Easter to me is the symbol of reviving of the whole nature for a new life-cycle and we, the humans are part of it. My Easter wish to all of you is – Happy new beginnings!

One good new beginning could be your striving to get back in a good shape after the winter “hibernation” via detox and exercise. The most athletic of us have never stopped it. Other people started with the New Year. But for many of us, Easter is the right timing for this new beginning. The temperatures are raising (fingers crossed!), days are longer, the sun is encouraging more action! Blooming flowers and trees are inspirational! Going for a run to the park or going to the gym for a class or a bit heavier exercise seems a very natural idea and doesn’t take a great deal of persuasion and willpower.

My advice to people who start exercising program after some time of being “lazy”has always been to do a detox first, or to include some of my treatments(see description) in their program.

Here is the recipe of a high-protein cottage cheese and eggs appetiser

Ingredients:

1 pot of cottage cheese (600g)

4 hard boiled eggs

Half large cucumber

Some peppermint leaves

3 cloves of garlic (optional)

2 table spoons of plain yogurt (optional)

4 tea spoons of oil (olive, flax seed or better 1 tea spoon of each)

Pinch(or two) of salt

Enough to make 6-8 appetisers.

Preparation:

You need a bowl large enough to allow stirring of all ingredients

Wash and chop a small bunch of peppermint leaves and throw them in the bowl. Peel the eggs and chop them in the bowl. (if you want a very high protein content, chop the whites of three more hard boiled eggs in the bowl). Wash and peel the cucumber and chop it finely. In case you and your guests can afford eating raw garlic, peel and squeeze the garlic gloves in the mix. If you want to ask them first, you can leave adding the garlic immediately before serving. Add the oil and the salt before adding the cottage cheese and stirring the mixture well. It is going to be quite thick and it is good for appetiser on its own or on bread as a snack. To make it a dip, you may want to add one or two table spoons yogurt.

I found this “appetiser” very good thickener for some of my vegetable soups and the mix makes for a high protein meal, usually in the evening.

A bit more about raw garlic: The use of raw garlic is best in the evening, as it contributes to lowering the blood pressure and to good sleep. Raw garlic is a natural bug-killer and taking it in the evening could be good prophylactic against the variety of bugs we encounter throughout the day. Peppermint and parsley help with the bad breath in the morning and the peppermint toothpaste is quite efficient, too. So, it is only a question of getting organised, rather than avoiding a very good natural remedy.