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Whole, Flaked, Ground or Blitzed: A Cook’s Guide to Every Form of Almond

One nut, six ingredients — and how to use each one well.

Walk down any health food aisle and you’ll find the almond wearing half a dozen different disguises: whole and skin-on, blanched, flaked, ground into flour, blitzed into butter, even pressed into milk. They’re all the same nut — but each form behaves completely differently in the kitchen, and choosing the right one is the difference between a recipe that works and one that disappoints.

This guide walks through every form of almond, what it’s best at, and the recipes from our own kitchen that show each one at its finest.

The Nut-Free Hero: Why Pumpkin Seeds Deserve a Permanent Place in Your Kitchen

Everything a nut can do — welcome where nuts are banned.

Every nut-free household knows the frustration: so many of the “healthy snack” staples — trail mixes, nut butters, pestos, energy bars — are built on nuts. School lunchbox policies make it harder still, with most UK schools now operating strict no-nut rules.

Enter the pumpkin seed. These flat green kernels (also called pepitas) do almost everything a nut can do — crunch, richness, protein, healthy fats — while being a seed, and therefore welcome where nuts are banned. Better yet, they’re one of the most mineral-dense foods you can buy at any price. Here’s how to make them the hardest-working ingredient in your kitchen, with recipes from our own collection for every job.

The Dairy-Free Kitchen Starts with a Bag of Cashews

Cream, cheese, milk and ice cream — all from one humble nut.

Ask anyone who cooks dairy-free what their single most important ingredient is, and the answer is rarely a speciality product from the free-from aisle. It’s the humble cashew. Soaked and blended, cashews transform into cream, milk, soft cheese, frosting and ice cream so convincingly that dinner guests routinely refuse to believe there’s no dairy involved.

If you’re newly dairy-free — or cooking for someone who is — this guide will take you from a plain bag of cashews to a complete dairy-free repertoire, with tried-and-tested recipes from our kitchen at every step.

Beyond the Pudding: A Complete Cook’s Guide to Chia Seeds

One bag, a dozen jobs — the cook’s guide to chia.

If your bag of chia seeds only ever comes out for the occasional overnight pudding, you’re missing most of what this remarkable little seed can do. Chia is one of the most quietly versatile ingredients in the store cupboard: it thickens, binds, sets, replaces eggs, turns fruit into jam without cooking, and slips invisibly into bakes, smoothies and breakfast bowls.

In this guide we’ll walk through chia’s kitchen superpowers one by one — with tried-and-tested recipes from our own kitchen for every technique.

5 Store-Cupboard Swaps That Save You Money

Same cupboard, same cooking, noticeably smaller food bill.

With food prices still creeping up, it’s tempting to think eating well has to cost more. In our experience, it’s usually the opposite: the biggest savings come from swapping heavily-branded, over-packaged products for honest, single-ingredient wholefoods that you buy once and use again and again.

We pack all of the ingredients below under our own Sussex Wholefoods range, right here in Sussex. Here are five simple swaps to start with – each one lowers your cost per serving, keeps for ages in the cupboard and cuts down on food waste too.

Sunflower Seeds: The Underrated Powerhouse

A little ingredient that quietly earns its place in the cupboard.

Sunflower seeds tend to live a quiet life in the cupboard. They’re not flashy. They don’t get the press that chia or hemp gets. There’s no wellness influencer dedicated to their cause. And yet, we’d argue they’re one of the most useful, affordable, and genuinely good-for-you ingredients you can have on hand.

We pack a lot of them under our Sussex Wholefoods range, and they’re the kind of thing we keep reaching for in our own kitchens. So here’s a proper look at why we love them, what they actually do for you, and how to use them without overthinking it.

Cook For Dad: 5 Healthier Twists on BBQ Classics

Father’s Day weekend, the grill is fired up, and dad’s got tongs in one hand and a cold drink in the other. The smoke smells incredible — but the bill on his arteries doesn’t have to be. Whether you’re cooking for a meat-and-two-veg traditionalist or a plant-curious dad who’s open to a swap, these five wholefood upgrades deliver the same crave-able, smoky, sticky BBQ hit with more fibre, more plant protein, and less of the ultra-processed stuff.

Every recipe below uses store-cupboard staples you can grab from our pantry, and they’re all dad-tested for that “is this actually plant-based?” reaction in a good way. Pour him a Paloma mocktail, fire up the BBQ, and let’s get cooking.

The Quick Answer: What Are Healthier BBQ Alternatives?

Five easy swaps make a classic BBQ healthier without sacrificing the flavour dads love:

Beef burger → kidney bean & oat burger (more fibre, less saturated fat)
Pulled pork or ribs → sticky sweet-mustard glazed seitan (high protein, no nitrites)
Chicken kebabs → tofu satay with peanut sauce (plant protein, big flavour)
Mayo-heavy coleslaw → Thai rainbow crunch salad (crunchy, peanut-dressed, no dairy)
Shop-bought crisps → smoky & sweet BBQ spiced pumpkin seeds (zinc, magnesium, & serious crunch)

Each swap takes 30-45 minutes and most of the prep can be done the day before. Let’s break them down — keep scrolling for each recipe.

