Posted by kathryn in Blogging

Kate from Veggie Friendly has tagged me for the meme – five things you didn’t know about me – so here goes. h3. The last time I ate meat, it was . . . Reindeer, yup, I ate Rudolph. I gave up meat in 1992, haven’t eaten fish for the last ten years, but back in 1996 I was travelling around Europe. I spent some time in Norway, visiting the fjords and gazing on the spectacular landscape. My travelling companion …

Read more 6 comments 30 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Miscellanea

If only more staff cafeterias were like this one. Source: The Ethicurean.

Read more No comments 29 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

Two of the blogs I’m currently finding useful are Veggie Friendly and Buy Organic. h3. Veggie Friendly Veggie Friendly posts restaurant reviews, focusing on how sympathetic their menu is to vegetarians – hence the name. As Kate says: bq. The idea behind my restaurant reviews is to rate different eateries for vegetarian friendliness. I hope this helps you choose a great veggie friendly restaurant – for yourself or for vegetarian friends or family. My master plan is to raise more …

Read more 1 comment 26 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Legumes

Following all the contradictions, confusions and misinformation about soy this week, here’s a lovely reality-check from Bon Appegeek.

Read more 1 comment 26 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Ethics & Sustainablity and Labels & advertising

An article on ethical eating in last week’s herald provides some useful information and resources. Making ethical food choices is tricky, there are few easy answers and, at the moment, there’s no centralised resource to help negotiate the issues. For example, many shops label their chickens as hormone-free, however oestrogen has been banned from chicken feed since the 1960s, so this is a marketing ploy. There is a strong perception in the community that hormones are fed to chickens, which …

Read more 2 comments 25 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Lifestyle and Miscellanea

Quite startling news yesterday about a specific type of interval training that may encourage a higher degree of fat burning. A study conducted by the University of NSW and the Garvan Institute over 15 weeks, split 45 overweight women into two groups. One group cycled at a steady pace for 40 minutes, while the other group did a 20 minute regime including eight seconds of sprinting, followed by 12 seconds of cycling lightly. Neither group made any changes to their …

Read more 1 comment 23 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Snacks

Reports on the news and in the papers yesterday about the latest Choice report – this time into kids’ snacks. The foods listed in the Choice study are all targeted and marketed to kids and their parents and most of them are also promoted as being healthy, however they’re shockers. I’ve talked before about the problems with kids’ food, ie foods that are branded, marketed and promoted to children. Once you look past the dodgy marketing claims, they’re simply poor …

Read more 3 comments 23 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Legumes

There’s been conflicting news this week on the health benefits, or otherwise, of soy. Earlier in the the week reports linked soy to an increased risk of cancer, but then almost the same day came recommendations to include soy as part of a healthy diet . Even more confusing, both these statements were attributed to the same body. So, what’s the deal here? There’s been conflicting information about soy for a while, this transcript from ABC radio gives you an …

Read more 3 comments 18 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Lifestyle

For many, the January holidays are drawing to a close (if they haven’t finished already) and it’s back to work. It can be amazing how quickly that holiday feeling evaporates, when confronted with your pile of work, voicemail messages and email inbox? As individuals, there is much we can do to keep healthy and reduce stress while at work. Even little changes can make a difference, for example trying to leave on time at least a couple of times per …

Read more No comments 18 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Fats & oils, Snacks and Junk Food

As if to illustrate my point exactly, slap bang in the middle of the back page of today’s Herald , is this headline “Fair Dunkin’! Guilt-Free Doughnuts”: bq. Is this the future of indulgence? Our picture shows a box of doughnuts from the Doughnut Plant, on New York’s Lower East Side. They look evil, but are trans-fat-free and all natural. They may well be trans fat free, but THEY’RE STILL DOUGHNUTS . Which means they’re still packed full of sugar …

Read more No comments 17 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Fats & oils

Before Christmas I was blogging about trans fatty acids – why they’re bad for us and what foods contain them. However, in all this concern about trans fats, it’s important we don’t lose sight of the overall picture. Yes, trans fats are bad for us, but so are saturated fats. Trans fats are worse, but we still have to watch and limit our intake of saturates. h3. How much trans fats do we eat? Why am I saying this? The …

Read more 1 comment 17 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

For those of you who bought raffle tickets in December’s Menu for hope campaign – the prize winners have just gone up on Chez Pim’s site. A fantastic US$60, 925.12 was raised for the UN World Food Programme. Check here for the winners . . . and good luck!

