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Trudy’s coconut seed bread recipe (modified from The Real Meal Revolution)

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My favorite “bread” and the only one that I can actually eat right now is a coconut seed bread that I bake myself. I adapted a recipe from Tim Noake’s wonderful book The Real Meal Revolution, a recipe book from where I grew up – South Africa.

Why I modified the recipe

  • I opted to leave out the sunflower seeds and almond flour because of the higher levels of oxalates in these seeds and nuts. I have an oxalate issue right now but I’m also concerned with all the nuts that I see in Paleo recipes. Another possible issue for someone with anxiety and low zinc is the high copper levels in nut flours.
  • I typically don’t add sugar or anything sweet to baked goods so just left out the stevia/xylitol
  • I love coconut anything so why not try all coconut flour – it worked out great!

The ingredients and recipe for my version  

0.5 cup ground flax seeds (freshly ground)
1.5 cups coconut flour
2 tablespoons psyllium husk
250g / 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
6 organic or pastured eggs
10ml /2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
0.5 teaspoon sea salt

Grind the seeds and mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
Mix the wet ingredients and combine with the dry ingredients using a wooden spoon.
Pour into a loaf pan that has been greased with butter.

Bake at 350 F/ 175 C for 50 minutes. I check it at 40 minutes and then take it out at 50 minutes once it starts to look brown on top and on the sides (I use a glass/pyrex loaf pan).

How to enjoy it?

It’s lovely eaten right away, warm and with loads of butter. I slice it thinly and keep a few slices in the fridge and freeze the rest in batches to use as needed through the next few weeks. It freezes really well and needs about 30 minutes to thaw at room temperature.

A few days a week I’ll have a slice with butter (I love butter!) and soft-boiled eggs, topped with whatever fermented vegetables we have on hand, and a side of avocado and left over vegetables from dinner the night before.

In case you’re curious, on this particular day, I used Kehoe’s Kitchen Fermented Paleo Mustard Pickles (it has a lot of cauliflower) and Kehoe’s Kitchen Beetroot & Ginger Sauerkraut. Both of these products are firm favorites in this household!

Similar products in the USA are made by The Brinery or FireFly Kitchens (just search online for “organic fermented vegetables”). Or make your own!

Remember if you buy fermented vegetables make sure to get them in the refrigerated section of the store. They need to be RAW in order to get all the benefits of the good bacteria for gut health and balancing your microbiome, and ultimately helping with reducing anxiety and depression.

The original recipe

Here is the original recipe from Tim Noake’s book (I don’t have the recipe book in hand right now as it’s still packed away with our move but I think this is the original)

0.5 cup ground flax seeds (freshly ground)
0.5 cup ground sunflower
1 cup almond flour or coconut flour
2 tablespoons psyllium husk
250g / 1 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
6 organic or pastured eggs
10ml /2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
0.5 teaspoon sea salt
Pinch stevia or teaspoon xylitol

Optional: Cinnamon, caraway seeds, pumpkin seeds, various chopped nuts and/or cranberries/raisins

Tim Noakes and anxiety and depression success stories

Here is some additional information about The Real Meal Revolution. It started out as a Banting recipe book and has grown into a movement in South Africa. Banting is similar to Paleo but does include dairy. My darling sister gave me a copy of this very popular book on one of my trips back to visit family and I really like it! It is fastest selling cook book in South African history with over 200,000 copies sold and is now available internationally in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

In this blog post about anxiety and depression success stories when eating Paleo and grain-free, Alice shared this about her change to a Banting way of eating:

Three days after I stopped eating grains, my chronic depression lifted and has never returned (it’s three years later now). I had been a vegetarian most of my life, discovered in my early 50s that I was gluten intolerant, went off grains, started banting (Cape Town craze!) and have never felt better. Gut, mood, bones, energy, skin … all better!

Let us know if you try this recipe and enjoy it and do share some of your favorite fermented vegetable companies or recipe books.

And do let us know if you do better on a grain-free diet.

