I love baked beans, but I've recently been put off by the sugar content. With nearly 10g of sugar in just half a tin, that's almost half my RDA, and I've also been trying to eat only natural sugars. I also love a large variety of beans so I get nutrients from all kinds of beans and pulses as well as a rainbow of colours and textures. So I created these healthy 10-bean baked beans, with only natural sugars but double the flavour! I enjoyed them with baked sweet potato and kale, (also vegan cashew cheese, but this experiment didn't taste as good as I hoped so I scraped it off!). It took quite a while to make them, but next time I will make a large batch, to store some in the freezer for a quick go-to snack.

Ingredients
4 handfuls of dried mixed beans (I use Waitrose 10 bean mix)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes (check it's 100% tomatoes and water, no added sugar)
1tsp maple syrup
1 whole clove of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp tomato puree
Salt and Pepper to taste

Before soaking

After soaking

The dried beans need soaking overnight, so put the beans in a bowl and cover with plenty of cold water, and leave in the fridge to soak. If you don't want to wait, buy a tin of beans already in water and skip this step.


After soaking, rinse with cold water and top up with fresh water in a pan and put on to boil, once boiled allow it to simmer for 1 hour. Pour away the water and rinse the beans with freshly boiled water, then add all the ingredients to a pan and heat until it boils (keep the garlic as a whole crushed clove, and pick it out before you serve). Leave to simmer for 30 minutes to let the beans soak up the sauce. Keep in the fridge and heat up in a pan for a few minutes when you're ready to eat it. It will keep in the fridge for about a week, or keep in the freezer.

Pancakes seem like an indulgent, high calorie treat that must be avoided if you want to stay healthy. But in fact, with my healthy version of the recipe, not only do they taste delicious and fill me up until lunch, they're packed with nutrients from the banana, almonds and the sides of blueberries! And their low calorie total barely makes an impact on the day. (Oh and not to mention they're even sugar free!) So basically these are Super-Pancakes.

202 Calories (still only 307 with yogurt and fruit!)
Makes 3 pancakes
From prep to plate: Under 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 heaped tbsp Plain Flour
• 1 egg
• 100ml almond milk
• 1/2 banana
• A sprinkle of Flaked Almonds

Sides

• 1 Alpro soya flavoured yogurt or greek yogurt
• 10-20 blueberries, or fruit of your choice

How to make:

Using a blender or electric whisk combine the flour, egg and milk until smooth and lump free, then blend in banana.

Heat a small frying pan with a little sunflower oil, then pour in 1/3 of the mixture, tilting the pan to make the mixture spread into a circle, it should be about 1/2cm thick. Scatter some flaked almonds over the pancake to allow them to sink into the mixture. When the top side starts to look set, ease a spatula under the pancake, and if it seems like it will hold, gently flip it over. Sprinkle some more flaked almonds onto this side, and leave to cook for another 1-2 minutes. Continue to flip every 30 seconds-1 minute until both sides look slightly browned, then serve.

I like to serve my pancakes with yogurt and fruit, my favourite combination being greek yogurt and passionfruit but in this recipe I used blackberry soya yogurt and blueberries. If you have hay fever, try adding a drizzle of local honey on your pancake or yogurt, as the pollen in the honey will help immunise you to the local flowers.

I make and serve each pancake 1 at a time so each one is nice and hot. 

I hope you enjoy them, I certainly do!

For a while now I have been recognised for my healthy eating habits. A year ago I was eating fried food, piles of cheese and sugary drinks without a care in a world, but I had dull, acne prone skin and a lack of energy to show for it. I thought that's just what everyone looked and felt like, I thought I felt good. But when countless skincare products and vitamin supplements failed to make a difference to my skin and my energy levels, I knew something had to change.

Since then I've packed my diet with as many nutrients I can, started drinking 2-3 litres of water a day, I eat more than 5-a-day and avoid too much meat, and greasy, fatty foods or overloading myself with cheese, milk or sugary snacks. I've become a keen reader of Women's Health magazine, a fitness enthusiast (who would have guessed the P.E. skiver would turn into a fitness lover??) and a lover of all things deliciously healthy (healthy food really does have much more taste and all-round yumminess than junk foods like burgers!)

And that change is the best decision I've ever made. You really don't know what good feels like until you've actually felt good. My acne prone skin, lack of energy and low moods were my body's way of crying out to be nourished. Now I wake up ready with energy to face the world (well, most of the time), my skin is nearly spotless and is glowing and smooth, and I generally feel happy all the time. Trust me, changing your diet really will make a HUGE difference!

So here's a week in my diet, what and when I eat it. I would't say I'm the healthiest person in the world, I allow myself some indulgences ("food for the body, food for the soul" and all that), but it's enough to make a huge difference.

