Ahhh, summer is upon us. Hot, hazy days and an
abundance of mouthwatering mangoes, thirst quenching melons and lovely
crisp salads.
To help kick start your summer healthy eating plan, why
not follow this simple guideline: 2 fruit ‘n 5 veg every day. Most
people think they are eating enough fruit and vegetables each day, but
about a third don’t eat any fruit and most need to drastically
increase the amount of vegetables they eat.
Health benefits of Eating more Fruit
and Vegetables
As a group, fruits and
vegetables are good sources of:
·
Antioxidant nutrients, vitamin A, C and betacarotene (a form of
Vitamin A) – help reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.
·
Folate –
helps prevent a kind of anaemia, and in pregnancy reduces the risk of
neural tube defects in newborns.
·
Dietary
fibre – helps prevent and manage constipation and other bowel
disorders, diabetes and high blood cholesterol.
They are also low in
fat, salt and calories, helping to maintain a healthy weight and
reduce high blood pressure.
Vegetables from the
cruciferous family appear to provide protection against cancers of the
digestive system. These include cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts,
cauliflower, kale swede, turnips. Bok choy. Tomatoes contain lycopene
a chemical that can help men reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
Colour is the clue to
assessing the amount of betacarotene in fruit and vegetables. Dark
green, yellow and orange fruit and vegetables are usually the best
sources. Most fruit and vegetables that are good sources of
betacarotene are also high in Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps your body to
absorb iron, especially important for women (see
Eating by colour).
The top 10 most
nutritious fruits and vegetables (based on the amount of carotenoids,
Vitamin C, folate, potassium, calcium and iron). Eat a variety of
fruits and vegetables (preferably organic) every day, but choose the
ones below more often.
Vegetables Fruits
Spinach guava
Red
pepper papaya
Sweet
potato cantaloupe
Pumpkin pink
grapefruit
Carrots kiwifruit
Broccoli
oranges
Okra strawberries
Brussels
sprouts apricots
Potato watermelon
Lettuce (cos or
romaine) mango
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Those who crave sweet
foods can turn to fruits to satisfy their appetite. Dried figs,
apples, papaya, mangoes and bananas are good choices as snacks. But
first, work out why you are craving the sweet taste. It is often
because you are neglecting to include all the six tastes – bitter,
astringent, spicy, salty, sweet and sour – in a meal. This is easily
fixed by emphasising the bitter and astringent tastes from vegetables.
How Much is Enough
For fruit, aim to eat
at least two average sized pieces every day. That’s about 120 to 150
grams per piece.
For vegetables, an
average serve is one medium potato or ½ cup salad vegetables or 2
rounded tablespoons of cooked vegetables. Every day you need to eat 5
serves of vegetables.
This means eating
fruits and vegetables (as a salad or lightly cooked) with every meal.
Here is a simple meal plan to get you started.
Breakfast:
Bircher muesli
½ cup
of rolled oats
enough
soy milk to cover the oats
chopped hazelnuts/almonds
sunflower seeds
chopped dried apricots/figs
1
small apple, grated
Mix
the oats with the dried fruit, nuts and seeds and soy milk and store
in the fridge overnight. Before serving the next morning add more soy
milk and a grated apple. You can make larger quantities as it will
keep for 3 days in the fridge.
Snack
Banana soy smoothie or
Fresh pressed carrot juice
Lunch:
Salmon and beetroot
salad
185gm tin of pink salmon, drained
1 tbs of low fat yoghurt
2 tsp of low fat mayonnaise
1 small cooked beetroot, sliced
handful of beansprouts
¼ avocado
Boston/Cos lettuce
Combine salmon with low fat
yoghurt and mayo. Arrange the lettuce leaves on a plate, top with bean
sprouts, sliced beetroot, avocado and salmon. Squeeze lemon and olive
oil (cold pressed veg oil) over salad. Serve with Ryvita crackers or a
slice of wholegrain rye bread.
Snack
Mango/papaya with low fat yoghurt
sprinkled with Grape Nuts or ground nuts and seeds or
Raw vegetable sticks with yoghurt
or hommos dip
Dinner:
Potato quiche:
1 large sweet potato, par-cooked
in microwave (approx 5-7 mins)
small head of broccoli, cut into
small pieces and lightly steamed
1 small finely sliced red pepper
4 eggs
½ cup of skim milk
200gm of cottage cheese
parmesan cheese
salt and pepper.
Line a 25cm quiche dish with thick
slices of sweet potato. Next, layer the broccoli and red pepper.
Combine eggs, milk and cottage cheese and add salt and pepper. Pour
over vegetables and sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Bake at 180 degrees
for 30 mins or until brown on the top. Serve with a crisp salad.
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