1. The Needy Ones

For starters, not all fruit and vegetables mix well together unless you want them to ripen quickly. Fruits like apples, bananas and pears give off ethylene gas. This makes produce sitting alongside them ripen and rot faster. Ethylene is a hormone released by produce as it ripens, with the biggest culprits being ripe apples and bananas. You want to keep those away from your vegetables such as leafy greens and asparagus, along with fruit such as watermelon and grapes, all of who are quite sensitive to the ethylene and won’t last as long near them. The ethylene emitting produce are quite picky and don’t like to live side by side one another either. So basically, they’re needy little fellas who need their own space, okay?

2. Berry Baths

Berries are perhaps one of the most versatile fruits of all; suitable for all meals of the day, for starters or for desserts, and even for use in drinks as well. Moral of the story? Look after your berries. As we all know, it’s not always that easy, and often our beautiful berries can somehow just go moldy overnight. Well, now you can try this; give your berries a hot bath before storing them. This process (called ‘thermotherapy’) simply involves immersing them in their containers, in a pot of hot water. It kills off any mould spores and helps to keep your berries fresher for longer. Keeping them in a single layer also helps keep them fresh too. You’re berry welcome.

3. Leafy Greens

In order to get all the nutrients you can out of leafy greens, they should be eaten within 1-2 days of purchase. Now, in reality, this doesn’t always happen does it…? So, if you’re wanting them to last a little longer, then firstly, get rid of any already rotten leaves as they quickly infect the other healthy leaves. Secondly, wrap the unwashed leaves in a paper towel and store them in a glass airtight container in the fridge. This helps to absorb any excess moisture, which would normally cause the leaves to rot more quickly. There we go, long live leafy greens.

4. Myth Busting

The festering myth that says sticking bananas in the fridge makes them go off more quickly is cutting short the life of a lot of poor bananas. Whilst a banana may well go brown in just a few hours in the fridge, this doesn’t mean that what lies beyond the peel isn’t still perfectly edible. Sounds ominous doesn’t it, ‘beyond the peel’, but in actual fact, the cold temperatures ironically encourage an enzyme found in bananas called polyphenyl oxidase, to polymerise phenols in the banana skin into polyphenols… (Sorry, what?!) In answer to that confused look, basically, the cold does indeed blacken the skin more quickly, but at the same time, keeps the inside from ripening even further. In other words, remember ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’? Well…don’t judge a brown banana by its skin, it’s often still perfectly edible.

5. Active Fresh Blue Light™ - the Protector of Vitamins and Nutrients

You’ve got some tips and tricks but what about the fridge itself? Beko’s Active Fresh Blue Light™ is the protector of vitamins and nutrients! You heard right, it preserves natural flavours and nutritional elements in your healthy fruit and vegetables for longer. You don’t even need to be health obsessed to want your fresh food to give you the health benefits and keeping those nutritional elements in important. Of course, we also want them to still taste good too. You’ll find the Active Fresh Blue Light™ in the crisper of the Beko fridge where it helps your fruit and veg continue to photosynthesise in the fridge. Pretty nifty, hey? Think of it like a greenhouse in your fridge. The beauty of this is your fruit and vegetables are up to 30%* better preserved. Three cheers for this feature!

We may well buy our fresh fruit and veg with all the best intentions, but let’s face it, life happens and often by the time we get to the end of the week, we’re left with fruit and veg that’s a lot squishier and soggier than it was meant to be. With these five top tips and tricks, hopefully your fresh produce can stay fresher and tastier for as long as possible, and you’ll no longer feel a pang of guilt for throwing out food. Plus, it means you can put off starting that diet for a little while longer…we’re all winners!

