#20) Our SLIM down programs are superb!

I had a final weigh in today on a nice lady, age 62.  This was her last day on her 8 week slim down program and her weight loss was a consistent 3lbs per week loss to reach her goal weight loss of 25lbs.  She started the program at 5ft 2 inches  150lbs,  high body fat and very low muscle mass.  Her prior diet skipped breakfast, had a doughnut and coffee at work, quick lunch with sandwich and chips and diet coke.  Cookie snack midday and evening meal of a protein and a pasta  and a veggie.  She walked with hubby on the weekends and in the summer,  active outside after work.  She had tried many times to lose the weight but nothing seemed to work for her.

Her program in my office consisted of cutting out the bad and adding in the good, so she could reduce calorie/sugar intake and increase muscle mass.  I did not need to have her exercise on this program. Since I realize weight loss and weight gain is 50% physical(diet) and 50% mental/emotional/habit, I had her come into the clinic several times a week the first 3 weeks to begin a program of brain wave training, light and sound technology to  retrain the brain to help eliminate conditioned hyper eating and stress eating and educate as to what a healthy lifestyle is all about.  She also enjoyed our infrared sauna to aid in detox which she found very relaxing and beneficial.

She is now on her path of weight loss for life and she understands how to keep the weight off .  In our slim down programs, women lose an average of 3-5 lbs. per week and men 5-7lbs per week.  Until next time, Dr. Mark Doyle.

For more information on Bellevue's best Weight Loss Program, please visit:

http://www.3010weightlossforlife.com

Visit our website for more information on Dr. Doyle's high tech treatment in Bellevue, wash.

http://www.8thstreetchiropractic.com/

#19) What Should I Have Done?

Today I see a new weight loss client, he was scheduled for a consult with me.  I sit down with him, a gentleman of 50 years and from observation I figured him about 70 lbs. over weight.  I asked him what I could do for him today and he told me that he is taking blood pressure medication, Lipitor for high cholesterol, he sleeps poorly, low energy and his stomach bothers him.  He explains to me that he has gained 40 lbs. over the past 2 years and that he is certain his overall weight gain is genetic.  I encouraged him to tell me more about his genetics and he confided to me his entire family, mother, father and siblings are all fat and his Group Health doctor told him that his recent 40 pound weight gain is genetic.  "Does that mean you are stuck with this excess weight you now have?"  I  questioned.   "Yes," he emphatically responded, "I just wanted to come in to see you so I could have my body fat and muscle mass evaluated, that is all I want, just your evaluation."

"So, tell me Paul, what do you usually eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner and what snacks to you engage in to help maintain this genetic dilemma?"   "Oh, I eat healthy Doc, I don't eat breakfast  and for lunch I have a cheeseburger and usually no fries and then I don't eat again until dinner and I like fried chicken and pasta."   Now let me tell you , he was giving me his dietary intake with a straight face and I say to him,  "Paul, your weight issue is not genetic, it is a product of you eating the wrong foods."   Paul looks me strait in the eye and emphatically shakes his head, "my doctor told me it was genetic, everyone in my family is fat."  I look back at Paul- strait in the eye, "Paul, do you really believe you are at the mercy of your genes and that the weight you carry and the health conditions you experience are genetic and that there is nothing you can do about it?"  Paul nods his head  and then to prove his point he explains to me that his parents have also had heart attacks, cancer and his father a stroke.

I put Paul on the scale,  5 ft 4 inches tall and 230 lbs. , he should weigh around 135, so more like 90 pounds  over weight.  His body fat  percent was near 50%  and his muscle mass percent amazingly low which indicated to me he was not consuming enough protein,  primarily he is a carb (sugar) and grain eater.  His visceral/belly  fat was off the charts.
I asked Paul if he would like to lose 50 pounds and he grimaced his face and shook his head as he shared with me again his genetic plight, as if I did not hear him the first time.

So, out the door Paul goes with a future that will follow in the healthcare footsteps of mom and dad, that genetic curse, the cheeseburgers and fries, the fried chicken and pasta, the hopelessness.  But, I have been around the block for several decades with weight loss  for my clients and I know exactly how Paul thinks, he is willing to be at high risk for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer vs. giving up his addictive lifestyle.  (Read my prior blog #8  Timmy Takes Control).

It is sad, it is a shame that I was not able to shift Paul into a different belief state.  I had an opportunity to improve his life, transform his health potential and pivot him away from his "destiny,"  and I failed.   Weight loss is multifaceted as to causation,  the first step for the patient is to have to want to change.  I do feel the real reason Paul came in to talk with me was because some aspect of him wanted help but when he sat down with me in consultation, Paul was up-staged by his "Timmy," who took control.  *** Read blog #8) Timmy...   Until next time, Dr. Mark Doyle

Dr. Doyle is a certified hypnotherapist registered with the State of Washington, he created the DEEP Release Mind Clear Process of emotional erase. Visit his many blogs posted at his chiro site and the 30/10 weight loss for life blog site you are now reading.

For more information on our Weight Loss Programs in Bellevue, WA, please visit:

http://www.3010weightlossforlife.com

Visit our website for more information on Best Chiropractor in Bellevue, WA. Dr. Doyle

http://www.8thstreetchiropractic.com/

Recipe: Chicken and Leek Pie

Hey everyone! Another fabulous Lovethegarden recipe competition comes up, and here is another great recipe entry! This month, the featured ingredient is the wonderful sweet veggie that is the humble leek. It is one of my favourite vegetables, gorgeaus when just simply sauteed slowly for half an hour in uggins of butter, and a pinch of salt pepper and sugar, until caramelised. However, one of my other favourite ways of having leeks is in a pie- and this is a very simple recipe that really brings out the flavour of the leeks, and also keeps the chicken tender and moist within the pie. If any of you guys fancy entering the lovethegarden Spring a Leek! competition, enter your favourite leek recipe on your blog by the 8th of April for your chance to win £200 at a restaurant of your choice, or a runners up prize of a cookbook by author (and judge of the competition) Kerstin Rogers. Heres the link with all the details: http://www.lovethegarden.com/blog/spring-a-leek-recipe-competition

Chicken and Leek Pie (serves 2-3)

50g butter
2 large leeks, diced
1 large chicken breast, diced
Pinch salt sugar and pepper
100ml semi-skimmed milk
1 chicken stock cube
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry
Beaten egg or milk (for glazed)

1. Sautee the leeks and chicken in the butter, covered, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Add the milk and stock cube and cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring often, until the pie mix has thickened and there is almost no liquid left. Season to taste, and set aside to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 180C. Lay the pastry sheet out onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, and cut it in half. Pour the pie filling onto one of the halves, and top with the other half of pastry. Trim around the edges to look pretty, make a little pastry decoration if you like, cut a couple air holes in the top, and brush with beaten egg or milk. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, then serve!

