Cleansing with Amchara in Gozo

May 25, 2017 Belle Amatt

It's day 3 in Gozo. I'm staying with Amchara on a retreat aiming to cleanse with no distraction for 7 days. Gozo is a rustic little island off Malta. There's not a great deal to lead us off the path of detoxification. Our room is surrounded by palms, rolling fields and pure tranquility.

Having run my own cleanse for 8 days before leaving, I'm suffering no ill effects. Alcohol and sugar were long gone, caffeine had been very late leaving my world but interestingly I've had not one headache or coffee craving since arrival; likely due to the tapering off but also there has been little room for considering its loss. Amchara retreat is full of 'giving'. Juices on arrival, calm and supportive advice, a timetable of events which offer a perfect balance of relaxation coupled with self-caring activities.

I started my day with a swim, had an breakfast of eggs with a mineral shot chaser, moved on to a spot of sun-bathing, followed by aqua aerobics and the lunch - a deliciously blended smoothie.

My daily mineral shot...pretty palatable, everything tastes good at Amchara

Yesterday we headed to a small island - Comino- sped off on a motor-boat to explore dark caves then landed on a beach for a few hours of sun-soaking.

All very idyllic. My expectations of hunger have not been met. Many cleansers are juice fasting - I'm on a semi-raw food/juice and eggs for breakfast plan as all clients are professionally screened to check they are up to juice fasting. Due to an under-lying health issue I'm on a food / juice plan which was gleefully accepted as I'd already seen Amchara's tasty food concoctions on Instagram.

On day 3 I can't recommend it enough and will be organising a trip over here later this year, so keep an eye on the newsletters and if you haven't signed up for this yet please do.

(If you can't wait that long please mention my name when booking!)

I'm off for a steam....

Cleanse - why bother?

May 15, 2017 Belle Amatt

The words ‘cleanse’ and ‘detox’ are often used interchangeably. I prefer to use the word ‘cleanse’ for my courses as the term detox immediately rings alarm bells for many. Words like restriction, fast and hunger spring to mind and create a negative vibe.

There are many cynics when it comes to clean eating and detoxing. One blog I found describes cleansing with a very black and white mentality:

‘There's no specific definition of a detox or cleanse, but they often involve limiting your food intake to pressed juice, avoiding specific types of food, or drinking a concoction of juices that supposedly rids your body of toxins.’ And this goes on to provide a sceptical overview of how the body is perfectly capable of detoxing itself and how just drinking juice for a period can be dangerous.

Watercress and Quinoa Salad

April 27, 2017 Belle Amatt

Spring is blooming into summer and I’m embracing this beautiful month by bringing lots of colour into the kitchen. May sees my first Cleanse event of the year so I’m sharing a Superfood Recipe with you; it is one which features in my Cleanse food plan. This dish can be eaten as a lunch (great with feta chunks on the top) or served as a side salad alongside lamb, fresh fish or BBQ chicken. I recently ate this salad nestled alongside a piece of battered fish from the chippy; as life is all about balance.

This superfood salad combines two key cleanse foods. Quinoa is a rich source of protein. If you are unfamiliar with this South American seed it can be used much like couscous. Watercress is rich in folate and vitamin C. In this recipe, these foods are given a flavour upgrade with fresh herbs, spices, and sweet red grapes. (serves 4)

Lent Tastes Divine - Vegan Bread and Butter Pud

March 16, 2017 Belle Amatt

Lent is the season of reflection and preparation before the chocolatey celebrations of Easter. This time of year always inspires me to dip my toe into some form of foodie deprivation. I’m not going as extreme as fasting but thought a stint of veganism might give me that middle ground. How wrong could I be! Hardly feels like penance, I’m enjoying some creativity around dairy free. Here is my version of Jamie Oliver’s vegan take on an old time favourite.

Female Icons and the Lack of Plus Sized Male Models

March 8, 2017 Belle Amatt

A google search with the words ‘plus sized model’ brings up oodles of proudly borne female flesh. But when googling ‘plus sized male model’ we get suit, modesty, no flesh. I cannot find an image of a true plus sized male getting it all out in a gesture of ‘I am who I am’ abandonment.

Japanese Pancakes

February 28, 2017 Belle Amatt

Today is Pancake Day. It’s a day which always makes me wonder why we don’t eat pancakes more often. They are so simple and versatile. Here’s an idea for something a little different. I have chosen this Japanese street food dish to share with you as traditional food from this part of the world is generally fresh and healthy; and something I always give focus to in my Longevity Nutrition workshops.

Lovely Body Positive

February 22, 2017 Belle Amatt

Keeping inspired whilst recovering from an Eating Disorder is crucial. That little voice over your shoulder that whispers 'you can do it' needs to be constantly nourished with a drip feed of 'lovely body positive' commentary. This phrase I'm using - Lovely Body Positive - is all the more powerful as it comes from one of the Recover Clinic (ED clinic in Brighton) clients who provided me with a list of positive online role-models.

Light and Lovely Sunday Mushrooms with Mozzarella

February 12, 2017 Belle Amatt

I recently came across a recipe for Mushroom and Mozzarella burgers which involves oven baking a large field mushroom adding a slice of mozzarella and popping into a bun with home-made tomato salsa. And yes, as much as I love the idea of the slippery mozzarella sitting so snuggly alongside an equally slippery mushroom I felt it was a shame to put this in a bun as you may well lose the beauty of all the textures amidst a lot of grainy density.

So here is my version, which would indeed work well alongside a hunk of sourdough bread, however I feel the mushroom need to take centre stage

Resolutions or not?

