Tropical treats!

_{© 2010  troismarteaux Creative Commons license} 

I love juicy tropical and Mediterranean fruit that spills down your chin as you bite in! 

Pineapples, mangos, peaches and plums are big favourites.  They're so lusciously rich and succulent that it always seems like a big treat to eat them.

But it can seem an awful lot of fuss and bother to cut them up.  It doesn't really take very long to get the prickles off the pineapple or the stones out of the mangos.  It just sometimes seems like fuss when I am in a hurry.

Yet more flavour ...

Copyright Adam Brown 2010 Creative Commons

I love to jazz up a meal with some easily added garlic. 

But I've also discovered a whole load of other tasty ways to add a real kick to even a quick and simple meal.

Sometimes I have fresh ingredients to hand  but usually I just reach to the store cupboard - dried herbs and bottled lemon or lime juice taste just as good!

And relax!

I've really enjoyed taking some time recently to sit down and breathe slowly.  It's such a simple thing but it really does help me to feel both calm and energetic!

I try to fit in a few minutes of breathing practice whenever I get a chance.  At work, on the bus, doing the washing up - whenever.  

And as soon as I start I suddenly notice that my body has been all tensed up. My shoulders are hunched up by my ears.  Or I am gripping onto the bus pole for dear life.  I know south London bus drivers are a bit crazy, but they're not that bad!

I am trying to be more aware of when I am tense.  Not just when I take a few minutes to relax but throughout the day.  And when I do notice I try to "unroll" the tension.  

Curiously, I've discovered that the best way for me to do this is to relax the tense part and then to tense it back up again, hold if for a few seconds and then relax it again.

What makes you tense? Work, commuting or the everyday dramas of family life?

Note to self: Notice when you're feeling tense
Did you know? When you are tense, your blood vessels tighten and this increases your blood pressure

Relax and enjoy a quick breather:

So you know how to breathe right?
Taking it slowly
Steady as it goes
Letting it all out

Over the rainbow ...

Copyright Elena Norbiato 2007 Creative Commons

So there really is a crock of gold over the rainbow!

It turns out eating a "rainbow" of different coloured fruit and veg each week is great for us because each colour group is packed full of different good stuff.  All these different things together can protect against cancer and heart disease.  

This got me thinking about my all the fruit & veg I like in each colour group:

Red & pink: Strawberries, peppers, tomatoes, raspberries, rhubarb, radishes, beetroots, blood oranges, cherries, red grapes, red onions, chilli pepper, red apple, cranberries, guava, papaya
Yellow & orange: Bananas, melons, peaches, carrots, apricots, grapefruit, peppers, squash, corn, mango, pineapple, lemons, nectarines, pumkins, sweet potatoe
Green: Spinach, peas, spring greens, chard, courgettes, beans, broccoli, apples, pears, gooseberries, avocado, cabbage, cucumber, grapes, lettuce, limes, kiwi fruit, celery, samphire, asparagus, leeks, sugar snap peas
Purple, blue & black: Blueberries, blackberries, aubergines, sprouting broccoli, bilberries, blackcurrants, plums, damsons, figs, grapes, prunes, raisins
White: Mushrooms, onions, potatoes, parsnips, garlic, ginger, cauliflower, white peaches, shallots

Wow! I never realised how many different fruit and veg I love to eat!

What about you? What are your absolute faves in each colour group?

Note to self: Eat your way over the rainbow every week!
Did you know? The nutrients in red fruit and veg can help to protect joint tissue in those with arthritis

Enjoy more posts about fruit & veg:
Favourite fruit
Tastes like chocolate
Hidden Gems

Letting it all out

 _© 2009  C Cloutier Creative Commons Licence

What do you do if someone asks you to take a good long breath?

My reaction would be to suck in my breath for as long as possible and then let it all out in a rush.  

But it seems that this was another bit of my breathing that had got itself into a bit of a tizz!

I've discovered that the best thing for my lungs, my heart and just about every other bit of my body is to breathe out for as long as I can and to breathe out for longer than I breathe in.

So, now I am practising this exercise - sitting quietly, breathing in through my nose letting my tummy expand, counting the beats as I breathe in and then breathing very slowly out counting the beats until I've breathed out for a couple of beats more than I breathed in.  

As I relax I try to go just a little bit slower still - without straining - as I let it all out!

Note to self enjoy relaxing as you breath out slowly
Did you know? breathing out for longer helps to clear your lungs so you can breathe more effectively which is really important for anyone with COPD, Asthma, Emphysema or anxiety attacks

Enjoy more posts about breathing well: 
So you know how to breathe right?
Taking it slowly
Steady as it goes

Hidden gems

_{"Rhubarb muffins" © 2010 S Schlingen Creative Commons Licence}

I love fruit and veg but I didn't like them as a child.  Now I have a toddler who will never knowingly eat them either.  And she's not the only one - some of the adults in my family are not that keen.

