4 tips for a low FODMAP Christmas Dinner

4 tips for a low FODMAP Christmas Dinner

Christmas dinner is challenging with food intolerances, but especially so if someone else is doing the cooking. Here’s some tips to help you have a low FODMAP Christmas dinner so you can enjoy your day and keep your IBS under control.

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Food, endurance exercise and gut health

Food, endurance exercise and gut health

Do certain foods cause you gastrointestinal issues when exercising? Would changing what you eat reduce the symptoms? What else should you do? I recently took a short course through Monash University aimed at helping health professionals work with their clients to help manage gastrointestinal issues associated with exercise. The course helped deepen my understanding of gut health and how food and exercise can affect the gastrointestinal tract.

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Packing a healthy school lunch box – that your kids will eat!

Packing a healthy school lunch box – that your kids will eat!

Coming up with a lunch box day after day can do your head in!  A healthy lunch box doesn't need to be full of expensive "super foods" that will get picked at - these ideas can be put together in 10 minutes max. 

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"Mum, I'm hungry!" - primary school edition

"Mum, I'm hungry!" - primary school edition

Recently I was asked to review the afternoon tea menu of a group of Out of School Hours Care Centres. I thought this was a fabulous initiative by the centre because such centres are valuable in promoting healthy eating to children and their families. For busy working parents it would be a godsend to know that when you pick up your kid they have had something decent to eat. But maybe your kids don’t go to after care -what should you be including in afternoon tea at home?

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6 fast, easy and healthy tray bakes

6 fast, easy and healthy tray bakes

For the lazy cook like me, the tray bake has to be the ultimate dinner. I read a lot of recipe books and immediately turn the page if too much chopping or browning is involved. A tray bake is perfect because I can pop it in the oven while I am driving my kids around. And bonus - minimal washing up!

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Boosting your calcium intake on a lactose free diet

Boosting your calcium intake on a lactose free diet

Did you know more than half of Australians adults don't get enough calcium?  Calcium is the major building block for our bones - it's deposited as a crystal onto out bones to give them strength.  Our bones also store calcium so that when we don't get enough calcium in our diets the body will take calcium from our bones.  This is why it is really important to have a daily supply of calcium throughout our lives.   So, how do you get enough calcium on a dairy-free diet?

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Why Women in Their 40s Need to Stay Active

Why Women in Their 40s Need to Stay Active

As a nutritionist I'm concerned with many aspects of your wellness, beyond what you eat, such as stress levels, mental health, sleep and movement.  Today I'd like to welcome a guest post by Brendan McGovern, the Principal Physiotherapist and Director of RedoHealth, a small physiotherapy practice in the heart of Balmain. I’ve asked Brendan to talk about why we need to stay active, the benefits to you and your family, and how to fit it all in!

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Supporting your recovery from injury through nutrition

Supporting your recovery from injury through nutrition

A downside of finding a sport that you love is the inevitable injury that sidelines you.  While you are sidelined - what can you eat to support your recovery to get you back to your sport stronger than ever? No, I'm not talking about eating your feelings via chocolate and red wine but using your diet to support your recovery and get you back to your sport stronger than ever?

Your focus during your recovery should be on fighting inflammation and fuelling repair – loading up anti-inflammatory foods, keeping essential nutrient intake high as well as boosting protein intake. Your focus during your recovery should be on fighting inflammation and fuelling repair – loading up anti-inflammatory foods, keeping essential nutrient intake high as well as boosting protein intake.

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Chicken cacciatore with spelt pasta

Chicken cacciatore with spelt pasta

This is our new family favourite, midweek pasta meal.  If you don't want pasta it is just as good over zucchini noodles.  For a warm lunch the next day I like to put in a tin of drained cannellini beans to the sauce mixture to increase the fibre content and make enough for left overs.  Depending on how much energy I have at dinner time I either serve with a big salad or stir a large handful of spinach leaves through the sauce at the end.  I get four types of veggies into this dish, plus chicken thigh fillets which are a good source of iron.

