Missing the messages

Cosmetic procedures have been in the press this week as new legislation has been proposed to restrict who can administer botox, fillers and other superficial cosmetic treatments.

I'm not set against these treatments, although am in favour of their regulation, and have seen some really good results in people I know. However I think the high demand for these procedures does reflect our slightly imbalanced relationship with our bodies.

The media encourages us all to be vain/neurotic about our appearances to the point where we don't want to show any signs of ageing or even a spare (and healthy) extra pound. So people are eager to turn to quick fixes such as fillers or liposuction to sort these 'imperfections'. But we're missing the point if we think this is the answer.

How we look on the outside tells us an awful lot about what's going on on the inside and these are messages we should pay attention to.

If your skin is wrinkling or thinning prematurely then it's not just your skin that's ageing - it's all your internal cells too, which means that your organs are also wearing out too fast. Rather than getting some botox the answer should be to follow an anti-ageing diet (low sugar, high efas + fruit + veg, lots of water and sleep).

Not only will this extend your life but you can use this as a barometer of how effective your dietary changes are - as your skin starts to glow and look plumper and younger you'll know you're having a positive impact from the inside out.

The same applies to weight, stubborn weight around your middle is a big flag for potential insulin resistance/diabetes and/or adrenal and thyroid issues. A bit of lipo will not fix any of these underlying issues that could be highly debilitating in the long-run.

A low GI, high fibre detox diet would not only help shift your love handles, but also help regulate your blood sugar and reduce stress on your endocrine and cardiovascular systems.

If we all spent a bit more time focussing on what's going on on the inside we'd actually all end up looking and feeling a lot younger and not needing these quick fixes.
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Not just for kids

If there's one food group we all need more of it's vegetables. Low calorie, high in fibre and water and rich in anti-ageing, anti-cancer nutrients they're winners on all fronts.

Unfortunately they aren't everyone's favourite food, otherwise we'd all live to 100! So sometimes a little trickery is needed to make sure we or our loved ones eat enough of them.

There's a few tricks we can use on ourselves, and kiddies, to get somme extra veggies in:

- simple bribery, you can't have dessert til you've eaten two portions of veggies

- disguise, veggies can be easily added to stews, curries, chilli, pasta dishes. For the extremely veg averse you can blend them into sauces. I have a friend who's husband won't go near a vegetable so she has to cook and blend them beyond recognition. Jessica Seinfeld's books are a great source of vegetable hiding recipes.

- dress them up, us grown ups with our more sophisticated pallettes may need something more exciting than a side of boiled broccoli! Mixing veggies together and adding herbs and spices can turn them from a chore to a delight. For recipe inspiration Ottolenghi's latest book 'Jerusalem' is a fab place to start.

- sauce them up. Whilst I'm in favour of eating veggies plain, I appreciate with some people that's just not going to work. If adding some sauce or dressing is what it's going to take to get you to eat some veg then so be it. Most people will eat salad if it's nicely dressed, olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper can also add a lot of life to steamed veg (add some lemon juice on top for steamed new potatoes), equally some sugar free soy sauce and a drizzle of sesame oil does wonders for stir fry veg. Ms haribo is the master of hiding veg in her fruit smoothies - add a handful of spinach or kale for some easy greens with a yummy fruit taste.

- if all else fails, add cheese! I've found that most people will eat vegetables if you add some cheese! Crumble in some feta to roasted peppers, or make a salad with spinach and goats cheese. I served up some stuffed courgettes last week topped with a little grated cheddar and there were clean plates all-round.
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Food without the nonsense

Today I had to make a trip to the health food store and paid double the regular price of the regular version in tesco.

When in France last week I had a very different experience - I needed soy sauce for my marinated salmon. At the local spa supermarket, not a big store by any means, I bought their own brand soy sauce for half the price of today's purchase, ingredients: soy, water, salt.

I think this nicely summarizes a key problem in british food culture - we are quite happy to buy any old rubbish. If we all shopped critically and only bought food that only contained the proper ingredients then I wouldn't have to go schlepping around looking for soya sauce with only soya in it!

So this weeks shopping challenge is to only buy food with three or less ingredients, if the food you want requires more than three then make it from scratch yourself. This way you're much more likely to use fresh ingredients and get a more nutrient rich diet, without lots of added nonsense. And maybe after a while the supermarkets will start stocking food without the added nonsense!
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The mindful meal

I think that all too often public figures, particularly politicians, are disingenuous or water down their opinions for fear of not saying what the general public want to hear, so I was delighted to read this article in the telegraph about Anna Soubry's frank criticism of British food culture:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9822223/Anna-Soubry-lunch-at-your-desk-is-bad-for-your-health.html 

Her key bug bears are:
- people eating at their desks and working through lunch, rather than taking a proper break to "chill out, get your head back together, and enjoy what you're eating"
- not taking time to cook and enjoy home cooked meals
- people being weight obesessed - she had banned her daughters from using the word "fat" at home so they don't obsess about how much they weigh

Ok so she's had some flak for her comments, particularly around obesity being associated with lower incomes (statistically correct), but I'm glad someone is brave enough to level this criticism at the british people.

