Beans and lentils are a midlife gal's best friend, and not just because they're a source of phytoestrogens! They're versatile, tasty, and a great source of fiber and protein. But if adding them into your regular diet has been a challenge, Fiona will inspire you to give them a try! We had a great conversation about why Fiona's personal experience of going into medical menopause prompted her to cook with beans and lentils more often, how phytoestrogens may help some women manage the symptoms of menopause, why soy doesn't have to be feared and she shares her best tips for easy and delicious ways to enjoy them regularly.
Fiona Staunton is a culinary tutor at Fiona's food for life, She is a trained chef with a degree in education and inspires people to cook from scratch and nourish themselves and those around them. Her six-week virtual cooking course aims to alleviate symptoms of menopause and perimenopause in women to improve their day-to-day lives through educated meal plans and nutritional recipes that the whole family will love. She herself is in medically-induced menopause since 45 due to breast cancer, so HRT is not an option. She makes cooking good food uncomplicated. Learn more about her cooking course here: https://www.fionasfoodforlife.ie/
Want to learn more about menopause nutrition and how to make peace with food in midlife without feeling like you've given up on yourself? Learn about how to work and learn with me here: https://linktr.ee/Jshuber!
Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links
Beans and lentils are a midlife gal's best friend, and not just because they're a source of phytoestrogens! They're versatile, tasty, and a great source of fiber and protein. But if adding them into your regular diet has been a challenge, Fiona will inspire you to give them a try! We had a great conversation about why Fiona's personal experience of going into medical menopause prompted her to cook with beans and lentils more often, how phytoestrogens may help some women manage the symptoms of menopause, why soy doesn't have to be feared and she shares her best tips for easy and delicious ways to enjoy them regularly.
Fiona Staunton is a culinary tutor at Fiona's food for life, She is a trained chef with a degree in education and inspires people to cook from scratch and nourish themselves and those around them. Her six-week virtual cooking course aims to alleviate symptoms of menopause and perimenopause in women to improve their day-to-day lives through educated meal plans and nutritional recipes that the whole family will love. She herself is in medically-induced menopause since 45 due to breast cancer, so HRT is not an option. She makes cooking good food uncomplicated. Learn more about her cooking course here: https://www.fionasfoodforlife.ie/
Want to learn more about menopause nutrition and how to make peace with food in midlife without feeling like you've given up on yourself? Learn about how to work and learn with me here: https://linktr.ee/Jshuber!
Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links
Jenn Huber 0:00
Hey there quick question for you. Are you making a New Year's resolution? I want you to stop right there. instead. Why don't you join me for an entire month of free non diet resolution support in January. I'm giving you the chance to take my midlife and menopause on dieters guide to Intuitive Eating course, for free along with lots of support to keep you out of the diet cycle this January. You can grab the link sign up in my show notes. Hope to see you.
Jenn Huber 0:31
Hi, and welcome to the midlife feast the podcast for women who are hungry for more in this season of life. I'm your host, Dr. Jenn Selena Huber. Come to my table. Listen and learn from me. Trusted guests, experts in women's health and interviews with women just like you. Each episode brings to the table juicy conversations designed to help you feast on midlife.
Jenn Huber 0:53
Hi there and welcome to this week's episode of the midlife feast. I'm really excited to bring you this week's episode, which is a conversation with Fiona Staunton, who's from Ireland, and she's actually a trained chef with a degree in education and she's made it her mission to inspire people to help them cook from scratch and to nourish themselves with food and in every possible way. We wanted to talk specifically about phyto estrogens and food because as a breast cancer survivor, Fiona is navigating menopause without the use of hormone replacement therapy, which was really her motivation for wanting to learn to cook with foods like beans and lentils and soy a bit more often. And so now she's teaching others how to incorporate these foods in really tasty ways. So in addition to talking about her experience, we dive into some of the most common questions that I get about cooking with beans and lentils, how to cook them, how often what kinds, what do I do if I'm experiencing more gas, but most importantly, just how to make it easy and tasty, and I can guarantee that you're going to want to try some of the recipes that Fiona mentions. So tune in and be sure to check the show notes after for some links to Fiona's upcoming cooking with menopause quiz six week course. And some links to some of the recipes that she mentions. Fiona Welcome to the midlife feast.
