It's getting wintery and cold out there, so it's time to hit the lemon and ginger!

A tea made from fresh lemon and fresh ginger root is an age-old winter remedy. Ginger is a warming herb, so drinking it warms you from within. Fresh ginger root also detoxifies the body, making it an appropriate d...

Whatever we feel about the weather we've had of late, it has been a marvellous season for hedgerow fruit: the sloes, blackberries, elderberries, haws, crab apples (pictured) and rosehips are abundant right now.

Harvested from the wild, they are naturally organic, although do try and avoid source...

On holiday in France I passed the local primary school, where I saw the weeks' menu posted. Last Friday for lunch they had:

Tomato and chive salad
Filet of Hoki (fish) with sorrel
Gouda
Williams Pears

School children are given an hour and a half to eat their lunch, as indeed are adults, and ...

The trees are on the turn, the weather is getting chilly and it is time to start the day with something warm that warms you up from the inside: porridge!

Some additions to make your porridge interesting:

Spices: according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, dried ginger 'warms the centre', and cin...

We all know greens are good for us, but what about all the other colours of the rainbow? The truth is the antioxidants (the good bits) of fruit and veg are contained in the colour, so if you want to eat a broad spectrum of beneficial nutrients, you need a broad spectrum of colour in your diet.

R...

Today I harvested the dried poppy seed heads from the allotment. They've been a really beautiful, and very easy crop to grow – sown and grown in fact by my three year old. Poppy seeds are ripe when little windows appear around the top of the seed head. Harvest is simple: cut the heads, put in a p...

We've inherited a cherry tree on our allotment. It took a while to realise the fruit was ripe, but it is a cooker, so sour tasting when raw.

I was disappointed at first, I must admit, but then I made a cherry crumble.... mmm...
 
I didn't pre-cook the cherries, just sprinkled them with fructos...

The beneficial properties of fruits are in the colour pigment: the darker the colour, the more concentrated the antioxidants. Blackcurrants do pretty then. They're abundant in this country, so get to our plates more quickly, loosing less of the precious stuff. They are also dead easy to grow here...

There are various ways to measure how much fresh fruit and veg you're eating, but the easiest way – in my opinion – is to look at your hand: one serving is approximately equal to the size and thickness of the palm of your hand. You need to be a little creative in your thinking to get this one, bu...

Welcome to my blog.

I hope to bring you little gems of information you'll find interesting, and above all, useful. I'll be refering to naturopathic techniques, herbs, and foods, especially those you can grow yourself, or at least buy fresh, locally and in season, as those are the ones which will...