Nutrition has been in the news a lot recently thanks to a certain celebrity chef and his promotion of a paleo diet. I have read the conversations with interest and may have added in a bit of banter myself. In this space I would like to place the science aside (Not that it's not important, but because I don't think it belongs on this recipe sharing personal blog) and think about whether this type of diet fits into your lifestyle or makes sense to you. I guess the main gripe I have is that this celebrity chef is trying to tout it as the only acceptable diet for everyone and that the current dietary guidelines are flawed and should be changed.

I feel paleo diet can work for some people but it's definitely not a diet for everyone. As far as fad diets are concerned this one is probably not as harmful as say, the lemon detox diet. In fact I agree with many of the principles of eating whole unprocessed foods however eliminating food groups for no particular reason just doesn't sit well with me or most of my patients.

I am lucky that I work in a hospital in the sense that most of the people I see aren't on some bizarre restrictive diet. However I have come across some of the more extreme effects fad diets can have.

Recently I saw an elderly lady on a very restrictive diet which had led to her becoming very malnourished. When I spoke to her family about this they were very adamant to change her diet and felt I was certainly pushing her closer to death with my recommendations. No matter how much I listened, explained, demonstrated to them they were certain that they were right and I was wrong.

It makes me wonder if it's a waste of time for me to argue converse with the converted. If consequences of a poor diet were staring at people in the face and they choose to ignore it, what hope do I have when people are only faced with success stories? It disheartens me a little...


Something that does warm me up is weekend breakfast. Recently I've been trying my hand at baked oats, a winter version of my overnight oats. I like to have it when the top is crunchy but the bottom is still soft and creamy. It doesn't need added honey or sugar with the dried and fresh fruit adding sweetness. This recipe is not grain free or dairy free but still very wholesomely good for you. My apologies for the lack of measurements but you can't really go wrong with this one!  

Baked Pear Oats

  
Cooking Time: 15mins
Serves: 1

Ingredients: 

• Oats
• Milk (or other milk alternative)
• Chia seeds
• Nut butter 
• 1/2 pear, thinly sliced
• 1 date cut up into small chunks
• Sprinkle of pepita seeds
• Sprinkle of sultanas

 Method

1. Mix all the ingredients together in an ovenproof bowl. Make sure the milk only just covers the oats.
2. You can either leave it to soak for a few minutes while you get ready then put it in the oven or pop it straight into the oven at 170 degrees celcius. 
3. Remove the bowl from the oven with some oven mitts when the top is crunchy and lightly brown (roughly 15mins)
4. Enjoy!

Blueberry+ chia seeds + peanut butter overnight oats

I've been a little obsessed with overnight oats lately. Coupled with fruits it is bringing me true joy almost every morning before work. As summer fruits are exiting the scene but the summer heat is not, I'm still taking great comfort in a nice cold bowl of oats.

You see previously I'd always put off making overnight oats because I didn't have a cute jar to mix it all up in and leave in the fridge but I didn't even need one! I just mixed it all in a bowl, cover and leave in the fridge overnight. Easy peasy.

This recipe keeps me full for 4-5hrs.

I know.

Insane. 

Tuesday and Wednesday mornings are my busiest at work and I just don't have time to have a mid morning snack. Lets just say I've had some embarrassing stomach grumbling moments... (borborygmi is happily my fav word and also the scientific word for stomach rumbles ;))

With the start of 2014 I had jumped on the new years resolution making bandwagon. One of my top resolutions was to be kinder to myself. This meant many things for me: being more active, leaving work on time, taking time out for myself and making sure I'm not frantically hungry while working.

Waking up early in the morning has always been something I struggled with so trying to make a good filling breakfast can sometimes be difficult. Especially when I don't like cereal... Overnight oats all done up the night before has been a saviour on busy mornings. It's made my stomach much more content and meant that I have a clearer mind to better help my patients every morning. Win-win.   

The other great thing about overnight oats is you can dress it up in a bajillion topping combinations. Here's the base recipe to making beautiful overnight oats:

Overnight Oats
Preparation Time: 10mins
Serves: 1


Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla yoghurt
• 2 tsp chia seeds
• 2 tsp nut butter
• Fruit toppings 
• Sprinkle of dried fruit or toasted nuts

 Method

1. Mix all the ingredients together, making sure the oats are adequately covered in liquid. 
2. Cover the bowl and refrigerate. 
3. Top with fruit 

Per bowl: 1545kJ, 15.1g protein, 12g total fat, 2.9g saturated, 45g carbohydrates, 73mg sodium, 7.2g fibre (calculations do not include fruit toppings and dried fruit or nuts)

 
 Cherries + toasted pepitas

 
 Mangoes + lychee + sultanas + peanut butter + chia seeds



Strawberries + blueberries + almond nut butter + sultanas



Flaxseed + berries + chia



Persimmons + flaxseed + peanut butter



Grilled plums + sultanas + almonds + dessicated coconuts + chia seeds


 

Frozen pineapple + almonds + dessicated coconut + chia seeds

I had grand plans to post up a meaty dish but instead this dish took my fancy so meatier dish will have to wait.

