10 super healthy switches to boost nutrition

Here’s some simple easy changes to boost your nutrition. Check my website for recipes and to sign up to my newsletter.

• Salad dressings - swop salad dressing for olive oil and lemon/apple cider vinegar (ACV) or balsamic vinegar. Mixing 1 tbsp of tahini with 6 tbsp olive oil plus 1 tbsp of lemon juice or ACV is a delicious alternative to mayonnaise. Thin with water if needed.

• Crispy stuff – make your own popcorn with popcorn and olive oil plus some butter or ghee and a little salt. Alternatively roast pumpkin seeds with paprika, salt and a dash of cumin or cayenne pepper, Remember all crisps tend to contain trans-fats as they are deep fried with non-stable vegetable oils.

• White for brown – this goes for rice, bread, pasta and crackers. The glycaemic index may still be high, although this is depends on the  individual. But whole grain foods will  retain more micro-nutrients the glycaemic response is likely to be lower, they will contain more fibre and protein and some folks do fine with them. If you soak brown rice overnight it will cook almost as quick as white.

• Oats – go for steel cut or larger flakes.  They are less processed and will take the body longer to breakdown, supplying a source of energy to longer.

• Rice – for cauliflower rice. It’s actually very easy and it works, I’ve tried it. More fibre, more veg and less processed than rice.

• Baked beans – swop your standard variety for low sugar and salt or make your own and freeze in portions.

• Cow milk – for oat, rice, almond, soya or coconut. Cow milk is a major source of allergens, which are inflammatory and growth promotors. Plus many of us do not possess the lactase enzyme to digest lactose properly. It is also associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis, heart disease and auto-immunity.

• Snacking on cakes, biscuits and pastries – switch to oat cakes and nut butter, nuts and seeds, one piece of fruit or a handful of berries with yogurt and hemp seeds, apple slices with a squeeze of lime juice, some nuts or seeds and a dollop of nut butter. Cakes and biscuits are full of processed ingredients and high in sugar so they will spike blood sugar and therefore insulin. They are also addictive, one is never enough.

• Bread – switch to breadmaker bread and use rye flour or ancient grains such as spelt or kamut which have less gluten. You need a breadmaker that has these specialist options and it can take a while to perfect the recipe. If you are really up for the challenge switch to flax seed bread –I guarantee one slice will take you about 5 minutes to eat and you will struggle to eat a second.

• Dessert – make a rule it has to be home made.  I made this rule for all cakes and puddings when I first got into nutrition and as I am a lazy baker this immediately cut our consumption.  Dessert, pudding, biscuits, cakes etc. need to be the exception not an expectation. But hey rules are made to be broken and a paleo crumble now and then is a great option. See my website for the recipe.