Category Archives: Consumer

Onya Bottles

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Onya water bottles

I first came across Onya bags six years ago, when I was co-running the parenting website http://www.iwantmymum.com (now no longer, so don’t looking for it). Onya bags (so named cos they’re always ‘onya’) are reusable bags that scrunch up small and have a clip so you can attach them to your keys/bag/whatever. I think they were made of old parachute silk before, but now they’re all made out of recycled plastic bottles. (Technology pioneered by the sportswear company Patagonia some fifteen years ago.)

Lovely Onya bags

Anyway. They made great little presents, these little bags that folded up really small, came in bright colours, and then folded out to make useful shopping bags. I featured them in my Guardian Personal Shopper column and got to know Dan a bit over the phone. Onya bags had an awe inspiring back story which I shan’t share here as it’s not mine to share. Suffice to say it’d make you cry. I happened to go on Jeremy Vine’s Radio 2 show one day – this was about five years ago – when I mentioned Onya bags, saying I didn’t know why the big supermarkets didn’t use them, putting their logo on. (I felt that, hitherto, all reusable bags were either too small or too big, or just not right, but Onya bags seemed to have pretty much carved out a place as the best sort of reusable bag.)

In the taxi on the way home, Dan rang me to say that Tesco had rung him, wanting to place an initial order of 500,000. I think you can work out that this would be pretty life changing for anyone. But Dan turned Tesco down. That’s just the sort of guy he is. He never publicized this amazing show of integrity.

I kept in touch with Dan, and what Onya bags were doing over the years and the whole range has come on hugely. There are now ruck sacks which unfold out of small bags, lunch rolls (really rather good, Dan sent me two free and they work brilliantly for small children as it also provides a surface for them to eat off when you’re on the go), little pouches to keep your dog-poop bags in.

But the piece de resistance, for me, came when they introduced stainless steel bottles. This was right in the middle of the story that was following another water bottle manufacturer around as it couldn’t confirm its liners were BPA free. Onya bottles are all stainless steel – no liner – and they come in a variety of sizes and the great thing is that you can put anything in them – water, juice, cordial, hot drinks, cold drinks (they are not thermal however). In lined aluminum bottles you can’t put anything like fruit juice as the acid would erode the lining over time. I was also glad of how industrial they looked, as I was a bit over cutesy fairies and farm animals by this stage.

We all have them from the 350ml size to the 1000ml size; with the neoprene sleeve and lanyard they make a great cycling companion. My eldest takes hers to school every day. They come in various colours, but note that the coloured ones that I bought chipped in places over time – but that’s okay as there’s just a plain stainless steel bottle underneath. Also various ways of drinking from them: you can even get a ‘teat’ for a baby. My prefence is for the screw off cap as I like to drink my water straight from stainless steel and not through plastic (I’ve never found any sort of plastic lid you can drink through that doesn’t slightly make the water taste different, and this is a pet hate of mine). But if you do choose a drinking lid – and they’re great for children – then I recommend these flip and flow ones. You can also get adapters so you can use these on your bike.

I now buy the 350ml size for my friends whose children are starting school. It’s a boring, but useful present. My eldest has been using hers every day since she started school four years ago and it’s still like new (with a few tiny dents in it). Prices for the bottles start at £8.50.



Note: Dan gave me a discount on some of the Onya bags he sold me about six years ago, and he sent me two free Onya Lunches, quite unbidden, a while ago. Other than that, I paid for everything at full retail price.

Staedtler gel crayons

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Staedtler Gel Crayons, £9.25 for six. Not cheap, but worth it.

I knew I was a grown up when I realised that I could buy my very own box of Caran d’Ache felt tip pens. When I was a child, the number of coloured pencils/markers you had were currency. She who had a whole box of them was top of the heap and you could pick your best friend. And Caran d’Ache was the very best you could get. I of course, never had a full set, just a disparate bunch of felt tip pens that I’d accumulated along the way (don’t feel too sorry for me, I had home made pizza every Friday night). I was about 25 before I realised I could buy my very own box of crayons/markers/pencils. And I did. I still don’t let anyone else use them.

