Eight weeks to better eating Eating habits are just that— habits. Try to alter them all at once and you’ll probably be back to your old ways in no time. But by making a few changes every week over the course of eight weeks, you’ll find yourself with a new way of eating that you can embrace for life. Week 1 Your task this week: Buy extra-virgin olive oil. Start using it in place of butter or margarine in stir-fries. Make low-fat salad dressing using 4 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons vine- gar, salt and pepper (optional) and dried herbs. Have a fibre-rich, bean-based dinner instead of meat. Try one of our recipes or open a cookbook for other great ideas. Rinse canned beans before using them— this will cut down on the gas factor and wash off some of the salt. Week 2 Choose a fruit or vegetable that you don’t normally eat and try it this week. Pick something that’s in season, whether it’s mango (great in salads and an excellent source of beta-carotene) or fennel (a superstar antioxidant that you can throw into soups to add an interesting new flavour to your repertoire). If you still drink full-cream milk, it’s time to start making the switch. Begin by changing to reduced-fat milk and drink that for one month. Once you’re used to the taste, move to low- fat milk and drink that for another month, until you’re ready for skim milk. If you haven’t tried skim milk in a while, try it again now. Today, manufacturers add milk solids that make the milk less watery. Week 3 If you’re like most people in western countries, you consume far too much sodium. Most of it comes not from the salt shaker but from processed foods such as canned soups. Start reading food labels to get an idea of just how much is sneaking into your diet. Your desire for salt will decrease as you cut back your intake. When you’re doing your Saturday shopping, buy a new kind of margarine. If you have high cholesterol, try Pro-Activ or Logicol, which contain ingredients that help lower cholesterol. Otherwise, try one of the new brands, such as Seachange, that contain omega-3 fats, or are made exclusively from canola oil. Week 4 Your next project: Start weeding trans fats from your diet. This will be tricky, since manufacturers add them to savoury biscuits, chips and many other packaged foods. Check labels for ‘partially hydrogenated oil’. When possible, use olive or canola oil in place of shortening or cooking margarine. Garlic may lower blood pressure and even inhibit certain cancers. Whisk a crushed clove into salad dressings. For garlic mashed potatoes, add peeled, halved cloves to potatoes while they boil, then mash. Fish Fridays, anyone? Besides helping your heart, fish is a quick meal. Poached in a frying pan with a little wine or water, it’s ready in as little as 10 minutes. (Cook for about 8–10 minutes per 2.5 cm of thickness.) If your kids think they don’t like fish, change their minds with a tasty tuna casserole with pasta. Week 5 Pick a soy food to try. If you’ve avoided tofu because of its texture, try the firm or extra-firm variety. Freeze tofu and crumble it into spaghetti sauce. Try whole soya beans, available ready-to-eat in cans. Add miso (soya bean paste) to soups. Or have a soy burger. Experiment to find a brand of soy burger you like. Fill your freezer with frozen vegetables. Frozen vegetables make an instant addition to meals (add them to stir-fries) and will help you reach your goal of seven or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day. Since freez- ing is the best way to preserve the nutrients in fresh food, frozen vegetables are often just as nutritious as— or more nutritious than— food that’s been sitting in the supermarket. Week 6 Do you drink coffee? If so, try substituting tea for one of your daily cups of coffee. Tea offers antioxidant benefits that coffee doesn’t and may even protect against heart disease and cancer. Green tea offers the most health benefits, but black tea is also healthy. Experiment with different varieties of tea, sold loose or in tea bags. Give your breakfast a make-over. Opt for heart-healthy porridge or buy a new breakfast cereal. (Look for one that contains 3 g or more of fibre per serving and less than 3 g of fat.) Add fresh berries or sultanas for extra taste. Avoid toasted muesli unless you buy the low-fat variety. Or make your own: mix 2 cups rolled oats with 1 cup dried fruit and seeds and a little brown sugar. Toast for 35 minutes in a warm oven. Week 7 Attack your snack habit. Keep baby carrots in the fridge— a handful will meet your vitamin A needs for the day. Try low-fat vanilla or honey yoghurt sprinkled with wheatgerm. Or enjoy toasted almonds. Place a handful of unsalted almonds on a sheet of baking paper and toast in a 180°C oven for 3–5 minutes. Remove and salt lightly (optional). Add a cancer-fighting cruciferous vegetable to one meal this week. Choose from broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, Chinese mustard and watercress (great in salads and sand- wiches). To spice up steamed broccoli, add a sprinkling of paprika and toasted sesame seeds (toast on the stove in a pan, shaking, for 1–2 minutes). Week 8 Make this Sunday dinner an excuse to gather with your family and friends. It doesn’t really matter what you serve (try a lasagne made with fresh, roasted vegetables such as eggplant, zucchini and capsicums). Just enjoy this time to relax and be together. Fruit makes a simple weeknight dessert. Try fresh fruit salad or a fruit bake. Baked apples make a delicious autumn dessert. (Granny Smiths work well.) Core the apples and peel off a 1 cm strip at the top of each. Into each apple, place 1 teaspoon of sugar or honey, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and a few raisins or currants (optional). Place in a shallow baking dish with 1 cm of water. Bake at 180°C until very tender, about 45 minutes.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 10:31:08 +0000
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