pregnancy health

Fiona Uyema

Anyone who wants to eat healthy and delicious food should pay attention to Fiona Uyema and her easy to follow Japanese recipes.  Yes, her recipes are easy to follow and healthy and delicious.  I have personally tasted some of her recipes and they are yummy!  So, who is Fiona Uyema?  Fiona Uyema has been pushing boundaries and influencing the Irish foodie scene with her easy to follow Japanese style recipes for a while now. She has become the authority in Japanese cuisine appearing on TV and at the biggest food festivals in the country such as Ballymaloe Lit Fest, Bloom, and Taste of Dublin.  Fiona Uyema was a key feature at Taste of Dublin among some of the best chefs in Ireland and UK.  She offers hands on cooking classes to the public at Miele in Dublin as well.

Fiona Uyema showed the country how easy Japanese cooking is on TV3’s Late Lunch Live where she has been described as “Ireland’s Japanese Cuisine Queen!”.

Her recipes have also appeared on some of the biggest food publications such as Easy Food, FOOD&WINE, and the RTE Guide. To learn more about Fiona Uyema and her background click here.

In collaboration with photographer Harry Weir and editor Miriam Atkins, Fiona was successful in getting sushi featured on the front cover of FOOD&WINE Magazine along with a special 8 page feature on Fiona’s favourite Japanese recipes.

“Fiona’s gorgeous recipes celebrating the Hanami festival in FOOD&WINE Magazine offered readers a masterclass in Japanese cuisine, with lots of options for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Her sushi stole the show, gracing our front cover.” Miriam Atkins, Editor. The photos below were taken by Harry Weir Photography and first appeared in FOOD&WINE Magazine.

Fiona Uyema ‘s Book

And now Fiona is delighted to have written her first cookbook titled “Japanese Food Made Easy”.  It was inspired by her time in Japan.  It will be published by Mercier Press and is now available to pre-order from her publisher, Mercier Press, at a discounted price, so be sure to check that out. I’ve ordered 2 copies already.  It would make a great Christmas gift and dare I say that there are only 18 shopping weekends til Christmas, so here’s a chance to get ahead of the game!  Here’s the link to purchase the book: http://www.mercierpress.ie/irish-books/japanese_food_made_easy/

Fiona Uyema ‘s Blog

Fiona Uyema writes a cooking blog called “Fiona’s Japanese Cooking”. Her easy to follow Japanese style recipes and useful tips will give you the knowledge and confidence to try Japanese cooking at home. Fiona’s recipes vary from washoku (Japanese traditional recipes) to fusion recipes mixing western and Japanese tastes.

Fiona Uyema ‘s Upcoming Events

• Japanese Food Made Easy – Hands on cooking class September 12, 2015 at 10:30 am – September 17, 2015 at 1:30 pm, Miele Ireland, 2024, Broomhill, CityWest Business Campus, Dublin 24, Ireland.  Unique opportunity to learn the basics of Japanese cooking in a hands-on cooking class. Recipes from Fiona’s cookbook “Japanese Food Made Easy”.
• Japanese Food Made Easy book launch September 17, 2015 Dublin, Ireland
• Galway International Oyster & Seafood Festival September 27, 2015, Galway City, Co. Galway, Ireland
• Japanese Food Made Easy – DEMO & BOOK SIGNING October 7, 2015 at 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, Miele Ireland, 2024, Broomhill, CityWest Business Campus, Dublin 24, Ireland. Fiona Uyema will demonstrate some of the recipes from her cookbook “Japanese Food Made Easy”.Price includes a signed copy of Fiona’s book.
• Japanese Food Made Easy hands-on cooking class October 10, 2015 at 10:30 am – 1:30 pm, Miele Ireland, 2024, Broomhill, Bianconi Avenue, CityWest Business Campus, Dublin 24, Ireland. Unique opportunity to learn the basics of Japanese cooking in a hands-on cooking class. Recipes from Fiona’s cookbook “Japanese Food Made Easy”.

