Notes from the Soup Kitchen: 1

Soup is brilliant. Its versatile, nutritious, filling and above all (for non-chef’s like me), easy to make.

Roasted Squash and Lentil soup

I’m not the best planner when it comes to food shopping, I shop at markets so am at mercy to the seasons, and often buy what I like the look of and freestyle with my ingredients when cooking – I’ve never been one to follow the rules to the letter, so why start now?!

Last night I bowed to the mercy of the mini squashes that have been winking at me for  the past week and a half; every time I go to the vegetable box, I always get the same ‘eat me, eat me’ whisper, but then something green and leafy has caught my eye and I’ve relegated them to last place again. Well I finally succumbed and roasted them in with a couple of garlic cloves then promptly forgot about them while listening to the Radio 4 Food Programme on Omega 3 fatty acids. Oops. Luckily I remembered just in time and the squash wasn’t burnt to a crisp – actually pretty much perfect in texture, squidy but not completely overcooked.

I got down to the hard graft of making the soup this morning, with a little help of a red onion and a morigold veg (yeast-free) stock cube and some lentils, I cooked up a storming soup. The thing about squashes is that you do have to give them a little push int he right direction to ensure that the flavour comes out as they can be a little watery and tasteless in soup I find. Roasting is the perfect antidote, and roasting the garlic simultaneously means that not only do you have a flavour change in the garlic but you also infuse the veggies together when they are initally cooking which brings out a completely different taste. With mini squashes, you can get away without the painful process of peeling, as you the skins are soft enough to eat and are like butter in the blender, so you don’t lose out on those extra vitamins and fibre either. Lentils will make the soup nice and thick and also provide extra fibre.

Below is a little bit of info on why squashes and lentils are so fab, but be sure not to miss out on the great recipe below the science-y bit. Enjoy!

Squash

A member of the melon/gourd (curbitacae) family, which includes  courgettes, marrow, pumpkin, butternut, acorn, spaghetti squashes

Squashes are high in carotenes, potent antioxidants which help protect from sun damage and have also been reported to have anti-cancer effects to rival more popular cancer fighters. The richer the colour of the skin, the higher the concentration of carotenes. My squashes were orange like pumpkins and green. They also contain vitamin C, folic acid, vitamins B1, B5, B3 & B6, potassium and dietary fibre. In otherwords, fantastic for immunity, mental health, energy levels, digestion and cell performance.

Lentils:

A member of the legume family, whose other members include chickpeas, kidney, butter, pinto and aduki beans.

Excellent source of fibre, so great for anyone on a cholesterol-lowering diet. They also help keep energy levels constant as the fibre slows the release of the glucose (sugar) into the blood stream. Puy lentils are the daddy of lentils as they are far more fibrous than red or yellow lentils, but the great thing is that they only take around 20 mins to cook, so you can pop them into soups dried with no need for pre-cooking unlike other beans.  Lentils are also a good source of vegetable protein, folic acid and minerals phosphorus (bone health), iron (immunity/energy), magnesium (immunity/bone health/stress/digestion), manganese (immunity) and potassium (kidneys).

Variety of Winter Squashes

Roasted Squash & Lentil soup

700g/4-5 mini pumpkin or squashes – de-seeded and cut into quarters,

150g puy lentils

1 onion – sliced

4 garlic cloves – skin on

1 vegetable marigold boullion cube – melted in 1 litre of hot water.

——————————

Method:

Roast the mini squash in an oven heated to 200ºc. Place the garlic into the hollwed out part of the squash and splash with a little olive oil.

Check after 30 mins, give the tin a little jiggle about and leave for another 15 mins.

When the squash is ready, remove from oven and set to cool.

Meanwhile, gently cook the onion in a little olive oil in a heavy-based saucepan and boil the kettle for the stock.

Remove the skins of the garlic and cut the squash pieces in half again, place in saucepan.

Allow to cook through slightly and add the lentils, stirring constantly.

Add the stock and water – add a little more water if required, bring to a simmer and leave for 20 mins.