We all need to take responsibility for the distorted attitudes to food that mean we as a nation are more overweight than ever and that some kids now get to junior school without knowing what a vegetable is or how to eat with a knife and fork.

A good food culture is vital for the nations health and encouraging healthy eating habits in each other and in children is the key way to achieve this.

Teach your children about food, nutrition and how to cook and eat, encourage your friends and family to cook and enjoy healthy food. Treat cooking for others and sharing food as the joyous occasion it should be and take time over your meals, even when they are on your own. Put thought and care into the food you buy and the impact it will have on your body as well as the environment and above all take responsibility for what and how you eat - everything we do in life is a decision we have made, so be mindful in all your choices.
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Simple salmon

Whilst our ski trips often involved catered chalets, this week is self-catered, which is nice in that it lets us choose the food and we take it in turns to cook a nice meal for the group (good for those of us who enjoy cooking).

Of course I try and keep things healthy so this evening I served up salmon.  Salmon is a great health food as it's full of omega 3 essential fats, that most of us don't get enough of in our diets, plus most people like the taste and texture, when other fish might put them off.  I recommend eating salmon 1-3 times a week, wild if possible or otherwise organic if you can get it.

I'm happy to eat salmon plain, but if you're catering for people who are used to everything having a sauce then a marinade can be a good way to make it a bit more appealing. Tonight I used the honey-dijon marinade from this gordon ramsay recipe  to prepare the salmon and it went down a treat.  If you're not that adept in the kitchen, this is a really easy recipe when feeding friends or family.

My snow survival kit

I have many things to thank Ms Haribo for, not least for saving me from being a disastrous skier and introducing me to snowboarding!!  I might still be shocking at it, but I have alot of fun trying!

A winter snow holiday is also a great opportunity to holiday with friends, get some fresh air and exercise and for many to enjoy a week of hearty eating -- crepes, raclette, afternoon cake and tea, and the most delicious pralines we could ever find.  Not so good for eating gluten and dairy free though.

So here are my key snowboarding supplies to keep me fuelled for the slopes:

Gluten-free bread, actually now available in French supermarkets, for breakfast or afternoon toast with tea.

Gluten-free pita breads, much easier to make sandwiches with than bread - I make pita sandwiches with  smoked salmon and salad between two toasted pita bread. These pack nice and flat into my Camelbak.

A Camelbak water carrier  for plenty of easy access fluids to keep you hydrated on the go (note to Ms Haribo - there's a lock on the camelbak tube to stop it leaking everywhere if you squash it!).

Easy snacks for your snowboarding bag: Tescos mini nut or fruit and nut selectiosn (always on 3 for 2), Nak'd bars, raisin boxes, also if you're not gluten free Trek bars are great.

Rice cakes for healthy afternoon snacks if you want to feel virtuous whilst everyone eats cake, again available in French supermatkets. I pack some almond or cashew butter in my bag to have as a tasty topping, with sliced banana, or I top with a little honey, or some mashed up avocado with a pinch of salt.

Herbal tea bags - I keep things caffeine free on hols, not least because I don't want to have to pee after every run!! Lemon & ginger, or rooibos with soya milk (again available in the local Spa) keep me feeling warm and toasty before and after a day on the slopes.

Whilst you're out and about your choices can be somewhat limited. I tend to stick to omelettes with plain chips if we're lunching out and in the evening go for fish or seafood salad.  For a hot drink go for  Citron Chaud presse which is fresh lemon juice in hot water - delicious and a fresh supply of vitamin C.    A hot spiced apple juice also proved a total hit with our group, despite the fact it didn't contain any alcohol!

Man vs snack food

Some of our holiday party have managed to turn our evening meal into an episode of 'Man vs Food' and, I'm supposing to give themselves some inspiration, have taken to watching clips of the show on youtube.

If you're not familiar with it, I wasn't, this show involves the presenter Adam Richman facing the most unbelievable eating challenges against the clock, including eating a 72 ounce steak with chips in 60 minutes, 8oz is a regular sized steak!

How does he, or my holiday pals for that matter, manage to eat so much food in such a short space of time? Well our stomachs are amazingly expandable ... from an evolutionary perspective we need to be able to eat food when it's available incase we then face a food shortage.  These days a food shortage is rare, especially when you have a chalet full of snack food, so we don't really need to make use of our stretchy stomachs.

That's why when eating any food, treat or otherwise, we need to be mindful of not stretching our stomachs to the limit. The volume of food we need to eat in one sitting will differ at different times of day and depending on the kind of food eaten.  But in essence 2-3 times the volume of your fist should be sufficient for a proper meal.  Try plating up the right volume, then don't let yourself go back for seconds ... unless of course you're a professional competitive eater!