Celebrate the Jubilee with a Great British Chocolate Pudding

Posted on 15 May, 2012 by | Leave a comment

You must be feeling that rising sense of pride…

This year Great Britain hosts the 30th modern Olympic Games and rejoices in Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee following 60 years on the throne of the United Kingdom (and as Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Normandy, Lord of Mann,  Paramount Chief of Fiji and sovereign of many other realms and territories).

So, it’s a great opportunity for a party! (That’s the long weekend which starts 1st – 5th June – put it in your diaries now.)

If you weren’t aware many streets will be taking part in The Big Lunch as part of the Jubilee celebrations, with neighbours everywhere getting together for a grand knees up.

Pride, chocolate and pudding!

Pride, chocolate and pudding!

There will be bunting everywhere you look… And, not surprisingly, Britain’s leading and most innovative chocolate makers, Montezumas, are joining in with the celebration (that’s very important because the British love chocolate like no other nation on earth).

They’ve designed special chocolate bars based on one of Great Britain’s other great exports: the pudding!

It’s pretty crazy but Montezuma’s chocolate is especially good: they’ve designed the new chocolates based on our most noble pudding flavours. For example, there’s the Apple Crumble Bar, the Treacle Tart Bar or the Eton Mess Bar, or you could enjoy even more flavours in their Great British Pudding Truffle Collection.

Pride, chocolate and pudding – at last we’re realising what it means to be British.

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Posted in Chocolate, Uncategorized

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Love food, love olives, love Olives Et Al

Posted on 9 May, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Have you ever gone exploring on market day and come across a stall which sells lots and lots of olives?

Did you ever want to sample all of them? Well now, you have the chance to purchase all those olives online…

Love food, love olives

Love food, love olives

Olives Et Al have made olives their passion. Using the finest ingredients and original recipes they have created a gorgeous range of olives you can store in your kitchen all for yourself. All the olives are sold marinating in jars of oil infused with herbs and spices, to achieve inspiring flavours that bring to mind cultures from around the world. There’s no need to refrigerate them as the oil preserves the olive. In fact, within reason, the longer you keep them, the better they taste.

And no artificial colours, flavourings or preservatives either, as you find with so many olives nowadays.

How about gathering a collection of the following…

  • Aussie Olives – Kalamata Olives cured in a sweet but tangy mix of Vinegar, Oil and Brine with a nudge of chilli.
  • Classic Olives – Sicilian olives with chilli, garlic bay & pepper.
  • Moorish Olives – Fully ripenend olives with cumin, coriander & cardamom in extra virgin olive oil.
  • Pistou Olives -  A French recipe of green olives with basil & garlic in extra virgin olive oil.
  • Pitted Green Olives – Fully matured olives in extra virgin oil, perfect for salads, breads or pizzas.
  • Pitted Kalamata Olives – Naturally ripened Greek olives in an extra virgin oil infused with Herbes de Provence.
  • Oak Smoked Kalamata – Kalamata olives gently smoked over oak chippings then steeped in extra virgin olive oil.
  • Sunshine Olives – A Greek recipe of mixed olives marinated with rosemary, garlic & sun-dried tomatoes.
  • Verde Olives – Greek olives with lemon, coriander and garlic for a fresh, zesty taste.

You can use the oil for your cooking too, so it’s a real investment in culinary wonders, ready to transform simple into scrumptious.

I’ll leave the last words to Olives Et Al:

“We love food as much as we love life itself. We don’t believe in doing things by halves. If something doesn’t look, taste and smell divine, and feel great in your mouth, then we just won’t make it. It’s as simple as that. But don’t take our word for it, put us to the test. You will not be disappointed but be warned, there’s no going back.”

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Posted in Coeliac (Gluten-Free), Dairy-Free, General Food

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Introducing Lucy’s Oatmeal Cookies

Posted on 7 May, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Every so often you hear stories of mums who have set up businesses inspired by their love for their children.

Lucy’s Cookies are the latest star in this field. Dr. Lucy Gibney discovered her child had severe food allergies and began creating recipes they would enjoy. With the benefit of her medical knowledge she developed a delicious alternative cookie that can be enjoyed by almost anyone, with or without intolerances or allergies.

The cookies taste so good you wouldn’t believe they were made for a special diet. They are free from a number of allergens, including nuts, dairy, eggs, wheat, and gluten – that makes them perfect for vegans and kosher diets too.

Lucy's Gluten Free Cookies taste really good

Lucy’s Gluten Free Cookies taste really good

Available in a range of flavours the cookies are just what you’d expect from an American biscuit: crunchy, sweet, full of flavour and, thankfully, fairly light in the calorie department too.

You can choose from chocolate, chocolate chip, oatmeal, gingersnap, maple bliss, cinnamon and sugar cookies.

So what are they made of? The ingredients are a blend of gluten-free oats, garbanzo, potato starch, tapioca, sorghum and fava flours; plus other allergy friendly ingredients like soya milk.

It’s such a relief to find biscuits which not only taste as good as mainstream treats, but better.

You can find lots more gluten free foods at GoodnessDirect – just click on the link.

