Honestly Healthy for Life - Natasha Corrett and Vicki Edgson

The ‘greedy’ half of this blog has somewhat fallen off since it started (a year ago!) – now the title just brings up an image of me physically devouring book after book which is strange and slightly harrowing for most. I’m keen to get the food section back on track as I am a massive food lover, and what better way to re-introduce it than with a combination of my two favourite things? Food AND books!

Now, I’ll be honest, I’m not a big cook. My boyfriend is one of those annoying people who just ‘knows’ what flavours go together and any random concoction of his is some sort of masterpiece. I, on the other hand, need meticulous planning and preparation time (we’re talking over a week) for one meal, and even then there is no guarantee of success – the uncooked-potatoes-burnt-onions-runny-egg Spanish ‘tortilla’ explosion is one of my personal highlights. However, this year I decided to really attempt this whole cooking thing and master culinary greatness (I’m nearly there I promise…). Soup seems to have become my speciality, minimal presentation required and just chucking everything in a blender suits me. However, the Honestly Healthy for Life book is a rare gem that has really got me interested in cooking – and it has soup!

‘Honestly Healthy’ is the creation of Natasha Corrett and Vicki Edgson – the first book was published in 2012, closely followed by a fridge fill service, and this second book. The books promote living an Alkaline lifestyle. In short, eating alkaline foods restores the natural ph of your blood therefore reducing common ailments such as bloating, indigestion, inability to lose weight etc. This is all explained very eloquently and clearly in the first section of the book, and one of the things I love is that this isn’t just a cook book, it’s a book book! It’s well written and informative and I really enjoyed learning more about my own body and the food I put into it. Natasha is a self-taught chef, and the alkaline journey began for her as it will for everybody: through realisation and research. This personal experience really comes through in both the explanations and the recipes of the book – there is literally a healthy alternative to any food in here – it’s magical!

As I said earlier, even when trying to follow a recipe, I seem to take a wrong turning and end up with a lentil-crusted pan and a traumatised oven. What I find great about this book is the chart of acid to alkaline foods at the front. It is extremely extensive, and means that if you can’t get hold of or don’t like an ingredient, you can easily find a swap for it – rigid doomed recipes are a thing of the past! It also makes it so easy to follow the alkaline lifestyle day-to-day, just knowing which foods are at which end of the chart has made me so much more aware of what goes into my body and how it makes me feel. To be honest, I personally didn’t find it that hard to mostly eat alkaline foods. Most acidic foods are meat and dairy and, already being a vegetarian, I didn’t feel I was missing out on too much. The alkaline part is very logical, it basically consists of vegetables, herbs and spices, all things I already loved cooking with and eating. Some things were harder to substitute: I am a cheese fiend, and I love my carbs. However, the book suggests such great alternatives, some of my favourite staples now include goat’s cheese, agave syrup and buckwheat (or other gluten free products).

I’ll admit I don’t follow this lifestyle 100% of the time, I still like a massive pizza, some chocolate, and a glass (bottle) of wine once in a while – but it’s nice to know this book is there to refresh me and my body the next day. Here are some of my favourite recipes from the new book to whet your appetite:

‘My Favourite Granola’

I’ve always loved granola, but ever since someone said to me ‘it’s just eating broken up biscuits with milk’ it’s been slightly tainted. This version is all natural, and nowadays I find it 10 times more delicious than the overly sugary ones you buy in supermarkets. This is guaranteed to make me in a good mood even on the earliest of mornings.

‘Green Love Smoothie’

I have ALWAYS been sceptical of the whole green smoothie craze. Green and lumpy? Ew. However, I spotted this one’s main ingredient was mango – the love of my life that is mango. I’m not a parsley fan so swap it for some extra spinach (see what I said about the swapping?). Its slightly unappetising appearance is totally made up for in refreshing taste.