Dr. Drew Ramsey’s new book Eat Complete

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eat-complete

Dr. Drew Ramsey’s newest book just released this week and it’s wonderful! Mine just arrived and the food photos are superb!

Check out Eat Complete: The 21 Nutrients That Fuel Brainpower, Boost Weight Loss, and Transform Your Health

From leading psychiatrist and author of Fifty Shades of Kale comes a collection of 100 simple, delicious, and affordable recipes to help you get the core nutrients your brain and body need to stay happy and healthy.

What does food have to do with brain health? Everything.

Your brain burns more of the food you eat than any other organ. It determines if you gain or lose weight, if you’re feeling energetic or fatigued, if you’re upbeat or depressed. In this essential guide and cookbook, Drew Ramsey, MD, explores the role the human brain plays in every part of your life, including mood, health, focus, memory, and appetite, and reveals what foods you need to eat to keep your brain—and by extension your body—properly fueled.

Drawing upon cutting-edge scientific research, Dr. Ramsey identifies the twenty-one nutrients most important to brain health and overall well-being—the very nutrients that are often lacking in most people’s diets. Without these nutrients, he emphasizes, our brains and bodies don’t run the way they should.

Eat Complete includes 100 appetizing, easy, gluten-free recipes engineered for optimal nourishment. It also teaches readers how to use food to correct the nutrient deficiencies causing brain drain and poor health for millions.

Featuring fifty stunning, full-color photographs, Eat Complete helps you pinpoint the nutrients missing from your diet and gives you tasty recipes to transform your health—and ultimately your life.

Of course blueberries are featured – so it’s a perfect tie-in to the new blueberry-PTSD research.

Dr. Ramsey is one of our expert speakers on the June Anxiety Summit (which airs June 6-16) and I can’t wait to share more with you! In the meantime, enjoy his new book and get inspired to get back into the kitchen!

 

Food for Your Hormones + Brazil Nut Butter recipe

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In case you missed the email announcements, this is a quick reminder that this no-cost webinar is happening today (Saturday morning) at 10am PST!

If you haven’t registered yet, you can still register here:
https://xa202.isrefer.com/go/cfb1/trudys/

And if you have already signed up this is your friendly reminder and a new recipe for you! Enjoy!

Brazil Nut Butter Recipe – by Magdalena Wszelaki

brazilnut-butter

This nut butter can be generously spread on crackers, toast or used as a dip with chopped up vegetables (I used radishes here as they also support estrogen detoxification) or fruit (I had apples on hand). I recommend soaking the nuts to improve their digestibility. If you tolerate nuts and have no time to soak and dry them, skip the initial steps and go to the blending instructions. Allow yourself to be creative and play with other nuts and seeds (sunflower and pumpkin seed butter is wonderful too) as well as spices like cardamom, cloves or lavender.

brazilnut-butter-2

Serves: 25 servings (tablespoons)
Time to soak: 12 hours
Time to roast: 1 hour
Time to prepare: 15 minutes

Ingredients
2 cups organic Brazil nuts
¾ cup avocado oil
½ cup coconut butter
½ cup golden flax seed
⅓ cup maca root powder
1 tablespoon camu camu (buy on Amazon)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla essence or powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt 

Place the nuts in a large bowl, cover with filtered water and let them soak overnight, or for 12 hours.

Preheat the oven to 200F, spread the nuts on a baking tray and slow-roast for about an hour or until they become slightly brown.

Cool off the nuts and place in a high-speed blender or food processor (I use Vitamix). Add all the remaining ingredients and blend on high for 3 to 4 minutes.

Transfer to an air-tight container and keep in the fridge for no longer than 2 weeks. You can also freeze the butter.

Magdalena shares why incorporating brazil nuts and this lovely nut butter into your diet may be beneficial. It’s all about selenium and thyroid health and she shares this….

If you have a thyroid condition, it is very likely (like 90% likely) that you have Hashimoto’s disease, which is the autoimmune version of hypothyroidism. Interestingly, in most cases of hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s disease, it’s not the thyroid that needs to be looked after but the immune system (since Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune condition). One way to know whether you have Hashimoto’s is to test for thyroid peroxidase antibodies (they also go by TPOab).

