Innholdsfortegnelse for Dec-17 i Healthy Food Guide

Probably my favourite thing about Christmas is planning the menu, but I know that many people dread this part. In fact, a recent survey found that half of Aussies find cooking for a crowd more stressful than going to work! And the number one stress factor is catering for special dietary requirements. So, HFG is here to take the stress out of Christmas. On page 20 you’ll find shortcuts to help you celebrate with your health intact! Plus, you’ll find plenty of no-cook entertaining ideas on page 42 and page 83. But the holidays aren’t the only time that stress can derail your health goals. This month, we uncover six major life events that often lead to weight gain. From moving house to going through menopause, we have strategies to…

Food comas are a real thing. The scientific name for a food coma is postprandial somnolence, but food coma is far catchier. So catchy in fact that the Oxford English Dictionary added it as a word in 2014. So what is it about eating a big meal that makes us so sleepy? There are a few things going on below the surface to do with our physiology, so let’s dive in and explore the territory. Rest & digest When you are busily digesting your meal, more blood is shunted to the stomach, which is needed to transport the nutrients from food. With less blood in other parts of the body, such as the brain and muscles, this can make people feel a little tired. The digestion process also causes a…

1 STAY HYDRATED Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Australia Day occur in the hottest months of the year, so to avoid getting dehydrated, try to drink a glass of water between every alcoholic drink. 2 LEARN TO SAY ‘NO’ Constant refills may be a sign of a good host, but they also make it tricky to track your alcohol intake and easier to lose count of standard drinks. 3 DON’T FOLLOW THE LEADER Socialising and drinking may go hand in hand, but when you join in a round with friends, don’t feel obligated to keep up with the fastest drinkers in the group. 4 EAT BEFORE YOU DRINK Try not to skip meals during the day in order to ‘save’ your main kilojoule intake for drinking. If you do, the…

1 READ THE LABEL A long ingredients list full of words you can’t pronounce is a sign that a food is overly processed. Avoid products with salt or sugar in the first few ingredients on the list. 2 SHOP THE FOOD PERIMETER The centre of supermarkets is where you’ll find most of the highly processed foods, such as soft drinks, lollies and biscuits. 3 RAID THE FREEZER Supermarket freezers have far more than frozen pizza and tubs of ice cream. Look for snap-frozen fruit and vegies that are often more affordable than fresh. 4 SNACK SMARTER While it’s convenient to grab a chocolate bar or bag of salty crackers, it’s just as simple to snack on a handful of nuts, a tub of yoghurt or a refreshing piece of fruit.…

Mustard salmon with sweet potato mash Serves 1 Cost per serve $7.50 Time to make 20 min gluten free dairy free diabetes friendly 1 small sweet potato, peeled, quartered 100g skinless salmon fillet ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard 8 juniper berries, chopped or crushed (see Note) 1 lemon slice, plus lemon juice 1 large pinch paprika 1 cup small broccoli florets 1 cup bok choy Chilli flakes (optional) 1 Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Boil, steam or microwave sweet potato for 8–10 minutes, or until tender. Drain and keep warm. 2 Spread salmon with mustard and sprinkle with juniper berries. Place lemon slice on top. Wrap in a piece of baking paper. Place on a tray in the centre of the oven and cook for 7–8 minutes, or until salmon is…

Sweet potato mini pizzas Serves 8 (as a snack) Cost per serve $1.25 Hands-on time 10 min Cooking time 30 min gluten free vegetarian diabetes friendly 1 large potato, sliced into 1cm-thick rounds 1 large sweet potato, sliced into 1cm-thick rounds 1 teaspoon olive oil 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped ½ cup no-added-salt tomato paste ½ small red onion, finely sliced ½ cup frozen corn kernels 8 small mushrooms, sliced 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley ½ cup grated reduced-fat mozzarella 16 cherry tomatoes, halved 1 Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Evenly spread potato and sweet potato slices in a single layer on tray (don’t use pointy ends). Drizzle with olive oil. Place slices in the oven and cook for 15 minutes until…

Make it crunchy! Peanut butter just got crunchier with Mother Earth Ancient Grains Natural Peanut Butter ($5.49 per 380g tub) — a protein-rich combo of buckwheat, chia seeds and puffed spelt. Spread the joy! Per tbs: 488kJ (117cal), 5.3g protein, 1.1g sat fat, 1g sugars, 39mg sodium Be extra special Kellogg’s Special K ($4.69 per 300g box) has had a makeover and contains extra vitamin D, iron and protein to help meet women’s specific health needs. Per 40g serve (Original): 640kJ (153cal), 7g protein, 5.4g sugars, 2.6g fibre, 152mg sodium Keep it fresh Pop a piece of Natural Food Saver Sheets FreshPaper ($14.95 per 8 sheets) in your fruit bowl or crisper or bag of salad leaves to keep food fresh. Sheets are available from freshpaper.com.au Salute your salad! For…

