Month: March 2016

Yummy date and banana raw cheesecake

| Melanie Rowe

Over the Christmas period (yes, I am talking about Christmas) my husband’s brother made this yummy raw cheesecake for us all as his wife is wheat and dairy intolerant. It was ridiculously delicious, so I begged him for the recipe. I actually made it quite a while ago, but have had a craving for it recently, so am going to share it with you.

You will need:

Base:
1 cup oats
1 cup medjool dates, pitted
Cheesecake:
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 cups cashews
1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 1/2 cups dates
2 bananas
1/4 cup agave nectar, although this does make it very sweet!
Water, as needed
1/4 cup cacao powder
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The method is so easy which is why I love it so much!
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For the base, you just put the oats and pitted dates into a food processor and process until smooth.
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Transfer the mixture into a cake tin, pressing firmly so that it covers the base. Leave to harden in the fridge.
Meanwhile, put all the cheesecake ingredients into the processor and blend. Transfer this mixture into the cake tin and leave in the freezer overnight to set.
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See, so easy!
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Street harassment in London

| Melanie Rowe

I’m really tiring of the harassment that I am experiencing on a near daily basis around the area in which I live. For some reason I thought I may no longer draw male attention to myself now that I am clearly pregnant at over 7 months, but the level has stayed exactly the same. Two weeks ago I had a guy who stumbled out of the Egg Club on York Way in Kings Cross at 1030 in the morning and followed me all the way to Kings Cross.

Egg

Onlookers outside the club could clearly see that he was giving me unwanted attention but nobody stepped in to help-at first he kept pushing into me so that I could not pass and then told me that he was going to follow me. I reported this incident to Egg and then to the police; Egg told me that their security staff would be more vigilant whilst the police said that they would have their staff outside Egg on the following Sunday. Fortunately, when I walked past the next weekend, the club had already closed for the morning.

And it’s not just me…

My neighbours, two girls in their 20s, have also had sexual comments hurled at them outside our flat but have said that if they stand up to the men, they men become aggressive. This has happened to me on numerous occasions, sometimes walking around Islington or on my way to Camden. Girls I work with have told me similar stories; some ignore the man which can make him angry at being ignored, some stand up to him which then makes him aggressive. I never experienced this when I was living in East London or anywhere outside London. What is it about these people that makes them treat women like this? I have actually asked a guy this after he was verbally sexually rude to me, and he just laughed. I asked how he would feel if someone spoke to his mother in the same way, and again he just laughed. Is it to make them feel good? It has never happened when I am walking with my husband, and interestingly, my husband has never ever experienced this harassment for men or women.

It has got to the point where I expect to be harassed-I have never felt comfortable walking on my own around this area and I doubt I ever will, and am considering moving to another area, especially with a baby on the way. I just can’t believe that people still think that this is okay.

Hypnobirthing (Natal Hypnotherapy)

| Melanie Rowe

Now in my 7th month of pregnancy, I have become more and more anxious about the impending birth. Random questions such as ‘will I die during childbirth?’ (pretty ridiculous) and ‘what if I just can’t push it out?’ have been ever more present in my mind. Friends of ours who have a one year old recommended we try Natal Hypnotherapy, a version of hypnobirthing devised by Maggie Howell.

I’m pretty open to trying hypnotherapy, although I’ve tried it a couple of times to treat anxiety and I didn’t feel any different after! I think that I had been trying too hard to relax maybe. Meditation and deep breathing has always helped me to relax before, so hypnobirthing sounded great. I was pretty desperate to try anything to help me calm down!

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Example of an affirmation for use during labour

Ruth Sabrosa was recommended to us, a lady who originally used the technique during the birth of her daughter and then later trained as a practitioner. We booked The Natural Pain Relief workshop which was held in Ruth’s home in Muswell Hill. There were two other couples there so it was a nice quiet environment. We were asked to speak about our fears-we all had quite common worries, mainly surrounding pain! The day consisted of three hypnobirthing sessions, with us lying on the floor and Ruth talking us through the relaxation. I really found these sessions beneficial, and some of the things that she was saying did help to allay my fears. The only thing that I wasn’t so keen on was the group work. This was a bit like being back at school where we had to draw diagrams and present back to the class. Others may find this useful, though.

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Relaxing before a hypnobirthing session

My husband and I have since been listening to the relaxation downloads and practicing the other techniques to relax, and both look forward to these times. I am definitely less scared of the birthing process. I did have the feeling that the course promotes natural birth, and felt a little that we were being told that medical intervention is bad, although this was not said outright. I have an open mind, though, and should I end up needing pain relief, I will not feel bad for asking for it!

Ruth is such a warm person and I would recommend anyone who is fearful of labour to attend her classes. She is very open to any questions and gives great advice. I also believe that the techniques that we learned can be used in everyday life to alleviate anxiety.

New Café in Camden

| Melanie Rowe

IMG_1593After trying a Match Latte from Frame at Kings Cross, I’ve become a little obsessed with them, but have found it hard to find anywhere else near me that serves them. A few times I have driven past Oatmilk near Camden Road overground and have been intrigued by all the random guitars in the window! We decided to go whilst on our lunch break from an NCT workshop, and I was so happy that they actually serve matcha latté with almond milk. And cinnamon!

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We sat in and ate a feta cheese and vegetable wrap which my husband loved, and a mozzarella and pesto toasted sandwich which I wasn’t so keen on as the bread was so hard. My latté was great though, and the staff and atmosphere so friendly that I would definitely go back there for drinks. I think that the cafe serves mainly vegan food, but they do offer cow’s milk for coffees so it’s not totally exclusive. They were playing hip hop in the background and selling all kinds of guitars on the walls so it’s safe to say that the theme of the cafe seemed to be music based-worktop by the cash desk was made of a sound system which was pretty novel.

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Nice crepe but hard toastie

I would definitely recommend this little cafe for someone who wants somewhere non-touristy away from the centre of Camden and all it’s hordes.