Consultations
About Penny Dietary analysis service Emotional wellbeing Locations Fees Testimonials Recipes
When you come for your consultation, you will have been asked to complete a confidential questionnaire beforehand. During the initial session, which lasts an hour, a thorough case history is taken to build up a detailed picture of your health.
You will be provided with an eating programme which will fit practically into your lifestyle. Usually a few carefully selected supplements will be suggested in addition to the food programme, to bring the body back into balance. It is then recommended that you come for a follow up appointment to assess progress and make any adjustments, in 4-6 weeks time. From one to three follow ups are required depending on the individual case.
Please call 020 8767 3893 to discuss your needs or make an appointment.
Penny qualified as a nutritional therapist in 1997. During this time she has seen many hundreds of individual clients at her practice in SW London. Her life long interest in nutrition and natural health goes back 20 years when she experienced at first hand the powerful impact of food and nutrition on health, as a retail manager for a large health food chain. She then went on to work as a consultant for a vitamin company. Since then she has written many nutrition related articles for magazines such as Positive Health, Families, Green Farm, Health Matters and The Health Times. Publications to which she has contributed include the Daily Telegraph, The Times Literary supplement, Pregnancy & Birth and Marie Claire. She has been featured in the Daily Express and Daily Mirror and has featured twice on local radio. She is a current member of the BANT (British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy) and formerly sat on their ethics committee.
Penny’s approach to nutrition is holistic, and takes into account emotional, mental and environmental factors as well as physical ones. She studied many complementary therapies before training as a nutritionist and is currently completing a qualification in coaching. She is dedicated to personal and professional development and frequently attends lectures and seminars to keep up to date with the latest scientific nutrition research.
If you would like to see a nutritional breakdown of the content of your current diet, I can provide you with a fully comprehensive computerised analysis. This will show you the calorie, fat (saturated, polyunsaturated, mono unsaturated & trans fats), carbohydrate (sugar, alcohol, fibre & starch), protein, vitamin and mineral content of your diet using a 4 day food diary. This is a stand-alone service or it can be used in conjunction with a consultation. The analysis is presented in a comprehensive 37 page report with illustrative graphs and pie charts relating to your individual diet.
- Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your current diet
- Find out if your diet is meeting your nutrition needs in relation to both government and optimal intake guidelines
- Pinpoint possible nutrient imbalances or deficiencies
- Discover how a lack of nutrients may be affecting your health
- Learn how to improve your diet
Whilst nutrition is the foundation of health, our emotions and thoughts also have a significant impact on our wellbeing. Research in the field of Psychoneuroimmunology is beginning to show how emotions and thoughts directly affect the health of the immune system.
This confirms what many complementary medicine practitioners have been saying for years, that suppressed emotions and unhelpful beliefs, sometimes programmed from early on in life, can contribute towards the manifestations of physical symptoms. "Toxic emotion" if not dealt with, has a weakening effect on our health and vitality.
Flower essences are a wonderful and gentle way to help clear emotional blocks. Penny uses combinations of flower essences to help resolve negative emotional states that could be blocking the healing process.
For more deeply held emotional baggage, working things through with a psychotherapist is recommended. Hypnotherapy can also be very effective in helping to reprogramme unhelpful thought patterns that may be affecting your physical health and impeding your progress to optimal wellness. My colleague Diana Penny is a highly experienced hypnotherapist . See www.dianapenny.co.uk for more information or call 020 8767 0791
The coaching process helps you achieve your health goals, step by step, moving through any blocks that may manifest themselves. As you start to move forward you can experience a release of energy and motivation.
Return to top
(serves 4)
This soup provides some welcome colour and warmth on damp and gloomy autumn evenings, although it’s good at any time of year. It’s made from squash, a close (but more tasty) relative of the pumpkin. Enjoy!
Chop 1 lb of butternut squash into chunks, de-seed and cut the skin off with a sharp knife. Peel and roughly chop 2 medium onions, 1 large potato and 1 large sweet potato, and 2 fat cloves of garlic. Add 1.5 pints of stock or water, 1 rounded teaspoon of paprika, a pinch of cayenne pepper, ground black pepper and a tablespoon of tamari sauce (from health food shop or speciality section of supermarket). Simmer gently for 20 mins or until the vegetables are soft. Liquidise finely, stir in natural, unsweetened yoghurt (e.g. Yeo Valley) and serve with large sprinkling of chopped fresh chives.
