Friday 26 March 2010

Been slack but I'm back....Still butter but better for you


It is so difficult nowadays to know what on earth you are actually allowed to eat. Surely butter would be a definate no no ... however there is a saving grace coconut butter. OK so I will admit it does not have the same salty and slightly satisfying taste of butter but it still melts loving on to your toast and hugs your vegetables to make them glisten like tinsle. The benifits of this wonder butter far outwieght the fact it has a different taste. This taste is not a horrible one and depending on what type of coconut butter you go for it doesnt have to have a taste at all, it is a milky smooth flavour and melts faster than you can spread it.


The other option as an alternative to butter is to find a ramekin or small bowl and fill it with olive oil. If you put this in the fridge it will go hard and then can be used as a butter subsitute.

Both of these options are better than dairy butter. Coconut butter although still a saturated fat it has shorter chains that the animal products. These mean the body deals with them differently and uses them as energy first meaning they are not stored as fats. It is also a very useful cooking tool as they are relatively stable at high temperature so do not produce free radicals.

Your local independant health shop will stock it....
XX

Wednesday 17 March 2010

SNACK AWAY....



This is music to most people’s ears...It is time the nation started snacking ... on certain things. The illusion that we need only three meals a day is no more. If you have a snack mid morning and mid afternoon the chances are you will feel less hungry at meal times so your portions will be smaller....

When snacking it is important to eat the right things. A snack should be something more complex than just a bar of chocolate. This is because it will take the body longer to break it down if it has more parts to it. So the advice is: eat a carbohydrate like a piece of fruit with some protein like some nuts or seeds or some yoghurt. Although you are still eating the sugary fruit the energy you get from it will be more sustained as the body has to work harder to breakdown the more complicated combination of sugars and protein. This will mean the glucose takes longer to get into your blood and will make you not only feel less hungry for longer but also will maintain your levels of energy.

Snacks which are easily portable include vegetable crudités and dips such as hummus or smoked mackerel pate, Fruit and nuts or yoghurt. As the breakfast blog said before smoothies made with protein and carbs are also a fantastic thing to have as a snack rather than a drink!

When we talk about carbs we are talking about healthy foods such as oatcakes and fruits not chocolates and pastries so as long as you are sensible about what you are snacking on go ahead... dive in. xx

Friday 12 March 2010

Breakfast isnt a chore....


Having spent a bit of time in Argos recently I am now the proud owner of a blender and me and my blender are going to start a revolution one breakfast table at a time. There are many reasons to fall in love with a these wonderful things but number one is that everything about it is easy. So many people miss breakfast and this is a habit that needs to be broken. With everyone squeezing so much into their days the breaking of the fast gets missed out but it is called that for a reason it needs to be eaten, it gets the body going and sets it up for the day.

Making smoothies is a great way of eating on the go or you can prepare it the night before and just grab it and take it with you. The preparation takes no time at all and you can put what ever you want in them until you find some combinations you love. I find simply emptying my fruit bowl into the juicer very effective.

From a nutritional point of view it is a good idea to put some protein in with the fruit. This will slow down the glucose release of the fruit and therefore ensure the levels of energy are more sustained. This will not only make you feel less hungry sooner but also keep your energy levels steady and prevent you getting tired and grumpy! Instead of yoghurt or milk try adding a few nuts like cashews or almonds which will provide some brilliant essential fatty acids and work in the same way as the yoghurt in slowing down the release of sugar....
Enjoy xx

