Kayla Rust Nutrition

Packing fiber into your meals is a great way to feel fuller for longer, helping prevent over-eating. Grated carrot and apple works well in both a salad and a cheese sandwich. It also gives a sweet and salt taste, keeping things flavourful.

Fish, low in fat and a great source of protein. However, it isn't terribly filling. Don't let this put you off fish, simply pair it with healthy carbs and plenty of fiber. Here I've served inexpensive Basa with spiced grains and a pile of steamed spring greens.

Love batch cooking - cook once, enjoy four meals.

When thinking of nutritional value, which is best, potatoes or sweet potatoes?

Potatoes are not considered one of your five a day, sweet potatoes are.
Sweet potatoes are a little higher in sugar (hence the name and flavour) but are also higher in fiber.

The verdict - neither one is "better or worse" just different.

60% off FLASH SALE - The weight loss tracking app' I highly recommend "Nutra-Check" has a flash sale. I have no affiliation with this app' whatsoever other than I've used and loved it, so just wanted to share their sale with you. The link below should take you straight to their sale page.

Do you need to exercise to lose weight? Just how important is exercise for weight loss? We look at the science.

All living things need good nutrition to thrive. Not just people but plants (ask any gardener) and animals too.
Take commercial cat food for example, most is less than 14% meat, the rest is water, grains and vegetables. Cats are carnivores, so cannot digest grains, often resulting in vomiting, bad breath and stinky poops.
High meat content cat foods are on the market, but unfortunately, they are super expensive.
So what can we feed our domesticated cats, who would catch and eat mice, rats, rabbits, birds and voles if they were feral?
Well, I currently have a whole chicken in my pressure cooker, which once cooled, I will discard the skin and bones and divide the meat into cat sized portions. I'll pop a couple in the fridge and the rest in the freezer, just like with my own batch cooking.
This works out heaps cheaper and of course healthier for my cat, saving me vet bills in the long run.
If you have any pet food healthy hacks, I'd love to hear them.

Even the most determined person can come up against challenges during their weight loss journey, from plateaus to food intolerances. It's how you deal with them that matters; give up or find a way round them.

I've come up against one such challenge myself recently, acidic foods are temporarily off the menu. I've yet to find a food which is tangy but not acidic and have found this very frustrating. I loved to make my own zingy dressings and add berries to my porridge. However, I won't let this stop me reaching my goal. There are so many foods to enjoy. So for now, I'm experimenting with citrus zest, mustards, oils, herbs and spices and my porridge is packed with pears and bananas!

If you feel ready to lose weight but need a little guidance and encouragement, why not get in touch.

We all know we should eat lots of fiber (30gms a day is ideal) but how and why?

Fiber is the part of wholefoods which our bodies cannot digest, such as the outer part of grains and pulses and the woody part of vegetables. It aids digestion in several ways by helping us feel fuller for longer, feeding our microbiome (good gut bacteria) and aiding transit of waste through our bowels.

Food manufacturers are always looking for ways to entice us into purchasing their products (usually the processed kind) and labels can be deceiving and confusing. So, understanding what is dietary fiber and what is sales blurb, will save you time and money.

There is also a lot of confusion around the difference between wheat bran and whole wheat. Allow me to clarify. Wheat bran and whole wheat are different parts of the wheat grain. Wheat bran is the outer layer of the grain that contains fiber and minerals. Whole wheat is the entire grain that includes the bran, the germ, and the endosperm. Whole wheat products use all parts of the wheat kernel in their original proportions, while wheat bran products only use the outer layer. Whole wheat products have more nutrients and fiber than wheat bran products. This is not to say foods containing wheat bran are not fibrous, just less fibrous than whole wheat and adding wheat bran to other foods is a great way of increasing your daily intake of fiber.

A nutrition & calorie counting app' called NutraCheck is currently offering 1 week's free trial and discount on it's annual subscription, i.e. 1 Year for just £27.99!

I highly recommend this app', here's a link to their page:

Nutracheck - Keeping track of your diet Try FREE for 7 days. Track what you eat with our calorie counter and food diary - just 10 minutes a day.

