Bananas

Since I last wrote - for the first time - two days ago I have now discovered that some people have actually looked at my blog (apart from my sister and best friend who I shared the blog with). How can this be? I am feeling very much ego puffed (a phrase coined by Harry Hill, I believe) and it is an injection of motivation for me to continue writing about my interests. Be it food, health, travel, trends or nonsense.

On Friday I visited Ox and Finch which is a new (to me) eatery in Glasgow's West End. I went there with a friend and ex-colleague who is always up to date with all things trendy and cool in Glasgow. I don't know if she'll mind me mentioning this, but she is the owner of a lovely boutique in Glasgow: Isabella's Wardrobe. There is a web shop too for all fashion followers. 

The idea of Ox and Finch is that the menu is changing regularly, but is the same for lunch and dinner. The dishes that come are a generous 'tapas' size so we shared 7 which was plenty. Oh, and a delicate and delicious desert. Here is a snap of mine: 

Chocolate and blackcurrant torte

The theme of today is bananas. I haven't yet decided if my blog will have a different theme per post or just a mish mash of my views, things I have been reading about or eating and what's current in food trends. But I wanted to mention bananas as I have eaten a lot recently and I am kind of amazed at how they have come to replace the kinds of bland processed sweet foods that I would eat before (biscuits, cakes, cereal bars) and just how incredibly sweet they taste to a palate that is cutting down on sugar. My most recent discovery is the frozen banana and how, combined with raw cacao powder, milk, peanut butter and coconut oil, it creates a fantastic, moreish chocolate ice cream drink. So unbelievably good. 
We use a Breville Blend Active to whizz it all together in about 10 seconds.

I am looking into the UK NHS' most recent 'Sugar Swaps' campaign.
I don't think until now a national campaign has so blatantly come out and pointed the finger at sugar as the cause of childhood obesity. It has adverts on National Television and is branded in a colourful and appealing way with what looks like Keith Haring inspired plasticine characters. My concern, however, is the suggested 'swaps'. Okay, swapping cereal loaded with sugar for plain porridge: thumbs up. Swapping fizzy drinks for sugar-free drinks? No. Aspartame people. Deadly stuff which you wouldn't knowingly feed your kids if you had seen Sweet Misery. It causes horrible, horrible illnesses. 

From topdocumentaryfilms.com:

'Aspartame is an artificial sweetener, an additive. And it's a chemical. It's not a natural product, it's a chemical. The molecule is made up of three components. Two are amino acids, the so-called building blocks of protein.

One is called Phenylalanine, which is about 50% of the molecule and the other is Aspartic Acid, which is like 40%. And the other 10% is so-called Methyl Ester, which as soon as it’s swallowed becomes free methyl alcohol. Methanol. Wood alcohol, which is a poison. A real poison.'

So, the NHS has some way to go with this. I will write more about this but suffice to say, our national health advising bodies are yet again giving confusing, mis-information to people about so-called 'healthy' options which don't even involve 'real food', just further processed, and downright dangerous, chemicals.

Thanks for reading