Defence against bugs and the blues

Winter brings colds a plenty and feelings of lethargy and gloom.

The good news is that even before Spring is in full flow, there are simple actions you can take to improve your health and wellbeing.

Keep moving

Try to keep exercising a couple of times each week to boost energy levels, even though you may not feel motivated to do so.

If you usually go running but this isn’t ideal due to weather conditions, switch to indoor pursuits such as yoga and pilates which are excellent for strength, flexibility, energizing and relaxation. Or get social with badminton, squash or gym sessions with a friend.

Take quality rest

Your immune system takes a beating if you aren’t sleeping properly or allowing yourself some downtime, both of which are key to managing stress. Make the most of long evenings by enjoying a favourite box set, settling down with a book or soaking in a hot bath. Go to sleep a similar time each night and before 11pm. The quality of sleep after this is reduced.

Eat well 

Certain vitamins and minerals are particularly key in the winter months to maintain physical health and regulate mood. They are:

Vitamin D – “the sunshine vitamin”, key to bone health, is more difficult to get hold of in winter. It is important to spend some time outdoors each day to be exposed to the sun. Vitamin D-rich foods include eggs and oily fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel. Breakfast is an ideal time to get your fill of this – e.g. scrambled or poached eggs on granary toast.

Vitamin C – we need this for the growth and repair of tissues in all parts of the body and for healing wounds. It helps the body make collagen, an important protein used to make skin, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels. We can’t store this vitamin so need to consume it afresh each day. This is easy to do by eating whole fruit such as clementines and oranges; adding red pepper to salads and quick-cooking veg such as broccoli.

Zinc – critical for immunity,  it helps balance your body’s response to infection, preventing out-of-control inflammation. We only need a small amount each day and it’s easier to get from meat than plant sources: beef, lamb, chicken, pork as well as shellfish like crab and lobster. Vegetarians can up zinc levels with nuts, seeds and pulses.

Cold remedies in the form of tablets and powders will ease the symptoms of a cold, but you can give yourself a better chance of avoiding illness in the first place by arming yourself with the right nutrition.

A natural remedy to ease the symptoms of cold is ginger tea:

• Put a couple of slices of fresh ginger in one and one-half cups of water.
• Boil for 5 to 10 minutes. (Time it based on how strong you like your ginger tea.)
• Keep the lid on the pot to prevent vapor from escaping.
• Add a little honey and lemon.
• Sip it slowly, bundle up, then lie down, or go to sleep.

A natural remedy for sore throats is comforting warm milk with honey and turmeric powder – a natural antiseptic.

Jasper's new buffet finger foods

Jasper's is thrilled to launch our new range of finger foods, available in Classic Buffet Catering menus from the start of July 2017. We have spent  months developing the new range with our in-house team, suppliers and customer feedback groups. The aim has been to continue to deliver what our customers love while providing new innovations of flavour, variety, colour and nutritional diversity in our buffet catering menus. 

Each platter of finger food comes with a vegetarian alternative, and our new marinated chicken skewers and vegetarian skewers are now gluten free - we worked with our suppliers to change the recipe of the marinade so this is the case!

We have also adapted the recipe of classic and vegetarian sausage rolls - we are sure you'll agree that they taste better than ever. The same goes for our pakoras, samosas and bhajis which are handmade to authentic recipes. Our savoury pies and quiches are also handmade.

Our tasty taco cups are cheeky new additions that will certainly brighten up your buffet catering - they come in three flavours: Mexican chicken, BBQ chicken and vegetarian three bean salad.

Mini pizzas are another new item on the menu, along with spicy teriyaki-marinated sausage skewers with sesame and chilli flakes, and Southern-fried Quorn skewers (V).

Wraps come in a number of new varieties including Moroccan falafel (V) and chicken tikka.

We are confident that our customers will love the new finger food range from Jasper's and that we continue to offer more choice than any other caterer.

Catering for your greatest asset

Food is not only essential for life, but is also one of life’s greatest pleasures. Almost every event of significance involves catering: weddings, christenings, birthdays, Christmas and New Year’s Eve just for starters. The food can often be the most memorable parts of these occasions and the memories created by these events stick with us forever, and bind all those involved for pretty much the rest of our lives.

Given that we spend over half our waking life at work - and that without humans businesses cannot exist - why is it that we don’t at least once a week cater for our whole work force?

Why don’t we regularly bring everyone together on an otherwise dull Monday lunchtime? or celebrate the end of the week with a team lunch on Friday? Or have a breakfast club to develop camaraderie and to share understanding?

It seems such a shame that up and down the country people go off in ones and twos for lunch but don’t use the time to “break bread” with one another: something that is certain to deepen connections and build loyalty within an organisation.

