Bare All with Confidence - healthy skin

Image Simple Sense Now

Big improvement in the weather in the UK (at last!) - not sure how it’s going for the rest of you who live in various different corners of the globe - but i hope the sun has got its hat on! So… as we start to peel off the layers of woolies and put the heavy coats and boots to the back of the wardrobe for a while, it’s time to start thinking about doing everything we can to look and feel good in the light, floaty and perhaps even micro-mini garments that we love to wear when the sun finally comes out and stays out!

Over the next few weeks, I will be offering a host of summer tips and tricks that should help achieve the body beautiful without too much hassle involved!

I will be covering weight loss, skin, hair and nail health, a few outdoor exercise recommendations with other cracking little tips and tricks along the way so stay tuned! Here's one to get you started...

top tip: get the skin brush out

Lightly brushing the skin with a dry brush or loofah stimulates the circulation, removes dead skin cells and promotes elimination. Start brushing at your feet and brush towards the heart, then brush from the fingertips up to the shoulders and toward the heart (don’t forget the soles of your feet and the palms of your hands). Use small strokes and a gentle pressure - you’re not brushing the dog! Avoid the face and neck area and any damaged or bruised skin. Jump into the shower and have a good rinse to get rid of the dead skin cells before soaping. If you are brave enough, you can turn the shower to cold (but not freezing) for a few minutes before you dry off to encourage your body to launch into a bit more fat burning to keep warm. NB: if you have an ongoing health condition or are on medication, check with your doctor before considering this rude awakening!

Another great tip is to have a mug of Hot Lemon and Ginger after your skin brushing and showering to calm the digestive system and further the elimination of toxins. Add grated, fresh ginger, lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt to boiling water, leave to cool a little then add a spoonful of Manuka honey and sip.

View all my Bare All This Summer Top Tips here.

From Giant Omelette to Longest Pizza!

The bigger the better appears to be the order of the day on the food front! Last month I blogged about the humble but oh-so-nutritionally-fabulous egg on the back of the annual celebration in a small french town where chefs join forces to create a 'giant easter omelette' and now it seems to be time for pizza to hit the headlines!

Naples has recently claimed the 'longest pizza' award - have a look at the Telegraph video - that's one mighty big pizza!

I am often asked about whether pizza can feature in a healthy, balanced diet and those who are trying to lose weight, regularly want to know if the odd slice or two of their favourite pizza combo is going to wreck their diet and/or encourage weight gain. Yes and no is the answer. It all depends on the base and the toppings!

Image by Matt Lewis

I happened upon this image a while ago and thought it looked so darned delicious that I decided to have a go at creating something similar. Instead of the 'classic' refined wheat flour pizza base, it involves a chickpea flour flatbread. So... why should that be a big bonus for pizza lovers? Because chickpea flour is higher in protein, higher in fibre, lower in carbohydrate, lower in calories and richer in healthy fats than wheat flour. It is also gluten-free and is bursting with an array of vitamins and minerals. This impressive combination makes it more filling (so we eat less), a splendid route to keeping blood sugar levels balanced (so we don't find ourselves hungry a couple of hours after our pizza fest) and as it is slightly sweeter than wheat flours, satisfies any niggling little sugar cravings.

The quickest and simplest route to making one 9-10 inch chickpea flour pizza base is to whisk together 120g chickpea flour (also known as gram flour and readily available in supermarkets and health shops), 235ml water, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 or 2 peeled, crushed garlic cloves and a good pinch of sea salt. Cover the bowl and leave for around an hour. Meanwhile, prepare your toppings. I roasted thinly-sliced onions, red, yellow and orange peppers (lightly coated in olive oil, salt and pepper) in the oven until cooked through and caramelised around the edges, steamed some kale and spinach until just wilted, crumbled some feta cheese, drained some anchovies and sliced up some pitted black olives. 

When you're good to go, heat a heavy-based, oven-proof frying pan until hot, swirl 1 tablespoon of olive oil around before spreading the batter evenly over the pan surface and cooking over a medium heat for 3 minutes each side (or until the flatbread is cooked through and beginning to get slightly crispy around the edges) then spread a little more olive oil over the surface and get topping (leaves first, then onions and peppers, then anchovies and olives and finally feta). Pop the whole thing into a hot oven and bake for 6-8 minutes or until the cheese is starting to brown and the pizza base is nice and crisp.

