Do You Grow Your Own Vegetables?

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It's true, I am in France again for a long weekend, but instead of the South of France, we are not far from  Paris where the weather is very similar to England.  There was a bit of sun today so I shouldn't really complain.


What I really want to share with you today is that the flowers on the table are from the garden (except for the white bouquet) and the cucumber salad are also home grown.  Isn't that super? 


There must be so much pleasure from growing your own little vegetable patch.  I have not grown anything myself but if you are needing a little bit of inspiration, then you may be motivated after viewing the photos below.

The home grown wild cucumber depicted above was delicious and incredibly flavoursome.  Who could have thought that cucumber grown with tender loving care can taste so good?

I was terribly impressed with the courgettes, simply amazing!

The French green beans were splendid to view and equally delicious.  Brilliant idea.

The peach coloured roses were summery and complemented the rose vin beautifully at dinner!

The purple and white flowers are unusual and yet so delicate with a wild beauty.  They are also from the large garden.  If you know what they are called, please do comment below.  Would love to know it's name.

If you've got that green thumb and you are considering growing your own vegetables, then I do encourage you to do so.  Gardening is a great way to de-stress and you will no doubt take so much pleasure from the fruits of your labour.


This cucumber salad was simply delicious.

If you are worried that any attempts at a vegetable patch equates to plants that perish secondary to neglect from day one, perhaps you'd like to start with herbs instead.  You may prefer the thought of growing basil or chives.  How hard can it be, right?


If you do grow your own herbs or vegetables, then please do give me any tips or advice that you would like to share!


Have a wonderful weekend, lovely readers.

High Energy Lemon & Almond Polenta Cake

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This is no ordinary cake.  In fact, this is so energy dense and rich in calories and sugar that I need to take a break from baking for the blog!  After all, whatever I bake, I end up eating.


The good news is that this is excellent for an individual with high energy requirements.  Or perhaps your child is following an exclusion diet but can do with the extra calories.


Consisting of polenta, this gorgeous energetic cake is also wheat, gluten, milk and soy free.  I did throw an egg in it so this is not egg free.  


I was very impatient and turned the cake over after only 10 minutes of cool time.  Oops - alas I also did not line the tin with any extra margarine (like as if the cake needed any extra fats), so the cake stuck to the tin (but really, no surprises there)!  I would wait till the cake cools completely before cutting.  


At first, I wasn't sure if I liked it as it was very sweet and lemony.  Once I had stored it in the fridge and then re-tasted, we all thought it was quite delicious.  A lovely grainy but sweet crumb, thanks to the polenta and sugar.


Ingredients
250g margarine (milk free)
230g demerara sugar
1 egg
1 medium banana, mashed
100g polenta flour
160g polenta
100g ground almonds
Rind of 1 small lemon


Methods
1. Preheat your oven to 200ºC.
2. Cream the sugar and margarine.  
3. Next beat in one egg and the mashed banana.
4. Add the flours and ground almonds, one at a time, mixing well.
5. Add the rind of one small lemon and squeeze in the juice into the mixture.
6. Pour into a baking tin, bake at 200ºC for 10 minutes, then cook further for 30 minutes at 180ºC.


Enjoy and remember, this is high in fat and sugar.  Treat this like a 'treat' food or enjoy if your child or you require a high energy diet.  Otherwise, just look and admire.


For benefits of polenta see The World's Sexiest Carb - Italian Polenta.

Do You Know Your Waist To Hip Ratio?

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A delightful study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in 1999 (yes I know, it was so long ago), reminded me about one of the very simple tools to assess body fat distribution.

This basically comes down to; are you an apple or a pear?  If you store your body fat around your hips or the lower part of your body then you most likely have a pear shaped body.  If you tend to gain weight around your middle, then you are probably an apple.

Yes you are beautiful no matter what shape or size, but in the matters of the heart, let’s face it; your health is better off if you keep your waist to hip ratio below a certain figure. 

How to calculate your waist-to-hip ratio

Grab a measuring tape and measure your waist circumference.  This is usually the smallest part of your body, around your belly button.  Do not suck in your tummy when you do this!  Next, measure your hips, which is usually the widest part of your body.

For men, it is recommended that your waist circumference is less than 40 inches (102 cm).

For women, it is recommended that your waist circumference is less than 35 inches (88 cm).

What do the numbers mean for you?

If your waist circumference is larger than the recommendations shown below, then you are placed at higher risk of developing diabetes, obesity, coronary heart disease and high blood pressure.