Read more No comments 16 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Miscellanea

A lovely idea to encourage littlies to cook (and be more interested in good food) – buy a subscription to Clever Little Cooks. Each month they’ll send your child a cooking package through the post, which includes two recipe cards, an easy-to-use kitchen implement, newsletter, as well as information on healthy food choices. Each package is themed, for example around seasons or upcoming cultural festivals. This month’s recipes are based around Australia Day and include mini meat pies and a …

Read more No comments 16 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Fats & oils

Omega 3 essential fatty acids are very important during pregnancy for the healthy development of the bub’s central nervous system. Omega 3s can be found in fish, nuts (walnuts are especially high), linseeds, Omega 3 eggs, canola oil, soy and some margarines. In recent years, concern that some fish may contain mercury levels harmful to the baby, has led to much confusion. While Omega 3s help the development of the central nervous system, mercury actually impairs this development and functioning, …

Read more No comments 15 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

Gastrokid.com are putting together a world-wide guide to kid-friendly restaurants and they’re going to include a google map, pointing to all the sites. What an excellent idea. I’ve just nominated two Sydney places (Hopscotch in Annandale and The Barn in Rozelle), but that’s it so far for Australia. If you have any suggestion, leave them in the comments on the gastrokid site.

Read more 2 comments 13 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Ethics & Sustainablity

The CSPI are also running a campaign to encourage Americans to eat greener: bq. Each day we’re fed over 1 billion pounds—and one trillion calories—of food. Our agricultural system consumes enormous quantities of fuel, fertilizers, and pesticides to produce the grains, meat and poultry, and fruits and vegetables that feed a country of nearly 300 million people. It consumes enormous tracts of land and quantities of water—not just for growing food for people, but for producing food for livestock. And …

Read more No comments 13 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Labels & advertising

Some interesting resources on the website of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest. These are the guys threatening legal action against Enviga, for misleading advertising. The CSPI are based in the US and some of the brands and issues they mention are not relevant to us, here in Australia. However, their website has a section for kids and I particularly like the Trust Gus? quiz. The scenario: bq. Gus Bogus is a food industry spokesman who often stretches …

Read more No comments 13 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Labels & advertising

I can’t say I was thrilled this week to read that Enviga will be on sale in Australia from July this year. Enviga is a carbonated green tea soft drink, manufactured by Coca-Cola and Nestle, which they say has “negative calories”. They claim that drinking three cans of Enviga will slightly raise your metabolism, making the average person burn between 60 – 100 calories. Very little is known about how it works and this claim has not been independently tested. …

Read more No comments 12 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Recipes, Desserts and Summer

I’ve got a few unfinished blogging strands at the moment, including the dessert from this dinner party. I rarely make desserts, so far there are only three posts in my pudding category and at home we generally stick to the trusty fruit and yoghurt combination. For a dinner party though, I like to do something special, a little bit decadent even, but without tripling everyone’s saturated fat intake. This berry and mango pavlova fits the bill. It’s adapted from …

Read more No comments 12 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Miscellanea

From the latest Grand Rounds, a guide to natural ways of helping heartburn and indigestion by Jolie Bookspan. Many people with stomach acid problems are prescribed a class of medicine called proton pump inhibitors, which are often taken in conjunction with antacids. However, this medication regime has been linked to a decrease in calcium absorption and an increased risk of osteoporosis and hip fractures. Jolie recommends a range of foods, spices and herbs that can reduce and alleviate stomach acid …

Read more No comments 11 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

Given I’ve ditched the blogroll, I thought I’d run through some of the blogs I’ve been reading recently. h3. The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl One of my recent discoveries are The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl . With over 50% of men and 40% of women in NSW overweight or obese, the difficulties of losing weight is a big topic and Dietgirl’s site is a very personal account of her challenges and successes. Everyone needs support while making major life changes …

Read more 3 comments 11 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

I’ve just done something I’ve been thinking about for a while, I’ve deleted my blogroll. For those of you unsure what I mean, many bloggers have a list in the sidebar of their site, of the blogs they like and frequently read, called a blogroll. When I first started reading blogs I found these lists useful, as a means of navigating through the blogosphere, finding other sites and expanding my horizons. When I first started Limes & Lycopene, I had …

