step one: free food step one: free food step one: free food step one: free food step one: free food step one: free food step one: free food step one: free food step one: free food step one: free food
C
CC
A good or very good source of calcium,
F
FF
Are foods
high or extra-high in fibre.
H
HH
These foods are
particularly healthy
S
SS
Choose them regularly
or are
vital for good health.
and nutritious
to
speed or super-speed your weight loss.
symbol sense
f
Amla (Indian gooseberry)
s
Apples
s
Apricots
S
Babaco
Bananas
S
Bilberries
fS
Blackberries
fS
Blackcurrants
Blueberries
S
Boysenberries
s
Carambola (star fruit)
s
Cashew fruit (not cashew nut)
s
Cherries
s
Clementines
fS
Cranberries
Custard apple (cherimoya)
s
Damsons
s
Elderberries
s
Feijoa
s
Figs
S
Gooseberries
S
Grapefruit
Grapes
s
Greengages
fs
Grenadilla
fS
Guava
Jambu fruit
Jujube (Chinese date)
S
Kiwano (horned melon)
s
Kiwi fruit
fs
Kumquats
S
Lemons
S
Limes
S
Loganberries
S
Loquats
Lychees
Mammie apple
s
Mandarins
Mango
Mangosteen
Fs
Medlars
S
Melon, all varieties
except watermelon
s
Mulberries
s
Nectarines
s
Oranges
s
Ortaniques (honey tangerines)
s
Papaya (paw paw)
fs
Passion fruit
s
Peaches
s
Pears
Persimmon (sharon fruit)
Physalis
s
Pineapple
s
Plums
f
Pomegranates
S
Pomelo
s
Prickly pears
Rambutan
S
Raspberries
fS
Redcurrants
S
Rhubarb
F
Sapodilla
s
Satsumas
S
Strawberries
S
Tamarillos
s
Tangerines
f
S
Tayberries
s
Ugli fruit
s
Watermelon
fS
Whitecurrants
S
Yellow plums
fruit
HH
Nearly all fruits are
Superfree Foods! Have as much fresh
or frozen fruit as you like for breakfast, for dessert, as a
snack or just any time you feel peckish.
Note: Cooked, canned and dried fruit count as Healthy Extras or as
Syns: puréed fruit, fruit juice, nectars and smoothies always count
as Syns.
All these foods ar
e Free
on Extra Easy
, Green*
and Original*.
*For details of Green and
Original see the extra
downloads
Make Free Food power work for you!
Free Food is the masterstroke that makes Food
Optimising so effective and so very easy.
•
Free Food is how you
satisfy your
appetite even on the hungriest of days.
•
Free Food is how you learn to
lose weight
and keep it off for good.
Hundreds of healthy, delicious, everyday Free
Foods are yours to enjoy with absolutely
no limits:
no weighing, no calculating, no estimating,
no counting, no kidding!
On the following pages you’ll find lists of
Superfree Foods
– super-satisfying for your
appetite and the
very lowest in calories
– tuck in anytime, anywhere! These include:
• Fresh and frozen fruit
• Vegetables
Plus all the fabulous
Free
Foods
you can enjoy
any time to satisfy your appetite, also with no
limits. They include:
• Lean meat and poultry
• Fish and seafood
• Potatoes, pulses and starchy vegetables
• Rice, pasta and grains
• Eggs
• Fat free dairy products
• Vegetable proteins, eg Quorn and tofu
Superfree Foods are super-satisfying
for the appetite and
very, very low
in calories.
Fill of your plate with Superfree
Foods and make them your first
choice between meals. You’ll naturally
limit your energy intake without
counting a single calorie, and you’ll be
enjoying a really healthy diet, making
your weight loss success
extra easy!
1 3
healthwise...
The Department of Health recommends that
we eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a
day – we recommend that you eat
at least
that amount: more if you like!
anytime,
anywhere!
any choice,
enjoy
superfree
foods
Free Foods
Superfree &
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C
CC
A good or very good source of calcium,
F
FF
Are foods
high or extra-high in fibre.