Fiona Staunton 2:21
Thanks so much for having me, Jen.
Jenn Huber 2:24
So I feel like almost everyone that I have met and have as a guest on this podcast, I have met through Instagram, it feels like it's like where I meet all my new best friends. And you were one of those people that I connected with. At some point last year, I think it was or maybe earlier this year. And we realize it you know, we have a lot of common interest and one of them being cooking with foods that are high in phyto estrogens and as a way to support women as they navigate perimenopause and menopause. So tell us tell our listeners a little bit about your journey and how you got interested in this because you're technically a culinary teacher with your chef, you have an education degree and now you're teaching women to cook so tell us how you got from there to here.
Fiona Staunton 3:16
Okay, so I suppose I started working in a really well known place here called Bollinger Lou Cookery School in Ireland in Cork. And then I worked in the restaurant for a year and then set up my own catering business. So I did that for a while then headed off to Australia. But long story short, once I'd had my first child, we decided to move back to Ireland. So we move back and I was I love helping people particularly around food. So I decided to set up a business doing cook retirement so that I could teach people how to cook nice, tasty food. And as time went on that that progressed, and it was a lot more focused on the nutrients and wholesome foods was really about showing people how to make good food uncomplicated. And then I was locked down and I had to go virtual. So I suppose the opportunity there was to open up to a greater audience but unfortunately, I was diagnosed with breast cancer during our first lockdown in August 20. And after that I had a mastectomy and reconstruction and my cancer is an aggressive estrogen positive cancer so I can't have estrogen in my body. So obviously I did a lot of, you know, research around it to see what I could do and I know what foods I need to have. But it turns out a lot of the information isn't out there about menopause and also what foods people should have. So really from age 35 upwards, you need to be starting to look at it so I wanted to go and help people and educate them and how to cook really tasty, nutritious meals to prepare them for that midlife. So that's what I developed my six week menopause cookie program. It's an online program.
Jenn Huber 5:01
Yeah. And I'd say that your recipes look delicious, I'm totally gonna take it just because I love, I love all things related to food and cooking. But I actually didn't know that bit of your story. So that's, I'm glad to hear that you're, you're on the other side of that. Now I
Fiona Staunton 5:16
am, I'm almost back to myself now, which is, which is good. Yeah. And
Jenn Huber 5:20
so there are lots of women who I think will relate to your story of, you know, having a medical contraindication to hormone replacement therapy. My story, which I've shared at different bits in different podcasts is that I don't do well on the progesterone piece of hormone replacement therapy. And because I still have uterus, you can't have one without the other. And so the side effects of the progesterone for me don't make the estrogen worth it. And so that was, you know, kind of my journey into, okay, what, you know, what can I eat? Potentially? What Foods Can I include, that may help to manage some of the symptoms, especially the hot flashes and the night sweats, which for me, were the most bothersome, you know, when I was looking for treatment options. And so what were the symptoms that you were experiencing, that led you to start to look to food.