‘Raw Green Curry with Courgette Noodles’

Ok Ok, I actually left this one to the boyfriend – I was just trying to avert any disasters! This is probably my favourite recipe out of the whole book. Not only is it super easy, the sauce is so fresh and crunchy – perfect for a summer evening. Moreover, since trying these courgette noodles I haven’t looked back. Even Angus, who is NOT a fan of health fads, loves these and admits they fill him up just as much as pasta. Amazing!

‘Moses’s Nutella’

I am a recovering Nutella addict (see picture). Having realised I was getting through large tubs (the REALLY large ones you can only find in selected supermarkets) about once a week with only my teaspoon as a companion, I forced myself to give it up. Until now. I’ve tweaked this recipe a little, and am still perfecting my own favourite version, but waking up to guilt-free Nutella on toast again is something I will not be getting over quickly.

‘Fennel and Leek Soup’

Yay for soup! I’m aware that a lot of people don’t love fennel, but it’s one of my absolute favourites so I was gleeful to read that it is one of the best veg for reducing bloating and water retention, something I (and most people in the world) suffer from. This soup is so thick and creamy it’s hard to believe it’s purely vegetables – I’m itching to go and make another batch just writing this.

So that concludes my (somewhat extensive) review of Honestly Healthy For Life, but I really feel this book deserves the recognition, and I wanted to share it with as many people as possible so they too can uncover this foodie-lover’s revelation.

Read it now! Buy it here.

Visit their website for extra info and recipes here

Tash is also very helpful and responsive on Twitter, which I love! @HonestlyHealthy

Top 5 Books from my Degree

I’m ashamed. Over the past six months the blog has taken the backest of the back seats possible in my priorities. Who knew final term of third year would be so time-consuming? Now that I’ve finished my degree (sob) I’m going through a slight mourning period – hence this post. Looking back on my degree, I feel so lucky that there hasn’t been a single minute I haven’t enjoyed. True, I haven’t loved (or read) every single text on the course – trying to plough my way through abstract concepts of history and time at one am the day of the seminar definitely made me realise I am not an inhabitant of the philosophical literature camp. However, every single thing I have read and studied has taught me something, and further ignited my passion.

To pay homage to the past three years I’ve compiled a list of the five best novels I have been introduced to and read throughout my degree. This was hard – there are just so many! At heart, I’m an early modern Shakespeare kinda gal (that doesn’t sound nerdy at all) but I don’t want to neglect the huge range of literature and culture that I might never have discovered if it wasn’t for my time at Sussex.

The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy

I’ve mentioned this book before in my previous posts, usually with regards to the exotic Indian culture it introduced me to. The book was written in 1997 – significantly 50 years after India gained independence from the British Empire (in 1947). The fact that the novel won the Booker Prize perhaps points to the fact that this is a novel aimed at and written for the West, yet drenched in Indian culture and tradition. Although Roy was accused of trivialising the political struggles in India at the time, such as the rise of Communism, the domestication of these issues only further proves the gulf that is still so prevalent between Indian culture and the West. Mammaji’s obsession with the television and the culture of soap operas, for instance, is skilfully juxtaposed with her unwavering loyalty to ancient Indian traditions of caste and class – a point of contention which the entire text pivots around.

However, the emphasis lies in the title itself – this book is about the small things as impacted by the wider world. The family relationships are genuine and tangible and the questions of love – ‘where does the love go?’ ‘what are the laws of love?’ ‘can you love too much?’ -  draw the non-linear plot together around the twins Estha and Rahel. A novel combining culture differentiation, archaic traditions, and human relationships, The God of Small Things maintains an emotional connection with any reader whilst providing an exciting exoticism.

Read it now! Get it here

       The Golden Notebook – Doris Lessing

I encountered this book right at the other end of my degree, in fact only a few months ago. Not to sound corny, but I do feel that this book changed my life, and I annoyingly harp on about it to literally everyone. I can’t help it – I just can’t see how someone could read it and not feel an alteration in their thinking and living. This is the first (hopefully of many) books I’ve read by Doris Lessing, but from reading her introduction to the book (and watching a video of her casually dismissing being awarded the Nobel Prize) she seems like a pretty great lady. In the introduction, Lessing goes to great lengths to dismiss all the things critics have suggested the book is about (feminism, communism, racism, fascism). However, whilst for Lessing this book is ‘about’ none of these things, for me it is about ALL of them.

