Hfg sneak peak

practical ideas from the experts

AUSTRALIAN

www.healthyfoodguide.com.au

july 2013 $5.60 (inc GST)

how to lose sweet m

akeover

belly fat your best food choices

s!

r desserts e t in w J -k low

What

sugar

does to your body

Kids’

snacks

how to spot the health frauds eXpert aDVICe

So easy!

best foods for

diabetes control

high

protein

Chicken rolls with semi-dried tomato, p43

speCIal

DInners y l D n Ie r -f s Ib DelICIoUs

shopping advice

• Butter or margarine?

• Healthier frozen meals • top chocolate snacks

65

Sweet corn soup

40

Salmon pasta

72

Muesli bars

5pm

hfg RECIPES

panic

Easy peasy and oh-so-tasty – we’ve got your healthy weeknight dinners sorted!

Lamb burgers with hommous

Serves 4 Cost per serve $5.92 Time to make 25 min

dairy-free

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, 1 bunch baby carrots, trimmed, halved lengthways 500g lamb steaks, sliced 2 teaspoons Moroccan spice mix 300g loaf Turkish bread, halved horizontally, quartered ¹⁄³ cup hommous 2 tomatoes, sliced 225g can sliced beetroot, drained Coriander leaves, to serve 1 Place a large non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add asparagus and carrot. Cook for 5 minutes until tender. Set aside.

2 Lightly spray lamb with oil and sprinkle with spice mix. Stir-fry for 2–3 minutes, or until cooked to your liking. Transfer to a plate to rest for 5 minutes.

3 Cut carrots and asparagus to fit bread. Top Turkish bread with hommous, vegies and lamb.

Sprinkle with coriander to serve.

high

protein

Lamb burgers with hommous

Per Serve 1967kJ/471cal Protein 37.5g Total Fat 12.1g Sat Fat 3.3g Carbs 47.9g

Sugars 10.1g Fibre 7.4g Sodium 884mg Calcium 44mg Iron 4.8mg

Bite into these tender lamb burgers – they’re so easy to prepare!

plus

you’ll need

+

+ baby carrots

64

lamb steaks

www.healthyfoodguide.com.au

+ Turkish bread

tomatoes

+ Moroccan spice + hommous + sliced beetroot + asparagus & coriander

you’ll need

Sweet corn soup with parmesan toasts On a chilly winter’s night, what’s better than a warming soup?

sweet potato

+

reduced-salt vegie stock

+

Lebanese bread

+ salad

Recipes: Sally Parker. Photography: Mark O’Meara. Stylist: Sarah O’Brien. Food prep: Kerrie Ray.

plus

+ onion & garlic + frozen corn + low-fat ricotta + parmesan + low-fat natural yoghurt + fresh parsley

Sweet corn soup with parmesan toasts vegetarian

2 tablespoons chopped parsley, to serve 4 tablespoons low-fat natural yoghurt, to serve 4 cups mixed salad, to serve

1 onion, chopped 250g sweet potato, peeled, chopped into 1cm-pieces 4 cups frozen sweet corn kernels 2 garlic cloves, crushed 2 cups boiling reduced-salt vegetable stock 250g low-fat ricotta 1 Lebanese bread, quartered ¼ cup grated parmesan

1 Preheat oven to 180°C. Place onion, sweet potato, corn, garlic, stock and 1 cup water in a large saucepan and bring to the boil.

Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 15 minutes or until sweet potato is tender.

2 Puree soup with stick blender.

Add ricotta and blend again until smooth.

3 Meanwhile, lightly spray

Serves 4 Cost per serve $3.70 Time to make 20 min

Lebanese bread with oil. Place onto baking tray and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Break into pieces to serve alongside soup.

4 Sprinkle soup with parsley, drizzle with yoghurt and serve with toasts and salad.

Per Serve (incl yoghurt & salad) 1523kJ/364cal Protein 17.9g Total Fat 9.6g Sat Fat 5.3g Carbs 47.7g

Sugars 14.5g Fibre 7.0g Sodium 851mg Calcium 297mg Iron 1.5mg

July 2013 HEALTHy FOOd GuIdE

65

hfg shopping

how much

fibre is in that bread?

the best breads will have more than 3g fibre per slice, so how does your sandwich compare?

B

read can be a great way to get more fibre into your day – but it’s important to choose wisely.

