Mandolines and Tiggers

I just bought a mandoline (not a mandolin -- though Hubby does own a bouzouki, if you wanted a random fact of the day!). I mean the tool for slicing veggies (and fingers too if you don't concentrate well). Somehow I've gone four decades without needing one, but now my moment has come since I'm eating more... Continue Reading →

January 9, 2016 1

Answering from the heart

"just wonderful!" "fruit and pizza" "gravity in the belly" What are these? Answers I've given this week to questions. Questions that people have asked me with the explicit instruction to answer first, think later. They're after gut-reactions, not reasoned cognitive responses, nor the sound of my ego projecting itself into the situation. I hate this!... Continue Reading →

November 26, 2015 0

He calls me Pesky

Hubby has many terms of endearment for me, which I won't share. It would embarrass us all! Recently he's started referring to me as 'Pesky'! I don't think he's falling out of love with me, I don't think I'm being particularly annoying (though I have my moments!) -- it's just short for 'pescetarian'. I increasingly... Continue Reading →

November 9, 2015 6

Guilty eating

I worked myself up into a small tizzy recently about telling my mum and dad that I'm not eating meat at the moment, given that we're all away for a week's holiday together. They are what you might call traditional English eaters -- meat and two veg and all that. Plus they regularly fret about... Continue Reading →

July 30, 2015 2

Sweet vairagya — cake and yoga

My teacher started class last night with a personal story. It was about wanting something, having it taken away, finding a way of accepting that — and then having it offered to you after all. It happened trivially, rather sweetly, to be about wanting a cake-trip to a favourite café. But it could have been... Continue Reading →

July 22, 2015 1

Goodbye Nutella — it was nice knowing you

It was a landmark moment a few weeks ago when I finally threw out the half-eaten jar of Nutella in the kitchen cupboard. I can't remember when I last ate it; I've long favoured this bizarre paste made with brazilnuts and cocoa. It tastes a bit earthy, like some long-lost, slightly grizzled distant relation to... Continue Reading →

July 22, 2015 4

Philosophy and Prosecco — the bookends of my week

It’s been a bit of a week of gritty conversations. Not bad conversations necessarily. Just some big ideas, some open questions, and maybe there’s a radical solution kicking about somewhere. In all cases only time will be the judge. These conversations have had a philosophical, even existential, quality: - what is the relationship between meditation... Continue Reading →

June 7, 2015 0

What my toothache is teaching me about asana

So I've had toothache for a while now, and my dentist can't quite figure it out. She's put me on antibiotics, slightly out of desperation I think. I'm naturally trying to avoid the pain so I'm eating differently at the moment. I don't mean diet-wise. More in terms of my physical actions. So I'm eating... Continue Reading →

April 21, 2015 2

Figuring out how to feed myself

Figuring out what we both want to eat is keeping me and my hubby on our toes at the moment. I can genuinely say that we both have a curious interest in my evolving dietary preferences. I guess that's academic training for you -- we make an experiment or intellectual study out of anything! I really enjoyed... Continue Reading →

April 18, 2015 0

Eating in Greece — or “when in Rome”

I wrote recently about 'flexitarianism' suggesting that this could be viewed as an approach to eating and nourishment that adhered the concept of ahimsa (non-violence) by being mindful of what was appropriate in any particular situation, although not applying consistent food rules like vegetarianism and veganism. Being away from home and in a different country naturally disrupts one's diet (i.e.... Continue Reading →