Off to Melbourne, but still blogging
Posted by kathryn in All In A Day's Work
I’m off to Melbourne today. Very excited about my trip.
Haven’t been down there for about ten years. So I’m looking forward to updating myself on as much of the health, food and natural therapies stuff as possible.
I’m going to be meeting up with some practitioners and taking a look at some nutrition and naturopathic centres. This is particularly interesting now I’ve set up my own clinic.
Richard is also coming down, to attend the geek-fest that is Linux Conf.
I’ll still be blogging this week. I’ve got some Q & A Month posts planned and if it’s possible, I’ll also let you know what I’m up to.
Photograph by JohnvW under the terms of a creative commons license
Q & A Month: alternative sweeteners to sugar and honey
Posted by kathryn in Carbohydrates and Q & A Thursday
Continuing the sweet theme, Milly has asked:
What would be a good non sugar based alternate to honey? I’m allergic to honey and in its place I have been using golden syrup, which clearly isn’t quite as nutritionally beneficial. Is there anything that will have the same sweetening effect and consistency, but isn’t really bad for me (and my teeth)?
Golden syrup vs honey
It may seem counter-intuitive, but when you compare golden syrup and honey, the syrup doesn’t look too bad. Golden syrup has virtually the same kilojoules as honey, and about the same glycemic index (GI). However, it has the added nutitional bonus of minerals. They’re in small quantities, but golden syrup contains potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron.
Which makes golden syrup an okay alternative to both sugar and honey.
Other sweeteners
- My favourite sweetener is real maple syrup. While it’s more expensive, it has slightly fewer kilojoules than honey and sugar. Plus it’s in the medium GI range. Maple syrup also contains small amounts of minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium and manganese.
- I haven’t used it, but Cassie has been cooking with agave nectar. I don’t know a lot about this ingredient and haven’t seen it here in Australia, but again it has a lower GI than sugar. According to Cassie, agave is slightly sweeter than sugar and thinner than honey.
- I sometimes use jam combined with fruit as a sweetener. While the jam does contain sugar, I don’t need to use as much of it to get the same sweetness.
Are these sweeteners good for you?
I still wouldn’t classify any of these sweeteners as actually good for you. They’re better than sugar. However, they’re still high in kilojoules and don’t contain as many nutrients as other foods.
Use these sweetehers is smaller quantities and as treats, rather than everyday foods.
I’d love to know about reader’s experiences with other sweeteners. What do you use and how?
What is Q & A Month?
This post is part of Q & A Month. For those of you new to Limes & Lycopene, I usually run a fortnightly question and answer forum, called Q & A Thursday. But for the next four weeks, it’s Q & A Month. If you have a question, or there’s a topic you’d like me to cover, leave a comment below or send me an email. For more information you can take a look at the Q & A Thursday archives.
Q & A Month: can you eat too much dried fruit?
Posted by kathryn in Fruit and Q & A Thursday
Next on Q & A Month Sophia asks a question about sultanas:
I have an active little boy, nearly 2yrs old. I am trying to avoid too much sugar and processed food in his diet, so for snacks I give him a mix of sultanas, dried apricots and dried banana chips, as well as rice cakes. He especially loves sultanas . . . Is there such a thing as too many sultanas? . . . I give him fresh apples, but as I am trying to buy local produce, that is currently the only fresh fruit I buy.
Is dried fruit good for you?
Dried fruit is handy and full of nutrients. Most dried fruit contains fibre, as well as some vitamins and minerals:
- Prunes and dried apricots contain carotenoid antioxidants
- Figs, prunes, apricots, sultanas and raisins contain iron
- All dried fruit contains magnesium and potassium
- Some contain small doses of calcium
Dried fruit can count towards your daily recommended two pieces of fruit.
Can you eat too much dried fruit?
However . . .
All fruit contains sugars.
While it’s much better to eat fruit than lollies and biscuits, it’s still wise to be careful how much you eat.
This applies to fruit in general, but particularly to dried fruit. The dried variety is more concentrated and it’s easier to eat larger quantities. Large amounts of dried fruit equates to large amounts of sugar.
Dried fruit is sweet, which is part of the reason why kids love it. But it’s a good idea to encourage and develop more savoury tastes in your children, making the strongly sweet tastes more occasional foods.
Moreover, if you’re eating lots of dried fruit, you’re doing this at the expense of other foods. And other foods provide other nutrients.
- While dried fruit is full of fibre and some minerals, it’s lower in vitamin C than fresh. Vitamin C is a sensitive, fragile nutrient and some of it is destroyed in the drying process.
