Are carrots really good for your eyes?

For NaBloPoMo November 2014 my challenge is to upload a post every day thoughout the month. That's 30 days and 30 posts. The more page views I get per day the more money I will donate to the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT). Help support my challenge by logging on daily and donating directly www.chect.org.uk. 

Yesterday's total page views: 73

Carrots will make you see better. This is probably the most common eye myth we know, told to us from when we were young, probably to make us eat more veggies. And still to this day is it one of the most common statements patients say to me. Half joking but half serious. The question is, is it really a myth? The answer is yes and no. No, carrots won't actually make you read more letters on the chart or reduce your need for glasses, but carrots do contain a lot of beta- carotene which the body converts to vitamin A and is very important for overall eye health, particularly in the retina. So yes eating carrots are good for your eyes. As is eating a number of other things such as omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish. But of all these antioxidants are probably one of the key nutrients for not only maintaining eye health but also general health including things like cholesterol and cancer. 

   

Antioxidants are nutrients that protect cells from damage caused by free radicals—molecules associated with ageing. Free radicals are atoms lacking an electron which as a result make them stable. In order to gain stability they steal electrons from other cells there by causing cell damage. This is known as oxidative stress and is one of the things cause by UV rays. Free radicals are thought to cause eye diseases including age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts. Antioxidants keep the creation of free radicals under control and help protect and repair cells damaged by them. Common antioxidants found in our food include vitamins A, C & E, selenium and zinc. They often occur in brightly coloured foods. Examples are oranges, red berries, tomatoes, green leafy vegetables, pumpkin, egg yolk, green and black  tea watermelon and broccoli, although this list is by no means exhaustive.

I think this kind of research and information is fascinating - it's obviously the geeky scientist in me. I'm sure it's by no means the answer for everyone as I'm sure there are many people that eat all the right things and are still unfortunately affected by illnesses however it is definitely something I feel we should bear in mind when look at what we consume on a daily basis. Particularly if it gives me an excuse to have the occasional glass of red wine and some dark chocolate, both excellent sources of antioxidants in case you weren't aware!  

Omelette....how do you like yours?

For NaBloPoMo November 2014 my challenge is to upload a post every day thoughout the month. That's 30 days and 30 posts. The more page views I get per day the more money I will donate to the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT). Help support my challenge by logging on daily and donating directly www.chect.org.uk. 

Yesterday's total page views: 64

I am a little bit addicted to eggs. I could eat them at any mealtime. Fried, boiled, scrambled, you name it. But there's something about a good omelette that you can't beat. I'm easy when it comes to fillings. Mushroom and cheese is always a winner but spring onion and ham work well too. But my favourite has to be the omelette I grew up on. I guess you could call it an Indian omelette. All you need is finely diced red onion, chopped coriander and a little bit of chopped chilli. Mix it in to a whisked egg and add a bit of salt to season. Perfect with hot buttered toast. A perfect dinner. Or lunch. Or even breakfast. I told you I could eat it any time of day! 

Meal planning

For NaBloPoMo November 2014 my challenge is to upload a post every day thoughout the month. That's 30 days and 30 posts. The more page views I get per day the more money I will donate to the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT). Help support my challenge by logging on daily and donating directly www.chect.org.uk. 

Yesterday's total page views: 54

I am a big fan of meal planning. I think it's a wonderful idea I'm just not sure why I never get around to doing it! I used to plan our meals a lot and it worked well but it's one of those things that once you stop it's really hard to get back in the flow of it again. And ironically although it will shave of loads of time in my week I can't seem to find the initial time do set up the meal planning! But the benefits are clear. I spend so much if my day wondering what to cook, I actually find it quite stressful. I often ask friends and colleagues what they are going to cook that evening and no-one ever seems to know, but the difference is it doesn't seem to bother them. I guess some people need to meal plan and others don't!

