Frances Haworth Nutrition

05/06/2022

Happy holidays ☀️🏖😎

10/11/2021

Interesting read

There’s a strong connection between diet and autoimmune disease. Here are six ways to combat autoimmunity through your diet.

23/01/2018

Here’s a very filling and nutritious snack that can be made in about 5 minutes.

Melt dark chocolate, I used about 80g of 70% dark chocolate with 1tbsp of coconut oil over a bain-marie.

Meanwhile pop a handful ( I used 5) medjool dates into a food processor with approx 70g mixed nuts, 50g shredded coconut and 1tbsp of maple for extra sweetness if you fancy. Blend until it forms a crumb-like texture. Press the mixture into a small baking tray.

Once the chocolate mixture has melted and cooled slighted pour on top of the nut mixture and place in the fridge until hardened. Remove from the fridge and cut into squares.

This is a great option when you fancy a sweet treat. It contains mainly whole foods which the body uses most effectively to function at its best.

Enjoy ###

10/01/2018

Balancing blood sugars is key to good health and helps prevent weight gain. Our blood needs a maintained blood sugar level. If our blood sugar spikes too high this can have a damaging effect on the delicate blood capillaries.
If it dips too low this causes stress hormones to be released. We feel anxious and crave carbohydrates. All too often when we have this sugar low, we reach for a sugary snack which can spike our blood sugars again, leading to a roller-coaster of highs and lows.

It takes various mechanisms to stabilise our blood sugars. The pancreas is an organ that that releases the hormone insulin. Insulin encourages the cells of our body to open up and allow the blood sugar in. In doing so a high blood sugar return to normal. However, many of these cells may not require extra energy from the sugar so they convert this energy to fat and it gets stored in the body. Insulin in effect is a fat storage hormone.

Today, we consume vast amounts of sugar and refined carbohydrates, more than ever recorded in the history of the human species. Refined carbohydrates not only from obvious sources like cookies, cakes, sweets, ice-cream and of course think of the amount of sugar that can be consumed so quickly in sugary drinks. It is generally obvious with these foods that they are just that, sweet foods, ideally kept to a minimum.

However the hidden sugars in foods are as dangerous if not more-so. So much of the food we consume nowadays come from packets, jars and cans. These often have numerous additives- sugar included. We have grown accustomed to a certain level of sugar in our food and a lot of these processed foods do not taste sweet to our palette even though there may be a considerable amount of sugar added.

If you have an over worked, exhausted pancreas, from a high carbohydrate diet, this can lead to insulin resistance. This is where our cells stop responding to the effects of insulin. Insulin resistance is the seed of many Chronic Degenerative Conditions, which plague modern day society.

To prevent this stick to my golden rule -

‘ the best quality, whole foods, cooked from scratch’.

Whole foods like fish, meat, eggs, lentils, beans, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds are packed with protein and fibre, both have a stabilising effect on blood sugars.

If you eat a lot of processed foods, start making positive choices today. You’ll reap the benefits and notice positive health changes. Swap commercial cereals for porridge, batch cook a homemade soup instead of shop bought cartons, leave the microwaveable dinners on the shelf and cook some meat or fish with plenty of vegetables instead. Eat wholesome foods and satisfy your body’s need to be nourished.

Best of luck

Frances ###

06/01/2018

A tasty way to cook carrots: pan - fry carrot batons with thyme, crushed garlic, grass fed butter, juice from clementines and seasoning. Delish!

05/01/2018

This time of year many are determined to get in shape, lose weight and get fit, me included! While these are admirable goals all too often unsustainable diet plans are put in place which can eventually lead to disappointing results.

I understand the enthusiasm and determination to start a new ‘ healthy routine’ , but if too many changes are made to your diet and lifestyle it can be difficult to maintain this.

Every person has a ‘set point’. This is the weight that your body likes to be and if overweight you’ll lose weight on a wholesome diet and likewise if underweight you will return to the weight that your body wants to be and function best at.

