Posted by kathryn in Snacks

News in the herald this morning of a Choice report into cereal and muesli bars. While they’re easy and convenient – they aren’t a great snacking choice. h3. What’s wrong with cereal bars? While cereal and muesli bars are often marketed as healthy, they’re rarely a good snacking option. Choice found: * most contain more than 20 percent sugar * some have more saturated fat than a packet of chips. Of the bars Choice tested * seven contained more kilojoules …

Read more 26 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Nutrition and Snacks

In a similar vein to my what actually is five serves post, Columbus Foodie has pointed me to a series of pictures on Wisegeek, called what does 200 calories looks like. To put this in some context, 200 calories is the old money equivalent of 836 kilojoules. Depending on your height and activity level, if you’re a women you need between 7,600 and 10,000kJ per day. Whereas men will need 9,400 – 14,000kJ per day, to maintain your current weight. …

Read more 08 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Snacks, Fats & oils and Junk Food

As if to illustrate my point exactly, slap bang in the middle of the back page of today’s Herald , is this headline “Fair Dunkin’! Guilt-Free Doughnuts”: bq. Is this the future of indulgence? Our picture shows a box of doughnuts from the Doughnut Plant, on New York’s Lower East Side. They look evil, but are trans-fat-free and all natural. They may well be trans fat free, but THEY’RE STILL DOUGHNUTS . Which means they’re still packed full of sugar …

Read more 17 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Snacks

Reports on the news and in the papers yesterday about the latest Choice report – this time into kids’ snacks. The foods listed in the Choice study are all targeted and marketed to kids and their parents and most of them are also promoted as being healthy, however they’re shockers. I’ve talked before about the problems with kids’ food, ie foods that are branded, marketed and promoted to children. Once you look past the dodgy marketing claims, they’re simply poor …

Read more 23 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Easier eating and Snacks

Great little post from Dietgirl about the munchies. Are you a person that walks in the door from work, opens the fridge straight away and starts pilfering around for food? It’s been hours since lunch, you’re not sure what you’re looking for, you just want something. Those cubes of cheese, few olives, spoonfuls of dip and handfuls of crackers can really add up kilojoule-wise and if you’re trying to lose weight, it’s these habits you need to question. If it’s …

Read more 23 February, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Snacks

Do you eat really well all morning, have a good lunch and then fall into a nutritional hole in the afternoon? People know about the importance of breakfast and most have lunch, but then around 3pm your energy slumps and the cravings start. It’s the time of day when you raid the biscuit tins, the vending machine or any chocolate in the office gets sniffed out and rapidly consumed. Does this sound like you? This is a common phenomenon and …

Read more 20 June, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Snacks

From the Sydney Morning Herald website, an interesting food definition, ultimate snack food. This is apparently a new snack which has been developed by Melbourne scientists. It’s a palm-sized parmesan cheese cracker, topped with organic mashed potato which contains two “natural” additives – an appetite suppressant and a natural compound that increases your liking of the product. Am I the only one that thinks this sounds horrendous?

Read more 03 July, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Snacks

Day seven of 31 Days to Better Energy and today’s task is to have a healthy snack this afternoon. h3. Why? Generally I find most people need to eat about every four hours. After that, your blood sugar levels start falling and you’ll feel tired and have difficulty concentrating. Despite this I’ve also noticed many people think they shouldn’t eat anything in the afternoon. The belief seems to be, once you’ve had lunch, that should be enough before dinner. However, …

Read more 07 August, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Snacks and Labels & advertising

I was wandering the supermarket over the weekend, looking at cereal bars. A client had asked about the Special K Bars and I wanted to take a look for myself. h3. What are they? Made by Kelloggs, these snack bars are part of the Special K cereal range, they have a yoghurty drizzle and come in two flavours – original and mango & passionfruit. They’re popular because each bar is low in fat (1.2g), carbohydrate (17.9g) and energy (419 …

Read more 05 September, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Breakfast and Snacks

• Grow your own: Wendy from A Wee Bit of Cooking has been growing her own micro salad leaves. A tasty, fresh and highly nutritious addition to any salad. * Indian porridge: Porridge is such a good way to start the day. Low GI, filling and guaranteed to keep you going. I was intrigued by A Life (Time) of Cooking’s Indian style porridge. Flavoured with cardamon, cinnamon, nuts and palm sugar – what a delicious combination. * *Easy, healthy …

Read more 02 May, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Breakfast, Snacks and Ethics & Sustainablity

• Being healthy at the office: I’ve been really enjoying following The Office Diet blog. It’s one of those rare sites which provides realistic and real advice, grounded in the practicalities of working in an office. I particularly like these five suggestions for making it easier to cook in the evening. * Salad for breakfast: I don’t know many people who eat salad for breakfast, but I really like this suggestion. And thanks to Sophie for pointing it out. …

Read more 27 June, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Snacks

Today in 31 Days to a Better Diet I have a guest post from Shauna Reid of The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl. Shauna’s wise words are about a different approach to the tricky subject of treat foods. There was once a time when the right time for a treat was any time and the right treat was any treat. That was one of the reasons why I wound up with 80 excess kilograms on my body. I’ve always believed …

Read more 26 August, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Snacks, Vegetables, Mental & emotional health, Dinners and Ethics & Sustainablity

