The Wellness Scoop - Fibre Hacks, Healthy Swaps & Fresh vs Frozen

Episode Date: July 30, 2026

Can a fibre drink really help you hit your daily target? Are frozen vegetables just as healthy as fresh? And do you actually need to grind flaxseeds to get the benefits? In this listener Q&A, we answer your biggest nutrition questions—from fibre-enhanced drinks and freeze-dried fruit to frozen vegetables, chia and flaxseeds, and healthy homemade swaps for nostalgic favourites. Expect practical, evidence-based advice to help you build a healthier diet without overcomplicating it. For your 30-day free trial of The Way: https://www.thewayapp.com/wellnessscoop Send your questions for our weekly Q&A to ⁠⁠[e-mail]⁠⁠ For more from Rhi and Ella:  Order your copy of Ella's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quick Wins: Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Order your copy of Rhi's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Fibre Formula⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sign up to ⁠Rhitrition+⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. When your advertising operations fall out of sync, everything else follows. Spotify and Accenture are working together to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales, using automation, analytics, and smarter workflows to simplify campaign delivery and access better data across the business. The result? Less time spent on operations, more time connecting brands with the moments and fandoms that matter most. Learn more at Accenture.com slash Spotify.

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but using the way it's honestly the first time we've become so consistent with this daily practice and I've just seen the most unbelievable results as a result of that. The app is just incredible. And what I love is every day you open it and there's a meditation waiting for you. So you don't scroll that you don't have to choose between hundreds of options. There's no wondering what to do. It just takes you on a path. Well, I think that's why it works so well because, you know,

most of us just don't need more big decisions every day to make, Ella. No, exactly that. We've got decision fatigue, haven't we? So this is so nice because you just follow this path of meditation, which is led by Henry, the founder who's just the most amazing teacher, and he makes it seem somehow just incredibly simple, but exceptionally profound at the same time, which is a very rare skill. And I've been using it too.

Yes, I've now finally begun a meditation journey, and I've been doing some of the shorter practices on busy days because I completely understand why you talk about it so much, Ella. It really is a nice intro in for me. Yeah, it is, and I'm so glad. Anyway, it's helped me feel so much calmer, less reactive. more present. It all sounds like huge claims, but I just say, please, please, please try it if you're struggling with stress or overwhelm. You just got to give it a go. And the lovely thing is that

everyone listening can definitely try it themselves. Exactly. So you can get a 30-day free trial, so just try it every day for a month. It'll change your life. All you do is head to thewayapp.com forward slash wellness scoop. Yeah, that's thewayapp.com forward slash wellness scoop. Welcome to the Wellness Cube. You're now twice weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration. With your host, I'm Ella Mel. And I'm Reanne Lambert. And today we go into all of the wonderful listener questions

that you've sent to us and share our recommendations and yours on the show. So let's dive in. Today we're going to talk about our frozen veggies as good and as healthy as fresh. We have had so many questions about flax seeds recently. I think that we talk about them and more questions we get. Now do we need to grind them? More about fibre-enhanced drinks, very big trend at the moment, stuff about freeze-died fruits, puffed grains, processed foods, healthy swaps that we love, so much more.

But, read, before we get into it, have a fact for you. I told you I was reading on Monday an interview with the founders of that company, Health. Anyway, in that article, there was some stats about the size of the UK wellness market. Now, according to the Times, in 2025, the UK alone, the wellness industry, was estimated. at 97 billion as a value, predicted to reach 140 billion, the size of the wellness industry, just in the UK, by 2033. 140 billion. Doesn't even compute in my head.

Crazy. Absolutely crazy. But it links back to our discussion on Monday around, you know, the longevity message spreading across Europe, already in the US, isn't it, with all the injections and things. So it's rising. Interestingly, we're on holiday with some friends from America. earlier in the summer and I was talking to one of them and they were saying yeah peptides everywhere because obviously you have a much bigger private doctor industry obviously

completely different healthcare system than we have here and I think these prescriptions are they are big anyways it's so interesting yeah their view and it was so it's so normalized completely normalized kind of NAD I know NAD plus isn't technically a peptide but I think we can talk about it within that same is the same bucket isn't it exactly Massively. Anyway, that was so interesting. But also, come on, $140 billion. That's not on carrots and chickpeas, is it?

