In the spotlight - Raspberries

I owe my recent holiday to Cornwall for the inspiration behind what's in the spotlight this week. While we didn't go fruit picking or see anyone selling punnets from an honesty box at the end of their drive, we did stop by a farm shop and enjoyed a raspberry cream tea - when in Cornwall it's obligatory to have one cream tea. So besides being currently in season and being rich in Vitamin C, what else might you want to know about raspberries?

Berries are often heralded as super-fruits, which relates to their antioxidant content. One such antioxidant, which raspberries are particularly rich in is ellagic acid. It has been suggested that this antioxidant could play a role in cancer prevention or treatment. Indeed research in the lab suggests that ellagic acid may slow the growth of some tumours. However the mode of action is unclear and as yet there have been very few clinical trials in humans, so there is currently inadequate evidence that ellagic acid could prevent cancer or be used as a potential treatment. Despite the lack of reliable evidence for ellagic acid's role and a large query over what dose would be required and how much is actually safe to take, ellagic acid supplements are available to buy.

Do the companies that manufacture these supplements really have their customers' best interests at heart or are they merely cashing in on people's vulnerability? When someone has any disease that is potentially life-limiting isn't it only natural that they will try anything that may help, particularly if they are not responding well to conventional treatments? What might the consequences be if they abandoned their medical treatment - which has to be evidenced based - in favour of a poorly understood alternative?

Besides the moral questions of selling little-studied nutrients, supplements raise a number of other issues. Firstly it's difficult to overdose on nutrients found in foods, but the same isn't true with dietary supplements, which can contain tens of times the amount required, which the body may or may not dispose of. There is also the argument that no one nutrient is the be all and end all; it's important to eat a wide range of foods to obtain all the nutrients required by the body, so focusing on an individual nutrient could be at the expense of others. Lastly nutrients often work together in their mode of action, so isolating one to take as a supplement, although more concentrated, may not be so well absorbed or effective in its mode of action as if it had been eaten when as part of a food.

As we've said so many times before, it's always best to get your nutrients from food rather than supplements. So although we may have drifted away from raspberries, we'll end with some recipes for how you can enjoy them.


Rise and shine smoothie - a useful way to use up raspberries when they are past their best
Slice a ripe banana and add with a handful of raspberries to a jug.
Blend till smooth then top up with apple juice till the desired consistency has been achieved.


Almost guilt-free iced raspberry mousse
Add a 250g tub of Quark (virtually fat-free soft cheese) to a bowl with 25g of icing sugar and a few drops of lemon juice; beat with a wooden spoon till smooth.
Add half a 250g pack of frozen raspberries and stir through till the mixture is swirled with pink.


Photo by Fir0002/Flagstaffotos

Fruit and veg co-ops

Following on from Thursday's theme of encouraging communities to grow their own fruit and veg, have you heard about fruit and veg co-ops? The BBC reported a story last month about the rise of these in Wales - there are now over 350.

Food co-ops work on the principal that food is cheaper when a lot of people buy it in bulk. Features that co-ops have in common are that they are run by the community for the same community, they sell food at affordable prices, do not make a profit and are run by volunteers. Small food co-ops take orders from customers, whereas others buy the food in and then sell it to customers from stalls. Exactly what they sell, when, how and where they sell it, varies from one co-op to another.

Food co-ops provide a lot of benefits. Not only do they increase people's chance to buy affordable produce, but in the process they can increase awareness of healthy eating. It brings opportunities to buy fruit and veg nearer to local people, making it easier for people without a car to shop on foot or by bike and some schemes deliver directly to customers. The environment also benefits, as like growing your own, you are using local produce, which is sold locally and there isn't the same level of packaging associated with fruit and veg that is often a consequence of that sold by supermarkets. Co-ops are another way to get people involved in their local communities, providing the opportunity to meet new people, which may lead to friendships and involvement in other activities locally. Food co-ops also benefit the local economy, as supporting local producers keeps money locally. Volunteers can gain skills from their experience, which can stand them in good stead in the job market; they can also gain confidence and feel that they have made a valuable contribution to their community.

