Well it isn’t particularly wintery yet, but the change of season and shorter days seems to send us looking for more substantial food. If you love your salads still, by all means keep them up and make the most of the mild weather.

Eat seasonally; at this time of year meaning that the seasonal fruits available now are apples, pears, kiwifruit and mandarins. Winter veggies are the brassica family – cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, etc. Pumpkins are plentiful and cheap right now too.

For breakfast, porridge and Weetbix with hot milk are a warming start to the day. Be aware though that there are some new varieties of Weetbix on the market, all of which are higher in energy that the plain, older variety. The Weetbix Blends come in three varieties and whereas two of the plain Weetbix are 104 calories, the Blends ones range from 144 calories to 186 calories for two biscuits.

When it comes to porridge, the more coarse varieties of oats are a better choice than the finely ground instant oats, like those found in the sachets of oats.  Oats and Weetbix are the cheapest, most filling breakfast options around, far less expensive than the boxed cereals.

Keep your porridge interesting by mixing up the basic ingredients. Try taking some of the oats out and replacing them with sunflower seeds or wheatgerm. Or LSA or chia seeds. I like soaking my rolled oats in a little cold water the night before and then cooking them in the morning. I’m sure they are creamier that way.

Soup is always popular on a cold day and it’s a great way to use up any veggies lingering in the fridge.  Try making a really big pot of veggie soup and then adding some cooked, shredded chicken to a bowl full, to bump up the protein.

Roasting pumpkin, carrots, onion and garlic, before using them in soup makes for a really tasty finished item, here is a recipe for roasted pumpkin soup.

Yesterday I thought I’d give making a pizza with a cauliflower base a go and it turned out really well.