Food to fight Obesity

If anyone recently watched Dateline you will know that plums grown in the granite belt of Queensland have just been released for sale in Woolworths.  These plums are known as Queen Garnet are being discussed with headlines such as"

"Plum hailed in fight against obesity after bringing fat rats 'back to normal', as scientists seek superfood status"  

So is this plum GC the superfood of the future which is grown exclusively in Australia and if as claimed above could  save the world from obesity.  Sounds to good to be true but guess who is off to the supermarket to get her daily fix.  Blueberries now have taken a back seat to these tasty colorful plums for there health benefits. 

Blue, red or dark purple coloured fruit and vegetables contain this andioxidant namely, "Anthocyanin" which is a flavanoid "They have some of the strongest physiological effects of any plant compounds, and they are also things of beauty: anthocyanis provide pigment for pansies, petunias, and plums. (Anthocyanis are a separate class of flavonoids from proanthocyanidins.)" 


"Queensland Department of Primary Industry scientist Kent Fanning worked on the plum for more than a decade.He said anthocyanin was a pigment coming under increasing attention from scientists because of its health benefits.
"The blue of blueberries, the red of strawberries, the red of raspberries - that's anthocyanin," Mr Fanning said.
"There's increasing evidence they help reduce inflammation and the structure and function of the gastrointestinal system.
"The potential benefits relate to protection against some forms of cardiovascular disease, improved liver function and improved pancreas function [and] what we call lifestyle diseases [that] are prevalent in the Western society."
The Queensland Government sold the global rights to the Queen Garnet to Nutrafruit, a syndicate of six Queensland friends with a connection to agribusiness."

I find this an interesting and intriguing story and will be watching for the results of the trials as well as getting my fix by buying some from the supermarket.  I love eating a variety of foods and those rich in colour and flavour.  We are currently picking gold passionfruit, cherry tomatoes (which were self sewn) and persimons from our garden which are all organic.  It has been too hot to plant any vegetables but the garden beds are ready for March and the cooler months of Autumn.

And something exciting happened last week.  The first flower from one of our dragon fruit set and flowered it was a beautiful site they are quite large (known as the moon flower) as they come out during the evening. It was still partly open in the early morning and we were able to self pollinate it before it closed and died as they only last the one night.  The wait is on now to see if it will set fruit.  I will keep you posted.
















Sources:
 http://www.chiro.org/nutrition/FULL/Anthocyanins.shtml
 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-14/antioxidant-rich-plum-to-fight-obesity/

Sticking to your Shopping List

Shopping love it or hate it - we need to spend some time during the week at the Supermarket or of course, an alternative is to shop on line our local IGA has a delivery service for on line shoppers and what better way to stick to a list instead of being tempted to buy extras lured by packaging or position in the supermarket.  There is a small delivery fee but I believe that it could be well worth it and you also save on time. If that is not your go and you want to shop yourself make that list and I am one for lists but do I stick to them, not always so I came up with a plan to help me.
1. I write my list and number each item
2. Then I go through the list and try to eliminate 2 to 3 items
3. This list then goes straight into my handbag so I don't leave it at home
4. When at the shops I mark off each item as it goes into the trolley and the numbering system instils into me that I have so many items to purchase and that is it.  Not sure why that works but it does help.

If you need an extra incentive you can always reward yourself for having stuck to the list nothing big
maybe treat yourself to one of those massage chairs in the shopping centre at $2. Or pop soe coins into a piggy bank and save up for something special.

A New Year Time to Make A Plan

Well here we are well into 2015 with the second month, February is just around the corner.  It is time to take some time out and plan for the year ahead.  So get a book large A4 lined book something that is nice to write on (cheap as chips to purchase at Woolies, $2 shops etc) and start writing down things you want to see included in this year and then start researching how this can become achievable.
For example,  Christmas has just finished and if you are anything like me it is a stressful time of the year even though I do look forward to it and getting together with all the family which for me was at home and I cooked my heart out.  Just love cooking for our lot.  Any way whatever it is you need to plan for, for the following Christmas start putting some ideas into action. Cutting back on costs is a number one for most of us and had you thought of discussing with relatives ways to achieve this.  I know a family who draw names out of a hat and they buy only for that one person.  What a great idea. 

I will be back with more ideas later.  But I am back blogging that was on my list in my A4 lined exercise book!!

Happy Day to you all and remember speak to the ones you love as you would like them to speak to you!!!