fruit Archives - Diabetes Counselling Online

D-discussion on ‘That Sugar Film’

March 23, 2015 by Sally 2 Comments

Last week I attended the Newcastle premiere of ‘That Sugar Film’, with Damon Gameau as the star. I was there because I was invited to participate afterwards as the ‘nutrition expert’ in the 30 minute Q&A with the audience, numbering 640. I thought my experience worth talking about as, although the film is doing an awesome job at raising awareness of how much sugar is in the foods we eat, it’s really important that people understand that eating well is not all about fearing or avoiding one nutrient (in this case, sugar). I believe that achieving optimum health through eating a well balanced diet, consisting of a variety of real foods, mostly plants, is the most important message to take away from this experience, and I hope that is what I communicated to the audience as a panel member.

In ‘That Sugar Film’ Damon Gameau performs an experiment on just himself. Bearing in mind that we’re all different, and, importantly, that this wasn’t a clinical trial, Damon’s self experiment can form a good reminder to us on some key points of understanding about how added sugars in foods can play havoc with our wellbeing in various ways. Damon has written a blog himself explaining what ‘added sugars’ actually means. He explains, as I have previously done, how and why the term ‘added sugars’ does not include the naturally occurring sugars in fruits and dairy. Natural sugars such as these, and other carbohydrates, including whole grains and legumes, also provide essential nutrients for wellbeing. I encourage you to read his blog on this subject (link above) as it provides a well balanced view.

The Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA), of which I am a member, supports the recommendations of the Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG) about limiting the intake of foods and drinks containing added sugars. Examples are: confectionery; sugar-sweetened soft drinks and cordials; fruit drinks; vitamin waters; energy drinks; and sports drinks. The DAA believes a healthy, balanced diet involves eating appropriate amounts of a wide variety of nutritious foods, while occasionally being able to enjoy small amounts of ‘discretionary choices’. It’s about taking a balanced approach that is sustainable over the long term.

On that note, remember my recent blog chatting about Dr Rosemary Stanton’s talk on ‘Why so many controversies?’ Here, Dr Stanton reminds us that junk food, containing free sugars, poor quality fats, and high levels of sodium, currently accounts for 36% of the energy intake of adults, and greater than 40% of children’s energy intake. Those are scary figures. Those figures are worth considering when choosing foods and drinks, as are the points about added sugars in ‘That Sugar Film’. Making healthy choices is really about being mindful of what is in the foods we’re eating, choosing to buy and eat fresh foods, learning to read labels, and remembering to eat with moderation.

For us with diabetes, I found this experience to be a really good reminder to be mindful in our food choices. We can consider if we could make a healthier choice where there are options. This is not always possible, so remembering that ‘a little of what you like does you good’, if you make the decision to eat something from our ‘discretionary’ list, then it’s not worth feeling guilty about. Enjoy that choice, try to make it a small amount, and eat slowly and mindfully.

Nourishment and Enjoyment

It is important to appreciate that we eat food for more reasons that just getting the nutrients we need for good health. Eating is also a social activity and most celebrations are based around eating (think weddings, funerals, get-togethers and more). It’s about learning the balance between nourishment and enjoyment.

As APD Dr Joanna McMillan reminds us, it’s important to take pleasure in what you’re eating because that’s the only way you’ll do it for the long term. This is such an important message for us all to remember, especially when we have diabetes because it really is every meal for the rest of our lives. As we often say, ‘it’s all about moderation’ and trying where possible to make healthier choices.

Accredited Nutritionist Catherine Saxelby also reinforces these ideas in her blog on this film where she says, “On a more serious note, I believe the film goes overboard on the need to quit sugar. Are we not capable of moderation? Does it have to be total exclusion?”

Nutrition is a developing science

There is a lot to learn about food and how it affects us. As the dietitian for Diabetes Counselling Online I’ve written over 60 blogs on diabetes and food for Diabetes Counselling Online in an effort to help people with any type of diabetes to get a clear understanding of the nutritional value and health benefits of the food and drinks we choose. There are many more more topics to cover.

I’m constantly reminding people to aim to choose ‘real foods’ from the 5 food groups in the Australian Dietary Guidelines. These guidelines (released in 2013) were developed by real experts who reviewed over 55,000 scientific journal articles. They then translated that evidence into meaningful dietary advice, while reflecting a commitment to best practice standards in health guideline development. This amazing work was done to help all Australians to make better decisions about the foods we choose, to minimise risk of many long term health conditions.