H
HH
These foods are
particularly healthy
S
SS
Choose them regularly
or are
vital for good health.
and nutritious
to
speed or super-speed your weight loss.
symbol sense
All these foods ar
e Fr
ee
on Extra Easy
, Gr
een*
and Original*.
*For details of Green and
Original see the extra
downloads
s
Acorn squash
s
Alfalfa sprouts
f
Artichokes
s
Asparagus
s
Aubergine
s
Baby whole sweetcorn
fs
Balor beans
s
Bamboo shoots
s
Bean sprouts
s
Beetroot
s
Broccoli
f
Brussels sprouts
s
Butternut squash
s
Cabbage (all types)
fs
Capers
s
Carrots
s
Cauliflower
fs
Celeriac
s
Celery
s
Chicory
s
Chillies
C s
Chinese leaves (amaranth)
s
Chioca
s
Choko (custard marrow)
cfs
Cluster beans
s
Courgettes
s
Cucumber
cfs
Curly kale
s
Endive
s
Fennel
s
French beans
f
Garlic
s
Gherkins
s
Green beans
s
Karela
s
Kohlrabi (cabbage turnip)
s
Leeks
s
Lettuce
s
Mangetout
s
Marrow
s
Mushrooms
s
Mustard & cress
cfs
Okra
s
Onions
fs
Papri beans
s
Passata (sieved tomatoes)
s
Peppers/Pimentos
s
Pumpkin
s
Radicchio
s
Radishes
s
Runner beans
fs
Salsify
s
Seakale
F
s
Seaweed
s
Shallots
s
Spaghetti squash
c s
Spinach
cfs
Spring greens
s
Spring onions
s
Sugar snap peas
s
Swede
s
Tomatoes
s
Turnips
Cfs
Vine leaves
f
Water chestnuts
c s
Watercress
vegetables
HH
Nearly all vegetables are
Superfree Foods! Enjoy them fresh, frozen, canned or
pickled in vinegar. Cook them in any way you like; without fat to keep
them Superfree!
superfree
foods
Fill of your plate with Superfree
Foods and make them your first
choice between meals. You’ll naturally
limit your energy intake without
counting a single calorie, and you’ll be
enjoying a really healthy diet, making
your weight loss success
extra easy!
1 3
golden rules...
The two
golden rules for a healthy diet are:
1
a wide variety of foods
2
everything in moderation
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C
CC
A good or very good source of calcium,
F
FF
Are foods
high or extra-high in fibre.
H
HH
These foods are
particularly healthy
S
SS
Choose them regularly
or are
vital for good health.
and nutritious
to
speed or super-speed your weight loss.
symbol sense
All these foods ar
e
Free on Extra Easy
and Gr
een*!
*For details of the Green
choice see the extra
downloads
starchy
vegetables & pulses
Beans, peas and lentils are known
as pulses. They’re all super-healthy,
super-filling and super-tasty. Choose
fresh, frozen or canned varieties.
If you add fat during cooking, count
it as Syns.
h f
Aduki beans
hSf
Baked beans in
tomato sauce
hsF
Black beans
h f
Black eye beans
hSf
Black gram beans
hsf
Borlotti beans
hSf
Broad beans
hSf
Butter beans
hSF
Cannellini beans
h f
Chickpeas
H
Corn on the cob
hsf
Dried peas
hs
f
Flageolet beans
hSf
Garden peas
hsF
Haricot beans
hsf
Lentils, all varieties
hsf
Marrowfat peas
hsf
Mung beans
hS
Mushy peas
H f
Parsnips
hSf
Petits pois
h F
Pigeon peas
h F
Pinto beans
H
Plantain
H
Potatoes
hsf
Processed peas
hsF
Red kidney beans
h F
Soya beans
h
Split peas
H
Sweetcorn
H
Sweet potatoes
hS
Sword beans
H
Taro
H
Yams
rice, pasta & grains
H
Rice, pasta and grains are staples
that you can make into hundreds
of delicious meals. They are
nutritious and cooked without fat,
they’re
Free Food.
