Merry Christmas
Posted by kathryn in Blogging
I’m on holidays now until January.
And I’m also taking a blogging break. I’ll be back on Limes & Lycopene on Tuesday 13 January.
Merry, merry Christmas to you all.
I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing festive season and best wishes for lots of good health and happiness in 2009.
Thank you for being such great readers. Your comments, feedback, emails and suggestions have all been immensely appreciated over the last 12 month.
Menu For Hope
Remember, there are still a few hours left to make Menu For Hope donations. And many wonderful prizes are still up for grabs. Thanks so much to all of you who have donated already. If you’re yet to buy a raffle ticket then go to First Giving.
See you in the new year
Christmas bush photograph by Kounelli.
Menu for Hope: donate now
Posted by kathryn in Blogging
The Menu For Hope total is steadily creeping upwards. If you have donated and bought raffle tickets already, there really are some fantastic prizes on offer.
And the money is going to such a good cause. Pim has posted some photos, taken by children at White Hill Primary School in Lesotho. This is one of the areas, where the Menu For Hope money is being spent. Last year’s US$90k bought 388,000 meals which fed 19,000 children. 36 tonnes of maize were bought from local farmers.
If you want to know more about why you should support this cause read Pim’s full report.
What you could win
US$10 buys you one raffle ticket. And there are loads of fantastic prizes. As well as 6 weeks of personalised nutrition and food coaching that I’ve donated, my clinic has also put together a new year health package.
All the prizes can be seen at Chez Pim while the Asia Pacific prizes are all at Tomatom. A few which have caught my eye are:
- If I lived on the East Coast of the US I’d be bidding and bidding and bidding for The Amateur Gourmet’s prize of two tickets to see Iron Chef America. I love this programme. Prize code UE27.
- I’d also be seriously considering Amuse Bouche’s prize of dinner for six people. They supply the chef, venue, ingredients and even do the cleaning up afterwards. Prize code UE18.
- In the UK Eat the Right Stuff has donated a customised food tour of London. You could visit Borough Market, Soho’s Chinatown or Tooting’s Asian Markets. Explore the food halls of London or organise a day around a cooking style or ingredient. Prize code UE05.
- Talking of food tours – Ms Adventures in Italy is donating a food tour of Milan. The day starts with breakfast and includes a trip round the open-air fruit and vegetable market. Prize code EU14.
- The lovely Sophie from Mostly Eating has donated a veg lovers cookbook collection. She’s piqued my interest with the promise that one book contains the “most outrageously pink creamy beetroot pasta dish”. Prize code EU22.
If you want to give the gift from Menu For Hope to someone else, then Ms Adventures in Italy has put together some great printable gift vouchers.
How to buy a ticket
- Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from Menu for Hope. All the Asia Pacific region prizes can be viewed on Ed’s blog Tomatom. While Pim also has a full list of the prizes world-wide.
- Go to the donation site at First Giving and make a donation.
- Each US$10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize you’d like in the ‘Personal Message’ section in the donation form when confirming your donation.
- You must write-in how many tickets per prize, with the prize code. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for AP03 and 3 tickets for AP13. Please write 2xAP03, 3xAP13.
- If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we can claim the corporate match.
- Please allow us to see your email address so you can be contacted in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.
What prizes have caught your eye on the Menu For Hope list?
Quicklinks: the Christmas gift giving edition
Posted by kathryn in Seasonal Health
I’ve been thinking of Christmas gift ideas over the last few weeks. Recipes and foodie things to make.
ost Christmas gift ideas revolve around cakes, chocolate and sweets. Looking through the latest Donna Hay and it was full of bonbons, white Christmas, chocolate truffles, mini cupcakes, biscuit stacks, cake, cake, cake and cake. It all looks beautiful, amazing even, but I like my presents to be a bit different.
So I put out a request on Twitter for healthier Christmas gift ideas. And had some interesting suggestions, which I thought I’d share with you.
- A healthier cookie mix: It was Sophie who first suggested a healthier biscuit mix by sending me this link. I have lots of friends who just don’t cook. And I like the idea of giving them the means to easily produce home-made biscuits. Hence my spiced chocolate & cranberry recipe.
- Hummous basket: I also liked the idea from @BeautyWriter (who also writes here) of a hummous basket. Chickpeas, a bottle of extra virgin olive oil and some spice or herb mixes.
- Marinated fetta and olives: Christie from @figandcherry had several ideas, but I particularly liked the thought of marinating fetta or olives. You could make rosemary, chilli and lemon olives or some oregano & fennel fetta. Christie also blogs at Fig & Cherry.
