I really, really love milk. And cheese. And cream, yoghurt, custard and ice cream! But I get that not everyone enjoys (or can tolerate) dairy. Whatever your reason, the problem with not consuming dairy is that it is pretty difficult to obtain enough calcium in your diet via non-dairy sources – the calcium in vegetable foods such as broccoli, kale, dried figs and chickpeas tends to be poorly bioavailable, inadequately digested and inconvenient (you’d have to eat a truckload of figs or broccoli, which may come along with other, uh, ‘side effects’). 

There are some foods I really WISH were healthy. Cherry Ripe bars are one of them! But a quick squiz at the ingredients list yields unpromising results:

Peaches are just gorgeous. Blushing, fuzzy dumplings with sweet, juicy flesh, heralding that the best of summer’s bounty has arrived. Roasting brings out their sweetness and concentrates their flavour, accented here with fragrant local honey, tangy goat’s cheese and fresh sprigs of thyme. If you like, feel free to substitute any of the wonderful variety of stone fruit that are just now coming into season (here down under!) – nectarines, apricots, black amber plums, or even cherries.

Coconut is a brilliant oil to cook with as it as highly saturated, therefore stable even at high temperatures and will retain all its beneficial properties (see this post for more about coconut oil and nutrition). This recipe is gluten-free, low in PUFAs (polyunsaturated fatty acids), high in beneficial MCTs (medium chain triglycerides) and quality protein.

Fruit and cheese make a perfect pair, especially with the weather heating up and long, lazy summer days setting in – days spent soaking up the sunshine and balmy evenings spent outdoors, in good company, not labouring away for hours over a hot stove. 

There’s something magical about the way the French eat food. In France (pardon the generalization), people don’t seem to diet or deprive themselves, they appreciate quality of produce, real ingredients, developed flavours, and they take the time to savour long, lavish meals in an unhurried and sociable way.

This Cantonese classic is traditionally served to women post-childbirth, and is shared with friends and visitors in celebration of the arrival of a baby. As per Traditional Chinese Medicine philosophies, the dish is heralded for its ‘blood-building’, ‘re-building’ and ‘warming’ properties. According to our understanding of modern nutrition, I’d say that it’s incredibly nourishing for a number of reasons, as a rich source of:

It’s quite shocking that polyunsaturated fats are still being touted as “healthy” fats, as the scientific literature clearly shows the damage caused by these types of fats in a multitude of both animal and human studies. Recommending the consumption of polyunsaturated oils for their ‘heart-healthy benefits’ is equivalent (or worse) than the old 20th century medical adage to prescribe smoking as a treatment for sufferers of chronic asthma (true).

The French have consommé and glace de viande, the Vietnamese have pho, the Japanese have ramen, and so on – nearly every culture has traditionally included broths and stocks made from animals bones in their diets. 

Whilst gummy bears and jello don’t exactly conjure a picture of good health, gelatin of the non-lolly variety can be a wonderful addition to your diet, with lots of health benefits including: