We have just returned from the Derbyshire Centre's 3000th rally and 50 year anniversary weekend. First and foremost, I have to thank the Committee for a really enjoyable weekend with something for everyone. I must also commend them for their planning for emergencies during the rally, which, sadly were brought into action.
On Saturday afternoon, a rallier suffered a serious medical emergency. The contingency planning went swiftly into action with a team headed by a retired paramedic giving CPR. Chairs were put around the victim and the first aid team to shield them. The compare for the afternoon's events asked everyone to move back, which request was immediately obeyed, and the crowd stilled automatically.
The emergency ambulance was summoned, and a small team of marshalls cleared the entry to the site, removing cordons and cones to give the ambulance free access. All other traffic was refused access to the site and parked in an adjacent field. A marshall with a hi-viz vest stayed at the gate to attract the attention of the ambulance driver. There were events involving caravans and tents in four fields along the same road.
The situation was so serious that the Air Ambulance was called, and again the marshalls swung into action ensuring that sufficient space was available and that the same guy with the hi-viz vest was able to signal to the helicopter.
The ambulance and air ambulance teams took over care of the victim who was eventually taken to hospital in the ambulance, leaving the helicopter free to deal with other emergencies in the area.
Having watched the way in which the first aiders and marshalls from Derbyshire acted so calmly and effectively, I have to ask the questions - "How prepared are your rally teams? Do you have qualified first aiders on hand at big events, or even small ones? Do you offer any advice, training or contingency plans for your club? If not, should you be thinking about the unthinkable before it happens?
I do not know the outcome of the incident. It was very obviously serious. The thoughts and prayers of all the team at Meals in Fields are with the victim, his family and friends.
Tuesday 31 July 2012
Thursday 5 July 2012
Why I don't show calorie count
At the recent Yorkshire Regional Meet, I was asked why I don't show the calorie value for each of the recipes. I was also asked if the recipes are suitable for celiacs and if the local Slimming World counsellor had approved them. So, here is the long answer for everyone.
Calories
The big problem with calculating the calorie value for any meal is that it relies on very accurate weighing of each ingredient, then serving the correct weight. Think about serving a meal from a slow cooker. Does everyone get the same weight of meat? How about the proportions of different vegetables - are they identical? Of course not! If you have no control over proportions of ingredients or portion size, which is the real killer for calorie counters, you cannot begin to even estimate the calorie value of the meal. Just remember that the real high calorie culprits are fats and carbohydrates - cut those down (not out completely) and you will dramatically reduce the calorie value of your meals.
Celiacs
Your problem is to avoid gluten, found most prolifically in products containing wheat. So, if the recipe does not contain flour, bread, pasta or breakfast cereals you should find the recipe is more than suitable. Check out the sauces and casseroles on the website, as they are all thickened with cornflour which does not contain gluten - so even these are within your regime. Something close to 70% of the recipes will fit your needs.
Low Fat
Again, all ingredients are listed so it should not be difficult to see whether or not a recipe has a lot of butter, margarine or lard. On the whole olive oil, sunflower oil and rapeseed oil are accepted as being very good substitutes for cooking, and stir-frying is one of the best ways of eating healthy low-fat meals. If you think about it, because you are avoiding fat, eg butter, you will naturally also cut down on carbohydrates because bread without butter is hard to digest, and therefore reduce your calorie count.
Low Carbohydrate
Most of the recipes in the meat, fish and vegetable sections are low carbohydrate - provided that you do not then serve that meal with a pile of potatoes, pasta or rice. By avoiding bread, pastry, cakes, pies, pasta and rice or at least keeping your helping down you automatically reduce the carbohydrates. Remember that sugar is also a carbohydrate and generally speaking the one that causes most people to pile on the pounds. You will probably find that your diet naturally reduces in fats as you are not eating the bread and potatoes that would normally be served with butter or deep fried as chips.
The Simple Conclusion
Read the ingredients, and choose those recipes which match your particular eating plan. The low fat and low carbohydrate options are not mutually exclusive and in fact tend to incorporate much the same meals, particularly those based on fish, chicken and fresh vegetables.
Any meal prepared using fresh produce at home or on holiday will be much healthier and will not contain the added chemicals associated with mass produced 'convenience' foods. Just read the labels and find out how much sugar is hidden in the "healthy" ranges of pre-packed meals. It might be hidden as carbohydrate, but just one pack contains more sugar than you would have in a week of eating fresh fish, meat and vegetables.
Remember the old addage "a little of what you fancy does you good." Have a look at your portion size, as that may be the clue to reducing weight. Try using a smaller plate, it will look full and fool your tum.
