Ann Ahern Nutrition

08/10/2025

The Power of Cooked & Cooled Potatoes 🥔🌿

Potatoes can be such a nourishing, grounding food - and when you cook them, they actually change structure in a way that supports your health even more.

Here’s why:

👉🏼When cooked potatoes are cooled in the fridge, some of their starch turns into a resistant starch - a special form that feeds your good gut bacteria, helps balance blood sugar, and improves insulin sensitivity.
👉🏼This is especially supportive for peri- and menopausal ladies, as lower oestrogen levels can make blood sugar and insulin balance more challenging.
👉🏼The longer you leave them to cool (even a day or two or three!) the less digestible starch they contain - meaning a gentler impact on blood sugar and gut health.
👉🏼Cooked, cooled potatoes are also a brilliant meal-prep food - they keep well for several days and can be used in delicious, nourishing salads. They’re ideal served cold as a potato salad. My favourite is (as in the photo)served with a French dressing ( see below) with halved cherry tomatoes and fresh parsley (one of my favourite herbs, for its cleansing, anti-inflammatory and mineral rich properties - see my earlier posts)

My healthy everyday salad dressing:
🫒2 tablespoons Cold pressed extra virgin olive oil - heart healthy fats for vitamin absorption
🍎1 tablespoon Apple cider vinegar-supports blood sugar balance
🌾1 teaspoon Wholegrain mustard - adds antioxidants and depth of flavour
🧂Sea salt and black pepper - for minerals and balance.

Shake it all together and pour over cold, cubed potatoes. Add cherry tomatoes and a generous handful of fresh parsley.

06/10/2025

Why Cooked Carrots are Even Better 🥕🔥

👉🏼Carrots are rich in beta carotene, the antioxidant that gives them their orange colour and converts to Vitamin A, essential for healthy skin, eyes and immunity.
👉🏼Cooking carrots increases nutrient absorption. When heated, their skin walls soften, making beta carotene easier for your body to access and use.
👉🏼Raw carrots are still good because of their fibre content.
👉🏼Cooked carrots offer more available antioxidants and Vitamin A potential.
👉🏼Because Vitamin A is fat soluble, serve cooked carrots with a little healthy fat (olive oil, avocado or nuts/ seeds)to boost absorption.
👉🏼The best cooking methods are: steaming, roasting or simmering - gentle heat preserves flavour and maximises nutrition.

04/10/2025

Chew on These - Cloves 🦷

Cloves aren’t just a spice for curries or mulled wine - they’re packed with lots of health benefits too.
Cloves owe many of their health benefits to eugenol, a bioactive compound responsible for their warm aroma and potent anti- inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial effects.

They:

✅Support oral health and fresher breath
✅Acts as a natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant
✅May ease indigestion and nausea
✅Has mild antimicrobial and anti-parasitic properties

👉🏼 How to use:
🦷Chewing: 1-2 cloves slowly after a meal can help with digestion and breath freshness. The flavour is strong, but thats where the goodness is.
☕️Tea: Steep 3-4 cloves in hot water for 10 minutes. This gentle infusion may soothe digestion and can be a comforting choice if you’re on a liquid diet or feel the early twinges of diverticulitis.

💡Bonus uses:

🌿 A warm clove tea can be used as a gargle for a sore throat - because of its antibacterial and soothing properties.
🦷 For a mild toothache or gum irritation, a whole softened clove or diluted clove oil has a gentle numbing effect - a traditional remedy with modern science behind it.

⚠️Note: Too many cloves or concentrated oil can irritate the mouth or stomach, so a little goes along way.

Bottom line: cloves are tiny but mighty - supporting oral health, digestion and can help calm inflammation naturally.

02/10/2025

Health Hacks with Science Behind Them🤓

Why Cooked Tomatoes are Better Than Raw

Did you know that cooked tomatoes become more nutritious when they’re cooked?

Heating tomatoes boosts the availability of lycopene - a powerful antioxidant that gives them their red colour.

Lycopene has been linked to:

❤️Better heart health
🛡️Protection against cell damage
🎯May help reduce the risk of certain cancers

Raw tomatoes are still fantastic - full of vitamin C 💪🏼and hydration 💧-but when you cook them (in sauces, soups or roasted), your body absorbs lycopene more efficiently.

👉🏼 Tip: Lycopene is fat soluble, so cooking tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil makes absorption even better.

Bottom line: Raw or cooked, tomatoes are healthy - but a mix of both gives you the best of both worlds.

