A Palm oil free Pancake Day!

February 28, 2017February 13, 2018Leave a comment

“Are you dying for a cookie? ‘Cos orangutans are…”

If this was on your next cupcake or pack of cookies would you think again about your food choices? This was one of the little notes (although rather passive-aggressive) that some friends of mine and I had on home-baked goods at our recent palm oil free bake sale on Valentine’s Day – a Love Your Planet bake sale, as such. The simple idea was to make more people aware of the devastating impacts of palm oil and suggest some small changes to their food choices that can be good for you and for the planet.

This is a huge debate in itself and one which I’m still muddling my own way through, but here are the simple facts:

85% of all palm oil originates from Indonesian & Malaysian [primary] rainforest
The industry is linked to major deforestation, habitat degradation, animal cruelty and indigenous rights abuses as land and forests are cleared for plantation development
Plantations themselves are set up using a slash-and-burn technique, devastating anything left behind and releasing huge amounts of CO2 when underlying peat is burned, significantly contributing to climate change
1/3 of all mammal species in Indonesia are now considered critically endangered as a result of unsustainable palm oil development and habitat destruction
An estimated 1000 – 5000 orangutans are killed each year for this development, despite their being “a conservation emergency” according to the UN due to their vital role in the germination of rainforest ecosystems
Palm oil is found in approx. 40-50% of household products such as baked goods, confectionary, shampoo, make up, cleaning products and toothpaste

With this in mind, I’ve been working to try and cut out some of my own palm oil consumption where possible; one of the most straight-forward ways to do this is through chocolate and biscuits. Or so I thought… Turns out it’s next to impossible to find palm oil free chocolate unless you want to pay a pretty penny! BUT there’s such thing as RSPO Certified Palm oil which despite heavy criticism over its true ‘sustainability’ and certification process, at least it shows that somebody somewhere is trying to do something about it and that companies are taking some environmental responsibility.

For now though, here are my recommendations for a palm-oil free pancake day:

CHECK YOUR CHOCOLATE. There are many conflicting sources online but best thing to do is check the company website to be sure. More details below.
NO MARGERINE. Butter is usually fine but margarine contains palm oil as a preservative – some brands are RSPO certified but realistically, butter is better anyway!
Opt for toppings full of natural goodness!

Banana slices & honey
Berries & natural yoghurt
Strawberry slices & nut butter (100% natural) – Meridian’s almond butter is my favourite and totally palm oil free!
Or the all-time classic: lemon juice & sugar. (Okay, it’s not as healthy as the other options but it is lush I think we’ll all agree – and even better, it’s palm oil free!)

Nutella. This has long been considered one of the worst offenders for palm oil content; however according to their website it now only uses RSPO certified palm oil… “Ferrero’s achievement of the RSPO certification has also been praised by Richard Holland, Director of WWF’s Market Transformation Initiative.” WWF has a whole world of criticism itself from many environmentalists around the globe due to its involvement with a lot of major corporates, but that’s a whole other kettle of political fish. Personally, I’d say avoid if you can.

If you really can’t live without some chocolate in your pancake, then these brands are also RSPO certified: McVities, Cadbury’s, Oreo, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, M&S, Co-op. It’s hard to know who to believe and what to think with so many conflicting arguments, but my own guilty pleasure of RSPO cert. chocolate tonight will be a gooey melted Carb-killa in all its goodness.

For more information on palm oil, why it’s such an important environmental issue and what the debate over RSPO certification is all about then have a little look online – here are some links to get you started: the story of Palm Oil,Say No to Palm Oil, Orangutan Foundation International, Rainforest Foundation.

Happy Palm-oil free Pancake Day!!

Diolch i chi a hwyl am nawr,

Charles xx

*Note: header image from this website

My favourite healthy, simple & satisfying lush work lunches

February 18, 2017February 18, 2017Leave a comment

Although we hear a lot about meal prep these days, I do believe it’s key to maintaining a healthy diet whilst keeping your food waste to a minimum. However, it can be difficult to know where to start…

Ideally, you can plan your meals for the whole week and write your shopping list accordingly, for which I have this amazing fridge magnet (below) that I was way too happy to find online! (Available on Amazon). Sounds like a lot of effort but I would really recommend doing this as much as possible because it means you can shop for meals rather than just as and when, whilst keeping your costs and food waste down as well. All good stuff.

