WE’VE MOVED TO WWW.NUTRI-BELLE.CO.UK

Hey there lovely little love puffs.

If you’re wondering why there’s been radio silence on this blog for a while, it’s because we’ve MOVED!

Fret not, you can still get all the good stuff at http://www.nutri-belle.co.uk. Why not pop over and say hi over there?

You can also keep in touch through social media. I’d love to hear from you!

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ nutribelleUK

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/nutribelleUK

Twitter: @NutriBelleUK

Thanks for following this blog. High fives and chest bumps (just gentle ones, cos you know… boobs.)

Xxx

Bella

 

 

My top 10 Christmas gifts for foodies

I promise I’m not just using this post as a subtle hint to anyone who might want to buy me a little pressie this Christmas… honest! With only a week to go until Christmas day, there’s not long left to get your pressies bought, wrapped and under the tree. If you have someone in your life who is a food lover, a master-chef in the making, or a wanna-be connoisseur of gourmet delights, then this might help inspire a few last-minute gift ideas. Hopefully you’ll find something that suits a range of different types of people and budgets – I’d love to know if you have any particular favourites to add to the list!

1. I am seriously hoping Father Christmas pops a spiralizer into my Xmas stocking this year (and no, that’s not a metaphor!)… I love veg, and this nifty little gadget turns most veg into noodles – great as a spaghetti substitute, or for jazzing up salads. And they don’t have to be expensive either – Amazon do an awesome selection, ranging from £3 to £50.
2. For folks who have landed with both feet firmly on the juicing/smoothie bandwagon, super cute mason jars make nice little stocking fillers. I like these ones from Etsy – they’re eco-friendly, spill-proof and can be personalised. Bottom’s up!
3. My healthy cookbook wishlist is ridiculously long – but I’m longing to try River Cottage Veg Everyday for top tasty vegetarian tips and tricks that everyone can incorporate into their lives.
4. I bought this grow your own Mushroom Kit for my dad and he LOVED it. If you have an agriculturally-curious foodie who doesn’t have a huge amount of space, this little box can bring a world of pleasure… and the produce is super tasty too!
5. I love the personalised gifts that you can get these days – and for a nice gift for the home chef, this gorgeous quality collection of chopping boards from The Rustic Dish are awesome. I’m a particular fan of the Banksy ones, although I love the plain olive wood boards too.
6. If someone you know has been hooked by the Great British Bake Off then chances are some lovely bakeware will be the icing on the cake for them this Christmas. I love these Love Bird measuring cups and Emma Bridgewater’s gorgeous cake tins. Super cute.
7. For someone who likes their kitchen appliances to be a little different – a trendsetter or futurist… this sleek Vision Toaster might do the trick – better than watching paint dry, you can now watch toast burn!
8. An indulgent afternoon tea with a twist – Afternoon Tea Bus Tours sound like the perfect way to do sight seeing in London! Big Ben and a cuppa on a bus? Mmmm… lovely, thanks.
9. I love the variety of choice you get for healthy food and gift hampers from Planet Organic. They cater for gluten free, dairy free, vegan, vegetarian, inner cavemen (yes, really), organic wine lovers and more.
10. And for the younger generation, the aspiring foodies of tomorrow, I love this Kid’s Kit cheese-making set for curious and experimental children and adults alike. I love the idea of teaching future generations where food comes from (not that the kit includes any live animals, sadly… but at least it’s not pre-packaged cheese on a supermarket shelf!)

This list might have added a few bits to your last-minute wishlist too! Don’t forget, you can always ask for a NutriBelle consultation to help you get off to a healthy start in 2015 – committing yourself to a healthier future is one of the best gifts you can give yourself! Email me at bella@nutri-belle.co.uk to find out more.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM NUTRIBELLE 🙂 xxxx

The brilliance of bums, boobs and other bodily parts!

I was luckily to be taken away on a lovely long weekend in Spain a couple of weeks ago, for nutritional purposes, obviously – essential for topping up my vitamin D levels (that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!). Walking through the sea of bodies soaking up the late summer rays on the beach, I was intrigued and fascinated by the different shapes and sizes, different levels of health, tone and vibrancy. My other half was fascinated too, but mainly cos a group of gals had decided to go topless *rolls eyes*…

Now obviously a tan helps people’s bodily confidence. But my beach meander highlighted to me the importance of feeling comfortable with your body. How many of us are truly happy enough to wear nothing more than a few triangles of clothing and a smile?

