Quick, easy meals for busy people

Hey guys! It's been far too long and I promise this break has not been intentional! New town, new job and slow progress to internet access! Even though I  left you guys in the summer,  I think this month's topic will help during these cold winter months. So today, I would like to give helpful tips for the busy adult, whether you're male, female, parent or single! Let's explore easy recipes to get us through the working week!

                     

                              

Helpful Tips

Here are a few tips to overcome some common barriers which stop us from making those healthy food choices.

• Plan your meals.

• Make a shopping list and stick to it.

• Make sure you meals are balanced - brown carbs, protein and plenty of vegetables.

• Choose a variety of meals.

• Keep it simple - you're more likely to stick to it.

• Make a budget - save time and money when shopping!

• Don't go shopping when you're hungry - it leads to impulse buying!

Meals

Let's start with breakfast :) 

Banana and Apricot Bagels (Change 4 Life)

Ingredients: 4 wholemeal bagels sliced in half, 80g of low fat soft cheese, 40g ready to apricots chopped and 2 small bananas.

Instructions

• Preheat grill. Lightly toast the cut sides of each bagel

• Mix the reduced fat soft cheese and apricots together and spread over the bagel bases. Top with sliced banana and sandwich the bagel tops in place.

How about lunch?

Mexican bean and tomato soup (One You Easy Meals)

Ingredients: 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 1 garlic clove crushed, 1 small onion 1/4 teaspoon of chilli powder, 1 can of chopped tomatoes, 1 N/A reduced salt vegetable stock with 850 ml of boiled water, 1 tablespoon of tomato puree, 1 can of mixed beans, 1 can of sweetcorn, 1 tablespoon of fresh coriander or parsley and a pinch of ground black pepper.

Instructions

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently cook the garlic and onion for about 3 minutes until softened.
• Add the chilli flakes or powder , and the tomatoes and bring to the boil.
• Pour in the stock and the tomato puree, mixed beans and sweetcorn (drained if tinned). Heat and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.
• Add the parsley or coriander and season some pepper. Dish into small bowls and serve with a slice of wholemeal bread. Serves 4 adults.

Wait for it... let's do dinner!

Brilliant Beef Curry (One You Easy Meals)

Ingredients: 240g of lean braising steak cut into chunks, 2 medium onions chopped, 1 pepper deseeded and chopped, 2 carrots, 2 garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons of curry powder, 2 cans of chopped tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of mango chutney, 2 tablespoons of tomato puree and 200g of easy cook long grain white rice.


Instructions

• Brown the beef in the large saucepan or flameproof casserole dish over a low heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

• Add the peppers, carrot and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often to stop it from sticking, adding a little water if necessary.

• Add the curry powder and stir well to mix, then add the tomatoes, mango chutney, 300ml water and the tomato puree. Cover and simmer gently for about 1.5 - 2 hours or until the meat is tender, adding more water if necessary, ( or throw in the slow cooker the night before if you have time)

• About 15 minutes before serving, cook the rice according to the packet instructions. Serve with the curry. Serves 4 people.

What about some treats the whole family can enjoy?

Rhubarb and Custard Crunch (BBC Good Food)

Ingredients: 450g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into chunks,  roughly 500g of ready to eat custard and half quantity of honey crunch granola.

 Instructions

• First make the honey crunch granola with almonds and apricots.

• Heat the over 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Arrange rhubarb in a roasting tin big enough to carry the rhubarb in a single layer and cover with foil. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until just tender, then cool in the tin.

• Spoon a little rhubarb into bases of 6 glasses or pots, then top with a couple of tablespoon of custard. Sprinkle granola, then repeat the layers to fill the glasses. Serves 6 people.

And that's a wrap! Thanks so much for taking the time to read my blog. Tell me what you think of the meals. Catch up again in the New Year!  Soph :) xx

Weight Management - Physical activity and Calorie Reduction - UPDATE!

               

Hey everyone! Good to be back on here after a year's break! Some of you might have read this article a couple of years ago, but since then I have learnt some important factors which affect weight gain. Therefore, I will  discount my previous message 'eat less and move more'. Let's have a look at the why this model is wrong and what are the best solutions....

                                   

                                     

Why this model does not work

Many of us have been told that if we eat less, and exercise more we will burn more energy and subsequently lose weight. For some, this has worked for a short time because we have succeeded at reducing the energy the body needs at rest (BMR). However, this has only lasted for  short period and we have been taught this is due to lack of will - power.

 I have some good news, obesity is a hormonal issue not simply psycho-social. Here's the truth, hormones control how much energy we consume and how much energy we burn. If we eat less, we will burn less regardless of the amount of activity we do. Another important note, calories are not equal, therefore each nutrient will affect our metabolism differently.

The role of insulin in weight management

Some quick science, insulin is released from the pancreas (pictured above) and has two key functions. These include storing fat and using our blood sugars (glucose) as stored energy. I'm sure most of you are now thinking ''insulin is making me gain weight'', if this is the case, you're on the right lines. Each type of food we eat, carbs, protein and fat have a different effect on our insulin.

