I am excited to take over the café from today. We’ll be opening the doors as usual at 10am but with all the same familiar faces and the usual cosy atmosphere that you’re used to.
I’d like to wish Emma the very best, and a big thank you for the time we’ve worked together & all the laughs we’ve had along the way.
I am looking forward to welcoming our loyal customers and new faces over the coming weeks and months.
Thank you to everyone for all your support and well wish so far. I’m very grateful.
This tomato, cucumber and avocado sandwich is the perfect light and easy lunch. With just a few fresh ingredients, you can have a satisfying meal in just 10 minutes. Creamy avocado and hummus provide plant-based protein and healthy fats, while juicy tomatoes and crisp cucumbers bring refreshing crunch and flavor. Layer it all on whole-grain bread for an extra boost of fiber, and you’ve got a quick and wholesome sandwich at the ready!
Refreshing, light and satisfying, our Cucumber-Avocado-Tomato Sandwich is an easy and delicious lunch that will really hit the spot. Every sandwich starts with and needs a good condiment. For this one, we amplify store-bought hummus with the sweet tang of honey mustard and fresh dill for a hit of herby brightness. Then we stack on the fiber-packed veggies: cucumbers and onions give a nice crunch and contrast to the creamy, heart-healthy avocado and the juicy tomato; the alfalfa sprouts add great texture. Cheddar cheese adds bone-boosting calcium and a salty, sharp flavor that complements the fresh veggies perfectly, and hearty toasted whole-wheat bread is the perfect vessel for all these wholesome toppings. Keep reading for our expert tips, including recommendations on swapping out hummus flavors.
Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen
These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too!
Experiment with different flavors of hummus for your spread. Try garlic hummus, dill pickle hummus or even make your own. To prepare a batch of our Classic Hummus, use a food processor and add a handful of ingredients: garlic, chickpeas, lemon juice, olive oil, tahini and salt. Best of all, this flavor-spiked hummus takes just 10 minutes to make!
While a chef’s knife can cut cucumbers, a serrated knife is more effective for slicing tomatoes. The serrated edge easily cuts through the skin and flesh without damaging the soft interior.
Nutrition Notes
Cucumbers aren’t brimming with the typical vitamins and minerals that you’ll find in many fruits and vegetables, but they are an important vegetable because they contain antioxidant phytonutrients that can help protect against inflammation. They are also more than 95% water, which makes them a hydrating vegetable—great for your skin.
Avocados are known for being high in fat, but it’s the type of fat that your heart loves: monounsaturated fat. Avocados are also brimming with fiber, which has been shown to improve the health of the microbiome, and impacts your health in many ways, including strengthening your immune system, improving cognition and lowering inflammation.
There are few things tastier than a really good tomato, and they are really good for you. Tomatoes are high in vitamin C, which is essential for healthy immune function. They are also high in a carotenoid called lycopene, an antioxidant that helps maintain healthy cells throughout the body, and eating foods with lycopene regularly can help lower your risk of heart disease.
Whole-wheat bread is a heartier choice of bread for this sandwich and you’ll get the benefit of more nutrients and more fiber. Eating more fiber can lead to better digestive health. Whole-wheat bread is also a source of important B vitamins—essential for your working metabolism.
Ingredients
¼ cup plain hummus
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1½ teaspoons honey mustard
2 thin slices whole-wheat bread, toasted
1 (1-ounce) slice sharp Cheddar cheese
½ small tomato, thinly sliced
¼ medium avocado, thinly sliced
¼ cup alfalfa sprouts
¼ cup thinly sliced English cucumber
1 tablespoon thinly sliced red onion
Pinch of salt
Directions
Stir ¼ cup hummus, 1 tablespoon dill and 1½ teaspoons honey mustard together in a small bowl until well combined. Spread the hummus mixture on 1 side of each of 2 toast slices. Layer 1 cheese slice, tomato slices, avocado slices, ¼ cup alfalfa sprouts, ¼ cup cucumber and 1 tablespoon red onion over the hummus on 1 toast slice; sprinkle with salt. Top with the remaining toast slice, hummus-side down. Cut the sandwich in half diagonally.
The dressing recipe makes more than you will need, but it keeps in the fridge for a week, if covered.
