Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion, chilli, celery and carrot.  Cook for 2-3 mins.
2. Add the cumin and coriander.  Cook until fragrant.  Add the lentils and stock.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 8-10 mins or until lentils are tender.
3. Season to taste.  Serve with 1 tblsp yoghurt per serve.

We all know we should exercise regularly – whether it be for weight loss or maintenance, for general fitness for work and play, for your heart, to help you sleep better or for your chosen sport or activity. The amount and type of exercise that is best to help reach your goals may vary enormously. The American College of Sports Medicine has posted its latest exercise recommendations for health, general fitness and longevity. Here’s a summary.

Include CARDIO type exercise at least 150 minutes or 2 1/2 hours each week. For example, 30-60 minutes of moderate -intensity exercise 5/week. You could do this as one continuous session in a day or multiple shorter sessions (of at least 10 minutes).

Then add some RESISTANCE exercise 2-3 days per week using a variety of exercises and equipment e.g. at a gym, at home, even using your own body weight with no equipment.Lighter intensity exercises are best for older individuals.

Also perform some FLEXIBILITY exercises at least 2 or 3 days/week to improve range of motion.

Finally you need some more functional exercise that we call NEUROMOTOR exercise. This is recommended for 2 or 3 days/week for 20-30 minutesand should involve motor skills (balance, agility, coordination etc). Examples include Tai Chi, pilates and yoga. This is very important to improve your physical function and also to prevent falls in older individuals.

Although this adds up to 5-6 hours total for the week some sessions can be kept quite short and done at various times of day – as well as possibly combining sessions such as stretching with another more strenuous workout.

Remember that Sedentary behaviour, such as sitting for long periods of time, has been shown to be a health risk in itself. Meeting the guidelines for physical activity does not make up for a sedentary lifestyle!

Curried Vegetable Soup                                    Serves 3

Vegetarian, can be made gluten free

Ingredients:

-         Spray olive oil

-        2 cloves garlic, crushed

-        1 medium or 2 baby fennel bulbs, trimmed, quartered and thinly sliced

-        2 leeks, trimmed, washed and thinly sliced

-        2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced

-        3 cups (750mL) chicken stock

-        2 tsp Madras curry powder

-        420g can four bean mix, rinsed and drained (OPTIONAL)

Method:

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat.  Spray with oil and add garlic.  Add fennel, leeks and zucchini, stirring often, for 6-8 minutes or until vegetables soften.  Stir in curry powder and mix to coat.
2. Stir in chicken stock, cover and bring to the boil.  Reduce heat and gently simmer for 5 minutes.  Add beans if needed.  Serve.

Vegetable Miso Soup                                    Serves 4

Vegetarian, can be made gluten free

Ingredients:

-       10g sachet bonito soup stock

-        ¼ cup mirin

-        1.5 tblsp soy or tamari sauce

-        ¼ cup white miso paste

-        3 bunches, asian greens, washed and cut into 1 inch thick pieces

-        2 bunches thin asparagus stalks, cut into 1 inch pieces, woody ends discarded

-        150g mushrooms, sliced

-        60g baby spinach

Method:

1. Combine 6 cups cold water and bonito sachet over high heat.  Bring to the boil.  Add mirin and soy sauce.  Remove ½ cup of the mixture from the pan and place in a bowl.  Add miso paste and stir to combine.  Add miso mixture to the pan.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add all vegetables and cook until soft.  Serve.

Have you read some of the debates lately about red meat? On the one hand some experts are strongly suggesting we cut out or drastically reduce our consumption of this type of protein to reduce heart disease, colon cancer etc. Yet on the other hand red meat is a great source of nutrients such as iron and niacin. Interestingly, as most of our cattle are grass fed in australia, it has now been suggested that the fat in these animals, as opposed to their grain fed counterparts, contains CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) that may be protective with regards to cancer and beneficial in other ways to our health and immunity. Our view, as always, is one of balance. Lean red meat included in a healthy diet 2-3 times per week is a great source of protein, omega 3 fats, iron, zinc and other nutrients. This should be balanced out with vegetables, fruit, grains, dairy and other real foods – with a limit on items that are more highly processed or containing additives that we should perhaps avoid.

Choc-alot! Or a little!

While Easter is a great opportunity to socialise with family and friends, celebrate the season and relax over a long weekend, sometimes the traditional ‘extras’ of Easter, like the all too enticing chocolate Easter egg, can become a little too much!

Here are some tips to help you keep the Easter munchies at bay and resist having just ‘one more’ too many times:

• If you can, buy the best quality chocolate eggs and other goodies. This will help you feel as if you’re indulging in the best, will satisfy you much sooner, and as you probably pay more for quality, this will help you buy less chocolate as well.
• Choose small, dark, plain chocolate over large or filled eggs that have caramel, cream or other fillings. These add quite a lot to the energy content.  Dark chocolate tends to satisfy people’s chocolate cravings earlier, and thus they eat less!
• Try and plan activities for home that will encourage exercise and bring your family and friends together. You may want to organise an Easter egg hunt, or stage activities in the back yard like an Easter egg and spoon race for the kids with prizes other than chocolate – like a fluffy bunny instead!
• Take advantage of the pleasant weather and head down to the park or even the beach and remember to ‘slip, slop, slap!’ Try and be as active as you can over the Easter period.
• It’s ok to have a little more chocolate than you usually would but try not to go overboard. 1 mini Cadbury Easter egg (solid) is around 150kJ. 4 of these =  20 minute power walk, 15 minute run or a 25 minute bike ride or swim.
• If you find you’re getting an influx of Easter chocolate (from work parties, neighbours or you made too many purchases) then wrap them up into assorted little bundles (4-5 small pieces, 2-3 medium pieces or 1 large piece) to have on the table for family and friends to take home.
• Don’t buy extra eggs after the Easter weekend is over because they’re on special. Remember: Easter is an indulgent time that shouldn’t last weeks because your fridge is over stocked and the specials were too hard to resist, so try and get back to your normal eating and exercise routine as soon as possible.
• Remember that hot cross buns add energy to your diet – a bun should replace 2 pieces of bread, not be consumed in addition to your sandwich!
• Easter is a great time to include more fish in your diet so make sure you get your omega 3’s but avoid your fish being fried, crumbed or battered.  Try barbequing, grilling, baking, opening a can or eating it raw!

