A cookery event with Melissa Hemsley

Monday July 15th, 7pm, Boston Tea Party
293 Gloucester Road BS7 8PE

Research has shown that ultra-processed foods have been linked to high-blood pressure, heart disease and other serious illnesses, yet the average person in the UK gets 56% of their calories from UPFs, with an even higher figure for children.

We know that reducing the amount of UPFs in our diets is advised, but in our busy lives, they can be hard to avoid – they’re affordable, familiar and heavily marketed. Real Healthy is a life-friendly cookbook for time-poor people who want healthy food that’s quick, convenient and tasty, too. Melissa Hemsley provides simple, doable, and delicious recipes to help you tackle those every day tricky problem areas – on-the-go breakfasts, al desko lunches, satisfying snacks, and easy to make sweet treats – as well as tips on what to look out for when trying to identify UPFs.

With 90 recipes such as One-Pot Lazy Lasagne, Cherry Almond Granola, Take-To-Work White Bean Chicken Chilli, as well as ‘build your own’ recipes for UPF-free soups, sandwiches and smoothies, Real Healthy is a cookbook aiming to provide solutions for those looking to redress the balance of what’s on their plates with easy and practical ideas.

Reviews:

‘Melissa leads us to ingredients that will help us feel well, and dishes them up in ways that will make us lick our lips. That’s just what I want from a cookbook.’ Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

‘A delightful guide to shifting the focus onto eating more plants, cooking more intuitively and fostering a more sustainable and wholesome approach to mealtimes.’ Dr Saliha Mahmood Ahmed, NHS Gastroenterology Doctor, author & MasterChef Winner

‘A delicious guide to eating the healthy way.’ Professor Tim Spector, MD, FRCP, OBE, Microbiome Expert & co-founder Zoe

‘Hemsley serves up all the delicious and nutritious solutions to our everyday eating dilemmas—recipes you’ll turn to again and again and know, without question, that they’ll make you feel great. It’s real, good food.’ Yotam Ottolenghi

‘This has everything you want from a cookbook: nourishing and scrumptious meals with accessible ingredients.’ Dr Amir Khan, GP and Broadcaster

‘Everyone needs this book in their lives! A game changer in the kitchen!’ Laura Whitmore, broadcaster

Melissa Hemsley began her food career as a private chef for actors and bands, including Take That, and has written and co-written five bestselling books, published internationally. Melissa is a proud long-term supporter of food redistribution charity The Felix Project, and volunteers with them regularly to rescue surplus food and to cook for children and the vulnerable. She is an ambassador for Mental Health Mates, the Fairtrade Food Foundation and Women Supporting Women (The Prince’s Trust), among others. Melissa regularly appears on daytime TV and radio and a host of other cookery and news shows, often speaking on behalf of the charity and community projects she works with. She lives in London with her partner and baby daughter.

Pauline Cox BSc MSc is a Functional Nutritionist, entrepreneur and mother with a vast depth of knowledge and experience in women’s health, hormonal balance and nutrition. She is the author of the cookbook, Hungry Woman: Eating for good health, happiness and hormones, a regular columnist for both national and international publications and currently delivers online courses and speaking engagements. Pauline studied for her degree in Anatomical Sciences and BSc in Physiotherapy at the University of Bristol before completing her Masters in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Public Health. She went on to found the high street health food store, Sow & Arrow, which focuses on high quality, nutrient-dense food and supplements, with an emphasis on health optimisation and sustainability. Pauline is currently completing her Masters degree to become a Fellow of the National Centre of Integrative Medicine.

Baby Schema is a 2024 Poetry Book Society Choice and opens up several worlds at once; from the impact of climate and nature degradation to species extinction, in part seen through the lens of ‘cuteness’ and what it reveals about our place in the disconcerting world of hyper-capitalism. The title refers to the anthropologist Konrad Lorenz’s description of what makes babies of many species appealing – the big eyes, small chin etc. Some of the poems ask whether this is the kind of world to bring a child into.