A Healthy Balance

At the TableTop Cooking Company we know it's possible to enjoy your food and eat a healthy diet. That's why we love Rondue – because it's a naturally healthy grill that doesn't need too much fat. Here are a few more tips to help you get a more balanced diet.
 

Five-a-day

Five portions a day might sound a lot, but with a little imagination it's easy to squeeze more fruit and veg into your diet.

• Add tasty grilled veg to your pasta sauces
• Try carrot, corn or celery sticks with one of our dip recipes
• Grab a glass of OJ with your meals (it counts as one portion!)
• Soft fruits cook perfectly on the Rondue – add to porridge on cold winter mornings or in summer, contrast the warm juicy flavours with cold ice cream!

Salt

Food needs to be seasoned to taste its best, and we need salt in our diets to help us absorb other nutrients and help our muscles and nerves work properly. But too much salt can lead to high blood pressure, which increases our chance of a heart attack or stroke. Most of us eat too much salt, not only because we add it to our food, but because ready-made food like bread, biscuits, breakfast cereals and ready meals already contain too much.

The quickest way to cut back is to eat fewer processed foods, add less salt to your food and steer clear of salty snacks. Instead of going overboard on the salt, try using other herbs and spices to add flavour. Try our spice mix recipes for some ideas!
 

Fats

We need fats in our diet to stay healthy, but while some contain those essential ingredients, others are downright bad for us. Unsaturated fat is good; it lowers blood cholesterol and helps get vitamins around our bodies. It's usually liquid at room temperature, like olive oil and vegetable oil, and can be found in oily fish.

Saturated fat can increase your cholesterol and lead to heart disease if you eat too much. It's usually solid at room temperature, like butter, lard and coconut cream, and can be found in cakes, biscuits, pastry and cheese. Trans fats or hydrogenated fats are chemically altered and artificially produced. They have no nutritional value and have been linked to high cholesterol. You'll find them in processed foods, baked goods and full-fat margarine – try to avoid anything with ‘hydrogenated’ in the ingredients. You can cut down on fat by using leaner cuts of meat, cutting back on cakes, pastries and pies, and poaching, baking or grilling food – why not try the Rondue!