Posts Tagged ‘food’

Recession Food:  Get the most out of your food!

Although the times are tight it doesn’t have to mean that your belly has to suffer!  There are five main foods that you should have in your cupboards and wardrobes that will help you whip up tasty treats in no time at all - and they’re cheap!

Cabbage

There may be a sniff of school dinners about this friendly vegetable but trust me, if you have this in your kitchen you will be better off!  Cabbage is packed with freshness and our healthy old pals the antioxidants perfect for  your body.

Cabbage is versatile and can be thrown together with loads of different options which makes it such a good kitchen companion.  Chuck some cabbage into your salads, soups and sautés and get the goodness of the leaves and the familiar sweetness they produce.

Eggs

If there was ever a food stuff that could find its way into the plate of any meal then the egg would be it!  Throw ‘em on your chips, in your salad or even scramble them and put them on your morning toast - what can’t you do with them?

The thing with eggs is that they will last for weeks and weeks which is helpful if you’re a bit scatty with your food and you tend to find bits leftover from the previous month in the back of the fridge.  What’s even better about eggs is that they’re crammed with protein, selenium and vitamins A, B and E keeping your immune system happy and healthy.

Pasta

While you might be told that pasta is a stodgy mess that should be banished from your kitchen if you want to lose any weight but seeing as we give little thought to our weight when we’re worried about a recession then go out and buy some pasta.

Pasta is incredibly filling and surprisingly cheap - mix it together with a beautiful sauce and you’re away with the fairies…and tomorrow you can just mix it with a different sauce…

Sweet Potatoes

Normal potatoes are all right but they don’t take eating to that next level that we’re looking for.  Normal potato’s cousin, the sweet potato, does manage to bring the potato experience to the level we’re looking for and so we need to welcome it with open arms to our dinner table.

Sweet potatoes are packed with vitamins A and C and are sweet (surprise, surprise) so they work well with the more savoury delights life has to offer.  Bye bye normal boring potatoes…

Mince Meat

As meats go, mince meat is a cheap way of getting protein in tasty portions.  There is so much you can do with mince meat and if you have too much then you can just freeze it to have again in a few days.  Mince meat will fill you up right when you want it to…

What’s in your kitchen?

Do you fall back on these kitchen necessities?  Have you found your food shopping habits change through the recession?  Leave us a comment and let us know…

Memory – More than just a card game…

If you are reaching that age where memory is starting to annoy you a little too much and you want to do something about it then read on!  A new study has shown that playing video games can actually do your memory wonderful things…is it time to buy an Xbox?

The survey showed that you can boost your memory by playing on games that involve planning and strategy.  These games cannot only help with your memory but they will also aid your other mental abilities.

The research was carried out by the American Geriatric Society’s Foundation for Health in Ageing.  But is it really time that you ran out to your local Game Station to buy an Xbox and 15 games to keep your mental abilities functioning?  Probably not…

Games aren’t the only saviour!

Don’t worry, gaming isn’t the only tool in your arsenal to fight off the memory woes you’re facing – other research has found that people can help their memory by simply expecting to remember things…

Furthermore our old friends the carbohydrates can do us all a turn when it comes to memory so get munching if you’ve started to forget where you’ve parked your car or misplaced your keys recently.

And if you find that you mutli-task then stop right now – apparently multi-tasking is a bit of a memory drainer so take your time and do one thing at a time.  Work on focusing on one task!

Foods can help too!

But if video games and ‘single-tasking’ aren’t very attractive to you then maybe you should have a bite on some of these foods which work to improve your memory;

Blueberries – These little beauties have popped up a number of times when it comes to foods that help with memory loss.  Ageing rats were fed blueberries and then made to take a memory test – they out-performed the young rats!

Spinach – Again rats feature with spinach too – a study actually showed that spinach didn’t only help prevent the effects of memory loss in rats it reversed the it.  Imagine what it could be doing for you right now!

Onions – Onions of the red variety contain the likes of anthocyanin and quercetin, an antioxidant that has been proven to fight against the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.  Yellow and white apples also have high levels of quercetin as do Apples for that matter.

Grapes – Grapes are another food full of quercetin and anthocyanin – whether red, black or purple grape they all hold the mental goodness.  So obviously it makes sense that the same can also be found in red wine.  However we all know that too much red wine can often lead to severe memory loss of the night before so keep it light.

