Smag31 A Peeling News 21 Grams of sugar you’ll save by swapping a 20-ounce sports drink for a banana. (That’s a candy bar’s worth!) Next time you’re refueling during a sweat session, go bananas literally. A new study from Appalachian State University found that when cyclists ate half of one in place of downing a bottled … Read more
Shepherd’s chocolate ice cream Made with sheep’s yoghurt, it feels incredibly indulgent and creamy, but is actually (almost) guilt-free. Shepherd’s chocolate ice cream Serves 6-8 · 350ml goat’s milk · 150g xylitol · 3 large egg yolks · 475 ml sheep’s yoghurt · 1 tsp vanilla essence/extract · 1/2 tsp vanilla powder · 3tbsp raw … Read more
Use these three foolproof steps to ensure you stop any food urges before they strike. Cut The Crave Want to stop automatically reaching for that afternoon fizzy drink, or tarnishing your week’s healthy eating effort with a carb binge? Whether it’s salt, sweets or the white stuff you’re after, you can out a stop to … Read more
Eat a rainbow A variety of colors helps to keep us healthy, so eat red, yellow and green fruit and veg – and purple too! There’s more to a bright bowl of fruit than meets the eye. ‘Different colors indicate the presence of different nutrients and, in particular, natural plant compounds such as polyphenols, which … Read more
Michelle Botes, 50, chats about the duality of life as an actress, being terrible at small talk, and her two greatest teachers: her kids, Cara, 22, and Daniel, 18 Best known for her role as the charismatic honey trap Cherel de Villiers in the soapie Isidingo, Michelle Botes has long been driven by the desire … Read more
Before we got married, Mike and I talked about the children we would have in the hazy imagined future. “I’d love to be a full-time dad,” he said, dreamily. “Great,” I replied. “I’ll gestate the foetus and you can bring it up!” I was only half joking. I was maternal, but couldn’t imagine life without … Read more
Every day in the UK, 75 people are diagnosed with epilepsy, yet few of us know the true implications of living with the condition. Sara Brannan, 33, reveals the impact that suffering from extreme epilepsy has had on her life What’s the worst thing that’s happened to me because of my epilepsy? Probably the time … Read more
By the time my daughter was born, three years later, our marriage was over. Sam was completely drunk, comatose in the spare room, when, already having contractions, I drove myself to hospital. He only came to the hospital for the end of labour. Days later, I told him to move out, to choose between the … Read more
That’s supper sorted! There’s a good reason why Halloumi cheese is one of the standby ingredients in my fridge. Unopened, it will last for ages, and I like knowing there’s something other than predictable pasta that I can pull out of the bag in an emergency. I like to slice it, dredge it in a … Read more
There’s nothing artificial about new Light at Heart from Tate & Lyle Sugars. It’s as versatile as regular sugar – why not try it in your favorite recipes As the UK’s first blend of pure cane sugar and sweet Stevia leaf extract, Light at Heart is the natural choice for the whole family. You can … Read more
This Christmas Day Simple Menu Plan summarises a basic Christmas lunch we prepared one year. It catered for 13 adults and six kids. When I’m hosting Christmas Day lunch at our home, I set aside time in the weeks leading up to it for making a dedicated menu plan for the big day. Planning the food … Read more
I’ve mentioned before how one of my favourite aspects of planning is that once you’ve detailed a plan you can run on autopilot, just checking in on the plan to tick off a completed task and look at the next one. For me, this works particularly well in the lead-up to Christmas. With so many … Read more
Christmas preparation in July Over the past couple of years I’ve started doing some initial planning for Christmas in July, and this has helped me stay sane and get some sleep in the lead-up to Christmas. Previously, without kick starting my Christmas planning in July, at times December look a bit like this: • I … Read more
He wrote bad poetry – to his ex “He was a hot posh-boy rugby player who wrote (bad) poetry on the sly. (The signs were all there, I know…) When he begged me to come on his annual family holiday to their house in France, I agreed, despite a niggling feeling that it was a … Read more
Forget ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ – there’s a whole world of mad, bad and just plain crazy reasons why relationships end Why did your last relationship end? Was he cheating with the cute receptionist at the gym? Were you doing long-distance, which meant more Skype time than real time? Maybe he was a teacher-slash-secret-p*rn-star … Read more
Parties away from home As much as I love traditional at-home parties (which is how we normally celebrate birthdays), there have been times when we’ve chosen different options. When we were living in the inner city, we had a courtyard the size of a car-parking space and our house was quite small. When my eldest … Read more
When planning a kid’s birthday party I find the simplest option is usually the best. To streamline the party organisation and keep it simple, I use a 10-point birthday party plan. A 10-point plan might sound complex and work-heavy, but all it does is define the work involved and put it into manageable chunks. Part of … Read more
If you’re partying through the summer and feeding lots of friends and family, it could be time to invest in alfresco cooking equipment that’s up to the job! At last… barbecue time is here! Charcoal or gas which is best? For impromptu outdoor dining, gas is the winner (52% of homeowner agree), but you can’t … Read more
Sumptuous fruit, super snacks and luscious ice cream The best vanilla ice cream Is it worth spending more on this delightful accompaniment? We put big brands and supermarkets’ own to the test… Winner 43/50 Tesco Finest Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream Slow-melting, sinfully creamy with a powerful hit of vanilla, this is ice cream perfection. $5.99 … Read more
1. Flying with kids Since growing our family to five children, we’ve only had a couple of holidays where we’ve flown to our destination. Each time, to make it easy on the finances, we flew with budget airlines. Taking the cheaper option is doable, but it requires extra planning, especially with kids. I’d like to … Read more