Lent

Goodness, I can't believe it is Shrove Tuesday today!! Easter is really early this year (mid March) and as a result Lent will start tomorrow! What better time to decide to make some changes to your diet than now. Lent lasts about 6 1/2 weeks, so it is definitely a great way to test your will power and try and make some positive changes. Classic things to give up include chocolate, alcohol, coffee, crisps, takeaways etc. which would all be a great way to give yourself a bit of detox before Spring is upon us. Good luck - and enjoy the pancakes tonight!

Leon

Mmmmmm... I've just had my first Leon lunch of 2007 and reminded me that I should mention it on my blog. Leon is an excellent, newish chain of restaurants who definitely live up to their strapline 'naturally fast food'. Check out their website to look at their menu. Everything is delicious and I would particularly recommend the Leon Gobi to keep you warm (and super healthy) in February! Yum!

Did you know...

... that your hair grows more slowly in February that in any other month of the year? Very curious, but it kind of makes sense as it's one of the lowest times of the year. Christmas is a distant memory, all the new year's resolutions have gone out of the window and everything feels a little grey and dreary! With that in mind I am going to make a concerted effort to get blogging again so I can provide plenty of tips for keeping healthy, happy and full of beans (maybe literally) throughout the month when all we feel like doing is going into hibernation!

Dans le Noir

On Tuesday night I paid a visit to Dans le Noir in Farringdon. I didn't know quite what to expect, but it was a fantastic experience. After a surprise cocktail in the (lit) bar, we were led to our table by our guide for the evening, Carl. All the waiters are blind and were amazingly adept at getting us all into the restaurant and seated at our table. He then looked after us exceptionally well all night as we tucked into our food and wine (which we had to pour ourselves - tricky!). You don't know what you are going to get to eat so have to try and guess, which is harder than it sounds. Especially when you are having difficulty even getting the food on your fork! Overall it was a great night and a real experience to be completely robbed of your vision (it is completely pitch black) for so long. My only criticism would be that the menu was slightly unimaginative - roast beef for main course - esepcially considering it is a French restaurant. I would thoroughly recommend the experience though and if I were to go again I would suggest going for the blue or green menu and not the white!

Jamie at Home

I just managed to catch the first episode of Jamie Oliver's new tv show Jamie at Home last week (while frantically trying do all the cooking for a dinner party!) and thoroughly enjoyed it. The focus was on tomatoes and all the different varieties had had grown in his garden. Some fantastic recipes and it's great to see lots of British food cooked in season. I definitely recommend tuning in tonight and checking it out. There is a book out too which will no doubt be packed full of yummy recipes, so I'm hoping to get my hands on it soon!

Fresh Tuna!

At the end of July I spent a fabulous week in Sicily, cruising around the Aeolian Islands on a yacht with a group of friends. Al, the budding fisherman among us, launched his line from the back of the boat and to our amazement caught a small tuna fish within about 10 minutes! He then bravely gutted and filleted it before cooking it up on our tiny boat stove for us all to tuck in to. It was really delicious and probably about as fresh as you can get! Yum! Shame it was the only thing we caught all week.....

Konstam

At the end of July I paid a visit to Konstam at the Prince Albert, near Kings Cross. I had been very excited about eating there as I had heard lots about the restaurant from the TV series The Urban Chef which followed the head chef/ owner Oliver Rowe in his quest to source all his ingredients from wihtin the M25! The restaurant is relatively small, with an open plan kitchen so you can see your food being prepared.

In the spririt of having a totally British meal we started with a glass of English sparkling wine before moving on to our starters of cuttlefish from the Thames and chicken liver and bacon pate which was absolutely delicious. We then washed our amazing main courses - steak with fresh horseradish, beetroot and onion and pork with goosberry sauce and seasonal veg - down with a lovely bottle of Chapel Down wine! The food was so tasty and fresh and it was great to know that everything had been sourced from so nearby. I would definitely recommend a visit, especially if you are lucky enough to have Oliver himself in the kitchen as we did!

Paella Anyone?

In early July I had a long weekend in Mallorca for my sister's hen party and we were staying in a lovely villa right on the beach. On the Saturday night they had a local festival and as we walked past we saw the food being prepared on the beach - local paella cooked on open fires in enormous paella dishes. They were absolutely massive and smelled totally amazing, so I couldn't resist asking for a taste from the local chef! It was really delicious and I was very sad not to be joining in with the feast!

Apologies!

I'm so sorry at the lack of blogging activity lately. July was a rather hectic month with trips to Mallorca, New York and Sicily! I'm certainly not doing my bit for the environment right now... Will have to endeavour to extra specially good for the rest of the year to make up for my rather large carbon footprint!

August looks set to be much quieter so I promise I will get some new posts up shortly!

x

Tomatoes!

After being in my garden for a few weeks my tomato plant seems to be doing well! Here is a piccie of my first fruit! Hopefully the sun will come out soon so that they start to ripen!

Sprouting

I recently became the proud owner of my very first sprouter! I have soaked my seeds and placed them in the sprouter, so now I have to wait and see what happens! This is what they look like after 24 hours - I will post more pictures shortly to keep you updated on progress!

Recycled loo paper...

