Monday to Friday Diet by Suzie Burrell

http://www.susieburrell.com.au/books-and-apps/
Suzie is a dietitian who shares many of fineeating’s thoughts on eating well, while staying lean.
Her book has lots of interesting, but light ideas for what to eat on lean days (which she calls ‘Mondays to Fridays’) and strategies to manage but still enjoy social eating (which Suzie calls ‘weekends’).
My favourite idea of Suzie’s is her ‘Healthy Benedict’ using a light hollandaise sauce made from 2 Tbsp light sour cream (although I use natural low fat yogurt) and 1 tsp Dijon mustard.

She also has a nice recipe for Corn Fritters with Smoked Salmon.

Order dressing and sauces on the side – for flexible flavour and kilojoules

Salads ordered out as well as some meats/fish/chicken often come with dressings or sauces.
Sometimes these are delicious, sometimes a little goes a long way.
However, dressings and sauces almost always offer plenty of kilojoules (calories) in a small amount.
Restaurants are usually more than happy to serve dishes with dressings and sauces on the side.
That gives diners total control over taste and added kilojoules, and the chance to decide whether the add on is ‘calorieworthy’.
It’s just a matter of remembering to ask as you order your meal.

….or maybe the answer is Zucchini Pasta!

Love pasta but have trouble with portion sizes? Why not try this great alternative, zucchini pasta!
1) Chop ends off zucchini and discard.
2) Using a peeler (Asian style peeler used for green papaya/mango salad is best), peel the zucchini full length as much as you possibly can to make zucchini ribbons or strings and add to a large heat proof bowl
3) Once all zucchini has been peeled and added to the bowl, microwave or blanch by pouring boiling water on top blanch for one minute
4) Drain zucchini and serve as you would pasta (eg. With mince bolognaise on top)
Source: Portion Perfection facebook site
https://www.facebook.com/portionperfection

Salad on the side – the answer to Australia’s weight problem?

Yesterday the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the much awaited, early nutrition information from the big Australian Health Survey.

One of the most interesting things it told us, was that, in Australia, we are getting more of our kilojoules from things like pasta, noodle and rice dishes than any other type of food.

Part of it is because, they’re so popular now, but we also eat large amounts and often don’t have many veggies or any salad with them.

The Australian Dietary Guidelines suggest about 1-2 serves of pasta at a meal, to keep a healthy weight. A serve is 1/2 cup of cooked pasta.

This serve of Spaghetti Bolognese above has about 4-6 serves.

But if we serve ourselves less pasta with our meals won’t we be hungry?

The secret is to always try to make meals half coloured veggies or salad.

Not only does this cut the kilojoules of the meal in half while still giving plenty to enjoy, but it helps us get our five serves of veggies that we need each day.

At home, it works well to serve half a plate of salad or vegetables first, then think about how much pasta and sauce you’d still enjoy, while staying comfortable.

A mixed pasta dish might look more like this.

It doesn’t really work to try to only add extra vegetables to the sauce, because the same amount of veggies, just won’t fit.

If you’re in a rush, have run out of fresh veg, or feeling like an easy meal, frozen vegetables are a great option. It’s good to always keep some on hand.

Take-away pasta or noodles, can work the same way.

Serve half as much with some vegetables or salad on the side.

If you’re eating out, it works well to order an entree sized dish and a side salad.

Or share a pasta or rice dish and a leafy salad with others.

Or even both!

Is it ‘calorieworthy’ ? Try Calorie King

Allan Borushek’s Calorie, Fat & Carbohydrate counter is an excellent tool for deciding whether something is ‘calorieworthy’ It’s available as a book, online at www.CalorieKing.com.au or the free Australian app (Calorie King) is terrific!