healthy – Kate O'Riordan Nutrition

Healthy Salad Dressing Recipe

I often get asked by my clients for a healthy salad dressing recipe. So here is a tasty and healthy salad dressing recipe to make your salads zing!

In the hot summer days it’s nice to having a hydrating, fresh salad for lunch with seasonal vegetables such as tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, rocket and cucumber.

Make sure you add a portion of protein such as chicken, sardines, mackerel anchovies, eggs, tofu, walnuts or feta.

Also you want some healthy fats to help you absorb the fat-soluble nutrients including vitamins A, D, E and K such as avocado, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and your healthy salad dressing! The olive oil in the salad dressing also helps you to absorb fat-soluble nutrients.

Healthy fats and protein also keep you feeling full for longer and prevent the urge to have a sugary snack a hour later!

Check out this yummy and healthy salad dressing recipe below:

Ingredients

2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1tbsp apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic crushed

1tsp dijon mustard

¼tsp sea salt

¼tsp black pepper

Instructions

Add the olive oil, vinegar, crushed garlic, mustard, sea salt and black pepper to a glass jar and shake well to mix.

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

If you would like more guidance on what foods to eat and avoid in a healthy diet, contact Kate for a free 15 minute consultation to discuss how I can help you.

For more healthy recipe inspiration click HERE.

Overnight Oats Recipe

Overnight oats are all the rage at the moment for busy and health conscious people. If you start work at 8am and don’t have time to cook porridge or make scrambled eggs.

This delicious overnight oats recipe is a great idea if you are in a rush in the morning and don’t have time to make breakfast. You can leave it to soak overnight so it’s ready to eat in the morning. You can even take it to work in a glass container and eat it at your desk!

Also if you have chronic fatigue (ME/CFS) and have limited energy during day, you can make it in advance at a time when your energy is high and store it in the fridge ready to eat.

This recipe was inspired by one of my nutrition clients who is a chef. He wasn’t keen on making porridge which I recommended, so instead he had overnight oats!

The overnight oats are packed with omega 3 in the chia seeds/flaxseeds, antioxidants in the blueberries and fibre to keep you feeling full for longer!

I love this recipe and make it a couple of times a week.

Serves 1

Ingredients

50g blueberries (fresh or frozen)

50g porridge oats (gluten-free)

150ml almond milk

1 teaspoon chia seeds or flaxseeds

1 teaspoon pumpkin seeds

2 teaspoons cashew nuts

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

The night before, weight out the oats in a glass container with a lid.
Add the chia seeds/flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, cashew nuts and cinnamon.
Now pour in the almond milk.
Leave overnight to soak in the fridge.
The next morning pour in extra liquid if necessary, and add the blueberries on top.
Either eat immediately, or if you’re in a rush seal with the lid and take with you to eat a work. Enjoy!

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Photo by micheile dot com on Unsplash

Dairy-Free Blueberry Cheesecake Recipe

One of my clients came up with this idea! She was looking for a way to make a healthy dessert. So she combined Coyo Vanilla Coconut yoghurt with flaxseed and blueberries to create this tasty and healthy treat! This dairy-free blueberry cheesecake recipe takes 5 minutes to put together and only has 4 ingredients! It is a great solution for a tasty dessert for those with lactose intolerance. It is also gluten-free!

The health benefits of the ingredients in the dairy-free blueberry cheesecake recipe

Flaxseed – contain omega 3 ALA, fibre and is a phytoestrogen to balance hormones in the menopause.
Coconut yoghurt – contains live vegan cultures to give you good bacteria to support digestion in the gut.
Blueberries – are rich in antioxidants called polyphenols to reduce free radical damage in the body, great for anti-ageing! They also contain vitamin C to fight infections.

Ingredients

2 tbsp Ground Flaxseed

6 tbsp Coyo Vanilla Coconut Yoghurt

10g Blueberries

1tsp Honey

Instructions

Firstly place the ground flaxseed into a 3 inch dessert dish. Smooth down with the back of a spoon until the flaxseed forms the flat base of the cheesecake.

