Powered by Youth Support + Advocacy Service (YSAS), febfast is the great Australian pause from alcohol, sugar or something of your choice for the month of February in support of disadvantaged young people aged 12-25 across the country. At Eat Smart, we turned out minds to how we can help the environment throughout febfast, by going without take away coffee cups! Here is our review on 3 of the different types of reusable coffee mugs we use in our office!

Acrosteel Drinkware Mug $9

Now this is the basics of all basics when it comes to reusable coffee mugs. The Acrosteel coffee mug is made of double wall glass, and a silicone lid and band. These mugs can be found on your daily grocery shop at Woolworths, and are sticking to a budget whilst saving the environment. This mug definitely serves it’s purpose, though we do have reports that the silicone lid does get loose after a few months, so if you plan on sipping your cappuccino in the car on the way to work… don’t wear white! (We know from experience).

Keep cups! $15 – 35

If you have a keep cup, you know you are a little bit hip, and a little bit trendy. Keepcups come in small, medium and large and fit under most coffee machines. The original keep cup was made of plastic, though this got some bad reviews saying the plastic isn’t giving the coffee connoisseur the flavour they were after. In 2014 Keepcup bought out a a glass model. KeepCup’s Brewcup is made with tempered soda lime glass, a silicone lid and a plastic or cork band. Eat Smart dietitians who use the Keepcup say it is the perfect size, doesn’t drip and fits perfectly in their car coffee holders when on the go!

Frank Green Reusable smart cup $25- $35

Now there is no argument that the Frank Green coffee cup is aesthetically pleasing, the sleek rounded edges of the cup give the cup a modern and clean look. The Frank Green ‘smart cup’ reusable coffee cup is made from a BPA free and non-toxic plastic that claims to be stain and odour resistant. There is also a thermo plastic outer layer which keeps your coffee hotter for longer and has a nice grip feel to it. But lets talk about the really impressive thing here, the smart cup is also installed with a cafépaychip so you can literally swipe your cup to pay for your drink. Faaaaaancy. Though be warned, one Eat Smart team member has mention that the cup is not the easiest to drink out of!

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder characterised by an excess of the androgen hormones and affects approximately 5-10% of pre-menopausal women. This results in disruptions to a woman’s normal menstrual cycle and the failure to ovulate normally.

Women with PCOS may experience a range of symptoms, including acne, difficulty managing body weight (especially abdominal fat), insulin resistance, menstrual disturbances (irregular, light or absent periods) or symptoms associated with menstruation such as cramps and abdominal bloating, and excess growth of body hairs.  Those with PCOS also have symptoms of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high triglycerides.

Due to the insulin resistance, women with PCOS have an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.  Those with PCOS also increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Dietary management of PCOS is important, with studies pointing towards the importance of eating a lower carbohydrate diet (40-43%) and replacing these carbohydrates with monounsaturated fat.  Now, when we say ‘lower’, it does not mean NO carbohydrate.  Wholegrains are an important component to the diet, as they provide us with fibre, antioxidants and a variety of vitamins and minerals. They improve our gut health and help prevent conditions such as diverticulitis and cancer.  But carbohydrate should be portion controlled and ideally consuming carbohydrates which are of a low glycaemic index.  Examples of low glycaemic index (GI) carbohydrates include sweet potato, lentils, legumes, wholegrain bread, oats and pasta.

Studies have also shown that weight loss improves the presentation of PCOS.  A weight loss of 5-10% of body weight can drastically improve insulin sensitivity by 70% (or in less technical terms, improves how well you can process carbohydrate in the body and therefore will store LESS carbohydrate as fat).  “Healthy fats” are also seen as very important in the diet.  Substituting excess carbohydrate with foods high in monounsaturated fats, such as avocado, olive oil, canola oil and nuts.  Additionally adding ‘omega 3s’ foods to the diet, helps decrease cardiovascular risk.  You can do this by adding chia seeds or flaxseeds to your cereal or yoghurt or aim to consume at least 3 serves of 90g fatty fish (such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, trout, herring, per week).

So what can you take away from this?  Portion controlling your carbohydrate, eating low GI carbohydrates as well as including some good fats in your diet can help improve your symptoms of PCOS.  To help tailor a plan to suit your individual needs and preferences, consult one of our dietitians for a nutritional plan.

