It's almost Valentine's Day and there was no way I was letting this opportunity pass with out writing you all a love letter.
I experienced an A-ha moment this time 4 years ago and I wanted to share it with you. After more than 20 years, I found myself single in the run up to valentine's day and I could feel an immense dread coming over me. I had two beautiful young girls and suddenly I felt like we didn’t feature in this Hallmark holiday.
Do I pretend it's not happening and hope the girls don’t realise either? And maybe if it was just me, that’s how things would have prevailed. But it wasn’t just me, and I had a responsibility to teach my two daughters what it was to love. It was then I realised that the romantic loves I had experienced in my life took up a small slice of life’s love pie.
I was blessed to have experienced many different types of love, My small but very intimate circle of friends. The girls who can tell me something wrong by my font in a text message. My 3 sisters and one brother whom I love beyond measure, my parents, my children, my work, my life and most of all the person looking back at me every morning in the mirror. The greatest love of all.
It takes a lot of courage to become someone you can count on, but when you do your entire world will shift, Suddenly, many things become possible because you truly believe in your own strength. And you become fearless, because you have your own back. Because owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing you will ever do. And remember, self love is the greatest middle finger of all time!
Prebiotics
Prebiotics are types of dietary fiber that feed the friendly bacteria in your gut, food ingredients that fuel and feed your gut microbes. Imagine your microbes are little pac-men zooming around in your colon, and those little dots they are chomping on are prebiotics.
Prebiotics cannot be digested so they make their way through your digestive tract undigested and land up in your colon where they provide a feast for your gut microbes!
Prebiotics are found in plant fibre PRObiotics are live, beneficial microbes typically bacteria and yeast that hang out mostly in your large intestine. Basically, these are the pac-men that feast on prebiotics. Here are some awesome prebiotic recipes and foods.
Reese Witherspoon has shared this smoothie recipe recently, claiming to drink it every morning and experiencing exceptional skin benefits as a result.
2 heads of romaine lettuce
1/2 cup spinach
1/2 cup coconut water
1 whole banana
1 while apple
1 pear
1 whole lemon
3-4 celery sticks
Almond butter (optional)
Grace and I love this prebiotic overnight oats recipe
(From @naturalbebefit on tiktoc)
Oats
Cocoa
Chia seeds
Plant based milk
Top it in the morning with banana slices and almonds.
I also want to share 2 local business that I have reached out to in my pursuit for better gut ecology and love their products.
Hi from Fairmental
Fairmental is the baby of experienced chef Valentin Ivancenco and his wife Mihaela.
We make all things fermented; pickles, kraut, chilli sauces to name a few. Our mission is to be as fair as possible to the planet, our community and customers while making the best healthy and delicious ferments.
What makes us different? Our focus on using the best of what Ireland has to offer! We proudly use the best local, Irish, organic ingredients we can find and are very transparent about how we make everything. We are passionate about making the best and most delicious ferments and we would like to highlight the health benefits and the connection between eating fermented foods, gut health and mental health.Depending on the season and availability of our suppliers, we make pickles, kraut, kimchi and different hot sauces.
Eat pickles and be happy! Val & Mihaela x
Ko Kombucha
Ko Kombucha is an Irish craft kombucha made in the midlnads. Packed full of beneficial bacterias, yeasts, acids and enzymes. A living drink which can aid digestion, boost immunity and improve gut health.
One of the few traditionally brewed kombucha available, KO has three flavours (Original, Blueberry, Strawberry).
All our kombucha comes in cases of 12x330ml bottles for €35
Enjoy FREE delivery & 10% discount exclusively as Monica Tolan Subscriber
To order: www.kokombucha.com/shop
& enter KO2021 at checkout
Best Wishes