More information about co-ops is provided by the following website http://www.sustainweb.org/foodcoops/. Take a look to see where your nearest fruit and veg co-op is. If there isn't one nearby and you feel inspired, it even provides information for how you can help set one up in your local area.


The BBC article on fruit and veg co-ops can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-17938418

Photo by Zabdiel

In the spotlight - Carrots

As you've probably come to realise, I'm all for experimentation with food and that extends to my blog too. So after eight months of "in the spotlight" as a collection of facts about a chosen fruit or veg, it's time for a change. I'll still be spotlighting a fruit or veg each week, but I'll be focusing in on one aspect to provide more detail. Let me know what you think of the new approach, as this blog is for you as much as me. We can always go back to the old style if preferred, but like trying any new food it can take a number of exposures to something new to make up your mind whether you like it or not. So let's get things started with my guinea pig - carrots and what the truth is about their role in eyesight.

Carrots help you see in the dark don't they?

While people may have been encouraged to eat carrots in World War II to help them see in the blackout and the veg were heralded as the reason for the success of the RAF, the truth behind this is questionable. In reality carrots were one of the few foods in plentiful supply during the war, in fact there was a surplus, so to encourage people to turn to this food and prevent wastage, the Government provided a good reason for them to do so. And the RAF's success was related more to radar than any carrots they may have eaten, so Government propaganda is nothing new.

Why might there be some truth in this?
Carrots are rich in Beta-carotene, which your body converts to Vitamin A. There is no recommendation for Beta-carotene intake in the UK, but the recommended daily intake of Vitamin A is 600 micrograms for women and 700 micrograms for men. The last National Diet and Nutrition Survey showed that for both men and women of working age the average intake of Vitamin A from food sources exceeded these recommendations, with older adults having higher intakes still. That said, there were still people who fell short, with 2.5% of the sample managing only to achieve a third of their recommended intake for Vitamin A.

Vitamin A is converted to retinal and used by the rods and cones of the retina (the light receptors at the back of the eye) for vision when light is limited, as in the dark, and for colour. Deficiency of Vitamin A does indeed affect vision and is the leading cause of blindness in developing countries. However, when dietary intake of Beta-Carotene and Vitamin A are adequate, eating extra does not provide any improvement in vision. In fact the conversion of Beta-Carotene to Vitamin A slows down the more that you consume, so not only will you not see any improvement in your vision, but your skin will take on an orange pigment. So like everything, carrots are best eaten in moderation and variety is the key when it comes to including fruit and veg in your diet.

A stew wouldn't be the same without chunks of carrot and when grated they certainly brighten up a salad, but how else can they be eaten?

• Roast carrots with parsnips in a honey and mustard dressing.
• Serve carrot sticks along with batons of cucumber, celery and pepper to dip into hummus - Beta-carotene is a fat soluble vitamin, so the fat from the sesame seeds and oil in the hummus help with its absorption; for this reason if you make a tomato salsa, add a little oil.
• Mix grated carrot and beetroot with raisins to make a side dish for a salad and finish with a drizzle of orange juice and olive oil.
• A favourite soup of mine is carrot, tomato, chilli and ginger - so easy, especially if you use chopped tomato and ground spices. Coriander and cumin also partner well with carrots.
• Grated carrot and diced onions can be mixed with extra light soft cheese for an alternative sandwich filling.
• Carrot cake makes a lovely teatime treat. See the following link for a number of recipes http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/search.do?keywords=carrot+cake

Calls for more space for us to grow our own fruit and veg

Ask someone if they'd like to grow their own fruit and veg and chances are that you'll get a positive response. Statistics certainly support this. A survey in May of just over 2,000 adults showed that half of those questioned would contemplate growing their own fruit, veg and herbs if prices in the shops were to rise further. But are we actually getting out there with our spade and packet of seeds? Perhaps not as many of us, but still a significant number. The same survey showed that a sixth of adults in the survey had already started growing their own in the last four years. The study sampled only those living in London; apparently when the results were adjusted for the British population as a whole, a third of us are taking a leaf out of Tom and Barbara's book. However, that's still a short fall between those who would like to "grow their own" and those who actually do.