One of the hardest meals to work out what to eat when you’re pregnant is lunch.  Concern of listeria and food poisoning risk means that your usual ham and cheese sandwich is not as safe as it once was!  Some suggestions which will hopefully inspire a more interesting lunch are;

• Tuna on rice: Don’t be scared to have fish during your pregnancy due to mercury concerns!  It is important to have fish during your pregnancy, just chose those lower in mercury.   Fish such as tuna and salmon are high in omega 3s and are lower in mercury so can be eaten 3 x/week (150g serve).  Tinned tuna or salmon is so quick and easy and if you are low in time, mix with microwave brown rice or quinoa.  Throw in either some left-over vegies, frozen vegies or dice up tomato, capsicum and cucumber and wallah, you have an easy, healthy lunch!
• Toasted wrap or sandwich with left-over chicken and salad.  As long as you have cooked the chicken fresh the day before and stored it correctly (below 5°), there is no reason you cannot have a toasted chicken wrap or sandwich with the left-overs.  Food safety guidelines recommend you reheat food to at least 60° so that it is steaming hot.
• Egg salad.  Eggs are high in protein and a good source of vitamin D.  Chop up your salad ingredients of choice and add a boiled egg as your source of protein.  Why not add some tinned beans such as chickpeas or cannellini beans to bump up the protein and fibre content!
• Mini pizzas:  Use a wholegrain wrap, a sprinkle of cheese, vegies of your choice and either some meat/chicken or try chickpeas/beans for extra fibre.
• Left-overs:  Left-over pasta, stirfry or other dishes as long as stored correctly and reheated to at least 60°.
• Quick and easy at work: Avocado + tomato + hard cheese on 2 slices of multigrain or sour dough toast.  This has been a go to for many of our Eat Smart dietitian during pregnancy!
• A hearty soup with a slice of grainy bread or a roll
• Omlettes or frittatas: omelettes and frittatas are a great way of getting some protein and a good whack of vegetables in a delicious meal.  Pop in some corn or sweet potato or serve with a slice of grainy bread.  Just make sure you eat straight after cooking.
• Sushi and rice paper rolls.  Once again, there is no reason you could not have these, just make it yourself and DON’T use raw meat of course!
• Another quick and easy, Baked beans on toast.  They are great for breaky but also make a good emergency lunch when you are running low on food.

 As we enter spring and recognise Women’s Health Week, Eat Smart would like to share our support in providing recipe inspiration designed at improving women health!

These recipes are enriched with plenty of dietary fibre for bowel health and weight management; omega 3 for joint health, heart health and brain function; and phytoestrogens to help reduce menopause symptoms. 

Enjoy!

BREAKFAST:

Ingredients:

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees.  Mix all ingredients except the blueberries in a bowl.
2. Spread over a large baking tray and bake for 30 mins, stirring occasionally until lightly browned.
3. Allow to cool and then mix through blueberries.
4. Store in a dry container.

LUNCH:

Ingredients:

750g pumpkin, seeded and cut into 1cm wedges

DINNER:

Spicy Chickpeas with Eggplant and Cous Cous

Ingredients:

60mls lemon juice

1 med. brown onion, cut in thin wedges

2 garlic cloves, crushed

6 (about 480g) baby eggplant, sliced

1 x 400g can diced tomatoes

250mls (1 cup) vegetable stock

1 400g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained

380g (2 cups) couscous

250mls (1 cup) fresh orange juice

75g (1/2 cup) currants

1 tsp olive oil

1 tbsp Moroccan seasoning (Masterfoods brand)

*(for a higher dietary fibre option, choose quinoa instead of cous cous)

Method:

1. Heat 2 tbsp of the lemon juice in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic. Cover and cook for 3 minutes or until slightly softened.
2. Add eggplant and spice mix and stir to coat well. Cook for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas.
3. Prepare the couscous according to packet directions replacing 250mls (1 cup) of water with the orange juice. Stir in currants and olive oil and stand for 2 minutes.
4. Serve with the chickpea curry.

 SNACK:

Ingredients:

1. Preheat oven to 150°C.

2. Combine linseed, almond meal, pumpkin seed, walnuts and cranberries

3. Add oil, honey and vanilla and mix through until combined

4. Divide into 30 balls, place onto a baking tray lined with bake paper and flatten slightly.

5. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until golden and cooked through.

