Research "Ek Khoj"

Ingredients:-

For making Pani Puri:-

Chatpata Pani, 100 readymade Puris
Aloo masala,
Sweet chutney,
Moth and Lal Chana

For Chatpata Pani:-

1 litre water
1/2 cup chopped mint (Pudina) leaves
1/2 cup chopped corriander leaves
2 teaspoon ginger powder (Sonth)
1 teaspoon roasted cumin seeds (Jeera)
2 teaspoon black salt
2 teaspoon normal salt
4 green chillies or according to taste
25 grams imli (soaked in water for 1 hour) or 2 tablespoon amchur powder or juice of 1 lemon or pulp of 2 raw mangoes.
1 teaspoon black pepper powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds powder

For Aloo Masala:-

1/2 kg Potatoes (boil them, peel and crush)

1 teaspoon Red Chaat Masala

1 teaspoon Red Salt

1 teaspoon raosted cumin seeds powder

1 tablespoon finely chopped freash green corriander leaves

1/4 cup pani puris pani

For Moth and Lal Chana:-

100 grams Moth or Moong (soaked in 2 glasses of water for 6 - 8 hours) 50 grams Lal Chana (soaked in 1 glass of water for 6 - 8 hours)Seive moth, lal chana and leave them aside for 18 to 20 hours, sprinkle water after every few hours so that they remain fresh. Sprouted motha and laal chana are ready.

1/2 teaspoon Turmeric

1 teaspoon Red chaat masala

1 tablespoon raosted cumin seeds powder

1 teaspoon red chili powder

2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh green corainder leaves

Salt according to taste

For Sweet Chutney:-

150 grams Gud (jaggery)

100 grams Khajoor (dates)

50 grams imli (tamarind)

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1 teaspoon raosted cumin seeds powder

1/2 teaspoon chaat masala

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon black salt

350 ml water

Method:-

For Chatpata Pani:-

Soak all the above ingredients in enough water for 1 hour.
Now grind all the ingredinets into a fine paste.

Sleve this paste in 1 litre water
Now again grind the remaming paste & sleve it again in the water
Your Chatpata pani is ready to serve

For Aloo Masala:-

Mix all the above ingredinets and keep aside in a bowl

For Sweet Chutney:-
Soak khojoor, gud and imli in 250 ml. water and boil this mixture on low flame for 5 minutes
After this mixture cools down add 100 ml. and grind it make into a smooth paste .Then add all the remaining ingredients and mix very well. Leave it aside

For Moth and Lal Chana:-

Boil the prouted moth and lal chana in half a galss of water by ading turmic and salt.

After they have cooled down add all the remaining ingredients .

Mix and keep aside to serve

To Serve One Person:-

Take 10 blown up puris, 2 tblspoon sweet chutney.

1 cup chatpata pani,

3 tblspoon moth lal chana mixture and 2 tblspoon Aloo Masala

Ingredients:-

1/2 cup - sprouted moong
1/2 cup - sprouted paenuts
1/2 cup - sprouted wheat
1/2 cup - sprouted red chana
1/2 cup - spring onion, chopped
1/2 cup - tomatos, chopped
1/2 cup - carrots, grated
1/2 cup - cabbage, grated
1 tsp - chaat masala
1 tsp - lime juice
1 - green chilly, finely chopped

For Green Chutney:-
4 tbsp - chopped corriander leaves
2 - green chillies
1/2 inch - ginger
4 cloves - garlic
1/2 - lime
salt to taste

For Red Chutney:-
10 - flakes for khajoor
1 tsp - aamchur powder
1 tsp - grated jaggery
1 pinch - salt

For Garnishing:-
1 tbsp - chopped corriander
1 tbsp - pomegrate flakes
1 tbsp - chopped tomatoes


Method:-

For Green Chutney:-

Prepare green chutney by mixing all the ingriedients in mixer.

For Red Chutney:-

Boil or pressure cook khajoor and remove seeds.
Mesh khajoor in a mixie.
Mix khajoor, amchoor powder, grated jaggery and salt to a fine paste.

For Chaat:-

Pressure cook sprouted chana and sprouted peanuts adding salt to taste.
Mix all the other ingridients with chana and peanuts.
Mix well.
Add green and red chutney.
Mix well.
Garnish and serve.

