healthy eating

[annakaydenlongo]

need some advice n help on what food n meals to make for me n family which are healthy as i struggle to think what i can buy n cook

[DartmoorDumpling]

A rough guide;

1) Go for colourful foods (peppers, tomatoes, oranges, bananas, apricots, green veg etc)

2) Only buy what grows on trees, on or under the ground (include bread, flour, oats, and simple cereals) or walks on the ground or swims in the sea.

3) Some man-made foods will be necessary in your cooking like butter or margerine, milk, cheese, and small amounts of sugar but watch the portion sizes.

Once you have bought your trolley-full of these lovely natural foods, google some recipes (I like the BBC website for inspiration) to find out how to serve them.

Throw out or give away all the processed cakes, biscuits, pies, sweets, crisps etc so the family have to eat what you serve ....or go without!

As an example; there is nothing so tasty as oven roasted vegetables (a mix of cut up squash, courgette, mixed peppers, aubergine, red onion, and baby tomatoes, mix with some olive oil, a little honey and some wholegrain mustard, and roasted until beginning to caramalise for 35 mins or so. Any left over can be put in the blender with some stock and some potato for a tasty soup. Serve with some oven-baked salmon topped with a mix of bread crumbs and grated cheese.

[Bazza1234]

There are a lot of cooking channels on YOUTUBE - sometimes it is easy to watch somebody cooking something than trying to read recipes

[IndigoBlue61]

You have some great advice there from DartmoorDumpling 😊 Hope you are feeling inspired

[Henrietta15]

have a look at Change4life website, free, nutritionally balanced family meal ideas

[honk]

Hi Anna, I had the same issue - my cousin recommended the 'yummly' app, and it completely solved my problem! You can select what kind of ingredients you want to use, any allergies/requirements, and there's loads of fun extra recipes like krispie cakes which are great for getting everyone involved.

When I'm stuck though, I just stick some greens, bean casserole mix, a bit of stock and plenty of seasoning (but not salt), and mushroom rice, or pasta, or noodles, together with whatever sauce I have in the cupboards, or make a simple roast with carrots, parsnips, potatoes, a nut cutlet, and veggie gravy. There's also the option to make a simple, healthy casserole or veggie-rich pie by just sticking fresh mash on top of a mixture of veg and sauce, white fish if you choose, and baking it all. Also no-cheese pasta bakes, could try your hand at curries or stir fry, and I know plenty of parents who make 'healthy mcdonalds' at home by making baked chips from scratch with homemade burgers and as always plenty of veg. Red meat could be substituted for veggie burgers or a nice bit of halloumi cheese to make it healthier!

If you have younger people in the family, it might inspire you a bit to let them choose what veg etc they want to have and then think of a way to incorporate them into your meals and even cook together?

Hope that helps!