Category Archives: Cooking from scratch with Sally and Carol

Smorgasbord Health Column – Cook from Scratch to prevent nutritional deficiencies with Sally Cronin and Carol Taylor – Manganese – Spinach, Chicken, Tomato and Basil

Welcome to the rewind of this series from 2019 where we look at cooking and your diet from a different perspective. Usually, we emphasize the health benefits of food and how they can be incorporated into your diet. But, what happens if you do NOT include them in your diet.

We wanted to share with you what happens if your body is deprived of individual nutrients over an extended period of time.

In this series, we look at cooking and your diet from a different perspective. Usually, we emphasize the health benefits of food and how they can be incorporated into your diet. But, what happens if you do NOT include them in your diet.

Thankfully most of us eat reasonably well, with plenty of variety, but if you take a look at a week’s worth of meals, do you find that you are sticking to a handful of foods, all the time.

Over the next few months we are going to be working our way through the most essential of these nutrients and I will share the symptoms that you might experience if you are becoming deficient in the vitamin or mineral and list the foods where you can find the nutrient.

Carol Taylor is then going to provide you with some wonderful recipes that make the best use of these foods… Cooked from Scratch…Please click the link below to read the full post and where Sally will tell you how including Manganese in your diet has numerous health benefits…

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2022/05/25/smorgasbord-health-column-cook-from-scratch-to-prevent-nutritional-deficiencies-with-sally-cronin-and-carol-taylor-manganese-spinach-chicken-tomato-and-basil/

 

CarolCooks2 weekly roundup… 24th -30th April 2022-Monday Musings, Health, Food Review “Salmon” and Saturday Snippets where “Blue” is my prompt.

Welcome to my weekly roundup…there was no A-Z this week it’s still a WIP…we are in May already…The month of May …a spring month in the northern half of the world, and a fall month in the southern half. It is likely named after Maia, the goddess of growth. May’s birth flower is the lily of the valley. May is the fifth month in the Gregorian calendar and has 31 days…I love the Lily of the Valley I remember the corner of my mum’s garden where the Lily of the valley used to grow so pretty…May has many food months…National Asparagus, Egg, Salad, Salsa and Strawberry Month to name a few…all foods I love which means there will be some recipes

Today is also May Day …here is a fun and historical look at the traditions of “May Day”

Herbs or Erbs…

Monday Musings…

Last week there were some tunes, info on COPD26, Earth Day and why we should all have a fruit tree in our gardens or on our balconies…

Monday Musings…25th April 2022…

For some of us it is asparagus season…and what a delicious vegetable asparagus is…some beautiful asparagus in some lovely brown bread is a glorious thing…Today though it is Chicken with Asparagus which is equally as delicious…add some shrooms and it’s perfect…

CarolCooks2 in my kitchen… Chicken with Asparagus and Mushrooms…

Calcium…a mineral that should be abundant in our bodies…Here Sally talks about the benefits of having calcium and what can happen if we don’t plus I have provided some easy recipes which will ensure you get your Calcium…

Smorgasbord Health Column – Cook from Scratch to prevent nutritional deficiencies with Sally Cronin and Carol Taylor – Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body

One of my favourite fish dinners is made with Salmon…Salmon is also vital to our health as it is the Omega 3 we need on a plate…

Smorgasbord Health Column – Food Therapy Rewind- Salmon – Omega 3 on a Plate by Sally Cronin

CarolCooks2…Friday Food Reviews…Salmon…how healthy it is with recipes…

Here I have shared some of our favourite recipes for Salmon…Enjoy!

CarolCooks2…Friday Food Reviews…Salmon…how healthy it is with recipes…

Saturday Snippets…

Blue can mean so many things, blue skies. bluebirds, flowers…beautiful but deadly fish…I will leave you with this song by Robert Plant…

Thank you for joining me today for my weekly roundup…I hope you all have a great week ahead xx

Smorgasbord Health with Sally Cronin and Carol Taylor – Cook from Scratch to prevent nutritional deficiency – Vitamin B1 – Wholegrains, Mackeral, Pork, Pineapple, Eggs, Asparagus

Variety is key to good health, to provide your body with as broad a spectrum of nutrients as possible that the body needs. Taking a supplement or relying on shakes and bars to provide your daily allowance of vitamins and nutrients is not in your body’s best interest. Giving it foods that the body can process and extract everything it needs is vital.

