I've been promoted! I introduce myself,

[Tibblington]

I have been charged with the post of Administrator to the Healthy Eating platform; I hope that I shall be able to make a useful and constructive contribution. I will introduce myself here as the profile page doesn’t seem to like me.

I am a retired engineer having now reached the ripe old age of 82 and take no medication except food as instructed by Hippocrates. I avoid manufactured food like the plague which includes the seed oils, (Sunflower, Rape seed etc., and the associated spreads) but eat a wide range of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and cheese. I make all of the wholemeal bread in the house and get our whole, unpasteurised milk direct from an organic dairy farm. We follow the recommendations as set out by the late Surgeon Captain T.L. Cleave FRCP who coined the name of the modern disease “The Saccharine Disease”; the over-consumption of refined carbohydrates. I invite you to read about him on the Internet.

Yesterday, while my wife did her shopping, I took a walk around our local street market with my camera and photographed some of the wonderful seasonal food which was available there. Many of the merchants actually grow their own produce and I counted ten that were registered organic producers.

Have you a favourite farmers’ market or street market near you? Perhaps you like a seasonal vegetable that is not featured in the photographs and lastly a tasty way of cooking and presenting vegetables with your meals.

What do you do to ensure a good supply of fruit throughout the year?

Do you have a kitchen garden and what do you grow?

I look forward to you all sharing your ideas and experiences.

[PhilFreeToAsk]

Congrats on your new career!!! A stepping stone to bigger things and maybe when you are 90 wouldn’t it be nice if you were our health minister and talk sense rather than pandering to big business?

I live in the London area and I envy your local markets. I wish they were down here. But, I do grow some of my own veg on a small scale and bake my own bread. The home grown veg keep me sane and realise that veg can actually have some taste. Cucumbers taste how I use to remember them when I was a small boy. One of my favourites is the overpowering smell from leeks just lifted from their beds.

It is a small garden but I grow organically: potatoes, onions, garlic, leeks, climbing beans, tomatoes, herbs, chives, cucumbers, courgettes, mint for teas and chillies. Using a no dig deep bed system it is surprising how much can be packed in. If I had more room then I would like to grow some brassicas like brussels or brocolli.

[Tibblington in reply to PhilFreeToAsk]

Hello PhilFreeToAsk. How refreshing to receive a reply like yours and to know that there are people out there who are taking their own life in hand. What a wonderful supply of ORGANIC vegetables which we know have more flavour. Give me a couple of raw carrots and I can tell you which is the organic one.

Have you tried the Doris Grant recipe for bread making which you can find at: healthscams.org.uk/bake-you... I use it all the time and and make two 800g loaves in just over an hour from start to finish; one goes in the freezer.

My wife is the gardener,(I'm the under-gardener), and she uses your system. We put a good layer of mulch on vacant beds in the late autumn and that restricts weed growth in the early spring.

Thank you for such a lovely reply; keep up the good work! Tibbly

[PhilFreeToAsk in reply to Tibblington]

I did try Doris Grant's method a long time ago. Probably got this wrong as it is from memory, but I think it was encouraged during wartime in 1940s because it required so little effort to make good bread.

I use mainly 90% wholegrain spelt/10% wholewheat flour and it does not seem to need a lot of kneading. I add seeds as I fancy. This month it is poppy seeds and sesame seeds. During the whole process, I probably knead the dough for about 3-4 minutes.

I leave the dough overnight in the fridge after advise from the baker at Redbournbury Watermill as it develops more flavour. This seems to be the case.

The great thing about no dig is a reduction in effort whilst creating good, fertile healthy soil - you just get nature to get on with it.

[Tibblington in reply to PhilFreeToAsk]

I don't think Doris Grant was that old although she is no longer with us. My wife thinks she died about 2000. Your bread sounds interesting; I must get some spelt grains and try it.

I only use 100% wholemeal and as we have a Kenwod Chef I mix it entirely in the machine with the dough hook. I recently bought some minature loaf tins so as to make rolls like little loaves. They look good on the guest's side plate.

