Tag: eating

Cinnamon for Blood Sugar Control?

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

At the base of this post is the question, will cinnamon benefit your blood sugar control?

I’m not using much other than opinion and personal experience here; for any of you interested in science based posts.

Sure science investigates, but it won’t find anything positive about natural treatments so long as the studies are poorly funded. They care about researching for rich medicinal and pharmaceutical companies. The recent news about ‘serotonin’ and ‘depression’ being a good example as to why you shouldn’t a) trust science, and b) trust research outcomes like these. People need to use their own experiences, trial and error in life.

So, cinnamon

Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus Cinnamomum. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfast cereals, snack foods, teas, and traditional foods. The aroma and flavour of cinnamon derive from its essential oil and principal component, cinnamaldehyde, as well as numerous other constituents including eugenol. – Wikipedia.

Just before we move on, it says aroma and flavour are derived from its essential oil. I have used the essential oil form and it is very potent, warming and calming and would make a cold day feel better. Although there is a heatwave coming again, thank God.

I noticed that using cinnamon powder does in fact help control blood sugar and I noticed it was back in 2017. You see I bought a tea and cake at a cafe, being unaware the cake had cinnamon in it. I checked my sugar when I got home and it was perfect, in the normal range. I was suprised as I was sure the sugary treat would raise the blood sugar levels. I was suprised and mentioned at the time. So I had more food later in the evening and suprise again, stable perfectly normal levels. There may be various reasons for this, like reduced stress – I was with my father at the time as he’d come to visit me (RIP, Dad). Anyway we had a good night.

Later I tried using the powder and it did not have quite the effect as being baked. I suspect the amount in the cake contributed to the effect. Of course future use of both cinnamon sticks and powder has revealed the same thing that it does stabilise and control blood sugar levels. It doesn’t quite have the same effect in that blood sugar did fluctuate, rather than staying around the same point. I can say with certainty that it was cinnamon causing this.

Since you won’t have trouble adding this, because it is tasty, you can add it to: cakes, tea and coffee, baked goods, sprinkled on food and dessert… many options. I like to stir my drinks with a cinnamon stick.

However there is some caution to be exercised with the cinnamon. You should be aware that there is two varieties that I am seeing in British supermarkets. A lot of companies won’t tell you on the label, and if you enquire they jump straight to the ‘it’s safe’ argument, despite never questioning the safety. It’s probably because it isn’t safe, in big doses.

Ceylon cinnamon is much safer for your body and liver than cassia cinnamon. I use ceylon with no issues, however should you choose cassia do not exceed 2 teaspoons a day. That is a lot. I have to add that the benefits I saw came from cassia cinnamon too, so make of that what you will.

Ultimately blood sugar control should be a consideration for many people, you should try and keep to a healthy diet that promotes wellbeing and health and adding cinnamon seems like quite the addition. Maybe this will have a bigger effect for those with diabetes, or pre diabetes than those without. It won’t hurt to try. It’s tasty and I promote that.

Thank you for reading. I am not paid by anyone for my posts and I do not accept payments to sponsor products or foods.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21480806/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17909085/

World Chocolate Day!

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Welcome to this brief informative post about world chocolate day! On this day you can rest assured that many people worldwide will be indulging either alone or in groups.

Did you know that chocolate was introduced to Europe way back in 1550? But this worldwide event wasn’t a thing until 2009! Can you believe that?

We have Easter which is not about chocolate, however chocolate eggs are very much the gifts that people give one another. Well its cousin the world chocolate day allows us to gift, share and enjoy this delicacy with friends and family or alone.

When it comes to chocolate there is now a variety of flavours and selections are abundant in the modern first world countries. However, slavery still exists to produce chocolate and I have found a few brands trying to avoid using slave chocolate. You can get anything from mint chocolate, rose, orange, alcohol infused, melted, dark, white, pink chocolate! Have you ever watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Go ahead and watch it! What about Chocolat? Go watch it!

