Going on hols

Hi everyone

This afternoon I am leaving for holiday! I will be boarding a plane that is taking me home to Seattle.  Well, I have a layover so it’s actually two planes that will take me to Seattle.

That means I’m not sure how regularly I’ll be posting here for the next couple of weeks.  I’ll try to do my best, but I’m about to be very busy with family and friends.

I’m sure my time in the States will leave me with many topics and issues to share with you.  So don’t fret – I will be back, and I’ll have loads to share with you when I return.

Love

Fibre: Helpful or Harmful?

I’ve been having a debate with my boyfriend over the past couple of days about the effects of fibre.  With summer in full swing we’ve been eating a lot more berries, especially strawberries and blueberries.  The other morning he said we needed to stop eating fruit for a little bit because we were going to get constipated  (gross I know – yes this post is slightly vulgar, but it’s all about health).  I disagreed saying it works the other way, after all that why elderly people drink prune juice, it’s a good thing that keeps everything flowing right?

We both looked into this debate sure that we would prove the other wrong.  This is what we found:

• NetDoctor proved my boyfriend correct saying that too much fiber is a bad thing, and can block up your intestines.
• Bupa has a very informative page about fibre that explains what fibre is, its health benefits and good sources of.
• On Free Fitness Tips I found an entertaining post about the disadvantage of too much fibre, looks like both diarrhea and constipation can occur, obviously not at the same time.  There are some other interesting effects you might want to check out.
• I retaliated with an article from WebMD, here it explains using fibre to cure constipation.

So in the end I think both my boyfriend and I were correct.  Fibre does help get things flowing, but consuming too much causes an opposite reaction.  So what should you take away from this?  Make sure you eat a balanced diet that contains some fibre, but don’t overload on it.  Also, drink water!  That is one of the best ways to keep your body working properly.

Childhood Obesity: a big fat problem

Childhood obesity is something that gets me really worked up.  I think it is so sad to see an overweight child who you know is going to have major health problems just because they aren’t being fed properly.  It is now becoming normal for school aged children to have type 2 diabetes! You could almost say it’s a form of child abuse/neglect, but often when you see the parents you realise they just don’t know any better.  It is often environmental factors and eating patterns that have been handed down that have lead to this horrible problem we see today.  Seriously – it’s been predicted that the young generation will die before their parents, and this is all because of the food they are eating!  Well, that and video games/TV which is keeping them sitting around indoors rather than running about outside like they should be.

I absolutely love Jamie Oliver and it’s his Food Revolution that really brought this issue to my attention.  I’m obsessed with the show! It’s made me laugh, it’s made me cry and I was sad to say goodbye when this season ended.

I came across an article today that was tweeted by @HerbalMD which got me going on this topic again.  The article discusses the struggles the New York school district has had with improving their school lunches.

• First the lunches included too many grains – even though they were whole-wheat and second, processed foods were still being served.
• A problem in the whole system which the article identifies is that the USDA buys large quantities of surplus foods, mainly meat from farmers w to keep them from going out of business.  Often this meat has been feed growth hormones and other antibiotics not meant for humans.  The USDA then sells this cheap meat to schools to feed the children
• Another problem is the amount of funding provided for the National School Lunch Program.  The program spends $8 billion each year, but after overheads are taken away, that is less than a dollar a day per child – not enough to feed the proper food.

*I highly recommend reading the full length article.

And I haven’t even touched on the amount we are spending in health care to pay for treating people with obesity related disease.  This is true both in the US and the UK – fair to say that it is a much much bigger problem in the states, especially with the over-abundance of fast food, but I do see plenty of overweight people here in England too.

So what are we to do?  Just sit around watching people eat themselves to death?  No, I say you can’t complain about something unless you’ve tried to do something about it.  So start today by signing Jamie Oliver’s Petition – this will help get real food into American schools.  Other options, well if you have kids the obvious place to start is by teaching them about healthy eating and making sure they get balanced meals.

I’m starting to look for other ways I can get involved and start to help teach people the benifits of healthy living.  This blog is a start, but I’m sure there is much more I can do.

Any suggestions?  I’d love to hear stories from people who are involved in promoting healthy eating in any way.

Meat Free Monday: 8

Wow, this marks 2 months of Meat Free Monday’s for me!