Nutrition science is constantly developing and there are still many discoveries to be made. This is why dietitians constantly study to keep up to date with the latest research so the advice we provide in our medical nutrition therapy is providing you with the safest and most practical advice available.

Some processed foods aren’t all bad

Another point worth making is that ‘That Sugar Film’ demonstrates the large amounts of sugars that can be found in processed foods. It tells us that if you took all the foods off a shelf in a supermarket that contained added sugar, there’d only be about 20% of the foods left there. So this is an exercise for us in learning to read labels, as well as us understanding how to make informed choices of the foods that are there.

Some of these processed foods that are referred to in the film are baked beans, containing the equiv of 1 tsp of sugar per serve. Using baked beans as an example, the beans themselves are highly nutritious and 1 tsp sugar is in the sauce, which also contains nutrients such as lycopene that we need to obtain from cooked tomatoes. That 1 teaspoon of sugar is not enough to spike your BGLs and baked beans do have a low glycemic index, so they’re a good option for us when we need a meal in a hurry.

There are also other processed foods such as tinned and frozen vegetables, some breakfast cereals, some grainy breads and dairy products that as a dietitian I regularly encourage people to use. If these products weren’t being recommended, then chances are that people might inadvertently choose something less nutritious in an effort to have a little less sugar. Learning to label read is so important here. Some of the healthier, lower GI breakfast cereals are really convenient options in our busy lives, as well as containing important nutrients that we need for wellbeing, despite containing some added sugars.

Have you seen it?

If you haven’t seen ‘That Sugar Film’ yet, I encourage a viewing as it will help you to reflect on your own intake of ‘added sugars’, and perhaps help you to understand more about yourself and the food you eat. Just remember to come back and re-read here, so you can refresh your memory about the points I have made in this blog so you’re seeing a balanced perspective.

In the words of Michael Pollan: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” This is reinforced by the words of Associate Professor and APD Tim Crowe, “Because there are thousands of natural chemicals present in foods, there is no single food that should be called a ‘superfood’. Instead, think ‘superdiets’ that contain plenty of different plant-based foods as the best way to eat for good health.”

Please feel free to ask questions either in the space provided following this blog, or on our closed Facebook group ‘Diabetes and Food – let’s celebrate it!”. I believe food really should be celebrated, not feared.

Sally

Sally is the Social Media Dietitian with Diabetes Counselling Online, owner of her private practice (Marchini Nutrition), has had type 1 diabetes for close to 40 years and coeliac disease for many years too. You can access a linked list of all Sally’s Diabetes Counselling Online blogs here.

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Yoghurt, probiotics and d-health

March 10, 2015 by Sally 2 Comments

With so much fascinating talk about gut microbiata (micro-organisms/bacteria) and health about, I thought it worth a fresh look at yoghurt as part of the dairy serves in our day as it is a great source of these microbiata in our diets. I’m also often asked about which are the best yoghurts from a fat and sugar perspective. Please consult your healthcare team before following the advice here, especially if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding or have a compromised immune system.

We’ll start with a review of why dairy is so important in our diets, then go on to look more closely at probiotics (live organisms/bacteria) and to look at some of the yoghurt choices available on the market, and what to look for when you’re making choices. We’ll finish with some ideas to help us to include more yoghurt in our day.

Last year I wrote a couple of blogs on ‘Dairy and Diabetes’ that I’d really like to remind everyone of, as they included some important messages for our diabetes health.

In the first one, ‘Dairy Foods – health benefits for us with diabetes’ we looked at the dairy and alternatives group in the Healthy Eating Guidelines for Adults brochure. We notice that different genders and ages have significantly different requirements in this important food group. We all need different amounts for different reasons, and for us with diabetes it’s a really important food group for many reasons. Not least, that dairy products have a low-glycemic index. There’s also a great amount of evidence relating to how meeting our dairy serves can contribute to improved wellbeing, with or without diabetes, so pop back and have a read of this one too.

We’re also reminded in the words of the Australian Dietary Guidelines that: “Milk, cheese and yoghurt have various health benefits and are a good source of many nutrients, including calcium, protein, iodine, vitamin A, vitamin D, riboflavin, vitamin B12 and zinc. These foods provide calcium in a readily absorbable and convenient form.”

