Healthy Ramadhan 2014: Keep Calm, Keep Cool & Stay Energised.

The buzz is in the air, the preparations have been made, it's very nearly almost here! Ramadhan, a month where Muslims are prohibited from eating and drinking from the early hours of the morning till sunset, to refresh our bodies and souls, but also to exercise our self-control and our faith to God. With the long summer days that Ramadhan now falls upon (here in the UK), there is a need for extra steps and special care to be taken in order to take care of ourselves and help us get through the day. In this blog post, I hope to provide special advice and guidance to help us keep our energy levels at its optimum.

Anatolian Cultural Fete 2014

The Anatolian Cultural Fete is a festival that has been running for 7 years now in Clissold Park. I hadn’t been to the previous ones and have been wanting to go, so was happy to be free to go this year. I went with my cousin even though the weather was not on our side, obviously I went for the food but there was lot more going on. Read here to find out more about the fete that just seems to be getting bigger and bigger.

RECIPE: 3 Ingredient Snack Bars

After researching and writing up the product review on cereal bars/energy bars/snack bars, which are growing on our supermarket shelves, I was determined to find a healthy alternative. Many people have these high sugar high fat bars on a regular basis unaware of what is actually in them.

Live Below The Line Challenge 2014

Live Below the Line is an amazing annual challenge where many people live on £1 a day to raise awareness on poverty. Gandhi said – “Poverty is the worst form of violence.” Although, this week wasn’t ideal for me to undertake the challenge due to prior engagements, I did it for one day. And let me tell you it wasn’t easy.

RECIPE: Vegetable Crisps

Hiya! I feel like it's been a while. Hope you are all doing well and enjoyed the half-term holidays, I had a family wedding which was fun! But slightly unhealthy, so I am trying to get back into the healthy mode and work off all those extra calories I consumed. A little while ago I had some extra vegetables and decided to try the new craze of vegetable crisps. Don't knock it till you've tried it, find out how I made them. 

National Salt Week 2014: Stop…Look…Choose

We all know that salt is bad for us, we see the health hazards everywhere. Salt is in a lot of the foods around us that we have every day; bread, cereals, sauces, soups, processed foods. That’s about 75-80% mostly hidden in our everyday foods. That is why we are having too much of it, way too much, because we are surrounded by it. 

Health Awareness Event: Talks, Demos and Food!

I was invited to host and deliver a talk at a Health Awareness Event organised by NFA Foundation, founded by a lovely sister I met only a few months ago, Nazia Ali. The event was held on Friday 28th March 2014 from 3-6pm.  It was a short yet fun-filled event, gaining invaluable healthy tips from all the health professionals that attended. 

RECIPE: Eggless Pancakes

I didn't have time to make pancakes for breakfast this morning so I decided to have some for dinner instead. But I'd used up all the eggs for another dish.... Oops! Well, I didn't let that stop me making pancakes on pancake day! So I started searching for egg alternatives and egg-less pancake recipes. Here's what I came up with. 

RECIPE: Banana and Walnut Loaf Cake

What do you do when you have a few extra very ripe bananas on a spare Sunday afternoon? Use it to make something yummy of course! Even though I’m a nutritionist I love the smell and taste of freshly made straight-out-of-the-oven home-made cake or any bakes. With my first attempt at making banana loaf cake I kind of just made up the recipe as I went along, which came out really nice (if I do say so myself!). This is very rare for me as I usually have to follow a recipe for something to come out right.

RECIPES: 3 Things To Do With Beetroot

If you’ve been following me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram you will have seen that I posted a photo of the beetroot dip that I made a while ago. I promised to publish the recipe in the mini recipe e-book that I was going to publish, but that didn’t happen…..instead I’m sharing it here with you in this blog, as well as the other things I made with the lovely vibrant nutritious beetroot. 

Party Snacks: So Simple, So Healthy!

The healthy bug is going around; everyone is watching what they eat and drink, well most people anyway. Most of my family at the moment, especially with the New Year resolutions and making new goals (I’m still working on my dad!). So when my family get together, I try to experiment and make healthy foods that everyone can enjoy, including the kids. Here are some of the things I made for our last get together and I think it went well. They were all very quick and simple to make. Everyone enjoyed it, didn’t have any complaints and we all ate happily and healthily. I have included the recipes below; so try them out, give them a try and let me know what you think. 

RECIPE: Aubergine Towers

I came upon this recipe when browsing a low-fat recipe book and it just looked delicious. I first made this in Ramadhan 2013 (the month of fasting for Muslism), to have as a light snack/meal for iftaar, (the meal at sunset when you break the fast). I had it with a side of couscous and it tasted so yummy. In fact it tasted like I was having pizza. I would even use this as a healthy pizza alternative recipe, or a low-carb meal. 

RECIPE: Oaty Protein Pancakes

You probably all know by now how much I love pancakes, I am always experimenting and trying to make it more yummy and healthy. I love having pancakes for breakfast especially in the weekend, I do prefer my sweet fruit topped pancakes but I am growing fonder of the savoury ones too. My spinach and feta pancakes are divine! If I do say so myself...check out my savoury pancake recipes. 

RECIPE: Homemade Granola

<<- This is the dessert I usually make with my homemade granola, fruit parfait. Since the first time I made everyone has loved it, even unhealthy sceptics! I usually bulk bake the granola and store it in a airtight container so it there for me to have and use whenever I want, a healthy convenience food! You can have the granola by it self as a snack, with milk for breakfast, top it on your porridge or any yoghurt for a healthy crunch. Try it yourself just to see how simple it is to make, recipe below: 

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Serves: 10

Ingredients

·         200g rolled oats

·         2 tbsp of canola/coconut oil

·         3 tbsp of honey

·         100g of mixed seeds

·         50g nuts (of your choice, I used flaked almonds)

·         Dried fruit, pieces.

How to make it:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Mix the oats, oil and honey together in a bowl. Make sure the oats are coated and sticking together a bit.
3. Add the nuts and seeds. I usually use a pack of mixed seeds and flaked almonds.
4. Lay the oats on a baking tray, evenly and pop it in the oven.
5. Bake for about 10 minutes, depending on how brown you like your oats. I like it really brown, so I bake it for a few more minutes but careful not to burn it.
6. Give it a mix and bake it for another 10 minutes.
7. Take it out the oven and let it cool. Add your dried fruit pieces.
8. Enjoy! Great for breakfast, snack or dessert. 

To make the fruit parfait dessert: I crushed some berries with the back of a fork, layer it in a dessert bowl or cup with Greek yoghurt (I used Total Greek), and top with the granola. Simple yet scrumptious! 

VARIATIONS: - You could add, walnuts, cashew, pine nuts. – Add honey to the yoghurt for a sweeter taste. 

By Ayshabibi H. ANutr

A H Nutritionist

14th November 2013

RECIPE: Healthy Oat and Raisin Cookies

Oat and raisin cookies are my absolute favourite! I always choose this combo, so I went on the hunt for a healthy version of this yummy chewy cookie. And here I am going to share it with you all! They are nutritious, chewy and have no butter, and SO easy to make. 

Healthy Catering

Being healthy is on everyone’s list. It’s a destination that we all want to reach and we have tried and tested all the routes. Whether it is a drastic lifestyle change or simple tips to implement into our diet, we've done it all. Some people may increase their physical activity whilst others just add fruit and vegetables to their diet.

The truth is that our bodies work differently according to our individual metabolism. Some peoples may work faster whilst others may work slower and there are ways to increase ones body metabolism. The point is our body works differently, whilst one diet plan may work on one person it may not work on another. But there are some things which work on everybody and that is to use healthy cooking methods.