Recipe: Pearl Barley and Green Vegetable “Barlotto”

Not sure whether Barlotto is something that I invented but I think it's a funky name so i'll use it anyway! It's basically a risotto made with barley instead of rice- just like risottos made with spelt (which we used to make all the time when i worked at River Cottage) are called "Spelottos". This is really tasty, and i would say it is one of my "signature dishes", as are any type of risottos in general. Basically, a lot of people think it's hard to make a risotto- it isn't, it's just hard to make a PERFECT risotto. I have entered this into Food For Friends "Signature Recipe" competition- and i reckon with this dish being this tasty, i've got a darn good chance!! If any of you guys fancy entering the competition too, get your skates on (entries ends 31st March!) and register with these guys, and send a lovely recipe in! The link for it is below:
http://www.foodforfriendsyeah.co.uk/2012/03/01/competition-whats-your-signature-dish/

Pearl Barley and Green Vegetable “Barlotto” (serves 3)

2 tbsp olive oil
Knob of butter
1 white onion, diced finely
1 celery stick, diced finely
½ tsp dried thyme
Splash of sherry
200g pearl barley
1.4 litres stock (chicken, vegetable, or a mixture of both is fine)
1 bay leaf
150g frozen peas
200g boursin garlic and herb flavour

Olive oil
Salt and pepper
9 asparagus spears (3 per person)

1. In a deep frying pan fry the onion, celery and thyme in the butter and olive oil for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add a splash of sherry and cook for 2 minutes (to burn off the alcohol).
2. Add the pearl barley and stir in to coat the grains. Add the bay leaf, and over the next 30 minutes, cook on a medium heat, gradually add stock (enough to fully cover the barley) and keep stirring. Add the peas and boursin, put onto a high heat, and keep stirring until the peas are cooked and the resired “risotto” consistency is achieved!
3. Near to when the risotto is ready, heat a griddle pan onto high with about 3 tbsp olive oil. Season the asparagus spears with salt and pepper, coat with a little oil, and chuck onto the griddle pan. Turn these occasionally for about 3 minutes, until well griddled- but not over cooked.
4. Serve the barlotto with 3 griddled asparagus spears per person, and plenty of cracked black pepper.

Brilliance in Blogging Awards: Please vote for this waste-busting blogger.

I've just discovered the wonderful news that The Rubbish Diet has been shortlisted for the Brilliance in Blogging awards, which will be hosted by the BritMums Live event in June.

I'd firstly like to thank all the kind folk who nominated my blog. The news was a fabulous surprise, especially as over the last two months I've had my head firmly buried in other people's virtual bins.

Apparently there were over 12,000 nominations registered across many blogs, so I feel especially honoured to have made it to the top 20 blogs listed in the category of CHANGE.




The public vote has already commenced, and if The Rubbish Diet makes it to the final list, I will personally feel chuffed to bits, but more importantly, it will be a great opportunity to raise the profile of this blog and for bin-slimming habits to reach a wider audience and help embed the change that is needed to help reduce this country's waste footprint.

I felt too shy to ask for nominations, but today I am actually going to ask for your vote, as I would love the opportunity to raise awareness of waste reduction even wider within a blogging community that has already shown an appetite for such change.

Those who have followed the various campaigns that I have either instigated or promoted over the last four years, have done so with great enthusiasm.  From the early days of the recycling carnival, to Recycle Week, Zero Waste Week, Baglady's Living ASAP, the 1000 bin challenge and finally the Rubbish Diet Challenge 2012, there has been one heck of a lot of support from the parent blogging network.

I now want to capture that energy and make sure the waste-busting message amongst bloggers gathers even further momentum.  Reaching the finals of the awards would most definitely help me empower other bloggers to do more and my brain is already thinking about some exciting campaigns that could capture the imagination of such a creative community, which has an amazing ability to inspire its far reaching audiences.

So if you have a moment to spare, just a few minutes is all it takes, do pop along to the Voting Page and VOTE.

You'll find The Rubbish Diet listed in the third category down, nestled amongst all the other brilliant blogs that have been nominated for the CHANGE! award.  Quite rightly, it's going to be tough competition, so your vote really will count. And of course, do vote for others that have inspired you too.

I'm off there myself in a mo' to check out the other categories. Good luck to all the bloggers who have made the shortlists.  And to anyone who takes the time to vote for my blog, I'd like to say a HUGE THANK YOU!  Your support is very much appreciated.


To view all the categories and place your vote, please visit: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/bibs_shortlist Voting closes on 30 April 2012.

#18) Dr. Doyle Irritates RAW NERVE

Since I am on a roll-no, not a bread roll!  What I really meant to say was, since I am on the topic of snacks, I thought I would post some more tips about snacks that are healthy for you and won't cause you to store fat; snacks that you might eat mid morning and mid afternoon.   As I described in my prior blog, nuts and seeds  are a great choice, in moderation.  Also don't forget the option of a hard boiled egg, with around 6 grams of protein the egg is a perfect food choice.  Forget the misinformation you may have read in the past about only eating the white of the egg.  Mother nature is smarter than that, she provided you a perfect combination of nutrition with the wholeness of the egg just as it is.  An apple a day keeps the Dr. away- I believe that, an apple is a great source of vitamins and minerals and fiber.  Don't be afraid to pack a snack lunch every day, you can certainly vary your snacks so you are not eating the same food choice every day.  Include a carrot, celery, half a pepper or any other veggie you like or want to grow to like.  These healthy snacks can replace the need or cravings for a doughnut, coffee, chocolate, candy, soda, etc.  The reason you crave the quick pick me up sugar crap, the stuff that makes you fat, gives you indigestion and does your body absolutely no good whatsoever, is because your body craves nutrition, its wants some protein and energy.  Nuts, seeds, an egg, veggies and an apple are all great nutritious snacks you should eat every day.  Don't pig out!  Eat just enough to give your body some energy and to tide you over until lunch or dinner.  Stop the sugar in your diet, and all the forms that sugar takes- the breads, bagels, pastries, the afternoon coffee, the sweets, the soda's and the chips...  Fruit juices and diet soda's are no good for you either.  Diet sodas and junk foods with processed sugar only serve to increase your appetite and make you fat.   Drink water.

I am serious!  I do a lot of weight loss in my office, I know why we put on fat and why we then get sick. It is the foods we eat that we should not and the foods we don't eat that we should.  Folks who are over weight are addicted to the sugar and the artificial ingredients in their junk food.  They are as addicted to the junk as is the alcoholic or the crack cocaine addict.  Oh yeah, alcohol is also a sugar many folks are addicted to, they won't admit it or want to even call it an addiction.  But alcohol can cause you to put on a lot of weight and prevent you from ever losing the weight.  I know I probably irritated a few raw nerves with this blog, I encourage you to  go back and read my blog #36 Fat Brain  and blog # 45 Timmy Takes Control and get really mad at me.  Don't be afraid to vent your anger with a comment at the bottom of this blog.   Until next time, Dr. Mark Doyle

For more information on superb 3010 Weight Loss Program in Bellevue, WA, please visit:

http://www.3010weightlossforlife.com

Visit our website for more information painless spine care in Bellevue, WA with Dr. Mark Doyle

http://www.8thstreetchiropractic.com/

Dr. Doyle  practices in downtown Bellevue at 8th Street Chiropractic , just a block and half east of Bellevue Mall.  His clinic is a high tech chiropractic designed for faster patient  recoveries/results in a shorter period of time.  He practices pain-less chiropractic and his results are phenomenal.  He takes a mind-body approach to his patient care, he has created the DEEP Release Clear Mind Process (read his DEEP blogs)  and he has developed superb weight loss programs his clients love.

