Low Calorie & Healthy Options
The circumference of your waist doesn’t accurately measure health and certainly happiness, but if, like me, you keep a watchful eye on your weight, consuming the right amount of calories each day is important.
Calories should never be considered in isolation; for example, I would always choose a spoonful of calorific peanut butter, as it’s also high in protein and healthy fats, over a lower-calorie chocolate biscuit with high sugar and low nutritional value.
Low calories don’t necessarily mean being healthy, so checking the sugar, protein, salt & fibre levels is worth checking. The traffic light guidance on the pack is an easy way to make informed choices, but just be careful of the portion size that is being quoted.
I like to be straightforward and honest about my meals; all 400g meals are under 400 calories, and the traffic lights are calculated on the full portion. You’ll also notice that my meals never have any red GDAs, meaning you can confidently pick Kirsty’s meal, knowing it’s a low-calorie and healthy choice.
How Many Calories Should I Eat?
Public Health England (PHE) advises that we follow a ‘400-600-600’ format for calorie intake, 400 calories for breakfast, 600 calories for lunch and 600 calories for evening meals.
I like to eat a little less for lunch if I can, so I often eat one of our Mini meals, which at under 250 calories for a 250g meal, is often a better option than a shop-bought salad or sandwich.
For those without allergies, there’s sometimes a suspicion that ‘gluten & dairy free’ means ‘full of nasties’. But my recipes have been developed to be naturally free from these allergens; I believe that gluten, wheat and dairy are often used in foods as cheap fillers unnecessarily.
If you aren’t allergic to gluten & dairy, avoiding them won’t make you lose weight, but it may help you feel less bloated, and in the case of my low-calorie meals, I believe you won’t notice their absence; surely that’s a win-win.
