Eat your way to eye health



Simply adding a little more fruit or veg to our meals can help keep eye diseases like age-related macular degeneration at bay, says Ian Grierson, author of Vegetables for Vision – Nature’s Supplements for Eye Health.

• Get into the habit of adding extra nuts, vegetables or fruit to every meal. If you normally have one vegetable with your dinner, make it two or three. And experiment with different combinations such as peaches with ham or ginger with melon.

• Make your vices just a little bit healthier – add a squeeze of lemon to cola, for instance.

• If you’re boiling potatoes, always add another two veg to the pot.

• Make your own soups – boil your veg, add a stock cube and blitz. An easy, fast way to get most of your five a day in one go!

Vision boosting recipe – Spinach and Chick Pea mix

Ingredients – serves 3 very well but can be stretched to 4
1 onion
3 tomatoes
400g or 14 ounces or 2 tins chick peas
50g or 2 ounces raisins
400g or 14 ounces spinach leaves
1 clove garlic
200ml or 7 fluid ounces veg stock
45ml or 3 tablespoons olive oil
5ml or 1 teaspoon cumin powder
5ml or 1 teaspoon curry powder
Seasoning

1. Peel the onion and chop, then add to the oil in a large heated pan and cook for 2 minutes.
2. Add the spices and continue cooking for another 3 minutes.
3. Chop the tomatoes and add to the pan.
4. After a couple of stirs add the chick peas and the stock and bring to the boil.
5. Cover and simmer the mixture for 5 mintues.
6. Add the raisins at this point, then add the baby spinach leaves and allow them to wilt for 5 minutes.
7. Season well and serve in bowls as a main course with crusty cob or naan bread.

*Taken from ‘Vegetables for Vision – Nature’s Supplements for Eye Health’ by Ian Grierson.

See Healthy magazine, in Holland & Barrett stores now, to find out more about boosting your eye health.