If the TPOab test result is high, an important mineral that can help bring down the TPO antibodies is selenium.

Selenium plays a key role in thyroid and autoimmune health because it protects thyroid cells from oxidative damage by forming selenoproteins. This extra protection helps to bring down the TPO antibodies. Selenium also acts as catalyst for converting the inactive T4 hormone to the biologically active T3 hormone.

The Brazil nut is the food that is highest in selenium. Three organic Brazil nuts per day will give you the daily recommended dose of 200mcg of selenium. You can incorporate them into your diet in a variety of ways. If you don’t tolerate nuts, you can take a selenium supplement.

I’d like to add that you can enjoy this nut butter even if you don’t have a thyroid problem. Selenium deficiency is pretty common and is often an issue with anxiety and depression.

So to recap (in case you missed the earlier notifications): Cooking for Balance will start with this no-cost live online workshop called How to Use Food to Rebalance Your Hormones today (at 10am PST, 1pm EST).

Cooking for Balance is an online cooking program created by my friend and colleague Magdalena Wszelaki, founder of Hormones Balance. You may remember our great interviews on last season of The Anxiety Summit! She was a hit, is a wealth of knowledge and very hands-on when it comes to food for hormone balancing! I really love what she offers (and her cute accent)!

Tune in to the no-cost webinar to learn a ton, have fun, get some great cooking ideas.

At the end of the webinar she’ll be sharing more about her next upcoming Cooking for Balance online cooking program that helps women rebalance their hormones with food, offering tailor-made nutritional protocols for women with thyroid issues, Hashimoto’s, adrenal fatigue, estrogen dominance, menopause and PCOS. This online program features 4 live classes, over 20+ done-for-you guides, 80+ recipes and 20+ demo videos. They focus on quick, simple yet nutritionally-dense cooking techniques that will help you feel like yourself again.

Registration page for the no-cost webinar is here:
https://xa202.isrefer.com/go/cfb1/trudys/

 

Apigenin, a flavonoid in parsley increases brain connections, reduces anxiety

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parsley

New research finds that a flavonoid called apigenin increases brain connections:

the flavonoid apigenin, a substance found in parsley, thyme, chamomile and red pepper, improves neuron formation and strengthens the connections between brain cells, new lab research demonstrates… and has potential to treat diseases like schizophrenia, depression, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

Previous experiments with animals had already shown that substances from the same chemical group as the apigenin… positively affect memory and learning. Many studies highlight the potential of flavonoids to preserve and enhance brain function.

While the effectiveness of flavonoids for brain health is not an entirely new concept, this research is the first to show the positive effects of apigegin directly on human cells and the first to unraveling its mechanism.

The neurons that were treated with the apigenin flavonoid (API) show more formation of synapses (red) than the neurons that were not treated. You can see this in the image on the right.

Credit: Rehen et al.

 

The study concludes with this:

since flavonoids are present at high amounts in some foods, we can speculate that a diet rich in flavonoids may influence the formation of neurons and the way they communicate within the brain.

Yes! These are powerful foods and nutrients for brain health! And these flavonoids have been shown to specifically reduce anxiety too, as mentioned in this paper – Flavonoids and the central nervous system: from forgotten factors to potent anxiolytic compounds

A paper published in October 2015: Flavonoid nutraceuticals and ionotropic receptors for the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA likens flavonoids to benzodiazapines:

A number of studies have likened flavonoids to the widely prescribed benzodiazepines as ‘a new family of benzodiazepine receptor ligands’.

It is time to consider flavonoids in their own right as important modulators of these vital [GABA] receptors in brain function.

So let’s eat parsley and get a decent serving size in a delicious salad. I’ve got the perfect recipe for you, created by Rebecca Katz, author of The Healthy Mind Cookbook. I interviewed her on the Anxiety Summit and this was our topic – Your Brain on Food: The Science and Alchemy of Yum for Alleviating Anxiety!

