What I Eat : Berries For Brunch

One of the benefits of "Growing Your Own" is that you have real abundance of seasonal fruits once your plants have become established (usually takes two years). An established, healthy plant yields so much fruit that you have to plan how to use/store the surplus.

I planted five raspberry plants three years ago, these have spread, occupying about three times the original growing space, grown bushy and each year have produced more and more berries to pick.

Each morning I start my day with a juice (sometimes a smoothie) quite early, so by about 10.30am I am ready to indulge in some freshly picked berries. I have been harvesting a bowl like this everyday throughout May, June and July. Sometimes do not even put them in a bowl, instead eating them directly from the plant whilst I potter around in the garden basking in Vitamin D, just the way humans are meant to eat plants.

Image above: I have even frozen some of the surplus that I could not consume. Ready for smoothies in the next few weeks. I do this by washing the berries with filtered water, then gently drying with kitchen paper and finally separating into small containers suitable for a single use before placing into the freezer.

I choose to grow raspberries because:
1. They are one of my favourite fruits and I like to eat them everyday if possible
2. They are nutrient rich
3. Eating straight after picking means I am consuming living foods (living enzymes)
4. It is difficult to find organic raspberries that look fresh in stores (UK)
5. Store bought raspberries perish quickly
6. Once planted raspberry bushes require very little maintenance
7. Raspberries are an "heirloom" fruit, they are a close resemblance to the original wild raspberry

8. Growing my own is a very cheap was to consume organic raspberries every day.

9. I can pick the berries when they are ready to eat and not over ripe.

Organic raspberries, each fruit ripens at a different time making it easy to harvest each day.

Information on UK Raw Health is the opinion of the writer and/or other individuals mentioned. Information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or provide education. Statements have not been evaluated or approved by any regulatory bodies. Before making any changes to diet, regime and/or lifestyle consult your doctor.

What I Eat : All Fruit Mango Smoothie

There's nothing more refreshing and nourishing to the soul than to start the day with a mango smoothie. The smooth texture and comforting taste of a mango is more agreeable to my system that a citrus first thing. The mellow taste is just right when the sun is peeping up over the trees and you have that new morning glow on everything around.

I wanted the smoothie to taste of mango, so I only used one banana for extra bulk and nutrients and the rest of the puree came from one very large fibre-less mango. With a bit of fresh almond milk added to thin.

I cut up the pieces of fruit quite small before placing in a food processor. This is because I do not wish to blend for too long to avoid mixing in too much oxygen into the fruit. I used organic fruit, it is reasonably priced in the UK right now as usual in the summer time.

I sipped my smoothie out in the garden early in the morning walking barefoot on the grass (earthing).

Smoothies are one the easiest ways to enjoy fruit in the morning because they are so quick to make. If you need to thin down the mixture, do not add water, instead add fruit juice, coconut water or nut milk. This smoothie is all natural, dairy free and vegan.

Information on UK Raw Health is the opinion of the writer and/or other individuals mentioned. Information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or provide education. Statements have not been evaluated or approved by any regulatory bodies. Before making any changes to diet, regime and/or lifestyle consult your doctor.

Health News : Hormone-disrupting activity of fracking chemicals worse than initially found

Many chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, can disrupt not only the human body’s reproductive hormones but also the glucocorticoid and thyroid hormone receptors, which are necessary to maintain good health, a new study finds.

"Among the chemicals that the fracking industry has reported using most often, all 24 that we have tested block the activity of one or more important hormone receptors," said the study's presenting author, Christopher Kassotis, a PhD student at the University of Missouri, Columbia. "The high levels of hormone disruption by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that we measured, have been associated with many poor health outcomes, such as infertility, cancer and birth defects."

Read the full ScienceDaily article : click here

Source: Date:  June 23, 2014   Source:  Endocrine Society/Sciencedaily.com 

Fracking chemicals disrupt hormone function

A controversial oil and natural gas drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, uses many chemicals that can disrupt the body’s hormones, according to new research. “More than 700 chemicals are used in the fracking process, and many of them disturb hormone function,” said one of the study’s authors, Susan C. Nagel, PhD, of the University of Missouri School of Medicine. “With fracking on the rise, populations may face greater health risks from increased endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure.” The study examined 12 suspected or known endocrine-disrupting chemicals...

Read the full ScienceDaily article : click here

Source: Date:  December 16, 2013   Source:  Endocrine Society/Sciencedaily.com 

Information on UK Raw Health is the opinion of the writer and/or other individuals mentioned. Information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or provide education. Statements have not been evaluated or approved by any regulatory bodies. Before making any changes to diet, regime and/or lifestyle consult your doctor.

Weight Loss : Things I Can Do Now #3 : Half Your Portion Size & Your Bite Size

Welcome to Things I Can Do Now. This is a series of easy changes you'll hardly notice for those who wish to improve their diet and lifestyle without the effort!

Things I Can Do Now #3 : Half Your Portion Size & Your Bite Size.

If you are eating big meals for lunch and/or evening dinner, it's most likely your food is on a dinner sized plate (26cm dia. approx.). Start your journey to wellness and weight loss by only filling half your plate with your regular meals, so the other half remains empty. This may mean cutting something in half such as a burger in a bun and discarding the surplus half (or giving it to a friend!).

When eating foods such as pasta dishes and take away meals it is easy to consume a whole plate of food even though these are too many calories for one meal and the physical size of the portion is too big for comfort. Therefore it is too difficult to leave half of what is on your plate, instead only fill half the plate.

When ordering take out food, order half the amount you normally get. If you are cooking food, only prepare half the amount you usually would. With the "Half" strategy filtering through to the very start of the meal there will not be any leftovers to tempt you later. You will benefit even more if you say no to any large sodas (even diet versions), instead opting for water, Coconut Water or a freshly squeezed small orange juice.

