The FastDay Forum

MaryAnn, texture is a funny thing in food. Mouth feel definitely makes a difference to how good something tastes. In Egypt there is a popular soup called melokhia, made from green leaves, sort of halfway between spinach and a herb. The leaves are dried and made into soup with a slippery, mucousy texture. It is loved by Egyptians and actually I like the taste, but always struggled with the "sliminess". You mentioned okra, or ladies fingers, I love those. Used to buy by them by the bucket load very cheaply but here in Scotland it costs a small fortune to buy a tiny package of about a dozen in a miserable little plastic box! As for lemons, I tend to use them as a condiment like salt, sprinkling the juice onto lots of things, especially soups.

All very interesting.
As a chutney and pickle maker, I find that the world is divided between those who love vinegar and those who loathe it.
I also love miso (drinking some now), yet detest yogurt, though I do use it when cooking.
Brought to France: rollmop herring, pickled shallots. Bought here: cornichons, capers in vinegar.
By rights, then, with plenty of whole grains, fresh salads, a little fruit and limited meat, my gut should be quite healthy.
I do, however, drink alcohol and wonder how that affects things.

I love pickles and chutneys, especially the sour ones,like lime pickle, great with curry! I used to make enormous jars of cucumber pickles the way my mil showed me, with the little finger sized ones. No sugar, just salt, vinegar and garlic and sometimes dill or coriander. The ones here that taste most like it are the Haimisha brand, but home made is best! Re. alcohol and the gut I would imagine that it is fine in reasonable amounts, but I don't know if that applies to you at the moment, pennyforthem, all that Vouvray and French vin!!

Having watched Dr Michael Mosley consuming powdered inulin (made from red lentils and chick peas) to help stop his bad insomnia, and being reminded of Angela Rippon trying it for anti-aging and visceral fat removal, I've decided to give inulin a shot. A 5g teaspoon of it in a drink at night was used by MM and certainly helped him sleep through better, so that's what I'm trying, though starting with a smaller amount and gradually increase to 5g.
The first entry on this thread holds a fascinating article I urge you to read.
We really are ahead of the game in information here

I look forward to hearing how you go @Azureblue!

I hadn't realized inulin was supposed to be good for insomnia. I'll have to keep that in mind for my next bout with insomnia. Right now I'm so exhausted from cycling to work, sleeping hasn't been an issue.