Find out more about Beko fridges here: https://www.beko.com.au/smart-refrigerators-technology

You can also see how to reduce your food wastage on our blog post, 4 Tips to Reduce Food Wastage: https://www.beko.com.au/blog/4-tips-to-reduce-fresh-food-wastage

Plan Ahead

Knowing what you want to buy and planning out your meals is a great way of not buying more than you need. It also takes the hassle out of deciding what you want to make for dinner at the end of a long working day. It’s a great start to helping reduce the amount of food you throw out into the rubbish. You can also keep a notepad on the fridge with a pen and write on it anytime you run out of something in the fridge. This gives you a running shopping list! What can we say? It’s an easy one!

Buy Fresh & Keep Fresh

Buying fresh fruit and vegetables is a great way to get the healthy food into your daily meals. The first step is buying fresh. The next is keeping it fresh

There are even more ways you can reduce your food waste with the advanced technology in Beko fridges. A sigh of relief, it’s not all up to you!

Beko is helping families keep their fruit and vegetables fresher for longer with a range of innovative and advanced technologies. We can hear the cheers when families can reduce the amount of groceries they throw in the bin after a short time. After all, it’s rather frustrating to buy your fresh fruit and vegetables only to find they are no longer fresh before you actually get to eat them!

Beko fridges reduce fresh food wastage. With Everfresh+ and Active Fresh Blue Light technology your fresh fruit and vegetables will last longer. Firstly, there’s Everfresh+ refrigerator technology. It keeps your food lasting three times longer than your regular cooling technology. Next up, Active Fresh Blue Light™ which has a speciality of preserving those natural flavours and nutritional elements in your healthy food for longer. These two features mean less food wastage which we can all cheer about!

Beko is encouraging families to become more invested in their healthy eating habits and lifestyle through using their innovative technology that aims to help families in their every day. By also reducing food wastage, families will save money and not have to throw out as much food over the year. Together, we can all do our part to reduce the amount of food wastage each year.

Keeping Fresh for 3 Times Longer with EverFresh+

No need to worry about your fresh and healthy fruit and vegetables going off in a few days. With Beko EverFresh+, fruit and vegetables can sit comfortably in the special crisper compartment for up to 30 days*. Condensation is lowered through special air channels and the humidity is controlled meticulously. The temperature variations are minimised, meaning your fruit and vegetables will stay fresh and crisp for up to 3 times longer than normal*.

*Tested by SGS (compared to standard crisper for broccoli and lettuce).

Keeping the Natural Flavours & Nutrition

It’s all well and good keeping your fruit and vegetables fresh, but making sure the natural flavours and nutrients remain is important too. Luckily, when your fridge has Beko Active Fresh Blue Light™ technology, it protects Vitamin C intensity in vegetables and keeps the natural flavours and nutritional elements in your healthy food intact.

The Active Fresh Blue Light™ in your crisper means the photosynthesising of your fruit and veg can continue in the fridge. Think of it like having a greenhouse in your fridge. How good is that? Your curly kale you love (or just eat for the health benefits!) will be bulging with nutrients – and your tomatoes will stay juicy, vitamin rich and plump. Your fruit and vegetables are up to 30%* better preserved thanks to this natural magic! More time to feel smug we think!

* Tested by FRPERC and TÜBİTAK (compared to standard crisper for tomatoes, red and green pepper)

Three cheers for Beko EverFresh+® and Active Fresh Blue Light™ technology that keeps your fresh food tasty and healthy. Beko fridges reduce your fresh food wastage, helping you reduce your contribution to food wastage each year.

Find out more about Beko’s Smart Cooling Technology and Innovation at: https://www.beko.com.au/smart-refrigerators-technology

Ellia teamed up with us here at Beko to launch ‘Eat Like A Pro’, our worldwide initiative to assist parents in inspiring their kids to eat healthier. Our mission is to help tackle the global issue of childhood obesity by showing children what their heroes eat.

Ellia said of the campaign, “Nutrition and healthy eating is a big part of my life and Beko’s Eat Like A Pro campaign is such an important message that I am proud to be part of.”

So, what exactly does an athlete who plays one of the most physical sports eat each day?

