Emma Cardiff: Anti-Inflammatory Living

Sometimes, I really miss eggs.

(recipe on the blog or keep scrolling)

I miss the convenience and the protein.
Cue being thrilled when I learned that I could sub a chickpea batter in place of scrambled eggs to make these delicious Eggless Egg Cups. They’re savory, they have bacon, and you can make a week’s worth of breakfasts in under 30 minutes.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups chickpea flour
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin *can be reduced to 1/2 tsp, if you prefer a less intense cumin flavor
6 strips bacon, cut in half width-wise (omit if vegan)
300 g frozen spinach, thawed and drained (about 10oz)
1/2 cup onion, diced or one small onion

INSTRUCTIONS:

•Preheat your oven to 350°F

•Place the slices of bacon in the muffin tin, wrapping in a circle

•In a bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour and water. Take extra care to eliminate all lumps.

•Stir in the turmeric, cumin, and salt. Once combined, add in spinach and onion.

• Scoop the chickpea batter into the prepared muffin tins, you’ll have enough for just over 1/4 cup of batter for each cup.

• Bake for 25-35 minutes or until the tops look slightly dry and the bacon begins to look crispy.

• Once cool, remove from the muffin tin and store in an airtight container in the fridge. They’ll last a week or so.

Is it my fault that I ended up with an autoimmune disease? Absolutely not.

It is my problem.

Our genes decide a lot for us, our hair colour, eye colour, and height to name a few.

They also determine what kind of diseases we will get.
BUT HERE’S THE COOL PART
Our life style choices (food, stress level, trauma, sleep patterns) determine which of these genes will get turned on. Those life style changes also have the power to turn them off. I

Once you understand that you hold the key to YOUR health in that beautiful mind of YOURS, then eating well, moving your body, and resting ALL become self-care practices. You aren’t depriving yourself by avoiding the foods and lifestyle practices that make you feel like 💩, you’re taking care of yourself by focusing on the foods and lifestyle that make you feel like the sparkly sunbeam that you are! ✨

What’s your favourite way to show your body you care?

I’ll go first: I do my best to go outside every day, I drink water as often as I remember, and I feed myself foods that are anti-inflammatory to me ~90% of the time ♥️

Digging dirt and finding bugs 🐞🪱🪲🐝

Stay tuned to find out if anything grows!

What are you planting this year?

Exercise is SO important and positively impacts every system in our body.
♥️💪🏼🧠
While all forms of exercise are not entirely equal, the most important factor is that we actually do it.

My exercise of choice is typically a mixture of yoga, resistance training, and walking or hiking.

If you’re newer to developing a movement practice or you are reestablishing one, it can be very overwhelming. It’s easy to be bombarded you with the best kind of exercise for weight loss, for toned abs, etc…. It’s even more frustrating when weight loss and/or toned muscles aren’t the goal (and perhaps triggering).

My goal for my own exercise is to feel better in my body.

I teach 25 minute yoga classes online every Tuesday and Thursday with low and no-cost options available.
Send me a message to join 🤍

What is your favourite form of exercise?

Iron: to supplement or not to supplement?

If you are anemic, have lupus or IBS, or you are pregnant then supplementation might be beneficial for you.

Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to ensure you’re getting adequate amounts of iron in your diet. Especially if you have any of the deficiency symptoms (next slide). If you’re unsure, ask your healthcare provider to run some blood work

🥩 Red meat is an excellent source of iron

🍳 Cooking foods in a cast iron pan will add more iron to your food. Acidic foods like 🍅 will increase the iron content

🥬 leafy greens like spinach have iron too. Be sure to consume these along with a source of vitamin C, such as lemon 🍋, to help your body absorb the iron

🍛 beans and lentils are a good source of iron too

What’s your favourite way to get your iron in?

Let me know below 😁

RISOTTO!
No dairy? No problem!

I bet you thought risotto needed cheese and butter to achieve a creamy consistency 🍚 nope! Not the case!

