Lifestyle

They were the Instagram sensation of the summer and have now become part of mainstream fare, alongside your desk sandwiches and salads. But are poke bowls (prounced poh-keh, not simply as 'poke' as my dad thought) a healthy option, or even healthier than say, your mid-week sushi run? Bowls are the hottest food trend of 2018 Acai & Poke bowls 101: Jess' Underground Kitchen's Jess Daniell If, before we get into this, you don't even know what a poke bowl is, let me explain. Poke bowls are of Hawaiian origin; traditionally raw fish (usually ahi tuna) over white or brown rice. Toppings like cucumber, sesame seeds and seaweed salad are placed on top. Dieticians are split on some of the semantics of poke bowls, (is too much avocado a bad thing?) but one thing they all seem to agree on is that it's how you build your bowl that determines the health factor. While some are a perfect mix of vitamins and omega 3s, others full of sushi rice and fried shallots can top 1000 calories. The key … [Read more...] about Are poke bowls really as healthy as they seem?

As he gets ready for Writers’ Week in Listowel, author Anthony Horowitz tells Richard Fitzpatrick about his latest James Bond novel.One of the most disarming things about Anthony Horowitz’s second James Bond novel is that the eponymous hero is not a stranger to self-doubt. Forever and A Day, which will be released at the end of the month, is set in 1950 amongst the French Riviera’s heroin trade, in the days before Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale.Bond has to earn his spurs — his licence to kill. Early in the novel, Horowitz takes us inside the mind of a young, raw Bond, showing us what it must feel like to kill another man in cold blood — a Norwegian double agent with a wife and two young kids on Civilian Street, whose double-crossing cost the lives of British operatives during the Second World War. Bond is unable to eat beforehand; he’s able to smell his target as he creeps up on the sleeping man. He thinks of the grieving … [Read more...] about Bond author Anthony Horowitz on his licence to thrill

I still recall the first time I saw the planet Saturn through a small telescope from my parent’s back garden in Clondalkin, writes Dr Niall Smith.I was 10 years old and this giant planet that I had read so much about was now actually visible to me, not merely in pictures but in real life! It seemed to be almost hanging from a thread, with its stunning rings plainly visible.I rushed inside to cajole my less-than-enthusiastic family to share this moment of discovery and much to my surprise, that’s exactly what they did. Roll the clock forward to June 2018, and the planet Saturn is well-placed to inspire a generation of young kids and perhaps a generation who missed the opportunity when they were younger.Use the moon to find SaturnThe easiest way to spot Saturn is to look for a relatively bright star-like object to the lower left of the full moon on June 27.The brightness of the full moon itself will make observing the planet less than ideal, but once you know where … [Read more...] about Sky matters: Saturn is well-placed to inspire a generation of young kids

The London band are on the way to Ireland for a mini tour, and tell Ed Power why they are still happy to ignore trends and just do their own thing.The Magic Numbers’ Romeo Stodart has always enjoyed being a square peg. When his band came along in the mid 2000s, underfed bad-boys such as Pete Doherty were the rage. The Magic Numbers, by contrast, looked like the contents of a hippy caravan tipped out.They were hairy and smiley — universes removed from their mercurial contemporaries. Their music, moreover, was wistful and playful –— and completely unthreatening.“I’ve never really fitted in,” says the singer. “I feel I was an outsider my whole life. I was born in Trinidad, then I moved to New York and after that London. "People ask, ‘Where do you come from?’ And I don’t know really. I remember labels and managers going, ‘We just don’t know what to do with you guys’. But I think that helped us as … [Read more...] about Magic Numbers not worried about a winning formula

A range of fashion experts aged over 50 have gone online to help silver-haired ladies step out in style, writes Paula Burns.C.S. Lewis said, “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream”. Instagram maybe an improbable version of Narnia but isn’t there something fantastical about delving into the new dreams of others? It turns out social media isn’t wasted on the young. A whole new generation of silver haired women have entered unchartered territory, trekking the feed of Instagram to make it their own.It seems a little ironic to say that it’s the over 50s style bloggers that have rejuvenated Instagram, bringing freshness to the platform but it’s true. Maybe it’s down to the fact that their images feel less contrived then the younger models. With age comes an inner confidence that inevitably radiates from an image. A huge factor in their appeal is that these women don’t give a damn. They are genuine in … [Read more...] about Over 50s slaying it on Instagram