Easy Satay chicken on vegetables

If you love satay and would like to make a convenient satay chicken (or tofu or beef), know that the trick is in the marinate.  It does not need to be skewered for home made satay.

Ingredients for marinade:

3 large thumb piece of turmeric

1 large stalk of lemongrass

1 piece galangal

6 cloves ginger

1 large onion

2 chillies

pinch of salt

lemon juice to taste

Vegetables blanched:

Bean sprouts

French beans, sliced

Carrots, cut into strips

Fresh mint leaves

Prepare you protein source, which can be 500g of chicken/ beef/ tofu.  Slice protein source.

Method:  

1. Blend together all ingredients for marinade.  There will be enough marinate for at least 2 serves.  Save the extra serve in a small container in the freezer.

2.  Use the other half of the marinade in your prepared protein source.  Marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight in the fridge.

3.  Heat oil in pan and fry marinated meat/tofu until cooked.  Add an extra squeeze of lemon if preferred and some maple syrup to taste.

4.  Blanch all vegetables.

5.  Serve with cooked meat.  In this meal, I used chicken.

30 min dinner patties

On busy weekday nights after a long day at work, I want to feed the family quickly and have some relaxation time before bed.  I typically want to get dinner out in 30 minutes.  If you are like me and like quick, easy and nutritious meals, here is an idea.  From preparing to serving, these meat patties took less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

600g mince of your choice

1 bunch coriander chopped

1 large thumb piece ginger, grated or finely chopped

2 tsp tapioca flour (as binder and reduce moisture)

Braggs liquid aminos to taste

salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together.  Mould into patties on your palms.  Heat coconut oil in a pan and pan fry for 5-8 minutes on each side or until juice comes out clear.  The time is dependent on how thick you make the patties, the thicker it is, the longer the time.

What are the symptoms of hyperthyroidism?

Hyperthyroidism is a situation where there is too much thyroid hormones in the body.  Because the thyroid controls metabolism and temperature, when the thyroid is overactive, it means increased metabolic processes leading to weight loss without trying and increased body temperature, often resulting in more sweating. 

Other symptoms of hyperthyroidism include:

•       High blood pressure
•     Rapid heart rate
•        Anxiety or nervousness
•        Difficulty sleeping
•        Frequent bowel movements
•        Hair loss or brittle hair
•        Menstrual cycle irregularity
•        Muscular weakness

Hyperthyroidism is more common in women than it is in men.  The most common cause of hyperthyroidism is autoimmune thyroiditis causing inflammation in the thyroid.  Diagnosis is done through a blood test that measures the TSH, free T4, Free T3 and Thyroid antibodies.  

Autoimmune hyperthyroidism is called Graves disease.  Graves disease patients often have eyes that appear too big (called exophthalmos).

Severe hyperthyroidism can be life threatening, therefore if you have persistent symptoms above, consult a qualified healthcare practitioner and investigate.

Are you tired and overweight? You may be having an underactive thyroid

When the thyroid is underactive or subclinically underactive (I shall explain the subclinical term I used deliberately here), you may have the following symptoms:

•           Unexplained weight gain
  
•           Difficulty losing weight
•          Constipation despite good hydration and fibre intake
•           Low energy and libido
•           Feeling cold all the time, or feel the cold too easily
•           Dry flaky skin
•           Hair loss or brittle hair
•           Depressed, confused and difficulty concentrating
•           Fluid retention
•           Husky voice without a sore throat
•           Pre menstrual tension
•           Infertility /difficulty conceiving

The thyroid can be underactive (through blood tests) or subclinically underactive.  By subclinically I mean the blood test results are still within the range but you have all or some of the above symptoms.

For example, the most common test ordered for the thyroid is Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) which is produced by your pituitary in the brain.  The higher the number for TSH, it means the more effort your pituitary has to put in for your thyroid to produce hormones.  Think about it as a mum asking her child to do his/her homework.  She asks in a nice calm tone initially.  And if the child does not respond, she speaks louder with her instructions, and if the child still refuses to respond, mum raises her voice (which mean TSH goes up).  The range is large to be considered “normal”, and often patients think that anything in the normal range means they are fine.  Not so with the thyroid numbers.  The same applies for thyroid hormones Free T4 and Free T3.

The other important marker to consider for the thyroid is thyroid antibodies.  The higher the antibodies, the harder your body is attacking against the thyroid.

Watch my Youtube video here on home help that you can implement to help an underactive thyroid.  If you have persistent symptoms, please seek the help from a qualified healthcare professional.  We offer functional tests here to measure all 7 markers of the thyroid.

Coronavirus COVID-19 - Be Prepared Emergency Kitset

We are going through uncertain times and things are changing on a daily basis.  It is good to be prepared, do not panic, and if you have not done your shopping, I would suggest you do it to prepare about 2 weeks’ worth of supplies  Be prepared, in case you need to self isolate.  This is what I would make sure there is adequate supply for 2 weeks.

•           Canned tuna/ salmon/ sardines
•       Cold smoked salmon that are vacumn packed can stay in the fridge for 2 weeks
•           Dried beans and lentils
•           Dried sea vegetables like wakame, kombu
•           Miso paste that you can store in the fridge
•           Frozen vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, beans, peas that you can store in the freezer
•           Garlic, ginger and onions
•           Brown rice/ buckwheat/ millet/ quinoa/ amaranth
•           Eggs
•           Olive oil or coconut oil
•           Dried herbs for flavouring – e.g. rosemary, basil, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, paprika, etc.  If you  are self sufficient and grow herbs in your kitchen or garden, that would be a substitute for dried herbs.
•           Salt, soya sauce or tamari, apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar
•           Raw dried nuts and seeds
•           Some extra lean meat/ chicken that you can store in the freezer
•           Tissue paper and toilet paper (yes, have some toilet paper in case you run out!)
•           Toothpaste, mouth wash, body wash, shampoo
•           Sanitary pads or tampons (for menstruating women)  

When you are prepared, you will not panic.  There will be those of you who are on specific dietary interventions and need more of something and less of others, you will need to tailor this list to your specific needs.

