A walk in the woods

Another weekend has disappeared and the weekly cycle of work starts again. It’s nice not having to take Elizabeth to her very many extra-curricular activities as most of these stop on the holidays. Instead Elizabeth has been rehearsing everyday for Cats which is on at His Majesty’s Theatre next Friday and Saturday. We can’t wait to see the show.

We went for a lovely walk in Aberdeenshire today. It was hot but towards the end it started raining which was lovely and refreshing. The landscape is so lush and green right now. It was great to go out into the woods as it feels like we haven’t done it for a while.

Last week I tried make coronation chickpeas for the first time and I’m now hooked. Even the kids have been enjoying it. You might have heard of coronation chicken which is a popular sandwich filling – coronation chickpeas is basically the same thing but with chickpeas rather than chicken and without the raisins. My recipe is also slightly different because I use coconut cream rather than mayonnaise. I’m not a big fan of mayonnaise and it’s usually full of salt and sugar so I wondered what I could use instead and decided to try coconut cream.

I’m trying to avoid ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and have an app on my phone that can scan the barcode on an item and tell you whether it’s a UPF or not. Most coconut creams I discovered are UPFs. This was the only one I could find that isn’t; it’s 100% coconut. There are no other ingredients or additives.

A good rule of thumb is if a product contains an ingredient that you don’t have in your pantry then it’s probably a UPF. Foods that contain additives, artificial sweeteners, gums and emulsifiers are all UPFs and they wreck havoc on your gut microbiome which impacts your physical and mental health. Just as one example for why it’s important, 90% of your body’s serotonin is made in your gut. Serotonin regulates your mood and low levels are linked with depression and anxiety. Supporting your gut microbiome will literally make you feel happier.

Next time I make it I’ll measure the ingredients exactly to provide a recipe but just for now I used chickpeas, curry powder, coconut cream, vinegar, lemon and a tiny bit of oat milk.

I smear it on bread for a sandwich or on toast. It’s even delicious just on its own. Why did I never try making this before?

Perhaps because it’s summer we’ve also been eating a lot of salads. Every Friday I make tabbouleh and lately I’ve added a delicious red cabbage and carrot salad with cannellini beans.