Tuesday 16 January 2018

An insight into food waste with FoodSaver

Everyone has their own reasons for becoming plant based. I will be 100% honest and say my initial 'why' when taking on the Veganuary challenge was not because of the environmental damage around us, it was because of my health.

However, this has definitely changed and I have since become much more aware of the impact that we have on our planet. New research carried out by the FoodSaver team backs up why we need to start thinking more about our actions and the easy things we can change, such as minimising our food waste. 




The Facts

Brits throw away nearly 2.5 billion food items a year. With each person throwing away an average of four food items a month, surveys showed that adults waste around 3000 food items in their lifetime. 

The most commonly wasted food is lettuce as over a 1/3 of our population regularly dispose of it. However, possibly a good thing is that the surveys showed that 87% of people disregard 'best before' dates, which let's face it - many vegetables often last far beyond this. Although 87% is a huge portion of our population, we are still wasting so much food. So why is this?

Sealing up the remainder of my crushed potatoes using FoodSaver Fresh

Interestingly enough, one of the biggest reasons for food waste is due to the confusion over how to store it correctly. Some of the top MYTHS were:

  • food should be left to cool before storing (73%)[1]
  • fresh, raw carrots are more nutritious than cooked carrots (61%)[2]
  • if food smells ok, then it's fine to eat (35%)[3]
  • 'five second rule' is true..! (25%)[4]

How do people think that the 'five second rule' is true?! 

On the other hand, even I was convinced that food should be left to cool before storing! With this being the biggest misconception, it was interesting to find out that leaving food out at room temperature actually encourages bacterial growth. Research shows that food should not be left out for longer than two hours as after this time bacteria begins to multiply rapidly. If you are worried about putting hot liquids such as soup in the fridge, then they suggest to transfer it to several smaller containers to help it cool more quickly. Makes sense. 

Another fun fact was that a quarter of Brits admitted to having arguments with their partners about how to store their food?! Wow. Talk about first world problems..! 

Whatever your motivation for reducing your food waste (even if it is to reduce your domestic arguments) one sure way to help is using FoodSaver Fresh vacuum sealing storage system. 



Quick lunch: smoked salmon, all the veggies and mashed parsnip
FoodSaver Fresh

If you haven't previously read my posts about FoodSaver Fresh then you can do so here. I go into detail about what it is and how it's been a huge help in my meal prep and food storage, as well as helping me to save so much time and money.

And if you're looking for more meal prep inspo or how I use it to keep food fresh for up to twice as long, then take a look at my week of food here.


So this is just a tiny insight into food waste, which focuses on an easy way that we can minimise what we throw out by using vacuum storage. Of course there are many other avenues we could look at and I'd love to hear yours! Let me know either in the comments or on my Instagram @jesssriv.

Jess x


References:


[4]http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/homehygiene/Pages/does-the-five-second-rule-really-work.aspx






N.B. This post was kindly sponsored by FoodSaver but as always, all opinions are my own and 100% honest 
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Monday 15 January 2018

roasted coconut cinnamon almond butter [vg, gf, sf]

I first made my own nut butter a few years ago, purely out of curiosity - were home made nut butters really worth the extra effort? My consensus after making my first batch of roasted coconut cinnamon almond butter was YES. Yes, it bloody was!



I've experimented with a few flavour combinations in the past but this is definitely my favourite. It was inspired by one of my favourite nut butter companies - you all know the one (and if you don't then you haven't lived). However, it's made with no added sweetener or sugar as I find the coconut and cinnamon alone is sweet enough. 

I never thought to post the recipe but one of my best friends moved to Dubai and can't get Pip and Nut out there (get the violins out) so P, this one's for you my love. Let's just hope you agree that IMO it just about pip's your fav almond butter to the post - excuse the sh*t pun.




