Plenty of healthy food for thought

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’m eating this week.

The kids were away for a couple of days when I bought a whole cooked chicken.

Diet plans I’ve followed in the past include unlimited amounts of certain foods.

It wouldn’t be unusual for me to buy one and demolish the whole thing, except the skin as that is full of fat.

But this time, I got three servings out of my chicken.

First I had a salad with lots of breast meat. I usually buy the mixed crunchy salad, tomatoes and cucumber then a big dollop of reduced fat coleslaw.

Next day, I had some with pasta pesto, again reduced fat pesto.

As well as having about half the amount of pasta I used to eat, I’ve also switched to wholewheat.

On the rare occasions I eat bread, it’s never white.

Wholemeal, seeded or granary are all much healthier.

I’ve tried wholemeal wraps too but I’ll admit – these are not as palatable as other wholemeal products.

This left two legs and thighs which I planned to put in a stir fry but ended up snacking on.

I eat stir fry a few times a week with lots of vegetables, no noodles.

I use Fry Light spray and although there are probably healthier sauces I usually just use the shop bought sachets.

Breakfast most days is a bowl of swiss style, no added sugar muesli with skimmed milk.

Sometimes I’ll have oat breakfast biscuits and a piece of fruit. I don’t always eat lunch. At college, I’m not usually organised enough to bring lunch so I’ll buy a feta cheese salad or soup and a sandwich.

I always go for clear soup rather than creamy.

These are generally lower in fat and calories.

My favourite snack is fat free Greek yogurt with berries and honey.

Melon or pink grapefruit are really good for fat burning so I try to eat them too.

If dinner is meat, potatoes and veg , the kids will eat it.

If I’m having salad or stir fry I make them something else. I still encourage them to be healthy but sometimes it’s not worth the argument!