Healthy Food Guide (HFG) magazine is your complete guide to healthy eating. Our recipes use easy-to-find, affordable ingredients. Cook with HFG, and you’ll always enjoy a nutritious meal. You can trust our advice. All our health information is supported by solid scientific evidence, not media fanfare. We smooth out any confusion caused by ‘pseudoscientists’. We give unbiased opinions and are not affiliated with any food manufacturers. All branded food in HFG has been approved by our dietitians. Advertisers cannot influence editorial content. Dietitians review all our articles so that they’re always accurate and up-to-date. We also publish our references in the magazine and online at healthyfoodguide.com.au Every recipe in Healthy Food Guide is healthy Our recipe writers work with qualified dietitians to develop all our meals. A nutritional analysis is…

Many of us feel the financial pinch at Christmas, which can send stress through the roof during the holiday season. But surprisingly, the average Aussie splashes out $80 each week dining out, driven by the boom in cafes and food courts. There’s no problem enjoying the occassional meal out or ordering in, but we all know that cooking meals at home is far healthier for the family than takeaway. You can also batch cook food to eat later in the week — and that’s even better value for money! In the following pages HFG reveals healthy shortcuts to ease the stress of Christmas entertaining. We show how to eat well to avoid weight gain caused by life’s big changes, plus offer you ‘healthy, wealthy and wise’ tips to enjoy festive…

Being ‘too busy’ is often cited as a reason when people ditch their healthy eating plans. Avoid the ‘too busy’ trap by: 1 Shopping for food online This eliminates time spent gazing at food down at the supermarket. It’s also scientifically proven to reduce how much food winds up in your fridge, as well as how many high-fat foods you have access to. 2 Using your freezer When you’re cooking your dinner, make more than you need and divide the leftovers into meal-sized portions. Choose the smallest container you can to pack each portion into. When you come to eat it you’ll consume less than if you were serving yourself from a larger container with the same-sized serve. 3 Calling yourself a ‘healthy eater’ It’s a small self-talk trick that…

This month’s recipes are all about easy, healthy fare for the festive season, like tasty low-fat finger foods and dips, gluten-free salads, low-sugar desserts and a light ‘n’ fruity Christmas cake makeover! We’ve done the hard work for you! Our recipes are based on fresh and nutrient-rich ingredients that are easy to find and affordable. Every main meal contains at least two serves of vegies for optimal health benefits, and our recipes are based on ideal portion sizes. Every recipe meets our dietitians’ nutrition criteria to ensure it doesn’t contain too much energy, saturated fat, sodium or sugar. Every dish is tried and tested at least twice, so we know it’s a reliable recipe that tastes great. Every recipe has a complete nutrition analysis for your benefit. The table on…

Mango & coconut sago puddings Serves 6 Cost per serve $1.30 Hands-on time 30 min, plus soaking and chilling Cooking time 15 min gluten free ¾ cup sago ¾ cup light coconut milk ¾ cup reduced-fat milk 2 tablespoons caster sugar 1 large ripe mango, thinly sliced 65g raspberries 2 tablespoons coconut flakes, toasted 1 Place the sago, light coconut milk and 1½ cups of cold water in a heavy-based saucepan. Set aside for 30 minutes to soak. 2 Warm the sago mixture over medium heat. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring often, for 10–15 minutes, or until sago is tender. Remove from heat. 3 Stir in the caster sugar. Spoon half the sago mixture between 6 x 1¼ cup-capacity serving glasses. Refrigerate the…

Christmas is a great time to splurge on fresh prawns and oysters, with many Aussies now choosing seafood over traditional ham and turkey. Seafood is not just delicious, it’s very nutritious! Six fresh oysters have less than 300kJ (about 70cal), plus all of your recommended daily intake of immune-boosting zinc. Last Christmas the Sydney Fish Market sold 200 tonnes of prawns and 900,000 oysters during their annual 36–hour frantic ‘marathon’, which ends at 5pm every Christmas Eve. Although oyster and prawn prices are predicted to increase (due to diseases that are not dangerous to humans), the Food Safety Information Council says we can still trust our seafood. Just remember to keep it out of the heat and fresh by transporting it in a cooler bag with ice. And be sure…

