LIVE LIFE ,LOVE LIFE ,LAUGH IN LIFE
Hello there!
How are you all on this fine and sunny day? Granted it feels pretty autumnal but hey it's a new day and a chance to make great discoveries or have a lovely hug from someone we love.
I just watched a short discussion on obesity and its effect on our own personal health. At the end of the item the programme went to an ad break - ad number 1 was for sweets, ad number 2 for Oreo and ad number 3 for uber cheap pizza and cheesecake! Am I missing something here?! What do you think? I don't want to live in a world where we are all controlled but hey, surely at some point the food industry need to rethink the muck the sell people and so cynically aim at children?
There was also a chat about BMI. In this weeks myth buster we are going to look at whether BMI is a useful tool to help us understand where we are at with our weight and health.
So, let's get going..........................
This week
* L is for....
* Giant Lima Beans in stewed tomatoes with oregano pesto ( Gigantes)
* The miracle of magnesium
* Myth Busters - BMI
* Move more and chill less at Aira Force, Cumbria
Lima Beans, Lettuce
Lemon, Lovage
Lime, Loganberry
Lychee, Lentils
Leek
This week's scrummy recipe!
Giant Lima Beans in Stewed Tomatoes with Oregano Pesto (also called Gigantes Plaki for the Grecophiles like me!)
This recipes is enough for 8 - make it all and freeze it for up to 3 months.
if you are in a rush then buy 2 cans of butter beans to use instead of dried beans.
LIMA BEANS
- 2 tins of butter beans or 3 cups dried giant lima beans or gigantes, rinsed and picked over, then soaked for 4 hours and drained
- Sea salt or pink Himalayan salt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium white onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tins of good quality plum tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons chopped oregano
- 2 tbsp of nutritional yeast
- 2 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs (wholemeal or sourdough are always better)
PESTO
- 1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped oregano
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- Sea salt
- In a large saucepan, cover the lima beans with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the limas are just tender but still al dente, about 2 1/2 hours; add water as needed to keep the limas covered by 2 inches. Season the limas with salt and let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. Drain the limas, reserving 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid.
- In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderately low heat until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano and the reserved bean cooking liquid and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 1 hour. Season the tomato sauce with salt.
- In a mini food processor, combine the olive oil with the oregano, parsley and garlic and pulse to a coarse puree. Season the oregano pesto with salt.
- Preheat the oven to 425°. In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, mix the limas with the tomato sauce.. Bake in the upper third of the oven for about 40 minutes, until the beans are bubbling . Remove the baking dish from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add the bread crumbs and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until toasted, about 3 minutes. Season with salt.
- Top the beans with the bread crumbs, nutritional yeast and dollop with the oregano pesto and serve.
MAKE AHEAD The cooked limas, tomato sauce and pesto can be refrigerated separately overnight. Bring to room temperature before proceeding.
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| Our favourite taverna in Kouloura. We had our wedding reception here! |
I adore this dish. It takes me back to a little Corfiot village where the dog sleeps in the middle of the road in the village square and the locals are delighted to cook for you. Bliss!
MYTH BUSTER!
This week I investigate whether BMI is a load of old rubbish or a useful tool......
Okay, so lets have a look at what BMI actually is before we start writing it off!
BMI (Body Mass Index) is a calculation designed to identify whether someone is underweight, healthy weight or overweight and to what degree. It is calculated by taking your weight in kilos by your height in metres squared. Luckily the NHS have a an easy to use BMI calculator HERE that you can use. Ideally you want a BMI of 18.5 to 24.99 .
BMI may not be the most sophisticated way to measure ourselves but it's the best we have right now and ie pretty accurate. Now, you may have read that BMI is pointless. This has often arisen when you take a muscled athlete for example, and they appear according to their BMI, to be obese when they are clearly not. That doesn't make BMI useless it just means that as with everything there are exceptions to the rule. Let's be honest, common sense kicks in doesn't it?! The majority of the population isn't muscle bound so its going to work for us!
Last week I mentioned how we have become used to seeing people who are bigger and so we normalise it. I thought that as we do this it would be a great idea to put BMI into pictures to make it really clear. By having all this info we know what we are aiming for to be healthier.
