This healthy recipe from Gousto has a variety of intriguing favours, as well as being relatively simple to cook (even I could do it!). It serves 2, but doubling the ingredient amounts means the recipe can be used for a whole family. It also includes a few ingredients new to myself, such as the small, slimy, vinegary flower pods capers.

The original recipe recommended 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar, but we left it out as the flavour would have been rather overpowering.

Ingredients
1 chicken breast fillet
400g small potatoes (e.g new potatoes)
80g green beans
30g pistachios
10g tarragon
1 garlic clove
15g capers
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Method

1. Boil a kettle full of water (for the potatoes later).
2. Cut the potatoes into 3cm wide chunks, no peeling required.
3. Add the potatoes to a saucepan, and cover with the boiled water from Step 1 along with a pinch of salt. Put the saucepan lid on, and bring the boil to a high heat. These should be cooked for 10-15 mins, or until they can be pierced easily with a fork.
4. Whilst the potatoes are boiling, trim the ends off the green beans, and cut them in half.
5. Chop the tarragon finely, including the stalks.
6. Peel and finely chop the garlic.
7. Add the pistachio nuts to a non-stick pan for a few minutes at a low heat. Once they are toasted, transfer them to a pestle and mortar and grind into rubble. Alternatively, a rolling pin and a bowl can be used.
8. Return the pistachio pan onto the heat, along with a tablespoon of oil and a little salt.
9. Cut the chicken into strips 2cm across, and cook in the pan until fully cooked.
10. Add the green beans to the potatoes, and cook for 1 minute.
11. Drain the green beans and potatoes, and add into the chicken pan along with a small knob of butter and the sliced garlic.
12. Cook for 3-5 more minutes until the potatoes are starting to turn golden, then add the capers, tarragon, and crushed pistachios.
13. Mix all the ingredients well and add some salt and pepper, as well as any additional seasoning desired.
14. Serve!

When working towards a healthier diet, cutting vices like alcohol is often one of the first steps. We've all heard of a "beer belly", and none of us want one.

Whilst excessive binge drinking is obviously extremely harmful to both yourself, those around you, and society as a whole, the occasional drink isn't as clear cut. In fact, drinking a little alcohol in moderation has many health benefits. In general, the weight gain associated with those who regularly consume alcohol is actually caused by associated factors, not the alcohol itself. For example, an increased likelihood to consume takeaways, pub food, and other high calorie foods. Additionally, the weight gain from alcohol isn't confirmed yet, despite many large studies on the subject.

So, don't worry about the occasional beer at the weekend, it's probably doing you good!

This pie is really delicious and seasonal. By using filo pastry instead of a thicker pie filling it is a lot lighter and less 'stogey' in comparison. The selection of vegetables used makes this Tesco recipe a really nice dish which is simple to make.




Ingredients
3 red peppers, deseeded and diced
1 red onion, diced
1 courgette, diced
3 tomatoes, deseeded and diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
olive oil
1 tbsp capers
handful frozen prawns
4 sheets filo pastry
knob of butter, melted

Method:
1.)Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C. Heat the oil in a pan and add the peppers, onion, courgette and tomatoes. Cook until they start to soften, then stir in the garlic and capers. Fry for a few minutes more, then stir in the prawns.
2.) Place the cooked vegetable mixture into a colander briefly to get rid of excess liquid, then transfer straight into an ovenproof dish and season.
3.) Cut the pastry sheets into 4 even squares, then scrunch each one into a very loose ball. Scatter the scrunched up balls over the top of the vegetable mixture.
4.) Brush lightly with the melted butter and place in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until the prawns are cooked through and the pastry is golden and crisp. You could serve it with freshly steamed vegetables.

We all want to eat healthily, but it can often be hard to determine the healthiness of a food item at a glance. For example, Diet Coke has 0 calories and 0 fat, and yet we all know more than the occasional can is a fast track to obesity.

Whilst Reference Intake (RI) bars don't fully alleviate the issue, they do provide an easy way of assessing the health values of a product at a glance. With an intuitive red / yellow / green system along with percentages, finding out the health value of most foods is far easier. Lest ye forget, the body needs small amounts of sugar and fat, so aiming for all green bars all the time isn't necessarily the best option.

However, the system relies on predetermined portion sizes, which are often not realistic. For example, a loaf of bread will use a single slice to calculate the RIs, whereas almost every use of bread will require at least twice this portion. Unhealthy products are often not represented fairly, with RIs calculated off small slices of the product instead of the larger portion size most will have. This inconsistency, if spotted, further illustrates how absurdly high in fat and sugar cakes and chocolate can be. If 1/5th of a small cake contains 50% the daily allowance of saturated fat, imagine what half the cake would contain!