I think we spend so much time beating ourselves up for not having the ‘body beautiful’ that we forget to appreciate the great work that our bodies actually do. Yes, it’s probably true that each of us has room for improvement and a few things that we could do make us feel better. But have you actually considered what you inadvertently ask your body to do for you on a daily basis? Can you give it the credit it’s due?

Just as the wrinkles that we gain as we get a little older can be kindly attributed to ‘laughter lines’, a reminder of the happy times we’ve had, so the extra jiggle or stretch mark might be a gentle reminder… Your body might have made another human being, or you were so enveloped in the comfort and love of a new relationship that you didn’t notice the ‘love handles’ slipping onboard for the ride. Even the extra weight you gained during a particularly difficult patch in your life… All of them are a reminder that you’ve created, loved, battled and LIVED. And that’s a damn fine thing to be proud of.

But having said that, there’s a fine line between accepting our bodies for what they are, being grateful for what they’ve got us through and treating our bodies badly. Don’t get complacent and mistake acceptance for down right laziness. Fuel your body right, give it the nutrients it longs for. Stop feeding it crap. We genuinely are what we eat. So if you can’t read or recognise the ingredients on a label, you probably don’t want to be putting it in your mouth. Respect yourself enough to treat yourself right. Cos that body of yours deserves it. HELL YEAH!

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On a slightly different note, I’m thrilled and excited to announce that NutriBelle, my nutritional coaching business, will be up and running in the next month! If you’d like to work with me in December or the new year, please drop me a note at

bella@nutri-belle.co.uk

xxx

There ain’t nothing like a taste of home

I was doing my usual (long) long (did I mention long?) commute back from the office last week. Every now and then I get on a tube train that has a ‘Poems of the Underground’ sign. I love them. I got quite obsessed by one talking about autumn leaves last year. It made my day every time I saw it.

Anyway, this time I saw one that I haven’t seen before and it resonated loudly with me. I can’t remember the exact words, but it talked about the nostalgia of food. How sometimes, in amongst the hustle and bustle of life, sometimes all you really want is to come home to that plate of food that reminds you of home. “There ain’t nothin’ like Mum’s home cooked (fill in the blank)” – that kind of thing.

I have a few things that tug on my nostalgic tastebuds, from my two homes. I grew up in Zimbabwe and will always think of myself as an African girl… But in reality I’m 3 short years away from having spent 50% of my life in the UK, so I have nostalgic foodie memories of this home too. Here are mine – I’d love to hear yours:

– roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. This was our family’s traditional ‘welcome home’ feast for anyone who’d been away for a while. Except I can remember it going horribly wrong one year when my darling sister came back from university to the smells of tenderly cooking beef… And told mum that she’d actually become a vegetarian over the past year. That didn’t last. My dad (the Yorkshire man) was fiercely competitive about Yorkshire pudding eating! Made for a lively (and decidedly gluttonous) dinner or two. Not anymore – gluten free Yorkshires just aren’t the same! Although the other English man in my life does love a good roast!

– scrambled egg. Apparently when I was teeny tiny, I had an obsession with ‘skamballed eggy’ (god that’s embarrassing to see in black and white)… Good job too cos it was about the only thing I could cook when I came to this country! These days it’s my “easy peasy let’s not cook!” option!

– mealies (or corn on the cob as they’re called here). Our family wasn’t a great Sunday dinner family. We’d normally be out and about, having lunch with family friends (usually a braai or a BBQ), so Sunday nights were usually reserved for something small. Mum used to boil up a bunch of mealies and we’d have them with lots of butter, salt and the odd slice of cheese. Yum…..

– green pesto, with just about anything. I have been known to knock up a bowl of bacon and pesto pasta for breakfast. And in the early days of our relationship, my boyfriend walked into my flat after a late bar shift at 1am to find me eating pesto covered fishcakes… It’s an ironic comforting food that has enough garlic in it to make people run away from you, but there’s something about it that cuddles my soul.