Fiona Staunton 6:16
And I suppose I always cared about what food I had, which shocked a lot of people when I was diagnosed, because they said, You are so healthy, how could you possibly have got cancer, but the main symptoms for me, where I found the fatigue and insomnia, vicious cycle, exhausting, I need my sleep. I'm one of these people who needs my sleep, and it was so exhausting, and was it was such a cycle. So basically, it's menopause off a cliff. So you get all the symptoms immediately. But they can then ease after a few months. So I lived in hope, and they did is after a few months, so that was really tough. And brain fog, I find I'm normally a very busy confident person. And when you just can't think of things, it is just so hard and the anxiety and affected my confidence as well. So they'd kind of be some of the main ones. But the other one that still troubles me at times is the joint pain. So when I get up from the couch, I feel like a 90 year old and I, I used to do where I think I don't do running anymore, but I'm very active in what I do. And it was hard to feel like I was at age so
Jenn Huber 7:29
much. Yeah, that definitely is one that I think takes us by surprise. And it's a really common one. And people are always surprised when I tell them that it actually is, you know, one of the known symptoms of menopause is you know, increased joint pain. And, you know, it really does make you feel like you're at sometimes as you're getting up off the couch. And once you get moving, I don't know about you, but once I get moving things are better, but it's still just, you know, it's a reminder that we're not 20 anymore. I know, unfortunately. So I want to backtrack a little bit and talk a little just to kind of give our listeners some context around the relationship between certain things like phyto estrogens, and how they can impact symptoms. So phyto estrogens are plant based compounds that essentially help the plant to reproduce. And they're actually more aptly named. Antioxidants, or flavonoids are these, you know, compounds that are found in all plants, but they're found in concentrated amounts in certain foods. And the foods that are you know, most well known for these phytoestrogens would be things like soy soy, including, you know, soy beans and things made from soy beans, tofu, soy milk, that kind of thing. Also flaxseed or linseed, depending on where you live. And flaxseed also contains a type of phyto. Estrogen. And most beans and lentils have some but in you know, not anywhere near the same amount. And the reason why these foods are often part of you know, certainly my food first approach, and I know some of the foods that you help women to include more often in terms of cooking them. These are foods that can help to manage symptoms, because they have the ability to weakly bind to one of the two estrogen receptors that we have. But unlike the you know, stronger estrogens, including our body's own estrogen doesn't have the ability to bind strongly enough to have the same side effects are the same risks. And because of that, it it also doesn't work for everyone. So I'm always really clear that this isn't a one to one replacement for hormone therapy. Is it a great option for many people? Absolutely. And are there benefits beyond symptom control for including these foods more often? Absolutely. So I like to encourage women to consider these foods for all the reasons not just for hot flashes. But if you are someone like myself, or like Fiona, who can't take these hormone replacement options, which can be absolutely life changing, this is definitely an option to explore, because many women have found quite a bit of relief from including these foods more often. So that's just kind of my little disclaimer on all things related to that. And as always, that you know, the information on this podcast, even though I am a dietitian, and naturopathic doctor, I'm not your dietician, or your naturopathic doctor. So this isn't advice for you. But I do hope that anyone listening who's interested can take this information to their healthcare team. So you decided that you were going to start to explore kind of a relationship with food or adding in more foods that could help you to feel better? And then you developed this cooking class? And so what do you find women are need the most help with when they're starting to include these foods. I have some thoughts, but I'd love to hear yours.
Fiona Staunton 11:01
I think they need tips on how to introduce it slowly into what they're already doing. So it's, I mean, it's, you're not going to set up for success if you totally change what you've currently been doing for the last 40 or 50 years. So I think it's tips of how to add little things at a time, and that type of thing. And also variety how to use those foods, and maybe they have never used that food before. So it's to show you different ways that can be, you know, tasty and easy to make that you can use with those. That's really what I think. And also, in small pieces. A lot of my cookery demos used to be like a three hour the live ones were all three hours. But I felt it was too much information and overwhelm. And that's not going to help anyone so drip feeding information. And just small little changes, I challenge people to make one change each of the six weeks so that they can build it up slowly.
