Our recipes are specially created to be healthy, nutritious and family friendly. Tuck in!
These are a healthy and gluten free alternative to the frozen fish finger. By making them yourself you can be confident on the quality of the fish and ensure there's no added nasties. Many fish fingers from supermarkets are coated in unhealthy oils, which have no place in our diet. Serve with a side of sweet potato fries and a couple of green vegetables as a perfect balanced meal. If your child is suspicious of 'green bits' then leave the parsley out!
At The Health Boost, Kat and I aim to thrive on a balanced lifestyle including lots of good real food, being as active as possible in the time we have, so treats do feature there somewhere. This is one of those treats! Delicious, nutritious and a little naughty! Coconut is a bit of favourite ingredient of mine and luckily it offers many health benefits aside from tasting delicious.
As you may have noticed by now, I love nothing more than playing around with ingredients, textures and flavours of the waffle kind. Still very much wearing my healthier cap on, I have managed to get the right balance of whole foods real ingredients and classic favourite. Those waffles have come out tasting like a good old fashioned brownie! Do try and you won't be disappointed.
The search for nutritious healthy snack bars is never ending. With the added restriction of the "nut free" policy in schools, making your own is the key to success. These bars contain oats and seeds, no nasties, no refined sugar and no nuts. These are really quick and simple to make ahead, and add to a packed lunch or your gym bag for a post-workout refuel.
Whatever diet you are on... paleo, vegan, vegetarian, nordic, LCHF or a typical Western diet there's no doubt that increasing your vegetable intake is something that will benefit you. The benefits for our cardiovascular system, immune system, brain health and weight are huge and we should be aiming at hitting at least 10 portions of different vegetables a day into our diet. Ten I hear you say, that’s impossible! But actually it’s much easier than you think, as I will outline later. Eating an abundant rainbow of vegetables really will leave you feeling so much better.
It is very much soup season all year round as far as I am concerned! Why? Soups, whether hot or cold, are a fantastic way to easily include lots of daily veggie portions. This soup is packed full of real food pre-biotics, very light and works really well as a warming starter. Soups are a great make ahead and freeze healthy option for busy lives.
I am often about taking supplements and which ones I recommend to take regularly. It’s a difficult question to answer as everyone’s diet and requirements are different. I also believe that a good diet should play the most important part in good health. You can’t supplement your way out of a poor diet and we need to make sure we get most of our micronutrients from our diet. Often the nutrients we get from food sources are better absorbed than a pill. Supplements, if taken, should supplement your diet and not replace good food.
"Not another waffle recipe! " said no-one ever! Eat the rainbow is one of our Moto here at The Health Boost so once again, I aim at presenting colourful, creative, nutrient dense and delicious food! This waffle is as pleasing to the eye as it is balanced and satisfying on a hungry morning! You can even make it the night before and slide in the toaster in the morning.
Growing up in France, my paternal side of the family was from French North Africa and I grew up enjoying many of the flavourful dishes of the cuisine of the Sephardic Jews. My grandmother spent her time spoiling us with feast after feast of delicious spicy foods. My favourite was her "Choukchouka". Little did I know that this dish would see such a revival and feature in every culinary, foodie, healthy cookbook or blog! So here's my own family recipe for you to enjoy.
Many people don't eat soup for lunch as they say it doesn't fill you up. The key is to add some protein. This could either be a sprinkle of nuts or seeds on the top, or some coconut milk swirled through – or in the case of this soup some delicious butterbeans. Despite the fact that this soup has beans it is still light and smooth. With all the winter colds and flu around at the moment this is perfect if you are feeling below par.
Growing up waffles were something I did with my grand-parents, at the weekend as a treat or ate at the fair ground. Nowadays, as a health conscious foodie mum I like to play around with so called indulgent, cheeky treats and tweak them! Still treats, but rid of the refined sugars and packed with nourishing goodness and flavours. These cinnamon waffles are just that.
So, breakfast cereals… where do we even start? Well, let’s start with the fact that homemade granola is the easiest thing you could do! Make a batch on Sunday afternoon with the kids and enjoy every morning with your choice of milk, yoghurt, fresh fruit etc…
So...I may have bought a new foodie gadget, and I may be having way too much fun with it! So I am now sharing the outcome of my very first waffle creation and certainly not the last!
The best thing about this one< in addition to containing greens, is that I am using mashed potato. So so simple, could be a leftover in your fridge, and you will have a fab breakfast or delicious lunchbox item!
Once again we are back with a very simple, quick and versatile recipe. To be enjoyed all year round, it is a fantastic prepped in advance lunch box item which can also be served chilled to accompany evening drinks or as a starter for your next dinner party. Salmon and dill is such a deliciously fresh classic combination.
When it's cold outside and you want something warming and easy on your digestion this is perfect. It's like being wrapped in a soft blanket in front of a crackling fire. This is what I want to eat when on a crisp autumnal evening or when it's dark and cold outside. The vegetables can be varied depending on what you have in. No squash? Then just add another sweet potato or another carrot. I rarely weight out the ingredients - just use whatever I have in the fridge/cupboards.
I love nothing more than a roast chicken on a Sunday! Even more so when I know that nothing will go to waste as I will be making broth with the leftovers. If you are ever feeling like you are coming down with a cold then this is the option for you. We have lost the tradition of making stock every week like our grandmothers and great-grandmothers – but I think we are missing a trick.
I started experimenting with raw food a while back now and always find new inspiration for energy balls, adjusting flavours and ingredients to suit seasons, moods and hectic family diaries. In order to satisfy that festive spiced biscuit craving and still provide the much needed post workout fuel or after-school sport these cranberry and mixed spice balls do the trick. And the level of spice can be adjusted to suit younger or more mature eaters equally.
You might think that the key to optimal health is eating well and getting plenty of exercise. While these play a very important part, if you don’t also prioritise your sleep and relaxation you could be putting your health at risk. Modern day life is hectic and often relaxation is seen as a luxury and sleep is cut to squeeze even more activities into our busy days. However long-term lack of sleep and relaxation can impact your health in many ways.
After all the excess of Christmas sometimes you just crave a salad. This salad screams healthy with the raw sprouts and kale. You could add some raw red cabbage as well which would also work. This is perfect for a lunch in the lead up to Christmas when you want something light, but still festive, or post Christmas when you feel you’ve just had enough to eat and want something simple!
We are made up of over 60% water and every cell in our body requires water just to function. Even the smallest degree of water loss can impair both physical and mental function. If you go for a run and at the start weigh 72.5kg and then after 20 miles weigh in at 70kg then this equates to a 4% body weight loss. A 4% body weight loss will mean that your exercise performance will be cut by about 25% - not something you need during a long race! There is no doubt that water is essential to life, but still there are many people that don’t drink enough.
