Spiced Walnut and Squash Loaf

If you’re having guests over the Christmas period, this is an excellent – and quick! - alternative to Christmas cake. And on the plus side it has some hidden veg in it too! 

Serves 6-8 people

Ingredients:

175g rice flour

1 tbsp ground almonds

170g coconut sugar or 85g Stevia, if you prefer

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

3 cloves

3 tsp gluten-free baking powder 

50g dark chocolate, broken into chunks chunks (optional)

1 medium ripe avocado, pitted

½ tsp salt

230g butternut squash purée (dice a medium size squash, steam until soft, then either mash or put in a blender to purée)

1 egg

60g natural or coconut yoghurt

1 tsp vanilla paste

Two handfuls of walnuts, chopped

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 170˚C / gas mark 3, grease and line a loaf tin. 
• Stir together the rice flour, ground almonds, coconut sugar (or stevia), spices, baking powder and salt. 
• Blend together the eggs, yoghurt, avocado, squash purée, and vanilla paste until smooth.
• Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until combined. Stir through the chopped walnuts and optional chocolate, then pour into the loaf tin, smoothing down the top and bake for an hour or until cooked through. If the cake is browning too much halfway through cooking, place some baking paper over the top and let it continue to bake. 
• Leave to cool.
• Slice and enjoy! 

If food isn't the problem, is it the booze?

What I hear from clients is, it’s not always the food that’s the problem – it’s the booze. 

Often partygoers who are cautious about their alcohol consumption are viewed with suspicion. If you want to have a few glasses of wine, have a few glasses of wine. But make that decision inside of what you know to be your social schedule over the entire Christmas period. 

One of the little tricks I often use is to look at my health goals alongside my social calendar and choose what I want to commit to. I choose when I want to drink, roughly how much I want to drink, and when I want to be the designated driver and not drink. 

I’m not suggesting for a minute that you have to cut back at Christmas. Yet I know that many of my clients get carried away by the spirit of Christmas (excuse the pun), whether it’s a fun wave to ride or not. This year, how about YOU choose what you want to do and when you want to do it. 

Here are a few suggestions for cutting down – if that’s what you choose to do:

• Decide how much you are going to drink (maximum) before you go out.
• Consider telling someone else who will be there (friend or partner, perhaps) to help keep you accountable.
• Don’t feel pressurised by others. It’s your life, and you are the one who makes the decisions. 
• Have an excuse ready when you want to give it a miss (remember ‘no, thanks, I’d rather have …’ is perfectly OK.)

And how much booze is too much? The official stats are no more than 14 units of alcohol a week for adults (both men and women). Consider a large glass of wine at today’s typical strength is 3.5 units, a 330ml bottle of 5% beer is 1.7 units and a single shot of 40% spirits is 1 unit. It quickly adds up. 

Without wanting to be a party pooper, the NHS considers an alcohol ‘binge’ to be drinking 6 (women) – 8 (men) units of alcohol in a single session.  Just to give you some perspective. If you’re a wine drinking, you can soon see how quickly you are in that territory. 

As a rule, try to have more booze-free nights than not to allow your body to recover. 

On those nights that you don’t drink at all, you’ll sleep better, wake feeling more refreshed, you’ll have much more energy, and your mood will be better. The impact on your waistline will be positive, too – alcohol is a major contributor to belly fat and is brimming with unnecessary calories.

And if you’re choosing what to drink over the festive period, the best options, when it comes to alcohol, are all those non-creamy, non-sugary drinks. Pretty much in this order: dry champagne, vodka and soda with a squeeze of lime (I have also tried this with gin – surprisingly nice!), dry white or dry rosé or red wine. A gin and tonic has a fair amount of sugar thanks to the tonic. Things like dark rum, port, sherry, liqueurs, fruit juice-based cocktails and spirits with sugary mixers like Coke or lemonade are total sugar bombs (sorry if you are a fan of Bailey’s or Southern Comfort and Coke…).  

But this a festive period and you definitely want to have fun! Just make sure that it’s the type of fun you actually want to have – you are in charge and you can do what you want at this time. Enjoy!

Healthy Mince Pies

Mince pies are my absolute favourite!! But rather than buying them – where the ingredients run to a laundry list of chemicals and unknown additives – why not try making them yourself? Here is my favourite recipe for gluten-free mince pies that taste *amazing*!

