How hard is a juice fast?

We think nothing of taking our cars in to have an annual service so why don't we do this for our bodies?  I am such a fan of Intermittent Fasting and, in particular, Doctor Valter Longo's latest research into ageing & longevity, (and how important a 5 day fast is at least once a year), that I decided to take myself off to a detox retreat to do a 5 day juice fast, something I find impossible to do at home for that long, despite being able to carry out the 5:2 very easily. My car had an annual service, now it was my turn!

How to make baba ganoush/aubergine dip.

I am going to share something you may not know about me!  My mother was Bulgarian and met my Dad in Prague oh so many years ago!  I was born, in London, when she was just 19 and although it was the 50s and olive oil could only be found in pharmacies in those days, she was the most amazing cook and I grew up on the healthiest, Mediterranean-type diet you can imagine.  One of my favourites was what she called "kyopilo", which I assumed was Bulgarian, but I can't find this name anywhere on the net to confirm! (Please let me know if you happen to be Bulgarian).

A quinoa mushroom risotto.

This is a recipe I put up on Instagram last week, so if you aren't on there yet, here it is for you. (And come & join me there so you don't miss anything!) I have taken a recipe from Quinola Mother Grain, who are the kind folk who keep me stocked up in quinoa, and have turned it into a vegan/vegetarian version which is more nutritious but just as tasty as a rice risotto. And it's much easier & quicker to make! See quick video at the end.......and please subscribe to my You Tube Channel I will be doing a video a week come September: recipes, fashion tips, & anything that helps my lovely, loyal audience. Any requests, let me know!

A fashion shoot with a difference.

It's not often that women between 54 and 74 are invited to appear in a national newspaper as "four stylish Instagrammers"  (IF it gets published!).  So I thought you might like to have a behind-the-scenes look at what we got up to on a thoroughly enjoyable day out in London town. All the photos were taken with various i-phones so are not the best quality, but the lighting was fabulously kind to us all & we had a ball.

BLUEBELL JOY

The bluebells in the UK were stunning this year so I thought I would share with you my favourite images from a wonderful walk at Arlington in East Sussex, followed by an excellent afternoon tea. I have joined a Meetup Group in Brighton called Dog Lovers Dating who arranged this walk, as well as many other lovely get togethers with or without our dogs!