In days when we run fast from an appointment to another trying to make up time for an home-made tasteful lunch, what we really need is an easy to prepare and delicious recipe. Express Meals by Liz Franklin is a collection of inspiring recipes to impress in no time.
Even better, it is also downloadable as e-book.

Fig and mozzarella salad with warm vincotto dressing

Fresh figs and mozzarella make a sublime combination, especially if you use a wonderful buffalo mozzarella. You should find vincotto vinegar at good delis, but if you struggle, balsamic vinegar works well too.

6 ripe but firm figs, cut into quarters • 400g/14oz buffalo mozzarella cheese, drained and torn into pieces • 2 large handfuls of rocket leaves • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil • 1–2 tbsp vincotto or balsamic vinegar • 1 small handful of red basil and parsley sprigs • salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve: olive ciabatta bread

1 Arrange the figs on a serving platter and top with the mozzarella. Scatter the rocket over the salad.

2 Gently warm the olive oil and vincotto in a small saucepan. Season with salt and pepper.

3 Drizzle the warm dressing over the salad and scatter the basil and parsley on top. Serve with slices of olive ciabatta.



 Liz Franklin
 Express Meals
 ISBN: 9781848991088




(by Lowri Turner)

Are you struggling to stick to your New Year’s resolutions? Perhaps that cake is beginning to seem really quite tempting, a glass of wine is calling you or you were tempted to hit the snooze button on your alarm clock skip your morning run? Whatever promises you made to yourself (and others) on January 1st, it can be hard to follow through. However, by using a few top techniques from the world of sports psychology, you could dramatically increase your chance of success.

As the author of The Hunger Types Diet, which looks at how hidden hormonal imbalances can drive appetite, cravings and weight gain, I firmly believe that changing what you eat can solve all sorts of health problems, including excess weight. Still , as a practicing nutritionist and hypnotherapist, I also regularly use brain training skills to help my clients stick to their new healthier diets.

Many of the most effective psychological techniques from the world of sport, where athletes are now as likely to focus on their ‘mind’ game as their physical one. As cognitive hypnotherapist Hazel Gale ( says: ‘People are realising it’s scientific, not woo woo’. Gale is the current UK women’s welterweight boxing champion and former double world women’s kick boxing champion. Not a lady to argue with then.

Performance consultant Andy Barton ( is a sports psychologist who also uses fashionable new psychological approaches such as Non Linguistic Programming (NLP)and Neuro Feedback to help people. He says’65% of my clients are sports people, but the others are actors,musicians and just people who need to perform better’.

These therapists work with top flight athletes, but the strategies they (and I) use can be just as effective at helping you stick to your New Years Resolutions. Here are my favourite techniques and how you can use them:

1.Resource Anchor

What is it?
OK, the name’s not very catchy, but it works. The idea is that we ‘associate’ different states (happy, sad, excited etc.) with ‘anchors’ i.e. sights, sounds, smells, or tastes.   So, the smell of fish and chips may make you feel happy because it remind you of family seaside holidays as a child. The key is to anchor a sense to a frame of mind (a ‘resource state’) that will help you..

How do you do it?
The easiest and most effective Resource Anchor to create is a sound one. An experiment conducted at Brunel University in 2001 found that music combined with imagery was more effective than imagery alone at helping athletes complete an isometric endurance task. You can use the same trick to push you through a run, cycle or boring pounding of the treadmill.

Choose a song or songs that give you a feeling of energy and and power. ‘‘The only way is up’ by M People or ‘Roar’ by Katy Perry are good choices.
Now, close your eyes and imagine yourself really exercising well- running effortlessly, swimming strongly or whatever is the fitness regime you have decided to adopt as part of your New Year’s Resolution. Switch on your music and watch yourself in your minds eye exercising at your peak. Rewind the song and rewind your little movie of youself and play both again a couple of times ‘anchor’ this great feeling to the music. Then play the music whenever you train .

What Is It Best For?
Fitness regimes like running, swimming or cycling. Also good for slowing down eating if you’re trying to lose weight. Just choose a calming piece of music.

2. Power Pose

What is it?
Power Pose depends for its success on the theory that body language is infectious. If you are depressed, you slump your shoulders and this makes you feel even more depressed. Power pose reverses this process.

How Do You Do It?
Stand with your feet slightly apart, your head up and shoulders back. Lift your arms up and out as if you are running through a tape at the end of the race. Breathe deeply and hold that position for 1 – 2 minutes.

What is it best for?
Increasing energy and focus. If your New Year’s Resolution is to get a promotion or get another job, for example, you can do this before you have to make that tricky phone call or go in for an interview.

3. Mental Rehearsal

What is it?
This a visualisation technique in which you assume the identity of someone else in order to copy them and improve your own ‘game’.