Note:-
Green chilly in the chaat can be omitted or replaced with 1/2 tea spoon pepper powder; if kids can not eat green chilly.

Ingredients:-
2 - idilis

Ingredients:-
24 - mini pizza bases
butter or oil for greasing

To be mixed into a corn pesto sauce:-

1/2 cup - cream style corn (canned)
1 recipe - pesto, see below
salt to taste

To be ground into a pesto:-
2 tbsp - basil leaves, chopped
4 - walnuts halves
1 - large cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp - olive oil or oil
salt to taste

For Baking:-

1/2 cup - cooking cheese or mozzarella cheese, grated

Method:-

Place the mini pizza bases on a greased baking tray.
Spread a teaspoon of the corn pesto sauce on each pizza base.
Sprinkle cheese on top of each pizza.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200°C (400°F) for 4 to 5 minutes or till the cheese has melted.
Serve hot.

Ingredients:-

For veg. stir fry:-

1 carrot
10-12 runner beans
1 tbsp. cabbage
1 tbsp. beansprouts (optional)
1 onion
1 potatosalt to taste
1 tbsp. oil or butter

For gravy:-

1 cup tomato puree
1 tbsp. cornflour
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. each ginger & garlic paste
1/2 tsp. red chilli powder or paste
1 tbsp. tomato saucesalt to tastefried noodles
1 tbsp. butter

Method:-

For Gravy:-

Melt fat add all pastes and stir.
Add puree, bring to a boil.
Add 1 1/2 cups water, boil for 5 minutes.
Make paste of cornflour with 2-3 tbsp. of water.
Keep aside.
Add chilli, salt, sauce, sugar, stir.
Add cornflour paste, continuously stirring to avoid lumps.
Add 1/4 of noodles.
Boil for 2-3 minutes, keep aside.

For Veg.stirfry:

Cut vegetables into thin julienne strips.
Heat fat in a nonstick or heavy pan.
Add vegetables and stirfry on high till crisp.
Add salt, stir.
Just before serving, add to the boiling gravy.
Pour into serving dish, spread the fried noodles on top.
Serve piping hot.

Note:

For quick fried noodles, dry roast hakka or instant noodles till light.
Deep fry in hot oil till crisp.
Or blanch in boiling water till limp. Drain and towel dry.
Deep fry till crisp.

Inridents:-

Ingredients:-

1 ounce tea leaves (Earl Grey or Darjeeling, about 1/3 cup loose tea or 7 bags)
1 lemon, sliced
1 piece ginger (about 2 inches), peeled and smashed
1 quart boiling water
8 cups ice cubes
2 peaches, peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 cup sugar
8 sprigs mint
1 peach, pitted and sliced

Method:-

Place tea, lemon and ginger in a heatproof container and add boiling water.
Let tea steep 7 to 8 minutes.
Place 4 cups of the ice in a pitcher, then pour in tea.
Blend diced peaches and sugar in a blender until smooth; mix into tea.
Serve in glasses over remaining ice and garnish with mint and peach slices.

Nutritional Information:-
Nutritional analysis per serving: 71 calories, 0.3 g fat (0 g saturated), 18.5 g carbs, 1.6 g fiber, 0.7 g protein

Ingredients:-

1 pound linguine
12 ounces bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
1 very large red onion, halved, sliced (about 6 cups)
2 large bunches Swiss chard, stemmed, chopped (about 12 cups)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method:-

Cook linguine in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally.
Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.
Meanwhile, cook bacon in heavy large pot over medium heat until beginning to crisp, about 10 minutes.
Transfer to paper towels to drain.
Drain all but 2 tablespoons bacon drippings from skillet.
Add onion and sauté over medium-high heat until softened, about 7 minutes.
Add Swiss chard and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Add pasta cooking liquid to skillet.
Toss until chard is wilted and tender, about 4 minutes.
Sprinkle vinegar over; cook 1 minute.
Add linguine and oil to sauce in pot and toss to coat.
Transfer to large bowl.
Sprinkle with bacon and cheese.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ingredients:-

