Honey, a natural sweetener

This time of year makes me think of honey. Honey is one of the best natural sweeteners anyone can have. it is good for you in so many ways, especially anyone with diabetes. It is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral.

Honey contains substances that are attributed to anti-tumor and cancer preventing properties - these include caffeic acid methyl caffeate, phenylethyl caffeate, and phenylethyl dimethylcaffeate. However, the more processed a pot of honey is, the less of these wonderful properties they are likely to have. Raw honey, or as close to raw as you can get, is best.

Honey has been used for hundreds of years to aid insomnia. It is also an excellent cough suppressant and boosts the immune system. Further, it is showing promise as a natural cholesterol reducer.

Believe it or not but it is also meant to help aid in balancing blood sugar levels. Part of this is down to the fact that honey is very good for the liver.

As part of a healthy diet, using honey instead of any other sweetener can help you lose weight - part of this is as a result of educing anxiety, oxidation damage and balancing of blood sugars.

Many people will already know about honey's ability to heal wounds and increase the body's ability to heal itself.

Aside from all the above, honey is tasty. It is one of the best sweeteners you can get and is genuinely lovely. I use it in tea if my throat is getting sore. On toast it is dublime but it can be used in so many ways. I've linked a few recipes here for you to take a look at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/honeythymeandbalsami_86176

Honey Cake

http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/632842

Omelette with goat curd and lavender honey

http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/610769

Enjoy :D

On that note, I have written a bit of a sexy witchy/werewolfy/vampirey book (not erocita, but sexy). It is available on kindle now, and paperback soon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Wolf-Witch-Coffin-ebook/dp/B00CCWL6ES/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366023812&sr=8-1&keywords=the+wolf%2C+the+witch+and+the+coffin

On another note, my second book, The Island of the Mist, is now available on both Kindle and paperback formats:

Kindle: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Island-Mist-Kingslayer-Series-ebook/dp/B0092TUS7U/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1346945410&sr=1-2

And paperback: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Island-Mist-N-Roy/dp/147921292X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346506656&sr=1-2

and in the US: http://www.amazon.com/Island-Mist-N-Roy/dp/147921292X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346946271&sr=1-2&keywords=the+island+of+the+mist

My first book, The Stone in the Sword, is now reduced in price: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stone-Sword-ebook/dp/B006ZQIEPG/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1327179005&sr=1-3

Detoxing

So many people are so very eager to do a weekend detox, or a month's detox when in reality its what your liver does for you every day. The whole function of the liver is to remove any toxins from your body - 'detoxing'. Its that simple.

Detox diets range from useless to the downright dangerous. If you really want a quick detox, I was always told eat a little orange peel (organic, as you do not want to ingest any chemicals). This flushes anything from your system fairly quickly (a few hours) via diarrhoeia. That may sound disgusting, and I guess it is really but its a whole world safer than cutting out everything that your body requires, the most common item being protein. Without protein we cannot function for very long. it is dangerous to go for more than a day without it, as our body requires it for any activity we do during that day.

Cutting out a food at a time is ok and can benefit your body - omitting caffeine, or sugar, or dairy but doing all of them together just gives you headaches, makes you crabbit and leaves you feeling dreadful. If you want to omit them all from your diet, rather than doing it in one go, take one at a time, and once your body has recovered from lack of one, move on to another.

The key with everything in life is everything in moderation. Not overdosing on anything is good for us (even fruit, which is naturally high in sugars). Let your liver do what it was meant to and try eating a well balanced diet.

Wishing you a healthy and happy spring :D


On that note, I have written a bit of a sexy witchy/werewolfy/vampirey book (not erocita, but sexy). It is available on kindle now, and paperback soon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Wolf-Witch-Coffin-ebook/dp/B00CCWL6ES/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366023812&sr=8-1&keywords=the+wolf%2C+the+witch+and+the+coffin

On another note, my second book, The Island of the Mist, is now available on both Kindle and paperback formats:

Kindle: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Island-Mist-Kingslayer-Series-ebook/dp/B0092TUS7U/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1346945410&sr=1-2

And paperback: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Island-Mist-N-Roy/dp/147921292X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346506656&sr=1-2

and in the US: http://www.amazon.com/Island-Mist-N-Roy/dp/147921292X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346946271&sr=1-2&keywords=the+island+of+the+mist

My first book, The Stone in the Sword, is now reduced in price: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stone-Sword-ebook/dp/B006ZQIEPG/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1327179005&sr=1-3

Iron matters

Just a quick word on iron today. We hear a lot about making sure we have plenty of iron but many people are not aware of how dangerous it can be to become anaemic/have low iron levels. Here is a link to the NHS Iron Deficiency page for more details on this.

