As we look towards the future and begin to take control of our lives once again, health and wellbeing are upmost in our thoughts and plans as we move forward.
Food is always on our minds at Team Coco HQ, especially foods that promote wellness, comfort and balance. We have put together some examples of exciting, tasty produce that can be enjoyed throughout the day as a fulfilling snack, a hearty meal, or a substitute for something less healthy.
Snacks
Tobia Teff Meksess Bars, £32 for 12 bars, tobiateff.co.uk
Bursting with an abundance of vitamins and minerals, Tobia Teff Meksess Bars are the perfect pick-me-up for all health conscious snackers!
The bars are made from a simple recipe of teff flakes and coconut oil mixed with agave syrup or honey to make a wholesome, gluten free alternative to sugary flapjack bars. They come in 4 flavours including Organic Milk Chocolate Swirl Honey, Organic Dark Chocolate Agave Swirl, Plain Organic Agave and Cinnamon, and Plain Organic Honey
Chiquita Bananas, prices vary, supermarkets, outdoor markets, fruit and veg shops
The humble banana as a true hero – peel back that lovely yellow skin and underneath you will find genuinely super amounts of important vitamins and minerals, packed into a sweet, delicious fruit. You’ll find that a Chiquita banana offers superior taste and quality that you won’t forget.
Amazingly, Chiquita bananas are not only the tastiest of the bunch, they’re also good for you. Bananas are one of the best fruit sources of “happy” vitamin B6, and are also a good source of vitamin C. The manganese in bananas is great for your skin, and their generous helping of potassium is good for heart health and blood pressure. Bananas can aid digestion and help beat gastrointestinal issues thanks to a helpful amount of soluble fibre, and their natural sugars provide a long-lasting boost of energy. Best of all, they don’t contain any fats or cholesterol.
Nairns Oatcakes, £1.39, Tesco and Waitrose
Nairn’s Organic Super Seeded Oatcakes use a mix of delicious flax and chia seeds, which are a great natural source of protein as well as being rich in omegas 3 & 6. The seeds make these oatcakes even more crunchy and tasty! These oatcakes attribute great health benefits such as the slow release energy properties from the oats ensuring you are energised throughout the day, and did you also know that two oatcakes contain double the amount of fibre than one slice of white bread!
Gosh!, £2 – £2.95 each, Morrisons, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s
Gosh! Is a plant-based food range, which is free-from the top 14 allergens including gluten, nuts and soya. The full range includes falafels, burgers, sausages and bites, perfect cold and on the go or as a nutritious ingredient in a recipe.
Gosh! is ideal for those that are eating a flexitarian or plant-based diet. The whole Gosh! range is completely natural with absolutely no hidden additives, using only ingredients that you will recognise – which is why the range is fully registered by the Vegetarian, Vegan, Coeliac and Kosher food societies. With foods that are delicious, nutritious and free-from, as well as brand initiatives that encourage a kinder way of living, Gosh! are on a mission to bring truly nourishing experiences to as many people as possible. Whether it be for dietary reasons, health or a reduction in meat consumption to preserve the planet.
Meals
PEP Kitchen Frozen Ready Meals, £5.75 each, pepkitchen.co.uk
PEP Kitchen is a start-up food business led by chef founders Joe Coulter & Ben MacAndrews who, after eight years working in restaurants and street food, have teamed up with the aim of inspiring people to eat more plant-based food.
In the PEP range dishes like; ‘Gunpowder Roasted Roots with Coconut Dhal’, ‘Szechuan Mapo Tofu’ and ‘Jackfruit Massaman Curry’ strive to stand up alongside all ready meals on the market, vegan or otherwise. They are created with inspiration from some of the pair’s favourite street food experiences, using unique and bold flavour combinations.
All dishes are perfect portions for one, created to be super bold, tasty and equally nutritious; dishes largely come in under 400 calories, are gluten free, are high in fibre, and offer good sources of protein.
RE-NOURISH Soup, £2.89 each, renourish.co.uk, Waitrose, Co-op, Ocado, Selfridges and Planet Organic
Vegan soup brand, RE:NOURISH, recently launched two new soups to add to their existing range of flavours; FUEL – Yellow Split Pea & Turmeric Daal soup and ENERGY – Pea, Basil & Lemon soup.
RE:NOURISH has created a new occasion for soup with their carefully designed heatable, recyclable, and innovative grab-and-go bottles. Their delicious soups can be enjoyed with or without utensils and the entire range can be consumed warm or cold and can be frozen up for up to 3 months.
The company offers a number of uniquely convenient options, which are high in protein and contain up to half of the recommended daily intake of fibre. Each soup is intentionally designed with functionality in mind, from boosting the immune system with the flavorsome IMMUNITY – Kale, Spinach & Turmeric soup, to reducing stress with CALM – Tomato, Basil & Passion Flower soup.
Barilla Pasta, prices vary, Tesco, Asda, Co-op, Amazon and Ocado
Pasta is a staple carbohydrate in the UK, with 90-100g consumed per person, per week. Pasta has become somewhat of an indispensable item during the pandemic crisis, however many people still believe that pasta is bad for your diet and contributes to weight-gain, which is not the case if eaten correctly.
Barilla Pasta, the largest producer of dried pasta in the world want to let you know that pasta is good for you, and it’s good for the planet as it features high on the recommended consumption list with a low impact on the environment with all Barilla’s packaging now 100% recyclable. Pasta is a pillar of the Mediterranean diet, which is one of the healthiest in the world. Pasta keeps you fuller for longer thanks to its steady release of carbohydrates. It’s a myth that pasta leads to weight gain, excess calories cause this, so pasta can be enjoyed healthily.
Substitutes
YaconViva, Yacon Syrup, £9.99, yaconviva.co.uk and Amazon
Naturally delicious, with fibre-rich natural sweeteners, YaconViva Yacon Syrup is ideal for a variety of everyday uses, such as drizzling on desserts, yoghurts, smoothies, cereals and pancakes. A great alternative to maple syrup or honey, it can be used in baking as a substitute for sugar.
YaconViva Organic and Vegan Yacon Syrup comes from the Yacon plant, native to Peru and the Andes, yielding naturally sweet syrup that has a Glycemic Index (GI) of just 1. With low GI levels, the syrup has a slow sugar absorption meaning you won’t have the typical negative side effects, like headaches and increased thirst, associated with other sugars and sweeteners.
Natvia, £5.00, Tesco
Natvia is a great tasting sweetener made from 100% naturally sourced GMO-free ingredients. It tastes deliciously sweet, with no bitter aftertaste, or nasty chemicals – typical of other artificial sweeteners. If that wasn’t enough, Natvia has zero calories per serving. That’s 100% less calories than sugar. It almost sounds too good to be true doesn’t it? By simply swapping to Natvia, you can have more control over your sugar intake, in a healthy and natural way, whilst still enjoying the sweet taste that we all love.
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