The Guidelines also remind people with lactose intolerance in relation to yoghurt that: “lactose in yoghurt is already partially broken down by bacteria that thicken the yoghurt, so should be well tolerated”.

The second blog (link above) is about milk comparisons and more ideas for including more dairy in our diet.

Which leads us on nicely to more on yoghurts….

Probiotics – why are they important?

Yoghurt provides similar health benefits that milk does and can have the added benefits of good bacteria or probiotics (eg aBc – La-5 Lactobacillus acidophilus, BB-12 bifidobacterium, Lc-431 Lactobacillus Casei and LCG) which contribute to improved health. Health based on those good bacteria is currently attracting a lot of research into improved immunity, general wellbeing and to improve specific conditions such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, NAFLD (very relevant for those with type 2 diabetes) and mental health among others. This article provides much more detail if you’d like to read more about probiotics and health/wellbeing.

However, not all yoghurts contain added probiotics, so it’s important to check the label for mention of them, otherwise you may not get the benefits you’re hoping for from them. It’s also worth noting that yoghurts containing probiotics will have a shorter shelf-life as the bacteria deteriorate fairly quickly, so don’t wait around until the yoghurt is on its ‘best by’ date if you’re hoping for the probiotic benefits.

Fat & Sugar in yogurts

With diabetes, and even just in general health, it’s important that we minimise added sugars and keep an eye on the saturated fats in our food products.

The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommends that we choose low-fat dairy products, which means we’re looking for less than 2g/100g saturated fat due to its link with heart health issues, inflammation and increased insulin resistance/decreased insulin production over time. This is particularly important for us with diabetes, and although adding fat to a carbohydrate will lower the glycemic index of the meal, it is just not worth taking the risk with saturated fats. It’s best to try to minimise them in our food choices.. The other aspects of the yoghurt (low GI quality carb and protein) will still help to lower the glycaemic index of the meal without the extra fat.

As to added sugar, we are always looking for as little as possible as an added ingredient. Lactose is a naturally occurring sugar with a low-GI that’s found in dairy foods, so just looking at the amount of sugar in the nutrition information panel may not help us to know whether it has added sugar. Check the ingredients listing first, looking for ‘added’ sources of sugar, like ‘sugar’, honey, palm sugar, maple syrup and other syrups. On the nutrition information panel, look for less than 10g/100g sugars to help watch the added sugars.

If you like the sweeter flavoured yogurts, try adding your own sweetness in the form of fruit, or even a small amount of added sugar, so at least you are in control of the extra sugars. Of course artificially sweetened yogurts are also readily available if you don’t mind the flavour.

Dietitian Connection recently published a comparison table of yoghurts by student dietitian Stacey Beech (thank you Stacey!) which includes information about all the macronutrients (fat, carbohydrate & protein) as well as fibre, calcium, sodium and probiotics. From this list I’ve picked a few ‘better’ examples of brands from that table to try, with a focus on the good bacteria, the low saturated fat, and low added added sugars. My top three favourites are:

The Nestle Ski Soleil (artificially sweetened) range
Vaalia Natural Probiotic Yoghurt (unflavoured)
Pauls All Naturally Tub Set Yoghurt 99.8% Fat Free (also unflavoured)
Jalna Low Fat plain yoghurt

There are other yoghurts on the market that may not have made Stacey’s list, so remember that you want the pack to tell you about the good bacteria (probiotics) it contains, look for less than 2g/100g saturated fat and less than 10g/100g sugar (preferably no added ‘sugar’). This Aldi one is a good example. It’s 2.7g/100g saturated fat, just over our target, but ticks all the other boxes so I’d say that it was worth a try too!

If you’re finding that plain yoghurt is a little bitter for your tastebuds, why not give the lactose free versions a try. These seem sweeter because the added lactase enzyme has split the lactose sugar into its parts, which changes the way it tastes, but with the same health benefits.

Some of the strained Greek yoghurts are also less tart because the whey has been strained off.

