ENJOY HEALTHY EATING

A Health Education Authority Campaign

It's often said that 'experts' keep changing their minds about what's healthy and what's not - but that's not true! For the last 10 years, scientists have agreed that too much fat, especially saturated fat, can increase the risk of coronary heart disease.

Eating less fat means eating more of other foods, especially if you're not overweight. Base your meals around foods rich in starch and fibre, like potatoes, bread, pasta and rice and include more fruit and vegetables whether fresh, frozen or tinned.

The healthiest attitude is to enjoy your food. There are no good or bad foods, but some should not be eaten too often or in large quantities if you want to enjoy good health.

Tips for a tasty challenge

Eat thick slices of bread - and go easy on the spread.
Try breakfast cereals with semi-skimmed milk.
Make custards, rice pudding and sauces with semi-skimmed or skimmed milk.
Use half-fat cheese in cooking and, grated, in sandwiches.
Buy the leanest meat you can afford and cut off the visible fat.
Take the skin off chicken and turkey.
Add canned beans to casseroles - makes the meat go further.
Try 'healthier' cooking methods - grilling, steaming, microwaving or dry-frying (using a non-stick pan and pouring off the fat).
If you use fat in cooking, use one high in unsaturates like sunflower, corn or rapeseed oil.
Make more room on your plate for potatoes, rice and pasta, e.g. swap a spoonful of curry for an extra helping of rice.
Have bread (no spread) with meals - it's great for mopping up gravy.
These recipes use little fat and are based around potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, cereals, beans and pulses. Try them or use the tips in your own version.

Spaghetti bolognaise

Ingredients
12oz (350g) lean minced beef
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed (optional)
1 carrot, sliced
4oz (100g) mushrooms, sliced
2 celery stalks, washed and sliced
1oz (25g) plain wholemeal flour
14oz (397g) can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
4fl oz (125ml) beef stock (skim off fat if using homemade)
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
black pepper, to taste

Serves 4

Method
1 Dry fry the meat over a moderate heat for 2-3 minutes until browned. Add the vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously.
2 Stir in the flour. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, beef stock and herbs. Bring to the boil, stirring until thickened. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.
3 Season to taste with black pepper and serve with plain or wholemeal spaghetti and salad. Allow 3oz (75g) spaghetti per person.

Turkey curry

Ingredients
1 tbsp polyunsaturated oil (eg. sunflower oil)
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed (optional)
14oz (400g) skinless turkey breast meat, diced
2-3 tbsp curry spice mix
14oz (397g) can chopped tomatoes
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tblsp cornflour
5oz (150g) low fat natural yoghurt

Serves 4

Method
1 Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes, until tender. Add the turkey and curry spice mix, according to personal taste. Cook gently for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously.
2 Add the tomatoes and lemon juice, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the meat is tender.
3 Carefully blend the cornflour into the yoghurt and stir into the turkey curry. Bring back to the boil, stirring until thickened, then simmer for 2 minutes before serving.
4 Serve with boiled brown or white rice and naan bread. Allow 3oz (75g) rice per person.
Tip: Your curry can be either mild or strong. Different strengths of ready prepared curry spice mix are available from most supermarkets. If you're a real enthusiast, you could make your own curry spice mix.
As a vegetarian alternative, replace the turkey with a selection of vegetables and reduce the cooking time by 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Lamb & cannellini bean casserole

Ingredients
14oz (400g) lean lamb, diced
1 tbsp polyunsaturated oil, e.g. sunflower oil
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium parsnip, peeled and sliced
12 fl oz (350ml) lamb stock (skim off fat if using homemade)
15.2oz (432g) can cannellini beans, drained
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped or 1 tsp dried parsley
3oz (75g) frozen peas
1 tbsp cornflour
black pepper, to taste

Serves 4

Method
1 Trim off any fat from the lamb. Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the meat for 2-3 minutes until browned.
2 Add the carrot and parsnip and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the stock, cannellini beans and parsley. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 35 minutes or until the meat is tender.
3 Add the peas and simmer for 5 minutes. Blend the cornflour with 3 fl oz (75ml) cold water and add to the casserole, return to the boil, stirring continuously until thickened. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Season to taste with black pepper.
4 Serve with boiled new potatoes or mashed potatoes and vegetables.