Revolving around the life of writer Anna Wulf, the novel is split into sections: the ‘true’ novel Free Women, and then Anna’s notebooks: Red, Yellow, Blue and Black. Finally, there is the Golden Notebook. It’s hard to discuss the book briefly, there is just SO MUCH to say on it. But it is also an intensely personal reading experience – Lessing’s philosophy is firm: the reader gets out what he or she is searching for. So I’ll leave you to get out of it what you will and interpret in your own way. What I will say is that it’s the most informative piece of fiction I’ve ever read and I’m still working my way through all the political, sexual and psychological contexts in which the text is written. This novel is a masterpiece – yes it is a heavy read and yes it is long, but it is also necessary and relevant. I will never stop avidly (forcibly…) recommending The Golden Notebook to people.

Read it now! Get it here

       Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov

I read this for a course on satire in literature which, I have to say, wasn’t my favourite course. I loved the satirical traditions of the ancient worlds, but the modern satires ultimately revolving around sex and brutal violence weren’t for me. It was potentially discussing these in a room full of men as one of the only women which put me off. However, as part of the course I did read a book I never would otherwise have picked up: Lolita.

The novel has so many different textures and layers, just thinking about it makes me want to go back and read it again. It’s one of those books that I think you have to read multiple times in order to get the most enjoyment out of it. Known today as one of the infamous ‘Banned Books’ people can still get a little shamefaced talking about it. The story is of self-concious, loner Humbert, who falls in love with young verging-on-pubescent Lolita. Nabokov’s genius really comes in as the tables begin to turn as Lolita becomes the manipulative villain and Humbert the blithering idiot victim. The reader asks themselves ‘how can his love be a crime?’. It is only when we step back out of Humbert’s own narration that we can see the situation with fresh eyes. Nabokov’s manipulation of characters and distortion of right and wrong is what sticks in the mind once the novel is over, it is a novel which throws up more questions than it answers, begging to be read over and over.

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       New Grub Street – George Gissing

Bit of a different one here – but I do love my Victorian novels. Gissing is a bit different from more conventional Victorian writers such as Austen or Hardy, his stance wavers between traditionalism set out by earlier writers and experimental modernism that would be taken up by writers such as Joyce. As well as testing out new fictional styles and novel forms, Gissing takes up fascinating questions of growing capitalism, industrialisation, and economic pressure within his own context – questions which were adopted by political writers such as Orwell and Wells much later.

The novel follows the lives of a number of different aspiring and established writers in an ever-expanding London. In true realist fashion, Gissing creates each character around a set of values and social constructs, forcing them to partake in a survival of the fittest style competition. Gissing shows how the life of a writer is all encompassing – from the physical manifestations of writers’ block, to the crippling restrictions of age and gender. Coupling this with the metatextuality imposed by Gissing’s own writing and critical background, New Grub Street is one of the best representations of the impact of capitalism on the world of literature and culture of its time, and has resonated with each generation since.

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       Gulliver’s Travels – Jonathan Swift

As the saying goes… ‘an oldie but a goodie’. My sister is appalled I’m including this in the list, but I just love this book! (and most of Swift’s other work). I’ve studied it a few times over the years and each time I find something new to laugh at, it’s just such a good piece of satirical fiction. I won’t say much on this one as it’s very well known – people probably know it best for the Land of the Lilliputs. But even the less known sections, such as the world of the Houyhnhnms, are enthralling and so enlightening. Swift’s not-so-subtle digs at humankind and the physicality of the body are not only hilarious, but also say a lot about the controversial nature of his writing and views on society. One of the earliest examples of social satire – this one is a classic and a must-read.

Read it now! Get it here