For the dressing, you will need:
100ml (3½fl oz) sunflower or vegetable oil
25ml (1fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil
1 x 25g (1oz) tin of anchovies, drained and rinsed
1 egg yolk
1 small clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch of salt
½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
For the salad, you will need:
4 good-quality eggs
1 tablespoon sunflower oil, for frying
8 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, cut into 1cm (¼in) dice
4 handfuls of mixed lettuce leaves, including rocket and winter greens, such as baby spinach, mustard greens or beetroot leaves
50g (2oz) Parmesan cheese, grated, to serve
1 tablespoon chives, chopped, to serve
First, make the dressing – you can do this either in a food processor or by hand. First, pour the sunflower or vegetable oil, whichever you’re using, and the extra-virgin olive oil into a jug.
If you’re making the dressing by hand, mash the anchovies with a fork, then put them in a bowl along with the egg yolk, the crushed garlic, the lemon juice, the Dijon mustard, the pinch of salt, the Worcestershire sauce and the Tabasco sauce. Whisk together.
As you’re whisking, add the oil mixture from the jug very slowly and gradually. The dressing will become creamy as the emulsion forms.
When all the oil mixture has been incorporated, whisk in 25ml (1fl oz) of water to make the dressing the consistency of double cream, then add some extra seasoning to taste.
If you’re making the dressing in a food processor, add the anchovies, the egg yolk, the crushed garlic, the lemon juice, the Dijon mustard, the pinch of salt, the Worcestershire sauce and the Tabasco sauce. Whizz together, then gradually add the oil mixture from the jug and the water, as previously described, pouring them in through the machine’s feed tube.
To poach the eggs, first put a saucepan of water on a high heat and bring it to the boil.
Meanwhile, pour the sunflower oil into a frying pan on a high heat, add the bacon and fry it for 3-5 minutes, or until it is golden brown and crispy. Drain it on kitchen paper and set aside.
While the bacon is frying, tear the mixture of lettuce and winter greens into large, bite-sized pieces and place a handful on a plate. Drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of the dressing, then sprinkle with the crispy bacon pieces.
Once the egg-poaching water has come to the boil, turn the heat down to low. Crack each egg into the lightly simmering water and poach for 3-4 minutes, or until the white is set and the yolk is still a little soft.
Turn the heat off under the saucepan and carefully lift each egg out, one by one, allowing all water to drain from the egg. Arrange one egg in the centre of each plate of dressed salad leaves, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and chopped chives.
flahavans No excuses… healthy and delicious porridge is the perfect way to start these cold Monday mornings! Warm and comforting, this quick and easy recipe takes just minutes to prepare, so whether you have breakfast at home or deskside, make sure it’s as tasty as it is pretty! Add some grated apple, pecan nuts, cinnamon and maple syrup to your morning porridge pot and take a minute to savour just how good it tastes! #BreakfastInspo#FlahavansOats
Serves 1|Takes 5 minutes
Ingredients
1 x Flahavan’s Quick Oats Pot Whole Milk (as per instructions on pack) 1 Large Red Apple Cinnamon Powder Maple Syrup 5-10g Pecan Nuts
Method:
Prepare the porridge as per the instructions on the Flahavan’s Quick Oats pot
Topping: Cut the apple into thin slices and then into matchsticks. Prepare your porridge, and add the apple as topping long with a sprinkling of cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup. Chop pecan nuts into thin pieces and sprinkle on top. 21h
Stick to clean, cold compresses, and avoid topical ointments
Between the ages of 4 months and 2 and a half years, a lot will change in your baby’s life. They’ll start talking. They’ll start walking. They’ll need their crib mattress lowered and maybe even move to a big-kid bed.
And in that time, they’ll go from toothless little infants to toddlers with a mouthful of chompers.
Yes, in about two years’ time, your baby will cut 20 teeth. So, you’ll soon be an expert in all things teething.
But for now, you probably have questions. And are hearing a lot of different advice.
Before you go online to order the latest and greatest in supposed teething relief products, know that some of the tips and products you see online or hear about from friends aren’t your best options. Safe, effective teething relief is probably already within your reach.
We talked with pediatrician Lisa Diard, MD, about what to expect when your baby is teething and recommendations for a few ways to help them get relief.
Signs your baby is teething
All babies are different. Some fly through teething without making much of a fuss about it. Others might show symptoms.
The important thing to know, Dr. Diard says, is that teething shouldn’t majorly affect your baby (or you).
“Discomfort from teething should be pretty mild,” she says. “And any symptoms your baby does show should only last a few days until the tooth erupts.”
Signs your baby is cutting a tooth include symptoms like:
Increased chewing (on their hands, your hands, toys and whatever else is available to them).
Extra drooling.
