Are you bananas for bananas? 10 / 10 club week whatever it is

[FrannyandZooey]

For anyone who wants a boost to their general health. The suggested goals are:

EAT 10 PORTIONS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES EVERY DAY

(if you don't usually eat much fruit and veg I would build up gradually or you could upset your digestion)

DO (AT LEAST) 10 MINUTES OF EXERCISE EVERY DAY

(can be yoga, stretching or something more energetic. The plan is that the idea of doing 10 minutes is not too daunting, and having started you may well find you want to do more)

There are no restrictions on what you eat so long as you get your 10 fruit and veg as well. The focus is not on weight loss but on improving our energy levels and hopefully our general mood and well-being.

Sign up below and post here to tell us how you're getting on and how you are feeling.

I lost this thread yesterday, couldn't find it at all and thought maybe it had been deleted due to some fruity misbehaviour

I spoke to an asthma nurse yesterday and she said to see he gp but not to panic. She said my symptoms sounded like they could easily be the after effects of a viral infection, but with my family history there is a strong possibility of asthma Oh well we will see.

I am just about to have a large fruity breakfast. Have the house back to ourselves today so can spend as long as I like messing about with celery

Not having the healthiest weekend in history, really. Dp has made strawberry ice cream and mandarin ice cream - do they count?

This thread is not too long so let's carry it on this week chaps

yes, perfectly serviceable. How are you all? Do pumpkins count as 1 portion or are they starchy like yams???

Hello Franny and anyone else! I would say pumpkins most definitley do count As I said earlier I have a wonderful Nigel Slater recipe for pumpkin curry if anyone is interested. Made leek & potato soup last night, which was nice, but have to say I'm not feeling overly enthusiastic about fruit atm...

definitely

Ooh Tatties

thank you for joining me, I was starting to wonder if tumbleweed counted as a portion

I have been having fun at the gym and not eating terribly much veg, but we have had loads of people round and it is hard, I think. Will buy a load of salad bits and pot of hummus to munch next time I go shopping.

Hello chaps

I have had yellow pepper, carrot, radish and cucumber today, plus muesli which had raisins in it, and am about to have an apple.

I am making a giant spicy pumpkin soup for tonight (actually I am a bit thrown by the pumpkin, you boil it to DEATH and still it hangs around in these wet fibrous clumps, like hair in a plughole . I have resorted to adding sweet potato and red lentils to create the illusion of texture, I will probably end up fishing most of the pumpkin out and binning it)

The boys and I have just come back from the park, it was too wet and windy to play in the playground but they didn't want to go home....so I devised a new entertainment called a "leaf kite". It involves stuffing a carrier bag very tightly with leaves, then going to the middle of the park, waiting for a strong gust of wind and then spinning round with the bag upside down, emptying out all the leaves. They just didn't seem to get bored with it, even after about four goes! They have now bilked me into making hot chocolate and doing a bloody great collage with dead leaves. So bang goes my MN time

ps - there was a bloke in a council van watching the last time we did the leaf kite, he looked outraged

Pumpkin is revolting, it is only good for its seeds IMO

the mini pumpkins my friend grew were delicious, on the other hand, rather like butternut

We are having yet more home made pizza (looks like you have made a real effort, but dirt cheap) and home made ice cream. Which has fruit in. And there's peppers and mushrooms in the pizza sauce.

hi! pumpkin is revolting but heavenly in a pumpkinpie! does that count as a veg portion; and er, carrot cake too? like me veg though not always in cake form!

oh, what do you do with the seeds? have saved them!

Hi Everyone

I made butternut yellow split for dd big no3 birthday bash - the guest ate it ALL. The pumpkins that are more fibrous aren't much fun I agree Greensleeves.

I put my pumpkin in saucepan with abit of oil and fry slightly then steam cook in a big pot, lid on with cloves of garlic and whole onion - low heat. Tastes a whole lot better than boiled Pumpkin.