We have three 1 metre cube compost bins built with concrete blocks; one being filled, one rotting and the third for use. It takes about 18 months to make compost that looks just like soil. We bought some Brandling worms about 25 years ago to do their work in the compost bin. We simply transfer a large lump into the new bin before filling it with all the goodies from the kitchen. They love coffee grouts.

[PhilFreeToAsk in reply to Tibblington]

I bake with Sharpham Park stoneground wholegrain Spelt Flour. Spelt bread has a different taste to wholemeal – less coarse and IMHO a superior taste. It also has a higher fibre content than other wholegrain spelt flour. (sharphampark.com/about-us/s....

[Tibblington in reply to PhilFreeToAsk]

The next time we go to the organic farm for our grain I'll get some Spelt grain, I know they grow it there. That will be September as we buy a year's supply at one time as the farm is just over an hour each way.

Hipprocrates said that it matters that the flour be coarse or fine. He suggests that we should be eating coarse food so I hope that your flour is not too fine.

Very interesting exchanges, thank you.

[cure in reply to Tibblington]

Ever tried Emmer wheat PhilFreeToAsk ??

Is it available there???

[Tibblington in reply to cure]

I've never heard of it. I see that it's a domesticised wild wheat with a particularly strong hull making it more difficult to separate. I'll ask our farmer friend the next time we buy wheat grain.

[cure in reply to Tibblington]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmer

Emmer is widely used in India... it is said that it has got high amylose and hence more beneficial for gut flora..

here is one link where some more discussion about emmer wheat

healthunlocked.com/diabetes...

[Tibblington in reply to cure]

Thanks for that. I had seen that it was a hybrid of a wild plant.

[PhilFreeToAsk in reply to Tibblington]

I think it is quite coarse as it is not a uniform colour with coloured specks in it.

[cure in reply to PhilFreeToAsk]

Are u talking about emmer wheat PhilFreeToAsk

[PhilFreeToAsk in reply to cure]

No. This applies to the coarseness of the Spelt flour that I buy. Sorry for ther confusion but I think my reply got into the wrong thread.

[cure in reply to PhilFreeToAsk]

its ok PhilFreeToAsk emmer wheat is commonly used in my part of world..

it is tasty...

Traditionally,we eat flat bread (chapati) also there is one special dish called Puran Poli (you can find out more details on web) which sweet stuffed flat bread.

Emmer wheat is most suitable for both...it has got more elasticity than normal wheat

[Tibblington in reply to PhilFreeToAsk]

Sounds like good stuff.

[Tibblington in reply to PhilFreeToAsk]

I have found that Doris Grant died in 2004 at the age of 98. By all accounts her bread recipe was created totally by accident as so frequently happened. She replicated her mistake and found how well the process worked. I made two 800g loaves upon returning from shopping and before lunch today.

[Activity2004 Administrator]

I go to two different Farmer's Markets in Montgomery County, MD. Lots of fun!

[Zest]

Hi Tibbly,

Congratulations on your promotion! Great that the Healthy Eating forum has some lovely Administrators in yourself and Activity2004 .

I like your photos of the fresh produce - they look great!

You've listed a few questions to think about:

I do buy fruit throughout the year, trying to buy it locally when I can but also wanting a good price.

I've got a few seedlings growing on the window sill at the moment - including some butternut squash, aubergine and parsley - exciting to see them growing already.

Hope you're having a great week.

Zest

[cure in reply to Zest]

Congratulations both of you Activity2004 and Tibblington

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to cure]

Thank you, cure !

[Tibblington in reply to Zest]

Hello Zest, A lovely reply - thank you. We grow mustard and cress on the kitchen window cill so that we can just cut a bunch to go on the salad. Tibbly

[Zest in reply to Tibblington]

Mustard and cress, I've not had any of that since I was a child.

[cure in reply to Zest]

and mustard oil is traditional cooking oil in eastern India...

almost all over northern India Mustard used as vegetable... called as 'Sarson ka saag' very tasty dish..

[Zest in reply to cure]

Hi cure , I looked up the 'Sarson ka saag' recipe and it does look very tasty.

