healthy Archives | Rachael Phillips

A QUICK Chia Breakfast Pudding

OK when I say quick, you’ll need to prepare it the night before but you can do it whilst you’re making dinner and it’s done. One of the main things that turns me off eating breakfast is the thought of having to prepare it. Usually I’m buzzing around or I’m working so I can’t really be bothered, but when it’s there waiting for me in the fridge, especially a breakfast pudding, well that’s another matter.

I’ve blogged about the benefits of chia seeds before (see here) but just a quick recap, these little beauties are so good for your health. They are packed with protein, fibre, calcium, manganese, phosphorous plus omega-3 fatty acid and amino acid. PLUS, when you’re making a smoothie or a smoothie bowl, they expand so they’ll thicken up your drink and help you stay fuller for longer.

Essentially, they are a little wonder seed.

This breakfast pudding took me around 10 minutes to make (and that’s probably over estimating). I made my chia seed base the night before then added the topping in the morning so that it layered, otherwise it’ll all seep in to one. Also you can substitute a lot of the ingredients for your own personal tastes, I’ve made some suggestions below.

What you’ll need (this makes one)

1/3 cup chia seeds
3/4 coconut water or a nut milk whichever you prefer
2 tbsp skyr (natural yogurt or greek yogurt again whatever your preference)
50g blueberries (raspberries, mixed berries etc also work)
2 tbsp granola

How to make your chai breakfast pudding

First of all add your chia seeds to the liquid and give them a little stir. I usually put mine in a mason jar so I can pop a lid on it.

Next add your skyr and blueberries to your blender and blitz. Set this aside.

Leave the chai seeds soak overnight (note you can add a small dash of cacao or protein powder in with them if you want to flavour it a bit) and in the morning add your blueberry yogurt and layer with granola.

It’s really THAT simple.

Forget Comfort foods – try Comfit instead – Three Healthy Recipes To Try

So we’re heading in to March and hopefully your healthy eating plans are still on track.
Sainsbury have been in touch to tell me about their new campaign called ‘ComFit Foods’ – classic comfort food dishes, but with healthier twists.

ComFit foods include one little twist to transform mid-week meals at a time where customers are striving to be more health conscious. The dishes all have elements of excitement and experimentation, but still utilise every day store cupboard ingredients in a healthy way. There’s a feeling among consumers that warming winter foods are automatically unhealthy, but these recipes show we can all still make feel-good-food without the guilt. Sainsbury’s hopes to inspire little changes which help make a big difference to overall nutritional value.

And they’ve invited me to share some of my recipes too!!

Here are my top three favourite comfit foods…

Butternut Spaghetti Bolognese

There is nothing better than a good old spaghetti bolonese, it’s a classic dish that’s quick to make and even better to eat. But if you’re looking to cut your carb intake and you’re so over courgette noodles don’t be in too much of a rush to put your spiralizer away. Instead, try butternut squash instead. BNS spaghetti are healthy, filling and tasty.

Ingredients – Serves 2 Continue reading “Forget Comfort foods – try Comfit instead – Three Healthy Recipes To Try”

5 things to do on a Friday for a better Monday

In my quest to be the ultimate productivity ninja, I regularly try out new ways of working. But one thing I’ve done for quite a while is make sure that I have a Friday ritual of planning for the week ahead.

Now, I know that you’re probably having a #FRIYAY moment so you don’t really want to be thinking about Monday morning, BUT I promise, the advice I’m about to give will help you enjoy the weekend more.

How you end the week seriously impacts on how you start the next week. So if you want to have a great weekend here is what you should do every Friday afternoon.

Give yourself credit for what you’ve done this week.
When you look at your to-do list and see a whole bunch of items that are yet to have the highlighter treatment then it can be disheartening. But look at what you HAVE achieved this week. By acknowledging what you HAVE achieved will give your happiness levels a boost and will spur you on to get back on track when Monday arrives.

Schedule your Monday to-do list on Friday.
Write your to-do list for Monday on Friday. By getting your to-do list done not only do you hit the ground running on Monday but you also give your brain a rest over the weekend as you’re not mulling over what needs to be done. Continue reading “5 things to do on a Friday for a better Monday”

Bored of dieting already? Make small changes

If you’re anything like me then you’ve tried every diet out there – and believe me, I’ve tried every diet under the sun. Every January (or make that every Monday) a new diet plan is put in to action and there’s you stuck in a perpetual dieting cycle.

Of course diets work, short term. But if you’re looking for long term success then ditching the diet is the only way to go. We spend way too much time asking ourselves if it’s ok to eat that slice of birthday cake or mentally totting up the calories in our salad. From fasting to atkins, diet plans seem to be the crux of obsession and disordered eating.