We talked about one of my favorite recipes from her book: a pomegranate olive mint salsa recipe 

When I read the ingredients list I was surprised about the quantity of parley and mint but followed the directions anyway and the end result is incredibly yum! We LOVE this recipe – it has become a standard in our home. We have had it with both salmon and with lamb chops (it’s the best mint “sauce” for lamb).

Enjoy and let us know what you think! If you have a recipe that uses parsley feel free to share a link or the recipe in the comments.

Free Thyroid Cookbook & other thyroid resources

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I’m always trying to find and create the very best resources for you to make you healthier, happier and calmer! A few months ago, my friend and thyroid pharmacist, Dr. Izabella Wentz asked me to help contribute to The Thyroid Bundle!

I immediately responded, YES!

You may recall our great thyroid interview on Season 1 of the Anxiety Summit. As a thyroid patient herself, Dr. Wentz has struggled with fatigue, brain fog, hair loss, and countless other symptoms, including anxiety. She was determined to get her life back, found the answers and now helps others do the same!

Along with 30 other experts, I’ve personally contributed some of my favorite thyroid healing recipes to the Thyroid E-cookbook that we are giving away to you for free, to get you started on the right path!

If you have personally struggled with your own thyroid diet … this is one resource you simply just don’t want to pass up.

Whether you’re just dipping your toes in or looking for more recipes, this free thyroid e-cookbook is both inspiring and practical, with more than 80 recipes, plus inspirational stories and quotes from people who have helped countless others transform their health.

You don’t want to miss this! You can grab the Thyroid E-cookbook (at no charge) here:
https://nm197.isrefer.com/go/TB/trudyscottcn

We’ve each also contributed additional resources to The Thyroid Bundle which will be available to you at a special price for a limited time (until July 21st)

This is my contribution: “How Zinc and Vitamin B6 Prevent Pyroluria and Social Anxiety” (as heard on season 2 of the Anxiety Summit)

You may wonder – what is the connection between anxiety/social anxiety and the thyroid?

I’m contributing this transcript/eBook as part of The Thyroid Bundle because we often find that anxiety, panic attacks and social anxiety go hand in hand with thyroid disorders such as hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.

I work primarily with anxious women and around 80% have signs of low zinc and low vitamin B6 and possibly pyroluria. Many of these same women have a thyroid disorder.

We often see these pyroluria/social anxiety symptoms in someone who has hypothyroidism and/or Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis:

  • Being anxious, shy, or fearful
  • Having bouts of depression or nervous exhaustion
  • Frequent fatigue
  • Being prone to iron anemia or low ferritin levels
  • Tending to have cold hands or feet
  • Reduced amount of hair on your head, eyebrows, or eyelashes, or prematurely gray hair
  • Tending to have morning constipation
  • Your face looking swollen when you’re under a lot of stress

You can see the complete Pyroluria Questionnaire here.

Low zinc and low vitamin B6 are common in anxiety and are the key nutrients for addressing pyroluria. We also know that low zinc and low vitamin B6 (together with other nutrients) are common when you have a thyroid disorder (as stated in this 2015 paper: Metabolic disorders and nutritional status in autoimmune thyroid diseases

Malnutrition or the presence of numerous nutritional deficiencies in a patient’s body can be the cause of thyroid disorders. Coexisting deficiencies of such elements as iodine, iron, selenium and zinc may impair the function of the thyroid gland. Other nutrient deficiencies usually observed in patients suffering from ATD [Autoimmune thyroid diseases] are: protein deficiencies, vitamin deficiencies (A, C, B6, B5, B1) and mineral deficiencies (phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium, chromium).

Izabella writes about zinc being a common deficiency and how it’s needed to form TSH and for the conversion of T4 into the active T3 form – Nutrient Depletions in Hashimoto’s: Zinc

Zinc is an essential element to our well-being. Zinc acts as a catalyst in about 100 different enzyme reactions required by our body, and is involved in DNA synthesis, immune function, protein synthesis, and cell division. It is required for proper sense of taste and smell, detoxification, wound healing, and thyroid function. Zinc is not stored in the body, thus a daily intake of zinc is required to maintain sufficient levels.