I would be interested to hear from the slimming experts, especially with comments on specific recipes which are particularly helpful for different eating plans.
Calories
The big problem with calculating the calorie value for any meal is that it relies on very accurate weighing of each ingredient, then serving the correct weight. Think about serving a meal from a slow cooker. Does everyone get the same weight of meat? How about the proportions of different vegetables - are they identical? Of course not! If you have no control over proportions of ingredients or portion size, which is the real killer for calorie counters, you cannot begin to even estimate the calorie value of the meal. Just remember that the real high calorie culprits are fats and carbohydrates - cut those down (not out completely) and you will dramatically reduce the calorie value of your meals.
Celiacs
Your problem is to avoid gluten, found most prolifically in products containing wheat. So, if the recipe does not contain flour, bread, pasta or breakfast cereals you should find the recipe is more than suitable. Check out the sauces and casseroles on the website, as they are all thickened with cornflour which does not contain gluten - so even these are within your regime. Something close to 70% of the recipes will fit your needs.
Low Fat
Again, all ingredients are listed so it should not be difficult to see whether or not a recipe has a lot of butter, margarine or lard. On the whole olive oil, sunflower oil and rapeseed oil are accepted as being very good substitutes for cooking, and stir-frying is one of the best ways of eating healthy low-fat meals. If you think about it, because you are avoiding fat, eg butter, you will naturally also cut down on carbohydrates because bread without butter is hard to digest, and therefore reduce your calorie count.
Low Carbohydrate
Most of the recipes in the meat, fish and vegetable sections are low carbohydrate - provided that you do not then serve that meal with a pile of potatoes, pasta or rice. By avoiding bread, pastry, cakes, pies, pasta and rice or at least keeping your helping down you automatically reduce the carbohydrates. Remember that sugar is also a carbohydrate and generally speaking the one that causes most people to pile on the pounds. You will probably find that your diet naturally reduces in fats as you are not eating the bread and potatoes that would normally be served with butter or deep fried as chips.
The Simple Conclusion
Read the ingredients, and choose those recipes which match your particular eating plan. The low fat and low carbohydrate options are not mutually exclusive and in fact tend to incorporate much the same meals, particularly those based on fish, chicken and fresh vegetables.
Any meal prepared using fresh produce at home or on holiday will be much healthier and will not contain the added chemicals associated with mass produced 'convenience' foods. Just read the labels and find out how much sugar is hidden in the "healthy" ranges of pre-packed meals. It might be hidden as carbohydrate, but just one pack contains more sugar than you would have in a week of eating fresh fish, meat and vegetables.
Remember the old addage "a little of what you fancy does you good." Have a look at your portion size, as that may be the clue to reducing weight. Try using a smaller plate, it will look full and fool your tum.
I would be interested to hear from the slimming experts, especially with comments on specific recipes which are particularly helpful for different eating plans.
Wednesday 27 June 2012
What is healthy eating?
An interesting discussion took place in the pub earlier this week all about healthy eating. As most women in the group are trying with varying degrees of success to loose weight the pros and cons of vegetarian, low fat, low carb and calorie counting diets ensued.
Having decided that, provided you don't go to extremes either reducing fat or reducing carbohydrates will work for most people, and both are easier than trying to calculate calories. The general agreement was not to follow the high fat 'Dr Atkins' versions, but simply to cut down on bread, potatoes, pastry, cakes, pasta and rice leaving the healthy fish, low fat meats and fresh vegetables. Partial concord then between the low fat and low carb camps - both agreeing that meals based on fish, chicken, turkey and fresh vegetables would give plenty of variety and vitamins and not too much fat or carbohydrate to upset anyone. We almost got around to agreeing a menu for a BBQ.
That, of course is where the Veggies took exception, and where the rest of us just don't understand the logic. Instead of looking at the wide variety of vegetables and fruit now available, the exponents of the 'no meat under any circumstances' and the 'Oh I couldn't eat anything with a face' militia began to extol the virtues of some stuff called Quorn. Having upset the Veggies en masse by asking why they wanted something to taste of meat if they were so against eating it and beating a rapid retreat back home, I decided to find out more about this substance.
The main ingredient is a chemical called mycoprotein which is basically a fungus grown and produced in giant fermenters. A further cocktail of chemicals has to be added to give a texture and flavour which is acceptable to the human palate. How can this possibly be considered to be a healthy lifestyle - especially when the food developed from this process is fried or cased in pastry!!
Sorry Veggies - all meals should start life in a field, develop naturally and bring their own flavours and textures to the plate. The only ingredient to taste of meat is meat and unless we eat it there will be no cows, sheep, pigs, chickens and so on grazing the fields of this green and pleasant land.
