EatKit nutrition chat on Twitter

Confused about healthy eating? Not sure what's good to eat? Or not? Join a group of friendly practical dietitians each month for a chat on Twitter. Called EatKit, we meet online once a month for a moderated conversation on a range of nutrition and cooking topics from good fats to reducing salt from the food supply.

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Nutrition classifications/tags for our recipes

Wondering how much fat is in that recipe? Or whether something is gluten-free? Or ok for your partner on a low-salt diet? Here's how we classify the recipes on the Foodwatch site in terms of nutrition. Check out the fat, saturated fat, kilojoules, fibre, GI, carbs, protein ... and allergy listings.

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How to convert sodium to salt (and salt to sodium)

Nutritionists suggest we cut back on salt but it's sodium you'll see listed on food labels and on any recommended daily intakes. So what's the difference and how can you convert sodium into salt? And vice versa?

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Mercury in fish in Australia

Certain types of fish can accumulate mercury and these are the ones to avoid or limit when pregnant and breast feeding. But it's not as simple as avoiding ALL types of fish. Fish is very important at these times for its rich content of omega-3 fats which are needed for brain and eye development in the growing foetus and baby. But it's a careful balance between eating enough omega-3s and not overdoing the mercury.

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What's a standard drink

A standard drink is any drink containing 10 grams of alcohol (or 12.5ml pure alcohol). One standard drink always contains the same amount of alcohol regardless of the size of the glass or the type of alcohol (beer, wine or spirit). A standard drink means:

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Food measurement and conversions

If you want to cook something from a recipe book from a country which uses imperial measures or you want to try out your grandmother’s favourite recipe that’s in pounds and ounces then you will need to convert the ingredient quantities. To help you we have prepared this handy conversion guide for the kitchen.

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Catherine Saxelby on Twitter - welcome

I invite you to follow me on Twitter and see if you like my style of advice - you'll get latest nutrition news, links to helpful food websites and tips for products to buy. Plus my own personal commentary on modern-day food and where to find the healthy stuff. I enjoy Twitter as it's short and sweet - only 140 characters which is one or two sentences. Only a small time commitment and you're up to date!

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How to convert kilojoules to calories

Just like yards became metres and pounds became grams, so calories have become kilojoules. Kilojoules are the metric equivalent of calories and have replaced calories in almost all countries. Yet they're very confusing, especially to my US visitors who have always only known calories (lucky for me, I grew up with calories then had to learn kilojoules!)

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Grapefruit and medications

Grapefruit and grapefruit juice can interact with a number of medications, either making them work too strongly or causing unpleasant side effects. The juice is generally singled out over the fruit because it's concentrated and easy to consume a lot of grapefruit - one small 200ml glass is the equivalent of 2 or 3 grapefruit.

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Standard food serves and portion sizes

What is a standard serve?  What's the right portion? When nutritionists talk about a serve of vegetables, exactly how much do they mean?  Is it a cup or a couple of spoonfuls? What about rice and pasta? Is one cup ok or too much? Check out this quick list of standard serves so you know how much is meant.

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Links and resources

Here's a handy list of websites and places to go when you're looking for more info on food, diets and healthy eating. They're things I've come across and found helpful in the past - so I thought you would too! I offer these links to other web sites as a 'personal recommendation' to you, but don't hold me responsible for the content or availability of these sites. Things change often on the web!

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The Foodwatch (Free) eNewsletter

Are you looking for ideas on how to eat right when you've no time to cook? Latest nutrition news? Each month, the Foodwatch eNewsletter has the products, quick recipes, tricks and tips to keep you eating healthily, get organised, lose a little weight and have more energy - and it's FREE!! 

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