Stock the BBQ Pantry: Healthy Supplies Essentials

Every recipe above is built on a handful of pantry heroes worth keeping in. If you’re starting from scratch, this is the shop:

Smoked paprika & onion powder — the duo that makes anything taste BBQ-y
Organic kidney beans, butter beans & black beans — patty-base for any veggie burger
Firm tofu and vital wheat gluten — your high-protein blank canvas
Organic pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds — for snacking and topping
Smooth peanut butter and tamari — the satay sauce backbone
Tinned coconut milk — for satay, slaws and marinades
Apple cider vinegar with the mother and Dijon mustard — for glazes and dressings

Frequently Asked Questions

Are bean burgers as filling as beef burgers?

Yes — and arguably more so. A bean and oat burger delivers roughly the same protein (15-18g) as a similar-sized beef patty but adds 8-10g of fibre, which is what actually keeps you full. Beef burgers spike, then crash. Bean burgers stay with you.

Can you BBQ tofu without it falling apart?

You can — and the trick is pressing it first. Wrap firm tofu in clean tea towels, weigh down with a chopping board and tins for 30 minutes to squeeze out moisture, then cube and marinate. Pressed tofu holds together on skewers and gets a beautiful golden crust.

How do you make BBQ taste smoky without the meat?

Three ingredients do the heavy lifting: smoked paprika, soya sauce (or tamari), and a touch of liquid smoke if you have it. A pinch of cumin and a small amount of date syrup or coconut sugar rounds out the flavour. Together they recreate the smoke-meets-caramel character that meat gets on the grill.

What sides go best with a plant-based BBQ?

Anything fresh and crunchy to balance the smoky, sticky main. Our top three: the Thai Rainbow Crunch Salad above, a Roasted Red Pepper & Walnut Dip with flatbreads, and a simple cucumber-and-mint yogurt (dairy-free yogurt works perfectly). Add corn on the cob and you’re done.

How can I make BBQ healthier for kids?

Lean on the bean burger and the tofu satay — both are kid-friendly when you ease off the chilli. Serve in soft bread rolls or wraps, with the satay sauce on the side for dipping. Skip the seitan for under-5s (gluten texture can be a bit much) and the BBQ pumpkin seeds for under-3s (choking hazard).

The Bottom Line

A healthier Father’s Day BBQ doesn’t mean lecturing dad over his lunch. It means putting genuinely delicious food in front of him — food that happens to bring more fibre, more plants and less of the stuff he’d rather not think about. These five recipes are the easiest place to start.

From all of us at Healthy Supplies, Happy Father’s Day. Now go fire up the grill.

Need the pantry staples? Stock up on Father’s Day weekend essentials with free delivery on orders over £25 (code FDEL).

What on Earth is Glycemic Load? (And 10 Wholefoods That Nail It)

Ever had one of those afternoons where, not long after lunch, your energy drops off a cliff and suddenly all you want is a biscuit? That’s your blood sugar talking. And one of the most useful tools for understanding why it happens, and how to stop it, is something called the Glycemic Load.

Stick with us for a few minutes. Once you’ve got your head around it, you’ll start spotting ways to tweak your meals that make a real difference to how you feel.

First, What Are GI and GL?

You may have heard of the Glycemic Index (GI). It’s a number between 0 and 100 that tells you how quickly a food raises your blood sugar compared to pure glucose. Low GI foods release their energy slowly; high GI foods send your blood sugar up like a rocket.

GI on its own is a bit misleading, though. Watermelon, for example, has a high GI of around 72, but a slice of watermelon contains so little actual carbohydrate that it barely nudges your blood sugar. That’s where Glycemic Load comes in. GL takes the realistic serving size into account, so you get a proper picture of how a food will affect you.

The equation is refreshingly simple:

GL = (GI × grams of carbs per serving) ÷ 100

As a rule of thumb:

GL of 10 or under = low (your blood sugar will thank you)
GL of 11 to 19 = medium
GL of 20 or more = high

Why Should You Care?

Meals built around low GL foods give you steady, slow-burning energy rather than spikes and crashes. That means better focus through the afternoon, fewer sugar cravings, more stable moods, and over time, better metabolic health. If you’re looking to beat that mid afternoon slump, paying attention to GL is one of the most practical things you can do.

The good news? Low GL eating doesn’t mean low carb or bland. It means choosing wholefoods where the carbs come packaged with the fibre, protein, and healthy fats that slow everything down naturally. Here are ten of our favourites, all of which you can find in our Sussex Wholefoods range or across the wider shop.

What Is a Balanced Diet? A Simple Guide to Building a Healthy Plate

A balanced diet means eating a variety of foods in the right proportions to support energy, digestion, muscle health, hormones and overall wellbeing. It includes a mix of complex carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats and fibre at most meals.

Balanced eating is not about strict rules or cutting out food groups. It is about combining nutrients in a way that keeps your body functioning well and helps you feel satisfied and energised throughout the day.

Different Types of Oats Explained: Nutrition and Uses

Oats are one of the most versatile and nourishing cupboard staples you can buy. They are affordable, filling, easy to cook with and incredibly adaptable, showing up in everything from comforting breakfasts to baking, savoury dishes and even smoothies.

If you have ever stood looking at rolled oats, jumbo oats, pinhead oats, oat bran and oat flour wondering what the difference actually is, you are not alone. While they all come from the same whole oat grain, the way they are processed changes how they cook, taste and work in recipes.

In this article, we break down the main types of oats you can buy, explain their nutritional benefits, and share practical ideas for how to use each one.