sneaking vitamins in via the choo-choo train

 

As a part-time carer for my old mum - in her trusty bubble, hello Covid-19! - I have to be a bit ingenious sometimes, trying to get some actual nutrition into a determined old lady who basically likes milk puddings, toast and strong tea.

Today I had a brainwave: because me mum's garden is packed with semi-feral bramble plants.  Which have flowered like a bugger over the summer.  And are now weighted down with fruit.

Well, the old lass loves orange juice -- only the pricey fresh-squeezed stuff, mind you, no basics from-concentrate shite.  Champagne tastes, and make it a mimosa for Mum!

What did I do?  Picked about a hundredweight of berries, pressed 'em through a sieve, added a bit of Ribena.  Presented it in a nice wineglass, and hoped.

First sip?  Bit suspicious.  Then she knocked it back in one, and demanded more....

Triple win!  Free food, foraging, and tons of bioflavonoid-rich high-Vitamin-C nutrients down her.  YAY!

parsley sage, rosemary and thyme

I'm putting this dried parsley in everything.  But mostly in soup.

parsley in everything!

A small jar of dried parsley, super cheap.  I got it because I remember reading somewhere that some herbs, especially parsley, retain Vitamin C even when dried, as well as tons of minerals.  Pretty cool huh?

fridge scrapings omelette

I made an omelette yesterday with almost no oil (had run out.)  Used thinned-down tomato puree instead: and it worked... ish.  I mean it depends a lot on the type of pan you use.  

Chucked some chopped up tinned meatballs leftover in the fridge too: they were not great but the omelette disguised them adequately, better than food wastage.

drinking water, drinking tea, caffeine and kidding yourself

I'm trying to stop drinking tea - even herb tea.  But it's hard!  I like a hot beverage!  So I've begun just re-using and re-using the same bag, until it's pretty much just water, very slightly flavoured.

I need to drink more just plain water, but this is as close as I can get for now.

bum-orange on the loose round the house

bumorange strikes again

Wonky veg ftw!  Easiest way to consume citrus fruit, wonky or not?  Slice it -- same way you might slice an onion, or a lemon for a glass of gin and tonic.  But for an eating orange, then peel the slice -- stupid easy, convenient, less tough and grimy on the nails.  Wonky or not, works a treat for any citrus fruit.  And you can still leave plenty of the peel on it -- which is great nutritionally, because that's where all the bioflavonoids are to be found.

Yay bumorange!  Yay wonkyveg and wonkyfruit!

Cupboard scrapings soup under lockdown = tomato, lentil and sweetcorn soup

You can't go shopping every two minutes in lockdown.  Who'd want to?  An unplanned shopping trip isn't a simple pleasure anymore.  So lunch today: tomato, lentil and sweetcorn soup.  Or, you could say - the remains of a jar of pasta sauce, the sprouted fag-end of a packet of green lentils, and some frozen sweetcorn.

Tasty, simple, no waste, using up what's left in the fridge and the cupboards.  That's the world we're living in right now, and it's not so bad.

I had it with home-made soda-bread, that's for another post.

Recipe - Banana Spice Scones

I made these yesterday -- they turned out beautiful, and unfortunately I forgot to take a photo.  Must make them again!

BANANA SPICE SCONES

8 oz plain flour
1 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn bicarbonate of soda
2 frozen bananas
4 tbspns vegetable oil
2 tbspns granulated sugar

Optional additions
1 tspn wheatgrass powder
3 tspns chia seeds
1 tbspn mixed seeds. (linseed etc)
1/2 tspn ground ginger
1/2 tspn allspice

METHOD
1 add the bicarb and baking powder to the sifted flour.
2 add the vegetable oil and rub well in.
3 add the granulated sugar. 
4 add the optional ingredients.  Any of these can be excluded, but I added them all and the end result was delicious!
5 Microwave the overripe frozen bananas for two minutes (1 min, leave a minute, microwave a minute again). 
6 add the bananas to the mix.  This will probably be sufficient moisture to form a dough, if not then add a little water.
7 Roll out and cut into scones.
8 Bake for 16-18 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.

Deeeelicious!

bum orange! poops kumquats!

wonky veg ftw!  use your wonky veg peeps!  (and your wonky fruit too.)

Cupboard love, fridge scrapings meals

I practise intuitive eating anyhow - but with the Coronavirus restricting number and scope of food shopping trips, what choice do any of us have about that now?  Making the best of what we can scavenge looks set to become an artform - mimicking diet in a state of nature, where the pursuit of delicious is hamstrung by the limitations of availability.

Well, we're all gonna wind up slim and gorgeous, right?  And probably with flat bellies and better digestions.  Bright side!  Ehh, there's gotta be something.

Above, my lunch: avocado and garlic open sandwich.  Delish!  And garlic kills bugs, as well as repelling vampires.  Bon appetit!