Have a wonderful day as always!

Photo by Abhinav Goswami on Pexels.com

The Truth about 5 Fruits and Vegetables a Day

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

At school I was taught or made aware of healthy eating and the need to consume at least 5 fruits and vegetables a day. As a child who actually cared about my health, I was interested but hesitant to believe this. I thought to myself, ‘that isn’t a lot,’ and it turned out it wasn’t! What came as more of a shock was the fact that the required ‘portions’ were quite large for each fruit and vegetable, and yet, somehow only counted as 1 portion if you had a bunch of vegetables mixed together. Why? Surely there is something to be understood from this lingo.

On the NHS website, they detail what counts as your 5 a day, some include; 80 grams of fresh, canned or frozen fruit and vegetables; and 30 grams of dried fruit (80 grams fresh) – think prunes, raisins, cranberries.

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/5-a-day/5-a-day-what-counts/

So is that really the truth? Do you need to eat 5 a day which consists of 80 grams of fruit and vegetables? Many people can interpret that how they want. For example, literally eating only 80 grams a day. But what it means is that each portion should be that amount. However I disagree with this, as 80 grams is quite the amount if you weighed it.

An analysis by Harvard does still show that five servings a day of fruit and vegetables offers the strongest health benefits. The research indicated that compared with people who eat two servings a day, people who ate five had the following;

1) a 13% lower risk of death from any cause

2) a 12% lower risk of death from heart disease or stroke

3) a 10% lower risk of death from cancer

4) a 35% lower risk of death from respiratory disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

https://www.health.harvard.edu/nutrition/how-many-fruits-and-vegetables-do-we-really-need

The truth of the matter is that eating this amount of fruit and veg a day is realistic, doable, beneficial and most importantly it is very likely cheaper than processed food. I just had dinner, consisting of at least 5 portions of vegetables, and I’ve had 1 portion of fruit today. But I am not an advocate of eating a lot of fruit, simply because it raises blood sugar and wreaks havoc on your liver, the organ that processes fructose.

Steve Jobs was a fruitarian, and he passed away due to cancer. Now, the reason I mention Jobs is this, he had a liver transplant after his bout of pancreatic cancer. He ‘gamed’ the transplant allocation system to get a liver (probably due to his money). Skeptics doubted he should have received the organ at all, because he had previous treatment for the pancreatic cancer. People suggest the liver was sought as a result of the cancer, which itself made him a poor transplant candidate, as the risk of cancer returning (and it did) meant it could have gone to better use. We can see that eating fruit will impact the liver, since it deals with fructose, and the pancreas – the organ that produces insulin, a hormone that lowers blood sugar. I’m going to let you draw the connection between a fruitarian diet and liver failure. So, just to reiterate, don’t overload on fruit, it really isn’t worth it. Vegetables are much better.

The main reason people don’t eat the recommended amount is twofold; they know it is simply a recommendation and not anything more, they can’t be forced to do it; and people don’t think it is possible. I think the second part has merit simply because people might forget to eat that amount if they have busy schedules. It comes down to better day planning, perhaps meal planning and advanced preparation which, let us be honest, most people ironically don’t have the time for, or worse cannot be bothered. The health benefits extend far and wide, as adequate – not high – intake of fruit and veg can actually reduce blood pressure, manage diabetes, reduce high cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular disease and obesity and cancer. If we all want to eat more healthily this is a simple and great way to start! See:

It isn’t quite as daunting when you look at the above picture. There is a mixed variety above. But don’t stick to this all day, mix it up. Having multiple bananas isn’t going to be as effective as a banana in the morning and a grapefruit at night. Variety is the key here, and one of the many things people get confused about. You can eat tons of broccoli but it doesn’t mean you’ve had 5 portions, it means you’ve had 1 portion.