So I have to get creative about how I cook them.  But the good news is that I have found lots of things I can sneak both fruit and veg into that the little one and the rest of the family will wolf down.

Some of her favourites - and mine because they are quick to cook - are :

• Really cheesy pasta sauce blended with green veg - spinach and broccoli work very well which is great because they're packed full with good stuff!
• Home made smoothies made of yoghurt, orange juice, a banana to thicken and whatever fruit there is in the house - everyone loves these!
• Fruit muffins are the quickest thing in the world to make and they freeze well.  Just grate or mush the fruit and stir into mixture.  Banana & pineapple both yummy!
• Veg muffins savoury muffins - without any sugar - are also tasty.  Red onion, carrot and spinach and red pepper have all been popular.
• Tomato pasta sauce can hide all sorts of veg! I make a bit pot of very tomatoey sauce with lots of carrots, mushrooms and courgettes, leave it to cool and then blend to hide the veg

We've also enjoyed blended curry sauce, grated apple in cheese on toast, banana cake, banana custard and nice thick creamy soups.

Are you a fruit and veg fan or do you prefer to hide it away inside other stuff? Have you got any hidden gems of your own to share?

Note to self it doesn't matter how you eat it as long as you enjoy it!

Did you know? fruit and vegetables are rich in fibre that helps to flush away the "bad" cholesterol that can block your blood vessels

Beans means?

What do beans mean for you?

Baked beans are great - everyone loves baked beans don’t they? - and so versatile but my absolute fave at the moment is black bean tacos.

 Grilled Taco © 2009 N Muryama Creative Commons Licence 

I love them with loads of creamy guacamole and spicy tomato salsa.  They all disappear at super speed in our house. 

My other big bean favourites are a nice hot chilli, stomach warming Italian style pasta and bean soup and - if I can count chick peas as beans -  a lovely thick dahl. 

They are all really great now autumn is here and I need something filling to keep out the cold and the wet. 

What are your favourite bean recipes?

Note to self: Hold off the hunger pangs with a big bean fest!

Did you know? Medical research shows brilliant beans can reduce bad cholesterol AND regulate blood sugar in people with diabetes AND reduce the risk of bowel cancer AND reduce blood pressure. Wow!

Switching off ...

I'm a bit of gadget addict.  I love my computer and my mobile phone.  And boy do I find it hard to switch them off.

"Lianne Asleep"© 2006 Richard Riley Creative Commons license   

What about you? Are you a gadget geek whose lost without your latest toy?

Now I've got a smart phone and a laptop it's even worse.  They can and do go anywhere with me including to bed!  

Every night it's the same.  I try to get myself off to bed by 11ish and then I think I'll just check my mail one last time! And then I'll just write one more tweet! And then I'll just look at Facebook....!

Fatal.  Before I know it - it's past midnight and I'm starting to wake up.  And I only finally get to sleep at 1 with the laptop shoved on the floor by the bed.  And then I sleep badly and wake up grumpy. Hmmmm.

I really love a good night's sleep.  Getting into bed before I'm exhausted and gently dropping off just feels great. So I am taking up arms against myself and my gadget addiction. 

I wrote a list of 5 reasons I love sleep and 5 reasons gadgets aren't good at bedtime.  Whenever I am tempted by one more tweet I will fight back with why it's a bad idea.  And then I will switch everything off and go to bed.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Note to self: Nothing beats waking up after a great night's sleep!

Did you know? Good sleep reduces your risk of heart disease.  Doctors aren't sure why, but they think a well rested heart reduces blood pressure and inflammation of the heart.

Enjoy more posts about a good night's sleep:
Getting going in the morning

Full of flavour ...

I really like flavour to my food and I am a big garlic fan.

How about you? Can you take as it comes or do you like to add a bit of a kick to your food?

    "Garlic #1" © 2011 K Rawlings Creative Commons license 

Garlic is great but it can seem like a bit of a faff can't it?  All that peeling and crushing.  Sometimes I just can't be bothered.

So now I cheat and buy it ready crushed.  Brilliant, I can add it easily to anything I like.  Including stuff I put salt on before, even though I preferred it garlicky.

And fabulously garlic freezes really well.  I either just put the ready crushed in the freezer or if I'm being a bit less lazy peel and crush a whole lot in one go and pop it in the freezer.

What other flavours do you like to spice up your food with?

Note to self: Garlic is just as easy as salt and much tastier!

Did you know? The thing in garlic that makes it stinky - allicin - relaxes your blood vessels which makes it easier for your heart to pump blood around your body.

Taking it slowly ...

I have to confess I am not very good at taking it slowly.  I am one of those people who rush around like a wound up toy until I am all unwound and exhausted.  And then I just flop.

What about you? Do you manage to find some time everyday to enjoy a bit of a go slow?