Today it’s...Vitamin B1- Thiamin

Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) is a water-soluble vitamin. This means that along with the other B vitamins and Vitamin C it travels through the bloodstream and any excess is eliminated in our urine. The body cannot store thiamin but it is found in tissues within the body such as in the liver, heart, kidneys and the nervous system where it binds to enzymes.

This does mean that these types of vitamins need to be replaced from our food continuously.

For a breakdown of Vitamin B1 and recipes please follow the link below…

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2022/01/19/smorgasbord-health-with-sally-cronin-and-carol-taylor-cook-from-scratch-to-prevent-nutritional-deficiency-vitamin-b1-wholegrains-mackeral-pork-pineapple-eggs-asparagus/

Smorgasbord Health – Christmas Cook From Scratch Rewind – Sally Cronin and Carol Taylor – Cranberries, Sauce, Camembert Puffs, Apple and Cranberry Roast Pork

 

Here is a rewind of the seasonal posts from Smorgasbord Magazine where Sally shares the nutritional benefits of an ingredient and Carol Taylor(Moi) incorporates them in a delicious recipe…Today it’s the Cranberry!

Please head over to Smorgasbord to read about the health benefits of this powerful little red berry and enjoy the recipes…

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2021/12/01/smorgasbord-health-christmas-cook-from-scratch-rewind-sally-cronin-and-carol-taylor-cranberries-sauce-camembert-puffs-apple-and-cranberry-roast-pork/

 

Time for part 4 of Sally’s fabulous new series shopping by Nutrient…There are times in all of our lives when we may have been lacking in iron, Vit C anything and we may have been at a loss as to what we can eat instead of popping a pill…

Sally had done all the work for you, easy to read and all ingredients which most of us buy anyway…Do pop over and have read…

 

via Smorgasbord Health Column – Weekly Grocery Shopping List by Nutrient – Part Four – Phosphorus to Zinc

Healthy Eating… No More Diets…The plan that works…It really does…

Welcome to this week’s Healthy Eating…

Cheat week this week as by now I am on my way to see a friend until Friday so I have copied a previous post one of my early Healthy eating posts…But I will be back as normal next week…With news of my exploits and hopefully, the scales won’t tell too much of a tale of any excesses…haha…Holidays are to be enjoyed are they not??

Now to an earlier post but the advice stays the same and all these months later tHe weight is still coming off…If you have read this before ..my apologises but it may serve as a timely reminder it did for me…and for my new followers or anyone who hasn’t read the following…It works! FACT!

My first sourdough loaf is cooked, eaten and was divine…I was so chuffed at the lovely comments I received…Of course, I had to sample it in the name of quality control and with proper butter as well…haha…

It was lovely I thoroughly enjoyed it…No guilt…Just pure enjoyment…It was healthy( wholemeal) grass-fed butter and my home-baked bread …I savoured every mouthful…

Hubby ate the rest either a sandwich or toasted…

Sourdough Wholemeal loaf

The rest of the week has been just normal healthy eating and walking which has increased due to 2 factors one is that our granddaughter is staying with us for 8 weeks( school ) holiday and two my smartwatch is keeping tabs on my steps…The daily recommended guidelines are 10,000 steps which sounds a lot but doable…

As you know I advocate eating healthy balanced meals I don’t believe in cutting out food groups like meat, most fruits or pasta/rice/potatoes…I do believe we should avoid or eat little highly processed foods, food with added sugars, we should choose good quality cooking oils, avoid excessive intake of high mercury fish like tuna…Alcohol enjoy just not in excess. 

For me, that is easy to follow and coupled with the 16/8 intermittent fasting and exercise I am seeing results.

