I’m always on the lookout for new healthy recipes so imagine my delight when I spotted The Midlife Kitchen. Aimed at those of us in our forties, the book promises recipes that will “future-proof your life through your forties, fifties and well beyond.” The authors are journalist Mimi Spencer, who co-wrote the bestselling Fast Diet, and her friend, Sam Rice. They set out their manifesto at the beginning of the…
There’s one thing I particularly like about Amelia Freer’s new book, Eat Nourish Glow – her emphasis is on consistency rather than perfection. Busy lifestyles and conflicting advice about nutrition often make it difficult for us to make the right choices about food but here the focus is creating healthy habits. It’s okay to make a mistake or have a splurge once in a while as long as you get…
On a cold day, after a killer workout, I found myself craving a hearty lunch – baked beans to be precise. While I am partial to the occasional tin of the commercially-produced variety, I much prefer to make my own. They’re lower in sugar and you can flavour them any way you like. The basic recipe below serves four. I seasoned mine with sweet paprika and a pinch of dried chilli…
We waste a staggering amount of food in the UK – around 15 million tonnes per year according to the latest statistics – and I’m as guilty as the next person. Brown bananas in the fruit bowl, soggy lettuce at the back of the fridge. Domestic waste is estimated at around seven million tonnes and costs the average household with children around £700 per year. There’s an environmental impact too from…
Busy lifestyles often make it difficult to maintain a healthy weight. Weight loss pills and fad diets seem to offer a quick fix but research shows that 95 per cent of dieters regain the weight they lost within one to five years. The weight loss industry is worth billions of pounds yet obesity is increasing at a dramatic rate. According to a study published earlier this year, 67 per cent…
It’s that time of year when I start to crave hot chocolate. It’s a perfect pick-me-up as the afternoons get shorter and the weather becomes colder. Made the right way, a steaming mug of hot chocolate is not only comforting but nutritious too. Cacao is packed with antioxidants – up to three times as much as a green tea. It also contains essential minerals including magnesium, calcium, sulphur and zinc and…
I’m a big fan of smoothies, especially after a hard workout. They’re a great way to refuel and get some nutrients back into your body. You can add just about anything to your smoothie and today I wanted to use up some spinach an half an avocado I had in the fridge. After a quick scout around the kitchen I came up with the following recipe. Choc Cherry Smoothie 1 tbsp…
I’m not a vegetarian but I’ve been exploring vegetarian food recently thanks to a plethora of veggie cookbooks that have piqued my interest: Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty, River Cottage Veg everyday! and LEON Fast Vegetarian to name a few. My absolute favourite has to be Anna Jones’ book, A Modern Way to Eat, which has been in almost constant use since I bought it a couple of months ago. It’s packed…