HERBALIST - NOVEMBER

Friday the 13th and it was time for my review with Jan, to discuss the results from my recent blood and smear tests and relate what the Consultant's appointment had revealed, and take my treatment from there. I was anticipating a reasonable long session so set off in plenty of time.

When I arrived Jan was sat in Reception and called me in immediately. She wasn't expecting any interruptions so she said we would stay in there, as it was the warmest room in the place. I didn't mind as the leather sofa is huge and comfortable. :0)

So what had been happening? Well, I told her all about what Mr Roberts, the Gynae Consultant, has said: that the cyst was definitely benign; that because it was a large cyst it was making one ovary heavier than the other and this was making the usually mobile ovaries prone to twisting - it was due to them twisting (torsion) that had given me all the pain that resulted in having to go into hospital; that until they go in there they are never really 100% certain which ovary it is in anyway; that it was definitely still there and wasn't going to go away on its own; that if I left it there was always the chance that I'd end up with the same problem occurring; that, due to my age, it was best to take both ovaries and that that greatly reduces the risk of my developing ovarian cancer in the future (it is still possible, but the form that takes is extremely rare); taking both ovaries will mean full on menopause commencing.

I've been in peri-menopause for some time, so have already had a hint of what is to come, and that doesn't hold any worries for me - in fact I've been looking forward to my Crone/Wise Woman years and the next stage along my Path....... it's just going to come a little sooner than Nature intended, is all. :0) The biggest plus of it all is no more monthly problems and the saving of a small fortune, due to not having to buy the necessaries any more........ but mostly the no more monthlies. Yay! So I said to Mr Roberts: Bring it on! First time I've seen a Consultant crack a real smile - though he did duck his head to try and hide it.

So Jan asked if they had given any indication of when the operation would take place. Well.... Mr Roberts had quoted a Waiting List of around 18 weeks to us, which had me thinking that it was fine - far enough away not to get into a sweat about it yet. I opted for normal surgery, rather than keyhole, as I would get in quicker and avoid further delay from having to be referred to the keyhole surgeon (no straight onto his list, I'd have to be referred so I could be seen by him first, then be put on his list and then get an op date). But the lady in the Booking Office had a surprise for us: she'd got a cancellation slot so I could have my pre-op checks done on the 17th and the op on the 27th of this month.
Oh! Well I guess it's quick enough that you won't get yourself worked up too much, was the response.
Ah, don't you believe it, was mine. So I told her about when I'd had to have my tonsils out in my early 30's and the state I got in then (though it was my first ever operation), then asked her if there was anything she could give me to try and keep me calm. She said there was. Thank goodness for that! LOL

Next was a review of my food diary sheets. The tortilla habit was mentioned. They are about the only snack item I can actually eat these days, as everything else is banned (too much sugar or got dairy or yeast or another no-no ingredient in them), but I am having them quite a bit - though some of that is due to the fact that my stomach can go acidic or I just plain feel hungry, so need something. So Jan said she would make me a new mix to have after meals that would contain some herbs to help calm the acid and some to keep me calm. Meantime I was to also carry on with the last medicine mix (the before meals one) - with what was left of that and what she would give me of the new one, both should run out a bit before I am due to have my op. Ideal, as she doesn't want me taking anything whilst I am in hospital or recuperating at home afterwards except the zinc, L-Glutamine (both will aid with the healing), the Acidophilus, digestive capsules and Osteoguard - though she said nothing in the herbal mixes should cause a problem with the anaesthetic or painkillers. That was another concern cleared up. :0)

I then asked if I could be weighed. If the tortilla chips were doing any damage I needed to know, then I would know I needed to get seriously strict with myself about them. Had I put on weight? Nope. I was at 11stone 9lbs last time around................ this time I was spot on 11 1/2 stone, or 11stone 7lbs. Well I must be doing something right......................... although I have a feeling that might have been more down to the stomach upset I'd had not so long ago, rather than the diet. Not the best way to lose weight, and I really wouldn't recommend it, but still: it was a minus and not a plus. :0)

After that Jan went to mix my new, temporary medicine. When she came back I added a couple of herbal teas and some tablets that I was getting low on and paid my dues. We didn't make another appointment: basically I am to wait and see how I go after the op, then give her a ring when I feel up to going down there and she'll fit me in, hopefully before Christmas. Jan wants me to have a while herbal medicine free after the girls come out - it will allow the menopause symptoms to begin and she will be better able, then, to gauge how my hormones are reacting and how I am feeling and mix something to suit. Sounded good to me so, as her next client was on the way up, I thanked her and she wished me well and I left.

Out on the High Street I was going to walk past the Hospice Bookshop but there was a new arrangement in the window that drew my eye....... and something seemed to tell me to go in. When I did I had a look at the fiction section but nothing really drew my eye, so I wandered over to the non-fiction bit where they usually have some of the esoteric books (if they've got any). My eyes nearly popped open when I saw quite a few books with Angels as the subject, including several by Jacky Newcomb. One of the books was called An Angel a Day, so I picked it up to have a nosey......... and my jaw dropped when I saw the entry for the 13th, as the first words were: If the stores are open today, visit a bookshop and search the shelves for books on Angels. Now that was a message I really couldn't ignore, so I snapped up the ones that I didn't already have:


When I showed the lady behind the counter she couldn't believe it either. The thing is, in all the times I've been inside that book shop I have only ever found two Angel books, a lone Jacky Newcomb one that I bought and another that I already had - certainly never as many as these. I can't wait to tell the girls at the Development Circle about this. LOL :0)

I paid for them and the lady allowed me to leave them behind the counter while I went to do a bit more shopping, then I picked them up on the way back home. The bag was heavy but it was well worth the aching arms to get them home and I'll certainly enjoy reading them........ and I'll have plenty of time to read whilst I'm recuperating. LOL

HEALTH and HEALING FESTIVAL - HARROGATE

It was the 4th Health and Healing Festival at The Pavilions in Harrogate (the Showground) over the weekend (26 and 27 September). DS had been to this event, with our friend Alex, last year and had enjoyed it and we were curious to see what was on offer, so we decided to have a trip over there on the Sunday.

As usual we had a slight detour (referred to in the family as: Smithy's scenic route! LOL). We did have SatNav but it seems that to get the updates with the latest roads added you need to pay a subscription..... and DH won't pay it........ so some of the roads weren't on there and it kept trying to send us off in all kinds of directions. So DH started ignoring it....... only he ignored it once too often and we didn't go down a road we should have done, had to double back and then had a bit of a tootle around Wetherby to get back to where we needed to be. It makes things interesting, I guess. Though any more than the 10-15 minutes delay we had before we reached The Pavilions and their much needed facilities and the car upholstery would have needed drying out! LOL

We grabbed our bags, along with the packed lunch I'd made, and headed in. After finding and using the facilities we headed for the second room full of stalls, as DH said he hadn't liked the atmosphere in the first room we'd just come through - can't say as I'd noticed: I was too focused on finding the little girl's room LOL. The venue was split between two rooms (Aire and Wharfe)that had a corridor running between them, giving it a U shape - in the U and outside there was a colonnaded area along each side with grass in the middle, where there were wooden chairs and seats for sitting out. The second room had the cafe area at one end and a stage in the middle, with a sitting area, where various musicians gave performances throughout the day - unfortunately Dragonfly Moon weren't one of them, as they'd had to drop out of the event "due to unforeseen circumstances".

We had a little wander around the room, taking stock of what was there. As we reached the far side I noticed an aura photographer with a difference: they didn't just do the head and shoulders pic like I'd had before but also did a full body one that showed your Chakras and a different full body one that looked like the Michelangelo Vitruvian Man with coloured areas across it - the area on one side was for the current situation and the other side for what was to come in the next 6 months. I zoomed in for a closer look and the lady started chatting to me, explaining a little about what each variation showed and that it was best to go with the one you felt most drawn to. I knew which one immediately: the Chakra colour one. So I took off my magnetic bracelet, sat in the chair, placed my hand on the hand shaped area on the box and looked into the camera. Here's the resultant print out:



There's an awful lot of information on it so I may do a separate post on it at a future date - it made interesting reading for me and seemed pretty accurate. I guess it explains why I'm drawn to sea blues and greens, with the turquoisey colours being particular favourites. The lady then pointed out that my Solar Plexus Chakra was closed up tight when it should be swirling (my stomach had been feeling iffy for a few days and I had done my usual pulling in/protection before going in the room - not surprising it showed somewhere in the pic). I said generally I could usually tell now when something was wrong with my Chakras as I felt out of kilter. She mentioned that there was a high level of Spirituality shown in my Aura - I smiled and told her I had recently started attending a Development Circle. She said that I needed to take in what was being taught but not to think I had to do it as told to - as I did most things instinctively I should continue to go with my gut instinct and find my own way...... and if things weren't clear I should ask "them upstairs" to make it clearer for me. I laughed and told her that, funnily enough, I had started to work with Angels more just recently - I think she sensed this, which is why she'd taken me aside to tell me all this. She then said that that was better: I'd opened up, it's how I should be and didn't I feel better for it? Actually, yes.... and my stomach felt calmer too. I took my pic and read out, thanked her and we carried on.

As we were both feeling hungry by this time we headed out to the outside seating area where we spotted our DS and Alex having their packed lunch, so we sat with them while we had ours. They hadn't arrived much before us but DS had had an annoying experience with a stallholder in the first room: he'd been stood by the stall, having a nosey at the crystals whilst Alex was having a look at something in particular. The stallholder (an woman in her 60's) had been getting real chatty with another customer, then she came up behind my DS, stuck her hands on his hips and moved him bodily out of the way. No manners used at all, just a real rudeness and a hint of bad attitude towards a young person.... from someone that was of an age to really know better. DS and Alex were so taken aback by it they didn't say anything - needless to say, they walked away and didn't spend any money there. I do wonder of this is what DH picked up on? Though DS and Alex also said they felt the first room didn't have a good feeling about it and hadn't spent much time in there, particularly after the incident - they felt it was far more commercialised than the previous year. By this time they'd done and went off for another wander, leaving DH and I to finish our meals and drinks.

When we'd done we headed back into the second room again. This time I spotted some fab wrist warmers that a lady on the Pendragon Crafts stall was selling - and knitting more of when she wasn't serving customers. Here's the pretty ones I succumbed to:

They are actually a bit darker than shown and that felt daisy lets you know which way on they should go. The thinking is that they'll be great to wear out when I'm shopping: long enough to curl my fingers back into, to keep them warm, but will leave them free for when I want to pay for things. They'll also be really useful when I'm sat at the computer and the room gets cold and my fingers start getting chilled: I'll still be able to type! LOL (In fact I'm wearing them now and they work really well!)

Next we headed over to the He Hi She Lo stall, which is one of my favourite crystal stalls. He didn't have any howlite - he'd had to leave some of his stock at home as the stall space given here was much smaller than that given at the Lincolnshire Showground event, so I said not to worry as we planned on attending it. Next I asked if he had any moonstone: he had some small tumblestones but he realised (without my mentioning it) that I wanted the blue moonstone. He said that the Sri Lankan mines were still flooded from the Boxing Day tsunami so the only pieces that were currently available were ones that had previously ended up on the scrapheap and they weren't worth having, so he wouldn't buy them. He said that he did have some nice ones in jewellery, if that was any use. Actually yes, as I wanted the use the moonstone as an Angelic talisman to wear. He handed me the first piece and it felt lovely and had a lovely blue shine to it, then showed me a silver pendant with a small piece of moonstone in it - I rejected that immediately as I hadn't liked it when I saw it earlier. Then he handed me a larger third piece.... but that had more of a lilacy sheen to it. The first piece it definitely was:

Unfortunately he didn't have a silver chain long enough for what I wanted.... so, as he polished the pendant before popping it in a bag for me, he said that as he hadn't got everything I wanted he would knock off £3. Wasn't that nice of him? Here's a chap who cares about the crystals he sells and his customers. :0) I thanked him, said we'd see him at Lincolnshire Showground in November and said goodbye.

Next we wandered over to the Shifa Meditation stall to have a look at the incense they had. I'd heard that using certain proper incense on a burner could aid the meditative state..... and frankly, at this point, it feels like I could use all the help I can get! LOL The chap opened some of the bags so we could sniff the contents and Oh, did they smell divine! I do have an oil burner but it's glazed, so is only suitable for use with oils, not with charcoal, so we took the last burner he had too.... and as it was one he'd been using for display and had got a little grubby in the burning area he knocked us a £1 off. Another kindness. :0) Here's what we came home with:

We can also put a lit tealight in the body, to make it look really effective or to use it as an oil burner too. Even kinder was my lovely DH who treated me to these. :0)

We finally headed through into the other room at this point, as the Magik Thread stall was in there and I wanted to have a look at a couple of things. They didn't have the Angel cards I was looking for but they did have the other item I wanted:

I find this a really useful diary as it not only lists all the Festival Days, the moon phases and planet alignments but also which days are best for planting and which for harvesting. A must for planting out and harvesting, especially harvesting of herbs.

By this time we were quite thirsty and ready for a break, so we popped to the cafe to get a drink and scone for DH and a cup of hot water for me - a Health and Healing event that didn't have a herbal tea in sight, would you credit that?!! Good job I carry a selection round with me so I can brew my own! We sat out in the grassed area again but it was a bit gusty by this time, so we had to keep hold of everything..... though it did help blow the cobwebs away and freshen us up. LOL All the while we were sat out we could hear music from Huellos (pronounced Wayas) - performers from Ecuador playing their native music. Fabulous!

We went back in pretty smart'ish after this and went for a better wander around the first room - the atmosphere in there seemed to have changed and it was much more pleasant in there. This time I spotted another of the items I'd been hoping to find at this event: a lapis lazuli pendant, as an aid at the Development Circle, on another crystal stall. As I was handling the piece I heard the stallholder say to her colleague "It's talking to mummy". I wouldn't have put it quite like that but I did get a nice feeling from it, so it came home with me:

Not the best picture but it will give you an idea as to the lovely colours and sparkle in it. It was satisfying to have found most of what had been on my list. After completing a lap of this room we decided to have one last look round the other room to check out the stand that Huellos had. DH had been as taken with their music as I had been and after a nosey at their CD's he treated himself to this one:

They both looked pretty impressive too in their costumes and with their faces painted (differently to how they look in the CD picture). We also had one more impromptu buy (not pictured) of a pair of Trayner pinhole glasses. They seemed a bit of a gimmicky thing initially.... until we both tried them. Normally I can't see a great lot when I take my specs off due to be short-sighted - I could read the blurry first and second lines of the opticians alphabet thing.... the third line I had to squint like mad to make out anything - put the specs on and I could read every line, including the last and smallest one. Wow! DH must have been impressed because he paid for a pair that we could share.... so we take it in turns to wear them for 15 minutes each day, so we can hopefully make our eye muscles a little stronger and stop any further deterioration in our vision. Who knows, maybe we'll be able to eventually swap the lenses in our current specs for a less strong prescription. Fingers crossed!

After a final visit to the facilities we headed back to the car.... just in time to wave goodbye to DS and Alex, who were just driving out of the car park. Thankfully the journey home proved to be much more straightforward and, as DS had let us know that he was eating at Alex's, DH took us out to a local pub for our tea. A nice end to a good day. :0)

Discussing the event later with DS we all agreed that, though it had on the whole been a good day, it had also been a little disappointing in some ways: compared to the Lincolnshire event (run by another group) it seemed much more cramped - despite being in two rooms - and seemed to have more of an emphasis on commercial stalls. There seemed to be more rude people there too: I lost count on the amount of times I'd been knocked or someone had pushed in front of me - at one point this was quite deliberately done too - though I hadn't let it aggravate or upset me (a big improvement to how I was just a short time ago). Some of the worst offenders were from the organiser's team! There were also way more readers (of tarot, runes or whatever) than usual too. DS said it had been much better the previous year.... a shame we hadn't gone then. It's doubtful we'll go again - I would like to try either the Buxton or Ilkley Holistic Fairs instead, to see what they are like.... but we'll wait and see what the future has in store first. :0)

ANOTHER HERBALIST VISIT

Today (Friday) I made my way down the street for another visit to see my Herbalist. As I'd left with plenty of time to spare I popped into the local sewing shop first, to drop off a pair of jeans that needed mending. I also managed to pick up some squares of felt in Christmas red and green, as well as a rather royal looking purple, all of which will be very useful for finishing ornies in the Prairie Schooler style. :0) As there was still a little time to kill - and I wanted to keep out of the rain - I next headed into the Hospice book shop, where I managed to find.....

Yes, another Barbara Erskine book to add to the pile. LOL Enough time killed, so I headed to Earth Energies.

What a very positive consult it turned out to be! First I gave Jan my food diary sheets and she was really pleased with how my diet was going and the variety of healthy foods I now eat, so it was good to know that is definitely on the right tracks. Next we discussed how my health had been: some days I buzz with energy and get lots done but others aren't so good - on the whole though, there are a number of definite signs of improvement already. Emotionally I feel there are improvements too..... I'm still prone to the occasional off-day but realised whilst discussing it with Jan that I don't seem to be thinking so much of the things that would trigger off bouts of depression/grief/anger. She said I was also coming over as being more confident and positive which, when I mulled it over, I felt was true. Hormonal balance and problems with my monthlies were also talked about and Jan felt this was all linked to the rest: pelvic congestion due to the Candida, which was causing a build up of toxins in my liver - all of which contribute to the high blood pressure etc.

