Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

This week I’ve been talking about eating a variety of foods. I’ve blogged about why it’s important, and I’m also in the process of listing the variety of foods I’m eating this week. Plus I’ve asked you to keep a track of how many different foods you’re eating. With fruit and vegetables we are told to aim for 2 + 5 serves a day. But there’s no magic figure for the number of different foods you should eat. No …

Read more 16 May, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

During this week on food variety I’m keeping track of how many different foods I eat each day. I was originally going to post this information in the comments section. Instead I’ve decided to list it all in one separate post. I’ll add to this over the next few days. h3. Wednesday * Quinoa & oat croquettes with strawberry jam: quinoa, rolled oats, sesame seeds, sugar, strawberries * Mandarin * Soy coffee: soy milk * Lentil soup & bread: ...

Read more 15 May, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

As I noted yesterday, most health authorities publish lists of dietary principles to follow. In amongst the advice to lower saturated fat, eat more vegetables, choose lean protein and avoid trans fats, the principle most commonly overlooked is the exhortation to choose a variety of foods. h3. Variety of foods means variety of nutrients Variety of foods is important, because it’s the best way of ensuring you get all the nutrients you need. Lists of the healthiest foods in …

Read more 14 May, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

This week on Limes & Lycopene I want to talk about one of the fundamental principles of good nutrition: eating a variety of foods. Almost everywhere you look, health and nutrition bodies recommend variety as one of the key dietary guidelines. So this week I’m going to be talking about why it’s important and what variety actually means. I’ll end the week with the most important part – how to increase the variety in your diet. Some simple and …

Read more 13 May, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

First up on Q & A Thursday, Naomi is asking about iron and B12: bq. I only cook red meat occasionally at home. How can I maximise the benefit of the iron and B12 in meat when I do eat it? How long does the iron etc I’d get from a meal stay in my system? The mineral iron and the vitamin B12 are both important micro-nutrients. We use them to form strong, healthy red blood cells. These cells …

Read more 08 May, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

I had breakfast with a friend over the weekend. Amidst the discussion of books, politics and mutual friends, we also talked about his diet. He’s a smart man, knows about food, earns a good income. And yet he’s not happy with his diet. Each day starts off well. Breakfast is sugar-free natural muesli with fruit, nuts and yoghurt. He has fruit on his desk for morning snacks and eats well at lunch. However _from mid afternoon, the health value …

Read more 07 May, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

I ended up with a fridge full of un-used vegetables the other week. It hadn’t been a super-busy time, instead I’d over-estimated my shopping. I bought ingredients, forgetting I was going to spend the week developing recipes for an upcoming magazine issue. The recipe development created a lot of meals. Yet there was still the shopping I’d done for Richard and myself. I hate wasting food. So I used my leftover vegies to make a vat of soup. I chopped …

Read more 22 April, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

Working with a client last week, I put together this shopping list. She’s a busy woman, who’s struggling to eat well. Long days at the office mean she’s too tired to cook when home. She finds getting organised to take her lunch every day too difficult. And there are few healthy choices where she works. So she ends up eating toast and biscuits. And all the gorgeous healthy food she buys on the weekend sits in the fridge all week, ...

Read more 10 April, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

• Cooking at home: Mark Bittman talks about why he cooks at home and how to start cooking more. * Food at work: The Shifting Times blog has an excellent list of foods to have at work – to make it easier to eat well during the day. Lots of US brands, but a good guide. Thanks to CookinPanda for pointing it out. * Peanut noodle salad: Another great recipe from Heidi at 101 Cookbooks – a “quick and …

Read more 04 April, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

Courtney has asked a common question: bq. I know it is bad to eat late at night, but two nights a week I go straight from work to a 3 hour fencing practice. I usually eat an apple or some granola before practice but by the time I get home around 9 pm I am starving. Can you suggest some things that are acceptable to eat and won’t totally negate all the hard work I did at practice? h3. ...