6. Rest on tray until cool and store up to 2 weeks.

Whether you are choosing vegan or plant based eating for religious, economic, ethical, environmental, human or health reasons. Plant based diets can provide your body with all of the required nutrients (vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, fats) but a little more planning and care is often required.  If you have made the decision to become vegan,then you should also make the commitment to ensure that your diet is nutritionally adequate.

If you are following a vegetarian diet, it is important to take extra care to ensure that adequate sources of protein are provided in your diet.

Protein is required for growth, repair and maintenance of body tissue and the immune system.  When protein is digested it is broken down into amino acids.  There are 23 amino acids provided by foods, of these eight are considered essential as they cannot be manufactured by the body.

Whole plant foods contain all the essential amino acids.  Soy protein in particular is high in all the amino acids and should be included in the plant based diet regularly.  Legumes (lentils, chickpeas, peanuts, soy), quinoa, amaranth, pistachios and pumpkin seeds are high in an amino acid called lysine which is the amino acid most at risk in a plant based diet.  Include lysine rich proteins in your diet daily.

Special Vegetarian Products

TVP or textured vegetable protein is a plant protein derived from the soybean.  It can be used as a meat substitute and comes mainly in the dehydrated form.  There are other products available also such as nutmeat, vegetarian sausages and ‘vegie’ burgers.  These products are not essential in the vegetarian diet and are more expensive than legumes.  Despite this, they provide quick and tasty meals for those times when you don’t feel like preparing a meal from scratch and should be relatively well-accepted by the non-vegetarians in your household (if there are any).  Quorn products (in the frozen section of the supermarket) are made from extracted protein from corn and may also provide a convenience protein source (Quorn does contain egg white so may not be suitable for Vegan eaters).

Getting Enough Protein Each Day

Adults need about 40-100g of protein a day. Vegetarian and vegan foods containing protein include milk alternatives and soymilk, soy cheese & yoghurt, legumes (e.g. chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans and other beans), tofu and other soy products, nuts and seeds. In order to consume the required amount of protein each day, vegans should eat at least 3 serves of dairy alternatives as well as at least 1 serve of meat alternatives at least twice per day.

One serve of meat alternatives provides about 12g protein and is equal to:

-       ¾ cup cooked legumes/beans (e.g. ½ can baked beans)

-       50g nuts/seeds

-       100g Tofu

If you have recently turned towards a plant based diet, and aren’t quite sure if your diet is adequate, come and see an Eatsmart dietitian at one of our 11 locations.

You have made it to the middle of winter, the first month of exercise and healthy eating went smoothly, but those dark mornings and cold winter nights have crept up on you and you are having more sleep ins than frosty workouts, and indulging a little too much in some warming comfort food. Does this sound familiar? To help you out, Eat Smart has their top 5 tips for healthy eating and keeping up exercise in those cold winter months.

1. Take care of the immune system.

Getting a cold or flu during winter can put a halt to any exercise regime you had planned or had built up over the warmer months. Feeding your body with certain foods can help boost your immune system to keep those pesky colds away. When going for immunity boosting foods, go for variety of colours! A few of our favourite immunity boosters are capsicum, broccoli, garlic, citrus fruit, broccoli, ginger and spinach.

2.     Soups!

Soup can be a delicious and comforting way to get in that immunity boosting food. Sometimes the best soups are the ones where you throw in all of the random left over veg in the fridge into a pot, cook it away with some stock and blend it all together. Serving this with some crusty bread will give you the comfort food feeling, without added calories.

3.     Avoid extra calories in the hot drinks

We all know the best winter warmer can be a hot chocolate or a steaming hot chai late, but these can often come with huge amounts of added sugar and unwanted calories. A standard hot choc can have around 4 teaspoons of sugar, and a café style chai late around 6 teaspoons. To make a warming hot chocolate at home, which will nourish your body in the cold winter months, combine 1 cup of milk of your choice, with one tablespoon of cocoa, ¼ of a teaspoon of cinnamon and ½ teaspoon of honey. Yum!

4.     Exercise

Exercise enhances our mood and gives you an energy boost we are all so often missing in the cooler months. The best way to face that winter chill first thing in the morning is in numbers! Grab a friend who is also struggling to get their daily exercise in during winter and exercise together. Make a commitment to each other to 4-5 mornings/ week and set goals. Step counter challenges is often a way to keep the motivation up! HOT TIP: Wear layers! Fabrics that keep water away from the skin will avoid you becoming wet and cold.