#17) Local Chiropractor goes NUTS!

Dr. Doyle if I can't eat cakes, cookies, pies, ice cream, crackers, and all the great tasting stuff that has made me fat and miserable over the years, what do you expect me to eat?!

Now that is a great question I hear  all the time from my patients.    One of the greatest snacks you can enjoy everyday would be a small handful of nuts and seeds, always raw.  They are excellent food source-high in protein and provide you with a healthy kind of fat that your body requires.  Nuts and seeds raise our good cholesterol levels and contain essential vitamins, fiber, vital nutrients and antioxidants.

In 1996 the Iowa women's health study found that women who ate nuts 4 or 5 times a week were 40% less likely to die of heart disease.  The Harvard school of Pub. Health and Loma Linda University in California found the same.  The Physicians Health Study in 2002 determined that men who consumed nuts 2 or more times per week had a noticeably reduced risk of sudden cardiac death.  The Purdue University study in Indiana found that when people added  1 to 2 ounces of nuts a day to their diets, they did not gain weight.  Contrary to popular belief.  Another study involving women conducted at Harvard school of Pub. health reported that there was a 30% reduced risk of type II diabetes in women who ate 5 or more 1 ounce servings of nuts per week, as compared with women rarely or never ate nuts.

Moderation is always the key, a typical serving of nuts is 1 ounce and generally will contain between 160 to 200 calories and 13 to 20 g of fat, but remember this is a  good fat that our body needs.  I would recommend that you avoid the peanut which is actually a legume or in the bean family and is considered a starch and not in the healthy category as are raw nuts and seeds.  Raw sunflower seeds are a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals, a one ounce serving or 2 tablespoons is a healthy snack.  Pumpkin seeds, just a 1/4-cup,  have twice as much omega-3s  as a 4 oz. serving of  salmon. Include brazil nuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, yes,  its ok to go nuts over these healthy natural food choices.  But remember, moderation the key, don't pig out on the nuts and seeds, just a snack or throw them in with your salad, so good for you.  Until next time, Dr. Mark Doyle.

For more information on Bellevue's best  Weight Loss Program,  please visit:

http://www.3010weightlossforlife.com

Visit our website for more information on Dr. Doyle in Bellevue, WA. 

http://www.8thstreetchiropractic.com/

Dr. Doyle's clinic is located in downtown Bellevue, he specializes in the treatment of chronic pain and stubborn weight loss. He is also a certified Hypnotherapist registered with the state of Wash.  He is a member of the American Board of Clinical Hypnotherapy and a member of the Wash State Chiropractic Association.  He has practiced in Wash State for 37 years and has great skill.

#16) THE SECRET-don't tell anyone!!

A few weeks back a nice gentleman enters my Bellevue clinic for care with complaints of  poor digestion.  He was referred in by another patient who had had a similar condition.   This new patient (Jim)  had complaints of burning stomach and heartburn  and bloating after he would eat a meal.  The first thing I asked Jim was what he routinely ate for breakfast, lunch , dinner and I wanted to know what he ate for snacks between meals.  Now I have been in practice long enough to know that when I ask a patient that question  they never tell you the whole story and neither did my new friend Jim.   He told me he would have a couple cups of coffee in the morning at his favorite coffee place and he and his wife would split a scone and they would go home and either have a small breakfast of eggs and toast or they would wait and  have lunch, usually a sandwich.  For dinner he described a chicken/beef/ or fish with mash potatoes and a veggie.   Snacks he said would vary as either  cake or a cookie or cheese and crackers and glass of wine.  Jim was 25lbs overweight and he was mystified as to why he would suffer heartburn and stomach issues  with a relatively decent diet.

I told Jim we have to do some detective work in order to solve this problem and that I would have to ask him a bunch more questions about his diet and that  I would  need  frank and honest answers.   Long story short, what I learned from Jim with my exhaustive questioning is  he would have routinely  three,  16 oz. coffees in the morning at Tullys (refills are free)  and he would use two packs of sugar with each ( let me do some math here, 3- 16oz coffees= 6 cups of coffee and 6 packets of sugar.).  It was true that he and his wife would split the first scone, but he would go back and get another scone  with his final coffee.
Sometimes he did have breakfast  as he detailed  but it was most often waffles and syrup with bacon and a couple of pouched eggs on top.   Breakfast would usually carry them until a late lunch and he would have a sandwich and his favorite was a pork sandwich with his special smoked barbecue sauce  and potato salad.   Mid day snack would be his wife's excellent baked desserts, often cookies or chocolate cake.  Before dinner they would enjoy a glass of wine and cheese and crackers.  His dinner was as he had described , a protein and a veggie with mashed potatoes and late evening snack of either bakery goods or ice cream.

I asked Jim, "how serious are you about correcting your stomach problem and feeling good again?  On a scale of 0 to 10,  Jim, how committed are you to doing what it takes to turn this around?"  "I know I got to do something Dr. Doyle, I would say its a 10."   I then proceeded to lay out a dietary plan for him that would drastically reduce his coffee intake and eliminate his coffee sugar to replace with Stevie.  " No more scones in the morning Jim, instead you will eat a high protein low fat, low carb, low calorie protein bar that  I will provide for you  and you will love it.   I will want you to fully savor every sip of your one 8oz of coffee, no refills mind you Jim.    For breakfast you will have a couple of poached or scrambled eggs,  with the scramble you will add onions, peppers and any vegetables that you like and a couple strips of bacon."
We made a big change also to his lunch,  instead of the pork and barbecue sandwich  he will now have chicken, fish , beef or pork (delete the sugary barbecue sauce) with a variety of vegetables, either stir fry or broiled or raw.  No bread, no rice, no potatoes.    Jim and his wife reluctantly agreed to no more baked goods in the house and for a mid day snack they  could have raw veggies with raw almonds, walnuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds , or some left over protein from their lunch.   The cheese and crackers routine with wine before dinner will be changed to hard cheese with a few veggies, celery, carrot, cucumbers, peppers and some raw almonds, walnuts and pecans to replace the crackers.  They both liked the idea of  eating a healthy snack with  their glass of wine.
Dinner would be slightly changed with no potatoes .  He would have a nice big salad with raw veggies and a homemade no sugar dressing.  I told Jim to throw out all his ice cream as no more after dinner snacking.