Jenn Huber 11:58
So let's say somebody's listening, and they're really keen to include more beans, more lentils, whatever it is that we're talking about. But they have never cooked with these. Maybe they've had them they know that they like the taste of them and they're working on a gentle nutrition goal and they want to add these and what's the easiest thing that people can do to add these things in in a way that doesn't overwhelm them that doesn't completely disrupt their life? What would be an idea? Okay,
Fiona Staunton 12:27
so when I say a specific food, we'll call that a mommy beans. Okay, so a mommy beans are baby soybeans and a lot a lot of people actually realize that. We here tend to buy them in the freezer section of health food shops or in the supermarket in the freezer section. And what can you do with them, okay, so they're larger than a pea, they're bright green, and they're beautiful as a snack. Lots of Japanese restaurants will will serve them just as a snack either in their shell or on their own. That's really nice. And you can throw a handful into your smoothies. That's another way and it makes it smoothie lovely, thick and creamy. Or I have a fantastic at a mommy salad that I make. And honestly, Jen This is so handy if you don't have vegetables ready for tonight. If you have a mommy beans in your freezer, you have fresh frozen peas in your freezer. You take them out, I will steam them, they take different lengths. So I'll steam the edamame beans down the bottom. And then I'll add in the other one. So the peas will probably take maybe two minutes the other mommy four minutes maybe. Then I rinse them off so they're cold. I will put chopped mint, olive oil, pepper and salt on top. And if you want to put some crumbled feta on top as well. It's a beautiful salad ready in minutes and it can accompany so many different dishes.
Jenn Huber 13:42
Oh my goodness, that sounds delicious. Yeah, and I think that Edamame is absolutely a great place to start because because it is a soybean. It is one of the foods that has a higher concentration and I usually tell people that a therapeutic dose of it would be in the range of half a cup shelled. So if you're using the unskilled at Emami, it's probably going to be a little bit more than that. But yeah, you can keep it in the freezer you can toss it into a stir fry. I love the idea of a smoothie. I've actually never tried them on my in a smoothie.
Fiona Staunton 14:15
Nice and creamy. Yeah,
Jenn Huber 14:18
I make an animal my hummus as well which is another way to kind of use it up and maybe have it like on hand in the fridge. So speaking of soy, what other soy foods or ways of cooking soy? Have you experimented with that you know might be something for our listeners to try.
Fiona Staunton 14:35
One of the other side things that I use quite a bit is miso. So there's kind of well there's probably no the different types of Nisa but there's two different types that I use. One is the brown rice miso, so I would use that as a drink so particularly during wintertime it's perfect teaspoon of that in you don't use boiling water because you're going to kill off some of the micronutrients etc that are available in it. So I would use three quarters boiling one quarter cold water and I would mix in a teaspoon of the brown rice miso. And that is a beautiful warming and soup light soup that you can have when you come in. And it's stored in the fridge. You know, that's so easy that takes two minutes to make. And you can do that to look after yourself. The other type of Mizo I use is a white miso. So it's a much milder flavor. And I would mix that with one of steamed vegetables, I could put a little teaspoon of that in with either a bit of olive oil or a bit of butter or just the water from the vegetables stirred around. And it gives a beautiful umami flavor to what might be a very plain, plain vegetable. So that will be me. So
Jenn Huber 15:40
I'm going to uplevel our broccoli next week for sure.
Fiona Staunton 15:45
Don't mix them up. The brown rice means it doesn't work well with the vegetables, and the white one doesn't taste so good as the drink.
Jenn Huber 15:53
I love both those ideas. That's fantastic. So those are some really easy ways for people to incorporate soy. And I just want to interject a little bit about soy safety, because I can guarantee that I will get at least one email asking, you know, but I heard that. For anyone listening who has concerns around soy, this has been up, you know, essentially, as close to 100% as we can ever get disproven that there is any concern around soy and breast cancer in particular. And the research has been really quite clear that people who consume soy foods have a reduced risk, and including a reduced risk of recurrence with breast cancer. So at worst, it's neutral, meaning that it has no effect. And at best, there could be some protective effect. There certainly is, you know, some back and forth in the literature about you know whether you need to start including these foods at a younger age, if it's a lifetime protection if there's any benefit when you're older. But I think we can all agree that there really is no danger. So if you've heard that soy increases the risk of any cancer, but especially breast cancer, please know that that has been disproven. And I have several posts on my Instagram page with references for anybody who you know, kind of wants to dive deeper into that. But thank you for those soy tips. Now let's say that somebody doesn't like soy or they're they're not feeling like they're quite ready to start with soy. What are some of the easier beans or lentils that people might be able to start cooking with? Because sometimes people feel overwhelmed by them because you know, they're treated and cooked completely differently than we would meet for example. So what are some of the baby steps that people can can make with those?
