What's all this about bee pollen!?

So, in my last blog I introduced the idea of bee pollen being a superfood. And it really is as simple as that. Pollen, collected by bees, from the flowers of plants and trees, can be eaten and enjoyed as one of nature's most whole and nutritionally complete foods.

There is a lot of science behind it, but I don't think many of you would be too interested to read the detail around how its molecular composition provides acute levels of almost every vitamin and mineral under the sun. For those that are...although a little basic in layout, this is a good website.

What I've been delighted to discover is that this simple, small product of a beautiful tiny creature is so full of goodness that it blows any man-made vitamin pill out the water! 

There are even bigger claims made by some researchers. Check these out (taken from http://www.mercola.com/article/diet/bee_pollen.htm) ...

• Bee pollen is more rich in proteins than any animal source. It contains more amino acids than beef, eggs, or cheese of equal weight.
• Cultures throughout the world use it to aid recovery from chronic illnesses, to reduce cravings and addictions, to regulate the intestines and in preventing infectious diseases like colds and flu.
• Experiments have shown that bee pollen contains an antibiotic factor effective against strains of bacteria, like salmonella.

It contains high levels of B vitamins, vitamin E, rutin, iron, magnesium, folic acid and potassium.

I tend to add a couple of teaspoons of it to my porridge in the morning. It has a very mild taste, slightly sweet and a little fragrant. You could mix it into salad dressings (it dissolves easily), or perhaps powder it and combine it with cinnamon and add it to toast. 

For those of you that are wondering how they actually collect the stuff, here is a simple break down (taken from www.durhamsbeefarm.com):

Honeybees will travel a two mile radius to retrieve nectar and pollen from flower blooms.  The honey bee has hair on each of its hind legs which collects the pollen as she walks around bloom.  The pollen will literally ball up on her leg and will usually be about the size of a be-be that you see used in a pellet gun.

When pollen is collected for human consumption, "pollen traps" are placed on the hive.  These traps remove the pollen granules from the leg of the bee and allow it to fall down into a tray for removal by the bee keeper.  The honeybee has to crawl up through a series of 1/4" wiring to enter the hive and in the process of doing so, the pollen is scrapped harmlessly from the honeybee's leg and it drops down into the tray for collection later.

WARNING: In some rare cases, consuming bee pollen can induce anaphylactic shock and so is dangerous for anyone that may have shown sensitivities to pollen, asthma or bee stings before. Please be very cautious in using bee pollen as it could give some people nasty side effects or reactions. I would suggest trying a very small amount to begin with and building up the amount you use gradually.

So there you have it! If you're curious to try some, you can buy it in most health food stores or using various online retailers. 

And next time you see a bee...thank her!

Eating Clean

A recent discovery of mine (thanks to my beautiful, healthy Canadian friend Rebecca Young) was The Eat-Clean Diet (www.eatcleandiet.com) -  or should I say lifestyle.

This is not another fad diet where you cut out this food group and calorie-count till the cows come home! If you know me, I am really not into fad diets. So if you thought this blog would be all the latest on how to lose 10 pounds in a week...think again!

I'm in the middle of reading one of Tosca Reno's 12 books on her Eat-Clean phenomenon that has sold 2,000,000 books worldwide - The Eat Clean Diet Recharged.  Tosca is a model, spokesperson and Nutritional Therapy Practitioner that turned her life and health around at the age of 40 by shedding unwanted pounds and sharing how she did it in a magazine article. Now 53, she was recently awarded first place in a body-sculpting contest! 

Anyway, although it's very inspiring and commendable, I'm less fussed about her story, as I don't relate to it all that much. What I love is the values and knowledge she so passionately writes about.
(If you are interested to read more about her journey click here.)

The main principles to the diet lifestyle are very sensible and in my mind, if you want it enough, very achievable:

• eat to maintain a healthy metabolism: 6 small meals each day 
• eat breakfast every day, within an hour of rising
• eat a combination of lean protein and complex carbohydrates at each meal
• eat enough healthy fats each day (2-3 servings)
• drink loads of water (2-3 litres)
• eat lots of varied fruit and veg to get all the vitamins, nutrients and fibre you need
• carry your snacks and meals with you in a cool bag, with the above in mind, so you don't find yourself succumbing to the nearest fast food restaurant when you’re peckish!
• eat foods that a pure in their form - no processed junk with e-numbers and ingredients you've never heard of, nor can you pronounce!
• adhere to proper portion sizes.

