Why Kathy Burke’s ‘All Woman’ is a Must-Watch for – Well, All Women! | #ThisGirlEats

I’m currently at home by myself while my boyfriend is living it up and drinking beer touring in Canada and you know what that means – lots and lots of watching telly.

I was scouring the web for things to watch – no, not THAT kind of stuff, you filthy animals – and, because I’m a bit of a nerd, I spent a lot of time looking for new documentaries. I’d watched all my usual suspects like Louis Theroux and Stacey Dooley, and eventually stumbled across a three-part series with Kathy Burke.

For those of you who were born in this millennium, Kathy Burke was very popular in the ’90s for her role in British comedy with shows like Gimme Gimme Gimme, Absolutely Fabulous and French and Saunders. She’s not only known for being funny, but also for being an independent, no-fucks-given woman who don’t need no man (but makes no secret of the fact that she does like to get off with them).

 

Her latest show, All Woman, is something I absolutely smashed through in a matter of hours and, as a woman, I can safely say that she nailed it with this one.

The episodes touch on three main things – beauty, motherhood and relationships – and really explore these topics from extreme to the other. The whole thing is fascinating from start to finish, but there’s almost definitely at least something in each episode that will really tap into the experiences of so, so many women out there.

It’s just such a personal show, with Kathy herself opening up about feelings that some of us might be too afraid to express ourselves. When she says she doesn’t regret putting her career first, or that she was more hurt when people insulted her intelligence rather than her looks, it’s refreshing and encouraging.

 

And it’s not only Kathy’s voice that is a welcome relief; we meet a whole range of women in the episodes, including celebrities, from Katherine Ryan and Samantha Morton talking about their experiences as single parents, to Megan Barton-Hanson discussing the double-edged sword – or knife – of plastic surgery, and Caroline Flack opening up about being slut-shamed for her singlehood. It’s not just celebs who open up either – we also meet a great group of women who support each other by getting together to regularly stitch swear words into blankets. We even meet a nun along the way!

It’s a real deep exploration into being a woman, by women, for women. And I’m all for that!

So, ladies, if you’re stuck for something to do, or something to watch, this is my latest recommendation for some supportive, life-affirming girl power. All women should be watching All Woman!

Kathy Burke’s All Woman is available on All 4.

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Being Vegan is Awesome – But You Don’t Have to Go ‘All The Way’ to Make a Difference! | #ThisGirlEats

My friends have told me the many ethical, health and environmental reasons that they did away with animal products. I’ll be honest, none of it really stuck – I respected their views and was definitely interested, but carried on tucking into my chicken club sandwich as I nodded along. Sorry guys.

For me, the only thing that really hit home was watching Cowspiracy – for the first time ever, I really started to think about the ethics of meat and dairy.

Below are just a few Cowspiracy facts that really opened my eyes.

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I want to put it out there right now – I’m NOT vegan. I’m not vegetarian. Sadly, even with these mind-boggling facts, I’m not brave enough to make the move right now – but that’s the point. I’m writing this as someone who eats meat but would still like to start making positive changes when it comes to this whole issue, at least until I get the guts to make a heavier commitment.

Perhaps I’m not ready for a full-on transformation. But after watching the documentary, my boyfriend and I decided we could definitely shake up our diets a bit – we did a few really simple things that, I hope, make a difference when it comes to the staggering consumption of animal products. And here they are…

 

1. The thought of drinking cow’s milk made us feel a little queasy, so we decided to swap to alternatives – hazelnut and oat milks are yummy, almond milk is great in recipes, and soya milk can be bought super cheap. 🥛

2. We used to buy eggs every week and almost always throw them away because we hadn’t managed to use them up – so we simply stopped! I can’t remember the last time we bought eggs, so that’s a lot less waste.

3. Our first attempt at cutting down on meat was to only eat one meaty meal a day – for example, bacon sandwiches for breakfast meant we wouldn’t eat meat for the rest of the day. If we planned pepperoni pizza for dinner, we’d have a veggie lunch. It’s easy, really.

4. What started out as a way to make our food shop cheaper actually turned into a conscious ethical decision – all our weekday meals are now veggie (vegan on a good day!) and we only let our carnivorous side out on weekends, or when we’re ordering in / buying out.

 

I really do try to make better choices. I try to buy cheese and tomato pizza instead of meat feast 🍕 order mixed bean instead of chilli con carne 🌶️ choose mushroom tagliatelle instead of lasagne 🍝. I’ve gone from eating ham sandwiches every lunchtime to eating meat twice, maybe three times, a week. It’s not perfect – but it’s better!

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I’m definitely not one to preach about what you “should or shouldn’t” eat. Like, at all. I just want to show anyone who is reconsidering how they consume animal products that yeah, going vegetarian or vegan is scary, especially if it’s an alien concept. But you don’t have to go cold turkey (excuse the pun)! If we all make little changes, just try to cut down or choose alternatives every once in a while, the impact really could be huge.

Think about it.