Fibre is vital for helping to keep us regular, reducing cholesterol absorption and making us feel full, so it’s also key for helping to manage weight. Fibre also aids control of blood sugar levels, especially important if you have diabetes. a diet high in fibre has also been linked to a reduced risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some types of cancers and obesity – so it’s important to ensure you eat enough high-fibre foods every day.

Make sure you check the label on your bread to see how much fibre it contains. look for one with more than 3g fibre per slice (or 6g per serve). Choosing wholegrain bread is generally a good place to start. Many white breads are now bulked up with fibre too, so these can be a better choice if you really can’t eat brown. We’ve used two slices or one roll for this comparison. See how your favourite measures up.

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Bakers Delight white round roll = 1.8g fibre

6% RDI

7% RDI

Wonder White Hi fibre Plus toast = 5.5g fibre

18% RDI

22% RDI

Burgen rye = 9g fibre

30% RDI

36% RDI

Helga’s traditional white

= 2.4g fibre

8% RDI

10% RDI

top tmip ended

The recom e (RDI) daily intak 25g for of fibre is d 30g women an . for men

Tip Top 9 grain original

= 4.8g fibre

16% RDI

19% RDI

Bakers Delight white Hi-Fibre Lo-GI roll

= 6.1g fibre

20% RDI

24% RDI

Burgen wholemeal & seeds = 7.5g fibre

25% RDI

30% RDI

Helga’s soy & linseed

= 5.1g fibre

17% RDI

20% RDI

Mighty Soft multigrain sandwich = 2.6g fibre

8% RDI

10% RDI

Mountain Bread rye wrap = 0.7g fibre

2% RDI

3% RDI

july 2013 HealtHy Food Guide

79

hfg features

Many not-so-healthy foods are now masquerading as good snack options for kids. HFG dietitian Zoe Wilson shows you how to spot the frauds.

Y

ou’re standing in the yoghurt aisle in the supermarket with the kids, just about to grab a tub when a little voice pipes up from beside you – 'but I want the one with Dora the Explorer, mum!' While it may look good to your children, is it actually healthy? And if you say no, how do you avoid the fight and tears that come when you take the Dora box out of the little hands and pick up another yoghurt? the marketing of 'kids foods' not only works at selling a particular brand but is linked to

kids’ food

imposters HFG dietitian Zoe Wilson also runs nutrition clinics in the Sydney area.

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children eating more 'junk' food in general, according to research by the Sydney School of Public Health’s Physical activity, Nutrition and obesity Research Group. even the World Health organisation has warned marketing poor-quality foods to children is a probable cause of weight gain. this is a major concern, given almost a quarter of our kids are struggling with their weight. advertising lecturer and social commentator Jane Caro says there’s a reason why kids advertising plays on ‘pester power'.

“Children until around the age of 12 or 13 generally don’t have money of their own, so they’re targeted as an influencer,” she says. and the digital age has brought a whole new realm of marketing opportunities, through fun apps kids can play with on their phone or iPad. However, when an unhealthy A child who watches product is two hours of television pushed at kids, a day will watch the we need to equivalent of three complain to the days of junk food manufacturer, ads a year! not the advertiser, says Caro.

“Marketers will market what they’re given. We need to look at what’s in the food. Give a marketer a healthy product and they will market it.”

So what can you, as parents, do to counteract the pull of clever marketing and give your kids the healthiest start in life?

➤ 5 misleading claims

like a magic trick, some claims made on foods about certain 'good' aspects of the food can cleverly draw our attention away from some of the less healthy content, warns dietitian Jenn Madz, of the Healthy Kids association. Some of the most common ‘health halo’ claims to keep an eye out for are:

1 2

'All natural' if a product is made from

natural ingredients, it can still be full of saturated fat or sugar (after all, they're both natural). So, an ‘all-natural’ muffin may contain the same hefty amount of butter, sugar and kilojoules as your regular muffin.

'65% fruit juice' it may imply this is as

good as a piece of fruit, but if a product has 65 per cent fruit juice, then there's 35 per cent of something else! usually this is water, sweeteners like sugar or fruit juice concentrate and other ingredients like preservatives.

3

'Low fat' While this sounds healthy, low-fat foods will often compensate for taste by being higher in sugar than regular varieties, so may have more kilojoules than the regular option.