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Roasted pumpkin, pear and chickpea soup

Roasted pumpkin, pear and chickpea soup

We love soup for Meatless Monday or after Saturday morning sport.  However often a plain vegetable soup can be low in protein and leave you hungry later on, so I’ve added chickpeas which are a terrific source of plant based protein and fibre.  Adding pear brings a beautiful sweetness to this dish.  This soup is very simple to put together with the oven doing the bulk of the work.

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My favourite nut bars to keep in your handbag

My favourite nut bars to keep in your handbag

Are you a snacker?  Do you like something sweet with your morning coffee?  I am, especially as I am up early with the kids and do my exercise then, so by morning tea breakfast is a distant memory.  A nut bar can be a handy shelf stable option that will survive be kept in your handbag or office drawer.  Here are my favourite supermarket finds.

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Provencale kingfish

Provencale kingfish

I love this time of year with the hint of spring starting.  Here is a favourite recipe adapted from an old delicious magazine  that I have made with salmon, snapper and kingfish.  Easy, fresh and perfect for topping up your omega-3s

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Feeding your pre-schooler

Feeding your pre-schooler

Feeding your 3 or 4 year old can be such a challenging time.  I thought I'd offer some tips which I've learned from my training and also what worked with my kids.  Get to know how much your children should be eating and look at the pattern over a week not a day.  Children have small stomachs so don't expect them to eat adult portions. Your toddler will  have developed food likes and dislikes, and their appetite will differ depending on how active they have been and whether they are going through a growth spurt.  So don't worry if they eat a lot of food some days and little on others.  As long as they are getting a wide range of different foods over the course of a week they will be getting the nutrients they need.

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Product Review - Huck Energy Gels

Product Review - Huck Energy Gels

I was excited to find a new energy gel for my clients with sensitive tummies needing a low FODMAP sports supplement*.  Here’s my review of Huck energy gels.

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10 easy snacks for busy women

10 easy snacks for busy women

What do you do when the 3pm energy slump hits?  Do you grab a biscuit from the office stash or ignore the slump and hope it passes?  For me if I don't make the effort to have a small snack at this time I get very hangry and snap at everyone around me. 

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Product Review - Naked Kitchen Black Bean Chilli with Red Quinoa & Paprika

Product Review - Naked Kitchen Black Bean Chilli with Red Quinoa & Paprika

I'm always on the look out for shelf stable products that are healthy and delicious that I can serve up for a quick lunch or dinner.  Since my daughter became vegetarian I've explored some new areas of the supermarket and came across this product in the fridge section which she and I both think is delicious!

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5 Easy Office Lunches

5 Easy Office Lunches

Does this sound like you? Can I guess why? Like a lot of the women I see, you've had a coffee and maybe a slice of toast for breakfast. You've chosen a tuna salad for lunch - because you are trying to be "good". By 3 pm you are all about the easy carbs - picking at the kids’ leftovers and in and out of the kitchen after dinner. That's because you've barely eaten enough to make it from your bed to the sofa let alone provide yourself with enough energy to do all the things you need to do in your day!  Crowd out the junk food by getting your lunch right. 

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Should you consider a low FODMAP diet?

Should you consider a low FODMAP diet?

For some people, a diet high in FODMAPs can cause a range of abdominal symptoms such as bloating, excess wind, distension, abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhoea (or a combination of both). Following a low FODMAP diet can help manage these abdominal symptoms - 75% of people with IBS experience relief from their symptoms with a low FODMAP diet.

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Sports Nutrition for Teenagers

Sports Nutrition for Teenagers

Do you have sporty teenagers?  With the winter sports season kicking off, you might be wondering if your teenagers are eating the right types of food to support healthy growth and development as well as their training and competition. It's not all about protein powder to get "shredded", or litres of sweet sports drinks!

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Why you should swap your lunchtime tinned tuna for tinned salmon

Why you should swap your lunchtime tinned tuna for tinned salmon

A tin of tuna is a popular lunch choice as it is a good source of protein, cheap and shelf stable.  A lot of people eat tuna for lunch assuming they are getting a serve of omega 3s – essential fatty acids. However tinned tuna is very low in omega3s - tinned salmon or sardines provide much more.

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