speakwithmaria

Generally, counting calories is the first step people take when they want to lose weight or understand why they do not lose weight or why they do not achieve other goals for which they have been prescribed a certain diet by a dietician or their GP. Everybody who has diabetes learns very quickly carb counting to manage their insulin levels, for instance. I would not be so negative about calories labelling on menus: it does not solve any specific problem, but every little helps to raise attention and awareness that in turn can stimulate a private market demand for nutritional advice as a form of preventative medicine or lifestyle and wellbeing support. I have been looking for more hours of work as a freelance nutritional coach, to provide advice on nutritional requirements for instance, on how to put in practice prescriptions from dieticians and GPs, or how to make menus more informative and compliant with the new labelling rules about calories, or to invent recipes to lose weight or to solve nutrients deficiency, adapt diet to diagnosis of non communicable diseases etc etc. - but so far zero demand.

Thank you for this link to the NHM page for the Octopus, much appreciated. I like the video of Steve the fisherman left without crabs by the Octopus :) Rainbow trouts baked with a mix of herbs and lime juice and potatoes salad are a valid alternative, high in vitamin B12 and in Omega3 too.

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Is it right or wrong to eat octopus? I do not know. Dieticians and guideline recommend eating at least two portions of fish per week and I find octopus potatoes salad a delicious meal. But I must confess I have been really impressed by the film My Octopus Teacher and by the campaigners of the Animal Save Movement urging the protection of this animal. Up to the point that to distract myself I am now watching Octopussy with Roger Moore! :) What I know for sure is that I would never ever eat an Octopus alive, and that the method of cooking is essential to avoid the sensation of rubber tyre in your mouth. More seriously, Octopus meat is reach of lean nutrients, minerals, proteins that some people cannot easily get from other foods. So perhaps the answer to the question "Is it right or wrong to eat octopus?" is... it depends. This fifth post of my Nutritional tips is the last. I hope somebody has appreciated few ideas and I wish everybody interested in nutrition and wellbeing to take the initiative to understand more. For any advice on how to translate dietary requirements in lovely, healthy and simple meals do not hesitate to contact me privately. Maria Longo Mobile 07887990108 email [email protected]

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We are told we need to eat more fibre (veggies and fruits), less meat, less processed foods etc etc at all times. But how can you make a meal in 15 or 20 minutes without using meat, fast food, takeaways and a variety of ready meal solutions that often do not have, per se, nothing wrong but for being high in calories, unhealthy fats and sugars...?!? The secret of healthy cooking and healthy eating is very often planning and organisation! The first thing required, to this extent, is knowing what is good for your body and matches the empirical evidence against the backdrop of nutritional and medical sciences. It is not so easy and spontaneous or obvious as one may think. Of course you have tons of ideas and suggestions from tv programs, experts chefs talking to magazines and on the radio, cooking podcasts and so on but... do all these diet information nudges start from you? Batch cooking and planning help to stay on top of the matter and give space to incorporate your creativity and ideas from the media in the mix. In the attached picture today is an example that is suitable for all vegetarians: my salty red cabbage pudding makes the most of this gorgeous crucifer - when you are fed up of just slicing it and add it in salads or as a decorative finishing up on side dishes - and can be frozen in convenient portions too! In fact, all the ingredients of this salty pudding can be pre-arranged in different moments. The new potatoes are optional, added to give more energy to the younger in this instance. The preparation is no-brain: just alternate two layers of blended or crushed pur?e made with red cabbage, new potatoes, shallots steamed or boiled and drained with two layers of seeded sourdough bread (or any type of bread) spread with blue creme cheese. I like to add one layer of mashed carrots and sweet potatoes seasoned with nutmeg in between. And, needless to say, grated parmesan or cheddar goes on top. And the most gorgeous salty pudding is done! Unfortunately the Royal competition for puddings this year was for sweet puddings only, otherwise I would have entered my salty red cabbage for the award :) Maria Longo Mobile 07887990108 email [email protected]

From May onwards I have availability on Tuesdays Thursdays and Fridays. Special discount for ESOL / IELTS / Italian as foreign language exams preparation! Speak with Maria! either online or face to face is the service I offer to people living in Dulwich and surrounding areas. I charge between 30? and 60? per hour depending on the type of support needed and the time required. I am a 58yo semi-retired management consultant, TEFL qualified, former Librarian and IT project manager in controlled environments, published author, ICT Technician registered with the Engineering Council, retrained as as food safety and nutritional coach during the pandemic lockdown and occasional housekeeper. There is no specialistic, functional or general English or Italian language learning problem I cannot help you with! I have huge expertise in learning and tutoring theories, technologies and methodologies, including TEFL and English phonetics and a range of experiences as a teacher / tutor / coach / instructional designer and e-learning entrepreneur mostly in business and private training contexts. My education background is in the humanities, social sciences and information and communication technologies. I have a passion for lifelong learning, foreign language acquisition and public understanding of science and outstanding results as private language tutor. Do not hesitate to contact me for any further information, sending a brief description of your circumstances and goals. Many thanks Maria Longo Mobile 07887990108 email [email protected]

