For the Love of Fibre!

Chances are that someone has told you at one point in your life that you need to eat more fibre.

Maybe you tried to do so and you got constipated or you ended up farting a lot! Or maybe you tried decided to give up because it was too hard.

Well whatever the reason, here are a few fibre tips that can help make increasing fibre a little easier on the digestive system!

#1 - Soak your beans!

• Beans aren’t called the magical fruit for nothing! Beans, which can be a great source of fibre, contain a carb called raffinose. Raffinose can be a bit harder to break down in our digestive systems, which means that our gut bacteria get a lovely meal! When our gut bacteria snack on things they produce gas! Now we do need to show them love, but it can be uncomfortable when you get a bout of wind at Sunday dinner over baked beans!

• In order to help reduce the raffinose load a dose of baked beans or bean salad provides us, we need to soak the beans first! They can be soaked for a few hours or overnight. This will help hydrate them and reduce the gas producing raffinose snack without impacting the overall nutrition of the beans!

#2 - Fruits contain fibre too!

• Whole fruits can have more sugar in them than their vegetable counterparts, but wapping in some fruit for dessert or part of snack time can add in some more fibre to your day!

• Notably high fibre fruits include: pears, citrus (eating the whole inside not just the juice), berries, apples, avocado, kiwis, bananas

#3 - Baked goods and ground meat!

• Shredded vegetables like zucchini, mushrooms and carrot can be added to baked goods and ground meat dishes without altering the flavour too much!

• So making meatballs or cooking ground meat for tacos? try shredding in some zucchini or dicing mushrooms to add some extra fibre in!

• Making muffins? try added zucchini or carrot to give not only extra flavour but also extra moisture!

There are tons of ways to make fibre fun! What do you like to do to add more fibre? I would love to know!

Dr Paige

Welcome Dr. Paige!

If you have come to the clinic in the past year or so, you may have seen or heard of my lovely associate Dr. Paige Weatherbee-Sakr! She started during my second maternity leave and has continued seeing patients on Wednesdays since. She will be at Symmetry for the foreseeable future, so it is probably time to introduce her properly! She is a great asset to the team. I want to highlight that she is completing a Mental Health Fellowship this year as this is an area of interest to her in practice as of late. I’ll pass it over to Dr. Paige to tell you more about herself.

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Hi my name is Paige and I am a Naturopathic Doctor working at Symmetry Wellness Centre with Dr. Karen! Some of you may have met me while I was covering for Dr. Karen’s second maternity leave. For those of you who did not, I figured I would share a little about myself, so you know who I am if I pop up in the blog or in her office!

I started covering for Karen in May of 2023 and have found myself continuing to work in her office on Wednesdays at Symmetry Wellness Centre in Burnside. I am also certified in IV therapy like Karen and so I provide 1:1 visits as well as IV care in the office.

When I am working, I like to work from a place of addition – whether that be food, sleep, habits or water - my goal is to make sure you are getting enough! I do this through a lot of listening, a lot of helping people with introspection and leaning on the tools at our disposal – IVs, Botanicals, Nutrition, Nutraceuticals, Exercise, Counselling and Diagnostics.

I am also interested in research and how we blend that with clinical experience, specifically in the world of mental health and the digestive system. With this interest, I am also currently pursuing a year long program to improve my grasp on the research around mental health support and Naturopathic medicine. I hope to be able to share the fruits of this program in 2025!

When I am not in the office, I can be found in the kitchen (since I love food), in the woods (since I love to geocache and hear the birds), Watching shows or in a book (since I love science fiction and fantasy), or just spending time with loved ones (since I am a wife/sister/daughter/aunt/dog + cat mom).

I hope you find as much joy as I do both professionally and personally! Hope to see you in Dr. Karen’s Office soon!

Food Friday: Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers

Most of the time I do a lot of batch cooking on the weekends, as I am at work late or have activities to get to, leaving me little time to cook a nice dinner during the week. However, having quick easy meals for weeknight dinners that taste delicious and are healthy, really come in handy! Lucky for me (and you!) I came across this wonderful family friendly meal from my favourite nutritionist from Nourishing Meals.  The ingredients may seem a little unusual if you aren't used to gluten free cooking, but they are easy to find and come in handy for future baking. You can find arrowroot powder and coconut flour in the health food section at grocery stores or Bulk Barn. I had everything on hand and the whole meal only took me 15 minutes to prepare (and about 5 minutes to devour!). This dish obviously has a coconut flavour to it, which adds a little sweetness to the dish. I served mine with homemade honey dijon mustard, some sweet potato, and cabbage and brussels sprouts salad with a lemon-tahini dressing. Yum! I would advise eating these all at once, as the crispness is no longer there with leftovers, unless you sautéed again. Alternately you can bake these, creating a little less mess. They won’t be quite a browned but they are better for leftovers.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound organic chicken breast, pounded