- Chai: Another reader suggested making a chai tea blend. Mix together the spices and then give a separate bag of black tea. It’s a wonderful smelling gift as well. Elise has a lovely looking version at Simply Recipes.
- Spice rubs: Another twitter-er @norecipes suggested chutneys, pickles, vodka infusions, plus spice rubs. These Moroccan spices make a lovely gift, as does this home-made mixed spice blend. No Recipes also has a Chinese five spice powder on his blog.
- Muesli: Reading Chew on This during the week also reminded me that home-made muesli is also a lovely gift. I’ve made a toasted pear and ginger version this year.
And of course, if making food presents is not your bag, you could always buy Menu For Hope raffle tickets. Not only are you giving money to a wonderful cause, but you run the chance of winning some fantastic prizes.
Don’t forget I’m involved in two prizes this year. AP03 is six weeks of online nutrition coaching, while AP13 is a prize being offered through my clinic, Balance2health. It includes $220 worth of treatments and services. A bargain.
Photograph by countrygal845
Spiced chocolate & cranberry biscuits
Posted by kathryn in Baking
What the hell is a biscuit recipe doing on Limes & Lycopene? Aren’t I always nagging you to cut back on the treats and eat more vegetables?
Well yes, but . . . A while ago I asked what you wanted me to blog about and one of the suggestions discussed was how to make treat foods just that bit better for you.
Then I noticed Food Blogga’s Eat Christmas Cookies event and it seemed like a good time to post a better biscuit recipe.
These biscuits are to be honest delicious. Slightly chewy, flavoured with spices and a combined cranberry and chocolate kick. Very, very Christmasy.
I’ve drawn inspiration for these from a whole range of other recipes. But I wanted something which was lower in both saturated fat and sugar, and higher in fibre than most normal biscuits.
How I made these better
- I’ve used wholemeal flour instead of the standard white
- I’ve pulled right back on the sugar – these biscuits are not super-sweet, but the addition of spices means they still have a full and rich flavour
- I’ve used canola oil instead of butter, to reduce the saturated fat. I’ve also reduced the oil right down to the minimum amount possible.
- While they do contain chocolate which has a few kilojoules, I’ve used a 70% cocoa solids brand – which is a bit better than your bog standard milk. I also used a Fair Trade chocolate.
- The addition of spices and cranberries adds a a little bit of antioxidant oomph.
- The pumpkin seeds add a few minerals (zinc, magnesium and calcium), as well as some Omega 6 poly-unsaturated fats.
Spiced chocolate & cranberry biscuits
Makes 18
Dry ingredients:
- 125g wholemeal flour
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot starch
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 110g brown sugar
- 40g dried cranberries or blueberries
- 55g pumpkin seeds
- 50g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), cut into small chunks
Wet ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 170°C. Cover a baking sheet with baking paper.
Mix the dry ingredients: Sieve together the flour, arrowroot, mixed spice and baking powder, into a large bowl. Add in the sugar, berries, seeds and chocolate. Stir to combine.
Add the wet ingredients: Whisk together the eggs and canola oil. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix together. Using a dessertspoon, put spoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking tray, about 3cm apart. Don’t worry about making them neat, as they expand and spread out.
Cook the biscuits: Place the biscuits in the oven and cook for 12 – 15 minutes, until they are a golden colour. When they are cooked leave them to cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Biscuit-mix present
I’m going to be making up batches of the dried mix, to give away for presents this Christmas. Then the recipient only has to add some egg and oil, and they have their own home-made biscuits.
Are they healthy?
While they’re lower in saturated fat and sugar, higher in fibre, and have extra antioxidants, these biscuits are still a treat food. They are better than many others you’ll make or buy. However don’t get caught out by the health halo and consume the whole pile.
This is my entry for Food Blogga’s event Eat Christmas Cookies. The full roundup is here.
Win a new year health package from Balance2health
Posted by kathryn in All In A Day's Work and Blogging
I have another Menu For Hope prize to tempt you. Although this one is only for people who are in, or who can get to Sydney.
At Balance2health, the clinic where I see clients, we’re offering a New Year Health Package – to jump-start your health in 2009.
All the details are on our brand, spanking new Balance2health website which can be found here.
As with all the Menu For Hope prizes, raffle tickets can be purchased at First Giving. The Asia Pacific prizes can all be viewed at Tomatom. While Chez Pim has the full of what’s available. And for full information on how to donate instructions are at the bottom of this post.
Win 6 weeks of personal food & nutrition coaching
Posted by kathryn in Blogging
It’s Menu For Hope time again – the annual fund raising campaign organised by Chez Pim.
