Healthy Eating

Butterfly_Brain

Bless you - I agree don't knock yourself out it sounds like you are busy working and being a Mum so it is no wonder that you are tired especially if you have no back up at home

maman

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

Bless you - I agree don't knock yourself out it sounds like you are busy working and being a Mum so it is no wonder that you are tired especially if you have no back up at home

I totally agree that it's probably your lifestyle that's making you tired. I think you're doing really well. It might also be worth checking with GP in case you're anaemic. Also, if you want to up your 5 a day, then try taking fruit to work for your lunches/snacks and the HM veggie soup idea is good for a quick meal.

What is it your mum cooks that you'd like to be able to do?

Fire_Fox

helzbelz_57 wrote: »

i have a really bad diet. i eat too much of all the wrong things and not enough of the good stuff.

i need to completely change what i'm cooking and how i'm eating (eat more regularly/less sporadically)

does anyone have any OS recipes that would get me eating at least my 5 a day but also boost my energy levels as i have noticed a distinct lack of energy for about the past two years that hasn't changed.

anything to start me off would be great.

I have studied nutrition at degree level, and I firmly believe most people can make a huge difference to their energy levels with healthy eating and physical activity, partly because the quality of your sleep may be improved. I struggle with stress, insomnia and depression but when I was living a super healthy lifestyle I felt as energetic as a child again and I have seen the same result in many of my (fitness) clients. :j You may wish to get your iron levels checked by your GP as sometimes fatigue is a sign of mild anaemia, however there are other energy giving nutrients (B vitamins, magnesium, protein).

I would suggest you read up on the glycaemic index diet - basically choosing carbohydrate foods to keep your blood sugar levels stable. Higher GI foodstuffs (limit) include sugary drinks, white rice, porridge oats, white pasta, white bread, mashed and - to a lesser extent - jackets, refined cereals such as Special K, most cakes. Low GI carbohydrates (eat more) include brown basmati rice, barley, Ryvita, jumbo/ rolled oats, wholemeal pasta, stoneground or granary bread, all beans and lentils, new potatoes in their skins, sweet potatoes, low sugar wholegrain breakfast cereals, most fruit and veg.

Another important component of a low GI/ healthy eating is protein - you should be having some at each meal and snack. Many of my lady client don't have any protein until their evening meal, but protein cannot be stored in the body so you can't play catch up. Proteins foods that give you extra nutritional benefits include dairy products (calcium), beans and lentils (minerals, fibre), nuts and seeds (minerals, fibre, essential fats) omega-enriched eggs (vitamins, essential fats), tinned pilchards in tomato sauce (essential fats). For essential fats the guidelines are two portions of oily fish per week, and for bone health two portions of dairy products a a day.

Five a day is the minimum amount of fruit and veg required for health, although many countries have a nine a day policy! :eek: To achieve five a day on a regular basis I always advise my clients to start with breakfast, aim for one portion of dried and one portion of fresh fruit or juice at a pinch. So porridge with grated apple and dried cranberries, bran flakes with raisins and chopped banana. In the summer I often have a HUGE bowl of fresh fruit salad with tinned evaporated milk and a few flaked almonds, delicious!!

Then at least one more portion at lunch again preferably two. Baked beans are brilliant, add an extra squirt of tomato puree and you have two of your five a day! :T So beans on toast, jacket and beans, egg and beans ... Or pilchards on toast with sliced tomato, egg and mushrooms on toast, vegetable frittata. Either a glass of fresh juice and a handful of nuts or a piece of fruit and a yoghurt a as a snack.

Evening meals I always bulk cook. So a big casserole with loads of veg, bolognese padded out with more veg, homemade mixed bean curry, stir fries homemade soup providing it is substantial and contains some protein - French onion (cheese), brocolli and stilton (milk and cheese), curried lentil, minestrone (beans).

Two other energy sappers are smoking and alcohol as they both upset your blood sugar balance, encourage cravings for high sugar high fat junk food and disturb the sleep. If you are at all stressed and using these as a crutch get hold of a pedometer and do some brisk walking instead, 10000 steps per day is the minimum yet most of us don't hit that regularly. Apologies for this turning into an essay!!

Kimitatsu

Firefox - dont apoloise I thought that was brilliant :T

helzbelz - can I just say that my husband works away (up to 3 weeks at a time) and I am a busy working mum too, and being honest the only thing that really helps is a good old fashioned rest now and then! Sleep is a huge part of it, I find that if I dont get sufficient sleep then I feel lethargic and then try to gain energy from the food I eat as I dont have time to excercise to give myself that natural feeling of energy. By the time I have finsihed sorting everyone else out then I am shattered!! Dont beat yourself up about it, rather make small changes to your diet as Firefox has suggested and get an anaemia test (and a thyroid test) from your doctor as those can be real energy drainers and easily remedied.

Maitane

Fire Fox,

Thanks for the post. I was just lurking about, reading things and your post reminded me I need to eat better all the time, not just two or three times a week
I'm ex-NHS, I should know much better.