• coconut oil, for cooking

Bowl #1:

• 1/4 cup arrowroot powder

• 2 tbsp coconut flour

• 1/2 tsp Herbamare, or sea salt

• 1/2 tsp dried thyme

• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram (or extra thyme or other spice of choice)

• 1/2 cup water

Bowl #2:

• 1/2-3/4 cup finely shredded coconut

• herbamare (or sea salt) and finely ground pepper)

Directions:

Pound the chicken breasts with the smooth end of a meat pounder to tenderize them. Then slice into strips. Whisk together everything for bowl #1 in a shallow, wide bowl. Place the shredding coconut into another bowl with a pinch of sea salt and pepper, and stir. 

Place half of the chicken strips into bowl #1 and coat well. Then toss each into the shredding coconut. Place onto a plate then repeat with remaining chicken strips. 

Heat a cast iron skillet for approximately 5 minutes on medium heat (wonderful tool to have in your kitchen - I ordered mine off Amazon but you can even find them at yard sales.). Add a couple tbsp of coconut oil to the skillet. Place some of the chicken strips into the skillet and cook for a few minutes on each side. Be sure not to overcrowd the chicken to ensure they cook properly and crisp up. Place cooled chicken strips onto a paper towel lined plate. Repeat with remaining uncooked chicken, adding more coconut oil in between batches. Serve immediately with a dip of your choice and enjoy! 

*Alternatively, preheat oven to 400F. Lay chicken strips once coated on a parchment lined baking pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, flipping 1/2 way through, until cooked through and slightly browned.

Let me know what you think. 

In health & happiness, 

Dr. Karen

Practicing The Loving "No" - Taking care of yourself before you give to others

The Loving “No," has been a theme lately with both my patients and myself, so I wanted to bring attention to it in the online world. This is such an important topic as it brings in aspects of both mindfulness and creating a good community around us. 

As a society we tend to take on too many responsibilities and activities. What do you have going on this coming weekend? How many tasks do you have on your to do list at work? We then can not think of the last time we did something for ourselves. 

““You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day — unless you’re too busy. Then you should sit for an hour.” 

It can depend on the place in your life you are at. If you are in the beginning stages of a new business, a new family, or taking on a bigger position at work, everything you are learning is big and takes time. Once you’ve settled into your routine, those things seem smaller and less overwhelming. However, whatever stage you are at, taking time for yourself is just as important. This is where practicing the loving “no” comes in.

We are wired to give. We are wired to be of service. We have been taught to put others first, to be the “yes man.” I know with myself, I think to have a great community around me, I need to spend time often with those I love. To give and connect, sometimes even bake, for those I love! You may be capable in theory of giving to others, but saying yes to too much, even if those demands are coming from within, we end up so depleted. We no longer have the ability to fill up our own bucket. 

In order to give, our own bucket needs to be full first. 

Practicing the loving “no” is challenging for a lot of us. If you are a compassionate person, you feel their overwhelm, their sadness, their confusion, and you immediately want to help. You may be a mother, a teacher, a leader in your business…but to give fully to others, we need to take care of ourselves first. 

It is not about what you are saying yes to, but what you are comfortable saying no to. 

It is uncomfortable to say no, especially at the beginning. Creating any type of boundary is challenging. However, if you don’t know how to say no to the things that matter less, than you don’t have time to give to those things that really matter the most. So practice saying no in a kind way. Customize it for each person and situation. Be respectful and firm. The answer is no…and here is why.  

You may even be caught by surprised with the responses you get. Setting an example of creating boundaries, carving out time for yourself, may be what was needed to inspire those around you to do the same. It only takes one person to create a ripple effect. They may mimic your behaviour and support you. So honour projects and commitments you hold dear, but start creating time for yourself to fill your bucket. Whether it be a simple meditation practice in the mornings, a cup of tea, a bath or yoga class after work, or time with your family if that fills you up. Practice the loving “no,” so you are capable of giving fully.

How do you fill your bucket? Let me know below! As always, I am here to help. If you need support because you already feel depleted, don't hesitate to reach out. 

In health & happiness,

Dr. Karen