For the Love of Our Home-Grown Berries!

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Huge thanks to Food52 for pointing out that this week is Blueberry Week and providing a fabulous selection of recipes that champion these little dark balls of deliciousness and greatness! If you don't already subscribe to the Food52 newsletters, I urge you to do so now - it's inspirational!

However, if you live 'this side of the pond' I urge you to celebrate the incredible wealth of home-grown berries that are crowding our shelves right now - particularly strawberries, raspberries and blackberries (or brambles as we call them in Scotland).

Blueberries have 'bagged' a superfood spot - they are low in calories, high in fibre, chock full of immune-boosting vitamin C, offer good levels of bone-building vitamin K and are believed to contain the highest, health-protective antioxidant capacity of all commonly-consumed fruits and vegetables BUT how often do you find 'locally-grown' blueberries on your supermarket shelf? In my experience, occasionally, but not often, WHEREAS just yesterday, the minute I walked into my 'local', I was greeted by an overwhelming, almost 'jammy' and extremely enticing aroma of strawberries, grown only around 50 miles from my city dwelling so there was no competition - the strawberries won hands down for tomorrow's breakfast! Furthermore, the strawberries were around £5 per kg and the blueberries were around £11 per kg - not a difficult decision! 

I read somewhere that not only has the European love affair with blueberries come as a direct result of health reports hailing them as one of the world's most beneficial superfoods but also that we appear to be more than happy to gorge on them because unlike strawberries, they don't require any work - you have to 'hull' a strawberry and that seems to be too big a task for some - what?? 

Just so you know... strawberries, raspberries and blackberries all offer more vitamin C than blueberries and when in season and locally-grown, pack a health-protective punch not too far behind blueberries (particularly those poor little mites that have had to travel a good many miles over a number of days to get onto our shelves)! 

Bag your home-grown berries while you can - the season is short. Have them early doors with creamy-smooth yoghurt and a handful of nuts and seeds, top a couple of crisp breads with nut butter, berries and black pepper or add them to salads for lunch, whizz them up into a smoothie with a dollop of delectable crème fraîche or have them on their own when you need a little sweetness in your world mid morning or mid afternoon or make a spicy berry sauce and serve it with meat or game for dinner (delicious) or when nothing else will do... dip them in melted, deepest, darkest chocolate and tell yourself you are benefitting from even more superfood superiority! 

A Cheering Glass of Red with Mr Buettner!

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There is always someone out there trying to spoil all the fun isn't there? Particularly when it comes to the occasional tipple after a stressful day!

The 'can alcohol be part of a health-enhancing diet?' debate rages on and on and on and on... but my good friend Dan Buettner (no I have never met the man and I am well-aware that he probably doesn't know I exist but I like to call him my friend anyway coz I like what he has to say!) has obsessively studied the diets of those who live to a healthy and ripe old age in those countries known as 'The Blue Zones' and he tells me (through his research) that "yes, a glass or two of red wine - especially when consumed with a Blue Zones, plant-based meal­­ - is a good idea for most people" so I can't imagine for a second why I might decide to argue?

Of course, summer is upon us and many of us prefer a cool drink when the temperature has gone up a few notches but there are quite a few 'reds' offering a whole bunch of protective plant chemicals that lend themselves rather nicely to being chilled so try the following grape varieties: Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Gamay, Cinsault, Shiava, Grenache or ask your local wine merchant for advice.

NB: can I urge you to remember the bit about 'with a blue zones, plant-based meal'... ie: with a nutritiously-fabulous-every-colour-under-the-sun salad rather than a takeaway pizza! 

Go to Work on an Egg!

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who doesn’t have eggs in the fridge?

Eggs are the easiest, cheapest and most versatile way to keep your protein levels up, and I’m not just talking about eggs for breakfast (nor am I about to try and convince you to go on a boiled egg diet!)

Way back in 2008, a major study revealed that “eating two eggs for breakfast, as part of a reduced-calorie diet, helps overweight adults lose more weight and feel more energetic than those who eat a bagel breakfast of equal calories” and further studies continued to convince us to reconsider our breakfast choices.

Astoundingly, the UK Egg Marketing Board’s request to re-broadcast their extremely successful go to work on an egg series of TV advertisements from the 1950’s were rejected in 2007 as the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre observed that “the adverts did not suggest a varied diet” - how things change over the decades in this crazy world of nutrition!

Our early ancestors depended on bird eggs for protein on the many days when hunting and fishing didn’t go too well and as my hunting and fishing skills aren’t too hot, I feel sure I would have to ask Kirsty Young of Desert Island Disks fame if I could take a couple of beautiful brown hens onto my desert island - sadly the Complete Works of Shakespeare doesn’t offer much in the way of bodily nourishment!

Eggs are packed with goodness - 13 essential vitamins and minerals, high-quality protein, healthy fats, protective antioxidants and they make a brilliant addition to any weight loss diet at only around 70 calories each. Have at least one a day* for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack, opt for free range, organic (or even better, from a local farm or farmers market), find your favourites from some of my egg dishes below (simply click on the images to download the recipes) and go to work, go to lunch, go to dinner, go for a snack or go to bed on an egg and lose weight along the way!

* the jury is still out on how many eggs we should consume in a week but if you are in good health and your diet is rich in plant foods and scant on processed foods, there is no evidence to suggest that 7-10 per week will offer anything other than a nutritional bonus.