Eating Clean is not a new idea though - it is practised by the physique and body building industry - that is, fitness gurus and those building a lean physique through fitness training and exercise. 

Anyway, enough of the science. I've been following this lifestyle for about three weeks now (fairly strictly: my only four moments of weakness being a homemade lasagne that won me first place in a cook-off competition, a small and very worthy-of-the-indulgence slice of homemade carrot cake, a little home-made fruity cheesecake pot and local grilled fish and chips). The results have been great! I feel good in myself - less bloated, more energetic in the afternoons, my skin has got clearer and I've lost 5 pounds! 

But best of all, I just love knowing what I'm eating is fueling and nourishing me from the inside out. I love that my organs and blood and brain and heart and hair and nails and eyes and muscles are all saying, 'Yey! Just what I've been after!'. It just feels right to be eating right.

Plus I'm making lots of new discoveries about weird and wonderful foods that nature has created, which I didn't know existed! Did you know bee pollen was a superfood?! Keep reading to join the discovery... 

Can't escape the comfort of carbs!

So, Autumn is well and truly settling in and its the time we turn to the joys of homemade cooking to comfort us when we need to be cosy...steaming soups, bubbling stews and warm, stodgy porridge! Let's face it - it's hard to get excited about salad in October (although I generally do all year-round)! And it's hard to fancy a chilly fruit salad over a couple of rounds of buttery toast with a lovely brew for brekko!

So, in an attempt to be extra healthy and try to cut back on the nasty yeastiness and generally preservative-full standard supermarket loaf of bread, I am trying out some other,  lesser-known loaves to see if they step up to the mark in the morning!

In September, whilst enjoying the sights and shops of one of my favourite towns, Totnes in Devon with my gorgeous friend Rebecca visiting me from Canada, we stumbled upon a locally made bread stall. It sold all varieties of spelt, sourdough and rye bread. Spelt is a grain that is known to be more easily digested than normal wheat, due to its more brittle and water-soluble make-up. Rye is another very healthy grain that has quite a delightful nutty flavour.

Becky and I enjoyed some lovely sunflower seed wholemeal sourdough toast, spread with almond butter the next morning over a nice cup of tea! The toast was quite dense, so every bit as satisfying as normal toast, but with lots of extra goodness!

Another that I've recently discovered is a bread that is made from only one ingredient! Yep, I know it's hard to believe - one ingredient! It is called sprouted wholewheat bread and you can get it in specialist health food shops or online. 
It is made by soaking and then repeatedly rinsing whole wheat berries (in a container with a lid and air holes), allowing it to 'sprout' in a dark place, just like an average seed would. You then grind the sprouted grains and mould the dough into rounds, and bake!

I think it's a little like malt loaf in texture but perhaps more crumbly, with a similar sweet taste to it, but with no added nonsense!

Try it - you might be surprised! 

And so it begins...

As a near-constant pipeline dreamer, I have thought, pondered, wondered and procrastinated over this blog for many months now. What's my aim? What do I want to say? Why?

Well, now is the time and here are the answers.

I love food. I'm always thinking about what my next meal will be, when it will be, how healthy it will be (or not). If I'm not thinking about it, I'm making it...or eating it! My husband laughs (and growls) at the volume of various tupperware containers I bring home from an average day in the office, with the food remnants he has to wash up!

As well as the beautiful and vast variety of tastes, smells and colours that food brings, it can be teaming with life: toxin-fighting vitamins, energy, minerals and tasty goodness that keeps the blood pumping through our veins. On the other hand, we could be eating heavily processed 'foods' that have been through so much manufacturing, with lots of horrible man-made chemicals added, that they could be doing the opposite!

I wholeheartedly believe that what we put inside our bodies directly affects what we will get out of them. Our health and well being really is impacted by our diets - positively or negatively - so why not give it a few more minutes thought each day?

My aim for this blog is to share with you the knowledge, musings, tips, ideas, discoveries and pitfalls that I've acquired so far in life, in the world of food, health and nutrition.

I hope you enjoy it...as much as I enjoy food!