Thursday, May 29, 2014

How to make an easy kale salad


By Thomasina Miers




When I was in LA a few years ago, raw kale was all the rage. I’m not convinced by the superfood smoothie option they have over there, quite yet, but when kale leaves are young and sweet they are lovely in a salad like this, where the sweetness and softness of the cherry tomatoes contrasts so well with the fibrous, slightly minerally flavour of the greens. This is a delicious and healthy side that works with almost anything…


Kale and cherry tomato salad

Prep 10 min Serves4

1 orange
130g curly kale, hard inner stems removed, leaves roughly sliced
300g cherry tomatoes, quartered
½ red onion, halved and finely sliced
1 small bunch parsley, roughly chopped
1 small fresh red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped

For the dressing
2tbsp red wine vinegar
1tsp caster sugar
90ml extra-virgin olive oil
1tsp Dijon mustard

1 Cut the top and bottom of the orange away and, running a knife from top to bottom, cut away the skin, taking the white pith with it. Segment the orange, then cut each segment into 2 to 3 pieces and put in a bowl.

2 Combine all the dressing ingredients in another bowl and season. Put all the other salad ingredients in the bowl with the orange, then toss with the dressing and serve at once. 


Per serving:
203kcal
2.7g protein
17.6g fat
2.5g saturates
8.4g carbs
8g sugar
4g fibre
0.2g salt

Low cal, low sats, low sugar, gluten free, dairy free, low salt, 
2 of your 5-a-day




Thomasina’s tipmake sure you buy a lovely crisp bunch of kale – you want fresh tender sprouts, not tough old leaves.

© Thomasina Miers. Recipe from Chilli Notes by Thomasina Miers (Hodder & Stoughton, £25)


Monday, May 19, 2014

Will you take the veggie challenge?

By Hannah Sherwood


Today marks the beginning of National Vegetarian Week – will you be setting aside your carnivorous ways and going cold turkey for seven days? It may sound like a challenge, but meat-free eating has never been so accessible – or delicious. At this time of year, there’s an array of fresh fruit and veg at their seasonal best, and a trip to your local supermarket will reveal a great selection of protein-rich vegetarian options. But if you’re worried going meat-free will mean you're depriving yourself of vital nutrients, HFG nutrition consultant Juliette Kellow has this advice…

Is a vegetarian diet healthier?
There’s no definitive answer to this. Studies show vegetarians have lower mortality rates, particularly from heart disease, compared with the general population. However, this difference disappears when vegetarians are compared with meat eaters who follow a healthy lifestyle – so it’s hard to conclude whether it’s a veggie diet that makes people healthier, or other lifestyle habits, such as not smoking or being active.

The best way to ensure a healthy diet is to apply the healthy eating principles – regardless of whether you do or don’t eat meat: have five portions of fruit and veg a day, base meals on fibre-rich starchy foods, choose low-fat dairy products, eat two portions of protein-rich foods each day, such as beans, lentils, nuts, seeds or eggs, and limit fatty, sugary and salty foods.

Some meat provides certain nutrients, so if you do choose a vegetarian diet make sure you are getting all the nutrients you need from other food sources:

CALCIUM, SELENIUM AND ZINC
It’s easy to get enough calcium if you include low-fat dairy products in your diet. Pulses, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, fortified soya products, bread and green leafy veg also contain some calcium, but it’s in a form that’s harder for the body to absorb. Eating nuts and seeds will give you the antioxidant selenium, needed for a healthy immune system, and for zinc (also immune-boosting) eat eggs, nuts, seeds, wholegrain cereals and pulses. If you cut out all animal foods, it can be difficult to get the vitamin B12 needed for a healthy nervous system, so you may want to take a supplement.

PROTEIN
Going meat-free can reduce your protein intake, so it’s important to know the foods to eat to keep your levels up. Don’t be tempted to rely solely on cheese for this nutrient, though, as many varieties are also high in fat, saturates and salt. If you include dairy products and/or eggs in your diet, you’re likely to be getting plenty of protein. Beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, tofu, quinoa and meat alternatives, such as Quorn, are also good sources. Even foods such as bread, cereals, pasta, couscous and rice contain some protein.

IRON
According to recent findings, low iron intake is a concern for many women in the UK. A deficiency can lead to anaemia, with symptoms including extreme fatigue, poor concentration, shortness of breath and an increased risk of infection. Red meat is one of the main sources of iron, but other good sources include eggs, pulses, fortified breakfast cereals, nuts, seeds and green leafy veg. Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron from plant foods, so eat them with citrus fruit, berries, kiwi fruit or peppers.

National Vegetarian Week runs from 19–25 May. To find out more, visit nationalvegetarianweek.org



Wednesday, May 14, 2014

More choice for gluten-free products

By Norma McGough, HFG expert and dietitian at Coeliac UK
It may seem like the current hype about gluten-free diets and foods has come from nowhere. Some people see it is as yet another fad spurred on by diet-conscious celebrities who give up gluten to ‘beat the bloat’. But for people who have coeliac disease, a gluten-free diet isn’t a choice, it’s a necessity.

Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease caused by intolerance to gluten. When sufferers eat gluten it damages the lining of the gut and causes a range of symptoms, including diarrhoea, excessive wind and/or constipation, persistent nausea and vomiting, tiredness and/or headaches… to name just a few.

According to recent findings, published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, the number of people in the UK diagnosed with coeliac disease increased fourfold between 1990 and 2011. It’s now thought one in 100 people in the UK have the disease – but only 24% have been diagnosed, meaning there are around half a million people who have a gluten intolerance but don’t know it.  ‘It’s a shocking statistic that needs urgent attention,’ says Sarah Sleet, chief executive of Coeliac UK.
However, the rise in diagnoses has resulted in increased demand for gluten-free food – good as more and more products hit the shelves. However, Coeliac UK members report that they have to travel to large supermarkets to find gluten-free products, often visiting more than one store to buy everything on their shopping list.

That’s why this Coeliac Awareness Week (12–18 May), the charity is campaigning to increase availability of gluten-free staple foods in supermarkets. For further information see coeliac.org.uk/gfg.

Heathly Food Guide’s Recipe Collection: Make it Healthy 100 Gluten Free Recipes is out now in selected supermarkets, and available for download from iTunes.


Friday, May 9, 2014

Is fruit juice really as bad as cola? HFG reports…

Sugar is currently being touted as public health enemy number one and has rarely been out of the news since campaign group Action on Sugar launched its attack on the white stuff earlier this year. But while limiting trips to the biscuit tin, stopping short of ordering a pud when out for dinner, and avoiding snacking on sweets, chocolate and cake are no-brainers, one area that’s left many of us confused is fruit juice.


Until recently, most of us considered fruit juice to be a healthy drink that helps to boost our vitamin intake and counts as one of our five-a-day. But now fruit juices have come under fire for their sugar content. Indeed, figures from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey reveal fruit juice provides around 8% of the sugar in our diet – a significant amount. But some anti-sugar campaigners have gone as far as to suggest avoiding drinking fruit juice altogether, claiming a glass of OJ is as bad for our health as a can of cola. But is this really the case?

‘A 330ml can of cola typically contains around 140 calories and 35g sugar – that’s equivalent to almost 9tsp sugar,’ says HFG nutrition consultant Juliette Kellow. ‘In reality, that’s not dissimilar from a 330ml bottle of fresh orange juice, which has around 150 calories and 33g sugar – just ½tsp sugar less. With figures like this, it’s easy to see why some people are confused and think they’d be better off drinking the cola.’

But it’s not so much fruit juice that’s a problem – it’s the vast serving sizes we tend to have these days, explains Juliette. ‘Unlike cola, which contains sugar and no other nutrients, pure fruit juice can boost our intake of vitamin C and antioxidants. But as is the case with many of the foods and drinks we now consume, we have a tendency to supersize them, which doubles – if not triples – the calories and sugar contents and leaves us with a drink comparable to no-nutrient fizzy drinks.

But while fruit juice provides nutrients, it doesn’t contain the healthy fibre you get from eating the whole fruit. ‘Drinking fruit juice won’t fill you up in the same way as eating fresh fruit will, meaning it’s easy to take in excess calories,’ explains Juliette.

So what should we do about our morning glass of OJ? ‘You can only count 150ml fruit juice as a portion of your five-a-day – anything more than this does not count,’ says Dr Susan Jebb OBE, a nutrition scientist and obesity expert. ‘The fact that juice is only considered to be one portion is intended to signal that a small amount is fine, but since it doesn’t have all the healthy components of intact fruit, it should be consumed in strict moderation. And five-a-day does not include fruit drinks with added sugar.’ In other words, it’s fine to include pure fruit juice as part of your five-a-day – but only in controlled amounts.

A 150ml glass of freshly squeezed OJ contains around 65 calories and 3½tsp sugar – roughly the amount that occurs naturally in an orange,’ explains Juliette. ‘So if you stick to that serving size, there’s no reason not to include fruit juice as part of a healthy balanced diet.’

However, Juliette believes the juice industry could do far more to promote this message. ‘I’d like to see a move towards producing individual 150ml cartons or bottles, and watered-down juices for adults that contain just 150ml juice – there are plenty of similar products aimed at children,’ she says, ‘I’d also like to see 150ml given as the typical serving size on nutrition labels for large cartons of juice, rather than the 200ml or 250ml that’s commonly used.’

As for fizzy drinks such as cola, the advice is simple. ‘Swap them for calorie- and sugar-free versions – or better still, water,’ says Juliette. ‘Research shows regular soft drinks provide 15% of the sugar in our diet, rising to a massive 30% in teenagers. Cutting them out is a really easy way to reduce our consumption of sugar and, therefore, empty calories.’

But it’s not just drinks we need to be wary of. According to data from market research company Kantar, presented yesterday at a conference held by The Food & Drink Innovation Network, since sugar hit the headlines sales of chilled fruit juices have dropped among certain consumer groups, but overall sales of biscuits have seen very little change!