Learning About Bees

Last week, I tweeted about how was so excited to join my company's social enterprise centered around urban beekeeping. It's been going on for a while, with limited membership, and I finally got a chance to become a member. So last Wednesday, I finally got to don a beekeeping suit and learn about bees, beekeeping, and etc, at Beekeeping 101.

The first half of the session was devoted to learning about bees, how they make honey, their lifecycle, the hive, basically all of the basics. Then we got hands on: trying on the suits as well as harvesting some honey that was removed from the hive that morning. It doesn't get any fresher.

Above, I am peeling the wax seal off of the honeycomb: once the honey has been sealed in, you know it's ready to eat – if there isn't a seal, the honey-making process isn't complete.

Here, I'm tasting some honey that dripped onto my fingers. YUM. Because the honey is hyper-local, the flavor comes from flowers in the area that are in bloom. If you take honey from our hives next month, it will have a completely different color, flavor, and texture based on which plants are in bloom then – I love the changeability and the not-one-capture-is-the-same quality of honey as a food product. Honey bees will go up to 3 miles to find pollen, so if you have allergies you should get honey made from around where you live as it will contain the allergens that affect you and you can build up immunity.



Once the wax seals are released, you put the honeycomb trays into this modified bucket with a spinner (like a massive salad spinner) and you turn the handle to force the honey out of the wax comb. The bucket has a spigot on the bottom so you can access the honey in a controlled fashion.

Next steps were to filter the honey (get bits of wax and etc out) and then it's ready to eat! We all took little 50ml jars of honey home to enjoy – The Irishman used mine to make goats cheese and honey ice cream which was absolutely amazing.

After Wednesday's lesson, I am a big fan of bees in general and honey bees specifically. We all know they are in danger so I'm going to try even harder to promote happy and healthy bees however I can. The Irishman has agreed that when we finally buy a house, we can have bee-friendly plants in our garden which is a win-win: bee friendly plants = better pollination = better produce = happy Danielle and happy bees. 

Back on track

A little overexposed photography to prove to you all how London has returned to its regularly scheduled weather programming. It's still warmer than average but the breeze carries a chill and when I woke up this morning I had to close the windows (after admiring the scent of woodsmoke). We're supposed to get down into single-digits-Celsius by the end of the week, and I'm secretly pleased as it means I don't have to put together mish-moshed outfits out of the 3 pieces of summer-weight clothing still in my wardrobe.

I'm also back on my running track. Physio Chris cleared me to get back into my marathon training with the following rules: no hills, no cambers, no pavement, and SLOW. I did my first run in 3.5 weeks on Sunday and despite the heat did 4 miles in my normal pace (it was odd, however, to be sweating profusely while crunching through piles of fallen leaves). I felt pretty good post-run, so I'm feeling positive about the race again. But I definitely am listening to my body a lot more, gauging my pain levels and trying to understand where I can push myself and how hard. It's been a learning experience for me, this voyage; yet another sign that I am a mere mortal (with biomechanical issues!) and that "running a marathon" is a lot more of a mental exercise than just running 26.2 miles. 

So now that the universe has been righted and the weather is headed in a more normal direction and I have resumed my running regime (albeit, slightly reduced), I feel like I can confidently look forward to such seasonal delights as crisp apples, fresh breezes, and bundling up against wind and chill. I WANT to hide my freshly tanned legs under tights, so bring on autumn and bring on Dublin Marathon - less than 4 weeks to go!

Visiting time

Hi bloggerinis!

Lots is going on in Brillville, leaving little time for blog posts but the big news is that a lot of my favorite people are visiting me! I currently have one of them on my sofa sleeping til noon every day (lucky girl) and another will be arriving a week from today for work and staying the weekend. HURRAH!

The only problem is that due to January being The Month of Health, I'm not drinking. My mate and I went to the cocktail bar across the street and I had tea. Green tea. Sigh. But it's paying off... I've lost 8lbs already just by cutting out sugar, bread, alcohol and running on a much more regular basis. I'm back to being able to do 8k without dying and I just feel great: my skin glows again. Le sigh!

So hopefully more exciting news will be forthcoming soon (ie, when I am allowed back in the pub). Stay tuned! xx

Healthy Snacks

When I started moaning about my new diet, I mentioned that I had to sort out some healthy snacks STAT. I work in the kind of job where tensions often run high, and I am an emotional eater. If I'm nervous, or I have a big deadline, or I'm worried, I want to eat. Normally, I'd wolf down some M&Ms but in my new world order those are verboten. So over the past week I've been investigating what kinds of treats are allowed. I've also called in some reinforcement: the wonderful Libby from Ravenous has kindly shared her go-to snacks to maximize your choices! So, dear readers, go on... nibble away!


