Updates from Leah Negrin

Sleep anyone? When was the last time you slept 'enough'? 

Yeah I know.

But yesterday was World Sleep Day! It was originally created to bring together sleep healthcare providers to discuss and distribute sleep information around the world. Sleep is something that most of us know is important but don't always quite give it the attention it deserves and our bodies need! Over the last few weeks with everything that has been going I was doing an overnight in the hospice unit and woke up every two hours-it was not great sleep. Now, sometimes we gotta do what we gotta do but it took me two days to recover! I literally had the sleep hangover that clients and friends had told me about; you have brain fog, feel just generally run down, screws with your appetite and so much more. Since then I've been much more conscious about sleep, not perfect but so much better. 

These are some of the things I attempt to do when it comes to healthy sleep hygiene. I don't do all of these perfect and it doesn't always happen the exact way I'd like, but every time that I get into this type of routine I feel so much better!

💤Same bedtime every night

💤Leaving the phone out of your room/stopping blue light at least 45 minutes before bed

💤Evening routine that includes relaxing things like applying/diffusing essential oils, epsom salt bath, meditating or even reading (depending upon the book, we've all had those ones that we keep reading throughout the night no matter how late it gets lol) 

💤Proper temperature for comfort-this varies but there is a range between 60-67F that doctors say is most beneficial. (I so like it warmer than this🌞)

These are just a few, there are many more out there! Is there a sleep routine/thing you do that really helps? I'd so love to know and add in more goodness.💤 

do people care about the superbowl? I mean I sometimes I care about football and other times I give zero f*cks. 

BUT I do know a lot of people that do care and end up struggling with what to eat on these big game days. The traditional food is often heavily processed, filled with GMOs and other inflammatory elements like dairy and gluten as well as hundreds of different additives that have been shown to cause major health issues. Dominos alone sells 11 million slices of pizza on Super Bowl Sunday!🍕

I could write pages and pages on the different additives and how that impacts our gut health or how it impacts our metabolism or even how it can impact our sleep!-but alas I will not (today), today I'm just going to share a recipe that I LOVE and helped me at the time when I cared more about football and felt 'left out' of not diving into some of the snacks that it just seemed like everyone else could eat and not worry about. 

🏈1 head of organic white cauliflower (whatever one looks the best in the store or at the farmers market but medium is what I used)

🏈1/4 cup of almond meal (you can also use a gf flower blend which can sometimes make it more crispy but I prefer the almond meal because of ingredients) 

🏈1 tsp garlic powder (some might want less than this so add at your discretion but I'm a garlic fiend) 

🏈3 tbsp plant milk (whatever you like, I use organic full fat Thrive market coconut milk, again ingredients)

🏈1/2 cup hot sauce (this is another one that can have some really interesting ingredients so grab the either most local or most organic one you can find, preferably without cane sugar but one thing at a time)

🏈1-4tsp of Miyoko's vegan butter (this is the best ingredient wise that I've found so far but I'm so open to finding other ones so if you know any let me know!) You can also use coconut oil or even olive oil as this isn't being fried at a high heat. 

Instructions: 

Preheat the oven to 425 F. 

Line a large baking dish with parchment paper (if you can use the non-bleached brands). 

Toss with a little oil. Place in a very large glass bowl. Toss with the almond meal and garlic powder until evenly coated. 

Add your plant milk. 

Arrange in one layer in the baking pan. Bake on the center rack 25 minutes. 

Combine the oil or melted butter with the hot sauce (because the fat helps the sauce adhere to the cauliflower). Dip cauliflower in sauce. Then bake another 15 minutes. 

At this point I switch to broil for a few minutes (with careful eyes on it to avoid burning) as this can help with the crispy factor. 

Serve with vegan ranch dressing. I use the recipe from Minimalist baker but you can also grab some from the store if that's just easier!

Have you ever made an awesome dish that really made you happy or feel more included at a superbowl party? 

Let’s help our bodies deal with stress! 

Antioxidants are substances that can prevent or slow damage to cells caused by free radicals (aka stress). 

A few to take a look at: 

Vitamin A (and provitamin A carotenoids) are involved in immune system regulation, reproduction, vision and communication between cells. These are found in liver, sweet potato, spinach, and carrots to name a few. 🥕 The two main forms of vitamin A in the human diet are preformed vitamin A (retinol, retinyl esters), and provitamin A carotenoids such as beta-carotene that are converted to retinol. Preformed vitamin A comes from animal products, fortified foods, and vitamin supplements. Carotenoids are found naturally in plant foods. There are other types of carotenoids found in food that are not converted to vitamin A but have health-promoting properties (especially when it comes to vision health); these include lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin.

Vitamin C assists with the biosynthesis of L-carnitine, collagen and some neurotransmitters and can help with the immune system, wound healing and regenerating other antioxidants like vitamin E. It is found in bell peppers, oranges, kiwis, broccoli, strawberries and Brussels sprouts. 🍊 By limiting the damaging effect of free radicals vitamin C may help prevent or delay the development of cancer, cardiovascular disease as well as other conditions in which stress can play a role (so many!). C also helps with the absorption of nonheme iron aka the iron in plant foods, this is why I always add a drop of lemon EO to my spinach.

 

Selenium is essential for humans and helps with reproduction, thyroid hormone metabolism, protection from oxidative stress and DNA synthesis. The selenoproteins are found in Brazil nuts (totally most left that autocorrect to buts😜), sardines, halibut and many other fortified foods.🌰 In our tissues most selenium is in the form of selenomethionine where it can be incorporated with methionine (which can help with detoxing and mRNA processing). There is a ton of information out there regarding all that we know about selenium and how it impacts our bodies in many different ways. This is just a tidbit of information. 

Manganese is a co-factor for many enzymes and related to bone formation, blood clotting, immune response and metabolizing glucose, carbohydrates, and cholesterol. It is present in mussels, hazelnuts, pecans, and oysters among others.🦪 

There are a lot of things I do to help with stress but this post was focusing on the food aspect and some of the nutrient profiles that can help our body heal! 

This is one of my favorite vegan parm recipes, I edited it from the awesome minimalist baker and sometimes just use hers as it can be good to rotate your nuts for their different nutrient profiles. 

16 servings (give or take)

3/4 cup organic sprouted almonds
3 Tbsp of a non-fortified nutritional yeast like this or this 
3/4 tsp organic pink Himalayan salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder

add the ingredients into a little food processor or blender and pulse until you have a fine meal-this can vary, sometimes I want it more chunky and other times I like it finer. 

Feel free to use this on a wide range of things including popcorn, veggies and even pasta!