 Monday

Breakfast - Matcha powder shot. White tea, a nectarine. Then orange juice + soya yogurt and nutty granola.

Morning snack - 2 shortbread biscuits

Lunch - Chicken and avocado salad

Afternoon snack - Carrot and home-made hummus

Dinner - Clam and fresh tomato linguini

Evening - Chocolate brownie, soya ice cream, blueberries

Tuesday

Breakfast - Matcha powder shot. 1/2 multigrain bagel, smoked salmon, poached egg + orange juice.

Lunch - Prosciutto, avocado and chicken salad (at Prezzo)

Dinner - Home-made chicken and carrot pie (with soya cream) with garden vegetables

Evening - Coconut milk, banana and blueberry smoothie. 1 small florentine.

Wednesday

Breakfast - Matcha powder shot. Porridge made with coconut milk, topped with passion fruit and blueberries

Lunch - Oven baked sweet potato chips with hummus and a poached egg. Then a nectarine.

Snack - White tea, vanilla pumpkin seeds.

Dinner - Salmon and vegetable stir fry with brown rice and quinoa.

Evening - Home-made fruit cake

Thursday

Breakfast - Match powder shot. Almond milk, banana and berry smoothie with a croissant.

Snack - White tea and a kiwi.

Lunch - Wholemeal pitta topped with avocado, tomatoes, olive tapenade and rocket.

Snack - Caramel latte made with almond milk.

Dinner - Moroccan bean and vegetable tagine with couscous.

Evening - Home-made fruit cake.

Friday

Breakfast - Matcha powder shot. Greek Yogurt and granola with berries. Kiwi, mango, passionfruit and coconut milk smoothie.

Lunch - Vegetable soup with spelt bread

Snack - Carrot and home-made hummus

Dinner - Quorn and bean chilli con carne with guacamole and fresh tomatoes

Evening - A small piece of dark chocolate

Saturday

Breakfast - Matcha powder shot. Poached eggs and ham on an english muffin with orange juice.

Snack - Home-made stem ginger biscuit

Lunch - Home-made courgette, mushroom and sun-dried tomato quiche, with salad.

Dinner - Mackerel with sweet potato and fresh vegetables.

Evening - Avocado and tomato on bruschetta.

Sunday

Breakfast - Matcha powder shot. Orange juice and a kiwi. Then apple and blueberry porridge made with hazelnut milk.

Snack - Coconut milk, carrot, cucumber, banana and ginger smoothie.

Lunch - Salad with poached egg, sweet potato, quinoa, green beans, walnuts and sun dried tomatoes (see main picture)

Snack - White tea and a stem ginger biscuit.

Dinner - Crab, lemon and olive oil pasta.

Evening - A chocolate truffle.

So there you go! Think what you like of it, but this is what I eat to stay both satisfied with what I'm eating as well as happy and healthy. You may have noticed some things that pop up a lot, like avocados, nut milks ect. I'm going to briefly list these things that I eat very regularly below along with their health benefits, so you can see how eating these a lot can benefit you, like they do for me.

Avocado - packed with healthy fats to help with heart and brain function, fight against cancer, have anti-inflammatory compounds and make you feel fuller for longer.

Nut milks - nut milks include the now readily available almond, hazelnut, and coconut. I'm also classing my soya products in this category. These are all far lower calorie than cows milk but when incorporated into things like smoothies and porridge like I do you can't tell the difference. Almonds keep your energy levels up and reduce the risk of heart disease. Coconut milk can help protect the body from infections and viruses.

Matcha Powder - Matcha is a form of concentrated green tea, powdered. Because you drink all of the leaf, rather than tiny bits that seep through a tea bag, you ingest all of the anti-oxidising nutrients (Up to 15x more than a regular cup of green tea). It also provides the body with energy for up to 6 hours, which keeps you alert and focused, and boosts the metabolism (giving weight loss benefits).

Orange Juice - The vitamin C in orange juice promotes a healthy production of collagen, which is a structural component for bones, ligaments and tendons. Orange juice also gives skin radiance, helps clean out pores, and reduces inflammation. 

White tea - It is less processed than green tea, so delivers the same health benefits but in greater quantity. It's packed with antioxidants and it boosts cardiovascular health, encourages a healthy immune system, has skin benefits and anti-viral properties.

Eggs -  The yolks contain a very high concentration of omega-3 which is vital to maintain good cholesterol, and fights against diseases of the brain such as ADHD, dementia and depression. They are also high in lean protein, perfect if you're wanting to tone up and not put on weight.

and finally..