After 20 mins, the soup shold be ready, so either eat as is, or blend with a hand blender, or pour a little at a time into a larger blender and whizz for a few seconds.

Serve with toasted pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds on top.

Small Packages Pack a Big Punch

I dipped into the CAM exhibition this weekend at Earls Court, the annual mecca for nutritional therapists, natropaths and other ‘alternative’ therapists to sample new products, see their favourite experts talk, take part in workshops and catch up with old faces.

It seemed a little smaller than last years event, however, one thing I did notice was Pulsin. Tucked away at the back of the hall these gourmet power snacks really packed a punch and a half. Not only are they nutritionally balanced, they are also really tasty.Plus vegan, dairy, gluten -free with no added sugar.

A small, mini word of warning however, tread carefully as you should with all health/energy bars, even the healthiest ones can’t be eaten willy nilly – there is no such thing as a free lunch!

Each bar gives you 225(ish) calories, so yes, they do give you a ‘better’, more balanced energy hit than a brownie or biscuit which only provides negative equity nutrition (i.e. nothing to replace the nutrients used to digest & assimilate it); BUT while the bars have no added sugar, some of the ingredients used are high in natural sugars, this means that the body will take longer to digest but sugar is sugar however we dress it up, if we eat more than we need then our waist sizes will increase.

The best uses for Pulsin bars would be as a pick-me-up on the days when your energy is low and you need to get things done, post-workout meals, as a snack when you’re on the run and don’t have time for lunch or dinner til later, you’ve got that meeting, need to pick the kids up from school, or project you must complete before you can think about food.

Alternatively, you could have a nibble and save it for later… although I’m not sure I’d be able to be that strong!

Maybe we could ask them to make them in smaller sizes? I often think that option should be available for all sweets/chocolate bars/cakes etc. It would be much easier to buy one small one than relying on self-control, but it doesn’t help profit margins does it…

Protein Powders

Pulsin also sell whey protein that is supplied from within the UK and also soy & pea protein for those of you who are vegans/vegetarians. Protein powder is great for post-workout smoothies, as it is key for us to give our muscles a helping hand in repairing themselves. I really welcome this as its really hard to find pure whey protein powder that doesn’t have lots of artificial flavourings or fillers in it.

There are many weight lifting related whey protein brands, I’m sure you’ve seen the behemoth containers in your gym or local health or gym shop but unfortunately they often come with lots of added articficial sweetners, fillers and forms of nutrients that are very hard for the body to recognise. Check out the ingredients if you don’t believe me. When prescribing to clients for specific health reasons I use whey products from nutritional supplement companies Solgar and Nutri-West as they also contain high-grade nutrients (in most easily absorbable formulations) which provide extra support.

Just to let you know, I’m not linked to Pulsin in the slightest but were one of the tastier exhibitors of the show who deserved a mention here. So, if your a budding marathon runner or just enjoy your workouts… head to your closest health food shop and try the bars, apparently the Chelsea footballers swear by them!!

Strike a Pose

I was featured in Mail On Sunday’s Finance section today in a article regarding issues around the proposed Royal Mail strike.

Mail On Sunday 18th October

As a nutritionist, we can do the majority of our work either in person or online (one to one consultations can be held over the phone or skype as well as in person). However, when prescibing supplements this is where we are at the mercy of the postal system. We use specialised supplement companies, most of which do not have a retail presence – if they do then it will only be at the likes of high-end healthfood shops such as Nutricentre who have outlets in some of the Tesco Extra stores or in their flagship store in London’s Hale Clinic.

Of course, as a nutritional therapist, it is important that my clients do not run out of the supplements that they are using. Whilst it is a annoying situation, rather than moan about the looming strike, I have decided to be proactive and have created a strike-crisis strategy so avert any issues. With anything, preparation is really key to helping avoid unexpected pitfalls, of course life will always throw in the odd curve ball for good measure, but in a service-led industry such as mine, it is incredibly important to ensure that your clients needs and wants are met.

