I like to divide processed foods into four categories, from minimally to ultra-processed https://t.co/J0P9sBRhnE
= Reviews =
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Product Review: Messy Monkeys
Launched in mid-2017, the Messy Monkeys range is a range of snack foods suitable for children. They claim to be lunch box friendly (so no nuts), gluten-free and good for them.
You’ve probably noticed the first in this series at your local supermarket. They are the little Messy Monkeys packs of whole grain snack bites. These snacks made the finalist list in the children’s nutrition range of the World Innovation Awards 2018 in the UK.
This post has been sponsored by Freedom Foods. -
Hemp seeds now here!
Move over linseed. Step aside chia. In Australia, hemp seeds have now been approved for consumption and you’ll soon see them everywhere. I predict they will quickly take their place alongside linseed and chia. They truly are superstar seeds that have a real nutrition benefit in the form of plant omega-3. For both farming and nutrition reasons, I’ve long been a fan of hemp so am pleased that – after years of being prohibited – they have finally been given the nod.
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Product Review: New Barley+ products
Back in 2009 I wrote about cereals made with the new BarleyMax grain. Then they were tough and often looked over-baked or dark-brown in colour. Since then, they’ve come a long way and are now made by Freedom Foods so I was asked to take another look at them. Here’s what I found.
This post has been sponsored by Barley+ and Freedom Foods. -
Product Snapshot Coca Cola No Sugar
Really? Yet another sugar-free version of the famous multimillion dollar Coca Cola brand? This is attempt No 4 at a no-sugar variety – following Diet Coke, Coke Zero, and the sugar-reduced-but-still-sweetened, Coke Life.
So the multimillion dollar question is - why release another fizzy drink containing no sugar? What are the differences? Does this newest one really taste THAT much better? We did a blind mini taste-test of Zero, Diet and this new No Sugar to find out.
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Book Review: Short Cuts to Glory with Matt Okine
Subtitled The easy beginner’s guide for Australian cooks, it’s probably a good one to hand to your offspring as they head off to their new, independent lives away from home.
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Product Snapshot: HermanBrot Low-carb Bread
I stumbled over this loaf in my IGA supermarket at Drummoyne in Sydney's inner west. I don’t go there all that often. There it was, sitting at the start of the bread section, screaming out to me via its bright yellow and red colours on the label. Is this yet another “lower-carb bread” (there have been lots lately)? Does this taste as terrible as most lower-carb products do? Is this a bread a dietitian would be happy to recommend? Read on to find out the answers to these and more.
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Product Snapshot: Spud Lite Potatoes with 25 per cent less carbs
A potato with 25 per cent LESS carbs? Does this mean they are low GI also? Would they be suitable for people with diabetes? And how do they taste? In this Snapshot, we taste test these new potatoes on offer via Woolworths supermarkets.
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Product Review: Alpine Heart Breads
Can your daily bread help lower your cholesterol? This is a big claim so I was pleased to be offered the chance to taste-test two little-known loaves of bread and put them through the Foodwatch review system. Here’s how we rated these new Alpine Breads sold under the label of Heart Fibre and Heart Wholemeal.
This post has been sponsored by by Alpine Breads.
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Product review: St Dalfour Healthy French Bistro meals in a jar
Starving? Longing for a quick bite but need to finish that report or presentation? Hungry for a meal that you don’t have to duck out and pick up? One that’s not nuts or a bar? Here’s a new, easy option for busy working women and it needs no refrigeration or freezing! It simply sits in your drawer or cupboard until you need it. Then microwave it for 45 seconds and it’s ready! Here’s what I thought of St Dalfour Healthy French Bistro meals.
This post has been sponsored by St Dalfour Healthy French Bistro Meals.
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Product Snapshot: San Remo Pulse Pasta
With so many people having wheat and gluten allergies and pasta being such a staple around Aussie dinner tables, it’s timely to see some new pasta offerings around. You can buy pasta based on spelt (an ancient grain but not gluten-free), brown rice, lentil and quinoa, and rice and maize flour. Now there’s a new one and it sports a Health Star Rating of 5 - which is the highest rating you can get of 5 out of 5.
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Book Review: Ferment for Good by Sharon Flynn
The sub-title of this book is Ancient Foods for the Modern Gut. In a nutshell, that’s really the philosophy behind it. Modern medicine, in particular, via its use of antibiotics has changed our gut flora, which in turn has changed us – our immune systems, our weight, and even our moods. While no one wants to give up the life-saving benefits of modern medicine, many of us would like to mitigate its unintended side-effects. This books aims to help us to just that.
= Healthy Weight Loss =
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What actually is ketosis? Is it good or bad for you?
Ketosis is when you push your body’s metabolism to burn stored fat for energy instead of sugar. So how do you do it? And is it good for you?
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What's better for weight loss and health? Low-carb or low-fat?
Recent studies have provided an interesting insight into the perennial ‘dieters’ dilemma’ - “Low-carb OR low-fat?” Which is better for your health? Which is better for weight loss? The results are in, so let’s take a look.