Of course you can always make your own, but watch the sugar and fat components in doing that

Multiple uses for yoghurt

For those of you who struggle to meet the recommended dairy serves in your day, yoghurt is an excellent option that can be included multiple times across the day. More than one serve a day is easy to achieve. It works:

At breakfast on top of cereal with fruit
As a snack or dessert choice
As a dressing on your salad (mixed with fresh herbs, lemon juice or vinegar and a teaspoon of grainy mustard)
In place of sour cream on your baked potato (helping to lower the overall GI of the potato)
In place of fats in baking recipes (read this blog by Joan Bailey to learn more)
As dip or accompaniment to Indian curries (example recipe)

How else do you include yoghurt in your day? We’d love to have your comments and suggestions! See the comments box below.

Sally

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D-thoughts on snacking

January 26, 2015 by Sally Leave a Comment

Happy Australia Day! And what good timing for a blog on snacking! It must be the ‘most asked’ question I get as a dietitian: “What are the best snacks for people with diabetes?”

It’s not really a black and white question as the answer depends on your personal diabetes requirements, your personal tastes, your ability to be mindful in your choices and your knowledge of healthy eating in general. So this blog aims to help you to be mindful in making snacking decisions.

We encourage you to choose foods that are higher in nutrients to add to your overall wellbeing, rather than ‘discretionary choices’ which everybody, diabetic or not, is encouraged to limit. It’s especially the case for us with diabetes… but it doesn’t mean missing out on delicious flavours!

Priority One

Your first priority needs to be your overall diabetes goals. Are you getting all the nutrients from your diet that you need for wellbeing? Are you needing to watch your weight? Is matching your food intake to your body’s ability to process carbs an issue for you?

A perfect segue to our Australian Dietary Guidelines… Are you actually meeting the quantities recommended in the 5 main food groups across your day?

In an ideal world we would choose snacks that are included in the foods that we are recommended to enjoy each day. In these examples I’m referring to the ‘Healthy Eating for Adults’ brochure, but there’s also a Healthy Eating for Children brochure for those thinking about their children with diabetes. In both cases, the actual food group listings are on page 2.

Each of the food groups has snacking potential, so there’s always plenty to choose from.

In the ‘Vegetables and legumes/beans’ group you can always find a low-carb snack if that’s what you’re after. Whether it’s raw veg to nibble on, celery with nut butter, blanched asparagus spears when they’re in season, tasty tiny tomatoes that burst with flavour in your mouth, hummous dip with veggie sticks, or even leftover cold roasted non-starchies or ratatouille (recipe in the files section of the closed ‘Diabetes and Food – let’s celebrate it!’ Facebook group). There are always options in this group of foods if one of them will meet what you’re looking for…

Next group down and a great one for those wanting something to satisfy a sweetness craving is the ‘Fruit’ group. With diabetes we are recommended to aim for about 2 serves per day, eaten at different times. However, some fruits are really low in carbohydrate, so we can have more of these without upsetting our glycemic control. Some of those include berries, passionfruit and kiwifruit. But still watch your quantities. If you want to know how much fruit will contain 15g of carbohydrate, take a look at www.calorieking.com.au , search for the fruit you are looking at, and adjust quantities to get to the 1 carb serve number.

In the ‘Grain (cereal) foods’ group, it’s easy to calculate whether you’re going to meet your daily recommended amount. Often for people with diabetes this is a group that people actually tend to be low in. Instead of choosing a ‘discretionary item’, swapping in a low-GI high fibre grain snack such a piece of heavily grained toast with a topping to suit your taste can be a great option to satisfy your hunger and keep your BGLs stable. Or even a small bowl of your high-fibre cereal. Of course these options all contain carbs, but they are all much more nutritious than a cracker or sweet biscuit.

In the ‘Protein’ group, snacking options are easy to find, but it’s important to remember to try not to exceed the guidelines in terms of serve sizes and number of serves recommendations. This is because protein contains energy (or calories/kilojoules) that will cause weight gain if you have too much, although they shouldn’t upset your glycemic control. I recommend having a read of this blog on Protein : written earlier, if you’d like more info. The perfect snack from within this group for us with diabetes is really a handful of nuts, as the evidence behind inclusion of nuts in our diet is quite outstanding. Read more about nuts in this blog.

