Meeting up at the bar or pub? Sharing a drink with friends? These are the times when you notice salty snacks everywhere – potato crisps, corn chips, beer nuts, cashews, pretzels and rice cracker snacks. Salty snacks fly under the radar – no one remembers eating them. Yet they’re a big problem for health and may explain why you can’t lose weight. Here’s my take on them.

This post has been sponsored by Heart Active

Milk. It’s one of those basic foods that’s been in our lives ever since our toddler days. Like all full-fat dairy foods, milk contains saturated fat and is often avoided if your doctor suddenly announces that you have to lower your cholesterol and you’re a sitting duck if you don’t do something FAST.

Fortunately, there are many good-tasting no-fat, low-fat and skim milks on offer but if you’re out to lower your cholesterol then why not drink a milk that will actively help? Having put my husband on it as part of his cholesterol-lowering diet, I thought it was time to take a closer look at HeartActive.

With their bright colours and pack shots of root vegetables, they scream "healthier snack". But are vegetable chips really better? We did a taste test side by side of two brands of vegetable chips and line them up against your standard salted potato crisp to see how they fare.

Less than 10 calories per serve? Fewer calories than a slice of bread? Fat-free, low-carb, low GI, high-fibre AND gluten-free? Ticking all the boxes, it sounds too good to be true. When the people at Chang’s handed me a packet of their new Lo-Cal Wok-Ready noodles to try telling me how fast sales were growing, I realised this was a new trend. Then when I spotted a similar noodle called Slim Pasta at the supermarket, I knew I had to investigate.

"Fast, fabulous & flavoursome recipes using 4 Ingredients. Written by Rachael Bermingham and Kim McCosker, these bestselling cookbooks are jam packed full of quick, easy and very delicious recipes that you can easily whip up to WOW your friends and family ..." That's the promise.

Are you so busy at work that you can't even spare ten minutes to go out and buy lunch? Wouldn't it be great if there were something quick and easy you could grab; something you could keep in your desk drawer; something that doesn't need to be refrigerated and yet is healthy?

Soup is one of my favourite winter meals. Thick and hearty, it's warming and satisfying. It's a key food if you want to lose some weight without going hungry. Soups are pretty easy to make (unlike pastry or fiddly finger food) but, depending on the type, can take 2 or 3 hours, as they often require long, slow simmering.

When it comes to serve sizes on food labels, you'll find not all serves equal! Read on to see how you can avoid being fooled when it comes to how big that portion that you're eating really is. If you're trying to eat a healthy, balanced diet or stick to a healthy weight loss regime this is "must have" information.