In my opinion, lunch is the easiest meal to plan and prepare for as you don’t have all the naughty temptations that can come of an evening “shall we just go out for food? Fancy popping down the pub? Do you want anything from the convenience store over the road?” which can lead to extra money being spent, naughty extra calories being consumed (be it biscuits or an extra cheat meal) and unfortunately this can also lead to some of your food ending up in the food waste bin when it hasn’t been cooked or frozen on time. This is not what we want for ourselves or for the environment. Lunch, however, you’re either out and about or sat in the office and despite there being a perfectly adequate canteen or sandwich shop nearby, it doesn’t quite beat the cheaper and often more convenient alternative of a healthy, home-cooked meal.

So, without any further ado – here are my top healthy lunches for you to easily prepare at home:

Fish, rice & veggies
This one can often require next-to-no cooking if you’re crafty with your meal and shopping choices. As I’ve mentioned before, my microwave hot pot is an absolute dream for cooking fresh fish and/or vegetables at work; you just lay them in the pot, top with butter, lemon juice, salt & pepper and whatever other flavourings you like and microwave for 1.30 – 2 mins, depending on whether you’re doing veg or fish and the wattage of the microwave. Job done. Grab ½ a packet of microwave rice to go with it (you can save the rest for later) and voila! A healthy, happy lunch that has everything you need in terms of protein, good carbs and veggies. [P.S. my favourite microwave rice is the Tilda brown rice, quinoa & sunflower seeds packet, tastes amazing! You can cook your own but be careful with reheating this later]
DIY Quinoa salad
The beauty of salads is that you can chuck anything and everything in, whatever you’ve got a hankering for. Personally, I love my salads to have quinoa, roasted sweet potato or butternut squash chunks (for good carbs), sliced tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas (for protein), pomegranate seeds (gotta love those superfoods) and some avocado and/or cheese (for the good fats). Okay, so cheese may not always be a ‘good’ fat necessarily but I love finding small chunks of it in my salads as a cheeky little comfort food!
You can also add things like falafel, sausage chunks, tuna, Quorn pieces or shredded chicken to this salad to bulk it up and add more proteins, so it’s really versatile and really simple to make! Quinoa only needs to boil for around 10 mins until its popped open and you can chop the rest whilst it’s cooking, just allow a little extra time for the sweet potato/butternut squash.
Fajitas
These are great if you want to use up any leftover veg but also if you want to have a bit of fun cooking! Chop up some onions and peppers and fry in a little oil with some crushed garlic and ½ a packet of fajita mix, the spices should mix in with the oil to create a sort of paste. Chuck in some chickpeas, mixed beans and whatever else you fancy; butternut squash or pumpkin chunks work really well, or you can bake and flake in some salmon (obviously you can also add in some chicken at the start if you’re a meat-eater). Wrap up in a wholemeal wrap with some guacamole and sour cream/mayo and job done! Perfect for a quick easy dinner with enough for lunch leftover – just wrap your wraps in foil and keep in the fridge until eating. (It’s a good idea to wrap these up as late as possible because the wrap itself will go a little soggy overnight, but this doesn’t take away from the taste!)

Lastly, what to do if you’re caught short and have to dash to the shops…
Fish & a funky salad
Sounds simple, but if you’re lucky enough to have a supermarket nearby your work which I’m sure many of us do then you can still stay healthy even when you forget to prepare or accidentally leave your lunch at home. Pick up a tin of tuna or mackerel and then head over to the chilled foods section and their selection of prepared salads (usually near the dips etc.) My personal favourite salads to grab on-the-go are ASDA’s edamame bean salad, minty bean salad (both full of natural protein), sweety drop pepper cous cous salad, or my favourite mixed grain salad. These are usually on offer 2 for £3, so pick a bean salad and a grain salad and have half and half along with your fish to create a good, balanced meal that still tastes yum! Alternatively, you could get a packet of microwave rice and have ½ of that along with just one of the salads, totally your choice.

Quinoa salad with butternut squash & pomegranate seeds

Salad with pomeg seeds & cheese

Pumpkin fajita mix [see @charlieschapter instagram]

And there you have it! A few simple, quick and easy lunch ideas to keep you entertained through the week. If you can cook enough of your dinner to give you some leftover for lunch the following day then that’s even better. I’ve got a bit of a reputation amongst my colleagues for my fancy work lunches and was even bought a lunchbox recipe book for Secret Santa, so when I get trying some of these I may well write about this again! [I’ll continue to upload ones I’m particularly proud of to the instagram as well so stay tuned] But I really believe it’s important to have a proper lunch to keep your brain well fuelled during the working day and to keep you ticking over until dinner time. Go on, get creative and get prepping!

