How about this simple but luscious (and comparatively light and healthy!) recipe for a bit of NYE entertaining? Really useful if you have to feed lots of people, and also easy on the crockery as napkins or picnic plates could be used Bring a fragrant, exotic flavour to your celebrations, no matter how large or small,…
Winter is beginning to bite, and Christmas is just around the corner, so, like me, even if you’re being careful to maximise nutrients with fresh food and the odd juice or smoothie, there are still times where only a warming, comforting traditional English pud will do! Puddings always conjure up thoughts of temple-achingly sweet, calorie-laden, guilt-inducingly…
It’s apple season! Apples are a quintessentially English fruit, and the beginning of autumn sees us almost literally rolling in them. The old adage about keeping doctors away by eating a daily apple isn’t actually far from the truth, and as healthcare goes, there are much less delicious ways to keep the change-of-season bugs at…
As summer ends and autumn approaches, courgettes really come into their own. Whether green or yellow, these members of the squash family have a mild flavour, but with an array of health benefits, give them a starring role while they are so fresh and juicy. Chock full of manganese and vitamin C. courgettes don’t just…
Blueberries came to public attention as the first food to be lauded as a superfood’ several years ago, while not really popular here, and more familiar to us as something you ate in a muffin – not exactly the healthiest medium, but balance is everything! From a professional point of view, I believe that all…
Mushrooms must be just about the only vegetable that has so many varieties nestled under that one umbrella name – chestnut, portobello, morel, chanterelle, ceps, shitake, oyster, enochi, and any number of other varieties, native or exotic, increasingly available. Mushrooms have been celebrated as powerfully nutritious for thousands of years, especially in far eastern cultures.…
As a cruciferous vegetable, pak choi is fast becoming a more popular vegetable in its own right, not just used as part of asian cooking. A member of the cabbage family, it’s one of the highest nutritionally ranked vegetables, providing high amounts of more than 21 nutrients. Even more brilliantly, as well as the usual…
Rocket isn’t just a lovely low calorie part of a summer salad; it has a wonderfully spicy flavour that can add a peppery note to omelettes, pizzas, or savoury tarts. Not just a tasty ingredient, rocket is a potent health weapon. A rich source of phytochemicals such as indoles, thiocyanates, sulforaphane, and isothiocyanates as well…
Want to supercharge your summer salads? Then make sure that crunchy cos lettuce is on your plate and it will be packed with nutrients before you add anything else. The rich nutrient profile, fibre, extremely low calorie and high water content combine to make the humble cos (also called romaine) lettuce a health superstar. An…
Food is fabulous all year round, but in summer, the freshest flavours really explode onto our plates! I’m a firm believer in all fresh foods as superfoods, but broad beans are one of those real nutrient powerhouses that absolutely must be seen regularly in a healthy diet, making the most of the seasonal stars. Health-wise,…
Fennel is another of those ‘marmite’ foods – you either love it or hate it, depending on whether or not you’re a fan of the flavour of aniseed! Its flavour is also rather different raw, thinly sliced in a salad, than it is cooked. An easy vegetable to cook braised, roasted or as a gratin,…
You might think the green juice thing is a bit off-putting for a number of reasons, but there’s nothing easier or more refreshing than cucumber and mint in a smoothie made for a summer’s day, for breakfast or a cooling snack. Peel a whole cucumber, cut small chunks straight into a smoothie maker or blender,…
Are you overwhelmed by the thousands of ‘proven diets’ out there and do not know what you should be eating? Do you tend to reach out for food when you’re stressed, angry or sad? Are you feeling sluggish, low of energy and unhappy with your weight? Are you fed up and frustrated that you keep…
The summer’s here, and the summer means strawberries. There are many ways to use them, apart from the ever-wonderful lusciously red slivers drizzled with cream. They go surprisingly well with pepper, basil, and in salads and savoury dishes, expanding their versatility beyond cakes, desserts and preserves. So, this week, I’m sharing a strawberry recipe for…
The sun has deserted us today, but summer is on its way, and the spectre of beaches, skimpier clothes and revealing our limbs to the sun begins to loom! Keep calm, and try this weight loss wonder…… This recipe is a fresh and lovely light lunch or snack which feels indulgent, but actually packs us…
Easter is upon us, along with the school hols, meaning two things – chocolate and keeping the kids occupied! It’s a while since I’ve posted a sweet recipe, and my mission to ‘healthify’ popular treats has moved to a cake already containing a vegetable element – the inimitable carrot cake! A healthy cake recipe? A…
One of the questions I’m frequently asked is what kind of foods are good as a healthy snack or easy light lunch. Dips with lots of veg crudités can be an excellent choice, especially if home made, and light on creamy ingredients. This one is a corker, based on tahini, so it’s creamy, rich and…
Sneezes and itchy eyes seem to have hit lots of people at the moment, and there are certainly a couple of nasty viruses about. With the spring beginning to make its presence felt, though, allergy season has also begun. The break in the persistent rain, and a spell of warmer weather, means the early pollens are…
The early season asparagus is starting to appear – one of my favourite veg, so as always I’m planning to make the most of its short but scrumptious season. What an amazing nutrient-packed spear it is too! As always, the fresher and more local, the better, so make the most of seasonal offerings, for your…
This week’s recipe is a delectable dahl with homemade naan, very easy, and a great way of eating more pulses to boost the intake and absorption of brain-balancing, mood-enhancing nutrients essential for mental health, reduce inflammation and generally provide a delicious dose of healthy comfort food. For an added aspect, make the naan breads to…
So, what healthy, easy and delicious recipe to share this week? With requests for a couple of the recipes I’ve used at events/classes recently, I thought I’d get those out to people. A healthier version of a sweet treat, and the oh-so-quick-and-easy homemade loaf you can put on the table in less than an hour…
February. Sigh. In the light (or lack of it..) of the weather and time of year, the recipe this week has to focus on breakfast as the mainstay of winter healthy (h)eating! Here’s a recipe with a definite winter slant, an amazing way to start the day, especially in this wet, wild, wintry weather. Keep…
The sugar detox is the latest food fad creating headlines and TV progs, everywhere you look it seems. The inevitable bandwagon is rolling along predictably, gathering so many passengers that it must be in danger of toppling over. The original sugar detox guru does use sweet foods, like chocolate and rice syrup. Other ‘diets’ advocate…
What’s a naturally nourishing seasonal recipe for January? The winter, and especially January, are kale season, so a lovely kale recipe it is! Kale is everywhere at the moment, and rightly so – it’s the daddy of nutritious greens. It’s a potent source of plant betacarotene, cancer-fighting sulphorophane and indoles, as well as vitamins C…
SAD, or seasonal affective disorder, is more common in the UK than we might think. Weak, watery winter sunshine, if we get any at all, doesn’t exactly encourage us to get out and about, leaving us at risk of low vitamin D and serotonin levels. So if you, or someone you know, seems to retreat…
For those of us lucky enough to live in the South West of the UK, it plays a surprising role in our life expectancy – we have the highest life expectancy in the country! Very good news for me and my fellow Devonians and Cornish piskies, but what about tips for us all to live…
So, for the recipe this week, what about something ‘clean’? A chicken recipe, but a chilli too? After the seasonal indulgence, with a plethora of diets, detoxes and all sorts of regimes flying about (my thoughts on these later in the week!!) what we could do with is maximum nutrition, fantastic taste and that winter…