Price comes into play too. I guess prices have increased but the fresh fruit and vegetables, for the most part are quite affordable. You aim for 5 portions of each a day, then that is probably going to cost what… £10 a week? Probably less. If cost is an issue, try markets, offering literal dirt cheap veg and fruit, farmers markets which don’t have all that extra cost to cover shipping and to make a profit. Food that is bought in season, like summer fruits, are likely to last considerably longer and are usually cheaper than those bought out of season.

Variety doesn’t just mean variety of food, it also means how you eat them. Boring fruit and vegetables you say? Why not make a smoothie and drink them! You can fry vegetable, heck, you could fry a banana if you wanted. You can make something like a bean salad with balsamic vinegar to give it a kick. Add a variety of sauce too. I found so many sauces that work well with vegetables, not just gravy for your Sunday roast either. I’m talking about mixing it up, trying horse radish, caramelised onion (yes I put this on vegetables), so explore the world. Make your own with vegetables!

At the end of the day if you want to eat healthy you have to start taking active steps to achieve that goal. Sometimes the smallest steps can be effective. The first step is always the hardest. I no longer eat animal products and don’t want to go on about being vegan, but it does have benefits beyond eating meat. I think this is my preferred diet. Don’t get me wrong I am tempted occasionally, but am more motivated to eat plant based for my health. It costs a lot less too.

The first step is always the hardest

Cooks (6)

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Welcome to episode 6 in the Medieval England History series. Last time we looked at medieval castles and their general sort of purpose and structure. Now we dive into the personnel, medieval cooks! If you enjoy this series please be sure to read the other episodes and listen to the voice cast on Spotify.

Medieval cooks, one of the most vital roles in the medieval times! People might not have been eating what we eat today, but I can say this, it was not that bad. A medieval cook would usually prepare the food over an open fire. Castles and noble houses later on had stoves and ovens of there own. Below are some of the cooking equipment, pans, that they would use.

A typical staple diet in medieval times didn’t quite match out 21st Century expectations. But it contained some good grub, for the time. Medieval ages saw a basic diet or food of bread (produced at Lord’s mills). Bread was not the only diet, although the most accessible and most used food source, due to the ease of production.

People of course ate a variety of meats, like chickens, geese, beef, venison and pork. Venison is considered a luxurious meat today (at least that is the impression I got) and would probably cost more than bread in the medieval ages. Back then it was mustard who took the lead as the most popular ingredients, beating salt, as salt was too expensive! Salt was reserved for the wealthy, a bit like the more expensive meats.

A cook working in the royal kitchens would live in the castle or a small village near it (either inside the walls, or just outside). As mentioned in the previous post on castles, it was a busy place and everyone had a role. Cooks were in charge of preparing meals and cleaning the kitchen. They would learn their families recipes and pass them on, as opposed to writing them down, although they probably did at some point (the first medieval cooking book appeared in the 13th Century). Preparing a meal over an open fire was commonplace, a cook used a fireplace or something called a central open ‘hearth.’ Kitchens would have stone floors, as was most common in castles. An open hearth also gave the room heat, thus the cooks would benefit from it. A hearth was usually placed in the center of the living rooms, as opposed to a separate kitchen, which came later on in the medieval ages. As the times progressed and people learned more, they realised the benefits of keeping the cooking separate from the guests, due to the smoke and potential smells etc.

the cooking pot on the fire

Cooks used a variety of tools and pans and were not short of supplies. They had knives, iron cauldrons and pots (picture above), open ovens and hearths etc. wooden spoons, pothangers, dishes, pans and platters. All of these are still available to use today. We see open fires in many living rooms today, and it resembles the cooking methods of medieval ages. Cooks were also distinguishable by their clothing. They would wear clean clothes and woolen aprons. Cooks were highly valued in the medieval ages, especially those a part of the noble or royal kitchen staff.

cooks were highly valued in medieval times!

Cooks were only one of many types of kitchen staff though, and I will briefly outline them, they are: pantlers, bakers, waferers, sauciers, larderers, butchers, carvers, page boys, milkmaids, butlers and scullions! These staff were in the hundreds and would all form part of the kitchen quarters. They were highly valued. You would not see a castle without a cook.

