2018
Make the most of your Vitality Nutrition Consultation
11/12/18 09:55 Filed in: Diet & Nutrition | Health
Good nutrition is the foundation of human health. With this in mind, the role of the dietician in helping you maintain your health, or achieving health, cannot be underestimated. We are, after all, experts in diet and nutrition.
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Eating for Immunity
05/12/18 12:14 Filed in: Diet & Nutrition
The 1st of December every year is World AIDS Day. It is a time for us to look at ourselves and examine our behaviours and our perceptions around HIV and AIDS.
Do we really know enough about HIV?
Do we ever talk about HIV?
Do we accept people who are HIV positive?
Do we treat them the same way we treat everyone else?
Are we still scared of HIV?
Do we know how to manage it?
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Manage Your Diabetes on Holiday
14/11/18 10:59 Filed in: Diet & Nutrition | Health
This month is all about diabetes. It is Diabetes Awareness Month, with today, Wednesday 14 November being World Diabetes Day. With diet being an essential component of diabetes management it would be a crime for me not to add my 2 cents worth to the conversation.
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Food label cheat sheet
31/10/18 11:31 Filed in: Diet & Nutrition
I am a food label reader. I like to know what and how much is in the food I am eating. I am sure that most people want to know what they are eating, but when faced with the information on a food label, their brain flies into a spin, trying to understand the information presented there.
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Wellness Day Dietician
23/10/18 11:07 Filed in: The Dietician
The last quarter of the year is very busy for those of us involved in corporate wellness days. If you follow me on Facebook or LinkedIn you will have seen that I have been out of my cozy little home office, working in big corporate offices all over Johannesburg and Pretoria.
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Benefits of eating breakfast
16/10/18 11:25 Filed in: Diet & Nutrition
- Do you eat breakfast?
- Do you eat eggs?
- Do you prefer cereal?
- Or do you eat leftovers from supper?
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Breakfast
09/10/18 11:23 Filed in: Diet & Nutrition
Wow! It is October again!
That means it is National Nutrition Week. This year it has been decided that the theme for National Nutrition Week and National Obesity Week will be the same. Since these weeks run consecutively over the next 2 weeks, it makes perfect sense to combine them. So, what it is the theme?
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Cholesterol, cardiovascular disease and... potatoes
This week is the last week of Heart Month, with World Heart Day on the 29th of September. The number of people worldwide who die daily from heart attacks and strokes is alarmingly high. The sad thing is that most of these deaths can be prevented by adopting a healthy lifestyle.
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Stress: Eat well to help your body cope
20/09/18 11:42 Filed in: Diet & Nutrition
Stress! A word that is thrown about all too often. Whether it is work stress or family stress or social stress, we all experience some degree of stress. When does the stress in our lives become a problem? Some people seem to thrive on the continuous adrenaline rush of being under constant pressure. Others stumble at the first hurdle.
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Sushi, Pizza and Macaroni Cheese
04/07/18 09:42 Filed in: The Dietician
My almost-7-year-old son was sitting with me when I was planning what to write for today's article. I asked him what I should write about and he very enthusiastically told me "Sushi, Pizza and Macaroni Cheese"!
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Healthy Hearty Winter Soups: Part 2
23/05/18 09:49 Filed in: Diet & Nutrition
What to look for in a bought soup
I had a great response to my article about making a healthy, hearty winter soup. But it seems that although everyone is excited about eating soup in the colder weather, there are not many people who have the time or the inclination to make their own. Without fail, the people who commented on the article, asked me what they should be looking for in a bought, ready-made soup.
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Hirsch's Hyde Park Grand Opening
16/05/18 11:25 Filed in: The Dietician | Family
A few weeks ago I received an email from Sharron Dingle at Hirsch's Fourways which, as a regular attendee of the Business Networking Meetings, is something I receive often. But this one was different. This email had an invitation attached to it. An invitation to attend the Grand Opening of Hirsch's Hyde Park… as a blogger! I still consider myself a newbie. Still finding my blogging feet. And I wasn't sure that a dietician's blog could add much value to the opening of a new Home Store - a shop that sells appliances and furniture. But I was up for the challenge and thrilled to have been invited. So, I accepted the invitation and waited for the day to come, thinking all the time about what I could contribute.
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Spinach and Mushroom Soup
09/05/18 12:00 Filed in: Weight Loss
I made this soup from veggies that were on the verge of being tossed in the bin. It turned out so well that I will now be buying the ingredients especially to make it! I hope you enjoy it too.
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Healthy Hearty Winter Soups
09/05/18 11:11 Filed in: Diet & Nutrition
Winter is that time of year when people feel like hibernating and snuggling up in a blanket with a big cup of warming soup. Most like it piping hot, some will drink it cold, some like it spicy, some prefer it bland, some enjoy it chunky, others would rather have it smooth. Whatever your preference… make it healthy!