Brinjals, quartered 4 small
Carrot, ½ inch pieces 1 medium
Cauliflower 5-6 small florets
Green peas ¼ cup
Green chillies 4
French beans, ½ inch pieces 7-8
Potato, ½ inch pieces 1 medium
Tomatoes, ½ inch pieces 2 medium
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped 1 tablespoon
Split green grams(dhuli moong dal) ¼ cup
Spinach (palak), hand torn 7-8 leaves
Rice (kolam), soaked 1 cup
Soya granules ¼ cup
Oil 2 tablespoons
Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon
Onion, sliced 1 large
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder ½ teaspoon
Red chilli powder 1 teaspoon

Method:-

Heat oil in a deep pan.
Add cumin seeds and when they begin to change colour, add onion, brinjals, carrot, cauliflower, green peas, green chillies, French beans and potato.
Sauté for two minutes.
Add salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder and mix.
Cover and cook on low heat for three to four minutes.
Add rice and three cups of water.
Cover and cook for two minutes.
Add soya granules, stir and again cover and cook for two minutes.
Add tomatoes, coriander leaves, split green gram and spinach leaves and stir to mix well.
Add salt, stir and cover.
Cook on medium heat till done.
Serve hot.

Ingredients:-

Ingredients:-

Ingredients:-

Ingredients:-

Spinach 6-7 leaves
Cabbage leaves 5-6
Water chestnuts,(singhada), sliced 3-4
Cucumbers, deseeded, cubed 2 small
Fresh button mushrooms, sliced 4-5
Green capsicum, cut into triangles 1 medium
Red capsicum, optional, cut into triangles 1 medium
Yellow capsicum, optional, cut into triangles 1 medium
Cornflour 2 teaspoons
Vegetable stock ¼ cup
Oil 1 teaspoon
Garlic, crushed 2 cloves
Spring onions, quartered 2
Salt to taste
Dark soy sauce 3 teaspoons
Red chilli paste 1 teaspoon
MSG ¼ teaspoon
Cashewnuts 6-7
Bean sprouts ¼ cup

Everyone inherits basic cooking skills from their parents. Each family follows peculiar eating habits. There are certain food preparations which are specific to a particular group of people. Various parts of the same country even have different diets. There are certain treasured recipes in each family which are traditionally passed to the ancestors. Parents used to spend a lot of time by teaching the basic skills of cooking to their children.

In this era of fast life, parents may be busy with their scheduled task, so that they won't get sufficient time for educating their kids with food preparations. Finally the healthy lifestyle of home made food has given way to fast food restaurants and instant food. One should be aware of the health issues caused by those diets where harmful preservatives are used extensively. Such habits should be discouraged by practicing cooking at home. Kids should be reminded about the importance of a healthy diet and about the side effects of harmful junk food. This should be practiced from the early days of childhood so that they won't get too much attracted towards the eat outs.

Cooking with the kids is an excellent way to start this reform. Initially kids should be given the chance to observe the cooking process and the preparations needed for cooking. They will be able to appreciate the freshness of the ingredients used and they will watch with curiosity and interest how those ingredients are converted to amazing food preparations. Children can be invited for a small participation in the beginning by giving a few vegetables to chop or washing them properly.

Kids would love to mix the ingredients, chop vegetables, grate cheese and measure the various spices used in cooking. Cooking tasks can be given to the kids depending upon their age group. Kids under the age group can be given fruits and vegetables for washing. This time parents can teach them the need of removing impurities and pesticides from fruits and vegetables. Kids can also be guided in cleaning the tables and counters of kitchen. Children will love to play by making different shapes in dough with biscuit cutters. They can also help you by rolling dough.

Kids of a higher age group which falls between six and ten years of age can be given another set of tasks. Parents can ask them to read recipes when you prepare the food. They can be given the training to take measurements for cooking ingredients. This age group are perfect for mixing the components needed for a recipe. They can be given a knife which is not at all sharp for spreading the ingredients. Vegetable which needs to be prepared without the need of a sharp object can be given to them like husking corns, onions etc.

Children who are older or teenagers can be given a bit complex tasks. Be sure those tasks should be done only under the supervision of a parent or an elderly one. They can be trained in using microwave, oven or stove. Parents can teach them how to use a knife for chopping vegetables with care. They can also teach their kids how to use an electric blender. Parents should make their kids aware of the security measures that need to be followed while cooking.