Back in the medieval ages things worked significantly differently, although many techniques have lasted through the ages in terms of food preservation techniques and food transportation. Back then, both preservation and transportation were extremely difficult. Nobles had access to more foreign foods like exotic spices and alcohol because they had the money and the man power to transport quickly. Decrees however would outlaw the consumption of certain foods among certain social classes because the poor or the manual labour of the town or village were considered to need cheaper more poor quality food. The class divide in the medieval times was extremely wide and it is a topic for another episode. But in terms of transport, from the 12th Century, there were improvements in international trade and wars meant dissemination in new food choices to the upper-middle classes of society. Those included things like access to wine and vinegar, black pepper and ginger. The rich or elite all had similar taste in food and drink.

As mentioned bread was a staple diet for many as it was widely available and the cheapest option available. Bakers would produce bread, and they were able to sell to cooks for castles and noble or royal kitchens, but the kitchens in the castle usually had their own bakers. Poor people ate things like barley, oat and rye. Beans and vegetable were eaten by all members of society. The rich would be prepared more expensive meals like swans or peacocks, venison and pork. Because meat was more expensive it was always seen at the dining table of nobles or elite. Fish like cod was popular. Elites usually ate fruits preserved in honey or served in pies, although fruit like apples, oranges, lemons, peaches and berries were more commonly eaten by the poor.

A cook would be paid daily but would not have the job security that a Marshall would have for example. This was due to the fact that a noble could travel and therefore would not need the cook. This was a rough time for holding down a consistent job for many, and back then they probably didn’t have contracts of employment.

Thanks for reading episode 6 – cooks! if you enjoyed this then like, comment, reblog and follow and of course keep a look out for regular episodes coming up in the Medieval England History series. Next time I’ll be talking about another crucial medieval occupation, the baker!

Can I Take Your Order? Place your order if you dare (2)

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Welcome back to Café Bleu. Since we last met back in September, when my café first opened, things have changed dramatically. We originally received a meager 2 star review from the people in high visibility jackets.

Since then, we have bolstered cleaning, food hygiene procedures and quality of service and more importantly food. Now, rather than offering simple dishes like pie and chips, we branched into more exclusive dishes, such as the special house café Bleu lunch. It has proven very popular and is a best seller along with the house coffee munching elephant, a blend of the finest coffee beans in the world. Prices had to increase initially, but after 6 months we found we could lower prices and still retain a healthy profit from sales.

Have a look at the menu above and decide if you would like to order. You can order below:

We managed to scrape a rating of:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The next time we will be reviewed will be around August. Staff here at Café Bleu are keen to please and happy to welcome you to the restaurant. We provide a top class service and customer care is at the heart of what we do. We love you all coming to eat here, and will look forward to seeing you in the future. All the best, Café Bleu.

Breakfast Suggestion – Vegan!

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

It is time for you all to try this most excellent of breakfast suggestions. It is vegan, it is tasty, it is cheap and it is easy to make. Do you need me to convince you to try it?

I use seeded the seeded batch bread, a superb and tasty choice for this breakfast option. So what is the suggestion?

Avocado and tomato on toast

Simple but effective. I guarantee you will enjoy it. I’ll come on to the different drinks that may go well with this vegan dish.

Ingredients are easy to source. Avocados should be nice and soft and almost mushy if you squeeze it. I would suggest using 2 whole avocados to get the most out of this, the amount you use is entirely down to you. 2 slices of toast. Don’t use white bread, try something better like the seeded bread or whole meal. Use anything! I just like to see people using the wide array of bases out there. Of course, need some vegan butter. I am using an olive spread at the moment which is one of my go to choices to butter my toast. I recommend for the tomatoes either – cherry tomatoes, the small things, although they may not be as easy to slice or the big normal tomatoes. Big tomatoes allow you to slice them and there is more for you to use. I also use peanut butter, simply because it bulks up the toast and gives it extra flavour. For those who eat eggs, you might enjoy topping this delight with a fried egg, easy over!

