Can we taste music? Roast aubergine salad with tahini dressing

Music has the ability to transport us back to our childhood parties dancing to S club 7, make our parents flail their limbs to perfectly depict ‘dad dancing’, burst into tears and cry till we’re completely dehydrated and even increase the intelligence of babies before they’re born. But what are the effects of music on our food experiences?

Researchers at Oxford have been trying to answer this question, with some surprising results. Their findings suggest that the perception of taste and pitch are interrelated. High pitched sounds are associated with sweet and sour foods, while low pitched sounds are associated with more bitter and umami flavours.

More impressively, the sounds we hear might actually alter the taste of foods. Students were fed a toffee while listening to high- and low-frequency sounds. High notes made them rate the toffee as sweeter, where as low notes made it seem more bitter. A food artist, Caroline Hobkinson, wanted to test whether this was true in the real world, so introduced the ‘sonic cake pop’. It was served in restaurants with a telephone number that the diner had to call and then select 1 for sweet or 2 for bitter. Amazingly, the tone played down the phone changed the whole perceived taste of the dish. (You can try this out for yourselves by clicking here).

But that’s not the only effect music can has on our eating experience. Have you ever noticed that fast food chains only play overbearingly loud and intolerable pop music? That’s not just because they all have awful music taste (though this is probably also the case), but they purposefully do this to control the customer’s experiences. They want you to eat fast and leave quickly so make sure they only play high tempo songs. Alternatively, really posh restaurants almost always play soft classical music to increase the quality of your perceived experience (apart from the genius that is Heston who makes diners listen to sounds of the sea before tucking into a fish dish – an idea inspired by this research lab in Oxford).

These music varieties don’t just function to set the mood, but actually change eating behaviours. One study played different types of music to individuals and monitored their number of bites. They ate twice as fast, and consequentially consumed more, when hearing ‘spirited tunes’ in comparison to classical music or silence. The unconscious power of music on food is remarkable, impacting the speed, volume and flavour of what we eat.

This research has recently been used to investigate healthy eating. For an exciting new project, we are going to attempt to reduce caloric intake through music. The idea is that softer sounds increase the body’s perception of sweetness, which will in turn make reduce sugar consumption. We’ll be collecting the results soon, so I’ll let you know if we find music to be a useful weight loss tool!

I encourage foodies and music snobs alike to try and experiment with music and taste – it’s a cool experience that can be done at home. Grab something bittersweet like coffee or chocolate and swap between these two sounds as you taste. You should notice that at high frequencies your whole mouth becomes sweeter and low frequencies make it seem more bitter.

Or have a go at making this dish for some friends. Secretly put on a range of different songs and try and see if their eating speed subtly changes with the music. I tried this and felt like a magician. It’s crazy how easily you can trick the mind. If there is no useful benefit of all these psychological musings, at least it can bring me one step closer to being Derren Brown.

Roasted aubergine salad with tahini dressing:

Ingredients:

2 aubergines

1 tablespoon olive Oil

Handful pomegranate seeds

Handful pine nuts

Handful fresh basil leaves

Dressing

2 tablespoons tahini

1 teaspoon mustard

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 crushed garlic clove

1. To make the dressing, place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth.

2. Slice aubergines. Brush each side with olive oil and season with salt and pepper

3. Grill on both sides on a very hot pan for around 5 minutes, until soft.

4. Arrange aubergine slices on a dish overlapping, drizzle with dressing snd sprinkle with pine nuts, basil and pomegranate seeds.

Less money, more merry: Quinoa stuffing with apple, cranberries and hazelnuts

It’s finally here. Christmas has been lurking around every shop, street and home since Halloween. Designed to bring friends and family together in happiness, filled with laughter, music and selfless giving.  It seems this year that companies have been milking this ‘christmas spirit’ for all their worth: Starbucks has released their red cups and christmas coffee blend, Facebook is tailoring adverts based on your gift browsing, Sainsbury’s exploited the traumatic events of WW1…all in an attempt to get us to spend more money. Unfortunately, it’s working. A recent poll revealed that British people spend more at christmas time than any other European country,  and last year we faced the most post-christmas debt. 

