NUTRITIOUS FOOD STARTS AT HOME



www.theminicookingclub.org.uk

Monday 30 July 2012

'Can you pass the salt please?'



When having a meal it is not uncommon for someone to ask for extra salt. This widely used condiment enhances the flavour of food and can be found in almost every household. Salt is an economical way of adding an extra zing to our food but it is also an essential component that the human body needs to function.

Salt, which is made up of sodium and chloride, cannot be produced by the human body. The human body needs these minerals for various physiological processes such as maintaining a good fluid balance and enabling electrical impulses through body. Because salt plays such an important role in our body we need to find ways of consuming these minerals, which is why we add it to our food.

Even though salt is good in the way that it may enhance the flavour of our food and it also helps our body function, we need to be careful about the amount of salt we consume as having too much of it can cause damage to our body.

The thing about salt is that it likes water, so every time we consume salt our body is retaining water. This retention causes additional pressure in our blood vessels. When there is too much pressure then our blood vessels start to get damaged.

This damage causes inflammation in the blood vessels which then affects the blood flow and leads to hypertension, otherwise known as high blood pressure. What we also have to remember is that we cannot feel if we start to develop hypertension. That is why we have to be careful about how much salt we take in.

The Department of Health recommends that the daily salt intake for an adult be less than 6g. This is equivalent to one teaspoon. However, adults in the UK, on average, consume 8.1g of salt a day. Most importantly, we also need to be weary about the processed products we buy, as they are the ones that typically contain more salt. In fact, 75-80% of the salt we eat daily is already ‘hidden’ in the foods we buy, before we add any at the table!

So how can we reduce the salt content of what we eat? Well, look at the labels on foods before you buy them to check their salt content, especially everyday items such as cereals, soups, sauces, tinned products and stock cubes. Try cooking from scratch, so you can keep an eye on how much salt you are adding. To add flavour to food, use alternative seasonings such as herbs, spices, pepper and chilli flakes. And if you still need that salty flavour, try a reduced sodium salt, such as LoSalt, which has two thirds less sodium chloride than regular table, sea and rock salts.

By Yancy Jensen

Thursday 12 July 2012

A child’s habits reveal all: parenting styles influence a child’s attitude towards food



It is likely that many of the attitudes and perceptions you have will in some way be influenced by those of your parents. Your eating habits are an excellent example of this. Often, the foods and flavours you have enjoyed (and equally, disliked) from both your childhood to the present, will have been shaped by the diet provided to you by your parents. Equally, the attitude you develop in your child towards their own eating habits will affect their perceptions to food both in youth and in later life. 

It is therefore important to encourage your child to have an interest in healthy eating from a young age, which will hopefully provide them with a passion for food that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. In turn, this should provide them with the necessary skills to make healthy food choices which should allow them to live as healthy a life as possible. 


There are a variety of ways you can encourage children to make healthy food choices. For example, you could:


Prepare fresh meals together and delegate tasks. Children love cooking  when it makes them feel important, but hate it if they are made to do it as  a chore. Make it fun! After taking part in sessions run by The Mini Cooking Club, parents have commented on how enthusiastic and eager their children are to help in the kitchen at home.

Research healthy eating together.  Set your child a task to find a  healthy snack in a book, or online and then go buy it together. Not only does this allow children to make independent decisions, but it may also reduce their interest in junk food.


Explore your local food market or inner city farm. There are a number of farms within London, such as Vauxhall City Farm. These may encourage your child to take an interest in the whole food chain, not just the final product in the supermarket.


Finally, the most important message is to relax! Food is fun and interesting and it is important to let children discover this for themselves!