If you are under the care of a nutritional therapist (or any other alternative practitioner who prescribes supplements) then ask them tactics they have in mind for circumventing the proposed strikes. Keep your health at the forefront of your mind at all times.

SE1: The Place to Be

London Lite 7th October 2009

I know that living in London is not everyones cup of tea but being a short distance from Borough market means I can do my weekly food shopping at one of the best places in London. I often forget how fortunate I am to have it on my doorstep, its an integral part of my Saturday routine to pop down and buy my seasonal produce which is 90% organic, at reasonable prices. People don’t often believe me but I spend much less at Borough than I would in a supermarket, I can buy much more than I need including eggs, meat or fish for £30-35.

I’m the girl walking around with the bags over-spilling with greens and carrot tops – so if I do inadvertently attack you with my prime veg, whilst mooching from stall-to-stall then apologies in advance.

I know people complain about being ripped off, and yes it is true that some stalls can put up prices that would make your eyes water but over the past six years I have uncovered the best and cheapest stalls which means I avoid the tourist traps. If you want to avoid the crowds, go between 8-11am… come midday it gets ridiculous. After 3pm it calms down again before the market shuts at 5pm.

My secret squirrel guide to Borough Market:

Vegetables:

Wallaces (opp Monmouth Coffee on Stoney St)

Tanya & Rachel never fail to make me smile on even the coldest wintery day. Fresh, sesaonal, organic veg straight from Secrett’s Farm.

Ted’s Veg (Green market, nr Southwark Cathedral)

Organic veg from Lincolnshire, if Wallaces don’t have it, Ted will.

Fruit:

Wallaces (as above)

Chegworth Valley (Jubliee Market, accessible via Rochdale place/Stoney St )

The most amazing berries (that freeze beautifully) in the summer, apples & pears all year round. Everything either unsprayed or organic.

Eggs:

Sillifield farm (in main market next to the pork pies & opposite Borough Wines)

A box of free-range eggs for £1.20 that you pick yourself, if you’re feeling adventurous try their duck eggs too.

Meat & Chicken:

Northfield Farm (inside the market next to the large fish stall)

Often overlooked for the more media-renowned Ginger Pig, but my personal favourite. Brendan, my brilliant butcher, will always spend time to talk me through the current seasonal cuts of meat, bone/chop my chicken when I can’t be bothered to do it myself and never fails to disappoint with recommendations. Try their Collar bacon – it’s so yummy, once you’ve tried it, you’ll never look back!

Fish:

Furness Fish (inside the main market next to Northfield Farm)

Busy and always friendly, Furness fish have everything from Scottish salmon to Lobster to conger eel. They also have a game section if you fancy it.

Cheese:

Neals Yard Dairy (Stoney St)

If you’re a cheese lover, you can’t go wrong with NYD. They have the patience of cheese saints and are as passionate about their cheeses as Paul Smith (who’s got a boutique a few doors down) is about fashion.

Bread:

Flour Power City (Stoney St or Green market)

Try the Rye pumpernickel bread, toasted with a little butter or humous is just divine. You can buy 1/2 or 1/4 loaves if you want to try, but beware, it will get you hooked!

Misc:

Humous/Falafel: Arabica (Green market)

Fab falafel for your market munchies or test out the array of arabic delicacies. Fresh, no nasties and worth every penny.

Taramasalata/Feta & Halloumi Cheese: The Greek Connection (Green market)

Once you have tried their taramasalata (yes it is supposed to be white) you will never return to the supermarket version. The feta and halloumi also have the ability to send you back down memory lane to your wonderful Greek Island holiday.

Linseeds & Linseed oil: Flax Farm (Green market)

If you want the best linseed/flax oil in the UK, Flax Farm is the stall for you. It is organic and has a nice nutty taste which is often lacking from flax oil bought in health food shops. You can also buy flaxseed (brown or yellow), ground flaxseed which are a nice addition to your muesli or porridge

Tofu: Clean Bean Company (Green Market (opposite Flour Power City)

The best Tofu in the UK. Clean Bean make their tofu in Brick Lane in the traditional Japanese way. If you take your own pot then you get a discount too.

