Affordable good health
I have a few simple rules that I apply when developing healthy family dishes. The food has to taste good, look good and do us good. It also has to be affordable and simple to make. I love to get into a good complicated recipe book every now and then, but quite frankly, when I am feeding the family day in, day out, I want simplicity and speed and, of course, great health benefits.
So, I’ve said this many times before. We all know the principles of eating a healthy diet, but actually translating that into a plate of food that is quick and easy to prepare, healthy, affordable and delicious, is quite a challenge. None of my recipes use particularly expensive ingredients. They are all really easy to follow – trust me, I get lost if there is too much text to plough through. Learn how to ‘Shop Smart’. Buy things when they are on special offer, especially fish! Make friends with your local fishmonger or fish-counter manager at your supermarket as he will be able to advise you on what is the best buy of the day.
Please be assured that the pizza delivery man couldn’t give two hoots about your health or the health of your bank balance. The great news is, healthy food doesn’t have to be expensive, it just takes a little extra thought and planning.
My top tips for feeding a family
• Never give children separate food to yours! We all need great nutrition; the kids might just need their meals slightly less spicy and cut up smaller!
• Serve a big jug of iced water on the table – discourage sugary drinks. They shouldn’t be necessary at meal times.
• Always have chopped-up fruit on the table to nibble on in between courses.
• Take the salt pot off the table! In fact, throw it away!
• When encouraging younger children to eat, make a wall chart with stickers and get them to have a competition to see who can eat the most portions of fruit and vegetables. Also have a reward at the end of the week if they’ve done really well. My kids would eat anything for a sticker!
• Ensure that there are vegetables served with every meal. My children aren’t allowed a meal without veggies on their plate and if they don’t like the flavour they mix it in to hide it. Vegetables do not have a strong flavour anyway, so there is really no excuse.
• Think about portion sizes, especially for children. Are you overloading the plate? A portion should be the same size as your hand. If you are a big guy, with big hands, that is your portion size. If you are five years old with a teeny hand – this is your portion size. Easy!
• I am a strong believer in sitting down together as a family to eat. I know this isn’t possible for everyone at every meal, but try to do it as much as you can. Not only does this make meal times more fun, it will also encourage everyone to eat properly if there is a reason to sit at the table, share the news of the day, and take your time. I always eat less when I am sitting and chatting at the table as I digest properly and wait to see if I’m full up rather than continuing to eat anyway!
Let your kids cook for you
I have a fabulous system in my home that I wholeheartedly recommend. At the time of writing this book my children are 14, 11 and 9 years respectively. Once a month each of them is responsible for cooking the whole family a meal. The choice is entirely theirs and they have to research the recipes, write out the shopping list, prepare, cook and serve the meal. It’s great fun, and they really enjoy planning for it. If they need help, they can shout, but they usually read the recipe carefully and want to surprise us all with the meal. This not only teaches them the lifelong enjoyable skill of cooking, it also gives them an amount of control of what they want to eat. I am usually pleasantly surprised as they often pick a really healthy dish, without any input from me and will explain to me what the healthy ingredients will do for me! I love this… it’s obviously what I do to them at every mealtime! ‘Isn’t this butternut squash soup delicious boys? This will give you loads of energy for kung-fu tonight, and Lela, this will make your skin beautiful!’
The Secret Ingredient Family Cookbook will help you, at a glance, feed your family the healthiest food possible.
You’ll see that many of my savoury dishes begin with onion, garlic and extra-virgin olive oil. This is because this little tasty combination is a great health giver. It is proven that when heated together these three ingredients help to lower blood cholesterol.
I have included a few recipes that include red meat, but not too many. Try to keep red meat to once or twice a week as this gives you the protein you need but won’t overload you with the wrong kinds of fat. Always cut off all visible fat from any meat and try to buy quality. If you can’t afford good-quality meat that can have its source traced, then miss it out all together and add more pulses, beans or rice.
I always get lots of requests for vegetarian food, there are vegetarian dishes dotted throughout the book and many other recipes that can omit the meat. So please take time, if you are vegetarian, to take a good look through.
You’ll also notice a great chapter called Sally’s Saturday night fake-away. We all love the convenience and excitement of take-away food but sadly it is often among the unhealthiest food you can eat. I hope my dishes will tempt you to fake it with your own healthy versions.
I don’t list the calories contained in my recipes as this isn’t the top priority when feeding a family. As long as all ingredients are fresh and as natural as possible, and a balance of dishes are eaten, this is a sustainable healthy diet for a family.
I prefer to count calories on the way out rather than the way in – in other words, go for a walk after dinner if you are able.
And finally…
I see feeding my family a healthy diet as important as medication from the doctors, fitting smoke alarms, teaching kids to cross the road safely and not talking to strangers. As the main cook in the house, I have to be the healthy body monitor. That doesn’t mean it’s my responsibility to do all the work, but it is my responsibility to direct proceedings and ultimately to ensure that my family eats and lives well.
It doesn’t matter who puts their hand up to be the ‘healthy body monitor’ in your household, as long as someone does!
Feeding your family a healthy diet is important for their future health, but it’s also important for today. Young children need energy from the right kinds of food. They need small regular meals that entice them with their eyes. Teenagers, in my experience, are always starving! My eldest son is now 14 years old and could easily eat me out of house and home. Food for teenagers needs to be filling but highly nutritious. I find that if I explain what each ingredient will offer my son – i.e. build muscles, keep skin clear, make his brain work faster – he is more likely to decide to like it. This is also part of the battle; I am amazed by how many children come around to our house and say they don’t like something before they’ve even tried it.
Kids have busy lives. Mine seem to be busier than me these days, and struggling with colds and bugs makes life pretty miserable. By eating a healthy and balanced diet and practising good handwashing, it’s possible to keep everyday bugs to a minimum. Healthy food contains antioxidants that help fight bad cells. This is very important for us in later life, as these antioxidants can potentially fight off cancer cells, but in early years they can keep a child happy and bug free. The healthier your children are, the quicker they can fight off bugs and colds. The healthier you are as an adult, the more energy you will have, and the stronger your system will be if ever a trauma like mine comes your way.
I truly hope nothing like this ever comes your way – but, if it does, the best feeling in the world is knowing that you did everything possible to ensure you survive and continue to flourish.
Enjoy, folks,