Oaty fish crumble

Ingredients
Topping
4oz (100g) white or wholemeal breadcrumbs
3oz (75g) porridge oats
2oz (50g) low fat spread
black pepper, to taste

Sauce
1lb (450g) whitefish (eg. cod, haddock, coley, hoki)
17fl oz (500ml) skimmed milk
1oz (25g) wholemeal flour
1oz (25g) low fat spread
7oz (198g) can sweetcorn kernels, drained
4 tomatoes, quartered

Serves 4

Method
1 Preheat oven to gas mark 6/200°C/400°F.
2 Mix together the breadcrumbs and porridge oats. Rub in the low fat spread until the mixture resembles a crumble topping. Season with black pepper.
3 Put the fish and milk in a pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the fish is fully cooked. Transfer the fish to a plate and reserve the poaching milk.
4 Carefully flake the fish, removing any skin or bones.
5 Put the poaching milk, flour and low fat spread into a saucepan. Bring to the boil slowly, stirring continuously until thickened. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
6 Add the fish, sweetcorn and tomato quarters to the sauce. Season with black pepper. Pour the fish mixture into a 3pt/1.7l ovenproof dish. Cover with the crumble topping and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the topping is browned and crisp.
7 Serve with bread and vegetables or salad.
Tip: Add the finely grated rind of one lemon to the crumble mixture and add its juice to the sauce for a refreshing flavour.

Fruit fools

Ingredients
1oz (25g) custard powder
1/2pt (300ml) skimmed milk
1tsp caster sugar
14oz (400g) can of fruit in natural juice (e.g. raspberries or peaches)
7oz (200g) low fat natural fromage frais

Tip: Use drained tinned fruit which has been packed in natural juices. 13-14oz (375-400g) cans contain sufficient fruit once drained. Dark fruits like raspberries, blackberries, plums or rhubarb look very effective - but tinned peaches or pears work well too. Fresh fruits can also be used -just stew them in a little water until tender before pureeing.

Serves 4

Method
1 Mix the custard powder with a little milk. Bring the remaining milk to the boil, pour over the custard mixture and stir well.
2 Return the custard to the heat and bring to the boil to thicken, stirring continuously. Pour into a bowl, sprinkle over the sugar, cover and leave to cool.
3 Drain the tinned fruit, keeping back enough fruit for decoration. Puree the remaining fruit in a liquidiser or food processor and stir into the cold custard.
4 Swirl the fromage frais into the fruit custard and divide between four serving glasses.
5 Chill and decorate with fruit pieces before serving.

Bread pudding

Ingredients
4-6 thick slices wholemeal bread, crusts removed
1/2oz (15g) polyunsaturated margarine (e.g. sunflower)
2oz (50g) dried fruit (e.g. sultanas, raisins, currants)
3 eggs, beaten
1oz (25g) caster sugar
1pt (600ml) skimmed or semi-

Serves 4-6

Method
1 Preheat oven to gas mark 3/170°C/325°C.
2 Lightly spread the bread with margarine, cut into triangles and put into a pie dish with the dried fruit.
3 Whisk together the eggs and sugar.
4 Bring the milk to the boil and pour over the egg mixture, mixing well.
5 Pour the mixture over the bread and fruit. Leave to stand for about 15 minutes to allow the bread to absorb the liquid.
6 Bake for about 45 minutes until set.

Some challenges to healthy eating

'I'd like to eat more healthily but I can't afford to waste money on trying out new things on the family.'

Healthy eating can often save you money - and you don't have to try out new things on the family. Just make small, simple changes to the way you normally do things. For example, buy the leanest meat you can afford and cut off the fat. Try our healthier cooking methods and make more room on your plate for cheaper, basic foods, like bread, potatoes, pasta and rice.

'I'm always starving after a hard day's work - healthy eating won't fill me up!'

Many people don't realise that foods like potatoes, bread, rice and pasta are an important part of a healthy diet. They're often thought to be really fattening. This isn't so. As long as you don't drown them in fat, they're a great choice - tasty and very filling. Use our tips on how to base your meals around these foods as part of a healthy diet.

'The minute Mum says it's good for you, I know I'm going to hate it.'

Sometimes just the thought of healthy eating turns people off - if it's not naughty, it's not nice! Yet many simple changes to everyday meals can be made without losing any of the flavour. Perhaps you're so used to some changes that you don't even think about it any more - like grilled rather than fried food or using semi-skimmed milk. Tempt your taste buds even further with our recipes and, easy to do - hard to spot' tips!

Enjoy Healthy Eating is a Health Education Authority campaign. Its aims are supported by Heartbeat Wales, an initiative of the Health Promotion Authority for Wales. It is also supported by: ASDA Stores Limited, Boots Food Centre, British Independent Grocers, British Turkey Information Service, Co-op, Federation of Bakers, Flour Advisory Bureau, Gateway Foodmarkets Limited, Iceland Frozen Foods Plc, Kwik Save Food Stores, Meat & Livestock Commission, Morrison's Supermarkets, National Dairy Council, Oats Information Service, Pasta Information Centre, Potato Marketing Board, Rice Bureau, Safeway, Sainsbury's, Sea Fish Industry Authority and Tesco Stores Ltd.

Look after your heart

Recipes produced by Dawn Stock, Home Economist Recipe

Enjoy healthy eating - A Health Education Authority Campaign