Now add in the coconut yoghurt. Again flatten down the top of the layer with the back of a spoon.

Now place the blueberries on top of the coconut yoghurt until the whole top layer is completely covered.

Next drizzle the honey over the blueberries to sweeten the cheesecake.

Finally place the cheesecake in the fridge to set for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

How To Lose Weight and Keep It Off

Many people believe that dieting is the best way to lose weight. They have tried all the popular diets such as the Atkins diet, 5:2 diet and juice fast diet. Somehow they always end up putting the weight back on and more after finishing the diet. Why is this? When you suddenly fast your body goes into starvation mode and your metabolism slows down to conserve energy. When you eventually give in to your body’s signal to eat, your body holds on to more fat in case there is a famine again. This is a negative cycle of dieting and putting on weight. So now I will explain how to lose weight and keep it off.

The best way to lose weight is to eat healthily. Making gradually changes to your diet including reducing processed, sugary foods and increasing the amount of vegetables and protein in your diet will help to support your body in losing weight and keeping it off. Make it a long-term lifestyle change, not a fad diet.

Here I will tell you how to lose weight and keep it off with my foods to eat and foods to avoid for weight loss:

How to Lose Weight and Keep It Off

Foods to avoid for weight loss:

Replace refined carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta and rice, pastries, pies, pizzas for whole grain brown bread, pasta and rice.
Avoid artificial sweeteners especially aspartame which puts a strain on the liver and can slow weight loss.
Reduce foods high in sugar, which converts to fat inside the body if it is not used up during exercise.
Avoid chocolates as they are highly acid-forming. The occasional piece of dark chocolate is fine.
Avoid all margarines, full-fat milk and full-fat cheeses.

Friendly foods for weight loss:

Eat more organic foods, which contain fewer pesticides. Pesticides are stored in fat tissue and are really hard to eliminate.
Increase fruit and vegetable consumption to 5-10 portions per day. Onions, ginger, spring greens, spinach, pak choy, celery, pineapple and apples are all great foods for assisting weight loss.
Eat at least 1 portion of good quality protein per day at breakfast or lunchtime such as beef, lamb, venison, fish, eggs, chicken or fermented tofu, as protein balances blood sugar for a longer period.
Always eat breakfast. A good option is a couple of poached eggs on wholemeal toast or organic porridge made with almond milk and a few raisins to sweeten.
Drink lots of herbal teas and at least 6-8 glasses of water per day. Water suppresses the appetite and prevents fat depositing in the body.

Weight Loss Plate

Make your meal plate in these proportions for weight loss.

- 10% protein e.g. chicken, fish, eggs
- 20% good fats e.g. avocado, coconut oil, olive oil, nuts and seeds
- 20% carbohydrates e.g. wholegrains, brown bread, brown pasta, brown rice
- 50% fruits and vegetables

Weight Loss Meal Plan Ideas

When you calorie count it stresses you out and does not work in the long-term. Eat 3 meals per day and a few healthy snacks to give your body all the nutrients it needs.

Day 1

Breakfast porridge with 1 apple and raisins to sweeten.
Lunch tinned mackerel on 1 slice wholemeal toast.
Snack 1 sugar-free yoghurt.
Dinner chicken with roast potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower.

Day 2

Breakfast 2 poached eggs on 1 slice wholemeal toast.
Lunch Greek salad.
Snack 3 oatcakes with hummus or cottage cheese.
Dinner salmon with broccoli, cauliflower and quinoa.

Day 3

Breakfast sugar- free granola with almond milk and yoghurt.
Homemade vegetable soup with wholemeal bread
Snack handful of nuts and an apple or a pear.
Dinner chicken curry with spinach, tomato, cauliflower and brown rice.

If you would like a personalised diet plan for weight loss, contact Kate on 07652 868342 or info@kateoriordan.com for more information.

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