Olive Oil: Apuliablend (Green market opposite Ted’s Veg)

A recent discovery which I’d ignored for years, thinking it was too dear. Thankfully, I have been proved wrong. Delicious olive oil, superior to that I’ve bought in health food shops for the same price. You can spend lots of cash on very high quality oil if you choose to but if you want a good nutty oil that can be used for cooking and salads, this is your place.

Coffee: Monmouth Coffee (Stoney St)

If you love your coffee there is no where else to go. They are meticulous with their coffee sourcing from the best places in the world. You can buy whole beans or they will grind them for you – they also opened up their own roating house. Be prepared to queue and they don’t use anything other than full fat organic jersey milk.

Nuts about nuts

When I was a kid in the late 70’s/early 80’s, every autumn and winter brought a variety of nuts into my parents and grandparents houses. Not the packets of today containing already shelled nuts that are often dried or roasted for reasons of preservation, these nuts were in the shells and were plumper, more succulent and creamier texture than todays offerings. Pecans, almonds walnuts, hazelnuts and of course the Brazil nut used to be bought in string brags from the greengrocer for us greedy kids to get our hands on. I used to sit on my Dads knee by our fire with him helping me crack the nuts until I was strong enough to do it myself. Oh happy days.

In actual fact, nuts in their raw form were (seasonally) prevalent until the supermarkets took it upon themselves to a) sell nuts all year round and b) supposedly make thing ‘more convenient’ by pre-shelling the nuts and packing them in packets. The only way I can eat walnuts now is by soaking them in water over night (and rinsing a few times) as not only does it remove the bitter taste that is often prevalent soaking also allows the nutrients to be more easily absorbed.

One of my ‘nut memories’ is shelling walnuts at my grandma’s and eating so many that I felt sick and couldn’t touch them for years afterwards. I always thought this was because I hated walnuts – when I tried them again they were bitter, dry and nothing like the nuts from my childhood. I thought my tastebuds had dramatically changed until today.

The thing is that once shelled, as with all raw food, nuts can go off pretty quickly which is why 99% of the nuts we buy are dried. And I’ve bet everyone has a nasty nut story – the one that kicks your tastebuds into touch; the rancidity lingering in the mouth, no matter how you try to remove it.

“Wet walnut, what’s that?”

I was visiting my parents and Mum offered me a ‘wet walnut’.

“A wet what?” I said, “Walnut” she replied.

“What’s one of those?” I asked, “Are they from the UK?”

A wet walnut is a fresh walnut. It is called wet as they have recently been harvested from the tree and are slightly damp to the touch. When I tried it I was amazed at the difference to shelled ones. They have a beautiful creamy flesh and a very delicate taste. After ruminating on this ‘new’ food, I realised that in fact that these were the walnuts of my youth. Mum went on to explain that the season for fresh walnuts if very short, similar to Kent cobnuts a variety of hazelnut. And yes, they are grown in the UK.

Fresh (wet) Walnuts

King of Nuts

The walnut is a very special nut. It is the king of nuts. It is the only nut that is rich in linolenic acid, the precursor essential fat to omega 3 oils EPA & DHEA, otherwise known as fish oils. The only other vegetable source of linolenic acid is flaxseed (also known as linseed).

Due to their high essential fat content, walnuts are considered to be  food for the brain. If you look at the shape of the nut you can see that it resembles a human brain, from the wiggly top to the way that there are two halves that are joined together in the middle.

Walnuts are high in antioxidants, vitamin E and minerals including magnesium, manganese, copper and phosphorus. Walnuts are also a rich source of protein, dietary fibre and promote HDL (aka good) cholesterol production; the high levels of amino acid arginine allow blood vessels to relax, remain smooth and avoid platelet aggregation, a pre-cursor to heart disease.

Where to Buy?

I bought mine from the local greengrocer in Wanstead High st, I’ve yet to find out if I can get them from Borough market or indeed in my local farmers market. I have secondhand info that Waitrose may stock them, but this may be on a regional basis so worthwhile checking.