Additionally, the reference intakes don't distinguish between different types of sugar and fat. So whilst a banana contains a high amount of sugar, it is still an extremely healthy food, and far better than any crisps / chocolate. Nuts also suffer from high amounts of fat (and saturated fat), but in small amounts are very good for the body.

In summary, RIs should be used wherever possible to assess the benefits of a product, but may not tell the full story. Instead, they should be used to begin assessing the health benefits of a product, along with the ingredients list.

We all make mistakes. Unfortunately most of us don't have infallible willpower, so we occasionally slip on our diet or exercise goals. Whilst these mistakes aren't the end of the world, avoiding their impact is still an achievable goal.

One of the most destructive mindsets is the idea of a "cheat day", a day where your usual positive lifestyle improvements can be ignored. These days consist of pizza, alcohol, sitting around all day, and generally ignoring any diet or exercise commitments. The dangerous part of these days is the "I've already had 3 slices of pizza, 1 more won't make any difference" mentality.

That 4th slice is just as unhealthy as the 1st slice on a normal day! It's important to keep this in mind, so that mistakes can be treated more as "cheat incidents" instead of developing into "cheat days".

For example, today I had a small packet of sweets. This then snowballed into thinking I should have pizza for dinner, maybe some ice cream, etc. Realising that this was the cheat day mindset in full effect let me get rid of these urges, and continue with my planned healthy meal.

Good luck sticking to your plans!

This isn't a sponsored post! It's simply a healthy food product we enjoy, and felt more people should be aware of.

Most snacks available aren't healthy. Of those that are, the painful pricetag makes them an impossible choice for those on a budget. Recently, I noticed Nakd bars being available in more and more locations, so decided to take a look into them.

The main selling point of the bars is the very small list of ingredients, typically only 4-5. For example, their Cocoa Chocolate bar contains just dates, cashews, raisins, cocoa, and natural flavouring. In a time where most healthy bars have a list of ingredients 20-30 items long, this kind of approach is very interesting.

Because of this minimalist approach to ingredients, a long list of beneficial characteristics about the bars occur, including:

• Dairy free
• Gluten free
• Wheat free
• GM free

All of these characteristics ensure the bars appeals to those of us on stricter diets, whilst the fact that the bars count as one of your five a day ensure it is beneficial for all of us.

Another unique selling point of the bars is their price point. With a pack of 4 bars often being available for £1 (~$1.50), and a single bar costing around £0.40 (~$0.60), they are hard to ignore. Generally costing less than almost all chocolate bars, they provide an excellent way of substituting unhealthy impulse purchases with healthy ones.

Finally, and arguably most importantly, the taste. These bars taste simply amazing, to the extent that I would choose them over a chocolate bar even without the health and price benefits. They all provide strong, rich tastes, all being very distinct and recognizable as their namesake. The bars aren't crumbly, sticking together to prevent a messy eating experience.

The company itself is also commendable, dedicated to providing innovating healthy solutions. A full list of employees is also available on their website, increasing the accessibility of the brand. It's been a long time since the "Webshop Operator" employee has been seen on the company staff pages!

The company also regularly hosts giveaways to win bars, with Nakd snacks being given away every month. 3-4 giveaways are usually running at any one time, and with such a tasty reward there's no reason not to enter! I've been subscribed to their newsletter for over a year, and received 3-4 newsletters at most.

With international delivery from the webshop, and an ever-increasing presence in brick and mortar shops, Natural Balance Foods and the Nakd brand in particular are definitely worth keeping an eye on.

This dish is a simple and easy recipe which is not only healthy but delicious too. By serving it with a green salad you can make a nutritious meal for all the family. When making this I only used 3 peppers and 5 eggs as I was making this for two and I can't slice my peppers anywhere near as finely as the Tesco recipe entails.

Ingredients:
6-8 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion- peeled and finely sliced
5 Green Peppers- deseeded and finely chopped
2 Garlic Cloves- finely sliced
6 eggs
Salt and Pepper- to season

Method:
1.) Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onion. Cook very slowly with a pinch of salt until deep gold – about 30 minutes – stirring every so often. Drain, reserving the oil, then pour the oil back into the pan and add the peppers and garlic. Fry for 5-10 minutes until completely tender.
2.) Whisk together the eggs and a little seasoning in a large bowl, then add the onions, peppers and garlic, again reserving the oil.
3.) Put a large frying pan on the heat and add the reserved oil. When nearly smoking, carefully pour in the tortilla mixture, shaking the pan slightly to ensure it is evenly spread. Reduce the heat and cook for about five minutes until the underside is golden-brown.
4.)Place a similar-sized plate on top of the pan and carefully, using a cloth, invert the tortilla on to the plate.
5.)Add a little extra oil into the pan then slide the tortilla back into the pan and cook for another 3-5 minutes, until the centre is set. Slide back on to the plate and leave to cool for a few minutes.