Both Jim and his wife agreed to the changes , both had weight to lose and health issues that would be helped
with an improved diet and resulting weight loss.    They returned a week later in much better spirits and enjoying their new found lifestyle, Jim had lost 7 lbs. and his stomach discomfort was much improved with no more bloating.  They are now walking to Tully's for their morning coffee, "I have much more energy now Doc."

Jim was essentially making himself sick and fat with his consumption of excess  coffee and sugar/carbs and little to no vegetables in his diet.  66% of Americans are overweight  and it certainly does not need to be this way.  What we really need to do with most people is take out the bad and replace with the good, the wrong  foods and junk we eat can make us sick and the right foods  can heal us.  But it is impossible to make the necessary  changes with anyone unless they  have the desire and strong intention to take charge of their own health.

Many folks refuse to change and instead of correcting their diet and losing the weight they would sooner take their blood pressure medications , their Lipitor, that purple pill for heartburn and put themselves at high risk for heart attack, stroke,  gall bladder disease , type 2 diabetes and various forms of cancer.

 Until Next Time, Dr.  Mark Doyle, 30/10 Weight Loss For Life headquarters  in Bellevue is a great service to our slim down clients.

For more information on our  30/10 Weight Loss Program in Bellevue, WA, please visit:

http://www.3010weightlossforlife.com

Visit our website for more information on spinal disc pain treatment in Bellevue, WA. with Dr. Doyle

http://www.8thstreetchiropractic.com/

Recipe: Tropical Smoothie

This is a really nice smoothie I made yesterday with some fruit that was becoming a bit too ripe in the fruit bowl- smoothies are just great for that purpose. Nick laughed at me when i said as part of my unviersity degree we had to make smoothies in groups- he was like, hah, how easy is University these days- Whatever!! It's a bit more complicated than blending fruit in our degree, we had to trail loads of different types and then test it for ph, and wait until we had created a smoothie that had a suitable ph level as well as good flavour, and then we had to pasteurise it, and then over the next three weeks after that we had to do bacterial analysis on petri dishes, and now we have to write a 2000 word lab report on it. Not just a smoothie now hey?? Haha! Shall have to put my "Lab Smoothie" recipe up here as well at some point too, it actually tasted awesome.

Tropical Smoothie (makes 24 ounces- about 650ml)
1 banana, peeled and diced
50g peeled diced cantaloupe melon
1 x 125g Activia Kiwi Yoghurt
150ml orange juice
150ml apple juice
Lime slices for garnish (optional)

1. Add all the ingredients to a blender, and blend until smooth. Pour out into glasses, and serve chilled with slices of lime to garnish!

Beauty tips eye care.

Beauty tips eye care. Beautiful eyes are the first thing that one notices in your look. In the beauty market, you can find number of eye care kits and eye makeup cosmetics. But as you know that our eyes are the most sensitive part in our body, so rather than going for synthetic beauty cosmetics for eye care, you must try natural beauty treatments for your eyes.

Tips to care your eyes

1. Apply cucumber juice on the black circles with cotton for 2-3 weeks regularly.

2. Mix equal amount of almond oil and honey and apply a few drops on black circles for 2 weeks. Both  wrinkles and black circles are cured.

3. Do not take oils, spices, tea and other hot products.

4. Dip your eyes in cold water after the bath for 10 minutes. It protects your beautiful eyes.

5. Wash your face daily more than twice

6. Apply vitamin E oil around eyes to get rid off dark circles

7. Clean your eyes using rose water before going to bed everyday it get glowing eyes n dirt free.

8. Put a piece of cucumber on your eyes, you will be relaxed.

9. Mix tomato juice and lemon juice in equal quantity and apply around the eyes.  After 30 minutes wash it off with cold and hot water alternatively.

Review: The Bengal Brasserie

I know I mentioned these guys on a takeaway review about a couple of weeks ago, but I went for a meal there tonight so I thought I would you guys a more “in depth” review of this place- definitely my favourite Indian restaurant. We were going to celebrate my brother passing his driving theory test, although with our family to be honest there can be any excuse for going for a curry! When we booked they made sure they got us our favourite seat- this booth in the corner (haha, the Booths in the booth, lol!) which is great, because for some reason whenever me and my family go for a meal there, we always end up in absolute hysterics at least a couple of times during the night. Don’t know what It is about the place, but it’s just a really nice relaxed atmosphere.

We had a few poppadums with all the relished whilst we were choosing the rest of our meal- the onion salad they do here is actually REALLY nice, normally I never touch the stuff in most Indian restaurants, but the salad here is delicious. I ordered the vegetable puri for starter, and this was of course fantastic- they do the best veggie puri in the entire world, if you go here you must try this as your starter. Although we did have an issue with the service at this point. My dad ordered the vegetable thali, which is usually a big platter, which also includes 1 onion bhaji and samosa as well, but because he wanted to have his starters with the rest of us, he asked them to serve them as a separate starter. They completely forgot about this and took a while once dad mentioned about it to bring his stuff. And to be honest Michael couldn’t start eating his starter for a while because they had forgotten to bring the yoghurt dip that comes with it. This was the only issue with service the whole night really.

Starters went and the mains came really quickly. I had ordered chicken bhuna, “special rice” (which is just like vegetable rice basically), tarka dahl and a peshwari naan. The chicken bhuna was delicious, as was the rice, but I had a couple of issues with the other dishes. Their tarka dahl could have done with a bit more salt, and in my opinion (although mum thought it was all right) the peshwari naan was over cooked. Didn’t like the naan at all actually, didn’t have nearly enough coconut in it. I mean it was kinda crap compared to the naan I had had in The Mint Room, but then again it was definitely the nicest naan bread I ever had in that restaurant, it would be hard to compete with that. I didn’t finish my main course, probably only ate about ½ of it- and got the rest in a takeaway (to have as tomorrows breakfast, I’m just such a slob, lol!), but the portions there are incredibly generous, and also I wanted to save some room for dessert. I know most Indian restaurants have the same frozen desserts as all the other ones (just like a lot of Italian places have same ones too) but I really like the puddings at The Bengal Brasserie. I had a pistachio kulfi, which tasted mostly of rosewater, but it was very nice and refreshing. The bill came to £84 including tip, which is very reasonable, considering we all had a three course meal with a couple of drinks and loads of side dishes, and there were four of us. It would have been about £8/£9 extra for normal people but me and my brother got student discount off on it (in fact we reckon they discounted a little too much by accident- oops! Lol!). Overall basically if you go for a curry in Bath, or want to take some mates out that are visiting you in Bath, take them to the Bengal Brasserie, it’s a great atmosphere and its fantastic reasonably priced food. I would mark the service at an 8/10, and the food an 8/10 as well (although if it wasn’t for the naan in this occasion, it would be a 9 or 10 for food).

