My house on the outside is clean, comfortable and organised - or so that is what it appears to be.  When you open a cupboard you have to duck for cover with the overflow of “stuff” oh and by the way avoid the garage and store room.
Sometimes that is how our brain feels, on the outside we look uncluttered but on the inside we are brimming with ideas, thoughts, memories and that endless what to do list ultimately making us feel disorganised and perhaps a little depressed due to the overwhelm.

The way that many of us approach our health is very similar.  Although we want to be healthy and we want to make great food choices everyday, sometimes it's just not possible. Our brains are so cluttered with “stuff” we have to make room for new ideas and concepts.  To make changes stick we need to deal with the clutter within.

This idea struck me while I was watching youtube sensation Marie Kondo in her Netfilx series Tidying Up.  She shook all my conventions and it took me a little time to come around to her system of organising as I hate to admit it, her ideas were far better than mine.  How can we relax and enjoy our space when we are surrounded by kaos? We can’t clear our thoughts or make good choices when our homes and our heads are filled with “stuff” that we either no longer need or think that we need.

It’s like eating healthy, we are full of lots of ideas about healthy eating but it's hard to change habits that took a lifetime to create.  We need to deal with all the clutter. We have to break our patterns of old unhealthy eating habits and create new healthy eating habits.

To make a start, I put together 10 golden rules for eating healthy. You are probably going to read this list and think, it's just not possible.  That’s ok. Just catalogue it in your brain until it does make sense and it is doable. When making changes there are two types of people in this world.  Those that change everything at once, and the rest of us who need to take things bit by bit. One change at a time, and when you are ready, then go to the next step.  Don’t think that you have to do it in this order, just pick the easiest change for you, start with that and when you have aced it try another.


Krys’ 10 golden rules for healthy eating:

1. Fresh food is best.  Crowd out the bad foods with good foods.  Aim to eat 6 (the more the better) serving of colourful, seasonal vegetables and 2 serves of fruit per day.
   
2. Choose pasture raised meats and poultry and local, wild caught or sustainably farmed fish
   
3. Drink plenty of filtered water.  Our bodies are 70% water and it is easy to forget to drink.  Try herbal teas, adding lemon, mint or ginger to a glass of water can make drinking water a little more interesting.   Drink up to 8 glasses per day or until your urine is a pale yellow.
   
4. Let go of sugar.  It doesn't belong in your new life.  Avoid soda’s, muesli bars, chocolate bars, icecreams, dried fruits and try to think of alternatives that you can have instead.  Always ask yourself before you have dessert, do you really need that? Try a cup of peppermint tea to sip on instead.
   
5. Always read ingredient labels.  If it has numbers or words that you cannot pronounce then don't buy it.  Another hint is if it has sugar, fat or salt in the first three ingredients then don't buy it either.
   
6. Moderate alcohol.  Try to aim for 3-5 alcohol free days per week, and avoid drinking more than 2 standard 100 ml glasses of wine on any one day.  
   
7. Eat plenty of fibre.  Choose whole grains instead of processed white grains, eat your serves of vegetables and fruit per day, enjoy a variety of nuts and seeds in small quantities.  Eating plenty of fibre helps you to feel fuller for longer.
   
8. Use the good oils.  Olive oil for salads and low to moderate heat cooking, butter, ghee, macadamia and coconut oil are great for high point cooking such as a roasts or stir frys, avocado oil makes an amazing mayonnaise.  Avoid hydrogenated oils such as margarine and vegetable oils or anything that has a long shelf life that can be reheated over and over again.
   
9. Enjoy fermented foods with your meals.  Kombucha, milk kefir and yoghurt are great sources of probiotics.  Serve sauerkraut or kimchi as a condiment to meals or add liberally to a salad, all of these can be purchased at your supermarket or health food store.  Just check that it is made locally to get the full benefit of a probiotic hit. Creating that balance of gut bacteria is important not only for your health but also your mental health.
   
10. When eating out, choose salads, lean proteins and dishes abundant in veggies..  Avoid fried foods, heavily marinated foods, or store bought dressings. Always be curious and don't be afraid to ask what is in the dressing, or ask for the sauce on the side.  Condiments are notorious for being the most unhealthiest part of your meal.
    