So before you put yourself through the agony of yet another restrictive eating plan, here are just a few tips to help you be happier, healthier and slimmer in 2015…

Concentrate on health, not calories or carbs.
I know this is going to come as a shock to you if you’re used to counting calories but not all calories are created equally. It’s time to forget totting up the numbers and instead think about how the food you’re eating is making you feel and what good it can do to your body.

Counting calories also doesn’t give you the complete control over your nutrition as you may think it does. Let’s take a microwave ready meal for example; YES you maybe ingesting 500 calories but you’re also taking in GMO’s, e-numbers and other nasties that would be avoided if you made that same meal yourself.

Think about the nutrition your body needs first and foremost then the rest will naturally follow.

Eat before 8pm.
I’ve always been a late eater. It drives my boyfriend absolutely berserk because he likes to have his dinner done and dusted by 6.30pm where as I like to drag out the meal process as long as possible. However, the end of last year I started to make a conscious effort to start eating my dinner before 8pm. Not because I believe the time you eat has any effect on what you weigh but because I learned about how vitally important it is to give your digestive system a break. By giving it a rest you’re giving it time to digest what you’ve already eaten and get rid of any toxins and waste hanging about. This little trick will do wonders for you if you suffer from bloating. Continue reading “Bored of dieting already? Make small changes”

Pearl Barley Risotto

Pearl Barley is cheap, filling and healthy. So I don’t understand why more people don’t use it.

This pearl barley risotto is one of my staple go to dishes. Sometimes I use chicken, sometimes I don’t. Depends on my mood.

Don’t worry about measuring out the ingredients perfectly and add/remove things to your own taste!

What you need:
175g pearl barley
1 tsp olive oil
White wine (optional)
500ml vegetable stock
Parsley
Milk (optional)
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
Parmesan

How to…

Heat the oil and fry the onions with the garlic. Next add the pearl barley and fry for around 2 minutes.

I’m lazy so I put all the stock in at once. Bring to the boil whilst stirring. After about a minute or two turn down the heat and simmer. At this point I also add some chopped parsley, a little parmesan and a glug of wine (this is optional but trust me, it’s nicer with).

Leave to simmer for around 15 minutes and keep stirring. At this point at a little milk (again optional) and a tad more wine {feel free to have a little sipfor yourself too- everyone knows wine when cooking is essential}.

Keep stirring.

Once the liquid has been soaked up and the barley is slightly chewy yet still firm its ready to serve.

Service with parmesan sprinkled on the top.

Food Facts: Chia Seeds: Why You Need Them In Your Diet

I’m a bit obsessed with chia seeds lately. They make the PERFECT addition to my morning smoothie as they bulk out and keep me full until lunch time (I’m not really one for breakfast so a smoothie is perfect).

Chia seeds are part of the mint family and originate from Mexico and Guatemala – and despite being so small they are absolutely packed full of amazing health benefits.

Benefits of adding Chia Seeds to your diet…

Get more fibre: 28g of chia seeds have 11 grams of dietary fibre (that’s around 1/3 of an adults daily intake) which is great for good digestive health. Continue reading “Food Facts: Chia Seeds: Why You Need Them In Your Diet”

Don’t be a slave to the scales – A Dr Oz Tip

Last weekend I settled down to watch the live conference from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. SO many great speakers but amongst them was one of my personal favourites Dr Oz.

Dr Oz is full of so much good advice (especially when it comes to the topic of weight-loss) that when I got to the States earlier this month, his magazine was the first one I sniffed out (unfortunately, my magazine obsession is still as strong as ever).

A point Dr Oz made during his #IIN lecture was that weight doesn’t matter – it’s waist size that’s really the key. Now as a total slave to the scales myself, this seems like a sensible idea.

Weight is no longer relevant (we’ve known this for a while), BMI certainly isn’t relevant (Brad Pitt would be classed as clinically obese if you went by BMI calculations) and it’s been long standing advice that we take measurements to be able to see the true effect of any weightloss.

But whilst measurements are all very well, the question is – if we’re not striving for a perfect weight then how do we know that we’re on the right track?

Dr Oz suggests that in order to find your ideal waist size you need to:

Continue reading “Don’t be a slave to the scales – A Dr Oz Tip”

Courgette Noodles with Pistachio Lime Pesto

There is nothing easier than making pesto. You simply gather all the ingredients together, bung them in the food processor and whizz – then you’re done. It’s a great staple to have the in fridge, especially if you’re prone to coming in from work and can’t be bothered cooking anything special but still want a healthy (and tasty) dinner.

image credit

I stumbled across this pistachio lime pesto recipe in this months Sainsbury Magazine and I had to try it. I’ve adapted it to suit my own tastes (I like my pesto really garlicky and I LOVE lime) so here is my version…

Pistachio lime pesto recipe

You will need Continue reading “Courgette Noodles with Pistachio Lime Pesto”

Wise Words #007: Tina Fey on Women’s Body Image

Quote from Bossypants