And last, but not least, is the ‘Dairy and/or alternatives’ group. I wrote a couple of blogs about dairy and diabetes as it’s such an important food group for us with diabetes. Here’s a link to the first one and the second one that contain more great ideas for snacking. My favourite snacking recommendations to help meet the nutritional guidelines are a low-fat yogurt (low sugar too if you’re watching your carb intake closely) or plain low-fat greek yogurt with berries mixed in. Or a low-fat milk based smoothie made on frozen berries, with a couple of teaspoons of chia seeds added for extra fibre. Even a cup of milk based coffee can do the trick… These should work well to satisfy hunger and provide you with the nutrients this group is known for.

Priority Two

Your second priority, also a very important one, is to ask yourself what do you actually feel like eating and why? Sometimes snacking can become a habit. People say “I have a sweet tooth and NEED a biscuit or cake”. (or whatever) This is important too, because if you deprive yourself of what you really want (or feel you need) all the time, then your craving will only grow bigger and you’ll end up overdoing it and regretting it later. Not a good thing, but happens all too often. If you can enjoy a small amount of what you feel you “need”, being mindful of enjoying every mouthful, savouring the textures and flavours that you’ve wanted so badly, then you’re in a better place to return to your ‘healthier’ options on a regular basis.

Do I really need to snack?

If you’re medicated for your diabetes, and are putting yourself at risk of a hypo if you don’t snack, then you should snack as you’ve been advised by your medical diabetes team. If in this case you’d rather not be snacking as you’re just not hungry, then you should talk to your d-team and arrange to have the medication adjusted so that you don’t need to snack.

For those of you where snacking has just become a habit, it’s worth thinking twice to see if you really are hungry before you just head for a snack. Is it out of habit or because you’re bored? Sometimes a drink of water will satisfy that ‘hunger’ feeling, which may actually be your body telling you that you’re dehydrated. If you’re bored, take the opportunity to go for a walk, call a friend, do something off your household chores list, read a book, or engage in your hobby.

If you are constantly actually hungry, it may be worth your while to visit an Accredited Practising Dietitian to see how your meal plan can be adjusted to help avoid that happening. Being hungry is not good or necessary for you to manage your diabetes and weight well.

More ideas?

In the Diabetes Counselling Online closed Facebook groups ‘Diabetes and Food – let’s celebrate it!’ and ‘Diabetes Weight Matters’ we’ve asked the members what their favourite snacks are and have created a document up in the files section of the groups. I think I still need to finalise the weight matters file, but it’ll be there soon. These are member ideas, not necessarily dietitian approved, so please use this blog as a thought process in helping to make your snacking decisions right for you.

Also in the current issue (February 2015) of the Australian Healthy Food Guide they’re running a feature relevant to this blog that you may find helpful. It’s entitled “Your Treat Foods Toolkit” and explains “why those ‘naughty’ treat foods are discretionary, and how they can fit into a healthy diet.” It’s written by an Accredited Practicing Dietitian, Brooke Longfield and can be found on page 34. Although not related specifically to diabetes, you’ll find it helpful for portion sizes and understanding more about ‘discretionary’ foods.

Happy snacking! Sally

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Christmas kindness and mindfulness

December 15, 2014 by Sally Leave a Comment

Christmas can be a tricky time for people with diabetes. As the dietitian for Diabetes Counselling Online I’d like to remind you all to be kind to yourself over the Christmas period and remember that diabetes is not a game of perfect – it’s what you do most of the time that makes the difference, especially as we’re doing it for the rest of our lives. In today’s blog I’d like to share some ideas by other dietitians and offer a few tips that will hopefully help you to be mindful of your wellbeing this Christmas/New Year period.

As we all have different types of diabetes, using different or no medications, and with so many variations in our day to day lives, I encourage you to check with your health professional before making any changes to your usual routine. These tips are meant as a guideline, so please use good sense in applying them.

Let’s start with a couple of previous Diabetes Counselling Online blogs I’ve written on food for Christmas.

A fresh look at the Christmas meal reminds us that we can choose to provide foods that although Christmassy, do not need to be laden with fat, salt and sugar.

Colours of Christmas – enjoying the festive foods with no regrets helps us to understand about shopping for Christmas treats, and a whole lot more including these great Christmassy food comparisons that help make your choices more mindful.

Did you know that:

A cupful of halved fresh apricots (155g) has only 10g carb (half a serve) and 265kJ/64 calories.
A cupful of cherries without seeds (145g) has 15.8g carb (one serve) and 363kJ/87 calories.
A cupful of strawberries with no stems (150g) has only 6g carb (possibly not worth counting!) and 162kJ/39 calories.
A scoop of low-fat vanilla icecream (50g) has 11.4g of low-GI carb and 258kJ/62 calories.