The addition of nutritional yeast adds some cheesy flavor along with a lot of B vitamins (hello vegans and pregnant mamas!). The optional additions of tomatoes, leafy greens, and roasted chicken transform this into a one bowl meal.
Rice contains resistant starch which feeds the bugs that line our gut which results in a thicker mucosal lining (hungry yet? 🤪) which promotes optimal gut permeability. When we allow rice to cool after being cooked, we get MORE resistant starch.

ingredients:
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup white wine (Pinot grigio is best. You can also sub more broth)
1/4 cup olive oil
1-2 cups chopped onion (about 1 medium 🧅)
2-4 cloves of garlic - minced 🧄 depending how garlicky you like your risotto
1T fennel seeds
1T dried basil
2 cups Arborio rice
14oz can of tomatoes - drained (optional)
2 cups fresh or frozen leafy greens - I used frozen kale here (optional)
1-2 cups roasted chicken - shredded or chopped (optional) - check my chicken highlight bubble for instructions
1/2 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring broth and wine to a simmer in a small stock pot
2. Over medium heat, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until the onions are translucent
3. Add in the fennel seeds, basil, rice, and tomatoes and cook for a minute or two until the rice is warm
4. Add the broth/wine mixture one cup at a time. Stir the rice mixture after adding liquid and only add more broth once all the liquid has been absorbed
5. Continue until all of the stock has been used and the rice is tender (this will take about 20ish minutes)
6. Stir in the greens and chicken and keep the risotto at a simmer until the additions are warmed.
7. Remove from heat and stir in nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper.

Serve in a large bowl and garnish with more basil, if desired.

ENJOY!!!

LEAKY GUT aka Increased Intestinal Permeability

Our gut is supposed to have a bit of permeability which allows nutrients to pass through the intestinal wall and to be absorbed into the bloodstream. The bloodstream then carries these nutrients throughout the body.

This is a great system unless the gut becomes TOO permeable and suddenly undigested food particles, pathogens, and other substances (which many refer to as “toxins”) that should otherwise be eliminated 💩 end up in our bloodstream.

Leaky Gut can lead to:
digestive issues
hormone imbalances
autoimmune conditions
food sensitivities
difficulty concentrating
depression
bloating
brain fog
fatigue
skin problems
joint pain
headaches
anxiety

The good news is, our bodies are resilient and can be healed 🤍

Share this post with someone who this could help 🥰

My go to meal? BOWLS 🥗

They’re:
Easy to make
Nutritious
Can adapt to fit any dietary needs
Filling
Provide endless possibilities

I use this basic formula to make most of my meals. The amounts of each will vary person to person based on your own metabolic goals and needs. I usually go heavy on the veggies, protein, and sauce.

🍚 BASE: This is your main source of carbohydrates for your meal. Rice, quinoa, noodles, spaghetti squash, any squash, sweet potato, lentils, and riced veggies are all great options.

🍗 PROTEIN: my body prefers animal protein so salmon, fish, and steak are my go to. Other options could include turkey, ground beef, pork, sausage, chick peas, black beans, etc

🌱 GREEN VEGGIE: Romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, arugula, or mixed spring greens. Raw is good but cooked is ideal if you’re healing leaky gut

🥕 ANOTHER VEGGIE: whatever you have in the fridge. If you don’t have another one, just throw in more green veggies.

🥄SAUCE: the sauce makes the bowl. You might be able to find a really great salad dressing you love but I prefer to make my own. Check my Bowl Highlights for sauce ideas or make the one listed below.

🌶TOPPING: To make it look pretty! Broccoli sprouts, fresh herbs, chopped nuts, a sprinkle of seeds, or even a drizzle of hot sauce.

THIS BOWL
BASE: Rice
PROTEIN: Roast Chicken
GREEN VEGGIE: Romaine
ANOTHER VEGGIE: Chopped carrots and cukes
SAUCE: Glory Sauce
Topping: Broccoli Sprouts. Check Sprout Highlight bubble to learn how to grow your own

Glory Sauce:
In a blender, mix together: 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup tamari, 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup nutritional yeast, 2 cloves of garlic, 2TBSP tahini, and 1 1/2 cups olive oil.
Store in a jar in the fridge for a week.

Are you a bowl fan? Share your favourite bowl ingredient in the comments! 🥗

Time to make breakfast! 🥣

As someone who is fairly reluctant to eat breakfast shortly after waking, meal prepping my breakfasts has been a game changer.