6.30am Breakfast: For Ellia, it’s probably the most important meal of the day; she needs to ensure she gets enough energy and nutrients to fuel a long day of training. Generally, this consists of two poached eggs, a piece of brown rye toast, avocado, spinach and mushrooms, accompanied by a smoothie of yoghurt, coconut, water, banana and yet more avocado. Getting the good stuff in early!

8.00am: For all the coffee lovers out there, you’ll be pleased to know that even Ellia Green uses the good old caffeine trick to kick-start her day as she arrives at training. A soy cappuccino is her must-have!

9.30am Snack: As she heads out onto the training field, Ellia grabs a piece of fruit or a protein bar for that last-minute energy kick before her coaches run her into the ground for two and a half hours…

12.00pm: As soon as training finishes, a protein drink is wolfed down to help with muscle recovery. Ice baths then follow (que the shudders) and Ellia tries to drink plenty of water to rehydrate.

12.30pm Lunch: Having hopefully warmed back up a little, lunchtime offers a nutritious meal consisting of vegetables, salad, carbohydrates and two types of meat, all courtesy of the team chefs. Pasta with a meat sauce and a heap of salad is a standard lunch-time meal for Ellia, helping her to re-fuel after a hard morning, and fueling her up for a hard afternoon (a theme’s beginning to develop here…).

2.00pm: Pre-gym snack consisting of a couple of pieces of fruit and some leftovers from lunch (no one wants to waste good food do they?).

4.00pm: After the gym, it’s protein shake and supplement time to speed up yet more muscle recovery, and give her a final burst for (you guessed it…) another training session on the field (now it’s becoming clearer how Ellia developed that physique!).

5.00pm: Training done, Ellia often grabs a quick snack, usually a yoghurt, to celebrate the end of the working day. Safe to say Ellia’s working day is more active than most people’s working week.

6.30pm Dinner: To finish things off, Ellia keeps it simple; usually a couple of types of vegetables with carbohydrates and meats. She’s a big fan of chicken schnitzel and a good old Aussie steak! Once or twice a week she’ll mix things up and cook fish as a main with sweet potatoes and broccoli.

So, there it is. It’s clear that food is such a big part of an athlete’s day. But even for non-athletes, food is an integral aspect of a healthy lifestyle. For humans, food is the equivalent of fuel for a car; if you put the right stuff into the engine, it runs good! If you don’t use the right fuel, the car splutters and struggles. Okay, you’re not going to splutter through life if you don’t take in the right food, but you’ll certainly benefit both mentally and physically if you eat a well-balance diet.

Oh, and one last thing to finish off; fried chicken - that’s Ellia’s go-to cheat meal!

So here are a number of easy-clean options you can utilise to help keep your oven sparkling and your rubber gloves safely stored away at the back of the cupboard - hopefully to never be used again...

1. Pyrolytic Self Cleaning

Yes, it’s as fancy as it sounds and the beauty is that it’s really quite straight forward. Beko’s Pyrolytic function heats up your oven to 480 ̊C; at this temperature, all food residue is turned to ash. That’s the way to do it hey; no chemical cleaning agents required, you’re just utilising an oven’s greatest function – heat production! From grease to ash, and all that you need to do at the end of it is simply wipe out the ash with a damp cloth. Bam, clean.

2. Steam Shine Cleaning

Next up is Beko’s Steam Shine Cleaning that once again, uses heat itself to do all the hard work. Simply pour some water into the reservoir section of the oven, and start the steam cleaning program. The oven heats up to 90 ̊C and the water in the reservoir begins to evaporate into steam. This steam is then injected into the oven cavity and softens any remaining food and oil inside the oven, so all that’s left to do is a gentle wipe over with a cloth. Science hey?

3. Nano Coating Clean Zone

It seems there’s a direct correlation between the tastiness of the food you cook and the amount of mess it leaves in the oven…how can such a tasty turkey leave such awful grease stains?! Have no fear, Beko’s Oleophobic Technology is here (try saying that one quickly…). The oleophobic technology coating on the inside of Beko ovens’ glass doors, helps to resist dirt and grime. Surprise, surprise! There’s no need for heavy duty cleaners, simply a quick wipe with a soft cleanser every 20 uses is all your oven needs. Time to cook the tastiest turkey of all time.

