A nice warming onion soup with a hint of chilli flakes.
Ingredients.
Between 7 and 10 red onions peeled and roughly chopped. 1 rich beef stock pot. Pinch of chilli flakes and water filled to max level in machine.
Method.
Chuck it all in the soup maker. Select smooth and let it do its magic. Serve on its own or with some blue cheese crumbled on top.
Enjoy
Upon reading the papers and watching the news channels, I am shocked at the people being attacked by fellow citizens on the choices they make. In particular, the focus on the right to face mask or not. Yes, if you don’t want to wear a face mask due to your own beliefs so be it but attacking people, evading their personal space and invoking your own negative energy onto someone who chooses to wear one should not be the choice you actually choose. What if that person has just ventured out from shielding for the first time, what underlying health issues do they have that makes them feel extremely vulnerable, exiting that front door for nearly three months? Stop and think. We live in a society made up of choices so who are we to judge someone else because of they want and personally feel they need to do.
Thinking about Choice more widely, how many choices do we make each and every day? I have decided today to write this blog post? did I actively choose to do so ….. Yes I actually did. What I had for breakfast, what I am having to drink at this moment and what I will do with my day is actually my choice. But, what if we have to make a choice that isn’t as easy to make? Perhaps we have been made redundant and need to choose a new path. A new relationship, to get fit, to change something about our lives that potentially has a long term impact…. See choices are everywhere and we should all feel free to make them and learn from the mistakes that may be made as a result or celebrate the successes those bring.
So what can you do about choices and what support is out there to help you make them. Firstly, there are loved ones and friends. Talk them through with them. What would they do? How can they support you wit the choice to be made? Complete a SWOT analysis. Look at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the choice you are faced with. Pros and cons lists even. There are a myriad of tools, self-help assessments and other ways that can support you. You don’t have to make a choice on your own. If like me, you are facing the end of shielding a the end of July here in the UK and slightly anxious about going out in the big wide world with the virus still circulating widely in the community, the Pros and Cons list can help. Personally, I am making the choice to wear a mask in all situations outside of my home for a period of time, again my choice and not for everybody and immune support via a great supplement I have been taking called Multi-guard. A combination daily supplement of minerals and vitamins with plant antioxidants at a high potency. After a fair amount of research this supplement seemed to fit my personal needs and will continue to take it for the foreseeable future. The cons of me not biting the bullet and going out is I continue to shield, and isolate myself from the world I actually enjoy being part of. So my choice here is to prepare my body and mind over the next few weeks for a slow and gentle reintegration back into my communities. I have two things I would like to do… 1) wait for a sunny day (can’t choose the weather) and sit outside a coffee shop sipping a nice bean roasted coffee and 2) actually going to a supermarket to choose my fresh fruit and vegetables myself instead of relying on someone to choose which ones for me for my food delivery. Their choices but not necessarily the ones I would choose for myself, but I am grateful nonetheless that the priority food delivery service has provided me with my orders or refund requests, without too many problems over the last few months.
If you are faced with choices and you need something to give you clarity of mind, there is a great homeopathic remedy too that can help you focus and support decision making. It works on reducing restlessness at night, when you are tossing and turning as the mind won’t switch off and can reduce the anxiety levels from this choice or that choice internal debates. Kalium Silicicum is a deep acting remedy and one I would recommend when worrying about ‘big’ choices that are to be made. Start off with a 30c potency and see how it goes and always best to consult with a registered homeopathic practitioner to ensure that this remedy is right for you in line with other treatments you may be accessing.
So there you have it choices are your right to choose. Don’t let people ‘abuse’ you if you choose to be different. It’s your life and you do have the right to choose how to live it.
Enjoy!
One of my kitchen based interests is baking, not on a professional basis by any means but cakes, biscuits or home made snack bars.
The biscuits pictures are the Australian Anzac biscuits, a great breakfast biscuit as packed with oats, some sugar and a naughty bit of butter and golden syrup!
So why baking for Well-being? Whilst baking you don’t really have a choice than to be mindful of the task in hand… measuring, mixing, adding this and that at certain times, making sure the consistency is just right. Concentrating on making sure everything is just so before popping them into the oven to do its magic. It’s a time for being in the moment, that moment when what is happening outside doesn’t matter, the moment when I am creating something that, with a finished product is hopefully worth it.
There you have it Baking for Well-being and something good to eat after!
During lockdown and because no holidays are on the cards for sometime, a treat arrived at the house. A bean to cup coffee machine! This piece of kitchen tech has been a life saver for my well-being because of two main reasons:
1. I absolutely love coffee and an average cup of a good coffee has some nutritional benefits;
2. In the normal world as was, I liked nothing better than treating myself to a good coffee in a local coffee shop, and sitting there between meetings gathering my thoughts and savouring the taste of the elixirs, made from a decent bean!
Coffee itself in an average cup is high in antioxidants, has aprox 11% RDA of Vit B2 (riboflavin) and 6% RDA vit B5. Obviously it has caffiene in it which should be drank in moderation!
So here’s to the start of another day with a wonderful fresh bean to cup coffee made at home!
“But darling, you forgot about one thing: I love your dark, too.” When I said I loved everything about you — your mannerisms, your speech, the way that beautiful mind worked — I also meant that I loved all facets of you. All the colors you radiated from within. The blazing reds of your unbridled […]
Your Dark Is Beautiful Too
I came across this post and it really resonated. Love it!
I was reading an article a few days back (probably exaggerated as was in the tabloid media) that approximately 60% of the population do not want to return to the pre-covid19 era, feeling anxious about the easing of the lockdown and the outside world as a whole. Upon reading further, some other articles highlighted that it wasn’t necessarily the fear of catching the coronavirus as such but rather the thought of having to go back into the outside world.
