Just because food’s frozen, or comes in a can or a bottle doesn’t mean it’s junk! Catherine Saxelby takes a look at the merits of prepared or lightly-processed foods. It’s 6 pm!  I arrive home tired, with two hungry kids.  The perennial problem surfaces – what to cook for dinner?  It must be quick, the ingredients must be in my kitchen and, as a nutritionist, I’d like it to be reasonably healthy. I peer into the fridge. There’s some cold cooked chicken left over from last night. I ponder the options?
If you're preparing for pregnancy, or are in the early stages, and are in generally good health then these 7 tips from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) can help you and your baby stay healthy. It's best to start before you become pregnant but if you're already in the early stages of pregnancy just start following this advice as soon as you can.
Parents don't despair! If mealtimes end in tears with fights over food, you're not alone. A survey of Australian parents revealed that three out of four parents felt worried, guilty or frustrated that their children were not eating balanced meals. Kids aged between 3 and 9 were found to be the fussiest eaters. Guess what was rated the most unpopular? Yes, it was vegetables ..... followed by fish, milk, meat and fruit.
Eating plenty of vegetables and fruit makes good nutrition sense. They are packed with
vitamins
, minerals, fibre and numerous
antioxidants
- all for very few kilojoules (calories). Nutrition guidelines encourage us all to eat at least seven serves of vegetables and fruit a day. You'll often hear it called "seven-a-day" which simply means the number you aim for.
Why do the French - with their love of rich
cholesterol
-laden fare such as butter, cheese, pate, croissants and pastries - have the second lowest rate of heart disease in the world (second only to the long-living Japanese)? Red wine has long been the answer to this so-called 'French paradox' but is it the only factor? Catherine Saxelby thinks there's more ...
Here's my must-buy list of products I've come to use and enjoy. These are products whose ingredient list and nutrition credentials I'm happy with. Many make my life easier when I'm trying to get dinner done in a hurry or when I need a quick snack to grab. A couple are my clients' products that I use myself at home.
When it comes to healthy eating habits, men are the sicker sex. The best way to a man's heart (and prostate, bowel, bones, liver and kidneys) does seem to be what goes into his stomach. Hey, guys! This is a call to action for YOU!
"Eat fresh vegetables" used to be the motto for healthy eating. But with little time for food preparation and no time for daily shopping, I'm often asked if frozen vegetables can take the place of fresh. And if you live some distance from a good shopping centre, it's a fair question. So let's weigh up the odds ...
Do you love to sip a freshly-squeezed juice of orange, carrot and
Wheatgrass
? Or grab a mango and yoghurt smoothie as a quick lunch-on-the-run? Juices are healthy and fat-free but they're a trap for the health conscious. Read on to find out why ....
Having trouble drifting off at night? Are you lying awake in bed watching the digital clock tick over or madly trying to count sheep? Or do you fall asleep only to be wide-eyed at 3am? Here Catherine Saxelby offers nine ways to help you get the energising health benefits from a good night's sleep.
Celebrating with a glass of bubbly? Having friends over for a drink? Enjoying a few at the office get together? Make sure you know the risks and rewards of alcohol if you want to stay healthy.
Catherine
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