I spotted this kindy-kid, scaled-down flavoured milk in chocolate and strawberry at a local mini-market. And immediately thought “Clever idea”! At a smaller more practical 250ml, it’s the kid brother of the usual big, 600ml, chocolate milk which is way too large for most primary school kids. Not to mention impossible to re-seal if you want to drink later.
![[Liam_at_the_stove_testing_the_product]](http://foodwatch.com.au/images/stories/blog_/BB_Liam_at_the_stove.jpg)
Guest review by dietitian Nicole Senior APD, AN, author of Belly Busting for Blokes
Two thirds of Australian men are overweight or obese and their big bellies are putting them at risk for chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and bowel cancer. One of the reasons blokes are bearing the brunt of the obesity epidemic is they tend to outsource their food, often to the fast food industry. Meal-maker products are ideally positioned to help blokes to resist the urge of fast food and throw a meal together with a minimum of fuss.
Birdseye Create-a-meal is such a product. It all sounds good, but how does it stack up?
![[Incaberry_sample_on_scoop]](http://foodwatch.com.au/images/stories/blog_/Incaberries_on_scoop.jpg)
You’d think we’d discovered all the super berries. After all, we’ve had years of hype and marketing for cranberries, goji, noni, acai and mangosteen. Now there’s a new berry in your health food aisle or produce store. It’s the Incaberry!
![[Traffic_Lights_Tracker_shot_of_App_image]](http://foodwatch.com.au/images/stories/blog_/Traffic_Light_Tracker_main.jpg)
Guest review by Jemma O’Hanlon, Dietitian & Nutritionist
Ever wondered how effective the Traffic Light Food Label system would be? I asked dietitian and blogger Jemma O’Hanlon to review a new food label app to see if it was useful in making healthy food choices at the supermarket any easier. Here are her findings.
More than 1.5 million Australians have diabetes. Given the rise in obesity and sedentary lifestyles, more than twice this number will be at risk of developing diabetes in the next 25 years. So it’s timely that the nutrition team from the CSIRO Wellbeing books and Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute have published a book on diabetes.
I like to sip this iced tea as a refreshing not-overly-sweet drink. It’s pleasant and sweet without being sickly-sweet. It’s not fizzy so there’s no gaseous feeling nor burping afterwards. But how much healthier is it really?
Guest review by Airlie Lacy, student dietitian
Too tired to cook? Too busy to shop? Need to lose weight? Busy lifestyles often leave little time to shop, cook and eat the right meals for weight loss. Take-aways are quick and easy but they're no good for your waistline. Are home-delivered diet meals a better option for you? We put one lot to the test ...
Posted by: Editor in weight loss, vegetables, salad, portion size, junk food, hunger, healthy snacking, healthy eating, food labelling, eating out, diet on
Feb 22, 2011
Guest review by dietitian Frances Gilham, APD, AN
SumoSalad claims to be the healthiest fast food franchise. It caters to people looking for nutrition as well as convenience and taste for lunch on the go. And Australians are obviously seeking out healthier options to burgers and pizza – three new SumoSalad stores have recently opened up in Australia, despite the global economic problems. SumoSalad now boasts a grand total of 84 outlets across the country – which is fabulous for nutrition, but still pales in comparison to McDonalds’ 750+ outlets (including McCafes) and Subway’s whopping 1200 stores!
Guest review by dietitian Josephine Mollica from Eat Wiser
You have probably heard of Sebago, Desiree or Kifler potatoes, but have you heard of the Carisma potato? This new variety of potato has just hit the shops riding on its claim to be the first low Glycemic Index (GI) potato. It is grown in South Australia and only available through Coles supermarkets. The potatoes have an oval shape, white skin similar to the Nadine potato and pale yellow-coloured flesh.
Guest review by dietitian Emma Stirling APD from The Scoop on Nutrition
Are you a vegetarian? Or perhaps experimenting with more meat-free meals due to the growing green scene? Well, we've got great news for you. There's a brand new player in town, so I was thrilled when Catherine asked me to write this guest review. Quorn has certainly raised the bar in ‘mock meats' and demonstrates how today's food technology can be instrumental in our future food solutions. You'll just never guess where it originates from ...
