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Part of a continuing series. This week, chow mein cooked in dragon fire:

With thanks to Ben for spotting it.

our man in Kenya

Last week, we told you that our JT was off to Kenya to help out Excellent Development, an NGO supported by the innocent foundation.

He's been having a few computer issues out there (which is ironic, seeing as he is one of our top IT brains) so until he figures a way to work the blog from Kenya, we'll be posting his blogs for him.

Here's his first update:

After a good flight over, I was met by Francis, one of  Excellent Development Kenya's (EDK) drivers. He had a really relaxed manner which comes in handy when you are driving on the Mombassa Road to Kola. The Mombassa road is hard going and a 4x4 struggles with the ditches which are commonplace.

I found this surprising seeing as it is the major link from the coast into East Africa. Strangely though, as you get further away from the airport, it gets better and better. So by the time we hit Machakos, the main town in the area, we were properly motoring along.

Once we got to the EDK HQ in Kola, I was shown round my new home and got to meet some of the people who work for EDK. Doug is going to be my main contact whilst I am here. He's an accountant by trade but jacked it all in to work in the charitable sector in Kenya. 

He took me down to see the nearest sand dam to the HQ, which was built by the local self help groups with the help of some volunteers from the Rosslyn School in Nairobi. Sand dams are what EDK specialise in. The dam enables a local community to have a store of clean water between rainy seasons. Since the last rainy season in December only lasted a couple of days, lots of areas in Kenya are in real danger of famine.

Later in the day, I went with the school group to visit the largest dam in the area which also doubles as a swimming pool. As soon as you pull up in your car, the local children arrive from nowhere, seemingly sprouting from the bushes. They are great, really small and really smiley. Some say hello then get shy when you talk back to them, but saying that my Kikamba isn't too hot.

Or maybe it was just my accent.

Definitely got to work more on my languages so I'll let you know how I'm getting on next time.

Auf wiedersehen for now.

JT

brain food

Food for the brain is something I'll never forget as it was the subject of my thesis many moons ago.

Natalie posted a question here the other day, to ask me what the best brain food was during exam time.

Just like the rest of your body, your brain needs the right type of food and drink to work properly. So whether you're revising for exams or working extra hard, it's especially important to make sure that you get the right sort of nutrients and stay properly hydrated.

   

If there's one thing I'd tell you to do more of, it's to make sure you drink enough fluids (not including alcohol, of course). This is because water acts like a transport system in your body, delivering nutrients to the brain and getting rid of toxins.

If your brain isn't fully hydrated, then the system can't work properly and neither can you. Studies have shown that being properly hydrated helps with concentration and mental alertness. Which is always useful stuff.

Eating enough carbohydrates (carbs) is also very important for the brain. Carbs get broken down into glucose, which is the the brain's favourite type of fuel. If your glucose levels fluctuate too much then you may find that it difficult to concentrate.

Carbs also help enhance the absorption an amino acid called tryptophan which is converted into something called serotonin. Serotonin is the chemical that makes you feel calm, relaxed and happy all at the same time. So it's definitely worth stocking up on some.

As well as water and carbs, essential fats like omega-3 are brilliant for optimum brain performance. A lack of omega-3 can contribute to poor memory, depression and ADHD. You find omega-3 in oily fish like salmon, sardines, trout, tuna and herring. So a tuna sandwich on brown or wholemeal bread is perfect brain food.

Getting enough protein is also crucial as protein is essential in making the natural chemicals called neurotransitters (which are vital for the thinking process).

And you also need enough vitamins and minerals to fine tune the old grey matter to perfection. The B-vitamin complex helps to release energy from food whilst Vitamins A, C and E are all important anti-oxidants which may preserve memory.

That might all sound like quite a complicated mix but it's not if you eat a well balanced diet. For example, eating one of our veg pots with some cheese or fish and washing it down with a smoothie or orange juice (to help hydrate you and give you some vit C) is just what your brain is after.

Exam wise, if your exams are in the morning, always always remember to have breakfast. A bowl of porridge with some linseeds and a glass of smoothie will get you through the tough questions without suffering from brain drain. And if you're in a rush or trying to cram in some last minute revision, our yoghurt, oats, raspberries and blueberries thickie are spot on for an on-the-go breakfast.

Hope that all helps.

Best of luck in your exams, Natalie.

And feel free to drop me a line about any nutritional questions you might have.

Bye for now,

Dr. Shilps

healthy january?

How was your January? Full of squat thrusts and mung bean facials? Or did it consist of duvets, leftover Quality Street and a daily dose of Master Chef?

Fruit Towers has been filled with people doing healthy stuff this month so we thought we'd applaud some of them and their virtuous ways. 

Tansy gave up chocolate (apparently Tunnocks wafers don't count) and fully intends to celebrate by downing that Double Decker on Monday (it's been sat on her desk all month, looking at her with come hither eyes).

Sarah W is climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in February so in addition to lots of training walks, she's given up the booze to help her get up the mountain a bit quicker.

 

Mark G has done more exercise this month than in his previous thirty or so Januarys.

In addition to a week of hardcore skiing, he's cycled to work everyday (a 16 mile round trip), faithfully lifted heavy weights three times a week with Joe and scored countless goals for the Goldfork Toads on Monday nights. (As a result of all this exercise his face has gone a bit green too, like the Hulk.)