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7 best vegetables to help you lose weight (with serving ideas)
Australia’s Healthy Weight Week (AHWW) is back for 2017 and the theme is more healthy home cooking. That includes vegetables and salads! AHWW is an initiative of the Dietitians Association of Australia or DAA. Now in its tenth year, it aims to raise awareness of the importance of achieving and maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle. Sounds great to me.
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7 weight loss hacks to do NOW
Finding it hard to shed those extra kilos or pounds? New Year is traditionally a time for new beginnings so now is the ideal time to change your eating habits and the ways you exercise. It’s all about eating better on less and getting more movement into your day. Here are my fave 7 tips and tricks to boost your metabolism, burn more energy and promote healthy weight loss
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Your 7 best New Year resolutions for weight loss
It’s that time of year when we all turn over a new leaf and decide to lose those last stubborn kilos/pounds, exercise each day, quit smoking, give up alcohol, and become more healthy. In January, it’s a familiar mantra yet if done wisely can stay with you throughout the whole year.
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Why the perfect diet might be no diet at all
Many women spend much of their lives going from one unsuccessful diet to another, convinced that they just haven’t found the right one yet, or that they lack the willpower necessary to stick to one. But what if the problem is actually DIETING itself?
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What is a 'Healthy Bounty Bar'? And how does it compare to the original?
Lately my social media feeds have been flooded with photos of ‘sugar-free’ sweet treats. Made popular by celebrity, Sarah Wilson, and her book ‘I Quit Sugar’, these recipes fill the hole left by traditional, sugar-containing sweets, chocolates, muffins and slices. Are they actually any better?
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Diet review: South Beach Diet
Named after the celebrity-studded South Beach in Florida USA, the South Beach Diet promised to be easy and enjoyable with no suffering or deprivation. But once you read through the 14 days of the initial weight-stripping (Phase 1), you soon realize that it's a very restricted diet, only one degree better than Atkins. Will you lose weight on it? Absolutely, but not for the regime or combination of foodstuffs - simply because you're only taking in a meagre 4500 kJ/1070 cals per day!
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Diet review: The Low GI Diet
The Low GI Diet won't eliminate all your carbs but it does make you think about choosing ‘smart carbs' to help your weight loss efforts. Legumes, pasta, grainy breads and the right types of cereal, rice and snacks are preferred over white bread and refined cereals.
It's based on the Glycaemic Index (GI) concept which says that low GI carbs are digested and absorbed much more slowly and so last longer in your system. It was originally a concept for diabetes but now has advantages for dieters too.
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Diet review: Can't Lose Weight? You could have Syndrome X.
Sandra Cabot's book Can't Lose Weight? You could have Syndrome X promises help for those struggling to shed weight. However, it's no magic bullet - you will still have to exercise and change the way you eat. Is it helpful or is it just another fad diet? Here's my review...
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My week on the IQS program (Week 1)
Is sugar the key culprit in the obesity crisis? If I cut out ALL sugar (including honey and agave) and everything sweet, will it be easier for my body to shed weight? I ate and cooked from Week 1 of the IQS program by Sarah Wilson (see my review of the book here) to see if, and how, it would help me lose a little weight. Here's how I fared on the first week ...
= Most popular =
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Q. What's the difference between Diet Coke and Coke Zero?
A. At first glance, Diet Coke and Coke Zero appear to be identical. Both contain no kilojoules (Calories) and no sugar. Both are artificially sweetened with (the same amount) of aspartame and acesulfame K and therefore have the same ‘sweetness’.
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Eat to beat gastro and diarrhoea
A clear fluid diet is the best form of treatment for gastro and tummy upsets. It is the "lightest" type of diet, designed to place as little strain as possible on the digestive tract. It is NOT nutritionally adequate and should be followed only for a strictly limited time e.g. two or three days but no more than a week.
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7 types of sugar - which is healthier?
Last week on the radio, the announcer asked me if there was a 'good' sugar – one that would satisfy her sweet tooth but that was 'healthier' than regular white sugar. She figured if there were 'good' carbs and 'bad' carbs there must be some sugars that would get the nod of approval from nutritionists.
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Sugar - why quitting sugar guarantees you'll lose weight
Sugar. It's been labelled "deadly", "addictive", "toxic", "sweet poison" and blamed for the rise in global obesity in recent years." Get rid of the white toxin from your diet and you'll free up your body to drop those excess kilos" (or so say anti-sugar campaigners Sarah Wilson, David Gillespie and Robert Lustig). Here are the three real reasons why I believe quitting sugar helps you lose weight.
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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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Nutella. The full (correct) list of ingredients
Have you ever tried to find the exact list of ingredients for Nutella online? The identical one that appears on its label - in descending order from the first (largest ingredient by weight) to the last ingredient, as required by food law? Well, you won’t find it! Here’s the hoop-la I went through to discover exactly what the ingredients in Nutella are and why Nutella is not good for your kids.
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What does 8,700 kilojoules look like?
8,700 is a magic number in nutrition. It’s the number of kilojoules (kJ) that is the “average” intake for adults in Australia, if the surveys are correct. It’s widely used as a benchmark figure and as the basis of food labels such as the Percent Daily Intake values. Recently kilojoules have appeared on fast food menu boards and they use 8,700 as the yardstick to assess their foods against. Here's my take on it.