Most of us treat cooking as a torturous chore that has to be endured at the end of a long working day. We all look and marvel at people who enjoy cooking and look forward to cooking at home and wonder what went wrong with us. To tell you the truth, the basic difference between people who enjoy spending time in the kitchen and those who don’t is just a little bit of planning. With proper planning, you can easily fix good home cooked meals for the whole family within half an hour and once you find cooking fast and easy, you will look forward to making and eating wholesome home cooked meals. Some tips that will help you in making cooking both easy and simple are:

Start with easy and simple:
The key to making food fast and without fuss is to start with easy and simple recipes. Don’t try preparing cordon bleu menus on weekdays. Leave them for the weekends if you like cooking and for the restaurants if you don’t. Instead aim at making wholesome and healthy food at home and start with easy to make salads, stir fries and soups. Baking with bottled marinades is not only easy and fast; it also produces great tasting, healthy non-vegetarian dishes.

Plan meals in advance:
Plan your meals before you go to pick up your weekly supply of groceries. This way, you will be able to buy all the ingredients that you will need for your dishes instead of having to abandon making something in the middle because of the absence of a crucial ingredient. Planning meals will also help you in picking up stuff that is better suited to your dishes. For example, if you are planning to make stir fries a lot during the week, then going for chopped vegetable will be better than buying whole vegetables.

Put your appliances to better use:
Most of us under use almost all of our appliances, specially our food processors, microwaves and crock pots. Washing the food processor and changing different attachments is a chore, but not if you have to do it only once or twice a week. Chop vegetables and prepare stuff for the whole week on the weekend using your food processor and keep different ingredients in different boxes in the fridge. Most vegetables and pastes will last for at least a week if stored in airtight containers. Similarly, you can use your microwave for making basic dishes. Start using your crock pot for preparing soups and rice dishes while your prepare the main course to save time.

Keep your fridge and kitchen stocked with RTC ingredients:
A well stocked fridge and kitchen are the keys to making cooking simple. Keeping different types of pasta, marinade and salad sauces along with ready to mix seasonings can save you a lot of time and energy at the end of a hard day at work. Similarly keeping chopped vegetables and ready to cook meat and poultry pieces in your fridge and freezer ensure that you save on cleaning and cutting time every day.

The secret to weight loss through low fat cooking isn't to cut all of the foods you love from your diet. It's learning to make the foods you love in healthier ways.

If you want to lose weight, you have to burn off more fat than you consume. So cutting the amount of fat you have in your diet is the first step. And one way to do this is to substitute some of the high fat ingredients you cook with, instead using fat free or low fat alternatives.

You Can Eat Meat
A low fat diet doesn't mean you have to give up meat. What is important is the type of meat you choose.

Removing the skin from chicken also removes a lot of the fat. With beef or pork, choose thin cuts. And if there is any visible fat on a cut of meat, trim it off.

Even on a low fat diet, you can still eat sausage and bacon. Sausages made with chicken or turkey contains less fat than beef or pork sausages. And turkey bacon is better for you than bacon make from pork. And it tastes good, too.

Cooking Your Meat
How you cook your meat also makes a difference. Chicken that has been baked, broiled or grilled is going to be lower in fat than chicken that's been deep fried. Coating chicken with spiced breadcrumbs and then frying them can make a tasty substitute for deep fried chicken.
If you need to sauté your meat for one of your recipes, do so in a skillet that you have lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

Butter and Oil
Instead of using butter or oil to cook your eggs in the morning, spray the skillet with nonstick cooking spray instead. If you must use cooking oil, choose olive oil or canola oil over something like regular vegetable oil.

There is no denying that butter adds flavor to your dishes. But you can add flavor in other ways. For example, with egg dishes, you can experiment with all kinds of herbs and spices to give them more flavor. And, when you cook rice in fat free chicken broth, you taste buds won't even miss the butter, and it tastes delicious!

Milk and Cream
A lot of the dishes you make that call for milk will work just as well with fat free milk as they would with whole milk. Dishes that call for heavy cream, you can substitute fat free evaporated milk.

And you can still make those delicious cheese cakes. Just substitute reduced fat cheeses for the ones you usually use.

Weight loss through low fat cooking doesn't mean completely giving up on the foods you love. In most cases, it just means replacing some of the ingredients with healthier alternatives.

