Thirst quenchers

Quench your thirst the healthy way by adding slices of berries, lemons or orange to iced cold water. This is the perfect drink option for when you’re spending summer days picnicking in the sun.

Alternatively, make home-made frozen fruit lollies if you’re feeling like a treat.

Eat more fruit and veg

Here’s how to up your intake:

> Eat a variety of colourful fruit and vegetables
Green, yellow and orange pigments contain carotenoids, which boost your immune system and have powerful anti-cancer effects; and red and blue pigments (in berries and grapes) have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

> Add fruit and veg to each meal, including snacks
Have fruit smoothies for breakfast, and salad or vegetables with lunch and supper. Be creative and use ginger, garlic, lemon juice and spices for extra flavour.

> Opt for organic, seasonal produce
Support your local farmers market or sign up for a box delivery scheme. To find one in your area, check out the green directory at www.urbansprout.co.za.

Trick to beating food boredom

If you’re getting tired of your standard dinner of grilled chicken and veggies, approach your plate as a wine connoisseur would a glass of cabernet: examine its appearance, its scent, and every taste and texture.

Why? According to a study from the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on the details of food ups your satisfaction level.

“When you pay attention to the particulars of something you do often, you’re not really doing the same thing over and over,” says study author Joseph Redden.

Good gut health

Constipation, bloating, flatulence and diarrhoea are all symptoms of poor digestion and women, in particular, are frequent sufferers.

The maintenance of good digestion can impact on broader health issues such as the absorption of nutrients from our food and our immunity.

Keep yours in good order by adding probiotics to your diet. You’ll find them in supplement form at your pharmacy or in Danone’s Activia yoghurt, which can be added to your breakfast cereal or eaten as a snack.

Short order

Ø Braise 3 celery sticks, halved leeks and slivers of garlic in olive oil for 2 minutes. Add good-quality vegetable stock and verjuice, and braise until soft. Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle with finely grated Parmesan and grill until golden. Serve with roasts or as part of a vegetarian meal.
Ø Toss roasted chicken strips, celery and chives in yoghurt and mustard dressing and pile onto sandwiches or baked potato.
Ø Slice into lengths and serve with a ripe blue cheese as an after-dinner treat.

Health Bites > Celery sense

Ø At 30kJ per 100g, celery is extremely low in kJ.
Ø A good source of potassium, which, together with chlorine and sodium, balances the body’s pH levels, and has a diuretic effect and prevents calcium loss through urine, which could lead to kidney stones.
Ø New research suggests potassium may be beneficial to people with heart disease. It also reduces the risk of stroke and high blood pressure. Four stalks of celery, raw or cooked, could help reduce blood pressure.
Ø The greener the celery, the higher the vitamin C, carotene and folate content. Folate is a mineral also known as folic acid, which plays a significant role in the development of the foetal nervous system, in red blood cell maturation, and also helps break down protein and carbohydrate.

Open sesame > super seeds

When ground, super healthy sesame seeds release their oils, which are more easily absorbed and digested. They contain:

Ø High quantities of calcium, iron and phosphorous; vital for healthy bones and teeth, and also for general alertness and a healthy sex life.
Ø They contain up to 40% unsaturated essential fatty acids – invaluable in the fight against heart disease.
Ø Sesame seeds provide a healthy dose of protein.
Ø They also contain antioxidant vitamin E, and health promoting B vitamins.

Sesame sense

Sesame sense

Ø Using sesame oil instead of other cooking oils helps reduce high blood pressure and lowers the amount of medication required to control high blood pressure, says a study by researchers in India. It’s packed with omega-6 essential fatty acids and it tastes delicious – food for thought!

Your kitchen guide for fighting common ailments

Allergies > onions, garlic, horseradish, green tea

Constipation > yoghurt, oats

Mouth ulcers > honey, yoghurt

Toothaches > cloves

Bladder infections > garlic, cranberry juice

EAT UP!

OATS > We know that oats work on our heart and our head: that warm, comforting breakfast bowl in the depths of winter does a lot to soothe the blues, but oats are also excellent for the digestive system, rich in soluble fibre to keep our bowels regular. Oats are high in protein, calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc, and contain small amounts of B vitamins. They are good for heartburn and indigestion, and help prevent colon cancer and high cholesterol.

Kitchen tip: A bowl of oats – add honey or yoghurt as a sweetener – before work, will help balance blood sugar levels throughout the morning and fight fatigue.

Winter Wonder Food

ONIONS > When runny noses, sinusitis, allergies and even asthma are making life uncomfortable, reach for an onion. Wrapped behind the onion’s papery skin are dozens of health-boosting compounds like quercetin, which also helps lower cholesterol and thin the blood. That’s why you’ll often hear onions associated with a good heart health. Red and yellow onions are particularly high in quercetin.

Kitchen tip: Eat raw or cooked.

Just Ginger

Ginger is one of the most important ingredients in Asian cooking, and the West is slowly embracing its unique medicinal and culinary benefits.