I’ve shown you mine, now your turn!

Food: the elixir of life?

I have a birthday coming up. It’s not a big one, but it’s the biggest one I’ve had so far. And I’m reaching that stage where I’m suddenly starting to notice things getting a little less young looking. I’m slightly more creased than I used to be. And am prone to looking a bit like I’ve had a rough night – which is particularly disconcerting when I’ve had a full 8 hours sleep. If we really are what we eat, then I need to start eating something to pump the youth back into me. So I’ve been having a little meander through the wealth of information on t’internet to see what food can do for our skin, hair, eyes and general well being… And because I’m more generous in my old age, I thought I’d share it with you!

It goes without saying that a diet packed full of veg and fruit (more veg than fruit!) is the best all round fix. But there are other things that I think most people might overlook. So here’s my top 3 things to turn us into sprightly young things of youthly youngfulness*
(*NB – I may be prone to slight exaggeration.)

• Embrace the fats: but make sure they’re the right kind of fats. Avocado and salmon (the natural monounsaturated fats) = yes. Am particularly obsessed with coconut oil at the moment too – from cooking with it, to rubbing it on my skin direct from the jar… it’s a lush-smelling pot of love! These types of natural fats pour a world of good into your body, and do wonders for the skin. Fast food and margarine (transfats) = no. The bad fats clog your arteries and take away elasticity from the skin.
• Sugar is the devil. Yes, I know, it’s also oh-so-tasty and (according to Mary Poppins) ‘makes the medicine go down’… But I’m sure we’ve all had the odd spotty outbreak after gorging on chocolate. Sugar makes it more difficult for our bodies to heal. And it depletes collagen in our blood which is what keeps our skin nice and tight. So basically sugar = wrinkles. Luckily, there are a whole heap of natural sugar replacements – I use agave nectar (great on porridge) and stevia (sugar-free baking here you come!).
• Drink plenty from the fountain of youth: sadly it doesn’t overflow with wine, sugary squash or fizzy stuff. Now, you’ll have a tough time prising a glass of wine from my hand, but in my defense, I do also try to drink a bucket load of water. Not out of a bucket though. That would attract some strange looks. And, in a nostalgic glance back to my African roots, I am a huge fan of rooibos (red bush) tea which is packed full of antioxidants, is anti-inflammatory and is a great caffeine free cuppa. Bliss.

Obviously that’s just skimming the surface – there’s plenty else that can be done to help slow the inevitable aging process. I’d love to hear your top three tips… And I plan to be more rigorous with putting mine into practice… just as soon as the birthday is out of the way. Well, it would be rude not to… 😉

Farewell to Zest

Obviously my boyfriend thinks I’m practically perfect in every way (*ahem*) … but if he did have one complaint about me, it would probably be my obsession with health, fitness and food magazines. And I have to admit, it is verging on ridiculous. In drawers, under the bed… there are PILES of them and despite having just had a massive clear out, I’ve still managed to cling on to at least 100 of them.

This week marked the end of an era in health and fitness magazines. Zest magazine announced that it’s January issue would be it’s last. Apparently Hearst Magazines UK has decided that to be strong enough to survive going forward, it needs to shed some excess weight. And given that it has some other pretty successful and notable publications (Women’s Health being their new baby), they’ve made the hard and brave decision to shut down Zest.

To me, this is a massive sign of the times. I’m a die-hard-mag-fan, so it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to wean myself off my habit of flicking pages with a cuppa at the weekend. But now I get to feed (pardon the pun) my food and fitness obsession with tonnes of Twitter tell-alls, billions of foodie bloggers, platefuls of instagram pics, YouTube vids, foodie facts from Facebook, millions of nutritionists and a plethora of PTs (is that the proper collective noun for them? If not, it should be!) sharing their wisdom. So, like newspapers, my beloved magazines need to work harder, both on and offline, to avoid going the way of the dodo.

The thing I love about the social media side of this is that it suddenly makes it a whole lot more personal. Sure, you read someone’s story in a magazine, and that’s fine. But on social media, you’re hearing it from THE ACTUAL PERSON. And you can become a part of it in a way that hasn’t been possible before. I fell in love with Twitter when I discovered #FitTeam11 (as it was then, now it’s #FitTeam13) led by the awesome PT, Stuart Amory. Stu made the brilliant connection between on and offline by starting a #FitTeam roadshow where people from Twitter could get together to workout, share experiences and learn first hand from the PTs they’d been following.