Walnut trees are often found in UK gardens, and can grow in abundance so its really worthwhile asking around. Annoyingly there was one backing onto my parents property, until the neighbour decided to remove it.

If you find a shop that sells them or have a tree and can’t use the abundance – please share your information, they are a treat I’d like everyone to try at least once. I definitely think that I could easily become addicted to them.

If you can’t find wet walnuts but would like to try  soaking dried ones, my favourite place to buy nuts is Unpackaged in Amwell St, N1 (London). They have some very tasty organic walnuts in stock right now.

How can I eat them?

Fresh walnuts: I would suggest that you savour wet walnuts unadulterated, on their own. The taste is so delicate and exquisite that any other flavours would leave you only with the crunch and texture. A travesty.

Dry (shelled) walnuts: soak a handful of walnuts in filtered water over night. Rinse a few times and add to recipes. This make the nutrients more available for the body to absorb and removes the bitter/sour taste that is so often associated with them. Store in the fridge but no more than a day or two max.

When adding to hot dishes, be careful to add as a final touch. Heating the walnut will damage the essential fat content which may leave it tasting rancid.

Waldorf Salad: you can substitue the mayo for some yoghurt or even a little bit of olive oil. If like me you aren’t a fan of creamy mayo or sauces, leave it out all together  but add a couple more tbsp of lemon juice.

Farro Salad with Butternut Squash & Walnuts: very intriguing middle-eastern style salad

Press Update:

I recently contributed to an article on heart health for Natural Health Magazine.

The article outlines why we need to keep out heart healthy, the foods we should avoid and the ones to include in our diets as well as lifestyle and supplement suggestions.

Unfortunately techonology is thwarting me from uploading the PDF, but please read a sample of my contribution below.

The magazine is out now in all good UK newsagents and supermarkets, its a really interesting read, so go buy it!

Garlic and spices

“Garlic is a natural blood thinner,” says Alison
Duker, who runs the nutritional consultancy
EatbetterNow, (eatbetternow.co.uk). “If the blood
is thick (due to excess fat intake for example) it
will be harder for the heart to pump it through
the body, especially if the arteries are narrow due
to cholesterol build-up, thus increasing blood
pressure. Garlic can also decrease the rate of
cholesterol manufacture.” Try to include
between one and three cloves per day in your
diet to get the full benefit.
Other heart-healthy flavourings to add to
your food include turmeric and ginger. Turmeric
contains curcumin which has been shown to
reduce the chances of developing heart failure,
while ginger has been proven to have bloodthinning
effects.

Folic acid
“Folic acid is essential for reducing levels of
homocysteine, a substance which is an
independent risk factor for atherosclerosis
(hardening of the arteries), heart attack, stroke
and vascular disease,” says Alison Duker.
“The body’s natural mechanisms to remove
homocysteine are dependent on a number of
nutrients, of which folic aid is a key player. It is
therefore very important to include foods high in
this vitamin in the diet, such as dark green leafy
vegetables, beans, walnuts, almonds, oatmeal,
avocados and coconuts.”

Magnesium
“Magnesium is nature’s relaxant and works in
conjunction with calcium for heart muscle
contractions,” says Alison Duker. “However,
decreased magnesium causes disturbances in
cardiac rhythm and can increase the risk of
hypertension (high blood pressure).”
Make sure you get your intake of magnesium
by eating plenty of dark green leafy vegetables,
sunflower seeds, buckwheat, almonds, cashew
nuts, walnuts, tofu, brown rice, figs and apricots.

The French Way

This afternoon in Monmouth Coffee in Borough Market, I had a delightful conversation with a Parisienne who is possibly the only French person I have ever met who a) LOVES London b) Prefers London to Paris (more to do, more vibrancy, more positivity) c) thinks our food is world-class.

It got me thinking, French women’s figures are the envy of the world. But why?