Kale and Beetroot salad

These two dark coloured vegetables, kale and beetroot, are super food for your liver.  This easy to make recipe is super tasty.

Ingredients:

2 medium size beetroot

1 bunch of kale, removed from the hard stem and torn

Sea salt

Mustard seeds

Olive oil

Lemon juice

Method:

Chop beetroot into chunks, drizzle with oil and slow roast in the oven at 160C for 45 minutes.

Wash kale, spin dry, remove leaves from hard stem and tear large leaves up.  Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle seasalt.  Rub the kale, oil and salt together.

This can be roasted on a lower tray from the beetroot for the last 10-20 minutes of the beetroot.  Short period of roasting of kale just wilts the kale, longer periods will result in some kale chips.  You can choose if you just want it wilted.  I often go for just wilted kale.

When beetroot is soft and kale limp, mix in lemon juice and mustard seeds.

This is a nice roast that can be made in advanced and extras stored for next day's lunch or next meal.  As there is very little manual job once you put the beetroot in to roast, you can spend the time vacumming the floor or wiping down surface whilst the veges are roasting!

Do you need to worry about the coronavirus COVID-19?

With the World Health Organisation declaring the coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic and massive panic and uncertainty going on around the globe, people should look at facts and take smart action to reduce their risk.  Most importantly do not panic but take the necessary precaution and plan ahead with an emergency kit set (which I will share in the next blog).  Supporting your immune system is important as the weather changes anyway, as we are going into the colder months.

Here are some facts about the COVID-19 virus:

1. The symptoms of COVID-19 and the flu are very similar – fever, cough, fatigue, and in severe cases, difficulty breathing
2. 85% of people who contract it will have mild symptoms
3. Those who suffer severe symptoms and complications often have other chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes and lung disease and the elderly.  Smokers are also at higher risk.
4. This virus spreads through mucus membranes.  There has been a run on masks, but are they really protective?  According to Dr William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, the answer is NO. A more specialized mask, known as an N95 respirator, can protect against this coronavirus.  However, it is not recommended as it is challenging to put on these N95 masks properly and wear them for long periods of time. (source:  https://www.livescience.com/face-mask-new-coronavirus.html).
5.  It is also not wise to have a run on these masks as medical workers are hospitals will need them. If you are sick, then please use a face mask but what you really should be doing is stay home and refrain from sharing your pathogens with other people.  
6. Talking mucus mebranes, should we also have a run on goggles? If you are using masks without goggles, you need to think again.  
7. The coronavirus can live on inanimate surfaces for up to 9 days.  Hand washing is really important.
8. Children who have contracted this coronavirus seem to have mild symptoms compared to adults.  However, this may pose a risk to the adults in the family, or elderly, as they may not be aware that the children have the said virus.
9.  Wash your hands with warm water and soap regularly.  It is a better strategy compared to hand sanitisers.

Preventative measures:

1. Wash your hands with warm water and soap regularly.  It is a better strategy compared to hand sanitisers.
2. Support your immune system – take Vitamin C in the form of sodium ascorbate – we have lots of sodium channels in our body to take in vitamin C.  Take about 3000mg of sodium ascorbate daily in split doses of 1000mg, 3 times a day, upto maximum bowel tolerance.  Vitamin C is water soluble so splitting the dose is beneficial.
3. Take Vitamin D, get free Vitamin D from the sun, and orally if your levels are low to have the protective effect.
4. Zinc is a crucial mineral for the immune system.  Keeping this level in check will help your immune, gut and skin health.  We have simple test in clinic to assess your levels of zinc.
5. Eat lot of vegetables, some of which need to be dark coloured vegetables.  I made a beautiful kale and beetroot salad which I’m sharing the recipe on this website.
6. Keep a healthy microbiome, by eating whole foods and cutting out junk food and unnecessary, especially recreational drugs.  If you gut is healthy, adding fermented foods is useful.  However, if you suffer a lot from gut pain, bloating, diarrhea and/or constipation or alternating between the two, you can get a worsening of symptoms when you introduce fermented foods.  You will benefit from healing the gut first before adding fermented foods.  A Complete Microbiome Profile can be ordered to understand your microbiome, gut integrity, enzymes and digestive function.
7. 70% of your immune system reside in your gut.  If you have problems in the gut, fix it now.  Some patients with no overt gut symptoms but have autoimmunity should also be working on the immune system in the gut.
8. If you suffer from colds and flu in the winter typically, this is a good time to start on an immune enhancing tincture.
9. Maintain a positive state of mind.  It is easy to get panicky with the doom and gloom and uncertainty worldwide as the media keeps reporting.  The panic will do more harm than the virus.  Economically, we are already seeing the effects on stock market, tourism declining, restaurant businesses needing to shut down and the list goes on.  Be smart.  Manage your risk.  If all of us play our part in supporting our immune system and maintaining hygiene, we will conquer this pandemic.
10. Have enough rest.  Avoid late nights on Netflix.
11. Avoid crowded places.  Keep a social distance.  We will conquer it, and life will return to normal.