Monday 21 December 2015

The real reason Santa and the rest of us will pile on the pounds this Christmas

It’s the time of year when we all like to overindulge – and Santa Claus is no exception. With all the mince pies and brandy on offer from the world’s children as he makes his present deliveries, Santa will consume well above his daily allowance of calories this Christmas season.

Santa won’t be the only one piling on the pounds. A recent survey for personal genetic testing company 23andMe found that 1 in 10 of us expect to put on a whopping half a stone over the Christmas period.

The average person expects to consume around 1,000 calories in their Christmas dinner alone, while 17% will consume up to 10 alcoholic drinks on Christmas Day.

Exercise is not a part of the Christmas routine for many either, with 39% of those surveyed revealing they will do little or no exercise until January.

Though the New Year tends to signal new starts, when it comes to making New Year’s resolutions, 29% of us break their resolutions before the end of January. Eating healthily and getting fit are the first things to go, for various reasons including losing incentive (40%), January being depressing enough (35%) and lack of willpower (32%).

The choices we make every day can have differing impacts on their risk for disease, depending on personal genetics. While most know the importance of proper diet and exercise, being armed with information about personal genetics allows you to make informed health and lifestyle decisions specific to you that can have a major impact on your wellbeing. Data shows that 72% of people studied reported making positive changes in their health behaviour relating to their dietary pattern, whilst 61% made positive changes to their exercise habits.

Taking a 23andMe test can tell you how you might respond to diet and exercise. In addition, 23andMe provides information about 11 genetic risk factors, 43 inherited conditions, and 41 traits, along with 11 reports on drug response. If you tend to reach for second helpings, 23andMe’s reports on eating behaviour may also shed some light.

As the festive infographic depicts, Santa Claus could be at risk for a higher than average BMI among other things, and has managed to swap the mince pies for a bite of Rudolph’s carrot and slimmed down enough to glide down chimneys with ease. He has also skipped the sleigh rides during the summer, replacing them with healthy jogs around his toy factory instead.

A 23andMe test can be bought online at www.23andme.co.uk or in store at Superdrug.

New ways with leftovers and maple syrup

The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers and have a host of festive recipe ideas for leftover Christmas ingredients.

These are just some of them:







Maple pulled turkey sandwiches
http://www.welovemaple.co.uk/recipe/maple-pulled-turkey-sandwiches/

Pulled turkey with sweet and sour maple sauce http://www.welovemaple.co.uk/recipe/pulled-turkey-with-sweet-and-sour-maple-sauce-2/



For more information please visit www.welovemaple.co.uk.

Some Christmas recipes kindly supplied by Sainsbury's

This is part of Sainsbury’s ‘Canapénds’ campaign.

Across the nation, we’re preparing to kick off the Christmas celebrations.  UK families buy an average of £216 worth of food and drink* per household for the festive period, but data from WRAP tells us that up to £340million of food can be wasted in each month.

We all know that Christmas can be an expensive time of year as we love to spend money on special treats for family and friends, so Sainsbury’s team of chefs have created a collection of delicious Christmas ‘Canap-énds’, providing a route for some smart savings this Christmas, that will impress your guests while making the festive budget go a little further.

Sainsbury’s chefs Nicola Bramley and Shu Tan have masterminded six inspirational Christmas canapés, combining some of the nation’s most wasted food 'ends' according to WRAP with easy to access store cupboard staples. Every year, Brits throw away more than 4.2million tonnes of food that could be eaten - including an enormous 350,000 tonnes of bread, 320,000 tonnes of potatoes, and 99,000 tonnes of pork, ham and bacon.  However, instead of sending them straight to the bin – you can now turn them into beautiful party ‘canap-énds.’

So, whether you’ll want to transform the ends of those sausages and potatoes into innovative ‘Sausage & Mash Cupcakes’  or use the end of that cucumber and salmon to make light and healthy ‘Salmon Tartare on Cucumber slices’ there’ll be something exciting for everyone. And for those with a sweet tooth, the ‘Chocolate, Sea Salt & Pistachio Mini Toasties’ are sure to hit the spot.

Not only are these recipes guaranteed to impress, they all take less than 15 minutes to prepare and they’ll also help reduce household food waste and your Christmas party food bill– leaving more to spend on the family.

Nicola Bramley, Sainsbury's Development Chef comments: “Families are often looking for Christmas party food inspiration, and these tasty ‘canap-ends’ can be created using frequently thrown away foods and store cupboard ingredients.