That hasn’t always been the case...At this moment I am the lightest I have been for a good few years …I have also accepted I will never be the weight I was when I married… More fat on a chip my husband used to say…haha

Life happened, I got married, I had kids… I ate what they didn’t, I worked and shopped in my lunch hour and while queuing to pay eyed the strategically placed sweets by the till ( those stores) know how to tempt one don’t they? The mums and friends who mean well…Just have one…That won’t hurt…

box four doughnuts iced

I feel your pain I know what you have been through or going through so does my friend Sally…Who is a Certified Nutritionist and knows the pitfalls and curve balls life throws at us …Both of us have struggled with weight at times during our lives …

It ain’t easy and while I may make it appear to be …I have eaten my share of what I shouldn’t and moderation did not come into it…I am now older and wiser…haha…Believe what you will…But I have realised I need to cherish this body as it is the one and only one I have or will have…Better late than never…

How to manage people…The well-meaning ones of course…

And remember…Losing weight is not a sprint, it is a marathon and your mental and emotional attitude towards the project is a key factor in your successful weight loss.

Sally’s posts are both informative with a little humour and she will tell you it is not easy she knows but I will let her tell you her story…

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/03/16/smorgasbord-health-column-size-matters-the-sequel-before-you-get-started-managing-people-environment/

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Stuck for Recipes? Need some inspiration?…

Honey…Nectar of the Gods and so good for us…Sally will tell you the why and I will provide the recipes…Enjoy!

 

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/03/13/smorgasbord-health-rewind-cook-from-scratch-with-sally-cronin-and-carol-taylor-honey-nectar-of-the-gods/

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Diets come and go...Faddy things aren’t they? Mostly a flash in the pan and not sustainable…A new one has arisen…A hybrid of the Paleo diet and the Vegan diet…All the good bits…The Pegan Diet…

I know it just had to happen, didn’t it?

The basics of the Pegan Diet…3/4 vegetables and 1/4 meat/fish @ each meal, the meat/fish from good quality sources…( no hormones and antibiotics)…It focuses on eating more fibre and low glycemic index fruits, eliminating sugar, dairy unless it comes from ( goat/sheep) products eating little or no highly processed foods thus avoiding foods produced using chemicals and pesticides…eliminating legumes except for lentils…

Great in theory and first glance and sounds similar to what I believe in however it is quite restrictive and would need some planning and the bottom line is we need a Healthy Balanced Diet…No eliminating essential foods… It seems to me that the people who market and promote all these diets think they have to come up with something new all of the time and I suppose celebrity endorsements don’t help that trend…

Frankly just because a celebrity endorses a product doesn’t mean it works…No one size fits all, no one’s lifestyle is the same as Fred’s next door we are all individuals with different needs, Stress levels, family commitments, work commitments so much factors into the equation…

Healthy Eating is a lifestyle choice and takes time to adjust…You will have blips or bad days/weeks but it is how you deal with it…

We just need to eat sensible, normal healthy foods and a balanced diet…Most of the time.

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Smartwatch Corner.

Smart phone and watch

I am still impressed with my new toy…I will say it keeps me focused…

So far I use the step counter…It does have other functions like running and workouts but I enjoy walking …The recommended daily steps are 10,000 which is doable…..Last Thursday I achieved 14,000 plus steps in one day…I was out and about doing kids things and shopping so although tired it was a revelation as to how many steps I did do that day…An average day for me is 6-7000 I am working on getting to 10,000 more often…

The other function I love is the sleep function...

lady sleeping

It shows 3 levels, Deep sleep, light sleep and Rem sleep plus gives you the normal range and tells you where you are in that either normal, high or low. Plus it gives your overall hours of sleep, how many times you woke up with an explanation of your total hours of sleep and how long you were in the stages and what happens to your body while you are in each stage of sleep…

It also offers an explanation as to what causes any changes and how you can remedy it with links to other sites for further info.

I am finding this really interesting as I am gradually seeing a pattern forming and am realising which factors are influencing my sleep for example what I am doing prior to sleep or what I have been drinking as I don’t eat after 8pm.

It also tells me my heart rate …An explanation can also be found on heart rates.

What I do find amusing is the little green man who buzzes and waves at me when I have been inactive for a while…

It also has other functions which I don’t use yet or may not as I purchased this mainly to keep a little eye on my health. Which while it may not be exactly spot on but accurate as these can be but as the watch is on your pulse give or take a few beats it is accurate enough for me…

Thank you for reading and please tell me in comments your thoughts if you have a smartwatch…x

About Carol Taylor:

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.

The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

More and more of my blogging friends have joined me on MeWe…A social media site which is fairly new and which promises much without the restrictions some other social media sites are choosing to impose on many of us…Join me if you will on  mewe.com/i/caroltaylor3 

 

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a great week xx