And now the science bit… here’s how just good it is for you:
Orange foods such as squash and sweet potatoes contain Beta carotene.
Beta carotene is a powerful antioxidant which is great for the skin, repairs damaged tissue and strengthens your immune system. It’s not just an old wives’ tale, carrots really are good for your eyesight as well.
Orange foods are also rich in Vitamin C – known as the King of antioxidants, vitamin C is anti bacterial, and anti viral and helps resistance to infections.
White foods such as garlic and onion contain flavonoids. In plants, flavonoids help protect against cell damage, parasites and bacteria and it seems they do the same in humans. They also help promote good circulation of blood and have an anti-inflammatory effect.
Garlic also contains sulphur compounds which are important for cardiovascular health. They help balance cholesterol and lower levels of “bad” fats in the blood. Allicin in garlic has anti-cancer properties.
(serves 2)
The rich sauce complements the chickpeas very well and is perfectly in keeping with the widely touted Mediterranean diet. A lot of the alcohol is burnt off during cooking, leaving only a delicious flavour. If you are avoiding alcohol the recipe also works well without it due to the herbs & garlic.
This recipe is a good way of incorporating some vegetable protein in your diet. The wine gives a rich flavour to the sauce. If omitting the alcohol, add an extra 200g tin of tomatoes and some vegetable bouillon powder. If you are extra organised and have the time, fresh chick peas do have a superior texture and flavour. Leave them soaking overnight and cook them as per the packet instructions. If using fresh tomatoes, skin them by plunging them into freshly boiling water for 2 minutes, pierce the skin with a knife and it will fall away.
- 220g fresh chickpeas (or 400g tinned)
- 400g fresh tomatoes (or 400g tinned)
- 2 medium onions
- 1 medium clove garlic
- 1 heaped tablespoon fresh herbs (oregano & coriander recommended)
or 2 teaspoon dried mixed herbs).
- 100mls red wine
- 1 heaped tablespoon tomato puree
- Half to 1 tablespoon olive oil
Finely chop the onion and garlic and fry in olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, puree, wine and herbs and simmer for half an hour until the sauce is thick. Add more liquid if too dry. Add the chickpeas, warm through and serve with brown rice & green vegetables.
(serves 4)
This tasty recipe* contains quercetin (prevents allergies, antibacterial & anti-inflammatory) in the onions and isoflavones in the kidney beans (natural hormone balancers). The tomatoes, red peppers & carrots are full of carotenoids for your immune system and skin. Cashews contain calcium, zinc and iron. Kidney beans contain protein and calcium.
The coconut milk means that this dish is rich and filling and you could just eat it with a crisp green salad or green beans/peas. If you want extra carbs as well, serve with brown rice.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
- 3 crushed or chopped garlic cloves
- 1 red pepper seeded and chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon paprika OR a light sprinkling of chilli powder
- 3 tablespoons tomato puree
- 400ml can coconut milk (can use the reduced fat, lower calorie variety)
- 200gm chopped tomatoes
- 150ml vegetable stock
- 425g can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- Small handful of coriander, roughly chopped
1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onions and carrots and fry for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, red pepper and bay leaves and fry for 5 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
2. Stir in the paprika, tomato puree, coconut milk, tomatoes, stock and beans and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 12 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
3. Stir in the coriander, season to taste with black pepper and serve.
*Adapted from The Hamlyn 30 Minute Vegetarian
(Serves 2)
- 150g Spelt Spaghetti
- 200g frozen Green Soya Beans
- 100g hard goat or sheep cheese shaved or grated
- 2 tablespoons good quality Olive Oil
- Large handful of young Spinach Leaves finely shredded
- 1 clove garlic crushed or very finely chopped
- Black pepper to taste
- Half teaspoon tamari sauce (optional)
Put the frozen soya beans in a large mug and cover in boiling water so that they heat through. They don't need cooking.
