Fish is the Dish challenge

When it comes to staying healthy, there’s one food we should all be eating more of – and that’s fish.

Health experts recommend everyone should enjoy at least two servings of fish a week, one of which should be an oil-rich variety such as sardines, mackerel, herring, fresh tuna, trout or salmon.

One of the reasons we should include oily fish as part of a balanced, nutritious diet is because they contain omega-3 fats – and these have been shown to have many health benefits. There are so many benefits of eating fish, if you want to find out more head over to this page. 

Seafish, the national authority on seafood launched a campaign with Fish is the Dish to encourage the people of Britain to eat more fish by promoting its health benefits and the wide variety of tasty and convenient ways that it can be enjoyed. As part of this they launched a challenge for bloggers and asked them to take part in ‘Ready, Steady, Cook Fish!’ 

I was sent a package of assorted ingredients which will include fish, vegetables, herbs etc. The challenge was to create a fish dish of your choice in just 30 minutes. I had to stare at all of those food for a good ten minutes because I have to admit I rarely cook fish and wasn't sure what to do with it.

This is what I came up with in just under 30 minutes. 

• Put the potatoes in a pan, cover with lightly salted water, bring to the boil and cook until tender. Drain, toss with a drizzle of oil, set aside and keep warm.

• Meanwhile, cook the asparagus and artichokes in a large pan of boiling salted water for 3-5 mins until tender. Drain and set aside to keep warm.

• Chop the tomatoes, spring onions and basil and add a little oil and lemon juice and season. 

• For the sea bass, heat the grill, pour 2 tbsp of oil into a pan set over a medium heat, add the garlic, and cook for 1-2 mins. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper into the pan, add the fish, skin-side up, cook for 2-3 mins, then remove from the heat. Drizzle with the remaining oil, then cook under the grill for about 4 mins until the skin blisters and the fish is cooked through. Keep the fish warm while you finish the veg.

• Thickly slice the potatoes and arrange a layer in the middle of each of 4 dinner plates. Scatter the asparagus over the potatoes and artichokes, squeeze over some lemon juice and finish with a grind of black pepper. Top each plate with a fillet of sea bass, finishing with a few spoons of salsa.

My meal was incredibly tasty, quick to make and nutritional. I've already bought some more sea bass and some cod. I plan on using the leftovers up and cooking the cod in a parcel with tomatoes and veg with some garlic, parsley and basil. 

Do you eat enough fish? 

We're loving - Esprit Sportswear

I'm not going to make any bold and unrealistic goals for 2015 but the one thing I've promised myself that I'll achieve is going to yoga once a week and doing one gym session a week. Obviously I'll aim to do more than that but it would be nice to get some activity in each week even when I'm not feeling well or I'm super busy.

In my bid to look more colourful and feel more comfortable whilst working out I've been scouring the internet and found a store that stocks up to a size 18 and has loads of basic items which can be mixed with more statement pieces. Esprit is a fashion brand that blends creativity and responsibility fused with a sunny Californian attitude.The Esprit webshop has thousands of items and I found a few I'm coveting for my own collection.

Sports & high-performance trousers - £ 29.00

Soft jersey T-shirt - £ 19.00

Trend trainers with a flexible sole - £ 39.99

I like the second outfit for yoga in the winter because the studio can be freezing and I need a long sleeve top and the fleece would be great to add on top when I'm going for a long walk. 

Soft zip jacket, knit exterior, fleece interior - £ 45.00

Printed leggings in stretch cotton-jersey - £ 25.00

ultra-soft slub jersey long sleeve top - £ 19.00

All my sportswear is not really fit for purpose. I'm always getting my baggy trousers caught on the machines at the gym and my oversize t-shirts fall down showing my midriff to everyone when I'm doing a downward dog. Not a good look. I'm slowly replacing all my gym kit with much more functional items like t-shirts with materials that helps wick sweat away from the body.

What are your favourite sportswear brands that cater for larger sizes?

Write a letter to your body

OUR BODIES. THEY’RE WITH US FOR LIFE

Helping us do the things we do. From looking at the stars to chewing food. From walking to school, to picking a flower, or waving to a friend…

HOW DO WE FEEL ABOUT OUR BODIES?

We’re often trying to change them – get them fitter, lighter, quicker, stronger. If they get ill, naturally we want to make them better. But even when our bodies are relatively healthy, we still struggle to like the ones we’ve got…

LETTER TO MY BODY IS A LETTER, WRITTEN FROM YOU, TO YOUR BODY.