I don’t mean to put a downer on this, I love christmas as much as the next person. But we don’t need to buy hundreds of pounds worth of presents, food and decorations to enjoy it. My family have a tradition of playing football ever year (kids vs. adults, though kids are now almost all over the age of 18). I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard the year my dog accidentally saved the deciding goal by bouncing it off his head.  My memories of trudging out with everyone in the rain, sun or snow are invaluable.

I know it’s cliche to say that christmas is about family and not consumerism,  but now that’s actually backed with psychological evidence. Families of different cultures were assessed to see what brings the most happiness around christmas. More happiness was reported when family experiences were salient, and lower well-being occurred when spending money and receiving gifts predominated. The materialistic aspects of modern Christmas celebrations may happiness and leave us in debt for 2015.

It’s very easy to say all this, but hard to follow through with when the pressure to spend money in order to feel christmasy is enormous. Professors at the University of Oxford are here to help- they’ve compiled a list of tips to psychologically improve the spirit and taste of your christmas meal. By making a few sensory alternations, cooks can spend less time and money but still provide a christmas dinner that’ll make their guests feel like you’re meal is more expensive and festive. 

1. Use heavy cutlery and glasses: This is a great way to improve the percieved cost and quality of food. Heavier items trick guests into thinking that food or wine is better quality, so is a cost-effective way of improving the meal.

2. Changing the colour of the plate can change the perception of food :For example, presenting dessert on a white plate makes it taste sweeter. Alternatively, serving on a red plate sends unconscious warning signs to the brain so can help us eat less if you want to reduce portion size.

3. Promote a sense of Christmas through smell: waft cinnamon/pine smells or light a candle. Candles will also improve the ambiance and make the occasion feel special.

4. Play carols or classical music: This heightens the sense of importance and make people enjoy the food more

5. Make the food look pretty: Take care in presentation rather than dumping it on the plate to help the meal to look more expensive and better quality. For example, people tend to like symmetry on the plate.

Here’s a super cheap and healthy twist on classic christmas stuffing that still tastes like christmas on a plate!

Ingredients

2 cups (200g) quinoa

2 cups vegetable stock

coconut oil

3 large apples

2 sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons honey

1 cup cranberries

2 chopped white onions

2-4 sprigs of Sage

2-4 thyme of Sage

teaspoon cinnamon

teaspoon ginger

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 cup chopped hazelnuts

1. Rinse quinoa. Combine with 2 cups boiling veg stock and simmer for 20mins until quinoa is fluffy.

2. Meanwhile, Preheat oven to 200. Chop the apples and sweet potato into small cubes. Toss with lemon juice, honey, coconut oil, cinnamon and  ginger. Roast for 30-40 mins until soft.

3. Soften the onions in a frying pan with coconut oil for 10mins, until tender. Add honey, thyme, sage, soy sauce and season well.

4. Combine the quinoa with the liquid mixture in a large bowl. Add in the roasted mixture, cranberries and hazelnuts.  Fold in thyme and hazelnuts. Season well.

How to survive thanksgiving as a sarcastic Brit: sweet potato fries and salted caramel apple-pie bars

This week was a first for me, I celebrated Thanksgiving with some american friends. For those of you who are yet to be completely absorbed into american culture (or have somehow not seen every episode of Friends at least 5 times) , thanksgiving is pretty much the same as our Christmas…but instead of complaining about how disgusting sprouts taste and getting in port-fuelled fights with your annoying relatives, you take turns to thank each other and say something you are grateful for. In essence, the tradition is to take a step back and look for at the positives in life, spreading happy thoughts and kind words.