So sometimes, what you look like on the inside sure does matter!

Now that you know your waist and hip circumference, divide the two to get your ratio.

Waist circumference

________________     =   waist-to-hip ratio

Hip circumference

For men your ideal ratio is less than 0.95, whilst for women you are aiming for less than 0.8.  

Ratios above 1.0 for men and 0.85 for women indicate very high risk for obesity and diseases associated with the major organs such as your pancreas and heart.

I get it, these measurements may be difficult to face up to, but thanks to simple measurements like the waist-to-hip ratio, you can assess straight away if your ratio is heading sky high. 

To improve your ratio into the ‘safe zone’, changes to your diet are vital.  It’s also your exercise regime that I am very interested in.  Remember, brisk walking is still a great fat burner and for toning the lower part of your body.

To improve your waist-to-hip ratio scores, a combination of calorie restriction and energy expenditure through improved nutrition and exercise is key.  Your goal is to reduce the amount of abdominal fat.  It may be impossible to lose weight in one area alone, but through a combination of increased activity or exercise and diet monitoring, you can help protect your vital organs, blood glucose and cholesterol profile.

Looking good from the inside is important too!

How To Get Your Little One To Eat Greens

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You may think that it’s a luxury to have your kids enjoy eating their greens, but it’s an easier task to achieve than you think.  Before you roll your eyes and shut me down completely, here’s a true story.  My girlfriend recently gushed in joy that her 15 month old boy ate spinach after months of battles with the greens.

He would hopelessly throw his vegetables on the floor for his own pleasure (much to the dismay of his tired and annoyed mum).  Don’t get me wrong, this little boy is gorgeous and gives me an arm work-out every time I lift him in my arms.  I am sure that he is over the 50^th percentile for both height and weight on his growth chart. 

So what’s the problem?  Well it’s that moment in every mum’s life when her son or daughter starts refusing their greens.  How do you cope with it?

My chosen weapon of attack is known as the disappearing act.  If you are missing the trick, all that you need to do is to puree the green item and mix it in with the main meal.  For example, my Creamy Mushroom And Asparagus Risotto With Spinach worked a treat!  The little one hardly noticed that the spinach was included in the dish and devoured it like magic.

When oceans of tears are the last thing that you want to deal with after a hard day of work and hours in the kitchen, then this is one practical suggestion that can be incorporated on a daily basis, when you need to ride through the temporary phase of ‘I will not eat the yucky greens’.

Never force your child to eat something that they don’t like as you run the risk of feeding aversions.  Instead, encourage them as much as you can and try the refused food a few days later.  

Secondly, you could try presenting the same dish with the spinach cooked in its ‘whole’ form  once he or she starts eating it in the pureed version.  Chances are that you will have dinner completed in thirty minutes fuss free and you’ll have your secluded moment with that irresistible new book that you’ve been dying to read before bed.

Did you know that cucumber is one of the easiest things for children to eat?  It’s relatively plain, has a pleasing texture and has a high water content which the kids will love during summer.  As a pre-dinner snack, cut up cucumber sticks along with the children’s favourite veges for them to help themselves to.  You could seat them at the table and leave a small plate in front of them and then seriously, just leave them to it. 

No need to say a word.  Chances are, they will enjoy picking up the cut up vegetables and will help themselves without any encouragement from you.  Soon, you will be bonding over greens with your little ones.  Go on, give it a try!  You have nothing to lose.

How do you encourage your children to eat their greens?

Seafood Stuffed Peppers with Garlic & Basil Squid

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I was initially going to keep this naturally gluten, wheat and soy free recipe to myself, but judging from the excitement on twitter chat this evening, I figured that it would be selfish to not share.

This recipe is not milk free due to the addition of cheese at the final stage prior to baking.  You could try using tofu but I am not entirely sure if this will work (only if you are allowed soy in your diet).

This could be a really easy after work recipe for busy mums that even the kids might enjoy!

Ingredients

4 red and yellow capsicums (bell peppers)

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 garlic cloves, crushed

3 small deep red tomatoes

Handful of basil, roughly shopped

3 medium mushrooms, sliced

230g mixed seafood (mussels, prawns, squid)

1 tube of squid, cleaned and sliced

75g smoked mackerel, torn apart into pieces

Parmesan or mature cheddar cheese

Methods

1. Preheat the oven to 170ºC.

2. Cut capsicums in half and remove the seeds.  Place on an oven tray (I wrapped mine in foil).

3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan then add crushed garlic, chopped tomatoes and the basil.

4. Cook for a few minutes, then add mushrooms and all of the seafood.

5. Cook for a further 10 minutes then spoon your mixture into the capsicum halves.

6. Top the capsicum halves with a small sprinkling of Parmesan or Cheddar.

7. Bake in the oven for up to 40-45 minutes or until the capsicums appear cooked.

The World's Sexiest Carb - Italian Polenta

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If you follow A Light Perspective, then you know that this is a gluten and wheat free product. 

As one of the world's most sexiest carbohydrate, polenta is a corn or maize based food.  It is a staple in Italy quoted to have been around since the 1700s.  It’s a delicious alternative to pasta but can also tempt your taste buds in a sweet dish.

In Italy or Southern France, you may have tried polenta served with a fresh tomato sauce. 

For a sweet option, try my irresistible 'Italian Banana Loaf With Polenta, Walnut & Coffee'.   

Polenta is so versatile that this is one staple that you definitely want a generous stock of in your pantry.

Health Benefits Of Polenta

Polenta contains a good range of vitamins and minerals such as B vitamins, vitamin A and zinc to name a few.  It is also a great source of fibre which contributes to the lower glycaemic index (GI) of this food. 

The carbohydrates in polenta are the ‘slow releasing’ variety.  For you this equates to stable blood sugars; instead of the highs and lows that you could expect after a jam sandwich composed of white bread.

The glycaemic indexes of foods are important.  Choose carbohydrates with a low GI as lower GI diets have been shown in research to improve the blood sugar profile in persons with diabetes. 

Low GI diets may also reduce serum lipids in individuals with high blood cholesterol.  The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2002 also quoted that low GI foods may play a positive role in reducing the risk of colon and breast cancer.  It is thought that corn can support the growth of friendly bacteria in our colon, facilitating the transformation to short chain fatty acids and hence the reduced risk of colon cancer.

Why You Should Love Polenta

You will also love that cooked polenta can be moulded into shapes such as balls or squares and served with vegetables for a colourful banquet.  Zucchini, olives, garlic, peppers and tomatoes will complement this naturally wheat and gluten free meal beautifully.    

Remember, studies show repeatedly that diets that are higher in monounsaturated fatty acids, fibre and low glycaemic index foods have advantages in insulin resistance and your body’s blood sugar and cholesterol profile.

If this is not a reason to love polenta, then at least enjoy your Sunday roast with the world's sexiest carb!  You'll love the creamy and smooth texture.  I know that you’ll love the change!

How do you eat polenta?

The Secret Sauce For Happiness - A Morning At Race For Life

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It's possible that you too have someone in your life who may have been touched by cancer.  


It was a pleasure to take part in today's Race For Life event in Regent's Park.  This is one of the most beautiful parks in London.


You will be so busy enjoying the gorgeous flowers and birds that you'll quickly forget that you are out exercising.

If you are like me, you may have been complaining about the rain and making excuses to exercise secondary to the 'wet' summer that we've been experiencing.  And like me, if you took part in today's race then you may have realised how precious life really is and appreciated rain for the first time.


You may have appreciated life, the opportunity to race (yes, even in the rain), and the glorious opportunity to spend a saturday morning with friends, loved ones or simply the chance to enjoy a walk with your special friend like Mr Gorgeous below.

Or her...  Drenched, but happy and proud.

As we continued our walk to support those we love or loved with cancer, happiness, we have come to believe is right there in front of us.  


It is in the people we love and in the little things that make us happy.  It may be the flowers you see around you, your adored pet, your favourite pink top, the sound of your new baby laughing or that hug you received from your mum who you secretly think nags at you endlessly.

Whoever or whatever 'it' may be, open your door and invite happiness every day, for who knows what tomorrow may bring?

But of course the stars for today are these lovely super heroes!  Bat girl sure looks good!

And of course it may come as no surprise to you when I say that food sure does make me happy.  We headed to a lovely Italian restaurant on Crawford Place called 'Briciole' for some much needed feeding.


The food was delicious, the service was homely and pleasing, with the decor stylish and inviting.


The green olives were truly authentic and tasty (and hence why there are only two left to photograph)!

This flavourful Sicilian inspired dish with red prawns were truly a taste from Italy.  I was a very happy diner.

In conclusion, I am grateful for a lovely day with the girls.  Lovely readers, what makes you happy?  What are you most grateful for today?