Chinese Steamed Whole Fish

Chinese Steamed Whole Fish

This simple steamed fish brings out the delicate flavours of the fish and looks magnificent on the table

What you will need

• 1x 600g whole fish, scaled, gutted and washed
• 2 Tbsp Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
• 3cm fresh ginger, cut into large slices
• 2 spring onions, cut into 5cm pieces
• 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, finely sliced
• 1 spring onions finely sliced
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp low salt soy sauce
• 1/4 cup warm water

Method

• Cut several deep slices into each side of the fish
• Rub the fish inside and out with the Shaoxing wine
• Fill the cavity with half of the large slices of ginger and spring onions
• Place the fish on a plate that fits inside your steamer
• Steam over a high heat until the flesh of the fish is cooked and flakes from the bones
• Transfer the cooked fish to a serving plate
• Heat the sesame oil until just smoking
• Pour hot oil over the fish
• Mix together the soy sauce with warm water and pour over the fish
• Sprinkle the fish with the finely sliced ginger and spring onion and serve.

A Healthy Weight for Life

A Healthy Weight for Life

Being a healthy weight can be a challenge, but the benefits are huge.  Benefits in terms of staying well, feeling better about yourself, having more energy, and being able to do all those little things that gradually get taken away by an expanding waistline.

Losing 5 to 10 percent of your weight can lower  blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels, and help protect against diabetes and cancer.  Losing weight and keeping it off is about eating well, moving more, and instilling lifelong healthy habits.

Crash or fad diets come and go, often leaving you to regain even more weight than when you started.  Although the promised miracle fix has its appeal, it’s an empty promise that just helps make its promoter rich.  Instead, think about the small changes you can start making every day that will not only help you manage your weight, but also be healthier so that you can get the most out of life. 

You’ve probably heard the basic formula for managing weight before.  It’s about balancing the energy (kilojoules/calorie) you consume through food and drinks with the energy that you burn off through keeping your body alive and physical activity.  To lose weight, consume less energy than you burn off.  The main ways to do this are:

• Choose healthier foods 
• Eat a bit less of most things (except vegetables and fruit)
• Move more

It’s easier if you have a bit of support, so get your family and friends on board.  You might even inspire them to manage their weight.

Managing Stress

Managing Stress

An element of stress in our lives is necessary to keep us motivated and enthusiastic, however too much stress can be harmful to your health. Some people use smoking or too much alcohol to help them manage their stress , this can increase their risk of heart disease.

There are also lots of ways of dealing with the everyday stressors of life

Some people seem to be able to roll with the punches and cope with life’s challenges easier than others.  These people also seem to have a number of common characteristics which help them manage stressful situations and crises. 

All these characteristics can be learnt or developed and they include:

• Take things one step at a time; prepare and organise yourself, set realistic goals, ask for help if you need it and deal with one problem at a time
• Practice a positive attitude and positive self-talk; this will remind you that you can handle difficulties; e.g. telling yourself, I am strong, I can deal with this etc.
• Know that you can control how you respond to stressful situations; e.g. either by anger or not, by worrying or taking decisive action etc.
• Connect with others; surround yourself with supportive family, friends, co-workers; join groups, volunteer, socialise; having support and being with others lifts your mood and helps you better deal with stress when it happens
• Get physical; any type of exercise releases feel-good chemicals into the body, helps you sleep better and contributes to your overall physical health, making you better able to cope with difficulties
• Do something that gives you pleasure; get involved with something that you enjoy; reading, gardening, fishing, music, fixing cars, etc.  and do a little bit every day
• Eat healthy; some foods make us feel energised and able to cope and some don’t; develop a balanced and healthy eating pattern that will help you build a strong body able to cope with pressures
• Relax and get in touch with your spiritual side or inner you; relaxation, meditation, yoga, faith, are all known to contribute to people’s ability to ‘roll with the punches’
• Laugh; if you are able to laugh at life’s little frustrations you can have increased immunity to stress.  Laughing costs nothing and releases all sorts of feel-good chemicals into the body
• Seek help; if you feel you just can’t cope, ask your doctor for professional help.  If stress goes on for too long it can lead to serious health problems including pain, heart disease and depression.