Lorraine Pascale's Blog, page 11

Fostering & Me with Lorraine Pascale

In a new BBC documentary, Lorraine highlights the need for foster care in Britain today.

Fostering & Me with Lorraine Pascale is a one-off film looking at the realities of foster care in the UK, fronted by Lorraine who was herself a child in care.

Adopted at 18 months old and then fostered at eight, Lorraine believes that fostering “saved her life".

“I believe foster care is the Cinderella of the care world and there is far more emphasis put on adoption. I'm making this film to throw the spotlight on to fostering and hopefully encourage more people to consider it as an option,” explains Lorraine.

In Britain today, a child is placed in foster care every 22 minutes and the number needing homes continues to rise. Eight-thousand seven-hundred and fifty new foster families must be found across the UK over the next 12 months to avoid a real crisis. But, despite this urgency, fostering is still the poor relation of Children’s Services. Adoption often hits the headlines but only 5 per cent of all ‘looked after’ children actually end up being adopted.

In this one-hour documentary, Lorraine takes us into the world of fostering and provides an insider’s guide to foster care. As well as telling her own personal story and examining the impact of fostering on her life, Lorraine will also gain extraordinary access to the fostering process at a London local authority. Meeting with the social workers, care teams, children and young people currently being fostered, Lorraine will find out what it takes to be a foster carer, and what the children think of the system and care they receive.

Fostering & Me with Lorraine Pascale airs June 19th, BBC Two at 9pm.

The Truth About Fostering

In a new BBC documentary, Lorraine highlights the need for foster care in Britain today.

The Truth About Fostering is a one-off film looking at the realities of foster care in the UK, fronted by Lorraine who was herself a child in care.

Adopted at 18 months old and then fostered at eight, Lorraine believes that fostering “saved her life".

“I believe foster care is the Cinderella of the care world and there is far more emphasis put on adoption. I'm making this film to throw the spotlight on to fostering and hopefully encourage more people to consider it as an option,” explains Lorraine.

In Britain today, a child is placed in foster care every 22 minutes and the number needing homes continues to rise. Eight-thousand seven-hundred and fifty new foster families must be found across the UK over the next 12 months to avoid a real crisis. But, despite this urgency, fostering is still the poor relation of Children’s Services. Adoption often hits the headlines but only 5 per cent of all ‘looked after’ children actually end up being adopted.

In this one-hour documentary, Lorraine takes us into the world of fostering and provides an insider’s guide to foster care. As well as telling her own personal story and examining the impact of fostering on her life, Lorraine will also gain extraordinary access to the fostering process at a London local authority. Meeting with the social workers, care teams, children and young people currently being fostered, Lorraine will find out what it takes to be a foster carer, and what the children think of the system and care they receive.

Lorraine Pascale: The Truth About Fostering airs June 19th, BBC Two at 8pm.

Courgette and red onion side salad with a very light honey mustard dressing

Ingredients

1 large courgette, top and tail cut off

1/2 a large red onion

Dressing

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp of honey

1 tsp English mustard

Salt and pepper

Method

If you don't have a spiralizer use a cheese grater. Put the cheese grater laying down flat with the largest holes facing up and the handle toward you. Hold the courgette horizontally and Grate the courgettes in one direction only away from you which will give you thin strips of veg. Repeat with the red onion. Then put both veg in a bowl and gently mix together.

Mix dressing ingredients together and then pour over the salad. Gently toss and serve.

Lemon and poppyseed pancakes

Makes 6-8 pancakes

Ingredients

100g of oats

3 large eggs

4 tbsp of greek yogurt (low, no or full fat)

1 tsp of baking powder

pinch of salt

3 tbsp of poppyseeds

Zest of 2-3 lemons

optional: 1 tsp of honey

*(if you are on a high protein eating plan add 1 scoop of whey protein to the blender before blitzing and you may need to add 1 extra tbsp of greek yogurt also, so that the mixture is not too thick)

Rapeseed or olive oil

To serve

1 banana

a couple of handfuls of blueberries

A couple of dollops of greek yogurt

Method

Put the oats, eggs, yogurt, baking powder and salt in to a blender and blitz until smooth. Stir in the poppyseeds and lemon zest along with the honey and protein powder if using. (Please note these work great with and without the protein powder).

Get a frying pan nice and hot with a bit of oil in it. Then pour in the batter to make 4 pancakes about 10cm in diameter. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side or until the pancakes are golden brown. Transfer these to a plate and keep warm. ( I just cover the plate with tin foil). Then repeat with the rest of the pancake batter.

Once you have cooked all the pancakes, serve them with some banana and blueberries on top and a dollop of greek yogurt.

Simple salmon supper

Crispy skin salmon with almonds served with pan fried tender stem broccoli, sugar snaps, green beans, asparagus and chilli.

Serves one

Ingredients

1 large handful EACH of:

sugar snaps

TenderStem broccoli

Green beans

Asparagus

1 salmon fillet skin on

1 red chilli, finely sliced

Rapeseed or olive oil

Handful of flaked almonds

Salt and pepper

Method

Put a little oil in a large frying pan. Get the oil nice and hot and then fry the asparagus, sugar snaps, tenderStem broccoli and green beans in the pan for 3-5 or so minutes or until they are cooked but still have a bit of bite to them and are going golden brown in parts. Move the veg around in the pan from time to time to make sure they are evenly cooked. Once ready tip veg from the pan and set aside.

Put a tiny bit more oil in the pan and get it nice and hot. Season the salmon with salt and pepper and then add the salmon skin side down and leave to cook for about 5 minutes to get the skin nice and crispy. Then using tongs cook the fish for 15 seconds on each side, and finally flip the salmon skin side up and leave to sit in the pan until it is cooked to just how you like it.

