When I want ice cubes for a drink I use some of the frozen citrus slices instead – it cools the drink and doesn’t dilute it.  You can also use the frozen slices to make your water more palatable.  Just put a jug of water in the fridge and add a few of the slices of fruit – when you want to quench your thirst just grab a glass of the lightly flavored water, you will find it more refreshing than just water and you can monitor how much you have drunk in the day quite easily at the same time.

You can use any fruit that is available – I find it brilliant for using up fruit that might otherwise go to waste.

Ingredients:-

20 gms (¾oz) Powdered gelatine or a packet of sugar free jelly crystals
750 mls (25 fl ozs) unsweetened apple juice – or any juice of your choice
300 gms mixed fresh fruit of your choice

Method:-

Mix the gelatine with 75 ml (5 tbsps) of water in a heatproof bowl and leave it to soak for 5 minutes or so, or follow the directions if using a sugar free jelly. Put the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering warm water until the gelatine dissolves. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes before gradually stirring in the fruit juice. Mix well.

Prepare the fruit by peeling, coring, dicing etc into bite sized pieces or smaller. Divide amongst four individual dishes or place into one large mould as required.

Gently pour over the gelatine mixture and chill until set.

Serve with a spoonful of Greek or low-fat natural yoghurt.

Serves 4

Food shopping is not the greatest of experiences, in fact most of us dash round the supermarket at break neck speed throwing all sorts into the trolley. To eat healthy you need good ingredients and that means shopping sensibly. Take a little time and plan your meals for the next couple of weeks, bearing in mind your work and social commitments. You need good quality ingredients to have a good diet so make sure you always buy the best you can afford and take advantage of the specials that abound in the stores today. By planning ahead you know what you need so you can take advantage of bulk buys as well. Make your shopping list when you have time to concentrate on it, that way you don’t forget anything and you are not tempted to just pick random items off the shelf ‘just in case’. By doing that you don’t have to dash into the supermarket every day, in fact all you need to do is pick up fresh fruit and vegetables every couple of days. Not only does it save you time but by avoiding multiple trips to the store you don’t pick up all those last minute ‘impulse buys’.

If you shop ahead, you can also cook ahead. If you make a pasta sauce, chili, casserole or soup to name but a few dishes, make more than you need and freeze it in sensible sized portions. Then on days when you know you are going to be under pressure you just take out the frozen, home-made ready meal and put it in the refrigerator to thaw ready for when you get home. Far better than grabbing a burger and fries on the way home.

If you do have to go for the fast food option once in a while, don’t beat yourself up over it just try and choose the healthier options – chicken breast instead of burger, a lovely crisp green salad instead of greasy fries. Good quality sandwiches can often be your savior here, especially if you can choose the type of bread as well as the fillings – and go easy on the dressings.

When you stick to good healthy eating guidelines you feel much better, and you don’t get stressed so easily, so the time spent planning and shopping is more than repaid and is certainly not wasted. Choose good tasty recipes like the ones you find on this site and you won’t go far wrong – and you won’t need lots of time you can ill afford.

I have just been on holiday in France for a few days and I love the French style of eating. One of my favourite things are the delicious salads, which often have Walnuts in them. I love walnuts tossed in a little honey and gently roasted but they are a treat I don’t often have. The crunchy salads reminded me of a quick and easy recipe that I like to make now that picnic season is upon us. I like lush Pates and Dips but they aren’t always the best thing as they can be high in fat but this one uses low fat soft cheese and is full of minerals and vitamins. It is delicious, and ideal scooping with crusty bread or even spreading!

Ingredients

1 lb (400 gms) low fat soft cheese
2 tbsp (30 ml) chopped fresh herbs (or substitute 1 tbsp dried)
3 ozs (75 gms) fresh walnuts – pieces are fine
Bread or Carrot and Celery Sticks to serve.

Method

Put all the ingredients into a bowl or food processor and mix until well blended.

Put the mixture into a dish and smooth the top.

Cover and put into the fridge for a minimum of 20 minutes

Serve with chunks of bread or vegetables to scoop up the pate.

Serves 3 or 4 as a Starter sized portion

1 Round (about 1lb or 400 gms) Sprue Asparagus
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp (15 mls) Olive Oil
1 tbsp (15 gms) plain flour
30 fl oz (300 mls) light vegetable stock
30 fl oz (300 mls) milk
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut the tips off the Asparagus and put to one side, cut the rest of the stems into pieces about 1 inch long.
Heat the oil in a large pan and add the finely chopped onion, cook gently until softened but not brown.
Add the cut asparagus spears, but not the tips and cook for a few minutes.
Add the flour and continue to cook for one or two minutes.
Add the stock slowly, stirring gently, then add the milk.
Cook gently until the asparagus is softened.
Pass the mixture through a blender and then pour through a sieve into a clean pan to remove any stringy bits of asparagus – or you can just use a mouli, it takes a little longer but you get a better texture.
Add the asparagus tips and heat through gently.
Season to taste.

