Obesity is one of the greatest public health challenges of the 21st century. In many European countries, its prevalence has tripled since the 1980s, and the numbers of those affected?are rising at an alarming rate, particularly among children and young people.

If you're worried about your eating habits and want to change your diet to include some healthier foods, follow are tips for healthy eating!

Breakfast ideas

You might have heard people say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Why do you think this is? Normally when you wake in the morning you wouldn?t have eaten for many hours, so now is the time to give your body some fuel, give it a boost to kick start your day!

Even if you are the type of person who feels sick at the very thought of breakfast try to eat something nutritious like a piece of fruit or some wholemeal toast with honey. This will get your system moving and provide you with energy. A healthy breakfast will not make you fat and can even help if you are struggling with your weight.

When you eat a healthy breakfast you are much less likely to feel hungry during the morning and to fill up on sugary or fatty foods.

This breakfast cereal is made from oats and is very simple to make. Measure half a bowlful of oats into a saucepan or microwaveable dish. Fill up the bowl again with milk or with a mixture of water and milk and add to the oats. Heat the oats in the saucepan for 7-8 minutes orin the microwave for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on it to watch it doesn?t boil too fast. The oats will thicken up and you can sweeten the porridge with a spoonful of honey, low sugar jam or brown sugar. If you like you may add some milk. This will help cool the dish and add flavour.

You don?t need directions for this! Choose an unsweetened cereal, preferably wholegrain and certainly not one that is purple with chocolate pieces! If you do need to add sugar, use brown as it is less processed than white.

Again, you hardly need instructions for this. Two slices of wholemeal toast with a small amount of butter or flora margarine and some marmalade, low sugar jam, honey or marmite. Much healthier choices than chocolate spread or marshmallow fluff!

Even the great English breakfast can be nutritious if you prepare it correctly and don?t have it too often. Lean bacon and low fat sausages are readily available and can be grilled instead of fried. Eggs may be poached, boiled or even scrambled. Add plenty of vegetables (baked beans, tomatoes, mushrooms) and you are well on your way to a balanced meal!

Lunch ideas

Lunchtime is a time to unwind, catch up with your friends and perhaps enjoy the outside. All the energy obtained from your breakfast is almost gone so now is the time to have a healthy balanced meal and charge up your energy batteries once more!

If you don?t like sandwiches or perhaps fancy a change, you could try a salad. Try cooked pasta shapes, rice or boiled new potatoes. Add cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, red onions, tuna, shredded ham, cheese. Again the list is endless so let your imagination go wild!

You should always try to drink plenty of water during your day and always with a meal. Artificial juices and fizzy drinks are very sweet and contain a lot of ?hidden? sugars. So pick a fresh fruit drink or smoothie instead. Keep the fizzy drinks for a special treat.

Snacks

? 360g plain wholemeal flour

? 2tsp baking powder

? 1tsp bicarbonate of soda

? 100g brown sugar

? 100g muesli or porridge oats

? 3 medium eggs

? 120 ml sunflower or vegetable oil

? 100g honey

? 3 large bananas, mashed

? 200g chopped almonds or walnuts (or pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, raisins, sultanas, dried apricots or anything else that appeals)

Switch the oven on to 190 C0 or gas mark 5. Line a muffin tin with 12 large muffin papers or put 15 fairy cake cases on a baking tray depending on what size muffin you would like.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Now add in the sugar, nuts, seeds or dried fruit and muesli or oats. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, oil, honey and bananas.

Tip the wet ingredients into the dry ones. Mix together very quickly. Spoon the mixture into the muffin or cake cases, filling them 3/4 full. Cook for 20 - 30 minutes or until the muffins have turned golden brown. (Larger muffins will take slightly longer than fairy-cake sized ones). To test if they are cooked properly, insert the point of a knife into the middle of the muffin, if it comes out clean they are ready. If the knife comes out a little sticky put them back in for a few more minutes. ENJOY!

Choose any fruit you like (strawberries, bananas, mangos, kiwis) and whizz them up in a blender with a small pot of preferably natural yoghurt and half a glass of semi skimmed milk. Add a teaspoon of honey for extra sweetness and a handful of nuts or muesli for variety.

It?s important to remember the food pyramid when you are planning an evening meal. Try to include a wide range of foods from the carbohydrate, protein and fruit and vegetable sections and limit ingredients that are high in fat or sugar.

Here?s a recipe for pasta to get you started:

For each person you?re cooking for you will need:

1 slice of lean back bacon (unless your family is vegetarian, in which case omit the bacon and skip step 2 of the recipe)

1/2 tin of chopped tomatoes

1/2 red or yellow pepper, sliced

100g spaghetti or any other shape of pasta you like

You will also need:

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar

On a medium setting, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or frying pan. Cut any visible fat off the bacon and cut the meat into strips. Add to the olive oil and for 3-4 minutes until they are light pink and turning golden brown.