There is no dearth of people who want to lose weight in the wink of an eye. With growing health consciousness among them worldwide, there has been a rapid increase in the number of health clubs, gyms, and fitness centers. However, the result is often not so encouraging. This might happen due to negligence of following your regular exercise routine or following a wrong diet pattern. Most of the people suffer from a misconception that physical exercise is the only effective solution for losing weight. The truth is physical exercise in combination with a good diet pattern lends you effective results.

Your diet should be chalked out in proportion to your BMI (Body Mass Index), i.e. the ratio between your height and weight. Calorie consumption of individuals depends on their BMI. People having a high BMI need to adhere to a strict diet pattern by cutting down on calories through the inclusion of more fruits and vegetables. The role of fruits in your diet chart is extremely important to allow your bodies consume less extra calories from food. The benefits of fruits can hardly be debated upon. Loaded with all the essential vitamins and minerals, this natural resource possesses the capacity to pump out all the toxins from the body. Consumption of fruits and vegetables in appropriate quantities gives the body a healthy glow.

People all over the world are widely appreciating the benefits of fruits. This has led to the emergence of the trend of juicing bars. Be it Seattle, Washington or South Carolina, one can find people from different age groups or professions lined up to have a pick from their favorite fruit juices. Many people argue that fruit juices lose much of their nutrients than raw fruits. Without doubt, consuming raw fruits is the best solution but there are few of us who would actually like to do so. Fruit juices are ideal for those who do not like to consume fruits as a whole. Besides, it is easier for the body to absorb nutrients when consumed in liquid form. Fruits, when pressed, do not lose their nutrients. Fruit juices content the same nutrients and fibers as compared to their raw counterpart.

Apart from the consumption pattern of fruits, it is also important to glance at some of the other benefits provided by fruits and their juices. According to a research carried by a team of the Glasgow University, a diet rich in fruits and fruit juices reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Fruits contain antioxidants that help in reducing cell damage caused by free radicals. Adequate amount of fruit consumption can help combat against ageing and diseases in general. Besides, the fiber content in fruits does not allow the body to consume more calories, thus cutting down on extra consumption.

The benefits of fruits can be talked about indefinitely. Fruits can provide resistance from almost every disease possible. Talking about some of the favorite fruit drinks, watermelon, pineapple, mango, apple, peach, grapes, orange are the most popular. Watermelon juice is particularly popular in America for its high water and lycopene content. Citrus juices like orange juice is popular all over the world, not to overlook the other flavors. These natural drinks are a lot healthier and safer than aerated water or other artificial drinks. So drink your way to health by switching on to fruits. Don't just be a vegetarian... be a fruitarian!

You will find a list of negative calorie foods below, but first let's consider what this means. There is no such thing as a negative calorie - a calorie is a unit of heat and it cannot be negative. So when people talk about negative calorie foods, this just means a food whose calorie level is low enough that it takes more energy to eat and digest it than the food contains.

For example, if you consider water to be a food, then cold water is certainly a negative calorie food. It contains no calories at all and the body has to expend energy to bring it up to blood temperature. So every time we drink a glass of cold water we burn up a couple of calories and lose a little weight. But there are very few foods like this. Most foods that are on the list do not really use more calories than they add, or if they do the effect is negligible ... until you remember that at the same time the body expends energy just to keep alive and breathing. Celery for example does not give us enough calories to cover both the energy that it takes to digest it, plus the energy that we expend even when we are doing nothing. So that is why people call it a negative calorie food.

Negative calorie foods are most attractive to anorexics. A negative calorie diet would obviously result in starvation in the long term and nutritional deficiencies can occur surprisingly quickly. The calories burnt usually come from muscle mass, and the result is debility and wasting.

A more healthy way to use a negative calorie diet is as a form of fasting or detox. It is something you can do for one to three days right after the Christmas season or another time when you have been eating a over-rich diet. Provided you are otherwise healthy it can be a great way to clean out the system. However it is still best to take medical advice before attempting this.

If you decide to use a negative calorie detox, keep the following points in mind:
1. It is never a good idea to eat huge quantities of one type of food, especially fruits. A lot of foods contain substances that can be damaging if consumed to excess. For example, the acid in grapefruit and pineapple can damage your stomach lining. Other foods put an excessive burden on the liver or may cause diarrhea. So try to use all the different foods in small quantities.

