The Foodwatch eNewsletter

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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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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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.

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.

On a cold rainy day, there’s one thing more appealing than a cup of hot soup? That’s one you didn’t have to cook yourself! However, navigating the instant soup aisle has become increasingly difficult. There are dozens of options that come in a variety of presentations (cans, sachets, cups, boxes) announcing gourmet flavour combinations and compelling health claims. Let’s face it, if you are looking for an instant soup solution, it’s because you don’t have time to cook and that means you probably don’t have the time or inclination to read through nutrition labels. So here’s one solution ...

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.

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

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.

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?

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? 

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!

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.

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...

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 ...

Forget sugar as the sole villain. Don’t blame fat alone for the flab. Forget carbs as the culprit. There is no silver bullet for weight loss and there is no ONE single food or nutrient that can be blamed for our expanding waistlines. Nor ONE single reason for the decline in our physical activity levels. There are many and they’re different for each person who’s carrying excess weight. I’ve unearthed at least 13 possible causes but I’ll wager there are many more. So look down my list and tick off which of these 13 (unlucky for some) factors are responsible for your underlying problem. 

The best-selling CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet has come under scrutiny over the validity of its research and the concern that a diet high in meat can lead to bowel cancer, which is one of the more common cancers at present in Australia. CSIRO has also been criticised for lending its name to a diet book as they are the country's national research agency.