- Dried fruit doesn’t contain any protein
- Dried fruit doesn’t contain any fats
- It’s low in B vitamins
Eating a wider variety of snacks
Eating a wide variety of foods ensures a wide variety of nutrients. Snacks are an important part of both children and adults’ diet and it’s better to vary the snacks around a bit. For example:
- have a small amount of dried fruit, with some fresh apple and yoghurt
- cut up vegetables and serve with baba ghanoush or salsa
- spread a slice of wholegrain toast with avocado or hummous and tomato
- have a small bowl of home-made soup
- corn cakes with tinned tuna and cucumber
How much dried fruit should you eat?
- For most children I would recommend limiting dried fruit to one serving a day. For a two year old, that would be about half a tablespoon.
- Supplement this with another piece of fresh fruit, even if it is only apples.
- Try out a variety of different snacks.
- If there is limited fruit available, also include some of the vitamin C containing vegetables like tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, fresh herbs, red capsicum and rocket. Eat these raw, or very lightly cooked.
What is Q & A Month?
This post is part of Q & A Month. For those of you new to Limes & Lycopene, I usually run a fortnightly question and answer forum, called Q & A Thursday. But for the next four weeks, it’s Q & A Month. If you have a question, or there’s a topic you’d like me to cover, leave a comment below or send me an email. For more information you can take a look at the Q & A Thursday archives.
Quicklinks
Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet, Fruit, Kid's nutrition, Soups and Main courses
- Obesity: Fascinating article on CalorieLab about the difference between Japanese and American cultures, food habits and attitudes to obesity. It’s written by Makiko from Just Hungry. There’s a follow up perspective here.
- Beetroot soup: It’s been at least a month since I linked to the last beetroot recipe, so how could I pass up the opportunity to show off Green Gourmet Giraffe’s chunky beetroot soup with kidney beans?
- Don’t know what to do with fish? Why not try this quick and easy salmon recipe from the Nami-Nami food blog.
- What to do with fussy kids that don’t eat vegetables? Freddie and his mum are doing the Great Big Vegetable Challenge, going through the A – Z of vegetables. Along the way Freddie has discovered he likes radishes, asparagus, kale, rocket, courgettes, even Brussels sprouts – quite impressive for a seven year old. They have a Naming and Shaming Fridge and at the moment they’re on the letter “R”.
- Silverbeet omelette: Rosa Jackson has made a wonderful silverbeet omelette. Also known as chard, silverbeet is one of my favourite vegetables. I love the fact she doesn’t pre-cook the silverbeet.
- Getting people to eat more fruit: I’m confounded by this article. While I firmly believe in the goal of getting people to eat more fruit, I wonder if cutting it up overseas, packaging it and making it more expensive is really the best way?
How I make it easy to eat well
Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet and Q & A Thursday
Kate has asked a follow up question to my What I eat series. This was the two weeks at the end of last year when I posted a pictorial diary of what I’d been eating. Kate wants to know:
Do you have to stop yourself from having chocolate bars and other snacky stuff? Do you have to force yourself to eat the way you do?
The short answer is – no, but I do make it easy on myself to eat the good stuff and avoid the temptation of other foods.
My daily foods are vegetables, fruit, legumes, wholegrains, nuts, yoghurt and so on. I don’t have sweet stuff or junk foods every day and I try to restrict alcohol to just a few days a week. This is my normal way of eating.
And I’m not living in a constant state of dietary denial. I enjoy chocolate, cake, ice-cream and a glass of wine or two, but I also genuinely love brocolli, lentils, peaches, salad and the other foods I eat. I eat these foods because I want to live a long and healthy life, but they also make me feel a whole lot better NOW.
But I do actively try to make it as easy as possible for me to eat well.
1. I keep healthy foods in the house
Our weekly shopping list includes fruit, vegetables, cheese, yoghurt, bread, tofu, legumes and eggs. These foods are the backbone of my diet and having them in the house means there’s always something good to eat.
What I don’t buy are chips, chocolate, lollies and biscuits. These are not regular foods in our shopping trolley or our house. If either of us want something like this, we have to go out and buy it. While the shop is only 10 minutes walk away and is open until 9pm every day, it’s amazing how rarely I do go and buy something extra.
2. I buy the fruit and veg I like
I can’t stand paw paw and most apples, while kiwi fruit leave me cold. These are really healthy foods. But I don’t like them, so I don’t buy them. While I try to eat well, I’m not a nutritional martyr.
However, I do LOVE mangoes, peaches, beetroot, asparagus, cherries, lychees, blueberries, sugar snap peas – so these are the foods I buy. I’d prefer to spend my money on good quality fruit and veg, than junk food, biscuits and chips.