Marie Kondo asks this one question when letting go of possessions does it spark joy for you?  If an item sparks joy, then keep it. If it no longer does, or you have no use for it in your life ahead, then let go of it.  Thank the item and graciously give it away.
Just like food, embrace the healthy foods and be thankful that you are eating to heal rather than create disease.  Then, say no thank you graciously to the unhealthy ones. Let them go, as they do not belong in your healthier life now and in the future.  

Uncluttering your life and your home can be the first step to healthy living.  Because, once you have nailed that, then you can move onto other areas of your life such as your health and wellbeing to get even more rewards and importantly joy.  

Nutrition advice, finding foods that suit you and ways to improve your gut health is what I love to do.  I have a practice in Balgowlah, Sydney and see patients locally or by skype. Let me help you live your best life.  Check out my website www.kryslojeknutrition.com and sign up to my newsletter to receive a free healthy pantry list.

This is a two part blog about fatigue.  We have all experienced what it is like to feel exhausted at the end of the day.  We are too tired to exercise, too tired to cook a decent meal and so tired that sleep becomes impossible.  In the first blog Part 1, Are you tired of being tired we looked at strategies.  Often fatigue is a result of overwhelm.  Not enough time to prepare food, shop or rest.  It is about prioritising your time and planning over the weekend.  It is never full proof, but just a little preparation can go a long way and take away all of the angst of being disorganised.  Creating online shopping lists, having easy meals when there is a hectic evening of activities, enough left overs for lunches and making time for you can make a big difference to your week.  Read Part 1, Tired of Being Tired here.

In part two we are going to look at the types of foods that will support our bodies to combat fatigue.  Drinking enough water, eating enough vegetables, protein and good fats are essential for supplying our mitochondria what they need to produce energy.   Some causes of fatigue are easy to rectify, while other causes of fatigue are far more complex. But for many a change in diet, a few targeted supplements and some downtime can be enough to get you back on track.
Here are my 4 top tips to getting your life back

Drink more water.
Our bodies are made up of 70% water, being essential for life.  It is needed to carry nutrients and oxygen to our cells. Without water the first symptom we experience is fatigue.  We are so busy that we often forget to drink enough water throughout the day, hitting the wall at 3pm. Our bodies are confused, are we low in sugar or are we thirsty?  My advice to clients are to always reach for a glass of water first. If, after 20 minutes you are hungry then reach for something to eat, but not the wrapped chocolate bar snack. This was a tip that I got from Sarah Wilson, formerly I Quit Sugar.  And do you know it works!
Ideally we need to drink up to 8 glasses of water per day.  A more accurate way is to drink water until your urine is a pale colour.  If your urine is dark and smelly you need to drink more water!


Eat 5 or more cups of vegetables per day.
When we are eating the wrong foods - aka the processed crappy kinds, our blood sugars are on a roller coaster ride causing inflammation and disease.   For sustained energy we need to eat foods that are full of fibre and phytonutrients. Fiber is like a fertilizer for our internal garden of beneficial bacteria.  Without it our bacteria will starve and die, jeopardising this delicate balance that supports our immune system, our neurotransmitters, vitamin absorption, metabolism and our overall health and risk of chronic disease and cancers.  Fibre helps to keep food moving, keeping you regular.
Phytonutrients are essential for vibrant health.  Think of all the beautiful colours of vegetables. The reds of capsicums, the greens in broccoli, the purple in grapes and beetroot.  I am not talking about white potato chips from the freezer. At every meal and at every opportunity eat your vegetables. A leafy green smoothie is a perfect way to get a hit of vitamin B’s that will give you a lift in the afternoon. (Mark Hyman, Food, What the Heck Should I Eat)


Are you eating the right fats?
We are all so fat phobic, thinking that if we eat fat then we will get fat and our cholesterol will soar.  If you eat the right fats, that is the least processed kind of fats - Olive oil, olives, avocado, nuts and seeds, eggs, lean meats, fish and dairy will not make you fat but rather, give you the energy that you need. Good fats help you feel fuller for longer and are cardioprotective. The most recent study in support of a high fat diet was the PREDIMED study that showed that a high fat diet reduces the risk of heart disease, diabetes and obesity.  Making sure that you are eating fats with every meal, but make sure they are the good types of fat:
Lashings of olive oil on salads with a squeeze of lemon juice
Snacking on avocado and olives
Enjoy a handful of nuts every day
Boiled eggs are great to have in the fridge for a quick snack