There Are Many Things You Can Do To Help Relieve Morning Sickness, Nausea and Vomiting

Eating to Help Relieve Morning Sickness

• Put small portions of food on your plate as a larger portion may be off putting when you have morning sickness.
• Become a grazer and eat small amounts throughout the day and evening.
• Take your time and eat slowly, chew your food really well
• Avoid lumpy foods, when you have morning sickness it may be easier to swallow soups and smoothies.
• Try eating bland foods. Bland foods can be more palatable while you have morning sickness.
• Ginger is renowned for settling the queasy stomach and helping to relieve morning sickness. Grate some fresh ginger (without the peel) into hot water to make a ginger tea, sip it. Get some ginger sweets or crystallized ginger. Get ginger ale made with real ginger (most health food shops will carry this).
• Keep some crackers by your bed and if you feel pregnancy nausea when you first wake up, nibble a few crackers and then rest for a few minutes before getting up slowly.
• Nibble on crackers if pregnancy nausea wakes you up during the night.
• Try to eat food cold or at room temperature, because food tends to have a stronger aroma when it’s hot.
• After eating avoid lying down on your left side. Lying on your left side can slow digestion.
• Try taking any vitamins or supplements with food or just before you go to sleep.
• Avoid fatty foods because they can take longer to digest.
• Avoid spicy, acidic, and fried foods as they can irritate your digestive system.

Fluid Intake to Help Relieve Morning Sickness:

• Sip peppermint tea or suck on peppermint sweets, especially after eating.
• Drink out of a small cup or bottle. Mentally the large amount may seem too much for your stomach to handle.
• Sip small amounts of fluid throughout the day. A large amount of fluid may be too much too handle at once and could exacerbate your feelings of nausea in pregnancy.
• Drink/ sip fluids mostly between meals. Don’t drink a lot of fluid at meal time. This may make you feel full and less hungry for food.
• Try your drinks at different temperatures. You might find warm or room temperature drinks easier on your stomach. Or you may find cold suits you better.
• Try sour drinks such as lemon drinks like lemonade or simply squeeze fresh lemon in water.

•  Experiment to see if carbonated or flat drinks and see if either is easier to keep down.
• If swallowing itself makes you feel nauseous try sucking on ice cubes or putting drops of water on your tongue. Yes this can be time consuming, but very effective.
• Use a straw to change up the sipping experience.
• Try a sports drink that contains glucose, salt, and potassium to replace lost electrolytes if you’ve been vomiting in pregnancy.

Lifestyle choices to Help Relieve Morning Sickness

• Brush your teeth or use a mouthwash to rinse out your mouth after eating.
• To avoid morning sickness, sit up slowly in the morning, don’t just jump out of bed.
• Move slowly throughout your day, sudden movements make aggravate your symptoms.
• Avoid smells that trigger your nausea during pregnancy. You and your partner may have to change your shampoo or deodorant to something that you can tolerate.
• Add in smells that are appealing. You may find that some scents such as peppermint, grapefruit, lemon or orange can be settling. You can simply peel a piece of fruit or steep a cup of peppermint tea. Or you can buy a bottle of essential oil and put a drop or two on a tissue and keep it in your purse and smell it if you start to feel queasy.  You can purchase peppermint essential oil online here.
• Get some fresh air. Take a gentle stroll or simply open a window.
• Use a seasickness acupressure wrist bands. This is a soft elastic wristband that puts pressure on an acupuncture point on your wrist that is great for relieving nausea in pregnancy. They can be purchased in chemists and pharmacies.  Boots have them for sale online, click here to have a look.
• And if the wrist bands aren’t enough, get some Acupuncture.  The needles can be way more effective than acupressure.

Tips to Prevent Cystitis Naturally When You’re Pregnant

Recurring Cystitis (also known as Urinary Tract Infections- UTI’s) when you’re pregnant can become a big problem for some women.  My clients are also usually trying to be as healthy as they can because they are pregnant and they don’t want to have to end up frequently taking lots of antibiotics. We frequently get enquiries for help with cystitis and everyone always ask if there is anything they can do in addition to the acupuncture to help prevent cystitis. If you suffer regularly from Cystitis and you’d like some things you can do on your own to help prevent it from happening, then read on for a list of effective measures you can take. In addition to doing your best to keep the area clean (ie: always wiping front to back) there are dietary changes you can implement.