Not everyone has the benefit of a garden and the demand for allotments has never been as high. A survey conducted last year for allotment waiting lists in England showed that two thirds of councils have waiting lists and on average for every 100 plots there are, there are 57 people waiting. It certainly indicates that more allotments or an alternative space in the community where people can grow their own produce is needed.

MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee have advised that new national guidelines need to be developed to allow local communities to have land on which they can grow their own food. This comes at the same time as a petition has been taken to Members of the Scottish Parliament requesting that unused and derelict land to be provided for food to be grown by local people.

Not only can growing fruit and veg in the community help people to improve the quality of their diets, but it carries a number of other benefits. It provides an activity, which is not just a hobby, but is particularly beneficial for people who are out of work or might have limited opportunities available to them. It provides a community space, is a good way for people to get to know others in their local area, people who might otherwise not have met, and can help to foster a community spirit. Eating food grown close to home also helps to reduce food miles.

Lots of good reasons for more space to be devoted for us to "grow our own". Perhaps there might be some more letters winging their way to our MPs?

Image by Andy

In the spotlight - Courgettes

I never used to enjoy courgettes, I used to find them a bit tasteless, though it's not their fault they are 90% water. However, I then discovered how well they absorb flavours when roasted with other veg or used in a curry or stir-fry, so they are now a regular on the shopping list. Courgettes are also easy to grow, as they like the UK climate, so if you're looking for a veg to start off with, they make a perfect choice. Though you will be hard-pushed to beat the record for the largest courgette grown - a huge 65lb courgette was grown by a man in Devon.

•  Also known as zucchini, they are part of the squash family - other members include marrows, pumpkins and butternut squash.
• Although courgettes originated in Mexico and South America, the fruits that we are familiar with today were developed in Italy years after they were introduced to Europe.
• There isn't that much variety in types of courgettes compared to other fruit and veg, though there is a yellow variety known as "golden zucchini" and in some countries it is typical to harvest courgettes when they are no bigger than the size of a finger - smaller fruits are certainly more flavoursome.
• Courgettes are rich in Vitamin C and provide smaller amounts of Vitamin A and various B vitamins.
• If you grow your own courgettes, don't discard the male flowers that don't turn into fruits. These can be used in salads or stuffed, which is a typical Italian dish. In Mexico the flowers tend to be used more than the fruits and are key ingredient in a traditional soup.
• Larger courgettes can be stuffed - whether it's with mince, lentils, mixed beans or soft cheese, take your pick.
• If you've not tried shredded courgette in a salad, give it a whirl.

Vegetable bake - serves 4

• Layer half centimetre slices from 1 aubergine and 2 courgettes in an oven-proof dish.
• Blend a 400g tin of tomatoes and 100g spinach with a clove of garlic, then season with black pepper.
• Pour the tomato sauce over the layered veg and top with a thin layer of grated Parmesan cheese.
• Bake for 30mins in a preheated oven at 200 degrees (gas mark 6).

 

 Roasted veg couscous - serves 4

• Chop 2 courgettes, 2 peppers and 2 red onions into large chunks and add to a bowl.
• Add a tbsp of vegetable oil to the bowl with a tsp each of basil, rosemary, oregano and thyme, season with black pepper and mix well.
• Cook on a baking tray in a preheated oven at 200 degrees (gas mark 6) for 15mins, then add 2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes and cook for a further 15mins.
• Meanwhile prepare 200g couscous according to pack instructions.
• Stir roasted veg through couscous. Optionally add some chickpeas or roast chicken.

Nothing like a bit of research...

