WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

[Tizer]

We've been increasing the number of our insect friendly plants, especially those loved by honey bees and bumble bees and the effort is paying back now. Unfortunately a lot of people plant their garden with fancy double-flowered* varieties of ornamental plants and the bees can't get nectar from those. Best to have the normal single-flowered ones and even wild ones too.

*Double-flowered varieties of plants, also known as double blooms, are those where the flowers have more petals than the typical single-flowered variety of the same species. This extra fullness is typically caused by a mutation in genes that control the development of the flower. Instead of forming stamens and carpels (the male and female reproductive parts), these mutated cells develop into extra petals or petal-like structures. (From Google AI)

[Stanley]

I admit that my wild front garden looks like the epitome of neglect to someone who equates good culture with trimming lawn edges but during the dry weather it has thrived and is alive with insects and even bats in the evening.

[Stanley]

See THIS health news....
2 hours ago
For the first time, there are more children in the world who are obese than underweight, according to a major study by children's charity Unicef. Around one in 10 of those aged between five and 19 years old - around 188 million children and young people - are now thought to be affected by obesity. Researchers blame a shift from traditional diets to ones heavily reliant on ultra-processed foods that are relatively cheap and high in calories. Unicef, an agency of the United Nations, is urging governments to protect children's diets from unhealthy ingredients and stop the ultra-processed food industry from interfering in policy decisions.
This advice is long overdue. For years, governments have abdicated from their role as arbiters of what constitutes good food and left the decisions to the food processors and the supermarkets. It is no accident that the rise in obesity and the 'Western Diseases' started when these influences first came on the scene in the late 1950s. They are being allowed to damage home food production by depressing farm gate prices on the grounds that we can buy cheaper abroad. We are at a stage now where the flaws in this management model are starting to become evident. By the time governments realise their mistake and attempt to rectify them it may be too late. Perhaps it's too late already.......

[Julie in Norfolk]

I make my own coleslaw / fruit salad when I feel the need and the want.

1/2 white cabbage finely sliced (like coleslaw)
Handful of broken walnut bits
Small tin of mandarin orange segments - broken
Handful of sultanas
1 apple thinly sliced
All mixed together with mayonnaise.

It is better than you'd think.

[Stanley]

I can believe it Julie.... I have made potato salad in the past and that was fine as well.