Or beans. Or beans, because actually that's technically, I think, all calculated probably completely separately because that's going to be the size of the grocery market. And so that's actually kind of on gadgets, gizmos, powders, supplements, devices. Potions, lotions. Potions and motions. Anyway, I just, um, save your... There are some things that are worth spending on, and obviously some of it's really fun,

and I totally get it, and I'm not immune to it. But I also think if you're really prioritising health and you're trying to figure out where to spend your budget, good quality food first and foremost 100 times over. And we're here on the wellness groups to send us any things that you see that you think could be contributing to that 140 billion. Okay, and then I'll tell you something else really interesting that I read. What I found really interesting. There was another piece that I read, I think the day before, also in The Times. And the title was, what four oncologists do daily to avoid cancer. Now, I know that's quite a clickbaity headline.

I know these four people are not kind of, they're obviously amazing doctors. They don't know everything. I get it. They don't write the headline either. So they wouldn't have been told probably that was the headline. But it was super interesting to read. I honestly would recommend it if you literally just Google Times, what four oncologists do daily to avoid cancer. You'll find it.

And four of them were different. But there were some real common threads that I thought quite interesting. Number one, and really you're going to love this. they explicitly said we do not take supplements basically. And there was one doctor who had done a trial on some cancer research that had two supplements that were formulated for the trial. They have been tested, kind of very well studied, and he takes those. But otherwise said, I would never take an untested supplement. The other ones in terms of like, I do do this.

I eat lots of fibre. I try and get lots of phytochemicals. I get lots of oily fish in my diet kind of thing. Things I don't do, I don't take supplements. Take synthetic supplements. And I just think like let that sit. Yeah. I'm not saying, you know, no one else knows anything.

But I do just think it's very interesting. You have four respected oncologists who, having spent their whole life studying cancer, obviously at home, take kind of reasonable interventions to look after their health associated with the risk that they're aware of. and they don't take supplements. I know. I think it says a huge amount, doesn't it? And I really wanted to highlight it. Now, obviously, if you're on a vegan diet, B12, very important.

If you don't eat any oily fish, you're probably going to need some omega-3. There's obviously some exceptions of vitamin D in the winter. But this mass market, you know, you can supplement your way around a busy life or not great diet. I just thought it's really interesting. And then the other thing, Reid, that was interesting that they talked about. actually was a collective limiting on household cleaners and environmental toxins. And I do think that's very interesting as well. We've talked about this before.

And it's not to scare all, but the overuse of dettle type products are probably aren't great. I mean, the bleach and the kitchen surface sprays on bare hands every day. It became the norm, didn't it, when they were invented? Because, wow, what a lifesaver. But there's definitely a cause for overuse of exposure to chemicals. And lots of them going back to like homemade solutions. Anyway, I do think it's very, very interesting.

And then there's the obvious they talked about kind of avoiding excessive UPS and sugar, sweetened drinks. Red meat, avoiding chard meat, yeah, red meat, getting in lots of, as I said, phytochemical rich foods, loads of fibre, prebiotics, fermented foods, all of the kind of obvious things. But those are the two interesting points, I think, the avoidance of supplements. And I do just think it is like we just have to remember the marketing on supplements versus the reality. Well, let me play you this clip on supplements. So related to what Ella's just show me, this is now, we've had Kim Kardashian. Oh my gosh, this is the Chloe one. Yeah.

So I came across this video. I mean, it's amazing because I don't follow them. So I'm being pushed them now. Where Chloe Kardashian is holding up a bag of her pills. She's sat in sunglasses and a face mask, holding up her little plastic pot of what looks like about 12 supplements. Let's see what she says. So I take this baggy of vitamins every day and I take them on an empty stomach. And I did this yesterday on set.

Everyone thought this was like, it's. saying that I don't eat before. I guess my body's just trained. I can't even remember what everything is, but I know I have five pills are like a protein amino acid. Four pills are saffron. I take a Q10, something like that. I don't, I think it's for my brain. I don't really know. So as you can tell, I don't actually think she's quite aware of what she's taking in this bag. of pills. But honestly, I know that it's something we can control and it comes back to that psychological component of what can I do in my life every day. And I do completely understand why it may give you a sense of control to be taking lots of supplements that you've seen