"They take less than 15mins to make, help save money and most importantly make the most of food that would otherwise be wasted.  Sainsbury’s knows our customers worry about wasting food and are dedicated to helping make their food go that little bit further, and limiting waste within our own supply chain.”


Gin and lemon salmon tartar, on cucumber with crème fraiche and dill
Makes 10
•      10 Cucumber slices, salted
•      2 tbsp crème fraiche
•      1 tsp chopped dill
•      Few sprigs of dill to garnish
•      Salmon marinade
•      1 x 150g salmon fillets
•      20ml of good quality gin
•      Juice and zest of 1 lemon
•      Pinch of sea salt

Method
1.  Chop the salmon very finely and place into a bowl with the marinade ingredients
2.  Leave for 5-10 minutes, until salmon is just starting become opaque around the edges
3.  Place a spoonful of crème fraiche on each piece of the cucumber pieces and add then top with a teaspoon full of salmon mixture. Sprinkle with dill

Thai Red Curry Meatballs, with a Lime Coriander Yoghurt Dip

Makes 8-10
·         100g leftover pork mince
·         1.5 tbsp ready-made Thai Red Curry Paste
·         Small handful fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped (save stalks for dip)
·         100ml Greek yoghurt
·         Juice of half a lime
·         1 clove garlic, finely chopped
·         Coriander stalks, finely chopped
·         Salt, to taste
·         1 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying
·         Fresh Coriander or lime wedges, for garnish

1.     In a mixing bowl, mix pork mince, coriander and red curry paste thoroughly. Shape into small bite size balls on a plate or tray.
2.     Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan on medium-high heat, start frying the meatballs until all sides are browned and just cooked through for about 7-8 minutes. Remove from pan and rest for a few minutes before plating.
3.     Mix yoghurt, lime juice, garlic and coriander in a dipping bowl and serve alongside meatballs. Garnish with more coriander or lime wedges.

Mini stilton toasties (PICTURED) topped with caramelised port glazed pear and rocket
Makes up to 12
•                     4 slices of white bread

•                     60g stilton (ends)

•                     60 butter

•                     40g caster sugar

•                     1 pear

•                     Splash of port

•                     Handful of rocket leaves

Method
1.     Butter the bread on both sides and lay onto a board. Slice the stilton and use to top 2 slices of the bread – then place the other piece of bread on top to form sandwich

2.     Core and cut the pear into wedges and then halve each wedge. Melt the remaining butter in a frying pan, add the sugar and cook until beginning to caramelise. Add the pears and cook on each side until golden and softened (approx. 5 mins). Add the port and cook for a further 2-3 minutes

3.     Heat a large frying pan and then cook the sandwiches on each side for a couple of minutes until golden and crispy and the cheese has melted – pressing down lightly with a spatula

4.     Remove the sandwiches, cut of the crusts and the cut each into 4-6 rectangular pieces

5.     Top with a rocket leaf, followed by a piece of the pear and push a cocktail stick through to secure everything in place

Harissa & Sesame Prawn Toast
Makes 16
·         250g prawns
·         3 spring onions
·         0.5 tbsp cornflour
·         1 tbsp harissa paste
·         1 small egg white
·         1.5 tbsp sesame seeds
·         4 slices of white bread
·         Vegetable oil, for brushing

1.     Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Whizz prawns, harissa paste, spring onions, cornflour and egg white in food processor until a paste forms but still with texture. Alternatively, roughly chop prawns and spring onions and mix in cornflour and egg white.

2.     Cut slices of bread into 4 triangles. Brush one side of bread slices with oil, grill oil side for 2 minutes or until just lightly golden. Remove from grill and flip over to non-grilled side. Divide prawn paste onto bread, press down lightly and brush with a little vegetable oil.

3.     Sprinkle sesame seeds all over and place back under grill for 5-6 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

Sausage and mash cupcakes
Makes 12
•                     12 Mini foil cupcake cases

•                     150g leftover sausage meat

•                     4 tbsp breadcrumbs

•                     150g cold mashed potato

•                     1tbsp butter

•                     3 rashers of streaky bacon

•                     1 tbsp chopped chives, finely chopped

•                     1 tbsp dried thyme

Method
1.     Place the cupcake cases into a mini muffin tin and put a couple of pinches of breadcrumbs into the base of each (this will absorb the oil for the sausage meat). Pre-heat the oven to 180C fan

2.     Season the sausage meat with salt and pepper and thyme (could also use leftover pork stuffing). Roll into 2cm balls and press each ball into a cupcake case

3.     Using a star shaped nozzle, pipe the mash potato onto each sausage cupcake, as you would ice a cupcake. Place in the oven and cook for 10-12minutes

4.     Cook the bacon until crispy and cut into triangular shaped wafers

5.     Finish each cupcake with a sprinkling of chives

Wednesday 16 December 2015

It's not too late to order your Christmas gifts

It is not to late to order your Christmas gifts.

