It’s January and we could all do with a boost. The French may disagree with me, but breakfast is the most important meal of the day (most of my French friends shudder at the thought of a hot breakfast, unless by “hot breakfast” you mean dipping a croissant into a bowl of coffee).

Oats are a fabulous basis for a breakfast and contain many nutrients which help to combat depression, lower cholesterol, help control blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes, can help in weight loss, and can help prevent heart disease(see this, or this, or this article)

To the traditional porridge mix I have added quinoa. Quinoa is an excellent source of protein. Lack of protien is thought to contribute to people feeling hungry (and therefore quinoa can help combat weight gain). Quinoa also contains many of the nutrients you need to help control diabetes, prevent heart disease and cancer. (see this, this or this article)

I have also added fresh and dried fruit. They taste great, add natural sugar to the mixture and are good for you! I add banana at the end as bananas also contain lots of nutrients that help combat high blood pressure and also contain precursors to (chemicals that your body can breakdown to make) serotonin, the brain chemical which makes you feel good (many modern antidepressants work by keeping serotonin in your brain to lift your mood). To read more about the benefits of eating bananas read this, this or this article)

Bananas and Quinoa are two of the very few things we buy which are imported from outside the EU (we try to buy French produce where possible). They are so good for you, so we make the exception…

Anyhoo, here is my recipe

This makes a big bowl (when cooked it almost fills a 500ml bowl) for breakfast, if you don’t have a big appetite you may want to start by cutting the quantities in half.

2 heaped desert spoon of cooked quinoa (I cook quinoa in bulk and then decant it into small tubs, which I can then freeze and use when I want – use this recipe to cook the quinoa - just cook it in water without adding anything else)

1/2 tea spoon of mixed spice

2 desert spoons of dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, what every you like)

2 heaped desert spoons of compote (cooked apple, rhubarb or anything else you like)

1 pear (peeled and chopped finely)

If you wish you can mess about with the fruit above – use all fresh fruit if you want, or all dried fruit or preserved fruit if you don’t have fresh

5 heaped desert spoons of porridge oats

1 banana (chopped finely)

300mls oat milk (or whichever milk you prefer)

Put everything into a bowl (it needs to be big, at least 500mls), apart from the banana.

Stir and put in microwave and cook on full for 4 minutes.

Take out of microwave. Stir and leave to stand for 4 minutes.

Stir again and cook on full for 1-2 minutes

Stir in the banana.

Eat and enjoy!

3placedesarbres: a vegetarian b&b in the heart of Felletin, a beautiful market town, close to Aubusson, in Central France. Why not treat yourself to a break in our guesthouse in the Limousin region of France

Well, perhaps the answer is sooner than you might have thought.  L’Association Végétarienne de France (the Vegetarian society of France) has launched a new campaign for Un Jour Sans Viande

The campaign includes a new website, and, this month they have written to the mayor of Paris to request a meat-free day, setting out in the letter all the benefits for health, the environment and the economy.

Check out the website and join the campaign!

3placedesarbres.com: enjoy vegetarian and vegan meals in the heart of France in this beautiful 18th century property, located in the Limousin Region

Banned by the UK advertising watchdog

This is the latest campaign poster by Peta who are campaining for more people to become vegetarian. According to the Guardian Newspaper it has been banned because the UK advertising watchdog say that the poster leads people to believe that Swine Flu can be caught by eating meat. Peta responded by saying

“it did not intend to suggest that eating meat caused swine flu but wanted to highlight the role that livestock production played in the incubation, development and spread of fatal infectious diseases.

Adopting a purely vegetarian diet was one of the best ways to prevent the development and spread of deadly diseases that originated from livestock production and meat consumption and which threatened public health, the organisation added.”

Droits des animaux, c’est une association loi 1901 qui regroupe une quarantaine de personnes, et qui militent pour l’abandon totale de la consommation de viande. Pour alerter l’opinion, ils organisent des opérations qui frappent les esprits. La dernière en date c’etait samedi dernier à Paris : ils sont allés remplir le rayon viande du supermarché avec des fausses mains humaines, de faux pieds, doigts ou seins, achetés dans un magasin de farces et attrapes, et recouverts de cellophane…

You can download a podcast here and you can read peoples comments on the programme here

3placedesarbres.com: a vegetarian guesthouse in the heart of France

Visit 3placedesarbres.com a luxury vegetarian guesthouse, near Aubusson, in La Creuse, Limousin, France. For tourist information on Felletin, Aubusson, La Creuse and Limousin visit us

It has the look of couscous about it, but contained within is a wealth of nutrients and flavour. You cook it in water (we flavoured ours with vegetable stock, beetroot juice and rehydrated sundried tomatoes) for 12 minutes, or so. The volume doubles in size and the resulting quinoa is soft, slightly crunchy, with a nutty taste. Delicious.

What is Quinoa?

Quinoa is a seed (although is often thought of a grain) of a leafy green plan, valued by the Inca’s thousands of years ago (potatoes and grains took over when western “civilisation” destroyed the Inca’s quinoa fields). It’s value has only recently been rediscovered, and nutritional analysis shows what an amazing little food it is.

Nutritional benefits

Not only is quinoa packed with minerals such as magnisium, calcium, manganese, and iron it also has a high level of protein.

This makes it an ideal food for vegetarians and vegans.

I am not convinced the raw food diet is for everyone (I know plenty of people who have a problem keeping weight on, and need the calories that foods such as rice and potatoes offer, for example. I am also unconvinced as to why it has to be all or nothing, why not increase your raw food intake, but still eat things that are cooked?), but clearly some people  find it necessary to completely and radically change their lifestyle.

Many people do not include any fresh vegetables in their diet. Just switching to a healthy vegetarian or vegan diet (and the elimination of alcohol and sugar) would also have a radical effect on diabetes.

Still, it is an interesting trailer and highlights the importance of diet and health.