Prep time: 25 mins

Makes 24

Ingredients

For the filling:

1 large apple, like Braeburn, Gala 

75g raisins

75g golden sultanas

75g currants

65g dried, unsweetened cranberries

60g other dried fruit (sour cherries, blueberries, mango, apricots 

(dried but unsweetened))

Zest and juice of an orange

50g coconut palm sugar (or 2 tsp Stevia if you’d prefer)

4 tbsp organic butter, cubed

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp brandy

For the pastry:

150g ground almonds

75g coconut flour

1 tbsp coconut palm sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sea salt

Zest of an orange

115g butter, frozen. Plus, a little extra for greasing

1 egg, lightly whisked

Method:

• Firstly, make the filling:
  • Add all of the filling ingredients (other than the brandy, if using) into a large saucepan over medium heat and stir. 
  • When the butter is fully melted, turn the heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring often. 
  • Take the saucepan off the heat and stir through a tablespoon of brandy and decant into sterilized glass jars. 
  • Leave to cool with the lid slightly ajar, then secure tightly and store until you’re ready to use. 
  • This can be done in advance

• Make the pastry:
  • Put the ground almonds and coconut flour in a bowl with the sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir in the orange zest. 
  • Grate the frozen butter into the flour and mix together with your fingers till a crumb forms. 
  • Stir in the egg and bring together with your hands to form a dough. 
  • Divide the dough in half, wrap each in film and place in the fridge for 1 hour (or overnight). 
  • Pre heat the oven to 175˚C. Grease the moulds of a muffin pan with a little butter. 
  • Remove the dough from the fridge and place between 2 sheets of baking / greaseproof paper. 
  • Roll with a rolling pin to flatten out the dough till it is pie-crust thin.
  • Using a cookie cutter (or an upturned jam jar - needs to be about 8cmdiameter) cut out 25 circles and lightly press into the muffin pan moulds.
  • The pastry can be tricky to work with as there is no gluten holding it together. Be patient. If the pastry splits just push it back together with your fingers and use any pastry scraps to fix it up.
  • Fill up each pie mould with a heaped teaspoon of the mincemeat. 
  • Using the remainder of the dough cut out 25 stars to top each pie. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes. Leave to cool in the tins, before gently easing them out. Don’t be tempted to remove from the tin when they come out of the oven. They WILL fall apart!
  • Enjoy!

Are you at the mercy of Christmas FOMO?

Christmas events and entertaining can seem relentless at times. Apparently, we cram 44% more social occasions into December than any other month.  How many social engagements/ parties do you already have in the calendar for the month of December?  

I know how it can go… parties, drinks dos, buffets, secret Santa. You’ll go to everything because you can’t resist. You’ll feast like you’ll never see another meal, and you’ll consume many festive tipples because otherwise you’ll be missing out on all the fun.

FOMO – shorthand for ‘fear of missing out’ – is the acute and often unjustified belief that everyone is having way more fun than you. And it reaches its annual high any day now. FOMO really is not your friend this month (or indeed any month) – especially if you want to maintain your weight or healthy living over the holidays. 

Let’s take a look at how that festive FOMO usually pans out…

You’re committed to healthy eating at Christmas, and you go to buffet parties or events. The food looks delicious, but you have made a decision to not eat unnecessarily, so your mouth can only water. There’s a very subtle fear that you are never going to be able to have any of these delicious treats ever again. The fear of missing out activates your survival instinct to consume everything and anything. And so you may go on a binge, and your healthy eating plans are obliterated. The self-recriminations start. 

Here’s what you need to know about FOMO: We are culturally programmed to over-value losses and under-value gains, so it’s really not your fault. So, we put more importance on the food we may be missing out on, and less on our goals and wellbeing.

The big question, of course, is what are you really missing out on? Nothing. OK, maybe some sweet or high-carb treats, some booze-filled evenings and such. But eating and drinking these have a flipside: blood sugar imbalance and energy crashes, poor sleep, almost certain weight gain (if you consume in excess) – and that’s without mentioning the negative self-talk for having over-indulged. 

There are several things going on when it comes to food. Your fear of ‘missing out’ on that delicious dessert is the first. But also refusing food is mired in emotional meaning both for you and for the host. 

