Healthy cooking tips

Healthy recipes and cooking tips for making your favourite meals more nutritious but just as delicious...

 Alternative grains

Grains offer a wealth of health benefits, plus they're filling and a good source of fibre. Nutritional Therapist Kerry Torrens recommends the best grains for you.

If you're vegetarian...

Getting enough protein is important if you avoid meat and fish quinoa, a grain-like seed, has a higher protein content than most other grains, and contains all the essential amino acids you need making it equivalent to milk or soya. That's not all, quinoa is a good source of iron, and calcium - so it's ideal for young adults and children who choose to follow a vegetarian diet Other grains to include are wild rice which is richer in protein than brown rice and contains more of the immune-friendly mineral zinc. Farro and spelt are both ancient forms of wheat and make good vegetarian choices because they supply more protein as well as fiber than the modern wheat varieties.

 

If you've got raised cholesterol...

If your Chocolesterol levels re high, opt for barley or oats. They contain powerful compounds called beta-glucans which help lower cholesterol in the blood, especially the bad cholesterol known as low density lipoprotein (LDL). Buckwheat is another heart-healthy option, because it contains rutin, a compound that protects against the effects of high cholesterol. It's rich in magnesium, which relaxes blood vessels and helps keep blood flowing.