Author Archives: deansdiva

Tips for a stress-free summer

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walking

Here’s a reminder of the suggestions Sue Mcfarlane shared on last Sunday’s show – how to eat healthily for summer and a simple but calming breathing exercise to try…

Planning For Calm Eating And To A Budget

  • Get a piece of paper or a calendar and some coloured pens
  • Sit down and write all the family events for the next week (at least)
  • Have a chat with your partner, if possible, about all meals/snacks that need to be planned for the days ahead
  • Have a good stocktake of foods you have in already – you may not need to buy as much as you think!
  • Agree on some basic meals that you all enjoy making and eating and include lots of vegetables and fresh fruit
  • Agree who is going to shop, prepare and cook the meals so that you all know the PLAN
  • Agree that you are all going to work together and eat more meals together, if you aren’t already
  • Have this as a basic week’s plan and then add other meal options to it so you have a rolling meal program to go forward
  •  Keep to the plan and you will really make a difference in your stress levels and your food budget

Food And Lifestyle

  • Eat lighter, fresher meals in warmer weather
  • Eat lots of salads, fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables
  • Experiment with different combinations to make healthy and colourful salads
  • Avoid heavy, calorie-laden processed/bottled dressings and ketchups, which have sugar or sweeteneers in, and go for simple lemon juice and olive oil
  • Avoid sugar in its many forms as these may help energy levels initially but tend to lead to bigger sleepy slumps and cravings later
  • Drink lots of fresh filtered water with a slice of lemon, lime, orange, cucumber, fresh mint or root ginger in – better than squash, lots of juice or alcohol
  • Caffeine and alcohol can seem to be a good idea but they may just push your body down the stress route further – opt for other alternatives including herbal or fruit teas (make up to double/triple strength and chill)
  • Include lots of healthy fats in foods such as avocado, nuts, seeds, fish, olive oil and cook with coconut oil (odourless if desired)
  • Eat a good amount of protein each day from lean meats, fish, eggs, beans, nuts and seeds – they’ll keep you full and help slow energy release for long active days
  • Try making your own ice/fruit pops by freezing fruited yoghurts or juice in lolly moulds or make your own quick ice cream by freezing slices of banana and blitzing with yoghurt and fresh berries, adding a little honey or maple syrup if needed
  • Get the children or your partner involved in the food preparation so you’re not stuck in the kitchen all summer
  • Have lots of time and fun outdoors – go to the park & find the swings!
  • Grow some salad stuff with the kids, in pots on the windowsill or outdoors – make food FUN!
  • If it rains, have an indoor picnic – spread out a sheet (washable!) and let your own and your family’s hair down!
  • Switch off your phone and tablet – engage with your family before they grow up!!
  • Go barefoot on clean grassy or paved areas (not tarmac!) or get to paddle in a stream or natural pond.
  • Just walk in the fresh air, when you can – see sunrises and sunsets!

And Now… Breathe!

  • Find a place where you can be on your own, even for a few minutes
  • Sit down if you can, with your feet on the floor and hands in your lap
  • Close your eyes
  • Take a breath, at your own pace, for a count of 5-6, in through your nose as if you are inflating a balloon in your tummy (not chest!) – you could put your hand there to feel the air expand your abdomen
  • Hold that breath for a count of 3-4
  • Let out the breath & exhale through your mouth, for a count of 5-6
  • Repeat
  •  As you are breathing, at your own pace, without forcing or overholding, imagine yourself as you would like to feel when you finish the exercise. You may wish to be calmer, more alert, have more energy, be more focussed, be positive, more agile, more forgiving, confident, more flexible – choose your own end result and focus on that feeling or vision
  • When you’re ready, just open your eyes and raise up your arms in a stretch whie taking in another breath, as if reaching for the ceiling/sky – make a circle with your arms and bring them back down to your sides/lap
  • Resume your day

You may wish to keep a journal of how you feel on a day to day basis and how this exercise might be making a difference. If you can’t find a place on your own (stuck on a tram/bus/at the bus stop/in a supermarket queue/in the kitchen with the family around you), just close your eyes for a moment, take a breath and exhale slowly two or three times.

Unity through music

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rastarella 2

It’s all about music and multiculturalism when Leanda ‘Rastarella’ Falade joins the Girls Around Town on tomorrow’s show.

Herself a host/compere and radio deejay on Kemet FM, Rastarella is Nottingham’s only independent female live music promoter who also specialises in curating events that support unity and multiculturalism under the banner Cultural Vibrations (Unity Through Music).

Born on the Caribbean island of Trinidad, Rastarella migrated to the UK in the late 1980s. The eldest of four sisters, she completed her junior and secondary education in Newark and has been living in Nottingham for the past 16 years.

On Sunday’s show, she’ll be talking to Tina and June about her music and her active involvement in the creative and cultural communities of Nottingham.

She’ll also be discussing her work as a volunteer for OCD-UK and her participation in the nationwide campaign Time To Change, raising awareness of mental health issues within the Black, Asian, Minority (BAME) Communities.

Tune in or listen online between 10am and 12 noon to find out why Rastarella’s motto is ‘Unity is easy when you look within, not at the skin‘…

Keep your feet neat

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pretty feet

In the summer time there is more focus on our feet being pink and pretty. Pedicures can help soften hard skin but what to do about that verruca you’ve had for a while now? Especially if it’s starting to hurt?

Verrucas – also known as plantar warts – are found on the soles of the feet. Our weight pushes the wart inwards and, as it grows bigger, that pressure can cause discomfort. It may be there for some weeks or even months before we realise we have one.

Verrucas are caused by a virus and are often slow growing. They are contagious – the virus enters through tiny cuts and, as we all know, swimming pools are often where we and our children pick them up.

They are usually round, may have a white cauliflower appearance, with a black dot in the middle which is a blood vessel. If you’re unsure, squeeze the area – if it feels tender, you most likely have a verruca.

Provided your immune system is healthy, they will eventually resolve but verrucas in adults can be very stubborn, lasting years rather than months. So how do you sort them out?

One method is to gently rub away skin around the verucca and then use a plaster. This is to encourage your immune system to heal the verruca naturally but it’s only likely to work if your verruca is small.

An alternative way is by applying solutions bought over the counter at pharmacies which attempt to kill the virus. There are usually two types: corrosive preparations containing salicylic acid or silver nitrate. More recently the freezing gel has also become available. This can be distressing for children, who may find it painful and scary.

As Girls Around Town wellbeing guru Fiona explained on the show last weekend, it was the problems caused by this distress that encouraged her to find a more natural solution – a fluid called Thuja tincture.

Derived from Thuja occidentalis, a type of cedar tree native to North America, the preparation is made from the natural oils of the tree and was used by North American tribes for hundreds of years for medicinal purposes.

Like the other preparations, Thuja is only used topically – that is on the skin. Fiona’s verruca kit is natural, effective and gentler than the chemical alternatives – and it costs the same.

To order a kit, priced £8 and containing full instructions for use as well as the tincture, contact Fiona on www.fionatheokritoff.co.uk and say goodbye to the family’s verrucas!

NB : If you have verrucas and a condition such as diabetes which means your immune system is compromised or if you are pregnant, seek advice from your doctor or podiatrist before self treatment.