Showing posts with label dessert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dessert. Show all posts

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Seven a day - portions of fruit and vegetables - how?

    Seven a day seems a lot. We heard rumours years ago that seven was the ideal but that we were told five because seven would seem such a large jump that the majority of people would not even try or would try and give up.
     Cut Sugar Desserts - Eat Fruit Salad
     My late father was late onset diabetic and when he was alive and came round for a bridge evening our system was simply to have fruit salad for dessert.      
     Later another member of my family had a cancer scare. We in my family tried to follow the recommendation on the cancer research sites, UK and worldwide. the cure worked.
     Now we are back to the simple rule that everybody should eat healthily to prevent problems. But we already have a system in place for five. This is it.

Five Portions of Fruit Or Vegetables Each Day
   Breakfast - fruit salad with porridge (add because porridge anti-cholesterol)  1 portion of fruit
   Lunch - meat or fish or egg(s) with 2 vegetables and 1 fruit salad -
   Dinner - meat or fish or egg(s) with 2 vegetables; desert is and either fruit salad or half portion of cake/ dessert or fruit salad and a chocolate or small crackers with cheese
 
For elevenses and tea time either two dried apricots or a spoon of cream cheese and a glass of water. Cut out sugar in coffee. Drink semi-skimmed milk.

   On the five a day system we were indulging in extra sugar from a glass or two of wine, cheese after a meal as well as or instead of fruit, sometimes a meal out including a dessert. We weighed ourselves and if the weight went up after a meal out we were back on fruit the next day, or day three if we divided up a take away dessert.

This was adopted as a diet. I have lost weight slowly. 2014 March my weight is 64.8 which is 10 stone 3 lbs. I have to lose another half stone or stone.  I should have achieved that by the end of the year.

In terms of gym and swim, I am doing aqua swim once a week. I would lose weight faster if I went twice a week or better still every day, if I had access to an indoor pool or an outdoor pool and good weather - no snow, no rain, no smog.

Seven A Day
  Our / Your Choice
Breakfast - 1 portion of fruit.
Lunch - 2 vegetables 1 fruit
Dinner 2 vegetables 1 fruit.

You can weigh your fruit and vegetables or just go by the guidelines of one large fish sized piece or a selection of smaller ones.  Ideally have more vegetables than fruit because of the sugar in fruit.

Tips
Buy fruit and vegetables from a shopping list.
Send your most rule-following person to buy food.
Go straight to the fruit and vegetable area in the supermarket and by-pass temptation.
Order online delivery so you are not tempted.
Cut cakes into finger-size portions like a chocolate to have with coffee.
Share desserts, cakes and biscuits and bread rolls between two or three.
Restrict alcohol to after six pm, like most working Americans.
Drink only at weekends.
Cut out drink except for evening birthdays and New Year's Eve.
Restrict drinking - have a January dry month. 
Give up drink for Lent, Ramadan, Passover, whatever.

  

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Hillview Road Party 2014

     Hillview Road has been holding parties twice a year since the Jubilee street party. This year about forty people turned up from Hillview Road and Hillview Close. Our Xmas party with a cost of £25 had been cancelled due to lack of support but when the price dropped to £5 for a cheese and wine party the interest magically multiplied. Several tables of enthusiasts gathered in the Guide Hut.
   
    The food consisted of several types of cheese including Brie, Camembert and blue cheese, with bread and biscuits, green olives stuffed with red pepper on sticks, and black grapes. Each table bought red or white wine. Once couple who could not drink wine brought their own elderflower drink, which costs about £2 a bottle from Sainsbury's. The dessert course included mini chocolate eclairs.
   A quiz on London Underground Station names kept us entertained. We were asked for £1 for one raffle ticket, £5 for a strip of six. I won first choice of prizes and chose a teach yourself Spanish course. I think every table won something. Other prizes included bottles of wine, chocolates, a picture frame, fancy boxes of toiletries tied with ribbon, and a book on cooking. 
   As it was Burns' Night, at the request of our Scotsman Loudon, we ended with Old Lang Syne.
For more information about Hatch End, our area has a website.
Below are photos of residents such as Alice and Loudon, Chris, Aubrey and Edna, Sandi, Lucia, Trevor, and more. If you know the names, please tell me. When I have time I can search on the electoral register.


Angela Lansbury is the author of twenty books including: Quick Quotations; Wedding Speeches; Dating Online; How To Get Out Of The Mess You're In; Poetry Pets and Pests.