One in four individuals in the general population may be zinc deficient, and most people with hypothyroidism are in fact zinc deficient. Zinc deficiency prevents the conversion of T4 into the active T3 version. This perpetuates the vicious cycle by a slowed metabolism of proteins.

Zinc is also needed to form TSH, and may become depleted in those with hypothyroidism who are constantly producing more TSH.

I’d like to add that my clients who do have pyroluria, do better with no copper in any of their supplements. So in this instance, Izabella’s recommendation of “1 mg of copper for every 15 mg of zinc” would not apply.

As I mentioned, you don’t want to miss this! You can grab the Thyroid E-cookbook (no cost) and check out The Thyroid Bundle (special low price until July 21st) here:
https://nm197.isrefer.com/go/TB/trudyscottcn

I’m thrilled to be part of this and love what Dr. Izabella Wentz has pulled together! I know you will love it too! Be sure to pay this forward and share with your friends and family!

 

Healthy Mind Cookbook and pomegranate olive mint salsa recipe

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healthy-mind-cookbookI’m excited to have had the opportunity of interviewing Rebecca Katz for season 3 of The Anxiety Summit. She has a new book The Healthy Mind Cookbook and I can’t wait to share our great interview.

Until then I’m sharing why I love this book and a wonderful recipe from her book, the pomegranate olive mint salsa.

Let me share why I love this recipe book:

  • It’s all about food for the brain and how to have a healthy mind and great mood!
  • I really appreciate the Culinary Pharmacy where the science behind the ingredients is shared. If you’ve been following me for awhile you know I love the science!
  • Rebecca’s focus is on yum! The recipes are delicious and the flavors just pop! I would have to say that one of my favorite sections is the Dollops chapter. Rebecca says “these dollops are snazzy surprises, acting as delicious high notes” and “many of the dollops contain healthy fats, which work to make brain-boosting vitamins and minerals more bioavailable” (the recipe below is from the Dollops chapter)
  • The food photos are positively mouth-watering (my only complaint is that there is not a photograph that goes with each recipe)
  • She has a section on Reducing Recipe Reading Anxiety, where she shares how to use these recipes as a blueprint and how not to get overwhelmed when there are ingredients you don’t recognize, can’t find or don’t really like. I’ll share below how I modified this salsa recipe to my liking and how it still turned out great.

Pomegranate Olive Mint Salsa

1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
¼ cup finely chopped mint
½ cup Kalamata or green olives, chopped
½ cup finely chopped fennel
¼ cup pomegranate seeds
¼ cup chopped walnuts, toasted
2 scallions, minced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
A pinch of sea salt

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and stir gently to combine. For optimal flavor, cover and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving. For taste, you may want to add another squeeze of lemon or a pinch of salt.

Makes: 2 ½ cups.
Prep time: 15 minutes.
Storage: store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

healthy-mind-recipe1
The picture from the Healthy Mind Cook book

My comments and modifications to the recipe:

  • When I read the ingredients I was surprised about the quantity of parley and mint but used this amount anyway and the end result is incredibly yum!  
  • We didn’t have all the ingredients so we left out the pomegranates and used raisins instead, we replaced walnuts with almonds and I’m not crazy about raw scallions so just left them out – and it was still amazing! This all ties back to the section on Reducing Recipe Reading Anxiety.
healthy-mind-recipe2
The first time we made it – served on salmon

 

  • We LOVE this recipe – it has become a standard in just a few short weeks. We have had it with both salmon and with lamb chops (it’s the best mint “sauce” for lamb)
  • The salmon above was also one of the recipes in the book: Roasted Ginger Salmon, and was delightful. In this one we left out the cayenne pepper and doubled up on the ginger – I love ginger!  I’ll share this recipe in a future blog post.
  • And now we need to make it with the pomegranates!

So get shopping and chopping and enjoy a delicious salsa for your brain and taste buds!  Let us know how yours turns out and what you serve it with.