The Great British Bake Off - Healthy Treats

The Great British Bake Off is back on our TVs and although no one can come close to last year's winner Nadja (who I love as a person and a baker!) I'm excited to watch this show each week. If you're like me however, you need something nice to eat while watching as the cakes, biscuits, buns and breads are all just too tempting to sit and watch empty mouthed!

So here are some of my healthy yet tasty and sweet recipes that won't send you into a carb loaded, sugar coma and keep you on track while still having a treat. 

Breads - Oat Bread I recently made this with rosemary and sea salt and it was delicious!

Chocolate - Chocolate Mousse, Peanutbutter Cups, Chocolate Bark, Chocolate covered fruit

Cakes - Lemon and Bluberry Loaf, Mango Drizzle Cake, Carrot Cake Muffins

Tuesday's Change Week 22 - Sweet Potatoes

This week's change is a tasty one! I haven't met anyone yet who doesn't like sweet potatoes. They are so good for you, versatile and are a welcome change from normal spuds!

Check out my recipes here for Spicy Sausage and Sweet Potato Stew and here for Sweet Potato Wedges. You can also just substutie them for when you would eat normal potatoes. I like to add mashed sweet potato to the top of Cottage and Shepard's pie or have them baked with toppings of cream cheese and chives.  You really can do what you want with them!

So here are some reasons to add them into your diet:

1.  They are high in vitamin B6.  Vitamin B6 helps reduce the chemical homocysteine in our bodies. Homocysteine has been linked with degenerative diseases, including heart attacks.

2. They are a good source of vitamin C.  While most people know that vitamin C is important to help ward off cold and flu viruses, few people are aware that this crucial vitamin plays an important role in bone and tooth formation, digestion, and blood cell formation. It helps accelerate wound healing, produces collagen which helps maintain skin’s youthful elasticity, and is essen­tial to helping us cope with stress. It even appears to help protect our body against toxins that may be linked to cancer.

3.  They contain Vitamin D which is critical for immune system and overall health at this time of year.  Both a vitamin and a hormone, vitamin D is primarily made in our bodies as a result of getting adequate sunlight. You may have heard about seasonal affective disorder (or SAD, as it is also called), which is linked to inadequate sunlight and therefore a vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D plays an important role in our energy levels, moods, and helps to build healthy bones, heart, nerves, skin, and teeth, and it supports the thyroid gland.

4.  Sweet potatoes contain iron. Most people are aware that we need the mineral iron to have adequate energy, but iron plays other important roles in our body, including red and white blood cell production, resistance to stress, proper im­mune functioning, and the metabolizing of protein, among other things.

5.  Sweet potatoes are a good source of mag­nesium, which is the relaxation and anti-stress mineral. Magnesium is necessary for healthy artery, blood, bone, heart, muscle, and nerve function, yet experts estimate that approximately 80 percent of the popula­tion in North America may be deficient in this important mineral.

6.  They are a source of potassium, one of the important electrolytes that help regulate heartbeat and nerve signals. Like the other electrolytes, potassium performs many essential functions, some of which include relaxing muscle contractions, reducing swelling, and protecting and controlling the activity of the kidneys.

7. Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet-tasting but their natural sugars are slowly released into the bloodstream, helping to ensure a balanced and regular source of energy, without the blood sugar spikes linked to fatigue and weight gain.

8. Their rich orange color indicates that they are high in carotenoids like beta carotene and other carotenoids, which is the precursor to vitamin A in your body.  Carotenoids help strengthen our eyesight and boost our immunity to disease, they are powerful antioxidants that help ward off cancer and protect against the effects of aging. Studies at Harvard University of more than 124,000 people showed a 32 percent reduction in risk of lung cancer in people who consumed a variety of carotenoid-rich foods as part of their regular diet. Another study of women who had completed treatment for early stage breast cancer conducted by researchers at Women’s Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) found that women with the highest blood concentrations of carotenoids had the least likelihood of cancer recurrence.

9.  There are versatile. Try them roasted, puréed, steamed, baked, or grilled. You can add them to soups and stews, or grill and place on top of leafy greens for a delicious salad. I enjoy grilling them with onions and red peppers for amazing sandwich or wrap ingredients.  Puree them and add to smoothies and baked goods.

Check out this website here where I sourced all this valuable info!

So there you have it Jeanies! They are tasty, good for you and versatile. You don't need any more reasons than that do you?

Tuesday's Change Week 12 - Turmeric

About 2 years ago I was introduced to this wonder spice. I have been reaping the benefits ever since. Turmeric is a staple in my household and I try not to go a day without using it. Whether it's sprinkled into scrambled eggs, on some rice or thrown in a soup to add some colour this spice is so versatile and does wonders for your health.

Turmeric can be bought in 2 forms, dried and in powder form (available from most supermarkets) and in raw root form (available from most organic food stores or health shops e.g. Quay Co-Ops in Cork)

The benefits of Turmeric are outstanding and this golden spice was recently proven more effective than 14 common prescription drugs including popular cholesterol, steroid, anti-depressant, chemotherapy and diabetes medication. Read more on this here.

It is great after a really tough work out as acts as an anti-inflammatory and will really help with the dreaded DOMS!

Some more benefits are listed here:

So there are so many reasons to include this in your diet. Let's now look at simple ways to include it!

Check out my recipe here for my healing Carrot and Giner Soup that contains turmeric.

I also add it to rice every time I eat it, boil the rice as normal, drain any remaining water, add some chopped veggies and a teaspoon of turmeric and teaspoon of coconut oil. Mix together and you have tantalising, turmeric rice!

You can add a 1/2 teaspoon to some scrambled eggs or a teaspoon to any sauce based dinners you make like bolognese, stews, pies etc.

You can make this golden milk recipe here.

 So the challenge is to have turmeric in at least 5 meals in the week.  It's that simple.

Best of luck and reap the benefits of this wonder spice!