Having decided that, provided you don't go to extremes either reducing fat or reducing carbohydrates will work for most people, and both are easier than trying to calculate calories. The general agreement was not to follow the high fat 'Dr Atkins' versions, but simply to cut down on bread, potatoes, pastry, cakes, pasta and rice leaving the healthy fish, low fat meats and fresh vegetables. Partial concord then between the low fat and low carb camps - both agreeing that meals based on fish, chicken, turkey and fresh vegetables would give plenty of variety and vitamins and not too much fat or carbohydrate to upset anyone. We almost got around to agreeing a menu for a BBQ.
That, of course is where the Veggies took exception, and where the rest of us just don't understand the logic. Instead of looking at the wide variety of vegetables and fruit now available, the exponents of the 'no meat under any circumstances' and the 'Oh I couldn't eat anything with a face' militia began to extol the virtues of some stuff called Quorn. Having upset the Veggies en masse by asking why they wanted something to taste of meat if they were so against eating it and beating a rapid retreat back home, I decided to find out more about this substance.
The main ingredient is a chemical called mycoprotein which is basically a fungus grown and produced in giant fermenters. A further cocktail of chemicals has to be added to give a texture and flavour which is acceptable to the human palate. How can this possibly be considered to be a healthy lifestyle - especially when the food developed from this process is fried or cased in pastry!!
Sorry Veggies - all meals should start life in a field, develop naturally and bring their own flavours and textures to the plate. The only ingredient to taste of meat is meat and unless we eat it there will be no cows, sheep, pigs, chickens and so on grazing the fields of this green and pleasant land.
Wednesday 13 June 2012
Everyone can tow a caravan - its easy
Every time I tow the caravan onto a site, I find people staring as if a woman should not be driving with her husband in the passenger seat. Why not - I sit on the left when he is driving.
First of all, the breakdown services are there for genuine breakdowns, not a get you home service. I know of more than one occasion when the breakdown truck was called because the regular driver was unwell and the 'other half' would not tow. That is selfish and puts up everyone else's cost of breakdown cover.
Members of the Caravan Club and the Camping and Caravan Club will be able to find details of towing courses through their club. I thoroughly enjoyed learning to reverse properly - even though I had been towing for nearly ten years by the time I went along!!! These courses do not lead to the new test but will reduce your insurance premium.
If you passed your car driving test after 1997 you need to take an additional driving test with your caravan. The test is explained on http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/CaravansTrailersCommercialVehicles/DG_4022521.Tests are generally carried out at the HGV test centre where there is room to manouvre the outfit away from the traffic. Most HGV driver training centres also offer caravan/trailer training to meet the requirements of the new test.
With two drivers it is much easier to take the caravan on longer trips. The sensible way of working is to think in terms of "tacho hours" http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?r.l1=1081597476&r.l2=1082103262&r.l3=1084756056&r.s=tl&topicId=1082144445. Keeping it really simple, each driver drives for a maximum of two hours, then stop for a comfort break, change drivers and carry on again. It is much safer than leaving one driver to do all the work, and get far too tired to be safe on the road.
Remember that towing a caravan behind your car needs more concentration, and whether you are towing alone or with a "co-pilot" breaks are essential to avoid becoming over-tired and causing accidents.
Enjoy your caravanning holiday - wherever it takes you - and stay safe on the roads through sensible planning and the right training.
First of all, the breakdown services are there for genuine breakdowns, not a get you home service. I know of more than one occasion when the breakdown truck was called because the regular driver was unwell and the 'other half' would not tow. That is selfish and puts up everyone else's cost of breakdown cover.
Members of the Caravan Club and the Camping and Caravan Club will be able to find details of towing courses through their club. I thoroughly enjoyed learning to reverse properly - even though I had been towing for nearly ten years by the time I went along!!! These courses do not lead to the new test but will reduce your insurance premium.
If you passed your car driving test after 1997 you need to take an additional driving test with your caravan. The test is explained on http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/CaravansTrailersCommercialVehicles/DG_4022521.Tests are generally carried out at the HGV test centre where there is room to manouvre the outfit away from the traffic. Most HGV driver training centres also offer caravan/trailer training to meet the requirements of the new test.
With two drivers it is much easier to take the caravan on longer trips. The sensible way of working is to think in terms of "tacho hours" http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?r.l1=1081597476&r.l2=1082103262&r.l3=1084756056&r.s=tl&topicId=1082144445. Keeping it really simple, each driver drives for a maximum of two hours, then stop for a comfort break, change drivers and carry on again. It is much safer than leaving one driver to do all the work, and get far too tired to be safe on the road.
Remember that towing a caravan behind your car needs more concentration, and whether you are towing alone or with a "co-pilot" breaks are essential to avoid becoming over-tired and causing accidents.