_{"Tasting the sun" © 2006 Pedro Simoes Creative Commons license} 

As I beetle around my breathing gets really short and shallow and I've learnt this makes my heart pump faster and faster.  And if my poor old heart has to go like the clappers to keep up, I get even more exhausted.

So I am having a go at breathing slower.  I try to take 5 minutes first thing just to sit still and breathe!  I breathe in slowly through the nose and let my belly expand and then exhale slowly through my mouth.

And if during the day I find myself in a tizzy I sit down - even if just for a minute - and breathe slowly.  I instantly feel calm and energetic which is a brilliant combination.

Note to self: Take a minute to enjoy a bit of slow breathing.

Did you know? If your heart pumps slower, your blood pressure comes down.

Enjoy more posts about breathing well:
So you know how to breathe, right?
Steady as it goes

Tastes like chocolate ...

I love berries of all sorts. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries, bilberries.  If it's a berry, I'll have it.

© 2012 A Thompson Creative Commons license 

The problem is they don't last.  It's so frustrating when for some reason you don't get round to eating that punnet of raspberries right away and go to the fridge only to find they've already got mould on them.

But now I've discovered that frozen berries are just as delicious.  They don't taste the same as when you eat them juice spurting fresh but they are still yummy.  Lovely dense drops of chocolatey textured sweetness.

So now as soon as I realise I am not going to eat berries on the day I bought them I bung them in the freezer to be savoured on another day.

How do you like to eat berries? Which are your favourite? Have you tried them frozen? Or do you like them tinned?

Note to self
Bung the berries in the freezer if you're not going to eat them.

Did you know?
Berries are full of fibre and anti-oxidants which can help to ease cholesterol, blood pressure, fybromyalgia and arthritis.

If you're a fruit fan you might also like these posts:
My favourite fruit

Getting going in the morning ...

I blame my parents!  They love coffee and they are the kind of people who can have a cup just before bed and then sleep soundly.

I love the smell and  I love the taste but I really hate caffeine.  I was a complete junkie.  You know how it is when you're busy juggling work, home and being a parent.  I just kept drinking more and more.

"Empty cup coffee" © 2009 picsishouldshare 

I really thought I couldn't get up in the morning without one, two, three cups or more.  My head hurt and I was irritable and shaky.  I thought this was all the fault of tiredness and that some mega shots of the black stuff would cure it.


But it wasn't.  It was caffeine withdrawal which kicks in after less than 12 hours.  And when I finally went cold turkey and gave it up - boy that was hard - I suddenly felt fine in the morning.  I am not saying I was bounding with energy - I've got a toddler so don't always get a full night's sleep - but I didn't have headaches, I wasn't grumpy, grump, grump and I didn't have the shakes. Result.

I do have the odd cup occasionally because I do like it and it tastes so much better when you're just enjoying the taste and aroma rather than craving the caffeine.

What are your thoughts? Is caffeine friend or foe?

Note to self
Decaf really does taste just as good!

Did you know?
Caffeine increases the rate at which your heart pumps blood round your body 

So you know how to breathe, right?

What do you mean? Of course I do!

Well I didn't.  When I breathed in, I sucked my tummy right in and when I breathed out, let it back out again.  I'd got it completely the wrong way round!

"Haiku" © 2010 Julie Scott 

Apparently, I needed to breathe in through my nose and let my tummy expand and then breathe out through my mouth and let my tummy gently fall back.  

How could I be getting it so wrong all these years? Actually, I am not the only one.  Lots of us forget what we knew naturally when we were born. 

I've now discovered that breathing well is the most amazing "medicine" that can help control all sorts of conditions including high blood pressure, IBS, COPD, stress and depression.  Wow!

Note to self
Let my tummy expand as I breathe in through my nose.

Did you know?
Clinical studies have shown that breathing well can reduce blood pressure, COPD, anxiety attacks and IBS symptoms.

Enjoy more posts about breathing well:
Taking it slowly
Steady as it goes

My favourite fruit ...

What's your favourite fruit?

As a child it was easy, strawberries, but now I am not sure.  There's just so much great stuff available these days.

I like the everyday quick stuff - bananas, apples, pears.  I love all those sweet summer berries - strawbs, raspberries, blueberries - that you can chuck on your cereal or jazz up a yoghurt with.  And I adore all the luscious tropical stuff - pineapple, mango, melons, peaches - that seems like such a treat because it used to be more scarce.

But now it's September I think my favourite are those tart and zingy English autumn specialities - damsons,  blackberries, plums and hard as a nut little apples. 

What about you, what do you like best?

Note to self ...
Fruit is yummy, don't forget to enjoy lots of it!

Did you know?
Medical research shows a diet rich in fruit can help to reduce blood pressure in less than 14 days. 

If you're a fruit fan you might also like ...
Tastes like chocolate