Serve with Brown Bread and Butter.

Serves 6

For more Asparagus recipes you can try Chris Sheehan’s wonderful book – A Passion For Asparagus

A good friend of mine has written the most fantastic book about the best Asparagus in the world, the ‘Gras’ that grows in the Vale of Evesham. A whole industry has grown up around this wonderful vegetable, sadly it has suffered from the cheap imports from as far away as Peru, but the season is still eagerly awaited by the local residents and we munch our way through tons of the stuff from mid April to early June. A Passion For Asparagus is a beautifully written and illustrated book that is a joy to read for anyone who has the remotest interest in food, it’s place in our lives and the joys of fresh, local produce.

Chris has spent a great deal of time researching his subject and his passion for asparagus really does show through. The lore and legend of asparagus as well as it’s history is all well covered and there are a raft of excellent recipes included as well, even tales of some visitors to the area who were obviously not initiated into the joys of asparagus eating and tucked into the woody end, leaving the tender and delicate buds on their plates! There are some wonderful photographs of the annual Asparagus Auction which is held at The Fleece Inn in Bretforton, the only pub owned by the National Trust (and worth a visit in it’s own right). This is the culmination of the Asparagus Festival which started this year with a ‘dash’ to London to take the first Asparagus to the Houses of Parliament.

If you are interested in Chris’s book you can find out more, or obtain a copy here – A Passion For Asparagus.

This baked egg dish is a real favourite of my family, either just as it is or if we are promoting it to ‘Brunch’ after a long lie in perhaps, I might add some crisply grilled lean bacon, or maybe some fresh muffins.  I like to use Tarragon but you can substitute any favourite herb.

Serves 4

Ingredients:-

2 tsp olive oil
4 ozs (100 gms) sliced mushrooms
2 large ripe tomatoes – chopped
1 – 2 tbsp chopped fresh Tarragon (2tsps if using dried)
4 eggs
Black Pepper to taste

Warm the oil in a pan and gently cook the mushrooms for two or three minutes.
Add the tomatoes, tarragon and pepper and remove from the heat
Pour everything into an oven proof dish and make 4 hollows in the mixture
Break an Egg into each hollow
Put the dish into a large roasting tin with sufficient hot water to come half way up the sides of the oven proof dish
Bake at 180C, 350F or Gas mark 4 for about 10 minutes or until the eggs are cooked toyour taste.
Serve!

This is my ‘common sense’ view on the topic which is raging all around us at the moment. If you have a healthy, balanced diet – why do you need supplements? I fully accept that there are some times in life when, following illness or as a result of certain health conditions your body might need some support, but surely not all the time. The human body does not hold vast reserves of vitamins and you should get all you need if you ensure that you have a diet that includes all the food groups. Anthing else is a waste of money and a strain on your body to process it.
It strikes me that we often take the ‘pop a pill’ approach to good nutrition because we are aware that we eat too many junk foods that we know are not good – we use them as an antidote. To eat a healthy diet is not difficult – even if you are not the greatest cook in the world, or are pushed for time – there are plenty of healthy and nutritious ready prepared foods available now, and they are a lot less expensive than vast quantities of unnecessary pills

8ozs (200gms) stoned, washed and roughly chopped dates
5 fl oz (125 mls) unsweetened Apple juice
2 oz (50 gms) Walnut pieces
4 ozs ( 100 gms) polyunsaturated margarine
4 ozs Plain Wholemeal flour
2 ozs (50 gms) Porridge Oats
1 Egg lightly beaten
2 ozs (50 gms) Plain chocolate or carob.

Lightly oil a 7 inch (18 cm) square tin
Put the dates and apple juice into a pan and bring up to the boil.  Simmer gently for 4 -5 minutes until the dates are soft.
Cool slightly before adding all the remaining ingredients, except the chocolate or carob
Press the mixture into the tin and bake at  180C, 350F Gas Mark 4 for around 30 minutes or until it comes away from the side of the tin.
Turn out and cool on a rack.
Melt the chocolate or carob over hot water and spread over the top of the cake.
Cut into 16 Bars.

Delicious with Coffee!

1lb 8 ozs (600 gms) Rhubarb cut into small chunks
4 tbsp (60 ml) Orange Juice – unsweetened
3 tbsp (45 ml) thick honey
10 fl oz (250 ml) natural yoghurt
6 ozs (150 gms) Quark

Put the Rhubarb, orange juice and honey into a covered saucepand and cook gently for about 15 mins until soft, stirring occasionally.
Put aside until cool
Place the Rhubarb mixture and quark into a blender and process until smooth
Gently fold in the yoghurt
Put the mixture into four serving dishes or glasses and chill for at least one hour
Serve with a light, crisp shortbread biscuit.