Read more 2 comments 11 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

I’m pretty pleased that my post on what actually is five serves has been included in the latest Grand Rounds. This week’s subject is food as medicine, which is perfect for Limes & Lycopene and it’s hosted by Dr John La Puma. I’m still making my way through the round-up, but there are some excellent posts and topics to review. Grand rounds was started in 2004 by Blogboyrgmi , as a weekly round up of the best of the medical …

Read more 2 comments 10 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Nutrition and Snacks

In a similar vein to my what actually is five serves post, Columbus Foodie has pointed me to a series of pictures on Wisegeek, called what does 200 calories looks like. To put this in some context, 200 calories is the old money equivalent of 836 kilojoules. Depending on your height and activity level, if you’re a women you need between 7,600 and 10,000kJ per day. Whereas men will need 9,400 – 14,000kJ per day, to maintain your current weight. …

Read more 1 comment 08 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables and Nutrition

One of the main subjects I find myself returning to on Limes & Lycopene, is the importance of vegies and how to get those five daily recommended servings. Simply put, vegetables are a crucial part of a healthy diet. This applies to everybody, it’s not just sick people, or old people who need to keep up the vegies. It’s not just those with a family history of cancer, cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Instead, it’s you, me, our families, friends – …

Read more 14 comments 07 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Recipes, Salads and Summer

This recipe is adapted from the December/January Delicious magazine. Corn is in season at the moment and beautifully juicy. Corn is also a good source of the antioxidant lutein, which is important for eye health and preventing macular degeneration. h3. Rocket, corn & zucchini salad I made this for my dinner party , so quantities below are for 12 people as a side dish. You could also add some lima beans and fetta cheese, to make it more of …

Read more No comments 05 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables and Recipes

This is a side dish I make a lot – it’s quick, easy, incredibly good for you and very tasty, which are four very good things from one recipe. One of the most exciting things at my dinner party (for me anyway), was how enthusiastically everyone tucked into this dish – in fact it was the greens that disappeared first! Green vegetables are supremely good for you – they contain iron, folate, magnesium and calcium, but they’re also packed full …

Read more No comments 05 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables, Recipes, Nuts & seeds, Dinners, Winter and Vegan

I’m finally getting back to my dinner party menu. On the night I had twelve people for dinner, including one person who can’t eat wheat (but is okay with spelt) and another friend who is lactose intolerant. For the main course I made two of these tarts. They’re vegan and I used spelt flour for the crust. I’d love to say I came up with this recipe, because it’s inventive, full of flavour and really adds to the total …

Read more No comments 04 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Summer

We’re well into the summer fruits and bananas have definitely come down in price – I’ve been consistently seeing them for $4.99 over the past three weeks. Here’s my usual list of what’s in season this month: h3. Vegetables * asparagus * beans (green and flat) * capsicums * celery * cucumber * eggplant * lettuce * mushrooms * onions * okra * peas * potatoes * radish * rocket * sweetcorn * tomatoes * zucchini h3. Fruit * apricots …

Read more No comments 03 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables

I’ve blogged before about the importance of vegetables and how to get your kids to eat more of them, for more tips here’s a great list from the Nutrition for Kids website.

Read more 2 comments 03 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Legumes

As you may know, I’m a big fan of legumes. I’ve blogged about their health benefits", how to cook them and also included them in quite a few of my recipes. The latest GI newsletter has a good article on soybeans. While tofu, miso and tempeh are all foods I eat regularly, I hardly ever cook soybeans – mainly because they take a lot longer to cook than most other beans and can taste a bit mealy. However the GI …

Read more 2 comments 02 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Miscellanea

I really wish I’d seen this before Christmas, but I still think it’s worth linking to, for birthdays, etc. Focused Distractions have a gift-buying guide for kids with ADD / ADHD. As Terry, the blogger, writes bq. In many cases, ADHD kids have already had their fill of feeling they’ve let others—and themselves—down. School is often a struggle, as are social situations. Many have difficulty playing quietly. Others have problems regulating their emotions. When picking out gifts for your youngsters, …

Read more No comments 02 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Blogging

For me, 2006 has been a year of change. It’s the year I went out of my comfort zone and changed clinics, moving in with the great people at the Source of Wellness. It’s the year I started writing for Wellbeing magazine, did my first Christmas issue spread for Life etc and the year I received a Highly Commended in the Writer of the Year category at the Bell Awards. Most significantly for me though, 2006 is the year I …

Read more 3 comments 02 January, 2007