SHOULDN'T WE BE DOING THIS IN EVERY TOWN?

(leeds.uk.eventsdroid.com)

Looking for Good News this week I was excited by the 'Songs of Praise' intro of the Junk Food Café, Leeds - also known as Pay As You Feel Café Project.

(Griphon report link)

“The Real Junk Food Project is a ‘Pay-As-You-Feel’ (PAYF) eatery in Armely, Leeds, only serving food that would otherwise be destined for landfill. From December 2013 to June 2014, the café intercepted 10,520.716 kilograms of edible food that would have been thrown away and left to rot in land fill. They are a registered food bank, and have served 4073 meals to 2888 people. The café intercepts surplus or waste food from restaurants and supermarkets in Leeds, using it to prepare healthy meals. The community café has an open door policy, and the menu changes depending on what has been salvaged that day. The food, however, is always delicious. Diners pay what they can or as much as they feel the food is worth, and they can also volunteer their services to earn meals. It is run and staffed entirely by volunteers, opening at 9am and staying open until every last scrap of food is gone.” 

(See more info on the links below)

http://www.thegryphon.co.uk/2014/12/the-real-junk-food-project-why-waste-food/

http://www.therealjunkfoodproject.co.uk/

How do you feel about eating food saved from landfill? 

Would it bother you?

WHAT ABOUT THIS?

Gregg Wallace & Chris Bavin

Did you watch the EAT WELL FOR LESS? programme Thursday evening (29/1) BBC1 8 pm?

I thought - as long as it's healthy food I'm interested! But... there wasn't very much help in how to eat healthier or to check the quality of the ingredients in a product. It would have to be a 'health first' check for me - less sugar, less fat, wholefoods etc and loads more fruit and veg.

It wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be - I wrongly presumed it was for people on low incomes struggling to provide nutritious and economic meals for the family. But if the outcome means we learn to waste less food,  that has to be a great achievement.

On a Breakfast TV interview Gregg said it was all about planning. He will show us how to find the time!!! I certainly need to plan more, so I'll be watching for the next two Thursdays.

What do you think? 

Does food waste matter? Can cheap be healthy?

SPRING IS NEARLY HERE!  The buds are coming out - crocus, daffodils and snowdrops are showing their colours!

www.monksilvernursery.co.uk

Every morning around 7 am I go to my shed to have a Coffee+God time. 

theworshippingheartblogspot.com

What might He want to say to me today? I opened my Message Bible at Ecclesiastes 11.2 and read:  

“Don’t hoard your goods; spread them around. Be a blessing to others.”

 (Yep! That’s OK I can do that!)

“This could be your last night.” Not what I wanted to hear! Although having just been to a well loved friend’s funeral this week, we never know when it is our time to go! The important thing is to know where we’re going. I follow Jesus - He said “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one  comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14.6) 

This is true – He is what He says He is!

MISUNDERSTANDINGS - WE ALL HAVE THEM!  Will you share yours!

its-mad.blogspot.com

May God give you peace, dear friends and love with faith,

Tracey

SHOULD WE HUG OR NOT?

WHAT A START FOR 2015?

www.trendhunter.com

The dreadful news of the shootings in Paris and the murders on our streets of innocent people just going about their lives, makes me sick in my stomach. What a strange world we live in when people want to kill each other for no reason - and don’t care if they die themselves!  

Let’s turn to something that warms the heart! 

THE HEALING POWER OF TOUCH!

www.trendhunter.com

Do you remember in 1995 these tiny twins made the headlines? Born at 12 weeks, only weighing 2 lbs. One deteriorated and had breathing difficulties so the nurse put them in together and the healthy twin put her arm around her sick sister and immediately her breathing stabilised. (See them now at 17 years old on the link below.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YwT_Gx49os

AS I SIT IN COSTA'S, ALIVE, SPOILT.......!

I'M AWARE how privileged I am!  I have sufficient funds for a few coffees each week, I’m not struggling to provide food for the family or pay the rent – I can sit here and write, hoping, in fact, believing, that I can touch the hearts of some people and make a difference - I am indeed blessed!

SCARY THINGS IN THE DARK!

Cartoon Man /coughing /vector by ronleeishman (Depositphotos)

      The other night I didn’t sleep well and gave up trying at 4.30 am. With my coffee and hot water bottle I was about to go to the shed when, in the garden right near me someone coughed! Quite a bad cough and I was spooked and wanted to run back indoors.  Why are things so scary in the dark? Probably ‘cos it was winter, very dark and unwanted memories surprised me. I was once attacked in a charity shop where I worked by a man with a horrendous cough. When the police caught him I recognised him by the cough. 

