Awesome Granola

March 17, 2014November 7, 20191 Comment

I’ve been making this everyday for about 6 months now, and it is still a massive hit with me, my husband, and our two year old boy (the girls, 4 and 7, are stuck on Rice Krispies). I’ve passed the recipe on to countless friends and relatives who are equally smitten.

It’s so easy to make……..5 minutes to mix the ingredients together, and 30 minutes in the oven. It smells AMAZING when it starts to brown in the oven (a sign that it is ready if you forget to time it, like I always do)

Dietitian bit – why it’s good for you:

high fibre carbohydrate from oats – chunky oats are filling and full of soluble fibre, energy
protein – from the milk, seeds and and a little bit from the oats, muscle maintenance & building
fruit – raisins, chocca block with antioxidants and fibre
healthy fats – vegetable oil and seeds, help to keep you full up, good fats are essential, but in moderation. If you are watching your weight, then please keep the portions of granola small (about 1/3 to 1/2 a mugful).

And here’s something I’ll tell you for free, from my MSc research on antioxidants in oats: toasting oats produces something called the Maillard Reaction which increases the ‘antioxidant capacity’ (antioxidants are good for you). During the summer of 2001 I spent unhealthy lengths of time in a lab at the University of Ulster with a lot of oats, an oven, a blender and a large expensive machine to come up with that gem!

Granola Recipe:

300g oats (or about 6 handfuls) – I mix 200g chunky with 100g finer oats

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (you can use melted coconut oil, but it doesn’t produce the same ‘crunch’)

Just out of the oven

3 tablespoons honey

1-2 handfuls pumpkin/sunflower seeds

handful raisins or sultanas

generous sprinkle of cinnamon (about a 2 teaspoons)

chunky oats

finer oats

Method: mix the oil and honey together in a bowl. Add the oats, cinnamon and seeds, stir throughly ensuring the oats are coated. Spread on to baking sheet and put in the oven at 150c for 30 minutes. Half way through cooking time (after 15 minutes), add the raisins/sultanas. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

4 x Avocado-tastic!

February 8, 2014February 10, 2014Leave a comment

I had the pleasure and luxury of pootling through Kingston Market this morning by myself. I don’t usually take the time to slow down and browse, so was delighted to come across 4 avocados, lovely and ripe, for £1.

Although very high in calories, avocados are little nutrition bombs with a multitude of health benefits:

monounsaturated fats which have heart health credentials (lower the bad blood cholesterol, raise the good)
Fats enhance absorption of fat soluble vitamins A, D, E & K
Fats and fibre good for appetite control
High in vitamin E, A and B vits
Twice the potassium of a banana
Anti inflammatory compounds – may be protective against cancer
Very low in sugar
people who regularly eat avocado are more likely to have a lower body weight, BMI and waist circumference

So what the heck will I do with 4 ripe avocados?

Green Smoothie Breakfast – blend 200ml water, 1/2 avocado, a kiwi, a handful of greens e.g. spinach or watercress, juice of half a lime, some ginger, and a tablespoon of Total greek yogurt (high in protein).
Simply sliced and piled on wholemeal toast with some salt and pepper
In Superfood Salad
Mashed as a substitute for mayonnaise
Freeze the rest! Best results if they are pureed with some lemon or lime juice and stored in an air tight container.

Apparently, avocados are also good for the wrinkles…….definitely something I need then (I think I have aged about 10 years in the last two). In fact, scrap the recipes I’ll be slapping this stuff straight on to my face!

Oats: 10 ways to add oomph!

February 6, 2014April 13, 20161 Comment

Oats are a staple in this house with 4 out of five of us having them for breakfast, and daily batches of Seriously Healthy Flapjacks and Oaty Biscuits.

What’s so good about oats?

Oats are very filling, high in soluble fibre, provide slow release energy, keep the blood sugar levels steady for concentration at school/work, calcium and protein from the milk, and fibre and antioxidants from the raisins/berries/banana. And for those of us getting on a bit, oats contain ‘beta glucan’ which is clinically proven to be one of the great cholesterol lowering foods. If you want a low Glycaemic Index oat, go for the chunky ones, as the finely ground ‘instant’ oats e.g. Oats So Simple are actually digested quite quickly, giving you less of the longer term sustained energy release.