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Posted in Coeliac (Gluten-Free), Dairy-Free, General Food, High Cholesterol, Low GL (Glycaemic Load), Vegan

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You’ll never believe what you can do with watercress

Posted on 3 May, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Who knew that you could buy watercress burgers?

Watercress is the kind of food you grow on your window sill as a child. But apparently it’s also versatile and tasty enough to make into paté, sausages, savoury mousse, or soup.

Cresson Creative's Watercress Sausages

Cresson Creative's Watercress Sausages

Well, we knew about the soup already but watercress burgers? Cresson Creative have brought together an award winning range, bursting with flavour and texture.

All handmade in the heart of Hampshire using quality ingredients, all preservative free and (with the exception of their watercress and smoked trout mousse) fully endorsed by the Vegetarian Society.

Still got any doubts? Their watercress sausages are mouthwatering and meat free made with watercress, breadcrumbs, mature cheddar cheese, onion, garlic and seasoning. Sounds good to me.

And, just to tease your imagination a little more… How about trying some watercress and walnut paté or Moroccan style vegan watercress burgers?

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Posted in General Food

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Ready for an organic night in?

Posted on 2 May, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Simple question: how many organic vegetarian ready meal brands can you think of?

Any at all?

It you’re going to eat a ready meal it helps to know that it’s good quality food and not processed rubbish.

Organic fast food. Why not?

Organic fast food. Why not?

Natural Cool have been providing organic fruit and veg like fruit berries and peas for a while now. However, recently they moved into creating quick ready meal dishes like their vegan chilli non carne and vegetarian lasagne bolognese, both without meat and both organic.

Natural Cool also offer a variety of potato options and they’ve begun making pizzas too! All organic, so you know they’re good.

Perfect for an easy, quality Saturday night in.

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Posted in Organic

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Immune Support in a Couple of Shakes: Why Bugs are good for you!!

Posted on 1 May, 2012 by | Leave a comment

This article is written by nutritionist, Christine Bailey from Advance Nutrition Consultancy.

Is your immune system in need of some support?  Suffering with a few digestive upsets?

If so forget those TV adverts that suggest we should sterilise everything and that all bugs are bad. In fact your body is teeming with bacteria, providing a warm residence to approximately 10 times as many bacterial cells as human cells. Our mutual inhabitants live on skin, in the respiratory tract and throughout the digestive tract. Your digestive tract alone is home to between 1,000 and 40,000 bacterial species depending on which journal you read so it is nonsense to say we don’t need them.

While some bacteria cause infections, most species are harmless or perform beneficial functions, such as aiding digestion. These beneficial bugs are called commensal bacteria. One of their most important functions  is optimising the immune system. 

Recent studies¹ have shown that when certain bacteria were exposed to immune cells (B cells) they helped produce antibodies that fight harmful viruses and bacteria. Two of the principle antibodies produce in the human gut is the immunoglobulin SIgA and SIgM and these are stimulated by the presence of the commensal and pathogenic bacteria as well as the non commensal yeast Saccharomyces Boulardii. Known as immunoglobulins they are play an important role in our immune system defences.

If you’ve read my Healthy Kitchen Blog recently you will see I have started making my own Kefir – this amazing fermented drink is rich in probiotic bacteria – great for gut health and the immune system. See my blog to see how to make it yourself.

Another great immune supporting shake is Whey protein.  Whey protein supports optimal immune health by replenishing levels of glutathione an important immune regulating compound found in cells of the body but also contains other naturally immune supporting compounds too such as lactalbumin and immunoglobulin.

Combine it with some antioxidants and make up a delicious shake – perfect for breakfast or pre / post training. See my recipe blog for a great recipe.

But if you do feel your health needs further support then why not book in for a one to one nutritional consultation at our clinic

(To get hold of a Kefir Starter Culture or simply order Kefir made by Nourish or Biona visit GoodnessDirect.)

1. e.g Severson KM, Mallozzi M, Driks A, Knight KL. B cell development in GALT: role of bacterial superantigen-like molecules. J Immunol. 2010 Jun 15;184(12):6782-9. Epub 2010 May 7

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Posted in Antioxidants, Complementary Health, Health

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Keep zinc and magnesium levels up to avoid hair loss

Posted on 27 April, 2012 by | 1 Comment

Do you know which minerals you need for your health? Take this test to see how much you know…

Everyone knows calcium is important for healthy bones, but did you know that zinc and magnesium are too? They are especially important if you are pregnant or breastfeeding; also, growing children, menopausal women and the elderly need extra calcium, zinc and magnesium for changing bodies too.

Hair loss

Hair loss is one of the results of magnesium deficiency

One of the well known problems if you’re lacking these minerals is hair loss. It’s easy to keep topped up in zinc and magnesium by munching pumpkin seeds and the like. Alternatively, you can enjoy the ease of a daily dose of Floradix Saludynam which provides the right balance of magnesium, zinc and calcium plus Vitamin D in a fruity liquid form. There’s no additives, preservatives or colourings, no gluten, just a perfect formula for strong bones, teeth and hair.

One last word of advice. because the balance of these vitamins in your body can be so vital, it is worth having a chat with your doctor before using a zinc/magnesium supplement.

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Posted in Beauty, Health, Menpause, Women's Health

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