Add the red or yellow peppers and chopped garlic cloves and cook for 5 minutes, keeping the lid on until the pepper has softened. Keep checking and stirring to make sure the pepper doesn?t burn.

Add the chopped tomatoes to the saucepan with the teaspoon of sugar and cook for 15 minutes this time without the lid. Stir from time to time until some of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce has thickened.

Turn down the heat to allow the sauce to simmer (small, slow bubbles!). While the sauce is simmering, cook your pasta according to the instructions on the packet. When the pasta is ready, drain the water off and tip the pasta into the sauce. Stir well so that the sauce covers the pasta. Serve quickly with some grated cheese and black pepper.

Dessert Ideas

Desserts can often be high in sugar and fat so you need to keep an eye on the size of your portion! Not all desserts have to be bad for you though and there are many simple nd healthy alternatives to ice-cream and processed diary desserts. Here are some ideas you can try.

For each person you are cooking for you will need:

1 medium cooking apple

1 small handful raisins (about 15g)

tablespoon porridge oats

1 teaspoon runny honey

Natural yoghurt to serve

1. Heat the oven to 190
C or Gas Mark 5.

2. Remove the apple cores with a potato peeler or sharp knife. Cut through the skin of the apples with a sharp knife round the centre of the apple.

3. Put the apples upright on a baking tray or ovenproof dish and add a little cold water just enough to cover the base of the dish.

4. Mix the raisins, porridge oats and honey in a bowl then fill the empty cores of the apples with the mixture packing it right down.

5. Bake in the centre of the oven for 40 minutes.

6. Serve hot with the yoghurt.

Couldn?t be simpler! All you need to do is chop fruit! Bananas, apples, oranges, mangos, grapes, strawberries, kiwi, raspberries?and anything that you would normally enjoy eating. Chop the pieces into roughly the same size and put them in a bowl. It is a good idea to add some fresh orange juice as this helps preserve the fruit naturally. Maybe add some frozen sorbet or natural yoghurt.

Following the instructions on the packet make some custard with half a litre of semi-skimmed milk and allow it to cool. Chop up half a banana for each person eating and stir into the cooled custard. Spoon into individual bowls and serve.

Fast food ideas

If you?re feeling sad at the idea of never eating fast food again, please don?t! There is nothing wrong with the occasional hamburger or pizza, particularly if you make it yourself. Think about it?- a low-fat beef burger counts as protein, the burger bun as carbohydrate and the salad as a portion of vegetables!

Therefore a balanced, nutritious, healthy meal. You have to remember that it is not necessarily the food itself that it is bad, but the way in which the food is cooked. Even potato wedges can be healthy if you cook them in the oven instead of frying them.

For each person you are cooking for you will need:

2-3 medium sized potatoes

1 teaspoon olive or vegetable oil

Heat Preheat the oven to 240
C or Gas mark 9. Cut the potatoes into wedges - there?s no need to peel them. Just give them a thorough wash and remove any bruises. Bring a large saucepan of slightly salted water to the boil. Add the wedges and cook. Bring a large saucepan of slightly salted water to the boil. Add the wedges and cook? for 4 minutes. Drain and leave aside for 10 minutes to dry. Spread the wedges over a baking tray and drizzle the oil over them. Stir the wedges round with your fingers so that they are all lightly covered in oil and then bake them in the oven for 20-25 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides.

Choose a good quality beef burger (preferably one with less than 5% fat), or your favourite veggie burger and cook under the grill. Pile up a burger bun (wholemeal is best, of course!) with lots of salad made from lettuce, cucumber, tomato, onion, gherkin, grated carrot, sweet corn or anything else you fancy. When your burger is thoroughly cooked, serve it in the bun with some tomato ketchup or relish.

Heat the oven to 200 C or Gas Mark what?. Take a wholemeal French stick and split in half. You could also use pita bread or a bagel. Spread a layer of tomato paste onto the bread or some tomatoes you have chopped yourself. You can also use tinned chopped tomatoes, just drain the juice off. Now add your favourite pizza combination! Try some slices of ham with pineapple, or chicken with barbeque sauce. Spicy meats can really liven up a pizza or make it fishy by adding some tuna. But don?t forget the vegetables!

Mushrooms, sweet corn, peppers and olives, maybe even add some more tomato. Now all that is left to do is top the pizza with some grated cheese. Mozzarella is the traditional pizza cheese, but cheddar is equally as tasty. Look out for the low fat versions in the shops to ensure the fat content is kept low. Cook in the oven or under a low grill for 10 minutes until the bread is crispy and the cheese is golden brown. Add a side salad and once again you have created a balanced nutritious meal!