Wednesday 10 March 2010

Wednesdays are recipe days... No. 1 Chicken soup


Wednesdays are going to be recipe days... so I am going to start off with one of my favourites and possibly the easiest Chicken soup. Now in these times of glumness many turn to grub to cheer them up and with the countdown to the budget announcement well and truly underway it is important to bear cost in mind when cooking. This recipe is brilliant as you can get any number of meals out of the chicken. You can cook your whole chicken in whatever way you like, roast, boil or take the raw meat off and cook it separately. The bits you need are the bones and any flesh you don’t like the look of.
It’s the easiest thing in the world. Bung your bones in a big pan which has a lid. Cover it with cold water and add any spare veg peelings or veg you need to use up etc and bring it to the boil. Let it bubble away for 10 mins and then either turn it right down and leave to simmer or whack in the over at a low temp. Now the longer you leave it the deeper the taste. I leave it for at least 3 hours and then sieve it so all the delicious juice is allowed to run through the disintegrated bones into a bowl.
You are now left with the scrumptious soup. This can sit in the fridge or freezes beautifully and it can be used for a plethora of fantastic things such as a stock for the basis of a soup, risotto, stew or on its own. Being a girl of simple taste my ideal evening is a big bowl of the chicken stock which has had a mound of pasta cooked in it to absorb all the taste whilst maintain enough liquid to keep it soupy and a sprinkle of cheddar on top. If you ever are feeling a bit blue or cold this soup warms you from head to toe both inside and out.xx

Monday 8 March 2010

The unsung heroes of the human diet....


There are a very interesting group of things called Phytonutrients which can be divided into two groups, Flavonoids and Carotenoids. They have not as yet been promoted to the dizzy heights of being an essential nutrient however they are pretty useful. These are the building blocks of our health and I would say are the unsung heroes of our diets. They are found in naturally colored foods i.e. not Haribo but foods that brighten up your fridge like peppers and chilies. The orange, red and yellow pigments are the Caretenoids and the Flavonoids are the darker blues and purple coloured foods although they tend to be found in small amounts in almost everything. These little things are not only the support system for the metabolic processes that occur in our bodies but they are also the warriors whizzing around absorbing energy from free radicals.

Without boring you with too much detail free radicals require energy so attempt to steal it off healthy body cells which leaves behind greatly damaged cells. Antioxidants counteract this by donating their energy to the free radical rendering it benign. Whilst Phytonutrients on their own can behave as antioxidants one of their main roles is to support other 'essential' nutrients such as Vitamins In particular Vitamin C and E benefit from the support of the Phytonutrients. They have been shown to be an important part of day to day health and it has been suggested that they help to prevent very serious diseases such as Cancer and Heart diseases.

The moral of the story is make your diet as colourful as you can… xx

Sunday 7 March 2010

THE COW



The second of my blogs is going to be my first of I hope many restaurant reviews and todays is dedicated to the best kept secret in Notting Hill. The Cow in Westbourne park road is the sort of place that half of me wants to shout about and the other half wants to keep to myself so that it can be mine! Its exterior calls you in - not pretentious and incredibly inviting and the interior is chic with a little bit of shabby but defiantly not shabby chic. I have to admit I didn't venture upstairs to the dining room but stayed snugly downstairs in the bar or saloon as its called. The service was quick and my Virgin Mary was the perfect mix. The joy of the cow is not the décor although its heaven but the fantastic menu, cockles and crab nussle next to the more traditional bangers and mash and lamb shank. As we were waiting for someone and starving we ordered a pint of prawns which came with a doorstop of freshly baked bread, it was just the thing to fend off the hunger pangs. Once we were a complete team I ordered my bangers and mash and waited with eager anticipation having seen the other diners tucking in around me. I was not disappointed. The mountain of mash was topped with 3 deliciously crispy sausages and smothered in caramelized onions with gravy dripping from all sides. The fish stew which was the most popular dish round the table was brimming with fish of all types and the small bit I was allowed to taste tasted like a winter walk on a beach. Although the pudding s looked like they had fallen out of a cook book I refrained having rather over indulged throughout the weekend and knew that the cinema pick and mix was beckoning. The Cow is the perfect venue for meeting friends, parents, a date, an anniversary, or frankly just you and your favourite book. Any excuse you can think of use it and go.xx

Thursday 4 March 2010

Here goes...


So here we are in my very own space where I can merrily bore one or two people with my thoughts and views on food and everything that comes along with it. To start with I am simply going to leave you with the brownie. I like many thousands of others have given up chocolate for lent and with only 9 days passed I am already starting to stock up for when this horrific period is over.

I will be posting recipies, nutritional tips and general delicous tit bits about the topic that occupys most girls minds 90% of the time. FOOD.
Until next time xx