Read more 03 April, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

A number of people have asked for the Moroccan spice blend recipe. The mixture I mentioned as one of the five foods that save me when I’m super-busy. It’s quick and easy to make – no toasting and grinding required. The amounts below make about 1/4 cup of spice mix. h3. Moroccan spice blend * 2 teaspoons each of ground cumin, ground coriander, paprika, ginger and cinnamon * 1 teaspoon each of ground white pepper and turmeric * 1/4 …

Read more 02 April, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

I know this is a popular answer, but the last of the foods that saved me when I was super-busy are baked beans. They come in a can, they take minutes to heat up and provide dense, good quality nutrition. Baked beans are from the legume family and are high in fibre, protein, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. So while they’re quick and easy, baked beans are nutritionally top-notch. All of which makes them an excellent dietary back-up. I have …

Read more 29 March, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

• Butter alternatives: Chew on This has put together a list of six alternatives to using butter. * Simple, simple cooking: Lisa’s Vegetarian Kitchen has a recipe for a vegetable side dish – beautiful in it’s simplicity: Carrot and turnip kinpira. * Learning to love potatoes: Mallika from Quick Indian Cooking fame has just started blogging at Indiwo. Her latest is a neat piece of writing about whether it’s possible to include potatoes in a healthy diet (and not …

Read more 28 March, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

Sometimes when I’m busy, preoccupied and tired, my menu planning knowledge completely escapes me. While I may spend my days helping clients with this very problem and despite my years of experience, I just can’t work out what to eat. I know I want something balanced and nourishing. I know I want vegetables and I need some protein. But my fuzzy brain can’t put those requirements together, to make a meal. It’s then that poached eggs save me. They …

Read more 25 March, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

Frozen vegies have an image problem. I spend a good part of my working life encouraging and coaxing people to eat more vegetables. I regularly suggest frozen vegetables to my time-poor and food-prep phobic clients. But their response is invariably one of horror – as though I’ve uttered something completely inappropriate in the middle of a consultation. They simply can’t believe their nutritionist has suggested . . . something frozen. However, during my recent super-busy period, frozen vegies were …

Read more 20 March, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

Either Richard or I make dal about once a month. It’s a meal we both love. Usually we make up huge pots of the stuff, eat it for a couple of days and then put the rest in the freezer. And in my recent super-busy period, having a freezer full of dal was the second food that saved me. h3. The goodness of dal Dal is hearty, warming, luscious comfort food. It’s cheap to make, and rich in protein, ...

Read more 19 March, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

• How to get your kid to eat salad: More from the Great Big Vegetable Challenge. This time a successful strategy for encouraging children to eat salad. * Potassium: A good little summary of why we need potassium – yet more reasons to eat vegies. * Grated carrot and beetroot salad: This week Chocolate & Zucchini posted a beautiful recipe for grated carrot and beetroot salad. It’s easy, there are options to provide variety and look at the colour. ...

Read more 14 March, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

Among my presents at Christmas was a jar of Moroccan spice blend. It was from my mum. A home-made mixture of ground cumin, coriander, paprika, ginger, cinnamon, pepper, turmeric, chilli and nutmeg. It’s delicious and has real oomph. It’s one of the foods that’s saved me while I’ve been super-busy because it’s instant flavour. I haven’t had to muck around with sauces, individual spices, stock or slow cooking. I haven’t needed to think, plan or do extra shopping. Instead, ...

Read more 13 March, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

I’ve just been through a super-busy period with work. Long working days, six day weeks, lots of decisions and too much tiredness have meant a drop in my usual dietary diligence. However, while not up to my usual standards, it hasn’t been a nutritional disaster – because of five foods. These trusty dietary side-kicks have made it easier for me to eat well. They’ve helped me prepare a quick meal at the end of the day, without resorting to …

Read more 12 March, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

• Counter-productive TV ads: Over at Chew on This Paula Goodyer discusses adverts that poke fun at healthy habits. * Well balanced pasta: I like this pasta dish from Vegan Yum Yum. It has over three serves of vegies and looks delicious. * Celeriac chowder: I’m always a bit unsure what to do with celeriac, so I was delighted to spot Lily & Chew’s celeriac, sweetcorn and butterbean chowder. * 7 days of wellness tips: Another great link from …

Read more 29 February, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

• Tahini sauce: Tahini is a wonderful food and Cassie has this week posted a gorgeous recipe for tahini and caramelised onion sauce. I had this with roasted vegetables and tofu during the week . . . and it’s unbelievably good. * Your bars: As you know I like a breakfast bar. And I wish, wish, wish these were available in Australia. At Your Bars you can construct your own snack bars. You choose the nuts, the dried fruit, ...