Iron deficiency can be a result of heavy periods in women but it can be a symptom of several health issues that can be very serious, so make sure you check with your doctor if you are feeling the symptoms mentioned on the page.

As you can see, feeling very tired all the time is a common symptom. If you find that you feel tired all the time, even though your sleeping well, and look paler than usual, ask your doctor to check your iron levels.

A doctor will give you iron tablets but we can do other things in the hope to prevent requiring iron tablets.

Some foods are naturally rich in iron but these foods need to be taken along with foods rich in Vitmin C which aids in the absorption of iron. There is no point in incresing your red meat or spinach if you don't get enough Vitamin C.

Iron: Alas, red meat is the best source. If you are vegetarian, spinach, dried apricots, nuts, raisins, seeds, olives and any other leafy greens (any green vegetables) are also packed with iron.

Vitamin C: Fruit is the best source - cranberries and pretty much any other berry, pomegranates, kiwi fruit, oranges, carrots (and actually any orange fruit/veg are rich sources), peppers.

You don't have to suddenly buy all of this but introducing one from each of these groups into your daily diet will help to prevent iron deficiency.

Having a piece of fruit every day (and varying it is good), and at least 4 vegetables is an essential part of any diet. Doctors don't simply say that because they like to, it is essential for the basic running of a healthy body.

Don't like spinach?

A little butter in a pan (or olive oil if vegan), add washed and dried spinach, allow to wilt, sprinkle liberally with nutmeg and mix in, before serving. This is wonderful (and works with broccoli too) and takes away that tangy/metallic hint spinach can give off.

OOn another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scoltand about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback:

The Island of the Mist is book 2

The Stone in the Sword is book 1

The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats:

The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin

Food Allergies

I wanted to bring this topic up because a couple of weekends ago I had a reaction to hazelnuts, completely out of the blue. I have never had a food allergy before in my life and it was, to say the least, terrifying. Thankfully I did not go into full anaphylaxis as I had had an antihistamine in the morning (I'm allergic to dogs so take them all the time anyway, in case I come into contact with one) and as soon as I felt my face swelling I took another one.

Unfortunately I now carry an epipen, which is just horrible because I have to remember to have it with me at all times and I just found out that I have to contact airlines in advance of going on a plane so that they can remove any nuts. It's just shocking, all the things I need to remember now that for the first 39yrs + two months of my life I did not need to do. It seems to be that allergies can crop up at any time, although most doctors tend to think they appear in childhood/teens and early twenties.

Needless to say I have to go through a barrage of tests to find out what caused it and whether I'm allergic to all nuts or just some, as well as any other foods. Living in the highlands means I cannot simply go to an allergy clinic to have these tests done - I have to be referred to Glasgow, as Inverness do not have these facilities and Aberdeen don't take on clients outwith their area. There is a lot of mis-information out there. Some people/websites say that its ok to have sesame seeds and pine nuts, as they are not nuts, but other sites say that if you have a nut allergy you are highly likely to be allergic to these as well. I'm erring on the side of caution, although I do know I'm ok (at the moment) with sesame seeds and nutmeg.

I'm sad that I can no longer have any Chinese meals (from a take away or restaurant, as they use groundnut oil for cooking), peaaut butter, praline, pesto, baclava (which I adore) and so many other foods but o have to be careful aou where my food is stored - if I want some ciabatta in a restaurant and it is sitting in a basket with walnut bread, I'm in a whole world of trouble.

I wanted to share this with people because I want people to know that if you have just develoed an allergy and are scared or worried, you're not alone. I also wanted to share a link to the NHS Allergies website for proper advice, and to hopefully make anyone aware out there who deals with food that they need to think about storing foods and letting customers know if you cook with anything that might be hidden becase people can be allergic to anything. I would genuinely ask all restaurants and eateries to be very allergy aware and ask customers whether they have any allergies and to keep the most common food allergy items separate from everything else - these are nuts, strawberries and shelfish.

My husband and I were at the Snow Goose in Inverness on Friday night. We ordered a mezze-type starter - warm breads, olives and a selection of meats to share. I spotted the walnut bread and mentioned it to the waitress. She spoke with the chef, who is also allergic to nuts and he keeps some breads separate from the walnut bread and made sure I was aware that nothing else I ordered had nuts in them. it was wonderful because this was my first eating out experience since the reaction and I hadn't known that even bread touching other bread could set me off. I am truly grateful to this chef and the very kind waitress who brought it to his attention.

I will leave you with a couple of other very useful websites and hope that those of you with allergies out there are getting everything you need and those who don't have any never develop any.

Take care xx

Allergy UK
Food Standards Agency

On another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scoltand about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback:

The Island of the Mist is book 2

The Stone in the Sword is book 1

The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats:

The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin