Sally Bee - The Recipe for Life - Healthy eating for real people

TOO BUSY TO EXERCISE?

Me too! However, it’s crucially important that we all exercise. My future health depends on it, and so does yours.

I think it’s wonderful if you enjoy going to the gym, running races or swimming across lakes, but many people don’t want to do that…or can’t do that! However, that is still no excuse. Another word for exercise is movement, and we can all do that in one way or another. I am far too busy to stop my life to go to the gym, but I have time to go for a bike ride with the children or quickly take the dog for a walk. When I go to do my supermarket shopping, I’ll try to do a 60-minute trip to the isles in 40 minutes. That gets my heart rate up–and the fridge gets filled at the same time. Perfect.

I read a study once that showed how some scientists had changed the way that a group did ten daily activities every day. So instead of buying ready-prepared vegetables, they peeled and chopped them, and instead of using the TV remote, they got up to change the channel. They used stairs instead of escalators and walked around the office when they were on the telephone at work instead of sitting down to talk. These sound like pretty, simple, gentle changes. However, the shocking results showed that the people who took part in the study had, at the end of a one month trial, done the equivalent of an 120 mile walk over the space of that month. Simply by changing the way they did ten domestic things a day. What are you going to change? Remember, small steps make a big difference.

You’ll notice that most of my recipes have only short instructions and are very uncomplicated. That’s because I believe in making life as easy as possible and just don’t have time to spend hours preparing food. If it takes longer to cook than it does to eat, I’ve failed! An hour sitting over dinner, chatting to my family is a joy. An hour standing preparing food is a chore.

YOU’RE NOT ALONE!

Staying healthy through nutrition is such an important thing to do. If you struggle sometimes to stay motivated, remember you are not alone and it might help you to join forces with other people who are also trying to maintain great health. Maybe get a few friends together once a week to share experiences and recipes. Don’t be afraid to set up a walking group–you’ll probably be amazed at the response–we all need a friend sometimes and we all enjoy the company of others so people will probably thank you for being the one to get everyone else organised. If you enjoy the internet, there are countless forums where you can chat to other people about improving lifestyle, swapping stories and experiences and, by all means, please feel free to write to me. I love to hear other people’s stories and still look for inspiration and motivation myself. It’s lovely to encourage each other, it’s liberating to achieve great results and it’s rewarding and fulfilling to pass our successes on to others. Enjoy your healthy future, enjoy your mealtimes with family and friends and feel proud that you have decided to make some effective (and delicious) changes to your nourishment that will, I hope, prove to be your insurance policy for the future.

MAKING CHANGES IN THE KITCHEN

One of the most important messages I want to stress is that you should not feel intimidated by science, experts or chefs. If you feel you are ready to make some changes to the way you eat and would like to be healthier through food, I want you to know that you can easily do it. It’s not rocket science, you won’t have to start eating foods that you can’t pronounce and can’t find in the shops and you do not need to deprive yourself, feel hungry or bullied by anyone!

It’s all very well knowing the principles of healthy eating. I think that most of us know that, in order to eat a healthy diet, we need to cut down on fat, sugar and salt and eat more fresh fruit and vegetables and, if we eat meat, we need to try to eat more chicken and fish than red meat. But knowing how to translate that knowledge into a plate of food at the end of a busy day that is healthy, quick and easy to make, affordable, tasty and enticing to the whole family is quite a tall order! But totally possible. Just take a moment to flick through this book and look at the lovely pictures of the dishes. Do they look like the kind of food you eat when you’re on a diet? Absolutely not! Yes, every dish in this book is low on the fat, sugar and salt. Sure, many of the recipes contain olive oil, but in small and healthy amounts.

You’ll notice that most of my recipes have only short instructions and are very uncomplicated. That’s because I believe in making life as easy as possible and just don’t have time to spend hours preparing food. If it takes longer to cook than it does to eat, I’ve failed! An hour sitting over dinner chatting to my family is a joy. An hour standing preparing food is a chore.

MY SUPER SUPERFOODS

I love pretty much all veggies, chicken and fish–but below is a list of my tip-top superfoods that I couldn’t live without. I recommend that you incorporate these into your diet on a regular basis.

* Onions, garlic and olive oil. You’ll see that most of my savoury dishes include onions, garlic and olive oil. This is because, besides being a great base for most dishes, these ingredients are proven to have special health-giving properties, especially when heated together. Onions and garlic belong to the same family and both have a protective action on the circulatory system. Together, they also work as a diuretic and have an antibiotic action. These three ingredients are also proven to help lower blood cholesterol. So, as long as you and your partner go for the garlic, everybody’s happy!

*Sweet potatoes. So many of our staple dishes contain potatoes. Now I am a massive fan of the spud, and like to promote its health benefits regularly–but problems can arise when we add butter or fat to improve its taste. In comparison, the sweet potato is very moist and doesn’t need anything adding to improve the taste or texture. In fact, sweet potatoes contain everything you need all in one tidy little parcel. Sweet potatoes are a great source of vitamin E because they are fat free. They are also a great source of fibre, betacarotene and vitamins A and C, and are wonderful for a low-carb diet.

* Tomatoes. Tomatoes are packed with potassium and vitamins and are wonderfully low in calories. Eat them cooked or raw, it really doesn’t matter–just eat them! Tomatoes are a superfood that gives great nutrition whichever way you look at it. Raw tomatoes are a good source of vitamin C and are high in vitamin A. Cooked tomatoes provide lycopene, an antioxidant thought to reduce cancer risk and cardiovascular disease. Lycopene is especially well absorbed into the body when the tomatoes are cooked and have a little olive oil added–think chilli and spaghetti sauce and, actually, most of the sauce-based dishes throughout this book! Kids don’t like tomatoes? Don’t give them straight from the refrigerator–they are much nicer at room temperature. Try lovely sweet cherry tomatoes just off the windowsill. Delicious!

* Fish. Oily fish, such as mackerel, salmon, sardines and trout are a rich source of omega-3. Omega-3 is proven to help against heart disease.

* Nuts and seeds. The oils in nuts and seeds, especially almonds, walnuts and peanuts, may help protect against heart disease and possibly some cancers, too. They are high in fat, but it’s the type of fat that is essential as part of a healthy diet, and are great when lightly sprinkled on salads or as a crunchy topping for bakes.

*Green tea. Green tea is believed to protect against heart disease and some cancers. The antioxidants in green tea have been shown to be powerful. Since ancient times, green tea has been considered by the proponents of traditional Chinese medicine as a healthy beverage.