Once it is ready, remove the salmon from the pan and place onto the serving plate. Sprinkle the almonds over the top. Throw the veg back in the pan with the chilli and salt and pepper for 30 seconds to reheat through. Then serve along along side the salmon

Carrot cake cinnamon protein pancakes

Those of you on very high protein eating plans, if you want to add extra protein to these, just add one scoop of your vanilla protein powder. Plus a couple more tablespoons of Greek yogurt.

Ingredients

100g oats (1 cup approx USA)

3 large eggs (3 medium if USA)

1 medium carrot grated

Pinch of salt

3 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp baking powder

Optional: 1 tsp honey

4 big tablespoons of 2% Greek Yogurt (not Greek style yogurt)

Method

Blitz this all together in a blender and set aside. The mixture should be just like normal pancake batter consistency. If it's too thick add a little more Greek yogurt, if it's too thin add a bit more carrot.

Get a frying pan nice and hot with a little rapeseed oil/sunflower oil in it. Pour the mixture into the pan to make 4 pancakes.

Cook for a couple of minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through.

Tomato, chilli, red pepper, basil and chive breakfast salsa

This recipe is a great addition to poached eggs and toasted Rye bread. Alternatively use it as an accompaniment to chicken,fish, tofu or meat.

Serves One

Ingredients

3 medium sized tomatoes cut into small cubes

1/4 of a red chilli finely sliced

1/2 a red pepper cut into small cubes

1 small handful of chives finely sliced

4 basil leaves roughly torn

Salt and pepper

Method

Simply mix everything together and adjust the seasoning to suit you adding more chilli if you fancy a bit of an extra spicy kick.

Lorraine supports Foster Care Fortnight

It’s Foster Care Fortnight - the Fostering Network's annual campaign to raise the profile of fostering - and Lorraine has been championing a cause that is close to her heart.

Lorraine became patron of children’s charity The Adolescent and Children’s Trust (TACT) two years ago, having been a supporter of TACT since January 2011. Unlike fostering agencies , any operating profits are invested back into their service provision to ensure TACT carers and the children in their care receive the best support they can provide.

“As a care leaver and adopted child myself, I know only too well the issues a child in care faces,” says Lorraine, “which is why I strongly believe in the work TACT does to transform lives. This was part of the reason I decided to become TACT’s patron; I can use my personal experiences to positively promote issues surrounding looked after children and TACT’s work. Being in care should be a positive experience, and I relish the role of helping TACT make a difference.”

Lorraine has taken an active role in helping to support TACT, such as running the British London 10K to raise funds in 2012. The money she helped raise went towards providing activities for children and young people, additional therapeutic support and participation events to enable young people to meet others in care. Events and days out form a key part of our focus as a children’s charity.

Lorraine has also been highlighting the need for foster care in Britain today as part of a special one off documentary. Lorraine Pascale: The Truth About Fostering will air later this year on the BBC.

To find out more about Lorraine’s involvement with TACT click here.

The Truth About Fostering

In a new BBC documentary, Lorraine highlights the need for foster care in Britain today.

The Truth About Fostering is a one-off film looking at the realities of foster care in the UK, fronted by Lorraine who was herself a child in care.

Adopted at 18 months old and then fostered at eight, Lorraine believes that fostering “saved her life".

“I believe foster care is the Cinderella of the care world and there is far more emphasis put on adoption. I'm making this film to throw the spotlight on to fostering and hopefully encourage more people to consider it as an option,” explains Lorraine.

In Britain today, a child is placed in foster care every 22 minutes and the number needing homes continues to rise. Eight-thousand seven-hundred and fifty new foster families must be found across the UK over the next 12 months to avoid a real crisis. But, despite this urgency, fostering is still the poor relation of Children’s Services. Adoption often hits the headlines but only 5 per cent of all ‘looked after’ children actually end up being adopted.

In this one-hour documentary, Lorraine takes us into the world of fostering and provides an insider’s guide to foster care. As well as telling her own personal story and examining the impact of fostering on her life, Lorraine will also gain extraordinary access to the fostering process at a London local authority. Meeting with the social workers, care teams, children and young people currently being fostered, Lorraine will find out what it takes to be a foster carer, and what the children think of the system and care they receive.

Lorraine Pascale: The Truth About Fostering will air later this year on the BBC.

Lorraine set to star in a brand new BBC series

Lorraine will be returning to our screens to transform the lives of unconfident cooks as she helps them find their feet in the kitchen.

Lorraine Pascale: How To Be A Better Cook is a brand new six part BBC series. The programme will see Lorraine create delicious and deceptively easy recipes for six kitchen novices to wow their friends and family at a surprise dinner party.

From a woman who admits passing ready meals off as her own, to a husband who’s never cooked, these six inexperienced cooks are in desperate need of some help in the kitchen. Lorraine rolls up her sleeves and spends a day with each of them in their own kitchen, intensively teaching them the skills needed to master their three-course menu.

From creating an easy family meal from scratch to producing posh canapés for a hen party, every episode is packed with delicious food and expert tips we can all learn from. Lorraine also takes the cooks on a special trip to inspire them and help them grow in confidence – be it cooking Chinese food at a street stall or making their own cocktail at a top London bar.

“With this series, we want to make cooking accessible for everyone – no matter their experience level,” says Lorraine. “I’ll be joining people in their own kitchens and showing them just how easy it is to whip up food that’s guaranteed to impress.”

The series is expected to air later this year.