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Healthy eating choices are part of being "brilliant" as they empower your body and mind to work at their best. Here are a few top tips we try to follow at TG: |
- Drink plenty of water
- Eat at least 5 handfuls of fruit & veg a day
- "Whole" in one
- Discover herbs & spices
- Do it yourself
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Top tip 1 - Drink plenty of water |
Why?
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If you feel a little thirsty the chances are you are also finding it hard to concentrate as a small fall in your body's water content can reduce your concentration by up to 10%.
More info |
How? |
Have a bottle of water to hand during the day so whenever you feel a little parched you don't have too far to reach to quench your thirst to make you feel as sharp as needle!
- Swap fizzy drinks (which can have lots of tooth dissolving sugar in them) to pure, lovely H2O
- Swap caffeinated drinks like cola, tea & coffee to infused hot water concoctions - hot lemon, spicy ginger, fresh mint, red rooibos, soothing camomile
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Top tip 2 - Eat at least 5 handfuls of different fruit & veg a day |
Why? |
These little beauties come in every colour of the rainbow and contain the most amazing health promoting vitamins, minerals, fibre and anti-oxidants. These really are the first things to fill up on as they pack a serious punch for protecting your health.
More info |
How? |
Forget useless foods like crisps and sweets, they don't give you anything particularly helpful. (It's a bit like inviting the Wicked Witch round for an afternoon of fun and games.)
- Choose your favourite smoothie to kick start your morning
- Have a wonderful big bowl of fresh fruit to choose your snacks from
- Mash up chickpeas or beetroot to make a dip for your ready supply of chopped up carrots, celery and baby tomatoes
- Cram as much salad as you can in to your sandwich - don't forget your napkin!
- Experiment with lots of different veg combinations to create a new designer soup
- Add lots of colour to each dinner plate - green peas, orange sweet potato, white cauliflower, purple broccoli, red pepper......
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Top tip 3 - Whole in one |
Why? |
Did you know when you peel a potato you are getting rid of lots of wonderful nutrients with the skin - how silly! The skin of many foods is often a powerhouse of "goodness" so when you eat white bread, white pasta or white rice the best bit has been removed. I like to get my money's worth of real nutrients so "whole" foods are the best way to go.
More info |
How? |
This is really easy, it's just a straight swap, but you do need to give your taste buds time to catch up with all that goodness - it can come as quite a shock.
- Swap white bread for wholemeal (check the ingredients list carefully that wholemeal flour is the first ingredient)
- Swap white pasta for wholemeal pasta (it takes a little longer to cook but is worth it)
- Swap white rice for brown (again it takes longer to cook but has a lovely nutty flavour)
- Swap peeled mashed potato for crushed whole potato (no messy peeling)
- Swap chips for baked potato wedges with lots of vitamin rich skin
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Top tip 4 - Discover herbs & spices |
Why? |
The most exciting thing about cooking is adding flavours from around the world with different herbs & spices: flame red Indian chilli powder, fresh Italian basil leaves, pungent French garlic, zesty Thai lemongrass! Despite all these amazing flavours some people just add salt to increase flavour - how boring! Why use plain salt when you can experiment with a load of herbs and spices which are not only delicious but can be incredibly good for you.
More info |
How? |
Just experiment!
- Add shredded basil leaves to a salad of tomatoes and mozzarella
- Add turmeric, chilli powder, crushed coriander and crushed cumin to make a curry
- For a Thai flavour add coriander leaves and chopped lemongrass
- Add sage to earthy foods like beetroot and pumpkin
- Add mint to lighten up a summer potato salad
- Experiment between smoked paprika for a Spanish flavour and normal paprika for a taste of Hungary
- Experiment with cinnamon in both sweet and savoury cooking
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Top top 5 - Do it yourself |
Why? |
There is nothing better than creating something yourself. When it comes to food you can grow AND cook it yourself. It means you know exactly where your food came from and how much love it had getting to your plate. Cooking is great because it always impresses people - just look at the celebrity chefs. It is also fun and there is no right or wrong answer as long as it tastes good. Growing your own food is another skill that makes everyone jealous, all you need is pot of soil and some seeds!
More info |
How? |
Cooking
- Ask an adult if they could watch over you as you make lunch one Saturday
- Sign up for a cookery club or classes - an example of a school near Turnham Green is the Kids' Cookery School
- Just watch what your parents/grandparents/friends' parents do in the kitchen and think about how their food tastes
- Try some Turnham Green recipes
Growing
- Buy some seeds and a pot of soil and try growing your own plants with the advice of your local garden centre - don't worry if you don't have a garden
- Ask your teacher to sign up to a grow your own campaign like this one
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