Save this tip and keep an eye out for more nutrition hacks coming soon. 🫣😉

06/07/2025

Simple Omega-3 Rich Mackerel Salad

Today’s lunch was quick, fresh and full of healthy fats and protein.
Protein: 13g
Healthy fats: 18g
Fibre: 4g

A great source of Omega3, anti-inflammatory fats and enough protein to keep you going.
You can always add some chickpeas or a boiled egg if you want to push the protein even higher.

01/07/2025

Another light, refreshing lunch option that is packed with protein and healthy fats, to help keep you full and satisfied.

Basil and tomato give you antioxidants while olives and olive oil will give you healthy fats supporting heart health.

29/06/2025

Balanced, Nourishing Lunch Bowl😋

Here’s an example of a real-food lunch, packed with healthy fats, fibre and good quality protein- light yet satisfying and blood-sugar friendly💚 This will give you 19g protein, 9g fibre.
1/2 pack feta
1 large soft boiled egg
1/2 avocado
Beef tomato
Mixed leaves
Cucumber slices
Spring onion
4 green olives
Red pepper
1tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and black pepper

P.S. want to increase the protein?
Add 15g walnuts for an extra 2.5g protein, more omega 3 fats and a lovely crunchy salad.

25/06/2025

‘Wake up and smell the roses’.

Simple advice. Often overlooked. But in today’s hyper stimulated world, it’s more powerful than ever.
🌹Your body isn’t just craving rest.
🥀It’s craving beauty, stillness and joy.

We talk about reducing stress, lowering cortisol, balancing hormones.
But what if part of the healing is simply just:

Seeing something beautiful.
Acknowledging it.
Enjoying it.

High cortisol keeps us stuck in survival mode.
Beauty brings us back to presence.

Try this today:
😎Step outside barefoot
☺️Smell something fragrant
😊Let yourself do nothing for 5 minutes
🤓Speak kindly to yourself, take care of yourself and put yourself first!
😃Your body isn’t meant to be in fight or flight 24/7. Ask for help. You don’t have to do it all.
😳Say NO to what drains you.

💡You don’t have to earn peace.
You’re allowed to feel good - right now.

16/06/2025

Cortisol-The Stress Hormone You Need to Know About (part1)

When your body senses stress - even the kind that comes from deadlines, poor sleep, skipping meals or emotional overload - it produces a hormone called cortisol.
Cortisol is helpful in small amounts. It wakes us up, helps us respond to challenges and keeps blood sugar stable. But when it’s constantly elevated, that’s where trouble starts.

Too much cortisol can:
Slow thyroid hormone conversion (affecting metabolism and energy)
Disrupt hormones (mood, sleep, periods, blood sugar)
Impact gut health and digestion
Leave you feel wired, anxious, exhausted or burnt out

So what can we do?

Start by noticing. Slow down. Breathe. Sip a warm, calming tea. Step outside. Let the sunlight on your face.

🌹Your nervous system responds to signals of safety - not more hustle
🌺 In part 2, I’ll share practical ways to lower cortisol naturally and reclaim your calm. 😉

06/06/2025

Which Greek Yoghurt is best?

I’m often asked this - especially for gut health and protein.

Here’s a look at 3 Greek yoghurts (2 organic) that I can pick up in the local supermarket and how they compare:

🥣Protein content:

Fage 0% fat and Fage 5% fat are clear winners - with over 9g protein per 100g. Ideal if you’re looking to:

✅ Maintain muscle mass
✅ Feel fuller for longer (satiety)
✅ Support liver detoxification ( yes adequate protein is essential here!)

🌿 Organic options:

The organic yoghurts are great but typically have slightly less protein.

🦠 Live cultures:

All three contain live cultures- important for a healthy gut, better digestion and immune support.

💡So if protein is your goal - Fage comes out on top!!!

27/05/2025

20/04/2025

An Easter Treat 🐣
This is a variation of the chocolate bark that I did a video on some time ago. This took me all of 10 minutes to put together last night and it will surpass any Easter egg in taste.
It’s guilt-free, nutrient-packed and ready in minutes!! So what’s there not to like about this sweet treat?
I used:
🐣8 Medjool dates
🐣A few tablespoons of Almond nut butter
🐣125g min 70% dark chocolate
🐣Some chopped nuts- I used walnuts and pecans

Spread out the pitted dates on top of some baking parchment on a freezer proof plate. cover with some more baking parchment and flatten the dates with a potato masher. Remove the baking parchment and spoon the nut butter on top. Pour melted chocolate on top. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

While this is a super sweet treat, it also provides you with lots of nutrients.
The dates contain lots of fibre and antioxidants.
The nuts will provide you with lots of good fats and protein.
Dark chocolate will provide you with magnesium and antioxidants.
Freeze for a few hours until it hardens, then move to the fridge. Store in the fridge.
Slice and enjoy. 😋