Pour the rest of the boiling water on the spelt spaghetti and cook for approx 8 minutes or as per instructions on packet.
Drain the spaghetti and pour boiling water over to wash off the excess starch.
Return it to the saucepan (off heat) and add the finely chopped or pressed garlic, drained soya beans, olive oil, a good grinding of black pepper, half the cheese and lastly the spinach.
Transfer to bowls and top with the remainder of the sheep's cheese. Enjoy!
(Serves 6)
This recipe comes from Viv, chef at the Flower Essence retreat centre on the Isle of Gigha, Scotland. http://www.healingorchids.com/
I have made it with green lentils as well which give it a more “meaty” flavour. You can use any strong cheese, I recommend the Woodland Dairy Sheep Wensleydale or St Helen’s Farm Goat’s cheese. It’s good hot or cold and reheats well. It’s important to have some greaseproof paper on hand to line the tin as otherwise it’s very messy to get the roast out of the tin!
- 1 mug red lentils
- 2 mugs stock (ideally save some water from cooked vegetables for this)
- 2 slices rye bread crumbs
- 4 oz grated strong cheese
- 1 leek or onion peeled and finely chopped
- 4oz mushrooms peeled and finely chopped
- 2 beaten eggs
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon each dry mustard, ground cumin & ground coriander
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 1 handful of fresh or 1 teaspoon of dried herbs of choice (e.g. coriander, thyme, oregano)
- Black or white pepper
Put the lentils, onion (or leek), stock, tomato puree, mustard, cumin and coriander into a pan and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes until all of the liquid is absorbed (if it’s not boil rapidly to reduce or drain the excess stock off).
Preheat the oven to Gas 5 and line with greaseproof paper a 2lb loaf tin (if you haven’t got one, you can use a couple of cake tins, the deeper the better).
Add to the lentil mixture, the mushrooms, breadcrumbs, cheese, pepper and herbs. Bind in the beaten eggs and lemon juice. Smooth into the prepared tin and bake for about one hour.
For a lovely colourful effect when sliced (and an extra veg portion), you can add a layer of chopped red roast pepper or some raw spinach to the middle of the roast before cooking. Enjoy!
This is quick and simple to make yet packed with anti-ageing, skin enhancing and immune protecting antioxidants. It’s also very easy for your body to digest and absorb.
You need one apple, two carrots, one orange and a small (1oz) piece of ginger root.
Peel the ginger and the orange. There is no need to peel the apple (leave the core in as well) and carrot if they are organic. Put all the ingredients in your juicer and you have a power packed drink, great to start the day with!
For an extra detoxifying punch, there are some tasty variations. Replace the orange and ginger with either a handful of parsley (with stalks) OR a medium sized beetroot cut the ends off but leave unpeeled). Parsley is a natural diuretic, helping to get rid of excess fluid in the body and beetroot is a great liver cleanser and tastes surprisingly sweet.
- 2 large carrots
- handful of watercress
- quarter of a red bell pepper
Simply juice all three and mix together. It’s a good stimulating juice for first thing in the morning (the watercress has a strong peppery flavour) and it is very rich in beta carotene, a good all round immune protector.
If you’re new to juices, try one a day to start with as they can have quite a strong effect. Add plain, live yoghurt or water if you want to dilute. If you have a candida problem, stick to vegetable juices rather than fruit juices. Make sure you continue to eat whole vegetables and fruit as well for the fibre.
Put 8 blackberries, 8 raspberries, 4 tablespoons of plain bio live yoghurt, 200mls apple juice into a blender and whizz until smooth. Top with a handful of organic porridge oats and a teaspoon of honey.
The apple and the berries contain calcium and magnesium, B vitamins and beta carotene. Yoghurt and oats will provide protein and extra calcium, slow releasing carbohdyrate and make it substantial enough for a meal. Make sure the yoghurt contains live bacteria which will be of great benefit to your immune system. Sheep or goat yoghurt is easier to digest than cow’s and has a creamier consistency.
Don’t worry about combining fruit with protein and carbohydrate. First thing in the morning, on an empty stomach this won’t cause a problem.
