easy addition to salads. For example grated carrot, beetroot and sprouts.

• Hummus, and chutney (or a little spread of miso) plus a handful of sprouts makes a delicious sandwich on wholegrain bread.

4) Make sauerkraut. Sauerkraut has been a nutrient dense staple food in eastern Europe for hundreds of years. Many traditional wholefood diets use ‘living’ pickles like sauerkraut to aid digestion. Once you get the hang of the process it is easy. Chopping a big batch of cabbage with the food processor, and th

Often people are amazed at how quickly we can make a delicious healthy meal… without any packets! How do we make healthy food so quick and simple? Today I'm sharing the secrets of healthy eating success! Here are my 8 helpful hints to make a whole food diet easy to maintain for you and your family.

There are many special food items hiding in our refrigerator and pantry. We whip them out to add flavour, interest and nutrient density to a meal. We make sure we usually have these on hand to make a plain meal into a feast.

Making some of these meal enhancing condiments takes some weekend time investment. But once you have made a big batch, you are set for weeks. Many of these recipes can become fun family activities.

My eight helpful hints to make a whole food diet easy

1) Make hummus, or other bean and seed dips in bulk. Freeze them in smaller containers. This way you always have a healthy sandwich spread ready for lunch time and snacks.

What are the advantages of making your own hummus?

• It is very time efficient to make dips in bulk

• You can make up your perfect flavour blend

• It will save dollars compared to pottles of hummus from the supermarket.

2) Cook healthy chutneys and pickles when fruit and vegetables are ripe, juicy and in season.

To make chutneys healthier the best changes you can make to standard recipes are:

• Adding dehydrated cane juice and honey instead of white sugar. Whole food sweeteners are much more balancing in the body, because they a full spectrum of minerals and vitamins, plus enzymes for digestion. White sugar has been stripped of goodies; hence it is merely ‘empty calories’.

• Using good quality apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is naturally brewed without the harsh processes of bulk supermarket varieties.

3) Start sprouting. It really is easy and takes less than a minute a day to rinse them. We always have sprouts on the go, or a big lot ready to eat in the refrigerator. Fresh sprouts last for a good week or so.

• Sprouts are always an easy addition to salads. For example grated carrot, beetroot and sprouts.

• Hummus, and chutney (or a little spread of miso) plus a handful of sprouts makes a delicious sandwich on wholegrain bread.

4) Make sauerkraut. Sauerkraut has been a nutrient dense staple food in eastern Europe for hundreds of years. Many traditional wholefood diets use ‘living’ pickles like sauerkraut to aid digestion. Once you get the hang of the process it is easy. Chopping a big batch of cabbage with the food processor, and the

feast.

Making some of these meal enhancing condiments takes some weekend time investment. But once you have made a big batch, you are set for weeks. Many of these recipes can become fun family activities.

My eight helpful hints to make a whole food diet easy

1) Make hummus, or other bean and seed dips in bulk. Freeze them in smaller containers. This way you always have a healthy sandwich spread ready for lunch time and snacks.

What are the advantages of making your own hummus?

• It is very time efficient to make dips in bulk

• You can make up your perfect flavour blend

• It will save dollars compared to pottles of hummus from the supermarket.

2) Cook healthy chutneys and pickles when fruit and vegetables are ripe, juicy and in season.

To make chutneys healthier the best changes you can make to standard recipes are:

• Adding dehydrated cane juice and honey instead of white sugar. Whole food sweeteners are much more balancing in the body, because they a full spectrum of minerals and vitamins, plus enzymes for digestion. White sugar has been stripped of goodies; hence it is merely ‘empty calories’.

• Using good quality apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is naturally brewed without the harsh processes of bulk supermarket varieties.

3) Start sprouting. It really is easy and takes less than a minute a day to rinse them. We always have sprouts on the go, or a big lot ready to eat in the refrigerator. Fresh sprouts last for a good week or so.

• Sprouts are always an easy addition to salads. For example grated carrot, beetroot and sprouts.

• Hummus, and chutney (or a little spread of miso) plus a handful of sprouts makes a delicious sandwich on wholegrain bread.