Tatties would love the recipe for your pumpkin curry if its not too much faff to type up

I made up a big bowl of dried fruits and nuts for the party which is still being eaten, cranberries, sultanas, apricots, banana, mango with cashew, almond and hazelnut YUM

Franny you won't be interested in my pumpkin curry recipe then? I always say pumpkin when I mean butternut squash though. So it should really be butternut curry... I have never actually tried pumpkin! Greensleeves your leaf kite game sounds lovely

Thank you, it was lovely

I have abandoned the pumpkin soup fiasco. I am going to cut the rest of it into chunks, paint it with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice and paprika and then roast it until it screams for mercy.

Ok, here we go: Nigel Slater's Smashing Pumpkin

You can use pumpkin or butternut squash - I have only tried it with squash.

Ingredients

2 med onions
3 tbsp groundnut oil
large lump of ginger, about 60g
3 small, v hot chillies
3 stalks lemongrass
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
800g tomatoes
400ml veg stock (or water)
1.5kg pumpkin/butternut squash
250ml coconut milk
juice of plump lime
small handful of coriander & mint leaves

Method

• Roughly chop onions and cook in the oil in a deep saucepan until soft but uncoloured.

• While they soften, peel the ginger & shred the flesh into fine matchsticks; seed & finely chop the chillies; peel lemongrass & very finely slice the soft inner core.

• Add ginger, chillies & lemongrass to onions and cook for 5 mins. Stir in turmeric, cumin & coriander.

• Roughly chop tomatoes and add to onions. Let them soften 5-7 mins, stirring, then add the stock. Bring to boil then down to gentle simmer.

• Peel pumpkin/squash, scrape out seeds & fibres, cut flesh into large 4-5cm chunks. Season, add to pot and simmer for 20-25 mins, checking for tenderness.

• Stir in coconut milk gently so as not to smash the squash, and cook for a couple of minutes.

• Check seasoning, stir in lime juice, coriander & mint. Serve with rice.

DIVINE

Wow thank you very prompt Tatties!! Will get some more butternuts pronto

Leaf kite, a very seasonal game and sounds like alot of fun... will recommend it at a birthday party we're off to tomorrow

Suzy, sprinkle the seeds with oil and put them on a baking tray, then just toast them in the oven. Delicious.

Great name you have there btw

Oh and I hope this is the right place to have a fruit-related gloat about something that really warmed my heart today...

we went Trick or Treating and at one house ds was offered a big tray with lots of goodies on, all sorts of chocolate bars and exciting looking things that we don't have at home...

he reached over into the middle of the tray where there was a great big green apple, took it and turned to me with a look of great joy

What temp and for how long with the seeds?

I made celery, brocolli and spinach soup on Sunday - v. good - still haven't eaten it though!

am not very good these days.

Erm...about 200 deg? (I am guessing)

You sort of stir them a bit until they are getting goldenish. You can do it in a dry frying pan too, with some soy sauce thrown in. That only takes a few minutes and is delicious.

mmm - shall try it at the weekend. Thanks

Oh Franny I will join you with the gloating, yesterday ds demanded a kiwi (well he said weewee but I know what he means) for dessert. I was so proud He really loves fruit and veg though, and it is heart-warming.

Incidentally I totally forgot it was Hallowe'en last night, so didn't have any goodies in for trick-or-treaters. We only had one lot knock on the door, who were given an apple and a banana. I reckon they told all their friends not to bother coming to us

Dr FZ, thanks from me too - will do the seed thing tomorrow, have them in a bowl just waiting to know what to do with them, ta!
good one about the apple, they would've spent all night picking my face out of the apple dooker if that was my boy!!

Have been a bit better - ate some of my soup yesterday and had some apples and plums. Had a papaya and blueberry smoothie this morning with wholemeal toast and organic peanut butter.

Saw on Cooking It last night - they roasted some mixed nuts in the oven and then drizzled olive oil and rock salt and some 'herbs' over them - looked yummy. Must remember that for my Xmas dinner guests.

God that does sound nice, with the nuts. I am not a big nut fan but the thought of them roasting aromatically in the oven....

I am progressing slowly at the gym and can see a difference in my legs now which I am really pleased about. I am a bit no waisted with skinny arms and legs, so to develop my legs was a goal for me.

I am off fruit and veg shopping this afternoon - we can't afford an organic box atm so the local greengrocers is doing us proud, and my god the produce is so much cheaper and tastier than the supermarket crap.