Food or Games?

So after reading through the article do you think you’re going to be turning to food to help your memory worries or are you going to be rushing out to buy a few games to play?  Let us know what you think…

Stress Busters – the foods that fight stress…

The recession isn’t easy on most of us – stress levels will undoubtedly be shooting through the roof as cash and employment worries become more and more taxing.

So read on to discover which food you should be munching on if you want to beat away the daily stress and anxiety;

Sweet Potatoes

Our bodies cry out for carbohydrates and sweets on a daily basis but when we’re under stress we feel the urge even more.  Sweet potatoes could be the key to quashing that urge and thus relieving your unwanted stress.

Contains: Beta-carotene and other vitamins as well as fibre which helps to burn through the carbs.

Oranges

Vitamin C has been proven to eat away at stress and return blood pressure back to a healthy state – an orange will work wonders in a stressful situation and could also help towards your immune system.

Contains: Vitamin C

Spinach

So just because Popeye piled on the muscles when he munched down a can of spinach doesn’t mean the same thing is going to happen to you.  Spinach is good for fighting off headaches and fatigue though so your insides will be stronger after a bite.

Contains: One cup of spinach supplies 40 per cent of your daily magnesium needs.

Avocados

These little beauties can actually bring down your blood pressure thanks to the amount of monosaturated fats and potassium they contain.  According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in the United States munching on an avocado is one of the best ways to lower your blood pressure.

Contains: Monosaturated fats and more potassium than bananas.

Dried Apricots

This little treat can blow away the stress of the day and also relax your muscles at the same time – great to munch on at the end of the day while you’re enjoying a relaxing bath – goodbye stress!

Contains: Magnesium and a lot of it…

Salmon

We all know about Omega-3 and the benefits it has on our brains, but were you aware that it can also protect you from heart disease?  Omega-3 manages to put a lid on your adrenaline and cortisol (a stress hormone) letting you put less stress on your heart.

Contains: Omeg-3 fatty acid.

Green Veg

Your dark greens plagued you through your childhood but now they’re back and they need to be cleared from your plate!  Dark green vegetables are full of great treats that keep our bodies refreshed when stressed – isn’t that nice of them…

Contains: Green vegetables are stuffed to the rafters with vitamins.

Stress – Can you beat it?

Do you have any tips to control stress levels?  Did you find out stress busting foods helpful?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think…

Surprise: White bread isn’t good!

Taste

For a start there is a difference in taste – after all if brown bread and white bread tasted the same then we’d probably all choose the healthier option for breakfast.  Brown bread can be quite an interesting taste experience if you’ve spent the last 3 decades chewing on the white stuff.

A good idea if you are thinking of making the exchange from white to brown is to take it slowly.  If you make a sudden move for the brown you might be put off but if you work your way through the steps, stopping at all the breads in between white and brown, then you should find that brown bread is actually the way forward.  Give light rye a try and work from there…

No Nutritional Value

White bread is made from wheat flour and is bran and germ free – as you can imagine these are the nutritional bits that you won’t be getting with your morning egg soldiers.

White bread falls short when it comes to the likes of zinc, thiamine, fibre, niacin, and trace elements and not to mention our old favourites the “good” fats and oils that we need in our daily diet.

Bleached

So what’s left in the white bread?  Flour of course…but don’t get on your high horse just yet!  The flour that’s left in the bread is bleached using oxidising agents that could actually kill you if you were to swallow them, inhale them or rub them on your skin – you’re eating it!

The people at the bakery will be throwing in anything from Potassium Salt, Bromic Acid, Potassium Bromate, Benzoyl Peroxide or Chlorine Dioxide – a cocktail of hazardous chemicals that you would stick your nose up at if you saw at your local Asda.

Brown doesn’t mean brown!

So you might be thinking that you are one of the good guys munching on your ‘brown bread’ – well don’t be tricked…just because it says ‘brown bread’ doesn’t necessarily mean it is any different to white bread!

Real brown bread is whole wheat or wholemeal.  Check out the ingredients on the side of the packet and make sure you know exactly what you’re putting into your mouth.  If you see enriched/wheat flour then forget it – this is exactly the same stuff they chuck into white bread so you won’t be getting all the added benefits of the wholemeal goodness!

As a basic rule of thumb the few ingredients the better so keep that in mind the next time you’re out shopping for bread.

