Good Food January 2015

We’re great believers in the health benefits of cooking at home. When you make a dish, you know what goes into it and you have control over the portion sizes too. Still, after the festive excess, it’s not always easy to adjust to a healthier regime. That’s why we’re tempting you with an unbeatable choice of lighter dishes – just pick the one that suits you. Our light vegetarian plan (p13) is all about cleansing and recharging – the ideal start to your New Year. If sugar is your weakness, we guarantee satisfaction with truly low-sugar bakes (p22) including a warming Cinnamon apple pecan pudding. For hearty and healthier, look no further than the Hairy Dieters’ recipes (and, let’s face it, it’s worked for them). As they say on page…

Each month, BBC Good Food readers are the first to cook some of our brand-new recipes before they appear in the magazine. We send them the recipes and pay for the ingredients; they test the dishes at home and give us their verdicts. Read their comments on our recipe pages. Kate Everett, from Kent, has used her mum’s copy of Mary Berry’s Baking Bible since she was little. She also loves Delia Smith’s scones, and has been known to bake them for breakfast! Mark Heal, from Nottinghamshire, says a bacon & egg sandwich always cheers him up. Ken Hom’s Vietnamese chicken curry is his all-time favourite recipe. Rachael Mowat, from Newcastle upon Tyne, is fond of the Hairy Bikers; Si King is from her hometown. She cooks hearty meals for…

goodfood eatwell SHOW Davina joins our show Our newest live show, Eat Well, comes to London’s Olympia from 27 February–1 March. Davina McCall will be at the show on Saturday 28 February, when she’ll be on stage with chef Marcus Bean as they create recipes from her new book, 5 Weeks to Sugar-Free. Davina will also be signing copies of her book and joining in live interviews. Also at the show will be health expert Natasha Corrett discussing her take on eating well – she has created an exclusive three-day diet plan for the magazine this month (p13). Find outmore, and check out the timetable of events, at bbcgoodfoodeatwellshow.com. EATWELL WITH US THIS MONTH Our EatWell magazine is a collection of BBC Good Food’s best triple-tested healthy recipes, from simple…

Your New Year 3-day diet • Nourish your body with alkaline foods • Low-calorie meals and energy-boosting snacks • Meat-free plan to help your body rebalance Natasha Corrett started her company, Honestly Healthy, after years of yo-yo dieting had left her feeling fatigued, bloated and under-nourished. She nowfollows an alkalineway of eating, which focuses predominantly on vegetarian foods and wholegrains, while avoiding foods that put strain on our digestive systems. ‘We all know that processed foods, high sugar and refined foods are “bad” for us. Why is that? One reason is that they are all acid-forming when digested. Foods like meat, sugar, wheat, gluten, cows’ dairy products, coffee and alcohol can react when we digest them to become acidic. When you hear about detoxing the body, this is exactly what…

Moroccan orange & cardamom cake I’ve used the sweetener xylitol in this wonderfully moist cake, which is made by puréeing a whole boiled orange instead of adding oil or butter. If you are short of time, you can cook the oranges in the microwave – simply pierce them all the way through with a sharp knife, then microwave in a covered bowl with a dash of water on High for 6 minutes. SERVES10-12PREP15 minsCOOK2 hrs 5 mins 2 oranges, scrubbed seeds of 6 green cardamompods, crushed 225g pack xylitol (we used Total Sweet) 6 large eggs 200g pack ground almonds 50g/2oz polenta 25g/1oz self-raising flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tbsp flaked almonds Greek yogurt or cream, to serve 1 Put the whole oranges in a pan, cover with water…

How much weight have you lost? Dave I’ve lost about three stone in total, and I’ve kept it off. Si I did lose over three stone, but I’ve put about a stone back on. I had a brain aneurysm at the beginning of last year, and because I wasn’t sure what to do for the best, I haven’t been very active, so I weigh a little more than I should do at the moment. On your diet, how quickly did you notice the changes? Dave Within a month. We didn’t drink any alcohol for the first four weeks and it made a huge difference. It was so encouraging being able to fit into jeans that had been sat at the back of the wardrobe for ages. Brilliant! Have you had…