5.     Look for opportunities

If you really are a cold frog, make the most of every opportunity to exercise. If you work in an office block, take the stairs and avoid the lift. Park the car a few blocks away from the train station or the office. Where possible, stand instead of sitting at work.

Cold months won’t be around for much longer, before you know it, we will be giving you tips on how to stay cool during your summer exercise!

Kale and coconut oil are trendy for being ‘Super Foods’.  But just how nutritional are they?  Let’s start with Kale.

Kale is a highly nutritional food, it is high in vitamin A, C, K and Folate.  An added bonus is that it is very low in calories (what we call a ‘free’ vegetable).  So yes, it is GREAT for you. However, do remember that other greens are also great for you.  Spinach additionally contains these nutrients with the addition of Iron and Calcium. Both spinach and kale contain a lot of nutrients and antioxidants and are both wonderful additions to our diet.   Enjoy kale but even better, mix it up with other greens and a variety of coloured vegetables.  No one food provides us with all the nutrients we need and the more variety the better.

Coconut oil, on the other hand, is still a controversial topic between health professionals, nutrition bloggers and those with invested interest in nutrition.  It is very high in saturated fat, which means it can raise total blood cholesterol, both healthy High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) and unhealthy Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL).  In turn high LDL can increase your risk of heart disease.  Dietitians will not recommend using coconut oil as your daily cooking oil but it is fine to use in moderation.  It can add some great flavor to protein balls or other baked products but best not to use in large amounts. Keep your coconut oil to your treats foods and aim to use a good quality extra virgin olive oil for your cooking.  Olive oil is still the oil which has the most health benefits due to its low saturated fat content, high monounsaturated fat content and antioxidant properties.  If you are confused about what is best for you, seek advice from an accredited practicing dietitian.

Peita

Nutrition for Active Minds

It is important for your child to start the day with breakfast as studies have shown that children who don’t have breakfast have trouble concentration in the morning.  Breakfast should ideally include a source of carbohydrate and protein and it is also a good time to try and get a source of fruit or dairy in.  Some good examples include:

• A bowl of cereal with milk
• Muesli with yoghurt  and fruit
• Piece of wholegrain toast + glass of milk
• Fruit smoothie made on reduced fat milk, fruit and dash of honey/yoghurt

If your child finds it hard to eat in the morning, offer something simple such as a piece of fruit, glass of milk or piece of toast.  Or simply a sandwich on the drive in if they struggle to eat in the mornings.   Trying to get something, rather than nothing, will help fuel their brain before their morning break!

Filling their lunch box with nutritious snacks will also help keep their performance and energy levels up throughout the day.  It is sometimes hard to find food that is interesting and still looks appetizing throughout the day.  Remember to:

• Always include a cold/frozen drink bottle with water to keep snacks cool or cooler pack
• Include something from each food groups: breads/cereals, vegetables/salad, fruit, dairy or alternative and meat or alternative.

Some snack options include:

-        Vegetables stick with hommus or tzatziki

-        Crispbreads (preferably wholegrain such as vitaweats, multigrain salads, ryvitas) with cheese or spread

-        Fruit  – fresh or packages/canned in natural juice (aim for 2 serves per day)

-        Yoghurt

-        Rice crackers, corn thins, rice thins

-        Milk drinks

-        Cheese

-        Custard or creamed rice

-        Homemade healthy muffins, banana bread, pikelets, scones

-        Popcorn

-        Healthy muesli bars

Some lunch ideas include:

• Sandwiches (grainy or high fibre bread) with meat/chicken/fish/egg/cheese and salad filling
• Mountain bread or wraps with meat/chicken/fish/cheese and salad
• Grain or wholemeal crispbread or crackers with cheese/tuna and tomato
• Salad with lean meat/chicken/tuna/cheese/egg – can add cooked pasta/rice etc
• Chunky tinned or homemade soup with bread
• Homemade hamburgers (use small rolls)
• Homemade pizza on small pita breads
• Jacket potato with small tin baked beans and a sprinkle of cheese
• Noodles mixed with tuna/chopped chicken/cheese and some vegetables
• Leftover pasta or fried rice
• Small can baked beans, creamed corn or spaghetti on toast

Written by Peita Hynes, Accredited Practising Dietitan located at Family Doctors Plus at Windsor.

Cramping in a marathon, should I take a magnesium supplement?

