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Day: 26 August 2015

Stonewall event to be held at North Campus

Written by Charlie Spargo on . Posted in News.

LGBT+ charity Stonewall will hold a panel discussion with the support of the University of Manchester’s LGBT+ staff network All Out this Sunday, as part of Manchester Pride.

Stonewall, in collaboration with the Albert Kennedy Trust—helping homeless LGBT+ young people—the LGBT Foundation, and Sparkle—the national transgender celebration event—will hold Proud in Manchester on Sunday at 1:30pm in the Renold Building on North Campus.

It forms part of Pride’s annual Superbia cultural programme, which holds events within and around the Pride celebrations, including but not limited to comedy, film and sport.

Panellists from each of the organisations will discuss what Pride means to them, best practice in the city, and issues facing the LGBT+ community.

This year, the university’s theme for Manchester Pride is #Devotion. Staff and students have been posing with placards explaining their devotion to the university and the cause of equality.

The All Out network at the university aims to support and celebrate the University of Manchester’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans staff members.

A little advice for a happy, healthy life

Written by Elena Gibbs on . Posted in News.

I’ve always been interested in food, and over the past year, my advertised culinary endeavours have lead me to value the importance of food education. I had a vague idea of what was healthy, but I wanted to know specifically about nutrition. If I’m aiming towards a career in this field, learning the facts is necessary—both for my own health and the information I provide to friends and readers.

What I have learnt is that if you are going to put something into your body, at least some of it might as well be good for you. Good for you by no means has to translate as boring or tasteless. Roast veg and chana dal prove this. When I first scanned the list of acceptable ‘whole foods’ I was a little daunted by the lack of sugar. I used to be a chocolate addict, proudly claiming that I couldn’t go a day without it. Now I don’t even crave chocolate—because I allow myself to have it whenever I want.

Eating healthily is not about deprivation or restriction.

You can pretty much eat whatever you want, whenever you want. And you’ll probably find eventually that you don’t want—you’re too full from all those nutritious ingredients. The mentality that you are allowed to eat also seems to work in a reverse psychology kind of way; everyone wants what they can’t have, so if you can have it, it’s less desirable.

Here is the list of whole foods ingredients to generally follow. If you’re like me, this won’t be too different from your normal shopping list, I had to include more fruit (I actually didn’t like fruit before and had to teach myself—gagging on a banana on the train because of the texture…)

Complex Carbohydrates

…As opposed to ‘simple carbohydrates’ such as refined white bread, pasta, and rice, which cause a sharp increase in blood sugar causing the body to crave more food. This leads to the cycle of sugar addiction which is often the major problem in gaining weight and other health problems. Instead, rather than restricting yourself with a no-carb diet, swap those pieces of cardboard nutritional value for wholegrains: Brown rice, wholemeal bread, beans, pulses and vegetables.

Protein

Protein should be a part of every meal or snack and is not limited to meat as a source. I have recently become a vegetarian and do not notice the absence. Whole food sources of protein are: Eggs, yoghurt, cottage cheese, peas, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, grain, quinoa. Soya and tofu are also in this list but are not generally something I use.

Fat

Don’t be scared of fat! It’s okay when it’s coming from the right source. I probably eat on average 2 – 3 tablespoons of nut butter, and extra handfuls of nuts throughout the day. As long as you replace the source of fat in your diet with the right things, rather than just eating them on top of the bad fat (i.e. stirring a handful of nuts into your melted Dairy Milk bar and ice cream) you will be fine.

Butter is also absolutely fine and nothing to be scared of, a little on toast is good for you, heaped tablespoons directly into the mouth is not. (Who does this anyway?) And, like I said before, the lack of restriction will help you to avoid overeating. Other fat sources: Nuts, oils, seeds, fish, avocados.

 

Generally, the rule is don’t buy anything with an ingredient list of over 3 items, or anything you can’t pronounce. Avoid ‘refined’, ‘reduced fat’, and especially ‘diet’ foods that are filled with sugar, salt and additives.

Another important thing to note is to not worry about following this guide to the letter. I value mental health to an equal rank as physical, and you should not panic in a situation where you can’t access these ingredients. It is NEVER better to go hungry. If you are in need of  a meal and only have access to a cheeseburger and chips, eat the cheeseburger and chips and don’t feel bad about it.