4. Catalytic Liners

Let’s face it, when grease and other substances evaporate and harden on the walls of the oven, it looks and smells not just dirty, but outright filthy. That’s where Beko’s Catalytic Liners are here to help; these are catalytic panels mounted on the back and sides of Beko ovens that absorb cooking grease and reduce food odours. So, do you know what your cleaning role is here? Well, it’s non-existent. Catalytic liners will do it all for you.

Four different technologies, a whole lot of ingenious thought behind them, but all built for the same purpose; to help keep your oven as clean as possible! Hopefully with minimal cleaning required, you will no longer dread the aftermath of a feast, and instead, take the time and pleasure to cook whatever you want, whenever you want. But most importantly, to clean without using those dreaded rubber gloves. You’re welcome.

Step 1 – The Detergent Dispenser

Yes, it may sound like the name of a bad guy in a movie, or the Terminator’s younger brother for that matter, but the detergent dispenser is your friend. So, start by removing it from the washer (pull it out a little, and depress the button in the middle tray). Give the whole thing a good rinse – if you’re using detergent powder then you might get some powder left over, so some hot water and a bit of a scrub with an old toothbrush won’t hurt. It’s also a good idea to clean the bit inside the washing machine as well (where the detergent tray has come out of), so just grab a cloth and give it a wipe over. Now replace the detergent dispenser back into the machine and bam, step 1, finished (or should we say terminated?).

Step 2 – The Filter

A slightly less menacing name, but this guy plays an equally important role. He lives on the bottom right hand side of the washer – that little door. Open it up and you’ll see a filter screw cap and also a little evacuation tube – let’s start with the evacuation tube. It’s a good idea here to have a tray handy (a BBQ tray will do) to capture any water that comes out (if you think you’re too good to use a tray, well, just remember we warned you). Grab the evacuation tube, take off the cap (it’s either blue or purple depending on your washer model) and let the water drain into the tray. Now replace the cap on the tube…easy this, isn’t it?

Next up is the filter screw cap. This time a tray’s not going to cut it, an old towel is your best bet. Give it an anti-clockwise turn and bingo, off comes the filter screw cap. Mop up any water with your towel, and remove any debris that may have been swallowed up by the screw cap. Might as well give it a good clean while you’re at it too.

Tray – tick. Towel – tick. Time to get a chopstick (yes, we’re serious – or if you’re not a fan of Chinese food, then something similarly shaped to a chopstick that you can use as a poking tool). Get down low and check the impeller in the hole where you’ve just taken the screw filter cap off. The impeller is the fan-looking object at the back; have a look for any debris caught up in it and use your chopstick (or alternative utensil of choice) to twirl the impeller round a few times; it may give some resistance, but you’re just checking here that nothing is blocking it from moving round. All sorted? Replace the filter screw cap, put away your chopstick, and close the little door over the filter cap. Step 2, done.

Step 3 – Drum Cleaning

Drum, drum, drum…ah the tension. No need to fear, this is probably the easiest step of all, and requires only a few buttons to be pressed – maximum effort. If your Beko washer has a drum clean cycle, then stick it on. If not, then select cottons and take it up to 90 degrees. No clothes required, no detergent required. This is just to ensure the quality of the inner and outer drum remain intact, and to take away any build-up of detergent or any other debris inside your washer. It’s actually a good idea to do a drum clean cycle every couple of months, as it goes a long way to making sure your washing machine stays in good health. There you go, step 3, finito.

Three simple steps to looking after your washing machine. It’s not hard, it doesn’t take long, and who says it can’t be fun…right? Just think of how white your whites could be and it’ll all be worth it!