It’s an expression of how you feel about your body at this moment in time. What would you say to your body if you could? Would you thank it? Be strict with it? Encourage or celebrate it? Maybe you want to ask it a question or sing its praises…

Please send us your…LETTER TO MY BODY…

As we gather your letters, we’ll be turning them into something creative. At the end of the project, we’ll invite you to an event to share food and hear about the different letters received.

Letters will be displayed anonymously.

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
c/o Rachel Jenkins, Halo Leisure Services, Bridgend Life Centre, Angel Street, Bridgend CF31 4AH
OR EMAIL THEM AT: letter2mybody­@gmail.com
OR DROP IT: in one of the designated boxes at Halo reception centres.
Your letter may be handwritten or typed or you could download and fill in the form on the back of our flyer
here in English or here in Welsh.



LETTER TO MY BODY is part of a wider Research and Development Project about Arts & Health in Bridgend, which recognises that creative and cultural strategies represent some of the most powerful ways of engaging and inspiring communities. 

Artist Rabab Ghazoul invited Addo to work with her and HALO Leisure Ltd on the project, which is being funded and supported by HALO Leisure Ltd, Arts Council of Wales and Bridgend County Borough Council.

For further information, please contact:
Rabab Ghazoul, rabab@phonecoop.coop
Sarah Pace, sarah@addocreative.com

The 5:2 Diet – one year on

The following post is brought to you by the lovely Becca who has written posts for us previously. You can check out her blog here: Friendly Film Fan and I'm sure she would be happy to chat about the 5:2 plan over on twitter.

Almost a year ago I sent in a post about this ‘revolutionary’ diet that I had pretty much fallen in love with after just two weeks. It has now been 48 weeks and I have no plans to ever stop it.

Since I was a teenager I have been unhappy with my weight, looks, hair… if it was superficial I hated it about myself. Previously I had minor success with short term weight loss, soup diets and the like, and I managed a good year of being small with concentrated diet and exercise.

These small successes were in vain however as I possess very little will power. VERY little. I manage six months before I get bored or lazy or hungry.

So when I found out about my friends amazing weight loss, as I talked about in my last post, the 5:2 diet seemed like a good one to at least try. Almost 12 months later I have already beaten my record on both weight loss and sustainability. I even managed to carry on over Christmas…

…Okay so I didn’t manage both days over Christmas but I at least felt the need for one day. Which is why I think I have been converted in my thinking for good; I physically felt the need for a 500 day. Christmas is a time when we excuse over-indulgence with those amazing three words ‘Tis the season’. So when I was nearing a full week passing without my having a 500 day I felt heavier than I ever have done at Christmas time. The day after I had a low calorie day I felt sharper, hungry for normal food, and more keen to get off the sofa and out in the fresh air.

Now I’m not saying this diet isn’t hard. I have days when I give up completely and consume my weight in chocolate. I also do not spend the calories on my five days ‘off’ particularly wisely – if I did I would be able to go down to a 6:1 ratio. Unfortunately my lack of sustainable willpower means I doubt I will be able to do this as I go a bit crazy on the biscuits or bread sometimes.

Back to the positives. Within about six months of this diet I was down to my ideal-ish weight, losing about a stone. This has fluctuated slightly, depending on the amount of alcohol I consume or baking I do, but I have a steady base weight which I am more than happy with.

I have no scientific proof of my blood glucose levels reducing or whether or not I have staved off Alzheimer’s, a couple of the reasons why I wanted to try it in the first place, which is a shame. I hope I am healthier in body and mind physically, I definitely feel it, and it would be an added bonus to the weight loss and confidence boost I have.

All through this I have been calling 5:2 a ‘diet’, but to me it is now normality. My consumer behaviour on my fasting days generally consists of drinking a couple of mugs of tea in the morning, a slim-a-soup mid-afternoon to combat the empty feeling I get, a zero calorie drink if I feel like I need an energy boost, and then a dinner of veggies and protein with some carbs.

This is the pattern I found works best for me. A lot of people split their calories across one big one small meal per day, but I find I get hungry if I eat something solid in the day and then my evening meal is completely unsatisfactory and I go to bed grumpy.

I have also managed to work out filling meals are possible under 400 calories, the key is less carbs more protein. Or couscous. Couscous and roasted veg is my default meal on a 500 day because you can have a lot for relatively few calories.

Sometimes I cheat and have 100/200 calories over my allotted number, but then what is life if we play by the rules 100% of the time? I am in the healthy BMI range and can fit into a size 12 with some room to spare for extra pizza slices on occasion. More than that, I’m happy.

If anyone out there has had the same success as I have, or been on this diet for longer, I would love to hear your thoughts. And if I’ve managed to inspire anyone out there to give this one a go, without using the lighter life version that Gemma has, then good luck and keep in touch!