Shrove Tuesday is synonymous with pancake eating and the start of LENT in the Christian calendar. At the end of LENT everyone looks forward to celebrating Easter and being able to enjoy some tasty treats.

Below is a recipe you might enjoy…. (Easter Biscuits). If you prefer the recipe not to be gluten free and dairy free you can modify it – i.e. instead of dairy free margarine just use regular margarine.

After Easter and with a change of season, it is the perfect time to get back to a healthy diet (most of the time). It is also the perfect opportunity to get your house in order – cleaning, de-cluttering and sorting out the kitchen cupboards.

Here are some easy tips to help you…

1. Throw away out of date foods – remember to wash and recycle the packaging

2. Fill the cupboards with nutritious convenience foods to ensure healthy food choices on busy days

• tinned tomatoes/passata
• tinned beans – butter beans, kidney beans, mixed beans, baked beans
• tinned fish
• wholemeal pasta and rice
• quinoa, millet, pearl barley and oats
• dried red lentils
• dried herbs
• tinned sweetcorn
• tinned tuna, salmon, mackerel and other fish

3. Fill the freezer with nutritious ingredients that can be easily added to soups, stews and casseroles or eaten as part of a meal

• frozen smoothie mixes
• frozen vegetables
• frozen fish
• frozen herbs

4. Set aside 10 minutes a day for a week to get started

Tanya Wright – HCPC Specialist Dietitian – NHS and Private Practice
www.tzlaces.com

Spiced Easter Biscuits

Wheat free, Gluten free, Dairy free, Soya free, Egg free, Nut free

Ingredients

110g/4oz dairy free soya free margarine

110g/4oz soft light brown sugar

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp vanilla essence

110g/4oz wheat free flour

75g/30z millet flakes, quinoa flakes or gluten free oats

150g/6oz raisins

Grated zest of one orange

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1/8^th teaspoon mixed spice

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190c
2. Cream together dairy free margarine and sugar
3. Add vanilla essence, raisins and millet/quinoa/oats
4. Add baking powder, bicarb and flour, zest and spices, and mix to form a dough ball
5. Split dough into 20 walnut sized balls
6. Place on greased baking tray and press into flat discs
7. Bake for 8 – 12 minutes until golden but still soft to touch
8. Leave on tin until cool to prevent crumbling