White or Brown?

What do you choose when you have a sandwich?  Do you reach for the white or do you go down the healthier route and go wholemeal?  Leave us a comment and let us know…

Five a day keeps you healthy and happy!

Have you ever really thought about how you are supposed to get your five a day?  It can be pretty scary when you think about it too much…five a day – that’s like veg every couple of hours.  Isn’t that a lot?

You need to relax and not make such a big deal about it…don’t see it as a challenge but instead as a helpful guideline that you should stick to if you want to live a healthier lifestyle.

So how can you do it?  It’s not as hard as you might think…keep these tips in mind;

Spread It Out

If you think that you have to have five fruits or vegetables in the day you will panic and stuff your face and never want to look at another apple again.  Don’t do this!  Instead work them into your meals – introduce a couple of berries in with your breakfast, some vegetables in with lunch and have a banana as a snack in between lunch and dinner – before you know it you’re had your fill!

Mix It Up

You might think that you’re on the right track by munching on the same five fruit and veg every day, but you’re not – you’re going to get bored fast and you’ll put yourself off the whole thing.  Not only that but you also need to remember to try as much fruit and veg as possible as each portion has something different to give you on a nutritional level.

Try Something New

We don’t live in 1940s Britain anymore – we can get more than oranges and apples now.  Have you seen the range of fruits and veg around the country?  You won’t have a clue how each one tastes without actually trying them so get out and try something new – you might find your favourite vegetable or fruit from a country on the other side of the globe…the point is you won’t know without trying!

Enjoy

You won’t stick at anything for long unless you are truly enjoying it.  Don’t force a banana down your neck if you’re going to live in misery every minute of the day counting down the time until your next mouthful.  Try something else and keep testing out other things until you have found something you are comfortable with.  Don’t be scared of the five a day but embrace it as a new way of living that is going to do great things for your body and your health.  You’re doing it for yourself so enjoy it!

What about you?

Do you give much thought to your five a day?  Can you not live without your fruit and vegetables?  Can you even remember the last time a piece of fruit touched your lips?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think…

Baking bread – have you thought about doing it?

Have you ever really put a lot of thought into the possibility of making your own bread?  Do you struggle against the possibility or are you slightly intimidated by the thought of having a loaf that doesn’t come wrapped in a plastic bag?  Baking your own bread can be a great thing to do…but why?

Healthy

That’s right – it’s quite obvious but baking your own bread is a lot healthier for you than buying a loaf from the supermarket.  For a start you are the one putting in the ingredients and if you can’t trust yourself then who can you trust.

Say goodbye to breads that contain the likes of chemical additives, hydrogenated oils, unhealthy preservatives and sweeteners.  Instead welcome in the freshness of eggs, flour and our old favourite, nutrition!

The shops tend to want to trick unsuspecting shoppers in an attempt to get as much money out of them as possible – this is not new news.  When you go out and buy your whole meal bread you aren’t always getting what you think – a lot of the time whole meal bread is just white bread that is given the colouring of whole meal to make you think that it is filling you up with healthy treats.

You aren’t going to fall into that naughty little trap at home, are you?  You can be 100 per cent sure of exactly what is going into your loaf and therefore what exactly you are going to get out when it is ready!  You want whole meal, you get whole meal…no arguments from your ingredients.

Taste

Imagine a bread that is made entirely out of fresh ingredients.  It’s going to taste good and fresh – that’s what you are going to get when you bake your loaf at home.  You will probably be shocked at how good home made bread can taste – many people claim to be able to taste the chemicals in shop bread after a while on the home made stuff.

We don’t eat bread because it’s good for us and it’s a necessity – we eat bread as an indulgance most of the time…a little bread and butter or jam or marmalade – we want the taste!  So why not get the most out of your loaf by making it yourself.  Welcome to flavour country!

Money

You might think that it is cheaper to buy supermarket loaves at 80p a loaf, or even 30p in some cheaper supermarkets, compared to a couple of quid for the ingredients you will use to make the bread yourself.  But the thing is you need to keep in mind how many loaves you will be able to make for your couple of quid – the ingredients should last you for ages while your supermarket loaf will last you a couple of days before going green.

What about you?

