by Siobhan | Aug 13, 2015 | Health, snack
I’ve just tried this new coconut drink that is a mix of coconut water and coconut milk, infused with botanical extracts/ fruits. I’m really enjoying this drink as the coconut milk gives a lovely, creamy taste which in my opinion is better than coconut water alone, so you still get lots of electrolytes but may be more favourable to those who don’t particularly like the taste of pure coconut water.
The botanical extracts include Siberian ginseng, turmeric, galangal & damiana. It is sweetened by fruit extracts/juice including lime, mango, pineapple and agave. Another plus, is that the entire 250ml can contains 100% of your recommended intake of Vitamin C, as well as a portion of other vitamins such as vitamins B2, B3 & B9.
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by Siobhan | Aug 11, 2015 | Advice, Health
What is it?
Acrylamide is a chemical which can be created in some foods when they are cooked in certain ways at high temperatures (typically above 120°C). It is mostly high starchy food like potatoes/chips and grain based items (cookies, biscuits, crisps, bread) that will develop the most acrylamide I’m sorry to say this as I hated learning this fact, it does mean that those delicious sweet potato chips will contain high amounts of acrylamide, although if you boil the sweet potato then it is fine as boiling, steaming and microwaving don’t exceed the temperatures required.
Other Options: I’ve tried parsnip chips myself which pair well with hummus & used boiled mashed sweet potato in brownies by heating the mix for about 1-2 hours at 80°C, you could also slice thin veg crisps (carrot, parsnip) & dehydrate these for a few hours below 100°C, plus you get to add your own seasoning e.g chilli powder if you like it spicy, so it’s not all bad =]
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by Siobhan | Jul 17, 2015 | Health, Uncategorized
I thought I’d write this to say that although the idea of bugs in our food may sound horrible, I have tried it myself and found it rather good.
I have tasted a fruit & nut (and bug) bar with dates, honey, oats, almonds and cricket flour and am happy to say that it was like any other bar I’ve consumed in the past. There was no awful taste or smell and the texture was perfectly normal too.
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| image: telegraph.co.uk |
So why are food companies considering using insects in our food?
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by Siobhan | May 31, 2015 | Advice, Health, Uncategorized
When growing up we’ve always been told to eat our greens, now although many of us didn’t want to do that & probably tried to feed them to the family pet instead, there really are good reasons for eating green.
1. Green food contains chlorophyll, this is the pigment in plants that gives them their green leaves. The darker the colour, the more chlorophyll the food contains. Chlorophyll is a great chelating agent, as is the water soluble form, chlorophyllin & can bind various compounds such as mercury, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) etc and remove them from the body thus preventing the negative effects they would otherwise have.
2.
Green vegetables e.g. brussel sprouts & broccoli sprouts are high in compounds known as glucosinolates which are converted to sulforaphane (SFN). This SFN protects us from certain toxins by inhibiting the production of cytochrome P450 enzymes that activate toxins. Furthermore SFN increases the levels of important antioxidant molecules like Glutathione (GSH) and encourages the Nrf-2 pathway which is involved in antioxidant & anti-inflammatory mechanisms.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21684301
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by Siobhan | Apr 23, 2015 | Health, Uncategorized
“Superfoods”. A word that is used a lot lately, especially in the media to ramp up sales of certain products, most of which are from far away tropical countries with names that most people either can’t pronounce or mispronounce (quinoa is the funniest). However, a super food doesn’t need to be an expensive product, there are many right here in the UK that are available to us nearly all year round that we can make good use of, woo!
Here are some of my favourites that you’ll regularly find in my shopping basket.
Garlic
Garlic is an excellent antimicrobial and high in a compound called allicin which helps to reduce cholesterol and widen blood vessels thus reducing blood pressure.
Lemons
1 lemon contains approx 36% of your RDI for Vitamin C which is an excellent antioxidant and easy to get by squeezing lemon juice onto food or into water. Again, this food is antibacterial and anti-inflammatory as well as helping to break up fat making it easier for your liver to perform digestion processes. Lemon juice can also bind to excess oestrogen and eliminate it from the body, this is beneficial as some hormone related cancers such as breast cancer have been linked with excess oestrogen. Lemons also contain a fibre called “pectin” which your good bacteria love!
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by Siobhan | Apr 14, 2015 | Health, Uncategorized
Hi guys!
I’d like to do a quick post to spread the word about the work that Jamie Oliver is doing to try to improve our knowledge on good food and getting this information into the schools. He is working with so many people (writing a song with Ed Sheeran apparently!) to achieve this & you can help by signing the below petition. A mass effort is what’s needed so please help out if you can. Much love!
Siobhan.
Link:
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| image: eventindustrynews.co.uk |
change.org/jamieoliver