I must point out here that I hate cheap crayons and felt tip pens and coloured pencils that hardly make a mark on the paper. 

The other day I got sent a package from John Lewis*. In amongst other colouring sticks – retractable coloured pencils, wax crayons – were these gel crayons. They are brilliant. There’s only six, so no shades of anything, but they are thick, so easy to use (the mark of good colouring stuff, the colours are rich cos they use good pigments), slightly glittery, but don’t go expecting disco balls. They’re not like normal crayons, but look almost like a fat lipstick. True to greedy form, I got them and when the children said “ooh who are they for?” I said, without hesitation: “Me.”

*If you think because I got sent them this is why I’m writing about them, think again. I get sent all sorts of crazy shit and I never write about it. I just don’t do that. No-one tells me what to recommend. But these are great.

Cast iron pans ‘n’ skillets

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Everyone seems to have a tale of the cast iron frying pan that never got washed and was passed down from mother to child. I certainly have. Whenever I did the drying up with my Ma, and that drying up involved the frying pan (not a cast iron one), she would tell me about her Ma’s frying pan which never got washed, just wiped.

This queer little detail fascinated me for ages. How could you not wash a frying pan?

Fast forward many years later.  And all my well meaning friends, the one who breastfeed for years and have home births and make their own bread and are…generally just like me. Well they started going on and on about cast iron frying pans. How non stick made you die, how canaries in rooms with non stick frying pans just dropped down dead.

It was really boring, so I thought I’d buy a cast iron frying pan, if for no other reason than, when they came round, I could whack them round the head with it.

And now, here I am being just like them and going ON about cast iron. It’s true, owning a cast iron frying pan is like having another member of the family, someone you love and trust and who never lets you down.

Only kidding. It’s not. It’s a frying pan for goodness sake. But yes, there is something really nice about the weight, the solidity of a cast iron fucking frying pan. And I was actually getting fed up of non stick stuff lasting just a few years before it started to fall apart (and I’m not talking cheap pans, either, all of my non-stick pans were Berndes).

I now have three cast iron frying pans (aka skillets). They’re all from Lodge. They’re not expensive (I got mine from Amazon) and I stripped them all down (they come pre-seasoned, but I wanted to season them myself, so I stripped them down using oven cleaner) using this incredibly complicated, scientific formula from this rather fabulous website.

Even once you’ve done the seasoning in the oven, with the organic linseed oil, the prescribed six times (you need to feel the pain), it still takes a few uses for them to become really non stick, but then, you’re flying (frying…).

So, the first few times you cook with them, don’t use them for something where the non stick properties are really important.

Oh and according to Sheryl Canter (writer of the blog post on how to season your pan, above) you can wash your cast iron pans. We do. I gently wipe them with a non-scratch pad, hot water, occasionally a bit of washing up liquid. As she points out, the seasoning got there via a long process, a bit of hot water and soap ain’t gonna get it off. Then I dry them on the hob for a couple of minutes and apply a slick of olive oil to cover the whole pan. If any bits get stuck on, if you heat up the pan you can get them off with a wooden spoon or some other more gentle implement. Don’t use the pans to heat up water or anything with tomatoes in – the acid can damage the pan. You need your stainless steel pans for stuff like that. I recommend Le Pentole, superb. Mine are still going strong some 25 years after I bought them. (They’re not cheap.)

A few other advantages of cast iron:

It gets really hot and retains the heat, so great for fast cooking but also great for long, slow cooking where you can turn the heat right down.

You can cook something on the hob and then transfer it to the oven (like tarte tartin).

Works out your biceps and triceps every time you lift the damn things up (that’s actually a pain but I’m trying to make it into a positive).

