Have you touched someones life today?…Priceless.

Food, when you really break it down, it just fuel. Yet, somehow, something that has such a simple purpose in our lives, seems to often turn into a cause of real frustration for us, for many different reasons.Obviously, of late, my frustration has been due to intolerance. I got to a point where food was scary. It made me anxious and due to being so frustrated and anxious, food lost all enjoyment. I was so focused on what I could eat that wouldn’t make me sick that flavour and creativity went out the window.

Sure, I have to eat in a different way now but that doesnt mean that I have to eat a lump of protein and some suitable veg every…single…night…..!! I knew that something had to change…. enter The Travelling Dietitian!Last year sometime, I got a Facebook request from a spunky little blonde who called herself Travelling Dietitian.

I am always interested in health professionals views on food etc so I gladly accepted and watched with interest as she travelled the world eating amazing food and sharing her love and passion for all things culinary with us. Over time we started to communicate more and more and in December last year we decided to catch up for a coffee and got along like a house on fire. I knew that this was someone that I was meant to have in my life.

Kara is so passionate about good food, nutrition and most importantly, balance and her passion is contagious. So when I was in my ‘food is evil’ funk last week, I knew it was time to take my relationship with her from friend to patient. When I messaged asking for her help, we made an appointment and I knew I had done the right thing when she said “let’s work on getting you inspired again”.

The consultation was amazing. She pointed out where my diet is lacking, what changes I could make and made multiple suggestions in regards to ways that I would boost my protein and fibre intake and keep myself full and comfortable at all times and give my body the best chance to work efficiently and I walked out of there feeling so positive and of course, inspired.On the menu that night was lamb leg steaks and veggies. I would’ve cooked exactly that, eaten it, not enjoyed a single mouthful and then looked for something else to eat later purely out of boredom. Instead, i grilled the lamb then sliced it up and put it in a BarleyMax wrap with spinach, cheese, tomato and a home made dressing madeof yogurt, dill, cucumber and lemon juice.It was DELICIOUS!! Nothing huge or exciting but it made for a very content tummy and a more relaxed mind. Sunday night I made my own taco seasoning and had a yummy taco wrap for dinner then used left overs last night to make healthy nachos for me and Shepherd’s Pie for hubby. You see, it wasn’t just me eating the boring and uninspiring food – he was too. So now, we both have happy tummys.

I also took some time over the weekend to reacquaint myself with Kara’s book that came out this year (yes not only is she an amazing dietitian but she is also a published author! I am in good hands!). It’s called The Clean Separation and is all about using food and it’s powerful nutrients to help boost your feel good hormones in times of stress or sadness, eating for energy and helping you feel in control so you can move on confidently.

But aside from all the amazing information it is also filled with gorgeous Low GI, healthy and most importantly, tasty, recipes – just looking at the pictures is enough to make you want to start cooking up a storm. But this isn’t just written from the perspective of a dietitian, it’s written by a woman who experiened heartbreak, turned to comfort food and then used her knowledge to get her life back on track. So she gets it.

And on the back of the book is one simple line that proves to me that she is the right dietitian for me. She says “With the right perspective, frame of mind and positive attitude, you can achieve whatever you set your mind to; trust me, I have done it, it’s true”. Can’t argue with that!

Much love,
Paula xox

(Kara’s back now)- If you ever hit the point of not enjoying food whilst trying to live a healthy life (which hopefully wont happen by regularly visiting this blog or my facebook page which is a sea of healthy food photos!); Please remember, just ask for help (either directly to me, or to your local dietitian) and you could almost immediately gain back one of life’s simple pleasures, the enjoyment of food! (whilst still effortlessly attaining your health or weight goals).

Also, I’d like to suggest that you go away now and think about how you could touch someones life for the better today; be it a friend, loved one, colleague, class mate, child, or even a stranger, something as small as a smile would cost you nothing (except maybe a couple smile lines as you age!) and could actually make all the difference to someone elses life..

Wouldn’t that be nice to think back on when laying your head to rest at the end of the long working week..

Thanks for checking in today,

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

For now,

The Travelling Dietitian x