Recipe: Butternut Squash, Feta and Walnut Croustades

You'll be seeing a few more canape recipes from me in the next couple of weeks I reckon. I am doing 150 canapes professionally for a friend's birthday (first paid canape job! Very nervous!) so i've been needing to practice them before the big day. Will be doing 7 varieties- These croustades, goats cheese and red onion crostinis, cheddar and piccalili crostinis, curried chicken skewers with yoghurt dip, Gazpacho shots, chilli smoked salmon and coriander yoghurt on blinis and sundried tomato fritatas. You'll find croustades in that sorta "world" section in the supermarkets, where you get miso paste and other things like that. Within about 1/2 an hour the croustades start to soften instead of being crunchy, but theyre quite nice like that as well actually.

Butternut Squash, feta and walnut croustades (makes 24)

1 small-ish butternut squash
Olive oil, salt, sugar and pepper
honey (optional)
50g feta
20g walnuts
1 pack of 24 croustades

1. Roast the butternut squash in the oven until completely soft- 1 hour under foil, ½ an hour without, at 200C. Mash, season to taste (add honey if not sweet enough) and allow to cool.
2. Fill the croustades with the mashed butternut squash, add a small bit of feta and a chunk of walnut, and plate.

Beauty Tips to Prevent Small Thin Hair Removal with Egg White

                                      

Beauty Tips to Prevent Small Thin Hair Removal with Egg White. Take the egg white in a small bowl mix a tea spoon of sugar. And then add one fourth tea spoon of corn flour and mix it well. The resultant product is applied to the face and a layer is removed later Then the small thin hair on the face is removed and gives a glow on the face with smooth and soft appearance on the face skin with evergreen beauty tip for the women men teens children adults all of them can use this tip for the face to become bright soft smooth appearance and removes the small thin hair making face beauty all time.

For Bright and All time glowing face With Egg white

To glow your face bright Mix the required quantity of lemon juice and pine apple juice to the egg white and mix well. Apply this mixture to the face well for twenty minutes and wash the face well with warm water. Repeat this procedure for about 15 days to get the bright beauty and all-time glowing face with this beauty face tip for women and teens.

Recipe: Mushroom and Leek Soup

This is one of the nicest soups I have made in ages- really flavorful, thick and smooth. We had some mushrooms to use in the fridge and I just chucked various other vegetables we had in the cupboards. I tend to use a mixture of chestnut and closed cup mushrooms for this recipe- although most mushrooms will work I reckon. This recipe is also fantastic used as a sauce for steak or chicken, or even used as a base for a chicken and mushroom pie!

Mushroom and Leek Soup (makes 2 large bowls)

40g butter
1 large white onion, diced
1 leek, diced
1 celery stick, diced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
210g mixed mushrooms
1 tsp thyme
½ tsp celery salt
1 potato, peeled and diced
250ml chicken stock
250ml semi-skimmed milk (plus maybe a little extra later)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Sautee the onion, leek, celery and garlic in butter in a large pan, covered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes.
2. Add all the other ingredients, and cook on a high heat, covered, for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, blend, and season to taste.
3. Check consistency, and add a little milk if the soup needs to be a bit thinner. Return to the pan and heat until piping hot and serve!

Feature: The Best Takeaways in Bath

Hey guys. As you all know, I do love food, and I do love cooking- but i also love eating in restaurants, and every so often getting a sneaky takeaway! Bath is full of great take aways/ normal restaurants that do take-out, so i thought i would tell you some of my favourites.

First of all there is the chinese category, in which there is just no contest- it's got to be Yummy House. It's situated in Nelson Place East, near Walcot, which is quite far from my place, but that doesnt matter because they deliver for free (if you order over £10 of stuff, which of course I always do!). I've been getting deliveries from there literally since i was eight, and the woman that runs it is really friendly (she always calls me "Miss Boots" on the phone it's adorable). They have a massive menu, including chinese thai and malaysian cuisine, and so much on there is delicious- on the starters the vegetarian spring rolls, chicken noodle soup, and the Yuk Sungs are very good. My favourite main dishes they do are their chicken chow mein, chicken thai green curry and chicken with green peppers in black bean sauce. Their egg fried rice is absolutely delicious too- it sounds basic, but a tasty egg fried rice is important to the whole meal, theres a chinese restaurant on my street that does takeouts as well, but their egg fried rice is rubbish, so i don't really go there as much. When you have a Yummy House meal, i also reccomend that you order a portion of satay sauce. It's not on the actual menu, but i just have to order a large pot of it with my meal because it's sooooo damn good. I'm really worried that they might close one day suddenly, because i just have to get their satay sauce recipe before that ever happened! Their prices are super cheap as well, their number is 01225 463975, and you can have a look at their menu online here: http://www.appetise.com/chinese-takeaway/bath/yummy-house

Next type of takeaway we get to is the mighty indian- awesome curries and melt-in-the-mouth naans, rices and side dishes. My two favourite Indian takeaways in Bath are The Bengal Brasserie (on milsom street) and The Shaad- both of which places are actually my favourite indian restaurants in town also. The bengal brasserie is a bit more convenient if you live in Bath, as it's in the centre of town, and the Shaad is slightly out of town in Weston,but i used to get curries from there a lot because i used to live in Weston and very close to it. Now i've been going to The Bengal Brasserie for years, over a decade at least, and it's always been really good. Some of the delicious items on the menu include THE BEST Vegetetable puri ON EARTH, haha, according to my brother the best chicken pakoras around as well, a really great Vegetarian Thali (that includes starters, mains and side dishes for the very reasonable price of £10.25), great Dhansaks, a good traditional Korma, and the Chicken or lamb saags are great too. Their baltis are particularly delicious also- and they do a big range of them with all sorts of different ingredients. They are very compromising too, always making you whatever you want- you want a dish extra spicy? you want a dish with added mushrooms? You got it! Also what's pretty awesome too is that they do student discount, which is always a plus (: You can check out their menu at http://www.bengalbrasseriebath.com/ and their number is 01225 428773.

The Shaad is also a great takeaway, with a few particular specialities that make me go back there again and again. First of all i reckon they make the best samosas in Bath- their meat ones anyway. Their shami kebab on the starter menu is also GAWJUS. For mains I usually go for a dhansak- although recently their chefs have been making them a bit too spicy for me, so i've been going for either a chicken passanda, or a chicken bhuna- both definitely reccomended. Side dish-wise, i wouldnt go for their parathas, because i don't think theyre all that good, but their naans are great, and vegetable side dish-wise their saag dahl is delicious, as is their sag aloo. I think my boyfriend and some of my family prefer The Bengal Brasserie to the Shaad, because apparently their spicy dishes are very good and VERY HOT, which is the kinda curry they like (not my cuppa tea so i couldn't judge). Their menu is available at http://www.shaadrestaurant.co.uk/index.html and you can order a takeaway on 01225 444940.

To be fair, a chinese or an indian are the usual takeaways I tend to frequent, but i thought i would give a shout out to a few of the other "genres" of takeaways cuisine. I reckon the best burger (and particularly veggie burger) can be found at Schwartz Bros' Gourmet takeaway. Theres two in Bath- one in Walcot street and one in Sawclose, and they are both great, i usually get a veggie-cheese burger and some onion rings and both are really good quality. I'm not a huge fan of their milkshakes, but their fries are good too though. They also have a couple of places in Bristol as well i think?

