How to buy Pasta

Whether you do your pasta shopping in a supermarket or specialist Italian grocer, the broad selection now commonly available encompasses very different kinds of pasta. To help make sense of labels and characteristics, we've put together some basic guidelines.  Dried or fresh? Fresh pasta is best when it is homemade (or bought on the day it is made). The supermarket  ...more...

To Freeze or not to Freeze?

I recently moved house. Sorting through all the cards and photos of relationships gone by is always a gut-wrenching experience, but not half as exasperating as clearing out the freezer. Excavating towards the back of it, I found half a pack of seafood I couldn't remember buying, as well as little bags of chillies, one odd portion of green beans, two bread rolls, and much mo ...more...

What are Probiotics?

The intestinal tract is the organ in the body that digests and absorbs food. It is populated by trillions of bacteria that are required for keeping the body healthy. These bacteria can be affected by a number of aspects including antibiotic use, some medications and infective diarrhoea. When this occurs, probiotics can help to reset the balance.   What are probiotics and how do the ...more...

The Health Benefits of Lemon Water

Lemons and other citrus fruits are well known for their colourful pitted skins and tart, refreshing taste. Lemons contain citric acid and are well known for their high vitamin C content. The peel of a lemon consists of two layers: the outer zest and a white inner layer. The zest contains essential oils - the most common of which is called limonene.   Nutritional benefits Lemons have ...more...

Time to Change your Olive Oil

Are you running around in last season's olive oil? It could mean that your food doesn't taste as good as it should. While we might not think of pantry staples like olive oil as seasonal, that's exactly what it is: Olives are usually harvested in early to mid-autumn, and bottled a few weeks after that. Which means that if you're a fan of spanking-fresh olive oil, early winter i ...more...

Preserving Jars with Twist-off lids

1: Slowly bring water to the boil in a large stockpot or preserving pan. As it starts boiling, fully immerse the jars and lids in the water to sterilise them before filling. Leave everything in the water until the food is ready for filling into the jars, at least 10 minutes, longer if you live in altitudes above 300 metres (see tip in Bottling basics). You can leave them everything in the wat ...more...

10 Tip to Healthy Living

  COOK FROM SCRATCH This is one of the most important life skills you can learn. It allows you to have complete control of what goes into your food.   EAT A BALANCED DIET Aim to eat a balanced diet that contains each of the food groups in the correct proportions.   VARIETY IS KEY – EAT THE RAINBOW Fill your diet with a wide range of fruits, vegetables, ...more...

What to eat for Glowing Skin

  How to eat your way to beautiful skin... The condition of our skin and how it ages are influenced by a number of factors, with diet and lifestyle playing a major part. Prolonged exposure to the sun, smoking and a diet rich in processed and sugary foods, as well as dehydrators like caffeine and alcohol will, over time, take their toll. As we age our skin gets thinner, less elastic a ...more...

The Health Benefits of Coconut Oil

Coconut oil comes from the meat of matured coconuts harvested from the coconut palm tree. Whether it’s drinking coconut water, using the oil as a moisturiser or popping a spoonful into baking, the last couple of years have seen the coconut rise to prominence in kitchens and bathroom cabinets. So is the oil from this nut (actually it’s a drupe), all that it’s cracked up to be? ...more...

Cooking Vegetables

  Methods for cooking vegetables are important, because it's a pretty well-known fact: vegetables are good for you. They're full of vitamins, nutrients, and lots of other stuff our body needs to function properly. But a lot of people see eating vegetables as a chore – an unfortunate but necessary part of the meal. Well, it doesn't have to be that way. Vegetables can ac ...more...