A short post today ? We have been fortunate to enjoy a few sunnier days. The garden birds have certainly been happy about it, and it's been lovely to listen to their birdsong. This beautiful cherry blossom and blue tit was photographed "in a brief moment of sunshine" in Overton, Hampshire, UK photo credit Deb Heath Wishing all readers a happy and peaceful day. All the best Jan ..read more

Before I start this post, Eddie and I just want to say thank you to all our readers who visit this blog, and a special thank you for all who take time to leave a comment ... you are all appreciated ? Also, you may have already seen the post here telling about the unexpected but lovely email we received from Anuj the the Founder of Feedspot informing us that our humble blog has been rated at number seventeen of one hundred 'Best Diabetes Blogs'. Our thanks to Feedspot for the thumbs up, and all who sent their congratulations. The list of best blogs is here Now, on we go with today's ..read more

Franziska Spritzler RD CDE writes: "Real food is whole, single-ingredient food. It is mostly unprocessed, free of chemical additives, and rich in nutrients. In essence, it's the type of food human beings ate exclusively for thousands of years. However, since processed foods became popular in the 20th century, the Western diet has shifted toward ready-to-eat meals. While processed foods are convenient, they also harm your health. In fact, following a diet based on real food may be one of the most important things you can do to maintain good health and a high quality of life. Here are 21 rea ..read more

Well, you can't say there isn't variety on this blog. Whether it be articles and studies about diabetes and living the low carb lifestyle, to a wide variety of recipe suggestions, and even wildlife photography - there is variety - and they do say 'variety is the spice of life'. But how about this one? How to use coffee grounds in your garden – 3 ways to benefit plants and improve soil quality Wondering how to use coffee grounds in your garden? Well, it turns out that your caffeine addiction might just be your garden's saving grace and the next step for upping your allotment's sustainability ..read more

Goodness me, it's the weekend again! The days of the week seem to go by so quickly. Today, for a change I'm sharing five random facts that may amaze you!  There is an average of 50,000 spiders per acre in green areas. Some male songbirds sing more than 2,000 times each day. For every human in the world there are one million ants. If you keep a goldfish in a dark room, it will become pale! The sentence “The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.” uses every letter of the alphabet.  Did you (like me) check that last fact out? Whatever your plans are this weekend I wish you a ..read more

I think many will agree that this Mary Berry recipe for a creamy paprika chicken is one that will please. A quick and comforting meal perfect served with young spinach or green beans. You could also add some plain boiled rice or creamy mash, however, the lower carb alternative cauliflower rice is very nice. Ingredients Serves Four 4 small chicken breasts, without skin or bone 150ml/5¼fl oz double (heavy) cream For the marinade 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp runny honey 1 tbsp paprika 1 tbsp grainy mustard To serve - suggestions young spinach or green beans boiled rice, cooked or crea ..read more

If you were born in April you are blessed with two birth flowers, daisies and fragrant sweet peas. Daisies are everywhere, popping up along roadsides, in fields, and gardens, and they are popular for playing the classic “he loves me, he loves me not” game. Sweet peas’ with their colourful petals cluster at the ends of long stems, fill the air with the delightful scent of spring. This post shares some facts about sweet peas. If you haven't already seen my earlier post about the Daisy, you can read it here Sweet peas enrich the land they grow in. They possess the unique ability to grab nit ..read more

Why not Go Greek Midweek with this Greek Style Roasted Mushrooms with Red Pepper, Herbs and Feta side dish. Its vegetarian, tasty and low in carbs ? These Greek-Style Roasted Mushrooms with Red Pepper, Herbs, and Feta are perfect for a meatless side dish. It's low carb, keto and gluten free. The dish is termed 'Greek Style' because of the herbs and feta used, you can read more about feta cheese here. Ingredients (makes about four servings) 4 T extra virgin olive oil 2 T fresh mint, finely chopped 2 T fresh oregano, finely chopped (Other fresh herbs of your choice could be used.) 3 T ..read more

Well the weekend came and zoom it went! The weather in our part of the UK wasn't too bad with Sunday being a lovely day. In fact out and about people were sitting in their gardens albeit with a light coat on! Sunshine just lifts the spirits doesn't it ? Some parts of the UK were not so fortunate with Storm Kathleen bringing some very wet and windy weather and flights from some airports were grounded. Today (8th April 2024) we also have the prospect of a solar eclipse which should be visible for those across North America and other countries (more details here) while here in the UK y ..read more

QUICHE ORIGINS Although quiche is now a classic dish of French cuisine, quiche actually originated in Germany, in the medieval kingdom of Lothringen, under German rule, and which the French later renamed Lorraine. The word ‘quiche’ is from the German ‘Kuchen’, meaning cake. The original ‘quiche Lorraine’ was an open pie with a filling consisting of an egg and cream custard with smoked bacon. It was only later that cheese was added to the quiche Lorraine. Add onions and you have quiche Alsacienne. The bottom crust was originally made from bread dough, but that has long since evolved into a sho ..read more