What to do?

Make sure the toast is not hard, rather it should have some flexibility still. Butter them, liberally, apply the layer of peanut butter… if using that. Next fry the tomatoes, make sure you slice them in half or you could slice them into pieces and fry them. Using the avocado you can do a few things, smash it into a spreadable substance or simply place slices of it on the layer of peanut butter. Next, add those sliced tomatoes. Add pepper and salt to taste. I actually like to add turmeric when frying tomatoes. I also recently discovered some vegan sausages which are soft and succulent and would make a great addition to this. Like I said, it is simple but I find it really satisfying and filling.

My other post on egg filled fried tomato recommended adding whole wheat toast with avocado. I actually recommend as it is tasty, to simply combine the dishes. There will be a lot of tomato. Of course, vegans can replace the eggs with an alternative. There is a multitude of options, like hash browns – brilliant! Beans, bigger mushrooms, pancakes (?), bagels instead of normal bread.

Sides

As a side, classic says go with some variety of fruit. Maybe a bowl or strawberries or blueberries, a bunch of chopped banana, some yoghurt, some muesli cereal.

You could even have a side of those vegan sausages I mentioned, slice them and stuff them with herbs and garlic butter? Radical ideas change things… okay maybe stuffing sausages is far fetched but I would. A small portion of lentils or beans, like kidney beans or black eyed beans. Tofu , although I find it tasteless, can be tasty if you put enough flavour into it, and only eat small amounts.

Drinks

  1. Coffee – so many flavours and strengths, one of the biggest markets in the world of trade. Decaffienated, whole, mild, intense, pure Arabica, a simple insta coffee maybe? After choosing the variety, you then have options in how to drink. Black coffee, no milk or alternatives. Have milk, oat milk, almond, hemp. White or brown sugar, honey or sweeteners? It’s so fascinating when you explore the options.
  2. Fruit juice or smoothie – Absolute go to choice for a lot of people is orange juice. With bits or without? Apple juice works well too. I said smoothie since fruit is used in these. Load up the pineapple, cherries and bananas and liquid of choice and get that pumpin’ boost ready for your breakfast. My preferred option, but I might also have a cup of decaf coffee with it!
  3. Water – You made it this far and now you want simplicity. It falls from the sky ladies and gentlemen so if you like a tasty water for breakfast, go right ahead. Sparkling water or flavoured?
  4. Teas – I love being British because we have so many teas available. From the normal black teas, to green, chai, turmeric, earl grey (I love this at breakfast), English breakfast! The list is huge and what tea you choose for breakfast is up to you. Lavender tea is fine!

So, there you have it. A simple and tasty meal for the start of the day. To all those vegans out there trying to be better people by avoiding animal products, well done. I really enjoy the idea of being vegan, sometimes though, it can seem like I am in the minority although plenty of you are out there. It is a choice that only you can make. I recommend it for health and to boost well being.

Harmonising resonance.

Café lite: Review!

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

You can find a bit more here: https://stockportoldtown.co.uk/visit/cafelito/

The café is located in the old town of Stockport, Greater Manchester. It is a wonderful part of the town, the better part if I say so. All the old ancient buildings from 500 or 600 years ago, great architecture, great shops and the feeling of going back in time.

I have sat outside this café before and had a drink. I only went back the other day, for a drink inside. Today I was braver and sat in for a decaffeinated Americano and then, decided to try the vegan breakfast! they are open until 6 serving any food unless they haven’t got the ingredients.