I’m sure my cast iron pans will last for many years, and I’m sure my children will be delighted that instead of passing down my diamonds,  I’ll be passing down my non-canary killing skillets.

ps: Don’t confuse the cast iron I’m talking about here with enameled cast iron (viz Le Creuset).

pps: to answer Claire (below, who has asked me a question on Facebook), yes I do use my cast iron frying pan to make pancakes in. This is the pan I use.

Doughnuts, but not deep fried

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Hello! Doughnuts that are delicious. But not deep fried.

A new year ritual in southern Italy, is to make zeppole, or doughnuts. They are unbelievably delicious and my aunt would make them (whatever time of year I went, because I would nag her) and lay them out on dishcloths (to soak up any excess oil) – one cloth on the bottom, one on the top. As such she built up a sort of doughnut grid system after a while. I was immensely skilful because I would take them out strategically – whilst she was frying the next batch – so that the cloth didn’t sink to reveal any tell tale dips.

By the time she discovered there were gaps, it was too late. I was gone, out into the street to play ‘fazzoletto’. Innocent, greedy, slim days, when all excess calories were worked off playing outside til long after the stars were out.

My aunt would coat hers in cinnamon sugar. I’m not sure how I feel about cinnamon. It makes me feel claustrophic sometimes, all cloying and needy.

Anyway. Years ago, I bought a mini doughnut tray from Lakeland. Don’t go looking for it now though as they discontinued it some time ago; probably because it realised that, although the tray was perfectly good, the recipe that came with it produced pretty crap little cakes. They didn’t taste like doughnuts at all, just very average tasting, round little sponge cakes that weren’t even very brown.

Nevertheless, I kept the tin, and the recipe. And today, whilst my children and I were swinging in the pod chair in the garden, I had the idea of making some more.

Except this time, I thought, I’ll cook ’em and then shallow fry them for a minute or two. And what do you know. They are brilliant. I think they’d make great little accompaniments to a home made ice cream or served with chocolate ganache you can dip them into. Although, for me, nothing beats a simple doughnut simply rolled in vanilla sugar.

If you want to try these, you can get a similar-looking tray from here. (Update note: I now have two of these Judge tins and they are better than the original one I bought from Lakeland!)

This is how you make them. They are ridiculously easy and quick, so warm the oven up the moment you decide to make them.

For 12 mini doughnuts you need:

75g  plain flour
half a teaspoon of baking powder
quarter of a teaspoon of salt
55g caster sugar
60ml of milk (I used semi skimmed)
1 beaten egg
1 teaspoon of olive oil
half a teaspoon of vanilla extract

Put the oven on at 160C.

Grease the mini doughnut tray. Little fingers love doing this. Let them get on with it as it’s annoying.

Mix all the ingredients together, thoroughly, then pour into the doughnut tray. The mixture will come about three quarters of the way up.

Put in the oven. Cook for fifteen minutes. Take out the incredibly unpromising, anaemic looking doughnuts. (Test they are cooked: if you press them they should spring back.)

Heat up a frying pan with some sunflower oil.  You need only enough to coat the bottom, like a puddle’s depth. I have a cast iron frying pan (which I seasoned from scratch, because I am HARDCORE) so this retains the heat beautifully. Then  you just fry the doughnuts, about 1-2mins per side. Put on kitchen paper and as soon as you can, throw them around some vanilla sugar.

If you eat these warm, and you should as there is nothing nicer, they will probably give you rampant indigestion.

Tagalong bikes or trailer bikes

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The Roland Add-a-Bike

 

I ride a Nihola trike and have done for about four years now. It’s what I do the school run on and, aside from the harshest day in winter, I use it instead of the car for around town.

I will do a review on the Nihola soon, just haven’t yet. I don’t know why I just never seem to get down to it even though I love my Nihola more than is decent.

