We all know how important eating plenty of fruit and vegetables is in overall health and wellbeing, such as maintaining a healthy weight and cutting our risk of diseases such as diabetes and cancer.

But it can be easy to miss out on your 5-a-day if you lead a busy lifestyle that leads you to eat on the run or order a pizza after a long day at work.

With the summer months just around the corner, now is a great time to start thinking about finding ways to introduce more fruit and veg into your day.

Here are some easy ways to get your 5-a-day, with less effort than you might think!

* Start the day with a smoothie: you can find loads of tried and tested recipes for smoothies that contain both fruit and vegetables – a great way to get one if not all of your five portions in one hit! = up to 5 portions

* Take fruit to work: keep a bag of apples or oranges in your desk so you can nibble on them when you get peckish, instead of being tempted to hit the canteen for a chocolate bar. = 2 or more portions

* Keep fruit in your bag or car: the same as at work, keeping a piece of fruit in your bag means you have a healthy snack for while you’re out and about. = 1 or more portions

* Add frozen veg to everything: if you’re making a curry or similar dish with a jar of ready-made sauce, give it a vegetable boost by throwing in a few handfuls of frozen veg – broccoli, green beans, or a bag of mixed veg work particularly well for this, and you’ll have another portion or two in no time. = 2 portions

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A friend recently sent me a nifty little email suggesting 20 ways to make life easier. Usually this type of mail would go straight into the trash but, for some reason (let’s call it ‘the spirit of the new year’s resolution), I didn’t bin it.

And I am glad I didn’t – it has some cool ideas relating randomly to house-keeping, holidaying, cooking, children and just life in general.

Have a read and you will undoubtedly catch yourself saying ‘now, why didn’t I think of that?’:

* Freeze Aloe Vera in ice-cube trays for soothing sunburn relief.

* Rub a walnut over scratches in your furniture will disguise dings and scrapes.

* Remove crayon masterpieces from your TV or computer screen with WD40 (also works on walls).

* Overhaul your linen cupboard – store bed linen sets inside one of their own pillowcases and there will be no more hunting through piles for a match.

* Pump up the volume by placing your iPhone / iPod in a bowl – the concave shape amplifies the music.

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Gone are the days of ‘spectacles’ and ‘nerdy’ as synonymous terms. Or perhaps that’s not quite right; perhaps specs are still ‘nerdy’ but nerdy is sexy? Hmm…

What research is saying is that spectacles make men up to 75% more sexually attractive to women.

SelectSpecs.com, an online glasses retailer, recently hit the High Street armed with photographs of five male models, both with and without their specs. The SelectSpecs team asked members of the public to rate the models’ faces against a series of characteristics.

Astonishingly, 100% of the models were considered sexier, more employable, trustworthy and intelligent when wearing their specs. Check it out…

On the whole, the models were thought to be:

* 14% more attractive with specs

* 22% more intelligent with specs

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What will we be eating and how will we be shopping in the year 2012? If you have no plan in mind, food&drink towers recently published a survey-based report on the Ten Top Food Trends for 2012 – an interesting read for food fanatics, health freaks, budding chefs and pretty much anyone who likes to eat.

In précis form, check out the top ten predicted food trends for the coming year:

1. Regional producers will get a boost: the importance of supporting local produce will increase in the shopping habits of the consumer – the buzz term being ‘going local’. That said; ethical consumption, including organics, is expected to decline in importance in 2012. Organic is expensive and we are still living in a recession after all.
2. Consumers will use food and drink to improve mood: depression, which affects many people within society, stands out as a major area for development in the mood foods category and there are increasing links between nutrition and depression. Serotonin is a brain chemical believed to promote calmness and ease depression. Foods themselves don’t contain serotonin but what you eat may be able to tip the balance in favour of increased serotonin production in the brain – improving mood.

3. Packaging innovations to provide the answer: as costs are cut across the food and drink industry supply chain, packaging will become a focus for brand owners keen to improve margins from production to market. Reducing packaging weight/size, also known as ‘lightweighting’, is not only an environmentally-friendly move but can result in cost savings over the long term.

4. Learning to grow your own, bake your own and make your own food: cooking shows inspire home cooking.

5. Foraging for truffles, mushrooms, wild berries and edible mini-beasts will increase in popularity: for those of us who have the time, space and ‘know-how’ for a little forage (ARE YOU ALSO LAUGHING?)… and for those of us who don’t, courses are available nationwide teaching people how to forage, what to look for, and then turning their discoveries into three-course meals.

6. Dinner party will become more frequent, inventive but not necessarily more expensive: original recipes and unusual ingredients will be the focus for home-cooks who will be influenced by television programmes, foodie magazines, websites, social networks such as Twitter and Facebook and Smartphone apps.

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The thought of smelling like something that has just emerged from Willy Wonka’s sweet factory sends excited shivers up my spine. I like the idea of smelling edible – like a candyfloss or marshmallow.

The whimsy of fantastical, sweet scents appeals to the girl in me who wishes she lives in a world of palaces, princes, pomp and poof.

And, for once, I am bang on trend.

According to dooyoo.co.uk, the user-generated price comparison website, smelling like a giant candy is what women want.

If you’re fragrance shopping for a gal pal or helping a desperate guy friend find a trendy fragrance for his lady love; designer names, candy scents and innovative packaging are where it’s at. Sweet smelling fragrances are in….

The New York Times’ beauty section calls it “A Little Confection Behind the Ear”.

Fragrances such as Angel – a heavy dose of patchouli with a candy centre– say ‘bye-bye’ to the likes of flowery, powdery smells of previous years… FINALLY! Angel is the fifth-best selling scent in the United States, and there are at least there are at least 50 new sugar infested fragrances similar to Angel now on the market, including Calvin Klein Euphoria, Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb and Chanel Coco Mademoiselle.

There’s also Diesel Loverdose (with notes of vanilla and liquorice) and Prada Candy, which smells like a vanilla-caramel sundae made with artisanal ice cream.

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