Buying the best quality whole foods and cooking them from scratch is really the optimum way to nourish yourself.
Organic fruits, vegetables, meats, herbs, nuts, grains etc is a step towards best quality. This is how food was intended. Consuming foods sprayed with pesticides, herbicides, fungicides etc is not what nature intended and these chemicals take their toal on your body.

Whole Foods are foods as nature intended, unprocessed in their natural form. Foods that don’t require labels to understand what they consist of.

Cooking from scratch is just that. This way you control the volume of extra unwanted added ingredients which processed foods are loaded with. This may be a challenge for some, but with pre-planning cooking can become a daily way to unwind and a creative outlet.

Let’s ditch the fad diets and return to wholesome foods which nourish our body, prevent weight gain and keep us satisfied.

01/01/2018

Happy New Year!

Anytime of the year is a great time to make a fresh start or to make positive changes in your life, however a new year lends itself very well in particular to this. Health and well-being are areas where many would like to improve but sometimes it can be hard to know where to start. If I was to give some simple but essential advise, I would say to ‘ listen to your body’.

We are all unique and differ in our needs to feel healthy and energetic. By listening to your body’s needs you will become in tune with what best to feed yourself and what to avoid, when to rest and when your body needs to move, recognises the need to relax and unwind and when you need more stimulation.

Tune into yourself and think about what your body is asking for. Your body is letting you know. We simply need to learn to tune into the messages. It’s the best starting point for everyone, especially when you are actively trying to improve your health.

Good luck and a happy & healthy 2018 to you all

###

19/10/2017

Pumpkin seeds are a fantastic addition to your diet. They are a natural whole food, and being a seed they are bursting with nourishment.

One of the key nutrients in pumpkin seeds is a fatty acid called Alpha Linolenic Acid- ALA for short, which is an Omega 3 fat. The human body cannot make this fatty acid and therefore it is essential in our diet. Omega 3 fats are very important as they reduce inflammation - a root cause of many conditions. Our diet today contains a lot of pro- inflammatory foods and cooking methods which is detrimental to health.

Great sources of ALA are pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, h**p seeds, ground flax seeds and walnuts.

I sprinkle a small handful of organic pumpkin seeds onto my porridge every morning. Alternatively you could make your own trail mix with seeds and raw cacao nibs to have as a snack.

17/10/2017

A warming vegan stew. I chopped a variety of vegetables- cauliflower, potatoes, celery, onion, carrots and parsnips into bite sized pieces. I then added a few spices- ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, mild chilli. Next I poured in a tin of tomatoes, carton of chick peas, 500 mls water and seasoning. Popped it all into the slow cooker on high for 4-6 hrs. Sprinkle over cashew nuts and serve 😋

Whole Foods like the vegetables and nuts which I’ve used in this recipe are full of fibre. Fibre feeds the millions of bacteria in our gut which carry out many important functions - manufacturing short chain fatty acids which nourish our colon cells, manufacture vitamins and they educate our immune system stimulating the synthesis of lymphocytes. The greater the variety of whole foods, the greater diversity of good gut bacteria.

If you have IBS its best to avoid starchy vegetables until your condition is under control.

11/10/2017

A simple, nutritious milkshake enjoyed by kids, but adults have been known to indulge occasionally too!!

• One frozen banana
• A splash of milk of your choice
• One tbsp raw cacao
• One date for extra sweetness if desired

Pop all the ingredients into a nutri blender and pulse until thick and creamy.

Alternatively if you only have fresh bananas

• One fresh banana
• A glass of your chosen milk
• One tbsp raw cacao
• One date for sweetness if needed.

Pop all the ingredients into a nutri blender and blend for a couple of seconds.

The raw cacao is packed with antioxidants which help your body fight off free radicals. Free radicals can cause ill health so antioxidant rich foods are of great benefit.

Pour and enjoy.

26/09/2017

I am a qualified Nutrition and Health Coach based in Greystones, Co Wicklow. Working together, my aim is to guide and help you achieve your health goals.