celebrities endorsing and taking. But honestly, I think that was a really good shout out that article, Ella. It's just a little reminder they're not panaceas. I totally agree. And I love watching the Kardashians and I don't mean it as any like personal criticism of Chloe I just think it's really symptomatic of an industry where we just think like more is more and more isn't more and these things are expensive we've all fallen into the trap of thinking it will solve a problem but I just don't think supplements are the answer it must be hard being a Kardashian because you're you've probably got everything thrown at you that I don't know how you even decipher evidence anymore when you get to that point in your life but we do have some positive

feedback. So first of all, tons of you have contributed and commented with ideas for our wellness scoot walk. Yes, our big challenge for next year. We've got loads of ideas. This is the first time Ria and I have seen each other. So we're going to chat after we finish recording. We're going to go through and we're going to share some more ideas next week with you guys. We want to hear what you think. But we're super excited to do a challenge together, raise some money for charity. I think it will be amazing. So stay tuned on that. I, Rhee, as a recommendation, okay, so do you remember, we were obviously both obsessed with off-campus. And then I asked, I'm sorry for people who don't like it,

but I asked chat GPT, why should watch next if I loved off-campus? And it told me Maxton Hall. And then I googled and lots of things said, like, if you love off-campus, watch Maxton Hall. Don't. It is so bad. Describe. This is my anti-recommendation.

I actually think I should have looked this up because I'm pretty sure it's a German show that's been dubbed in English. And I don't think, I'm sorry to say, I don't think the dubbing is great. Dubbing is always, do you know, it winds my husband up. I don't mind it with some shows that are really wonderfully done, but you can tell. When you can tell, it's hard to follow.

It's not excellent dubbing, but this is just my unqualified opinion. And it's just so cheesy and so cliched. And like the thing about off-campus that was good is I think it was clever. Like it was a clever rom-com. I think they brought in some interesting themes. It was mature. The topics they were discussing. The characters were gorgeous.

Anyway, with this, it's just like billionaire's son. and then like, you know, the girl done good who got the scholarship and there's clearly some tension. Anyway, I'm only like three episodes in, but it really is. And it's not good, bad. It really is bad. So anyway, I'm sorry to have a good one there. But what is so good? Little House on the Prairie, have you been watching it? Did you read the books? I have known about this for years and never actually watched it. Okay, so I was obsessed with the books growing up, like, obsessed. I think they were the first books that, like, really got me loving reading. I read every single one, like, devoured this. but it's just come out on Netflix and it's so good.

That's what I need to watch. I love all these types of adaptions of novels and stories and I just think, okay, if you recommend that, that's my next watch. Yeah, it's so good, honestly, and it's just like so beautiful. Anyway, there are some kind of like, moments who'd be ready for it. But yeah, I think it's, anyway, I haven't finished it, but I really recommend it.

I'm really loving it. And if anyone else read them growing up, it feels also just like really comforting and nostalgic. I love that. I love it. Okay. Oh, I've got one recommendation as well on skin. So I have not given a skin update. Now, I don't know if I mentioned. Because you were really struggling, right? It was awful. Obviously, I hadn't shared with you all. I was pregnant at the time. And I think my reaction on my chin at the time was linked to pregnancy hormones, the heat wave, excessive use of sun cream, product buildup. And I had what Dr. Thithy said was perioral dermatitis on my heart. chim. It was painful. I can describe it's like it felt like what I thought was acne initially and then so many of you have personally messaged me on social media saying I have

this too. I've experienced this too. And actually mine's completely gone now after I'd say five weeks of using what is pregnancy safe, a zealic acid which thithery recommended. But honestly a game changer and it's really made me realize that you can do far too much to your skin, all I needed was that one little cream morning and night and to be consistent with it. And it's quite demoralising after a week where it's still there, it's red, it's sore. But now it doesn't even tingle when I put it on. You can't see it. Well, I don't have any bumps.

It's like smooth again. It's unbelievable how I went from that awful chin, which was, it was bad, everybody. Like, to me, it was bad. Anyway, seek professional advice of your skincare and don't go to TikTok was my message to come back to you with that. because when I looked it up on social media, wow, there was some interesting remedies, and potions that people were using for this specific type of condition, which is actually very common that people can get.

Azeleic acid. I love it. Okay, and then I asked a question to you, didn't I, the other day, because obviously I was starting my screen pre-summer. So just a recap on that, because Rhee has brought me a voice note for my question, because we've now had so many questions from you guys, curious about the same thing.