So, is BMI a load of tosh? Well it may not be perfect but it is incredibly useful and it's a great way to check how we are . Monitor yours regular and keep yourself in tip top condition!
Move More chill A Bit Less!
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| Aira Falls, Cumbria |
How did you get on last week with the HIT training video I posted? I still love it - a quick but rewarding workout. If you haven't tried it yet CLICK HERE TO FIND THE VIDEO. It's a sweaty one but boy it works! BTW have a look at the lady in the pic below. How old do you think she is?
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| Still think that a great body is the preserve of the young? |
Anyway, with those stunning autumn days on their way it's a perfect time to enjoy the beauty of the great outdoors. The air is nice and fresh, the sun still has warmth in it and the leaves are glowing on the trees. Last weekend I was lucky enough to be in the Lake District visiting the parents in law. (And before you ask, nope it's not a duty they are great). On Saturday we visited Aira Force, a wonderful fast flowing waterfall that you can walk to the the top of. There is a large car park that costs £5 to park but there were 4 of us in the car so I thought £1.25 each for the spectacle of the waterfall was well worth it. The National Trust run it and there is a small cabin selling snacks. There are also loos onsite. The walk itself is along a path which climbs gently until you get higher up when you will climb over stones. The rushing sound of the water is so relaxing and you can practically feel the feel good ions in the air. You will also get gorj views of my favourite lake, Ullswater. It's so beautiful here you wont even realise you are getting a good workout! When you walk around the falls you will come across a couple of oddities - huge tree trunks that have been felled and are covered in coins left by walkers. Don't bother taking a bag to help yourself as they are all hammered in!
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| A Coin Trunk! |
On the way up!
Have you been to Aira Force? I'd love to know what you thought of it there? Mail me here with your story and photos! xxx
From next week we are going to be upping our game with the exercise! You've had plenty of inspiration over the last few months and now you're ready to get super fit! GET YOUR FIT ON!
Magnesium is one of those minerals the body needs for so many functions yet we are probably unaware of just what it does for us. The average UK woman is, according to the UK National Diet and Nutrition Centre, around 15% short of this marvelous mineral. To be honest we aren't likely to suffer from serious deficiencies but being even 15% below is enough to possibly increase your risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and of special note to women, osteoporosis.
Magnesium is involved in so many of the body's processes - regulating blood pressure, muscle function, energy production and the regulation of blood sugar.
Before you rush out to the local health store to purchase Mg supplements, it is cheaper and far healthier to get your fill from your diet. Beans, whole grains such as brown basmati rice, yummy green leafy veggies and potatoes with their skins on.
Is it worth worrying about my Mg intake?
Well yes!
According to a study by Harvard medical School of 14 000 people those with the highest levels of the mineral were 38% less likely to suffer heart diseas.
* A Harvard study over 18 years showed that those with the highest levels of Mg had a 34% less risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
* Low Mg affects bone density but studies have shown that if you increase your uptake of Mg bone density increases again.
* Low Mg is linked to depression as research in Norway on 6,000 participants shows that those with higher levels have much healthier levels of serotonin which helps regulate our moods. It can also be useful to help with PMS.
* German studies have suggested that as Mg helps blood flow in the brain having a healthy level of it can help to reduce migraine. The study showed that people who had 3 - 4 attacks per month found that their migraine reduced by 41%. They also had more days per month when they were migraine free.
* The maximum daily amount to take is 400mg however, the reality is that women need 270 mg and men 300 mg per day. If you live in an area of the UK where the water is hard you are probably not deficient if you are a tap water drinker, your water may provide up to 100mg per 1000mls of tap water. If you arent sure what Mg levels are in your water then hit this link to the governments water info website. Don't forget when you are cooking some Mg will be absorbed into the food too.
What is not to love about this amazing mineral?
In the next blog.....
* M is for............
* Recipe of the week
* Stressed? a new series on the causes and managing stress so you can enjoy life again
* Myth Buster - I investigate popular health myths so you have the truth!
* Move More, Chill Less - we are upping our game!
Until then, live life to the full because every minute we have been blessed with is precious xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxJaniexxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
