Are You Wise to Overweight?

Obesity strikes at an earlier and earlier age now and over-weight smacks of excess. Here comes that phrase again - 'when I was young', we could not afford to eat between meals

and to be blunt, there were few fat people around. I note with incredulity now the amount

of food on many a plate and wonder quite how it can all pack into a stomach that starts out roughly the size of a fist!

In our house, in order to help convince ourselves we have adequate portions, we use smaller size dinner plates which have the effect of making meals appear larger and believe me, we do not go hungry.

Practically all our food is home-prepared and cooked. I say this not as a saint and martyr but as an efficient cook who can turn out a meal in almost as fast a time as resorting to convenience foods or send-outs. It really isn't too hard. After all, we used to have to wash the dirt off potatoes bought at the local shop before we even thought of peeling them. Now we have beautiful, pre-packed clean spuds we can boil or pop in the micro-wave; fresh or frozen ready-prepared veg.

I long ago taught myself to batch-cook and with a freezer that can cough up home-made burgers or ready-cooked chicken, sausages or soup I can have a proper hot meal served up inside twenty minutes.

Undoubtedly there is a place for occasional commercially-produced convenience foods in busy households but if you truly want to know what you are consuming (and save money), make cooking for yourself a priority. It's worth it!

Ageing Beautifully

'When I was young...' is a classic opening line for us oldies but I shall carry on regardless. When I was young, women were old at 40. They fixed themselves in looks and dress and rarely appeared any different. Utilitarian clothing and fading vitality combined to usher in long years of deadening routine. Given that they had little spare income to devote to themselves, it's not really so surprising and I suppose the movie-star glamour they saw from time to time on the silver screen only served to emphasise differences that were so far out of reach as to be unimaginable. Unattainable. Not so now!

​Colour rules, and cheap clothing abounds. Hair and beauty salons are on every corner. We have information at hand that can help preserve our health and looks and it can be had at virtually no cost. Yes, you can lash out on expensive gym membership and buy into Lycra big-time in an effort to remain firm and active. Yes, you can fall into the trap of believing all the promises of expensive cosmetics and treatments but it is entirely possible to look after yourself with cheaper and readily-accessible alternatives.

Regular moderate exercise is the key to good health and longevity, and the easiest way to achieve them is to go for a brisk walk wherever you live. Start slowly and finish slowly but try to walk for thirty-five minutes each time in order to get the training effect. Ideally you will slip into the rhythm of four breaths in and four out to each step. (Suck, suck, suck, suck. Blow, blow, blow, blow). Do that daily if possible or as frequently as you can and you will really feel the benefit of pulsing circulation, bright eyes and the sparkle that comes with purposeful movement.

​I joined a karate group many years ago and while I soon gave up the martial side of things having got fed up with the bruises inflicted on me by others, I stuck with doing a daily brisk kata. This is a set movement that covers all aspects of physicality such as stretching, lunges, kicks and deep breathing, all done with close control and the right amount of tension to be labelled calisthenic. It is also nearer the true original form of tai ki or tai chi, as the modern gentle and slow characteristics were created when martial arts were banned in China. Those beautiful soft movements we are so familiar with now, are actually martial moves in heavy disguise. Each can be snapped back into fighting mode with a little specialist know-how. Anyway, I digress...

My personal daily routine takes only minutes. Often I also do some specific qui gong exercises though not always, as I mix it up with my walking and other activities such as gardening.

I cannot express adequately the feeling of well-being that comes from taking responsibility for my own health and welfare. Make time to work with and understand your own body's needs and you will not go far wrong.

Time for Jelly-Making

Granny's Crabapple Jelly

I have a 'thing' about hedges and bemoaned the fact that when we moved here twenty-five years ago, the field margins were very bare. Many years ago hedgerows had been grubbed out to make larger arable fields, and roadside verges continued to be 'scalped' every winter.

Since then, I'm very happy to say our lovely local farmers have replanted miles of mixed hedging which have matured well. My latest gripe is that they often severely trim them into neat box-shapes with almost more bald stem than top. I sent a plea to them through our local magazine to allow more top-growth and especially to cultivate some full-grown trees from saplings within the hedges. We shall see if that happens.

Meanwhile, since the farmer who owns the fields opposite stopped his radical scalping, the verge has sprouted field maples and several prolific-fruiting crab-apple trees, what's more he has agreed to allow them to grow. Yippee! So not only will we look out on beautiful apple-blossom in the spring but I get to pick the fruit for crab-apple jelly in the autumn too.