So basically, I've got two children, children, they are five, nearly six and seven now. Oh my goodness, Mays Sky will be seven next Monday when this comes out. A few days after this comes out. And basically, I just find screens really difficult. They watch things that I'm not necessarily a humongous fan of. Obviously, you know, there's parental controls in place and things like that, but I just don't love like the kind of element of just the endless scroll of Netflix,

the fact that they can shop and change every four minutes, the idea that when they're bored they can just put on TV, the fact that TV never, it just sort of stays and stays. It's so easy to kind of sleepwalk into boundary-less screen time, I think, was what I discovered. So I said, okay, we're not all having screens this summer. The only time we use screens is if we sit down together properly as a family and we watch something. And so we watch proper movies.

There are so many good movies out there, all those Pixar-type movies, which we're really enjoying. It's not like never, but it's very controlled and it's limited. And it's so interesting after basically a month now, it has had such a positive impact on creative play, on independence. I think it was this thing where it was like sometimes, you know, on a Saturday morning you're really exhausted and it's just easier to say yes to the screen.

But actually it made it so much harder. Whereas now, because they know it's not an option, they'll just play for hours. All these ideas and all I'd say is it took us about a week to get into it. And again, like I would say one of the girls, like quite a homebody, more introverted. And so I say, should we go do this? Should we go do that?

And they'd always say, oh, let's just stay at home. mostly because I think she was like TV might be an option. Now that she knows it is not an option, she is so keen to go out, try new things, do new things. I mean, it has just been the best decision we've made in ages. Anyway, I asked question three on the best way to approach this because so many of you have been curious too. So you have got a voice note for us, right, Ray?

I do from Dr. Martha, who is the author of the smartphone solution. So who better to ask? Here we go. Hi, I'm Dr. Marta. I am a clinical psychosovo. and mother of two. And you may know me from Instagram on doctor dot martyr dot psychologist. I also have a substack where you can find me at Talking Sense. Here are my top tips when it comes to screen time and having your children at home over the summer break.

Summer is nearly here and it's often a time when children feel a little bit restless. Their familiar routine goes out the window, they get bored more often and they will ask for screen time. I don't want you to think that you can't give your child screen time at all over the summer, but I do want you to think about screen time and screen content. We know that too much screen time can stop children from doing essential things that they need for their development. Physical movement, play, interacting with others, socialising, going outside. All those things are really important.

So over summer, here are three. tips to help you. Not necessarily ban screens completely, but really think about what they are bringing your child in that moment and what they might be disrupting. Tip one, make them a regular scheduled occurrence. Think very carefully about your child's age and what will benefit them when they are on a screen. Is it watching a family film together? Is it playing a game together? Is it doing some drawing or some writing on a screen. Think about it, schedule it and make it part of summer entertainment, not the default. Two, allow your child to get bored. And when they do, don't just reach for a screen. Instead, have a couple of tools that allow you to direct their attention.

A couple of things that are really simple. One, invite them to join you in whatever you're doing. If you're cooking, get them involved. If you're doing some washing, get them involved. Children love to get involved in things that you do, and they can do it with you until they get bored and find something else to do. You can also offer really simple things you've already got around your home. Paper and pens can be your go-to. Add some stickers, tape, and maybe some glue,

and your child will just create. You don't have to do very much. You just have to make these things. available. And my third tip is make sure that you create screen-free anchors around your day. This could look like meal times, the first few hours of your morning, and bedrooms. Making certain parts of your day completely screen-free will help your child find a better, healthier balance with screens. And if you want more information, grab a copy of my book, the smartphone solution. It will support you in your parenting around screens, give you scripts,

tools and strategies that help and you can write your own family phone pledge a promise you make to each other to use tech healthfully and that will include you and the kind of screen habits and phone habits that you have wishing you a happy summer right first question today Katie

Katie so I'm listening to I've been listening to your podcast from the first episode love that it's helped me gain more knowledge about what to eat and stay healthy in an environment that's vastly fixated and weight control and appearance. I love that. Since I started to concentrate on eating a large variety of plants, adding more fibre to my diet, I recognised more calm and stability in my mood. Love it. Okay, when doing the shopping, I found a special water that was promoted as being

especially beneficial due to the added soluble fibre. Here's the website and all the health claims below. I wondered if this could be a good way to easily add more fibre on days when I struggle to reach the goal of 30 grams or shall I stay away. Oh, here we go. I mean, we did say this would begin a few months ago, didn't we? We kind of thought that this would be the future. But I think the reality is not all fibres the same. I think we start there, Ella, just by saying, you know, the most fiber enriched drinks that contain like an isolated form of soluble fiber,

predominantly probably is like inulin or resistant dexter. These fibers do contribute to your daily total, but there's no evidence that they actually support the gut bugs because of the form they're taken within. So I think we have to remember that food first, food first, food first, and people will market things to you and there's no harm. I'm not saying it's harmful at all. You'll just pay a different price tag to consume that drink, I expect.