This evening I made a lovely courgette and herb risotto.  The recipe comes from BBC Food. It was divine!  Another dish that had my boyfriend begging for seconds – that’s how I judge if it’s one to make again.  Now this dish does require a lot of stirring over a hot stove, but is packed full of vegetables that give it a light summery feel.

Ingredients:

• 900ml-1.2litres/1½ -2 pints chicken or vegetable stock
• 60g/2oz butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 600g/1lb 5oz courgettes
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 225g/8oz risotto rice (such as Arborio, Carnaroli or Vialone Nano)
• 150ml/5fl oz white wine
• small bunch fresh parsley
• small bunch fresh basil leaves
• small bunch fresh chives
• small bunch fresh tarragon
• small bunch fresh mint
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 30g/1oz parmesan, freshly grated

*luckily I had all of the herbs except for tarragon growing in the garden

1. Place the stock into a large pan over a medium heat and bring to the boil, then turn the heat down as low as it will go, to keep the stock hot but without letting it reduce too much.
2. Heat 30g/1oz of the butter in a wide pan over a low to moderate heat. When the butter is foaming, add the onion.
3. Using a grater, coarsely grate one-third of the courgettes. Add the grated courgettes to the pan with the onion and fry gently, without browning, until both are tender.
4. Melt 15g/½oz of the butter with the olive oil in a frying pan over a high heat. Chop the remaining courgettes into 1cm/¼in cubes. Add the chopped courgettes to the pan with the butter and olive oil and saute over a medium to high heat, until they’re tender and beginning to turn brown. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
5. Add the rice to the pan with the onion and grated courgettes and stir for 30-60 seconds to mix well. The rice should become translucent.
6. Pour in the white wine. Simmer until the wine is absorbed.
7. Chop the herbs finely. You should aim for about two tablespoons each of chopped fresh parsley, basil, chives and mint and half a tablespoon of chopped fresh tarragon.
8. Season the risotto with salt and pepper. When the wine is all absorbed, add a ladleful of the hot stock and keep stirring, until that has been absorbed. Keep adding the stock in the same way, stirring as frequently as you can, until the rice is cooked al dente (that is, tender but still with a slight resistance to the bite). This will take 20 minutes or more. If you run out of stock before that, just add boiling hot water. At this point, the risotto should still be fairly wet, and moist, but not swimming about in a lake of liquid.
9. When the rice is cooked, stir the sauteed courgettes and most of the chopped herbs (keeping aside a sprinkling for serving the final dish) into the risotto and cook for a further 1-2 minutes to heat through.
10. Finally, stir in the last of the butter and the parmesan. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve, sprinkled with the reserved chopped herbs.

Vitamin D

I was so happy that the sun was out this weekend.  I even managed a bit of time at the beach – in my bikini!  July was so wet and chilly that the return of the heat was a welcome surprise.

I made a yummy picnic of coronation chicken sandwiches (I used Greek yoghurt rather than mayonnaise to make these – delicious!) which my boyfriend and I enjoyed on the beach Saturday afternoon.  I had more time on the pebbles in the sun later that evening with friends.

All of this time under the blazing rays got me thinking about Vitamin D.  It’s good for me and it comes from the sun, but how does it work and what’s it good for?

The NHS helped me out.  I just learnt that Vitamin D:

• Forms under our skin as a reaction to the sun
• Helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body
• Keeps bones and teeth healthy
• A lack could lead to rickets

What I found interesting that I wasn’t aware of before is that you can get Vitamin D from some foods as well, including:

• oily fish
• eggs
• fortified cereals
• powdered milk

If it’s sunny where you are I’m sure I don’t have to twist your arm to get out and stock up on some Vitamin D, but if it’s cloudy and rainy like it was here last month perhaps try some of these foods.

Sun Salutations

I think I’ll keep this Friday post light and sweet.  Sun is predicted for the weekend which I think calls for a celebration here in England. I’ll be welcoming the good weather with a routine of sun salutations.  Check out this video below and join me:

Eek, I just realised this post is a bit native/tribal - worshiping the sun.

Yoga styles, what’s your fav?

I’ve just completed my unlimited month of Bikram yoga, and I’m contemplating – do I sign up for another month, or try a new yoga style?  I’ve done Ashtenga before and really enjoyed it.  I’m hoping you can help me.  What is your favourite style of yoga?  I’ll give it a week, and then the most popular style is what I’ll sign up for next.

Thanks for your help!