How Do You Do It?
First think of someone your know who behaves as you would like to. If you want to give up alcohol, it maybe a teetotaller you know, If you want to lose weight, someone who is already slim. Choose a person whose behaviour you are familiar with. Now, close your eyes and imagine you’ve got a remote control and a TV. Press play and watch a film of your chosen person practising the skill you want to perfect. Perhaps they are putting down their knife and fork between bites, or leaving food on their plates. Or, they could be sipping elegantly at a glass of water, looking confident and relaxed.

Press pause and rewind. Play the movie again. This time keep your mentor’s head but put it on your body. Press pause, rewind and play again with your head and your body, but behaving exaclty as your chosen person did. Press pause, rewind and play again but step inside the movie so you’re actually feeling what it is like from the inside to behave as you’d like to.

Press pause, step out the movie, look at yourself performing so well, breathe in and relax.

What Is It Best For?
Trying out behaviour that you cannot imagine yourself doing. So, if you’ve never exercised,always been overweight, or never gone a week without drinking. Rehearsing the future helps create belief that you can change.

4. Change Internal Dialogue

What Is It?
Many of us fail at New Year’s Resolutions because we doubt ourselves. We have a little voice in our heads that tells us we can’t. This can be our own voice or more often is that of a parent. Change Internal Dialogue is a technique that takes the ‘sting’ out of that inner voice.

How Do You Do It?
Close your eyes and think about some of the negative beliefs you may have about your New Year’s Resolutions. Hear the voice in your head saying things like’ I always fall of diets… I join and gym and never go… I am a failure’. While listening to this litany of internal criticism, alter the voice in your head to that of Bugs Bunny or Homer Simpson or any other silly voice you fancy. Immediately, whatever they are saying sounds ridiculous rather than powerful.

What it’s best for?
Any New Year’s Resution that you have tried at and failed at before – smoking, giving up drinking, losing weight.

5. Flick It Out, Lock It In

What is it?
This is a technique that allows you to ‘own’ your successes and ‘throw away’ the failures.

How Do You Do It?
If you do something really well, whether it’s have a good session at the gym, say ‘no’ to a cigarette or manage a night out without a drink, you find a quiet place and ‘lock it in’. This means you lift one arm, bend it as if you are doing a classic bicep curl, then as you clench your fist andpull it in to your chest. This ‘locks in’ the success.

If you have a bad day on your diet, fitness regime or fall of the wagon wit smoking or drinking, you can ‘flick out’ this failure. Again find a quiet place and take the flat of one hand. Brush yourself down as if trying to brush crumbs off yourself’.

What Is It Good For?
Celebrating your successes and preventing ‘blips’ knocking you off track.

Lowri Turner is a hypnotherapist and nutritionist. She is the author of the new book The Hunger Types Diet.




 Lowri Turner
 The Hunger Type Diet
 ISBN: 9781848999770






With so many diet books on the shelf, it can be daunting to pick one. Most of these books promote one type of diet for all, but what about the diet that is designed specifically for YOU? With her newest book, The Hunger Type Diet, journalist and trained nutritionist Lowri Turner has the answer to this question!

We are all different – physically, mentally, and hormonally – and all of these factors contribute to how and what we eat.

Rather than blame yourself for past failed diets, it’s time to look at hunger in a different light. In reality, there are several kinds of hunger. There is genuine physical hunger; which we all know by the stomach pains. But the trouble is that there are other kinds of hunger; the kinds that cause weight gain.

The key is discovering your own “Hunger Type” – and following Turner’s simple diet plan and tips geared towards YOU.

So, what’s your Hunger Type?

  1. Anxious Hunger

Do you snack compulsively when you feel anxious or worried? When you are anxious or worried do you make yourself a big meal, eat it and still want to eat more? Do you eat at night, even getting up to eat a snack? If you have Anxious Hunger, you eat to quell fears and worries.

  1. Bored Hunger

We all get bored from time to time. But rather than take up a hobby, some of us eat instead. Bored Hunger has nothing to do with food enjoyment. Often the food you end up eating when you’re bored is pretty grim. Because you’re trying to pretend you’re not actually eating (because you’re not physically hungry), you don’t cook a balanced meal. Instead, you graze on things that are convenient—potato chips, cookies and other snacks.

  1. Cravings Hunger

Are there times when you have to eat a certain food; when you’re really driven to it? Are there certain foods that call to you from the kitchen cupboards? Do your efforts to lose weight fail because of a few food favorites that you just can’t resist? You may have Cravings Hunger. The desire for these foods isn’t a whim. Those who have Cravings Hunger are ruled by cravings.

  1. Emotional Hunger

If you have Emotional Hunger, you use food to manage your emotions. Uncomfortable emotions, such as anger, fear, sadness and guilt are pushed down, or tranquilized, with food. If you crave foods like chocolate, cakes and cookies, and particularly bread, potatoes, pasta and wine, then you may have Emotional Hunger.