You can read all the articles that you want on a topic, but there's no better way of finding out about something than carrying out a piece of research yourself. Various studies have already been carried out about the factors that influence adults' intake of fruit and veg. As you may have gathered, I have quite an interest in the 5 A Day scheme, so I'd like to find out about people's knowledge of 5 A Day, what might influence that and whether this affects their intake of fruit and veg. It would also be helpful to hear what people think about the information provided by 5 A Day, as this might indicate how the scheme could be improved.

I've devised a survey online to hopefully gather all the information I need. I'm recruiting people initially from who I know on Facebook or whose e-mail addresses I have. However, I'm also using Twitter, and asking people to share the link to my survey with family, friends, colleagues or followers by whatever means they can. Fingers crossed this will generate as large a response as I can.

I'm not just after responses from those who are familiar with 5 A Day and eat a lot of fruit and veg, as my results would be very biased. So whether you are an expert on 5 A Day or know little, you love or hate fruit and veg, I want to hear from you all!

Once I have the findings I will be sharing these and my thoughts on them on here.

Please follow the link below and share it if you can.

http://www.esurveyspro.com/Survey.aspx?id=af4a9d02-420a-4dab-800e-9317194c50d0

Thanks for your help!

A second helping of June's offerings...

As promised, I'm going to devote another post to this month's seasonal veg. After discussing cucumber, asparagus and broad beans, it's now the turn of curly lettuce. I think there's something very appealing about curly lettuce. Admittedly it tastes like a round lettuce, but its fancy leaves set it apart. I know that you're probably thinking "What can you do with lettuce other than pop it in a sandwich or add it to a salad?". In fairness that's a big part of what lettuce can be used for, but the key is to be creative when you're making a sandwich or salad, so that's what the suggestions below are about.

• Serve curly lettuce with a chopped avocado and mixed beans. Drizzle with a lemon and mustard dressing.
• Top curly lettuce with grated carrot and chopped Wensleydale cheese. Dress with a little olive oil and black pepper.
• Add a chopped tomato and an orange pepper to a handful of curly lettuce and watercress. A few strips of chicken breast and a fine mist of balsamic vinegar finish off the dish.
• Cook fine green beans and new potatoes. Add to make a Nicoise salad with curly lettuce, cherry tomatoes, tuna and capers.
• Slice strips of carrot, pepper and cucumber. Place on top of curly lettuce, beansprouts and strips of beef. Serve with a horseradish dressing.
• Mix diced red onion, peppers and sundried tomatoes with cooked lentils, adding mint and lemon juice. Place on a bed of curly lettuce to serve.
• Make wraps with shredded duck, cucumber, curly lettuce and lemongrass. Drizzle with hoisin sauce before rolling up.
• Fill a wholemeal pitta pocket with curly lettuce, grated carrot, hummus and raisins.
• Slice and fill a seeded bagel with curly lettuce, sliced tomato and half a tin of mackerel in spicy tomato sauce.
• Make a bean paste with kidney beans, tomato puree, chilli and black pepper. Spread on oatcakes and garnish with chopped curly lettuce.
• Top a slice of granary bread with curly lettuce, cress and prawns dressed in lemon to make an open sandwich for a light lunch.

If your curly lettuce looks as if it has seen better days, you might like to make a soup with courgette, pea and mint - a great way to use all seasonal ingredients and ensure your lettuce doesn't go to waste.

In the spotlight - Broad beans

Following on from my post yesterday about seasonal fruit and veg, it seems only right that I should choose a veg in season to put in the spotlight this week. It's the turn of broad beans. I can't say that these are a favourite veg of mine - I remember as a child I would remove the skin before I would consider eating them - but as variety is the spice of life, they make a nice change from the usual frozen veg. Anyone lucky enough to have their own allotment or enough space in their garden to grow veg might be familiar with podding the beans from their velvety cacoon. Though I've never sampled these raw like you might do with peas, you are meant to be able to eat them this way when the beans are young and fresh.