Keeping these tips in mind over the Easter period should help you and your family stay healthy, happy and full of energy without over indulging in Easter madness! Remember that Easter is a time for treats and it’s still possible to enjoy yourself without going overboard – Happy Easter!

1. Combine ricotta, chocolate, apricot, pistachio and icing sugar in a bowl.
2. Preheat grill on high.  Cut each fig in half and place cut side down on a baking tray.  Drizzle with ½ tsp of honey over each half of the fig.
3. Grill figs for 2-3 minutes or until slightly caramelised.  Divide figs amongst serving plates and top with ricotta.  Drizzle with extra honey to serve.

1. Soak mushrooms in warm water for 10min to rehydrate. Drain and slice.
2. Fill a large fry pan with 1.5L water and add mushrooms. Bring to the boil.
3. Spoon about 1/3 of the mushroom broth in to a measuring cup and blend with miso paste until smooth and runny consistency (add more liquid if needed).
4. Gently drop salmon into pan and allow to simmer. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 6 minutes. Place in serving bowl.
5. Add noodles and bok choy to broth to cook for 2 minutes. Then pour miso paste into broth and stir well over low heat.
6. Distribute broth evenly over salmon pieces. Arrange cucumber, carrot and capsicum over salmon to serve.

Bupa Fitness

The Bupa fitness app allows you to test yourself in four key areas, flexibility, core stability, balance and strength to determine your areas for improvement. This app then can provide you with a four week personalised programme with specific exercises and workout sessions to help you improve on your strengths and weakness. Each workout session takes you through a warm up phase, step by step instruction of the exercise, as well as a video demonstration. Throughout the four week plan this app allows you to track your progress and workout statistics. At the end of the programme you can test yourself again to see how much your fitness has improved. This app is designed for all ages and fitness levels.

5 km Runner: Couch to 5km    

This app works on the basis of training 3 times a week, for 35 minutes, for 8 weeks with the aim of running 5km straight. This app features an audio coach which guides you through intervals of walking/ running which gradually increase’s in effort starting off easy and building up your fitness level over the eight weeks. Audio coach also guides you through step-by-step instructions on warm-up and cool-down sessions. Five km Runner also tracks each workout session and history of your progression. It is also compatible with any GPS tracking app and also allows you to play music while working out.

Diet and Food Tracker by Sparkpeople   

Sparkpeople Diet and Food Tracker have a detailed food and calorie data base with over one million different foods. This app also provides nutritional breakdown of your protein, carbohydrates and fats. The app also allows you customize daily meal plans suited towards your goals, and a fitness tracker to track your workout sessions and the calories you have eaten and burned for that day. The app also provides a weight loss progress tracker and allows you access fitness videos and healthy recipes.

Swap It Don’t Stop It

This app allows you access to hundreds of food and physical activity swaps, with the option of creating your own swaps. Features of this app allow you to track your progress of each swap and earn badges for each achievement. You can create an ingredient planner and shopping list to assist with healthier food choices. This app also provides an activity planner that allows you to find activities in your local area or choose your own.

Healthy eating for active kids

The school year has started once again, and many children will be involved in various school activities, school sports and club sports. With so much to do, so little time, and lots of driving about the greater Brisbane area (and sometimes beyond!) a lot of planning is needed, particularly when it comes to food. Here are a few tips to ensure that your active child is eating well and has enough energy to last their busy week!

• Make sure your child has a good breakfast every morning. If they have early sport or training and cannot stomach a meal beforehand, try a liquid breakfast or pack breakfast to be eaten afterwards. Check with your school if the canteen is open for breakfast and what food is served – this may be a quick and easy option, providing choices are nutritious (for example, cereal and low fat milk, toast with spreads, jaffles with various fillings).
• Some children have long days, and usually won’t be home until just before dinner. This means they need a lunch box packed with nutritious food that is still appealing at 4pm! Remember to try and include something from each food group: breads/cereals, vegetables/salad, fruit, dairy or alternative, and meat or alternative. Sending along a cold or frozen water bottle will help keep the lunch box cool.
• Let your child help make their own lunch (with supervision). They will be more inclined to eat it if they know what has been packed and can plan what they want to eat and when.
• Not all children like sandwiches! Lunchtime is usually easily taken care of with a trusty sandwich, but there are many children that refuse to eat them. Alternatives can include: wraps, rice/corn crackers with spreads or tuna, fresh salads, rice or pasta salads, or leftovers from the night before.
• Children need to go to bed at an appropriate time to get a good night’s sleep to refuel for the next day. Some children cannot sleep well on a full stomach, so ensure dinner is early enough so your child has some down time to digest and relax before bed.

If you are worried that your child does not eat enough, never seems hungry, or is a fussy eater, and you feel that they may not be getting all the important nutrients that they need, please contact one of our dietitans for further information.