Zest

[cure in reply to Tibblington]

we in India traditionally feed cress seeds to nursing mothers for better milk...

sweet balls made of cress seeds are lovely

[Tibblington]

Hello cure, That's very interesting about the use of cress seeds for nursing mothers. Do you happen to know what they contain to have such beneficial effects? It's always useful to know of a treatment which can be classified as homeopathic. I always get my advice from a homeopathic doctor - not a homeopath. The doctor will have followed traditional training and qualification before specialising in hoeopathy. Thanks for your useful contribution. Tibbly

[BadHare]

Tibbington, where are you?

[SMITHYC Health Champion]

Hi there

I have a local fruit and veg delivery once a fortnight which includes eggs and most are double yolkers.

My butcher/baker make spelt flour and honey baps for me. I buy all my meat from him as I know he sources it from local farmers.

Its difficult to get british strawberries etc in winter. Where do you get your berries from in winter. I have a friend who only eats british and seasonal fruit and veg.

[Tibblington in reply to SMITHYC]

We don't have many berries during the winter but we do cheat occasionally and get frozen raspberries or mixed red fruit in the supermarket. We have stored a lot of plums and apricots in our freezer. My wife cuts them in two, removes the stones and they go straight in the freezer. Tomatoes from the garden go straight in the freezer as they are after washing. When you come to use them hold them under the hot tap for 20 seconds or so and the skins just lift off. No fruit is sweetened while cooking, if it's but sharp we add a mashed banana.

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Tibblington]

Sounds like a good idea.

[G1nny]

I grow onions, garlic, okra, cucumbers if it’s not too hot, green beans and bell peppers. I always have tomato plants but seldom get one, the squirrels get them. I try to grow zucchini but the squash bugs always ruin them. I also grow malzabar spinach. This year the weather did not cooperate after a spring that was very cool we had 40 days of over 100 degrees. Hopefully I’ll reduce for the fall. (Live in Texas)

[Tibblington in reply to G1nny]

I like the sound of your garden. My wife was very successful with tomatoes and courgettes this year and grew a few lettuces from big seedlings bought in the market. We are both in our 80s so don't have too big a productive garden.

Our son lives in-land on the border between North and South Carolina, he used to have trouble with squirrels but his Jack Russell soon sorted them out.

We too had a lot of very hot days rising to 35°C or 37°C with a high humidity. I dread to see our water bill this year.

[G1nny in reply to Tibblington]

Hope your son doing ok through Florence! My nephew lives near Raleigh and he still has electricity.

[Tibblington in reply to G1nny]

We spoke to him last evening by Skype and the storm was reduced to a bit of wind with some rain. It had blown itself out. He's in Greenville, S.C. well in land.

[G1nny in reply to Tibblington]

So glad to hear that.

[Brightfeather]

Lovely to have you here . Look forwardto your posts. Unfortunately I do not grow my own food. I have a very good farmers market near me in north london. However I have been veggie and then vegan since I was 21. I have been eating mostly organically since then. Wholefoods, except when I am lazy and eat a processed vegan burger. However, I have never taken any medicine - except when I had an op - and rely on herbal medicine and homoeopathy. Do you know the work of dr norman shealy?

Wishing you a lovely day and thank you forvtaking on the job ,😊

[Tibblington in reply to Brightfeather]

Hello Brightfeather - what a lovely pen name!

I'm sorry to say that my promotional post was written a long time ago and I have since given it up. That hasn't stopped me from continuing to be part of the discussion group.

I don't know Dr. Norman Shealy so I will look him up, there's bound to be something about him on the Internet. A very frank and honest book has recently been published by Dr.James Le Fanu entitled "Too Many Pills" which both my wife and I have read and find it shocking but certainly with plenty of substance. Our son in America says that it reflects well on the situation there too. You can read a review of his book at: healthscams.org.uk/too-many... I think you'll find it interesting. There is also an interesting report about homoeopathy which you'll find listed under the menu "More" on the same site.

We live in S.W. France and are blessed with street markets in our nearest town every Wednesday and Saturday when there are as many as nine traders selling only organic food that they have produced themselves. We buy our organic raw milk there produced from Tarantaise cows which come from the Pyreneese.

Although I am not vegi or vegan I understand the point of view and see no problem provided that food intake contains all that is needed. I don't like any of the Soya derivatives as they have questionable production methods and is manufactured food.

Best wishes.