Eating healthier

Eating healthy

It's a good idea to try to get this balance right every day, but you don't need to do it at every meal. And you might find it easier to get the balance right over a longer period, say a week

When looking at your diet follow the percentages below:

  Plenty of fruit and vegetables 33%
  Plenty of potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy foods 33% (wholegrain varieties whenever you can)

  Some milk and dairy foods 13%
  Some meat, fish, eggs, beans 13% and other non-dairy sources of protein
  Just a small amount of foods and drinks high in fat and/or sugar 8%

5 A DAY highlights the health benefits of getting five 80g portions of fruit and vegetables every day. That’s five portions of fruit and veg altogether, not five portions of each. 400g of fruit and vegetables a day help to lower the risk of serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and obesity. Fruit and vegetables are also usually low in fat and calories

Five reasons to get five portions

• Fruit and vegetables taste delicious and there's so much variety to choose from.
• They're a good source of vitamins and minerals, including folate, vitamin C and potassium.
• They're an excellent source of dietary fibre, which helps maintain a healthy gut and prevent constipation and other digestion problems. A diet high in fibre can also reduce your risk of bowel cancer.
• They can help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers.
• Fruit and vegetables contribute to a healthy and balanced diet.

I know we all eat take aways so here are a few tips when ordering:

Fish and chips

·         Have a portion of baked beans or mushy peas and bread with your fish and chips.

·         Watch out for other foods that are high in fat, such as pies and sausages.

·         The thicker the chips the better because they absorb less fat. Try to have a smaller portion or share your chips.

·         Ask for your fish and chips without salt – if you want some salt then add a small amount yourself.

·         Don't eat all the batter around your fish because it soaks up a lot of fat. If available, have fish coated in breadcrumbs as it soaks up less fat.

·         Fish and chips that are cooked in oil at the right temperature taste better and absorb less fat. So watch out for soggy batter and chips because this is often a sign that the oil wasn't hot enough.

• Try to avoid: thin-cut chips, pies such as cheese and onion pie or steak and kidney pie, jumbo sausage.
• Healthier options: fish coated in breadcrumbs, mushy peas, thicker-cut chips without salt.

Italian

·         If you're having pizza, choose lower-fat toppings, such as vegetables, ham, fish and prawns. You could ask for some extra veg on your pizza to bump up your daily fruit and veg portions. But if you don't want to increase the saturated fat content and number of calories in your meal, don't ask for extra cheese.

·         With pasta dishes, if you want a lower-fat option then go for a sauce that's based on tomatoes or vegetables rather than cream.

·         If you're having a starter or a dessert then you could go for a smaller main meal such as a starter-size pasta with a side salad – Italian restaurants often serve two sizes of pasta dishes.

• Try to avoid: large deep-pan pizzas, pizzas with the crust stuffed with cheese, triple cheese with pepperoni pizzas, creamy pasta sauces, garlic bread.
• Healthier options: small or medium pizza with a thin base and vegetable or lean meat topping, tomato-based pasta sauces, bruschetta.

Chinese

·         Anything that’s battered or marked as ‘crispy’ on the menu means it’s deep fried. Watch out for starters such as prawn crackers and spring rolls because these are generally deep fried. Anything in batter will be high in fat. Sweet and sour pork is usually battered.

·         Steamed dishes are the best option, but stir-fries are fine because they're usually lower in fat and include vegetables.

• Try to avoid: sweet and sour battered pork balls with special or egg fried rice, prawn toast, spring rolls.
• Healthier options: crab and corn soup, steamed dumplings, steamed vegetables and plain boiled rice, steamed fish, chicken chop suey, Szechuan prawns.

Thai

Try to stick to stir-fried dishes or steamed dishes containing chicken, fish or vegetables instead of curries.

Thai curries, such as the popular green and red curries, contain coconut milk, which is high in saturated fat. If you choose a curry, try not to eat all the sauce. Have some steamed rice with your meal instead of egg fried rice.

• Try to avoid: fried rice, fish cakes, spring rolls, prawn crackers, satay skewers with peanut sauce and sweet and sour dishes.
• Healthier options: clear soups such as tom yum, salads, stir-fried meat, fish or vegetable dishes, steamed seafood dishes, such as fish or mussels.

Indian

Try to avoid anything that’s creamy or deep fried. To reduce the amount of fat in your meal, choose dishes with tomato-based sauces, such as tandoori and madras, plain rice or chapatti. Also choose plenty of vegetables, including lentil side dishes (known as dhal).

• Try to avoid: any creamy curries such as korma, passanda or masala with pilau rice, naan, bhajis, pakoras and poppadoms.
• Healthier options: tandoori or madras with chicken, prawns or vegetables, plain rice and chapatti.

Kebab and burgers

·         Donor kebabs can be high in fat. For a healthier option, go for a shish kebab, which is a skewer with whole cuts of meat or fish and usually grilled.

·         If you’re having a burger, avoid breaded or battered chicken or fish patties, extra cheese, bacon strips and high-fat sauces such as mayonnaise. Instead, go for a regular, single-patty hamburger without mayo or cheese and have with extra salad.

• Try to avoid: large doner kebab with mayonnaise and no salad, burgers with cheese and mayonnaise, thin-cut chips, chicken or fish patties deep fried in batter.
• Healthier options: shish kebab with pitta bread and salad, grilled burgers made from lean fish or meat (beef or whole chicken breast) and without cheese and mayonnaise.