If you want a boost of energy in a hurry, which will keep you going for hours until you next eat, try whipping yourself up a simple and healthy carbohydrate treat – mix cooked brown rice with herbs and lemon juice and sprinkle with toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
Cook up an omelet
If you’ve only got a few minutes for supper, an omelette with vegetables like spinach, onion and broccoli makes a quick healthy meal. Use lots of vegetables and just enough egg to hold it together, then add salad for an extra health boost.
A quick fix
For a quick, nutritious TV dinner, bake or microwave a sweet potato and instead of butter, drizzle with a little honey or maple syrup and sprinkle with cinnamon and/or nutmeg. Then serve with salad and a protein source such as fish or meat. Kids love it, too.
Taste the taboulleh
For a fresh and healthy alternative to pasta or rice, make up a bowl of Lebanese taboulleh, which is made from cracked wheat and traditionally contains large amounts of healthy parsley as well as tomato, onion and extra virgin olive oil.
Glazed fruit dessert
Cook yourself a decadent dessert that’s lot healthier than it might seem by glazing pineapple with rum or brandy and frying or grilling until warm. Serve with a sauce made form reduced orange juice, cinnamon and nutmeg and a spoonful of natural yogurt.
Get saucy
Make your own light pasta sauce using fat-free or low-fat cottage cheese pureed or whisked together with a touch of evaporated skimmed milk, lemon juice and a little rosemary. Shred some spinach into the dish just before serving for colour and ad added health boost.
Bind with beans
Instead of creamy dips, use the binding power of beans to knock up health eastern-style hors-do’oeuvres. Puree kidney beans with garlic, red chilli, powered cumin seed, lime juice, olive oil and tomatoes, then stir in chopped onion and coriander leaves.
A health blend
To make a health breakfast smoothie, blend strawberries and papaya (low-GI foods with a high antioxidant content) and half a banana (for blood sugar regulation) with skimmed milk (for calcium) ice cubes and a squeeze of maple syrup (for taste!).
Bake a wholesome treat
Bake up a batch of healthy muffins for family breakfasts and snacks. If you make your own you can include only be best ingredients – and you’ll know they won’t contain preservatives and artificial flavourings or colourings. Choose ingredients like oats, banana, honey, raisins, bran and blueberries.
Start the day well
For a great carb-free breakfast, have a bowl of yogurt – which has digestive benefits as well as calcium – and fresh berries for a morning vitamin boost. Add some flaxseed oil or ground flaxseeds for a dose of omega-3 oils for a perfect start.
Boost breakfast energy
Don’t only use fruit for your morning smoothie. Kick start the day with an energy-giving blend of green tea (for a healthy caffeine boost), carrot juice (for carbohydrates) and your chosen fruit (try mango and banana or apricots and plums). Add low-fat natural yogurt as a filler.
Home is best
Make sure you eat breakfast at home rather than on the go, as take-way breakfasts are often laden with calories and sugar, A regular latte with a flapjack adds up to an astounding 750 calories, compared with around 250 for a bowl of cereal and a cup of tea of coffee with skimmed milk.
Grilled fruit
For a quick, healthy pudding, try making fruit kebabs. Peel and chop fruit into similar sizes, then alternate on a skewer and grill for a few minutes on each side. Serve alone or with natural yogurt and a dash of honey or maple syrup.
Take a cheesy dip
Instead of dipping crudités and raw vegetables into dips like taramasalata and sour cream, which can be fattening, try making your own healthy version using cottage cheese, spring onions and garlic.
Breakfast on muesli
Set yourself up for the day with a bowl of muesli with low-fat milk, fruit and low-fat yogurt. The oats and wholegrains will help you to feel full until lunchtime.
Butter an apple
Cut one apple into thin slices and top with 1-2 tbsp of peanut butter. Include a glass of milk or a small carton of low-fat yogurt for an unusual, all-around healthy breakfast.
Not mush-room for meat
Mushroom have a great meaty texture and are an easy and cheap way to cut down your meat intake. Choose grilled portabello mushrooms in place of a burger (or in place of the bun if you’re cutting out bread).
Cook when you rise
Don’t be afraid to use your oven in the morning. Eggs with wholemeal bread are a great way to start the day, giving you a good measure of protein and carbohydrate. Add a piece of fresh fruit for total balance.
Pick the right pasta
Substitute wholewheat pasta for plain pasta in recipes, particularly in the evening when you don’t want a quick release of sugar into your system.
Get the green benefits
Instead of iceberg lettuce in your salad, which has fairly low levels of nutrients (but is still better than no salad) choose leafier, darker greens like chicory, kale, rocket or watercress, which contain higher levels of nutrients.
Bulk up with veg
If you’re making a meat stew or casserole, halve the amount of meat required and substitute it with vegetables. That way, you’ll cut the calories and give yourself a bit of added vegetables goodness, not to mention reducing the costs.
Ditch the granola
Granola might seem like a healthy breakfast choice because it’s packed with fruit and carbohydrates, but unfortunately it’s also full of fat and sugar, and is one of the most calorific cereals on the market. Stick to low-fat muesli instead, or dilute it with some healthy oats or brain. It’s also delicious used as a topping for low-fat yogurt.
Skim off some weight
Skimmed milk contains about half the calories of whole milk (80 compared to about 150 for one cup), and semi-skimmed milk sits somewhere in between. Lower-fat versions also provide the body with more calcium, so they’re the healthier choice, unless, you’re underweight or a child.
Bake your own bread
Bread is often full of additives such as palm oil and even hormones, so one of the best ideas for family cooking is to invest in a breadmaking machine. They’re relatively cheap and very easy to use – and you’ll know exactly what your kids are eating.
Love your lentils
Serve brown or wild rice or lentils instead of white rice as a filler with your meals. The rice doesn’t taste very different and because you’re choosing wholegrains they’re better for your digestive system and have a lower GI.
All the best!
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