And right now, I’m off to a bootcamp that I found out about on Facebook, before coming home to cook up some bonfire treats that I’ve been collecting from twitter and instagram! Enjoy your Saturday!

The healing power of food

My dad was diagnosed with coeliac disease when I was still at school. I can remember walking into his office to find him passed out on the floor with a nurse leaning over him. He’d collapsed because he had been eating the wrong things and wasn’t absorbing the nutrients his body needed to be able to function properly. After a serious of tests we found out that his immune system REALLY didn’t like gluten, so every time he ate it, his immune system attacked his gut. Nasty. 

This sparked off my first fascination into the world of food – do you have any idea how many things have gluten in them?! Here in the UK, the health system provides people diagnosed with coeliac disease with special gluten free products… but back home in Zimbabwe, we had to make things up from scratch, testing out which flour makes the best GF bread (potato flour if I remember right!) and scouring labels of our favourites checking to see whether dad could eat it. Several years on, and it’s amazing to see the difference – he’s found a way of managing things that works for him, and by eating the food that actually loves his gut, instead of attacking it, he’s a much happier and healthier Pop!

I’m doing a little bit of research at the moment to see if I can help my aunt – apparently these auto-immune diseases are in our genes – she’s been diagnosed with Chrone’s disease. And, similar to coeliac disease, it can be managed through what you eat. If anyone has any experiences of dealing with Chrone’s, I’d love to hear what worked for you, although I know that it’s different for everyone. 

And it’s not just the big life-changing ailments that can be made better through food – I’ve got a massive pot of healthy homemade soup bubbling away at the moment, filled with cold-busting veg to knock the impending November sniffles for six. Germs be gone! I’m armed (with garlic) and dangerous!  

How do you use food to heal in your life? 

Comfort food: your (healthy?) hug on a plate

Batchelor’s Cup ‘a’ Soup may not be my ideal choice of comfort food, but they were onto something with their ‘hug in a mug’. And when it feels like the world (or just the weather!) is against you, there’s nothing better than a nice warm foody cuddle from the inside! 

Most of my friends and followers listed carb-loaded classic British foods as their favourite hug on a plate: bangers n’ mash, pie, chips n’ gravy, beef stew (one of my personal faves!)… all of which ROCK in the warm-fuzzy feeling stakes, but can be seriously hazardous to my jean-wearing capabilities. By the end of the winter, I’m bound to have more of me to love. If you’re like me and are interested in the science behind it, there are actually chemical reasons why we crave comfort food, linked to our levels of serotonin (the happy hormone) and sugar. Carbs give us a little boost when we need perking up, but it’s a short-lived one, so before long you’ll be HANGRY (hungry and angry) and you’ll want to eat every little morsel of EVERYTHING… RAAAAAR.

But there’s no damn-tootin’ way I’m going to spend the colder months ordering a salad and nibbling at lettuce leaves. So I’m on the hunt for taste-whopping goodness to warm my cockles and but avoid adding to my muffin handles! Luckily, some kind folks on that there interweb have already done this for us. One of my current faves is Nic’s Nutrition – with scrummy healthy recipes that taste sooooo good. And the nice people at Delicious Magazine have gone to the effort of healthy-fying some of the classics – thanks very much! 

Sometimes though, cooking up a storm is a real ball-ache and you don’t want to  have to deal with the palava of pots, pans and dishes. So what then? Here are some of my quick n’ easy solutions to beat off the carb crazy monster:

• mashed banana with a tsp of nut butter – looks like baby poo, tastes like a cuddle.
• oatcakes with smashed up avocado – creamy green goodness
• roasted kale – sounds gross, but it’s a great substitute for crisps. Toss the fresh kale in soy sauce and olive oil before you chuck it in the oven for 20 mins…. mmmmmm
• nut butter on apple wedges – actually, nut butter on pretty much anything!
• ryvita and philly with cherry tomatoes on top – well lush.

So what’s your go-to hug on a plate? Are you a carb-craver too?