When my eldest got to eight years old, I thought it was about time she started to ride her own bike to school. Except. I wasn’t really ready for her to ride her own bike to school. I mean, she can ride, beautifully (we are Islabike fans) but we tend to let her ride mostly off road or just meander along. As a parent I realise you take all sorts of risks you’re comfortable with. I co-sleep with my children, which some consider a risk. I pick them up when they cry, which some consider a risk (that they will turn into monsters and be forever crying just to be picked up). I let them feed themselves, which some would worry about (the choking). I don’t Dettox everything and let them eat things that have fallen onto the floor (at home) and don’t always insist they wash their hands. I let them climb walls and trees. And I let my children use screens: iPads, computers etc. All of which some parents consider risky, irresponsible behaviour.

But I’m comfortable with all of that.

I’m not, however, comfortable with letting my eldest cycle to school, yet. So I thought a trailer bike was in order. You know the things? They hook up to the back of a normal bike, so the child gets a sense of being in traffic, she cycles, so gets valuable exercise (and believe me, this is a help when you’re cycling a Nihola with another child already in the box trailer up front) but is totally attached to the adult.

I’d written about tagalongs a while ago and done a lot of research. So I knew that the tagalong bike I wanted had to fit onto the pannier rack at the back of the adult bike, not onto the seat-post (the people I really listen to in cycling, none of them recommend that latter sort of fixing tagalong as it compromises the stability of the adult bike). The problem was that the only tagalong that did this was the Burley Piccolo which had gone out of production and second hand ones were fetching silly money on eBay.

The fabulous Islabikes used to do a trailer bike (I use the term tagalong and trailer bike interchangeably, they are the same thing), but I rang and spoke to Isla herself who told me that although she would probably do them again, there was a problem with sourcing one of the components and for the moment, she wasn’t making any new ones. A visit to eBay showed me that her trailer bikes were also exchanging hands for about the price of what they’d cost new.

So I was stuck. Then I rang Brixton Cycles and spoke to the fabulous Barnaby who has always been super  helpful and straight down the line honest with what he recommends, even if he doesn’t sell it. And he told me about Roland add-a-bikes which fix onto the back rack and are sold by Bikes and Trailers.

I think it was Sean I spoke to and the service was excellent.

So I got one and it is brilliant. I can’t comment too much on the stability because of course, my Nihola is a trike. But it comes with its own pannier back rack (so if you already have one, you’ll have to take it off) and the actual bike slots into the back quite easily. You can take it off if you do the school run and leave it there and then re-fix it when you pick up in the afternoon.

I umm-ed and ahh-ed about getting one with gears (it comes in 3 or 7 gear versions), or not. In the end I decided not to to keep the cost down. The one extra I did get (retrospectively, but wish I’d got it before) was the kick (two-legged) stand. It’s really useful if you regularly taken the trailer bike off and it has to stand on its own, because it can’t stand on its own otherwise…I hesitated because it’s not cheap at £34 but some things are just really useful and you have to bite the bullet.

If you were to transfer this bike from one adult bike to the other regularly, then you’d really need to also get the extra back rack. You can’t use the Add a Bike without it.

Just to add to this: I spoke to Isla last week to ascertain what was happening with her trailer bike, before I wrote this blog post. She told me she had no immediate plans to re-introduce it but it’s something she would think about doing in the future. She did however tell me that the Burley Piccolo is going back into production. I’ll keep you posted.

In the  meantime, we cycle to school now looking like a giant cycle crocodile. My youngest in the front in the Nihola box, me on the Nihola and my eldest on the back. The Nihola box allows me space for one more child and lots of shopping…who needs the gym.

One important point to add (thanks Claire), it’s not relevant for me with all the passenger space, but you can still use this tagalong and fit a child seat on the back of the adult bike. If you look at the Bikes and Trailers website you can see.

Stylus pens for iPad and iPhone

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Stylus pens for use with iPhone and iPad.  Incredibly, they work.

Years ago, when electronic organisers first started making an appearance, you could get stylus pens to write on said appliances with. I always thought they were a bit wankerish. I mean, if I want to write with a pen, I’ll write with a pen.

