Fabulous Farfalle!

by Arpita Pani

Farfalle are a type of pasta, commonly known as "bow-tie pasta". The name is derived from the Italian word farfalla (butterfly). The farfalle which I have used in this recipe is made out of 100% durum wheat which is really healthy.

My Fabulous Farfalle Recipe

When I cook my lunch or dinner it always has a mix of veggies, protein and carbohydrates. Pastas are my favourites but to make it little interesting I choose Farfalle. This is one nutritionally rich recipe so don’t forget to read about all the health benefit you will gain.

Ingredients: 

300gm farfalle
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 scallion, minced
100gm petite green peas
100gm sweet corn
80gm baby spinach leaves
4 slice of hams thinly sliced.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
100 gm freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Directions: 

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Stir in a small fistful of salt with the farfalle and boil until the pasta is tender.

2. While the pasta is cooking, put olive oil in a large frying pan over low heat. Add the scallions and sauté them for a minute or two, until they soften. Add the peas, corn, baby spinach and ham, add salt & pepper to taste, and a small ladleful of hot pasta water, and cook until they are tender. Add a splash hot pasta water as you’re cooking if the vegetables are sticking to the pan. Taste for salt and pepper. Keep warm, and when the pasta is almost done, transfer to a pasta bowl.

3. Reserve a cupful of the pasta water and drain the pasta quickly in a colander. Turn the pasta into the serving bowl on top of the ham and veggies. Sprinkle parmesan cheese, and serve hot with more Parmesan at the table. Enjoy your Farfalle bursting with flavour and health benefits!!

Health benefits of Green peas, Corn and Spinach

Green peas are considered as one of the greatest health supportive foods as they provide the myriad of health and nutritional benefits, thanks to the strong phytonutrients present in them.

As they are excellent source of anti-oxidant phytonutrients vitamins A, C, and E, green peas neutralize the free radicals in the body and in that way they decrease the damage of blood vessel and thereby reduce the accumulation of cholesterol in the artery walls. So, they lower the risk of development and progression of heart disease, stroke, atherosclerosis and arthritis at higher extents, as well as, improve the process of proper blood clotting.

Health benefits of corn include controlling diabetes, prevention of heart ailments, lowering hypertension and prevention of neural-tube defects at birth. Corn or maize is one of the most popular cereals in the world and forms the staple food in many countries including USA, Africa etc. It not only provides the necessary calories for daily metabolism, but is a rich source of vitamins A, B, E and many minerals. Its high fibre content ensures that it plays a role in prevention of digestive ailments like constipation and haemorrhoids as well as colorectal cancer. The antioxidants present in corn also act as anti-cancer agents and prevent Alzheimer’s. 

Spinach has a high nutritional value and is extremely rich in antioxidants. The calcium content in spinach are good for bones. The A and C vitamins in spinach plus the fiber, folic acid, magnesium and other nutrients help control cancer, especially colon, lung and breast cancers. Folate also lowers the blood levels of something called homocysteine, a protein that damages arteries. So spinach also helps protect against heart disease. The flavonoids in spinach help protect against age related memory loss. Spinach's secret weapon, lutein, makes it one of the best foods in the world to prevent cataracts, as well as age related macular degeneration, the leading cause of preventable blindness in the elderly. 

Hope you enjoyed the article and my recipe. Any feedback will be highly appreciated. Thank you for your time!!

It's Crunch Time...

Heavy night last night? Not sure what you fancy for lunch? Want to try and get some vital nutritional vitamins in to your system? Well I've got two words for you, "Tuna Crunch". This is a classic lunch time dish and it's easy, quick and most importantly TASTY!

Here's what you need:

• 1 Green Pepper
• 1 Red Pepper
• Half a Red Onion
• 1 or 2 Tin of Tuna (in spring water)
• 1 Baked Potato
• 2 tablespoons of Light Mayonnaise 
• 1 Lemon
• Cracked Black Pepper
• 1 Tomato
• 1 Cucumber
• 1 red chilli (for those who like it hot) 

Directions:

• First things first, get that potato cooking in the oven.
• Then chop and dice your green and red pepper then place them into a large mixing bowl.
• Do the same with the red onion, chilli, cucumber and tomato. 
• Once all your veg is sliced and diced, place it all into the mixing bowl.
• Open up your tin of tuna and drain from excess juice and place into the mixing bowl to join the veg.
• Now slice your lemon in half and squeeze plenty lemon juice into over the mixture.
• Add roughly about half a teaspoon of cracked black pepper.
• Then finally add around 2 big tablespoons of light mayonnaise and mix it all together covering the surface area. Make sure all veg and tuna is mixed together to become one big serving of tuna crunch.
• Once potato is cooked and soft in the middle, cut open and place a desired portion of the tuna crunch mixture onto the potato.
• Voila

This is just one example of how you can create a tuna crunch but the beauty of this particular dish is the variety. It's up to you what you add to your tuna crunch and it's up to you how you serve it. It doesn't have to be on a baked potato. It can be served as a sandwich or simply served as a salad with some green leaves.