4

'No added sugar' or 'sugar-free'

a sugar-free claim on a sweet product suggests it's been sweetened with an artificial sweetener. While a no-added-sugar product could have added fruit juice (still sugar) so it is a sweet treat, which still encourages a sweet tooth in your kids. Fruit juice adds empty kilojoules from sugar (it’s just the fruit sugar), without giving your kids any other nutrients like protein, fibre, vitamins or minerals.

5

'Gluten-free' unless your child has been diagnosed with Coeliac disease or a wheat intolerance, there’s no benefit to avoiding products with gluten. Gluten-free is not necessarily healthier. in fact, gluten-free foods may be lower in fibre due to the gluten-free grains. they can also be as high in saturated fat and salt as the regular version, so check the label.

July 2013 HealtHy Food Guide

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➤THE NEW WoRlD oF

DigiTal MaRKETiNg

the new frontier for kids’ food marketing is in smartphone apps. Brands are producing engaging kids' games that are making it extremely difficult for parents to stay strong against pester power. the Parents’ Jury Fame and Shame awards, aimed at exposing the worst advertising, last year for the first time included a ‘digital Ninja’ award for the most insidious kids’ apps.

“Children of all ages have access to multiple forms of social and digital media, Brands are producing making them an engaging kids’ games easy target for the making it extremely marketers of difficult for parents to unhealthy food. it’s a stay strong against constant challenge, pester power even for the most vigilant of parents, to oversee what their child is accessing online,” said campaign manager for the Parents' Jury, Corrina langelaan.

Joint winners of the inaugural digital Ninja award were the Hungry Jack’s ‘Makes it Better’ app and Chupa Chups ‘lol-a-Coaster’. the Hungry Jack’s app encouraged kids to eat the store’s food by giving them free food offers and the ability to locate the closest Hungry Jack’s store with the simple shake of their smart phone.

Chupa Chups ‘lol-a-Coaster’ app is a game where the main character has a lollipop fixed to his mouth and branding is prevalent. it also offered a prize world trip for entering codes found on Chupa Chups lollipops. in the last few months, Fanta has entered the fray with its Flavour lab app, which encourages kids to create new flavours by mixing the current Fanta range together in the app. the concern is this will translate to kids mixing the flavours in real life and drinking more soft drink. the app also includes games, the chance to win Fanta tokens and compete for prizes, too, making it a multi-faceted branding exercise.

Spot youR bESt choicE Compare the packs of these common foods and see if you can work out which is the best choice.

Turn the

page for the answers►

OR Nutri-Grain

Coles Mighty Grain

OR Le Snack cheddar cheese

OR

Mainland On the Go light tasty cheese & crackers

Sakata plain Wholegrain rice crackers Healtheries cheese Rice Wheels

OR All Natural Confectionary Snakes

Starburst Rattlesnakes

July 2013 HealtHy Food Guide

27

hfg features

belly fat beat

and live longer the size of your belly can be an accurate barometer of your future health risks. Stephanie osfield tells how you can make a difference.

W

e may play down our widening waistlines by calling them muffin tops, love handles and spare tyres, yet Australian bellies are getting bigger and bigger.

More than 66 per cent of women and 60 per cent of men sport a belly size big enough to be considered a health hazard.

Carrying excess fat around your middle is now known to be more dangerous than fat around your hips and thighs. “in excess, the fat we can see on our tummy is often a sign of fat hiding in the abdomen,” says tim Crowe, associate Professor of Nutrition at deakin university. this more dangerous visceral fat accumulates deeper in the belly where it wraps around vital organs, like your kidneys and heart. unseen and undetected, it can wreak hormonal havoc.

“Visceral fat is metabolically active,” he explains.

“Fat cells in the abdomen are

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like little factories that pump hormones into the body – in women who are overweight for example, this may lead to excess oestrogen, which can compromise fertility and has been linked to some oestrogen-sensitive breast cancers,” he says.