Now I know this sounds like the most cringeworthy and forced exercise that would never work in a British family. I’m not going to lie, as each person sincerely looked each other in the eye and thanked them for their friendship and kindness, it took all of my efforts not to crack a joke or make a sarcastic comment. When it got to my turn I turned into a flustered mess, first lamely making a joke about how I was thankful to be eating pie, followed by a lamer joke about how I was thankful I’m not American and subsequently offending everyone at the table. Beside the excessive food and alcohol consumption, Thanksgiving did not sit well with my very British self. It’s actually quite sad that, despite being surrounded by family and friends, our culture has made us unable to be sincerely or express positive thoughts without it being annoying.

To my surprise, the next day’s headline in the Guardian read ‘Welcome to Britsgiving’. Apparently, the UK has officially embraced Thanksgiving; Turkey sales were up 95% in five years and  #Happythanksgiving started trending on twitter in Britain. Apart from feeling slightly sad that we have to follow like a puppy dog instead of letting America get on with their own traditions, my first thought was how did my fellow brits manage to express their gratitude without becoming a sarcastic, blushing mess like I did? I assumed that all Brits felt the same as me. How often do we enjoying the cathartic relief of knowing people are as cynical and miserable as we are? We find it weirdly thrilling to despair with others about the horrible state of the world… what’s fun about being upbeat and positive?

For answers, I turned to positive psychology, a discipline which investigates human happiness. There are quite a few studies that argue there is actually a psychological benefit of Thanksgiving on our mental health. I’ve always been told that the holiday season acts as a catalyst for depression; increased alcohol consumption, high relapse rates, big family feuds, spending loads of money on ugly jumpers for random cousins, shitty weather, the constant reminder that you are alone…it’s not exactly shocking that suicide rates reach an all-time high around christmas time. So why is this different for Thanksgiving? One paper had college students write diaries for 3 weeks around Thanksgiving time. When they were analysed, researchers found significant increases in gratitude, satisfaction and overall positivity closer to the time of Thanksgiving. But interestingly, when they took gratitude out of the equation, satisfaction plummeted and negative emotions increased. Without the, albeit somewhat forced, gratitude, the stress become overwhelming. Despite the same family arguments, money troubles and travel woes we share on christmas, the central theme of gratitude softens the holiday stress and makes people focus on the positive.

Positive thinking is a powerful tool. A huge literature of research has linked happiness to physical health, mental health and longevity.  The benefit of changing thought-processes, as with mindfulness, is partially due to the encouragement be less self-critical. Having a bias towards negative information and feelings has been linked to depression, bipolar, anxiety and eating disorders. So although it seems a little forced, contemplating on the good aspects of our lives and share that with others can help to counteract our inherent negativity bias. In no way am I suggesting that we should suppress our negative emotions, having a a stiff upper lip is definitely not a British trait to be valued. But tuning into the positive aspects can balance our negative biases and genuinely make us happier. So although it may make us squirm, we should try to embrace the mantra of Thanksgiving and express gratitude and positivity. Next year I will suck it up and find something nice to say…and I’ll probably be happier as a result. I’ve learnt my lesson; positivity is the way forward. And for that, I am thankful. Here are a couple of recipes I made for Thanksgiving, which would work well at any dinner party of festival. I’ll definitely be making both on christmas as they are both vegan and pretty delicious!

Sweet potato fries with balsamic and maple glaze: Sweet potato fries are all the rage these days, but this recipe gives them and added crispiness you can’t beat. You coat the chips in flour and then semi-deep fry them…the result is perfection!

Ingredients

3 large sweet potatoes

1 cup olive oil/coconut oil

2 tablespoons buckwheat/ any gluten-free flour

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons Honey or maple syrup

1 table spoon olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Slice the sweet potatoes into chips/wedges

2. Boil in water for 5 mins to soften. Meanwhile, heat a thin layer of oil on a baking tray in the oven at 200.

3. Coat the chips in flour

4. Place chips in hot oil and bake for 30mins or until crispy. Season with salt and pepper

5. Mix balsamic, honey and olive oil for dressing and drizzle over the top.

  Salted caramel apple pie bars: These chocolate, apple and salted caramel bars are ridiculously good. They taste like a mix between apple pie, flapjacks and millionaire shortbread. YUM.