Dried apricots

I love apricots, and I especially love dried apricots, so I was thrilled to find out that 1 cup of dried apricots is only 300 calories, so 1/2 cup at 150 calories is perfect for an afternoon pick me up. Plus, dried apricots retain more of their nutritional value than any other dried fruit. Be careful though as they do contain quite a lot of sugar. If you like them as much as me, you might want to try making "Shoe Leather". I grew up eating strips of this traditional Syrian pressed apricot roll; it's like a thicker, healthier version of a Fruit Roll-up and totally addictive.


Cashews

Controversial: cashews have 553 calories per 100g. But they have super other benefits like antioxidants and tons of minerals. So the rule of thumb is a handful - not a sackful.


Ryvita & Boursin

Some people hate Ryvita. I don't mind it. I admit that it has a cardboardy texture, and has little actual flavor, but that is sort of the point: it is a low-cal vehicle. Paired with low-fat Boursin cheese, 1 cracker and a light spread of cheese is less than 80 calories. Top with a sliced cherry tomato, or some sliced black olives for a really nice mid-afternoon snack.


Popcorn

Cooked with a little tiny bit of vegetable oil, 1 cup of cooked popcorn without salt is only 55 calories. Be really healthy and just toss it with some cayenne pepper, or indulge with a teaspoon of sugar or salt or BOTH!



Jordan's Frusli cereal bars

If you're out and about and have a hungry cranky Irishman with you, sometimes you need to just get a snack in a package. Fear not. Jordan's Frusli bars are pretty tasty, pretty filling, and hit the spot for only 113 calories. Holland-Barrett's sells them individually, or you can be Mom-like and carry them with you in your bag (I might have to start doing that. As an insurance policy for my relationship).


Now for Libby's suggestions. She has some great tips for when to eat your snack for maximum benefit:

I have a few snack ideas and rules that I always follow. I pretty much always have a snack in the afternoon, about an hour and a half before my evening workout. It's good to fuel the body before a workout and if I don't, I could eat my whole kitchen when I get home after burning 400-500 calories. I really only have two rules for afternoon snacking: keep it under 300 calories (ideally 150-200) and full of protein. That way, your body will digest it quickly and it won't put your diet at risk by hiking your blog sugar levels. My three favourite healthy afternoon snacks at the moment are:



Greek yoghurt and nuts

(Especially Total 0%, but really any fat free Greek yoghurt will do). It is completely fat free and only about 100 calories for a really filling pot of healthy, protein-packed yoghurt. Because it has zero sugar, I usually add a small squeeze of honey and a small handful of chopped almonds for a little crunch. The almonds are good fats that your diet needs and also help fill you up.



Homemade hummus and raw vegetables

Homemade is the key word here. A lot of the grocery store versions have too many calories and way too much salt. Homemade versions require a hand blender, a can of chick peas, olive oil, lemon and garlic and about five minutes of your time. With raw veggies like carrot sticks and celery, this snack satisfies the need to chew and keeps you full for hours.



Cottage cheese and fruit

Low fat cottage cheese is full of protein and when mixed with strawberries and blueberries (pineapple also a fave), it is the perfect little salty sweet afternoon snack. And if you're really hungry, you can eat a lot of cottage cheese and berries for under 300 calories!

Thanks, Libby!


So what are your favorite low-cal, healthy snacks? Feel free to share and if you want to write your own post, let me know and I'll link to it. Enjoy!

And, it's begun.

We ordered our veg box, and pick it up on Saturday.

I brought all of my excess sweets (a box of Girl Scout cookies - Samoas! - and the leftover chocolate chip cookies from the batch I baked on Sunday) into work to dispense them to the masses.

I ran home from work yesterday, and will run home tonight.

The Irishman procured a digital scale, and we had a weigh-in.

My new yoga mat should arrive this week, and then I'll get back into a class routine.

My friend Betty gave me a Pinguinos and I shoved it in my drawer.

I am hyper-hydrating. Since 9am, I've had 4 pints of water. I'm about to fill up #5.

Oh god. This is really hard. I know its in my best interest, but seriously?

Healthy is boring (at the moment).

This weekend's challenge: make healthy food awesome. And figure out snacks!