What ever you want to add to the tuna crunch mix you can. It's a great way to jam pack your meal with essential vitamins and nutrition and most importantly FLAVOUR! This dish allows you to explore, transforming a simple dish into something wild and imaginative, so come on get creative.

How You Feeling?

Your feelings are vital to your health. Without feeling good your daily routine becomes unmanageable and dreaded. Feeling unhealthy and sluggish are a common trait when you lack that feel-good factor in your life. Now all this is a no brainer, right? But what some people don't realise is that the negative effect of feeling bad and sluggish can be related to your diet.

One of the main ways to boost your personal confidence and happiness is by getting fighting-fit and healthy. Although this is much easier said than done, what tends to happen when people start to feel bad is they spiral. Therefore there is a significant change to your regular healthy routine that people find hard to break.

It's very common for people to seek unhealthy food and "treats" as a way to cheer themselves up. Yet this cheerfulness will always be temporary. The more someone seeks "comfort-food" the less comfortable they will feel, ironic huh? The lack of nutritious vitamins and minerals plays a key part on the way you feel on the inside and look on the outside.

Not only is your physical health effected but so can your mental health and this is no way to gain a happy fulfilled life. Therefore it is important to feel good on the inside so that it shows on the outside. So the minute your feeling down and out instead of reaching for that tub of ice-cream with the large spoon, whip yourself up a healthy nutritious meal instead.

It may not seem appealing at the time or a bit of an inconvenience when all you really want to do is curl up on the sofa with a big bag of goodies and drown your sorrows in a family size box of chocolates. But by breaking the spiral sooner and getting up off your butt and into the kitchen to whip yourself up a fresh home cooked meal will not only do your physical but your mental health the world of good.

So next time your not feeling yourself and all you want to do is crawl into bed and shut yourself off from the world, DON'T! Instead open your doors to the world get down to the local market buy yourself some fresh ingredients for a magnificent healthy meal.

Also don't forget to exercise, after a big session down the gym all your troubles will seem faded and your positive mind state will begin to blossom. It is a well known fact that exercise is great for boosting self confidence making you feel great on the inside and look good on the out.

Smell Something Fishy?....

Smell something fishy? Well I hope so, over the past few days I have been discovering the wonders you can do with fish. I have been working it in to my diet as much as possible, eating it with potatoes and veg, adding it to pasta, including it in stir-fries and even chucking it on the Barbie.

The reason for my obsession with eating fish at the moment is because it’s easy to forget how beneficial to your health eating fish actual is. It’s jam-packed with nutritious oils, vitamins and energy. Another thing is, it’s packed with all the good stuff and almost none of the bad.

Research states that eating fish regularly can even help lower or prevent the risk of various disorders and diseases.  It also helps to build brain tissue so fish is quite literally food for the brain. Due to it’s high source of omega 3 fish helps not only to contribute to the growth of brain tissue but also strengthens the retina (the light sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye).

The list of benefits provided from eating fish is endless from the prevention of depression to cancer there are so many great reasons to start introducing fish into your diet. If you don’t believe me try it for yourself and see, I for one can openly admit that after eating a meal that has included fish I can feel the benefits almost instantly. I feel safe in the knowledge that I have eaten a nutritious and healthy meal that’s going to do me the world of good.

Therefore I urge all of you to start eating more fish, next time your out for Italian opt for the seafood pasta instead of the carbonara or when your at a pub lunch in the country go for the fresh salmon and steamed veg and next time you fire up the BBQ why not slap some Mackerel on the grill as opposed to the usual burgers and sausages?