4) Make sauerkraut. Sauerkraut has been a nutrient dense staple food in eastern Europe for hundreds of years. Many traditional wholefood diets use ‘living’ pickles like sauerkraut to aid digestion. Once you get the hang of the process it is easy. Chopping a big batch of cabbage with the food processor, and th

is very time efficient to make dips in bulk

• You can make up your perfect flavour blend

• It will save dollars compared to pottles of hummus from the supermarket.

2) Cook healthy chutneys and pickles when fruit and vegetables are ripe, juicy and in season.

To make chutneys healthier the best changes you can make to standard recipes are:

• Adding dehydrated cane juice and honey instead of white sugar. Whole food sweeteners are much more balancing in the body, because they a full spectrum of minerals and vitamins, plus enzymes for digestion. White sugar has been stripped of goodies; hence it is merely ‘empty calories’.

• Using good quality apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is naturally brewed without the harsh processes of bulk supermarket varieties.

3) Start sprouting. It really is easy and takes less than a minute a day to rinse them. We always have sprouts on the go, or a big lot ready to eat in the refrigerator. Fresh sprouts last for a good week or so.

• Sprouts are always an easy addition to salads. For example grated carrot, beetroot and sprouts.

• Hummus, and chutney (or a little spread of miso) plus a handful of sprouts makes a delicious sandwich on wholegrain bread.

4) Make sauerkraut. Sauerkraut has been a nutrient dense staple food in eastern Europe for hundreds of years. Many traditional wholefood diets use ‘living’ pickles like sauerkraut to aid digestion. Once you get the hang of the process it is easy. Chopping a big batch of cabbage with the food processor, and th

f minerals and vitamins, plus enzymes for digestion. White sugar has been stripped of goodies; hence it is merely ‘empty calories’.

• Using good quality apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is naturally brewed without the harsh processes of bulk supermarket varieties.

3) Start sprouting. It really is easy and takes less than a minute a day to rinse them. We always have sprouts on the go, or a big lot ready to eat in the refrigerator. Fresh sprouts last for a good week or so.

• Sprouts are always an easy addition to salads. For example grated carrot, beetroot and sprouts.

• Hummus, and chutney (or a little spread of miso) plus a handful of sprouts makes a delicious sandwich on wholegrain bread.

4) Make sauerkraut. Sauerkraut has been a nutrient dense staple food in eastern Europe for hundreds of years. Many traditional wholefood diets use ‘living’ pickles like sauerkraut to aid digestion. Once you get the hang of the process it is easy. Chopping a big batch of cabbage with the food processor, and th

easy addition to salads. For example grated carrot, beetroot and sprouts.

• Hummus, and chutney (or a little spread of miso) plus a handful of sprouts makes a delicious sandwich on wholegrain bread.

4) Make sauerkraut. Sauerkraut has been a nutrient dense staple food in eastern Europe for hundreds of years. Many traditional wholefood diets use ‘living’ pickles like sauerkraut to aid digestion. Once you get the hang of the process it is easy. Chopping a big batch of cabbage with the food processor, and then rubbing in a little salt takes less than an hour. Leave it to mature and you will have ample sauerkraut for weeks.

We use sauerkraut as a salad vegetable, on sandwiches and mashed into softly cooked root vegetables. (I’m a Dutch blooded woman so enjoying sauerkraut runs in my family!)

5) Simplify dressings if you’re in a hurry. One of my favourite 30 second dressings is olive oil, balsamic (or cider vinegar) and soy sauce. I slosh a little of each directly onto the salad… no mixing. This combo is also luscious for roasting vegetables.

6) Make legumes preparation easy. Soak, drain in and boil large quantities of beans or lentils. Once cooled you can freeze them in smaller amounts. The bigger beans defrost in minutes if your pour boiling water over then. Then you can pop them into a one-bowl-meal salad or a stove top savoury fry-up. Of course, plain canned beans are good for emergencies!

7) Soak grain breakfasts the night before. Whether you’re making Bircher muesli or porridge, soaking the oats, spices, dried fruit and seeds reduces cooking time. This morning we had a lovely steamy bowl of whole oat, current and sunflower seed porridge. It literally took five minutes to cook. Topped with fruit and yoghurt, both Bircher muesli and porridge are a healthier alternative to boxed cereals.

8) Make smoothies when time is short but you want to eat well and stay energised.