So on this week's show, I want to talk with you guys about something very simple that you can do for your health and wellbeing. And the reason that I want to introduce this to you guys is because it's one of the very first tips that I give to my coaching clients, my one-on-one clients, when they first start work with me and it's introducing green leafy vegetables into your diet. Now, if you are already eating green leafy vegetables, that is fantastic. And if you aren't and you're a little bit scared, then I still want you to tune in because I'm going to teach you all the reasons why you want to be doing this and what an amazing benefit it is to your body and the flow on effect that it creates. So welcome back to the healthy celiac podcast. I am your host, Belinda Whelan, and I had last week off because we've been renovating our kitchen. And I just could not find the time to record an episode and get it up online and do all the marketing that goes along with it. So we have been gutting our kitchen and working our butts off, doing all sorts of crazy things, to get it happening and very excited because it's been 14 years of waiting for this amazing kitchen to happen. So I can't wait to have my brand new kitchen finished so that I can share some amazing recipes and photos and videos in there of what I cook and what I create. So keep tuned in on Instagram and also on my email list. If you are part of my email community, you'll, you'll receive lots of updates from me as well about that, but if you haven't joined my community, please go to Belinda wieland.com and grab yourself my free ebook, 11 mistakes people make living gluten free and you'll become part of my community while there. So yeah, you're going to find great updates and know all the ins and outs of when I release new recipes and things like that. Okay. So back to this week's show. So let's talk about green vegetables now, green vegetables. Let's just start at the very beginning. If you are anti grains, it could be because of the way that you were brought up. So for example, when I was little, I absolutely hated brussel sprouts. I thought they were the most disgusting vegetable you could ever come across. And it was actually one of my clients that converted me to eating processed browse, which is hilarious because I was teaching her about grains and the topic came up about Brussels sprouts and she taught me how she cooked them. And my mom used to steam them and boil them. And they were repulsive, no offense, mom, if you're listening to this episode, but I didn't like them, they would just grow. So just this sloppy soggy mess. Whereas now when I cook them, I fry them up with a little bit of, um, vegan butter and put some pepper on them and they are to die for, I keep them still a little bit crunchy, just slice them up thin and keep them still a little bit crunchy and they taste amazing. So sometimes we think we don't like something, but we just need to change the way that we cook it or the way that we eat it. So yeah, definitely gotta mix things up and try things a different way. So please come into this episode with a very open mind and, you know, come out of it. The other end, hopefully feeling inspired and excited to try adding in more greens and, you know, improving your lifestyle with healthy green vegetables. So let's talk about some of the benefits of green veggies. So amazingly, most people don't know this, but green vegetables are actually one of the highest plant based protein sources that we can actually get our hands on. So it's amazing to think that we can build strength and muscle mass through veggies. A lot of people think we can only do that through other protein sources, such as meat. Um, but yeah, we can actually do it through green leafy vegetables, which is incredible as well. So when, when we think of green vegetables, we don't have to just eat them at night time. We can eat them throughout the day as well. So, um, today I went to the gym and I got home. So this morning I went to the gym and when I got home from the gym, I just wanted grains. I dunno, my body was just craving it. I must've just needed it. And I made myself a beautiful green smoothie and I throw in heap of kale in there and lots of fruit and other bits and pieces. And then after that, I had a delicious wrap where I put lots of spinach leaves on and I also had avocado and some cucumber and some other vegetables as well. So my body was actually really needing these beautiful green vegetables. So you don't just have to have them at tea time. You can squeeze them in having them in smoothies and things like that as well, and wraps and salads as well. So that's an, that's a simple way of adding them into your diet. And I will pop a link below to, um, one of my blogs where I teach you how to make an epic green smoothie, because if you've tried in the past and you failed, there are some key ingredients that you have to have in your green smoothie to make it taste good. And not like you've blended up your salad and you just go laying down on your salad. So we'll, um, yeah, I'll put the link below in the comments. So have a, have a check out of that and, and read up on how to make an epic green smoothie. All right. So back to the benefits. So, um, the, the green vegetables are actually packed with vitamins. So when we think of getting the nutrition into our diet, green veggies have actually got a heap of different, um, vitamins. So you can find vitamin a vitamin C vitamin K for weight, and also sulfur potassium, calcium and iron, which is just incredible to think that something that grows in the earth, we can get so many amazing vitamins from there, from those veggies. So if, if you're like me where, you know, you need to cut out coffee and I've actually done this recently, you can start your day with a green smoothie and you'll feel so much more energetic that you probably won't even feel like you need to reach for that caffeine heat. So give that a go because it really can help improve the amount of, um, energy that it gives to you. So definitely worth giving that a go. Now, another benefit of green veggies is they can actually, um, how do I explain