Google can find some great healthy recipes for you

Making your own food is always the healthier option as you know exactly what’s being put into it.  Packaged food can contain a surprising amount of sugar, salt, fat and chemicals, always check the label before you buy!

But what if you have no idea what to cook with your ingredients?

Cooking healthily can lead to some very boring meals, I mean who wants to eat plain salad for lunch and rivita biscuits for a snack everyday?

You can use Google to find interesting recipes for whatever you have lying around the kitchen!

Let’s have an example:

After routing through the fridge and cupboards I’ve spotted these healthy ingredients that will go well together:

• Chicken Breast (with no skin)
• Pasta
• Fresh Tomatoes
• Garlic

Type all the ingredients into a Google search and add in speech marks ‘healthy recipe’ at the end:

Google all your main ingredients and add "healthy recipe" on the end

The top result in Google produced a wonderful meal, thanks to foodnetwork.com this time round.

I guarantee you’ll find a suitable recipe in the top 5 search results; most of the sites will have user comments on the food’s taste and perhaps a star rating.  You may need herbs or other seasoning to enhance the flavour so it’s always handy to stock up on these at home.

Good luck on your cooking and remember cooking your own food is not only healthier, it’s another little exercise you can do (along with the washing up afterwards, hehe!)

The South Beach Diet is considered to be one of all the healthier of the weight loss diets available today. Consisting of lean meat, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains

The South Beach Diet is considered to be one of all the healthier of the weight loss diets available today. Consisting of lean meat, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. The purpose of the South Beach Diet was originally a means for heart patients to improve their LDL cholesterol. It has caught on in a big way for overweight and obese people who are desperate to find a healthy way to lose weight.

For a bit of background about the diet, it is divided into three phases.

Phase one – It’s a bit of a shock to the system! This phase should last two weeks and the dieter will restrict their food intake in a way that will seem quite drastic to someone who is used to eating over 4000 calories a day! South Beach dieters will be eliminating all sugar, processed carbohydrates, fruits, and higher-glycemic vegetables as well. This phase usually results in significant weight loss but this is just the beginning…
Phase two – This stage will last for as long as you need in order to lose weight. After the initial two weeks, most South Beach Dieters can add fruits and most veggies back into their diet along with most whole grains. Dieters are expected to begin exercising (in accordance with doctor’s orders of course!) and weight loss should slow up but continue at a much steadier rate if the diet is followed properly.
Phase three – After you have lost all the weight you wanted to lose, dieters can eat what they want – within reason! Graduates from the South Beach Diet are expected to continue with the basic principles of the diet which are:

• low in fat so no trans-fats and choose foods low in saturated fat
• high in fibre
• high in omega 3 fatty acid
• avoid processed foods which are more likely to be simple carbohydrates that leave you hungry sooner after eating.

The South Beach Diet isn’t a low in carbohydrate diet like Atkins although it is often mistaken as a low-carb diet. On the South Beach Diet, dieters are not expected to limit or even weigh their carbohydrate intake, but simply consider their source e.g, are they complex or simple carbohydrates? Brown rice is a complex carbohydrate as your body has to work harder to break it down. In fact, the vegetarian version of the diet is quite high in carbohydrates.

One blogger who has been following the diet and has seen a considerable change in his health as well as his appearance is Steve – but you might know him better as South Beach Steve.

Steve has lost a huge amount of weight. He now weighs in at 187.5lbs but last year Steve weighed 259lbs. Back in August 2007, he weighed in at a whopping 283lbs! This means that Steve is healthier than ever and well on his way to losing five stone from his starting weight of 259lbs! Well done Steve!

To help those who are considering following the South Beach Diet, I asked Steve a few questions about his diet so make yourself comfortable and settle down for what I hope will be an enlightening blog post.

Steve used to be very big...

Look at Steve now! He's slim with defined muscles thanks to the South Beach Diet and hard work

Questions to South Beach Steve:

1. People are really feeling the pinch at the moment, is the SB diet
cheaper to follow than your old unhealthy diet?

One thing I have always heard about the South Beach Diet is that it is
expensive to follow.  I don’t really think that we have seen our grocery
bill rise that much, so it doesn’t appear to be the case with us.  A few
things are at play here.  First, if we are eating healthier foods, it
usually takes less to fill us up.  On the other hand, if you eat a meal
heavy in processed white-flour or sugars, your blood sugar spikes, then
drops, which leaves you feeling hungry sooner, thus you eat more.  In
short, it looks like it should be more expensive, but I have personally
not found that to be the case.

2. Having done my research, it seems as though the SB diet requires a
lot of effort with fresh food prep. Does it take ages to prepare your
food and do you need to go shopping every day?

To do the diet right, it does take a lot of food preparation.  Even the
meals marketed toward the diet do not really fit the guidelines Dr.
Agatston has previously defined.  This is a real challenge when it comes
to food preparation.  I tend to fix larger portions of food, then eat
from the leftovers for several days.  I also freeze certain things like
vegetable beef soup or chili.

We also don’t have to shop every day, although we do go at least twice a
week.  It is hard to keep fresh food that is edible longer than a few
days.  Fortunately, one of our favorite grocery stores is on my way home
from work.

3. I gather you’re quite busy with your job and family life, how does
your diet fit in with your lifestyle?

I really thought this was going to be one of the greater challenges.  I
eat a lot of “work” lunches and dinners, which are not geared toward my
diet.  I also travel a lot, which isn’t conducive to this type of diet.
For me, I didn’t allow that to be an excuse.  Basically, if you know you
have to find workable options, you look harder.  There have been times
that I just haven’t eaten the work meals, and there have been times when
traveling that I have bought my food at a grocery store instead of a
restaurant.

I am fortunate in that my wife generally cooks dinner, and it is ready
before I arrive home (the rest of the family eats dinner much earlier
than when I arrive home).  This helps keep the evening preparation to a
minimum, which I am thankful for.

4. Be honest, do you prefer the SB diet to your old diet?

I don’t know that I can say I prefer it when speaking of taste, but I am
equally happy with it.  Sure, there are foods I miss, but not many.  The
food I now eat is tasty and filling, which is all I can ask for.  The
largest challenge is snack foods, which are very limited.

5. I find that fatty and unhealthy foods turn my stomach now, how long
did it take for you to stop wanting the old food you used to eat?

I would say that it was probably six months or so.  I don’t recall the
moment where I realized my taste buds had changed, but I do remember
noticing it.  It was like a light went off in my head, realizing I had
finally reached a new level of success.

6. Can you describe what you used to eat in a day?

A typical day might have consisted of one or two bowls of some
sugar-laden cereal for breakfast.  Sometimes I would go out for lunch,
when I did it was a double cheeseburger, a large fries, and a large
drink.  While that wasn’t everyday, it was typical.  I often had an
afternoon snack, usually a bag of chips, a bag of popcorn, or a Snickers
candy bar.  Dinner was often a large helping of lasagna with bread, or
some kind of meat, lots of mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn.  The real
kicker was I wasn’t done at this point.  I would often have another bowl
of cereal or ice cream before bed.

7. And what do you eat now?

Breakfast is often an apple with 2-4 tablespoons of natural nut butter.
Lunch is typically a large salad or a chicken breast accompanied by
steamed broccoli.  Dinner is usually a lean meat and a couple of cooked
vegetables.  That being said, salads are always a welcome food.  I still
snack on occasion, sometimes a late evening apple or a late evening bowl
of a whole grain cereal.  I try to keep this to a minimum though.

8. Can anybody do the South Beach diet?

I think most anyone can do the South Beach Diet.  The two exceptions that could still
do it, although it would be tough, are total vegetarians or vegans.  The
premise of the diet is eating foods that have less of an effect on your
blood sugar – proteins and fats are better at this than carbohydrates.
The fiber in vegetables and fruits helps with this, but not as well as
the protein and fats.

9. What benefits have you noticed other than weight loss?

I have been told that I look healthier, although I am not sure if that
is a result of my skin or what.  I have more energy, which is nice.  Of
course, the greatest benefit is my health, which has improved tremendously.

10. Is it easy to stick to the diet when you go out for dinner with family?

With family it is easy.  My family is very accommodating, so we usually
go somewhere that is agreeable with my diet.  This usually means
somewhere with good salads.  Believe me, I count myself lucky here.

11. How important is portion control with the South Beach diet? Can you gorge yourself silly on all the good foods until you’re full?

Can you gorge yourself silly?  Yes, you just won’t lose any weight.
  Seriously, most of the time I feel satisfied on the amounts I eat.
Does that mean I eat all I can eat?  No, but I do eat until I am full.
I am rarely hungry, and when I am it is intentional.  I think part of
the benefit of a low-hypoglycemic index diet, like the South Beach Diet,
is that we recognize being full easier.

12. If you could only give one piece of advice to people thinking about
going on the South Beach diet, what would that be?

Learn the diet.  This is one of the most misunderstood diets out there.
It is not a traditional “low carb” diet.  I prefer to call it a healthy
carb/healthy meat diet.

If I were to offer a second piece of the diet, I would add that you
should not feel that you have to follow the meal plans in the books.
These are just examples, that is it.

13. Do your kids eat the same diet as you now? What do they think of
their new slimline daddy?

No, my kids do not eat the same exact diet.  They do eat many of the
foods I eat, but they still have some foods I do not eat.

One of the best memories I have so far in this journey to healthiness is
my youngest son being so excited that he can actually put his arms all
the way around me when he hugs me.

14. That’s absolutely fantastic! How long did it take for you to see results?

I saw weight results immediately, but the funny thing was that no one
seemed to notice until I had lost 30 pounds.  At that point it was as if
everyone’s eyes were opened.  That was about six months into it.

