Meat Free Week

I always think the amount of vegetables you consume is more of a habit than a preference. 

I can clearly remember being taken to a restaurant by mum, after getting a 'can't-remember-what-prize' when I was 10. I was excited but didn't know what to choose, so I was offered a big pork-chop and was asked to cut it using my knife and fork. You have to know it's quite new to an oriental girl who always ate small amounts of thinly sliced meat in stir-fries mixed with lots & lots of colourful vegetables. I was in tears with this 'luxurious treat' and feeling quite helpless with a piece of meat that was too big for my little tummy!

That experience didn't make me become vegetarian, but meat to me, and lots of oriental or Asian people, is just a small part of a big meal. We focus more on how this meat, mixed with crunchy shredded veg, is picked up by pointy chopsticks. So the portion is never big or they will all land on the floor or table. My dad used to teach me how to hold the chopsticks correctly, and that good table manners was to eat in small mouthfuls. 

These days we know how meat is obtained - chickens held in cages where their heads can never move, except bending down to eat, cows or sheep being fed with certain chemical diets or injected with hormones to boost the weight and size. The phrase 'you are what you eat' comes to mind when I am preparing my family meals, so I have reduced the amount of meat, giving way to vegetables - especially organic ones.

I do believe when humans were created, we were not meant to eat meat - which is why we don't have sharp teeth like lions but have flat teeth to grind down different fruits and vegetables. There are lots of plant-based protein in vegetables which can be enough to make a balanced diet if chosen correctly. Best of all, it's well known that lots of vegetables have a detox effect that can clear our system of the toxins in the food we consume daily.

With easily available recipes and ingredients, our generation is so lucky to be able to choose more vegetables than meat dishes. It's #MeatFreeWeek this week, do you want to join me in trying more vegetables and see how your body reacts? You don't have to give up meat completely, but by slowly introducing more vegetables into your diet, you may find you don't miss it after a while.

We have a great variety of beautifully presented and delicious vegetarian dishes here at Bridges to get you started, as well as our nutritious vegetable juices, come and give it a go!

Find out more about Meat Free Week https://uk.meatfreeweek.org/home

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#meatfreeweek

The Humble Edamame

There is always a kind of food that you want on a rainy day, when you are feeling low or when you miss home. For me, edamame is definitely one of those foods. Eda-mame (meaning bean-branch in Japanese) - is basically the immature bean. Or you may simply call it baby soybean. It's such a humble food. I can easily recall those days craving snacks after school. Mum would boil me a big bowl of soybeans, sprinkled with sea salt. The best part was I could shell them myself and consume them in front of the TV. I’m glad we never had the choice of crisps or chocolate and my own children crave this healthy snack from time to time after school too. 

They don't look fancy but they are so super nutritious. Here's what you'll find in a half-cup serving of shelled edamame (or 1 1/8 cup edamame in the pods):

• 120 calories

• 9 grams fibre

• 2.5 grams fat

• 1.5 grams polyunsaturated fat (0.3 grams plant omega-3 fatty acids)

• 0.5 gram monounsaturated fat

• 11 grams protein

• 13 grams carbohydrate

• 15 mg sodium

• 10% of the daily value for vitamin C

• 10% daily value for iron

• 8% daily value for vitamin A

• 4% daily value for calcium

Just snacking on a handful of these little soybeans, you will have already taken a good portion of fibre, protein, iron and vitamins and minerals. A small serving of edamame gives you a bunch of fibre - 9 grams – nearly the same as 4 slices of wholewheat bread. It also has as much protein as it does carbohydrate.  And for a plant food, you won’t believe that the iron level equals a chicken breast.

We had a taster session in Bridges yesterday with staff and customers. Some people will know edamame well, especially if you’ve been to Japanese restaurants; this is normally the starter put in front of you when you are waiting for your main course. But some customers were unsure how to eat it. Well, just a reminder - you are not supposed to eat the pod, only the beans. We all burst out laughing when the beans were squeezed and flew out of the pods and landed on the floor – guaranteed to give you a smile. The challenge is to learn the skills to squeeze all beans into your mouth without dropping any.

Although we normally consume them in their natural state, we also decided to create a recipe that fits in with Bridges' healthy lunchtime choices.  So except to see edamame on the menus as a side dish or buy individual portion of pods to snack on or take away. We have also created our own ‘Edamame Hummus’ for our customers to enjoy on our artisan bread.

The Bridges Hummus unique to us and we will improve the recipe based on your feedback.  Please give it a go and let us know what you think!

Cambridge Style Week with CSVPA

To celebrate Cambridge Style Week which runs until 8th March, we are showcasing works by our talented neighbours at CSVPA, the Cambridge School of Visual and Performing Arts.

The beautifully framed images are by the 3rd Year Fashion Degree students, who, as well as designing the clothes, had to find models and style them for the photoshoot. We think they did an excellent job!

The students and tutors, being just around the corner, are regulars at our cafe and use our catering services, so it's really exciting for us to show a glimpse of the type of work these talented students produce.

Find out more about Cambridge Style Week here.

http://www.cambridgebid.co.uk/events/cambridge-style-week-2/