"Dear Mariella, My children are all at university, and suddenly I don't need to cook meals every night. But I feel I've lost my mojo. I want to be healthy, especially as I am VERY menopausal, but where to start?"
First of all, congratulations on a job well done. My second is just off to university, and it's a rite of passage that's both a relief and a sadness. Embrace the freedom! I always think that this is an optimal time of year for reinvention – back to school or university, leaves falling, seasons turning, etc. Autumn feels far more significant than New Year's Eve and all its New Year, New You tropes. Becoming a better version of me can wait until I turn the central heating off.
Embracing healthier habits
September is a time when I try to embrace healthier habits, particularly after a summer season of debauchery, and no area is more significant to our wellbeing than what we fuel our bodies on. That's why I teamed up with chef Belles Berry (yes, the daughter of iconic Mary) to write a recipe bible for those of us who need a mojo reboot. Menolicious is full of tasty and delicious recipes that will make healthier living more of a pleasure and less of a penance. So, I invite you to join me in a health overhaul by embracing our menopause targeted recipes.
The book is the culmination of a decade of gradual realisation that I am at my best when I am not just well fed, but full to the very gills with sufficient fibre, protein, fish oils and all the vitamins and minerals my menopausal (or long post-pioneering menopausal) body requires. My brain is sharper, my sleep deeper and my skin and hair much improved.
Historically, food has been something that kept me functioning, but not much else. I have consistently detoxed and then retoxed. After a blissful five days of yoga and revelatory diet at Yeotown in Devon, I discovered the pleasure of a fully functioning metabolism. Since then, with books such as Tim Spector's The Food For Life Cookbook, and Sarah Britton's My New Roots, I've embarked on a voyage of discovery finding that what you ingest can actually help you digest and keep the pounds off you in midlife. Not that I'm a stickler for food rules, but if making adjustments is easy and quick, why wouldn't you switch your bad habits for good ones?
Our book has been birthed via a perfect collaboration. There's the woman who meticulously measures and whose life has been devoted to the creation of excellent food. That of course is Belles. She has patiently worked with a woman who just hopes there's going to BE food, cooks like an Impressionist painter and eats like a builder who doesn't know when the next meal might be. Together, we have perfect synergy.
Writing a book has consolidated my desire to be healthy … for as long as I can keep breathing. Spending two years creating and testing recipes along with Belles and the brilliant nutritionist Hana El Shafie, has given me an invaluable insight into the importance of eating well. Turning a new leaf and looking after yourself after years of dedication to the next generation, seems no more than you deserve! And I guarantee if you make small changes you'll earn yourself a top up of your energy supplies in no time.