But that's why, you know, I talk so much. And in my book, the fibre formula, it was such a passion project for me because, you know, getting that message out there that 30 grams a week, 30 grams a day of fiber, 30 plants a week is so important because we're just consuming too many UPFs and these sorts of scientifically moderated and, you know, manipulated food groups. We just need to get more variety and eat more. But it's great. If you want to drink the fibre, fine, but it won't contribute to your gut bug diversity,

which comes from eating whole food plants. It actually takes such a different view for once on you, which is that like, I better, if it's delicious, for sure. If it's not. I know. Don't. Like, I'm just, I don't know which. on it actually because the website link didn't come through.

No, so we didn't know the sweeteners. What was in it? Well, I don't know because the website link didn't come through on your email, but I'm just looking at some other ones, for example, and like, you know, this one claims to have 20% of your daily fibre. I think that's coming from maize dextrin and then it has citric acid, natural flavourings, two different types of preservatives and sucralose as a sweetener. And it's like, oh no. I bet it's not that delicious. So like if you're drinking a drink like this, because you absolutely love it and it's, you know, one of those more like a treaty things, It's like, great.

But if you're drinking it for the fibre, like, it's not very good for you. It's not got that diversity of fibre. And so it'd be better just to like have a little bit less fibre that day, a bit more tomorrow, or like have an apple. Than have another dose of artificial sweeteners and extras in your drink. When you're thinking you're doing it for health, but actually like the gut health claims really aren't quite all there. So that's kind of, I don't know. I just, I hate that kind of marketing. I just think it's so misleading.

It is very misleading. And the next question we've got leads on to more confusion. It's an anonymous question, but big fan of the podcast. Thank you. My question is, can we digest and get the maximum nutrients out of small seeds such as cheer or flax? If we eat them whole or do they need to be ground up? I was told years ago they passed right through the gut undigested and less ground. What's the answer there, Ray?

You still get the benefits. So let's just talk about, I understand because when you eat seeds, you can see them in your poo. So, you know, I completely understand. That's like the sweet corn test, right? Like if you eat baby corn, how quickly you can sit in the toilet, how quickly your digestive system's moving. I get it, everybody. But let's start with cheer seeds.

So their outer layer is much softer than flax seed. And when they come into contact with liquid, they absorb many times their weight in water. And that's what creates that gel. And Ella gave a great shout out on Monday of, you know, the raspberries of cheer seeds and freeze and chocolate. Oh, cheer seeds are so versatile. Even eating whole.

and you can still benefit from their fiber because your gut bugs still recognize these when they pass through the gut. They still react to them. They're not doing nothing. They're not just floating through your digestive tract untouched. But flaxseed is different because it does have a tougher outer shell and that's why actually a lot of them will pass through largely intact. But some of the nutrients inside, including those healthy omega-3s that you can get within

flaxseed, the plant versions, the ALA. They're not all fully released, but small bits will. So that's why I always suggest ground flax seeds, because, you know, they store well in the fridge, airtight. They're really great. They can really interact with your gut bugs. And don't underestimate fluids. If you're having cheer seeds or flax seeds, whole or ground, more water, please.

Probably more water for all of us, myself, very much included anyway. Okay, that's so helpful. Right. Our third question today comes from Steph, who's based in the Hague in the Netherlands. So hi, Steph. She has said, I've got a question about freeze-dried fruits. They've recently started selling them at my local supermarket. The only ingredients is fruit.

But of course, it's undergone processing. Can you tell me more about it? Are these healthy or not? Is it better to not eat them, to limit them? I would love to hear more. Well, I wonder if we'll have differing opinions on this or not, but I actually love the idea. I love them. They're so delicious and they're so crunchy.