Menu For Hope started five years ago, following the tsunami in Southeast Asia. The campaign has since become an annual event. And in 2007 Menu for Hope raised nearly US$100k to help the UN World Food Programme feed the hungry.
As with last year the money is going towards a school lunches programme in Lesotho, Africa. This programme gives a good, solid meal to children each day – providing them with fundamental nutrition, while also encouraging them to stay in school.
Moreover food for the programme is purchased locally, which provides an income stream for farmers and injects money into the local economy. The WFP also encourages farmers to use sustainable techniques.
How does it work
Food bloggers from around the world are offering a huge range of fabulous prizes. Anyone – and that means you too – can buy raffle tickets to bid on these prizes. Raffle tickets cost US$10 each and can be purchased from First Giving.
Note the campaign runs up until December 24th – Christmas Eve.
Win 6 weeks of food & nutrition coaching
On Limes & Lycopene I spend a lot of time talking about how and why you should eat well..
But sometimes it’s difficult to translate diet advice into your every day life. Sometimes it’s easier, if you have a plan.
Therfore for this year’s Menu for Hope I’m donating 6 weeks of online nutrition and diet coaching and planning.
It will mirror the stuff I do with clients in my practice. But this time I’m offering the service online. Through a combination of email, IM and telephone conversations, I’ll work with you over six weeks to improve your diet, wellbeing and vitality. Wherever you live.
So if you’re more tired than you should be and struggling to eat well. Or if you you’re fed up with waking up each New Year’s Day thinking how much have I eaten and drunk in the past month? This could be just what you need.
Instead of struggling through the new year feeling sluggish and ordinary, why not start 2009 with a plan to get your health, diet and waistline back in order?
The code for this prize is AP03. And it’s total value is A$290.
How to buy a ticket
- Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from Menu for Hope. All the Asia Pacific region prizes can be viewed on Ed’s blog Tomatom. While Pim will also be posting full list of the prizes world-wide.
- Go to the donation site at First Giving and make a donation.
- Each US$10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize you’d like in the ‘Personal Message’ section in the donation form when confirming your donation.
- You must write-in how many tickets per prize, with the prize code. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for AP03 and 3 tickets for AP04. Please write 2xAP03, 3xAP04
- If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we can claim the corporate match.
- Please allow us to see your email address so you can be contacted in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.
So start buying raffle tickets now, it’s a brilliant cause to support.
Photograph by Sanja Gjenero.
Quicklinks
Posted by kathryn in Health News, A Balanced Diet, Weight loss, Fruit, Vegetables and Main courses
It’s been a light blogging week for me. My attention has been taken up by our new Balance2health clinic website. It’s nearly, nearly ready and should be fully functioning next week.
Which means I’ll have that bit of spare time back, which I need for blogging. In the meantime – here’s the usual Friday Quicklinks.
- Re-gaining weight: Short piece at Weighty Matters on why Oprah regained her weight. We don’t usually talk celebrities and gossip here at Limes & Lycopene, but I liked Yoni Freedhoff’s comment: “the way you live is a choice and not a purchase”.
- Cooking from the pantry: It was too late to be included in the latest Pantry Challenge. Nevertheless Planet Green has put together a great pantry meal: pasta with tuna, beans and peas.
- Christmas menu ideas: Melanie of Dietriffic fame has put together some good thoughts on eating a bit healthier this Christmas. She also promotes the 50/25/25 guide and has included some lovely menu suggestions.
- Who loses on the Biggest Loser: Over at Cranky Fitness Merry watches The Biggest Loser and wonders why it’s seen as a positive show?
- Yet more reasons to eat fruit and vegies: Should you require any more convincing, research this week suggests along with all the other benefits eating vegies may be good for your bones.
- Would you eat an insect? My favourite headline this week was Open another can of worms, dear. It’s an interesting piece from the Guardian on attitudes to what food is, and how we regard food from some other cultures.
- Vegie-full chilli: Lovely, lovely looking recipe from Food Blogga. It’s a Chilli with zucchini, capsicum, corn, red kidney beans, tomatoes and lean mincemeat. And Susan’s photos are beautiful. The recipe is here.
Photograph by Woowoowoo
Protein: how much and how to eat enough?
Posted by kathryn in Protein
Checking through your Skribit suggestions, there are a couple of questions about protein:
- How much protein does the average person really need a day; and
- How to get more protein in your diet
I’ve written a fair bit about protein before, so thought I would tie these two up by linking to some old posts.
How much protein do you need?
- Protein basics: Last year I wrote a couple of posts on protein and vegetarians. Regardless of whether you’re vegetarian or omnivore, the first post in the series contains some basic information on protein. Why you need it; an overview of amino acids; the main sources and how much protein you actually need. Protein and vegetarians
- The nutrients you need: While we’re on the subject, you also may be interested in this post what nutrients do you actually need?