Thought that might get your attention! Hopefully this isn't as horrible as it sounds. As part of their ongoing 'make a difference' campaign Sainsbury's are giving away free loo paper to every customer who spends £3 or more on Wednesday 27th June. Click here to find out more about it and learn about Sainsubry's committment to saving the rainforests!

Floater!

My brilliant sister kindly gave me a voucher for a session in a float tank for Christmas and I decided to book myself in over the bank holiday weekend. Having never done anything like this before I was quite excited, as I didn't really know what to expect. I really enjoyed the experience and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who wants to spend some time chilling out and re-charging the batteries.

While in the tank you are completely deprived of all your senses; it's pitch dark, you have earplugs in, the air and water are at body temperature and you literally feel like you are floating in space! It is said that it can be the equivalent to four hours sleep, so it is a fantastic way to boost your energy. My only mistake was to do the float tank in the morning, ahead of a busy day. I think this made it harder for me to 'switch off' and completely rest my mind. Next time I shall book myself in for a later session so that all I have to worry about afterwards is going home to bed!

I had my float at the London Float Centre on Clapham Common. They have several centres in London, so I would definitely recommend a visit if you have the time.

Tomatoes!

My fantastic mother has grown me a tomato plant in her greenhouse, which is now happily situated in my little garden in Tooting. It is already rather large, so I am hoping it will have a huge crop of tomatoes for me to feast on later in the year! I will keep you updated on its progress!

Whole Foods

While in Florida a few weeks ago I experienced my first Whole Foods Market, which was absolutely fantastic. The size of a big UK supermarket, the aisles were lined with organic, fresh, ethically sourced food and the array of natural supplements and products on sale was amazing. They have recently opened their first UK store, so if you are able to get to Kensington I would definitely recommend a visit. Check out their website for more details.

Eat the seasons!

Just came across a very handy website with details of all foods which are currently in season. Check it out here and put it in your favourites now!

Daily cuppa!

Most people know that green tea is an excellent source of antioxidants, but did you know that black tea is also packed full of goodness. Antioxidants are excellent at protecting the body against cancer and heart disease as well as potentially harmful free radicals which are found in cigarette smoke and pollution. But making a speedy brew on the go may not be the answer as research has shown that you need to take a bit more time to prepare your tea.

Researchers in Aberdeen found blood antioxidants levels were 60% higher in those who had consumed tea which had been brewed for 5 minutes compared with those who drank tea which had only been brewed for 1 minute. It was found that within an hour of drinking the tea antioxidant levels had increased by 45%. So now you have no excuse for not making the tea at work as it will mean a nice long break from your desk too!

On your bike!

The time has sadly come for me to say goodbye to the trusty bike that I have had since I was at school and for me to upgrade to a smart, new one. I am a huge fan of cycling; not only is it excellent exercise and the most efficient means of transport it is also friendly to the environment and very convenient for dodging traffic jams (and parking fines!). Now I have my speedy new bike (he's called Roger) I intend to cycle to work at least twice a week. This is a 15 mile round trip, so I am aiming to cycle a minimum of 30 miles a week and preferably more. I shall be attaching my speedometer at the weekend and will be keeping a record of how well I do. I'll keep you posted!

PS Don't worry - my old bike won't be clogging up the landfil sites. I have found him a happy new home and hope he will be on the road for a few more years yet!

Blemishes!

I heard an interesting piece on the radio while I was in Florida last week about how we should not be so fussy with the produce we pick out at the supermarket as some blemished fruit and vegetables actually have a greater nutritional value than perfect looking ones! The following is a summary of the findings and makes interesting reading. Perhaps we shouldn't be so fussy when we're next out shopping!

If you pick through the bins at your grocery store looking for the most blemish-free produce – stop it! According to experts, you're bypassing the fruits and veggies that pack the biggest nutritional punch. Here are the facts from Woman's World magazine.

• If you find a tomato with healed-over cracks near the stem – it isn't old or damaged. It just means it grew in dry conditions, which doubles the concentration of B-complex vitamins. And researchers say that boosting your B-vitamins balances your blood sugar, helps you focus, boosts your memory, and helps you sleep better.
• Dark dots on green bell peppers. It doesn't indicate it's past its prime. It actually means the pepper is sweeter and less acidic than an unblemished one, and contains 120% more vitamin C. Which boosts your resistance to stress, reduces your risk of allergy attacks, and makes your facial skin more elastic.
• Pick the papayas with small brown spots. Amazonian Indians know that signals a tastier and healthier fruit. And Venezuelan researchers say that spotted papayas contain 400% more of the antioxidant lycopene, which strengthens your bones, protects you from UV rays, and helps lower your cholesterol.
• Bananas with tiny brown flecks. Jamaican researchers say that spotted bananas have 170% more magnesium. A mineral that relieves muscle aches and migraines, helps maintain healthy blood pressure, and reduces your risk of belly bloat.

To recap: Skip the perfect produce, and choose blemished tomatoes, green peppers, papayas and bananas instead. And you'll be getting more of a nutritional bang for your buck.

Back soon...

Apologies for the lack of posts recently. I have been in Florida doing some fieldwork on the American diet/ size 00 phenomenon (see photo). I'll be back on home soil at the weekend, so normal blogging will resume next week!