Unlimited Soup recipe
2 stock cubes (or equivalent)
2 litres of water
500g of frozen vegetables
Spices of your choice

Simply boil it up and take to it with your stick blender to make it as smooth or chunky as you prefer.

When you've got a sedentary job or are needing to do more exercise to lose weight, look for any excuse for a walk.

Any destination that's within 20-30 minutes can become an excuse for a health stretch of the legs making a 40-60 minute round trip.

• Need milk? - walk to the store.
  
• Walk together to the movies - you can review it together on the way home.
  
• Need cash from the ATM - walk there for it.
  
• Take a pre-work walk to get a surprise treat for the kids' lunchbox from the bakery.
  
• Close enough to walk to work - do it.
  
• Park in the far corner of the carpark.
  
• Walk around the field while your kids are at sports practice.
• Use the stairs instead of the lift.

Start the New Year with fresh inspiration in the kitchen to help create achieve your health and weight management goals.  Whether you're trying to lose the few kilos added over the festive season or have a bigger battle ahead - equip yourself with new ideas and recipes to support your weight loss target.

One of our recent favourite vege gadgets is the Nicer Dicer.  In essence you force the fruits or vegetables through sharp cutting blades in a variety of shapes into the storage container below.  There are blades for quartering and wedges as well as slicing and four different dicing sizes. There's also attachments for grating and mandolin fine slicing plus a peeler included.  
It can be quite loud as you slam the top down to force firmer vegetables through the blades - that being said its speed and versatility make it worth while.
The Nicer Dicer has one of those hard-sell "but wait there's more" videos which you can see here - but don't be put off - it's a great gadget for fruit and vegetable preparation.
It's available from lots of retailers or online.

To have any real chance of success with weight management you need to embrace vegetables!

Quite apart from their significant nutritional value, they are one of the best means of feeling full at the end of a meal without overdoing the more calorie heavy carbohydrates and proteins.

The key is not to settle into vege routine and to have a pantry full of condiments to make your veges sing! No over cooked watery veges like mother used to make and there are a few sneaky tricks we can share too.

Watch out for more posts in the coming weeks on:

• Great low cal condiments
  
• Super Easy Soups
  
• Vegetable Cookbooks
  
• Salad Surprises
  
• Vege Gadgetry and
  
• Vegetable Taste Carriers

Who doesn't like candy, lollies, sweets and chocolate? Many of us have a sweet tooth but you don't have to do without candy completely if you're trying to lose weight - you may however need to change your attitude to sweets. Try these tips:

Stop thinking of sweets as food. They are edible obviously but they're certainly not meant to be a meal. Perhaps view a small quantity as a weekly treat or reward.
Avoid eating candy if you're hungry - eat real nutritious food instead.
Don't eat sweets from the packet - you'll end up eating too much. Use a tiny dish or saucer and allow yourself just a small quantity.
Eat your lollies slowly - see how long each can last in your mouth. Savour the taste and only reach for the next when the taste of the previous one is disappearing.
Choose sweets that last. Two pieces of hard boiled candy can last for ages and satisfy your sweet tooth.
Consider buying sugar free candy. You should still only have a small portion though a) to lessen your sweet habit and b) because excessive amounts of some artificial sweeteners have a laxative effect.
Find natural alternatives like berries, mandarins, honey sweetened tea.

Are there any tips you have for keeping your sweet cravings in check? Share your suggestions in the comments section below.

How many of you have looked at the number of servings on food packages and thought - yeah right!

Ok if you've got growing teens, super active athletes or giant sized frames those portion sizes may not be enough - but for most of us they really are.  Often we eat more just because it's there, it tastes good and we're used to that size meal.

Here are some ideas for reducing your portion sizes:

• Try following the serving sizes on food packs for at least a week and up-size the meal with your favourite non-starchy vegetables.
  
• Use smaller crockery to reduce how much you serve. It's just a visual trick but can work if you're used to cleaning your plate. Invest in salad plates (sized between a bread & butter plate and a dinner plate) and use a modest sized dessert bowl for pasta or curries.
• Slow down & Avoid Seconds. Your body will signal that it's had enough but it needs a little time to digest and send you the signal.
  
• Slow down & Savour every mouthful. Yes it tastes good - no excuse for eating more than you should.
  
• Measure. Keep a good set of measuring cups/spoons handy and a digital kitchen scale. Use them to cook to the correct measure and to measure out your servings.
  
• Don't let your lunch grow to the size of a dinner - or if it is, scale your "dinner" back to what you'd call a supper.
• Don't eat snacks or treats from the pack. Serve a small bowl of chips or a tiny dish of sweets to share rather than opening a large pack - they are moreish and packs tend to end up empty.
  
• Small multi-packs save money. Per gram they may cost more but you don't save money if you eat more than you should. Alternatively buy large packs and snack bags or containers and make small portion sized servings.

Any other ideas that you use to reduce your portion sizes? Share your suggestions in the comments section below.