Seems to me that we have been ignoring eating essentials lately, and that some of you have come off the rails a bit, and that you need to get in your head why you felt so good in those initial few weeks!
When I start with anyone, I always stress the importance of eating well, to do this effectively though, you have to get the right shopping in, and that means keeping your cupboards and fridge stocked well.
To me, the idea of eating lots of weight-loss clubs branded foods is sickening, full of chemical enhanced foods designed to take even more of your hard earned money out of your pockets, then allow you lose weight, but long term you are destined to put back on (97% OF PEOPLE IT HAPPENS TO according to latest studies). Then, they want your money all over again, what a scam so are you going to fall for it again!
Here’s a list of things to stock to make sure you are never without good, nutritious food. Some of these are used more sparingly than others.
Tins
Low sugar and low salt baked beans, tinned sweetcorn, tomatoes, tinned fruit (no sugar in their own juice), chick peas, kidney beans, cannelloni beans, tinned tuna, mackerel, salmon, sardines.
For your freezer
Chicken portions and fillets, lower fat beef, pork, lamb, frozen herbs, stir fry vegetables, frozen blueberries, strawberries, summer fruits, frozen sweetcorn, carrots, mixed veg, broccoli, frozen peas, green beans, real fish fingers, salmon, tuna, cod, tofu
For your fridge
Milk, eggs, cottage cheese, low fat cheese, yoghurt, orange juice, apple juice, hummus, Cooked chicken, turkey pieces, lean beef
Bottles
Vinegar, olive oil, tomato puree, long-life milk, low sugar jam
Flavourings
Cous cous, pesto, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, Worcester sauce, curry paste, garlic puree, stock cubes.
Dried items
Wholemeal bread, wholemeal wraps, wholemeal pitta bread. Pasta, wholemeal flour, brown rice, porridge, dried fruit, dried pulses.
Okay, that is out of the way so you can see how important it is to shop properly in the first place.
To get organised for the actual cooking, let’s try the following ways to get your healthy eating actually happening in practice!
Number one
It’s been in the news over the last few months that we throw away an horrendous amount of food every week, which adds up to around £700 a year, so try these ideas to sort that out!
Keep fruit and vegetables in the fridge or freezer so they last longer for example.
Number two
Crush the myth that it’s too expensive to eat healthy. Recent studies show that that a weekly shop of healthy food compared to a weekly shop of processed, fatty and sugary foods varies by JUST 40 PENCE!!
Number three
If you start cooking from scratch, you will save money and make meals you can be sure that will be healthy. You can make simple meals out of only 4 ingredients, in fact there’s many books on the subject.
Number four
We do it in my house now we have two kids, planning your meals for the week is highly important and let’s you plan for what you shop for better.
For example, you can cook a whole chicken instead of using the ready cooked parts already split up for you, much cheaper this way.
With the chicken, you can easily do the following.
This is pasta bake recipe, you can use with chicken, meat, fish, whatever you like tins of any beans of you want for vegetarians (haricot, cannelloni etc) !
Fill two mugs of dried pasta, place it in water and boil pasta as per instructions on pack, whilst the pasta is boiling, place olive oil in a frying pan, chop an onion and one garlic clove into the pan , once that softens, add a tin of chopped tomatoes, and teaspoon of dried mixed herbs, simmer for 5-10 mins and when the pasta is ready, drain the pasta and tip it into the sauce. You can add cooked chicken, tin of tuna, tin of any beans, just mix it up and add black pepper.
You can serve just like this, or place in a baking dish, grate a little cheddar on the top or thin slices of mozzarella and place in an oven for 20 mins at 180 degrees, until cheese is bubbling and golden.
Number 5
If you eat the supermarket brands, they have been shown to have not suffered the price increases that bigger brands have. I’m not bigging up their own brands, but it can save a lot on your weekly shop.
Number 6
Eat seasonal foods. Once you eat foods in season, they are always cheaper and usually have less chemicals added to them, you win all round plus they actually taste nicer!!
Number 7
If you shop later in the day, there are always more bargains on the shelves, the big supermarkets often have scandalous deals on even the most nutritious, and valuable food for your week.
Number 8
Since I started using my freezer, I have saved an awful of money on my shop. Studies have shown that vegetables frozen lose little of their nutritional value, plus you won’t be throwing all that food away all the time!
Number 9
Check your consume by dates. If you buy something today and you have to eat it tomorrow, you’re less likely to actually eat it, which is really a waste of money. Supermarkets are very clever pushing foods to the front of the shelf.
Number 10
Online shopping may not sound like cost-cutting, but it can make sense all round. You are not tempted to eat the rubbish that sometimes confronts you in supermarkets, online offers you the best value that particular day, your shopping remains consistent and you always get the basics/essentials you actually need! I use it all the time now and find it very handy indeed!
Give all of this a go and see how you get on!
Keri