1 biscuit At 487 , kJ Gingerbread (117cal) per Folk Snowman is the perfect stocking filler. Individually wrapped and vegan-friendly, they’re delicious. 2 Share the Christmas cheer with Our Festive Puds Gluten Free Christmas Cake. You’ll get 10 serves and each 35g slice has 576kJ (138cal). 3 per With 30 just g serve 644kJ (a (154 small cal) handful), Ocean Spray Craisins Cranberry and Chocolate Trail Mix is perfect to share around. 4 Enjoy a lighter, gluten-free version of a traditional mince pie. One Jon-Jon Fruit Mince Bite has just half the kilojoules — 562kJ (134cal). 5 these Even the decadent kids can -tasting enjoy treats, which look like a rum ball but taste more like a Cherry Ripe. Three Tasti Smooshed Wholefood Balls — Berry, Cashew & Cacao together…

Keep an eye out for crackers with visible seeds & whole grains Two out of three Aussies are eating too much salt. New research shows we should limit our intake to less than 2000mg sodium per day. Excess salt can lead to high blood pressure, which affects six million Aussies and raises your risk of having a stroke or developing kidney disease. Given 75 per cent of our salt intake comes from processed foods such as crackers, reading the label is an easy way to slash your salt. Here are three things to look for when shopping for crackers. 1 WATCH THE SODIUM It’s not really shocking that savoury biscuits are salty, but we were surprised by the variation between brands. Look for crackers that have less than 500mg sodium…

FESTIVE HEALTH HACKS Food Safety Information Council. 2017. Christmas and summer entertaining. Available at www.foodsafety.asn.au Accessed October 2017. Manninen et al. 2017. Social laughter triggers endogenous opioid release in humans. J Neurosci. 37(25): 6125–31. McCrindle Research. 2017. A week in the life of cooks in the Aussie home. Available at www.mccrindle.com.au Accessed October 2017. Smith, AP & Woods, M. 2012. Effects of chewing gum on the stress and work of university students. Appetite. 58: 1037–40. EMBRACE CHANGE WITHOUT WEIGHT GAIN American Psychological Association. 2017. Exercise fuels the brain’s stress buffers. Available at www.apa.org Accessed October 2017. Australian Psychological Society. 2015. Stress & wellbeing: How Australians are coping with life. Available at www.psychology.org.au Accessed October 2017. Berge et al. 2014. Associations between relationship status and day-to-day health behaviors and weight among…

1 Alcohol has nearly twice as many kilojoules as carbs or protein, but hardly any nutrients! (A happy new cheers! p30 ) 2 Eating cherries can help lower your risk of gout reoccurring — but too many are a laxative! (Shopping news, p78 ) 3 When did the Oxford English Dictionary introduce the phrase ‘food coma’? (Food coma: Why overeating makes you sleepy, p16 ) 4 Seventy-five per cent of our salt is from packaged food (How much salt is in that cracker? p88) 5 Enjoy no-cook festive fare with these easy Melon & prosciutto skewers. (Healthy entertaining made easy! p42 ) 6 Swap a creamy prawn cocktail for healthy barbecued prawns these summer holidays. (Fruit of the sea, p77 ) 7 One in…

Recipes contain no more than: • 1700kJ per main meal • 800kJ per dessert • 600kJ per side dish • 200kJ per 250ml fluid Recipes contain at least: • 20g protein per main meal • 5g protein per side dish or dessert Recipes contain no more than: • 10g fat per main meal • 4.5g fat per dessert • 3g fat per side dish • 3.5g fat per 250ml fluid Recipes contain at least: • 6g fibre per main meal • 3g fibre per side dish or dessert Recipes contain no more than: • 500mg sodium per main meal or dessert • 200mg sodium per side dish Recipes contain at least 250mg calcium per serve Recipes contain 4.5mg (or more) iron per serve Serves of vegies per serve gluten free…

QI’ve been going to the gym all year, but my weight has plateaued. How can I mix things up? Deb, via email All work and no weight loss is highly frustrating, but let’s start with your wins so far. Making exercise a regular fixture isn’t easy, so congratulations on building this into your lifestyle already. Not putting on weight is also a major achievement. Studies suggest most people gain 0.5kg throughout the year as a natural part of ageing. You probably feel fitter and stronger than ever. And if you reviewed your body composition, I’m confident you would have lost body fat from around your organs (which leads to insulin resistance, the precursor to type 2 diabetes), and have trimmed centimetres from your waistline. Let’s also not discount the big…