Also, if you want to make brownies, make brownies. Your body can handle it, just know that you might want to maintain more restraint when reaching for the second slice, because sugar is addictive. If you are trying to get healthy, try to follow this diet around 60 – 80 per cent of the time. There are so many delicious things to make that it really won’t feel like a diet. In fact, it isn’t a diet, it’s a lifestyle.  There are loads of whole food blogs out there to get you started, and I will generally only post recipes of this nature, but as said above I do still make cakes so don’t be confused if the section posts a recipe that goes against all of this advice. Go with the flow, take a relaxed approach and do not get hung up on reaching an aim. Your goal is to (or to continue to) be happy, so don’t worry. Be happy.

TL;DR

Indulge: Grains, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, lentils, yoghurt, multigrain/wholewheat bread, beans, eggs, oil, herbal tea.

Inhibit: Greasy takeaways, meat, chips, foods with additives, foods high in sugar, carbonated drinks.

Whipped Coffee Coconut Vegan Cheesecake with Cinnamon Crust

Written by Elena Gibbs on . Posted in News.

That title looks so delicious I could eat it. But instead I’ve been eating the real-life version of it, by the spoonful.

This morning began innocently with a plan to replenish my jar of homemade date & fig jam. As those soaked fruits whizzed round the food processor a perfectly ripe banana caught my eye, so I threw that in. Also, I had some leftover coconut cream, in it went. Before I knew it I was spooning heaped tablespoons of peanut butter into the mix and sprinkling maldon sea salt in spontaneous dessert-induced elation.

Resisting the urge to pour the whole thing into my mouth, I refrigerated and swirled in a half teaspoon of azera coffee. I also had to brush my teeth as a kind of safeguard for the dessert’s existence.

But what would I use as a crust? It was refined-sugar free and vegan thus far, so biscuits and butter were out of the question. Hmm. Of course! The oven pinged. I’d make a baked oatmeal base.

I began by toasting my oat, spelt and rye mix in a saucepan, adding pulsed hazelnuts and a sprinkle of cinnamon. The kitchen smelled like heaven. I added water straight from the tap and the oats instantly softened and turned into a porridge-like consistency (definitely a new way to make my beloved breakfast). I emptied the goods into a lined baking tray and in it went to the oven at 150°.

Then I started writing this, so I had better go back and check it.

Deciding that a third filling layer of dark chocolate would complete the equation, I spooned another dollop of coconut cream into a bowl with some cocoa powder, plain chocolate chips and walnut oil. I warmed for 30 seconds and poured onto my freshly baked oat-nut base, leaving to cool while I went for coffee with a friend (conversation centred mostly around the cheesecake).

An hour or two later, I poured the glorious coconut-coffee mix into the tin and scattered some extra fine-ground coffee on top for good luck. I then made room for my Vegecake in the freezer, where it will now be kept until myself or another human of refined tastebuds delights to have a slice.

Ingredients:

Buttery biscuit base

– 4 heaped tbsps oats or oat mix (spelt, rye, flaked quinoa, buckwheat)

– 1/2 tsp cinnamon

– Handful hazelnuts and walnuts, pulsed or finely chopped

– Water

Toast the oats in a saucepan with the cinnamon until smeling fragrant and warm, add the nuts and cover with water straight from the tap.

Fill saucepan about two inches deep and stir to develop a gooey and sticky mixture, not too thin but thick enough so that the oats are not completely solid and have water to absorb.

Press into a lined round baking tin and bake until crisp in a 180° oven. About 20 minutes, adding water if necessary to make the oats soft with a little crunch.

Chocolate layer

– 2 tbsps coconut cream

– Handful plain chocolate chips

– Tsp cocoa powder

– Tsp walnut/any oil

Mix the ingredients in 20-second bursts in the microwave until melted and thick. Spoon onto the baked base and let cool whilst preparing the filling.

Creamy filling

– Handful dates/figs, soaked in hot water

– 1 can coconut cream

– Mashed banana

– 2 heaped tbsp peanut butter

– A sprinkle of sea salt

– 1/2 tsp finely ground coffee

Pulse the dates in a food processor until blended into a jam-like consistency, then add all other ingredients to make a delicious light-as-air faux-cheesecake topping.

Sprinkle some extra coffee on top and swirl over the previous two layers. Freeze and transfer to the refrigerator when you’re ready to serve. I prefer this just slightly cooler than fridge temperature; cold, but still spoonable and creamy.

Jamaican Me Crazy

Written by Elena Gibbs on . Posted in News.

I was so happy when I discovered this combination. Spice, banana, pineapple and nuts all in one delicious place: The Hummingbird cake.

Why is it called Hummingbird? It’s thought to have been invented in Jamaica around the late 60s, which is unsurprising when considering those classic Caribbean ingredients. The name comes from the idea that the cake was sweet enough to attract the Jamaican hummingbirds or ‘Doctor Birds’, as they only eat nectar, but some say the yellow of the banana represented the bird’s colourful plumage.

