We are living in strange times - you don't need me to tell you that. Living with fear for the safety of our loved ones, glued to the news channel and despairing at the egocentric behaviour of the minority. On the flip side there are the altruistic acts of kindness, the support for the hard working, risk taking NHS, the singing from balconies and the clapping at our front doors. It sometimes seems like the world has gone mad, the times are crazy and for some, the sense of loss insurmountable.
Taking my weekly visit to the supermarket I took my trolley and stood in a queue, 2 m apart from any other shopper. The banter was good humoured and everyone was courteous, calm and civilised. Some of the shelves were empty; pasta, rice, flour and tinned goods in the main. Bizarrely fresh produce was also well depleted. I am guessing people are batch cooking and freezing. Despite this I managed to find most of the items needed for my family and my elderly parents.
On the positive side, I have had more time to plan meals, making sure not to waste anything and to ring the changes and shake things up a little. Because we are all home for breakfast, lunch and tea it is important to find different ways of serving meals. At home by myself, before all this, I was happy to eat a peanut butter sandwich every day for lunch. Now I switch things around and we enjoy a variety.
More thought goes into making an evening meal with time for planning and preparation. Meals have always been the time we come together as a family but now it happens more regularly. For those working or studying at home it's time for a break, a chat and a distraction before ploughing back into work.
There's something satisfying in using up and wasting not. It's made me reach into the back of my cupboards, to the bottom of the freezer, to the pages in my recipe books and be creative with what I've got. Whatever you're doing, whether vegetarian, vegan, flexitarian or carnivore, enjoy having the time to create, nourish and and most of all, to cherish.
Sunday 29 March 2020
Sunday 8 March 2020
Vegan veracity
A few years ago I attended Veganfest in Leeds, Yorkshire. At the time I was a committed vegetarian and only mildly curious about being vegan. The festival opened my eyes to what vegans are all about but at the time it seemed quite radical. This year I plan to visit again and learn a bit more.
During the intervening years I have picked up information along the way. Supermarkets have got better at selling products, ingredients and ready meals, restaurants are catering for vegans and there is more about Veganism in the media.
Some foods you may think are vegan are actually not. Honey is actually a bee by-product and many bees are mass pollinated using a method called migratory beekeeping. This then affects many fruit and vegetables.
Many wines, beers and ciders use isinglass (from fish bladders) in the clarifying process. Gelatin can be used in some sherries and ports as well as in desserts, sweets and medication. Cochineal and shellac can also be found in sweets.
Bone char is sometimes used in the sugar making process and don't forget what bone china is made from!
Vegan bread may still have various E-numbers derived from animals.
What I probably hadn't realised was how hard it is to avoid animal products in everyday life. They seem to be in everything including shampoos, conditioners (both hair and fabric) and medication. Also LCD screens on phones, televisions, tablets and computers use animal cholesterol. I have no idea where you can buy vegan versions.
If you're interested in finding out more you can go along to a vegan festival near you. Leeds has two dates this year - Saturday June 6th and Saturday 29th November.
During the intervening years I have picked up information along the way. Supermarkets have got better at selling products, ingredients and ready meals, restaurants are catering for vegans and there is more about Veganism in the media.
Some foods you may think are vegan are actually not. Honey is actually a bee by-product and many bees are mass pollinated using a method called migratory beekeeping. This then affects many fruit and vegetables.
Many wines, beers and ciders use isinglass (from fish bladders) in the clarifying process. Gelatin can be used in some sherries and ports as well as in desserts, sweets and medication. Cochineal and shellac can also be found in sweets.
Bone char is sometimes used in the sugar making process and don't forget what bone china is made from!
Vegan bread may still have various E-numbers derived from animals.
What I probably hadn't realised was how hard it is to avoid animal products in everyday life. They seem to be in everything including shampoos, conditioners (both hair and fabric) and medication. Also LCD screens on phones, televisions, tablets and computers use animal cholesterol. I have no idea where you can buy vegan versions.
If you're interested in finding out more you can go along to a vegan festival near you. Leeds has two dates this year - Saturday June 6th and Saturday 29th November.
Sunday 1 March 2020
Do or Diet
Just attended a workshop concerning ketogenics, detoxing and fasting. Having had my all-inclusive (read greedy) holiday in January, I decided it might be time to do a bit of cleansing and shedding.
The talk was very informative, if a little scientific. A lot of it went over my head. What I did learn was that it was quite a difficult process when you're vegetarian. The ketogenics diet is high fat, medium protein and low carbohydrate. Being a non meat or fish eater, most of my protein intake has to come from eggs although some cheese and nuts could be eaten. I can't eat potatoes, rice, pasta, beans and pulses, currently a large part of my diet. Even vegetables were limited with no kale or spinach allowed. Fat could come in the form of avocado and cooking with coconut oil 'though I find this sometimes has an aftertaste. Ah, tricky.
Detoxing involved making sure I took in extra salt and used activated charcoal to bind various chemicals and filter them out of my system as waste. I questioned what happens to the medication I take on a daily basis. Is that filtered out of my system too? Ah, maybe.
Having mentally ruled out ketogenics and detoxing I thought maybe occasional fasting might do the trick. Slightly worried about my tendency towards migraines when I don't eat regularly, I asked if there were any tricks to prevent this. Ah no, don't fast if you suffer migraines because it messes with your blood sugar levels.
It all sounded quite complicated. I think without understanding a lot more and getting a nutritionist to give me a personal plan to follow, I'll give it a miss. I'm not overweight and actually probably just need to eat a little more healthily and do a bit more exercise. Everything in moderation.
Ah well, looks like I'll have to do it the hard way. Today I went for my first run of the year. Honestly it was more like a shuffle but it's a start. The diet starts tomorrow (or maybe the next day ...)
The talk was very informative, if a little scientific. A lot of it went over my head. What I did learn was that it was quite a difficult process when you're vegetarian. The ketogenics diet is high fat, medium protein and low carbohydrate. Being a non meat or fish eater, most of my protein intake has to come from eggs although some cheese and nuts could be eaten. I can't eat potatoes, rice, pasta, beans and pulses, currently a large part of my diet. Even vegetables were limited with no kale or spinach allowed. Fat could come in the form of avocado and cooking with coconut oil 'though I find this sometimes has an aftertaste. Ah, tricky.
Detoxing involved making sure I took in extra salt and used activated charcoal to bind various chemicals and filter them out of my system as waste. I questioned what happens to the medication I take on a daily basis. Is that filtered out of my system too? Ah, maybe.
Having mentally ruled out ketogenics and detoxing I thought maybe occasional fasting might do the trick. Slightly worried about my tendency towards migraines when I don't eat regularly, I asked if there were any tricks to prevent this. Ah no, don't fast if you suffer migraines because it messes with your blood sugar levels.
It all sounded quite complicated. I think without understanding a lot more and getting a nutritionist to give me a personal plan to follow, I'll give it a miss. I'm not overweight and actually probably just need to eat a little more healthily and do a bit more exercise. Everything in moderation.
Ah well, looks like I'll have to do it the hard way. Today I went for my first run of the year. Honestly it was more like a shuffle but it's a start. The diet starts tomorrow (or maybe the next day ...)
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