In a world where diet is probably the second word on many women’s lips, we are all searching for that diet miracle that works. The french diet is an anomaly, full of saturated fat, baguettes, croissants, red meat. But their figures defy the rest of the world. There are even books about the French Madame’s diet. A quick search on Amazon.co.uk came up with: French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guilian; The French Diet by Michel Montignac; The Fat Fallacy: the French Diet secrets to permanent weight loss by William Clower. (BTW: I’ve not read the synopses or lifted the cover of any of these, so I have no idea what any of them say or advocate so please don’t hold me to ransom if they are just-another-diet-book-with-a-fancy-cover).

France's Secret Weapon?

Mme Parisienne is a lady of my Mum’s age, slim, beautiful skin and wonderful vitality.  Well travelled and the mother of three grown-up kids of my age. I wanted to know her secret. What is it about the way the French eat that allows them to be the most glamourous culture in the world. Do they refuse dinner? Do they eat one meal a day and drink coffee for the remainder? Does the French croissant have a secret fat-burning enzyme that the rest of the western world aren’t allowed to know about?

Mme’s Parisienne’s Top Dietary Tips:

1) Always cook your own food. Do not eat convenience food as you are not in control of the ingredients.

2) Eat three meals a day. Do not snack.

3) If you want to eat a cake/tart/dessert; do but don’t make it a daily habit. When you do have one, enjoy every last mouthful.

4) Think about your portion size. Do you really need to eat off a plate that size?

5) Think about what you are eating and enjoy it. When you are full, stop eating.

6) If you have problems getting to the shops regularly to buy fresh vegetables, stock up on good quality frozen vegetables. Picard Surgeles specialise in gourmet frozen food. An excellent concept for busy, time-poor Parisiennes who want to eat fabulous food.

7) If your clothes are not fitting properly, do not buy a bigger size, it is a sign that you’re eating too much or too much of the bad stuff. Do something about it. Adjust your diet or lifestyle.

8) Exercise, exercise, exercise. You don’t need to go to the gym, just walk. Mme Parisienne told me that she knew that her mother was at the end of her life when she called a taxi – after a life of walking between 3-4 hours a day.

9) Do not overfeed your child when they are young, even if they are crying for more. Fat cells are formed in infancy and overfeeding can exacerbate the onset of obesity.

10) If you have a fabulous lunch or dinner and eat a lot then compensate for this by reducing the volume of food you eat at the next meal.

11) Always eat at a table. Do not walk whilst eating. I repeat Do. Not. Walk. And. Eat. When you do this, you don’t allow your stomach the time to digest, absorb and assimilate the nutrients from the meal.

Mme also commented that French women do not deny themselves anything, however they do not over-treat themselves, mainly because they are too vain. I prefer to think that they take pride in their appearance. Fashion-wise you can spot a French woman at 50 paces. They are always immaculately turned out and put the rest of the world to shame with their style and panache. We could definitely take more than a few leaves out of their books. In our defence, one thing that stays with me was Mme’s praise of the positivity of London, the variety and quality of fresh food, our loyalty to innovation in culture and the arts. However, she would like to see eating in theatres and cinemas banned and I agree with her entirely…

Let Them Eat Cake!

I was alerted to this Telegraph article on twitter by @bitchbuzz which is, quite frankly, ridiculous. ‘Research’ suggests that if women stare at a piece of cake then they will be less likely to eat it. The author is not credited but it must be a male staffer… surely any woman would disagree.

Chocolate cake... Yum!

The study of 54 females, asked 50% to stare at a picture of chocolate cake, the other half at a flower. When presented with a choice of snack –an oatmeal cookie or a piece of chocolate – more of the Cake group chose the oatmeal cookie. The groups were split by dietary consumption: healthy – cake group; unhealthy – flower group; the psychologist concludes that this history and the correlating groups choice to mean that staring at unhealthy food will make you choose a healthy option.

Since when were oatmeal cookies a healthy option?????