After asking how I felt about tackling the candida and my saying it was time to go for it we discussed how this will be done. The herbal remedy is the first thing: it's now reformulated to include a couple of anti-fungals but will have more herbs to help balance my hormones and to relieve the pelvic congestion and monthly problems. I still have to take 5mg, in water, before each meal but the other remedies are now re-jigged: there's a Chromium Complex tablet after breakfast; then 2 Candaway capsules to take part way through my evening meal (these are full of anti-fungals - a real Candida killer) and the Acidophilus (good bacteria replacement) now has to be taken last thing at night with a glass of milk (has to be taken 2 1/2 hours after the anti-fungal things and can't have it with hot things as they would kill it off, defeating the whole purpose of taking it). It's also the best way of taking them, as it allows everything to work while I'm asleep, so hopefully more toxins and dead Candida will be eliminated first thing. Sounds good to me. I also have to keep my system well flushed through so I have to up my water intake to at least three 500ml bottles full a day and have at least four herbal tea drinks as well. If I thought I was peeing for England before goodness knows what I'll be like after doing that! LOL

Other useful info I got was the name of a coffee alternative (dandelion coffee), which I need to hunt down in a health food store, and details of a proper Candida diet cookery book.

Two other things that Jan did were to weigh me and to take my blood pressure........ and that's where the really good news comes in. When the Nurse at my local GP's weighed me, back when all this first started, I was 15 stone something (can't for the life of me remember those flipping pounds!) and my blood pressure was high and all over the place - so I cut out the take-outs, reduced portion sizes and started eating healthier foods. When Jan got me on the scales on my first visit I'd dropped to 14 stone 9 and my blood pressure reading was 150/97 -whilst the bp was still up those first steps did some good weight-wise. Today, just one month later, my weight was............... drum roll please........... 13 stone 12 and, to cap it all, my bp was down at 136/89. If you add on what I lost before seeing Jan then it has to be at least 1 whole stone lost. How's that for a result? I was so pleased I could have done a Happy Dance all round the consultation room! ROFL

I know there's still a fair ways to go yet and that I will probably feel worse, health-wise, before I feel truly better but this is such a good boost after so much sadness and negativity I can't help but be pleased for now. So please forgive the crowing. LOL

After paying my bill, receiving my new tablets and next bottle of medicine and making the next appointment it was time to tackle another hurdle: a trip even further down the High Street to go to the Post Office and post a couple of parcels. I did it, no problem. :0) On the way home there was a stop off at the grocers to buy some more sugar-free ginger biscuits for DH and some Twinings herbal teas for me - a mix of minty ones this time. A final stop at Tesco for some bits for tea and, as I was celebrating, also treated myself to the latest Cross Stitch Crazy magazine - really couldn't help myself when I saw the Newton chart in there. I'm a sucker for that cute little guy! :0)

After I'd put things away and had my dinner it was time for a trawl on Amazon to find the recommended recipe book:

While I was there I spotted a few more and, after having a good look at them, decided to add this second book to the order as well:

Am hoping they will help me add a few new and interesting meals to my repertoire. ;0) Before all the health problems kicked in I used to really enjoy cooking and baking - it's good to get that enthusiasm for food back, not just for eating it but also for the planning, choosing and cooking. DS enjoys cooking too, so we often potter in the kitchen together, with me doing the prep while he's Chef. It works well - he knows not to give me any lip when I've got a sharp implement in my hand. ;0) LOL

Well that's the end of the news....... and the end of a long and busy day, so that's it for now. Time to be in bed. I had thought we'd be going to the first Mind, Body and Spirit event of the year but realised tonight that I messed up the dates and it was last weekend. Oh well, guess it's the Universe's way of making me save some money and that it's not the right time for another reading. I know Aureen is in at the clinic tomorrow so I may just ring first thing and see if she can fit me in for another Reiki treatment.

Have a good weekend all. :0)

RECIPES

Since starting the new diet I've been eating all kinds of healthier foods and one of the mainstays of mealtimes for me are whole grains, instead of the usual potatoes or pasta. Whilst grains are better for you they can be a tad unexciting so I've been experimenting a little on different ways to cook them, to make them more interesting. I thought I'd share a couple of things with you.