Compared with:

1 small slice of a Christmas fruit pudding (50g) has 30.4g carb (2 serves) and 785jK/188 calories (plus loads of saturated fat and sodium)
1 small fruit mince pie (40g) has 26.8g carb (2 serves) and 802kJ/192 calories (plus loads of fat and sodium too)

Dietitian Christmas articles

Speaking of being mindful, these next few blogs are written by Accredited Practising Dietitians (APDs) that focus on choices (not diabetes choices, but healthier choices) and there are some great tips in them that I’d like to share with you.

First up, I love these mantras by APD Deb Blakley from this article in The Scoop on Nutrition. Deb reminds us that we should enjoy ourselves at Christmas. Deb says it’s all about good food and good company. Her mantras are very sensible to ensure that we remain kind to ourselves and to others.

The Australian Healthy Food Guide magazine has also shared a few Christmassy articles to help us to maintain our health while we enjoy the Christmas celebrations. This one by APD Caitlin Reid provides 21 tips to stay healthy over the festive season. That’s a lot of tips! Have a read as even if only one or two mean something to you, then you’ll be in a better place.

This one by APD Zoe Wilson is entitled ‘Surviving the Silly Season’. In it Zoe offers 3 quick tips to help you make it through to the New Year without regrets.

And the last of the Australian Healthy Food Guide blogs is by APD Brooke Longfield who talks about managing alcoholic intake which we know adds empty calories as well as disrupting our diabetes management. Brooke has some very helpful ideas here.

Last but not least is a blog by APD Megan McClintock. I have to say this is my favourite one because its focus is on kindness and mindfulness which is something that can be so powerful when we’re managing a chronic health condition such as diabetes. Megan shows us which questions we should be asking ourselves and reminds us that there’s no point feeling guilt or being negative with our thoughts about food. She also provides 6 very practical tips to help.

Wow! That was a BIG read. I hope you found some tips in there that mean something to you and will help you to be kind to yourself and others. In summary it’s about choosing what you have at home and enjoying it mindfully without beating yourself up, and balancing your extra food enjoyment at Christmas with plenty of activity which has benefits of it’s own. Our main focus should be being kind to ourselves and others, enjoying the social aspects of being with family and friends and using any time off to recharge our batteries for a good start to the new year.

Wishing you and your families a wonderfully happy Christmas filled with love and laughter. Sally

Sally is the Social Media Dietitian with Diabetes Counselling Online, owner of her private practice (Marchini Nutrition), and has had type 1 diabetes for close to 40 years and coeliac disease for many years too. You can access a linked list of all Sally’s Diabetes Counselling Online blogs here.

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Making 2&5 easy

November 3, 2014 by Sally Leave a Comment

We’re all so busy these days. How on Earth are we meant to able to consider our health and getting enough fruit and vegetables (our 2&5) into the meals we eat?

Often I see clients who, when I take their diet histories, they don’t even start to consider foods like fruit and vegetables until so late in the day that it’s actually too late to get enough of those important plant nutrients. Or when they’re doing it they find them so unappealing that there’s no incentive to make them want to eat more.

In this blog I hope to help you find it easier to get them all in and enjoy them, which in turn will help you to improve your own wellbeing, diabetes health, mental health, heart health and so much more!

The Australian Dietary Guidelines tells us:

“There are many nutritional, societal, culinary and environmental reasons to ensure that vegetables, including legumes/beans, and fruit are a major component of Australian dietary patterns. These foods are nutrient dense, relatively low in energy (kilojoules) and are good sources of minerals and vitamins (such as magnesium, vitamin C and folate), dietary fibre and a range of phytochemicals including carotenoids. Many of the sub-components of foods and their relationships have not been studied in detail, and it is expected that other sub-components – and their biological effects – are still to be discovered.”

From a diabetes point of view, they’ll help improve our immune system, mental health, good cholesterol, bowel health and help with weight management (just to name a few benefits!).

Perhaps a good start would be to look at ideas to include them in your meals across the day, and then provide you with some easy recipes – some of my personal favourites, and I encourage you to share your personal favourites below too in case they inspire someone else to enjoy more of these wonderful foods.

