Please vote for The Rubbish Diet in celebration of reaching the Brilliance in Blogging shortlist. #BiBs

Click the BiB badge to vote.I am absolutely chuffed to bits to hear the news that The Rubbish Diet has been shortlisted in this year's Brilliance in Blogging Awards, organised by BritMums, and especially so because it's been included in the Commentary category.This category features blogs that highlight causes, either through raising awareness or funds, and which are a force for positive change. Topics might be global, local or personal. Whatever the cause, the bloggers shortlisted in this category have been chosen for doing more than their bit, and helping others get involved too.  So to have been nominated alongside so many great bloggers...

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Cabeza de Vaca: Supernaturalism and psychosomatic disorders

var citeN=0; Andrew Weil, a major proponent of the idea of self-healing (citeN=citeN+1;document.write(Number(citeN))1), has repeatedly acknowledged the influence of osteopaths such as Robert C. Fulford (citeN=citeN+1;document.write(Number(citeN))2) on him, particularly regarding his philosophy of health management. Self-healing is not about completely autonomous healing; it is about healing by stimulation of the body's self-repair processes, which in some cases can be achieved by simply reducing stress. Interestingly, there are many reported cases of osteopaths curing people from various diseases by doing things like cranial manipulation and...

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The new Rubbish Diet Challenge website is now LIVE!

After much hard work from a dedicated team, the Rubbish Diet Challenge website is now live and kicking and ready as an online toolkit for anyone who wants to take the 8 week challenge to slim their bin!  You'll find all you need, including an overview of how it works, some great diagrams and a sign-up form.  Once signed up, you'll receive a series of weekly tips, introducing different themes over the eight weeks.So if you've been itching to take up the challenge but haven't got around to starting it yet,  there's no better time.  Do pop over to the new website and have a gander.   You can find it at www.therubbishdiet.org.uk....

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Dried meat: Homemade beef jerky

var citeN=0; You can dry many types of meat, including beef, pork, goat, deer, and even some types of seafood, such as mussels. Drying meat tends to significantly increase the meat’s protein content per gram, often more than doubling it. It also helps preserve the meat, as bacteria need an aqueous environment to grow; adding salt helps further prevent bacterial growth. Dried meat preparation and consumption was common among the Plains Indians (e.g., of the Cheyenne, Comanche, and Lakota tribes), and also a valuable trade item for them. They often ground the dried meat into a powder, mixing fat and berries with them; the result of which was...

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The calm before the great excitement!

Taking a brief Easter break before the big stuff happens!Regular readers of the Rubbish Diet will probably recognise that nervous grin by now.  It's the one that says 'oh heck, it's too late now, it's happening and there's no going back now'. A bit like this one, taken in January 2008, when I signed up to St Edmundsbury's Zero Waste Week, agreed to become their community champion, panicked and then set up this blog.Yes, this old blog, with just me and my bin! Then you and your bins....It really has been fun and I am truly grateful for everyone who has followed and interacted with the blog over the last five years.But things are...

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