Though, right now, I didn’t need this memory and the unexpected fear it produced in me. 

A Bible message sprang to mind reminding me that God’s love drives out all fear -  if I let it! And I have a choice – fear or faith! I hear ‘the cough’ regularly now and feel sorry for whoever it is! (1John 4v18)

A good re-read would be Susan Jeffers book “Feel the fear and do it anyway”!

Have you been watching the BBC2 programme ‘What’s the Right Diet for You? Last Monday 12th January and Tuesday and Wednesday a Horizon Special was studying how to help overweight people discover why they were eating too much. I’ve lost the weight I want to lose but I am still fascinated by food and know I could easily put it on again! If any of these three diets help you, please let me know.

My New Year challenge is still to get qualified to run these Cook n’Eat courses, working with Food Banks to create cheap and healthy meals. One of the people who has inspired me is Jack Monroe and her story about going hungry and trying to feed her little boy on £10 a week. Her first cookery book A Girl Called Jack we could use as a guideline for our cookery courses. The recipes are cheap and healthy! 

She’s quite an inspiration!
http://www.theguardian.com/business/video/2013/aug/12/jack-monroe-cooking-breadline-video

So there's a big journey ahead of us! Apart from the training, we'll need to set up a Social Enterprise and get some funding. Any suggestions - can you suggest the route we should take?

In the meantime let's 'chill' out like him!
 

www.thesimplyluxoriouslife.com

I will lie down and
sleep peacefully,
for you, Lord,
make me safe and secure

(Psalm 4 v 8)




Have a relaxing weekend!
God bless,
Tracey

CHRISTMAS 2014 IS NOW HISTORY!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!  

Christmas 2014! Plenty of happy memories? I hope so - I have! Sometimes though things can go wrong and families thrown together when they're not used to it can 'fall out'! So if that's happened to you just remember:

"I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to"

 Bette Reeves

Eyesonspain.com 

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION TIME! - I love it! It's time to move on, make changes - take on the new! 

Out of the above list I've selected exercise, get organised, more family time, help others and learn something new! 

What about you? Do you make NY resolutions?

THROW THE WALKING STICKS AWAY!

This year I don't have to put 'lose weight' on my list - I've done that already!

      I've been losing weight for nearly 3 years, first of all with Patrick Holford's "The Holford Low-GL Diet" then, when I stopped losing with him, I joined 'Slimming World' altogether losing 3 stone.

The important thing is that this weight reduction allowed me to walk without walking sticks - the pain from my arthritic knees went away with the weight!

Attribution: Old lady with cane pixgood.com

http://www.slimmingworld.com/

EXERCISE! - still at the top of the list! Dirty word! Means I have to come off the computer!

GET ORGANISED! Good start is decluttering!

 (www.redrealtymo.com)

                                                                                                         

MORE FAMILY TIME! (everyone seems so busy!) 

CenterParcs is good for getting together!

- http://www.centerparcs.co.uk/

HELP OTHERS & LEARNING SOMETHING NEW! – I've put these two together:

LEARN SOMETHING NEW! Isn’t it hard to hear about people in the UK being hungry – food banks increasing the number of people they serve each week. This is where the “help people” will come in - a group of us have a plan!

In today’s world of fast food and factory prepared meals many people don’t know how to look after themselves – don't know how to cook from scratch! The NHS and Food Banks have an initiative to bring together small groups of people to teach them basic cooking skills using cheap, healthy and nutritious foods. They call them Cook N’Eat courses – all preparing the food, then sitting down to eat it together.

Last October the Tuxford & Newark Food Banks put on a “Ready, Steady Cook” Community Cook-off. Celebrity chefs used food bank food to show how to make tasty and nutritious meals for the family.  

HELPING PEOPLE! It’s all over the news today – obesity, diabetes, poverty, hungry children, lonliness! There are a group of us who want to do something in the community to help - so we are going to get some training and run a course of our own – finishing off with a cup of tea and time together to hear everyone’s story and see how we can help each other. 

More about this later............

(www.carolecgood.com)                                                             

Trust God from the bottom of your heart. 
Don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go.
He's the one who will keep you on track.

(Proverbs 3. 5-6 The Message)

HAPPY NEW YEAR - Tracey