Posts Tagged ‘5 a day’

How to Maintain your Energy Levels

Monday, July 4th, 2011

The best way to eat if you want to banish tiredness is to have a healthy, balanced diet that contains foods from four main food groups in the right proportions.

The four food groups are:

  • potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy foods
  • fruit and vegetables
  • milk and dairy foods
  • meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein

  1. Eat at regular intervals.
  2. Start the day well with breakfast.
  3. Aim for 5 a day with fruit and vegetables.
  4. Say no to sugar.
  5. Watch your intake of alcohol.
  6. Eat enough for your activity level.

Summer Berries

Monday, June 6th, 2011

Berries are some of the most healthy foods, and summer is the season of the berry. Besides being delicious, berries are low in fat and calories, but high in fibre, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, these not only contribute to overall health, but may even help prevent cancer and heart disease. They are more affordable in summer, being in season and thanks to the freezer, we can have the advantages of berries year-round.

 

Ideas for Serving Berries

Most berries like strawberries, blueberries and raspberries are sweet enough to be served just as they are; however, here are some more ideas:

  • Add strawberry slices to a bowl of whole grain cereal
  • Sprinkle blueberries on a salad
  • Stir fresh raspberries into yoghurt
  • Combine frozen berries with bananas and low-fat milk to make a smoothie

Runner’s Diet

Monday, March 28th, 2011

Whether you have taken up running to lose weight, to improve fitness or to relieve stress, you will find that there are many benefits. When it comes to running, it is important to fill your body with a good quality diet that can help sustain your energy levels. It is important to eat a balanced diet that includes carbohydrate, protein and fat.

Carbohydrate

Carbohydrate foods help you maintain your energy during a run and they should be eaten both before and after. The highest quality carbohydrates are rich in fibre which helps to keep you feeling full. Carbohydrates to choose from include whole wheat pasta, potatoes, wholegrain rice and bread.

Protein

Protein is essential for muscle and satisfies hunger by providing a feeling of fullness. Quality sources of protein include skinless turkey and chicken, fish fillet, egg whites, low fat cheese, low fat yoghurt and skimmed/semi-skimmed milk.

Fat

While most runners are looking to cut out fat, it is important to remember that you need to include some fat in your diet. However, the fat should be of the healthy variety such as olive oil, unsalted nuts, avocados, sunflower seeds, light mayonnaise and fat-free salad dressings are good fat sources for runners.

 

In terms of an eating routine, it is better to eat smaller portions more often than larger portions three times a day. Also, remember to drink water regularly. Even if work or taking care of the kids makes breakfast a difficult time to sit down and eat, don’t go hungry. At the very least, eat some fruit on the move.

Fibre in your Diet

Monday, February 14th, 2011

Fibre is found in foods which originate from plants, such as cereals, grains, seeds, pulses, fruit and vegetables. To increase the amount of fibre you eat, you need to have more of these types of food as part of your diet.

There are two types of fibre: soluble and insoluble.  Most foods contain a mixture of both.

It is a good idea to try to eat more fibre because most people in Ireland don’t have enough fibre in their diets. Insoluble fibre helps prevent constipation, and soluble fibre may help to reduce the amount of cholesterol in the blood.

Wholegrain varieties of starchy foods, such as wholemeal bread, wholegrain breakfast cereals, brown rice and wholegrain pasta, are particularly good sources of insoluble fibre.

Brussels sprouts, potatoes, cabbage, and carrots are all good sources of fibre, and so are beans and pulses, such as red kidney beans, baked beans, broad beans, butter beans, green beans, chickpeas, green lentils and black-eyed beans. Dried fruit – such as figs, apricots, prunes and dates – are also a good choice. Or try eating pears, apples, cranberries, avocados, pomegranates and blackberries.

When you have plenty of fibre in your diet, you need to make sure that you drink plenty of fluids – at least six to eight glasses a day. It is especially important to have plenty of water if you are constipated because fluids will help to keep things moving! If you get constipated a lot, talk to your GP.