Ingredients

3 cups of oats

3 cups of plain flour (can use gluten-free flours)

2 cups of sugar

1.5 cups of coconut oil (can also use butter for non-vegan)

1 jar of salted caramel

1 cup chocolate chips

3 peeled and chopped apples

  1. Mix the flour, sugar and oats in a bowl. Add melted coconut oil and mix until a crumbly dough is formed

2. Grease a baking tin and press the dough along the bottom. Save a third of the dough to sprinkle on the top. Bake for 10 mins at 180

3. Take out of the oven and top the base with a layer of salted caramel, apple and chocolate chips. Crumble the remaining dough over the top.

4. Bake for 20-25 mins at 180 or until the apple is soft.

5. Cool and refrigerate before cutting into squares.

Oh to be British! – Healthy fish and celeriac chips (with mushy peas)

  

I love being British. I love our unanimous love for tea and biscuits. I love the mutual understanding with passers-by that we will ignore each other. I love that the weather is something we all find interesting. I love that we feel the need to apologise for everything that has ever happened. I love our sarcasm, that we can laugh at ourselves and our total inability to say what we mean. I don’t love our ‘stiff upper lip’.

In Britain, having a stiff upper lip can be seen as a desirable attribute; the ability to ‘stay strong’ and hide your emotions in the face of adversity. But in reality it can be a dangerous trait, suggesting that expression emotion is a sign of weakness and encouraging us to mask how we feel. A great article in VICE magazine entitled ‘A stiff upper lip is killing British men’ highlights how the risk on physical health, but I want to mention how it can impact mental health.

We have to recognise that we are human – anger and sadness are an important part of life, and experiencing and accepting these emotions is critical to our mental health. In fact, it is likely that negative emotions developed as a survival mechanism to help focus our attention on certain issue. Research suggests that suppressing emotions can have negative effects on psychological health. When we don’t deal with our feelings, emotions come out in different ways, such as alcohol or drug addictions, anxiety, panic attacks, depression and eating disorders. For example, one study found that suppressing negative emotions could spawn more emotional overeating than simply recognizing and accepting them.

Another major issue with the stoic, british stiff upper lip is that it encourages the stigma against mental illness. We are encouraged to think that having emotions is a weakness or makes us crazy. The rate of mental disorders is steadily on the rise. Unfortunately, many people don’t ask for help because the are afraid they’ll be considered weak or laughed at. People have become so scared of talking about emotions that they find it difficult to even acknowledge psychological problems that friends and family may be having.

Actually, our emotions are completely warranted and everyone has ups and downs. If you find someone who doesn’t, you can safely assume they are robot. Accepting our emotions and talking about them can not only reduce mental health problems, but can help others to seek help and feel more comfortable with their problems. 

I think this advert from the ‘Time to Change’ campaign sums it up really nicely…

If someone broke their arm, we would ask them how they were feeling. It should be the same with mental illness, if someone is suffering we shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it.

I know this post wasn’t really food related, but I think it is a really important and relevant topic that needs to be discussed. In the spirit of being British and I’ve created a healthy alternative for our national dish- fish and chips!

For the almond crusted fish..

Ingredients

1 fish fillet (I used salmon but any white fish will work too)

1/2 cup flaked almonds

Dijon mustard

splash of lemon juice

olive oil

teaspoon paprika

1. Preheat oven to 180.

2. Mix almonds, lemon juice, paprika, oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

3. Spread layer of mustard over fish then coat with almond mixture, pressing it into the mustard

4. Bake the fish for about 8 mins, until cooked through.

For the celeriac chips…

Ingredients

1 celeriac

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1. Peel the celeriac and slice in thick chips

2. Blanche chips-place in boiling salt water for 2-mins to soften

3. Place chips on a baking tray and sprinkle with salt, pepper and curry powder

4. Bake on 180 for about 30-40mins or until golden and crispy.

For the mushy peas…

Ingredients

1 cup peas

1 cup broccoli florets

almond or soya milk (can use normal milk for non-vegan)