Jazzing it up!

Please sir can I’ve some more? Yak, no thanks!!

Porridge can be a bit, well, dull and have a bit of a ‘gruel’ image. My clients sometimes pull a yuck face if I suggest oats for breakfast. But keep an open mind and try something new! There are a million and one ways to jazz up your breakfast oats to make them tasty and delicious…..

It’s an alchemy of three parts:

the oats: There is a wide variety of oat chunkiness. Finely ground e.g. Ready Brek for ultra smooth, to jumbo and chewy like Flahavins. Slow cook them in a saucepan on the stove, zapp in the microwave in 90 seconds, or just add a smidge of hot water to the chunkies (how I like it).
Water or milk? The debate is on among porridge devotees on the perfect ratio of milk to water. Each to their own………I’m a water only fan, my husband is 50:50 milk to water, youngest daughter Evie likes the oats cooked in water only, with cold milk added (?!) You don’t have to stick to cow’s milk, try almond, rice, oat, soy, or Koko for a change. All of these have added calcium and vitamin D, so you’re not missing out on these essential vitamins!
The Fun Part: jazz your bowl up with a menagerie of ingredients which can be combined to provide endless possibilities! Peanut or cashew nut butter, raisins, coconut, cinnamon, banana puree, honey, maple syrup, grated apple, toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds, cashew nuts, berries, yogurt. The list is endless……….

10 ways to add OOOMPH to oats:

Power Smoothie – blend a handful of oats, 200ml milk, dollop of yogurt*, frozen berries and honey
Smoothie
Puree banana – roughly mash a ripe banana, put in a cup with enough water to almost cover the banana, microwave for 90 seconds, and voila, a lovely smooth puree to add to you porridge. The more ripe the banana the smoother and sweeter!
Berries – fresh berries can be expensive, so I use supermarket frozen basics range (£1.20for a bag that lasts about a week). Quickly defrost a cup full in the microwave and add to chunky oats with a big dollop of Total yogurt.
Summer Oats – this is soooo good and a refreshing alternative to hot oats. Prepare the night before so that all the lovely flavours develop and are soaked up by the oats. Good for taking to work if you’ve no time first thing in the morning to eat breakfast.
add a dollop of high protein yogurt* to bump up the protein, keeping you full up for longer, and to make it really creamy!
Homemade Flapjacks – eat them as the are, or one of my clients takes two to work, crumbles them in a cup with hot milk for a warming breakfast at her desk.
smooth (Ready Brek) – for the non-chunky lovers out there, Ready Brek can be good as it is made from oats, and has the added benefit of vitamins and mineral e.g. lots of iron
Vary the milk – there is such a wide variety these days…..almond, rice, Koko. All have added calcium and vitamin D, so you’re not losing out!
Honey/maple syrup/agave nectar – there’s nothing wrong with adding a bit of sweetness, especially if it means kids gobbling up a bowl of oats.
Dollop of peanut butter – adding good fats and protein, add a tablespoon before cooking so that it melts and you can stir it through.

Summer Oats

Benefits of greek yogurt! – double the protein of other yogurts (10g/100g) e.g. Total, Danone, Liberte (not greek ‘style’)

Super Boost Salad

January 21, 2014January 21, 2014Leave a comment

I love this recipe because it is a simple list of ingredients that you can get in your local supermarket. It is ready in minutes………. just chop everything up and toss in to a bowl. I tend to roast the pumpkin and sunflower seeds as I much prefer the flavour and texture to raw (just grill for a few minutes until they start to turn brown). The zingy ginger dressing is delicious. I ~~cheat~~ make a sensible short cut by using ginger in a tube.

The intense colour of the red cabbage gives away it’s superb antioxidants, the humble carrot contains a fascinating combination of phytonutrients, carotenoids, anthocyanins and are a very good source of biotin, vitamin K, potassium, vitamin B6, and vitamin C. Apples are full of polyphenols, fibre and vitamin C. Seeds, a fabulous combo of healthy fats, fibre and protein. Ginger has anti inflammatory properties. The amazing medley of nutrients in this recipe truly make it a super food.

