Winter Health - eat well, sleep well, be well!

Christmas is over and we're starting the New Year - complete with resolutions (achievable and not-so-achievable!). Here's some helpful ways to hopefully dodge the coughs, colds and bugs that seem to be around at this time of year!

1. Eat fruit. Fruits, especially berries such as blueberries, cherries, strawberries and blackberries are naturally high in vitamin C, bioflavonoids and antioxidants. These all help to boost your immunity levels. Other good sources include broccoli, apricots, peppers and kiwi fruits.
2. Vitamin D3. Our main source of vitamin D is the sun and so as the days are shorter in the winter, our levels can go down. Vitamin D is vital to ensure adequate absorption of calcium for our bones but it also plays a crucial role in the normal functioning of the immune system. Many of us can become deficient in vitamin D over the winter because even when outdoors with some skin exposed, very little vitamin D is produced due to the angle of the sun during the winter months. A daily dose of vitamin D3 can therefore help to fortify the immune system through the colder months.
3. Echinacea. This is a fabulous herb which 'modulates' the immune system, which simply means that it helps to teach it what to do, thereby rebalancing it, meaning it can function better. Echinacea is also a powerful lymphatic cleanser; it stimulates the overall activity of the cells responsible for fighting all kinds of infection.
4. Zinc. This is essential for the immune system and healing. Enjoy seafood and nuts and seeds, especially sunflower and pumpkin seeds. 
5. Honey. Manuka honey has great health benefits. Enjoy this delicious tasting food and stay healthy.
6. Stay active. When it's cold outside, it's difficult to get out there and do some exercise but try to! Research has shown that exercise is another way to help your immunity.
7. Bin it! Don't leave dirty tissues or hankies lying around - it can also spread your cold. When you cough, sneeze or blow your nose the secretions that end up in your hanky or tissue are teeming with the virus that's making you sick. These viruses can survive for some time once they leave your body, so when you leave a tissue for someone else to pick up, you are actually leaving a little virus bomb to go and infect someone else's hands. So throw away any used tissues and wash your hands straight away.
8. Sleep well. Your immune system helps you to fight off common infections, Poor sleep and insomnia can affect our immune system so make sure you get plenty of rest.
9. Vitamin C. There is considerable evidence that vitamin C (ascorbic acid) plays a vital role in many immune mechanisms. Infection rapidly depletes the normal levels of vitamin C. Remember that bugs stay active on surfaces so avoid touching too many public places such as escalator rails or cash point surfaces.

So, with these few tips you *should* be able to ward off the dreaded colds which are still lurking, waiting to catch you out!

The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Packed Lunches!

School dinners or packed lunch? The million dollar question that is spoken in every household with school-age children! I'm not going to influence your decision as all local authorities have different policies and menus in operation, but here are some great ideas to point you in the right direction of a healthy packed lunch!

1. Lean meat, chicken, tuna, eggs, low-fat cheese or houmous are all great tasting healthy choices. Try to avoid ham, salami and bacon which are high in salt and saturated fat.
2. Always add salads and vegetables like tomatoes, cucumber, carrot sticks, sliced peppers and sweetcorn.
3. For a change to 'normal' bread sandwiches, try pitta bread or wraps to make tasty sandwich parcels.
4. Spreads like butter, margarine and mayonnaise can be used but only in small amounts. They add flavour but can add fat and calories to the meal.
5. Try using wholemeal bread as it's higher in fibre and will bring other benefits to your child's lunch.

For the record, I'm not biased either towards or against school dinners; my son has lunch provided by the school but my daughter prefers to take a packed lunch! We're lucky that we have an overall great school lunch menu in our county with a great team who provide it!

Why not try some of these tasty sandwich filling ideas out on your family? They're great for days out too - when we get the sunshine back!

• Boiled egg and watercress
• Tinned tuna and sweetcorn
• Cold chicken, lettuce and low-fat cheese spread
• Boiled egg, tomatoes and soft cheese
• Houmous, grated carrot and lettuce
• Low-fat cheese spread and grated carrot
• Sliced cheese and tomato

Check out the Great Grub Club website here for more nutritious sandwich ideas! Enjoy!

Back to School - Smart Restart with Change4Life!

September's the perfect time to make a new start!