Wanting a little more on the washing machine maintenance? This video will take you through the steps: Washing Machine Maintenance video

Find out more about Beko washing machines here: https://www.beko.com.au/smart-washing-machine-technology

1. Arm-less

To kick things off, pull out the bottom basket of the dishwasher to give you easy access to the good stuff, and by good stuff we mean the particle filters and the spray arms of course… So, remove the top and bottom spray arms; the bottom spray arm should just pop right off, and for the top arm, just turn the dial and twist it off. Give the arms a rinse down with a hose to get rid of any debris, and replace them back in the dishwasher (make sure the top arm clicks back into place).

2. Filters Galore

Next, we turn to the filters; the filter container is located in the base of the dishwasher, so twist and lift it out and place it on a work-surface. There are actually two filters contained in this part; a coarse filter to capture any bigger food particles, and a micro-filter to capture the smaller stuff. For the coarse filter, just give it a rinse under the tap and a wipe down too. With the micro-filter, it’s a good idea to get the scourer out and give it a good old scrub both inside and out. Even though it might look clean, it’s important to get as much debris off as possible, to make sure dishwashing performance is at its best (think of the sparkles!). Once you’re done with the filters, pop them back together and then back into the dishwasher the same way as they came out; slide it right in but most importantly make sure it clicks back into place. If it doesn’t click, well, debris can just bypass right by both filters and clog up your dishwasher. Can you think of anything worse?

If you’re lucky enough to have one of the new Premium Beko Dishwashers, then you’ll be blessed with an EverClean filter, which makes maintaining your dishwasher even easier as it keeps the filter clean for up to four times longer. Got to love technology hey?

3. Spigot (it’s a real word ok!)

As much as it may sound like a made-up word, it’s an important part of the plumbing under your sink and vital to the operation of your dishwasher, and since it’s the narrowest point of discharge for the water, it’s where blockages can commonly occur. This part is located under your sink, and is where the discharge hose connects into your S-bend. Don’t worry, that’s the extent of the technical terminology, promise. Remove the clamp connecting the discharge hose to the S-bend, and pull off the hose. This will reveal the beloved spigot; a little spout normally angled at 45 degrees to the S-bend. Check both the hose and spigot are clear of all debris (as already mentioned, if there is a blockage of any kind it’s likely to be here). Re-connect the discharge hose and don’t forget the clamp. Almost done now…

4. Water, Water Everywhere (hopefully not)

Right then, to finish things off, you just need to check if there is any water (caused by a blockage) in the flood pan located at the bottom of the dishwasher. Unfortunately, you will need to move the whole dishwasher out of its normal resting place here, as you’re going to have to tilt the whole thing to get any excess water caused by the blockage out. Before you get tilting, it’s probably a good idea to put an old towel down behind the dishwasher to stop a mini-flood of your kitchen. Better safe than wet, right? Okay then, get tilting. If there is any water in there, make sure it all runs out of the flood pan, but other than that you’re good to go!

So, there are four easy steps on how to maintain your dishwasher; it doesn’t take long, in fact it probably takes the same amount of time to do the above than to read the above. What are you waiting for?! We know appliance maintenance isn’t the most enthralling chore, but five minutes of work is worth it to keep those pearly whites (plates not teeth) as pearly white as possible. Get those dinner party invites sent out…the sparkle king / queen has returned.

For a video reference of what you should do to maintain your dishwasher please watch this video: How to Maintain Your Dishwasher video

Find out more about Beko dishwashers here: https://www.beko.com.au/smart-dishwasher-technology

…A sentence that we are unlikely to have heard someone say in the history of history! And there’s a reason for it; laundry isn’t exactly known for being fun. Laundry isn’t necessarily the most fulfilling, we may even go as far as saying people often say laundry isn’t fair. But we have to do it. So, since we’re stuck with it for the time being until some whizz kid designs some genius invention rendering laundry redundant (that will almost certainly rival the invention of the wheel), we might as well make our laundry-infested lives a little easier. These 5 life hacks genuinely couldn’t be more straight forward, but that’s what makes them so ingenious…right?

1. Divide and Conquer

We’ve all heard the horror stories of a stray red t-shirt making it into the whites wash-load, and we all know the outcome. If an all-pink wardrobe is what you like, then you do you. But, if you want to try and avoid that kind of laundry trauma that stays with you for years to come, then why simply not invest in more than one laundry bag? This way, you can have one for colours and one for whites, and if you’re feeling extra fancy, maybe even one for delicates or a ‘wash immediately’ basket… Label them however you like, but separating your clothes into their laundry baskets accordingly as you take them off, will not only save you time later down the line, but will negate any risk of 50 shades of pink. Phew.

2. Bright Whites and Rich Colours

Washing can feel stressful when you’re not sure what clothes to wash together – and what to wash separately. As we mentioned earlier, make sure you separate your colours, this is a great start! Pre-treat any stains and you are well on the way to preparing your clothes for a better-looking life. Another tip is to take your clothes out of the washing machine ASAP once the cycle is finished.

If you’re the type that will only wear the whitest of whites, then you’re in luck; that friend of yours that lives high in the sky has the opposite effect on white clothes than it does on your skin. Believe it or not, UV light whitens whites. So, when you can, stick your whites on the line rather than in the dryer. You’re welcome sunshine (sorry, couldn’t resist).

3. Soft and Sensual, NOT Sandpapery Scrub

As towels age, they tend to change from a beautiful, soft, fluffy texture to a more sandpaper-esque feel that exfoliates you when you don’t want to be exfoliated. Let’s face it, no one likes a rough, crunchy towel, no, we want to be pampered not punished! Did you know high speed spin flattens out the towels? That’s right, the faster the spin, the less fluffy those towels you love are going to be. Try the 800-1000rpm and you are going to be much happier. Give the 1400rpm a miss!

If you find the towels still need a bit of extra softness, your towels may have excess detergent residue in there. An easy solution is to do a double cycle. First wash as normal, then use the second cycle without detergent. A handy trick that will take the excess suds out to make the towels even softer!

Get ready for the lightest, softest, fluffiest drying-down you’ve ever had.

4. The Bigger, the Better

‘Go hard or go home’ might not be the best life motto, but ‘go big or go home’ – now that could be spot on when it comes to laundry. If doing laundry gets you down, then surely you’ll be happier if you do less of it? So, why not wash your laundry in bulk? And with Beko’s 10kg Front Loading washing machine, we mean a whole 10kg of bulk (surprise surprise). We’re not advocating literally washing everything you own in one go, no, it’s not a good idea to wait until you’re on that final pair of underwear. Stay hygienic please. But, gone are the days of little and often, welcome to big and rare…catchy right? But seriously, the less laundry days the better.

5. Fold on the Go

You’ve done the hard part; separated the laundry out, stuck the wash on, dried it, now you just have to fold it and put it away. So near, yet so far. But have no fear, we’ve found a way to end this nightmare a little quicker. Ready? Fold the clothes right as you take them out the dryer or off the line… (we told you these were simple). Yes, it sounds mind-numbingly basic, but rather than pile the clothes as you empty the dryer, only to then have to fold them later on, fold on the go. Save your time, save your sanity.

That’s it, we’re done. Laundry is never not going to need doing, so you might as well get good at it, and hopefully these 5 tips can help you along the way. The easier the better, the quicker the better, and who knows, one day you might even enjoy laundry day… okay, too far.

Looking for some more laundry love? Find out more about the Beko’s Premium Laundry Range here: https://www.beko.com.au/laundry

For lovers of Turkish coffee, you are going to love our traditional Turkish Coffee Machine! It’s so easy to enjoy the traditional Turkish coffee with the Beko Turkish Coffee Machine. Simply add coffee, sugar, put the coffee pot in the machine, press a button and in a few seconds, you have perfect Turkish coffee – every time!