It doesn’t have to be gimmicky, it doesn’t even have to be for any particular reason, but we can guarantee that if you announce that once a week, you will be catering for all your employees or colleagues, you would see an immediate uplift in energy and enthusiasm.

We know you value your staff, so try catering for them and watch what happens: see how much more fun the workplace becomes, how deeper team relationships are created and how staff loyalty increases when you celebrate your staff through food within your business.

Fresh fruit and office sundries direct to you

Recent research by the Imperial College London has advised people to increase their intake of fruit and vegetables to 10 day! The World Health Organisation (WHO) still recommends 5 a day, but at the moment only one in three people in the UK is achieving this.

As we spend such a large amount of our lives at work, it makes sense to have ready access to fruit for snacking on throughout the day. Reaching for a piece of fruit - an apple, banana or pot of berries - means a healthy dose of nutrients including vitamins, fibre and antioxidants. It is an excellent replacement for the 'empty' calories of a packet of crisps or round of biscuits which offer no health benefits but that office workers are often slaves to.

Although fruit contains sugar, it is not 'free sugar' - additional sugar which has been added to food or liberated through the juicing process - so (confirms the WHO) has no adverse affects. Eating a high proportion of fruit and vegetables is likely to increase life expectancy. Researcher Dr Dagfinn Aune said:

"Fruit and vegetables have been shown to reduce cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and to boost the health of our blood vessels and immune system.

This may be due to the complex network of nutrients they hold.

For instance, they contain many antioxidants, which may reduce DNA damage and lead to a reduction in cancer risk."

As your office caterer, Jasper's is always keen to find ways to make our customers' lives easier. We have complimented our buffet catering service with a number of other services, all designed to help workplaces stay well nourished in body and mind. Our fresh fruit box delivery is the easy way to help staff get their 5 (or 10!) a day and demonstrates how much employers value their staff's health and well being. You can choose your selection of fresh fruit and get it delivered direct to you as often as you want. In addition, you can have all your office sundries such milk, tea, coffee and mineral water delivered direct to your workplace, saving inconvenient trips to the supermarket.

Find out more and enquire about Jasper's fruit and sundries delivery here

Pumpkins at the ready!

We at Jasper's just love this time of year because we are getting ready for the Famous Jasper's Pumpkin carve, a competition that gets hotter each Halloween!

Our customers have truly amazed us with the weird and wonderful creations they came up with over the last two years, and we know that this year's carve is going to be the best yet!

Our pumpkins will soon be ready to be delivered and lots of our customers have already claimed theirs. Any Jasper's customer reading this that hasn't got their pumpkin yet, needs to contact their local Jasper's super fast!

Pumpkins are free - one per office - and we are asking customers to come up with their best carve or most super spooky creation, snap it and share the photo on Jasper's local social media in time for Halloween on 31st October. There will be prizes of seasonal goodies for the winners.

So what are you waiting for?! Get spooky!

Try our taste of Rio

We've been inspired by the summer of sport ahead and have created a sizzler of a menu full of Brazilian flavours. Kick things off with traditional Bauru which are sub rolls filled with roast beef, mozzarella, tomato and pickled cucumber. Step things up a gear with saucy, tangy Rio Wraps stuffed with salsa, feta, avocado, refried beans and fresh coriander. Keep the heat then cool down with tasty Hot and Cool Chicken Skewers, then get stuck into Brazilian New Potato Salad - a twist on this favourite side dish which has fresh carrot, celery, spring onion and a twist of lime. Finish off with Cinnamon and Sugar-Dusted Mini Doughnuts with indulgent Chocolate Dipping Sauce.

We may not win a medal for our summer menu but we hope that once you've tasted these 5 Brazilian Bowls you'll give us the seal of approval. Available to order throughout August. Contact your local Jasper's for prices.

Let's take this outside

Yes we're in Britain and we get rainy summer days, but we get plenty of sunshine too. Buffet catering doesn't always have to be enjoyed sat around a meeting room table. Why not take it outside? Let your guests, colleagues and customers tuck into their refreshments whilst taking in the fresh air. The ideal way to break up a focus group, board meeting, business pitch or training session.

Jasper's Picnic Catering range provides picnic food favourites in windowed boxes which are easily transported. Scotch eggs, sandwiches, mini quiches, chicken tikka skewers, cream cakes, scones, strawberries and cream...all your classic picnic food favourites are there. Many of our customers order Picnic for staff away days as the food and drink can be supplied in insulated bags so it stays cool while out and about.

We have a range of Picnic menus available, from Deluxe to a Mini Picnic, see the full range here:  http://www.jaspersonline.co.uk/picnic-catering and contact your local Jasper's for prices.