Protein with every meal.
I love chicken liver pate.  It's a superfood, which has several times more Vitamin A than any plants, rich in B vitamins, zinc and other nutrients.  So for an instant energy hit, this is one solution. Don’t save it for the cheese plate, take some pate to work with some crackers, olives and veggie sticks and you will have a nutrient packed lunch.
Unfortunately, I may be one of the few that like chicken liver pate and I know that all the vegetarians out there are screaming “what about me?”  The solution is to make sure that with every meal you are pairing it with a good source of protein. Protein is essential for building and repairing every cell in the body, for DNA production, backbone of every enzyme, in fact every cell is made up of proteins.  
Criteria for selecting good sources of protein:
Choose grass fed/wild and pastured meat or poultry
Free range, no antibiotics
Choose organic if possible
Fish that is wild caught and local, go for the smaller fish as it will have lower methylmercury levels
Or sustainably farmed fish
For Vegetarians:
Choose free range eggs
Organic or non homogenised milks
Good quality cheeses - not plastic slices
Whole yoghurts without sweeteners or thickeners
Coloured rice, quinoa, buckwheat, legumes
Organic soy products
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If your symptoms of fatigue are not relieved by diet alone, it is important that you go to your GP to get further testing done.  Often fatigue is a symptom of an underlying condition and it is important to rule out any nutrient deficiencies. Once you have done that, then go to a nutritionist who can help you find the foods and the right targeted supplements to support your body at this time.  Remember, listen to your body, avoid overly stressful situations and look after yourself by taking time out in nature, reading a good book or being in the company of others.

I am a nutritionist at Proactive Health Network in Balgowlah, Sydney.  I love helping people feel better by finding solutions that are just right for them.  Remember good health is about embracing change. Changing what you eat is something you can do, that will change your life.

Working full time, raising a family, juggling responsibilities can be overwhelming and a recipe for exhaustion.  It is understandable that when we are constantly juggling roles we will feel tired, but don’t let this be your new normal.
In this two part series about fatigue, in Part 1 we will be looking at strategies and priorities.  Often not making enough time to cook and plan can lead to a disaster.  We all know what it feels like when we are not eating the right foods for our bodies.  We feel sluggish, overweight, unmotivated and tend to continue to eat the wrong foods for our bodies.  When we have a plan we take the stress out of our daily lives.  By making use of online shopping, impromptu shopping, batch cooking and planning meals around your activities can make a big difference.

Here are a few strategies to help you make the most out of every hour of the day.

Create a work/life balance - Before I hear all the exclamations it is important to prioritise your jobs.  Which ones need doing today and ones you can put off till later.
Create those lists using whatever medium you prefer.  For instance, spreadsheets, notes or calendar’s and remember to break down your tasks into achievable pieces to help you feel in control of your life.  I personally love calendars. I use google calendar and place all my appointments and commitments sharing to the relevant people.

Make cooking and shopping a priority - For health you need to cook.  Your health directly correlates with the foods that you choose to eat.  We should be aiming to eat foods that are seasonal, diverse and an array of colours.  Avoid any processed foods, vegetable or seed oils, anything that comes in a packet or has words or numbers that you cannot pronounce.  

Once again, this involves a little planning.  Sitting down once a week and planning your meals around your families activities.  Once you have worked out your meals for the week, create some online shopping lists for home delivery.  My favourite online delivery services are Harris Farm, Doorstep Organics, One table, Honest to Goodness and I will use Coles and Woolworths for some basic products.  
Secrets to success are:

• Always cook more than you need so you have leftovers to take to work the following day.
• Spend a couple of hours over the weekend batch cooking some meals to have in the fridge or freezer.
• Buy what's on special and plan your meals around these
• Aim for one vegetarian night per week and one family roast over the weekend

Factor in some downtime -  It can be hard to unwind, finding ourselves in a constant state of stress, pushing ourselves to the limit and beyond.  To help our bodies get out of this flight and fight state,(sympathetic nervous system) studies have identified the benefits of deep breathing to stimulate our rest and digest nervous system (parasympathetic nervous system).  Practicing deep breathing every day has been shown to lower blood pressure and your pulse rate, breaking that pattern of constant stress.

Sick of being tired?  Try to incorporate these few strategies into your daily life and find the time that you never had.  It is never simple, but by prioritising your activities, smart shopping, meal planning and eating well, plus incorporating some downtime into your everyday can make a massive difference to how you feel.