If you feel sleepy and lethargic after your usual lunch of a bagel, sandwich or jacket potato, try a big bowl of this instead! Add some protein from fish or chicken, and this can help you to feel full up, bright and alert for the rest of the afternoon. If you are very active or are an athlete in training, add some wholegrain rice or quinoa to boost the healthy carbs.

Make a big batch, and you’ll have enough for the next day too!

350g red cabbage grated/shredded
3 carrots grated
20g pack parsley, roughly chopped
2 Cox’s apples (or any red apple), quartered, cored and sliced
handful of radishes or 2 celery sticks, sliced
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp each sunflower seeds

For the dressing

2 tsp grated root ginger
1 tsp clear honey
2 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp light olive oil

The Ultimate Diet Plan

January 12, 2014Leave a comment

Making wholesome and nutritious food choices for most of your meals and snacks, as well as being conscious of portion sizes can have a profound effect on weight, well being and long term health. All too often we are bombarded with confusing and complex messages about diets and nutrition products.

So what is the ultimate diet, one that is achievable and is supported by science? The secret is to keep it simple, you don’t need a lot of fancy or exotic ingredients. Fill your fridge with vegetables, lean meat, eggs and lower fat dairy, and your cupboards with wholesome starchy food and tinned fish, tomatoes, nuts, seeds etc.

What does the Ultimate Meal look like?

veggies

1/2 plate: salad/vegetables/fruit
1/4 plate protein: chicken, pork, beef, fish, beans, lentils
1/4 plate starchy food: potatoes, rice, pasta, quinoa, cous cous, wholemeal bread
healthy fats: olive oil, flaxseed oil, nuts, seeds, avocados

The ‘real life’ Ultimate Diet Plan

Breakfast:

handful porridge oats, water, milk (cow’s/almond/rice), berries/raisins

Homemade muesli
1 wholemeal toast, little bit of butter, 2 boiled/poached/dry fried eggs
Natural yoghurt & fruit, 1 toast
Homemade muesli
Summer oats
Smoothie: 200ml milk, spoon of plain yoghurt, banana/berries, honey
2 Weetabix, milk, banana

Example meals:

Spaghetti bolognaise: 1/4 plate wholewheat spaghetti, add extra veg to bolognaise (grated carrot, extra tin tomatoes). Serve with side salad or Deidre’s coleslaw
Healthy Shepherd’s Pie
Fiery noodles with chicken or salmon
Meatballs in tomato sauce with extra veg & pasta
Wholegrain rice, salmon, carrots & broccoli, sprinkled with reduced salt soy sauce
Wholemeal pitta, tuna mixed with natural yoghurt/light mayo, chopped pepper, spring onion & lettuce
1 wholemeal toast, little bit of butter, 2 boiled/poached/dry fried eggs
bowl of salad leaves, grated carrot, peas, sunflower & pumpkin seeds, chopped up chicken or flaked salmon

wholemeal bread, tuna with light mayo & yoghurt, carrot, spring onion, pepper
Super food salad with some chicken/fish
Lentil & tomato soup

Snacks (hunger often confused with thirst, so first have a glass water/cup of tea or coffee):

Apple & handful almonds
Rice cake or oatcake with peanut butter/quark & small dollop of pesto/homemade chocolate spread
Homemade flapjack
Total yogurt & strawberries
Humous and carrot sticks
Glass of milk and banana/raisins
Skinny latte & apple

Tips:

stick to 1 portion of meals, if still hungry fill up up more veg/fruit
avoid creamy sauces, choose tomato/vegetable based ones
be aware that oils (yes, even olive oil) has 100kcal per tablespoon. Use but don’t over do it. If eating out, ask for dressing on the side.
Be aware that sugary drinks (including pure fruit juice) can add significant calories to your diet. Go for water, tea, coffee, herbal teas, diluted cordial, or diet drinks instead.
Drink a large glass of water before a meal
Don’t put pot of food on table, serve up in kitchen to avoid picking at extras
By all means have ice cream, but not everyday and just a few scoops, not half the tub. Same goes for biscuits, crisps, chocolate, wine, beer etc. Not everyday and control the amounts.
Be aware that ‘light’, ‘lite’ or reduced fat doesn’t mean low in fat, just that it is 25% lower than full fat version.
Use natural yoghurt instead of mayonnaise, or mix half yoghurt with half reduced fat mayo
If you are at work with limited access to appropriate food choices, bring your own food from home.
more tips

I hope some of these ideas may be of use to you. If it all seems a bit too much, just pick one or two ideas each week. Gradual changes that become habit are more likely to be of long term benefit than making massive changes that can be overwhelming.

