It is the moment to take a break from heavy foods and lighten up a bit. The season is filled with bitter green leaves (rocket, mustard leaves, dandelion and sorrel), with fibrous asparagus and then soon with brightly coloured berries.

Simplify your food to just simple fruits and vegetables, lots of water and whole grains (brown rice, quinoa).

Boost yourself with green leaves – the food most lacking in modern, western diets. Green leaves are highly alkaline and boost our livers to get rid of toxins – something needed for city dwellers. They are high calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, zinc, vitamins A, C, E and K and loaded with fibre, folate and chlorophyll. In short they have it all and these early bitter Spring leaves are the best!

Without much energy going toward digestion, more energy is available to the rest of your body and mind. You can usually feel it within a couple of days and it can also bring improved immune function and better digestion.

It might also be the right moment to get rid of some clutter – take some old books to Pele Mele or a book sharing centre, clothes to Petits Rien, do one of the many brocantes that arrive on the Brussels streets.

And never a better moment to make a decision to boost your metabolism and immunity by walking or cycling to work and leaving the car behind.

The post Time to clear out: Spring Clean appeared first on Brussels Express.

Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD) or the less severe ‘winter blues’ effect up to one in eight people in northern Europe. SAD is a type of depression in which a lack of light is thought to affect the part of the brain that rules sleep, appetite, sex drive, mood and activity levels. Patients experience lethargy and a craving for sugary snacks.

If you think that you have SAD then you may wish to seek medical advice, however if it is the winter blues then maybe there are a few things that can help you at home.

Did you know that what we eat every day actually affects that super important chemical Serotonin. Serotonin is one of the major mood neurotransmitters in our brains. Simply put, when serotonin levels are low, we’re more depressed, and when they’re high, we’re happier. We get Serotonin from light but also from other sources.

 

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80 to 90 percent of the human body’s total serotonin is found in specialized cells in our guts, not in our brains!

Therefore it is really important to be eating the serotonin we need. The highest concentrations of Serotonin are found in:

• walnuts
• plantains
• pineapples
• bananas
• kiwis
• plums
• tomatoes

So on a rainy day, why not treat yourself to lots of wonderful, colourful fruit and vegetables. Don’t just concentrate on the list above – eat a big variety!

There is a cocktail effect in combining vegetables and fruits which is even more than the sum of the benefits of each individual vegetable.

So go on… let the sun shine in!

The post Beat the winter blues appeared first on Brussels Express.

Of course vegetables and fruit are the best source of the vitamins and minerals we need. Eat the ones that are in season – oranges, kiwis, root vegetables in order to get what is needed for this season.

However I also make a ‘magic potion’ for anyone in the family who is starting to feel a cold coming on… so I thought I would share my recipe!

It all begins with these two roots: ginger and turmeric.

Ginger has been used for its medicinal properties for over 2000 years – it is anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, antiviral and full of antioxidants… that’s a lot of ‘anti’s’ for something so good!

Turmeric: another powerful natural antiseptic with a long list of health benefits.

So I chop some of these and put them in a pan and heat and simmer them for about 10 minutes.

When it has become a nice golden colour and smells fantastic – I put it in a cup and add some lemon juice and local honey.

Drink it when warm and get well soon.

The post Winter booster: drink this and you will be ready to fight the cold appeared first on Brussels Express.

New Year’s Resolutions. They’re a great idea in principle – a chance to re-focus on our goals and commit to our wellbeing. But let’s be honest: how often have you stuck to your New Year’s Resolutions for more than a couple of weeks?

Here’s the thing: we tend to see New Year as a time to set life-changing goals for ourselves: going to the gym every day, giving up alcohol, losing 20 kilos… And the problem with setting life-changing goals is that it takes serious, sustained commitment to stand any chance of achieving them. That isn’t always much fun, so we struggle through a few weeks and then, inevitably, end up right back where we started.

So, what’s the answer?

One thing all the experts agree on is the importance of setting realistic goals. If you tell yourself you’ll come to the club five times a week, you’re setting the bar very high – possibly too high. If (when) you don’t make it five times – even if you manage three visits – you’ll feel as though you’ve failed and will lose your motivation, in spite of the fact that three club visits a week is still more than many (even most) people achieve. If you feel you’ve lost your mojo, by all means use January 1 as the catalyst to re-start your wellbeing journey.

Do you agree with the quote:  « something is better than nothing »?

US-based behavioural change expert Michelle Segar PhD published a book a few years ago called No Sweat: How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness. In it, she very rightly maintained that the 10 minutes’ exercise you do is far better than the hour’s exercise you promise yourself you’ll do but don’t get round to. So indeed,  doing something is better than doing nothing. Equally, it’s important to recognise that lower intensity exercise also counts. You don’t have to sweat on the treadmill all the time: activities such as walking on the treadmill, yoga, pilates and stretching play their part too.