 Fat has no effect because it is not absorbed in the blood stream, but lymphatic system. Protein has little effect on insulin, however, carbs raises our insulin. The more refined and processed carbs we eat, the higher our blood sugars and the higher our insulin rise in the blood stream. Too much blood sugars causes insulin resistance because insulin is unable to convert excess glucose into energy and is converted to fats known as triglycerides. When this happens, the body is now in fat storage mode.

So what's the solution?

You need to work towards reducing our insulin and blood sugars. The only way we can achieve this is by reducing the amount of carbs in our diet, fasting  and possibly increasing our physical activity. You can follow a low carbohydrate diet  (50g>130g carbs, SACN, 2015), this will reduce insulin resistance and place our body in fat burning mode because insulin is not being used, so fat will be the main source of energy. This is the same for fasting. Physical activity helps insulin to convert our glucose to energy in our active muscle cells, so again, no insulin resistance.

   So what's the best type of physical activity?

• Any type of movement that keeps you warm and raises your heart rate slightly, e.g. brisk walking

• Aim for 30 minutes of moderate activity 5 x week, where possible

• Make sure it is something you enjoy, otherwise you're less likely to stick with it

• Aim for muscle - strengthening  exercises, twice a week, e.g. swimming or resistance training

                                   

                                     

                          

                                                        Soph's Nutrition Tips

                                    

• Have more protein and fats in your diet, for fullness

• Aim for carb reduction, not calorie reduction

• Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day

• Aim for more fibre in your diet, e.g. pulses and nuts

• Have more plant - based vegetables and less fruit

• Consider  intermittent fasting

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog, next content will be a surprise!

Soph x

Weight Management: Getting The Right Fats

Hey everyone! You probably thought I was missing in action but the good news is I'm back with part 2 of my mini series on weight management. The last time I posted I promised I would touch on getting the right fats so here it is, at last! I hope to share with you the good and bad fats, and some short tips on how you could add these to your daily diet.

   Good Fats

It is important that we consume foods which are high in Omega - 3 - fats because these foods help protect our hearts from getting clogged up, improves our brain function and helps us maintain a healthy weights. These fats can be found in avocados, oily fish, nuts, seeds and pulses. It's essential we have these fats in the right proportion as too much can lead to weight gain.

Bad Fats

These fats are usually known as saturated fats or hydrogenated fats. They cause many health problems such as clogging up our arteries, which raises our blood pressure; and if we don't burn off this extra energy it gets stored as fat around our waist. Sources of these fats include butter, lard, palm oil, coconut oil, chocolate, cakes, cheese and ghee.

Soph's Nutrition Tips

Here's a few tips how we can get some of these good fats into our diet and practical ways we can reduce those bad fats.

• Add some seeds and nuts (2 tablespoons max a day) to your breakfast if plain bran or porridge oats.

• Add some avocado to toast at breakfast instead of butter.

• Add nuts or seeds to your lunch or include as mid-morning/mid afternoon snack.

• Have at least one type of oily fish with your main meal such as salmon and mackerel per week.

• Aim for 1 tablespoon of oil a day such as rapeseed or olive oil.

• Consider fat as an acronym:

          Frequency - How often?

          Amount - How much?

          Type - Can I have an alternative?

Thank you all for reading my blog, hope you enjoyed it!  Stay tuned for part 3 in a couple of weeks time where I will discuss the role of physical activity and calorie reduction in weight management. Soph x

Weight Management - reducing our waist measurement

    Hey guys, I have come out from hibernating over the winter! I have some exciting news to share! I am putting together a little series on weight management where I will focus on specific areas of interest such as the role of specific nutrients in weight loss and exercises which can target those tough areas. Today, I would like to look at which nutrients can help reduce our waist circumference.

     Wholegrain

I'm sure a lot of us have been told that carbs are our worst enemy and we should avoid it at all cost. If you ask me, I would say to you it depends on the type and the amount. Our beige and white carbs can cause our blood sugars to rise and as a result we  over-eat because we feel hungry really quickly. Too much of these carbs sadly make us put on weight around our middle. However, having more wholemeal and wholegrain varieties will help us to stay fuller for longer and eat smaller amounts.

Fruit and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are loaded with our essential vitamins, minerals and rich in fibre. This means that they provide a healthy snack in between meals and can also help us to feel fuller for longer. It also means that we won't be able to store them as fat even if we eat more than five portions.

Soph's Nutrition Tips

• Swap your toast and sandwiches to wholemeal bread.

• Have porridge, weetabix and shredded wheat for breakfast.

• Add a piece of fruit like apple, banana, or a handful of blueberries/ raspberries to your breakfast.

• For main meals add mixed vegetables/ salad to wholemeal pasta or brown rice, new potatoes etc.

• Have a small handful of almonds/brazil nuts as these are packed with fibre.

• Have a glass of water in between meals as this will help us to keep hydrated and stop over-eating.

Thanks you so much for taking the time to read my blog stay tuned for my second part to this series which will focus on role of fats in weight management! Soph x