But the man of the month has to be Reece, who not only managed to keep up his 10-smoothies-a day habit for the whole month but also continued with his barefoot jogging, despite the cold. And the snow.

It's the biomechanically superior way to run.

Allegedly.

the cupboard that time forgot

Here's a photo of one of our kitchen cupboards. It seems to be the place where all of the odds and ends hang out.

What should we do with this stuff? Maybe try to come up with an exciting and revolutionary new smoothie recipe?

Please help us decide, and while you do, we shall treat ourselves to a refreshing lunchtime can of gin and tonic.

the hard sell

We weren't aware that we'd begun selling our stuff in Africa, so we were pretty surprised to receive this picture from one of our drinkers, Eva Hunt. "I went to Tanzania over the Christmas holidays and saw this Innocent Shop in Moshi at the foothills of Kilimanjaro," she wrote, "check it our for yourselves".

It's a shop, and it's got innocent written on it. So it's an innocent shop. But it probably doesn't sell our stuff. So it's not really an innocent shop. But it is. Because the sign definitely says innocent shop. I don't know. It's beyond me. I haven't been this confused since I last watched Donnie Darko.

We might be able to get some answers soon though, because our JT just so happens to be heading out to Kenya on Monday to help out with the work done by Excellent Development, an NGO supported by the innocent foundation.

JT is a bit of an IT whizz (think pasty British legs, a thick brummie accent and a complete inability to ice skate) so he's going to be spending two weeks providing IT assistance to the project and seeing how things are going. He'll be keeping us posted with a few blogs of his own whilst he's out there, so keep your eyes peeled for those.

He's going to be in Kenya for most of the trip but the brave soul, like many IT workers before him, has decided to trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro on his way back. We did tell him he could probably find a way round the mountain, but they make 'em pretty stubborn in Codsall.

Armed with his innocent T-shirt, JT's going to see if he can't buy a drink from the innocent shop in Moshi (perhaps even a smoothies?) before he begins his ascent. We'll be sure to stick it up on our blog if he manages it.

Thanks again for sending us that picture Eva. Should any of you happen to see any more these mysterious innocent shops out there on your travels, do send us snap, we'd love to see them.

gluten

 

Lots of you have been asking about gluten so this is what we'll be chatting about this week.

Gluten is a protein that's made up of two proteins - gliadin and glutenin - which are cojoined with starch. You find it in wheat, rye and barley and it's the stuff that gives dough its elasticity. This is what helps give that lovely, chewy texture to bread and cakes.

Gluten is an important source of protein worldwide and also has other functions, such as acting as a stabilizing agent in things like tomato ketchup.

Whilst it's just a natural protein, some people have an intolerance to it and this is known as coeliac disease. Your small intestine are full of tiny finger like tubes called villi which help you to absorb nutrients from your food. If you have coeliac disease, that means your villi have flattened and your body therefore can't get all the goodness from your food. This is  something called malabsorption. Coeliac disease results from an immune reaction to gluten and there's still a lot to be learnt how or why gluten can harm the intestine in some people.

Now, fruit does contain small amounts of protein but it's not gluten. Which means all our fruit smoothies are gluten free. Our yoghurt, oats, raspberries and blueberries thickie is the only drink recipie which contains gluten.

In terms of our veg pots, the only recipes which have gluten in them are our Moroccan squash tagine (which contains cous cous made out of semonlina flour) and our Tuscan bean stew, which contains farro. All our other veg pots are all gluten free.

As ever, if you've got any questions, just drop me a line.

Bye for now,

Dr. Shilps

win your own fruit garden

January.

Rain. Grey. More rain. Not much incentive to go outside.

Thankfully, the good people at Rocket Gardens are a jolly sort and have given us a very good reason to get out, keep fit and assuage our biscuit cravings by doing a spot of gardening.

   

You see, right now is the perfect time of year to start planting soft fruit in preparation for crumbles, summer puds and jam making.

And they've very kindly given us 10 of their compact fruit gardens and 10 of their large fruit gardens to give away. 

All you need to do to bag yourself one is tell us your most memorable fruit pie/crumble/pudding experience.

Post your answers below by Monday 26th January and come next autumn, you could be running your very own black market fruit pie operation (with a nice sideline in preserves).

(This competition has now closed.

Congratualtions to Big Tom, Sammy, Karen, Rachael, Susan F, Ian, Soo, Julie Lee, Steph, Emma, Lulu, Stephen Armstrong, Esther, Sarah Bruch, Anita, Ook, Davkt, Simone, Lindsay and Abby Bookham. Gardens on their way to you very very soon).

extreme saving

 

Apparently, this week is the week we are all most likely to be skinter than a monkey with no nuts*.

That's in addition to it being credit crunch, incessant rain and biscuit ban month (a.k.a January).

But rather than succumb to Bleak Week, just tell us your most extreme money saving tips and we'll send the top 5 answers a box of smoothies, a couple of pennies to rub together and a song for your heart.

Post your answers below by Monday 26th January to win some instant joy.

*according to some survey somewhere.

(This competition has now closed. Winners to be announced on Wednesday 28th January).

pile o'people

We begin the week with a blurry photo of a human pyramid, taken at 9.15am this morning at our place. Little Carla's on top.