Looking for a plain healthy biscuit to have with your coffee or tea? Want one that's reasonably healthy, not cream-filled or choc-coated, but still a pleasant sweet mid-meal bite? Here I compare two of the top sellers Arnott's Shredded Wheatmeal and Paradise Highland Oatmeals They look healthy, but are they?
With all the advertising hype targeting heart disease and high cholesterol and with some websites proclaiming it the "world's healthiest oil", best for body builders and even menopausal women, rice bran oil is the oil I get most questions about. How much healthier is it? What's it like to cook with? And how does it taste? Here are some answers...
"Mindless Eating" is one of the best nutrition books I've read in the last four years. It was a real eye-opener for me - and I suspect for most of us - as it shows why you may not realize how much you're eating, what you're eating - or why you're even eating at all! It starts out by pointing out that everyone makes over 200 food decisions each day but we have no idea why we're making them nor how we're influenced by the "hidden persuaders" around us!
We all know that potato chips are not that healthy. But what about the new wholegrain-type chips? Are they a better-for-you alternative to those salty, oily, potato chippies that beckon from petrol station stores and vending machines? Let’s take a look.
Post by Catherine Saxelby and home economist and dietitian Diane Temple
"Fast, fabulous & flavoursome recipes using 4 Ingredients. Written by Rachael Bermingham and Kim McCosker, these bestselling cookbooks are jam packed full of quick, easy and very delicious recipes that you can easily whip up to WOW your friends and family ..." That's the promise.
Are you so busy at work that you can't even spare ten minutes to go out and buy lunch? Wouldn't it be great if there were something quick and easy you could grab; something you could keep in your desk drawer; something that doesn't need to be refrigerated and yet is healthy?
![[Three stevia sweeteners reviewed]](http://foodwatch.com.au/images/stories/blog_/stevia-sweeteners-compared.jpg)
A "natural" sweetener, Stevia was approved for use in late in 2008 in Australia and the US and the first Stevia products are now appearing on the supermarket shelves.
It's not considered "artificial" and marketing for stevia makes much of it being 100% natural - which appeals to consumers - compared to aspartame or acesulfame-K which are often regarded as "chemical" and can't escape the cancer-scare rumours that have been circulating for years.
There are so many milks in the dairy case these days, it can be hard to work out which one suits you. And when you notice that they cost more than regular low-fat or home-brand milk, you start to think twice.
Here I review three of the more ‘unusual' added-value low-fat milks so you can see if one is worth paying the extra for your health problems.
Found a great new water drink. It's bottled water with a splash of lemon flavour. That's it. Nothing else - no sugar, no sweeteners, no calories, no colours, no additives. Just water with flavour. It takes a minute to adjust to the fact that it's colourless but once you do, you suddenly look at all those yellow and green bottles and realise that CLEAR is the way to go. Who says your drink has to look like a kid's colouring book? Who wants all those colours anyway?
BARLEYmax. It's being touted as the greatest super food of all time and the king of cereal grains. BARLEYmax has finally appeared in our food supply in the form of three new breakfast cereals, the first products to be made with the super barley. It's been over 12 years in the making with scientists from CSIRO devoting their life work to breeding it, testing it, growing it as a commercial harvest, and finally working with a food company to create interesting novel products that showcase its benefits.
Me and my lemon again! The weather's got a little chilly last day or so so I've decided to sip my lemon with water as a warm drink. I was making it up with chilled water from the fridge but this got too cold for my stomach first thing in the morning.
Going well on my new experiment. I definitely am less hungry in the morning after I have my lemon with water first thing. Doesn't seem to have any effect on my appetite during the afternoon or evening but that's exactly what I what have expected. It's a morning only thing.