We all know how it is. A gift suddenly becomes out of stock, you realise you forget to include a relative, or someone you didn't expect to see this Christmas will be attending after all, so you have to get a present.

It could not be easier! All you have to do is use the Amazon-powered shop that is associated with That's Christmas and the related sites and you can order whatever you need:

Special foods, books,DVDs, CDs, magical tricks, musical instruments, jewellery,watches, presents for pets, clothing, ex-army clothing and equipment, exercise equipment, sporting goods, Kindle books, Kindle devices, Audible Audio books, Amazon gift cards. In fact, if it is stocked or sold by Amazon you can order it via http://www.amazon.co.uk/?tag=bookworms05-21&linkCode=w0f

But please do remember that some items if dispatched from a country outside your own may not arrive before Christmas.

You can make your purchases at the special portal to the right hand side of this page.



New Christmas Song from Red Sky July

Red Sky July are an award-wining female trio consisting of husband and wife Ally McErlaine (guitarist from Texas) and Shelly Poole ()Alisha's Attack) with Charioty Hair (of the Alice Band but more latterly The Ailerons with Blur's Dave Rowntree.

Add Experienced and highly accomplished Nashville singer-songwriter Beth Nielson Chapman adding to the vocals on this extraordinary Christmas song.

In this reviewer's opinion, this song deserves to be a Christmas hit this yers and for many more Christmases to come.

The song tells the story of a lover's heartfelt commitment to be there, at Christmas, with their one and only.

It is what I describe as "proper" Country Music, pitch perfect vocals, wonderful harmonies, and guitar playing that used to make the Grand Old Opre what it was during its heyday.

But don't believe me! Order or buy your copy as soon as you can. It is released by Shadowbirds Records SHADOW6P.

You can learn more about Red Sky July at www.redskyjuly.com

You can check out the track here

Tuesday 15 December 2015

One in ten of us will have five festive feeds this Christmas!

Figures from M&B show the number of festive meals sold in the first two weeks of December has ballooned from around 90,000 in 2011 to a stunning 260,000 plus last year.

Pubs and restaurants including Toby Carvery, Harvester restaurants and Sizzling Pubs have revealed that the number of bookings made throughout December to have nearly tripled in recent years.

In a survey 65% of consumers said that they would be having more than two Christmas dinners throughout December, with 7% revealing they’d be enjoying five or more festive feasts!

82% of people are expecting to celebrate with family and 64% of us are looking forward to this feast the most.

Celebrating with friends (30%) with the office party (20%) were also high on the list and interestingly, just over 10% of us actually look forward to work parties the least.

75% of us will travel under five miles as we are mostly keen to celebrate closer to home.

People living in the East Midlands travel the furthest for their Christmas dinner with nearly 20% of people travelling more than 21 miles. Incredibly, over 10% of people living in Wales & the South West will travel more than 50 miles.

Catriona Kempston, Marketing Director at Mitchells & Butlers, the company behind these statistics, comments; “Whether you’re entertaining friends and relatives, travelling to see family, or even having to work over the festive period, Christmas is rarely stress free.

"Whilst carving the turkey on the 25th is seen as tradition, our survey shows that in actual fact, more of us are having more than one Christmas dinner as a result of catching up with friends and relatives at their local Harvester or Ember Inns, festive parties at All Bar One and even as part of a Christmas shopping trip when taking a break at Browns.

“One of the reasons for this is the simple convenience of eating out. Not having to worry about cooking means that people have one less thing to think about – making the prospect of having Christmas dinner out much more appealing.”

Other stats revealed that Scottish families will be entertaining the most guests on Christmas Day, with 14% of those asked accommodating for 15 guests or more. And if you’re not tucking in to turkey, 37% of us would choose steak as an alternative.

(EDITOR: Along with a group of colleagues I will be attending a pre-Christmas dinner at an Indian restaurant.)

Need a gift? eBay it!


There are literally thousands of products to suit all tastes and budgets,

No matter what you want, be it a modern twist on a retro classic or a newcomer, the online marketplace has the perfect gifts for children this Christmas.

For more ideas on Christmas gifts, be sure to visit www.eBay.co.uk