Although my NHS diet was terrible - 6 am breakfast: Relentless
Mid-morning snack: Diet coke
Lunch: Red Bull
Mid-afternoon snack: Pack of crisps and chocolate bar
Tea: Whatever the canteen had with chips and energy drink
Evening treat: Being dragged out of the hospital by my hair by my then-fianc! or by friends who would drag me straight into a pub.

However, what you say rings true. Don't forget that some people may also want to read up on having a diabetes test. While I was an NHS skivvy, I could honestly have slept for a week and piled on weight so the first thing they checked was that. Turned out I'm just in awful, awful shape! :eek:

I've got to say, I found forcing myself to eat a piece of fruit instead of crisps or chocolate as a snack really helps you make a difference to the 5 a day total and crudites are handy if you snack mindlessly, like I do, it's something crunchy on my desk and another one or two portions depending on how [STRIKE]greedy[/STRIKE] peckish you are. Then other little things like putting lettuce and cucumber on a sandwich, maybe adding a pepper or some courgette to some pasta, grated carrots to mince. Even adding tinned mized veg to something will be better than nowt. Fruit for a pudding helps too, even stirred into yoghurt. It's also a good example to kids if their parents eat half decently.

babyshoes

A nice treat is frozen banana dipped in chocolate. It tastes like a real treat, but can count towards your 5 a day. The smaller you chop the banana, the more chocolate you end up with, so act accordingly! ;D

Jevvers

I just made a nice and filling dinner that I reckon was pretty healthy: bean and pasta soup. I fried a clove of garlic, a shallot and two sticks of celery and then added a can of cannellini beans, a can of chopped toms, squirt of tom puree and a veg stock cube, some dried herbs and black pepper. I then added a small handful of those mini pasta shapes and cooked it all for about 20 mins. Served it with a little grating of parmesan but you could easily leave that out. Did DH and I for a very filling dinner without bread or anything. (We finished up some easter eggs for pudding but that's just greed!)

Jevvers

Just a random thought re puddings, Sainsbury's do three bags of frozen berries for a fiver which last for ages and are very versatile. A couple of mins in the microwave and you've got a bowl of healthy fruit which you can add ice cream / yog / custard to (or not) as you see fit. I often do that for the kids and they love it.

Fire_Fox

Maitane wrote: »

Fire Fox,

Although my NHS diet was terrible - 6 am breakfast: Relentless
Mid-morning snack: Diet coke
Lunch: Red Bull
Mid-afternoon snack: Pack of crisps and chocolate bar
Tea: Whatever the canteen had with chips and energy drink
Evening treat: Being dragged out of the hospital by my hair by my then-fianc! or by friends who would drag me straight into a pub.

However, what you say rings true. Don't forget that some people may also want to read up on having a diabetes test. While I was an NHS skivvy, I could honestly have slept for a week and piled on weight so the first thing they checked was that. Turned out I'm just in awful, awful shape! :eek:

Something that rang true with me was reading that not only do certain products not contain anything of nutritional value, but they can actually be 'sapping' nutrients during digestion, metabolism and elimination. For example excessive intake of meat increases the acidity of the blood, which the body will correct with calcium ... from the bones. In susceptible individuals high glycaemic index foods can trigger metabolic syndrome (abdominal obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular problems) and sugar has also been linked in studies to a range of inflammatory conditions.

As a result I do not eat milk or white chocolate, commercial cakes, carbonated drinks and sweets; at one time I avoided refined sugar and white flour entirely. Doesn't mean I am a saint - I adore dark chocolate (antioxidants), moist homemade cakes (carrot/ apple/ dried fruit/ oats/ wheatgerm), sugar free high juice squash and the occasional [STRIKE]bottle[/STRIKE] glass of wine. :beer:

The hospital canteen drove me crazy - an expensive salad bar and 'healthy' bought in sandwiches (who wants cold food in winter?), full English breakfasts, chips twice a day every day, curries swimming in grease, something swimming in white sauce and topped with cheese, deep fried battered fish, rack after rack of canned drinks, crisps, chocolate, cakes and biscuits. :mad:

Banning all smoking on NHS sites was designed to send a clear message that the the NHS considers smoking to be unacceptable. What kind of message are we sending to patients, visitors and staff with the 'food' and drink products that are freely available? I distinctly remember in my first month seeing a very overweight gentleman with a drip in his arm eating a big bag of Walkers ... by the end of my contract I had become accustomed to such incongruencies.

claireac

Fire_Fox wrote: »

For example excessive intake of meat increases the acidity of the blood, which the body will correct with calcium ... from the bones.

Wow Firefox!! So much useful info - thank you.

Can I ask how much is too much?? My dh is obsessed with red meat and he boxes and does weight training, but I don't think it's ideal for me and dd (aged 3). I was thinking about making seperate meals for some of the days. We do also have chicken, fish and at least one veggie dinner each week.

Helzbelz - it's tough being a working mum (me too!), sounds like you're doing good to me! Do you have a slow cooker? I batch cook at weekends, but if we're busy and I can't then I put the slow cooker on before I leave for work. Always make 2-3 meals as well.