Charlotte Watts is a qualified, practising nutritionist who helps her clients to address a variety of symptoms and conditions, such as digestive, skin, sleep, energy and weight issues. She also teaches yoga and runs the Positively Slim service with Charlene Hutsebaut. For further information, see www.positivelyslim.com.
Charlotte has been the nutritionist/presenter on BBC’s Freaky Eaters and GMTV’s Beach Body Boot Camp. She is author of 100 Recipes for Happy Kids, 100 Foods to Stay Young and 100 Best Foods for Pregnancy. She also contributes regularly to magazines and The Guardian Roundtable debates.
Charlotte shares our mentality about healthy, tasty food and encourages people to broaden their understanding about food and health through realistic and enjoyable eating habits and simple recipes rather than faddish diets.
Charlotte's work involves assessing her clients' eating habits and suggesting ways that they can make the changes that improve their quality of life whilst understanding that this needs to be practical, realistic and convenient – as well as enjoyable. Below are a number of foods, drinks and ingredients that Charlotte recommends we could all benefit from including in our diets.
These are Charlotte's choices of snack bar to keep on hand for moments of low energy and a healthy alternative to chocolate, cakes or biscuits. They are high in fibre and antioxidants.
However, it's best to stick to having only one a day as they have a high natural sugar content.
Pure, hydrating, healthy drinks and teas with no added sugar or flavourings. This includes coconut water which is isotonic (full of mineral salts that act as rehydrating electrolytes) and pure juices full of vitamin c.
Dried fruit and fruit puree. These are tasty pure fruit foods with no added sugar or preservatives. Have no more than one dried fruit portion per day due to high fruit-sugar content.
Tasty snacks that provide sustainable energy until your next meal to help combat those energy dips that might have you craving those less healthy foods.
Nuts are a tasty, satisfying, nutritional and versatile food to incorporate into the diet. They contain omega 3 and 6 oils, protein, slow-release carbohydrates, fibre, vitamin E and trace minerals such as zinc and selenium and the macro minerals magnesium, potassium and phosphorus – truly nature;s wonderfood and the basis of new life. They can be eaten whole or used in cereals, snack bars and nut butters.