Your Health

More Healthy Meals at Home

When I started this website, I wanted to share it with everyday people, that just want everyday simplicity. You can receive your daily intakes of carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, minerals and healthy fats from your fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds and lean meats such as chicken, seafood, kangaroo and pork, as they contain less kilojoules than red meats.

Weight Management

Avoiding some of the biggest promoted cooking oils, can make all the difference in your weightloss management. Oils such as cottonseed, which is quite common in deepfry cooking as it has an excellent shelf life and flavour, it contains the highest saturated fats out of all the oils and once it is brought to a high tempterature, the composition changes and causes oxidation. This is the same for coconut oil, which is nearly the same amout of saturated fatty acid as cottonseed. This is one to avoid when looking after your cholesterol and preventing cardiovascular disease, along with palm oil. Other vegetable oils are to be used sparingly. Just using 1 teaspoon is enough to cook your proteins.

Eating fresh fruit and vegetables as a snack is a great way to stop temptations of sweets mid afternoon, when you become peckish.

Never forget breakfast, having a healthy breakfast such as a simple cereal or poached eggs on toast can make your afternoon eating habits a little easier on your regime. Remember to make sure when you are shopping at the local supermarket to check your nutrition panel for sugar content. If the serving size of sugar content is over 10g, its best to be left there.

Simples things can help you get balanced and fit quicker by eating healthy with your fruit, vegetables and protein.

When eating healthy, your vitamin and mineral intake increase will become natural, without needing alternatives. It doesn't have to be complicated.

Supermarket Tours

When shopping at your local supermarket, have you ever noticed that your milk or other simple items are furthest away from your reach? Supermarket research sets out your shopping experience to force you to walk past the naughty food snacks and other small little bits and pieces that add to your grocery bill at the checkout.

When you walk into a supermarket the best way to go enter is via the fruit and vegetable section and make your way around via the deli and meat department. This way if you do plan to pick up extra items they will always be fresh and fabulous.

Diabetes and other health matters

Being diagnosed with a possible life threatning disease can be difficult to digest. There is simple ways to imporove your health and avoid eating the foods you always loved. Simple ways to deal with your new lifestyle change is to look at the recipes, and replace the sugary or fatty things with low fat or less sweets. Example; If your favourite snack food was a double glazed danish scroll filled with sugar, try making the filling with arrowroot flour and water. Sweet potato can be the perfect alternative to pumpkin, eating just the egg whites is perfectly fine, avoiding the cholestrol increase of the yolk. One of the biggest loves of cooking and taste is salt. Instead try experiemnting with more spices and herbs, like tumeric or sweet paprika which are not spicy hot, if that is not for your pallete. Never forget your cracked black pepper, a great way to sweeten your proeteins whilst cooking instead of adding salt. My biggest secret to cooking the best steak or chicken. I never use salt in my cooking, I just sprinkle a bit of cracked pepper, when placing in the pan. Avoid cooking oil such as coconut oil, cottonseed and palm oil as they have the highest saturated fatty acids out of all the cooking oils used.

Pantry Makeover

According to Foodwise Australia an average household in Australia throws out $1,036 a year away of food, 20% of your grocery shopping becomes waste. Always check your expiry dates on products and make a day out of each week to go through your pantry and place items that need using towards the front. Creating recipes out of the pantry helps reduce waste.

Pre- and Post-Natal Nutrition

Asking your midwife, nurse, obstetrician or doula for advice on eating plans or what to avoid during pregnancy is vitally important. The secret to healthy bub and mum is to eat fresh, eat plenty of fibre, lean proteins and make sure you eat plenty of foods rich in calcium, iron and other important vitamins and minerals. Another element we always forget about is Magnesium, it is one of the most common deficiencies. Most of our foods we eat do not have Magnesium in it, there is not really a test for it either. When dealing with post-natal nutrition, make sure you look after your wellbeing, by revitalising yourself with continuing your healthy eating habits along with added omega-3 that you may have avoided during pregnancy to help with the baby blues.

Trying new recipes to suit your style brings new ideas and concepts into your life, because you are eating for 2 (or 3) not just 1.

Medical Nutrition Therapy

Always ask your GP or health professional, if you are ever concerned with certain eating habits regarding weightloss, medical conditions, special diets related to food allergies or intolerences.

Makes 8

1 packet of lasagne sheets

1 small eggplant

1 small sweet potato

4-5 button mushrooms

1 zuchinni

1 med-large carrot

2 sliced tomatoes

Pepper

Sweet paprika

Low fat mozzarella cheese

White sauce of flour and butter roux, pepper and milk with a sprinkle of nutmeg

METHOD

Slice vegetables and grill with olive oil except your mushrooms and tomatos.

Place lasagne sheets on bottom of dish.

Add white sauce and cheese, then layer your ingredients, repeat with sauce and cheese.

Top last layer with remaining tomato, sauce and cheese.

Cook for approx 50-60 mins in a pre heated over at 180-190c depending on your oven or until golden brown and bubbling.

1 Vegetarian Lasagne

2 Roasted capsicum, asparagus

and feta salad

Makes 4

1/2 small block of reduced fat feta, crumbled

2 handfuls of cashews or almonds

1 punnet of watercress

4 mini capsicums roasted, peeled and sliced

1 bunch of asparagus halved and grilled

1/2 tsp cracked pepper

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Fresh lime juice to garnish

Sprinkle of coriander to garnish

METHOD

Grill asparagus until lightly browned. Roast capsicums in a pan or oven until blackened, peel and slice.

Add all ingredients together except watercress and garnish in a bowl and mix extra gently with a tablespoon to avoid bruising.

Place watercress in a bowl, and place mixture on top evenly.

Finish with a splash of lime juice and roughly sliced coriander.

Makes 2

1 large Barramundi filet

1/2 handful finely chopped dill and parsley

Breadcrumbs

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp tumeric

Milk and egg for eggwash

Plain flour for crumbing

METHOD

Slice barramundi filet into 6 pieces long ways.

Place spices and breadcrumbs together in a bowl and blend well, with a spoon or hands.

Make eggwash up with eggs and milk beaten together with a whisk or fork.

In order of crumbing, place flour first, then eggwash and crumbs last in a row in 3 seperate bowls.

Use spray oil or drizzle olive oil over goujons and lightly bake in oven at 190C until golden brown. You can shallow fry them in a frypan of oil, like canola for a good smoke point. Avoid olive oil for this as it will smoke too much too quickly.

3 Barramundi spiced crumbed goujons

4 A link to one of my favourite

healthy breakfast recipes

http://yakatuon.com/2014/03/23/poached-eggs-on-toast/

by Angela Ritter

5 A healthy promotion video on

energy drinks