• Also called fava beans, they are thought to have become a feature of the Eastern Mediterranean diet around 6000BC.
• Broad beans can be grown in harsher climates and will manage to grow in clay soils or those with a higher salt content. If you've never grown veg before, they're a safe bet to start off with.
• Broad beans are a source of vegetable protein, Vitamin C and B vitamins, along with fibre.
• In some parts of the world - Mexico, South America, China and Thailand - broad beans are fried and then salted or spiced to produce a savoury snack.
• What might you like to do with your broad beans? Add them to stews, curries and pasta dishes; have them in a salad; mix them with rice and sweetcorn; serve them as a medley with other green veg - think courgette, green beans and cabbage.
• A type of Christmas cake, known as a "king cake", traditionally contained 1 broad bean within the mixture. When cooked, the person whose slice of cake contains the bean, is granted certain privileges. Although the bean is now often replaced with a small trinket instead, in parts of Europe and Mexico, they still use a broad bean.
• Broad beans have several significances in Italy. According to legend, all crops apart from broad beans are meant to have failed one year on Sicily and these saved the population there from starvation. They are seen as a symbol of good luck and are carried by some people. It is traditional to plant broad beans on 2nd November (All Souls' Day).

Broad bean and mint spread - perfect for topping bruschetta, oat or rice cakes.

• Cook 250g (9oz) broad beans according to pack instructions (or fresh will take about 5mins in boiling water), then drain and add to a bowl before crushing.
• Mix in 2 tsp of dried mint and a small glug of olive oil.

Broad bean salad

• Cook 250g (9oz) broad beans according to pack instructions before draining.
• Meanwhile dice an onion, and chop a tomato and half a cucumber.
• Combine all the veg with 2tbsp lemon juice, 1tbsp olive oil, 0.5tsp ground cumin and 1tsp dried parsley. Season with black pepper and mix well.

What June has to offer...

Apologies for my neglect of seasonal fruit and veg over the last 2 month. In April, there was little new compared to March, though admittedly cucumbers came into season. In May, rhubarb, spinach, curly lettuce and asparagus made an entrance. As luck would have it, all are still in season this month too, which gives me chance to discuss at least some of them, which will hopefully get me partially off the hook. June brings with it peas, broad beans, courgettes and strawberries, and carrots make another appearance. With so many items to talk about this month, I can see that we will have to have another seasonal blog post next week.

Where to begin? Cucumbers it is. They've not yet been in the spotlight, so I don't want to give too much away, but what do you think about when cucumbers are mentioned? Cucumber sandwiches with a cream tea? A few sorry-looking slices with a salad? A salad veg that you buy with good intentions, but one which you only ever use half of and the rest is enjoyed by the composter? Perhaps we need to look at a few more ideas for how you can use cucumber so that it doesn't go to waste.

As cucumbers are mainly made of water, unless you plan to pickle them, they are best eaten cold. Try the following:

• Chopped into small chunks they go well with tinned tuna and salmon sandwiches. Sliced you'll find them in cold meat sandwiches. 
• For those of you who perhaps like bean pate or hummus, I'd imagine cucumber could add the finishing touch to crackers, oatcakes or toast topped with said fillings.
• Add chopped cucumber to pasta, rice or couscous based salads with whatever other chopped salad veg you fancy.
• Not all salsas are hot, think of the phrase "as cool as a cucumber".
• Deseed and chop a cucumber and a yellow or orange pepper
• Chop a tomato and a small onion
• Mix the above ingredients with 1tbsp lime juice, 1tsp coriander, 1 tsp parsley and a minced clove of garlic
• Keep in the fridge till serving as an accompaniment to Mexican fare.

Spinach and rhubarb have already snuck into this blog previously, so I'll now turn my attention to asparagus. I'd imagine for a lot of people, asparagus doesn't go on the shopping list very often; I know for myself, it's a veg to have as a treat or for a special occasion. If I'm honest I'll usually serve it on the side as an accompanying veg, but I'm always on the look-out for new ideas. It seems popular stirred through pasta, part of a tart, an addition to a salad or an omelette. I remember a while ago, Pizza Express had a pizza topped with asparagus, which I thought was a novel way to serve it. How do you like your asparagus?