Fiona Staunton 17:39
Okay, so we focus on the lentils first. So with the lentils, one of my easiest and quickest ones would be to make a point lentil salad. So the point lentils are a general by the turn of already cooked. This is keeping things super easy and handy. So you will I would rinse them and drain them, pop them into a bowl. And then I'm going to add in some chopped cherry tomatoes, Add in chopped Terragen is lovely, some keepers. And then if you'd like you can put in some type of onion via chive or scallion or red onion and stir it up with a bit of lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil. And then I will top the salad off with some chopped nuts, and some microgreens. So micro greens. So if you know that you know broccoli and bok choy, and those types of vegetables are really good for you. It doesn't have to be the full vegetable a convenient and different variety and microgreens are a great way of adding nutrients and jazzing it up. So I will use that lentil salad two or three times a week. And again, it's a salad that is made from minimal ingredients from the store cupboard. And it's really tasty and it can accompany any, you know, whatever, if what you're eating a protein fish or meat or you know, it really works very well. That's awesome. It'd be one.
Jenn Huber 19:01
Yeah, just on the topic of microgreens to microgreens are such a great way to include some fresh greens in the winter, because a lot of greenhouses can can grow them, you know, with, you know, with lights and kind of growing systems that allow them to have them locally produced. I know here in the Netherlands, they're really available year round, but it's just a nice way to continue to have some local fresh greens because they don't have to grow the whole plant. You know, they're just kind of the smaller version of them, but they still have all the same nutrition. So I love that idea.
Fiona Staunton 19:37
The other one might be down so I'd make a red lentil doll. That is fantastic. So I would go into a lot of workplaces and bring in my kitchen and do a cookery demo. And I think if people can taste smell and see things, it's much more likely to make it and this is one that I do all the time. So basically, the red lentils can just be soaked and I tend to do it in slightly bit of warm water just to speed it up while you're prepping During the rest of the ingredients, so don't worry about soaking overnight, etc. It's just while you're preparing the rest of the ingredients, and we have onions, garlic, ginger, tumeric, cumin, that curry powder. And then I add back in some, you can either use a vegetable stock or your own, say chicken broth, about in your lentils and tomatoes and you leave it to simmer and you have a beautiful and I can India will be served with rice and your curry and dial on the side. But I tend to serve it like a soup or a stew. So it's a meal in itself. So it is also budget friendly. It is so inexpensive, and very easy to batch cook for anytime I make it I will make way more than I need. And I will freeze it. So my husband going to work will take out one of the containers in the freezer. And by the time he's having his lunch it's defrosted he just heats it up and off you go. So that is super easy. And the recipes on my website, it's really easy to make. Yeah,
Jenn Huber 20:57
and red lentils are definitely I think an easy entry into lentils because they cook so quickly. You really can't mess them up. Like they're, you know, you can't overcook them because they're almost meant to dissolve Anyway, whatever you're cooking, I add them to any like red suit by you know, like squash soup, carrot soup, red pepper soup, you know, adding in some lentils is such a great add in, that adds in, you know, a little bit of that phytoestrogen support, but also plant based protein and fiber and iron. And it's just that those are great. So you're making me quite hungry with ease. Now, Do people ever come back? Because I know I hear this and say, Oh, I don't think they agree with me because you know, I'm getting a lot of bloating or I'm getting a lot of gas, or they've changed my digestion. And so is that something that you hear as well? I
Fiona Staunton 21:51
do occasionally. And I think you will get the name much better than I will. But there you can complete that one.
