Healthy Eating

Fire_Fox

claireac wrote: »

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.

Now that is a very difficult question, which TBH I don't think I can answer fully - not least because you are asking about three very different nutritional needs and I am not qualified to advise on child nutrition. IMO red meat is not the devil incarnate, your daughter is of the age where some saturated fat is desirable and your husband is probably burning off the excess calories. No one food should be over-emphasised, it is no more healthy to eat a hand of bananas every day than it is to eat a massive steak.

The maximum amount of protein an adult can use in one day is 2g per kilo bodyweight per day. Note that is 2g of pure protein not grams of meat, and remember you get protein from many different types of food. It is often touted about that the maximum amount of protein that can be utilised in one meal is 30g - around 120g meat - but I suspect that would vary with bodyweight. The UK government recommended portion size for meat is just 85g! :eek:

As far as your OH goes, how open is he to research-based nutrition? Does he count fat, protein and carb grams already? This text is very good - disputes the outmoded notion that bodybuilders need huge quantities of animal protein. The author works in the field of sports nutrition at competition level. :cool:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Power-Eating-Muscle-Increase-Energy/dp/0736066985/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270757244&sr=8-1

For the benefit of every member of the family I would be looking at the quantity of oily fish and fruit and vegetables in your current diet. Fish is an excellent source of protein, the bones are a source of calcium, the oil an excellent source of omega-3 essential fatty acids. EFAs are a key component of every cell in the body, especially the brain (daughter) and the hormones, including testosterone and growth hormone (husband). They are also anti-inflammatory and help with weight management! :j

Fruit and veg supply vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. Larger amounts of many nutrients are required in growth and development (daughter), some parts of a female cycle and for anyone who trains intensively (husband). In general plant foods help alkalinise the blood so balance out that red meat intake. Remember that pulses count as a vegetable and they are packed with slow burn/ filling (low GI) carbohydrates, protein, fibre and minerals. If you can consume pulses on a daily basis, perhaps using to pad out small quantities of meat. Of all the nuts almonds and peanuts are the highest in protein and lowest in fat, again full of minerals and fibre and very filling.

I often think if you combine two forms of non-meat protein even carnivores don't miss the meat - eggs and cheese, chickpeas and almonds, beans and cheese, eggs and beans, yoghurt and chopped peanuts ... I have also started making vegan lentil curry using creamed coconut and I no longer feel something is missing. :T All sorts of healing and health-giving properties have been attributed to coconut, research is still ongoing but it has a huge following in the fitness industry.

bitsandpieces

Things like pasta and veg can be perfectly healthy - just use decent ingredients. Frozen or tinned veg (tomato, broccoli, sweetcorn, peas etc) is perfectly good and very easy, if you don't fancy chopping the stuff yourself; just pick packs that don't have loads of added salt + sugar.

If you're having stews, an easy alternative to potato is to stir some tinned haricot or cannelloni beans or chickpeas through - an extra portion of veg, and very tasty.

As far as protein and athletic performance, the ISSN position statement is a good place to start http://www.jissn.com/content/4/1/8 (and free!) The risks of around 2g/kg, as part of a healthy diet, seem low - though we certainly don't know whether this is optimal for long-term health (more discussion of the risks here http://www.jissn.com/content/6/1/3). The tendency of some bodybuilders to eat nothing but high protein foods is a bad idea, of course - they will be getting much more protein than they can possibly use*, and it's an unbalanced and very dull diet.

Wasn't the research on high protein intake and reduced bone density in post-menopausal women, or has additional work been done on this? Men are at a lower risk of problems with bone density, and exercise like martial arts and weight training should benefit bone density (unless you manage to break something, of course :eek:)

* with the possible exception of those using large amounts of drugs to boost performance - also a bad idea!

claireac

Firefox - thank you so much for taking the time and trouble to give such an informative reply. I'm so grateful!! It's hard to know what's "right" all the time.

grrmich

babyshoes wrote: »

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

I like to dip bits of chopped up banana in melted cooking chocolate, then roll in dessicated coconut, then pop into the freezer on a baking tray. Take out a few minutes before you want to eat.

Fire_Fox

claireac wrote: »

Firefox - thank you so much for taking the time and trouble to give such an informative reply. I'm so grateful!! It's hard to know what's "right" all the time.

It is well worth 'digesting' the government recommendations on healthy eating and portion sizes, to a large extent these are based on research although some messages have been diluted to make them manageable! Basically minimum five portions of a rainbow of fruit and vegetables per day, two to three portions of dairy products per day, minimum two portions of oily fish per week, limit sugary foods/ salt/ trans fats/ saturated fats, plenty of high fibre starchy foods.

As I suggested earlier if you want to follow more of an eating plan I tend to recommend low glycaemic index, which fits in perfectly with the government recommendations for health and works equally well for sports nutrition. The only tweaks to the government recommendations I would make is seven to nine portions of fruit and veg per day and all starchy foods to be wholegrain.

Alongside that you should ensure that all of your family gets sufficient exercise - for you at least 10,000 steps, for your daughter sixty minutes physical activity per day (aged two and up) but this does not have to be in one hit! The human body has evolved to move - the digestive, lymphatic, cardiovascular and immune systems all work better with regular activity and bone density can be boosted. :j

Penelope_Penguin

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.

Cooking from scratch will help loads, as will cutting out processed snacks :T

To increase your F&V intake, try smoothies made with a banana, small cup yogurt and small cup of fresh, frozen or tinned fruit per person. That's 2 portions :j I try to cook at least 3 veggie meals a week - you replace meat with veg and beans or lentils, so increase your intake :j I make pasta sauces with a small amount of minced meat and add lentils, grated carrot and lots of finely chopped veg :j

As this has fallen from the front page of OS, I'll add it to the existing thread to give you more ideas

Penny. x

is76

So I bought a ham hough, boiled it up. I then decided to make pea and ham soup using the stock.

So I cooled the stock overnight (no time to make straight away), tonight I see the stock had white fat solidified on top of it - which I removed. The remaining stock was quite jelly like but I put it in with the dried (but soaked) peas and made some ham and pea soup.

I am making pease pudding with the remaining stock. Thats another story.

So how healthy is this hm made stock I have used? Is this stock really fatty? I like to eat healthy as possible, currently trying to shed a few pounds.

thriftlady_2

I would imagine it is as fatty as the ham you ate.

The stock has jellied because of all gelatinous material in the bones or connective tissue. This is a good and healthy thing full of nutrients.

If you are frightened of fat just remove it from the top of the cooled stock and chuck it:)

balmaiden

I always use the ham stock to make pea and ham soup. My main concern is the amount of salt it contains, but as I don't use much salt elsewhere in my cookery I guess it won't harm us.

Looby_Lou

Try having a look at the ingredients of an ordinary stock cube! MAny of them are full of ingredients that I can't pronounce let alone know what they are. IMHO a bit of fat in a natural product has to be better for you than a load of chemicals.