Actions you can take to help prevent Cystitis when you’re pregnant:

-Make sure your fluid intake is the proper amount for you. Your urine should be clear, have a yellow hue, but not dark yellow or cloudy and murky.  It should not have a strong smell either. Visit here for an infographic showing healthy and unhealthy urine colours.  Plenty of fluids going through your urinary tract system will help prevent cystitis by flushing out any lingering bacteria.

-Drink barley water regularly. This can be considered part of the daily fluid intake mentioned above. Barley water has long been used to prevent  cystitis and it’s quick and simple to make yourself. Just boil one litre of water with one handful of pearl barley. Let it gently simmer and reduce down to about half the liquid. Strain and then drink the liquid. You can drink it warm or when it has cooled down, it’s your preference. Add a squeeze of lemon juice. It’s pretty bland tasting, but you can also sweeten it with a little touch honey of you like.

-Drink cranberry juice. This is the most commonly known natural way to prevent Cystitis / Urinary Tract Infections. Studies have shown that cranberry juice inhibits the ability of bacteria to adhere to the lining of the bladder. Two glasses of unsweetened cranberry juice a day is the recommended dose.

-Add Blueberries to your diet, they have a similar action to that of cranberries. Eat them fresh with some plain natural yoghurt or put some blueberries in your cereal or even in your salad.

-Avoid coffee (both decaffeinated and with caffeine) as coffee is a bladder irritant.

-Avoid sugar because it lowers the immune response and you are trying to combat bacteria to prevent cystitis.

-Eat garlic and onions. They are both naturally antibiotic.

-Drink a juice combination of cranberry, pineapple and apple as recommended by Jason Vale, popularly known as the juice master.   Check out his recipe for Cystitis / UTI’s here.  Or drink a green juice daily consisting of celery, parsley, spinach and green apple. This will help reduce acidity and calm an irritated bladder.

Is pregnancy yoga for you?

My clients are always asking me if there is anything they can do on their own between pregnancy acupuncture sessions and I think pregnancy yoga is ideal.

No previous yoga experience is necessary, but a reputable Yoga studio will usually require you to be at least 14 or 15 weeks pregnant. What I think is really great about attending pregnancy yoga classes is that you will find support and camaraderie with people who are going through a similar pregnancy experience. Sharing yoga with like-minded people, you will emerge from pregnancy yoga classes feeling renewed, nourished, inspired and utterly supported during your pregnancy.  You will take home some valuable tools and ideas with you. You’ll also make some great friends you can enjoy your upcoming maternity leave with.

Pregnancy is a wonderful time to practice yoga. Specialised pregnancy yoga classes will help a woman both emotionally and physically. helping her to release any tension in the body while also helping to ease emotional changes while bringing balance and a feeling of groundedness.

There are many changes happening during pregnancy such as hormonal and structural changes in her body.  Therefore a woman needs to be gently facilitated through specially modified set of yoga movements that support both Mum and Baby as you move through each stage.

Pregnancy yoga is a wonderful way to also bond with unborn baby.  Through some very gentle breathing practices, you will learn relaxation while also learning to prepare for birth through the breath and visualisation.

Benefits of pregnancy yoga:

• Improves Flexibility & Strength
• Improves Circulation & Breathing
• Raises Energy Levels
• Aids Relaxation & Helps Sleep
• Physically & Emotionally Grounding

Pregnancy Yoga offers:

• Gentle stretching & strengthening of the body while strengthening pelvic floor muscles.
• Time to focus on yourself and your baby.
• Learn techniques to help relieve aches and pains associated with pregnancy.
• Learn about choice of positions for labour.
• Learn about optimal foetal positioning.
• Learn about breathing techniques for labour & birth.
• Spend time in the company of other Mummies to Be.
• Enjoy a lovely relaxation to send you floating home.

We recommend pregnancy yoga classes at the following Yoga Studios:

In Clane:  www.breathingplace.ie

In Celbridge: www.yogaessence.ie

In Lucan, Dublin: www.barefootyogastudio.ie