• Easy way with broccoli: There’s a big promise in The Wednesday Chef’s post on broccoli, but this is a super simple and great looking recipe. * Huevos Rancheros: Smitten Kitchen is a new blog to me, but I love the look of this recipe for the Tex-Mex dish huevos rancheros. * Indian spiced croquettes: I’m loving the idea of these spinach and pea tikkis from Quick Indian Cooking. And they’re grilled, not fried. * BBC’s food resource: There’s …

Read more 05 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Labels & advertising, Snacks, Salads and Ethics & Sustainablity

• Home squeezed oranges: When your orange juice carton claims it’s home squeezed you have to think twice. Interesting article on how food manufacturers are trying to tap into the locavore movement. * Asparagus salad: Oh my. Just look at the salad on Stonesoup – asparagus, mozzarella, capers, buckets of herbs. I can’t think of many more heavenly ideas. * Falafels: For weeks now I’ve been craving good falafels. Moist, full of herbs and with a crunchy outside coating. …

Read more 17 October, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Blogging, Salads and Snacks

Yes I am back. It’s been a long time between posts, hasn’t it?. Much longer than the expected seven to ten days. I’m sorry to have been silent for such a long time. But the trifecta of fractured foot, moving house and being without internet connection for three weeks . . . well it somewhat defeated me. On the bright side we are loving our new house. The foot is on it’s way and I’ve had plenty of rest …

Read more 13 March, 2009

Posted by kathryn in Snacks

Since fracturing my foot I’ve had to adjust my work practices. The days I’m at home are fine. However, getting to and from clinic is more tricky. Therefore over the last few weeks I’ve changed my clinic times. Rather than the usual 3 – 4 days, I’m instead seeing clients just twice a week. While I’m working fewer days, fitting my clients in has made those two days longer, with shorter breaks. The need to manage my energy levels …

Read more 17 March, 2009

Posted by kathryn in Breakfast, Vegan, Snacks, Salads and Ethics & Sustainablity

• Breakfast cereal is healthy right? A recent survey by Which? (similar to our Choice) looked at breakfast cereals. And found some contained more sugar than a Cadbury Flake. * Tofu salad: I read a lot of healthy eating blogs. But there are other blogs I read for other reasons – the writing, the blogger’s perspective, the photos. Lemonpi is one of those. There’s a lot of cake and dessert on Y’s blog but her photographs and writing are …

Read more 16 May, 2009

Posted by kathryn in Snacks, Summer, Salads and Recipes

Now to the dinner party recipes. I knew everyone would be hungry when they arrived, having come directly from work, so I thought a couple of canapes would be a good idea – just enough to take the edge off the hunger. These little morsels worked well. They’re adapted from a Donna Hay recipe (issue 21 of her magazine) – I’ve changed the quantities around and used goat’s cheese instead of bocconcini. I made the pitta rounds and balsamic …

Read more 28 December, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Eggs, Snacks, Recipes and Summer

While the photo is not brilliant, these were really good – little bite sized morsels packed full of flavour. At one point I thought there was going to be a fight over the last three – good manners won out in the end, but there was a fair bit of “well I’ve only had one, how many have you had?” going on. While fights can spoil the mood of any dinner party, it is lovely when your guests enjoy …

Read more 29 December, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Nutrition and Snacks

I’ve been thinking about treats and occasional foods a lot recently. For quite some time I’ve been noticing how strong the compulsion is for people to treat themselves. Whether their choice is sweets, alcohol or fat-laden foods, people talk of “deserving” a treat. “Needing” a treat even. But do they really? I know life can be busy and hectic, but why does that translate into deserving a treat? A busy day is a busy day. That’s it. Treats are supposed …

Read more 01 September, 2010

Posted by kathryn in Nutrition and Snacks

Something else I’ve noticed is the tendency to layer treats. It’s no longer enough to have pizza on a Friday night, as a treat. We now have pizza, plus a few nibblies while waiting for the home delivery, plus two glasses of wine, plus a bowl of ice-cream. But that scenario isn’t one treat. It’s layer, upon layer, upon layer. I’ve noticed this in myself. A while ago, going out for coffee in the afternoon was a rarity. But then, …

Read more 02 September, 2010

Posted by kathryn in Nutrition and Snacks

When talking to clients about treats and occasional foods there are two bits of writing I continually refer to. The first is a piece by Yiska on the Redefining Diet blog, about being a selectarian. It’s a lovely, human perspective on consciously choosing the foods you eat and taking responsibility: bq. The experience of hearing food speak is a common one amongst many who dabble in overeating, under-eating, dieting, and food obsession of any kind . . . So often …

Read more 07 September, 2010

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables, Breakfast, Baking, Snacks, Summer, Winter and Vegan

There haven’t been any Friday Quicklinks for ages, but I’ve spotted some good stuff on the ’net this week, so here goes: * The Great Muffin Makeover: Harvard School of Public Health have a great piece on making better-for-you muffins, as well as recipes and a comparison of their muffins vs coffee shop ones. * Chilli Kaffir Tamarind Tofu: Via @Ganga108 comes this delicious looking recipe for stir fried tofu marinated in chilli, kaffir limes and tamarind. I think …

Read more 20 January, 2012