Hey this has got to be the easiest meal ever.  Perfect for lunch on a budget.

All you need is some brown rice - I like to use round grain as it is a little creamier but long grain will do and part of an onion.  Round grain is a little difficult to get hold of,  they sell it in Holdand and Barrett.  It is not rissotto rice

Other ingredients could include anything else you have in your fridge. 

I have added Carrot, mushroom, red pepper, garlic and plenty of corriander with a little coconut oil or whatever you fry with.

You could make this dish every day and just add different veg and flavours to ring the changes.

Slice and dice the onion finely and then on a low heat gently soften.  Add the chopped carrot and any other ingredients that are going to take longer to cook, continue to gently soften.

Add chopped pepper (I used used the end of a pointed red pepper) and finally mushrooms chopped.  Stir until the mushroom have started to soften.  Add enough water (or fresh stock from cooking vegetables if you have it)to well cover the rice and bring to simmer.  You are aiming to have a little liquid keeping the dish quite moist.

Add garlic either finely chopped or crushed and corriander or any other herbs you favour.  

Cook until the rice is soft - different rices take different times.  When cooked add salt and pepper to taste, garnish with a little fresh herb.  

Other ingredients could be cauliflower or broccoli florets, celery, mange tout, chopped green beans. 

To add a little more protein include some red split lentils.  They with break up and thicken the stock and will add a creamy flavour.  You could also add pea protein or yeast flakes which will both boost the protein content and thicken adding a savoury background flacour.  You could also add precooked beans such as butter bean, field bean or pretty much any bean and a chance to try something new. 

This is a lovely moist vegan cake.  Really popular when the cafe was open.  I'vr just got around to making another one for home.  I'm afraid that I am a 'to tatse' kind of cook so don'e put too many measurements except when they ar neccessary.  Here goes:

You will need:

500 gm self raising flour or gluten free SR flour
200 gm cocnut oil
2 teaspoons Baking powder
1 teaspoon Bi carb
400gm (approx) caster sugar
A little milk of your choice (almond is nice)
Lemon Zest
Lemon juice
A little icing sugar

Baking tin (this is for a large cake 1/2 ingredients for a smaller one

Heat oven to 180 / gas 6

Start with the cocnut oil and begin to soften it with the flour.  This is a hand exercise or mixer - don't be tempted to soften in the mic.
Now add the sugar powders and lemon zest into the mix and  thoroughly mix once again.  This is a really important part to make it rise well.

Next add the oil, lemon juice  (you will need more than you think) and mix adding the milk until the mixture is like a thick cream

Scape the mixture into a prepared tin and cook for aprox. 40 mins (30 is using half quantity).  Testing occasionally  with a scewer  until it comes out almost dry.  You want a little bit of stickiness to preserve the moisture but not so that it streaks on the scewer.

Take out  and cook

Meanwhile mic a little icing sugar with water, it needs to be runny and add lemon juice to taste.  We want this mix to soak into the cake so it should  be see through and runny and will leave a soft glaze on top. 

Next take the scewer and poke holes into the top of the cake while it is still warm.  Now pour the icing mix over the tip of the cake letting it soak into the holes that you made.  Jeep topping up until it is saturated and make sure there is an even coating across the top.  Leave to dry into a soft sheen.

It you want to ice the top of the cake now is the time to add a thicker mix of icing.

Scrummy - put the kettle on and try a piece.

I

Probably the most effective way to boost your Will Power would be with a session of Hypnosis.  Well I would say that wouldn't I

It just happens to be true.

There are also other things you could do that are not quite as effective as a professional tailored session but here goes:-

You can learn self hypnosis that's a less costly approach and can be used for several things as well as boosting your will power.

You can get into routines and make lists which helps keep you focused.  The secret is to give yourself a little bit less than you can manage so you never become overwhelmed.

One way you can help to get into the habit of dealing with things more robustly is to practise every day on little things that are easy to manage but that you consciouly decide to do.  This way you become programmed in dealing with things straight away and then when big things come along they are easier.

These suggestions can all help a little but not really with things you want to stop like smoking or over-eating.  Have you ever noticed that if you get a thought in your mind about a tasty treat or even chips and you try to use your will power to resist, even though you do the thought remains and keeps popping up - even for a few days or a week or so that eventually you no longer resist.

For things like that it is definitely the imagination that is what you need to address.  This is where the skill of the therapist comes in as they can design  a suitable and alternative thought.  But you can also have a go yourself.  Think about why you want to resist in other words what are you gaining and thing about something similar that will enhance the result of your resistance.  Now imagine that in your mind and keep imagining  until its the enhancer that you start desiring.

Your imagination can by pass a lot of the suggestions above too.  If you can imagine your goal and it is tested to be suitable and attainable then if you imaginereally well and often you won't need your will power as your enthusiasm from the imagination will push you forward.

If you decide to try some of these methods please do let me know how you get on.  I am interested truly.

How many of us, this Christmas,will receive or for that matter give pampering gifts that carry magical promises of enhanced vitality, beauty and even self-esteem?

Alternatively maybe some indulgent and expensive chocolates, fancy wines or spirits, impressive cheese and chutnies?  Too tempting to ignore!

These gifts come from love and intent.  The intention to make  us happy or give us a well deserved treat.  We can pretty much bask on that though but hold it for just one moment.

And let's be honest, we continue with the theme throughout the year, sprinkled with the odd diet and healthy eating plan along the way.  Maybe do a token sober month or so. Why?  Well because we have been bombarded with marketing telling us we should.

So it seems that we are chasing pleasure and satisfaction.  We are wanting health and happiness.  We pour concentrated pleasure down our throats, plaster beauty products on our faces and bodies and stuff satisfaction into our mouths.  Mostly it is a fake pleaseure that if we are unlucky we can become a slave to.

Yes if we think about it the only things that  have any influence on our health and well-being are things that we put into our bodies.  So the right nourishment will help us to feel radient, vital and satisfied.  Whats the problem then?  Well there are other things that we can ut into our bodies and that is the thoughts that we allow to influence our minds.

It's those little thatought that can be the sabateur that finances all these exhorbitant  'products' we are enticed to buy.    Getting to grips with those thought is not easy I will admit but even beginning to be aware that those thoughts are making you crave for an indulgence or buy that lastest magical product can start to have an impact.  And once you do start to recognise your thoughts then you can start to switch them.  

It's only ignorence that gives them the power over you.  Once you become aware they are on the run.

So if you are thinking of making a New Year resolution this time bear this in mind and ths year make it count.

Good luck

Of course the image below is of someone in a seated yoga twist but look more closely at the creases in the person's top.

What you see is not dissimilar to what the body is experiencing behind this garment. Yoga twisting is a bit like wringing out a damp cloth.

The muscles and soft tissue contort a little to allow for the positioning. The challenging thing for the body is that it presents the diaphragm and other muscles of respiration with a resticted feeling when breathing and more especially when breathing in. This may feel a little uncomfortable but it can provide us with something useful.

When putting the torso in this contorted position if we pay closer attention to our breathing and breath slowly and evenly it can neutralize the tension but also massage and tone the muscles and tissue in that area to our advantage.

It doesn't stop there. It is really worth exploring a number of postures including those you already use in your practice to check if they too require their own kind of contortion (different to that found in twisting) so asking questions of the diaphragm.

This approach makes for greater awareness and concentration when in posture and if we use our breath in a massaging way can bring added toning and even more strength to those muscles and tissue.

As an example next time you do a Downward Facing Dog notice the breath, one thing you will notice is that you are breathing up hill!

Barry Todd

Yoga Teacher Mind and Body