This was something I came up with in less than 30mins. If I was smarter and didn't forget to cook pasta for a pasta dish... it probably would have taken a shorter amount of time...

I have recently worked with Australian Avocados and felt inspired to put avocados in everything... This was one of the successes. If you like guacamole dip then you will love this dish!

Beef Spaghetti Tossed in a Guacamole Sauce

Serves: 1
Preparation and Cooking Time: <30mins

Ingredients: 

• Enough fettucine for one 
• 6 button mushrooms 
• 6 snow peas in pods
• 1/4 of a carrot
• Palm size piece of lean beef
• 1/2 a large avocado
• 1.5 tablespoon of salsa dip
• 2 tablespoons chopped coriander
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon of honey wholegrain mustard
• Optional: jalapeno

Method: 

1. Bring some water to the boil and add fettucine (follow packet instructions to see how long you should cook it for. Don't overcook!)
2. Prepare the ingredients that need to be cooked: quarter the mushrooms and cut each snow pea into 3 segments. Slice the beef into thin strips
3. Scoop out 1/2 an avocado into a mixing bowl and mash it up so there aren't any big chunks.
4. Add the salsa dip, chopped coriander, lemon juice, wholegrain mustard and jalapeno to the mashed avocado and mix
5. Place the mushrooms, snow peas and beef into a non stick pan and stir fry for 5 minutes or until cooked. 
6. Hopefully your pasta is done by now so strain it and place the pasta into the mixing bowl with the guacamole sauce. Mix so that the sauce coats the pasta well.
7. Transfer the cooked mushrooms, snow peas and beef into the mixing bowl as well. 
8. Grate some carrot into that mixing bowl as well. 
9. Toss everything together in the mixing bowl with a fork and add salt and pepper to taste!
10. Transfer to a bowl and enjoy or if you're lazy like me and sitting at home by yourself it's totally acceptable to just eat from a stainless steel mixing bowl.... Don't judge me...  

Because there's elements of cooked and raw ingredients in this dish, it's only mildly warm when ready to eat. This means it's fantastic in summer!

What's also good is the abundance of good fat in this dish. Avocados are a great source of monounsaturated fat which actually helps lower LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) and raise HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol) in the blood. You can say monounsaturated fat is often misunderstood as a bad thing just because it's associated with the word fat! Fat soluble vitamins such as Vitamin E and K are also found in fat so avocados are a good source of these vitamins.

What's also suprising is that half an avocado actually has 5g of fibre (almost 17% of our recommended daily requirements for fibre!) despite it tasting soft and creamy!

Avocados have a million other health benefits but I think what everyone wants to know is that this dish rocks. It's creamy without the cream, tart and tangy from the lemon and salsa and keeps you feeling full for a long time! For those that have never used avocados I've included some tips on how to choose and ripen an avocado below:

Ripening and Storing Avocados
The best way to ripen avocados is in a brown paper bag with a banana or apple.  I normally buy 1-2 already ripe Hass avocados (they are purple-brown when ripe) and the rest I buy green unripe avocados to keep for longer in the fridge.

If you've got an avocado cut open, put a few drops of lemon juice or white vinegar on the flesh and wrap up to pop in the fridge. This stops it from browning.  

Today was hot in Sydney. It's funny how 33 degrees feels soooo hot after winter but it'll soon feel normal once summer sets in. One of my biggest dilemmas during summer is what to have for breakfast (I'm sure this isn't most people's biggest concern but my life kinda just revolves around food....)

Like I've said before, I often value my sleep more than breakfast making so I'm often having breakfast on the go. Normally it includes a piece of toast or some eggs but as the weather warms up I'm getting turned off hot breakfasts. Now I'll always be a tea drinking hot breakfast kind of girl, but I needed to spruce up my breakfast routine during warmer days! I'm not a cereal or muesli and milk type of person so I needed other ideas!

Now hopefully I don't have to tell you all how important it is to have breakfast especially since I recently saw this article in the newspaper. It highlights how skipping breakfast actually primes your brain into seeking out higher calorie unhealthy foods which is why it makes sense that dieters who eat breakfast are often more successful in the long term at keeping weight off.   