Ingredients: 
(makes a small jar full) 

  • 2 cups raw, unsalted almonds 
  • 4 tbsp desiccated coconut 
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon 
  • 2 big pinches of pink salt 

Method:
  1. Spread the almonds onto a roasting tray and place in the oven for 7 minutes at 180ºC, turning half way
  2. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before placing into a food processor
  3. Add the coconut, cinnamon and pink salt and blend (it really is that simple!)
  4. Once blended, pour into a sterile and sealable jar. I keep mine on the worktop so that it's still a nice consistency to enjoy straight up (rather than being solidified if you were to keep it in the fridge). It should last about a week - I'm yet to have enough self control to see if it will actually keep for longer than this so if anyone finds out, let me know..! lol



N.B. The almonds will go through several stages: almond crumb, almond flour, almond paste, a ball of almond mush (yes they will just fly around the food processor in a ball for a bit) and THEN eventually almond butter!

The key is having patience and sticking with it because I promise you it's worth it.

You may have to keep stopping the food processor and scraping down the sides periodically, especially at the beginning when the mixture is quite firm. So no leaving your almonds unattended, sorry! It will take around 6-8 minutes of blending depending on how powerful your food processor is. Mine isn't very good, as you can tell from the timing. But if you're lucky enough to own a Vitamix then you'll be done in less than 5 minutes!

Enjoy,

Jess x



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Friday 5 January 2018

Listen to your gut (and DNA): Atlas Biomed




Have you ever wondered if you're at risk of hereditary illness? Ever wondered if your diet is not only fuelling disease processes but also preventing you from making progress with your fitness goals?

I know I have.

I'm also sure that if you're reading this, you're aware that everyone is different and there are reasons why some diets work for one person but can have the complete opposite effect for another. We've all heard the classic lines, 'it's just good genes' or 'they look like that because they have good genetics'. But how true is this? To what extent can understanding your DNA actually affect your nutrition and training?

This is where Atlas Biomed comes into play.



What is it?

Atlas Biomed is a personalised health company who provide two at-home tests - DNA and microbiome analysis, which together provide a detailed analysis of your overall wellbeing. The results of the tests are uploaded onto your online account with recommendations on the exercise, diet and lifestyle that may suit you best, all based on the findings from analysing your own DNA and gut flora.


Atlas DNA test shows:

HEALTH
  • an overview of your risk to 17 of the most common diseases
  • carrier status for 283 hereditary conditions and lifestyle advice for how to help prevent them from developing 

NUTRITION
  • analysis of your metabolism 
  • taste preferences that influence your food choices 
  • predisposition to unbalanced vitamin and mineral levels  
  • analysis of the most common food intolerances 
  • dietary advice based on all the above 

SPORTS
  • strength and muscle growth potential 
  • endurance 
  • genetic risk of sports injuries 
  • recommended length of training sessions and rest periods 


Atlas Microbiome Test shows:
  • if you have a balanced diet that allows your microbiome to function optimally 
  • the ratio of bacteria in your gut and whether you have enough of the right ones to synthesise vitamins B and K
  • if you're consuming enough fibre 
  • how your microbiome compares with those who have type II diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, heart disease or those who are obese 
  • which foods to incorporate to help increase the diversity of healthy bacteria in your gut



What I wanted to know and what you're probably thinking:

You've got all my most detailed information, so how are you keeping it secure?!

I was reassured that Atlas Biomed opperates a strict Information Governance Policy, which incorporates the European Data Protection Regulation. All data is encrypted as soon as it is received and is anonymised on the Atlas database. Therefore, only the Atlas servers can read the information. We are the only people that can request access to our own information and can request removal of all of our data from the Atlas server at any point, as stated in the Data Protection Regulation.

How accurate are the tests?

The technology used for Atlas Biomed is 99.9% accurate. Data is analysed using DNA microarray technology from Illumina. Illumina are at the forefront of in vitro diagnostics and operate in a certified EU laboratory (accredited with ISO 15189 - unsure what this means but sounds fancy)



My Experience 

I completed the tests the day after they were delivered and it took around 8 weeks for the results to come back. I actually found the site quite hard to navigate as there are so many tabs to click on and I found myself missing some info and then re-reading others! Once I actually understood all my results here's a few of the most interesting things I found out..


