Clearspring: Bringing Japanese Food Home

Japan is the land of the rising sun, of rice fields and chopsticks. As exotic as it gets, only in recent years has sushi travelled across the Pacific onto British shores, and into local London eateries across the city.

That’s what most of us think of first when it comes to Japanese cuisine, anyway.

Japanese food is can be tricky to cook, not least because it requires an array of specialist ingredients. For anyone interested in cooking this type of food at home, Clearspring are here to help by providing a quality range of affordable products, to help you reproduce some delicious Eastern dishes.

The Mini Cooking Club attended the Clearspring 20th anniversary event at Icetank, Soho. There were geisha makeovers, kimono loans and lots of free Clearspring food and drinks. The highlights were seaweed cocktails and tempura broccoli. There was also a formal Japanese tea ceremony at the venue, during which attendees could witness the traditional, elaborate way of consuming this ancient beverage.

All of their products are organic, GM free, vegetarian and ethically produced. Clearspring has a long history of working closely with its suppliers and developing strong relationships across the industry, that support sustainable organic farming and benefit local communities. They want people to enjoy the same quality and taste of food that our grandparents enjoyed, and their goal is to "get organic food back on the dining table."

Clearspring artisans have also developed lots of unique recipes for you to try, including make your own sushi and summer fruit jelly.

You can buy their products directly from Clearspring online, or you can visit one of their many stockists in person.They also sell many other organic goods which are not Japanese, but equally as healthy and delicious. Follow them on Facebook for recipes, giveaways and updates.

There’s something about the formality and politeness of Japanese culture that remains alluring even in the global society of today. The neatly packaged parcels of food and careful rituals create a mystique around an otherwise every day experience.

By Catherine Heath

FunMeFit: Community Health

Based in Sheffield, FunMeFit combines health and fitness with playing together as a family as a way to achieve overall wellbeing. Founded by Kate Hill, mother of two, the organisation has been going for two years. It is fervently devoted to the idea that playing together strengthens families and is a fun way to get fit. Sheffield is full of green spaces, parks and woodland, so a website like this has been a long time coming.

There are many resources across the internet providing access to an array of activities, health and volunteering events, but FunMeFit brings all of these together under one roof. Targeted health and fitness resources mean that members can easily find what they’re looking for, including businesses that can help organise events and provide materials. FunMeFit is personable, easy to use and great for your health.

As they put it themselves: "FunMeFit is a community that brings people together from all over the community, whether a business, an individual, a charity or a group for the purpose of promoting healthy living, community work and physical activity.” FunMeFit is open to all. Not just limited to Sheffield, members are mainly from the UK but FunMeFit also has strong links with New York.

This innovative business can be broken down into two parts:

The Directory – a large database of services, businesses and organisations relevant to the health and fitness community. Join here.

The Community – Where members can freely create a profile for themselves and join an active network of health and fitness organisations and individuals. Join here.

Far too often we are bombarded with bad news and frightening stories, such as rising obesity levels and increased health problems from childhood, without focusing on ways to improve. FunMeFit, much like The Mini Cooking Club, responds to the need for positive health solutions. They do this by providing access to a network for health and fitness stakeholders, ranging from zumba teachers, to toddler climbing clubs, to play groups. Messy Mangoes is Kate’s own toddler group which encourages fun, interactive and creative play time.

FunMeFit’s primary aims are to:

1.    Encourage people to become more active

2.    Assist people in improving their wellbeing, developing skills and networking with other members of the community

3.    Get people to promote physical activity within the community and/or deliver such activities

We here at the Mini Cooking Club wholeheartedly support these goals. An added benefit of the website is helping young people and job-seekers discover opportunities to use their own skills as well as providing CV development, and enabling them to connect with important individuals, groups and businesses in the health community.

Join FunMeFit today and benefit from a whole host of services, most of them for free (upgrade to a premium account if you are a larger business). Upon joining, you will be freely promoted across social media, and can be part of the regular events held for members and non-members. Let’s all get fit and healthy together! 

See what the FunMeFit community has been up to here, and contact them on this form. 