Errrr. No. Oats do not automatically = healthy. Nutrition-wise, I would go for the chocolate every time. Not only is an oatmeal cookie all carbs (albeit is unrefined) you can bet your bottom dollar that the biscuit contains sugar, honey, oil, and possibly some dried fruit – more sugar.

Healthy option? Not in this lifetime.

There has been a fallacy for years that ’health bars’ such as flapjacks and museli bars are a healthy snack. The marketing is focussed upon the wholesome ingredients of oats, nuts, rice puffs etc, however all is not what it seems. Whilst they are maybe more nutritious than a Mars Bar or Snickers, you have to ask what is the sweet gooey stuff that binds everything together? Of course if they contain nuts and/or seeds the protein will help slow the release of sugar into the blood stream but it more than the body needs and will not help those who are on the blood sugar rollercoaster.

The confusing thing is that manufacturers call sugar by a myriad of names including: glucose, barley syrup, rice syrup, honey, maltose, partially inverted syrup… So unless you’re up to speed on the latest names, its very easy fall into the trap of munching on a lot of needless calories before you know it. And I haven’t even talked about the carbohydrates or the fats yet…

Anyway, in my book, staring at a gorgeous cake will not stop you from deciding not to eat it, the opposite. There is always an option to say no, depending on the time of the month of course, however, the longer I dwell on the decision, the more I rationalise the choice. I find that the best course of action is total avoidance, or sharing if you’re with a friend.

Perfect summer snack to fix that sugar craving

My Top 5 Tips for avoiding cake:

1)   Never go food shopping when you’re hungry. Tempting treats will always find their way into the trolley as the brain stops thinking rationally and searches out for food that contain glucose (sugar), the brains main source of fuel.

2)   If you feel hungry, drink a glass of water and wait 10 minutes before eating. Our body often signals that its hungry when in fact we are dehydrated.

3)   If you have that sugary craving, avoid a carbohydrate-laden snack and go for something naturally sweet such as carrots, apples, or strawberries.

4)   Chew your food well. A sugar craving after eating is your body thinking it needs more energy to digest what’s been eaten.

5)   Have a few nuts with something sweet to help reduce the flow of sugar into the blood stream.

***However, I’m a realist and if you’re in a gorgeous restaurant, or have had a bloody awful day and want to treat yourself, then go ahead, be my guest. BUT enjoy that cake, love the experience & don’t do it every day.

Your body will love you for it.***

Salad crazy

Broad beans, bobby beans, french beans, runner beans… all are in season at the moment; looking fantastic and tasting delicious.

Full of cholesterol-busting fibre, energy providing B vits, potassium and a whole host of other phytochemcials; they are a really beneficial addition to the diet.

When I was younger, my mum continuously tried to feed my sister and I broad beans, she couldn’t understand why we always turned our noses up at them – pretty much, the only vegetable that we refused (she trained us from an early age to eat what we were given or there was nothing for pudding), however many times she tried to sneak them on our plates!

We would happily shell peas (eating half of them as we went); top and tail bobby beans and slice runners, but broad beans – absoutely not. They were sharp & bitter and looked grey, shrivelled and horrible on the plate when cooked – unlike their bright green companions.

It was only recently that I found out why they tasted so damn nasty, she’d neglected to remove the skins after cooking. Now it all made sense… I was able to include them into my meals and make Mum happy at the same time.

I bought a mixture of different type of beans from my fave veggie stall (opposite Monmouth Coffee shop on Stoney st) planning some sort of market-fresh salad. And special it certainly was.

I boiled some water and when bubbling away I chucked in the broad beans, letting them cook for about 30 secs, drained them and splashed some water over them to cool them down. Then I could remove their skins revealing the gorgeous green bean inside. I mixed them with raw peas, ripped up lettuce leaves, finely chopped raw carrots & golden beets, spring onions and radish. Added some ripped up nori seaweed plus a sprinkle of sunflower and pumpkin seeds and dressed with the juice of a lemon and lime plus a few glugs of flax oil and some braggs aminos (tastes similar to soy sauce).