Some people have experienced incredible loneliness and isolation as a result of the restrictions over the last few months and I cannot even start to think of what they went through as the doors were shut around them and they found themselves completely alone, let’s hope they are beginning to feel the benefits of the lockdown restrictions easing somewhat. However, there are some, like myself who have been shielding, working from home and, in a way have enjoyed being in my support bubble without having to keep pace with how life was prior to the lockdown beginning in March.
With the shielding planned on being lifted fully at the end of July, the date brings with it a mix of emotions. Yes… freedom but also trepidation on having to return to a normally chaotic world, busy routine and headspace being used up with outside matters rather than with those within my now, new comfort bubble.
So what can I do about it? Well, recently with the permission to go outside, I took the camera out and decided to take some pictures of my surroundings, and see the tranquility and peace in the new world I now find myself in. There is something about seeing the scene but also detaching from it somewhat when you look down a lens of the camera. That feeling of being there but not actively being seen. The not actively being seen is the part I think I am holding on to.
So what can I or others feeling this way do about it. To begin with, I am thinking about the parts of the shielding I have enjoyed and realistically take forward and recreate in the new world I am about to re-enter. Things like the chilling out more, the periods of reflection and the creative side of my brain with reigniting my inner photographer. I actually managed to complete my photography diploma over this period with a final photographic portfolio being taken from within the four walls of the house. Spending time reading too and actually picking up the industry magazines that come through my door and reading the articles instead of it just sitting on the coffee table as it does until the next issue drops through the letterbox. All of these things I can take with me from my bubble!
So what am I going to do about re-entering the world that is out there? Yes it is an anxious time, yes there are the worries of the coronavirus and all that comes with it. Yes there is the return to the office instead of having time at home working and using the tech to keep in touch, chair meetings and share work etc, but it has to happen sometime right? At least I am one of the lucky ones who has a job to go back to, unlike many people we know who have the added burden of losing their jobs, resulting in financial worries going forward.
There is also the added benefit of the myriad of natural remedies that can help too. The Bach Flower remedies for example, mindfulness thinking and meditation and of course I couldn’t get away without mentioning a couple of Homeopathic remedies to boot. (Well I am a registered Homeopath after all).
A couple of remedies that spring to mind would be:-
Aconite for a intense sudden anxiety, panic or fear – Have this on you at a 30c remedy for a first aid remedy and take one tablet if you suddenly experience the symptoms just mentioned.
Calcarea Carbonica (Calc-Carb) can support you at a more constitutional level. I like to consider this remedy when your solid foundation has been compromised. Just like the Oyster it comes from…… Grows on a solid foundation, within a safe hub of its shell and can close itself off from the world. Calc Carb is great for apprehension, and anxiety with palpitations. I would suggest this remedy is taken at a 200c potency.
In summary if you are feeling a bit apprehensive or anxious about re-entering the new world the following things could help:-
Well, during lockdown it was time for a rethink. Watch this space as new posts coming soon regarding general wellbeing, be it recipes, hobbies or natural health and nutrition tips etc. Everything and Anything about how to maintain our wellbeing
Spring has arrived, the clocks moved forward and the season of hope, a time of awakening and coming alive is upon us. Such an energetic and revitalising season, don’t you think? One I love and the season where I start to come alive with energy, vitality and vigour. Not surprising really, considering I am a living organism that will benefit from the earth’s axis tilting more towards the sun and the increased light it brings as the season progresses.
Spring for the Homeopath can bring with it some new challenges with the patients presenting in clinic, with seasonal allergies, insect bites and stings and patients requiring psychological support as they too, like the plants, seek new beginnings and can, at times set themselves unachievable goals which life always seems to get in the way of.
Nutrition wise, Spring is a great season too as some great foods are now coming into season, which, as so often happens in nature, are ready just in time for when our body’s need them. The avocado for example, wi
th 100g providing 160 calories, only 2.1g of saturated fats, 3% of Potassium RDA which helps enhance muscle strength, metabolism and water balance, 16% of Vitamin C (excellent as an extra boost to immune system health) and 15% of our RDA for Vit B-6. A great vitamin that aids the production of Haemoglobin, supporting the development and maintenance of brain function. This nifty little vitamin also helps helps the body make hormones such as serotonin, great for mood regulation, Melatonin, to help regulate sleep and internal clock system. (definitely needed this time of year due to the clock change) and Norepinephrine to support the body to cope with stress. So there you have it. Only one of nature’s gifts this time of year that most definitely packs a punch!
So where’s the homeopathic challenge here? Seasonal allergies can begin to show in some patients and it is here, that we can really set up the patient to cope with the symptoms before they fully arrive. One of my remedy ‘must haves’ is a mixed pollen remedy that is a great first aid remedy and excellent if the patient cannot fully identify the type of pollen allergen that is the causative factor in their symptomatology. Once this has been identified then a more accurate remedy can be prescribed to support the vital force with the true similimum.
For insect bites and in particular stings, my go to remedy is Apis, usually prescribed at a 200c for first aid use and is excellent to relieve the swelling, redness and ‘stinging’ pain that can be experienced. Belladonna is also great for that sudden hot pain, if you don’t happen to have Apis in your first aid remedy kit.
So here’s to Spring everyone and let’s hope that whatever you are hoping to achieve over the coming seasons, this one gives you a great start, an excellent foundation from which to grow and achieve your hopes, dreams and ambitions.
For my clinic please follow the link below
David Feakes at Broadwater Osteopathic Clinic
Simple Wellbeing 