Pinnock - Eat shop save: recipes & mealplanners to help you eat healthier, shop smarter and save serious money at the same time

CHAPTER 1
BREAKFASTS

CHAPTER 2
MAKE AHEAD SNACKS AND LUNCHES

CHAPTER 3
SIMPLE AFTER WORK SUPPERS

CHAPTER 4
FAMILY FAVOURITES WITH A FACELIFT

CHAPTER 5
SOUPS

CHAPTER 6
SOMETHING SWEET

Here in the UK we seem to have got into a little bit of trouble. Our health is declining at an alarming rate. Over 60 per cent of people in the UK are now classed as overweight or obese. There are over 3 million of us with diabetes, almost 90 per cent of which have type 2 diabetes which, in all but a few cases, is caused by lifestyle. Coronary artery disease will kill one in six men, and one in ten women. There are nearly 200,000 heart attacks in the UK each year, and 2.3 million people living with cardiovascular disease. The thing is, these diseases are not due to bad genes or hard luck; in all but a tiny percentage they are because of the way that we live. It is as simple as that.

Now, dont get me wrong, I am not wagging the finger of blame and claiming you should know better. Our modern way of living is skewed. We live in a world where time is a precious commodity. Our funds dont stretch as far as they used to as salaries havent moved in accordance with inflation. Supermarkets take advantage of this to sell processed ready meals that save us time and save us money but if they make us sick, what is the point? The basics of nutrition are not taught in schools. Newspapers and magazines are filled to the brim with fad diets, conflicting advice and sensationalist headlines. Put this all together and we have an environment in which making good health choices becomes a precarious minefield. So, yes, these health issues are linked to the way we live, but they are not our FAULT. We just need guidance on how to navigate this modern way of living that presents so many challenges.

That is what we set out to do with the Eat, Shop, Save series on ITV, and its what I want to really cement in this book. On the television programme, a team of experts help four families rise to the Eat, Shop, Save challenge with amazing success. All the participants save money, lose weight, become savvier shoppers, learn to cook healthy, fresh food and run more efficient households. As a result of these small but significant lifestyle changes, all family members feel happier, healthier and wealthier and spend more quality time together. Now its your turn to give it a go with this cookbook packed full of tips. I want to show you that with a little bit of know-how, a fresh perspective and some practical ideas, you can be healthier, you can feel better and you can save some money.

One of the biggest hurdles that we found when making the series, and also that I have found with my own private clients, is a lack of time. Lets face it, our modern lives are pretty bonkers. Our schedules are becoming ever more full. We often have unusual working hours, different shifts, within families parents can have different working patterns, children are at different schools and have different hobbies and extracurricular activities. All of this means that, for many of us, time is a scarce commodity, and sadly this seems to take its toll on the one area of our life we need to pay the most attention to in such crazy times our own wellbeing. With such pressures, many people fall into the convenience trap. The frozen ready meals. The takeaways. Now, Im not saying either of these are inherently bad in the slightest. I love the odd takeaway. But a diet that is built predominantly on these things, over fresh foods, can create problems in the long term. We all know they can. These foods tend to have significantly higher levels of trans fats, sugar and refined salt. They are also often very depleted in micronutrients those all-important vitamins and minerals. So how do we eat well and look after our health when we are time poor? Well, thankfully I have a few tricks up my sleeve to tackle this very issue.

This is something that I mentioned repeatedly during the series. Batch cooking is the number one hack for people that are pushed for time but are committed to eating better. It is a super easy way to get ahead and save time, and most definitely save money.

I believe that, no matter what, we can always find time. Always. If there is one day a week where you can find an extra hour or two, say a Sunday afternoon, use this time to cook. With batch cooking, you simply cook up your favourites but increase the amount three to four times more than you would normally cook. You then freeze this in individual portions. You can get single-portion takeaway-style containers that fit snuggly in the freezer. Then, after a long day, you simply take these dishes out of the freezer, defrost and voila! A healthy home-cooked meal. No extra spending, no nasties, and you can make it exactly how you like it.

Dishes such as curries, chillies, stews and soups are all perfect for batch cooking, and you will find plenty of inspiration throughout the book. To make it even easier, these recipes are marked with a handy symbol.

Pre-preparing food is something that is becoming very popular of late, and rightfully so. Just look on Instagram and you will see hundreds of pictures of lunch boxes lined up and filled with healthy food for the week.

You dont have to get completely obsessive over this, but a little bit of preparation can save you time. Its pretty simple. For example, in the book we have recipes for snacks, such as dips and spreads, which also make great sandwich fillers.

You can make your workday lunches ahead of time too. So many of the people I work with find that their lunch is one of the things that lets them down. Many dont even stop for lunch as they feel that they dont have time to go to the shops or even make the trip to the staff canteen. Or for some the workplace can be an absolute den of sins, with cakes and chocolate, or endless supplies of chips in the canteen. Prepping your workday lunch ticks all the boxes it saves you time, saves you money, and saves you from bad choices. We have some great ideas for make-ahead lunches in the recipes chapters later on.

FROZEN FRUIT AND VEGETABLES TO LOOK OUT FOR:

PEAS

SPINACH

BROCCOLI

BLUEBERRIES

RASPBERRIES

BLACKBERRIES

STRAWBERRIES

MANGO

PINEAPPLE

This is the final time-saving hack. It is always a good idea to stock up on frozen fruit and vegetables. There is the strange idea that frozen produce isnt as nutritious as fresh. Nothing could be further from the truth. Most frozen produce is frozen within hours of getting picked. Many of the important nutrients, vitamin C for example, begin to reduce in number immediately after the produce has been picked. The longer the produce is left after picking, the more the nutrient content can decline. Much of the fresh fruit and veg that you see on the shelves may have actually been harvested a month to six weeks ago, and left in cold storage before being taken out to order. This affects the micronutrient density considerably. Frozen varieties have more of the vitamins intact, and most are pre-prepared so you need to do very little in the way of peeling or chopping. You can just get straight on with the cooking. They are often cheaper too!