Saiprojects

Too much Sugar is bad for us and we all know this, yet majority of us still eat it- sometimes in large amounts - on a daily basis or even more than once a day.

However if you knew exactly what areas of the body sugar affects and which organs it harms, would it change your unhealthy ways?

Sugar can have a myriad of effects on the brain. According to researchers, excessive sugar consumption can exacerbate depression and anxiety by causing energy spikes followed by crashes.

It also messes with the neurotransmitters that help regulate our mood and could contribute towards dementia in later life.

The online tool for Benenden reveals what else happens to the body when you overindulge on sugary snacks and drinks. And to be honest I am a culprit when it comes to craving sugary drinks :-(

According to researchers, the sweet substance can also play havoc with vital organs in our bodies such as the kidneys, digestive system and genitals.

In women, high blood sugar levels have been thought to contribute to recurring bouts of yeast infections such as thrush.

In men, it can be responsible for erectile dysfunction and lack of sex drive. So it is very important for both men & women to watch the amount of sugar intake we consume.

Meanwhile in children, sugar can affect the heart, bones and immune system. And, of course, it contributes to obesity.

Currently, the recommended daily sugar intake for adults is 30 grams per day, however many people are consuming almost double this amount - the current average daily intake is 58.8 grams.

In fact, earlier this year a committee of influential scientists advised the government to halve the recommended daily intake of sugar to no more than 5% of total calories consumed – about seven teaspoons – and experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) have also urged us to dump the lumps and limit daily sugar intake to less than 10% of total calories consumed, ideally 5% or less for “additional health benefits”. 

On the menu today is my ever tasty Cauliflower cheese with Gammon. This meal will be a very good Christmas menu to add to your dinner party.

I'm not really a cheese fan, but I love this dish as it does not taste too cheesy :-)

Enjoy & have a great day..xx

Ingredients:-

1 fresh Cauliflower
1 Large Gammon Rasher
1 pint of semi skimmed milk
50g of plain flour
50g of butter
100g of mature grated cheese
2 fresh Tomatoes

Prep time:-20 minutes


Method:-

Trim the cauliflower (leave whole) and simmer until almost cooked. Meanwhile trim fat from the gammon and cut into small pieces. (Leave the fat in, if you don't mind the skin on)

Strain and place in an oven proof dish (shown below).

Now melt the butter in pan and add the flour and cook, gradually add the milk, stirring continuously.

Add the gammon and bring to the boil allowing the sauce to thicken, reduce the heat, add cheese and cook for a few minutes.

Pour sauce over the cauliflower.

Finally slice tomatoes and arrange on the top, place in a hot oven until golden brown and piping hot.

Check the video out here:-

I never really get to make onion rings at home; the only time I really eat them is when I go to a restaurant. One of my besties shared this recipe with me so I thought I'll share with my lovely readers :-)

Ingredients:-

1 white onion
50g of plain flour
1 tbsp of baking powder
half a teaspoon of paprika
salt n black pepper to taste
half a litre of very cold sparkling water
50g of golden breadcrumbs
Vegetable or Olive oil- enough to use for deep frying

Method:-

Peel and slice the onion to about 1cm thick, separate them into rings and remove the top layer; place them in salted water for about 20 minutes.

Once done, in a mixing bowl add the flour, salt, black pepper, paprika, water(this needs to be very cold and fizzy) you need the fizz to make the flour mix more absorbable. Now mix well until nice and smooth.

Now towel dry the onion from the salted water and place in the flour mix by making sure the flour mix covers the onion. Now place the breadcrumbs into a plate and place each onion into the breadcrumbs by covering each onion with the breadcrumbs.

Preheat your oil and place each onion into your frying pan; fry for about 2 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.. Easy peasy right :-)

Look how crispy and golden it looks..

Happy Easter to all our readers all over the world. Easter is a feast day and a day to over indulge! Make sure you eat and share some Easter eggs with your loved ones :-)

As its Good Friday today,  we will be celebrating today with a Pineapple Upside down Cake; and if you read my last post you'll know that I've found a new love in Baking...

I think I never used to like Baking because I hate measuring the ingredients, but since I've bought myself a nice Baking scale and some baking utensils, it's ACTUALLY not that bad :-)

So you'll be seeing me bake alot in my upcoming blog posts.

OK so this Pineapple Upside down cake is super easy and when I came across the recipe from one of my colleagues who is a Product Specialist, I almost showered her with too much hugs lol.

I made this using one of our fab Pro Combi steam oven (AEG brand). Now I didn't get to take alot of step by step pictures (so sorry) as I got super excited and my stupid phone died in the process, so I only managed to take one pic. But you know I'll always share my recipes :-)

Ingredients:-

50g of butter
50g of soft brown sugar
225g of drained pineapple rings- (you can buy from any supermarket)
4-5 glace cherries
200g of Self raising Flour
200g of Soft Margarine
200g of Caster Sugar
3 eggs

Prep time is approximately 25 to 30 minutes, cooking time is 40 -50 minutes

Method:-



Carefully line a loose bottom cake tin, Now cream together brown sugar and butter and spread over the base of the cake tin.

Arrange the  pineapple rings on top, placing a cherry in the centre of each pineapple ring.



Place the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl and combine with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. (If you don't have an electric mixer, mix with a whisk or any cutlery of your choice, as long as you get a fluffy texture).






Spoon mixture over the pineapple rings and bake in the oven (I used an AEG Procombi Steam oven) on quarter steam at 160°c for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, check the mixture is cooked and leave to cool before serving. Easy Peasy right :-)

Here's to wishing all our readers a Happy Good Friday and a wonderful Easter to come.

Method:- Carefully line a Swiss Roll tin, place the eggs & sugar in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until mixture is light & fluffy and holds its shape. Now add 1 tbsp warm water & vanilla essence and fold in carefully. Sift half of the plain flour, using a metal spoon, carefully fold in the flour then

add the remaining flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a

spatula. Bake for 12 14 minutes . Sponge should feel firm to the touch. Turn on to grease proof paper and carefully roll like a Swiss roll and allow

to cool down.

Whip cream until thick and mix in the lemon curd, unroll the Swiss Roll and spread the lemon curd cream over the sponge leaving a 1cm margin . Sprinkle over the raspberries

Now using the grease proof paper re-roll and carefully place on serving plate. Finally dust with icing sugar.