I’ve got an iPhone and an iPad. My children regularly use the iPad (I don’t let them near my iPhone). I’m really not one of those people freaked by the thought of children and technology; but then, I’m a total technophile. I know how to control my technology and I’m not afraid of screens, and my children use them as part of a very balanced life.

But then, I got sent some sort of iPad magazine recently and in it were various ads for iPad/iPhone pens (I’m sure they work on other tablets/smart screens, but I don’t know, we’re an Apple household). This piqued my interest, since I thought they’d be really good for some apps on the iPad and  my partner has got really bad tendonitis from using his iPhone. So I reappraised my thoughts on stylus pens.

(Just to really smother myself in smugness, let me tell you that I taught myself to use my left hand – not naturally my dominant hand – to use my mouse ‘n’ stuff some years ago when I got such bad RSI I couldn’t turn the pages of a magazine. As I was a fashion editor at the time, not being able to turn the pages of a magazine was a really Big Bad Thing.)

Anyway I bought one that had good reviews from Amazon and weren’t too expensive: some are really dear. The one I bought is the Universal Capacitive Stylus Pen and it cost £5.99 for two. I wouldn’t really pay more than that: no need as you’re bound to lose it. Plus it may stop working in a few weeks: I’ll report back.

Thus far it’s really good. Great if you suffer from fat finger syndrome on the iPhone, but really comes into its own on the iPad for some of the apps that involve writing and drawing. Much more intuitive than using a finger. I don’t think I’d take it out with me but for around the house/on the iPad it really helps keep your hands in a more natural position that that swipe thing you have to do. Of course I’m NOT A DOCTOR and its use may lead to even worse injuries. But I trust the Daily Mail will keep us informed of those.

There is a lead that you plug into the headphone socket to keep it safe, but you have to unplug it to use it.

Sun-San Sandals

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Navy Salt Water Originals

Really, for quite a long time now, I’ve been looking for “Jesus sandals” that were popular in my youth. I couldn’t think of a more perfect sandal for a small child.

But they were nowhere to be seen. The closest I ever got were Birkenstocks, but, in truth, I was tiring of the overly large foot print.

Then, quite by chance, @sunsansandals started following me (@AnnalisaB) on Twitter and there they were. My perfect child-hood sandals: Sun-San. Which I hadn’t imagined at all. (And the style I remembered is called Surfer, shown in red below.)

They were American, but date back to the 1940’s. They came to the UK last year and they’ve become, I hate to say this, the sandal du jour for children. I don’t mind this since they are

a) incredibly practical – they can withstand salt water and can be washed in the washing machine
b) sensible – I’m not a Lilli Kelli kinda mum
c) gorgeous looking in that understated way – I’m not insane
d) proper sandals, therefore not cheap (average price: £34) but comparable with StartRite or Birkenstocks.

(Otherwise I just hate following trends, I am so contrary.)

Although I wanted to get both my children a pair – how cute would a three year old look in the Surfer style in red or tan? – in reality the youngest has some already that are perfectly okay and I can’t justify spending £70 on two pairs of sandals.

But I did want to get my eldest some, since she needed something for the summer anyway (and Birkies, what she usually wears, cost the same). Today we found ourselves in Liberty with her Godmother who, so so kindly, bought her a pair. We got the Saltwater Original, which weren’t the actual Jesus sandal I had planned on getting for her. But I left it between my daughter and her Godmother. Some transactions a mother shouldn’t interfere with.

Side view, you can just see the fringes of my mother’s incredibly ornate carpet
You can find stockists here. Although I’d personally advise trying them on in person first if possible: we tried them on in white first and they were huge, same size in navy fitted perfectly; otherwise pretty true to size I’d say. They range in price from £34-£40 and come in six designs/twelve colours, sizes 0-adult 3.
Apparently they are way cheaper in the States so if you know someone who lives there or are going there, that may be a way to save some pennies!Update: I couldn’t resist and bought my youngest a pair too. I don’t regret it, they are gorgeous and make me happy every time I see them.