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Eat to beat gallstones
Gallstones, small hard “rocks” of cholesterol and calcium, can block the tubes that drain the gallbladder. This blockage causes inflammation of the gallbladder or of the bile drainage tubes. Once this happens you experience terrible pain or colic, fever and even jaundice (skin turns yellow). Here’s what you can do about it.
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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 Australia and many other metric 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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Q. What’s the difference between fish oil and cod liver oil?
A.
Fish oil and cod liver oil are two different oils even though they both come from fish and have a similar fatty acid profile.
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Top 100 polyphenols. What are they and why are they important?
There are heaps of websites and food packs out there that try to compare this super food to that one. Depending on which testing method is used, you'll see sites and ads proclaiming that blueberries have more antioxidants than red wine; that goji has more than blueberries; that pomegranate juice has more than tea; and that dark chocolate is up there with all of them.
= Recipes =
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Lentil-mince Bolognaise
This is an easy way to downsize your portions of meat as you use HALF the mince and boost the flavour and filling power with lentils. It's a plant-based recipe that works - it adds fibre and slowly-digested carbs plus stretches the meat so it goes further. Plus it's a hearty dish to cook when the weather is cold outside.
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Roasted Broccoli and Brown Rice Salad with Feta
This delicious and nutty salad makes for a satiating vegetarian meal, or can be served as a side to any grilled meat or salmon. Plus the combination of all the ingredients provides a variety of textures and a nice crunch, so you really get to enjoy your meal! The garlic roasted broccoli is also pretty addictive and might just convert any broccoli-hater into an avid consumer. We like to make double the recipe so we have a side salad for dinner and a few work-friendly lunches throughout the week.
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Salmon Poke Bowls
Anything in a bowl is on trend now. Here's a favourite dietitian Sophie Feng has created based on salmon - you choose whether you go with the raw or the cooked fillets if that's what you prefer and are used to.
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My Vegetable Fried Rice
Here is a great way to use up any extra vegetables hanging around in your refrigerator and make fried rice healthier. It’s a mix-and-match recipe so feel free to substitute any vegetables you have on hand or what your family likes. I find you can add almost anything from capsicum to cabbage.
For meat eaters, it’s nice to throw in a cup of diced, cooked chicken pieces with the peas at the end to create a complete one-dish dinner.
My trick: cook the rice ahead and allow it to cool (or use leftover rice). I’ve used brown but the brown-haters won’t notice once the dark sauces are added!
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Spiced Root Vegetable & Red Lentil Soup
Just because the temperature has dropped, doesn’t mean our diet has to suffer. The cooler months can offer a huge variety of nourishing and hearty, veg-packed meals to keep us healthy through winter. This delicious soup is one such offering. Full of nutrient-rich root vegetables, abundant in vitamins, minerals and fibre, and lentils which provide a good source of plant protein. It’s the perfect way to get a big dose of nourishment in the colder months and makes a filling meal in its own right, or you can have it as a starter to warm you up before a lighter meal.
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Tzatziki dip and sauce
Here’s my idea of a quick ‘sauce’ that can be dolloped over slow-cooked lamb or barbecued lamb cutlets. It also really lifts roasted eggplant to a whole new level. What’s more with yoghurt as the star, it’s also healthy and easy. I like recipes that require a minimal amount of effort and don’t chain me to the kitchen for hours. This is definitely one of those!
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Lemony Lentil Soup
Dietitian Caroline Trickey says she enjoys demonstrating this recipe in her cooking classes as it is a firm favourite of hers and so easy to make. The soup is delicious just as it is, but with the addition of the olive oil and lemon juice on top, the flavours are intensified. Based on the classic Greek lentil soup but with a lot more vegetables this is a hearty soup you won’t regret making!
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Quinoa, cranberry, parsley and cucumber salad
Use quinoa as the base but enliven it with the stronger flavours of cranberries, mint, parsley, onion and pistachio nuts. It's a winner!
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Raw cacao and fruit balls
I've been swept up with the trend to cacao balls or power balls, round snacks (think mouthfuls) with the wonderful rich flavour of dark cacao. Imagine rich dark smooth chocolate but healthier. Here's one version we came up with jam-packed with almonds, prunes, seeds and figs. With the coconut fat (butter), they need an hour in the fridge to become nice and firm.
Catherine Saxelby
Hi. I’m an accredited nutritionist, blogger and award-winning author. I can help you make sense of all those crazy fad diets and weird super foods.
My aim is to help busy women eat nutrient-dense foods so they maintain a healthy weight while having heaps of energy :) And stay productive.
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Cath's latest tweets
Ultra-processed foods (UPF) are the ones to avoid and considered the ‘root of all evil’ when it comes to poor diets… https://t.co/1lr0W06jwS
Check out this Niçoise salad made with freekah. Woweee. #wholegrainweek https://t.co/y7myGJraEI https://t.co/uf2oPITAiB
Wow! Check out the mushrooms - to go into the brown rice risotto 🥣 Check out those whole grains 👀 #wholegrainweek… https://t.co/SmVN2DPVH7
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