You can get super-experimental with your toppings (the more vegetables and the fresher the better) but stick with cheeses with a lower fat content (goats, fresh mozzarella, parmesan, pecorino, Swiss - and be sparing) and if using meat and poultry, lightly cook fresh cuts rather than opting for processed, pre-packed products.

Now that I am firmly on the road to creating healthy pizzas that are not going to compromise my waistline, I intend to try all manner of different base and topping combinations - I'll keep you posted but in the meantime, let me know about any that feature regularly in your pizza world and I will include them in my recipe page - send images if you have them!

Liquid Indulgence

Why your morning cup of coffee, your afternoon cup of tea and your evening alcoholic pick me up can offer a hefty health boost!

Research continues to uncover the power of phytonutrients (plant chemicals) in not only helping to protect us from disease but also in boosting our defences. Coffee, tea and alcohol, once deemed our evil indulgences are right up there alongside broccoli and berries - as long as we choose carefully! Here’s a rundown on the best of the best, what makes them great and how and when to fit them into a health-enhancing diet and reap the benefits. As our great grannies were wont to say “a little of what you fancy does you good” and who would have thought that after so many years of being told to swap our morning cuppa for a fruit smoothie and our stress-relieving glass of wine in the evening for a large glass of sparkling water we may have been doing ourselves more good than harm before we got caught up in the possible frenzy of abstinence! 

• COFFEE - make it dark, make it rich, make it Fairtrade, make it freshly-ground, buy the best you can afford and make the addition of milk and/or sugar an occasional treat. The less-processed the coffee, the more antioxidant-rich and protective plant chemicals you get and the smaller the cup, the greater the punch. If your usual coffee habit is a milky, frothy, sugary concoction, start the process by adopting the Italian habit of having a small, dark, single espresso with a large glass of water on the side early doors and to benefit from the now-well-documented fat-busting properties of top-quality coffee beans, wait at least 30 minutes before having your first meal of the day
• TEA - make it black, green, white or red, buy loose leaves and infuse your own tea whenever possible or spend a little extra to make sure your tea bags are either organically-grown or sympathetically-processed. If milk is required, add a splash of full-fat from pasture-raised cows (makes a way better cup of tea and adds nourishment to your cuppa) and if a dash of sweetness is required, stir in a little Manuka honey

• ALCOHOL - red wines (particularly the Pinot Noir, Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties) get the vote for their richness in the protective plant chemical, resveratrol but the white, rosé and fizzy varieties don't do a too-shabby job either as long as you keep it dry - the drier the wine, the more antioxidant-rich it is and the less health-disrupting sugar is involved. Discerningly-produced beers also offer respectable amounts of protective plant chemicals and are increasingly being flagged up for their possible health benefits as do spirits but sadly, many prefer to enjoy their spirits with all manner of super-sugary, fizzy extras which do little other than upset blood sugar levels, prompt the need for another 'hit' and add inches to waistlines. On the rocks or with soda is the way to go with spirits if you are looking for possible health benefits and most important of all - make sure you adopt a responsible stance where alcohol is concerned and stay within the recommended daily levels.

'Feast on Fish’ for Enviable Energy Levels and All-Round Better Health!

Many experts have written huge tomes on the now-proven health benefits bestowed upon us when we get a load of these little and large swimmers into our diet on a regular basis and yet many still fear them and either don’t eat them at all or only when they are coated in batter and deep-fried which is nothing short of a tragedy!

Other than those who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet or where food culture or religion determines the absence of animal flesh, seafood should be a staple at least 4 times a week if we want to see and feel the relative health benefits.

Most of these are because fish and shellfish are a rich source of the Omega 3 fatty acids DHA and EPA which are associated with a decreased risk of heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, skin complaints, mental health issues and certain cancers.

a diet rich in omega 3s has also been proven to boost energy levels, strengthen our immune system and encourage weight loss

Learning to love fish if you are not currently a big fan can take time but it is time well-spent and isn’t as hard as you might think. Get friendly with your local fishmonger who will happily remove heads, tails, bones, shells etc. and not only present you with a ready-to-cook (in the bag if you prefer!) thing of deliciousness but also offer advice on added extras to make your dish sing. And, slowly but surely, you can become a little more adventurous while you experiment and find the swimmers that, once enjoyed, become regular favourites.

here are a few suggestions to get you started on your 'fish fest' - click on the images to download, save and print off the recipes