The school year is just beginning. Make it a great start with Change4Life's new back to school booster - Smart Restart!

www.nhs.uk/Change4Life

All you need to do is choose one healthy change - like swapping some of your kids' treats for healthier alternatives. Or some of your car or bus journeys for walking, cycling or scooting - and you'll get offers, discounts and lots of support with our free app, emails and texts.

Every parent wants their kids to get the most out of the year ahead, but did you know that even simple changes can make a huge difference to the way kids feel, behave and learn in school?

Just choose one healthy change, and get started today! For example, stretch your legs, 10 minute moves, screen-time switches, beat the treats and super lunches! You can sign up here.

The Smart Restart app is a great, FREE tool, full of fun ideas and support - to help your healthy change, become a healthy habit:

• Five brilliant tools, packed full of ideas, games and inspiration to get the kids moving more and eating more healthily.
• Weekly action lists to help you form healthier habits over six weeks.
• A progress wall so you can see how well you're doing.

Download the app here.

Why not catch up with others on the Change4Life Facebook page? It's a great place to share your experiences and find lots of inspirational ideas and advice from families just like yours!

Be Food Smart - Change4Life

Change4Life is a government initiative that helps families and individuals to eat healthier and keep fit.  Their latest leaflet publication helps us to “Be Food Smart”.

We all like food to be cheap, easy and tasty and so often reach for the ready-made foods, snacks and take-aways, but it’s often cheaper (not to mention tastier!) to make your own!

The five principles of the Change4Life Be Food Smart campaign are:

1. 5 a day – aim for a variety of 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day.  Remember, they don’t all have to be fresh.  Frozen, juiced, dried or canned – they all count.
2. Sugar swaps – swap sugary drinks for no added sugar drinks like water or skimmed/1% fat milk.  Switch sweet snacks for fruit or unsalted popcorn.  And why not replace your sugary puddings with plain low-fat yoghurts and fruit?
3. Watch the salt – most us don’t realise that there’s hidden salt in every day products that don’t even taste salty – bread, cereals, pizza and some sauces.  So, go easy with ketchup, mayo and soy sauce and skip adding salt next time you tuck into a meal. 
4. Cut back on fat – we all know that too much fat is bad for us but often we don’t realise that fat is hidden in many of the foods we eat.  It’s easy to be food smart about fat; choose lower fat spreads, lower fat dairy products and leaner cuts of meat to make a good start! 
5.  Be calorie smart – calories are a clue to what you should be eating each day and area really handy for planning how much to eat and when.  Try to aim for 400 calories for breakfast, 600 for lunch and 600 for your evening meal.  That leaves a few calories for any healthy snacks.  And remember, we don’t all need to eat the same amounts.  Women don’t need as many calories as men and kids need even less – so get into the habit of “me-sized” meals!

Here’s the link to the Meal Mixer app from the Change4Life website.  So when you are stuck for inspiration, because it happens to everyone(!) - have a browse through their recipes and your creatuve cokoing juices will be flowing once again!

And lastly, there are many ways to be food smart all day.

Being food smart at breakfast means you’ll be less tempted to reach for a mid-morning snack:

• Pick cereals with no added sugar – you  can always sweeten it up with a bit of chopped fruit. 
•  Swap white toast for wholegrain toast to release energy throughout the morning to keep you on the go.

Perk up a packed lunch with these tips:

• It’s fun to dunk – cucumber, pepper and carrot sticks are delicious with a low fat dip. 
•  Low fat yoghurts always go down well – they’re a good source of calcium too.

For a quick and simple snack after school:

• Swap crisps for plain rice cakes dunked in low fat cream cheese. 
•  For a sweet tooth, forget the cakes and biscuits – fresh fruit is great for munching on the go.

For more meal ideas and food smart tips, search online for Change4Life.

Quick and Easy "hidden veg" Spaghetti Bolognese

Sometimes it's quite difficult to get your little (and big!) ones to eat the recommended 5 portions of vegetables and fruit per day.  I've never really struggled with my son as he will eat basically anything - except for chips, but that's no hardship!

My daughter, however, can be very fussy - apparently she takes after me but I can't see it really.... !  So anyway, this is how we sneak extra vegetables into our spaghetti Bolognese.