Enjoy your caravanning holiday - wherever it takes you - and stay safe on the roads through sensible planning and the right training.
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Thank you Leeds
Wow - what a wonderful weekend Leeds Loves Food proved to be. Wall to wall sunshine, and food from all corners of the world to sample and enjoy. The smells of paella, tacos, venison burgers mingled and wafted across the square - delicious.
We met so many people who share our passion for fresh local food, simply cooked to maintain its special flavour and high quality. Thank you everyone who suggested places to shop for good quality food - all over the UK. We had recommendations from as far afield as Bristol and Northumbria, with plenty from West Yorkshire. Its going to take me another few days to get all of them onto the website. Thank you again. Together we can help to keep the small businesses on the high street. Now we have found them, we all need to use them.
The next newsletter is due to go out at the end of this week, but I think it might have to be delayed until early next due to the Bank Holiday and another show to attend; this time in Mansfield. I have added all the new requests for the newsletter from Leeds. If you would like a copy, just go to the home page and sign up. There is no charge.
Let me have some of those recipes you talked about at the weekend, and I will publish them on the website for you. Keep things simple so that the most novice cook can produce the meal.
Don't forget to keep those recommendations flooding in - we can only get these directories to work with your help.
See you in Mansfield, Tuesday 5 June.
We met so many people who share our passion for fresh local food, simply cooked to maintain its special flavour and high quality. Thank you everyone who suggested places to shop for good quality food - all over the UK. We had recommendations from as far afield as Bristol and Northumbria, with plenty from West Yorkshire. Its going to take me another few days to get all of them onto the website. Thank you again. Together we can help to keep the small businesses on the high street. Now we have found them, we all need to use them.
The next newsletter is due to go out at the end of this week, but I think it might have to be delayed until early next due to the Bank Holiday and another show to attend; this time in Mansfield. I have added all the new requests for the newsletter from Leeds. If you would like a copy, just go to the home page and sign up. There is no charge.
Let me have some of those recipes you talked about at the weekend, and I will publish them on the website for you. Keep things simple so that the most novice cook can produce the meal.
Don't forget to keep those recommendations flooding in - we can only get these directories to work with your help.
See you in Mansfield, Tuesday 5 June.
Thursday 17 May 2012
Look for this problem
In the photo the dangerous cracking can be seen in the left hand side of the tread very clearly.
The cracks will open as the tyre flexes in use, causing a blow out.
If you find this problem - CHANGE YOUR TYRES.
Wednesday 16 May 2012
Are your tyres an accident waiting to happen.
My caravan will be two at the end of the month. The annual service was carried out on Monday, and the engineer called me to say that one of the tyres was 'cracking'.
My immediate response was 'impossible', after all the caravan is used throughout the year, so the tyres do not bear weight in one position. We use the caravan at least once a month, even in the depths of winter, and make regular visual checks of the tyres before moving off. Add to that they are only two years old, and have plenty of tread depth.
Tyre pressures are checked from time to time, usually when we fill up the car. Bailey's have very kindly put the tyre pressure on a plaque beside the door, in both psi and bar, so the job is really very easy to do. We also keep an eye on the tyres when we are loaded and ready to go - after all, even radial tyres are not supposed to look squadgy or bulgy, or just plain flat.
Because the caravan is kept in secure storage, we use a mobile engineer for servicing (Bailey and NCC approved so no warranty issues) and he was quite adamant that the offside tyre was not safe. So, we promptly went over to the caravan, phoned the poor engineer, yet again, and asked him where to find the damage. Eventually we saw what we thought could be cracks, and asked advice on replacement tyres. Thankfully there is a national, mobile tyre fitting service - etyres - who came recommended by the mobile service engineer.
I was asked to attend the fitting of the new tyre, and met Mike from etyres just before midday. He removed the off-side wheel and showed me the problem. At the very bottom of the tread was the evidence of cracking. Both inner and outer walls were in perfect condition. The depth of tread suggested that there should have been plenty of life still in the tyre, but Mike explained that these cracks along the bottom of the tread pattern could prove lethal if left alone. This type of damage can soon lead to the tyre bursting, potentially with catestrophic results to the caravan. The tyre was, of course, replaced on the spot.
This type of damage is not unusual, but it is not always checked. I can only thank eagle-eyed Jamie from Charnwood Caravan Services and Mike from etyres for their technical expertise which may well have prevented a nasty accident. Thank you both.
All I can ask everyone else to do is check along the bottom of the tread pattern of your tyres and make sure they are not cracking too. The tyres in question were Trailermaxx, made in China, and fitted at the factory.
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