Traditional Porridge

Porridge is a food you either love or hate and there are as many different ways of cooking porridge as there are people eating it! If you haven’t tried porridge in years or if you have memories of a grey solid limp in a bowl, it’s worth trying it again using this recipe. Even hardened porridge-haters like it…

Serves one- Suitable for vegetarians

NOTE: Porridge has been proven to be very beneficial in lowering cholesterol - if you have problems with cholesterol then make this part of your daily routine and watch your cholesterol fall.

Porridge

Ingredients

  • ½ cup (or ¼ of a mug) of dry porridge oats
  • 1 cup (or ½ mug) of low fat milk
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar or honey (if you don’t want to add sugar or honey but still want a sweet flavour try your favourite fruit instead)
  • 1 tablespoon of sunflower seeds

Method

  1. Put everything in a saucepan (non-stick if you have it) and gradually bring to the boil. Do stand beside it and watch it as it does boil over like anything
  2. Once it has come to the boil turn it down and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes depending on how tender you like your oats
  3. Stir it occasionally. If gets too thick (and how thick you like it is up to you) just add an extra drop of milk
  4. If you want to microwave the porridge, just follow the instructions on the pack and add the sunflower seeds at the end.

Simple Fruit Smoothie

Fruit is a rich source of vitamins and minerals – not to mention the fact that it tastes great. Smoothies are one way to eat more fruit and they only take a few minutes to make. It’s also a fun way to get children interested in fruit and involved in the kitchen.

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 2+ pieces of large fruit washed and peeled
  • ½ pot (62g) of low fat diet yoghurt (natural or flavoured)
  • 90 ml low fat milk
  • Optional: 4 ice cubes or 90 ml unsweetened fruit juice

If you don't want to include milk or yoghurt in your smoothie, just add more fruit instead!

Why not try out some of the following fruits:

  • Banana and Berry smoothie – add 80g of fresh or frozen berries and 1 banana
  • Strawberry smoothie – add 160g fresh or frozen strawberries
  • Pineapple smoothie – add 160g fresh or canned (stored in own juice) pineapple

Method

    1. Make sure all the ingredients are chilled before use.
    2. Wash and peel fruit
    3. Blend fruit, yoghurt, milk and juice together using a hand held blender or a smoothie maker until creamy
    4. Add ice cubes and blend again

Flighing Stress / Six Foods to Eat

Alter your diet and fight stress

Six Foods to eat more of:-

  • Bananas
  • Leafy greens
  • Oily fish such as Mackeral
  • Nuts
  • Mangos
  • Avocado
For images and more info click here.



Portion Sizes

Too much?

A set of measuring bowls

Like almost al of the developed world, the number of overweight and obese people in Ireland is continuing to increase. This is partly because we have become less active and eat too much of the wrong types of food.

Portion sizes becoming bigger than they used to be. Some examples are obvious, like popcorn at the cinema or the supersize options in fast-food restaurants. But the truth is that even the sandwiches we buy at lunch-time and the meals we cook at home are often larger than they need to be. Here are a few tips to help you eat the right sized portions:

  1. Leave a little room in your stomach when you eat. Filling your stomach means you’re eating too much. Eat slowly, and stop when you start to feel full
  2. Make some little food swaps - small changes really can make a big difference. Here are some ideas to get you started. But have a think about your own diet and what other changes you could make yourself:
  • Switch from a white baguette with cheddar cheese, rashers, lettuce and coleslaw to a brown bread sandwich with ham, lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes
  • Switch from a large Danish pastry to a scone for breakfast
  • Switch from a thin-crust, cheese-loaded pizza to a thicker-based pizza with more veggies and less cheese. Or better still, make your own!
  • Switch from a large, full-fat cappuccino to a small, reduced-fat option
  • Switch from a side portion of chips to a smaller portion of oven chips or homemade wedges

Bruschetta

Get a taste of Italy with a superfood twist by using wholegrain bread. You can either serve the bread on its own with some garlic and olive oil or serve it with some tasty tomatoes.
Makes four slices

BruschettaIngredients

  • 4 slices of wholegrain bread
  • Half a clove of garlic
  • Olive oil
  • Tomatoes

Method

  1. Take each slice of bread and cover lightly with half a teaspoon or so of olive oil
  2. Put the slices under the grill, taking care not to overcook them
  3. Hold the cut side of the garlic towards the bread and rub it lightly
  4. Eat and enjoy
  5. For extra flavour, chop some tomatoes and mix with olive oil
  6. Place loosely on top of the cooked bruschetta

Brown bread ice-cream

Surely a candidate for the healthiest ice cream ever? A novel way of including wholegrain into your kid’s diet.

Serves 4- Suitable for vegetarians

Brownbread ice creamIngredients

  • 110g wholemeal breadcrumbs
  • 110 dark brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 290ml of double cream
  • 150ml of single cream
  • 2 drops of vanilla essence

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6
  2. Leave the breadcrumbs to dry out in the oven for around 15 minutes or so
  3. Mix the sugar in with the breadcrumbs and bring back to the oven for another 15 minutes
  4. Remove from the oven, allow the mix to cool
  5. Crush the sweetened crumbs together with the back of a spoon
  6. Separate the egg yolks from the whites
  7. Beat the yolks and mix in with the cream and the crumb mix
  8. Whisk the egg whites until they are slightly stiff
  9. Add to the mix and freeze in an airtight plastic container.

Herb Cous Cous

Serves 4-Suitable for vegetarians

Herb cous cousIngredients

  • 300 g / 10 oz cous cous
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small red onion, peeled
  • ½ red pepper, de-seeded
  • ½ yellow pepper, de-seeded
  • ½ courgette
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced
  • Small bunch mint, chopped
  • Small bunch basil, chopped
  • Small bunch coriander, chopped
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Cook the cous cous according to the packet instructions, then set aside to cool.
  2. Place half the olive oil in a fying pan over a medium heat. Dice the onion and peppers and sauté in the oil.
  3. Trim and slice the scallions and courgette and toss into the pan and then cook until the vegetables for another couple of minutes until they start to brown, then remove from the heat and leave to cool.
  4. Place the cous cous in a large bowl and stir in the cooked vegetables.
  5. Add the chopped herbs, some black pepper and drizzle with the rest of the olive oil.
  6. Mix thoroughly and keep chilled until ready to serve.

Banana Cinammon Muffins

Quick and delicious muffins



These are soft and crumbly and packed with healthy fruit!



Ingredients:
  • 4oz caster sugar
  • 1tbsp baking powder
  • 9oz plain flour
  • 3oz cold butter
  • 1 egg
  • 3fl 0z milk
  • 6oz bananas
  • 1 tsp cinnamon powder


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 200c.  Sieve the flour into a large bowl and add the remaining dry ingredients and mix.  Grate in the butter and then with your finger tips rub the butter in until you have breadcrumb like texture.

In a separate bowl mash the banana with the egg and the milk.  It doesn't have to be smooth, in fact lumpy makes better textured muffins!

Add to the flour and mix together.  Spoon into paper cases and bake for 25 minutes until muffins are golden brown.  Cool before serving.