It's holiday season and many of my clients are going off for their annual break. Holidays can be wonderful opportunities to see different places, recharge the batteries, spend time with loved ones and try new experiences. All of these can be incredibly beneficial for one's mental health, however new places can be nerve-racking if you are following a nutrition plan, or working towards a health goal. Hotels may be able to cater for individual requirements, but it can be stressf

The heatwave continues and with it the need for quick and easy, healthy recipes. My family has been enjoying gazpacho, a cold Spanish soup made from vegetables. Containing tomatoes, onions, garlic and peppers, this soup is chock full of nutrients as well as being really cooling on a hot day. It can be made in advance and kept in the fridge until you want to serve it. Gazpacho Ingredients: 2 400g tins chopped tomatoes 1 cucumber, roughly chopped 1 red pepper, de-seeded and rou

When I am trying to coax a client to getting more variety into their diet, I may ask them to see if they can eat a greater variety of plant-based foods. A varied diet that’s rich in colourful foods helps feed a diverse gut microbiome[1].There is a growing body of evidence that the gut microbiome is important for overall health and in a variety of diseases. In the referenced article, the author lays out a tool to help clients record 50 different plant-based foods over the cour

In hot weather, you might feel that you have lost your appetite or really don't want to eat anything that's piping hot. I must add to this that this never happens to me - I don't remember ever having lost my appetite!!! Here's a lovely idea for a summer supper. It can also be used as an accompaniment to fish or meat, but stands equally well as a meal in it's own right. This satisfying salad comprises a bed of spinach leaves (containing many micronutrients,but especially vitam

People often ask me how I have time to eat healthily during the day, and how can I even be bothered to make myself something nice? Well, here's what I threw together today, from pre-prepared ingredients. Sourdough bread, mashed avocado, hard-boiled egg ( I always have a stash of these in the fridge), sliced tomato and some roasted veg (leftover from previous night's dinner). It took me 2 minutes to slice the tomato and mash the avocado, and at the end I had a nutritionally ba

In this very hot weather, a lot of my clients have been asking how much water is the right amount to drink. There is no single answer to this question as everyone has different needs. The correct amount of water depends on many things, including the weather, humidity, amount of exercise and types of foods being eaten. Everyone knows that you need to drink more in hot weather, but you might also need to drink more in environments that can dehydrate you, such as air-conditioned