Shaping Up for the New Year

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

Have you over indulged this Christmas? Although it is all part of the fun it usually leads to gaining a few extra pounds. Many people make the New Years resolution to start trying to lose weight and here are some tips to help you achieve this.

 

Where to start?

First of all, try not to be tempted by the fad diets that are out there. Even though you can lose weight on these short-term crash diets, the weight is less likely to stay off and you may end up putting on more weight than you started with. Instead look for small, simple changes you can make that will give slower results, but will last longer. In the end you will lose more weight, and even better, you will be able to keep it off.

• Try to limit the amount of foods that are high in fat and/or sugar and usually have few other nutrients.

• Make sure you are eating plenty of fruit and vegetables and wholegrain foods, which are high in fibre. A high fibre diet helps you to lose weight and you need 5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables everyday.

• Choose lean meat, fish and chicken and grill, boil or bake it instead of frying.

 

Exercise

Exercise is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. It can help you to lose weight as well as helping to prevent diseases such as heart disease. We need about 30 minutes exercise, 5 days a week at a moderate intensity. This means you should feel warm and be breathing a little faster when you exercise (you should still be able to talk). Always remember to check with your doctor before you start an exercise program if you have not been active for some time or you are unwell.

 

Alcohol

Alcohol is high in calories and will make a big difference to your weight. Keep alcohol to sensible levels. Check out my blog entitled Alcohol and Units – What Does It All Mean? to recap what these limits are. However if you want to lose weight, drinking less than this will help.

Traffic Light Ice Lollies

Monday, July 12th, 2010

fruit-ice-lollies

Colourful, fun and a great way to give fresh fruit to your children.

 

Ingredients

250g strawberries

4½ tbsp runny honey

3 large ripe peaches or nectarines, peeled, stoned and sliced

5 large kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced

 

Method

1.   Puree the strawberries with a hand blender. Sieve the puree to get rid of the seeds.

2.   Stir 1 ½ tbsp of the honey into the puree. Then pour the strawberry puree into each of the ice lolly moulds until each mould is ⅓ full.

3.   Freeze until firm – this should take 1 ½ hours.

4.   Repeat this process with the peaches and 1 ½ tbsp of the honey, then the kiwi fruit with the rest of the honey, freezing between each fruit.

Prep time:           10 min, plus several hours freezing

Cook time:          0 min

Serves:               8

Why Eat More Fruit and Vegetables?

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Eating a variety of fruit and vegetables will give you plenty of vitamins and mi5adaynerals. For example, many are naturally high in folic acid, vitamin C and potassium. Fruit and vegetables are also a good source of fibre and other substances, such as antioxidants. All these nutrients are important for your health. Fruit and vegetables are generally low fat and low calorie foods. So eating fruit and vegetables instead of foods that are high in fat and added sugars may help you achieve or keep to a healthy weight.

 

Fruit and vegetables can help protect you from diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Try to have at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day. In fact, the more you eat the better! Fresh, frozen, chilled, canned in juice (not syrup), 100% fruit juice, and dried fruit and vegetables all count.

 

f&vCheck the table below to find out what counts as one portion. How many do you eat a day?

 

If you are not yet eating 5 a day, then build up to this amount (or more!).

 

Try to choose 5 different fruits and vegetables.

 

But what is a portion?

ONE portion = 80g = any of these
1 apple, banana, pear, orange or other similar sized fruit
2 plums or similar sized fruit
½ a grapefruit or avocado
1 slice of large fruit, such as melon or pineapple
3 heaped tablespoons of vegetables (raw, cooked, frozen or tinned)
3 heaped tablespoons of beans and pulses (however much you eat, beans and pulses count as a maximum of one portion a day)
3 heaped tablespoons of fruit salad (fresh or tinned in fruit juice) or stewed fruit
1 heaped tablespoon of dried fruit (such as raisins and apricots)
1 handful of grapes, cherries or berries
a dessert bowl of salad
a glass (150ml) of fruit juice (however much you drink, fruit juice counts as a maximum of one portion a day)

Tips: a day’s worth might be: a banana and a glass of fruit juice with breakfast, salad and an apple with lunch, and carrots with your dinner.