A bit of increased fussiness or clinginess.
Red or swollen gums.
A slightly elevated temperature — less than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius).
Some people claim that fevers, diaper rash and sleeplessness are also signs of teething. But Dr. Diard — and the American Academy of Pediatrics — says those and other teething myths haven’t been confirmed by research. Rather than chalk those up to teething, investigate what’s going on.
Try these teething remedies
No one wants to see their baby even mildly uncomfortable. They’re helpless tiny tykes, after all, and it’s your job to keep them safe and happy.
But teething babies are mouthy little things. They’re mini drool factories and may want to do nothing more than gnaw on everything they can. That’s totally normal, and it’s the best way to relieve their discomfort.
Dr. Diard suggests these relief options for teething babies:
Your fingers
If you’re up for it, allow your baby to nibble on your (clean!) fingers. Use your index finger to massage their gums where their tooth is coming in. They’ll appreciate the (literal) helping hand.
Try it frequently throughout the day, Dr. Diard suggests.
But really, make sure to wash your hands with soap and water before and after sticking them in your baby’s mouth. You don’t want to deal with a baby with a cold when they’re also in the midst of teething.
Wet cloths
If you’re not up for the finger method (or if your fingers need a break), a cold washcloth can do the trick, too.
Wet a fresh, clean washcloth and stick it in the refrigerator for a bit. That’ll keep it nice and cold, without being too cold as to shock your baby’s sensitive gums.
“Chewing on a cool, wet cloth can help decrease inflammation along the gums,” Dr. Diard says.
Allow your baby to chew solo. Or help out by using the cloth to massage their gums for them.
Teething rings and toys
Toys that are meant for teething can provide some relief for aching gums. Choose ones that are easy for tiny fists to grasp and provide the pressure needed to soothe sore gums. Of course, you’ll also want to avoid any choking risks, so stick with toys that are too big to be swallowed.
Some of these products are meant to be refrigerated for a cooling effect. But keep them out of the freezer.
“Frozen teething toys can make them too hard. They can also be so cold they hurt your baby’s gums,” Dr. Diard cautions. “Putting them in the fridge will be plenty cool to provide relief.”
Acetaminophen
If other measures aren’t doing the trick, a dose of pain relief medication may help.
“A day or two of Tylenol® (acetaminophen) is OK for babies who are old enough if they need a little extra pain relief,” Dr. Diard states. “You don’t want to use it longer than that without speaking to a children’s health care provider, like a pediatrician.”
If your baby needs a pain reliever for more than a day or two, something other than teething may be causing their pain.
Unless recommended by a healthcare professional, Tylenol shouldn’t be given to babies under 3 months old. Follow the dosing amounts and timeframes listed on the medication or as recommended by your provider. That will vary based on your baby’s age and weight.
Babies under 6 months of age shouldn’t take ibuprofen, unless directed by your healthcare professional.
Teething remedies to avoid
You want to help your baby feel better, of course, but there are some products out there that can do more harm than good, Dr. Diard says. Use caution with these common teething remedies, or avoid them altogether.
Teething biscuits and foods
Depending on your baby’s age and experience with solids, foods shouldn’t be your go-to for teething relief.
Babies under 9 months old may not know how to handle certain foods, so they can present a choking hazard. And a lot of those teething biscuits and cookies you’ll find won’t offer much in terms of nutrition.
“If you’re introducing solid foods at the same time as your baby is teething, cold, soft foods — like applesauce or bananas — can be good choices both in terms of nutrition and can soothe irritated gums,” Dr. Diard advises.
Topical medications
You’re better off avoiding those gel products for teething relief for a few reasons.
And other ingredients in those products cause a numbing effect that can be dangerous in their own way.
Think about it: You rub numbing gel on your baby’s irritated gums. They immediately touch it with their tongue. Now the tip of their tongue is numb. That makes it easier to accidentally bite their tongue (OUCH!). It also makes it harder to move food around their mouth properly, which can cause choking.
Teething necklaces and beads
Some people swear by teething necklaces with wood, amber, marble, silicone and other materials as an alternative treatment for teething discomfort. The makers claim some of these materials have pain-relieving properties that are absorbed by your baby’s skin to relieve teething symptoms.
What’s more, beads and necklaces present a serious risk for choking and strangulation in babies and toddlers.
If you’re worried that teething is causing your baby pain or is keeping them from living their best baby life, talk with your children’s healthcare provider. They can help understand what’s causing your baby’s discomfort so you can find safe, effective relief.
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