I had another decaffeinated Americano with the vegan breakfast. I must say that I was expecting something sub par put the food was nice and lovely. Food cooked to perfection and there was a big amount of smashed avocado. The dish was as follows: 2 slices of lovely bread/toast, not the average stuff; big pot of beans, 2 vegan sausage, some peppers on the avocado, a slice of lime, fried tomato, big mushroom, 2 hash brown. Excellent! It cost me £6.50 for the meal. I think it was worth it, very filling, and cooked well. Oh, and a pot of sauce… I chose red, aka, tomato sauce. Good value for money if you think about it. The avocado is the most expensive part in terms of cost both to bank card and the natural wildlife.

The decaf coffee was £2.20 each which is actually pretty standard for most places. The coffee they use appears to be in mugs displaying Grumpy Mule coffee, quite tasty. After my recent trip to Bramhall, the café there didn’t seem quite as good as café lite.

As you can see above, the café is in one of those brilliant pieces of architecture I mentioned. You don’t need to travel the world to find great examples, they are on your doorstep. It offers the vegan options which will automatically bump it to 4 stars minimum. If you look for images of the café, you will find outdated pictures.

Inside is a lovely modern décor with tons of plants, giving it a lovely low beat vibe. Flooring is wooden. You cannot see into the kitchen a lot, which is not a problem. I think having as many plants as they do is why I like it.

Overall, clean, welcoming, great staff, lovely service, good house coffee, great food and choices. Has to be a massive; 5/5. Well done café lite.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

What is a Fast?

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

“Fasting is the willful refrainment from eating and sometimes drinking (see Water fasting and Juice fasting). From a purely physiological context, “fasting” may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see the “Breakfast”), or to the metabolic state achieved after complete digestion and absorption of a meal. Several metabolic adjustments occur during fasting.” – Wikipedia.

That’s right. I’m into DAY 2 OF MY FAST. Cold feet. I am documenting this to keep me distracted as finding it harder than I used to. This could be due to medication I am on. Anyway, when one fasts, they have digested any food in them and are now entering a phase where the body will not be able to use outside calories to survive. Their bodies turn inwards and begin to devour glucose stores and such. Further down the line when glucose is no longer taken from the liver among others, which is not that efficient at keeping us going, our bodies turn to ketosis. Keto, or ketosis is a state where the body burns fat and is a more efficient way to sustain the body.

So when people say a high fat diet is bad, they should be saying when combined with sugar, which could result in cancer. High fat is beneficial especially for the brain. The brain will be healing from the lack of sugar and the ketones will boost mental clarity and cognitive awareness, I would say, after 3 days you really get big benefits but even skipping breakfast (breaking the fast) can be great. Our brains are made of around 60% fat! (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20329590/). That’s an astonishing amount. Keto diet is also very popular and you might benefit from this if you are intermittent fasting.

I am not abstaining from liquids like tea or water. I am drinking those in sufficient amounts to prevent any low blood pressure associated with not eating all the time… or should I say, stabilised blood pressure. Fasting could be difficult if you have diabetes, as you will be producing glucose for a short while from storage which could raise blood sugar levels, this will get better over a few days. I would not advise anyone in a health capacity but if you take insulin or anything else to lower blood sugar, don’t fast without medical advice or, use your fat brain and don’t use insulin because you won’t be eating. Insulin would impact the fast, because it will prevent your body entering a true fat burning state.

How do I feel? Thanks for asking, Wizard. I feel okay, but my lungs are trying to shift some kind of mucous from the cartilage or something because having a bit of pain there. Not something that used to happen. I haven’t really made a big deal of fasting in the past, but now I find it quite difficult and it is my fault for not following on with it. When I started to live alone and could actually have food and such I realised there was no reason to fast anymore. (But let’s not dwell on the vile scum perpetuating to care).

The ability to order fast food online is a big problem in the UK and I think other developed nations. The service is usually poor, the food of low quality and the whole thing is just a mess. Yet, people continue to order food from these franchises using an app on their phone. What happened to going out to a restaraunt or heck, making or cooking your own? People do need to fast but because it takes 2 clicks to order a big fast food meal, they don’t bother.

Ever tried it?