3. I concentrate on the foods I should be eating
When it comes to making a decision about a meal, I concentrate on what I should be eating. Every day I aim to eat at least
By the time I’ve eaten all that, there simply isn’t room for a lot of extras.
4. I categorise foods as “every day” and “occasional”
I do enjoy a slice of good cake or some ice-cream. However, I categorise these as occasional foods. They are not foods I eat every day. Instead there something I’m more likely to have on the weekend, if out for dinner, or having coffee with a friend.
5. I buy smaller quantities of good quality treats
When I do buy ice-cream, chocolate or cake, I’m more likely to buy a small amount of really good quality stuff. I don’t look for bumper bargains or “value packs”. Instead I’ll go for the expensive luxury chocolate, the Maggie Beer ice-cream, or a fantastic dessert.
I find these small, rich treats immensely satisfying and there are no leftovers.
So that’s what I do. What about you – what strategies have you found make it easier for you to eat well?
What is Q & A Month?
This post is part of Q & A Month. For those of you new to Limes & Lycopene, I usually run a fortnightly question and answer forum, called Q & A Thursday. But for the next four weeks, it’s Q & A Month. If you have a question, or there’s a topic you’d like me to cover, leave a comment below or send me an email. For more information you can take a look at the Q & A Thursday archives.
Quicklinks
Posted by kathryn in Sustainablity, Weight loss, Breakfast and Salads
- More summer drinks: Last week I linked to green apple tea and this week A Life (Time) of Cooking has posted some more gorgeous summer drink recipes.
- The chicken you eat: There’s been some interesting debate in the UK about chicken – the ethics and cost of what we eat. Sophie from Mostly Eating has written an excellent post on this subject.
- Muffin recipe: I’m hoping to make a batch of Wendy’s moist bran muffins this weekend. While the word “bran” is enough to send most people running – Wendy says they’re “gorgeous”.
- How to live with someone who’s on a diet: According to Michael Gove “this is the time of year when strange things happen to your fridge”. Read more at the Times website.
- Has fat become a moral failing: Utne Reader has an article about the politics of obesity. “Short of burning obese people in effigy, it’s hard to imagine how we could stigmatize fat more in this culture. Body hatred is regarded as a feminine virtue.” Strong stuff, but interesting reading. And thanks to Jul for first pointing me to this article.
- Super-tasting salad: For the salad dodgers out there, Bear Necessities has made a flavour-packed parsley, capers and olive salad. Served on bruschetta with a smidgeon of goat’s cheese. Yum.
Photography by kptyson under the terms of a creative commons license.
Q & A Month: are there any nutrients in lentil skins?
Posted by kathryn in Blogging and Q & A Thursday
The first question for Q & A Month on Limes & Lycopene is from May Lee:
I was just wondering if there are many nutrients in the thin skin on lentils. I usually rinse off the skin before cooking them, but after reading that there’s lots of goodness in orange pith and sesame seed hull I’ve been thinking about the skin of the lentil too.
Whilel it’s true there are more nutrients in unhulled tahini and antioxidants in the pith of oranges, this question has me stumped.
The skin of lentils definitely contains fibre, but I have no idea if it contains other nutrients. And all my research so far has drawn up a big blank.
A very inauspicious start to Q & A Month!
So I’m throwing this one open to readers – do any of you have information about lentil skins?
Update – thanks to Sophie, there’s a better answer in the comments below.
What is Q & A Month?
This post is part of Q & A Month. For those of you new to Limes & Lycopene, I usually run a fortnightly question and answer forum, called Q & A Thursday. It’s a burst of blogging, where you get to dictate the subject matter. Q & A Thursday is all about simple, practical answers to food and diet dilemmas sent in by readers.
But for the next four weeks, it’s going to be Q & A Month. If you have a question, or there’s a topic you’d like me to cover, leave a comment below or send me an email. For more information you can take a look at the Q & A Thursday archives.
Q & A Month on Limes & Lycopene
Posted by kathryn in Blogging and Q & A Thursday
Limes & Lycopene will be light on new posts over the next couple of weeks. I’m moving into my new clinic next week and will be in Melbourne the week after.
Plus I’ve just filed 6 new recipes for Life etc, to be photographed next week. And am in the throes of a Wellbeing article.
So my working life is what you might call busy.
So my normal regular posting schedule will be reduced. Plus I’m not going to be able to fit in a Q & A Thursday for about a month.
Q & A . . . month
But, over the last few weeks I’ve received a whole range of excellent question. And it seems wrong to leave these floundering, unattended for another month.