Cous Cous - though my DH will eat it on occasion my DS likens it to eating sawdust. LOL

Measure out the amount of quick cook cous cous you want and put in a bowl, along with 1 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a crushed garlic clove. Give it a quick stir before adding the recommended amount of hot fluid (I usually add hot water but you can use vegetable or chicken stock) and leave it to stand as per packet instructions. Stir again, fluffing the grains with the fork - then serve as an accompaniment to fish or meat. Very simple but it does add a little more taste. :0) A sprinkle of ginger, paprika or cinnamon would give it a little added kick too.

Brown Rice - again DH will eat it but DS doesn't like it.

This rice takes much longer to cook than Basmati, so it needs a bit of planning, but the nuttier taste makes it well worth it. Boiled brown rice can be a bit boring so I downloaded a baked rice recipe from the net and adapted it to meet the food restrictions I have to follow. Here's what I came up with:

Ingredients: 1 cup of brown rice; 2 1/2 cups of veg stock (Kallo yeast free cube used, from Health Food Shop); 1 onion, finely chopped; butter, for frying onion; paprika.

Method: fry the onion in the melted butter until just going soft; add the rinsed brown rice and saute until onions start to brown; add stock and bring to boil; add paprika, to taste (or you can use ginger or cinnamon or curry powder - whatever your preference) and stir. Transfer all to a lidded casserole dish then bake in the top of the oven at 350 Degrees or Gas Mark 4 for around 1 to 1 1/2 hours (depends on your oven). Stir a couple of times during cooking - ensures everything stays mixed (rice sinks to the bottom and stays there otherwise). Serve with meat or fish and veg or salad.

I got really inventive the other day and made an eggy stir-fry mix as a filler to tortillas - an easy and quick meal for two before we went to see the Pantomime at our local theatre. I enjoyed it so much I shall be having it again. :0)

Ingredients: a pack of garlic tortillas (get mine from Aldi); a pack of Chinese Style stir fry mix (Tesco - enough in there to fill six tortillas); 3 medium eggs; 2 slices of cooked sandwich ham; milk; butter; black pepper.

Method: tear the slices of ham into smallish pieces. Next break the eggs into a bowl, add milk (to suit your taste), a little black pepper and whisk. In a frying pan melt the butter, then add a third of the stir fry pack to the pan; saute, stirring continually, until everything is warmed through; add half the ham pieces and fry until everything is warmed through thoroughly; pour in half the egg mixture and continue stirring - this isn't an omelette, so the aim is to scramble the eggs and combine them through the veg and ham. Meantime heat two tortillas, which should be sprinkled with a little water first, in the microwave - about 1min 25secs on High in a 650w oven. Share the mix between the two tortillas and wrap. Repeat all steps for the next two tortillas. Eat warm. :0)

There will be a third of a pack of the stir fry veggies left over for another day - or you can add another egg (or two) to the bowl, along with a little more milk, and another slice of ham and make up enough for six tortillas. Or, if you're really hungry, you could just split the pack between two of you and really stuff those tortillas! LOL A variation for those without dietary restrictions: add a little of your favourite cheese, grated, to the pan just before adding the eggs.

Butternut squash was new to me until recently and here's one of my favourite ways of cooking it.

Ingredients: 1/2 of a large butternut squash; 1 red or yellow bell pepper; 1 large red onion; 8 or so small cherry tomatoes (or 4 slightly larger ones, cut in half); around 5 garlic cloves; extra virgin olive oil; dill seeds; ground black pepper. A large, reasonable deep baking sheet or roasting pan.

Method: peel and deseed the butternut squash then dice into about 1cm chunks and spread over the baking sheet. Next top and deseed the pepper, chop into approx 1" pieces and spread over the squash. Prepare the onion and slice it into small wedges and spread that over the mix. Peel the garlic cloves and chop them into 3 or 4 pieces (depends on the size of them) and dot the pieces throughout the veg mix. Wash the cherry tomatoes and pop those on top of the mix and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the top. Sprinkle with the dill seeds, to your preference, and grins a little black pepper over that. Pop into the top of a pre-warmed oven at Gas Mark 6 (sorry, don't know the electric oven settings). It usually take around 25 - 30 minutes to cook through but you can leave it a little longer if you like the veggies a little crispier around the edges. Enjoy!

I shall keep on trying out different recipes and experimenting. Who said a healthy eating regime with dietary restrictions had to be boring? LOL