Just when you feel you have done all the work and you are on track for a P.B., BANG, the dreaded calf cramp at the 32km mark of a marathon.  So will taking magnesium prior to the marathon prevent this?  To answer this question we will look into what a muscle cramp is and why it happens.

An Exercise Associated Muscle Cramp (EAMC) is a sudden, involuntary painful spasm or contraction of a muscle.  Usually it will happen in one of the active muscles of the activity you are doing, for example, when running; a calf cramp.

As much as the supplement companies would like you to believe that taking a magnesium supplement will stop you from cramping, scientific evidence to date suggests there is not a strong link between EAMC and magnesium supplementation.  The most agreed upon theory is that EAMC is fatigue of the exercising muscle.

What does cause a cramp then?

The common risk factors are:

-       Having a history of cramps (you are a cramper!)

-       Increased exercise intensity and duration (and unfortunately in a marathon, you never quite replicate those racing conditions for the same duration in training)

-       Inadequate conditioning for the race or event (you haven’t trained enough!)

-       A family history of cramping may also make you more at risk

-       Glycogen depletion, which leads to fatigue of the muscle

A balanced diet should provide you with adequate magnesium and therefore a magnesium supplement should not be needed.   Foods which are high in magnesium include nuts, seeds, fish, legumes and wholegrains.  Those who are doing very high levels of training or are eating a restricted energy intake could be at risk of a magnesium deficiency (or other deficiencies!) but before taking any supplementation, it is important to discuss with your doctor.

So how can I best avoid a cramp?

-       Have a hydration plan.  Know your hydrated weight and make sure you are consuming enough fluids around and in training to keep yourself hydrated.  Prior to an event, you should make an effort in the days leading up to concentrate on your hydration and make sure you carry a drink bottle with you and sip!  Your hydration needs during the event differ from person to person but between 600-1000ml / hour is a good start.  You also should be consuming a source of sodium, which easiest way done is through a sports drink.

-       Train!  Leading up to a marathon or any endurance event, you have to have done an appropriate program to make sure your muscles can cope with the load of the event.  You need to have had at least a 12 week lead up and a prior endurance base.

-       Make sure you carbo-load and have a fuelling plan during the event.  Anywhere from 30-60g of carbohydrate per hour is recommended in order to prevent glycogen depletion and to keep your muscles fuelled.  Not only will you prevent a cramp, but you will have more energy to finish!

If you need help fuelling for your marathon or with your hydration plan or worried about your intake of magnesium, see one of Eat Smarts Accredited Practicing Dietitians!

It is 2pm on a sunny winters Sunday afternoon.

What would I like to be doing? Curled up on the couch reading a book.

What do I have to do ? Washing, folding, deciding on the weeks menu and then go shopping.

Inspiration for weekly menu?  ABC War on Waste – less food waste, use up what is in the fridge., shop for what I need and make sure all the LEFTOVERS are eaten!

Limitations? Busy family lifestyle, cooking abilities of those at home, having food choices for both the omnivores and plant based eaters in the family.

Resource?  This week Jamie Oliver – Save with Jamie, a cookbook written with tips for saving time, money and using leftovers..

Menu planning.

Sunday – Home, washing and ironing, trying to read a book.  Roast Chicken with Vegetables, Apple, Pear and Raspberry Crumble.

 Monday – Working with an early start, netball training at night, husband in charge of cooking.  His standby Spaghetti Bolognese – mince in freezer

Tuesday – Working will be home by 6pm.  One at a training session until 8pm. Singapore Noodles using leftover chicken from roast

Wednesday – Working at office – home after pick up from swim training, hungry child!  Grilled fish and steamed vegetables – ready in minutes

Thursday – Work from home, more time for meal preparation.  Pukka Yellow Curry – with chicken and Saag Also(Vegetarian choice)

Friday – meetings, now shared dinner with extended family – Mum is up from Victoria so I will take Pumpkin and Spinach Pasta Rotolo

Saturday – Day of sport – Netball Coaching and playing(not me anymore), School Football in Toowoomba  -Pulled Pork in the slow cooker will mean there is a dinner ready when we all get home

That brings us to Sunday – and it all starts again

So now it is 8pm – shopping list was made, shopping done in about 30mins – cost $196.00 with lunch food, snacks and some cleaning products in the shop.  Home , groceries unpacked, more washing.

Roast Chicken and Vegetables cooked, dessert made and cooked. All eaten, dishes still to be done – someone else’s job.