I thought you would because I remember you saying that you used, I can't remember what it was, you had something on your porridge once, it tasted really, really delicious. But freeze drying is just a different type of preservation, you know, preservation method. You know, the fruit's frozen, it's placed under a low pressure, and then the frozen water turns into vapour, so it kind of bypasses the liquid stage. And it removes almost all the water from the fruit while keeping the fruit intact. So it pretty much is 100% fruit. and I actually give my kids those packs of crisps and I'm full disclosure I used to work for this company when I started out 12 years ago.

I used to work for a freeze dry broccoli company. Yeah. Love that they eat freeze dry broccoli. Yeah. Oh, I got broccoli crisps. They ab. Oh my God, just like kale crisp, isn't it? I'm just thinking.

Yeah. Yeah, they're so good. I love kale crisp. They feel very 2015 wellness. They are very 2015 wellness and very expensive, Ella. Very, like ridiculously expensive. It's the one thing when I purchase it on my weekly shop. And always covered in cashew cheese.

No, CRs aren't. No, this is just plain. Plain, plain kale chips. Broccoli and they look exactly like broccoli. Who makes them? I wouldn't try them. They're giving tree snacks. Have a look. See what you think. And my kids, they are expensive and I don't, I wish that they could be more affordable. But my kids absolutely love them, the crunch. Okay, I'm going to try these. I also love the look at them. These really look at my game. They do fruit versions of things too. Honestly, fresh fruit still.

the gold standard, everybody, please remember that, you know, nothing can compare to those natural bugs that live within your fruit, the fibre, the vitamins, the minerals, the antioxidants, but you're still getting vitamin C when you have a freeze-dried portion of fruit and the veg is also a bonus. It counts towards one of your five a day, freeze-dried still. I just added them to my basket, the Giving Tree Broccoli Chris, so I'm excited about this. How much are they? This is a pack. One bag?

One bag? Oh, I'm getting a pack of six here for 13 pounds. Yeah, do you see what I mean? Yeah, they're very expensive. It's very expensive. But I think that's because they're not mass producer made in a very tiny. Yeah.

Anyway, I'm excited to try them. Yeah, there you go. I love stuff like this. I know. Yeah, Kailchrist is also super expensive. Actually, but what about, because part of the reason I try and often give the kids like the freeze dried mango or like banana chips and things like that is because obviously the dentists

are always saying the dried ones. I'm talking about how adults eat them because adults generally like don't necessarily like copious never-ending quantities of dried fruit. But I think lots of like the healthier children's products are, they really get stuck on your teeth. But what's it even for adults? What do we think about dried fruit as much? Do you know, I notice in clinic a lot of contribution to IBS related symptoms with excessive consumption of dried fruit. But it's so easy to eat so much because they get so little when you, when you, um, what apricots? You could have six of them and that's a portion, right? I mean, I would always. Like, I would never have less than six.

But I will always dip them in nut butter when I eat them. Oh my God, apricos in that butter. The organic ones. Yeah, we're on the same frame there. But... This would probably really over-enthusiasmity response to that, isn't it? But it really is yummy. Well, we're cliche wellness today, everybody. But, yeah, dried fruit does contribute one portion, but it doesn't matter how many different varieties of dried fruit you have that day. It still just counts as one portion. I would say they still have higher content of sugar that hits your bloodstream at different rate, but beneficial nutrient-wise, like dried figs, great source of calcium, dried apricots, great source of iron. Like, I've personally been adding dried apricots to my diet

because I'm on iron tablets for low iron in pregnancy. So I think it's really important that we don't ever demonise anything. And everything has a place, but my goodness, does it stick to your teeth? And you're constantly trying to pick out the bits of the teeth. I like the prep dried mango. Oh, it's my ultimate obsession. Yeah, that's one of my favorite things. I know. I know. Okay, so before Ella and I literally salivate and more dried fruit. We have a question from Sonal. Who has said my question is on frozen vegetables. Is it healthier to buy frozen veg versus fresh? I know spinach peas, for example, retain more nutrients frozen, but what about other veg like butternut squash or cauliflower? Also, my husband really dislikes the taste of frozen vegetables. It'd be interesting to know what