2. Do not spend all day eating. You will just become bloated and feel sick. If you are only doing this for a couple days, you should not feel too hungry. Plan four or five salad meals each day, and let your digestion rest at other times.

3. You will feel more satisfied if you eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly. You will also use more calories that way. So if the foods can be eaten raw, that will be more effective than cooking them. Foods like carrots and beets will also be more satisfying if you eat them grated.

4. Schedule time when you do not have any important commitments. As with fasting or any kind of detox, you may suffer some uncomfortable symptoms including headaches, tiredness, depression and irritability. If these become severe, stop the diet and see a doctor.

5. When you end the detox, plan a gradual return to normal eating.
If all the above points are checked and passed, let's move on to the list of foods.

* Apples
* Asparagus
* Beets
* Blueberries
* Broccoli
* Cantaloupes
* Carrot
* Cauliflower
* Celery stalk
* Celery root
* Cranberries
* Cucumbers
* Eggplant
* Endives
* Garden cress
* Garlic
* Grapefruit
* Green beans
* Green cabbage
* Lamb's lettuce
* Lemons
* Lettuce
* Onions
* Papayas
* Pineapples
* Prunes
* Radishes
* Raspberries
* Spinach
* Strawberries
* Tangerines
* Tomatoes
* Turnips
* Zucchini

Please use the above list of negative calorie foods wisely.

You have made a decision to eat more carefully and loose some weight.

You go to the supermarket and you go to the low-fat meals, diet drinks, sugar free snacks and you fill up your trolley. If you think buying all these products is going to benefit you think again.
New research shows that choosing "skinny" options is likely to make you fatter.

This healthy eating idea is not so healthy after all. Choosing the skinny option is more likely to make you consume more sugar and salt.

Also will leave you feeling more hungry.

Scientists at Purdue university, Indiana have shown artificial sweeteners in diet drinks make us want to eat more. What these artificial sweeteners do is send signals to our brain telling us to expect calories.

When no more calories arrive, we have the urge to eat more to compensate.

I decided to check their findings for myself and see if these so called healthy eating options were healthy.

For week one I chose foods marketed as having slimming or health benefits.

I ate the the quantities that I needed in order to feel full. For the second week I followed the G I style of eating diet plan. Again I ate as much as needed to fill full. I weighed myself before and after each week. You would think that you would loose more weight by having the special diet foods.

Here is the results of week one. Diet food verdict

After a few days, I felt hungrier and more sluggish. I began to feel bloated. I definitely did not feel as good as in week two and I got bored with the food. I started looking at labels and was surprised that, even though some foods said,low-fat, they were still very high in calories salt and sugar. By the end of week one,I had put on 3lbs.

Here is the results of week two. G I diet plan verdict

I felt full all the time I thought preparing my food would be a pain but it was simple. My energy levels went up and I was bounding out of bed in the mornings. I was able to concentrate better and was more alert. At the end of week two I lost 6lbs.
Final verdict

If you rely on diet food then,based on my experience, it looks as though it is time to stop being taken in by the big claims on the front of food packaging like- Low-fat Diet Reduced sugar instead what you should look at is the small print on the nutrition labels. Take a look at my five point check list of easy to make mistakes-then you can avoid the diet food trap. Which leads to putting on weight eating so called healthy eating options.

1. Reduced fat does not mean low-fat or low in calories. It actually means the food has 25 percent less fat than the original products. In the case of foods like taramasalata, which is high in fat in the first place, the reduced fat version may be better but it is still high in fat and calories.

2. Low fat does not mean low in calories. Many low-fat puddings,cakes and biscuits use sugar to replace all of the fat that has been removed. Always check out the small print calories per serving.

3. Healthy eating ready meals ranges in supermarkets often come in large portion sizes. So while they may be low in fat and salt, they have lots of calories.

4. Be aware that when you buy diet food you may kid yourself that, because you have made a healthy eating choice, you can then go and make up for it by eating more later.

5. Many diet foods may have lower calories but they still have lots of salt. Too much salt causes your body to hold on to excess water up to 3lb worth, so you end up feeling bloated and having swollen wrists and ankles.