Hello everybody. We all tend to blame sweet dishes for their high energy content: with hundreds of calories per portion, it is inevitable that cakes and pastries disappear from the diet of anybody who has to lose weight. But not all desserts are such a despair for the scale! And on top of that some fruits, like plums or apples, strawberries, pears or oranges, are low in glycemic index and can help to keep sugars levels under control in your blood. Even in the most serious, controlled, balanced diet if you do not have any other medical condition that requires you to avoid sugars completely, you can manage to have something deliciously sweet. This - as many other ideas I have learned about - came from the Internet although I made my own variations. One day I bought plums at an incredible low price: the bargain opportunity was exciting. I had just learned plums are a good source of vitamin C and Vitamin K and there is even 1 gram of proteins in two plums. But when I saw all the plums in my kitchen, I realised I rarely eat plums and not more than one or two. What to do with all these plums then and with no time for complicated recipes? Well, I cored and baked them at 180 / 190? until the plums were completed caramelised (that is about 20 minutes) with a couple of spoons of muscovado sugar spread evenly on top (that is about 18 / 20 grams), in a silicon dish. I made a finger-licking dessert in 15 minutes: unforgettable recipe! And if the plums are not very ripe, you can adjust the liquid with one or two spoon of water halfway through or in the last 5 minutes. How many calories you think they have for serving (two plums or 4 halves)? Maria Longo Mobile 07887990108 email [email protected] p.s. edited because I had forgotten to attach the photo that shows the gorgeous caramelised plums!

I go from Dulwich to Kensington / Chelsea / Hammersmith occasionally by bicycle. It is a long way. I have tried a couple of times to follow routes made for cycling and in one occasion it was a very interesting excursion, it made me discovering an entire area around Battersea park. Anyhow, it took a long time. I am convinced the best / fast route is via Vauxall bridge and then straight down Chelsea Embankment, Lots Road and New Kings Road / Fulham, staying north of the river. But I concede mostly depends on where exactly are you going because you have plenty of alternatives remaining south of the river via Clapham / Battersea or Wandsworth / Putney that are slightly shorter in terms of mileage (sort of 9.1 miles instead of 9.8 or the like). p.s. I had a discussion with other cyclists and with a cab driver once all saying that if we go from Dulwich / Peckham to Chelsea or Hammersmith is not "rationale" to cross the river East of Chelsea Bridge ... that is why I mentioned the two alternatives, anyhow it would be nice to know what you reckon to do... I really do not care about the argument north / south of the river, just curiosity... the most important thing for me is to cycle safely and with a reasonable journey time expectation... if I have to stop at any turn to check maps... it is not for me. I get distracted thinking or listen to music etc etc so that I do not trust cycling routes that require too much attention and I get easily lost on any cycle route that is a bit complicated with twists and turns, private roads, tiny lanes etc... For instance, I understand it is now clearly signed from Blackfriars to King Cross, in theory, but in practice I still get lost on the C6... every time I try that one, I find myself in a maze around Farringdon and I wonder why... I regret I did not go straight via Holborn... it is just me? Regards Maria

Hello Ben do you / your GP have a clue about the etiology of that? If you need a physiotherapist or an osteopath I cannot help. If you know you need to adapt your diet or check if your diet fits with changed routines / lifestyle I can offer nutritional coaching, reviewing what you normally eat and suggesting all the possible alternatives with results guaranteed in less than one week. Very often people that have gout flares or pain in their spine and shoulders or back pain binge on something and eat foods that cause more inflammation, without realising they are lacking vitamins and minerals or have too much or too less of some nutrients. You can reverse completely or at least make much more bearable the pain caused by several chronic diseases, including arthritis, focussing on your diet. Feel free to contact me privately with more information if this is your case. Regards Maria Maria Longo Mobile 07887990108 email [email protected]

Excellent source of vitamins, asparagus are recommended to people with autoimmune diseases, pregnant women, blood clotting disorders. They are not cheap so when the moment of some surplus and discounted produce arrives on the market, I tend to buy plenty of them, then I blanch them few minutes and freeze them. The frozen asparagus loses a little bit in taste in my opinion, as the canned one, but it is still very palatable. One of the reasons why I am fond of asparagus is also that they are very easy to cook: between 2 to 7 minutes in a microwave, simmered or steamed and they are ready for all sorts of side dishes or as main course ingredient. The linguine pasta in the picture I attach here, for instance, tossed with just a pinch of pepper, are delicious and I hope they inspire you too. They are ready in just 15 minutes and with 75 grams of pasta per serving, a generous 125 grams of asparagus and two tablespoon of olive oil, give you about 460 Kcal. One thing may be disappointing talking about asparagus: many people, after eating asparagus, can notice a sulfur smell in their pee - but there is nothing to be worried about, it goes away after few hours. Left-overs of either fresh or canned asparagus always need to be refrigerated immediately and consumed quickly, within 12 - 18 hours or, better, frozen. Questions or comments, as usual, please do not hesitate to get in touch. I offer nutritional advice (face to face or online) to private individuals and food safety and nutritional advice to businesses. Maria Maria Longo Mobile 07887990108 email [email protected]