Have we convinced you to bake your own bread yet?  Are you itching to taste the freshness of home baked bread or are you going to stick to supermarket loaves?  Let us know…

Be healthy – get a blender…

Everyone wants to be healthy – being a slobby, unfit couch potato is soon to be a thing of the past as people are turning to shots of grass water and liquid vitamins – one of the best ways of staying healthy is by chucking a load of fruit into a blender and having a drink of a smoothie.

Smoothies have gone from strength to strength over the last decade and more and more of us are turning to our blenders to provide us with healthy alternatives to mid-day snacks.  You probably have one in your kitchen right now…

But why smoothies?  There are massive benefits from smoothies, much more than simple juice – if you buy a bottle of orange juice from the shops you won’t be getting the whole fruit, meanwhile in a smoothie you know that the whole apple that you are putting into the blender is what you are going to be putting down your neck!

Where do we start?

So where do we start with smoothies?  Unfortunately it mostly isn’t just a case of chucking in some fruit and hoping for the best – smoothies are liquid based so they can actually be drunk.

To make a smoothie drinkable we need to add a liquid base like fruit juice, milk, yoghurt or ice cream.  If you want to steer clear of dairy products then you can experiment with the likes of Soy milk or Rice…have a go at each base until you find one you like.

So you have your base, no pick your fruit.  The great thing about smoothies is that you are completely in control – long gone are the days of having to stick to a single fruit juice like apple of orange.  Get adventurous – strawberrys, blackberrys and apples?  Orange, pineapple and kiwi?  Who knows – give them all a go.

Don’t forget to prep…

Don’t forget to peel the fruit if necessary as if you would if you were munching on the fruit on its own.  Once the fruit is ready then add it to your liquid base and away you go!  You might want to add ice to the smoothie to cool yourself down on that hot summer’s day?

Another alternative to using ice is to actually freeze the fruit before you use it – this is not only a great way to keep the drink naturally chilly but the smoothie will actually turned out to be a thicker, and often more satisfying, texture.

Keep your eye on the thickness of the smoothie and keep applying your liquid base if you need to.  If you have found you’ve gone over board with the base and it’s now to thin then slap in some more fruit – it’s easy and it’s going to taste great!

What about you?

Are you a smoothie fan?  Are you a health fanatic?  Did you find our smoothie advice helpful?  Are you going to rush out to buy a blender?  Leave us a comment and let us know…

Is it time to stop eating meat?

Could you live without meat?  Some people do it right now…others couldn’t even think about it…but by giving up meat you could be doing more than protecting your arteries.  Not only will you be saving countless innocent animal lives but you will also be doing great things for the greenhouse crisis and you will be reducing your footprint!

Meat is good for you – it has important nutrients like iron and protein that we need for energy and fuel and above all most of us like the taste of it.  But unfortunately for meat lovers there are some pretty reasonable arguments against the consumption of meat.

Methane

It is interesting to find out that methane is actually far worse for the environment than the usual suspect carbon dioxide – did you know it came out of the wrong end of a cow?  Furthermore were you aware that farming is responsible for a staggering 38 per cent of the United Kingdom’s entire methane emissions?

One cow standing on its own produces from between 100 and 200 litres of methane every single day!  Think about that next time you drive past a field full of cows…

Water

The waste of water involved in making a hamburger is just too much to think about – it takes around 2,400 litres of water, from the growth of the cow to the actual process of making the burger.  Now imagine how little water it takes to grow some veg?

A portion of green beans from Kenya uses only 80 litres of water to produce from start to finish – an insignificant number in comparison.  Water is one of the big problems of today’s climate issue as it is increasingly becoming scarce.

In this light, a vegetarian only consumes around 2,000 litres of water while a meat eater contains 5,000 litres.

Deforestation

We are eating more and more meat and so we need to find more and more room for all the animals we are eating.  The Amazon and areas of South-East Asia have been ripped up to make room for cattle while we are already worried about the lack of trees left in the world.

However the argument against this worry is that most meat eaters in Britain actually eat meat farmed in Britain so there is very little, if any, contribution to deforestation from Britain.

Land

The population of the Earth is growing at amazingly scary rates and while this is a problem in itself we could be helping the issue if we turn away from meat.  Cattle farming takes up massive amounts of land areas which could be used for other things such as providing areas for people to live in.

What do you think?