So the following will be my top 10 breakfast ideas during summer to start you off feeling cool and ready for the day.

 1. Fruit smoothie
Slurping down on a homemade smoothie always has me feeling alive on a hot day (but the blender is my least favourite thing to clean up....) My absolute favourite is a blueberry smoothie. All it requires is some frozen blueberries, low fat yoghurt and milk and some ice. Sometimes I like to add a teaspoon of honey but often the fruits are sweet enough. I probably get more calcium into my system during the warmer months as otherwise I love a hot cup of green tea. Be wary of cafe smoothies as often they can be quite large, heavy on the ice cream and full fat dairy. I prefer making my own anyway.

 
 The blueberry smoothie is the purple drink in the background!

2. Yoghurt and Cereal
My second favourite cooling breakfast has to be a nice bowl of yoghurt with some broken up weet-bix and some frozen blueberries. I go through frozen blueberries very quickly during summer and there's always a box in my freezer. I think they are essential! Any type of natural or greek yoghurt goes really well with any type of crunchy cereal.

 

3. Fruit salad 
If you have time chop up some fruit or even do it the night before. It'll be super cool and refreshing and you can even add a dollop of yoghurt on top. If you have more time you can make a fruit and yoghurt parfait just to be a little bit fancy.

 

4. Eggs 
Boil up some eggs the night before and leave it in the fridge. In the morning peel and eat! The sulfur smell may stink up your car or the train but everyone's just jealous that you had breakfast while they didn't ;) If you have time the night before make some frittatas and eat cold the next day. Vegetable frittata's are good as they give you a dose of vegetables before the day's even started.

5. Breakfast muffins 
Now I'm not talking those BIG muffins you can get with your coffee! If you have time over the weekend make up a batch of wholemeal or oat muffins. Keep in the fridge and grab on your way out in the morning. These blueberry and white chocolate ones are pretty tasty! Also shown are some orange and chia seed ones (recipe coming sooooon)



6. Think wholegrain breads 
Instead of toasting my bread I just put some organic peanut butter on it and it's nice and soft rather than crunchy. Also good are wholemeal english muffins or mountain bread wraps. Put an egg with some salad leaves and cheese in a wrap and you've got something neatly packed for one handed eating!

7. Can of baked beans 
This is probably one of my brother's favourite. Nice cold can of baked beans on the weekend with some toast. During winter I like to pour the baked beans into a pan with some herbs and let it simmer. Mmmmmm (See I'm already back to winter breakfasts!)



8. Corn on the cob 
My mum is kind enough to sometimes boil some corn for me in the morning but often it is too hot and it gets left till the next day. So i get a nice cold cob of corn! Delish on their own, high in fibre and of course, a serve of veg!

9. Drink ideas: Cold Milo or Juice 
As I said I'm a hot tea type of person. I drink a LOT of green tea throughout the day. Not just because of the health benefits but because it's so delicious and just warms me up and gets me ready to face anything! However during summer my tea drinking habits make way for cooler drinks. I love a cold glass of low fat milk with a spoonful or milo and other times a small glass of orange juice is also good. I'm not a big proponent of juice as I feel the real fruit is ALWAYS best but somedays it's a nice cold drink to wash down breakfast. Remember though I'm talking a small glass, around 200ml rather than the big Boost juices.

 
This is a new juice that's out from Golden Circle. Pleasant taste with the goodness of probiotics for bowel health.

10. I'm Reeeeeeally in a rush!! 
 If you're looking for packaged foods a cold Up and Go, Belvita biscuits or muesli/nut bar isn't too bad of an option. Of course I always advocate for minimally processed foods but if it's a toss up between nothing and something for breakfast, the something always wins.

As you can see from the list there's a slight trend in terms of what to look out for for breakfast. I always try and add fruits, vegetables, dairy and wholegrains to all my meals, especially breakfast. Look for breakfasts with lots of fibre, protein or both to ensure you feel full for longer. Always choose low GI options for the same reason. You can always mix and match the suggestions I've made. Eg. A cup of milo with a boiled egg and a piece of fruit ensures a good source of protein and fibre but also meets 1 serve of your dairy and fruit requirements for the day!

Let me know below what kind of breakfast you're having! I'll love to have more ideas on what I can make!

When I tell people I'm a dietitian one of the most common things they ask me is "What do you eat?" Or sometimes it's statements like "You must eat real healthy" or "Are you a vegan or vegetarian?"

I always find it very difficult to answer this question as my diet is often quite varied and there's no specific thing I eat that would be different from anyone else; I don't have access to some miracle diet pill or secret diet book!

