone") and minerals, such as iron, calcium, and zinc."

And so on. Besides their health properties, dried pulses and legumes — provided they are stored in a dry and dark place — have an extensive shelf life of up to three years (or possibly more — they rarely last that long in an EHF household).
They are also endlessly versatile and used in almost all traditional cuisines. 'Almost' because I have some doubts about Inuits... Their loss.

Legumes also help improve the soil as plants because of the specific bacteria that live and thrive in their roots. These bacteria capture nitrogen from the air and deposit it into the soil, enriching it. How cool is that?! N.b. Most of that captured nitrogen goes into the seeds – legumes and pulses – and that is why they are such an outstanding source of protein: nitrogen is an essential component in any amino acid – a Lego brick for protein structures – molecule.

Eat pulses, and be very happy and healthy!

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11201070/

02/11/2025

For this Recipe Sunday, today's suggestion results from my endeavours to unhoard all the gorgeous squashes accumulated over the past few months.

And, if you remember my post about the immunity-supporting foods, you will see what a wonder this dish is, crammed – I am listing the 'Full English', not 'just' the immunity-supporting stuff – with vitamins A, B-group, C, and E, calcium, zinc, and magnesium, protein, countless phytonutrients, and gut-supporting fibre.

I am not starting about the taste! And the taste improved over time – I had some leftovers that I ate two days later, and, boy, did they taste good?!

[I used Harlequin (also called Carnival) squash, but Acorn or, practically, any other smallish squash will do.]

Stuffed Harlequin Squash

Ingredients:
• 2 squashes, cut in half and seeds scooped out
• 200g mushrooms, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 60g/1/3 cup quinoa, rinsed
• a handful of celery leaves or one lovage leaf, chopped
• 2 heaped tablespoons of concentrated tomato puree
• 3/4 cup hot water
• Soy or Tamari sauce or salt – to taste, optional but nice
• Curry and turmeric powder, black pepper, hot chillies, thyme – to taste

1. Add tomato puree and the spices to the hot water and stir well.
2. Pour 1/4 cup of water into a pot. Once it is boiling, add the quinoa and garlic. Stir well and bring to the boil again.
3. Constantly stirring, add the rest of the vegetables and the 'tomatoey water' to the quinoa.
4. Reduce the heat to a minimum, cover the pot, and let it cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat without removing the lid, and leave it for 10 minutes. – You can use this time to prepare the squashes –
5. Add some soy or Tamari sauce to the quinoa/veg stuffing, and mix well. Otherwise, you could stir a tbsp of Marmite at Step 1 into the 'tomatoey water' instead.
6. Brush with olive oil the skin of the squashes and place them scooped side up on a baking tin. Using a spoon (or your fingers – whatever works best!), fill the scooped spaces with the stuffing.
7. Bake in a preheated 190ºC/375ºF oven for 30-35 minutes, until the squashes feel soft when pricked with a fork or knife.
8. Turn off the heat, let rest for as long as your hunger and patience allow, and – enjoy!

31/10/2025

For Fantabulous Food Friday – a captivating and seriously informative feature about this season's one of the quintessential foods, the vast, colourful, marvellously versatile, and most delicious Cucurbita family – aka pumpkins &Co.

In the photos:
1. Some shops took the fact that watermelons and squashes belong to the same family a bit too liberally.
2. This photo shows the process of EHF trying to encourage the Junior Assistant to pose for the shot.
3. The result. The squash next to the Junior Assistant is Sunshine Kabocha.

https://www.facebook.com/calacademy/posts/pfbid0Re8CQVGBi1vTdacZw17vxqj6wwxrYnkz6h38Rj1W6tdmwt89kK6gTcjL1gC9vwH2l?rdid=bJluGdwmdWskTLCp

28/10/2025

What is in season in November?

November is the month of brassicas (or cruciferous) – the delicious, diverse, rich, colourful, and impressively healthy cabbage family. And this is yet another reminder of how endlessly wise and thoughtful Mother Nature is. Brassicas abound in gut health-promoting and immune-supporting nutrients, including various types of dietary fibre, vitamins A, C, and K, as well as hundreds of other antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phytonutrients. And isn't this just what everyone needs during these dark and cold months?
Brassicas are also an excellent source of calcium, iron, manganese, potassium, and folate.

Add them to other seasonal goodies, such as leeks, root vegetables, as well as apples and pears, and we will see what a variety even the bleakest months can offer us.

November foods:

• Leafy, root, and all other types of brassicas, such as red, white, Savoy, and spring green cabbages, kale, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, turnips, swedes, and kohlrabi
• Potatoes
• Pumpkins, squashes, and marrows
• Carrots, parsnips
• Candy-stripe, yellow, and red beetroots
• Leeks
• Apples, pears
• Persimmons
• Chestnuts and walnuts

Bring it on, November!

26/10/2025

It is the season for pumpkins and soups (correlation and one-sided causation ), as well as apples and onions. Therefore, let us seize the day and use the healthiest, most nutritious, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly seasonal produce.

This gorgeous soup is rich in immune-supporting vitamins A and C and phytonutrients, such as quercetin, pectin, carotenoids, curcumin, and many others. Easy to make, rewarding from aesthetic and epicurean points of view, and helping us stay healthy – no, it is not just another pumpkin soup!

Curried apple and squash soup
(Adapted from The Old Farmer’s Almanack. Serves 3-6.)