I love these sandals so much I want to eat them.
An update in late August 2012. Well Sun San has now launched its own online shop, which should help with the stock situation. I relented and bought myself a pair, in silver (£55 which included p&p). Me and my girls have worn almost nothing else but our Sun San sandals all summer and I cannot tell you how brilliant I think these sandals are. We have gone in the sea with them, gone surfing wearing them, built sandcastles and they look like new.
Weirdly, also, considering I find really flat shoes hard to wear all day, my feet don’t hurt (anymore than they would anyway walking all day) in these. I get asked about them all the time and my friend Wendy bought seven pairs (or thereabouts) the moment the shop went live.
You do need to buy them so they are slightly tight I think. I’m a true 37 which is a 4.5 UK and I was unsure whether to get a 5 or 6 in Sun San. When I first tried on the 5 they felt too tight – as in not wide enough (obviously the length has to be right, they don’t get longer!) I also tried the 6 and they felt really comfy from the off. But instinct told me the 5 would stretch and they did. Plus once you get them wet – and I recommend you do – and they dry on you, they’ll be no more rubby bits. I never once have had to wear any sort of plasters with these.
Is it clear how much I love them? And just so you’re absolutely sure no-one is telling me to say this let me assure you that I have accepted no freebies or discounts in relation to these sandals *
The sandals after surfing
My sandals.
A family of Sun San sandals. Now we just need a men’s version.
* Well, this is no longer true. The UK distributor gave me a pair for free as a thank you (she had tried to give me a free pair in the spring and I said no) and I’m afraid, this time, I said yes thank you. Because I’m greedy, and a little bit broke after all the shopping I’ve done.

Wee bags, for toddlers, for when they just have to go..

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Wee-bag closed, fits into palm of your hand like this unless you have unnaturally tiny hands

The same open. Note jolly pics…

I’m not usually a fan for making a simple process more difficult. I mean, I like a bit of kit as much as the next person, but, especially where babies and children are concerned, you can be sold a lot of stuff you just don’t need.

With potty training, some children like to go on a potty (my second learned to go on a potty, but would only perform, for the first week, with my pashmina over her head), some like little toilet seats. Some a combination of both. All fine. When you go out you may take a potty or the trainer seat or just hold your child particularly carefully whilst their tiny bottoms perch on an adult toilet seat and you try not to get freaked out that their hands are all over a public toilet seat.

But sometimes, especially when they’re still very new to it all, you’re not near a toilet or a potty, and they really need to go. Great if you can balance your child over a discreet bit of grass (one of my earliest memories is being held over the gutter by my mum, just by Paddington Street Gardens in London. I can’t pass there without remembering…surprised there’s not a plaque up there commemorating it…). But, you can’t always, or they don’t like it.

This is where these gizmos come in: TravelJohn Junior Disposable Urinal Bags. They’re portable piss bags, basically. There is gel inside, so no spillage and you can, theoretically use them til they’re full (they hold up to 600cc), but in truth they start to stink after a day or two. The top has a plastic shaped bit that you hold up to the child’s groin. You can be really discreet using them too.

You probably won’t need many, but they come in packs of three and I think they’re great for emergencies. We keep on in the car, one in the pram, one floating around. (They fold up really small when empty, so can even fit in a pocket). I got mine from Amazon for £5.07 for three, so nearly £1.70 a bag. Not cheap but for when you have to go: really worth it.

Here‘s a piece I wrote for The Guardian about potty training.

Vintage dress patterns

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This isn’t the dress or cape pattern I got, but it’s cute. And similar. But not the same. The actual pattern remains a state secret.

My eldest is having her first holy communion in a few months.

When I had mine, I wore a mini bride dress. This was waaaay before My Big Fat Gypsy wedding. It wasn’t as voluminous as the dresses in MBFGW, but it was the 1970’s so it wasn’t a cool dress. I mean, I had a veil. And everything.

I do of course shudder when I think about it, although I try and focus on the positives, such as the green jam tarts we had at the ‘reception’.

