26 Jan Getting the balance right.

The way I see it is you can eat a bit of junk food (for want of a better phrase) every now and again if you balance it out with some good stuff….as in fresh veg, fruit, oily fish etc. So, this morning, after polishing off 2 croissants following my run (my body tells me what I need, so I darn’t deny it), my conscience got the better of me and I opted for a healthy lunch. I love recipe books and mags, so often my inspiration will come from them; but on this occasion I was dictated to by the contents of my fridge. 3 white cabbages (I still haven’t mastered the art of on-line shopping), a big bag of carrots that were taking up far too much space, and some fennel, which was intended for a recipe that I never got round to making. It took me 5 minutes to do the following, and boy did my body thank me (you just have to convince yourself of that one; same way I do when I give it croissants.)

Grate the white cabbage into a bowl – however much you fancy, or plan to use.
Grate your carrots – same again, but keep the use of ingredients fairly balanced.
Grate your fennel. Perhaps slightly less on this one as it has a far more distinctive taste and you want it to work with the mustard, not battle with it.

Add a couple of spoonfuls of good quality mayonnaise – none of this low calorie stuff either, it just doesn’t hit the spot. Unless you’re seriously watching your weight, then of course, I strongly advise you do.
Then add a spoonful of course grain mustard – once again, a good quality brand like Maille (the French really know their mustards, believe me).
Mix/toss all together and low and behold, you have a FRESH and healthy coleslaw that is a scrummy acompaniment to meat, fish or whatever takes your fancy.
It was a piece of smoked mackerel that took my fancy. I need all the oily fish I can get to boost my diminishing brain cells. Let your body tell you what it needs, just be mindful to get the balance right.