Fruit is possibly the healthiest snacking option available, providing a massive array of benefits whilst being very low in fat and one of the few entirely natural snack foods. Most health organisations suggest people should get 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, and snacks are an easy way to fulfill the quota.

This post will provide a few suggestions of snacking fruit, with the goal of helping you find tastier, healthier snacks. Fruit in general provides long-lasting energy, making them a far more suitable snack than a chocolate bar or packet of sweets. The large variety of fruit is best summed up by the classic xkcd comic:

Apples

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, so my 2 a day (11am + 3pm) must keep him miles off! These are easy to throw in a workbag as you leave, and are extremely convenient. With no peel to take off and the ability to be eaten with one hand, apples are truly the ultimate snack on the go. Their slightly hard skin also means they can take a little bit of a beating (unlike bananas), although the bruised flesh won't be as tasty. Apples always seem to taste nicer when cut up, but make sure to eat them quickly to avoid browning.

With a wide variety of apple variations available, it's worth experimenting to find a favourite. Whilst names vary between countries, it's still worth pointing out the crisp sharpness of a Golden Delicious makes it my favourite.

Bananas

The monkey's favourite, you don't have to be bananas to enjoy them! That was awful, I'm so sorry. The humble banana is excellent in banana cake or in a sandwich, but they are also a very tasty treat straight out the peel. Whilst eating the bottom of a banana is generally frowned upon, it provides an extra bit of fibre with no downsides for those that enjoy it. With 100 billion bananas eaten every year, they are an overwhelmingly popular breakfast and lunch ingredient worldwide.

Oh, and don't forget to open them properly!

Oranges

Like apples, oranges have a wide variety of flavours and sizes so finding one you enjoy shouldn't be too hard. Easy peelers are available year round, and are as convenient as oranges can be. Small, easily peelable, and with very few pips, eating a couple of them is a great way to have a sweet snack. The only downside is the associated mess of peel and pith, and sticky fingers!

Larger variations of orange are more a challenge, requiring an investment of time and effort to get to the main part of the fruit. They also take a reasonably long time to eat, with a recent workplace challenge proving we couldn't eat 5 pre-peeled oranges in 5 minutes!

Grapes

Grapes are possibly the tastiest fruit around, I can never stop myself from eating the entire packet whenever they are purchased. Whilst they do tend to be quite expensive, they are very convenient to eat one by one over an extended period of time. As with most fruit grapes have many wide-ranging health benefits ensuring they are a guilt-free snack candidate.

Raisins

Technically raisins are just dried grapes, but they are distinct enough to warrant a separate section. Raisins are best for those that tend to buy fruit, forget about it, and end up throwing it out once it goes off. They can last weeks, even months, without any negative side effects, and still contain almost all of the energy of the grape before it was dried. They are also very convenient, with a small packet providing tens of tiny individual snacks. Their harder, dried nature also means they can't be bruised by a bumpy bike ride, so are perfect for those that cycle to work.

Snack In Moderation

As with any snacks, it's important not to go over the top on fruit snacking. They are a sugary food, so too many will have negative side effects on digestion and dental hygiene. That being said, the side effects are nowhere near as negative as over-snacking on crisps or chocolate would be.

Speaking of dental hygiene, make sure not to eat fruit before brushing your teeth, as the sugar temporarily weakens a tooth's enamel meaning it can be eroded easily by the toothbrush. As for eating after brushing, one taste of an orange should ensure the mistake is a one-off!

This orchard program was one of the more generous recently, offering £4 to spend on "exotic fruit" and 4x 50p vouchers for friends and family. A surprisingly high number of fruits were available, far more than the 3-4 expected. In total, 9 different fruits were available, including one previously unknown to me, listed below:

Asian Pears, Coconut, Figs, Granadilla, Mango, Papaya, Physalis, Pineapple, Pomegranate.

Despite the temptation to take a risk and try a new fruit, we opted to stick with the ever reliable mango. As it's been a few years since I last tried an actual mango (I don't think mango sorbet counts!), the strong flavour was somewhat of a surprise. I accidentally revealed my amateur mango skills by being impressed when shown the "porcupine" technique to chopping the fruit.

The fruit itself was delicious, and we easily munched our way through the medium sized fruit for dessert, especially as it was so sweet and flavourful. It was hard to believe it was a healthy dessert, since it tasted far nicer than plenty of other desserts (e.g. coffee cake, although that may be slightly subjective).

Next time we end up with a mango, I've got a feeling a delicious mango sorbet is on the cards..!

Despite the media's focus on whichever diet is this month's "hot tip", the basic tips towards living healthier and losing weight have never changed; eat better & exercise more. One of the easiest ways to eat healthier with minor sacrifices (if any) is to replace your existing diet with healthier options. In this post, I'll offer a few suggestions on how to achieve that.

