Charlie Brown: “Some day we all will die” Snoopy: “True, but on other days we will not “

Charlie Brown; “Some day we all will die”

Snoopy; “True, but on other days we will not ”

Let’s make the best of our days, our loves and our lives.

Some day we die, the other days we don’t and those days we need to enjoy the living not worrying about dying.

If you are struggling with that reach out to somebody, don’t suffer alone.

We’ve just been for a blustery walk around a loch and up a very steep and rugged hill, picked some blackberries and one very lonesome bilberry and a twig of pine to make tea from. Blown away the cobwebs, boosted our endorphins and foraged some Vitamin C and antioxidants… Robins now chomping his way through some Scottish fudge.

I’d better go and rescue him. (Yes, him, from it!).

Peaceful and beautiful Loch Fyne, loving it come rain or shine.

First in the battle against the baddies is to gather the goodies

The war against the baddies begins by having the goodies abundantly available so I’ve compiled a shopping list. You will probably have some of it already.

Shopping with a halo 🙂

You can swap things out (not like crisps in place of apples or wine in place of water though), you can religiously follow or just use what I write and eat as a guide. Up to you.

The main thing to remember is if you want to lose weight you need to change something.

If you move more (a lot more) and eat less AND/OR differently consistently you will lose weight, look better, feel better and depending how far you choose to go really make some massive changes to your health.

So here is a useful shopping list. A list of things that you can use for an instant snack, to throw together something quickly to eat, or to take your time to make a meal.

We need to have something easy and fast when we are hungry before we are tempted by fat, salt and sugar laden snacks and quick bites – stodge by any other name!

 

Please remember that if you can buy organic you don’t need to peel your veg ( not even the squash) and you will have a lot more nutrients than you would in non organic. If you are buying local its likely to a bit be fresher.

Carrots, celery, cucumber, onions, peppers, sweet potatoes, a whole squash, courgettes, aubergine, parsnips/swede/celeriac choose which you like.

Apples or pears, lemons (one a day), bananas (at least one a day), berries ( frozen are fine), any fruit you like.

Ginger

Herbal help: fresh coriander, chives, dill, parsley, mint. Dried Italian seasoning, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon – choose your favourites.

Good quality strong cheese ( so you use less of it but still enjoy the flavour).

Eggs

Tinned tomatoes

Tinned or dried chick peas or red kidney beans (your preference)

Really good cold pressed extra virgin olive oil.

Flax oil ( keep it in the fridge)

Ground flax seeds (Holland and Barrett do it)

Chia seeds              ”               “

Apple cidre vinegar (try to get one with the mother – the cloudy bit – in it)

Balsamic vinegar

Oily fish (salmon, mackerel, trout – ask for it in a bag ready to cook and yes it is OK to have the free butter just have one for two fish)

Chicken or another lean meat.

A jar of Miso

Packet of sea weed – Nori sheets work best.

The main meal recipes I suggest for the next few days are;

Fish cooked in the bag (from the fish monger, not the boil in a bag in sauce stuff:) with a big salad and baked sweet potato.

Roasted mixed vegetables topped with an egg or scatter of flavoursome cheese (with optional salad)

Aubergine pizza (its great and good!).

Stir fry (with salmon or chicken or another lean meat of your choice)

A veggie soup for dinner, lunches, snacks, whenever you want something warm, comforting and filling.

Tonight I have chopped up an aubergine, a red pepper, an onion, a carrot, a courgette, a couple of small beetroot and a chunk of the squash ( all organic and so all with the skin on!). Tossed it all in some olive oil, cumin, turmeric, sea salt and pepper and pushed into the oven and it has cooked whilst Ive been writing this. I’m going to sprinkle some extra strong cheddar over it and serve it with crispy sunflower sprout and pea shoot salad with a sweetish dressing.

Tips for life : Move – any which way:  yoga ( there is a type of yoga to suit most people), dance!, gym, team games, swim, walk, run, play around with kids or dogs.
Im loving the Nike Training app (OK loving it is reaching – I love it AFTER I have done it!!) also the ‘7 min WC’ app – I can never find an excuse not to find 7 minutes for that one 🙂

Bon appetit.

More recipes to follow!

Sprouts, but not as we know them!

Going back maybe 30, no 35…oh, no… OK, lets leave it at that, years I had a flat and a friend of a friend needed somewhere to stay for a few weeks. I had a spare room, so my place it was.

He was definitely a long haired hippy, quite a few of my lovely friends were then. Along with him, his girlfriend, his afgan (coat not hound) and bags of stuff came some jars which took up residence on the kitchen window sill.

These jars seemed to be very loved, they were watered, watched, sometimes covered and sometimes not and whatever was inside them grew!

This was my initiation into sprouts, the most delicious, nutricious, juicy and best of all CHEAP food going!

There are a vast variety around they are easy to grow and, if you do grow your own, they are cheap as chips. A small spoonful soon bursts into a whole jar full.

Many websites are dedicated to growing sprouts so no problem working out how to do it. They are easy to get hold of, take only a few days and no specialist equipment required, you can use a simple jam jar in fact I often, lazily, just use a sieve over a bowl. They really boost your nutrition hugely with no fuss, powders or pills.

You can take it further, as we have in France at the retreat, where we have two large automatic sprouters to keep us stocked with plenty to juice as well as throw on salads or just munch out of a bag. You can also get small stacking systems (we often use that when there’s just Robin and I at home but then I’ll usually regret not using the sprouter as we get through lots!). In winter they give variety to the basic salads available with their sweet or peppery, hot or spicy flavours and they are always fresh so bursting with vitality and enzimes.

So, here’s to sprouts –  Not just for hippies!

Coming soon: Notjustforhippies.com and our retreat info on RobinandDesri.com