Day 3 & 4 were both the same - I felt exactly the same on both so I've combined them. What I noticed on both these day is that the my glass of water with lemon really makes you feel hydrated first thing in the morning. Especially if you'd had a wine or two the night before and not drunk enough water before going to bed.
Started my morning with a chilled glass of water with lemon juice as yesterday. Was a bit of an effort to get it all down again this morning but I did it. And I must say it does fill you up and stop you filling hungry.
I've started my day with an old-fashioned diet inclusion - a glass of water with lemon. I squeezed out the juice of half an average lemon and mixed it with cold water - then down the hatch before anything else!
Lemon-and-water is advice I've seen around for years. It's often listed on diet plans supposedly as an early morning cleanser or detox. The diets tell you that the lemon can "magically melt away unwanted fat" - something we all love to hear. In all honesty, I suspect it's just a low-calorie stomach filler that stops you stuffing your face with a croissant or bacon burger.
People often ask me why we nutritionists keep changing out minds! One year, carbohydrate is wonderful, the next year it's not. One year, fat is a no-no, the next year, it's only saturated fat that we should worry about, the other fats are ‘good' fats that are OK to eat and enjoy. Protein was ‘forgotten' for some years, now it's back and considered important for satiety and weight loss.
Bliss for the tastebuds, hell for the hips! Recent articles in The Australian, The Washington Post and other newspapers have been touting the existence of what they call "bliss foods". So what is a "bliss food" and what's all the fuss about?
Sugar. We all love its soft sweetness but it's clear we overdo its consumption. As a nation, Australia has a collective sweet tooth that sees us consuming ¾ of a kilo a week of the stuff. From soft drinks to ice cream, doughnuts to dessert, sugar is everywhere. While it's not the cause, it's certainly contributing to health problems such as tooth decay, and being overweight .
Soup is one of my favourite winter meals. Thick and hearty, it's warming and satisfying. It's a key food if you want to lose some weight without going hungry.
Soups are pretty easy to make (unlike pastry or fiddly finger food) but, depending on the type, can take 2 or 3 hours, as they often require long, slow simmering.
Everyone loves to indulge in chocolate yet we all know it's a food that's laden with fat, sugar and kilojoules - and it's damn hard to stop at just one mouthful.
So it's hardly surprising that dieters have turned hopefully to light chocolate to provide pleasure without guilt. At first glance, it looks like the answer to a dieter's prayers!
I have to say right up front that choc isn't one of my weaknesses (I have others like nougat or soft jellies). But I was interested to see how much you could save by doing a swap from say a regular Mars Bar to a light Mars Bar.
Finally a Crust pizza franchise opened up near me. I'd read all about these amazing ‘health-conscious' pizzas that had managed to secure the Heart Foundation red Tick of approval. Yep, you're reading right! Here was a pizza that was guaranteed to be low in saturated fat (read ‘bad', really ‘evil' fat), bounding with veggies and - most amazing of all - low in salt.
My taste buds died and woke up in flavour heaven! I've just bought my first bottle of pomegranate molasses and can't believe how magnificent the flavour is! How come I got to the ripe old age of 50-something and never ever sampled this before? Something as basic as a marinade for lamb, pork or chicken now sends me into raptures. A salad with a teaspoon of the molasses in the dressing has me drooling. Even sipping a ‘cordial' made pomegranate molasses in a glass of water is refreshingly divine.
I know you'll think I've gone insane but I've never tasted anything so sublime. Honestly. It's the combination of understated sweetness with that astringency that you only find in balsamic vinegar or too-strong tea (must be those amazing polyphenols - aka tannins - which the tea blenders tell me is what makes you mouth pucker).
Do your kids like to snack on fruit leather or fruit straps, those sweet long thin flat pieces of dried fruit? They come individually wrapped in single serves like muesli bars. They're easy to throw into a kids' lunch box. And they add a pleasant sweet treat to a wholesome lunch. But each time I spy some at my fruit market (placed tantalisingly at the check out), I have to ask myself: are they really a healthy snack or just confectionery in disguise?
Reviews