Fresh mint leaves

1. Boil peas and broccoli until soft

2. Add salt, pepper, milk and mint leaves and mash or blend until smooth.

Sugar and mental health: 2-ingredient, healthy ice cream

It is common knowledge that eating sugary foods makes your fat, gives you diabetes and generally doesn’t do the body much good. But far less attention is given to the effect of a high-sugar diet on our mental health. Many studies have shed light on the negative impact of sugar on mood and quality of life. In fact, associations have been made with a high-sugar diet and increased risk of depression, anxiety schizophrenia as well as a poorer recovery rate that those with a low-sugar diet.

It is easy to blame mental health problems on predisposed genetics but when a shocking 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem in our lives, we have to look at the change in environment that is causing the rise in psychological diagnoses. It is no coincidence that sugar-intake is at an all time high.

Sugar suppresses activity of a hormonal activity and the immune system- issues common to people with depression. Interestingly, the countries with the highest rate of depression also have a high sugar intake.

Similarly, sugar had been found to worsen anxiety symptoms and weaken our stress coping ability.  A sugar high and subsequent crash can cause shaking, fatigue, which can make anxiety worse or induce a panic attack.

If you or anyone you know are experiencing depressive or anxious symptoms, I would really advise cutting down on sugar. This doesn’t mean excluding it from diet all together, but it could be doing a lot more harm than you think.

SO…I GIVE YOU SUGAR FREE ICE CREAM! 

I think this recipe is the best healthy substitute I have found to date. It requires zero effort, only 2 ingredients and actually tastes better than real ice cream. Honestly you have to try it, it is unbelievably good! I can now have ice cream for breakfast without feeling guilty.

Ingredients

4 frozen bananas

1/2 cup Milk (I used almond milk but you can use whichever you have around!)

Flavouring/toppings (e.g. cocoa, honey, nuts, dark chocolate chips, berries)

1.  Freeze the bananas (with the skins off!) for a few hours. May be helpful to chop roughly them before freezing.

2. Place the bananas and milk in blender or food processor. I had to stop and scrape off the sides a few times but continue until mixture resembles ice cream!

3. Add whatever flavouring, I used cocoa topped with sugar-free chocolate chips and nuts.

N.B To make strawberry/raspberry flavoured ice cream add frozen berries in with the bananas.

Hopefully this recipe will give help you realise that fruit is a great alternative to man-made sugary products. Although it contains some sugar, it is more natural and less damaging for the body and brain. Enjoy!

Care less, eat more.

I found out something really cool and interesting that has really helped me to change the way I think about food…

The attitude we have towards a meal can change the way we metabolize it.

The limbic system regulates emotions, rewards and thoughts. Within the limbic system is the hypothalamus which integrates the processes of the mind and body. The hypothalamus also alters metabolic activity, and takes into account our emotional states when doing so.

If you are super excited about eating that pizza you’ve been craving all day and eat it with delight, the hypothalamus with increase activity to the digestive system, helping you to burn calories quickly and efficiently. However, if you are feeling really guilty about eating the pizza and are already working out how long you’ll have to spend in the gym to burn it off, the hypothalamus dampens its activity to the digestive system, inhibiting caloric breakdown and causing more to be stored as body fat.

In other words, our attitude towards food can be as important its nutritional value. I think it is’ so cool that your thoughts and emotions toward a meal can actually change the physical response you have to it.

Knowing this really motivates me to try and change the way I feel before I eat food that I know is bad for me. I am finding it really difficult to kick my chocolate addiction and always feel so guilty before I eat anything sweet. With this new information in mind, I am going to try and embrace the fact that I am going to eat it and let myself enjoy the deliciousness. Firstly, it is a much nicer experience actually enjoying the food you secretly want but know you shouldn’t eat. Secondly, being happy about my choice may actually make me digest it faster it…it’s a win-win situation!

Check out my new recipes for Cinnamon roasted butternut squash with leeks, pecans and cranberries and Tomato and mushroom dhaal (pictured above)…These are some recipes you know you’ll be happy about eating!

