Posted by kathryn in Vegetables, Eggs and Dinners

I’ve had some lovely entries for the Pantry Challenge. I’m in the process of collating them and putting together the round-up – which I’ll post on Thursday. In the meantime though I have a recipe of my own. I’ve been making variations on this tagine for years. It started with a recipe I spotted in a North African cookbook for vegetarian kofta balls in a tomato sauce. The meal was finished with whole eggs, cracked into the dish and …

Read more 10 comments 30 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Vegan, Dinners and Legumes

A while ago I blogged about how small impediments can stop us from eating well and why I never cook stir frys. I love eating them. They’re quick, tasty and healthy. You can add in lots and lots of vegetables, change around the flavours, use some low fat protein. What’s not to like? Instead I don’t cook stir frys because I hate cleaning the wok afterwards. So this meal is what I make instead. It has many of the …

Read more 11 comments 27 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Breakfast, Vegan, Mental & emotional health, Dinners and Ethics & Sustainablity

It’s been a light blogging week for me. I’m working hard on a writing project for Wellbeing – something interesting they’re releasing early next year. But I shall be back properly next week. For a few days of food made from the pantry. I’ve had some entries already and am going to post a couple of recipes of my own. In the meantime, here’s the usual Friday Quicklinks. Plus a photo of my fridge – which is for Wendy. …

Read more 7 comments 26 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

h3. Ten Minute Kitchen: pears The latest issue of Life etc magazine is out. This includes my regular recipe column: Ten Minute Kitchen. The featured ingredient in this issue is pears. The column includes three recipes for: * Pork cutlets with pear * Pear & berry compote * Roasted pears with blue cheese Here in Australia, Life etc is on sale from newsagents. If you just want the recipes you can download them from their website. Just click on …

Read more 1 comment 24 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Soups, Salads, Fats & oils and Ethics & Sustainablity

• Dukkah on soup: Lovely idea from Veggie Meal Plans on how to spark up a vegetable soup: red lentil & cauliflower soup with dukkah. * How much ham is in your ham? News this week from Choice that many packaged ham products are loaded with water to increase the weight and price consumers will pay. * Beetroot & caraway seeds: You know I’m a sucker for a new beetroot recipe. This one from Nami Nami is a new …

Read more 2 comments 19 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Uncategorized

Eating well is one of the foundations of health. A good diet not only reduces your risk of ill-health in the future, but it will make you feel good right now. A good diet enables your body to function at it’s best – so you will have more energy and vitality. h3. Do you feel overwhelmed? However changing your diet can feel like an overwhelming task. Eating more vegetables, reducing saturated fat, having plenty of …

Read more 9 comments 18 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Uncategorized

Following the success of the guest posts during the 31 Days to a Better Diet series, I’m continuing the series. Each month there will be a post from a guest writer on what they do to eat well. And this month it’s Sue-Lin Tin from Noodlebowl talking about watching your portion sizes. I am Sue-Lin Tin, an average girl with an average yo-yo dieting lifestyle and a more than average love of broccoli. Muesli, yoghurt and a banana. A …

Read more 7 comments 16 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Breakfast, Vegan, Vegetables and Soups

• Soy bomb: It took me two goes to get these little gems right, but it was definitely worth persisting. Soy bombs from Cindy at Where’s the beef? * Trying new foods: In response to the 31 Days to a Better Diet Kada at Through Thick & Thin tries some new foods. Loved this account of her progress. * Simple green beans: A super simple way with green beans from Eating Out Loud. "Crunchy fresh beans with toasted sesame …

Read more 6 comments 12 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Uncategorized

Announcing the Pantry Challenge In a busy life eating well can sometimes be difficult. Regular planning, shopping and cooking all take time and if you’re having a flat-out week these things get overlooked. Without good food in your cupboards or freezer the tempting fall-back is take away and fast food. If this is happening intermittently it’s not a problem . However if you’re regularly turning to take-away then your diet and health are suffering. h3. Cooking from the pantry …

Read more 10 comments 11 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Uncategorized

I first wrote this post for the Passion For Health blog. Recently Mike & James have closed down that site, to focus on Habit Guide – so I’m re-posting it here. I have now been a practising nutritionist and herbalist for five years. As you’d expect I’ve learnt a lot over this time and have grown and developed as a practitioner. While I still have the same fundamental philosophy about health, my approach to patients and their health has …

Read more 6 comments 10 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Snacks, Vegetables, Mental & emotional health, Dinners and Ethics & Sustainablity

• Easy way with broccoli: There’s a big promise in The Wednesday Chef’s post on broccoli, but this is a super simple and great looking recipe. * Huevos Rancheros: Smitten Kitchen is a new blog to me, but I love the look of this recipe for the Tex-Mex dish huevos rancheros. * Indian spiced croquettes: I’m loving the idea of these spinach and pea tikkis from Quick Indian Cooking. And they’re grilled, not fried. * BBC’s food resource: There’s …

Read more 1 comment 05 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Mental & emotional health

Finally in today’s Q & A Thursday a reader asks: how do SSRI antidepressants cause weight gain? I’m not an expert in pharmacology but as far as I know, there’s no answer to this question – yet! SSRIs or Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors are a group of antidepressants which include prozac, zoloft and lexapro. About 25 percent of the people who take these antidepressants gain weight, but at the moment _we don’t know the precise mechanism by which this …

Read more 5 comments 04 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Labels & advertising

In Q & A Thursday Kaya asks: what constitutes a ‘high’ or ‘low’ salt product. Salt is made up of two elements: sodium and chloride. These are both electrolytes and they’re important to your body. * Fluid balance: they assist in maintaining the subtle and complex balance of fluids in your body, despite the daily fluctuations in your water intake and losses. * Nerve and muscle function: They’re involved in muscle contraction and relaxation and assisting the transferral of …

Read more 7 comments 04 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Fats & oils

Next on Q & A Thursday Naomi has asked what are the health benefits of raw vs cooked nuts and seeds. I love nuts and seeds. They’re delicious, crunchy and packed full of nutritional goodness. However most people don’t eat a lot of them. I read a statistic recently that Australians only eat an average of 4g of nuts per day – although don’t quote me because I can’t remember where I saw that snippet. h3. What about the …

Read more 4 comments 04 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Fats & oils

After missing a month due to the 31 Days to a Better Diet series, Q & A Thursday is back. The first question is from Maja who asks which is the healthiest oil for frying and roasting? h3. Why do we use oil in cooking? Oil has to be one of the most frequently used cooking ingredients. We use it in dressings and when marinating foods. However it’s also the foundation of several cooking techniques: sautéing, roasting and stir …

Read more 10 comments 04 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Uncategorized

We’re moving towards spring. A change in seasons. Which means the fruit and vegetables available to us also starts changing. September and October are months of flux. When what should be available to us and what’s actually available can be two different things. At the moment I’m thinking a lot more about local food. For the past few years I’ve increasingly tried to limit my grocery shopping to Australian goods. Well, mostly Australian at the very least. However more …

Read more 8 comments 03 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

Now the 31 Days to a Better Diet series is over, what’s coming up next on Limes & Lycopene? h3. What’s in season? As it’s the beginning of a new month, I’ll be posting my regular list of the fruit and vegetables in season, here in Sydney. h3. Q & A Thursday The first week of the month also means Q & A Thursday: the monthly forum where you ask the questions. If you have a question about food …

Read more No comments 02 September, 2008