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Top 10 excuses for not eating more plants
12/04/18 12:07 Filed in: Diet & Nutrition
Have you stopped to consider what it means to eat a "plant-based" diet? I think for most people, the concept means that you become a vegetarian. And that often seems to be where the thought process comes to an end. Apart from a handful of people who are driven to cut animal products out of their diets, most people are not willing to turn their backs on steak and chicken wings. But, does it have to be an all or nothing approach? Isn't it possible to eat a bit less meat and a lot more veggies? Can you not supplement your "plant-based" diet with animal protein?
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Chocolate: My (not so) secret indulgence
22/03/18 11:43 Filed in: Diet & Nutrition | The Dietician
Happy Easter! If you are like me (and I now that I am not alone!), Easter is a time for pretending that you don't like chocolate nearly as much as you actually do. As a dietician, I often try not to tell people what I do because then they will:
- Start to feel guilty about what they are eating and try and hide their plates from me
- Very self-consciously start picking what they eat very carefully
- OR… They will start scrutinising my plate!
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Baby Marrow Salad
14/03/18 09:42 Filed in: Diet & Nutrition
I always like to serve something familiar, but a little out of the ordinary when we have people around for a meal. Last week, we invited people who really enjoy their salads. This simple baby marrow salad was a huge hit!
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My camping menu
07/03/18 10:47 Filed in: The Dietician
It is a pity that this is not a travel blog. I have nothing but good things to say about The Panorama Route in Mpumalanga, South Africa. We were busy for 4 days, visiting view sites and waterfalls and rock pools. We even went panning for gold in Pilgrim's Rest. In a nut shell… Fun!
But this is not a travel blog. It is a food and nutrition blog. So, I thought I would share our camping menu with you.
Was it 100% healthy? …No
Was it 100% practical? …I would say almost
Did we eat well? …Yes
Did we enjoy our food? …Yes!
Camping breakfast
Growing up, my Dad was the cook when we went camping. He is well known for his amazing camping breakfasts. They are not fancy. In fact they are as simple as breakfast comes.
Eggs, bacon, tomato, maybe some mushrooms and of course… fried toast!
Nothing beats a simple egg breakfast when you are sitting outside in the fresh air, cooking on your gas cooker and trying to keep everything warm. It just tastes better with a dose of good clean air. We will snack on fruit while we are waiting for the eggs to cook.
This typical breakfast fry up is a MUST when you are camping. It wakes you up, warms you up and gets the day off to the best possible start. Yes, there is too much fat, but we only live once and if you can't enjoy a fry up when you crawl out of your sleeping bag on a camping trip, then when can you?
Of course, you should probably skip the bacon, and add more veggies, and boil or poach your eggs, but where's the fun in that. We were camping after all! I needed some creature comfort.
Camping lunch
Camping supper
Here is an opportunity to get creative. Looking on Pinterest before planning my menu last week, I came across some fantastic ideas. But they mostly needed a bit of preparation. I really didn't have much time, so I stuck with the basics. A balanced meal of protein, carbohydrate and salad. We grilled our meat on the braai. We wrapped our baby potatoes and mielies in foil and placed them on the coals. I chopped up the salad ingredients (no lettuce because it always freezes and becomes soggy and useless!). And voila! We had satisfying meals that kept us all happy.
Camping snacks
This is where the wheels really fell off! We ate far too many potato crisps and pretzels and not enough fruit. We were pretty good about the chocolate on this trip… We brought most of it home!
It was a fabulous weekend. The view was spectacular. The weather was perfect. And the food was delicious.
All in all… A great success!
Weight Loss Diets: Can my family eat the same food?
27/02/18 09:16 Filed in: Weight Loss | Family
As a woman and a mom juggling all that life has to throw at you, the weight struggle is very real. Have you ever given up on your weight loss ambitions because the thought of having to prepare 3 different meals every night (1 for your husband, 1 for the kids and another for yourself) is too much to even contemplate?
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Bean Dip Veggie Platter
14/02/18 07:57 Filed in: The Dietician
My husband and son are not big fans of dips, but I went ahead and made this one for lunch with a platter of veggies, crackers and cheese. It is zesty and delicious! They both enjoyed it.
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Relapse Prevention: Making your lifestyle changes last
07/02/18 08:29 Filed in: Diet & Nutrition | Weight Loss
Do you have SMART health goals?
31/01/18 10:51 Filed in: Diet & Nutrition | Weight Loss
February has arrived! 2018 is officially well on its way. How are you doing? Have you made a start towards achieving your goals for 2018? Or are they still sitting somewhere at the back of your mind, waiting for the right time? I have to confess that my goals for 2018 have been on the back burner. I have made a couple of half hearted attempts at getting started, but life got in the way and I had a serious lack of motivation!
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New Year's Resolutions - Set yourself up for success!
25/01/18 14:04 Filed in: Diet & Nutrition | Weight Loss
Welcome to 2018!
I hope your year has begun well and you are ready to make this year your best one ever!
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