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• One small butternut squash, trimmed and chopped – about 600g/4 cups ( or you can use the same amount of pumpkin)
• 1 large chopped tart apple, such as Bramley
• 1 medium chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1l/4 cups water
• 1 cup apple cider or apple juice (or water with one teaspoon lemon juice)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Pumpkin seeds, to serve

1. In a pot over medium heat, warm the oil.
2. Add squash, apples, and onions and stir gently for 10 minutes.
3. Add curry powder, cardamom, and cinnamon and cook, stirring gently, for several minutes longer.
4. Add water and cider, bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook, partially covered, for 20 minutes, or until squash is soft.
5. Purée the mixture (in batches, if necessary) in a food processor or blender, then return to the pot. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is reduced by about one-third. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with pumpkin seeds, serve and relish!

24/10/2025

Seasonal food – celery

*******
• I’ve just applied for a job in a salad packing factory. The hours are terrible, but apparently the celery is good.
• What’s the difference between celery and snot? Kids don’t eat celery.
• Why did the gardener quit? Because his celery wasn’t high enough.
• What do you get when you cross grapes with celery? A wine celer.
• What do you call famous celery? A celerity.
• What did the lettuce say to the celery when they got engaged? “Lettuce celery-brate!”
• I woke up this morning and found that someone had dumped a bunch of celery on my front porch. I think I’m being stalked.
• Did you guys hear about the investment broker who retired to run a celery farm? It seems he made a killing on the stalk market.

*******
And there is plenty more – and even worse – where that came from.
However, joking apart, celery is one of the seasonal highlights now. Low in calories and high in nutrients – folate, vitamin K, beta-carotene, potassium, anticancer phytonutrients apigenin and luteolin, fibre – to name just a few – refreshing, hydrating, mouth-wateringly crunchy, and versatile, it is a true celerity! (I’ll see myself out.)

As a hummus or other dip carrier for snacks, starters, or light or packed lunches, an excellent salad and sandwich filler, a key item in green smoothies and juices, and a fabulous, flavourful ingredient for soups, stews, curries, pasta sauces, and wherever else the culinary fantasy and inspiration take you, celery can easily fit into everyone’s diet (unless you have a celery allergy). Crunchiness, freshness, and pronounced umami – ’savoury’ – flavour in one stalk, there are no excuses not to love this vegetable!

22/10/2025

The season when all sorts of viruses flourish and, to continue growing, look for every and any opportunity to attack us, is around the corner.
Therefore, here are some ideas about the foods that are rarely associated with remedies for preventing colds, but they certainly do help us to stay healthy. Or, if the manure hits the air circulator and we succumb to a bug or two, recover as speedily as possible.

1. Green tea – hydration and masses of polyphenols, such as catechins, that support the immune system.

2. Marmite (of COURSE, if you love it!) – an excellent source of B-group vitamins and beta-glucans, a type of soluble fibre that, again, does wonders for our immunity.

3. Broccoli and other green brassicas – rocket, watercress, kale, mustard greens, Bok Choi, collard greens, spring greens, green savoy cabbage, and Brussels Sprouts abound in vitamin C and beneficial microbiota-nourishing soluble fibre. (70-90% of our immune system cells reside in the gut, so here we go.)

4. Blackberries, blueberries, blackcurrants (fresh where they are in season, but frozen ones will do a perfect job as well), as well as citrus fruits, onions, garlic, leeks, cocoa, and black tea, because of numerous immune-supporting flavonoids.

Enjoy all this goodness and stay Happy and Healthy!

19/10/2025

For today's Recipe Sunday – another super seasonal and even more orange recipe.
And that's that.

Pumpkin and lentil soup (improvisation upon a recipe found on the Centre for Nutrition Studies website)

• 500g (roughly 3 1/2 cups) chopped pumpkin or butternut squash
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp dried marjoram
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 3 ribs of celery, diced
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 2 cups dry red lentils
• 8 cups of water
• a handful of fresh coriander (cilantro) or one teaspoon of crushed coriander seeds
• a sprinkle of EVO oil
• curry, turmeric, black pepper, and salt, to taste
• pumpkin seeds, to garnish

1. Sauté in a splash of water the onions with the garlic for 2 minutes.
2. Add the carrots and celery and cook for two more minutes.
3. Add the lentils, pumpkin/squash, spices, dried marjoram, and the boiling water, stir, and bring to a boil.
4. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 30 minutes, until the lentils and the pumpkin/squash are fully cooked.
5. Adjust for salt, and blend with the immersion blender to your desired consistency.
6. Stir in the EVO oil, sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves (if using) and pumpkin seeds, and enjoy, be happy, and healthy!

16/10/2025

As promised, some - quite a few, actually – pictures from our last Sunday's expotition to the Heirloom Apple Day.

A quintessentially autumnal day, quintessential orchard among the Vermont hills, and loads of quintessentially seasonal food – glorious apples!

(In the pic with all the apples on the table, n.b. the cunning identification system for the bought specimens.)

Let the drooling begin!

14/10/2025

Autumn may offer slightly less bountiful choice of fresh seasonal fruit, but, depending on where you are, it still spoils us with a bumper variety of apples, pears, persimmons, grapes, plums, and even some unhurried cranberries, lingonberries, and blackberries.

I post a captivating and intriguing article about a study suggesting that fruits, because of their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, may help protect our lungs from damage caused by air pollution. Of course, one study does not prove anything, but we have got enough reasons to eat fruit anyway, haven't we?

(I know that the picture is not anatomically correct – and even the heart is not that shape !!! – but I tried hard and failed to find a similar one with lungs.)
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250928095620.htm

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