As far as i'm concerned- there are two main kebab houses in town- Marmaris, on newmarket row, and then theres another one (not sure what it's even called?) up near where Wagamamas is- anyway, who cares about that one, Marmaris is definitely the place to go. It's run by turkish people, and actually has a seat-in restaurant too serving traditional turkish food as well as kebabs (although i've never eaten in the restaurant, i've always just got a takeout kebab). Their Donner is great, but i had i think it was called a "Shwarma" kebab or something (it was lamb i think?) last time i went therw and this was delicious too. Always ask for hummus in your kebab, or on the side, because their hummus is THE BOSS. Gotta tell you though, dont bother getting chips with your kebabs, their chips were soggy and terrible! I guess chinese has already been covered- but Thai hasn't yet- i have got a takeaway from Mai Thai (which i have reviewed on this blog) a few times now, and they have been absolutely great, when you go in there they are really friendly, and they get your takeaway made SO QUICKLY, literally i'll order a few things and they get it done in 5 minutes, even if there are still people in the restaurant, it's great service. A bit more price-y than chinese/indian takeaways but still very nice.

The last typical takeaway (that i can think of anyway!) is pizza- i must admit i rarely get pizza delivered/ go out and get pizza. My boyfriend gets Dominoes Pizza every so often, and they are allright i guess, they'll do, y'know? If i get a Dominoes I usually get a thin base, extra mozzarella, ham, pineapple and mushroom pizza, yum! But even though some of the restaurants around offer pizza takeaway services (I know Pizza Express, Strada and Bottelinos do I think) I wouldn't normally get one, because you know by the time you got it home that it would have gotten really cold! Although actually theres a new pizza delivery service that's opened up REALLY near me and it looks like it might be nice actually, called Avelino's, the menu sounds great. So watch this space i suppose!

Hope this guide was useful, that if any of you stay with mates in the Bath area, you'll know where to go when you all fancy getting a takeaway and a having few beers at home!

Monday Meeting: The final weigh-in for the Rubbish Diet Challenge 2012

Welcome to the last Monday Meeting for the Rubbish Diet Challenge 2012.

Last November I put a request on Twitter and Facebook to see if anyone fancied slimming their bins in 2012.  Amazingly eight people volunteered straight-away and at the end of January, when routines had settled back to normal after the festivities of Christmas, the Rubbish Diet Challenge began, featuring weekly Monday weigh-ins and mini-challenges throughout the course of eight weeks.

Eight households slimming their bins in just eight weeks, all living in different parts of the country, including one in the US, all with different routines, contrasting priorities, variations in local recycling collections and wide-ranging household sizes.

But this was not an experiment or a test of perseverance, with me standing over them all with my beady eye.  It was more a realistic timescale, that would give each household the freedom and flexibility to set their own waste reduction goals, and find out the information they needed to reduce their waste in the best way that suited their lifestyle.

For all participants, it involved finding out exactly what they could recycle at the kerbside and further afield in their locality and use the facilities to which they had access. For some it involved buying less or switching to reusable products and for others it also involved having a bash at home composting.

And everyone had a different starting point, including Ness, with her family of five, who had two full wheelie bins each fortnight (often accompanied by side bags), and Jax with her family of 6 (her baby was born in Wk 7), whose rubbish bin was always just a third to half-way full.

However, as others agreed, it didn't matter how little rubbish they thought they were throwing away, times change and services often improve, so each wanted to find out more. And it's great to see that in every household, at least a 50% reduction has been achieved, with some households achieving this in the first four weeks and others achieving much much more since.

While most participants were happily settled with their new slimmer bins, three households decided to take the finale Zero Waste challenge for Week 8 of the Rubbish Diet, with Suffolk's Kate & Terry-anna, and New York's Amy, pushing the limits to see how low they could go.

And my word, did they do brilliantly! Terry-anna's bag of landfill rubbish, pictured above, was only half the height of a sauce bottle and Kate's household only produced just two mug-sized bags. Amy over the States is also pleased with her attempt at the challenge, producing so little rubbish that there's not even enough to fill half a small carrier bag, and weighing no more than 1.4 kilogrammes.

But this challenge is not just about attempting a Zero Waste Week.  It's actually the build up to that, which is more important.  To quote Tim, who knew that he wouldn't be in a position to attempt a ZW week, "It's the habits I've acquired during the eight-week programme that'll make the difference".   And you can see the impact of this in his last blogpost about his experience.  Tim had started the challenge with a very full bin.

For many who have participated, even though the guided challenge has finished, their own discoveries towards waste reduction hasn't stopped.  Just as Donna, who slimmed her household's waste by 50%, said to me only last week, "It isn't over in 8 weeks - it's just begun!"

I think Ness, who orginally started with two full wheelie bins, would agree with that.  As I was leaving her house on Friday, after she'd been interviewed for BBC Radio Suffolk, she asked whether it needed to stop there and made it clear that she wants her Rubbish Diet to continue.  Well there is plenty of scope for that as well as having more laughs in the process.

I suppose introducing her to the Recycling Centre for the first time, bringing in a Master Composter to help her compost and poking around her mouldy fruit, have all been interesting ways to strengthen our friendship,  And it is unfortunate that she had a poorly dog, who sabotaged any attempts she had to slim that bin right down last week.  But moving forward, she is now volunteering to get rid of the second bin, which she no longer has a use for.  When she first embarked on the challenge, she was adamant she would keep it as a comfort blanket.  So I am quite sure this won't be the last you'll hear of Ness's Rubbish Diet.


But for now, it's time for me to hang up my virtual bin-diving gloves for the Rubbish Diet Challenge 2012 and take the opportunity to thank everyone who has taken part, including all the households that have let me follow their waste-busting adventures, as well as those who have been inspired to join in along the way.  Everyone has just been blimmin' brilliant and I'm also grateful to the Mark Murphy Show at BBC Radio Suffolk, which has followed the challenge from the very beginning.


The list below shows the starting points as well as the final week results (please note that this was not a competition and participants were able to chose their own description of monitoring, which suited them best.  Also some collections are fortnightly, so for those, the list also includes their latest fortnightly results as well as a separate final week's results). I'm still waiting for some of the final results to come in and these will be updated as soon as they are ready. In the meantime, do try and listen to the great interviews that were broadcast on BBC Radio Suffolk last week, with Kate & Ness.

Kate's interview: http://bbc.in/wROWm9 FF>> 1h42: available until Wednesday 

Ness's interview: http://bbc.in/w9BdF7 FF>>2h38s: available until Friday

And again, huge congratulations and thanks to all involved, with results that range from 50% reduction to what I'd reckon is as much as 95%, I think now might be time to roll out the fanfare.