Ingredients
500g minced beef (or lamb) as lean as possible
1 onion, very finely chopped or grated
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 carrots, very finely chopped or grated
50g ish of mushrooms, wiped and chopped as small as possible
1 red pepper, deseeded and finely diced
2 tins of chopped plum tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chilli powder
 Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
approx 300g pasta - spaghetti or penne is best (but my daughter does like "butterflies!)
Grated cheese to sprinkle on top if required

1. Fry the mince until browned in a large frying pan - I don't use oil, just start on a lower heat to allow some of the fat to escape from the meat, then there's enough to fry in.  Add the onion and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes more.
2. Add the carrots, mushrooms, red pepper, tomatoes, tomato puree, paprika and chilli powder and mix well.
3. Simmer for 25-30 minutes until all the veg is soft and "disappeared"!  Add salt and black pepper to taste.
4. While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta and grate the cheese.
5. Serve and enjoy with a green side salad!

There are 5 different vegetables in this recipe, excluding the salad, so a great boost for your vegetable intake.  Grating the veg is the best way to make them disappear - just mind your fingers though!

For the fruit side of things, in order to get my children to try different fruits, we like to experiment by making fruit kebabs.  Just buy a variety of fruits (most supermarkets stock a good and ever-changing reasonably priced exotic fruits) and let them choose, try and make fruit kebabs on cocktail sticks (make sure you supervise little ones with the cocktail sticks).  As a treat, you can drizzle with chocolate sauce and serve with ice cream!  Enjoy!

I am entering this recipe into Mummys Little Peeps healthy eating competition in attempt to win a £50 Sainsbury's voucher.

Ainsley Harriott Spice Sensation Cous Cous Recipe Review

Cous cous goes through phases of being fashionable to eat - it can be eaten as it comes but it's much better livened up a bit with a boost of flavours!

We were sent a pack of Ainsley Harriott Spice Sensation Cous Cous - the instructions on the packet are really simple to follow and it's great as a stand alone side dish or as part of a salad... but we decided to try something different.  We made cous cous stuffed peppers with garlic and shallots with minted lamb kebabs and garlic bread.... yum yum!

The recipe is simple - cut the peppers in half lengthways (1 each for a main course or one between two for a starter or snack), remove the seeds and drizzle a little olive oil into each one.  Add crushed garlic and shallots/red onion/onion which ever you prefer (or have in the fridge!).  We used shallots and garlic - 2 shallots and 2 cloves of garlic to serve 4.

Place on a baking sheet in a pre-heated oven (Gas 6) for about 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, make the cous cous as per the packet instructions.  Finely chop a couple of mushrooms and grate about 100g of cheese.  After the first 20 minutes in the oven, remove the tray, add a couple of pieces of mushroom to each pepper and spoonful or 2 of cous cous.  Return to the oven for about 15 minutes then top with cheese and bake for a further 5 minutes.

Serve with lamb kebabs (local butcher.... yummy!) and garlic bread... or whatever takes your fancy!  We all ate this as a family - little ones included.  My 5 year old actually prefers cous cous to rice - but pasta still reigns as his all time favourite food!

We had some cous cous left which we mixed with some left over mushrooms and ate cold with a salad the following day... I like the flavour just as much cold as warm and so this makes a great packed lunch option for work or school/college.

Cous cous is a healthy alternative to rice or pasta.  It is amongst the healthiest grain-based products widely available.  When comparing to pasta, it has a lower glycemic index figure (25% lower in fact), contains twice as much riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6 and folate and four times as much thiamine and pantothenic acid.  It has the same amount of protein in as pasta but exceeds the amount of protein in white rice.  Also, cous cous has a 1% fat-to-calorie ratio compared to 3% for white rice and 5% for pasta.  Source - Wikipedia.

You can flavour plain cous cous with basically anything, but the ready flavoured packs from Ainsley Harriott are ideal as the flavour combinations are great and versatile with different meats and/or vegetables.  Choose from Roasted Vegetable, Spice Sensation, Wild Mushroom, Chilli, Aromatic Thai Style, Moroccan Medley, Sundried Tomato & Garlic or Lemon, Mint & Parsley.

Keep up to date with recipe ideas and new products by liking the Ainsley Harriott Foods Facebook page here.

From my family's point of view, cous cous is here to stay and with the variety of flavours on offer, there's no reason to be bored of eating the same thing week in, week out!  Replace your pasta or rice once a week to try something new!