Now is also the time to take smaller bites/ mouthfuls, filling up about about one third of a spoon or fork each time. This action will ensure that your food is chewed up properly (part one of digestion) and will also make your meal last longer (to ensure meal messages are reaching the brain).

At UK Raw Health HQ we do not promote eating take away fast food in any meals as we cannot be sure of the quality of the ingredients or know fully if there are any chemicals used for texture, flavour or preserving. The "Half the portion" strategy is a good start if you cannot bring yourself to make changes to the ingredients in your diet with immediate effect, but you do wish to do "something" to head in the right direction.

Information on UK Raw Health is the opinion of the writer and/or other individuals mentioned. Information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or provide education. Statements have not been evaluated or approved by any regulatory bodies. Before making any changes to diet, regime and/or lifestyle consult your doctor.

Healthy Recipes : Two Ingredient Cookies from Todd's Kitchen

Today I made these two ingredient cookies using a super quick and easy recipe from Todd's Kitchen. They taste very yummy whilst still warm and I especially love the recipe as it does not include heating fats (apart from the naturally occurring small amount of fat in the ingredients) which is a less toxic way of cooking. Here it is...



I just went ahead with the basic two ingredient recipe, I do not use quick oats, so instead I used some organic jumbo oats chopped up in the food processor.

I did not add chocolate chips as they may contain stabilisers to stop them melting. As I only choose natural foods my next batch will have some chopped up dark chocolate from an 84% cocoa bar included or I may drizzle melted chocolate on after they have come out of the oven. I also have taste buds that adore cinnamon, raisins and nutmeg, so will experiment with these also in future batches.

UPDATE:

I loved these super quick cookies so much I have tried some different additions to the two main ingredients:
1. Adding chopped up 85% cocoa organic dark chocolate - 10/10 - the perfect combination.
2. Adding  handful of organic sultanas - 7/10 - too sweet.
3. Adding a handful of organic raisins - 9/10 - not too sweet and nice texture.

On the baking sheet ready for 15 minutes in the oven.

The finished result. The chocolate is just a little melted in places... yummers!

A perfect vegan or vegetarian recipe to enjoy. These would be a good option if you are transitioning to a healthy diet and still crave biscuits as they are so quick to make!

Thank you Todd for a simple but genius recipe. Mrs Bee. x

Organic On A Budget : Which Foods Should I Buy?

If you can buy everything organic that is ideal, but if you can only choose a few things organic in your weekly shop here are my common sense rules.

1. Choose products you eat every day/most often and buy these items as organic. This will usually include bread, milk, butter, eggs, sugar, tea, and coffee for people on a standard diet who are looking to make changes. Of course everyone is different, so choose your most consumed products to buy organic from your regular diet. Here at UK Raw Health HQ our most consumed daily items are teas, water, carrots, beets, celery, spinach, apples, watermelon, lemons, haricot beans, flax seed oil, cos/romaine lettuce and salad leaves.

2. Try to find organic sources of the following produce most impacted by chemicals (known as the dirty dozen). Apples, celery, cherries, tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, hot and sweet peppers, nectarines peaches, potatoes,  spinach, strawberries, collard greens, kale, summer squash and zucchini/courgettes.*

3. Grow your own vegetables and herbs. You really don't need very much space, if you have never grown anything before you will be surprised at how many tomatoes just one plant will yield. Remember to buy organic compost (if required) and organic seeds - or collect seeds from your own shop bought produce. There are many seeds in just one cherry tomato. Grow plants you really like to eat often, ones that are expensive to buy and spoil easily in the fridge.

4. Grow berry fruits such as raspberries, blueberries and black berries. These are a good investment as the plants will spread and multiply once planted, each year will bring more fruits. Berries are the most delicate fruit that often spoil quickly and are expensive in organic form when purchased. So what could be better than picking and eating at their freshest and ripest. The plants are very hardy too, they have a wild temperament, coming back every year in full force with little gardening care required.

5. Check prices online using a comparison website (eg. mysupermarket.com)to see how the prices of the organic items you like compare between supermarkets.

6. Keep note of where certain organic products are cheapest for your own reference to make shopping easy. And sign up for emails with the companies you buy from to make sure you are getting the special offers and discount codes.

7. Shop in bulk from a wholesaler, many organic supermarkets, farms and fruit and vegetable suppliers offer wholesale prices. This is great if you use a lot of a particular item, such as daily juicing of carrots, regular almond milk production and frozen fruit desserts.

8. Choose the cheaper cuts of organic meat and poultry. Chicken thighs and beef mince are an awful lot cheaper than buying rump steak or a whole chicken. I would avoid high fat cheaper cuts.

9. Start sprouting seeds. This is one of the cheapest and best ways to consume fresh, living, organic plants. The seeds are cheap (you must buy organic sprouting seeds) and you can either sprout in any clean jar(s) or buy a sprouter which is less time consuming to care for. We like alfalafa and red lentils here at UK Raw Health.

I hope you have found this helpful. I am glad to see more and more organic foods and seeds available from even the budget supermarkets in the UK. Please add your tips for buying organic on a budget below in the comments section or email any questions to me Mrs. Bee UKRawHealth@gmail.com.

*Source: Goop http://www.goop.com/journal/make/266/goop-mag-13. Information on UK Raw Health is the opinion of the writer and/or other individuals mentioned. Information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or provide education. Statements have not been evaluated or approved by any regulatory bodies. Before making any changes to diet, regime and/or lifestyle consult your doctor.

Mind Food : Which Path Will You Choose?

Image shared from ArthurHaines.com