EATING BOUNCE BALLS

Some time ago a massive tub of Spirulina & Ginseng Bounce Balls arrived in the office. I'd tried the other varieties before, but I was hooked on this one. Be warned: beneath the chopped nut outer layer they're bright green (that's the spirulina). They're a dense chewy mix of almonds, oats and sesame seeds, which is high in vitamins E and B12, the antioxidant manganese, as well as fibre and heart-healthy mono and unsaturated fats. They're pleasantly sweet, but not so sweet that your blood sugar has a spike. Pretty soon I got into the habit of eating one (OK, sometimes two) a day. And I felt very lively, perky and energetic (was that the ginseng?). But I can't give the Balls all the credit because I was taking probiotics at the same time, which leads me on to my next best thing...
• Buy Bounce Balls online (quick, the price is going up on April 1)

TAKING PROBIOTICS

As with the Bounce balls, these probiotic supplements came into my life by accident; again, they were sent to me at work. Bio-Kult Advanced Probiotic Multistrain Formula contains 14 strains of beneficial bacteria, which reach more areas of your digestive system. I've been swallowing two billion micro-organisms a day (the does in one capsule). And as I said above, while I've been doing this, I've felt vibrant and enlivened. And now the Bounce balls have run out, I'll be able to work out what's been making me feel so good.

• Buy 60 capsules for £14.65 from Baldwins, a fantastic health food shop in south London's Walworth Road, as well as an online shop.

MAKING AN INSECT HOUSE

Our garden is a wildlife haven - that is if you include slugs and snails! However, we do garden organically and see lots of ladybirds, butterflies, lacewings and bumble bees - as well as lots of birds attracted by our four bird feeders. I'm keen to encourage bees and other beneficial insects, which is why I'm building an insect house, using a wine bottle box stuffed with hollow bamboo, pine cones and cardboard rolls. I also think these structures look like little sculptures, which is just as well because it's a bit late in the season to construct an insect house apparently. So I'll enjoy looking at it all summer and its new inhabitants can move in come the autumn.
• Want to bring beneficial insects to your garden? Make an insect house.

PLANTING UP A WINDOW BOX

The winter's torrential rain and strong winds have wreaked a bit of havoc on gardens. Our bedroom window box seems to have had a particularly bad time. There's just a little evergreen and a vinca (periwinkle) clinging on, with no sign of the tulip bulbs that are in there, nor any new seedlings. So I set about improving the view: in went a red ranunculus (one of my favourite plants) and a delosperma, or ice plant. That one is great for dry spots (ideal if you forget to water it), and its fleshy stems and candy-coloured flowers will spread and spread. That's the theory, anyway. And a potted butterfly lavender has been squeezed in alongside the box. It's instant garden gratification while you wait for longer-term projects to grow, flower and fruit later in the year.
• Learn how to plant up a window box

ENJOYING AUTHENTIC JAPANESE FOOD

Some 'Oriental' chains and restaurants may feature Japanese dishes on their menus, but that doesn't mean the food is authentically Japanese. I lived in Japan for a while and now and then I get massive cravings for proper Japanese food. There's a Japanese restaurant, Lingo, round the corner from work and I've been meaning to try it for a while. Then I bumped into my friend who was also in Japan... so off we went. We had fabulous vegetable gyoza (dumplings), two different aubergine dishes, fried tofu and Japanese beer - and my friend had pork and (Korean) kim chi. Also on the menu were zaru soba (which I know as summer soba) with shiso leaves, and eel and sea urchin. 'Oishii!' (delicious) we said to our waitress from Hokkaido. 'Arigato gozaimasu' (thank you) she said. We'll be back...
• See all of our Japanese recipes

What have you tried this week?