DNA test

I received the DNA test back first and it came with two main suggestions:
- limit food rich in sodium because I'm genetically prone to high blood pressure
- limit HIIT as I'm at risk of bronchial asthma

The above were true - high bp and asthma do run in my family BUT what I feel was not taken into consideration was my initial baseline readings. I actually have a naturally low blood pressure, which is partly due to HIIT! So:
a) I've been told by consultants to include more salt because of my bp being low..
b) I love salt so would massively struggle to cut it out..!

It also stated "avoid HIIT as it can be just as bad for your health as doing no sports at all" - debatable. Yet again, this is one piece of advice I'm not sure I will take BUT it's good to be aware of the 'risk' either way. I don't do a lot of HIIT anymore but I do do some and it's my preferred method of cardio. IMO I think doing one high intensity class a week is more beneficial for my health than doing no cardio at all, especially considering my sedentary job.

Of course Atlas Biomed do base it purely on existing disease prevalence, genetics and the lifestyle questionnaire you fill out. So in a way you do have to take some suggestions with a pinch of salt (excuse the pun)

I was also told I'm at high risk of several other diseases based on close relatives already experiencing them. For these, Atlas Biomed suggested some lifestyle changes. I also really liked the fact that they included a scientific paper with each disease process to reinforce the data and suggestions they were making.

In addition to the above, I also found out some pretty cool things. One of them being that I am 24% African?! Um whaaaat?! As if my mix of Indian/Ukrainian wasn't strange enough!

Probably one of the most useful tools was the genetic predisposition to some low vitamin levels as shown in the screen shot below.


My predisposition to vitamin deficiencies 

So clicking on the tab for low levels of B6 for example, it displayed some information about this water soluble vitamin and a scientific paper about how my genetic variant has been linked to low B6 levels. It also gave some suggestions to incorporate foods that are high in B6 such as walnuts, cauliflower, carrots, tomatoes and avocado - all of which I already have almost daily, which is good!

One area that I think could be improved was the iron recommendations. There was no mention of the difference between heme and non-heme iron, which I think is particularly important considering I have a predominantly plant based diet. Put simply, non-heme iron is primarily found in plants and most iron supplements. Heme iron is primarily found in meat. Non-heme iron is therefore what I generally consume in the form of legumes, rice, oats, nuts and green leafy veg. It is harder for the body to absorb non-heme iron as it has to be converted first. Therefore, some mention of this to people that are not initially aware of the difference could be much more beneficial.


Microbiome test

So apparently my microbiome is Danish..! How the heck that evolved from my Indian/Ukrainian/African roots, I have no idea! I also got told my microbiome was that of a 'village peasant' lol. As insulting as that initially sounds, once I read through the literature provided by Atlas Biomed, it turned out to be a good thing!

So they state that microbiomes are generally organised into three types, which have been established after analysing thousands of diets across the world:
1. Urban citizen (a typical western diet high in simple sugars and animal fat)
2. Indigene (common in isolated tribes such as Amazonians and high in plant fibre with little sugar, meat or fat)
3. Village peasant (common in those that consume a lot of starchy fibre and often associated with a healthy gut)

Atlas Biomed gave several suggestions of foods I should incorporate to help build upon the already good colonies of bacteria in my gut. I actually sent off my samples before my transition to a more plant based diet so it would be really interesting to see how these results would compare if I was to take the test again!



So that's a short summary of my experience using Atlas Biomed. Of course, every test has its flaws and I've highlighted the main ones I came across. However, on the whole I think it's a brilliant tool to understand your own DNA and microbiome. This is particularly useful if you're struggling with a certain aspect of your training or diet (there were training recommendations for me but I am actually already doing them, hence why I didn't detail it above!)

I would definitely look at repeating the microbiome test in a few months, as particularly with Veganuary coming up, I'd want to check my vitamin and mineral levels along with any change in gut flora after a whole month on a vegan diet!


Jess x







N.B. This post was kindly sponsored by Atlas Biomed but as always, opinions are my own and 100% honest
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