A few weeks ago I had dinner with one of the UK’s kings of comedy. Charlie Higson, writer, producer and comedian in shows like Saturday Live, the Harry Enfield Programme, Reeves and Mortimer and The Fast Show, had us all in stitches. After a while, we were laughing before Charlie even opened his mouth, almost…
WHY A LINE OF FLOSS WILL KEEP YOU IN GOOD HEALTH – COURGETTE, LEEK & GRUYERE FRITTATA
As I reclined in the dental chair yesterday (jaws forcibly widened, blood drooling from my mouth, metal implements clamped to my molars), my dentist decided it was time I learned about the growing link between gum health and – er, death. Gum health, she informed me, is now thought to be a trigger for heart…
A PILL TO KEEP ME YOUNG? AND SPICY SPELT SALAD
Debate rages at Kale & Cocoa about supplements – shouldn’t we get all our nutritional needs from a good diet? What to take – and how much? I am broadly pro-supplementation, Annabel less so. I’ve made a CoQ10 supplement part of my ‘age well’ routine and Annabel asked me why. Co-enzyme Q10 isn’t a vitamin,…
CHAMPAGNE, FIBRE AND THE BEST WAY TO EAT BRUSSEL SPROUTS
With Christmas only two weeks away and the party season in full swing, health may not be top of your mind. But we have good news today. Read on to find out why champagne may help fend off dementia and how fibre may be a more effective tool for weight loss than dieting…. And a…
HEART-HEALTHY NUTS AND CHRISTMAS GRANOLA
We’ve made no secret of our passion for nuts – many of our recipes include a sprinkle of toasted nuts or a slug of almond butter. We’re not alone: our almond butter dipping sauce is one of our most shared and pinned recipes on social media. When it comes to ageing well, nuts are one…
CHOCOLATE CAN HELP PREVENT DEMENTIA? AND CHOCO-MATCHA COOKIES
We called our blog ‘Kale & Cocoa’ for a reason – while we love the health benefits of kale, we love a bit of chocolate too. So yet more evidence that chocolate is good for us is a bonus! Early in the summer it was widely reported that around 100g of chocolate a…
WHY WE SHOULD SIT LESS AND FIDGET MORE – WARM SQUASH SALAD
If you sit for more than six hours a day, you need to get up – yes, right now! And yes – that’s six hours in total. And if you think you’re off the hook because you’ve spent an hour in the gym, you need to think again. New research shows our sedentary lifestyles are…
WHY MUSTARD IS A MUST-HAVE, AND MUSTARD-MAPLE SALMON
As a kid, I hated mustard. I couldn’t understand the pre-Sunday lunch ritual of mixing bright yellow powder into a paste with a teeny tiny spoon (does anyone still own a mustard spoon, I wonder?) or the fervour with which my parents would seek out good Dijon on trips to France. But now I get…
WHY EXERCISE WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE – AND SWEET POTATO BEAN CAKES
At Kale & Cocoa our aim is to eat well and age well. So far, so good. But we know that eating well is only half the battle when it comes to ageing well. Exercise is absolutely key too – an article published by John Hopkins University in the U.S. described it as ‘the universal…
GET FAT TO BEAT DEMENTIA, REALLY? VITAMIN E AND A CRUMBLE RECIPE
This is bonkers, but fat and obese people are less likely to get dementia. Yes, really. Recent research published in The Lancet suggests that being overweight has an 18% reduction in dementia risk and being obese a staggering 24% reduction. It’s brilliant news if you are overweight of course, but it flies in the face…