Have you heard about the Government’s new healthy living initiative, Change4Life? It’s all about making small changes towards positive, long-term health improvements. It certainly seems less daunting than the usual New Year’s resolutions that tend to falter by mid January!
Here at Quorn™, this no hassle approach is close to our hearts. As busy people with families we all know how difficult it is to balance healthy eating with a hectic schedule. One of the first things that you learn about Quorn mince is that it’s really quick to cook – a little hero in a busy family kitchen!
Change4Life highlights some of the easiest ways to make positive changes to your diet , including tips to get your family to eat the recommended ‘5 a day’ portions of fruit and veg and swapping fatty foods like deep fried chips for lower fat oven-baked chips.
It also encourages some fundamental behavioural changes including getting the family together for meals on a regular basis. I’m a real fan of this and think it will set a great example for kids and will bring the family closer. I do wonder how realistic this is going to be though, especially for families where both parents work. Maybe if we tried to build up from once or twice a week it would be more achievable?
They also want to get kids doing 60 active minutes EVERY day. Again, much easier if you’re lucky enough to live in a borough which has invested in activity areas which are accessible to everybody or have the resources to pay for dancing/swimming lessons and the time to ferry your kids back and forth. I reckon for some of us smaller, slower changes may be required.
Despite these doubts, I’m a huge advocate of the programme and I think it will be very interesting to see the long-term impact of the campaign.
2 Comments
Finally the government is doing something to help reduce the obesity issue that is spiralling out of control.
There is a real initiative in my local area where they have extended the ‘free swimming’ to all under 18’s, which I think is great news…
See here: http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/More-teenagers-swim-for-free.4922496.jp
I’d recommend this quick micro meal for when you get in from swimming.
Get 2 Quorn Thai fillets straight from the freezer, cover in cling film & pop in the microwave for 2 mins. Take out to rest & pop microwave rice in the microwave for 2 mins then pop the fillets back in and cook together for a final minute.
Et voila - a healthy filling meal in 3 mins.
Hooley Booley - great recipe idea, thanks! Thought I’d also mention a great way to help the kids hit their 5 a day is to steam some runner beans (or frozen beans) in the microwave and include with the rest of the meal.