I’ve been eating low carb for the last decade so making healthy food is routine for me but I know that for many people it’s very difficult. And believe me, I definitely understand! Some of the ingredients are weird and hard to find. The recipes can be incredibly complex and…. Not everything actually tastes good. In fact, many things are horrible. And a lot of recipes involve a spiralizer or dehydrator or specialist blender and no one has time for that!

Occasionally in my recipes you’ll find a few ingredients that are potentially new to you or seem like something you’d buy once, use for this recipe and then put to the back of the cupboard until it goes off and has to be thrown in the bin. Never fear, once you know the ‘healthy eating hacks’ everything seems a lot easier!

I’m using my recipe for coleslaw here as an example but I’ll try to always answer these same questions at the bottom of every recipe.

1. What the hell are those ingredients?!

Some things you can use Sea Vegetable Condiment for instead: seasoning salads, roast vegetables, on top of eggs, crust on a boring white fish fillet, soups of all kinds, guacamole, hummus, even a tasty dip with some yogurt! It can also be used either in or sprinkled upon savoury baking such as breads, muffins, wraps, pizza, pasta, rice, noodles.

Generally anything that would benefit from a savoury, herby, salty flavour. But don’t try and eat it by itself because it’s dried and really sticks to the roof of your mouth. Also gets between your teeth. Not a ‘first date’ food.

Next: Linseeds! Also known as flaxseeds. “Whaaaaaaaaaat are those?” I hear you ask. Well, they’re a seed. With a lot of protein, iron and fiber. A LOT of fiber. ‘Be careful you don’t have too much’ levels of fiber. I use a mix of ground linseeds with whole linseeds and chia seeds (which absorb liquid and swell to thicken things). Other things you can use linseeds for: sprinkling on stuff.

That’s it.

If it can have sprinkles on top then you can put linseeds on it. Sweet or savoury. From yogurt to salads to poached fish. It adds a nice nutty flavour.

You can also use them to thicken things like smoothies. Or left in water overnight they create a porridge of types- but not too much water. Or mix them in to regular porridge for an added boost. They can even be used as a vegan egg substitute because they are glutinous when soaked. If you’re a baker then make some flaxseed bread or homemade granola bars or crackers! So. Many. Options.

2. Where do I buy those?!

Well, funnily enough, I bought my linseeds at ASDA. I think. Or Ocado. Because I’m a woman of contradictions and layers. My point is: not only are they sold in health food shops, they’re also available in big supermarkets, highstreet health shops (Holland and Barrett) and, of course, online. I would advise buying in bulk from a health food shop and then grinding them down yourself in a processor because like hell I’m going to pay extra for someone else to do that. No.

The sea vegetable seasoning I’ve also seen in various health food shops but it’s pretty damn expensive so I would suggest going online. Plus, it’s very light so you don’t get charged extra for a heavy package. There’s an innuendo in there somewhere.

I personally like Goodness Direct because they let me buy everything in bulk for very reasonable prices and then don’t charge me delivery!

The vegetables you can buy from a shop that sells vegetables. Even mooli is becoming more common to see in supermarkets but…

3. Uh… I can’t find it

If you can’t find Mooli you can always use parsnip instead, that’s a completely acceptable switch. If you can’t find vegetables then… I’m not clear why you think you can make a coleslaw. Crunchy raw stuff will do.

Instead of Linseeds I sometimes add nut butter for the nutty taste- but make sure it’s unsweetened because otherwise you’re making a weird hybrid food. Or you can just leave it out entirely.

Obviously you don’t have to use gluten-free soy sauce if you’ve got no problem with gluten. And that’s fine, just because we’re not on speaking terms doesn’t mean you have to pick sides.

Regular Hellmann’s mayo is fine. As are other mayos but come on now, what’s better than Hellmann’s?

If you really don’t love the idea of seaweed in your coleslaw then throw in a pinch of salt, some chopped basil and maybe a little fish sauce for kick.

Speaking of things you can throw in…

4. How can I bulk this up?

This recipe is excellent for lunch boxes. It goes really well with fish- whether that’s a fillet of salmon or some tinned tuna you’ve mixed in- or ham or torn up chicken breast. Veggie options would include adding almonds and seeds or maybe even some chickpeas.

Basically, it’s yummy and there are a lot of options. Healthy eating doesn’t have to be scary or that time consuming or expensive or any of that rubbish. It also doesn’t have to be pretty. Don’t get disheartened because your food doesn’t look like an instagram page. Believe me most of the things I eat look horrific but are actually delicious.

This coleslaw is actually in the top 5 of ‘good looking things I eat… that are not cake’

Mmm… cake.