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SWEET ROMAINE SALAD WITH MOZZARELLA, MINT, PEACH & PROSCIUTTO

6/20/2021

In my mind and on my plate, this signifies the start of summer, when peaches are ripe and evenings long. This salad will certainly put a smile on your face and leave you wanting more. Adapted and adopted by many friends owing to its simplicity and deliciousness, this recipe is not from a book or chef, but there are many versions similar to this online. When I first started making this, balsamic vinegar was the ‘in thing’, but I much prefer red wine or sherry vinegar for the dressing, but please feel free to experiment.
Serves 4
Ingredients
·        2 ripe peaches
·        buffalo mozzarella
·        1 avocado
·        Handful of cherry tomatoes
·        250g pancetta
·        fresh basil
·        sweet romaine lettuce
·        extra virgin olive oil
·        Red wine vinegar
· pieces stale bread cut into small squares for croutons

Method

Heat a frying pan and when hot add your pancetta, once crispy, remove from the pan and save for later
In the same pan, add a splash of olive oil and add the stale bread.
Gently fry for a few minutes before putting into a warm oven (14o) to finish cooking, approx. 10 minutes
Wash and spin dry your lettuce before putting it into a large bowl
Cut your peaches into chunks over your salad bowl so as not to lose any juices
Carefully cut and scoop the flesh out of your avocado and cut into chunks before adding to the bowl.
Tear the mozzarella into small pieces and place on a plate in the bowl.
Add the pancetta to the bowl along with the cherry tomatoes and the torn basil leaves.
Toss the salad and dress with a little of the extra virgin olive oil & a splash of red wine vinegar

Finally add the warm croutons before serving.

You could also add chicken fillets to this for a more substantial salad.

Salmon fillet wrapped in prosciutto with herby lentils

6/1/2021

Sadly, this recipe will not be featuring in the INSPIRED cookbook, but it does not mean I cannot share it with you now. Do not hold back on the herbs, use plenty and make extra as the lentils make a great lunch on their own without the salmon, just a dollop of yoghurt.

Ingredients
175g/6oz lentils
4 x 225g/8oz salmon fillets, skinned and pin-boned
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 slices of prosciutto
Olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
4 large handfuls of spinach, chopped
2 good handfuls of mixed herbs (flat leaf parsley, basil, mint), chopped
200ml/7fl oz natural yoghurt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 220c/425f/Gas 7.
Put the lentils into a pan, cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer until tender.
Season the salmon fillets with a little pepper before wrapping them in the prosciutto slices. Leave some of the flesh exposed.
Drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven for around 10 minutes until the prosciutto is golden. Feel free to cook the salmon for less time if you prefer your salmon pinker.
Drain away most of the water from the lentils, and season carefully with salt, pepper, lemon juice and 4 good lugs of olive oil.Just before serving, stir the herbs and spinach into the lentils on a high heat, until wilted. Place onto plates with the salmon and finish with a drizzle of lightly seasoned yoghurt.

welcome beverley

6/1/2021

We are delighted to introduce Beverley Brooks Dip BTEC L6 Advanced Clinical & Sports Massage to you all.
Beverley trained at the Jing Institute of Massage in Brighton studying Advanced Clinical Massage.

Jing massage blends traditional Swedish and Remedial Massage with Myofascial Release and Trigger Point Therapy techniques.

Beverley is registered with the Sports Massage Association and the Complementary and Natural Health Care Council.

Adapting her treatments to the needs of the individual, Beverley aims to relieve debilitating pain and discomfort from both acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain as well as mild aches and pains using a variety of techniques.

Her holistic approach to a person’s chronic pain is based on the biopsychosocial model of pain.

Having spent several years in Cornwall, working as a full-time massage therapist in a chiropractic clinic, Bev moved back to Gloucestershire in 2020 to be closer to her family and rekindling her love of the Cotswolds.

After a gap in exercise Bev returned to running seriously in 2013 completing the London Marathon in 2018. She is a Samaritan and has worked with Victim Support and Women’s Refuge amongst other charities.

Proud of her northern heritage you will get used to her dulcet tones and Lancashire accent.

Beverley will be available on Thursday 8-12, Friday 9-5, and alternate Saturday mornings

Nutrition

6/1/2021

Have you been hitting the gym and counting the calories, but still find you have stubborn fat (particularly around your belly) that just will not shift?

This can be a frustrating problem for many - and particularly for us women when we reach a certain age (around 50!). We exhaust ourselves with exercise at the same time as depriving ourselves of the foods we love, only to see that the pounds are still creeping on and our waistbands keep getting tighter. Feeling fed up, we fall off the wagon and overindulge in our drug of choice (sugar) in its multitude of forms e.g., chocolate, cakes, crisps, white bread etc. The next day we are back to the repeating cycle of guilt, exercise, deprivation and binge……..and on it goes.

There are several reasons why this pattern may occur, but one of the most common is that our blood sugar levels may be out of balance.

Basically, sugar in the form of glucose is the body’s primary source of fuel for energy, and any carbohydrates (e.g., vegetables, fruits, grains, pulses, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, cakes, sweets or crisps) that we eat are broken down during digestion to be absorbed into the blood as glucose.

The body likes to keep our blood sugar level tightly controlled. Too low and we feel tired, hungry, and weak; but too high and it can create an unhealthy metabolic stress - and so mother nature cleverly releases the hormone insulin to usher the sugar out of our blood and store it safely away. There is a certain amount of storage for sugar in the liver and muscles, but when this depot is full the only option is for it to be converted and stored as fat.

When things are working perfectly, each time our blood sugar goes above a certain threshold, insulin is released, and blood sugar levels fall to within their optimal range. If, however, this happens too often there may come a point when (like the little boy who cried wolf) our bodies stop listening to the insulin signal, resulting in more insulin having to be produced to have the same effect (i.e., the insulin has to shout louder to be heard). This is known as insulin resistance. Menopause and advancing age may also result in increased insulin resistance. With a high background level of insulin which is constantly signalling to the body, it is then almost impossible to burn any of our stored fat.

There are specific nutritional strategies that may help to balance blood sugar levels and increase our sensitivity to insulin.

A good place to start is to eat your carbohydrates in the form of whole, unrefined vegetables, fruits and grains as opposed to refined or processed forms (such as white bread, pasta and rice or commercial fruit smoothies and juices).

The fibre in the unprocessed versions of these foods has been shown to slow the digestion of the carbohydrates resulting in a lower but more sustained blood sugar response (ie less need for insulin).

In addition, aim to eat some protein (the best sources are meat, fish, dairy products, eggs, beans, nuts or seeds) with every meal and snack. This may help fill you up and stave off those emergency carb cravings later!

If all else fails and the chocolate cravings are too strong, aim to swap your favourite milk chocolate for 85% (or higher) dark chocolate - as this has much less sugar. Certain nutrients may also help to increase insulin sensitivity, but a discussion is sadly outside the scope of this short article.

If you are interested to find out more or would like some help, then please make an appointment for a free 20-minute discovery call with me. This can be done through the Personal Best reception or by dropping me an email at [email protected]

SWEET ROMAINE SALAD WITH MOZZARELLA, MINT, PEACH & PROSCIUTTO

Salmon fillet wrapped in prosciutto with herby lentils

welcome beverley

Nutrition

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