Would you say goodbye to meat to save the planet?  Are you a veggie and think that others should follow in your footsteps?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think…

We don’t always have time for breakfast – but are you aware that by skipping the most important meal of the day you could be ruining the rest of your day?

By giving yourself a few minutes at the beginning of the day could you really be doing yourself a favour for the rest of the day?

Read on to find out exactly why you should be waking up a bit earlier to make time for that all important meal…

Wake up that metabolism of yours…

When you don’t eat all night your bodies metabolism slows down – by skipping breakfast you aren’t giving your metabolism that all-important boost that sets your body up for the rest of the day.

Wake up, it’s breakfast…

Did you know that breakfast makes you more alert and wakes you up.  If you have been finding your attention lagging in those early morning office meetings then make sure that you haven’t been skipping your breakfast!

Breakfast diet?

Research has shown that by eating breakfast you will actually increasing your chances of losing weight.  Think about it, if you skip breakfast you are so hungry by lunchtime that you can only think about stuffing your face, and you’ll end up consuming more calories than you would want.

Mood swings…

Studies have shown that by skipping breakfast you could actually be setting yourself up to be in a bad mood, and no one likes a moody guts.

You are what you eat, after all, so start your day with a healthy and nutritious dish to set yourself up for a good day!

Cereal bars are not a breakfast substitute!

Cereal bars are crammed with fat and sugar and don’t make up for a good old healthy breakfast – some cereal bars contain as much sugar and fat as a chocolate bar!

Take the chance to get healthy…

Breakfast is the perfect time to ditch the morning sweets and take the healthier route – if your appetite isn’t what it is in the afternoon then think about munching on some nuts, berries or whole-grain cereals.  You’ll feel better and so will your stomach.

More about sweets being bad…

If you like to tuck in to that morning Danish then perhaps it’s time to rethink your logic.  Sweet foods are great for lifting your mood for all of a couple of hours and then you’re down further than where you started.

A couple of hours after a sweet your blood sugar will drop way down and your energy will be sucked right out of your body.  What do you turn to?  More sugar – talk about a vicious cycle…

Whatever you plans and whatever your routine, think about introducing breakfast to them!  You won’t look back…you’ll be feeling better, lighter, happier and more focused so stop fighting the breakfast and set yourself up for a good day!

What about you?

Do you munch on a breakfast of friend eggs and bacon or are you a nuts and berries kind of eater?  Do you skip breakfast altogether or are you a breakfast lover?  Let us know…

Two men have been give the death penalty for their part in the contaminated milk scandal that left 6 babies dead and around 300,000 ill. The former boss of the Sanlu dairy was sentenced to life in prison. In all 21 sentences are being dished out to those involved.

The scandal, which rocked China and shocked the world, involved large quantities of melamine being added to raw milk to make it appear higher in protein. The global outrage has damaged China’s food industry both at home and abroad.

The most senior figure to be given a sentence was Tian Wenhua, who was the company’s chairwoman. When the scandal was revealed in September it emerged that Sanlu had known it was selling toxic milk – allowing 900 tonnes of it to reach shop shelves. The truth was revealed by the company’s New Zealand partner.

Wenhua pleaded guilty to charges of producing and selling fake or sub-standard produce in December. The Intermediate People’s Court in Shijiazhuang gave her a life sentence and orderd her to pay a fine of 20m vuan ($2.9m). They company itself was fined a further $7.3m, even though the firm was declared bankrupt.

Three other Sanlu executives were given between five and 15 years each, while Zhang Yujun and Gen Jinping were given the death penalty.

Yujun was accused of running an illegal workshop in Shandong province in eastern China, producing 600 tonnes of the fake protein powder. He was sentenced along with Zhang Yanzhang who sold on the powder, who was handed a life sentence. Jinping was convicted of producing and selling the toxic food to dairy companies.

The scandal left Chinese parents terrified and caused outrage throughout the country. This was worryingly similar to a milk scandal around 4 years ago that left 13 babies dead. The government has tried to fight allegations that it reacted to slowly to the crisis.

Families of the victims say that the Chinese government’s lack of openness, public accountability and official corruption means that they have little faith that something like this won’t happen again.

In total, 22 companies sold the contaminated milk. The dealers added the chemical to boost the protein count of the milk, but it was often watered down to make more money.

Dairy companies were also at fault for not running safety tests on the milk they bought, and the result was death and illness due to kidney failure.