I'm often asked what's the secret to successful weight loss? My answer - you must WANT to! If you are committed and determined, then everything else will fall into place, no matter what life throws you.

ACCEPT THIS CHALLENG AND RECEIVE A FREE NUTRITION CONSULTATION:

Not sure why you are putting on weight? Feel you are eating sensibly portioned healthy foods?

Then here's a challenge for you - take a photo of everything you eat and drink for the next week (see my samples below) and then share your photo's on this page?

* All consultations are by appointment M-F at my studio in NR3.

Are you fed up with being overweight but don't want to "give up" fast food or cakes?

Think about this for a moment - when we give up highly processed foods high in fat, sugar and salt, we get back soooo much more but this can be hard to imagine.

If you are ready for change but not sure where to start, why not get in touch for a friendly, non- judgmental, FREE WhatsApp chat?

When planning healthy meals, remember you are not tied by tradition. For example, breakfast does not have to be cereal or toast. Have you tried cottage cheese (full fat) with chunks of juicy pineapple?

If you keep your pantry staples well stocked, you will always be able to turn nothing into something. I took the items depicted, finely diced them (so all the same size) and then added a clove of finely chopped garlic and root ginger, dash of grape balsamic vinegar, pinch of salt and twist of black pepper from my pantry to make a very tasty salad.

When you start to make a basic stock and it tastes so good you just have to eat it! Opps!

If you are serious about eating healthier, set yourself up for a "win" by preparing like a "boss". Meal planning and batch cooking are two great ways to ensure you have healthy meals ready when you need them.

Love curry but watching your weight? You don't have to miss out, just think outside the box. I made the dish depicted using a mango which refused to ripen, heaped teaspoon of pre-mixed curry spices, little coconut milk and chickpeas. All served with green beans, yum.

Paprika chicken with peppers on a bed of salad topped off with Greek yoghurt and fresh chives.

It can be tiresome having to come up with new meal ideas and therefore tempting to op for something unhealthy. Don't panic, creating new flavours is more simple than you think. Just adding half a chopped bell pepper to this salmon dish for example, transformed how it tasted.

Because bacon is a processed meat, try not to eat it too often. When you do, why not use it in a stir fry to pack in some healthy veggies.

With energy prices at an all time high, have you considered dusting off your slow cooker or investing in a pressure cooker. Both these cooking appliances not only save energy and or time but help reduce the loss of nutrients when cooking.
You may also be able to save a few pounds by keeping your eye out for bargains in charity shops or online preloved sites. I managed to pick up this new pressure cooker from Facebook Market Place for just £5!

Smoked Mackerel Pate.

This has to be one of the quickest, easiest and tastiest things I've made. Perfect as a light meal for one, or snack for two.

1 smoked mackerel filet (skin off, bones removed)
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
4 twists of black pepper
1 heaped tsp creamed horse radish
1 rounded tblsp mayo
Fresh herbs - I used thyme and marjoram

Using a hand/stick blender, blitz everything in a tall container (do not add any salt).

Serve with toasted whole meal bread and sliced cucumber.

When you end up with a bit of a disappointing pineapple, don't bin it, it's packed with gut friendly fiber. Simply sprinkle with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and a drizzle of honey and bake until tender.

Did you know we are all born with the same metabolic rate?

It's at it's fastest from birth to 1 year, from 30 remains the same until 60, then decreases by 17% until death.

However, if we are overweight, this slows our metabolism! So the more fat you are carrying, the harder it is to lose weight.

But the good news is we have two kinds of fat, brown (energy burning) and white (energy storage) and in simple terms, the brown will "eat" the white fat if we feed it the food it wants. It's very similar to feeding your gut microbiome healthy foods so the good bacteria kills the harmful bacteria.

So which foods should you eat or avoid? No surprises if I tell you processed foods high in fat, sugar and additives and low in fiber results in your body storing white fat and whole foods will feed the brown fat resulting in weigh loss when eaten in appropriate portions. Increasing exercise, however little, will also result in an short increase in your metabolic rate.

So, when trying to lose weight, it's not all about counting calories as not all calories are equal!

If you'd like to know more, please post your question below or send me a pm.