Recipe – Roasted Tomato Sauce

When the girls were little, I used to batch cook all the time for them, so I always had a few quick meals in the freezer that I could defrost at a moments’ notice. I’ve got a bit out of the habit recently. They both get fed at school Monday to Friday, and we eat as a family on a Sunday evening, so it’s only really Saturdays I have to worry about. That said, batch cooking is a great thing to do not just for the children, but so we have some quick meals on hand too!

tomato-sauce

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Equipping Your Kitchen to Eat Well

There’s nothing I like more than settling down with a cup of tea and the Lakeland catalogue of an evening. It truly is a treasure trove of delights, and within a few minutes I can convince myself that I really NEED a tray specifically for the soaking of oven racks or a cake tin in the shape of the Millenium Falcon (based on what the girls are asking for for their birthday party next year, I might actually need one of those!).

Whilst I love a gadget as much as the next person, it’s not necessary to spend a fortune. There are lots of things that I don’t spend a lot of money on – my pans are pretty basic, as are my knives. My veg peeler was a wedding present 16 years ago. I don’t have a bread maker or an expensive coffee machine. There are some things I use all the time though – here are the essentials that make cooking from scratch easier.

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Recipe – Bircher Muesli

You already know that I’m a big fan of oats for breakfast. I don’t always want porridge however, so another good option is Bircher Muesli (sometimes known as overnight oats). Originally developed at a Swiss health farm at the end of the 19th century by Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Bircher muesli still fulfils it’s original aim of getting more fruit into your breakfast. It’s also less ice-bath-and-birch-twig-enema than you might imagine from it’s origins.

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Recipe – “Ferrero Rocher” Porridge

When I first posted my Best Basic Porridge recipe, I did promise that I would share some of my favourite ways to jazz up your oats, and following a conversation with a colleague this morning, I realised that I’ve been remiss in doing so. At this time of year, there is often a lot of chocolate flying around, but this is a much healthier and filling way to get your fix – even the ambassador would approve *snort*. Continue reading “Recipe – “Ferrero Rocher” Porridge”

Christmas Indulgence…

Christmas always seems to be a difficult time for anyone trying to maintain a modicum of a healthy approach to their lifestyle. My life seems to have followed a depressingly familiar cycle over the past few years:

  • January 1st – New year, new attitude. Go for a run and eat soup.
  • January 2nd – Oh, but there’s lots of leftover cake. And chocolate. Shame to waste it.
  • January 10th – March: Now the leftovers are gone, try to get back on the wagon after the excesses of Christmas. It’s dark and cold outside and spring is ages away. Eat chocolate.
  • April – Spring is here, hooray! It’s the girls’ birthdays. That involves cake. Might has well hop back on the wagon in May. Clean start and all.
  • May – The temperature climbed into the mid teens today! Summer’s here! Whack on the barbie – what better excuse for some sausages, and a burger, and a kebab. Oh, and some chicken because that’s healthy. That needs some wine with it. And some nachos before it. And some pavlova afterwards. The wagon is a small dot on the horizon
  • June – Shit, holidays are nearly here, better start eating better.
  • July – 2 weeks to holiday. Can’t lose any weight now. Might as well have some chocolate.
  • August – Du pain, du vin, du massive French custard/fruit tarts. Oh, and the cheese! With more pain.   Thighs reach annual peak.
  • September – November – Ah, there’s the wagon! Focus, healthy food, lots of exercise.
  • December – How long have you got?

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My Food Philosophy (The Edited Highlights!)

I’ve started writing this post a few times, but it ends up being really long, so I’ve decided to write a short summary of my approach to my diet, and I’ll expand on each section over the coming few weeks.

I’ve had a complex relationship with food (and my body) over the years, but I feel like I’ve started to figure out what works for me. And that’s a key point – this is what works for me. One of the first things we learn as trainee Nutritional Therapists as that we’re all individuals – our bodies are all different and there are a number of factors which influence how we can best support our health and wellbeing. Continue reading “My Food Philosophy (The Edited Highlights!)”

Recipe – Buttered Lentil Soup

When we were growing up, I often remember Mum cooking up a big batch of soup on a Saturday for lunch. There was always some sort of activity on a Saturday morning – swimming, music etc, and it was always lovely to come home to a warming bowl of soup. We used to have a bakery at the end of our road and often we’d walk down to get fresh bread. I don’t think their baguettes were exactly authentic, they always used to bend in the middle and were really doughy, but they did the job in terms of having something to dip in your bowl!

Soup 1 Continue reading “Recipe – Buttered Lentil Soup”