It's Meat Free Monday so all hail fruits and vegetables!

I have a confession to make, one that may disgust a lot of you out there...I love spinach.

I know, I know, it's not the most exciting of foods out there , but I can't help myself. To me it's truly scrumptious. While I'm at it I may as well confess to you all that I love broccoli, cauliflower and peas. (Have you turned off yet?) I also am a bit of a fruit fiend too. I'll eat any fruit apart from grapefruit, melon and tomatoes - especially tomatoes for which I can only type down the word 'bleugh' to describe how I feel about them (tomato ketchup and Heinz tomato soup are the exceptions).

Image from: Our Life is a Blast Blog

Yes I know everyone, from your parents to the government, keeps banging on about it but healthy eating is essential to a happier you and getting your five a day is so important. I know it can be a struggle to eat healthily. Even though I am partial to a Brussels sprout and tangerine I, like you, am always tempted for the sweet, sugary stuff and fast food.

Image from: Kids Growing Strong

I'm trying to be better and one way of doing this is participating in Paul McCartney's Meat Free Mondays. It's a very simple concept - don't eat meat for one day a week. It really does make you think about your diet and encourages you to be more healthy.

Now I work in London and don't have pack lunches, so lunchtime outings in search of something tasty to eat is a must. I'm always tempted by sushi or full on meaty wraps, and never feel like a vegetarian option (veggie sushi just seems wrong and every veggie wrap has tomato slices in them. Luckily I happen to work really near a brilliant vegetarian restaurant - Tibits.



Tibits, 12-14 Heddon Street, Mayfair, London, W1B 4DA
Nearest tube: Piccadilly Circus

Tibits has become one of my favourite restaurants in London (definitely favourite vegetarian restaurant). It also happens to be a regular haunt for the Regent Street rich and famished famous (the likes of Frank Skinner, Uri Geller, Ellen Page and Dame Kelly Holmes have been spotted there).

Tibits Tip: Pick the salads first followed
by the warm dishes so it will all stay hot. 

The interior design is gorgeous. It's very low lit but it's not gloomy at all on account of the vibrant walls, large windows and huge space between the bar, buffet boat and seating area. The Tibits philosophy is to use fresh and seasonal ingredients of the highest quality so the food you love actually loves you back. There's a range of hot and cold food on offer. I love the summer menu which includes the rather unusual sounding but oh-so tasty Mango Banana Curry, Lentil Salad, Falafal and Black Rice Pudding.

You can dine inside, al fresco on one of their picnic style tables or get a take away to eat at your desk. The payment method is one I've never come across before: you place your plate on a set of scales and the cost depends on how much it weighs. Because I'm silly I like to play a game I invented called 'Guess How Much Lunch Is'  - it hasn't really caught on with everybody else but lunchtime at Tibits definitely has and that's super brilliant.

And to add an element of bookishness to this book blog, here are some children's books you might like to look at to inspire you on meat Free Mondays.

Image from: Eat Me Daily

This is the story of two peas called Pete and Penelope and their long journey from field to fork. The book describes the time and effort that goes into getting peas on to the plates of children, where they are often looked upon with disdain. Pete and Penelope urge the children to give them a try, and 'give peas a chance'!

Image from: Scholastic

With a bit of help from his grandfather, Oliver soon discovers that life exists beyond french fries. This fresh and funny book, with immensely appealing artwork by a talented newcomer, will delight young readers. It may also get them to eat their spinach.

Image from: Good Reads

Poor James Henry Trotter is abandoned at the age of four when his parents are tragically killed in a grisly accident. James is placed into the care of two evil relatives: Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. One day, an old man appears, offering James a bag of crystals that he says will make marvellous things happen. The old man's magic causes a dead peach tree to grow a piece of fruit the size of a house, and that is the start of James' fantastic adventure.