The top favourite dinner in our house right now is this rough and ready Spanish meatball dish served with turmeric rice. It’s not just made with any old tomato sauce – the recipe has been tweaked to be extra nutritious with home-made chicken stock, lots of garlic, peppers and herbs thrown in and blended together so even the fussiest of eaters won’t complain. Top with chopped parsley to bump up your vitamin C levels and grated manchego for the final tasty touch. Here's the

It’s common knowledge that we shouldn’t smoke, overeat or drink too much, but have you heard the phrase prevention is the greatest cure? Optimising your health for the long term shouldn’t just be about cutting out the bad habits, which can feel like a punishment and come with associated feelings of guilt, when you overdo the chocolate or wine. There are many ways in which you can take ownership of your health to feel strong and healthy and the most effective method is to grad

This bright green nettle tea is a natural remedy you may like to try for the relief of hay fever symptoms. I add camomile @teapigs renowned for its soothing and calming qualities and a squeezed lemon to the infusion too. The lemon provides extra vitamin C to help lower histamine levels in the body and dramatically enhances the taste. In fact, nettle and lemon team up surprisingly well as a flavour combination. Ingredients 5 big handfuls of nettles (hard to measure when they s

A quick and simple sushi recipe for making maki rolls with children

This colourful salad makes use of quinoa, one of my top store cupboard ingredients. Quinoa is a pseudo grain which means it’s actually a seed. If your children like cous cous like mine do, then they’ll probably love quinoa. On its own it has a bland slightly nutty taste, but you can easily pimp it up with some colourful additions. Quinoa is a good source of protein containing twice the amount rice does, which means it will keep you fuller for longer and help with blood sugar

Mushrooms with mashed avocado on rye toast

A sunshine inspired simple lunch today of home made hummus, pitta bread and the last of the olives. Humus is a great source of protein, calcium, magnesium, fibre and vitamin C. It’s really quick to make, there’s no cooking involved and it tastes really good - a great lunchtime choice. Recipe 380g tinned chickpeas 1 large clove garlic 1 lemon squeezed 3 tbsp tahini 3 tbsp virgin olive oil 1 tbsp water 1 tsp honey Salt and pepper to taste Method Blend all ingredients together a

I’m not going to fib, these oaty bars don’t give you the same sugary hit as a standard flapjack, but they are great for filling you up, packing in a load of fibre, B vitamins and protein. If you run out of cereal you could even start your day with a couple of these and some fruit or have them as a snack mid afternoon to boost your energy levels. This is an easy recipe for the children to follow too. Recipe Ingredients 2 mashed bananas 15 dates stoned and chopped 2 dessert spo

As well as being as cheap as chips cabbage is a little wonder ball full of nutrients. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Great for your gut health due to high levels of glutamine and fibre, it’s also a top source of vitamin K for bone health and vitamin C for immunity. Today, I’m about to transform 2 cabbages🥬🥬 into sauerkraut - a fermented food full of beneficial bacteria for your gut - essentially a cheap probiotic and I'll post a picture in a week when it's ready. It’s fairly simple to make using

Be kind to yourself and don’t set yourself up to fail in 2020 by embarking on a diet. Aim for health this year not weight loss and start the new year with achievable goals. Start by adding some of the good foods in, its’s really simple to do. Here are my 5 top tips to choose from: 1 Eat one extra vegetable a day - try and choose a different colour each time 2 Drink water with a squeeze of lemon at breakfast 3 Cook with virgin olive oil 4 Eat a whole grain food once a day

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/dec/23/number-of-older-people-diagnosed-with-malnutrition-trebles-in-a-decade It’s so sad, but also frustrating to read about the massive problem of malnutrition amongst the elderly. It’s great news that there are programmes starting up to tackle the problem, but these are only operating in selected regions at the present time. As we grow and move into different life stages the balance of nutrients we require in order to thrive changes

Have you been affected by the worldwide recall of ranitidine due to the risk of contamination with a potential carcinogen? Ranitidine is a medication commonly prescribed by GP’s to ease and prevent heartburn, otherwise referred to as GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). Since it’s recall, GP’s have been recommending antacids and often prescribing proton pump inhibitors (PPI’s) such as omeprazole as a replacement for ranitidine. Unfortunately, PPI’s have their own set of s

‘‘When life gives you lemons make lemonade” is a proverbial phrase used to encourage optimism and a positive can-do attitude in the face of