So I’m going to spread Q & A Thursday out, over the next few weeks. I’ll answer a question every other day. Plus I’ll also be posting my regular Friday quicklinks roundup of what I’ve been reading.
Update on Feb 28th
I’m not taking any more Q & A Month questions. Q & A Month has already turned into Q & A 2-Months and I still have four more questions to answer.
The response to Q & A Month has been wonderful, but I do feel the need to move onto other topics.
I still want to include a regular Q & A session on Limes & Lycopene. However, changes to my working life this year mean I need to think about how often I do this and what form it takes – so stay tuned.
What's in season: January and February in Sydney
Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket and What's in season
It’s half way through the month, and I’m only just putting up the current list of what’s in season! Given this, I thought I’d make it a January through to February edition.
We’re in full summer mode here in Sydney. Fruit is beautiful. And finally there seem to be tomatoes around that actually have flavour.
Fruit
- Apples – the new season apples start coming through in February, with galas one of the first to be picked.
- Apricots – beautiful at the moment
- Avocado
- Bananas
- Berries – blueberries have been amazingly cheap the last two weeks. Blackberries and raspberries are also excellent.
- Cherries
- Figs – coming into season in February
- Grapes – new season has started. Crimson (red) and Menindee (white, seedless) are both excellent.
- Limes
- Lychees
- Mangoes – Qld fruit are wonderful and still reasonably priced.
- Nectarines – white and yellow are in full swing.
- Oranges – the navels are from the US, but local valencias are okay and good for juicing.
- Passionfruit (Panamas)
- Peaches – white and yellow are both beautiful.
- Pears – new season pears are starting up. Over the next 6 weeks there will be Williams and Howells available
- Pineapples, especially Bethongas.
- Plums – coming into season. The next 6 weeks should see prices come down and the number of varieties available increase.
- Rambutans
- Rhubarb
- Rockmelons – prime season for rockmelons at the moment.
- Strawberries
- Watermelon
Vegetables
- Asparagus – green asparagus is available, but white will be hard to find.
- Beans – are very good at the moment.
- Broccoli
- Capsicum
- Corn
- Cucumbers
- Eggplant – excellent quality and good price at the moment. Italian eggplants are also available.
- Lettuce
- Okra
- Peas – fresh peas, snowpeas and sugar snaps are all gorgeous at the moment.
- Potatoes – chat and new season Dutch cream are the best.
- Radishes
- Rocket
- Tomatoes – all local produce and some good flavours are available, especially if you can get oxhearts.
- Zucchini – excellent quality and good sized zucchini flowers are also available.
Are you a Menu for Hope winner?
Posted by kathryn in Blogging
Chez Pim has announced all the winners of the Menu for Hope raffle. Click here to see the full world-wide results list, or take a look at Grab Your Fork for all the local winners.
The final total amount of money donated was US$91,188.00!
No prizes for me. But congratulations if you’ve been drawn in the raffle
The winner of the Limes & Lycopene prize is Elizabeth French.
Congratulations Elizabeth. Send me an email and we’ll have chat about your prize.
Quicklinks
Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet, Weight loss, Vegetables and Soups
- Stocking the freezer: Cassie from Veggie Meal Plans has been preparing for a busy year ahead by stocking her freezer – which makes it easier to cook healthy meals when you’re busy. Cassie’s post includes cooking and freezing instructions, as well as ideas on how to use the foods you’ve frozen.
- Green soup: Lisa has made caldo verde. This is an easy potato and kale soup, common in Portugal. Hearty and full of nutrients.
- Super smoothie: Fatfree Vegan is celebrating the joint milestones of two years of blogging and four hundred posts. Susan’s recipe is for a “blended salad”. It’s a super GREEN smoothie made from spinach, pineapple and mango. With two cups of spinach, it contains two serves of vegies. I’m going to have to try this one.
- Green apple tea: continuing the green theme, although this one’s for those of us sweltering in the Southern hemisphere. Johanna has been making Wendy’s green apple tea. It’s an iced green tea flavoured with mint, lemon and apple juice. Sounds perfect.
- Why you don’t lose weight where you want: the start of a new year and it seems everyone wants to lose weight and get fit. Revolution health has a neat article which explains why it’s so hard to lose that weight from your hips, thighs and tummy.
- Healthier options when eating out: If you eat out a lot, it can be difficult to maintain a healthy diet. In answer to this 60 In 3 has written a two-part guide to healthier eating out options. Gal covers a wide range of food styles, summarising which are the best and how to make better choices at the rest. Part 1 covers Mexican, Chinese, Japanese and seafood. While part 2 includes Middle Eastern, Ethiopian, sandwich shops, pizza and BBQ.
