New nurturing holistic and lentilly 10 / 10 thread - all welcome

[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.

Basic guidance on what constitutes a portion of fruit and veg here and you can download more detailed information \link{http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Healthandsocialcaretopics/FiveADay/FiveADaygeneralinformation/DH_4001494 \here} (follow the link at the very bottom of the page)

When ds was little and discovered watermelon we had a couple of nappies that just exploded (with water, basically, nothing unpleasant). We could not work it out until we suddenly clicked he had just eaten his own body weight in watermelon

We would just get a sort of pink watery paste out of him. Like blended watermelon I guess.

He gets so excited about watermelon. Tonight's dessert options were:

• gran biscuits, very sweet almond macaroons
• banana cake (worthy, NQC-stylee)
• watermelon

DS2 did not hesitate.

Oh I meant to say ds was also Hard Work today. It's all too exciting with all these relations about.

I think I am probably on the wrong thread to say this, though. We are having too many comversations at once IMO

But really I have to sleep. My throat hurts, and I will be still in mad cooking etc mode tomorrow morning - breakfast is blueberry pancakes (to make up for a crepes/pancakes disaster in Dublin, which DS1 got quite upset about), lunch is ratatouille, which I will have to make two batches of, with and without sweet pepper.

Ooh, homemade ratatouille...any chance of a recipe when you feel a bit better?

Having started badly, I have partly redeemed myself with avocado, tomato, parsley, baked potato (this doesn't count, does it?), raisins..with dd2's kiwi fruit from earlier, that only makes 6. Or 5, depending on the potato. Oh dear.

salt, chilli sauce and lime??? whywouldyadothat??
mind you, ive had strawberries with blasamic on them and that was nice...

try anything once me

Ratatouille is also stupidly easy.

Cut up onions, fry. Add garlic, fry. Add crushed chillis (you know, the seeds. As much or as little as you like - it doesn't take much to add a tiny bit of spice).

Chop up and add courgettes and aubergines, and chopped tomatoes, as many tins as it takes to cover courgettes and aubergines.

Add some dried oregano and basil.

Simmer for a few hours, at least one. Near the end, chop and add sweet peppers.

(It tastes really good cold, with cottage cheese!)

I had it in Mexico, the salt chilli and lime thing - I wanted it on the grated veg, but they put it on the watermelon, papaya and grated veg (all in little plastic cups - best fast food ever).

Watermelon tastes even better with chilli, lime and salt.

oh. sorry relations/ds is deing hard work and sorry throat is hurty.
everything hwere... alright i guess.
am a bit sad coz dp thinks builder is ripping us off and i like him and his family a lot... and the usual stresses etc w 4 young dc about... but dss and ds' all getting on better all the time so... alls good i guess

NQC - that recipe sounds lovely, my spanish sil serves her in a pint glass with ice cubes. Just thought you might find that appealing
The dts like watermelon and any type of melon actually. I don't remember pink sludge thank god

God my mouth is watering

I really do like ratatouille (not the garlic or spices though)

TT sorry, potato doesn't count. The rest was good though!

NG you have lost your boys on toast again?

I like ratty best with cous cous, anyway, really am going now

mmmmm garlic

yes, i lost the BoT. i want a name change. but i dont like it when no-one i know abit/like a bit on here knows who i am.
(dont even have that many nappies anymore. 2 and half of the ds's are in pants now

mmmmm nqc's ratty w cous cous... mmmm

NQC, I am scared of chillies. Is it possible to use them without making food too hot? I had a bad experience once...

personally would stick to the absolute bare minimum of chillis - but im a wuss like that! OTOH i like to go overboard w the garlic

Oh, TT, I mostly use crushed chillis which come in a jar, not fresh ones, as that way I don't have the horror of rubbing my eyes with chilli oil and then wanting to die.

I find how much crushed chillis it takes to spice up a dish a bit varies a lot - if the dish has much fat in it, it takes a lot more than if it doesn't.

They're easy to use, and you can just add a pinch. I often like my food to have a v v faint burn, not be deathly hot.

Yes, garlic, if not raw, is something I often use with abandon. Oh, have you seen my thread about the Anthrax Salad Dressing? It's one for the garlic-obsessed, and is recent, and in food or recipes.

(These are crushed chillis that are sold as dry spices, not the dried whole chillis which are, I think, really scary. The ones in the spice jar are just the seeds from the chillis.)

Oh yes, I LOVE garlic. And sage. And basil and coriander and rosemary. Mmmmmmm....
But not mixed.

So are the seeds less potent or is it the drying that tames them?

I think the seeds are the most potent part, but I suspect the drying helps, and also they're really easy to use in tiny quantities. Probably they also come from relatively weak peppers?

You do have to cook them a bit to release the flavour, like any dry spice. Otherwise it would be scary. But they're good for anything that's simmering.

(If it's a raw thing, I use chilli sauce, which comes in a bottle that releases it drip by drip.)

I'm interested but still scared. Will sleep on it. Thanks.