Jenn Huber 21:58
Yeah, so one of the things, one of the reasons that happens is that we lack an enzyme that can break down the fiber. So one of the big benefits of these plant based foods is that they that we don't digest the fiber, but that our gut bacteria absolutely love it. And when they as part of that digestion, because we don't have the enzyme but they certainly can go to town on it, they produce a lot of gas. Now the good news is that the more frequently you eat them, the more of these bacteria kind of adapt. And most people who include beans and lentils regularly don't ever notice this anymore. But one of my favorite things to ease people into is to say start with small amounts, but more frequently. So if you make you know dal, and you love it, and it's delicious, maybe spread it out over two or three meals over kind of three to five days, instead of having like three full servings for three meals in a row. So you don't want to shock your microbiome into you know, kind of making all of the these bacteria but you do want them to adapt to this higher fiber diet that contains this fiber that we don't digest as well. So yeah, absolutely. I think that that's a pretty common one. But it doesn't mean that you don't tolerate it like that's the other thing I want people to know is that everybody who starts eating beans and lentils gets gas, everybody. But you know, you can your body can get used to it. Yeah. Okay. Um, okay, so now let's talk about like advanced beans and lentils. So for people who really want to get into things and want to use dried beans and lentils, do you have any tips for them?
Fiona Staunton 23:39
Okay, so yes, some of the recipes that I would use with that one of them if you want to make sweet would be, I can't even name them. Because it's I can't tell whether they're between a fudge or a brownie or a muffin. So I call them black bean fudge brownie muffins. But the base ingredient is black beans. So they're really nice. And if you have them warm, the chocolate just melts in them. It's really really nice. And that recipes on our website. And other things I would look at will be things like three bean chili in fantastic for batch cooking, it is inexpensive, it's really tasty. And then you can do it in so many different ways whether you just want to serve the chili with rice and maybe that sour cream or you want to go with some nachos and some guacamole and you know or you want to just put it in a wrap there's so many different ways you can go with a putter that works really well and with that I put in roast over jeans and roast peppers as well. So that works really well and another one would be I do a bar largely been minestrone. Cracking some whole grain pasta and your beans etc and make a lovely minestrone, which is kind of more like a clear, chunky soup that you can have. And then chickpeas. I love coconut chickpeas.
Jenn Huber 24:56
Yeah, let's talk about that because I think the chickpeas are another good kind Have like entry into cooking. Because you can also do half and half like we make a chicken chickpea curry that I think kind of is a nice way to that if you're used to making something with chicken, it's easy to substitute and maybe you know, chickpeas for half of the meat and kind of slide into it. But what do you do with chickpeas? What are some good things?
Fiona Staunton 25:21
Okay, so if I haven't planned anything for dinner and I'm coming home and it's a Russian I need dinner on the table, I do what's called a Spanish chickpea stew. It's 10 chickpeas, jar of roasted peppers, red onion, and some spices. And you'd literally just cook off sweat off the red onion. Add everything else in and you can add in some chopped tomatoes or some tinned tomatoes, and you've got a beautiful quick stew and add some olive oil there to get your extra omega threes and some chopped parsley on top and it's a really nice quick and easy meal.
Jenn Huber 25:55
Do you have the recipe website?
Fiona Staunton 25:56
Yes, I do actually. Yes, Spanish chickpea soup. That's something that is on my website. But I make hummus a lot. So 10 chickpeas are really handy and really versatile and easy to use. But I find that if you cook them yourself and say an instant pot can you do the you know a pressure cooker and you do the non smoke soak method. It doesn't take that long. And my family have gone mad for warm hummus or hot hummus as we call it. So I make it while the chickpeas are still hot, and it's beautiful. So hummus traditionally, hummus would be chickpeas blended with sesame seeds, which also faraway students and them so it's tahini sesame seed paste, and then I add in lemon juice, water, but a garlic and some salt. And as you know, but maybe the listeners don't know, often the hummus and supermarket shelves could have up to 70% oil in them. So the one I make doesn't actually have any oil in it. But you can add in your extraversion on etc if you like. But usually on a Saturday if we're having, you know, nibbles before dinner, I'll cut up some vegetables, and we'll have the hummus. But if I have a hot homeless, they eat it
Jenn Huber 27:03