The answer is not to find more and more creative ways to say no. If you have to own up to eating healthily around this time or being gluten- or dairy-free, this seems to compound the original offence of not wanting to eat. 

Your action plan is this:

1. HAVE A PLAN - Before you go to bed each night, plan out your food for the next day. This is never truer than at Christmas, when parties, chocolates, cookies, and “treats” are just about everywhere.
2. DON’T TRY TO DIET JUST NOW - Set a maintenance goal instead. This is much more realistic, and it is achievable, even at this time of year. It will also give you the freedom to enjoy yourself without feeling deprived, or that you’ve failed, which in turn means you’re more likely to rebel (and this is code for heading straight for the box of chocolates without a second glance).
3. WATCH YOUR PORTION SIZES - especially when it comes to fast-release carbs like white potatoes, pastry, breaded items, cakes, biscuits, and other sweet things.
4. DON’T GO TO A PARTY HUNGRY - If you do, you will be fighting a losing battle. Have a low-GL snack before you go – just a little something that includes protein and slow-release carbs (cottage cheese or unsweetened nut butter on an oatcake, for example).
5. KEEP FAMILY CHOCOLATES OUT OF SIGHT, so you’re not tempted to tuck in just because they’re there. Ever heard of the ‘see food and eat it’ diet?

And don’t forget – you can always get in touch with me, if you’d like to discuss further. Part of my role is to support my clients in their habit changes – I can help you. Just book in a call.

Spice Up Your Immunity

Spicing up your meals isn't just about making them tastier—it's also a clever way to sneak in some immune-boosting goodness onto your plate.

Take garlic, for instance. It's like the superhero of superfoods, armed with allicin, an active ingredient that's a real champ at fighting off viruses. People have been relying on garlic for centuries to give their immune systems a boost. Pro tip: crush, chop, or grate those garlic cloves and let them chill for a bit. This little trick unleashes more allicin, and the best part? It can take the heat, literally.

Now, let's talk herbs. Most of them bring some anti-inflammatory firepower to the table, thanks to their cool phytonutrients. But if we had to pick the top players, oregano and thyme would be up there. Sprinkle these guys into your cooking, and you're not just adding flavour, you're giving your immune system a little extra love.

And who can forget the dynamic spice duo—turmeric and ginger? They're not just culinary rockstars; they're known for boosting your immune system. So, toss them into your recipes for a flavour explosion that comes with a side of immune support.

In the world of cooking, each ingredient is like a superhero bringing something special to the table. So, when you're in the kitchen, think of it as a fun way to treat your taste buds and show some love to your immune system. Happy cooking!

THAI-STYLE CHICKEN SOUP

Did you hear that chicken soup is great when you’re unwell? If you thought it was just an old wives’ tale, you’d be wrong. 

Research suggests that a bowl of chicken and vegetable soup can slow the speed at which neutrophils move around your body. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell and part of the immune system, protecting your body from infection. 

When the neutrophils move slowly, there’s a greater chance of them becoming more concentrated in the areas of your body that need the most healing. Studies have shown chicken soup to be particularly helpful in reducing symptoms in upper respiratory system infections. 

This lovely soup contains garlic and ginger (known for their antiviral qualities). 

SERVES 4

For the paste

1 large red chilli, seeded

1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

1 tsp ground turmeric

3 garlic cloves, crushed

½ onion, roughly chopped

For the soup

1 tbsp coconut oil

400g can coconut milk

400ml chicken stock  

1 tbsp fish sauce

2 chicken breasts, cut into small dice

100g broccoli, cut into small florets

Handful sugar snap peas, halved

Handful of coriander leaves, chopped

4 spring onions, sliced

METHOD

• To make the spice paste, tip all the paste ingredients into a food processor, then add 4 tbsp of the coconut milk and whizz to form a paste.
• Heat the coconut oil in a large pan, add the spice paste and cook for 1–2 mins. Add the rest of the coconut milk, stock and fish sauce. Bring to the boil then gently simmer for 7–10 mins.
• Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 2–3 mins. 
• Tip in the broccoli and cook for a further minute, before adding the sugar snap peas and cooking for another minute.
• Pour into bowls and sprinkle over the chopped coriander and spring onions to serve.
• Enjoy!