Read more 22 February, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

The eagle-eyed among you will have noted Q & A Month is turning into Q & A Six-Weeks! It’s proved very popular. I still have a question backlog to get through. But I’m hoping to finish with a flurry and answer the rest over the next seven days. Hoping anyway. Moving quickly along then – the next question is from Claire and it’s about rice milk: bq. I would like to know if there is something wrong with drinking …

Read more 16 February, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

• Chickpea soup: Pinch My Salt has turned a hummous accident into a beautiful chickpea, ginger and coriander soup. It’s an excellent kitchen recovery and a delicious looking recipe. * Spot the difference: Just Bento has posted pictures of two bento boxes. One of them has twice the kilojoules of the other – can you spot the difference? * Beautiful coleslaw: I woke up this morning to find a winter coleslaw recipe on Mostly Eating. Crunchy vegetables, bound together …

Read more 15 February, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

• Obesity: Fascinating article on CalorieLab about the difference between Japanese and American cultures, food habits and attitudes to obesity. It’s written by Makiko from Just Hungry. There’s a follow up perspective here. * Beetroot soup: It’s been at least a month since I linked to the last beetroot recipe, so how could I pass up the opportunity to show off Green Gourmet Giraffe’s chunky beetroot soup with kidney beans? * Don’t know what to do with fish? Why …

Read more 25 January, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

Kate has asked a follow up question to my What I eat series. This was the two weeks at the end of last year when I posted a pictorial diary of what I’d been eating. Kate wants to know: bq. Do you have to stop yourself from having chocolate bars and other snacky stuff? Do you have to force yourself to eat the way you do? The short answer is – no, _but I do make it easy on …

Read more 23 January, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

• Stocking the freezer: Cassie from Veggie Meal Plans has been preparing for a busy year ahead by stocking her freezer – which makes it easier to cook healthy meals when you’re busy. Cassie’s post includes cooking and freezing instructions, as well as ideas on how to use the foods you’ve frozen. * Green soup: Lisa has made caldo verde. This is an easy potato and kale soup, common in Portugal. Hearty and full of nutrients. * Super smoothie: ...

Read more 11 January, 2008

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

• Yes more beetroot: How could I not link to Nora B’s beetroot-fest post: how do you beet it?. Look at the colour of that risotto! * Eat more beans: Sophie from Mostly Eating believes tinned beans are the perfect convenience food: “quick, comforting, healthy, agriculturally sustainable and nutritionally multi-tasking”. I couldn’t agree with her more. * Holiday survival: as an antidote to the holiday season craziness, Cranky Fitness has a holiday survival quiz. Take the quiz and test …

Read more 23 November, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

In this week’s Q & A Thursday, the first question is: bq. In our household we have both full cream fresh milk (for my cereal) and UHT skim milk (for my partner’s protein shakes). Can you advise if he would be better switching to fresh skim milk, or is there no discernable difference? h3. What is UHT? UHT stands for ultra-high temperature processing. Milk is heated at a temperature of 135°C for 1 – 2 seconds. This is done …

Read more 22 November, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

Dinner tonight is a chickpea, lima bean and tahini casserole. It’s a lovely mixture of beans, vegetables, herbs and a hint of creaminess from the tahini. It’s based on a recipe from one of my oldest cookery books The Penniless Vegetarian by David Scott (details below). This is a funny little book, full of slightly old-fashioned, British vegetarian cooking. Definitely not in vogue, but this is the food I grew up with. It’s simple to make, but does need …

Read more 20 November, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

This is the number one use of tahini in my house: tahini salad dressing. I’ve been making this for years. I first made it for coleslaw, as a healthier alternative to mayonnaise. But now I eat it on all sorts of salads. h3. Notes on the recipe * Vary the recipe: The nature of tahini means this is a very flexible recipe. Different tahini brands vary in both taste and consistency, so you might need to tweak the quantities …

Read more 19 November, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

• Food labelling: I’ve blogged about being wary of food marketers using the word natural before. This week Refrigerator Raid posted about discussions in the US of what is natural?. There’s also some good advice on choosing the best foods for you. * Mediterranean lamb pizza recipe: Should You Eat That posted a simple Mediterranean lamb pizza recipe. Pitta bread bases, covered with pesto, lamb mince and a reasonable veg component. It’s then topped off with ricotta, a healthier …

Read more 16 November, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

So you’ve decided to include more tahini in your diet: what should you look for when buying it and how do you store it? h3. Where to buy it Tahini is available from supermarkets, health food shops, as well as Middle Eastern and Chinese grocers. h3. Hulled vs unhulled Sesame seeds have a fibrous outer coating – the hull – and tahini can be made either with or without this outer layer. Unhulled tahini is darker and has a …

Read more 15 November, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are jam-packed full of good stuff. However, unless you’re super-diligent with your chewing, most of them are going to pass straight through you. Which means all their goodness passes straight through as well. This is one of the reasons why tahini is so good. In grinding up the sesame seeds and making them into a paste, it’s easier for you to absorb the nutrients. h3. The nutrients in sesame seeds …