Ø Gingerols, the chemicals in ginger, help inhibit inflammation in the body.
Ø Fresh ginger steeped in hot water treats nausea related motion sickness, pregnancy and even hangovers.
Ø Pickled ginger has good anti-bacterial properties and is a great breath freshener.
Ø It is effective as a blood thinner.
Ø It is a useful anti-oxidant; it contains a phytochemical called zingerone, which helps deactivate free radicals that cause disease and tissue damage.
Ø According to health guru Patrick Holford, it’s also good for sore throats (hot water, ginger, lemon rind and honey); as a decongestant, it fights off colds and reduces fever.

Alternative serving suggestions

Bring down the over all GI of your meal with these side- dish options.

> Brown or white rice: Brown basmati, regular brown, white long grain and wild rice are best as they have the lowest GI (50, 55, 54 and 54 respectively).

White basmati is intermediate at 62. Short grained rice like Arborio and other risotto rice have a GI of 69, while jasmine is the highest at 109.

> Potatoes: If you can’t do without potatoes, go for boiled baby potatoes (keep the skins on), serve as is or “crush” with a little olive oil and a few fresh herbs.

For a creamy, low-fat mash, cook potatoes in stock or water with some chopped onion, then mash with stock, fat-free milk or both and season to taste. Add mustard, soft, fresh herbs and spices to increase the flavour.

Tapas to-go

If preparation is too much of a hassle – simply pick up a few deli items, arrange them on a good-looking platter, then sit back and bask in the culinary glory…

Spanish deli shopping list:

Ø Ciabatta, sweet potato, or sourdough bread, cut into chunks
Ø Olives and pickled chillies
Ø Cubes of feta – toss them in olive oil and chopped herbs
Ø Canned artichoke hearts, marinated in chopped garlic, olive oil and lemon juice
Ø Pickled mushrooms
Ø Thinly sliced Spanish jamon (ham) –Italian Parma ham will also do – drizzle with olive oil and dot with capers
Ø Cured Spanish cheese, called Queso Manchego
Ø White, pickled anchovies
Ø Chourico sausage

Lessons in Lettuce

Ø Crisp head lettuce should be cored and washed under a strong stream of water before draining and drying.
Ø Choose bright, crisp leaves with no blemishes.
Ø Store lettuce in a plastic bag blown up with air, in the coldest part of the fridge.
Ø The nutritive value depends on the type of lettuce, so the best way to get a little of everything is to mix leaves. In essence, lettuce contains very little in the way of nutrients, but it’s believed that the darker the leaves, the more vitamins they contain.
Ø Although you’d have to eat a lot of it, watercress is rich in iron, calcium and vitamins A and D.
Ø Romaine (cos) lettuce has five times more vitamin C than iceberg lettuce.
Ø All lettuce have a high water content and add bulk and fibre to your diet without adding kilojoules.

Love it or Leaf it

>Chicory or witloof ( the French call it endive): Compact but long, spear-shaped leaves going from yellow (outer leaves) to pale, almost white (inner leaves) Crunchy with a bitter, nutty flavour.

> Watercress: Small, heart-shaped leaves on a stalk. Sharp, peppery and refreshing – from the cress/mustard family. Sophisticated and very English.

Chilli

Ø Chilli belongs to the nightshade family – it’s not great for people with arthritis.

Ø Chillis contain capsaicin (the burny bit) which soothes the bronchial passages and lungs, easing asthma and bronchitis.

Ø Capsaicin is allegedly also a painkiller-when you have a toothache, rub a chilli on your tooth to reduce the pain!

Lemongrass

Ø Its flavours are best enjoyed as an infusion – bash the stalks to release the oil, and then add in chunks to curries or soup.

Ø A tea made from the fresh leaves is a stomach relaxant and eases stress.

Ø Grown widely in the Caribbean, it is called fever grass and is used in their treatment.

Ø The fragrant essential oil is antiseptic and eases pain and arthritis

Fig facts

Ø The mature fig is botanically not a single fruit but up to 1500 tiny single-seeded fruits inside a fleshy receptacle.

Ø Dried figs are higher in carbohydrates and kilojoules than their fresh counterparts.

Ø Fig juice helps fight intestinal bacteria.

Ø Figs aid digestion and are high in fibre.

Ø Dried figs should be soaked in boiling water to kill bacteria that forms during the drying process.

Oh, crumbs!

Ø Make a walnut and breadcrumb sauce for pasta (traditional in Liguria, Italy). Pound walnuts, garlic, white breadcrumbs and olive oil in a pestle and mortar. Add Parmesan, yoghurt, salt and milled pepper and stir into hot pasta.

Ø Cheats’ low-fat brown bread ice-cream: whiz a batch of low-GI bread to create crumbs, stir into reduced-fat vanilla ice-cream or vanilla or natural frozen yoghurt. Add a sprinkling of cinnamon and mix well.