Luke Newton of Sweat Southsea, Kevin John Dean

COOKING THROUGH COVID Daniel Nowland

The ‘C’ word has rocked our world this year, from how we socialise, to what we’re eating. The panic buying we saw in March made many of us realise we had been taking our food supply chains for granted. Whilst the egg and flour shortage was short lived, it was created by an increase in demand, not a shortage in supply. Covid didn’t change the amount of eggs our hens lay, or the ability of farmers to produce wheat. However - we saw a huge increase in people cooking from scratch to pass the time at home. Hopefully some of the sourdough virgins are still baking, and sharing the love

Learning to cook from scratch is a valuable skill, regardless of any pandemic. It can save you money, bring a dimension of content, and give you better nourishment and nutrition than pre-prepared or processed foods. Jamie Oliver’s “5 Ingredients: Quick & Easy Food” is an amazing book for helping you turn simple and humble ingredients into something delicious, quickly and easily.

For many people, lack of confidence and organisation can be the biggest barriers to cooking at home. I would always advocate giving your kitchen a de-clutter, investing in a good sharp knife and if possible, try to plan some of your meals for the week before you go out food shopping. Having the correct ingredients at hand will make you more likely to cook, and less likely to cave and order a take-out!

We’re all aware now more than ever of the importance of eating well, for the benefit of our bodies and our immune systems. This doesn’t have to involve “dieting”, but could simply be eating more fresh veg and less processed food, whilst still enjoying the odd sweet treat or take-out. A trip to a local

Daniel of The Southsea Deli. Photo by Carrie Lavers.

independant food store, or the Hampshire farmers market could be the inspiration you need to enjoy some delicious seasonal fruit and veg.

Living on the South Coast, we’re lucky to have tonnes of nutritious food growing on our doorstep, whether it’s tomatoes from the Isle of Wight, or incredible root veg from Hampshire. If you’re looking to up your veg intake, you could check out local veg ninja’s Bellord & Brown. Their instagram is full of the good stuff, and they also offer home delivery to the Portsmouth & Southsea area.

Covid may have taken a lot of our freedoms, but let’s not let it take our love of cooking and good food. Stay safe and eat well people!

Toe nail cutting, removal of corns and calluses

COVID-19 protections in place

FHP Diploma Mike Phillips HYPNOTHERAPY

CHRISTINE CROUCHER FOOT HEALTH PROFFESIONAL croucherca57@gmal.com 178 LOCKSWAY ROAD SOUTHSEA PO4 8LE

Specialising in therapy for: Weight Management Stop Smoking Pain Management Relaxation TEL: 07712 508 468 WEB: www.mikephillipshypnotherapy.co.uk EMAIL: hypnotherapywithmike@gmail.com ADDRESS: MCutting, 154c Kingston Rd, Fratton, PO2 7PD

mikephillipshypnotherapy @mikephillipstherapy

FOR ALL YOUR TREE SURGERY NEEDS 24 HOUR CALL OUT

WE REMOVE THE TREE AND THE STUMP IN ONE CLEAN OPERATION

Crown reduction, lifting and thinning Removal and responsible recycling of

Stump grinding green waste

Deadwooding of tree canopies Hedge trimming and reduction Tree Protection Order (TPO) research, application for planning consents with local authorities and conservation area

Supply, planting and aftercare of new trees completed free of charge trees & hedges We will beat any written quotation

01730 821277 07836 339664

alpinetreesurgeons@yahoo.co.uk www.alpinetreesurgeons.co.uk

TOTALLY WELL Luke Newton of Sweat Fitness takes a sideways look at how there's more to keeping ourselves fit and well than simply exercising

Many of us have suffered varying degrees of social isolation over the past few months. Although isolation might be perceived as being negative, I’ve heard countless accounts of people who used the isolation they encountered as an unexpected chance to reflect on their lives and their futures. The chances are that most of us are somewhere in the middle – having had our deep and meaningful moments, alongside less inspiring days, drinking too much wine or bingeing on chocolate biscuits. At the start of the year, my life and business partner Tina was about to announce the launch a new wellness festival at Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard. We wanted to base the festival upon the 6 pillars of wellness, each entwined with the other: physical, mental, emotional, social, environmental and spiritual wellness. The festival didn’t go ahead of course, but we strongly believe in the importance of those 6 pillars to help achieve a healthy and fulfilling life. They now seem more important than ever. We ran an anonymous survey of seventy-five of our gym members and over 90% suggested they were exercising though lockdown to serve their mental wellbeing, as much as for the physical benefits. I’m not sure we would have had such a response pre-COVID. It really is positive to consciously exercise to look after ourselves for more than just our physical wellbeing. Many of us are realising the importance of nurturing more meaningful relationships, of spending our time and our money more wisely, of supporting local businesses, and considering our responsibilities towards the environment. In short, assessing what really matters to us. PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE I think that to find true wellbeing, we need to look at each aspect of wellness. We may not have come out of lockdown with abs of steel, but we could take steps to be less sedentary and to exercise or train daily. I was recently surprised by a group of my friends joining a WhatsApp group with the intent of being more active and healthier. Without COVID, this would never have been mooted. The conversation was centred around feeling better, having more confidence, being better people, and better parents. Most friends, acquaintances, and clients I’ve spoken to in the past few months have a newly-found openness to discussing wellness, and it is really refreshing. I hope that the conversations continue, and I hope that our local authorities join in and support us too. We have an opportunity as a community to close roads to traffic, to eat, exercise, cycle, and play outside. Our island city is compact and could be the first in the UK to truly put pedestrian and cycle traffic first. We have an opportunity to reverse some of the impacts our lives have on our oceans. As a coastal city, let’s have those conversations whilst understanding it is about our collective wellness – with each aspect entwined.