I've also recently heard lots of people talking the next stage in meal planning.  All-in-one recipe and ingredients boxes. You pick the meals you want to make online and a box is sent to you with the recipes and all the ingredients, measured out and ready to use so there's no waste. I was sceptical as I assumed this would work out expensive but I've been told it can cost as little as £10 for a meal for 4. I think I could be a convert, although I'm not sure how many of the recipes N would want to eat! 

So for now I will just stick to meal planning. And I'm going to start. Soon. I've even designed a weekly meal planner chart, sad I know but I'm hoping it will motivate me. I will keep you posted....

Please post a message and let me know how many of you meal plan. I'd love to hear your experiences. 

Salmon en papillote

For NaBloPoMo November 2014 my challenge is to upload a post every day thoughout the month. That's 30 days and 30 posts. The more page views I get per day the more money I will donate to the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT). Help support my challenge by logging on daily and donating directly www.chect.org.uk. 

Yesterday's total page views: 76

Sunday's total page views: 72

I told N I'd make salmon for dinner. Which of course to him meant I would make my usual salmon and cous cous en papillote. But I decided to make something different tonight. I knew he would be a little disappointed but if I don't try something new how on earth am I meant to find blog posts to write! So I tried my luck. I decided not to veer to far from the standard meal and I still made the fish 'en papillote' so that poor N wouldn't have a shock. The result was pretty good with fresh and crisp flavours. N's big thumbs up sign and grin on his face when he tucked in was just the validation I needed. 

Salmon en papillote 

(Serves 2 | total prep and cooking time 30 mins)

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Ingredients

- 2 boneless salmon fillets 

- handful of olives

- 2 spring onions - sliced

- 6 small cloves of garlic peeled but left whole 

- 2 vine ripened a tomatoes - chopped

- 4 lemon wedges

- black pepper

- tablespoon of olive oil

Method 

- preheat the oven to 180 degrees fan

- cut a large piece of baking paper

- place the salmon fillets in the centre and drizzle over the olive oil and black pepper

- scatter the garlic, spring onions, tomatoes, lemon wedges and olives on top of the fish

- fold up the paper and twist the edges to make a sealed bag 

- place in the oven for 20/25 mins. 

A fake chicken kiev

For NaBloPoMo November 2014 my challenge is to upload a post every day thoughout the month. That's 30 days and 30 posts. The more page views I get per day the more money I will donate to the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT). Help support my challenge by logging on daily and donating directly www.chect.org.uk. 

Yesterday's total views: sorry blogger playing up so I have no idea 

I've always wondered whether it's easy to make a chicken kiev at home. You've probably realised from some of my previous posts that am a bit partial to the occasional chicken kiev. But they are very buttery and clearly fried that it makes me feel a little bit guilty. Saying that perhaps that's why they taste so good! I still haven't found a homemade version to try so if you know of one do let me know. I'd prefer it to be baked or shallow fried rather than deep fried. In the meantime I tried an adapted version with garlic butter in chicken breast wrapped in Parma ham. It was pretty good and probably a lot healthier than a regular chicken kiev but even I have to admit it wasn't quite the same without the breadcrumbs.  

Garlic butter stuffed chicken wrapped in Parma ham

(Serves 2 | total prep and cooking time 45 mins + refrigeration time) 

Ingredients 

- 2 chicken breasts

- 6 rashers if Parma ham or proscuito

- 3-4 tablespoons butter

- 4 garlic cloves - crushed

- tablespoon of chopped parsley 

Method

- heat the oven to 180 degrees fan 

- in a bowl stir together the butter, garlic and parsley. Separate into 2 portions and refrigerate for at least 30 mins but preferable longer. Tip: you can make a larger portion of this, roll into a cylinder, refrigerate, cut off 2 discs to use and freeze the rest in cling film

- pound the chicken breast fillets with a meat mallet until they become the thickness of a pound coin

- place the butter mixture in the centre and roll the chicken breast like a parcel encompassing the butter

- cover evenly with 3 rashers of Parma ham evenly spaced out to cover the whole chicken breast 

- Spray or brush with a little olive oil and place on a baking tray

- cook in the oven for 30 minutes until the juices run clear from the chicken 

Spicy potato toasties

For NaBloPoMo November 2014 my challenge is to upload a post every day thoughout the month. That's 30 days and 30 posts. The more page views I get per day the more money I will donate to the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT). Help support my challenge by logging on daily and donating directly www.chect.org.uk. 