Read more 14 November, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

Changing your diet can be hard. Changing your diet means you have to: * research what foods are healthy * work out which of those you like * find ways to cook and eat them * remember to buy them when you go shopping * prepare and cook them * eat them, like them * and then repeat It probably seems a whole lot easier to carry on just the way you are. _But you know there’s a problem …

Read more 13 November, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

• Breakfast on the run: Did you know you can cook porridge oats in a thermos flask? This is one for the people who “don’t have time” for breakfast. According to Cassie from Veggie Meal Plans make it up in the evening, add your flavourings and then just grab the thermos as you run out the door in the morning. * Cauliflower mash: one of the strategies for switching to low GI foods is to make your mash potato with …

Read more 09 November, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

Jocelyn from She Spills the Beans asked me ages ago about algae oil: bq. I wondered what algae oil was extracted from (algea, obviously, but there must be a more complete answer than that). Might an algae-containing product be a good addition to my diet? Where do the seaweeds rate on omega-3s? h3. What algae is the oil extracted from? There are a number of algaes that are cultivated for oil extraction. They’re mostly micro-algae, which are tiny, single-cell …

Read more 08 November, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

Next on Q & A Thursday we’re into soy sauce substitutes: bq. My GP has advised me to avoid soy sauce as I have Hashimoto’s thyroidism (hypothyroidism). Do you know of a substitute for soy sauce? I love to cook stirfries and want to try the Spicy Noodles recipe, but it includes soy sauce. Any recommendations for substitutes? h3. Why avoid soy? If you have an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) there are a number of foods you should be careful …

Read more 08 November, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

Peter over at Great Circle is runnning a blogging carnival and my post is up today: how I won the war on cake and other afternoon cravings. Welcome to Great Circle readers. If this is your first time on Limes & Lycopene, then you can find out more about me here, including a link to some of my core articles. h3. Q & A Thursday is tomorrow. I run a regular question and answer forum on Limes & Lycopene: ...

Read more 07 November, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

My parents are both in their 70s 65 plus. They’re fit, active and independent. They’re still able to play my nephews’ favourite game – running races. We speak regularly about the current affairs and latest political shenanigans. They argue over the crossword every day and are planning a big trip to Europe next year. My parents live a full and active life. For a while they cooked and delivered meals-on-wheels on a regular basis. Until they decided this regular …

Read more 06 November, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

I’m a great admirer of the egg. They’re an excellent package of dense nutrition, easy to use and highly adaptable. Eggs contain protein, along with a plethora of minerals and vitamins. With eggs you’re getting a lot of nutrition for your money. h3. The white vs the yolk Diet books and bodybuilders recommend restricting yourself to the egg white only. But, if you do that you’re missing out on loads of wonderful nutrition. The egg white is mostly protein …

Read more 29 October, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

Imagine if you stopped drinking alcohol, ate well balanced meals, cut out junk food, drank lots of water and went to bed early. Hands up who doesn’t think they’d feel better and have more energy? If you eat well and look after yourself, you will feel better. You will have more energy. Those black circles under your eyes will disappear. Your skin will be clearer. *But feeling good and having lots of energy, is not rocket science. It’s not …

Read more 25 October, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

A question for you today – do you eat well and if not what would help you improve your diet? I’m not checking up on who’s having their vegies! At the moment I’m working on some better content for this site. I want to make it easier to access the information and resources you need to have a good diet. So, my question is – what do you need to eat well? * How do you like to access information? ...

Read more 23 October, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

The next question in Q & A Thursday is from Sarah. It’s one for the lactose intolerants: is it possible to get enough calcium when you don’t drink milk? h3. Calcium and bone health I’ve written a number of posts about calcium in the past, including a three part series on bone health: * what are bones? * the calcium debate * how to ensure you have strong, healthy bones In the final part of this series I discuss …

Read more 18 October, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

The most important meal of the day and still so many people forget it. Although eating breakfast might not be high on your list of priorities, it will make your brain work better. h3. The importance of breakfast After sleeping through the night, your body has used up it’s easily accessible energy stores. If you don’t have breakfast your blood sugar levels drop and you’re more likely to experience a low mood, irritability and tiredness. A number of studies …

Read more 10 October, 2007

Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet

• Mental health: Finding Optimism has a wonderful series on being the partner of someone with depression. The posts are written by Anna, the wife of Finding Optimism’s blogger James. It’s a personal, but practical look at how to cope if the person you love has a mental health issue. The series starts here: the depression dialogue. * Mediterranean diet: Revolution Health has a post about the Mediterranean diet – the “behind the scenes” facts which make this way …