A good starting point is to know what the guideline is and how much a serve is. This snip from the Australian Dietary Guidelines for Adults brochure provides a pretty clear picture.

One of my best tips is to break up the intake of these foods across the day so that you’re not left with large amounts required at the end. Personally I aim to get 2-3 serves of vegetables at lunchtime and another 2-3 for dinner, and I one of my fruit serves at breakfast and one as a snack later in the day. But there are no rules about this. Here are some ideas that might help you.

Breakfast

Weekday breakfasts usually need to be fast to prepare and eat. So a bowl of high fibre cereal with a serve of fruit is one easy way to get you off to a good start. Think bananas, strawberries, blueberries. A milk based smoothie also works well here, as does multigrain toast with peanut butter and a squashed banana.

On weekends with a little more time, why not wilt some baby spinach leaves and panfry mushrooms and tomato, served on toast with an egg. Remembering that one medium sized tomato equals a serve, and half a cup of cooked veg (the mushrooms and wilted spinach) is another serve, you’re off to a great start with two vegetable serves already under your belt.

Lunch

I love lunchtimes in my office. I take the various ingredients to build my favourite salad and set aside an hour to build and eat it while I check my email and Facebook. My salads include mixed leaves, baby tomatoes (various colours if they’re available), Lebanese cucumber, onion, half a cup of 4 bean mix and a quarter of an avocado. That gives me around 3 vegetable serves and I salivate over every mouthful.

Of course leftover are also a top idea for lunch, especially ones high in vegetable ingredient, and can be served with baby spinach leaves to lift them.

And if you’re in a massive hurry and can only have time to make a sandwich, pile on the salad and take some extra veg in a box to nibble on with your sandwich. I just adore the flavour in the grape or Perino tomatoes, and cooked and cooled asparagus (in season at the moment) are such a treat flavourwise – I even enjoy it raw!

Dinner

A good place to start here is to remember the plate model, in that half your plate should be non-starchy veg or salad.

I’ll provide ideas below on some yummy ways you can make this happen. It is definitely the easiest meal to get those extra serves in, so 2-3 shouldn’t be a challenge at all.

Snacks

Of course a piece of fruit is an excellent snack, remembering you’re aiming for 2 per day, so if you’ve had one with your breakfast you only need one later in the day too. For us with diabetes they’re better off eaten at separate times to keep our BGLs more stable.

Five easy ideas to enjoy your vegetables

Simply steamed or microwaved to an ‘al-dente’ texture (ie not overcooked) mixed vegetables of your choice such as broccoli, zucchini, green beans and peas. Dress with the juice of a lemon, a finely chopped clove of garlic, extra virgin olive oil (equal amount to the lemon juice) and salt and pepper to taste. Delicious!
Start with a tin of tomatoes and add flavours such as garlic, anchovies and chilli. Then just add your choice of veggies and simmer in the sauce for 5 minutes or until they’re an al-dente texture (not overcooked). Tasty!
Take a bowl and add a huge variety of vegetables such as mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, capsicum, zucchini, pumpkin, beans, whole garlic cloves, onion and toss them in some extra virgin olive oil with fresh or dried oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Tip them into a baking tray lined with baking paper (for easy washing up) and roast at 180 degrees Celsius for about 30 mins. Also wonderful with crumbled feta cheese tossed through at the end, and delicious cold the next day for leftover lunches!
Soups and stews are such an obvious choice for those who find it hard to enjoy their veggies as all you need to do is add a whole load of mixed veggies into a large pot, cover with stock, simmer for 20-30 minutes and blend with your desired flavourings. How easy is that?!
Last but not least, if you have left over steamed vegetables it’s so easy to reinvigorate them by adding them into a mix of a few beaten eggs and some cheese and a few extra fresh herbs, baked for 30 mins at 180 degrees to make a frittata that will ‘Wow’ your guests. Also fabulous for next day lunches to help get your vegetable serves in. Yummo!

That’s probably enough to cover in this blog. I’ve give you quite a lot to consider. As mentioned, we’d love you to share your favourite ways of enjoying vegetables, and let’s talk about them more in our Diabetes Counselling Online groups such as Diabetes and Food – let’s celebrate it!, Diabetes Weight Matters and Men Living with Diabetes among others.

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