Buckwheat*
Bulgur wheat*
Couscous*
Dried pasta (all types,
eg tagliatelle, spaghetti,
lasagne and cannelloni tubes)
Millet*
Noodles, plain, dried
Pearl barley*
Quinoa*
Rice*
* If ground, or used as a flour substitute,
these foods have a Syn value.
healthwise...
healthwise...
healthwise...
Potatoes don’t count towards your
‘five a day’ – but they are filling and
a good source of vitamin C and fibre.
Choose wholegrain or brown rice, and
wholemeal or wholewheat pasta, for
extra fibre.
Pregnant women, the
elderly and babies are
advised not to eat raw
or soft-boiled eggs.
healthwise...
If you have diabetes, let us know by
updating your profile. We’ll send you a copy
of our diabetes information factsheet. We
recommend that you talk to your diabetes
care team about Food Optimising.
As well as all that fabulous Superfree Food, you can eat as much as
you like of all this
wonderfully satisfying Free Food. Remember to
fill of your plate with Superfree Foods!
free
foods
eggs
Enjoy eggs boiled, coddled, poached,
scrambled or fried using low calorie
cooking spray.
dairy products
hc
Quark – skimmed milk soft
cheese
hc
Fat free natural
cottage cheese*
hc
Fat free natural fromage frais*
hc
Fat free natural yogurt*
* Some flavoured varieties have Syns.
vegetable proteins/
meat replacement
hsf
Quorn mince and pieces
Use this to replace meat in pies,
pasta dishes, chilli and curries.
C
Tofu, naturally smoked
and plain
Textured vegetable protein
(tvp)/soya protein
Made with defatted soya
1 3
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Meat products such as
burgers and sausages
generally have a Syn value,
see the Syns download or
use Syns Online.
tip!
hot
All these foods are
Free on Extra Easy
and Original*!
*For details of the Original
choice see the extra
download.
meat & poultry
Very lean cuts of meat and poultry are
Free Food so enjoy your favourites!
Remove all skin and fat from poultry and
trim all visible fat from meat before eating,
to ensure it's Free. If you add fat, count the
fat as Syns.
meat
Bacon (back/lean)
Beef
Gammon
Ham
Lamb
Pork
s
Veal
poultry
hs
Chicken
Duck
hs
Turkey
game & offal
Brains
Brawn
Grouse / Guinea fowl
s
Heart
s
Kidney
Liver, all types
Oxtail
Partridge / Quail
Pheasant
Pigeon
Rabbit / Hare
Sweetbreads
S
Tripe
s
Venison
fish
H
Most fish is
Free Food (on the
Extra Easy and Original choices)
and can be cooked in any way you like.
If you add fat, count the fat as Syns.
Fish canned in brine, tomato sauce or
spring water is also Free Food. For fish
canned in oil, see the Syns section. All
fish is good for your health, and many are
Speed or Super Speed foods, so they
can help boost your weight loss.
white fish
s
Bream
S
Cod, plain or smoked
S
Coley
Dogfish
S
Dover sole
S
Haddock, plain or smoked
s
Hake
s
Halibut
S
John Dory
S
Lemon sole
S
Monkfish
Mullet
S
Plaice
s
c
Sea bass
S
Skate
s
Turbot
S
Whiting
oily fish
Carp
s
Eel, jellied
Eel, plain
Herring
s
Jackfish
Kippers
Mackerel (not smoked)
C
Pilchards
Rollmop herring
Salmon, plain or smoked
C
Sardines
Sprats
s
Swordfish
Trout
s
Tuna, canned
Tuna, fresh
Whitebait
shellfish
Abalone
S
Clams
S
Cockles
Sc
Crab, canned
s
Crab, fresh
S
Crayfish
S
Cuttlefish
s
Lobster
s
Mussels
S
Octopus
Sc
Oysters
s
Prawns
Scallops
s
Scampi (not in breadcrumbs)
C
Shrimps
S
Squid
S
Whelks
S
c
Winkles
fish products
s
Caviare
s
Cod roe
s
Herring roe
Seafood or crab sticks
fish counter treats
Look out for these more unusual
fish when you’re shopping: they’re
all
Free Foods!