Tomato and mushroom dhaal

This week I have been trying out a few recipes that I can put in the fridge for the week and take them in as lunch each day. This saves lots of money and helps me to resist splurging on pret sandwiches every day. Here is one of the recipes from the honestly healthy cook book that I just love. It can be made spicy and flavoursome while still remaining light and healthy!

Ingredients

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

1 handful cherry tomatos

1 handful mushrooms

2 cups lentils

handful coriander

handful parsley

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

(Serves 2)

1. Fry the onion and garlic in olive oil until soft

2. Add chilli flakes, cumin seeds, parsley, coriander chopped tomatoes and mushrooms until the tomatoes begin to split

3. Add lentils and cover with boiling water. Cook over medium heat for about 30mins, until the lentils are mushy but still hold their shape

4. Season with salt and pepper, garnish with left over coriander, parsley and chopped peanuts.

Eat fat, lose fat.

When trying to lose weight, one of the first things that we are told to do is to cut out high-fat food.  Public health campaigns and articles promote this idea, and as a result many people will avoid foods with high-fat content. Supermarkets make this easy, giving us a ‘low-fat’ alternative to nearly every product.

But in reality, many of the products marketed as ‘low in fat’ or ‘light’ contain the same number of calories and have more sugar than the high-fat option. This is a huge problem! We are fooled into picking the unhealthy option under the pretence that we are eating healthier foods!

A recent study showed that people regularly under-estimate the amount of calories in low-fat foods and over-estimate the calories in high-fat foods by a whopping 35%. How unfair is it that even when we consciously try to improve our diets, the mislabelling by food companies is stopping us.

If I am going out of my way to choose the healthy option, I want it to actually be the healthy option!

Actually, we should not be completely avoiding foods high in fat, as fat is a necessary part of our diet. Our brains are made up of a mainly fats, so our dietary fat intake influences our mental state. Evidence even suggests that increased fat consumption can prevent disorders of cognitive function.

It is important to state that these studies are mainly talking about good fats. Monounsaturated fats have been associated with enhanced memory, learning and decreased risk of Alzheimer’s. So despite what we are lead to believe, fats are not all bad. By all means exclude saturated fats, but it is encouraged to increase intake of healthier fats such as eggs, avocado, olive oil. Plus, natural fats are totally delicious and can turn a boring meal into a taste sensation. I have spent so much time this week experimenting with avocados that the man at vegetable market has been saving me the biggest and ripest ones each day…I think it’s safe to say we have bonded.

My main message here is that fat is an important macro-nutrient that we all need for well-balanced, efficient functioning. While it may feel like we should choose ‘low-fat’ products, a small amount of good fat is so much better for you than the sneaky sugar they add and don’t advertise!

Here are some recipes high in unsaturated fats, that will do your brain the world of good: Poached eggs and smashed avocado on toast or baked egg in avocado.

Poached eggs and avocado on toast

This mouthwatering recipe is high in unsaturated fats, cheap and takes 5 mins- I’m obsessed!

Ingredients

2 pieces of wholewheat/multi-seed bread

1/2 avocado

2 eggs

Balsamic glaze

1. Mash 1/2 avocado in a bowl and then spread over bread (you can toast the bread first if you prefer)

2. Poach two eggs. Boil water and start gentle swirling with a spoon. Crack the egg into the middle of the whirlpool and spin until the white encases the yolk. Leave for 2-3mins.

3. Add the eggs to the bread and top with balsamic glaze, salt and pepper.

Baked egg in avocado

Another ridiculously easy but great egg/avocado combination.

Ingredients (makes 2)

2 egg

1 avocado

Balsamic glaze

1. Take stone out of avocado and remove a small amount of the flesh to make a deeper hole.

2. Crack an egg into each avocado half

3. Place on baking tray and bake for 15-20 mins (or until the white is set and the yolk is runny) 4. Drizzle balsamic glaze and season with salt and pepper