  1. Hedonistic Hunger

Do you eat a meal, feel full, but then find yourself reaching for dessert? You love to cook, and eat at new restaurants—is food your passion? On the surface, Hedonistic Hunger sounds like fun. In reality, it causes overeating and weight gain.

  1. Never-Full Hunger

Do you eat a meal and never feel really satisfied or full? Do you find that your meals are bigger than most? If you have Never-Full Hunger, you may eat big meals, but for you they don’t even begin to satisfy.

  1. PMS Hunger

This one’s for the ladies! Let’s face it: we all get hormonal when Aunt Flow comes to town. And who among us can say we don’t reach for chocolate on those bad PMS days? However, the rise and fall of a woman’s hormones not only controls a her fertility, but it also has a huge effect on her mood, her eating and how much of what she eats gets stored as fat—and even where it’s stored. If you find yourself craving sweets and other unhealthy treats during your menstruation, you may have PMS Hunger.

  1. Stress Hunger

Have you been through a major stressor in the few years? Do you feel tired at about 6 PM, but then have a “second wind” late at night? Have you gained weight around your midsection? You may think that Anxious Hunger and Stress Hunger are the same thing, but although stress can cause anxiety, the root cause is different. Whereas Anxious Hunger (see page 26) stems from an overstimulation of the limbic system and a possible deficiency of the neurotransmitter GABA, Stress Hunger is marked by an overstimulation of the adrenal glands and a possible excess of another hormone called cortisol.

  1. Tired Hunger

Do you have trouble getting to sleep, or do you wake in the night? Do you work shifts, travel to different time zones or have a young baby? Do you eat to give yourself energy to get through the day? Those who have Tired Hunger use food to lift themselves up, to give them mental and physical energy.

  1. Winter-Blues Hunger

Does cold winter weather make you feel down? Do you eat more comfort foods in winter, and subsequently put on weight? Winter-Blues Hunger is another variant of Emotional Hunger. It is driven by the same hormone —serotonin—although it only happens during winter months and is connected to sunlight. A Vitamin D rich diet is what you need!

  1. 40+ Hunger

Are you between 40 and 55? Have you started putting on weight, particularly around your middle, and you don’t know why? Has your appetite increased or are you now craving specific foods? There are particular hormonal challenges for men and women when they reach this age group and some of them effect eating habits and weight gain. For men and women who have 40+ Hunger, correcting hormonal imbalance is key.

Now that you know your Hunger Type, order this exciting new diet book from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Or get it on your Kindle or Nook!

The first app from Nourish has over 400 recipes for juices, smoothies and quenchers (including teas). Add recipes to your favourites or to a shopping list! Why not try out one of the suggested juice programs, or perhaps compile a juice program of your choice?


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The Juices app is brought to you by Nourish, expert publishers in nutritional health, wellness and cookery books.

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Indulge yourself this weekend in a modern approach to French cooking with this Smoked Chicken, Courgette, Garlic and Rosemary Casserole from Daniel Galmiche’s Revolutionary French Cooking.

Smoked Chicken, Courgette, Garlic and Rosemary Casserole

Serves 4
Preparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 50 minutes

100g/3 1/2 oz/ 1/2 cup basmati rice
2 tbsp green tea
2 tsp caster sugar
4 chicken legs, with thighs and drumsticks separated
20g/ 3/4 oz unsalted butter
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tbsp olive oil
400g/14oz courgettes, cut in half lengthways, then cut into 2.5cm/1in pieces
12 garlic cloves, unpeeled
4 tbsp sherry vinegar
500ml/17fl oz/2 cups Chicken Stock
1 rosemary sprig
1 tsp chopped rosemary leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

A steamer works perfectly as a smoker so, if you have one, do give this recipe a try. You put the smoking mix in the bottom and the chicken in the top, but do keep it on a low heat – you don’t want your smoke alarm to go off, so take it easy and don’t get too excited! The green tea will bring a lovely flavour to the chicken, which will infuse into the courgettes. It’s almost as if you’d grilled the courgettes as it recalls that wonderful, smoky scent.

