Walking on Holidays

While on holidays walking in Austria in 2005 we spotted this pair of serious walkers, they had matching bags and socks. "LIFE LOVERS"

Our walk took around 4-5 hours. We walked through some breathtaking scenery up a steep mountain to a small hut overlooking an emerald mountain lake. We were 1920m above sea level stopping at the Coburgerhutte 2.5 hours into our walk.



Exercising while on holidays need not be a session in the gym. Walking, running, skiing, horse riding, bike riding are a number of enjoyable ways to stay active and healthy.

If you have a favourite "exercising while on holidays" snap and you would like to post it on our Blog please forward your picture and a brief story to vigourpt@fwi.net.au

"Whats all the hype on Juice Plus"

Juice Plus + is a WHOLE FOOD BASED PRODUCT, from the powders of fruits Vegetables and grains.

Juice Plus+ is NOT a fractionated man made vitamin supplement. Below is a quote from the Better Health Channel in Victoria 17/4/2008

There are many misconceptions about vitamins and the health benefits they offer. Vitamin supplements are commonly misused and taken as a form of medicine to treat ailments such as colds or to counteract lifestyle issues such as stress. Contrary to popular belief, vitamins aren't drugs or miracle cures. They are organic compounds that participate in various metabolic functions. MOST VITAMINS NEED TO BE TAKEN THROUGH FOOD. - 17/4/2008

Juice Plus+ contains concentrated juice powders from 17 different raw fruits, vegetables and grains, plus an array of natural anti-oxidants, phytochemicals, and fibres in convenient capsule form. Juice Plus+ Fruit Blend contains seven of the most nutritious fruits around: apples, oranges, pineapples, cranberries, peaches, acerola cherries and paw paw. Juice Plus+ Vegetable Blend contains ten nutrient-dense vegetables and grains: carrots, parsley, beets, kale, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, rice bran and oat fibres. Juice Plus+ is made from the freshest, highest quality fruits and vegetables, carefully tested every step of the way to ensure no detectable levels of pesticides, herbicides or other contaminants are present to affect the natural purity of the product.
They are juiced to extract their nutritional essence, and then reduced to powder using a special proprietary process. This drying process is carefully monitored to ensure maximum retention of important and sensitive micro nutrients.
Exposing the fruit and vegetable juices to high heat over a period of time can destroy much of the nutritional value, as if we were to overcook the fresh, raw fruits and vegetables at home. Through our proprietary process, most of the vital nutrients found in the fresh, raw fruits and vegetables remain intact, making Juice Plus+ the next best thing to actually eating fresh, raw fruits and vegetables.

Today as reported in the media on most days we are advised that man made vitamins may do more harm than good, that's why taking a whole food based product is really the best alternative to fractionated multi vitamins.
Taking Juice Plus+ capsules every day is an easy and inexpensive way to add nutrition from a wide variety of different fruits, vegetables and grains to your diet.

Yours in health

Melanie

Make time to eat

eating has become rather devalued today. Often it is crammed between "important" events, and we barley have time to sit down to enjoy our food. Taking time for a meal is far more beneficial to digestive health, as well as more satisfying.

A Tempting Treat

Baked Ricotta with cherries in a vanilla syrup

Recipe from Sharing Plates by Jared Ingersoll. Published by Murdoch Books.

For the baked ricotta

750g ricotta cheese

2 eggs

1 vanilla bean

175g caster sugar

200g unsalted pistachio nuts

Preheat your oven to 150C (300F/Gas 2). Put the ricotta and eggs in a large bowl, then beat together. Carefully split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the ricotta, reserving the bean itself for the syrup. Now add the sugar and pistachios and beat together well. Life is easier if you have a non stick loaf (bar) tin, about 21x10x5cm(8.25x4x2in), for the ricotta, but if you don't have one, then grease and line the tin with plastic wrap. Spoon the ricotta mixture into the tin and smooth the top, then cover the tin with foil. You now want to cook the ricotta in a bain-marie, which is basically means in a water bath. To do this, place your loaf tin in a roasting tray and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the outside of the ricotta tin. Bake this for 50mins. Remove from the water, take of the foil and allow the ricotta to cool completely in the fridge before turning out - it will need a few hours to cool.



For the Cherries


280g sugar

1 lemon

the leftover vanilla bean from the ricotta

100ml cold water

55ml kirsch

250g cherries

Put the sugar, a small piece of lemon zest, the vanilla bean and water in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until you have a very pale caramel. Remove the pan from the heat and stop the cooking process by carefully adding a squeeze of lemon juice and the kirsch. Allow to cool completely but don’t refrigerate – it will take about 45 minutes.Take you cherries and remove their stems. Working over a bowl, tear the cherries in half to remove the stone. I like the look of the torn untidy pieces of cherry; also you will be squeezing out the juice, which will look great on the plate. Keep in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

For servingSlice the ricotta into about eight even pieces, depending on how many people you are serving. Remove the lemon zest and vanilla bean form the syrup and pour the syrup over the cherries, then serve the cherries over the cut ricotta.

Delish in very small serves