New Year’s Day Turkey Dinner – 5 tips on what NOT to do!

January 2, 2014January 2, 20142 Comments

It’s a tradition in the Danaher family to have another Christmas Dinner on New Year Day.

Christmas Day – Conor, Evie, cousin Tilly, Beth and cousin Toby

Having spent a lovely Christmas up at Dec’s parents’ in Cricklewood in North London, I volunteered my services to provide the New Year offerings. I’ve never done the turkey dinner before, but thought ‘how hard can it be?’. It’s just a big chicken.

Dec left for rugby training and coaching duties at 7.30am on New Years Day, with an ETA for returning home at approximately 6pm. Impeccable timing as usual (insert raised eyebrow emoticon here).

As I was saying “How hard can it be?”. With the three children to keep an eye on, I wanted to keep it straight forward, so I was offering one choice only at each course (my mother in law puts me to shame with at least 4 options for the starter and pudding, and three choices of gravy).

The menu

Starter: Homemade Tomato Soup & Wheaten Bread

Wee Man Chef, fashioning vintage London Irish Hat

Wee Man Chef stirring the soup, fashioning vintage London Irish hat

Main course: Turkey, stuffing, carrots, broccoli, roast potatoes, gravy

A surprisingly fabulous combination

Pudding: Christmas Crumble homemade (berry, apple and cinnamon), custard and ice cream

Booze: wine, Magners, Gin and Pepsi Max Cherry (forgot to buy the tonic)

With a cheat sheet of timings to ensure everything went tickety boo, what could possibly go wrong?

Top 5 things not to do when cooking the turkey dinner:

When in the presence of toddler, check oven temperature regularly: Wee Man aka Conor, 19 months old, has a radar for locating and messing with all things he shouldn’t. This includes oven knobs. So two hours in to the cooking time I discover he’s wacked the temperature up a significant number of degrees. On a positive note, better too hot than too cold. Cremated better than food poisoning.
Remove tiny plastic bag from the turkey innards (of whatever that stuff is in it), before putting turkey in oven for 3.5 hours: I did remove some ‘stuff’ from inside the turkey (as per instructions) before cooking, however, upon carving Dec discovered an extra little plastic bag. In my defence, it was hidden right up at the closed end so was easy to miss. In a ‘glass half full’ way, we made the assumption that Sainsbury’s took in to account idiots like me and made sure they use heat proof bags (it was intact and not melted). Luckily, this minor drama unfolded in the kitchen and was not witnessed by the awaiting guests.
Monica checking for tiny plastic bags
Remove spongy sheets from under the turkey before plopping in to the baking tray. I discovered these while discarding the carcass at 10pm. I had NO IDEA they were there (there was no mention of them in the instructions).
Check that the foil is fully covering the turkey. An hour before completed cooking time, the instructions told me to remove the
I did a Ross on the turkey

foil to allow for browning. Unfortunately, the fan oven had blown the foil off half the turkey. So we had one anaemic side and the other half with an oompa loompa tan. Not to worry, I just covered the brown half for the final hour to let the other side catch up.
Don’t forget the cranberry sauce – when Beth (6) announced that her dinner “was a bit plain”, it reminded me that we had made a special trip to the shops in the torrential rain for this essential turkey condiment (and for Uncle Tim’s Magners).

The results:

All in all, everyone was terribly gracious and polite regarding their New Year’s Day meal (bar Beth ‘a bit plain’ Danaher). So far, there have been no reports of food poisoning. Rest assured, in future I shall be taking on board the above tips for what not to do. Next year we’re off to my folks in Bangor, N. Ireland, for the first Christmas there in 7 years! My final top turkey tip for 2014 is for my Mum…….perhaps I should take responsibility for the drinks and leave the festive food to the seasoned experts. Gin and Pepsi Max Cherry anyone? Yehaaaaaaaaaaaaa*!