Part 2 is about the nutrients that we need for our bodies to thrive.  Make sure that you drink plenty of water throughout the day, eats your veg, protein and good fats.  Fuel for your mitochondria!
Read Part 2 here

Yosemite, California

REVIVE is a program that I put together to help your body deal with the build up of chemicals and toxins that we are exposed to every day. The digestive system, liver, kidneys, skin are major organs of elimination.  And, they do an amazing job.  Its just when their is a backlog of toxins to detoxify that things can go a bit haywire.  We need to clear that back log by giving our bodies a break from the toxins so that it can get on top of the job of sorting and cleaning and detoxifying.
Every day we accumulate toxins.  From the job that you do, to having a few too many beers over the weekend, the shampoo and body care products that you use, the foods that you choose to eat and the oils that you use to cook with. 

Our body gives us warning signs that it needs a break.  Such as coming down with a cold, feeling exhausted, putting on weight, feeling out of sorts, moody, irritable, lack of motivation, skin blemishes, achy joints, digestive issues the list goes on.

Give your body a break, such as: cutting back or avoiding alcohol, buying produce according to the clean 15 and dirty 12 guidelines, opening up the windows in your home, replacing body care products with body friendly ones, and eating an anti inflammatory diet can help you begin to heal and feel great again. 

Feeling great, begins within.  Just recently,  I spoke at a"The Wellness Project Community" event, all about Skin Foods - Face the Earth.   I spoke about foods that heal your body, and have been fortunate enough to have been inspired by Dr Terry Wahl's, a university professor at Iowa.  She had advanced MS and realised that conventional treatments were not working for her.  Through her journey of experimenting with diet, supplements, electrical therapy and exercise she is now walking to work, riding horses and living an active productive life.  She now focus’ her energy on conducting clinical trials to prove that diet does play a significant role in chronic disease states.  Of course, the outcomes have been very positive, but there are always a few stubborn cases.  I just wanted to set that straight incase you have a chronic disease and are about to go head first into another protocol.  Buy her book first and read “The Wahl's Protocol” and discuss with your specialist, before you make any changes to your treatment plan if you have an advanced chronic disease.  

Her message is loud and clear.  Eat more vegetables.  More than the recommended 5 serves per day.  Dr Wahl's recommends up to or more than 9 serves of vegetables per day.  To be specific 3 cups of leafy greens, 3 cups of brightly coloured vegetables and 3 cups of brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, sprouts, swede, turnips)
When we eat 9 serves of vegetables a day we are getting more than the standard vitamins and minerals that we get when we take supplements.  There are a whole lot of unknown compounds that are in perfect combination in the vegetables that we eat that haven’t been discovered yet.  We are giving the body what it needs to heal.  That’s why it is important to eat food for health.
REVIVE is a program is a little more complex than eating more vegetables.  It is a healing program, where we focus on removing all inflammatory foods and focus on eating foods that will nourish our insides.
The first week is the preparatory week.  Just getting ready.  Experimenting with making bone broths, slow cooked meals, making healing teas, and stocking your pantry with good foods are apart of this program.  
The second week is all about bone broth and slow cooked meals.  Slow cooked meats and vegetables are a lot easier for the body to break down therefore providing more nourishment to the gut as well as giving your body a rest from the hard work of digesting.
In the third week, we introduce more vegetables raw and cooked, nuts and seeds and eggs.  This gives us more variety, creating interest in the food that we eat.
In the fourth week, it is much the same as before but with the addition of quinoa and buckwheat.  These are beautiful protein sources.
After the fourth week, slowly day by day you reintroduce the food back into your diet.  From this you will be able to tell which foods you can tolerate and which ones you should avoid.  

What does REVIVE include:
Start anytime
Two nutrition consultations - face to face or Skype
Week by week activities
Menu Plans, Shopping Lists
Recipes
Facebook support
Price on asking

Sick of being tired, lacking the energy and motivation to do things, always sick or have constant nagging complaints, have dull and lack lustre skin and hair then perhaps it is time to take the plunge and contact me to book in a time to start.

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Sticky Date Pudding with Caramel Sauce.  One of my favourites, decadent, rich and a true comfort food.  So, how good was it to discover that with a few easy adapatations to a recipe I could enjoy making this dessert again.  Its a quick and easy stand by for dinner parties, and the texture is so good that every one can enjoy whether they have food intolerances or not.

