Street Parties, Gallons of Guinness and A Good Chance of a Hangover!

Whether you are celebrating today or over the weekend, St Patrick’s Day events tend to involve perhaps a little too much alcohol! Here are a few of my protein and fat-rich recipes that do a grand job of slowing down the absorption of alcohol into the blood stream plus a few helpful tips which, with a bit of Irish luck will minimise the suffering!

• Feast before you head out

• Aim to match every drink with a large glass of water.

• Make a point of having a snack (and more water) before bed.

Poached Egg Special

Mediterranean Rice Bake

Crisp Bread with Salmon, Cottage Cheese and Courgette

The Cleansing Properties of Soup

Hands up everyone who is fed up reading about the cleansing properties of soup! A good soup has always offered nutritional perfection in a bowl (a phrase I started to champion some considerable number of years ago but I am certainly not about to claim as my own as the Imperial Physician to the Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty beat me to it around 800 years ago!)

A truly cleansing soup takes time and patience, requires the very freshest of organic ingredients (and yes, you have to grind your own fresh herbs and spices) and is definitely what I would call a labour of love but if you are that patient person who has the time - go for it!

Alternatively, you may simply decide to get soup into your life on a more regular basis because it is delicious, nutritious, warming, comforting, satisfying, easy to transport, often very quick to prepare and there is no limit to the varieties you can concoct once you become a dedicated soupaholic!

If you find yourself debating the cleansing properties of juices versus soups - don’t! My advice is to mix it up and enjoy both. Despite what you may have read, juicing is not ‘out’ whilst soup is ‘in’, that’s just media and marketing hype. The bottom line is that the more vegetables you get into your day the better for health and wellness (aim for 7 and don’t beat yourself up if it’s only 5). And don’t forget to add 2 or 3 fruits into your juices and soups or have them as a snack with a handful of fresh nuts which deliver cracking good levels of protein and healthy fats.

If you are feeling a bit sluggish or suspect you are at risk of going down with one of the rather many viruses that seem to threaten us at this time of the year, have a go at my soup and juice clean up for a few days and benefit from the outstanding properties of both.

The Wonderful World of Pulses

Are you up to speed with the fact that 2016 is the Year of Pulses? The United Nations determined that this should be the year "to heighten awareness of the nutritional benefits of pulses as part of sustainable food production aimed towards food security and nutrition".

And, here are just a few of the many reasons they are rightfully regarded as super foods from a health and weight maintenance perspective:

• rich in vitamins and minerals

• excellent source of plant protein

• high in both soluble and insoluble dietary fibre

• improve blood sugar regulation

• help to control hunger and appetite

• rich in protective plant chemicals

• contain valuable amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids

The general recommendation for improved health, protection against disease and weight management is 4 to 8 cups (800 to 1600g) per week and the huge variety of beans, peas and lentils available to us makes including them in our daily diet a bit of a no-brainer.

NB: IF YOU ARE A PULSE-VIRGIN, GO SLOW IN THE EARLY STAGES TO AVOID 'WINDY' EPISODES! YOUR DIGESTIVE SYSTEM WILL SOON GET USED TO THEM IF YOU PERSEVERE... 

Try some of my soups, stews and salads to get you onto the pulse-road (click on the images to download the recipes) and please send over any delicious concoctions that are already part of your regular diet so we can all share in the year of pulses experience! 

adzuki bean soup

black bean soup

omega 3 salad

lamb and bean soup

pea and ham soup

smoked haddock and white bean soup

aromatic lamb stew

lentil and bean salad

up the ante this winter with soup!

Black Bean and Ham Soup

If someone managed to convince you that one little pill taken three times a day throughout the ‘darker’ months would prevent you from falling prey to colds or 'flu' would you take it? Of course you would - a really bad cold or, worse still the ‘flu’ is guaranteed to make you feel totally miserable, be forced to take time off work and see friends and family giving you a very wide berth while you suffer!

Studies continue to show that a deficiency of certain vitamins and minerals reduce our immune response and render us more prone to catching something but as cold and ‘flu’ viruses that sweep the globe each year are rarely the same as the previous year or the year before, there is unlikely to ever be one pill or vaccine that offers all-round protection so we are pretty much on our own on this one, I’m afraid!

However, there’s a lot we can do to up the ante and this is where soup can be our saviour!

Soup is so much more than just a warm and comforting bowl of deliciousness - a good soup is like a medicinal tonic, offering a whole host of natural, anti-viral goodies rich in immune-boosting micronutrients like folic acid, vitamins A, B6, C and E plus zinc, copper, iron and selenium. Not any old soup will do, however. It’s all about the ingredients and perhaps more importantly, the cooking method......

Light and Tasty Chicken Broth

the secret is in the simmering!

A great soup base is vital for a great soup and a slow sauté over a very low heat until the vegetables used are soft (onions, leeks, garlic, celery, carrots and other roots) not only forms the basis of a really tasty soup but also helps the vegetables retain their disease-fighting nutrients. The addition of herbs and spices at this stage and another spell of slow simmering adds yet more immune-boosters. Thereafter, it’s simply a matter of slinging in all the other ingredients according to the cooking time required (eg beans, lentils, rice and other grains first, meat, poultry and game next and greens and seafood last) until you have a pot of goodness you can’t wait to get your spoon into! Same goes for broths that involve meat, poultry or fish bones - keep it low and keep it slow for maximum protection!

Scotch Broth

Top foods with anti-viral, anti-bacterial, antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties to include in your soups:

• the onion family (red and white onions, leeks, shallots, garlic, spring onions, chives)
• roots (turnip, carrot, parsnip, celeriac, sweet potato, beets)
• mushrooms (whatever is in season but particularly shitake)
• the citrus family (lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit)
• greens (everything from lettuce to spinach - the darker green the better!)
• herbs and spices (everything from A to Z but particularly ginger and turmeric)
• bones (meat, poultry, game and fish)
• probiotics (yoghurt, kefir, buttermilk, fermented soya products)

click on the images to download, save and print off my top three immune-boosting soup recipes