Visceral belly fat also produces inflammatory chemicals.

a belly fat time bomb “Visceral fat continuously releases free fatty acids into the bloodstream,” Prof Proietto warns. “these go straight to the liver where they increase the production of other fats like ‘bad’ ldl cholesterol and triglycerides and also lead the

Even just shedding a couple of kilos can reduce your health risks. For great ways to kick-start weight loss, see p34 & 37. “these are linked to conditions like diabetes, heart disease, asthma and arthritis,” says Professor Joseph Proietto of the department of endocrinology at the university of Melbourne. “in the heart, they may lead to the build-up of plaques in the arteries which can increase the risk of heart attack.”

body to produce more glucose, which may then get stored as more fat.” this excess fat (stored around the body) can accumulate in the neck and contribute to sleep apnoea, in the heart where it can narrow the arteries, and in the muscles, where it can prevent them from using the glucose that is stored there.

hfg RECIPES

low-fat big flavour! amp up the flavours in your mid-week meals! these dinners are sure to become fast family favourites.

Smoked salmon & rocket pasta

This smoked salmon spaghetti with a citrusy kick is ready in just 25 min!

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high

protein

Per serve (incl ricotta) 1487kJ/356cal Protein 22.7g total Fat 7.0g Sat Fat 1.7g Carbs 47.0g

Sugars 2.9g Fibre 5.0g Sodium 898mg Calcium 133mg iron 2.1mg

All your vegies for the day!

high

protein

Per Serve 1470kJ/352cal Protein 38.7g total Fat 9.8g Sat Fat 4.2g Carbs 23.5g

Roast lamb with pumpkin & dukkah

Sugars 14.6g Fibre 6.0g Sodium 163mg Calcium 150mg iron 4.3mg

Roast lamb with pumpkin & dukkah

Serves 4 Cost per serve $5.93 Hands-on time 20 min Cooking time 30 min

gluten-free diabetes-friendly

750g Kent pumpkin, deseeded, cut into thin wedges 500g cauliflower, trimmed, cut into florets Cooking oil spray 2 x 250g mini lamb round roasts 2 teaspoons pistachio dukkah ½ cup low-fat natural yoghurt 1 tablespoon finely-chopped fresh coriander

Give your sunday roast this healthy, low-kilojoule makeover

1 tablespoon lemon zest 2 bunches broccolini, steamed, to serve 1 Preheat oven to 200°C and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

Place pumpkin and cauliflower onto one of the prepared trays and spray lightly with oil. Roast for 25–30 minutes, or until vegies are golden and tender.

2 Meanwhile, spray a large non-stick frying pan with oil and place over high heat. Cook lamb, for 1–2 minutes each side or until golden. transfer to second prepared tray and sprinkle with dukkah. Roast for a further

15–20 minutes, or until cooked to your liking. Remove, cover loosely with foil and set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

3 Meanwhile, place yoghurt, coriander and lemon zest into a small bowl and stir to combine. thinly slice lamb across the grain. Serve lamb with roasted vegetables, a dollop of the yoghurt dressing and steamed broccolini.

Cook’s tip instead of roasting cauliflower, make a cauliflower puree for a twist on traditional mash. Steam or boil until tender, then puree in a blender. add a little parmesan to serve. july 2013 HealtHy Food Guide

45

hfg RECIPES

Spicy tofu rice with fried egg

Serves 4 Cost per serve $3.80 time to make 30 min Suitable to freeze (without egg)

ďƒźdairy-free ďƒźvegetarian

Cooking oil spray 1 onion, finely chopped 1 large carrot, cut into thin matchsticks 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 teaspoon sambal oelek 1 cup frozen green baby peas 150g green beans, trimmed, sliced 1 red capsicum, deseeded, diced 2 cups trimmed bean sprouts 3 cups cooked brown rice 200g soy and honey marinated tofu (Soyco brand), sliced 2 tablespoons reduced-salt soy sauce 4 eggs Coriander leaves, to serve

high

protein

Per Serve 1790kJ/428cal Protein 24.5g total Fat 9.9g Sat Fat 2.1g Carbs 54.7g

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Sugars 10.5g Fibre 10.0g Sodium 685mg Calcium 116mg iron 3.6mg

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Spicy tofu rice with fried egg

Full-throttle flavoursome fried rice, minus the fat!

1 Spray a large wok with oil and place over high heat. Stir-fry onion and carrot for 2 minutes. add garlic and sambal and stir-fry for 1 more minute.

2 add peas, beans and capsicum. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, or until vegetables start to soften. add bean sprouts and stir-fry for 1 minute more. add rice and tofu, stir fry for 2 minutes, or until heated through. Stir in soy sauce.

3 Meanwhile, place a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry eggs, in batches if necessary, until cooked to your liking.

4 divide rice between serving plates, top each with an egg and sprinkle with coriander.