Method

1. Heat oil in a large pot and saute onion, leek and celery until the onion has gone translucent.
2. Add the cauliflower, cover the pot and allow to cook over a medium heat.
3. Add chicken stock and enough water to just cover the cauliflower. Bring to the boil.
4. Reduce to a low to medium heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Blend using a stick blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

• Sweetcorn and barley salad. This salad makes a great low GI meal accompaniment and is perfect for serving at a braai. Mix together 1 sliced English cucumber, 2 cups of cooked barley, 2 cups of drained tinned sweetcorn and ¾ cup of chopped red peppers. For the dressing, mix together 3 tablespoons of white vinegar, 1 tablespoon of water, 1 ½ teaspoons of olive oil, ½ teaspoon of dried basil, ¼ teaspoon of salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper. Taste the dressing and if you find it too tart, add ½ teaspoon of fructose. Pour the dressing over the salad and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours before serving.
• Fresh vegetable soup. In a large pot, place a range of chopped veggies of your choice (e.g. leeks, carrots, green beans, mushrooms, spinach, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, baby marrow and celery) until tender. Add about 2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock and enough water to cover the vegetables. If you like a tomato flavour, you can add a tin of tomato and onion mix as well. Season with salt, pepper and herbs of your choice. Bring to the boil for about 10 minutes and then allow to simmer on a lower heat for another 10 to 15 minutes or until all the vegetables are soft. This soup can also be frozen in portions for a quick meal at a later stage.
• Make your salad more interesting by adding unusual ingredients. For example, try including veggies raw that you’d usually eat cooked (e.g. asparagus, broccoli, baby marrow and cauliflower).You could even use spinach leaves instead of lettuce leaves.

Fresh ideas with fruit
 
Fruit makes a tasty and convenient snack. Try these unusual ways of preparing fruit for a new and exciting snack:

• Baked fruit slices. Cut apples, pears or peaches into chunks, brush lightly with canola oil and sprinkle generously with cinnamon. Place the fruit pieces on a baking tray and bake until tender.
• Citrus fruit dip. Mix together ½ cup low-fat or fat-free citrus-flavoured (e.g. naartjie flavoured) yoghurt, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Serve with pineapple pieces, strawberries, papaya chunks, sliced bananas and grapes.
• Fruity ice lollies. Blend together sliced strawberries and bananas, ¼ cup fresh orange juice, and ¾ cup low-fat or fat-free strawberry yogurt until smooth. Pour the mixture into plastic ice lolly moulds (available at most supermarkets) and freeze until completely frozen.
• Fruity salad. Add sliced strawberries, naartjie segments or apple slices to your salad.
• Grilled fruit kebabs. Thread cubes of fruit (e.g. sweetmelon, spanspek, pineapple, mango, banana, apples, pear or plums) onto skewers. Place skewers on a baking tray and sprinkle lightly with brown sugar. Grill for about 2 minutes on each side or until the sugar has begun to bubble slightly
• Berry delight. Defrost 2 cups of frozen berries and place in an oven-proof dish. Sprinkle with ⅛ teaspoon of cinnamon and top with ⅓ cup of low GI or low fat muesli. Bake at 180°C for about 30 minutes or until the berries are bubbling. Serve with low-fat or fat-free ice cream or yoghurt

 3. Fact or fallacy: Certain foods have “negative calories”
Fallacy. The concept of “negative calories” is based on the premise that certain foods (e.g. celery, cucumber and lettuce) are so low in calories that you burn more calories digesting them than the foods themselves contain. This would be great it were true, but unfortunately the idea of negative calories is indeed a myth. These foods are great, however, for providing fibre and they also have a high water content, but they won’t significantly boost your metabolism.
 
4. Fact or fallacy: Eating approximately 6 small meals a day has a metabolism-boosting effects
Fact. Keeping your meals small and frequent is essential for a revved metabolism. Many people skip meals as a weight-loss strategy, figuring the less food they eat, the more weight they’ll lose. This is, however, not the case. By skipping meals, it causes your body to go for long stretches without food. This is turn results in your body going into starvation mode. In other words, your body is not able to rely on a constant food source, and therefore it needs to conserve energy and store any food it does get. The result is a decrease in metabolism and an increase in fat storage. Therefore, by having small regular meals that are well-balanced in protein, slow-release carbohydrates, and small quantities of healthy fats, you can be assured that your metabolism will be constantly fuelled. Small regular meals will also keep your energy levels up throughout the day, which in turn will enable you to perform at your peak in your post-work workout.
 
5. Fact or fallacy: Increasing your physical activity can increase your metabolic rate
Fact. High physical activity levels are an invaluable component of getting your metabolism going. Even if you already diligently follow a formal exercise program, it is not good enough to sit at a desk the entire day, go to gym for an hour and then sit in front of the TV for the rest of the evening. Increasing physical activity means adding more movement to your entire day. For example, do calf raises while brushing your teeth, take the stairs not the lift, do bicep curls with 1.5l bottles of water while watching TV, tap your foot while at your desk, or bounce around to the radio during rush-hour traffic. Warning: observers may think you’re off your rocker, but at least you know you’re giving your metabolism a boost!
 
6. Fact or fallacy: You can boost your metabolism by increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables
Fact. You most likely are already aware that fruits and vegetables are the ideal low-calorie food – they’re virtually fat-free and high in fibre. Very importantly however, fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals, which your metabolism needs to function properly. It therefore goes without saying that if you don’t get enough of these nutrients, your metabolism will be affected. If you’re not a fruit and veggie fan, there are many easy ways to add them to your diet without you even noticing.
Fruit: Most fruit is quite portable and therefore makes the ideal snack. You can also chop up fruit and add it to your breakfast cereal, or throw some fruit and yogurt into the blender for a quick nutrient-rich smoothie.
Vegetables: In the cold winter months, there is nothing better than a warm, wholesome vegetable soup. Experiment with different vegetables to find the combinations of veggies you prefer. Stir-fries are a great, quick way to get in your vegetables. Also, try cut-up raw vegetables as crudités and some fat-free cottage cheese as a dip. Then of course there’s always the good ol’ faithful salads, which you can spice up by adding different vegetables and proteins. For example, try a grilled fresh tuna salad, or a chickpea and feta salad.    
 
7. Fact or fallacy: Women shouldn't be afraid to build muscle to boost your metabolism
Fact. Many women shy away from weight-training as they are afraid of building big bulky muscles. However, women are not hormonally-wired to build muscle in this way. Testosterone is responsible for this kind of muscle development, and women do not have significant amounts of this hormone, which would precipitate excessive muscle development. Rather, weight-training will help to increase your muscle mass resulting in a more lean, toned, defined appearance. Also, muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue, so it burns more calories even at rest. Therefore, building muscle will in turn boost your metabolism.
 
8. Fact or Fallacy: Weight loss can boost your metabolism
Fallacy. Weight loss can actually lower your metabolic rate – especially if you resort to crash diets or other extreme measures in order to lose weight. This is due to the fact that crash diets cause one to lose muscle in addition to fat. As mentioned above, having a good muscle mass increases your metabolic rate, therefore losing muscle will decrease your metabolic rate. Therefore, it is important to avoid crash diets or any diets offering rapid weight loss and rather aim for eating plans offering safer and sustainable weight loss (i.e. a loss of 0.5 to 1 kg per week) while keeping up a regular exercise routine.
 
By following the above tips, you’ll find your metabolism is boosted, your energy levels are upped, leaving those with their “sluggish” metabolisms behind in your dust!