1.  Terry-anna.
Household: 2 adults, in Ipswich Borough, Suffolk. 
WK1 Weigh-in: 1.5 large bags, filling one third of a wheelie bin (fortnightly): Final fortnight: 1.5 very small bags that are dumpier than an HP sauce bottle.  Final Week:  a small bag that is only half the height of  the sauce bottle.

2.  Ness.  @NessyThompson
Household: 2 adults & 5 children, a rural village in Mid Suffolk
WK1 Weigh-in:  2 full wheelie bins (fortnightly). Final Fortnight: 1 full bin   Final Week: Just 1 bag of normal household waste, plus a rug and plastic from the family dog's unexpected illness.

3.  Donna.  @Donna_De
Household: 2 adults, in Tower Hamlets in London. www.beatinglimitations.com/blog
WK1 Weigh-in: 1 30L rubbish sack. (weekly).  Final Week: 1/2 30 rubbish sack, plus one-off polystyrene packing.

4. Amy. @AmyMarpman
Household: 2 adults in New York City.   www.beyondthebluebin.com
WK1 Weigh-in: 2 bin bags - estimated 9kg / 20lbs. (Weekly) Final week: 1.4kg/3lbs

5: Kate. @BusinessPlumber
Household: 2 adults, in a rural village in Mid Suffolk : www.businessplumber.co.uk
WK1 Weigh-in: 1 unusually full wheelie bin - incl Christmas waste. (fortnightly) Final Fortnight: 1 small swing-bin bag:  Final Week: 2 very small bags, approximately the height of a coffee mug.

6: Jax. @LiveOtherwise
Household: 2 adults, 3 children & a baby, in Suffolk Coast. http://liveotherwise.co.uk/makingitup/
WK1 Weigh-in: 7 small bin bags - filling one third or half of a wheelie bin (fortnightly). Final Fortnight: Approx 5 small  bags worth of rubbish, filling only half the bottom layer of the wheelie bin.  Final Week: 2 small bin bags and some bits of polystyrene.

7.Melanie
Household: 2 adults, 2 children, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire
WK 1 Weigh-in:  3 large bin bags, almost filling a whole wheelie bin. (weekly).  Final Week: half a bag.

8.Tim @Dotterel
Household: 2 adults, 3 children, Lincolnshire.  www.bringingupcharlie.co.uk
WK 1 Weigh-in: 1 full wheelie bin (fortnightly) Final Fortnight: 3 small bags, filling just the first layer of the bin with room to spare. Final Week:. 5 small bags.

Don't forget, just because the Rubbish Diet challenge 2012 is all over, it doesn't mean that you can't have a go in your own time. It can start whenever you like, just visit the online guide to catch up with everything you need to do and follow the weekly ideas.  And if you want to join in the conversation on Twitter just use the hashtag #therubbishdiet, or tweet @karencannard.  And do keep an eye on the blog over the next weeks, as I will be including an updated list of links and resources that will help you further in your waste-busting ventures.

Feature: The Bath Comedy Festival

Hey guys, I thought I would tell you all about a big festival going on in my town in a couple of weeks, that if you live in Bath/near Bath you should really check out! This is the Bath Comedy Festival, which is in it's fourth year now, and is doing really well. My boyfriend is the director, and he's used all his great comedy connections both in the south west, as well as Edinburgh and overseas to bring some great comedians to this city at Easter!

Not only are there dozens of great comedy acts, there are also some ones involving scrummy food, so i thought i would mention them here for you foodies! First of all on the 30th March there is the "Up The Pump Room Charity Ball", which is held in the beautiful historic Roman Baths and Pump Rooms. Right Roman revels and torch lit reception by the historic baths, followed by sultry jazz and Searcys' sumptuous bowl canapes (these are great, big generous sized canapes in bowls- comforting dishes such as roast pork with bubble and squeak, fish and chips, and wild mushroom risotto. Then enjoy the wonderfully nostalgic sounds of the fabulous Stuttgarter Saloniker Orchestra, specially flown in for your delight and delectation. These highly accomplished musicians have over a hundred numbers in their repertoire, from tangos to Tchaikovsky, so prepare to dance the night away.Theres then a raffle with fabulous prizes, for example a magnum of chateau Sainte Marguerite Rosé.

On sunday the 1st of April is another fabulous show being held in The Widcombe Social Club- "Sunday Lunch with Bill Smarme and the Bizness". You get a gert two course sunday lunch (completely scrummy!) and a great show, from Bill Smarme: international entertainer, love guru, connoisseur of fine marmalades and building contractor - sends up most styles of music!! (Haha!) The band bring you songs of love, pork pies, binder twine and Twerton - all in the best possible taste. I have seen these guys before and they are absolutely HILARIOUS, this "dinner and a show" event is really good value as well at £18.50!

Another show i'd like to mention is "Arthur Smith's Great Easter Egg Hunt", which has two shows on Saturday 7th of April, and is sure to be a hoot- especially for all of you that love wine, chocolate, and laughing uncontrolably (hopefully not all at the same time, haha!). Famously grumpy old man Arthur Smith is back and combining comedy forces with, amongst others, Natural Theatre, New Old Friends, Toby Longworth, Seymour Mace and Women on the Make stalwart Hilary Strong to bring you a chocolaty, feathery egg-on-your face mystery walking tour.Expect laughs, traffic hold-ups, shocked passers-by, prizes and possibly the odd glass of wine on the way.

There are loads more events during the Bath Comedy Festival, 30th March- 9th April, and some events have already sold out- so i would get your skates on, get your ticketsget down to Bath, and come and have a chuckle!! Heres the site where you can order the tickets:
http://www.bathcomedy.com/

Recipe: Roast Vegetable, Spinach and Pesto Tart

This is a lovely dish i cooked tonight as a mother's day treat for my mum and family. She loves pastry, roast veg and pesto, so i thought this would be the ideal dinner to try out on her. I also bought her some chocolate too- i know it's traditional (infact all the way back from Roman times) to buy/go out and pick flowers for mothers day, but I know my mum much prefers chocolate! I know it's saturday, but i'll be working all day tommorow so i figured i'd treat her tonight. Hope my brother does something nice for her tommorow, he's such a numpty, he's probably forgotten! This tart turned out very nicely, and as my dad pointed out I reckon it would also be very nice using 50g parmesan + 50g pine nuts instead of the lancashire too as a different variation on it.

Roast Vegetable and Pesto Tart (serves 4)

4 tbsp olive oil
1 orange pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium courgette, diced
120g chestnut mushrooms, quartered
1 red onion, diced
120ml double cream
25g pesto
250g spinach
100g finely grated/crumbled Lancashire cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Butter (to grease the dish)
1 circle of ready rolled short crust pastry

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Add the diced pepper, courgette, mushrooms, red onion, and olive oil to a roasting tin. Add a bit of salt and pepper, toss the vegetables to coat in the oil, and put in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove and set aside.
2. Put the double cream, pesto and spinach in a saucepan on a medium heat, stirring often, for about 10 minutes- or until all the spinach has wilted. Mix in the roasted vegetables, season to taste and set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a pie/flan dish with butter, and put the pastry into the dish, trimming around the edges. Prick the middle with a fork a few times, and bake blind for 6 minutes.
4. Pour the vegetable mix into the pie case. Top with the grated cheese, and bake in the oven at 180C for 25 minutes.
5. Place the tart underneath a hot grill for about five minutes, in order to brown the cheese a little bit, and serve!

