This is a very quick and easy recipe for indulgent but healthy truffles!  They are sugar free, dairy free, gluten free and raw, so even if you have a food allergy or intolerance, you can probably eat these. They also make perfect presents to take when visiting friends or family (especially those who are pregnant – read more below) over the festive season.  So here’s how to make them…

We welcomed Esther Hernandez into the Fertility & Pregnancy Edinburgh team in December 2018, and she has slotted in really well to the work we do around fertility, pregnancy, post-natal and hormonal cases in general. Esther is originally from Spain, but has lived and worked in Scotland since 2002. 

I'm delighted to be welcoming the wonderful Andrea Clarke to Central Studio in Edinburgh in June. She'll be running a pop-up weekend of Holistic Pelvic Care treatments on 15th and 16th June. I didn't really know exactly what it was, but when she explained it to me, I jumped at the chance to host it as I think it will be relevant for lots of our clients and the awesome women of Edinburgh generally. Intrigued...? Andrea explains more below.

September is PCOS awareness month. For those who know nothing about it, PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome - a common condition that affects how a woman's ovaries work. The three main features of PCOS are:

• polycystic ovaries – your ovaries become enlarged and contain many fluid-filled sacs (follicles) which surround the eggs. It's important to note that, despite the name, if you have PCOS you don't actually have cysts.
• irregular periods - which means your ovaries don't regularly release eggs (ovulation).
• excess androgens – high levels of "male hormones" in your body, which may cause physical signs such as excess facial or body hair.

Jacqui Garnier (MAR), one of our reflexologists here at Fertility & Pregnancy and one of the founder members of Verity, the UK's leading PCOS charity, has first hand experience of living with PCOS, and here she shares her fascinating journey and how she overcame it.

It’s the end of June and elder trees are still abundant with gorgeous, fragrant elderflowers (in the UK anyway). These are too good to go to waste, so here’s my Dad’s fool proof elderflower cordial recipe. It’s a really refreshing, flowery-flavoured drink which is delicious diluted with still or sparkling water, or mixed with Prosecco for a summery cocktail. 

​Elderflowers have been used in herbal medicine by different cultures all over the world and have many health benefits. And just so you know, in France elderflower cordial is called ‘sirop de sureau’ – go on, try saying that with a heavy French accent! Here's the recipe...

If you’re stuck for something to do this weekend, try foraging for wild garlic. I’m a big fan of foraging for wild food, especially as it’s free!

I had a lovely spring walk last weekend at Dalkeith Country Park just outside Edinburgh with my children. The air was thick with the smell of wild garlic, which covered most of the woodland floor. So we picked a bagful, took it home and I knocked up a batch of wild garlic pesto – keep reading for the recipe.

As a teenager, my periods were unbelievably heavy and incredibly painful. Feeling like someone had grabbed my lower abdomen and was twisting and wrenching it out of me. Passing clots which were like lumps of liver (apologies if you’re squeamish – I'm very open and talk about that sort of thing in my job every day!). And the flooding which happened at each bleed. Much to my dismay, I didn’t risk owning a pair of white trousers, which were quite the thing in the 80s, especially when paired with white stilettos. That was my reality every month, for several years. But thankfully, it was only for a couple of days per month. In between times I carried on life as normal. That’s not the case if you suffer from endometriosis. Crippling pain can be the norm, every day for years and years. Living with this condition is incredibly debilitating and can have a huge impact on your life - affecting your work, mental health, close relationships with partners/family, social life, sex life, and potential to conceive. March is Endometriosis Awareness Month, so hopefully this article will give you more information about the condition and different ways in which it can be managed.