January 15, 2017 Belle Amatt

Bit bored of hearing about whether or not New Year resolutions are any good. A Daily Mail headline includes ‘Experts say keep them realistic and expect small changes’. Hardly hopeful, are there really experts on New Year’s Resolutions?

Let it go, let it go, let it go!

December 12, 2016 Belle Amatt

She grimaced at the sound of Grandad arriving armed with presents, a large wedge of Stilton and a bottle of Baileys. It was the moment she'd been dreading since waking up that morning.

It was Christmas day; a day which should be joyful and merry. Actually she felt entirely hateful and ... merry maybe, but only in that the morning had started with a large sherry. Having struggled through two hours of unwrapping presents, she felt herself even more wrapped up in layers of guilt and confusion. Lunch lay ahead with all its indulgent chaos.

While the nation relaxed, ate and shared laughter, she felt so alone. No-one understood.

Happy Little Eaters part 1

November 2, 2016 Belle Amatt

I'd like to share my thoughts on encouraging those dear but pesky little neophobic children that are present in most kitchens around the country to be happy little eaters.

I don't have all the answers of course but having worked in the world of nutrition, hosting 'Taste Explorer' and 'Fussy Eating' courses and working on child weight schemes for a while now and having two of these small types myself I do have a few ideas of what might work!

Neophobia is the fear of the new. Those who study evolution have traced back and linked this fear of new food in toddlers down to the necessity of selecting non-poisonous berries and plants all those centuries ago.

Doesn't help hey when your child is hurling broccoli trees at you in unbridled disgust! What does help is remaining composed and having thought through your own strategies to deal with such behaviour.

Go Go Go with the Avocado

October 26, 2016 Belle Amatt

How do we give ourselves permission to eat after years of restriction?

This is a post not only for those recovering from an eating disorder, but anyone who has over the years banned a certain food from their lives and turned it into a guilty pleasure. This may be due to media brain-washing, family role-modelling, a desperate desire to avoid weight gain or an embedded obsession. The fact is, we should be able to eat a little bit of what we fancy without beating ourselves up about it. Not always as easy as it sounds. So this post considers how we may go about making peace with these foods

Making Peace with Food

October 15, 2016 Belle Amatt

In my work both at The Recover Clinic in Brighton (a private clinic which offers clients with eating disorders a holistic approach to recovery) and with private weight loss clients, I often focus on working towards establishing intuition around food. This may have been lost over time, repressed by negative thoughts or overcome by constant and confusing media messages.

Longevity Muffins

September 25, 2016 Belle Amatt

According to the Blue Zones researches, only 20% of your potential to live a long life is down to your genes and the other 80% is to do with your environment. For those not familiar with Blue Zones research, this is research conducted on the areas of the world with the greatest longevity – called The Blue Zones. These hot spots include Okinawa (the Japanese Hawaii), Sardinia (Italy); Nicoya (Costa Rica); Icaria (Greece); and among the Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, California. The studies offer an explanation, based on empirical data and first hand observations, as to why these populations live healthier and longer.

Home-grown hummus

September 2, 2016 Belle Amatt

It’s a rainy day so a good time to create dishes without feeling like you are missing out (FOMO gets everywhere).

Last month I was gifted a large amount of home-grown vegetables. Included in the midst was a bag of cannellini beans. I love the process of shelling peas and beans, especially out in the garden under a big summer sky. It reminds me of childhood so I like to re-enact this with my own kids, feels like history repeating itself in the best way; quality time spent together in a simple act of growing stuff.

Comfort Food on a Cloudy Day

August 21, 2016 Belle Amatt

It’s not the end of summer but ‘tis feeling a little autumnal. Having had a welcome supply of freshly grown vegetables from visiting relatives I feel the urge to cook something warming but not too wintry. Onion soup – whether it’s French or from where-ever doesn’t really matter – loads of flavour, lots of anti-oxidants, high in vitamin C and fibre. A welcome change from salad and a great way to use up the meat broth cooked up from the last BBQ.

Keep Cool with Melon Ice

July 22, 2016 Belle Amatt

It's hot, hot, hot. Tempting to head for the ice-cream van but there are plenty of cooling options that may well hit the spot.

My current favourite is melon ice. Whizz up half a honeydew melon, a handful of seedless green grapes, juice from half a lime and add enough crushed ice and water to make a juicy consistency.

Not only delicious but you could be cutting around 25 g of sugar by avoiding that Vanilla cone.

French Style Cooking

July 15, 2016 Belle Amatt

Tricky times - it’s hard to know what to do in the face of such utterly shocking news. Be calm, resolute, eat, live.

A dish in support of French culture, a recipe received today from my French host and superb chef, Sylvianne, after a trip to Avignon last month.

Mother and Child

July 8, 2016 Belle Amatt

“She squinted upwards to make out the image of the stained glass above. Mary, clothed in swaths of brilliant blue raised her hands, nervously it seemed, as her child was passed to her. The large upstretched hands fascinated Sylvie. They were clumsy and inexperienced, placed awkwardly in a gesture of hesitancy.

Joseph stood in the background his presence seeming merely incidental. His face held an anguished expression. Parenthood: this was clearly a colossal undertaking”.

This is a quotation from the first chapter of Balloon Girl (available as an e-book on Amazon http://amzn.to/29rZNV6)

Slow Down you Move too Fast

July 7, 2016 Belle Amatt

A 10 ten road trip through France last month proved pretty spectacular in many ways. Driving 1500 miles in an MX5 with your dad, may for some be a test of resilience and patience. But no, what I experienced was warmth, laughter, a passion for the wide empty road and complete tolerance of my loud singing to Fleetwood Mac and Simon & Garfunkel.