Sweet potato - One of the best forms of beta-carotene, an important antioxidant for eye and digestive health. And while white potatoes are known for their negative impact on blood sugar regulation, sweet potatoes actually improve it, even in people with diabetes. I always use these instead of normal potatoes.

Contrary to belief, it takes no professional Barista at your favourite coffee shop to make a delicious drink. And a milky coffee need not be a high calorie treat, with nut milks (almond, hazelnut or coconut) it cuts the calories by at least half, but keeping all the flavour. The only issue here is the amount of sugar in the syrup, so if you wish to be really healthy, just have a normal latte - use the same recipe but without the syrup. I've perfected this latte recipe to my own taste, so feel free to tweak the amounts to how you like it, adding more or less coffee depending on how strong you like it (my latte is around medium strength, the same as at Costa) and the same with the syrup, change depending on how sweet you want it. Let me know how your latte turns out in the comments box below!

When I feel the need for something quick and healthy (I regularly feel deprived of my daily vegetables), this yummy stir fry is perfect. I chop up anything I have in the fridge, use any nice sauce and change between rice or noodles. It's very much a 'see what's in the fridge and throw it all together' kind of meal. And for that reason I think everyone should have this recipe in their repertoire, which is why I'm sharing it with you today!

Serves 1
Calories (Approx.) 450

Ingredients:

•1 carrot

•2 mushrooms (or some wild mushrooms would be delicious!)

•1 chard leaf and stalk

•1/2 courgette/zucchini

•6 mange tout

•1/2 spring onion, finely chopped

•1/2 packet of Tilda brown basmati rice and quinoa

•1/2 packet of Blue Dragon Oyster and spring onion sauce

•Coriander leaves, to present

Prepare the vegetables as above. (I decided to add mushrooms after starting, so for size reference see the extra picture of the mushrooms)

Heat a wok or pan on a high heat with a little sunflower or groundnut oil. Add in the carrots, and stir regularly for 4 minutes. Now add in the courgettes, mushrooms, mange tout and chard stalk. Cook for another 3 minutes, or until the courgette is slightly translucent and brown.
Put the rice on to warm for 3 minutes in a pan with a splash of water. Throw in the remaining vegetables into the wok, and stir for a minute. Now add in your sauce (doesn't have to be the one I suggested), and let it bubble. Once both your rice and the sauce is warm, serve! I like to add some fresh coriander for the top.

This quick and easy pasta dish is fresh, delicious and very healthy! This is great when you don't have much time to cook something, particularly at lunchtime when you're having a busy day. For a lower carb meal, use more courgettes in the place of pasta.

Time: Around 12 minutes (Or more depending on the cook time of your pasta)

Calories: 480 (Per serving - Same for half pasta and double zucchini, which is a lower carb version so it's healthier)

Ingredients (Makes 2)

• 120g Dried spaghetti
• 1 Zucchini
• 3 Beef tomatoes
• 3 Sun-dried tomatoes
• A splash of white wine
• 1/2 Red onion
• 1 Clove of garlic
• 15g Spinach
• 1tbsp Olive oil
• 10 Large fresh basil leaves

Depending on your chosen pasta's cook time (Spaghetti is usually around 12 minutes, so I will use this as an example), boil a pan full of water and add the pasta. Put on a timer for the time indicated on the packet for your pasta.

Chop your onion finely and sauté in a little olive oil for 10 minutes (After 5 minutes, add in a clove of crushed or finely chopped garlic). While your onions cook, chop your tomatoes into 1cm chunks, and add to a separate pan with the olive oil, on a medium heat. Chop the sun-dried tomatoes into 1/8ths, or larger if you want to eat them in chunks, and add to the pan of tomatoes. Pour in a little white wine, I usually pour for around 2 seconds. 

For the Zucchini, I use a machine that has recently become very popular, called a vegetable spiruliser. It's very easy and simple to use (and clean up after!). It's quite affordable, and makes healthier and lighter vegetable spaghetti. To buy one, check them out here. (If you don't want to buy one, you can shred your zucchini into long 'ribbons' using a vegetable peeler, simply run the peeler straight down, and keep going in the same angle until you reach the middle, then turn around). Spirulise the zucchini into long strands (I call this Courgetti, courgette being the English word for Zucchini). This takes about 3 minutes to cook, sauté in a pan with a little olive oil, start cooking when your pasta has 3 minutes left.
When the pasta has 3 minutes cooking time left, stir in roughly shredded basil leaves and spinach, the onions and garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. When the pasta is done, rinse with hot water and stir in with the sauce. Plate up, then garnish with the 'courgetti', and I like to add a few fresh tomatoes and basil leaves on top. Enjoy!