Now you can get your fragrant, perfectly brewed and delicious Turkish coffee with simply the touch of a button. Does this make you weak at the knees? Well, maybe you should take a seat because you can now effortlessly enjoy the unique taste of Turkish coffee without the long process.

If you’re after a low-maintenance, sleek and slimline machine that can prepare up to three perfect cups of traditional Turkish coffee, then the Turkish Coffee Maker BKK 2300 is for you. With simple one-touch operation and an audible warning that lets you know your coffee is ready, it is perfect for our busy lives. One cup is as easy as three cups of Turkish coffee with this machine. Don’t worry if you need more, we’ve got even numbers sorted for you too.

The Beko Turkish Coffee Maker BKK 2113 can create one to four cups of perfect coffee simultaneously at the touch of a button. More than that, it allows you to prepare two different tasting coffees simultaneously! It’s the perfect coffee maker for a popular soul like yourself. Equipped with a 1L detachable smart water tank, the Beko coffee machine allows for easy refilling,

No worries about spilling either, as the machines are fitted with a special anti-flood system called Anti-Spill. The Cook Sense technology boils coffee to give the consistency and excellent taste of Turkish coffee, with the Spinjet water jet mixing system making sure it’s all blended to perfection.

Beko have created user-friendly coffee machines that are easy to use, efficient and low maintenance, yet still create that perfectly brewed, aromatic Turkish coffee – every time. That’s why Beko are the official partner of coffee breaks.

Find the range of Turkish coffee machines and Turkish coffee here: https://shop.beko.com.au

The secret to packing a healthy, nutritious and simple lunch box is to make sure you are using real, fresh food not pre-packaged snacks and allowing an extra 10 – 15 minutes in the kitchen to prepare the lunch box.

Below are some simple and healthy lunch box ideas from Eat Like A Pro by Beko that will help you prepare delicious and nutritious breakfasts and snacks for your kids that will have the entire class envious

Make kids go nuts with fruits and nuts

The most natural, nutritious, and quick alternative for a snack is always a handful of seasonal fruits mixed with a handful of nuts* such as almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts to fuel your child’s day. The fresher the fruits and nuts, the better and try to avoid pre-roasted, salted or seasoned nuts as these have hidden and unhealthy additives.

No matter how many times brands write “all-natural” on their juices, bottled fruit juices are never the same as the fruit itself. Juices are typically rich in added sugars and receive heat treatment that destroys their vitamins. If the time and energy to squeeze the juice out of fruits seem like too much work, remember, you can always serve them whole or sliced up instead

Sliced fruit is one of the most fun ways to serve fruit because you can make your own creations out of it! Try arranging fruits and nuts to make shapes or faces, or you can even turn the nuts or seeds into a paste, like tahini. Grated coconut is always a fun ingredient and adds that element of yum to any banana or apple.

* Always check with the school on their allergy policies before including nuts in a lunch box.

Don’t forget the good ol’ sandwich

Sandwiches are a classic lunch box addition. Not only are they quick and easy to make but with the right ingredients they can be nutritious and healthy too. The way to a healthy and delicious sandwich starts with the bread. If you’re not making your own, we suggest you buy your bread from the bakery and make sure you’re picking a loaf made from whole grain flour that has gone through a slow fermentation process.

Now comes the fun part: the filling! Avoid processed products like cold meats, commercial sauces, and jams or hazelnut cream. Instead, use fresh and natural ingredients like:

• Guacamole
• Hummus
• Homemade nut pastes or fruit spreads,
• Fresh goats or sheep cheese with a spoonful of raw honey,
• Rocket or spinach

With a little bit of imagination, you’ll be able to come up with lots of personalised sandwich designs for your kids and with a little added time and effort, you can prepare some cool lunch boxes.

Whatever recipe you choose, just remember these top tips:

• If you use flour, make it whole grain.
• If you want to sweeten things up, use natural ingredients like fresh or dried fruit (dates, dried apricots, raisins), cinnamon, vanilla, carob, or honey.
• Organic, unprocessed food are always better than pre-packaged or processed options.

