About Me

My photo
Hello, dear viewer, and thank you for visiting my blog! I am a dedicated (and certified) Food Coach and Personal Trainer with a very individual attitude to coaching. I search to look beyond people's health issues and modify their lifestyles so that they can live a healthier life, increase vitality and longevity. Recently as a strong believer in natural healing I have published two books on Ayurveda and how to use Ayurveda lifestyle and food at home. Further, I am very much into TCM and the concept of original Chinese Food, especially after my recent stay in China. I am striving to become a Yoga expert through intense training and am practicing some kind of exercise every single day. My second blog http://thrumyeyes-kat.blogspot.com/ is dedicated to my passion to capture the world with my camera and create my own world like that. Everything you will find on these pages about nutrition and exercising is authentic and self-tested. Enjoy and don't forget to send me your comments, which are always welcome in my attempt to meet your expectations even better!

Friday 20 December 2013

Detox throughout the holidays

Dear readers,

Once again, Christmas and New Year are just around the corner - a surprise as every year . We fly home or our loved ones come to visit us and we spend wonderful days together , eat out or cook at home. Eating together is not only food intake, but it is a social event , time to share and talk, and during the holidays it is normal that we eat more and tend to neglect our usual diet regime as it also does not contribute to comfort if you sit around nibbling on a raw carrot. It 's just part o fit and if we do not completely overdo it , this represents no problem.

Important and useful it is , however, to use the "split times" , that is, if we , for example, at times do not eat between breakfast and dinner also a sprawling lunch. You can use this time to give your body something light and detoxifying to clean the body in between. By doing this in the end it will not bequite as difficult to return to our usual diet mode after the holidays. Of course I always recommend a 12-day Ayurveda Panchakarma cure after these days .


But using this support, we quickly switch our body back into a friendly mode, which benefits our shape, the expulsion of waste from the body and thus our entire well-being. We really do not want to sit down at the table in the evening inwardly groaning "I really do not want anything more to eat", no, we should be able to enjoy these beautiful , rare moments.

I can recommend green tea here as a strong detoxifier , ½ - 1 liter per day. Please also pay attention to quality here . In addition, of course, the green smoothies, to which I have already referred to in a previous article . But there is also another, soothing alternative: detox soups. There are many variations of which I subsequently present only one, but at the end it always comes down to the same thing, just using different methods and veggies. I cook them in stock and freeze smaller portions. There is also the the possibility to strain the soup after cooking and consume only the broth. And my dogs love the boiled vegetables J.

The soup is very tasty through the relatively long cooking time, I personally use absolutely no salt as it absorbs liquid , but a small amount of high quality coarse sea salt (or Himalayan salt as in this recipe) can be added without hesitation if necessary. Vegetables from organic farming are to be recommended , but it should be thoroughly cleaned anyway. The soup can also be cooked without the azuki beans , thereby loses volume and is more easily digestible and less filling . I recommend dried beans, which are first soaked and boiled, canned beans are not necessarily in the sense of detoxification. Instead of azuki beans and mung beans, lentils, kidney beans or pinto beans can be used.














Detoxifying winter soup
( 8 servings )

▪ 1 tbsp olive oil , coconut oil or ghee ( may be omitted , in which case the here
     sauteed vegetables will just be boiled)
▪ 1 large onion, chopped
▪ 1 large leek , sliced ​​into rings
▪ 2 stalk celery , coarsely chopped
▪ 1 beetroot , cut into cubes
▪ 6-8 cloves of garlic , finely chopped
▪ 2 carrots , coarsely chopped
▪ 3 or 4 small turnips, cut into cubes
  1 small head of cabbage , cut to strips(about 2 cups quantity)
▪ 3 cups yellow squash , cut into cubes
▪ 8-10 cups of water
▪ Fresh herbs such as rosemary , oregano or whatever is at hand
▪ 3 ripe , red tomatoes with skin and seeds , diced
▪ 2 cups pre-cooked azuki beans
​​▪ 1 head kale , cut to strips
▪ 1-2 tablespoons cider vinegar
▪ Pink Himalayan salt or coarse sea salt , to taste
▪ Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add onion , leek , garlic and celery and sauté for 5 minutes. Add carrots , turnip, cabbage, squash and fresh herbs . Simmer for about 5-7 minutes , stirring frequently.
Add water, tomatoes and beans and bring to a boil on medium heat slightly , then set the temperature on low setting and simmer for about 1.5 hours . The more time you give the soup, the more intense the flavor. If you only want to use the broth , you should cook the soup for at least 2 hours so that all the nutrients can completely merge into the water.
Season with salt and pepper to taste if desired . Shortly before serving add the cider vinegar , stir well , enjoy and detoxify !

MERRY CHRISTMAS!





Monday 9 December 2013

Wheat grass - the green health from nature

Dear audience,

In our high-tech times when a lot of stuff is better , but not necessarily our general health, and in which we have to protect our organisms much more than ever before against "hostile attacks " such as the so-called free radicals, we are turning back to the old remedies provided by mother nature.

Wheatgrass was introduced thousands of years ago as one of the most valuable plants of nature in different cultures into the base diet.

Go green - this is a phrase that nowadays should no longer relate merely to our environment, but also to our kitchen .

And so since quite some time something green haunts our kitchens. In juice form, powdered or even fresh, home-grown from seed - wheat grass. Packed with chlorophyll (70 %), it contains over 30 different enzymes that keep us young, healthy and beautiful.