Amazing idea! Thanks

That's perfectly fine womanofdulwich, thank you for sharing your frank opinion! In a certain sense, the version with parmesan or butter, besides the very little contribution of proteins and calcium, can work for that purpose of looking as a treat especially for those who cannot eat dairy but.... I understand your point. You mean another type of garnish. Perhaps another idea is to try jalape?o chillies on top :)

Hello I have thought I can share some nutritional tips and ideas for cooking healthy meals. Since I also offer my advice as a food safety, lifestyle and nutritional coach, I think this is the best section of the forum to post but, if not, Admin please let me know. I start with what I have called the "Story of my life" soup - attached is a photo. One of the most nutritious soups one can imagine! And it is for all-seasons: refreshing and invigorating even if eaten cold, so not just for the wintery weather. I do not know why exactly I have given it this title, possibly because once I had eliminated animal proteins, embraced veganism and reversed chronic kidney disease stage 3, with my kidneys returning to work almost normally for my age, I had to be careful and see how to eat more proteins (proteins deficiency was giving me fatigue symptoms and making me very weak, with stomach, muscles and joints cramps). So ... here you are! A vegan soup that has it all, and can be very much tailored to the dietary needs of everybody and the energy requirements of various age groups. "Story of my life" soup The basic vegan soup consists of lentils and orzo pastina (little pasta shaped as barley seeds) in a rich, dense but still smooth, blended stew that is made with carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, butternut squash and few bruxelles sprouts, and a generous dip of my courgettes onions and tomatoes sauce (optional)! It can stay in the fridge for a couple of days and can also be made in batch and frozen once completely cold (although I prefer not to add the orzo pastina to frozen portions and I leave this as something to boil and add just before serving). When needed, just pour two or three soup ladles in a bowl, put in a microwave for a couple of minutes (but reheat only once!), add a spoon of olive oil, salt and pepper and that's it! supper is sorted, served with or without toasts or a handful of mixed nuts. Accompanied with a glass of red wine or a pint of ale it becomes also good for a festive or celebratory meal. This could really be a multicultural meal too: for those who practice Ramadan, for instance, stews are the ideal solution for their iftar meals and this one has a very good balance of carbs and proteins. For a vegetarian version, it can be tried with a spoon of parmesan just grated over the bowl and /or a "knob" of butter... (who knows how much big is that "knob"! my suggestion is about 15 or 20 grams). For those who require an animal-proteins version, especially for children, I substituted lentils with diced sausages (but I could have used also chicken or ham or Italian pancetta) and it worked amazingly. However, I doubled the pasta per portion and added two cups more water to the whole stew so that it remained high in energy and did not risk to thicken resembling a ratatuille. Well, that's it for now. For more information on my nutritional services, if you want to republish my post in your magazine of blog or shop website for commercial reasons or if you would like to have more pictures and even some "Cooking in Italian language" lessons, do not hesitate to get in touch! Enjoy Maria Maria Longo Mobile 07887990108 email [email protected]

Seconded!

Reply message deleted because unfortunately I cannot offer anymore my freelance "Maria Joy of Cleaning" housekeeping services due to health conditions. I will continue with current minimal engagement as housekeeper while I am looking for more suitable work but I am not taking any new job. Thank you very much indeed for understanding.

There is plenty of very good vets in Dulwich and surrounding areas. But if you just need the registration with chip and vaccination service on a budget you may wish to use the RSPCA in West Norwood (opposite side of Norwood Rd entrance to the Cemetery). Before the pandemic I think they offered a low cost or free service at some point and there was always a big queue on Sundays. Best of miaow :)

Reply message deleted because unfortunately I cannot offer anymore my freelance "Maria Joy of Cleaning" housekeeping services due to health conditions. I will continue with current minimal engagement as housekeeper while I am looking for more suitable work but I am not taking any new job. Thank you very much indeed for understanding.

If you have GCSE or A levels exams coming up now is the right time to get the support you need with bespoke weekly or fortnightly conversations. Maria Longo 0788 7990108 [email protected]

I have availability for max three adults or teenager students between March and June.

Perhaps a simple activity could consist in just design and making new objects with the unwanted clothes. As far as I know there are a number projects and resources available for schools and teachers that want to do more to educate young people on environmental problems and the circular economy in various sectors, including textiles. Try to see if there is anything that may turn inspirational at: - Circular economy - IET Education https://education.theiet.org/secondary/teaching-resources/circular-economy/ - World Economic Forum's PACE for textiles https://pacecircular.org/action-agenda/textiles Best of luck Maria Longo Mobile 07887990108 email [email protected] =================================== Speak English / Italian With Maria! ===================================

Message deleted as superseded

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Reply message deleted because unfortunately I cannot offer anymore my freelance "Maria Joy of Cleaning" housekeeping services due to health conditions. I will continue with current minimal engagement as housekeeper while I am looking for more suitable work but I am not taking any new job. Thank you very much indeed for understanding.

I am now taking bookings for April / May / June