Celebrate & feel great wit› our shortcuts to ease stress! We all know entertaining can be stressful. In fact, a recent survey found more than half of Australians say throwing a dinner party is more stressful than going to work, with catering for special dietary requirements the number one stress factor in deciding what to cook for a large crowd. There has to be an easier way — and there is! If you follow these shortcuts and lighten your load, you can start to celebrate and feel great this Christmas. Planning the menu Catering for a large group can prove a handful, especially when you have to factor in special diets. Here are three easy ways everyone can eat well this holiday season: 1 ENCOURAGE BYO Ask your guests to…

* Breakfast cereals Because of their long shelf life, cereals are a pantry staple for most people in Australia. How healthy they are for you depends on the type you choose. High-sugar varieties are not recommended, but many favourite brands have been reducing sugar and salt levels over the years. Lower sugar and salt varieties that are fortified with vitamins and minerals are an easy, convenient, high-fibre breakfast or snack. * Bread With the rise of low-carb diets, bread has copped a bad rap, but there’s a big difference between fluffy white bread and dense, grainy loaves. White bread is made from refined grains, which means the outer bran and germ layers of the grain have been stripped away, leaving a loaf that has significantly less fibre than wholegrain bread.…

Healthy Christmas cake Serves 12 Cost per serve $1.35 Hands-on time 20 min Cooking time 50 min dairy free 3 free-range eggs 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Zest of 1 whole orange ½ cup orange juice 1 teaspoon ground cassia ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon alcohol-free pure vanilla extract 600g dried apricots, figs and raisins (use equal amounts of each), chopped 1 cup almond meal 1 cup plain wholemeal flour ½ cup walnuts, chopped 20 blanched almonds 1 tablespoon apricot jam 1 Grease a round 18cm baking tin or rectangular 13 x 23cm loaf pan with a small amount of olive oil, then line with baking paper. Leave some overhang so you can easily lift the cake from the tin when baked. The paper will stick to the tin…

If you’re seeking something light and fresh to take to your next Christmas party, ‘tis the season for luscious cherries! One cup of cherries has a mere 295kJ (71cal) along with a healthy 2g of fibre. CHERRY ON TOP Sweet benefits Red, smooth and sweet, this stone fruit is packed with anthocyanins, the antioxidants that help protect you against type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers. Anti-inflammatory A recent study found eating 10 to 20 cherries a day can lower your risk of gout attacks reoccurring by 35 per cent, thanks to their anti-inflammatory properties. Portion perfection Before you go overboard this Christmas, remember too many cherries can have a laxative effect, due to their natural sugars (sorbitol and fructose). Luckily the pits in cherries will slow you down…

Each day’s menu gives you … ‘ Spend less time in the kitchen this Christmas!’Brooke Longfield, HFG editor • about 8700kJ (about 2000cal) for weight maintenance • 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of veg, so you get a variety of anti-ageing antioxidants • more than 35g of fibre to keep you feeling full • 2-3 easy snacks, to eat at home or on-the-go MONDAY Breakfast • Weet-Bix & toast 2 Weet-Bix with 1 cup milk, 2 tbs Greek-style yoghurt, 1 sliced banana & 2 tsp honey • 1 slice soy–linseed toast with 2 tsp peanut butter (2300kJ/550cal total) Lunch • Chicken & avo wrap 100g cooked chicken breast, ¼ avocado & salad on a wholegrain wrap • 1 cup diced watermelon (1900kJ/455cal total) Dinner • Salmon sushi…

Culinary whiz With KitchenAid Stand Mixers, the possibilities are endless. Over 15 attachments give you the power to make everything from fresh pasta to burgers, vegie noodles and ice cream – plus much more. Fun for your tum Rokeby Farms Filmjölk is a traditional cultured milk from Sweden made with 15 probiotic cultures and over 50 billion good bacteria per serve. It’s just what your tummy’s been asking for. Cracker idea! Carman’s Pepita & Poppy Seed Super Seed & Grain Crackers are your crunchalicious, go-to summer snack. Jam-packed with wholesome grains and healthy seeds, they have no added sugar. Nicely natural Nice & Natural Cranberry, Goji Berry & Quinoa Protein Nut Bars were a finalist in the 2017 Healthy Food Guide Awards for best packaged snack! Enjoy their filling protein,…