jemmur Member

It depends what kind of hiking you’re doing and what kind of hiker you are! I mostly walk in good weather and on reasonable trails and prefer trail-running shoes. I only wear real hiking boots in poor conditions or when I know I’ll be walking on bad/no paths. Some people prefer to wear hiking boots for everything and feel…

I’ve not used the HR version but I treated myself to the swanky version recently and I like it as a fitness tracker and everyday watch. I had an old version of the Apple Watch and realised the smart features were mostly wasted on me, as I care more about fitness and prefer Garmin’s ecosystem. The Forerunner 235 looked…

If your green tea tastes funky, make sure you're giving your freshly boiled water five minutes to cool before pouring it into your mug/teapot. Using boiling water scorches the leaves and will make your cuppa taste bitter! Source? I think that one's an old wives' tale ;) It's not as great for hydration as plain water but…

I don't know if anyone answered you but plankton and plants contain minuscule quantities of mercury, compared to something like tuna, because the mercury gets concentrated as it moves through the food web. As a gross simplification: the big predatory fish are worse for mercury because they've absorbed all the mercury that…

We don't seem to have CSA schemes here but a local farm sells boxes of seasonal, organic veggies and I've just put my first order in for one :) http://vegbox-recipes.co.uk looks like it might be useful for recipe ideas and identifying unusual things.

Do it the other way around - decide what you're going to eat/cook for yourself and your family over the next few days/week (look for some nice recipes first, if need be), then make a list of the foods/ingredients you don't already have!

Yeah, that article lost me as soon as it linked to the Weston A Price Foundation website, a source for independent research; some of it might be independent but it sure ain't impartial. Check out Sourcewatch for background information: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Weston_A._Price_Foundation As far as I can…

Mamagooskie, I think you just won Defensive Omnivore Bingo! http://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/4170866438 ;)

You might get some more useful suggestions if you open your food diary up. I've sent you a friend request so you can nose through my diary for ideas :) My breakfast is usually muesli with nuts & soya milk - it's carby but they're all from whole grains so it easily tides me over 'til lunch and even a small portion contains…

Some portable poles are dangerous and best avoided but I've had my X-pole for years - put it up and take it down regularly on my own and it's moved with me twice, without causing any damage to the buildings (except some squashed carpet). It fell down once, when I wasn't there, and a bunch of grown men hurled themselves at…

I love mine! Worth every penny, as far as I'm concerned, but unfortunately they're not exactly a cheap alternative to conventional running shoes. I don't think you'll really know if you need fancy running shoes until you try. Some people run completely barefoot and couldn't be happier. Others swear by their complicated,…

So, in summary, babies fed by careless parents can get nutritional deficiencies? Shocker! http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/realveganchildren

i think mine are the default levels but even 15% protein allows for more than 1.2g per kilo bodyweight (for me, anyway!) so i just consider it a minimum target. i'm usually miles over it anyway. for what it's worth, i used to be a carb junky and failed miserably on protein and fats. i stopped worrying about the carbs so…

uh, another chocoholic, here. swapping to dark chocolate might help but i wouldn't count on it. i don't drink milk so i only eat dark chocolate and, let me tell you, it is entirely possible to eat one of those 70%+ "for sharing" bars in one sitting. you just need practise :laugh: my cravings largely subsided on their own,…

i use the "get running" app. i really like it - can play my own music and it's easy to see how far through a run/walk/day/program i am, with a quick glance. if runkeeper is still free, you can use it too. it's a bit fiddlier because you have to program it yourself to tell you when to run/walk but if i can do it, anyone can!

i tried to read the chi running book but something about it rubbed me the wrong way. it came across as a bit... alternative therapy-esque to me and all i wanted was a striahgt forward explanation of the alterations i'd need to make to my form, to run in minimalist shoes. which i found online, in abundance.

i've given up trying to look respectable while i'm running - i get really sweaty, i go a (not very) fetching shade of pink, my hair gets rebellious and i'm pretty sure my facial expressions and smudged makeup don't help the cause either! i don't really care if people recoil in horror though - if i'm working hard, why…

i meant to mention the adjustment period too, sorry! it'll depend on the extent that you have to alter your form. i believe barefoot devotees are inclined to advise people to go fully barefoot because any imperfections in form become immediately apparent and your progress is limited by how quickly your feet can toughen up.…

of course runners shoe store would advise you not to run barefoot, they want to sell people shoes :laugh: on a more serious note, if the shoes are working for you, i'd be inclined just to stick with them. the main advantage of minimalist shoes, in my opinion, is that there's no heel to toe height differential - that was…

that one's my go-to peanut butter. uk folk - try a health food shop for unusual alternatives! i picked up hazelnut butter (meridian) the other day but they also had almond butter and cashew butter. asda used to do an own-range cashew butter too but they discontinued it (or at least stopped selling it in "my" branch) - i…

^ egg whites are used as binding agents in quorn. to be honest, i quite liked quorn and being able to use it in place of meat in recipes was convenient but vegan food, in my experience, works best when i embrace it for what it is, rather than trying to make it like the meaty diet i grew up on. you're welcome to add me and…

what she said! if i tried to up my iron, failed, and decided i'd supplement while i worked on it. solgar do a really good "gentle iron" supplement that's veggie-friendly and tends to have fewer side effects.

it took me several weeks to get passed week one, when i started running in minimalist footwear. i was a wee bit disappointed that i wasn't able to do more but i'm proud of myself for persevering and improving :) sounds like you've got a great attitude though, good luck!

hazelnut butter? i tried it yesterday and absolutely loved it but it got a little bitter after one slice of toast + hazelnut butter, so i only had one. if that was peanut butter, i'd probably have been tempted to go for a second and maybe third slice hehe.

maybe a silly question but have you tried nice, loose teas (or the fancy bagged versions of them)? i totally understand how folk can find some supermarket tea undrinkable without milk and/or sugar - the flavour can have all the depth and subtlety of a brick through a window!

wine & beer :( isinglass or gelatin can be used in the fining process. it's a wee bit misleading to say sugar isn't vegan - as far as i know, using bone char is quite old fashioned and many brands are fine for vegans. obviously it gets difficult to confirm when unspecificed "sugar" is used as an ingredient in processed…

i'm stuck in economy mode just now but i really wanted a foam roller to use on my calves, so i've been making do with repurposed cans of febreeze/shaving gel/etc :laugh: i roll them before and after a run & in the evenings that i don't run - it does sometimes bring a tear to my eye but my calves have been a lot better…

it doesn't have to be! like anyone else, you can live off junky, overly processed foods or you can cook your own healthy, wholesome stuff. or look for a sensible middle ground ;) the temptation for me, initially, was to look for striaght-up vegan substitutes for foods i was already familiar with, so i ate a lot of…

i'm not sure if it qualifies as low cal but i made this one recently and it's delicious! http://ohsheglows.com/2011/04/04/energizing-protein-power-salad/ the dressing is lemony but the raisins really sweeten it up - the contrast of flavours is unusual (for me, at least) but super tasty. i made mine with buckwheat and…

if the tofu turns out to be mushier or slimier than you like, experiment with pressing it! you can squish quite a lot of the water out of it, which can change the texture quite a bit. my boyfriend gags on unpressed tofu (even if it's been cooked) but the texture doesn't bother me enough to faff around with pressing it. i'm…