I’m a breastfeeding mom which means I get HUNGRY and it’s important for me to keep my calorie intake up in order to keep producing enough milk for my growing girl. Breakfast is also super important for stabilizing blood sugar which in turn helps to regulate hormones. My go to for understanding the connection between hormones and blood sugar is

These baked oats can be prepped at any point in your week. Then, divide into portions and grab one when you need breakfast or a snack. Eat cold or hot.
I choose cold. It goes well with my room temp coffee ☕️

Thanks to all the seeds and berries, these oats are packed with fibre. The seeds also add some protein and fat. Flax and Oats are known for helping with milk production so this is a great dish to bring to anyone breastfeeding.

This recipe is based on a similar one by my friend

Baked Berry Oats:

1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 very ripe bananas
1 cup water
1/4 cup chia seeds
3/4 cup flax meal
1/4 cup coconut sugar or maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup h**p hearts
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/8 tsp teaspoon salt
zest of one lemon or orange (optional)

3 cups cranberries or frozen berries (one bag of cranberries)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

* Preheat oven to 350°F
* Grease a 7 x 12“ baking dish with coconut oil
* Mash 2 bananas then stir in the water, chia seeds, flaxseeds, sugar, vanilla extract. Let sit for a bit (it will gel up. That’s a good thing!)
* In a separate bowl mix together the oats, h**p hearts, cinnamon, sea salt, and citrus zest (optional)
* Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to incorporate
* Stir in the cranberries and chocolate chips, if using.
* Transfer to a baking dish an bake for 35-40 mins or until the edges look toasty

These oats will keep in the fridge for about a week.

What’s your favourite make ahead breakfast?
Tell me in the comments
Or even better leave the recipe for all of us try ♥️

🍓Eating healthy is so expensive!!
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This CAN be the case but it doesn’t HAVE to be
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Here we have two containers of conventionally grown berries. For the most part, their nutritional value is going to be fairly equal.
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The FRESH berries are more expensive because it’s Winter in Canada so these babies had a long trip to my grocery store. In the summer months when berries are in season you’ll see the price decrease.
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The FROZEN berries were picked when berries were in season then frozen that very same day. They have a much longer shelf life and are easier to transport which drastically reduces the cost.
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When to eat fresh:
• when you’re looking for that fresh berry texture
• when they’re in season
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When to eat frozen:
•in the winter months, when berries are out of season
•when the texture of the berry doesn’t matter (smoothies, chia pudding, overnight oats, and baked goods).
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🍎🍐🍊🍋🫐🍓🍇🍉🍌🍈🍒🍑🥭🍍🥝🥥🥑
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What’s your favourite way to use frozen fruit?
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Find someone who looks at you the way I look at reishi 💛

For those of us with autoimmune diseases, we don’t need immune boosters - our immune systems are already running on supercharge and any “immune boosters” typically aggravate our symptoms. So what’s a girl with lupus supposed to do during a pandemic?

I take Reishi 🍄
Reishi is an adaptogen mushroom that appears to lower inflammation and may regulate the immune system. It has been used for centuries to fight of viruses while also decreasing inflammatory. In fact, a 2016 study at The Chinese University of Hong Kong found that treating SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus) mice with Reishi “revealed significant decreases in the concentrations of several inflammatory cytokines.”

Reishi is often available in the bulk bins of health food stores, in adaptogen hot chocolate mixes, or in capsule form. I take Reishi capsules from one of my favourite brands,

As always, please talk to your healthcare provider before taking Reishi or any other adaptogens or herbs as they can interact with other medications.

On the blog! We’re talking about nightshade plants and why they might not be the best for those of us with inflammatory diseases such as lupus. What are your favourite nightshade-free recipes?

https://emmacardiff.com/nightshade-vegetables/

Anyone who has been diagnosed with an auto-immune disease has probably heard that they might do better without nightshades.
If you’re like 99% of the population you’ve probably never heard the term Nightshade Plants and you probably assumed they were mushrooms 🍄 (spoiler alert: they’re not).

I discuss what nightshades are, why we might want to avoid them, and easy swaps for limiting how many nightshades we eat.

Link in bio 💛