your thoughts are on this. Okay, Rhee, I know you've done some campaign work, haven't you, on frozen versus fresh. So I will let you take over that part. Yes. It's a big myth that fresh means more nutritious, as you've quite rightly said, frozen veg, and that's all vegetables, not just peas or not just berries for fruit, you know, do contain more nutrition when they're picked at their peak ripeness and then frozen. But it does depend when they're picked and what the company itself are probably doing there. There could be as well sometimes a brief heat treatment to preserve color, flavor and texture, but it's so minimal. And then the rapid freezing does lock in as many vitamins and minerals as possible. Now, fresh veg on the other hand is different exopsia oxidizes

over time, certain nutrients like vitamin C and B, water soluble ones essentially gradually to climb. But as far as when it comes to taste and texture, I think that's the big question here as well. I think that's because when they freeze, they form those tiny ice crystals inside the plant cells. And when you heat them, they release. You know, you get that excess water. So sometimes that's why vegetables like peas and spinach freeze really well. You can buy spinach in little square blocks.

And whereas something like cauliflower and broccoli can become quite soggy almost in texture, which is why I think they lend themselves better to maybe curries and things that you can put in rather than a crunchy stir fry, would you say? Yeah. I mean, I love having some fruit. I mean, I have so much frozen fruit always in my house, like all types of different berries, mango. I've always like sliced up bananas when they're going over ripe and freeze them. I find it's so helpful.

We make compots and smoothies and things like that. I actually, we have smoothies a few times a week just because I find it's such a great way to get kaffir mostly. So like a fermented food into our kind of collective diets, but also like cheer, hemp, etc. So I love that. I find that super helpful. I actually only buy it by frozen edamame. I love frozen edamame. We cook there's loads, obviously great protein and just super easy to use, peas and corn. I don't really like, if I'm completely honest, I know there's health benefits. Oh, frozen spinach is great as well. I don't really love frozen out of the veg. The reality is... It's the broccoli and cauliflower when they de frost. Yeah, if you put it straight into the oven, a high temperature, it should be better.

but like it's not easy to cook with and I like to then put it in the oven with olive oil and with flavour and with maybe like I don't know a marinade or I did a really delicious like Horissa soy sauce broccoli last night and if you do that on frozen

you're just adding a bit too much liquid so I just don't find it very easy to cook with and I don't find it helpful enough that so I understand why you don't like the taste I don't think it for me I don't buy it I don't like it yeah I think um but if you have tips as to why I'm wrong, I would love to hear them.

No, I agree. I think taste-wise, that's one subject. But if this is about getting more nutrition into your diets, just stick with, like I said, curries or stews or pasta bakes, things that it's immediately saturated with other flavors and texture. But if you're looking at it being like a star dish and something you really enjoy on the side of your plate, sadly, the frozen broccoli and cauliflower doesn't cut it in the same way as the peas and things. So, you know, there's always a catch to something,

but they're still very nutritious. Okay, and we have a final question today from Jasmine, who is based in North Yorkshire, who has sent us a very lovely message about how much she loves tuning in each Monday and Thursday, so thank you, Jasmine. And her question is, what are your favourite UPF replacement recipes? Obviously, we have such emotional, nostalgic ties to some food, and often those foods are UPFs. I want to be able to have that same enjoyment, but without investing in and funding the companies that are making the UPFs and without having the negative effects on my food,

my body. For example, me and my kids love serene banana loaf. We have it so much the time. I thought it was actually a nice healthy snack, but I was listening to your show. Sorry, I decided to check out the ingredients and was absolutely shocked to see all the crazy stuff that goes into something that's marked itself as healthy. I tried making banana bread, but I really just want that squidgy texture if you get me, I get you. Do you have any tips on how to achieve that? Oh yeah, Jasmine, 100%. You're in the right place. Firstly, thank you for your lovely feedback. back because Ella and I just, you know, we're honest, we're transparent and I hope that definitely does come across. Well, where do you say squidgy texture? I think that's where I'll let

Ella come in because she has a real understanding of how the food industry mimics with additives, different textures and say first before I go later on to the... Yeah, I mean, look, it's really tricky. Where I personally say, and there'll be lots of people who disagree with me, Rie might disagree with me. I think for the most part, and I'm, I think, I actually think it's the same often with gluten-free, although that's completely different. I often think you cannot replicate stuff. And so if you try and replicate it, it would just be disappointed. And so to me, it's more about getting the balance right.

