Kelowna Dietitian | Nutritionist | HealthBean Nutrition

Cajun Black Bean and Yam Soup

September 15, 2016 By selena Leave a Comment

This gluten free, soup recipe is a one pot wonder, the best type of all recipes. It is a perfect type of meal to throw into the freezer for easy, heat and eat, meals for busy weeknights. It also perfect for kids and adults for take-a-way lunches. Pair it with crudités and dip and you’ve got a simple and easy lunch for the whole family for the week! Take the time to make this on the weekend, and your busy-week day self will be patting you on the back with less time spent in the kitchen and more time spent with yourself and your family.

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Lemon and Tahini Squash Dip

September 2, 2016 By selena Leave a Comment

This is a great dairy free dip that is packed full of bone building nutrients. Tahini and white beans are choke full of calcium, magnesium – two nutrients that are essential for bone health.

For individuals with celiac disease, dairy (most often, it’s the lactose in diary) is not well tolerated when first diagnosed. This is because celiac disease damages the villi, small finger like projections that absorb nutrients, in the small intestine. Villi also happen to produce lactAse, the enzyme needed to digest lactose. So, when the villi are damaged, a secondary lactose sensitivity can develop. Not to fear though, by following a strict gluten free diet, the villi grow back and tolerance to lactose can improve.

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Twenty Strategies to Kick Constipation to the Curb

August 23, 2016 By selena Leave a Comment

Constipation can be a real debbie downer. It can make you feel lethargic, bloated, gassy and may even cause intestinal cramping. People are sometimes embarrassed to talk about their bathroom habits, but as a dietitian, that’s all I do all day long! I have no problems with it. I’m so comfortable talking about it, I can eat at the same time. Yeah, you’re probably thinking ‘ugh, gross!’.

In all seriousness, your bowels tell you so much about your overall health. They can tell you how much you are absorbing or not absorbing of your food and give you subtle hints towards your overall health. It’s worth taking peek down there in the toilet every so often.

When it comes to constipation, it’s important to know the definition of constipation and what constipation looks like. Constipation is defined as bowels that are hard like nuts, hard to pass (causes you to strain and push them out), may cause digestive symptoms like those listed above, and happen less often than your normal. Now, everyone is going to have a different normal. Some people go every other day, everyday, or every 3 days or even longer. Usually, if you are going less than every three days, that’s too long (as per WebMD). However, it is through my experience and my client’s experience, that they feel best by going at least once/day. So, in my practice, my goal is to ensure that clients are emptying their bowels daily.

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Roasted Vegetables with Creamy, Lemon Tahini Sauce

July 26, 2016 By selena Leave a Comment

Don’t know how to enhance the flavour of vegetables? Just roast them. It is a simple and delicious way to bring out the vegetable’s natural sweetness. SO good.

Did you know that your tastebuds light up with joy when there is at least two textures on the plate? It’s true. I learned this from a culinary chef during my training in integrative nutrition and I have certainly enjoyed my food, more so, when I combine different textures.

With this recipe, I took vegetables from the farmer’s market, snipped some herbs from the garden and added some crunch with roasted nuts, and creaminess with the lemon tahini sauce.

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Top 5 Anti-Inflammatory Foods for the Gluten Free Diet

July 22, 2016 By selena Leave a Comment

Fighting inflammation with food is all the rage right now. Google “anti-inflammatory foods’ and you get over 26,000,000 hits. Wowza.

But in all seriousness, anti-inflammatory foods are really important for celiac disease. Celiac disease is based in a chronic, inflammatory response so fighting inflammation with food (along with supplements at times) is key.

Inflammation can come from certain foods in the diet. The big culprits are foods high in sugar and refined carbohydrates. Many people, especially when first diagnosed, transition to gluten free products that encourage the inflammatory process.

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