It seems a lot I hear you cry… well, its wasn’t just for me! I had a couple of friends popping over for lunch so I added a little feta for my veggie guest and some Serrano ham direct from Portugal for the non-veggie.

“Crunchy, fresh, with a great flavour” was the response.  Just as well I had enough to make more tonight!

Go crazy with your salads – you can add anything you want – you don’t have to stick to just lettuce, cucumber and tomato – the salad police are not going to bash down your door because you’ve tried something different. The more variety you have the more array of nutrients you will digest and absorb. the only vegetable you can’t eat raw is (white) potato, and I wouldn’t do aubergine either, both members of the nightshade family and well, more trouble than its worth!

Summer is only here for a short while, before we know it, its going to be back to hot food – grabs it while it lasts.

Whilst I was away…

I know I’ve been away for ages… sorry! However, I’ve been running pop-up nutrition clinics across the UK for a very important client.
My recent travels have coincided with a huge number of people asking me about how they can avoid high cholesterol… on Twitter (my favourite social networking tool) even popstar @CalvinHarris has been talking about it. It’s the health topic of choice for many – it has received more column inches that most health issues over the past few years, so I wanted to cover this important topic but avoid boring readers into submission; so here are some key facts and top tips to help you on your way…

**So, first up, cholesterol is absolutely necessary – your liver will always make more than you can you eat, so avoiding foods reportedly high in cholesterol will not benefit your levels in the long run. It is part of the molecule that transports fats through the bloodstream, so levels are directly related to the amount of fat in your diet.

**LDL cholesterol is only called ‘bad’ cholesterol as it is easily damaged in the body. Reducing saturated (animal) fats has a direct correlation to a reduction in LDL manufacture. Increasing monounsaturated fats (e.g. Olive oil) will help to fight against possible damage as olive oil contains vitamin E – a protective antioxidant.

**If you have high cholesterol, eliminating fat totally will not benefit your body as it is essential for many areas of the body. What is important is the type of fats you eat – HDL (“good”) cholesterol indicates how much essential fat you have in your diet. The body needs us to consumer essential fats from nuts, seeds and fish as it can’t make them.

**Foods such as bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, cakes, biscuits etc (basically all the naughty, but nice foods) release sugar into the blood stream giving us lots of energy. Sugar (or glucose to give it its proper name) tells the liver to make more LDL cholesterol. As lots of these foods have fat in them, it’s a cholesterol manufacturing double whammy.

**Foods containing soluble fibre e.g. oats, apples, pears, veggies and brown rice, contain soluble fibre that binds to used cholesterol and helps your body to eliminate it. Muesli or porridge are probably the easiest ways to incorporate them into your diet.

**While we are on the topic of elimination – it is super important to keep your body hydrated – yes, that means drinking water… and not as part of coffee, tea, squash or fizzy drinks.

**Without enough water, our guts can become dry and, amongst other things, we can get constipated (going to the loo less than once per day). If this is the case then the cholesterol can be reabsorbed, re-circulating in the blood stream, increasing levels. If you hate the taste of water, try squeezing some fresh lemon, lime or orange in it. Not only does it freshen it up, the vitamin C also helps your body to absorb it. Aim for 8 glasses a day, but if you’re not used to it start with a couple and build up over a few weeks.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting some recipes for you to try out, but in the meantime, here’s some tips to increase those essential fats and keep your energy going for longer:

• Nuts: Brazil nuts, pecan nuts, walnuts and almonds (avoid peanuts and where possible cashews as they have a high level of saturated fat in them). Don’t go mad, have a small handful with an apple for a snack.

• Seeds: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, linseeds, sesame and poppy seeds: sprinkle over your breakfast cereal, add to fruit & yoghurt or salads.

• Fish: white fish also contains essential fats; so if you aren’t a lover of salmon, mackerel or tuna; try sole, plaice, pollack or coley 3-4 times a week. You can always have tinned fish (except tuna because the oils are removed in the canning process and contains high levels of toxic metal Mercury) instead for a quick fish fix. Try out my fish pie recipe for a healthy alternative to an old favourite.