Yesterday's total views: 64

I'm having a seriously lazy day today. So much so that as soon as I finish this post I am straight off to bed, so forgive me if it's short! It was such a lazy day that the thought of slaving over the cooker to make a decent meal just did not appeal. N and I racked our brains as to what we could make that was either no effort at all or seriously speedy. I suggested frozen pizza, but N's face it not reciprocate my enthusiasm. N fancied seafood soup, which although requires some prep and cooking it is pretty quick, but the thought just didn't appeal to me. Sadly we only had one chicken kiev in the freezer as Waitrose were out of stock yesterday. Finally I decided on a great fail safe often used by our mums. A dry Indian spiced potato dish made into a toasted sandwich. Now normally the potato dish will be left over from dinner the night before but sadly that was not the case so I had to make it, but even still it was pretty effortless and very very tasty. Unfortunately I still have to do the washing up, sadly there's no short cuts for that one. 

Spiced potato toastie 

(Makes 3 toasted sandwiches | total prep and cooking time 40-45 mins) 

Ingredients

- 2 large or 3 medium potatoes - peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces

- approx 100g green beans - chopped into 1 inch pieces

- oil for cooking

- teaspoon of whole cumin

- teaspoon of black mustard seeds

- teaspoon paprika

- teaspoon cumin powder

- teaspoon coriander powder

- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

- salt to taste 

Method 

- Par boil the potatoes, drain and set aside

- heat the oil in a sauté pan and add the whole cumin and black mustard seeds

- Once they turn slightly brown and start 'popping' add the potatoes and beans 

- Stir well

- Add the cumin powder, coriander powder, paprika, turmeric and salt and stir

- Pour in approx 100ml water, stir, cover and simmer for 5-7 mins untill the potatoes and beans are cooked and the water has dried out

- make into toasties and serve with yoghurt and slalad 

N's creation - ginger, garlic and chilli prawns

For NaBloPoMo November 2014 my challenge is to upload a post every day thoughout the month. That's 30 days and 30 posts. The more page views I get per day the more money I will donate to the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT). Help support my challenge by logging on daily and donating directly www.chect.org.uk. 

Yesterday's total views: 108

N made the most delicious prawn dish this evening. I feel completely spoilt. N doesn't cook very often, but before you take this the wrong way it's not because he is lazy, but because he works such long hours. If I waited for him to come home and cook dinner we would never eat before 10pm. I also have to reluctantly admit that another reason he doesn't enter the kitchen much is probably because I am a bit of a bossy cook! I like things just so in my kitchen. Although he's great at emptying the dishwasher and as much as I appreciate it (so please don't stop N) it does take me days to find where all the things have been kept! We're still missing one of the frother attachment for the Aeroccino but to be fair I think I probably did make the last cappucino. Oh well, here's hoping it turns up soon.

So back to the prawns. N was clearly in a cooking mood this evening and knew exactly what he wanted to make. I suggested mixing the stir fry vegetables and prawns to make one dish (quicker, less washing up etc) but he insisted on making the prawns separately. And I have to say good call! He told me the recipe and it sounds so simple. Heat the oil and stir fry the cooked tiger prawns for a few moments. Add the finely chopped ginger, chilli and garlic and stir. Add a few dashes of soy sauce and a tiny splash of oyster sauce. Stir well and turn off the heat. Cover and let it stand for a few minutes to let the flavours soak in. Serve with thinly sliced spring onions on top. N's top cooking tip was to make sure you don't over cook it. That way you keep the ginger, garlic and chillies fresh and you make sure the prawns don't shrink and become dry. N you've done yourself proud, maybe we should make it a weekly thing?