February 2007 Newsletter
Article - ALOE! ALOE!
Hello healthy people,
Wishing you a lovely Valentine's day, or a fabulous midweek if you're not in the mood for lurve! There's a loose love theme for this newsletter, with the article of the month focussing on a particular plant that I adore.
It's good to eat seasonally, so here's a list of what's in season:
Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, leeks, kale, squash, chicory, cabbage, parsnip, shallots, forced rhubarb, celeriac, Jerusalem artichoke
It seems wholly appropriate that Avocado, known as "the fertility fruit" by the Aztecs, is the Valentines oatcake topping of the month. Avocado is a very nutritionally 'complete' topping, a slow burning fuel packed full of minerals and vitamins, as well as good monosaturated fats.
Buy avocados hard and ripen them on your window sill. They are ripe when their stalk wobbles and they give slightly to the touch.
Slice them or mash them onto oatcakes with ground pepper or harissa (a piquant North African pepper paste).
HOT! HOT! HOT! Baked Potatoes
Yes, the humble spud is a tasty and cheap standby for when you're really not in the mood (to cook). Eaten with the skin on, they provide nearly half of your daily vitamin C and are a good source of potassium and fibre. One medium-sized potato has 100 calories and provides complex carbohydrates needed to fuel our brains and bodies (the very useful carbs a reason for it's bad press in the past).
To bake a potato, scrub well, then prick the skin all over with a fork, brush lightly with olive oil and bake in an oven at 220 degrees for an hour and a quarter. If you're in a hurry, microwave for a few minutes and finish off in a pre-heated oven. Cut a cross in the top and mash the middle with a fork.
The trick is to keep the toppings healthy, so here are some ideas:
- Fresh tomato with finely chopped onion and ripped basil. Add a drizzle of olive oil, squeeze of lemon and a tiny bit of sugar if you are using 'inferior' tomatoes (i.e. any tomatoes in Scotland at this time of year)
- Fresh rocket with a splash of balsamic vinegar is healthy green option. Rocket stands up to the heat of a potato better than lettuce, which tends to go limp.
- Garlic mushrooms: Melt a tablespoon of proper butter in a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat and add three (yes three!) sliced cloves of garlic to a couple of handfuls of sliced mushrooms. Push around with a
wooden spoon, adding a touch of water when the pan dries out to get a good garlic-ey brown sauce. Makes enough for two.
- Cottage cheese with pineapple or herbs is a classic.
- Baked beans (check the nutrition label for the healthiest brand) with fresh thyme or parsley.
- McSween's Vegetarian haggis is great on baked tatties, and really filling.
- Instead of sour cream, try a dollop of hommous on top, or even some natural yoghurt. If you insist on melted cheese in your potato, use half of what you would usually use, grate it finely and mash it into the potato it will taste like twice the amount of cheese!
Resisting Temptation Hint of the Month
If the only reason you buy biscuits and cakes is to cater for your other half, reconsider.
I asked my husband Andy if he'd mind not buying digestive biscuits as I eat half a packet in one sitting. He was amazed that one woman could eat so many biscuits. He doesn't really mind either way, and it has removed one temptation from our kitchen.
Exercise of the Month
Get together! Exercise is nearly always more fun with someone else. Arrange to go to a dance class with a friend, or out for a walk on the weekend. Ask around your office and find out if there is someone else who would like to go for a lunchtime walk with you. Getting and staying fit needn't be a solitary road…
You can save money by booking in for fitness sessions with a friend or partner. At only £30 per one hour session for two people, you can save a bit of dosh and also have fun. Rates for larger groups / workplaces on application.
Article - Aloe! Aloe!
 In Australia, when I was 18, I was seriously knocked off my bike and consequently half of the skin from my left cheek was left on the road, to be replaced with tarmac embedded in my cheek. The Doctor treated it as a third degree burn and prescribed burn cream, which disinfected it but didn't help the wound to heal. He also warned me that there was a possibility of permanent scarring.
My hippy housemate at the time pulled off a frond from a cactus-looking plant in the back garden and insisted that I rub the goo on my face. The plant was aloe vera. It was surprisingly soothing and refreshing on the wound, and within a week of applying aloe twice a day, was healed with fresh pink skin in it's place. Amazing!
Since that experience I have been using aloe vera gel every day. I have found that it is especially good for cuts, grazes, sunburn and other injuries that break or damage the skin. Actually we even have an aloe vera plant in our office.
Because it is my favorite plant, I have decided to start selling the stuff (I can't bear to pull my own plant apart), and am now an independent distributor of Forever Living Products, who specialise in high-grade aloe vera. Below is more information on aloe, and please feel free to email me if you would like further information or are interested in trying it for yourself.
Appearance - There are more than 250 types of aloe, however only three or four have medicinal properties. Growing in hot climates, the aloe plant is a spiky succulent with sword-like thick leaves full of gel. The genus aloe can be classified as a xeroid; a type of plant able to close their stomata ('pores' in the skin of the leaf) to withhold water in drought conditions. To understand the properties of aloe vera, you need to realise that it has the unique ability to close any damage to the outer skin almost instantly, thereby 'healing' itself and preventing loss of water.
History - Aloe Vera has been used for its medicinal benefits since 2100BC. The early Egyptians revered aloe and called it 'plant of immortality'. By 600BC aloe had reached Persia and India, probably through Arab traders. Around 50AD Greek physicians confirmed numerous medical properties of this plant. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the use of medicinal aloe spread northwards into Europe.
Perhaps because it only grows in hot climates and because the leaves need to be used fresh for maximum effectiveness, it fell from grace in temperate climates until relatively recently. In the 1970's scientists discovered a method to stabilise and preserve the inner gel, thereby making it essentially identical to gel taken fresh from the plant and retaining its healing characteristics.
Uses - The inner gel of the leaves is used for a multitude of purposes. The gel itself contains over 75 nutritional compounds, including Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C and E as well as over 20 minerals, including Calcium and Zinc, as well as essential amino acids and enzymes.
Externally - In gel form or straight from the plant it can be used for sunburn, grazes, acne and minor skin irritations. It can also help psoriasis, eczema and other skin conditions. Aloe has ability to increase production of fibroblast cells, which in turn stimulates the production of collagen, the skins own protein. Theoretically then, it should help to prevent wrinkles. I have been using it on my face every day since I was 18, and it's one of the few treatments that reacts well with my ordinarily dry skin. I'll let you know in twenty years if it has personally worked for me!
Internally - In drinking form (which must be kept in the fridge), aloe vera is a detoxifier and provides all of the above nutrients. Drinking aloe vera can help stomach conditions (including ulcers and IBS) and generally aids the digestive system.
Buying Aloe Vera - It is essential to buy high-quality aloe as it loses its unique properties if not stabilised correctly. I have tried aloe gel for drinking from various shops, but find the Forever Living Products version the best by far. FLP offer a 60-day money back guarantee, so go on, give it a go!
And last but not least…
Healthy food at The Gyle - the Streetlife Fare van
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best, and David Haggarty fulfils a much-needed purpose. He does a sandwich van run of The Gyle (Edinburgh business park), providing healthy nosh to office-workers. So if you work in the The Gyle, look out for his van at the following times:
9.20 - 9.40am HSBC / NTL Telewest, 2 Lochside Way
10.45 - 11.15am JPMorgan / Miller Group, 2 & 3 Lochside View
12.30 - 12.45pm HSBC / NTL Telewest, 2 Lochside Way
12.45 - 13.15pm JPMorgan / Miller Group, 2 & 3 Lochside View
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