The Healthy Eating Guide

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Baked Beans are something that most people love but the tinned variety are often loaded with salt and sugar and that really takes away any chance of them following any sort of healthy eating guidelines.  This is my own recipe for Baked Beans which is just as tasty and a great deal more healthy!

8 ozs (200gms) dried haricot beans, soaked overnigh, rinsed and drained
2 tsp (10 ml) English Mustard powder
2 tbsp (30 ml) Molasses or Black Treacle
2 tbsp (30 ml) Tomato Puree
15 fl ozs (450 ml) good vegetable stock
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
Seasoning to taste

Preheat the Oven to 190C, 375F Gas Mark 1
Put the beans into a large saucepan of boiling water and cooke for 25 - 30 mins.  Skim the surface if necessary druing cooking.  Drain and place into a large casserole dish.
Add the chopped onions and mix
Mix together the Molasses, English Mustard and Tomato Puree and the stock.
Pour over the beans, cover and place in the oven
Bake for 2 - 3 hours until the beans are tender.  If the sauce thickens too much add a little more stock.  Season before serving.  Don’t be tempted to add salt during cooking as this will can the beans tough.

It is almost impossible to overcook this dish so don’t worry if you leave it in the oven a little longer.
Serve hot with anything you like that goes with beans!

There are few healthy eating guidelines – it’s much simpler to eat healthily than you might think. A good diet should include foods from all the basic groups and all in moderation. There is nothing wrong with having some of the sugary or fatty foods that we sometimes crave if you are sensible about it and don’t over indulge.

Protein is one of the most important food groups but we don’t need as much as we think, to follow good healthy eating guidelines you should choose low fat where possible - chicken, turkey and fish are good. You need some oily fish too for it’s health benefits so Salmon, Tuna, Mackerel and the like are great choices. Red meat has come in for some bad press of recent times but a reasonable amount does no harm and if you limit it to a couple of times a week you will have no problems.

Dairy Products also come in for a lot of bad press, but again you do need some – semi-skimmed or skimmed milk is best, though young children need whole milk. Cheese, eggs, cream and so on are things that again, should be eaten in moderation but there is no need to remove them from your diet in order to eat healthily.

Fresh green vegetables are a must as they contain loads of vitamins and minerals which are essential for good health, kale, spinach, broccoli are all good as well as other ‘non-green’ veges like sweet corn, sweet potato, squash and carrots. Along with the veg comes the fruit and there is so much choice – apples, bananas, pears and all the lovely rich soft berries.

Healthy eating also means you need carbohydrates, potatoes, nuts, beans and other pulses. Seeds like pumpkin, sunflower and linseed are a tasty addition to lots of dishes and are pretty good eaten on their own. Oats are a big favourite of mine, good for so many things. Buckwheat, Rice and Barley come pretty high on the list too.

We do all need a bit of sweetness in our lives now and then, honey and maple syrup are good and better than processed sugars. Flavour can come from herbs and spices and doesn’t have to be Salt based all the time, I love the rich tastes that come from herbs like Basil and the sweet spicyness of Ginger.

Most important of all is fluid, we need lots of fluid to stay healthy, water is best but most things will do the job just as well apart from sweet carbonated drinks. Fruit teas chilled in the fridge make a really refreshing drink and there are no end of choices around.

Following these simple healthy eating guidelines with regard to food groups is the first step to a healthy diet and a healthy you.