Often times these conversations occur when I'm eating and almost everyone has the immediate impulse to look at my food and judge me! If I have something society deems to be "unhealthy" I often get the "I can't believe you're eating THAT!"

This even happens with my mum. There's been a time where I've bought ice cream and sat outside my own house and eaten it in the car before going in because I didn't want to get judged by my mum. (and also so my siblings didn't steal any!) It's like we're all to have perfect diets and we wouldn't dream of having anything "unhealthy" on our plate. Thing is, I don't think foods can be simply classified as "good" and "bad." Like many things in life, it's all fifty shades of grey. Nutrition is such a complex field that it's difficult to decide how to rate the healthfulness of food.  

What I also think people forget though, and I think I'm speaking for a majority of dietitians here, is:  
We love food!

Why else would we do a degree on nutrition and spend all day talking about it!?

There are so many dietitians I know who would also call themselves foodies and many more who like a bit of dessert (like me!). And yet many look at us like we're food's worst enemy!

I thought to give an idea of what dietitians eat I'll share some photos from the International Congress of Dietetics held last week in Sydney. This was a large 3 day event of workshops and lectures that over 2000 dietitians attended from all over the world and lunch was provided.


Day 1: Clockwise from top: Falafel wrap, carrot cake, wild rice mix salad, egg sandwich on multigrain, green beans and cannelini beans, hainan chicken salad (in the middle)


Day 2: Corned beef, cheese and lettuce grain roll, pumpkin and fetta and strawberries (I think this was my favourite lunch)


Day 3: Chickpea and cous cous salad, chicken and egg wrap, mini eggplant burger, roast beef with tzatziki sauce and potato salad.

Sadly I didn't get a chance to take a photo of the vegetarian options.

Morning and afternoon tea wasn't really provided but as there was an exhibition on as well, free samples were given out. Available everyday was: Chobani and Jalna yoghurt, nuts, fresh fruit, Yakult.

As well as these many stalls had bags of goodies to give away, it was like the Easter show! Other foods of note include: a new Pepsi (coming soon), Grain Waves, meal replacement cookies,Quaker Oat cookies, Sanitarium One Square meal, Optifast, beans and corn mix, Heinze squeeze soup, chocolate paddle pops and much more.


Look at all these things to try!

Although I would eat practically anything, there are a few rules I follow with my day to day eating. 1.

1. Eat breakfast. Breakfast is often my favourite meal on the weekends but during the weekdays I often value my sleep more than a sit down breakfast. However I always make sure I bring something with me before I head out the door as I know skipping breakfast always leads to poor food choices later on in the day. This can be an Up and Go, toast, fruit or yoghurt. 
2. Have 2-3 snacks/day. I always bring my own snacks with me. My body is like clockwork when it comes to eating. I like to eat every 3 hours and sometimes there isn't always food around which is why I bring my own snacks. If I know there will be a fridge I bring some yoghurt but otherwise it'll be fruit, nut bars, nuts, or a homemade cupcake. Eating regularly also stops me from getting ravenously hungry and ending up at a fast food joint simply because it was the closest food avilable.
3. Never eat infront of the TV. Studies have shown those who eat in front of the TV are more likely to be overweight or obese. In my family, dinner is the only meal when we all sit together so the television is always off and we share in conversation. I believe meals should be enjoyed with family and friends rather than with the television. You're more likely to appreciate the meal, eat mindfully and know when you're full. 
4. Be mindful about your food choices. I think food goes beyond calories and nutrients. Food is often associated with emotions and I believe in eating for enjoyment rather than to count calories. We eat foods, not nutrients. I always try to be mindful about my food choices and know that when I choose an indulgent food it is a conscious choice and not something I eat just because it's there. This way I don't end up in a vicious cycle of emotional eating-guilt-more emotional eating.
5. Eat slowly. I'm probably known as one of the slowest eaters amongst my friends. I like to savour my food and chew it properly. At the recent dietetic congress a Japanese study found that fast eating was linked to decrease in diet induced thermogenesis (DIT) (amount of energy needed to process food; low DIT is linked to obesity). Also it takes the body around 20mins before it begins to feel full so if you rush through your meal you're more likely to overeat. I find with slow eating you get more time to appreciate your meal and notice the different flavours, textures, smells more than if you rushed through it.

I take a lot of food photos and post it on my Instagram so if you're curious for more check out my Instagram at nutritionwwendy for more food ideas. And while we're at it, my twitter (@NutritionwWendy) also has a lot of nutrition goodness (incl. latest nutrition research from the congress!). If there's any foods I've made on my Instagram that you'll like the recipe to, let me know via Twitter or Instagram =)