- Portions: For an idea of how to structure your evening meals with protein vs grain-foods vs vegetables take a look at what should your dinner plate look like?
How to get more protein in your diet?
There are lots and lots of ways to get more protein in your diet.
- For vegetarians: The second post in the protein and vegetarians series includes a list of suggestions on how vegies can increase their intake. Protein and vegetarians part 2
- For non-vegetarians: While this post is responding to a question on gaining muscle mass, there are some protein-filled meal suggestions at the end. How to gain muscle mass
- Which foods contain protein: There’s a quick protein quiz here which gives an indication of the range of foods containing protein – the answers are in the comments. There’s also a round-up of the quizzes here.
- Breakfast: For ways of making your breakfast better in general – which includes adding a bit of protein – take a look at this post: make a better breakfast each morning.
- Avoiding carb addictions: If your diet is overflowing with carbohydrates and grain foods, at the expense of protein and vegetables, then this post might help. How to deal with a carb addiction in 5 steps.
How Skribit works
If you want to ask me a nutrition or food question, then you can do so via Skribit. Skribit enables you to ask questions, and also vote on other peoples’ questions – so I know what you’re interested in.
You can register your question anonymously. However if you do login, when I answer the question you’ll be sent an email.
There’s more information about using Skribit here.
Quicklinks
Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket, Health News, Vegan, Soups and Main courses
- Sweet potato, halloumi & seed soup: I first saw the link to this recipe on The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl and thought what a glorious sounding soup. Sweet potato cooked with leeks and chickpeas, and then topped with sauteed haloumi, seeds and fresh parsley.
- Health & the economy: The launch last month in the UK of Change4Life has prompted some debate. Should new health initiatives be delayed until the economic forecast improves? A perspective on Foodnavigator.
- Beetroot chilli: Cassie from Veggie Meal Plans caught my eye this week with her recipe for beetroot red chilli. Now that’s one use of beetroot I haven’t thought of.
- The Health Halo: Could what’s being called the Health Halo be responsible for the American obesity paradox (which could also be called the Australian obesity paradox). More from the New York Times
- Sharing a cow: This week’s Good Living had an article about Herdshare. In this scheme you buy a share in a cow, and a share of it’s raw milk. Great idea.
- Christmas excess: A well timed post from The Frugal Cook about Christmas excess. Her goal this year is to limit the spending – and avoid ending up with a fridge crammed full of food. The post is here.
Photograph by Pikaluk.
What's in season in Sydney: December
Posted by kathryn in What's in season
Fruit:
- Apricot: this is the best month for apricots in Australia. At the moment though I’m unsure where the locally sold fruit are from. I’ll try to find out in the next few days.
- Avocadoes: Hass
- Berries: the Victorian berry season is in full swing, with raspberries, youngberries, blackberries and so on all in season. However I’ve also bought cheap(-ish) NSW raspberries, strawberries and blueberries over the last 7 days.
- Cherries: coming into season, although most current stocks are from Victoria. In NSW cherries grown in Young are picked in December, so they’ll start flowing into shops real-soon. Update also being picked in Orange at the moment.
- Grapefruit: ruby grapefruits are still particularly good, but they’ll be going out of season this month
- Lemons
- Limes Update these may not be locally grown – I’m trying to work out their provenance at the moment
- Oranges: navels
- Peaches & nectarines: grown in Victoria, South Australia, parts of Queensland and also NSW, so check the provenance of your local supplier
Vegetables
- Asparagus: The season is coming to an end and prices will start rising soon.
- Asian greens
- Beetroot: beautiful, beautiful new season beetroot available at the moment. I can’t get enough of it.
- Celery
- Cucumbers
- Garlic: finally local garlic is back in season.
- Herbs
- Leeks
- Lettuce
- Peas
- Radishes
- Rhubarb
- Silverbeet
- Snowpeas
- Spinach
- Tomatoes: are finally in season. At the moment the best are truss and egg tomatoes, although I’ve also bought some lovely cherry plum tomatoes recently.
- Wild rocket
- Zucchini
The monthly what’s in season guide is compiled from a number of sources, including: the Harris Farm Market and Fratelli Fresh market updates; Lettuce Deliver’s weekly shopping guide; the Sydney Markets seasonal guide; updates in Donna Hay and Delicious magazines; a range of books; as well as my own observations of what’s currently available and good value. I sometimes continue to make updates during the month, as fruit and veg availability changes.
Photograph by Gio JL.
3 comments
24 December, 2008