straight away. So I am totally making up this weekend. That's great. Yeah, so I think that what you know, if I was listening to everything that you've just talked about, what I would take away from it is that cooking with beans and lentils is often faster, easier and cheaper. So if you're feeling overwhelmed at the idea of making these changes, like Fiona said at the beginning, start small start with easy things make one change a week, maybe just change up one recipe, if you have a meal plan that works for your family, just substitute in, you know, one thing, and but you know, it really is so much easier, I find, you know, to plan a last minute meal with beans or lentils than it would be to like, buy and cook the meat, you know, prepare because it just takes longer, right? There's so much versatility there. So you're really passionate about food, I know that you've inspired me to want to look at some of the recipes on your website. tell our listeners about your cooking program, because this is all virtual. So it doesn't matter where they are in the world they can participate
Fiona Staunton 28:10
right out, which is exciting for me. So basically, I took on lots of people's feedback. And as I mentioned earlier snippets of information and making small changes is what people really needed. They already have busy lives. So just loading it all to one, one session wasn't going to work. So I divided up into six different sessions and each week, so it's about an hour and a half. So I'm doing the cookery demo in real time, which people seem to love so I don't have everything chopped up prepared. I start from the beginning and start chopping, start preparing. And I've all I have is that way down. So I will cook about three dishes in each session, live in real time. And then there's opportunity for questions, etc. But I've looked at different themes Jen. So the first one I had was eating for your brain health. So really, as I go through these you will realize it is it is for everyone. It is not just for women and menopause. But the way I looked at it was eating for brain health, eating for inflammation and joint stiffness. The next one was for mood. The next one immunity. The next one is your heartfelt and the final one was eating and living for Ultimate Health for the whole family. Each week, I go through all of the foods that you can find the essential nutrients for those bodily functions. And there's a huge overlap as obviously with all of the foods it's a mixture of everything. And and then I do the recipes cooked in real time. And they all get a recipe book in ebook with like over 75 different recipes and all of the meal plans so I do six different meal plans and there's lots of shopping tips where to buy each of the different ingredients. And it starts on April 27. And because I know people's lives are busy, it's recorded and they can watch each week's recording for another week afterwards.
Jenn Huber 29:58
Oh, that's perfect. So yeah, so if you're listening, check the show notes and and I will have a link to Fiona's website and where you can register for that program. Thank you so much for sharing your tips and your experience and for chatting about midlife and cooking. So as I always ask my guests, what do you think is the missing ingredient in midlife?
Fiona Staunton 30:25
Okay, so I was I kind of I have to do a food I think if it's me, I was gonna say balance, but I think I'm gonna do a food and it's a really simple recipe, and it's on my website. It's toasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds. So basically, the seeds naturally have a phytic acid on them to stop them from germinating. But in order for us to absorb all the nutrients, even remove the phytic acid, so I soak them for an hour, rinse them, drain them, pop them in the oven for about 15 minutes until they are dried out. They're They're crunchy, but they're not golden so the oils haven't started breaking down. And then I sprinkle a little bit of liquid aminos which is the protein from the soybean. It gives a beautiful umami flavor. And they can stay in a jar for about three weeks. You can have a jar in your car, a jar in your gym bag, a jar in your handbag, you can put it on top of any salad on top of a soup or have it as a snack. And you know just a small little bit as a snack. And I think that'll just be the easiest thing that you can add nutrients to your
Jenn Huber 31:25
mid life. Awesome. I love it like a salad topper.
Fiona Staunton 31:29
Yes. Yeah. Okay.
Jenn Huber 31:32
Excellent. Thank you so much for sharing your time. I love chatting with you and and I'm sure that you'll be back at some point to share more about you know how to cook for midlife. Thanks, Fiona.
Fiona Staunton 31:44
Thank you very much, Jen. Thank you.
Jenn Huber 31:47
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the midlife feast. If you're looking for help with menopause nutrition or just want to figure out how to make peace with food and midlife. Check the show notes so you can learn about how to work with me and sign up for one of my group programs. And just a reminder that beyond the scale, my most popular group program will be starting up again in May and registration opens mid March. So make sure to get on the waiting list if you'd like to be the first to hear about it.
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