Food, and what and how we eat, is a complex area and much is written on this subject. One of the things that occupies us is what stops so many of us from eating healthy food, even though we know deep down that this will ultimately be of benefit to us.
One of the often quoted objections to eating healthy food is that it is, by definition, expensive. Is this really the case? We discussed this in our previous blogpost, which you can access here.
Another objection is that healthy food is often considered to be boring and bland, and so we opt instead for the foods that shout out at us from the billboards, the TV adverts, the shiny brochure delivered through the door, or the supermarket aisles promising us the latest taste sensation.
For us, Graham and Annette, food has to be exciting and pleasurable and something to enjoy and linger over each and every day, in fact every single meal. At the same time, we want to eat food that is healthy, that makes us feel vibrant and full of energy. We don't want to compromise, as we know only too well how it feels when we do. Is it possible to achieve both? Though it may seem unrealistic for some, we can say with all honesty that we do, even when we travel, which admittedly can pose challenges, though never insurmountable. So what exactly do we eat? We eat lots of salads. With salads, it's always about variety, flavour, texture and something extra to turn the individual parts into an enchanting whole. So we incorporate lots of different types of leaves, herbs like basil, coriander, dill, marjoram, sometimes roots, sometimes fruits, onions, celery, cucumber, and so forth and the 'extra' referred to is the dressing, something with which we love to improvise and experiment.
We also love to make our own 'breads' and crackers, both savoury and sweet, which again offer up myriad opportunities for combining different tastes and textures. We use no artificial preservatives, colourings, flavourings or binders, no refined sugars, no grains or yeast. Everything is created from nuts or seeds, herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables. The same goes for our desserts, which include no dairy or grains, but are like all our other foods almost always made from nuts, seeds and fruits. Invariably delicious, never boring. In addition to creating varied and exciting recipes, we're also on a mission to really raise the profile of the ingredients that nature makes available to us; this constitutes the vibrantly coloured, nourishing food that we were born to eat. There are multiple reasons why we're no longer impressed by simple, natural food: the convenience factor and manipulation of our tastes being just two highly successful reasons from the perspective of the food industry. We consistently aim to put natural food back in the lime light where it belongs, and we know this needs to be done on an almost daily basis which is why we devote time to providing information and pictures on our social media accounts, the latest of which is a new Instagram account. And we seek out new information which isn't in short supply, but just isn't always at the top of any news agenda! The recent 'apple story' however, did make the headlines and since the apple season is almost underway, we wanted to pass the story on to you in case you missed it, and especially if a little bit of extra encouragement might make these wonderful fruits even more appealing. It seems an apple is more than just a sweet source of fluid and nutrients, it also harbours a startling number of bacteria and in the case of organic apples particularly, the bacteria are diverse and mostly health-promoting. As the human microbiome becomes better understood, the relevance of such findings grow. It's becoming apparent that the bacteria in our gut have the capacity to 'clamour' for more of what they like so that they can proliferate: little did the food industry know when it began that the products they create would have the capacity to build an army of allies in our guts; what a gift! But the reverse is just as true, the diverse bacteria on and in organic raw apples (and other plant foods) build up in our guts and with consistent support, ie more foods such as these, they can create an environment that is super beneficial to our health, and like all other bacteria, the impetus to survive means they will 'clamour' for more of the foods that feed them; it isn't just our taste buds that influence our food choices! We first encountered this news story in a well-known British broadsheet newspaper, but this version includes more information. If you're tempted to try out our food yourself, then we'd be delighted to welcome you for one of our 3 course raw food lunches. At these lunches we'll explain to you how we prepare the food so that you can try out some of your favourites at home yourself. Just get in touch!