And if I can’t make it to the club?

So, on the days when you can’t make it into the club, just get moving somehow – even if it’s just a 10-minute walk at lunchtime. Building activity into your life in manageable chunks will eventually lead to what Segar calls “a lifelong partnership with exercise”, both at Aspria and elsewhere in your daily life; punishing yourself for not making it to the club will just reinforce a sense of failure and hold you back from being active at all. As Segar says: “Fitness is a lifelong learning process, not a target you have to hit.”

The overall learning? Don’t try and change the world in one day. Starting small is just fine – and that’s the advice I’ll follow in 2019.

The post New Year’s Resolutions: It’s OK to think small appeared first on Brussels Express.

The roots of any plant are its anchor and foundation; they are the essential parts that support and nourish the plant. Root vegetables lend these properties to us when we eat them, making us feel physically and mentally grounded and rooted, increasing our stability, stamina and endurance.

Roots are a rich source of nutritious complex carbohydrates, providing a steady source of necessary sugars to the body. Instead of upsetting blood sugar levels like refined sweet foods, they regulate them. Since they absorb, assimilate and supply plants with vital nutrients, roots likewise increase absorption and assimilation in our digestive tracts.

Long roots, like burdock, carrots, parsnips and daikon radish, are excellent blood purifiers and can help improve circulation in the body and increase mental clarity.

Round roots, like turnips, radishes, beets and rutabagas, are nourishing to the stomach, spleen, pancreas and reproductive organs and can help regulate blood sugar and moods, and alleviate cravings.

Our body is often so happy with the sweetness we get from roots that it won’t even be asking for a dessert!

How to cook them?

My two favourite ways to cook root vegetables are to either roast them in the oven or to make soup with them. Both are so easy to do.

Roasted roots – cut up a selection of root vegetables into small chunks, chop a red onion and add all ingredients to an oven proof dish. I like to add a few cloves of garlic in their skin which are delicious when roasted. Add olive oil and season to your liking and roast in the oven at around 200 degrees Celsius for about 1 hour – turning around occasionally.

To make an easy soup with the left over roasted vegetables – simply transfer to a pan, cover with boiling water and add a bay leaf or some vegetable stock (optional). Leave for 5-10 mins and then puree (remove the bay leaf first)

Here are a few recipes you have maybe not considered:

Sweet potato and quinoa burgers

Sweet potato and kale curry

Roasted vegetable hummus

Roasted root vegetables with buckwheat and pesto

Enjoy!

The post Feeling rooted… the wonders of winter vegetables!     appeared first on Brussels Express.

Greens: spinach, kale, broccoli, chard, salads, collards, pak choy, watercress, rocket, cabbage.

They boost our immune systems, they purify our blood, they promote healthy intestines, they prevent cancer, they improve how our liver and kidneys function, they reduce mucus, and yet they are one of the groups of foods most commonly missing in modern diets.

Nutritionally, greens are very high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc and vitamins A, C, E and K. They are loaded with fibre, folic acid, chlorophyll and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals. Although choosing organic is recommended, eating non-organic greens is still preferable to not eating any greens at all.

Over the last years, the availability and variety of green leaves available has really improved – whether through vegetable basket schemes (see last blog) or organic shops or markets. Even the supermarkets have really improved on the offer.

Don’t worry – it doesn’t have to be boiled cabbage! Eating greens can be so tasty and exciting.

For example:

Add a few greens to a fruit smoothie. Recipe here:

Try a pak choy salad with feta and sumac:

A spinach and aubergine curry:

Loads more recipes here:

So as the days get darker and immune systems have to work harder – give them a good boost of greens.

Don’t take my word for it – try it and see.

The post Lettuce eat more greens!   appeared first on Brussels Express.

I think it happens to most of us, fairly regularly – however, even though it is not a long time, it is often hard to ‘allow’ ourselves to take 10 minutes out.

Why not get up now, move away and take 10 minutes to do something else? Go on! When you come back you will most likely feel rejuvenated and fresh, have a bigger smile on your face and maybe be able to do what you were doing even better.

Here’s ten ideas for taking 10!

1) First on the list is inspired by a friend who takes her colleagues out for a 10 minute ‘sun walk’ at lunchtime when the sun has dared to come through the Brussels clouds. Exercise, vitamin D and a chance to chat about other things with colleagues… win, win, win!!

2) On a rainy day, you can try putting some music on (or headphones) and having a dance! Okay this may not be possible in a busy open plan office (unless of course you can convince your colleagues – flashmob style!).

3) If that seems a bit energetic, even some stretches can make a difference – a few salutes to the sun if you’re familiar with yoga or just some simple stretches.

4) If something calmer is what you need and you have a computer near by, then check out Andy Puddicombe on TED… he may inspire you to do no. 5 tomorrow.. or learn how to juggle.