Also here at Health and Organic Wellbeing we’re always eager to hear from our audience. Therefore if you know of any great fish recipes please let us know. Either leave a comment on this post or tweet us your advice and tips on Twitter @HealthOrganicWe also find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/groups/healthorganicwellbeing/ 

Say Hello to Mushrooms

by Arpita Pani

Here at Health and Organic Wellbeing we have a great mushroom recipe for you courtesy of one of our team members Arpita Pani. Although before we get down to it lets hear some facts about the nutritional values the mushroom has. Mushrooms are considered to be one of the highest antioxidants ranking up alongside red pepper and spinach. That alone is a good enough reason to start eating more mushrooms.

If your still not sold you should also know that mushrooms are also high in fibre and a great source of protein therefore leaving you feeling fuller for longer. Which is good when it comes to those tempting snack times we all love so much. One of the most common forms of the mushroom is the white close-cup although there a few more versions of the vegetable that aren't far behind such as, button, open-cup and large.

The mushroom gets its colour from being grown in the dark and not many people know this but the vegetable continues to grow even after it is picked. Now enough of the facts it's time to hear Arpita Pani's recipe.

Arpita's quick mushroom fix:

350g of white button mushrooms rinse under cold water and slice in half.
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil gently heated in the pan.
Sauté mushrooms with 1/2 a teaspoon of salt and a pinch of ground black pepper.
Add 1 crushed garlic clove.
Cook for 4 minutes until mushrooms are brown.
Toast some olive bread.
Serve on plate with mushrooms and olive bread.
Bon apetite!

5 ways in which this dish is beneficial:

Mushrooms are a natural source of B vitamins with an 80g serving counting as one of your 5-a-day.
Mushrooms are also a natural source of selenium which is part of the body's antioxidant defence system.
They are naturally low in fat and calories.
They are also a good source of vitamin B5 which works with the body to release energy with from the food we eat.
They are a natural source of folic acid.

Therefore ensure you have mushrooms on your next shopping list to ensure a healthy nutritious meal.

ALSO stay tuned for more healthy nutritional recipes courtesy of Arpita Pani.

Hold on the Jargon!

By Samuel Alexander-Stubbings

Our fresh new look is coming soon, our talented web designers are finalising the design of our website and our fantastic organic products will be up for sale shortly. So don't miss out on your opportunity to be on your way to a healthier more energised lifestyle.

We here at Health and Organic Wellbeing source only the most natural and organic ingredients to add to our vitamin products. We don't believe in finding shortcuts, we only want the most natural and freshest otherwise we wont settle. We're sick and tired of hearing about products that offer false promise and claim to be beneficial to your health.

Hence why we see it as our mission to provide a clean fresh source of vitamin so that for once our clients can buy safely in the knowledge that they are getting a product that WILL benefit their healthy lifestyle routine and WONT be full of unsavoury ingredients. We also feel it is important to connect with like-minded companies who share our views on healthy living.

We don't want corporate jargon we want straight forward natural and organic advice. Don't feed us with a shed load of false facts and aggressive marketing just help us along our way to a healthy, happy lifestyle... is that so much to ask?

What Steps Do You Take?

By Samuel Alexander-Stubbings


The weekends here and I'm wondering what to do. Although I know one thing I want my weekend to involve walking, so lets hope the weather brightens up. You might be wondering why I want to work more walking into my weekend, therefore I'll bring you up to speed.

It all began during my last year at University when a tutor of mine gave us all a helpful tip to get over writers block. The advice was simple yet effective, go for a walk. It was as easy as that, she told us in time of need we should take to the streets and just walk. I was sceptical at first but it was only until I had got back from walking the dog and my mother said to me how refreshed I looked and informed me that taking the dog for a walk may well have something to do with it.

I sat and thought about it for a while and I realised she weren't wrong. From then on I used walking as a tool to refresh and gather my thoughts. By going for a walk I was able to draw up a mental to-do list in my head and organise my day. It's a great way to manage stress and also a great form of cardiovascular exercise. 

Walking after meals is a great way to let your food go down and kick-start your metabolism too. But more than anything you actually start to notice the benefits of walking the more you do it. By making the decision to walk more you are able to fit more exercise into your life with minimal effort and the best thing is it costs nothing and can be incorporated everywhere you go. Walk with friends, family, the dog or just on your own and as you do so you'll start to notice the improvements to your physical health and your state of mind.

This works for me anyway, so I am curious to know what your methods of de-stress are. We at Health and Organic Wellbeing want to know what it is you do when your feeling a little down in the dumps and need a little refresh?

Weather it's the gym, food, rest, socialising or abseiling please lets us know what it is that helps you in time of need?