15. Is this something that you can approach ‘half-hearted’ or do you
have to be really determined and dedicated from the outset for it to
even stand a chance of working?

I firmly believe this is a diet that one must be committed to.  The
eating program that you follow is not well-suited to “cheating”.

16. At what point did you realise you needed to diet? Did you try any
other diets or did you strike it lucky with finding the South Beach diet first?

I have known that I needed to diet most of my life.  I made the decision
last July though.  I was laying in bed and it hit me that I was a
walking time-bomb.  I knew that I would never live to see my children’s
children if I didn’t change something immediately.  That was the night
before I began changing my health for the better.

I had tried other diets.  At one point in my adult life I lost several
pounds on a low fat diet.  It was relatively easy for me, but I became
bored with it quick.  I also lost a great deal of weight on the Atkins
Diet.  I still have a fondness for that diet.  I felt good when I was on
that diet, and I lost an incredible amount of weight very fast.  I
always looked at it as a diet though, not a lifestyle change.  That is
the difference.  When it came time to change for good, I knew I wasn’t
ready to do the Atkins Diet again.  I wasn’t that committed yet.  But I
knew I could do the South Beach Diet.  Furthermore, I felt the South
Beach Diet was a lifestyle diet for me.  I wasn’t sure the Atkins Diet
could ever be that.

And the most recent picture of Steve – in his brand new suit that has sent lots of well-deserved compliments his way…

Slimline Steve

AMELIA

I promised I would come and tell you some of my recipes for cheap and healthy food. Now, as much as I love cooking, I do also get incredibly lazy at times and have been in several states of… economic booms and busts. Even when I’ve had more money to blow on food, somehow I always come back to this recipe because I just love it so much.

Amelia Does Lazy Chilli

4 x tins of tinned tomatoes

1x can of tinned pulses

Chilli paste (bought in a tube because I am THAT lazy)

Quorn mince (optional, you can either remove it all together or add beef mince)

Other ingredients that I add if I have them are: Oxo cubes, whole cloves of garlic, passata, vegetables

Amelia has a recipe that is just as easy as this packet mix!

So, this is the best bit… you just chuck it all in the saucepan together (unless you’re adding meat) and stir and simmer until the rest of the food is ready.

Now, I either use this to put on a jacket potato or with rice as a veggie chilli option. This is quite simple food, I know, but it is so natural and pure and low in calories and high in nutrition and so blimmin’ tasty! Considering if I make it just for me, I can make 2/3 portions for £1 it’s the new superfood!

I sometimes appear a bit aggressive and hard-nosed at times. Having been raised in a family of strong women who won’t stand for any messing, I am very confident in asserting my beliefs and opinions whether they are requested or not. Underneath this no-nonsense exterior, I am an absolute sucker for looking after the vulnerable and one of the things that makes me really sad is elderly people alone in the world with no one to look after them. After all, nobody actually sets out in life to be Eleanor Rigby!

I set out this morning intending to review Innocent smoothies but something else on their website caught my eye…

Innocent have launched a campaign called ‘The Big Knit’. Basically, Innocent and Sainsbury’s have teamed up with the intention of donating 35p per bottle of smoothie sold to Age Concern and Help the Aged. They want to raise £250,000 so that these charities can fund projects and advice centres that enable older people to cook nourishing and yummy food, even living on just a state pension. It is a crime that 10% of the UK population over the age of 65 is malnourished. It doesn’t have to be that way and with better education and information made available to our more vulnerable citizens, this can be turned around and it is everyone’s responsibility to get involved.

How do you know that you are buying a special pack? This is the fun bit, the bottle will be wearing a knitted hat!

Behatted Innocent Smoothie - look out for and buy these!

Innocent are even having a competition, asking people to knit little hats and to send pictures of their designs to their Flickr page. They are doing a ‘hat of the week’ contest that starts this month. If you want to enter your own knitted designs, the closing date is 16th October. (For more information, click on the picture to your left.)

I’m not making any money from this, so why am I raving about The Big Knit and asking that you buy little bottles of smoothies with the cute hats on?

Nutrition is not just an issue that effects the elderly. People who are malnourished are more likely to become ill in the old winter months. This includes dieters who are trying to lose weight but not taking into consideration the value of the fewer calories that they eat.

It is so easy to become carried away with dieting, you cut the ‘naughty’ foods out of your diet or you reduce your consumption massively. When dieting, the biggest thing to remember is: EAT FOR NUTRITIONAL VALUE. Foods like rice cakes are low in calories but they have a very high Glycemic Index (or GI) and they are not filling and have as much nutritional value as paper. Empty calories are worthless and you should make the calories you eat count. Your body needs fibre, fat, carbohydrate, protein etc and this is never going to change. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: there is no point in being thin if you are not healthy. Your health is reflected in your skin, your hair, your nails and even your eyes and smile. Losing weight is meant to improve your life and your health, if this is not your aim then maybe you should reconsider your motives for weight loss.