By Catherine Heath

The Big Debate: Organic Food

Much controversy surrounds the benefits of organic foods. Some questions people may pose include, are chemicals used in food production really bad for you? Does “organic” always mean what it says on the label? There have been mis-selling scandals recently, with regular produce being unlawfully sold as organic for higher prices, which haven’t helped public confidence in this more expensive sector of the market.

The term “organic” in this context means produce farmed without the use of synthetic chemicals and pesticides, but in a world where some are starving, artificial means of food production can be more beneficial than is sometimes portrayed. Organic farming is generally seen as a holistic – and somewhat luxurious – method of production, that seeks to preserve the ecosystem, eliminate use of unnatural chemicals and, in the case of livestock, allow for free range rearing.

The Soil Association, the UK’s leading membership charity campaigning for ethical food production and farming techniques, defines organic food as “food which is produced using environmentally and animal friendly farming methods on an organic farm.” This puts the focus on environmental and animal welfare. It doesn’t count as organic if you grow it in your garden – this would be called “home-grown”. Organic produce has to pass strict certification standards, and these vary from country to country. 

Soil Association Organic Logo

There is no single logo to denote organic food, but rather each producer will assign its own to organically-certified produce. 

Organic shoppers used to buy their food directly from the farmers, but at that time there were no certification standards. Whole food stores and co-operatives popularised organic produce among the general public, and ushered in the need for independent criteria. Some examples of these shops are Whole Foods Market, Planet Organic and As Nature Intended. Currently, 86% of households buy organic products and 4.2% of UK farmland is organically managed.

The organic food as an industry has boomed since the 1940s when it was conceived, but has recently been experiencing a reduced share of the market. Organic food sales increased from just over £100 million in 1993/94 to £1.21 billion in 2004 (an 11% increase on 2003).

However, in 2010, UK sales of organic products fell 5.9% to £1.73 billion. Some attribute this to the general public tightening their belts during the recession, but decreased confidence in the benefits of organic produce has certainly played its part.

In the past, there has been what is known as a “halo effect” surrounding organic food, which means that consumers think it is healthier or lower in calories, and therefore a better option to buy. This is a myth that has been dispelled in recent years. Organic food is, essentially, just the same as regular produce.

On the other hand, many studies have shown that organic food tends to taste better, and that there are in fact minimal health benefits:

• Raw organic milk possibly contains significantly more omega-3 fatty acids

• Organic chicken contains higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids than regular chicken

• Organic produce holds 30% lower risk of contamination by pesticide residue than regular produce

In general, it seems that organic food is not healthier than conventionally produced food, but there have been no studies following the long-term health of people upholding organic diets versus those who have not. Whether or not to buy organic food is a completely personal choice. 

What is not in doubt is that going organic is better for the environment, and, in the case of meat, for the livestock. Think carefully before you buy!

 Find out more here. 

By Catherine Heath

EU Organic Logo

Surgery and Sautéing

An essay called ‘Michelin-Starred Theatres,’ by R. Newton, et al, draws attention to the parallels between fine dining and surgical practice. Some of the similarities between the chef and the surgeon’s working day include long hours, top standards, intensive training and an emphasis on teamwork.

Cooking and surgery are both related to the promotion of good health. Though restaurant food can be full of unhealthy ingredients like fat, sugar, and salt, chefs play a key role in nourishing the nation’s body. Similarly, surgeons are specially trained to help the body if something goes wrong.

Though we may not all be Michelin chefs, each individual needs to learn vital cooking skills in order to feed him or herself. Everyone must go through the process of learning how to boil an egg, make pasta and maybe eventually sauté potatoes.

Unpronounceable ingredients and difficult recipes on cooking programs can scare the average cook out of the kitchen, but cooking doesn’t have to be complicated or fancy. There is a need to get back to basics, and just have some fun in the kitchen.

Here are some easy recipes to get you started:

• Spicy Salami and Tomato Pasta Sauce

• Easy Oven Frittata

• Black Beans and Rice

On the other hand, surgical practice is quite a bit more difficult, and should only be performed by qualified professionals! Happy cooking.

The Mini Cooking Club runs a variety of cooking workshops aimed at families and children, teaching members practical skills and essential nutrition knowledge. If you are interested in booking a free place for you or your children, please visit our website for more course information. 

By Catherine Heath