By following the above tips and using fresh and healthy ingredients, not only will you have your children eating like pros, but you’ll be prepping lunch boxes like a pro too!

The Food Pyramid is, in general, a reasonable nutritional guideline to a healthier lifestyle. However, a thing called ‘life’ often gets in the way doesn’t it? We’re all busy almost every second of every day now, so convenience is a must. Plus, kids’ diet requirements are slightly different to ours since their nervous system is still developing. Therefore, we at Beko, have come up with just 5 tips for you to help ensure your kids’ nutrition is balanced and healthy.

1. Try the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate instead of the Food Pyramid

Think of the food pyramid as your shopping list. It shows the kinds of foods a healthy diet should include. However, what can be tricky, is portion sizes.

The Harvard Plate (developed by the Harvard School of Public Health) provides visual guidance to make all meal preparation as simple as possible. With one quick look, you can check if your plate contains the right amounts of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy proteins, and oils.Portion sizes will differ for adults versus children, but the proportions of food combinations are the same. Handy hey?

The gist of the breakdown is as follows; fruits and veggies should make up half of your plate, a quarter of the remaining half-plate should be protein based, and the final quarter of your plate should be full of carbs, yes carbs. Don’t try and stay away from carbs like all those fad diets preach, they are not the devil, no, they are a necessity for long-lasting energy. Some people say, ‘variety is the spice of life’, we say ‘colour is the spice of life’. If your plate consists of a rainbow of colours, you’re doing well.

2. Choose the cleanest protein

Now, what we mean by clean here, is ‘ease of processing’. Some proteins are a lot harder for our bodies to process than others, and so for children, whose bodily functions might be more susceptible to being overworked, this is especially important. With this in mind, you could for instance serve one of the day's meals with protein from pulses, for example, and the other from animals (as mentioned before, the cleanest animal proteins come from fish and eggs). Clean proteins like these will help both your body and your child’s body to eliminate any waste with as much ease as possible. You’re welcome!

3. Don’t forget to include healthy fats in every meal

Fats are essential for healthy growth in children, and they’re also an essential part of the adult diet as well. However, they should be carefully selected. The best fats come from extra virgin olive oil, dried fruits, seeds, egg yolks and avocado. Other kinds of fat, like saturated fats, trans fats, refined vegetable oil and butter are not so good for you, and should try to be avoided where possible. Of course, a fatty treat once in a while isn’t going to do you any harm, but just make sure that your version of ‘once in a while’, isn’t in fact, once a day…we know that old trick!

4. Superfoods with calcium

As soon as we hear the word calcium, most of us will think of dairy products. Well, you’re not wrong. Dairy products are indeed rich in calcium, but as many parents of kids with dairy allergies will know, they are not the only source of the magic C. If you’re looking for dairy alternatives that provide you with your calcium intake, then look no further; broccoli, sesame seeds, almonds, and sardines are fantastic sources. Plus, a little bit of time in the sun each day can help calcium to lodge in our bones (remember the sun cream though, not even Chris Hemsworth would look good burnt like a lobster).

5. Whole is always better

In many countries, cereals are still the main source of the diet. No, we don’t mean Coco Pops or Frosties, as fantastic as that might seem, we mean wheats, oats, rice, corn etc. The trick here, is to always go for the whole grain version instead of the refined version. The whole grain versions are how the cereals come naturally, whereas refined means processed, which leads to the loss of many nutritious elements. For instance, the remaining product in a refined version is rich in carbs but pretty much only in carbs, which gives us ‘empty’ energy. In contrast, whole grain versions are often a rich source of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, oils, and protein, and helps our energy to last longer throughout the day.

So, there you go, 5 easy tips to send you on your way to a healthier lifestyle. Now there’s no excuses…right?

For healthy and delicious kid friendly recipes visit: http://eatlikeaprobybeko.com.au/