The green prodigy is thus not an invention of modern times. Even in our hemisphere already back in the 30's many celebrities  consumed these little powerpackets; popularized by Anne Wigmore (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Wigmore) and Dr. Charles Schnabel (http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6693566-wheat-grasscharles-francis-schnabel-discovered-nutrientsmodern scientific analysis suggests the assumption that wheatgrass juice really  is one of the absolute " superfoods " with incredible impact on our civilization diseases.

Wheatgrass is the grass of the wheat, which after seeding  during the first days looks like a fresh, green lawn. Sounds logical . By pressing the wheatgrass juice is extracted, to which special healing power is attributed .


A short summary of the contents :

• wheat grass has 60 times more vitamin C than oranges
• 50 times more vitamin E than spinach
• 30 times more vitamin B1 than milk
• 11 times more calcium than milk
• 5 times more iron than spinach
• 5 times more magnesium than bananas

Furthermore, wheat grass juice is rich in essential amino acids and thus has a high protein value. It contains vitamin K and B , calcium and selenium and is a hero in the fight against cancer, because it inhibits the spread of cancer cells , the mutation of healthy cells , has anti- inflammatory  aspects and strengthens the immune system . It supports blood formation and increases oxygen transport in the blood and general vitality.

It might not yet be anything scientifically proven, but the existing studies and thousands of years of experience , e.g. in Chinese medicine, clearly show the positive above mentioned effects.

A simple and safe method of consumption is the wheatgrass in powder form, which can be wonderfully simply infused with hot water and consumed at body temperature, or find its place in any smoothie to round out its taste by its fresh, sweet character. Be it with apple and ginger or with banana, pineapple and coconut milk , cinnamon and maca.

Drank in the morning on an empty stomach, wheatgrass within 20 minutes develops its soothing , revitalizing effect . Some beautiful , easy to prepare recipes can be found on this link: https://www.veganic.de/ebook/Smoothie_veganic.pdf

At the beginning of consumption please be a bit cautious, the stomach must first get used to the green power drink. Especially a freshly squeezed shot can hit the stomach quite strongly in the beginning. But that disappears after a few times and you can enjoy wheatgrass and feel the power of this acid-regulating green magic in the body.







Monday 2 December 2013

Health food - the balance on my plate

„When i walk, I walk. When I sit, I sit. When I eat, I eat.“

(Zhen Buddhism)


Dear readers,

Not only in Ayurveda, but also in Chinese Medicine and originally also in our very own European / Northern kitchen eating balanced food is essential for health and wellbeing. Like in all matters of life, it is important to be balanced, to be Yin and Yang, man and woman, sun and moon, day and night, movement and stillness. Each element is also within the other, there is no Yin without Yang for example. This balance puts us into harmony, the state of balance is called „sattva“ (middle, equilibirum), which is an old Sanskrit word. For example in Ayurveda even today we strive to eat „sattvic“ food, which will not over acidify our bodies or deprive them of important nutrients. Extreme Yin or extreme Yang food puts our body out of balance and causes the organism to oscillate between two poles.

Obviously, each individual needs a slightly different balance to meet his needs. But if you prepare a nice variety, everybody will find something at your table. That is why my husband will eat more of the fresh salad while I will have a bigger portion of the grounding sweet potatoes. 

Example for a "bad" balance: if you eat a lot of food high in Yin like meat, eggs and other animal products, these need to be balanced with a high quantity of extreme Yang food like tropical fruits, sugar, alcohol, spices. Notice something? You sure do.

This equation can be applied to all our daily life’s fields. Multitasking, stress in the office and in your free time create a state of extreme Yang, which will increase your cravings for extreme Yin: alcohol, coffee, sugar, junk food etc. This balance is deceiving, though, as it creates only a very short term equilibrium. After that, your body moves even more out of balance, which in the end will create damage, even for the mind.







An understanding of these principles is very helpful on your way to live healthy and happy.






Let me explain a bit further....

Yin = cold                                                         Yang = warm
Winter = cold                                                   Summer = warm
Winter plants = grow beneath earth             summer plants = grow above earth

In winter the body needs more Yang food  („heavier“ plants, which preserve for a longer time beneath the earth) – did your granny have salad in winter, she sure did not - whereas in summer the body needs to be cooled with Yin food (light, easily spoiled plants, which sprout above earth). Easy, no? Mother natures does take care of us. Please consider these principles also when you travel. You will not want to eat a hot potatoe-chillie soup in a tropical climate.

Try to apply these principles to your life, start with some of the following measures:

1. Always prepare fresh food. Avoid microwaving.

2. Take your time for each meal: sit, chew, digest and above all enjoy.

3. Move a lot and get your quantum of oxygen every day, which would be at least 30 minutes.

4. Take your time off distractions (computer, phone, tv etc) and try to exist more conciously, take time for family and friends, do some yoga and meditation

As far as your daily meals are concerned, a balanced plate needs

-> many colours
-> various textures
-> various tastes and spice intensity
-> something boiled and something raw
-> some nuts and seeds
-> 25-30% of whole grains
-> 15-20% (vegetable) protein

You will notice how much you will suddenly indulge, how your palate will jubilate and thus your body!

The following combination is just one example to give you an idea about what a balanced meal combination could look like:

  • Wholegrain Soba Noodles with almond-tamari sauce

  •  Quickly fried Tofu (with soya oil and spring onions)

  • Grilled pumpkin or sweet potato

  • Steamed fennel with miso dressing



Get balanced – enjoy life!