It's reached Hong Kong: Tracking my mobile phone with O2Recycle.

Back in January, I did something I'd never done before.  I recycled my old battered mobile phone, working with O2Recycle to track it through their system.

Now, my phone was in a pretty poor condition when it left the UK.  The screen was scratched, the casing was broken and it needed a rubber band to stop the battery falling out.  And there was also the issue of it randomly rebooting itself.   Yet, after assessment, I still received £24 for it, which illustrates how valuable these devices are.

But I wasn't just interested in the cash, I was also interested in how the mobile phone recycling process worked, as well as keen to find out where it would end up.

It's taken a while due to the Chinese New Year and staff holidays, but finally the latest update came through this week.

My phone, a Nokia N97, was initially sent to O2's appointed recycling company, Redeem, which is based in Scotland.  There, it was assessed and categorised as a grade C, highlighting that it would need refurbishment to bring it up to the standard required to be sold onto a new owner.

Nokia phones are currently popular in the Far East so it was packaged up and despatched to the Hong Kong office.  Pictured above is the shipment that contained my phone, arriving in Hong Kong just a couple of weeks after I had handed it in. Deliveries are made every Monday, and upon arrival the phones are unpacked, checked and sorted into model type and condition.

They are then entered onto the company's inventory and are scanned, using the unique barcodes attached to the back of the phones.

When all phones have been scanned and added to the computer system, they are then laid out in plastic crates ready for auction.

Auctions are held every Wednesday and traders arrive from Hong Kong and mainland China to look for popular models that can be easily sold straight away or refurbished. Once they've browsed the stock and tested the phones, the traders fill out their bid sheets with the price they are willing to pay.  The process is very similar to a silent auction, where whey leave the sheets with the receptionist as they depart.

The bids are entered onto the computer and those who have placed the winning bid receive a SMS and return to collect their phones the following day.  The process is so streamlined that phones requiring no repair or refurbishment can be placed on the market within just a few weeks of being sent to Redeem.
 
I have now received confirmation that my old Nokia has been bought by a trader in Hong Kong, who specialises in refurbishing old phones before selling them at a small phone shop.  It will receive new housing and possibly other parts replaced before being boxed up with new accessories, such as a charger and earphones. It will then be sold onto a member of the public, which could either be a local resident or a tourist.

It still fascinates me that my useless old phone, which would have most likely ended up sitting in a drawer for years, is actually being put to good use over on the other side of the world.

I hope whoever buys it will get in touch.  However I am doubtful, as the Hong Kong office doesn't get that involved with the individual traders.  And although I included my contact details in an accompanying card, there's no guarantee that my message will be understood or not mislaid.

So maybe this is the end of the road as far as my curiosity is concerned.

If I ever get a random text message or email from its new owner I will let you know.

In the meantime, I am very much heartened by the tale that I read at the Little Green Blog, where Mrs Green was able to track her phone all the way to its new owner.  Do pop over and have a read, it really is heart-warming.

__________________________________________________

If you're interested in recycling your old phone for cash, there are many ways in which you can do it, but it you wish to use O2's service, you can recycle by post and fill your details online, or pop into a store near you.  You don't even need to be a customer.  More information is available at www.o2recycle.co.uk.  O2 don't make any profit from this service.  All proceeds from their sales go to their charity Think Big, which supports community projects that help young people.   Other gadgets such as iPods, cameras and even routers can also be recycled, although these are not processed on a cash-back basis.

Slimming your waste at work: a Suffolk case-study

Regular visitors to this blog will be familiar with my passion for slimming down our rubbish at home, but I am also a sticky-beak when it comes to finding out what goes on behind closed doors in organisations across the country.

Inspired by my recent Smart Mums visit to British Gas, where I managed only a passing glimpse of their internal recycling activities, I was keen to find a smaller company closer to home that would allow me to have a poke about their own waste management facilities.  I really don't think I could have found a finer example of corporate recycling.


Music Sales is an international company which specialises in music copyright, printed music, book publishing and digital distribution. It also has 20 music shops that fall under the MusicRoom brand as well as 125 affiliated stores around the UK.

Rob Child, who manages the company's waste stream took me on a tour of their distribution centre, which is based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

The first thing that struck me was the relevance of Rob's role within the business. Until fairly recently he was responsible for managing the procurement of packaging materials that are required for distribution.  It was only 18 months ago that a newly appointed Head of Distribution had the vision to expand his responsibilities to incorporate waste management.  

Waste is something that Music Sales cannot take lightly. The company distributes to the public as well as trade customers in over 100 countries and its online business provides access to over 250,000 products.  From a waste management perspective, this means a heck of a lot of packaging coming through its warehouse door.

The company's trade waste service is provided by St Edmundsbury Borough Council.  Until 18 months ago, much of the packaging waste was landfilled and Rob explained that when he took over the waste management role, the landfill skip was collected two or three times per week.

These days, their landfill skip is now only collected just once a fortnight and as a result, their waste management bill has dropped by two thirds.

That is a startling saving, which has been achieved simply by diverting recyclables out of landfill through easy in-house segregation.

The warehouse now separates cardboard, paper and plastic film, which are common materials that travel through its distribution facilities.  These are sorted by staff into the crates that are provided before being baled ready for collection.

When you consider that last year alone, 90 tonnes of paper were handled by the distribution centre as well as 10 tonnes of plastic packing, responsible procurement and recycling processes can make a huge contribution to the company's waste footprint.  Rob recognises this and since taking over the waste management role, his own procurement processes have led to a focus on packaging that contains recycled materials as well as products that can be more easily recycled.

But the company's waste reduction activities don't stop there. As well as core business recycling, Music Sales takes legal responsibility for its electronic waste.  Rob also encourages staff to use desktop recycling boxes and recycle their coffee machine cups and refillable Thermos flasks were provided to staff in the warehouse, which has helped to cut down even further on waste.  Dotted around the site are trade-waste equivalents of the wheelie bins that St Edmundsbury residents can find at home, which means that staff can also recycle aluminium cans and mixed plastics.

In just 18 months, the culture at Music Sales has totally changed and Rob is pleased with the fast turnaround.  A waste audit conducted by an independent company a year ago revealed that they were already achieving so much, they couldn't find any other way of improving their process.

Personally I think the transformation of the company's waste stream is a real success story and it would be great if it could inspire other businesses to follow suit.  Not only has the business seen a great financial saving from diverting recyclables from landfill, but Rob and his colleagues are also delighted with the contribution that the company is making regarding sustainability.