Maintaining a balanced diet can be a confusing affair. With so many different voices on the subject, it’s often difficult to know where to start.
In particular, the term “superfood” gets banded around a lot. Which foods are considered a superfood? What even is a superfood?
To steer you in the right direction, we’ve consulted our in-house Healthcare Professional Communications Officer, Holly Roper.
With a Masters in Human Nutrition, and experience working at the heart of the British Nutrition Foundation, she’s perfectly placed to give expert practical advice on the subject.
Here, Holly tackles the superfood tag head-on and instead identifies three key areas of focus so you can make more informed decisions about your food choices going forward.
Firstly – you may be surprised to hear that nutritionally speaking, there is no such thing as a superfood.
The EU actually banned the use of the term back in 2007, unless it is accompanied by a specific-authorised health claim. The NHS also don’t refer to “superfoods” – they instead position their advice around a wider variety of healthy lifestyle choices (with diet being one of those).
However, there are certain foods and dietary patterns that may be higher in beneficial nutrients. With that in mind, I’ve pulled together my top three healthy eating recommendations alongside some suggested Cauldron recipes!
Food is meant to be tasty and enjoyed! Including lots of different fruits and veggies in your diet is one way to achieve this and to maintain an interesting and exciting mix of flavours at the same time.
Different foods have different amounts of nutrients (such as vitamins and minerals) so it’s important we also include a variety of delicious foods to avoid deficiencies.
Challenge: Aim to try 1 or 2 new ingredients per week
Related Recipes:
You may have heard the saying “eat the rainbow”. This is because the different colours of fruit and veg actually relate to different antioxidants (natural chemicals that are thought to protect against harmful substances called free radicals).
For example, red foods such as tomatoes contain lycopene, orange foods such as peppers contain carotenoids and green foods such as kale contain chlorophyll – all of which have positive health benefits.
Related recipes:
Fibre helps both to keep our digestive system healthy and to prevent constipation. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) even suggests that including fibre rich foods as part of a healthy balanced diet may also aid weight maintenance as it can keep us feeling fuller for longer.
There is further research to suggest that dietary fibre may help to protect against bowel cancer, as well as being an important nutrient for the bacteria in our gut. The UK Government recommended intake of fibre for adults is 30g per day. This includes through fruit and vegetables (in their whole form, not blended or juiced), wholegrains, beans and pulses.
Cauldron Smoked Tofu Pieces, Moroccan Falafels, Middle Eastern Falafels & Vegetarian Lincolnshire Sausages are all fantastic sources of fibre (containing more than 3g of fibre per 100g).
Related Recipes:
Baked Aubergine with Moroccan Falafel Crunch
Roasted Aubergine and Middle Eastern Falafel Bake
Vegan Smoked Tofu, Roasted Squash & Warm Lentil Salad
Keep these three areas in mind when making food choices and you won’t go far wrong in your quest to eat healthier. And always remember – your food is there to be enjoyed!
If you’ve ever browsed our recipe list, you’ll have noticed that we’re big fans of Asian cuisine. We think tofu specifically pairs beautifully well with oriental flavours, and one...
Read post
So, you’ve made a mouth-watering curry. It’s filled to the brim with spices and a depth of flavour Marcus Wareing would be proud of… But what are you going to serve with it? We’...
Read post