My sister’s holy communion was held at one of the most beautiful and dramatic churches in the world (built on a mountain side, reached by funicular railway), in Italy, and had a lavish (to me) reception afterwards. I had mine at the school’s local church with a reception in the church hall.

The injustice, readers, has never left me. (1)

The very first thing I asked our priest, when my daughter enrolled on her holy communion classes was “does she have to dress as a child bride”. Because, frankly, I can’t be doing with all that.

Gloriously, the answer was no, she doesn’t.

Since every other little girl will probably be wearing white, or cream, I didn’t want to go too rad. I mean appropriateness and all that. I thought I’d go for a smart, white/cream dress. Except she didn’t have one, and the only ones you can buy are distinctly bridesmaid led. And expensive.

Recently, my mum had hauled out of the trunk that holds all of our childhood treasures one of my old tricot dresses, super simple, 1960’s (even though I wore it in the 1970’s). But it was red. My daughter looked amazing in it and I loved its simplicity.

I hoped she would fit into another old dress of mine, a cream crochet tunic. But it is too short. But it did give me an idea which is: super simple 1960’s dress. With a cape. Think Courrege. Space age, but without (possibly, cos I don’t think the priest will like that) the helmet.

Finding one of these off the peg is impossible. I know, I’ve tried and I’m pretty good at searching things out.

The only thing is to Make It. I was, after all, once seamstress to the Queen Mother. (2) And I do still have friends from that time. Well, one. Who makes spectacular clothes and has made spectacular clothes for my children. And has offered to help me. (3)

So I searched on line. And I found the perfect, perfect pattern. For a dress. And a cape. I mean: P.E.R.F.E.C.T. It was from a website called What I Found, in the US. I emailed the owner and said “can you send it to me here and if so how much”. I never expected an answer. But one came within five minutes. Fantastic service from someone called Tina.

The whole lot, plus postage, came to £8.70.

(1) Not really. I couldn’t care less. But I use it to torment my parents occasionally.
(2) I was, for one month, before I was fired for painting my nails over the Queen Mother’s chiffon. 
(3) This means she’ll make it.

Ground linseeds, a fabulous cure for constipation (and a good source of omega 3s)

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Linseeds (aka flax seeds). From L-R: whole linseeds, ground up, in the water.

Growing up in an Italian family, especially with a southern Italian mother, toilet habits were discussed often, openly, and everywhere. You’d meet someone, and within minutes they’d be talking about how constipated they were. If you were sat eating, even better.

Thus it is that I am very private about such matters. I discuss them rarely.

So it is with some trepidation that I tell you about something that my excellent nutritionist of yore, Vicki Edgson told me about when I was pregnant with my first. When you’re pregnant, you can suffer really badly from constipation (I didn’t cos of this tip). What Vicki recommended is that you take some linseeds (which are the highest vegetable source of omega 3 essential fatty acids), grind them up (this makes them more bio-available) and put them in a glass of water – I use hot water, the ground up seeds sort of swell up to make almost like a gel. They don’t dissolve, getting them all down is a bit of an art and they’re pretty disgusting to take, I warn you. But persevere. It’s so worth it.

Do it first thing in the morning, glug it back and you don’t have to worry about it again for 24 hours. If you try to hide the seeds in bread, biscuits, salads, soups you’ll struggle to have as many as you need and you probably will end up not doing it (as well as taking in loads of extra calories that you may or may not need). Far better to just get it over with.

Linseeds are a bulker so they need to be taken with water (otherwise you may end up in pain!). I’d start with a teaspoon full and build up to a heaped teaspoon/half a tablespoon. You don’t have to be precise.

Now, if you suffer from constipation and don’t know why and you think you need to see a doctor, see a sodding doctor. I’m not one. But if you suffer occasionally, or find it hard to get enough fibre in your diet, this is a great, great trick. Plus you get a shot of omega 3s which ain’t no bad thing – my cracked heels have completely gone since doing this again (I stopped for ages as I got lazy).