s
Catfish
Conger eel
S
Dab
S
Flounder
S
Flying fish
S
Hoki
S
Ling
S
Parrot fish
S
Pollack
s
Pomfret
S
Red snapper
s
Redfish
s
Shark
Sc
Tilapia
free
foods
healthwise...
For good health, aim to eat at least
two portions of fish a week, of which
one should be oily fish.*
*Mums-to-be, breastfeeding mums and teens are advised to limit
consumption of fish and shellfish.
C
CC
A good or very good source of calcium,
F
FF
Are foods
high or extra-high in fibre.
H
HH
These foods are
particularly healthy
S
SS
Choose them regularly
or are
vital for good health.
and nutritious
to
speed or super-speed your weight loss.
symbol sense
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drinks
Aim for 6-8 mugs or glasses of any type
of fluid per day (alcohol doesn't count!).
Bovril
Coffee*
Low calorie fizzy drinks
Low calorie squashes
Mineral water
Tea (including herbal teas)*
* Use milk from your Healthy Extras
in tea and coffee, or count
half a Syn for each dash you use.
flavourings
Experiment with herbs, spices and
seasonings to add zest and flavour to
your food, and as an alternative to salt
(see healthwise point, left).
sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners in tablet or
drop form are
Free; so are granular
sweeteners with less than
2 calories per teaspoonful, eg Canderel,
Hermesetas, Splenda, Sweet ‘n’ Low
low calorie
cooking spray
Fry Light and any other brand which
contains 2 calories or less per spray is
Free.
dressings &
accompaniments
Agar agar
Bovril
Fat free French style salad dressing*
Fat free vinaigrette style salad dressing*
Gelatine
Marmite
Mint sauce (no sugar added)
Nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
Soy sauce
Tabasco
Vecon
Vegemite
Vinegar, all varieties
Worcestershire sauce
* Must be less than 40kcals per 100ml.
For all other types of ‘fat free’ salad dressings
see the Syns pages or Syns Online
stocks
Bouillon powder
Cubes
Liquid stock concentrate
Ready to use liquid stock
For gravy powder
and granules,
see the Syns pages
simply
enjoy!
there’s no need to
count or calculate
weigh, measure,
healthwise...
Pregnant women, the elderly and
babies are advised not to eat raw or
soft-boiled eggs.
eggs
Enjoy eggs boiled, coddled, poached,
scrambled or fried using low calorie
cooking spray.
dairy products
hc
Quark – skimmed milk soft
cheese
hc
Fat free natural
cottage cheese*
hc
Fat free natural fromage frais*
hc
Fat free natural yogurt*
* Some flavoured and low fat varieties have
Syns.
vegetable proteins/
meat replacement
hsf
Quorn mince and pieces
C
Tofu, naturally smoked
and plain
Textured vegetable protein
(tvp)/soya protein
Made with defatted soya
Even more
Free Foods to choose from each day, including drinks,
dressings and spices.
storecupboard
staples
healthwise...
For health reasons aim to
limit your salt intake to no
more than 6g (1 level tsp) per
day. Add less salt to food at
the table and watch out for
salt added to manufactured
foods and sauces.
free
foods
All these foods ar
e
Free on Extra Easy
,
Green and
Original!
C
CC
A good or very good source of calcium,
F
FF
Are foods
high or extra-high in fibre.
H
HH
These foods are
particularly healthy
S
SS
Choose them regularly
or are
vital for good health.
and nutritious
to
speed or super-speed your weight loss.
symbol sense