Diolch i chi a hwyl am nawr,

Charles xx

Sort yourself out this Saturday night with Street Food @ Depot!

February 2, 2017February 3, 2017Leave a comment

It’s Saturday, it’s been a long week and you really fancy a good night with good food, beer and friends. This is the place to go: street food socials have started up at Depot as of last week with a range of differing pop ups each week throughout 2017 – so there’s no reason not to go see for yourself!

There’s funky fairy lights and jazzy decorations all over, the usual Depot wooden tree shining proudly in the centre. There’s also a funky little caravan at the back with a super cool inside and a bench for chilling on, whilst bean bags and deckchairs near the entrance allow you to relax and pretend you’re on a paradise beach – although really, you could call food festivals a kind of paradise in my opinion. I’ve said this many times before (and my flatmates know only too well) but I believe fairy lights to be so special for the warm, fuzzy, cosy feeling they instantly bring to any setting, especially when coloured paper lanterns are also involved as is the case here. There’s just something magical about them that brings a lovely atmosphere to a place, trust me.

Last week when I went down the special guests were: Brother Thai, The Bearded Taco, Doughboys, Got Beef and Slow Pig. All had tantalisingly good-looking menus and the bar was well stocked featuring a local favourite of mine – Pipes beer. Sadly, I was still on my Dryathlon so couldn’t indulge but I can’t wait to do exactly that at their Bar Open event this coming weekend! [As a side note, I raised almost £250 overall which I’m super chuffed with!]

After a wander around and considering all the options, my first meal of choice was the vegan Thai roti from Brother Thai: wok fried spring greens, beansprouts and lemongrass in a lush southern Thai style paste, all wrapped up in a paratha (like a chapati) with fresh herbs and some Thai ‘slaw. I’d seen these guys previously at Street Food Circus back in the summer and loved what they had on offer but didn’t get chance to try them then – I’m so glad I did this time because this was delish! There’s nothing like freshly stir-fried spring greens, especially alongside the satisfying crunch of the slaw and with the juices from the paste soaking through nicely to give the paratha a beautiful flavour. I did struggle to keep it all wrapped up but hey, where’s the harm in eating with our hands every now and again? (Plus I did manage to get hold of a fork in the end to help me out)

The Bearded Taco’s super cute establishment

Next on the menu: a ‘Flawsome Taco’ from The Bearded Taco. This delectable little package was composed of Middle Eastern falafel with hummus, tabbouleh, tzaziki and fresh parsley. As there was a 2 for £6 deal, I shared this order with my flatmate (1 taco each) who prior to this had sampled the new and already legendary Donald Trump burger from Got Beef (featured right) – Chinese leaf, bacon, Russian dressing, Mexican nacho cheese sauce and topped with a tiny pickle… Brilliant. It tasted good too apparently, although the cheese was pretty messy. Anyway, the other taco we chose in this deal was ‘Rage Against the Tagine’ (also brilliantly named) consisting of a Moroccan chicken & stone fruit tagine, a carrot, almond & chickpea slaw, harissa yoghurt and fresh coriander. We can’t fault either of them, both went down an absolute treat and hit the spot perfectly! Very well balanced, well portioned, the right proportion of salad/slaw to meat/falafel and altogether a gorgeous little mouthful. The chicken was very tender in the best possible way, I’m told. I’d seen The Bearded Taco back in the summer at Street Food Circus but hadn’t had chance to try them until now (I was waiting for there to be a veggie option to choose from) and I will certainly be going back for more next time.

2 for £6 Tacos: Rage against the Tagine & Flawsome Taco

Me loving my street food as always!

Every menu at street food social was very tempting and looked delicious and, as I said, there are different pop ups week-to-week so I’d 100% recommend getting yourself down there for a look one weekend. Keep an eye on the Depot Instagram for the latest updates! If you want really good, local, honest food with a great atmosphere and a decent selection of drinks to match, this is the place to spend your Saturday evening!

Diolch i chi a hwyl am nawr,

Charles xx