Either way, two days after my own discovery of the Southern classic, I had an invite to a Bolivian Fundraiser and thus an excuse to bake.

The Cake:

– 1 cup oat flour (food processed oats)

– 1 cup plain wholemeal flour

– 1 cup plain flour (if 2 above unavailable, do all plain flour)

– 1 tsp baking powder

– 1 tsp salt

– 1 1/2 cups sugar

– 1 tsp ground cinnamon

– 1 tsp ground ginger

– 3 eggs

– 3 ripe bananas

– 1/2 cup oil (I used a mix of coconut, walnut & olive, vegetable is fine)

– 1 tsp vanilla extract

– 1 (8oz) tin pineapple, undrained

– 1 cup nuts (I used half toasted walnuts, half pistachios)

 

How to make:

Preheat the oven to 180° and prepare two greaseproof cake tins by sprinkling with white flour.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir in the beaten eggs. Mash and puree two of the bananas and fold in gently along with the oil and vanilla extract.

Cut the remaining banana into chunks and chop the pineapple into similar shapes, add to mixture along with all the remaining ingredients.

Evenly disperse the batter an bake for 25 – 30 mins until set and brown on top—the fork method may not be as effective for testing the done-ness of the cake because of the mashed banana.

Let cool in the tin for ten minutes, remove and set on a wire rack.

Cream Cheese to-die-for Frosting:
– 4 oz unsalted butter or baking spread

– 4 z soft cream cheese

– 2 cups powdered sugar

– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract and smooth onto the middle and the top of the cake.

Fi decorative purposes top with sliced banana, extra nuts, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Enjoy mi bredren.

Souper

Written by Cecilia Wray on . Posted in News.

Let it be known that I am one of soup’s biggest advocates. When Absolutely Souper opened in my local shopping centre (Milton Keynes, I admit with slightly less pride) I grinned at the witty beauty of its name and shed a small tear that finally a whole building had been dedicated to the hot pot of runny love that is a hearty bowl of soup.

I’m here to share with you that souping is the way forward. It doesn’t have to be the ‘light option;’ choice of extreme dieters and people who don’t like to eat a lot of food. In actual fact the condensed nature of a bowl of soup causes it to have a natural ‘put more in’ attitude. Far easier I find to eat-drink seven squashed down, juiced tomatoes than seven all on their own. It’s a chance to use up a lot of vegetables that perhaps just don’t make the cut in their natural form… A strange shape? About to go off? They’ve made a new cut folks; chop them up, give them a chance. The onion that’s sprouting its own forest might not be ready to be thrown, but instead crying out to be cocktailed alongside its other veggie friends in a cauldron of soup magic.

If you live with other people ask if they would like to contribute some of their vegetables to your concoction and make it a communal affair, make a soup baby together. The beauty of soup is that you can load it with virtually any vegetable you want and always—or mostly always (I try to forget the time I tried soya milk mushroom soup)—get something delicious tasting. Don’t forget the rock: The potato. The great thickener. Neither is this limited to the pale, knobbly spuds we all know. The potato has an exotic cousin, the sweet potato; long, slim and orange, she is a rival to any girl at a night club. However she’s not packed with Jägerbombs, but with essential vitamin A, which supports eyesight and is recognised as a lifesaving super-vitamin in many third world countries.

If, like me, you normally cook when at the point of starving, chop the veg up as small as possible so that you can soften everything quickly and eat sooner. Still unsure of what you’re going to be eating for breakfast, lunch and dinner?—And yes, it absolutely works for breakfast—then here is an encouraging foodie fact: When everything is crushed down in soup form the nutrients in the food can be absorbed into your body faster. It is very easy to pack in your five a day when you soup it up because as I mentioned above, the more you blend the more you can add.

Soup is great because it’s for everyone. When you boil the kettle for your morning tea, overfill it and add some to a pan of veg. Just let it simmer away for a bit with some spice or herbs and now you’ve got lunch sorted too.

Not sure where to start? Grab a bag of basics carrots and boil them down with some cumin, coriander and salt for an instant and money saving classic. For a more gourmet option, try throwing in some dumplings or frozen spinach. Leftover curry is perfect for a filling mulligatawny with some chickpeas and boiled rice. Oh, and if you can help it, avoid the canned variety! Trust me, it will be so much more satisfying when you’ve made your own—for both your waist, your palette, and your wallet. So go on, get the kettle on.