  1. Put a large piece of kitchen foil, shiny-side down, in the bottom of a steamer, then put the rice, tea and sugar on the foil, cover with a steamer insert and lid and put over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until the mixture starts smoking. Quickly lift the lid and put all the chicken inside. Put the lid back on, turn the heat down to low and smoke for 5 minutes. Lift out the chicken and put on a plate to rest, wrapping the smoking ingredients in the foil and discarding them as quickly as you can.
  2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Put a flameproof casserole dish over a medium-high heat. Add the butter and sunflower oil and when the butter is foaming, add the chicken, skin-side down, and cook for 6–8 minutes until golden brown all over, turning occasionally. Remove from the pan and put in a bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rest.
  3. Discard the oil from the casserole dish and lightly wipe the excess away with kitchen paper, taking care not to disturb the sediment. Return the dish to a medium-low heat, add the olive oil, courgettes and garlic and cook gently for 4–5 minutes until coloured but only just tender.
  4. Move the courgettes to the sides of the pan and put the chicken pieces in the centre to reheat. Turn the heat up to medium and when you can actually hear the food starting to cook, add the sherry vinegar straight away; it should evaporate immediately. Quickly pour the stock over the top and throw in the rosemary sprig. When the stock comes to a simmer, gently wriggle the pan around a little so that nothing is stuck to the bottom, then put the lid on top without closing it completely – you just want a little gap so that condensation doesn’t create too much liquid, but not too large so that the liquid evaporates. Cook for 15 minutes.
  5. Remove the lid and discard the rosemary. Turn the heat to high and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring to remove any caramelised bits stuck to the bottom, until the sauce is shiny and just thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Add the chopped rosemary and season with salt and pepper to taste, then serve hot. Guests can squeeze the garlic out of the skins into the dish.

Want to try more revolutionary French recipes? Invest in Daniel Galmiche’s Revolutionary French Cooking.


The Hunger Type Diet draws on the latest scientific research to help you identify exactly what is driving your over-eating. Take the quiz below to find out which Hunger Type is the most appropriate for you! Remember, you may be more than one Hunger Type, which would mean that you can combine one or more Food Plans for your Hunger Type Diet.


Please read the following questions, answering yes or no to each, then go to Find Your Hunger Type to find out what your answers mean.

1 My mother was a ‘worrier’, and so am I.
2 I suffer from headaches, indigestion, fast heartbeat, IBS, panic attacks or insomnia.
3 I eat quickly, sometimes not really realising I am doing it until the food is gone.

4 Evenings and weekends are my danger time for overeating.
5 I eat in front of the computer, TV or in the car.
6 I am a snacker or grazer.

7 I am an ‘all or nothing’ person.
8 An open packet of biscuits is an empty packet of biscuits. I cannot just eat one.
9 Someone in my family has a history of problems with alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex, computer games, or was/is a heavy smoker, or moved house or country frequently.

10 When I am upset, I eat to make myself feel better.
11 My favourite foods are bread, pasta, rice and potatoes.
12 I know I can relax when it gets to ‘wine o’clock’.

13 Dessert is my favourite part of a meal.
14 I love cooking and eating out. I consider myself a foodie.
15 Diet food is boring, so I find it hard to stick to a weight-loss plan in the long term.

16 There is no ‘off’ button for me with food. I never feel full.
17 I am more than a stone overweight.
18 I eat bigger meals than other people.

19 Usually, I eat well, but in the days before my period, I binge on sugar.
20 I have a history of endometriosis and/or ovarian cysts.
21 I have always been curvy, with a D-cup bra size or larger.

22 I ‘run’ on tea/coffee or diet cola.
23 Although I feel tired by about 6pm, I get a second wind around 10pm and can stay up late.
24 My favourite snacks are crisps, peanuts or other salty/highly flavoured foods.

25 Sleep is a problem for me. I either can’t get to sleep or I wake in the night.
26 My job involves foreign travel, shifts and/or I have a young baby.
27 Food gives me energy to get through the day.

28 I tend to put on weight in the winter.
29 Sunshine cheers me up and I feel happiest on a beach holiday.
30 When it’s dark outside, all I want to do is stay in bed.

31 I am over 40.
32 I have never had to worry about my weight, but now I can’t stop eating.
33 My doctor has suggested that I take HRT (women) or statins (men).

Now let’s find your Hunger Type

Answered yes to two or more in questions 1–3? You are an Anxious Hunger Type
Answered yes to two or more in questions 4–6? You are a Bored Hunger Type
Answered yes to two or more in questions 7–9? You are a Cravings Hunger Type
Answered yes to two or more in questions 10–12? You are an Emotional Hunger Type
Answered yes to two or more in questions 13–15? You are a Hedonistic Hunger Type
Answered yes to two or more in questions 16–18? You are a Never-Full Hunger Type
Answered yes to two or more in questions 19–21? You are a PMS Hunger Type
Answered yes to two or more in questions 22–24? You are a Stress Hunger Type
Answered yes to two or more in questions 25–27? You are a Tired Hunger Type
Answered yes to two or more in questions 28–30? You are a Winter-Blues Hunger Type
Answered yes to two or more in questions 31–33? You are a 40+ Hunger Type

Eek! My answers say I’m more than one hunger type! Not to worry this is very common and you can still find an eating plan that will work for you.

For more information and to find out what meals you should be eating for your Hunger Type read The Hunger Type Diet by Lowri Turner.