*always drink responsibly

Dinner is served! Granny and Grandad are hiding behind Tim and Tamara

Turkey – post tanning drama, pre discovery of added extras

2013 – the year of chronic sleep deprivation

January 1, 2014January 1, 2014Leave a comment

So following a month long sabbatical from blogging, I’m hoping to get back on the wagon!

I took a bit of a break because four months of getting up at 5am to write blogs and do client admin everyday (including holidays, weekends etc), took it’s toll and I was getting burnt out. Existing on 5 hours of broken sleep is doable over the short term, but chronic sleep deprivation was not compatible with looking after 3 children, a husband, shopping, cooking, cleaning and trying to build a business! Husband Dec works long hours (today, New Year’s Day when most have the day off, he’s leaving at 7am and home 7/8pm…..ish) so I’m on my own with the kids pretty much all the time. I’m not complaining, just telling it how it is.

Chronic sleep deprivation was making me tired and a bit (!) cranky with the kids, leading to a vicious circle of them and me being grumpy and stressed. Getting three children out the door to school on a cold winter morning with packed lunches, school bags, coats, hats, gloves, scooters and to the gates ON TIME with no tears on the way is a major achievement!

I was also becoming dependant on coffee fixes. I LOVE coffee, but was having up to 5 cups most days. I don’t think coffee is a bad thing as it does have health benefits. However, for me 5 cups a day didn’t feel right (although could be considered within recommended limits). ‘Needing’ the coffee fix was probably purely psychological……..I was telling myself that it would get me through, and that coffee was good for me. If I had stopped and asked if I really wanted it in the physical sense the answer was ‘no’. Although I love the taste, it made me feel a bit bleurgh and with a dull headache.

The Nutrition Business

From the business perspective, tiredness meant I was losing sight of where I was going. My original plan about this time last year was to stay broad with the types of patients I would advise and to see where the road took me. I have 12 years experience of working with both children and adults in most dietetic specialities within the NHS. But the chronic tiredness meant a fuzzy head and I couldn’t see the woods for the trees. Any business advisor will tell you that you need to focus on your niche. Over the last month, with 7 hours sleep under my belt each day, the fog has cleared and I have been able to identify that my speciality is becoming digestive health. About 70% of my clients contact me for help with gut problems, usually a diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

A recent development in treatment of IBS is the low FODMAP diet. It sounds gimmicky, but I can assure you it is not another fad diet. One in 5 people suffer, and the scientific evidence is proving that it is extremely successful for 75% of people. Results are fast (symptoms can be resolved with in a few days) and although it doesn’t cure IBS, the change to people’s lives is wonderful to see. Professionally, helping people with IBS using this method is truly the most rewarding thing I have done.

My plan for 2014 is to set up a dedicated private IBS Clinic in Kingston where I can devote my time to helping people with IBS. Skype appointments are also a definite possibility too giving access to consultations for people unable to travel to KIngston. Currently there are very few NHS dietitians experienced in the low FODMAP diet (it is quite a complicated to start with) and waiting lists are long. The big hurdle is letting people know about the clinic and the effectiveness of the treatment. Advertising, marketing and publicising my service is very new to me. As a dietitian working in the NHS it is not something I had to think about! I’m working with Sue at B1 Creative who is helping me with the marketing side of things…..firstly a nice poster to put up in GP surgeries, libraries and anywhere else that will oblige!

Today, New Year’s Day, we’re having Dec’s family this evening for a turkey dinner. It’s a Danaher family tradition to have a repeat of Christmas Day, minus the presents. Wish me luck……..I’ve never done the turkey before. Here’s the menu:

Tomato Soup with wheaten bread
It all got a bit much for Sarah while cooking the turkey
Turkey, stuffing, roast potatoes, carrots, broccoli, gravy
Christmas Crumble with vanilla ice cream and custard

How hard can it be?! If I’m not losing the plot, I’ll post some pictures of the preparation. Wish me luck!