A recipe for eating well

Over-indulged this Christmas? In the first of a two-part series on healthy eating, Orwell-based nutritionist Susan Krueger offers some sensible advice about what your body needs – and provides a couple of delicious recipes.

The festive season is drawing to a close and you may well find yourselves looking in the mirror and thinking: “Where did that extra bit of tummy come from and why are my trousers too tight?” Please forget about diets and detoxifying juices.

You may be coming down to earth with a bit of a bump, but let’s try for a soft landing.

Start by making the most of your left-over turkey, gammon joint and vegetables, with the recipes featured here.

Staying fit through the winter months while losing those few extra pounds is all about eating a wide range of fresh foods in the appropriate amounts.

Most of us eat more than our bodies need, especially at this time of year, and that’s why we gain weight. Sometimes that ‘spare tyre’ looks like it was made for truck rather than a car.

If you want to lose weight consider reducing the size of your meals as an alternative to starting a formal diet; merely using smaller crockery can help with this.

Few of us include enough vegetables and fruit in our diets; these not only fill you up without adding too many calories but also slow digestion so you feel full for longer.

They provide many of the vitamins and minerals you need to stay fit and feed your friendly gut bacteria.

Your body is a complex system that requires a wide range of foods including a good source of protein such as fish, meat, eggs, Quorn, quinoa and nuts, but in smaller amounts than you might realise.

I have deliberately missed cheese from the list of protein foods as most hard cheeses are at least one-third fat and have a high salt content.

Although you need a little fat in your diet to absorb some essential nutrients, it does encourage weight gain. Milk products provide you with a whole range of useful substances, but choose reduced fat options: green top milk, plain live low fat yoghurt (add your own fruit) and cottage cheese.

Now I come to the elephant in the room.

Your body likes to use whole starches as its preferred energy source.

These include whole grain bread and pasta, whole grain rice and potatoes with skins left on.

All “white processed” options and sweet foods are digested rapidly so cause your blood sugar level to spike and as a result, the excess sugar in your blood is quickly converted into fat for storage on your tummies, so avoid these foods as much as possible.

In this short article, I have given you a concise overview of what a healthy diet contains, so live well and keep fit through the winter months and on into 2017. Next week I will talk about exercise; how to make it enjoyable and simple ways to incorporate it into your daily routine.

Susan Krueger is a nutritionist and weight loss specialist and author of Overweight, So Whose Fault is That?

@YourFoodForLife

facebook.com/YourFoodForLife Turkey Coxey Apple and Sage Fricassee

Allow 40g of diced turkey and gammon plus half a Coxey apple per person.

Set your oven for 190C.

Put 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil into a non-stick pan and lightly fry a finely chopped onion and crushed clove of garlic on a low to moderate heat.

Skin, core and the chop Coxey apples then add them to the pan with a small bunch of fresh shredded sage or one teaspoon of dried sage.

Place a level tablespoon of cornflour into a bowl with a crumbled chicken stock-cube.

Slowly add 300 to 350 millilitres of green-top milk, stirring continuously. Add this mixture to the pan and continue to stir until it thickens before removing from the heat.

Place the diced turkey and gammon into an oven proof dish, then add the sauce.

Cook in your pre-heated oven for half an hour.

Serve with whole grain rice and fresh vegetables.