Ingredients
200gms of medjool dates pitted and roughly chopped
300gms of boiled water
2 teaspoons of baking soda
Flour - add next 4 ingredients together and mix well
180gms of almond meal or dried almond pulp
1/2 cup of coconut flour
3/4 cup of Bob Mills tapioca flour 
1 heaped teaspoon of gluten free Bob Mills Baking Powder
80gms of butter or ghee
3/4 cup of rapadura sugar or sugar equivalent (Can use rice malt syrup for a low sugar option)
4 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla paste or seeds of 1 vanilla pod

Method
In a glass bowl add dates, boiled water and baking soda let sit.
Line a square cake tin with baking paper.  Set oven to 165 degrees C
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together, add eggs one at a time.  If curdling add a little of the flour mixture.  Add flour and the soaked dates and water to the egg mixture. Mix gently.
This should be a fairly runny consistency compared to normal cake mixtures.
Pour into cake tin and place into oven.  Bake on low heat for approx 45 min.  It is cooked when the center of the cake is firm to touch and a skewer comes out clean.

Caramel Sauce
200gms of coconut cream
3/4 cup of rapadura sugar or sugar equivalent (Can use rice malt syrup for a low sugar option)
80gms of butter or ghee
Melt on medium heat in saucepan until butter is melted and ingredients are combined.  
​Pour over sticky date pudding and enjoy

With all desserts, this is part of a wholesome diet.  The sugar content makes it unsuitable for those with auto immune, inflammatory diseases.  Remember that sugar is extremely inflammatory and when consumed in excess, that is over 6 teaspoons per day has been linked to abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes and chronic ill health.  
Enjoy as a sometimes food.
Source - World Health Organisation

My present to all of you is a recipe for my mother's christmas cake.  It brings back so many happy memories of christmas baking with my mum when I was a child.  The fragrant aromas of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg, so typical in christmas baking.  There is still plenty of time to make your christmas cake, it will be worth all the effort, believe me.  Its delicious.

Recipe for  Gluten Free Christmas Cake
Ingredients 
250gms of butter at room temperature  (May use 200gms of Ghee instead for paleo version)
250gms of Rapadura sugar or equivalent sweetner of choice
5 eggs
500gms of mixed fruit of choice.  I used honest2goodness fruit mix
1 grated apple
Flour
2 1/2 Cups of almond meal, 3/4 cup of tapioca flour and 
2 tablespoons of coconut flour.  Mix well.
2 teaspoons of vanilla paste
1 tablespoon of all spice
1 tablespoon of nutmeg
3 tablespoons of cinnamon
Brandy, splash or more
Almonds to decorate
Method
Soak fruit and apple in a splash or more of brandy for 24hrs or longer in a bowl covered with a towel or cling film (making sure it is not touching the fruit...just to keep fruit fly away)
Line a baking tin approx 15cm by 15cm with oil and baking paper.  
Cream butter and sugar together.  Add eggs one at a time.  If curdling appears add flour.  
Add flour and spices, mix well, add fruit and vanilla paste and mix well.  This should be a firm mixture.  Places dollops of mixture into the prepared baking tin, smooth and decorate with almonds.  Place into a low oven at 150 Degrees for approx 1.5 to 2hrs.  Important to bake at a low temperature, otherwise the cake will crack and burn easily.  Cooked when a wooden skewer comes out clean.  Remove from tin and cool on a wire rack.
Keep in fridge wrapped in a layer of baking paper covered with either cling film or tin foil.  Will keep for 6mths covered and refrigerated.
Enjoy for Christmas.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, 
Thank you so much for all of your support and giving me the opportunity to do the things that I love.

See you in 2017
Krys

Since October, 2016 I have been practicing from:

 2, 294 Sydney Rd, Balgowlah  (Above Pulp, a card and gift shop)

This is a fabulous health hub with nutritionists, naturopaths, massage therapists, counsellors for all of your health concerns. I service everyone on the Northern Beaches from Manly and Fairlight to Mosman & Palm Beach, approximately 2 minutes from Stockland shopping centre.  Parking is available either in Stocklands,  outdoor 2 hr carpark on the corner of Condamine and Sydney Road or hourly parking is available outside on Sydney Road.  

I  also have rooms at Killarney Heights, on an appointment basis,  that I share with Ignite Development and Learning.  They offer Extra Lesson for children, meditation and counselling.
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Phone ​0416111331 for an appointment to Be Extraordinary, through Healthy Food Choices