Do you fancy quiting sugar too?

First things first, I am in no way affiliated to the "I Quit Sugar" organisation and I am sadly not getting any foodie freebies,  payment or royalties for writing this post - I just think it's something damn good worth raving about.

On 2nd Feb 2017, Hubs and I will be commencing the 8 week I Quit Sugar programme, for the second time, in our quest to rid our bodies of fructose and reap all the benefits that come with it - clearer skin,  aided weight loss, increased energy and better sleep to name a few! But why for the second time? Did it not work the first?

Well it did,  very well in fact, hence why we are going back for more but we didn't last the full 8 weeks before. Quiting the crappy sugars we are all so accustomed to nowadays is a long term battle to fight and sadly, after 19 days going 'cold turkey' combined with the stress of selling our property and taking on a new refurb project (which we are still in the final throws of finishing off a year on!) we fell back into bad habits and to the convenience of fructose laiden food.

However, during our time with the programme we were extemely impressed with the weekly routine and structure planned out for us,  the weekly batches of very tasty recipes and weekly shopping lists already written for us. It took the need to "think" out of the equation and simply allowed us to learn, and try our best. Along with all of this, we were given regular reading material which explained how we might feel, reassured us that others feel just as bad in the early days (and yes, it was hard) whilst encouraging us to keep going. After about 4 or 5 days we began to feel the benefit of our decision to quit - well worth the fatigue and sore heads. 

You can read more about the programme and organisation here - but as u can tell, I'm a firm advocate and think it's well worth the tenner or so you have to pay per week - not far off what Weight Watchers and Scottish Slimmers will charge you to be weighed and shamed in front of others ;) oh and another thing to mention - you can customise the set of recipes you receive, from winter to summer and veggie to omnivore. During our last stint they were all delicious and I'm looking forward to trying out some new meals in the kitchen.

If you are interested please contact me for a discount code which I used for 15% off (contact@couthiecantie.co.uk) and I will also add you to a closed, private, group so we can support each other as 'locals'. This is something which I think could enhance the programme even more for all involved but with it being a global programme it is hard to find people nearby.

Any questions, please ask! I looking forward to 'quiting' with you....x

Scratch Made Cordial

Making your own cordial from scratch has maaaany benefits but some of them include:

1. controlling your sugar intake, 
2. knowing exactly what's going into to your family's drinks, 
3. using up fruit which would otherwise have gone to waste and 
4. getting messy in the kitchen (safely) when conjuring up your favourite flavours!

Furthermore, Cordial isn't a million miles away from "coulis" (a posh fruit sauce!) or even just simple stewed fruit which can top yoghurt and desserts to add extra flavour so what's stopping you giving it a bash? 

To make cordial I would recommend marrying 500g fruit (such as raspberries, cranberries or blueberries) with 300-500g sugar (depending on how sweet you like your syrup) and 3 tablespoons of 'acid' (such as red wine vinegar, cider vinegar or lemon juice). 

Heat these in a pot, stirring often so the sugar doesn't stick,  until everything has dissolved into a pulpy mush.

Once you have achieved "mush" you are then looking to strain this through a fine mesh sieve or cheese cloth, you may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your jug or bowl. 

Once strained, place the left over pulp back into the pot and add 300-500ml of water, bring back to the boil and sieve again. Once combined, your syrup should be runny and, well, syrupy! Don't worry if it's quite thick though, you can repeat the process a third time to water down some more, or stick with what you have and impress your friends by calling it coulis :)

For the stewed fruit I mentioned, stop short on step one of completely heating it to mush. So long at the fruits are soft, sweetened and balanced with acid you will have the perfect topping for a New York Style Cheesecake!

These syrups make great treats for kids and delicious mocktail bases for those looking to cut back on alcohol or cut it out altogether. One afternoon, pictured below, I mixed my scratch made cranberry and apple cordial with sparkling water, a squeeze of lime and a dash of My Secret Kitchen Balsamic Vinegars - Blood Orange, Mango and Guava, and separately Caramelised Coconut and Spiced Rum - which might sound odd but are absolutely delicious! If you fancy trying the same you can purchase these vinegars here. Go on give them, and cordial, a go! 

Happy tippling x