Breakfast

The most important meal of the day. Why start off with an unhealthy snack that won't keep you going until lunchtime?

Pop Tarts / Muffins / Bagels => Toast

These (vaguely) bread based choices unfortunately all contain lots of sugar, and are often coated in a layer to keep them fresher for longer. Bread tends to be a bit healthier, particularly if using brown bread and/or bread with seeds in.

Topping is also important. Butter and cheese are quite fatty, whilst lower fat margarine and creative toppings such as banana are relatively good for you.

Sugary Cereal => Muesli

Foods such as Coco Pops and Frosties are quite clearly unhealthy, but others like Rice Krispies and Shreddies are also just as bad, the sugar is simply less obvious. The only way to truly tell how much sugar or fat is in a cereal is by looking at the "health bars", which exist for exactly this purpose.

Even granola, a seemingly healthy option (it contains fruit!)  has very high amounts of sugar, used to stick the clusters together and sweeten the meal. Muesli has a similar taste, but instead of adding sugar will use ingredients such as raisins to help improve the taste. Whilst the taste of blander cereal such as muesli isn't as sweet as we are used to, adding extra fruit (banana, apple) quickly resolves that.

Lunch

Sandwiches => Sandwiches

Sandwiches are such a large category of food that they can't all be deemed healthy or unhealthy. The variance is so massive that replacing unhealthy sandwiches with healthier ones is as significant a change as anything else on this list. Sandwiches such as Tesco's Healthy Living Prawn Mayonnaise sandwich contain 11% calories, 3% fat, and 3% saturates. Compared to their Roast Chicken & Lincolnshire Sausages sandwich with 32% calories, 46% fat, and 37% saturates, the difference is very clear.

Fast Food => Homemade

Whilst this is an absolutely massive topic that could be (and will be!) a blog post(s) by itself, it's still worth pointing out. This doesn't include more niche fast food such as sushi, but instead the wildly popular McDonalds, Burger King, Dominoes, etc. These meals contain simply absurd amounts of calories, fat, and salt, often more than half your recommended daily amounts in a single burger. Pizzas are no better, with very high volumes of fat and calories in almost every meal.

Homemade meals allow healthier options to be made. For example, a lower fat cheese on a pizza, lower fat mince for the burgers, using less oil when cooking the potatoes for fries, etc. Not to mention the ability to fine tune the cooking process, to ensure it is perfect for you. Whilst fast food seems cheaper on a per-meal basis, cooking from scratch almost always turns out cheaper in the long run.

Besides, even if fast food was cheaper, isn't your health worth the cost?

Dinner

Dinner is usually the most comprehensive meal of the day, with most calories being obtained from it. As such, healthier choices here have a very large impact, larger than those at breakfast or lunch. Due to the relatively high number of dinner choices available, individual substitutions won't be listed. Instead, aim to make as many meals from scratch as possible, opting towards low fat options if available. Smaller portion sizes are also important, there's no need to eat until you're stuffed!

Fries => Salad

Whilst the salty taste of fries can be very appealing (and addictive to our bodies), that same salt is far more than what we are used to as a species. At the same time, most people fail to achieve the recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, with some studies showing only 1 in 5 achieve the goal. 

A salad is an excellent way to bridge this gap, and experimenting will soon reveal which ingredients work for you. Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, chicken, small chunks of cheese, all can be included in salads. Careful not to use too much salad dressing however, as that will negate some of the health benefits.

Many have been scared away from salads, scarred by the disappointing efforts of popular fast food places. For example many consider lettuce to be bland and flavourless, but a mouthful of a fresh, crisp Iceburg lettuce will quickly change that assumption.

Snacks

Crisps / Snack Bars => Fruit

Crisps are one of the most convenient snacks, allowing a bag to be grabbed on the way out. However, they contain very high amounts of salt and fat. Luckily, healthier crisps exist, without any sacrifice in quality or taste. Of course, fruit is a far healthier alternative, and just as easy to grab on the way out of the house, and eat on the go. It will also provide energy for a long time period, fulfilling the purpose of a snack.

Drinks

We all need to drink, but we don't need to drink the extremely sugary sodas half of americans do every day. Simply cutting out soda is often cited as an excellent first step in losing weight, and with good reason: the extra 90 calories and 25g sugary carbohydrates per can of Coke can easily contribute to weight gain.

Unfortunately juice isn't the instant solution it is sometimes perceived as, as it contains large amounts of sugar that can be harmful. It is of course better than soda, but nowhere near as good as water. Water contains nothing unhealthy in it whatsoever (assuming water regulations are being followed!) and dehydration is often the cause of headaches and lethargy.