There is, as we always say, I think an awareness of what you're generally eating is important. You can't be perfect. But we also know our gut microbiome and what we eat as kind of on the whole does matter. And so it's not about being obsessed with it. I do think the word balance is often overused because to me, balance is having your diet rooted in a healthy diet and which we add treats onto there. I don't know, we went for a day out yesterday as a family and like the kids all wanted ice cream from the petrol station.

So they had like their calipos and saleros. I'm like, that's great. For dinner, they had black beans with sweet corn and rice and all the rest of it. That to me is balance. And so I think that that's really important. But equally I think we often use balance in the wrong way where actually like 60% of our life is the less healthy part. it's not the right way around anyway. I know that's not what you're saying. But I think

there's nothing wrong with having these foods on occasion. And I don't think you can replicate them. If we take, for example, the banana loaf, I'm not trying to demon devonize it, but just so everyone's aware. We're looking at we've got wheat flour and then we have water, sugar, banana puree, sweet and banana flavored pieces, fructose glucose syrup, glucose syrup, concentrated per puree, concentrated banana puree, humecotent, I never had no how that's say that right, glycerol, sugar, wheat fiber, sunflower, oil, gelling agent, pectin, malic acid, natural flavouring, maize, starch, vegetable fats, which are rapeseed and palm, dextro, salt, preservative, calcium proponate, yeast,

flavourings and colour, which is lutein. And breathe. You can't make that at home and you'll never ever be able to replicate the same texture. And so you can absolutely make a delicious, sweet chocolate chip, you know, whatever banana bread, but you will never get that same squidgy texture that you're talking about because you need gelling agents and things like that to be able to create it. And that's why I reference gluten-free. It's like, I don't think you can ever replicate a great sourdough loaf, for example. What you can make is a delicious seeded bread, for example. But it's completely different. And so that's what I'm a

fan of is actually celebrating for something for what it is, as opposed to trying to replicate it and being disappointed. And I think you just want to ground your diet in nutritious things. And then the things you love that feel nostalgic or that service station twirl or, you know, Calipo, your serene banana bread, like then add it in and that's great. That's not going to do you harm. I agree. It's chicken and egg here because what came first for you was actually the serene loaf and then you discovered, obviously, what Ella just listed off and thought, oh, I want to replicate that, but do it myself. Whereas, well, like Ella's just said, you don't really want to replicate that same texture or taste. But we have in clinic what we call transitional foods. So to help you on.

a journey to transition into a new lifestyle change. For some people, you need to take a half step there to get to the end result. For others, the approach to just completely flip it like Ella's just said and reframe it can be really beneficial. So I think when we look at these conversations surrounding ultra-process foods, it can be really hard just being compassionate here to unpick the years of taste bud saturation, texture, the way we're used to seeing food, what we've been served up our whole lives,

to suddenly being like, oh my goodness. Like, I don't think you can even breathe taking how long a list of ingredients we had within that particular loaf. It's really difficult, everybody. And ultimately, it doesn't have to be, like Ella said. Home cooking, and I wrote a book, The Unprocessed Plate on this,

all of Ella's books will have homemade cooking options within them. We both love to celebrate trying to. to get in the kitchen more. But I do have some ideas of, you know, if you love a hobnob, this is how you can make an alternative at home. And don't expect it to taste the same, like Ella said. But it's a transition. You're making something similar and then you can step towards making the things that you love your own way at home. I think you've already completed a massive adaption in your family's environment by acknowledging that perhaps that UPF food was less 80-20 and more maybe 50-50 in your diet at home. And now you want it to become that 20%

and the rest 80%. That's a step in a wonderful direction. Yeah, I think that's amazing. And as we always talk about, like, you don't have to be perfect. We don't have to put too much pressure on ourselves. You're just like doing your best. And then, you know, having that balance where you're nourishing yourself and you're enjoying your life.

And I think that's the key thing. Yeah, absolutely. That concludes our questions today. Please, please keep all your recommendations and questions coming because we are going to be deciding our Wellness Scoop Challenge and we'll get back to you on that next week, which is, I can't believe we're, actually at this point Ella. It's happening next next year. We will see you on Monday. Can't

wait to talk. We've got some crazy headlines that UK is raising one of the unhealthiest generations in decades. We've got some stuff. Beans for blokes, broccoli for women, some hilarious headlines. Yeah, lots and lots of stuff. Some hormone testing bits and pieces. Loads to talk about so we see you back here on Monday. Have a great weekend. Bye.