Update: I’ve fixed the link to the green soup recipe.
Photograph by indieink under the terms of a creative commons license
Are you really too busy?
Posted by kathryn in Seasonal Health and Mental & emotional health
I’ve been thinking a lot about excuses over the last few days.
More specifically, the little phrase “I’m too”. I hear myself saying this phrase at times – mostly when I don’t want to do something.
I’m too . . . tired to exercise.
I’m too . . . busy to meditate.
I’m too . . . rushed off my feet to cook a proper meal this evening.
But am I really that tired?
I have as many hours in my day as everyone else. I work hard, but I also know the importance of a rounded life. My job is important to me, but so are my family and friends. And so is my health. In fact I believe good health and good relationships are fundamental to having a good life. Which is something I want
If I think about my day and my week, the truth is I am rarely too busy. I could finish work an hour early to go for a walk and mostly it would have little effect on my deadlines. I could find time to meditate.
And when “I’m too tired” is exactly the time I should be exercising, meditating or eating a good meal. These are the things that will help manage the tiredness and give me more energy.
It’s about your priorities
The phrase “I’m too” is an excuse. It’s a way of justifying not doing something. A way of avoiding it. It’s about letting myself off the hook. And usually the phrase “I’m too busy”, actually means I’m not making exercise, meditating, or whatever else I’m avoiding, a priority. What I’m actually saying is “this isn’t important enough to me”.
And that’s a whole different proposition.
One of my new year’s resolutions
So one of my new year’s resolutions for 2008, is to try and cut the excuses. I’ve made a pact with myself. Whenever I hear the phrase “I’m too . . .” in my head, I have to ask:
- Am I really too busy?
- Am I avoiding something?
- Which is my priority?
There are going to be occasions when I am too busy to do something, but that should be a short-term situation only. A few days at most.
But most of the time “I’m too” is about avoidance and priorities.
By being aware of and challenging my thinking, I’m hoping to change some behaviours.
Photograph by whizchickenonabun under the terms of a creative commons license.
Happy new year and updates
Posted by kathryn in All In A Day's Work, Blogging and Seasonal Health
Happy new year to you all and welcome to 2008.
I’m back to work this week. I’ve had a lovely Christmas and new year.
Spent the time showing overseas visitors around this gorgeous City, catching up with my family, playing scarey-sea-monsters with my two nephews and making a solid dent in my reading pile.
Definitely a good holiday.
Now it’s back to a new year and some changes.
New year new clinic
Firstly, I’m starting the new year in a new clinic.
I found out in December, my old clinic was closing. It was a shock.
However, it’s encouraged me to take control of where I see clients.
Therefore I’ve joined forces with pilates instructor extraordinaire, Alexia Morris and we’re opening a small, personalised clinic in Gladesville. It’s all very exciting.
We’re offering:
It’s a combination of disciplines that provides a lovely, complementary approach to health and wellbeing.
If you look in the top right hand corner, you’ll see a new “Clinic” tab. This links to all the information about the new centre.
Daily news from the world of diet and nutrition
If you take another look in the top right hand corner, you’ll also see a tab saying News. This is one of the functions we’ve added to Limes & Lycopene.
It’s a targeted news feed. Providing summaries and links to all the major news stories on diet and how to eat well, from around the world. The news site enables you to:
- find out the latest news
- see what’s happening in different countries
- keep track of the most popular stories
- browse stories in different categories
- leave comments on different stories and discuss the news with others
Well that’s the plan anyway.
At the moment it’s very Australia / US / UK-centric. But I’ll be adding other feeds over the next few weeks, once we’re sure the site is working properly.
I’m also planning to put up a weekly editorial – a commentary on one or more recent stories. Some of these will be written by myself, but I’m also hoping to get some guest writers on board.
It’s still a bit experimental and I’d love any feedback.
Amazon store
Another new addition to the site, is an Amazon store. If you like in the right-hand sidebar, you’ll see a link to My Amazon Store, just above the categories list.
I often get asked which books and nutrition resources I use, plus which cookery books I recommend. You can now see and buy these through the Amazon store.
At the moment the product range is small. There are cookery books, as well as resources about nutrition and healthy living.
The Amazon store contains the products and books I find useful and I recommend.
To view the store click here.
I’m back to blogging regularly
So it’s back into blogging this week. I’m planning some further posts around new year’s resolutions and how to get back on track after the excesses of the silly season.
Again, happy new year to you all. And I hope 2008 is a year of health, happiness and good fortune.
Photograph courtesy of phillie casablanca under the terms of a creative commons license.
11 comments
28 January, 2008