Dear all,
I am really happy to let you know that my new practice in the OVIVE Centre in the Rue de Spa 13, 1000 Brussels is really taking off. It is an ideal location in the center of town to drop by for a coaching or shiatsu session. You will be met in a trustful and healing atmosphere to help you address any questions you might have regarding your emotional and physical health.
Winter is approaching and as the temperatures lower I found it worthwhile to investigate what foods can help support your immune system. The choice of course is great, so in the coming newsletters I will share a few magic foods with you. Today I want to begin with the least obvious and flamboyant one of them all and yet, let me tell you, it houses quite a few hidden and unexpected treasures: Porridge.
Porridge is really good for your health.
It consists in cooked oat flakes with water, rice, oat or almond milk (abstain from dairy!). As a warming food it strengthens your stomach, spleen and pancreas, organs that can always use a bit of support. Oats remove cholesterol from the digestive tract and arteries (which means they help supporting the heart) and calm the nervous system. Furthermore, they are one of the richest silicon foods that help renew bones and connective tissues. Silicon is also needed to make collagen, the skin protein that helps slowing the aging process of the skin. As if this were not enough, when eaten regularly, oats can act as internal antiseptic that strengthens your immunity and wards off infection.
All of this of course gives a broader perspective on the simple stew. And yet, trust me, often in the mornings we sit there, my porridge and me, staring at each other belligerently. The porridge proudly embedded in its bowl, glaring at me with its supreme boredom. “Dare me” I hear it say, a battle that I all too often lose, because let’s face it, there is more to life than this stodgy monotony (even after adding fruit to it).
So something had to change. I therefore embarked on a small quest, to funk up the stew. And I came across this small recipe, which turns porridge into a whole new adventure by adding – delicious – granola to it.
In 20mins (preparation time) you can make your own granola, which is delicious, crispy and healthy. It is also an ideal, sugar free snack to take with you to the workplace, when you get sugar cravings, or quite simply need a sugar- free snack on the go.
This is how you make it:
-half a cup of almonds that you need to chop coarsely
-half a cup of sunflower seeds
-half a cup of pumpkin seeds
-half a cup of sesame or flax or chia or poppy seeds (or a mixture thereof)
-2.5 cups of oat flakes
-one cup or rice syrup
-half a cup of sesame oil (can be sunflower oil)
-Pinch of cinnamon (optional)
(The word “cup” here refers to unit of measurement. You can also use ½ cup to make less.)
Mix everything together in a bowl. Pour onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Flatten it across the surface. Cook for 15mins, at 150°C.
You just add it onto your porridge and the whole thing become delicious.
Make sure to keep the granola in an airtight container.
Hope you will enjoy it!
Much love, Irene