these? So they basically increase the amount of red blood cells that your body produces, which is just incredible. So the more, the more that you have, the better it is overall for your overall health and not only does it improve your red blood cell production, it also helps to nourish and cleanse the blood. So if you've had anything within your system that, you know, made a little bit of a detox as such having green leafy vegetables is huge for helping to, to, to, to do that and to cleanse the blog. So definitely worth giving it a go. Now, another amazing benefit of eating green leafy vegetables is it can actually improve your mood, believe it or not. And it can also help lower depression, which is brilliant. And you probably heard my story with depression and looking back, I know I wasn't eating very well during that period of time when I did get depression. And it was hard to pull myself out of that. And I know that eating well is a huge, huge factor in helping that area of your life. So if that's something you struggle with, definitely focus on your green leafy vegetables now, thanks to green veggies, having the vitamin B nine in them, it actually helps to improve concentration and your memory. So if that's something that you struggle in, then, you know, having your green smoothie in the morning or having a beautiful salad at lunchtime, or, you know, even something like I had today, the wrap with the green leafy vegetables inside that can help, that can help push you through to the afternoon. If you're at work, you know, you're not going to have that afternoon slump as much. So definitely, definitely worth looking into guys and adding more green leafy vegetables into your life. Now, when we're talking about different, um, green vegetables, there's a whole host of different vegetables that you can focus on. So I mentioned kale that I had in my green smoothie. You can have broccoli, there's artichokes, green beans, asparagus, um, avocados, cucumbers, celery, brussel sprouts. There's, there's a whole, whole list of different vegetables that you can add in. So you might not like one thing that I've mentioned, but you might like another. And so it's about working out what works for you and what works for your lifestyle. Now, here in Australia, we're heading into our warmer months. So I'm much more focused on having those calling foods. So when your going into warmer weather, your body naturally craves calling foods. So things like the green smoothies and the salads, whereas if you're going into the cooler weather, your body naturally craves warming foods. So you might prefer having some sauteed vegetables. So you might want to have a whole heap of different things like bok choy and, um, broccoli and green beans and things like that. And saute them up in just some olive oil or some coconut oil and have them as a side with your dinner. And that's a great way of getting those vegetables into your diet, even though it's, you know, the weather's cooler and you're not feeling like the fresh, you know, the fresh salad type of green veggies. So it's about working with the seasons and working with what works for your lifestyle. And this is what I teach with my clients about focusing on what works for you as an individual and your lifestyle and where you're at, as far as the weather goes, because it does play a very, very important role in how we eat and how we feel after we've eaten as well. So I hope that that got, that helps you guys see some of the benefits of green leafy vegetables, and I encourage you to start small if this is scary for you, perhaps just adding one thing tomorrow, what is one thing that you could add in? Is it something that's really simple, like cut up some cucumber and have it with some hummus, something really, really simple, or is it you're going to have some steam vegetables tomorrow night on the side with your meal, and you're going to make sure you have more greens than you normally would. And the thing with this is as well, the more that your children see you doing this and eating this way, the more likely that they grow up understanding that that is normal. And that is the way that we should be eating rather than just having, you know, potato chips and things that aren't as healthy for us. So for example, my daughter, my oldest daughter, she's 14, and she's always seen as ate really well growing up. And there's been things that she hasn't liked. And over the years, she has progressively got better and better and better with certain foods. And now, for example, broccoli, she absolutely, you know, used to kick up a fuss about having broccoli on our plate. Whereas now she actually asked for more in one of our meals that we make, we make it beautiful chicken, broccoli, pasta, and she always asks for extra broccoli because the way that I cook it in that it's just, um,
Speaker 2:Sauteed in a pan and it goes quite crunchy and char-grilled, and it's delicious. And it's so different to when you have it steamed. So it's about working with, you know, what tastes good for you and what you like, and, and, and going down that route as well. So please try something new, please, please focus on adding in more. And if this is something that scares the living daylights out of you, you probably need to do it more than anybody else. So give it a go, add something in, add as much in as you can handle. You will notice the difference if you stick to it, okay, stick it out, see if you can keep doing it, see how much it makes you feel better and make it part of your lifestyle. And if this is something that your committing to please send me a dam, I would absolutely love you to message me over on my Instagram page. And just, just let me know what you're focusing on. I'd love to hold you accountable. Just pretend that I'm your health coach and I'm going to keep you accountable to that. So that would be amazing if you could do that. So my Instagram handle is Belinda underscore Whelan, underscore G F underscore coach. So yeah, show me through DM. Let me know what you're gonna do. And I will talk with you guys soon. So thanks so much for tuning in, and I will talk with you next week. Take care.