5) Get some headspace – meditation – 10 minutes a day to a clearer mind and better sleep and…. Get a 10 day free programme here.

6) Make a gratitude list – try making a list of 10 things you are really grateful for. We so often focus on the things that are wrong or we want to change, so taking time to list 10 things in your life that are really great can be pretty refreshing… its amazing the effect this can have! And why stop at 10… just keep on going!

7) Laugh – if you don’t have a great comedian sitting next to you, then try finding some of your favourite comedians on-line. Even better watch with a few colleagues – a group laugh is even better.

8) Draw – take a blank sheet of paper and draw whatever comes to mind – doodle away… no thinking.

9) Music – the power of music is unquestioned. Try putting a piece of classical music on and closing your eyes for a while.

10) Just take an air break – why do the smokers go outside for a break while the non-smokers stay stuck in the office… choose a nice spot not too close to the smokers and go outside just to breathe and change the air or have a chat with a colleague. Guaranteed your brain will feel less foggy afterwards.

Go on. Just take 10.

The post Just take 10 minutes away from your desk appeared first on Brussels Express.

Chemically it is glutamate – but in order to try and recreate it, the food industry invented monosodium glutamate which is added to many foods including stocks, soups, crisps and a lot of Chinese food.

Maybe you have also suffered from Chinese restaurant syndrome?

I discovered that I have a serious allergic reaction to it about 20 years ago, when we went to a Chinese restaurant and afterwards I missed an amazing show in London because of the effects.

So to avoid any repeat performances I make sure that MSG or E621 is not present in anything I eat.

But natural umami is worth adding to your meals and will give a feeling of hitting the spot – good satisfaction with what you have eaten. So how do you get it? Here are a few examples:

• Olives
• Sun-dried tomatoes or other ripe and ‘beefy’ tomatoes
• Mushrooms – especially shiitake and dried mushrooms like porcini
• Garlic
• Balsamic vinegar
• Parmesan and other aged cheeses
• Fermented foods (sauerkraut, miso, kimchi, soy sauce)
• roasting or grilling helps – so roast your pumpkin seeds or nuts before sprinkling on a salad
• Seaweeds and sea vegetables

So cut out the middle man (industry) and create your own umami – see how it influences your level of satisfaction with your meal…

What’s your favourite?

The post Add The Wow Taste Factor to Your Life – Natural Umami appeared first on Brussels Express.

With an overall Distance 6,226 meters, the Louvain-la-Neuve Golf Course was built by architect Dudock van Heel in 1989, and par 72. The previous editions took place at Royal Golf Club du Bercuit (RGCB), always in September

There is also a famous golf academy : http://www.pro1golf.com/
Well located in the middle of nature, this complex includes a lighted driving range composed of 40 pitches, a play area, a play area. approach, a 4-hole course, a swing analysis studio and club fitting and a store all framed by golf professionals graduates. The golf school has a perfect structure to practice this sport, probably the best in Belgium.

Program for the day:

Breakfast will be served between 8.30 and 10.30.
The first players will tee off from 9.30.
Free introduction reserved for beginners, between 15.00 and 17.00.
The day will close with the prize giving at around 18.00.
For beginners, a free introduction to golf has been planned for the afternoon, between 15.00 and 17.00. Beginners who would like to register for the free introductory session, only your name is required.

The post World Golfers’ eyes are set on Wallonia appeared first on Brussels Express.

What has happened to ‘normal’?

Why is it now ‘normal’ that our food supplies have been treated with pesticides that are known to have serious consequences to our health? Why is it ‘normal’ that our soil has been exploited to the extent that it is depleted of many of the important nutrients and minerals we need for good health? Does it have to be ‘normal’ that small farmers have had to make way for huge industrial manufacturing of our food?

I don’t think I like ‘normal’ very much…

Moving to organic is a small but important step in giving your body what it deserves. It keeps chemicals off your plate and out of your body, it helps the environment and water quality, supports small farmers, saves energy needed to produce all the synthetic fertilizers… not to mention it just tastes better!

For many people though, switching to 100% organic is not feasible in the weekly budget (although in Brussels with affordable markets like the Tanneurs, I don’t think this is much of an issue), therefore understanding which foods are priority can be helpful.

The Environment Working Group in the USA comes up with an annual list of the Dirty Dozen – these are the most contaminated fruits and vegetables. If you are going to make the switch to organic its not a bad idea to start with these:

1. Apples (Pears too)
2. Peppers
3. Celery
4. Blueberries
5. Grapes
6. Nectarines
7. Peaches
8. Pears
9. Potatoes
10. Strawberries
11. Spinach
12. Lettuce

The difference in price of these items is not always that big – why not compare at your local shop? Remember it is also best if they are seasonal and local and this can also reduce the price… so no strawberries in autumn and winter!

The post The Dirty Dozen – which fruits and vegetables should you buy organic? appeared first on Brussels Express.