Dry January didn’t last as long as we’d hoped chez Season’s Eatings, in fact it barely kicked off. Instead we’re embarking on a journey we’re calling #FitnessFebruary.

We generally try to be healthy but when someone puts a recipe for a new cake in front of you, you have to cook it and eat it…and then have seconds (and thirds) if it’s very good. So this month we’re trying to demonstrate a modicum of restraint by going to the gym regularly, giving up alcohol and fatty foods and sugar (goodbye cake, chocolate and pies) and instead are going to eat high-protein meals three times a day with low carbs plenty of vegetables. To help us through this journey, we’ve picked out 5 products that we’ve re-discovered or just can’t live without.

Coconut oil

Last year’s fastest-growing food phenomenon, coconut oil, is at the top of our list. We love coconut, whether it be shredded it and added to porridge or into curries, drinking the juice from a fresh one or even cooking with coconut oil. The intense aromas and flavours this adds to dishes is très agréable to the palate and works particularly well for south asian curries, so we see this food item becoming even more popular in 2016.

It’s also fascinating because it is set until it reaches 24ºC, it’s melting point and has a very high smoking point too – useful for cooking. The only downside is the high saturated fat content, so do use sparingly!

Our latest batch is Organic Virgin Coconut Oil from Bulk Powders, retailing at £9.99 for 460g. http://www.bulkpowders.co.uk/organic-virgin-coconut-oil.html

Bulk Powders Snack Bars

Although we are quite good at meal plans here at Season’s Eatings, we are always on the go between work, a social life and the gym. Particularly when it comes to the gym, or going out for a run, getting in some protein a couple of hours before can be difficult. We occasionally resort to carrying a couple of boiled eggs around for that protein fix, but these High Protein Snack bars from Bulk Powders, at 27g of protein per bar, are even more delicious and avoid any eggy smells too!

Bulk Powders currently retail a box of 12 for £19.99 in Chocolate Praline, Chocolate Orange or Strawberries and Cream flavour – our favourite being the Chocolate Praline. More information here: http://www.bulkpowders.co.uk/high-protein-snack-bars-box-of-12.html

B.Fresh Rock The Beets juice

We love juices and smoothies here at Season’s Eatings – we’re a Vitamix fan, sorry NutriBullet, but whatever your choice of food processor, we would always suggest a mix of vegetables and fruit, rather than just fruit alone. We find this provides a greater variety of nutrients and also mean’s we’re not getting a sugar rush from too many natural fruit sugars. In particular one of our favourite healthy juices involves beetroot. We’ve not managed to get a beetroot smoothie recipe that we’re totally happy though, but we have discovered B.Fresh RockTheBeets cold-pressed juice, which is made from beetroot, apple, spinach & lemon.

We’ve found B.Fresh RockTheBeets juice in many Sainsbury’s around London and in some Asda stores, or can be ordered online from B.Fresh themselves, as part of their cold-pressed range: http://www.b-fresh.co.uk.

Whole Earth 3 Nut Butter

Peanut butter – always the crunchy variety – is an absolute store cupboard essential chez Season’s Eatings. We use it in many recipes (Peanut Butter & White Chocolate Blondies for example), often add a dollop into protein shakes and will quite liberally spread it on toast with Nutella. There is regular peanut butter and there’s Whole Earth 3 nut butter made from a blend of cashews, peanuts and hazelnuts. The combination of nutty flavours takes this essential ingredient to a whole new level of nuttiness, and for any peanut butter fans this is a must try.

More information is available on the Whole Earth website, here: http://shop.wholeearthfoods.com/products/whole-earth-three-nut-butter-227-g

Chia seeds

You might read this and think we’ve gone all hessian weave, but hear us out. We love pies, chocolate, cakes and all fresh vegetables that we can get our hands on at Season’s Eatings – in short there’s no single ingredient we wouldn’t try to cook with at least once and the same goes for nuts and seeds. We often top soups or roasted vegetables with a mixture of seeds for a bit of extra crunch, flavour and nutrition. Chia seeds in particular are a great addition to smoothies, jams and porridge as they are a great source of Omega 3, fibre and protein.

Our latest packet is organic – a PureDiet brand, which we picked up from WholeFoods. http://www.thepurediet.co.uk