The Foundation of Healthy Eating
Eat more veggies!!
We can’t preach this enough!…. Why?
Because veggies are the foundation to a long, healthy and happy life!
Every ‘diet’ you see out there has 3 things in common:
- Lowering kilojoule (calorie) intake
- Cutting out junk food
- Eating more vegetables!
So ignore the diets, and just fill your plate up with more veggies!
The Truth on Healthy Eating:
It’s okay to eat meat
just remember you only need a piece about the size and thickness of your palm and you also don’t need it every day.
It’s okay to eat carbs
Just make sure they are grainy brown varieties!
You can get enough protein from vegetarian sources
You don’t need to eat meat with every meal. You can easily get enough protein from dairy foods, eggs, chickpeas, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds.
Fat can be healthy
A small amount of healthy fat is extremely good for your heart and brain and keeps you feeling full and satisfied!
A Guide to Plating up your Meals:
Veggies
How much? half of your plate/meal – the more the better
Examples: leafy greens, cucumber, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, pumpkin, carrot, zucchini, capsicum, asparagus, green beans, peas, potatoes
Wholegrain Carbohydrates
How much? quarter of your plate or one cupped handful
Examples: grainy brown bread, brown pasta, brown rice, chickpeas, beans, lentils, potatoes, oats
Protein
How much? quarter of your plate – about the size of your palm
Examples: lean red meat, chicken, fish, eggs, lentils, chickpeas, beans, low fat dairy, nuts and seeds
Healthy fats
How much? the size of your thumb
Examples: extra virgin olive oil, avocado, nut butter, nuts, seeds, salmon, tuna
Increasing your veggie intake:
Aim for more Vegetarian meals
Try to increase your vegetable intake by making more vegetarian meals. Include more chickpeas, beans and lentils! Reducing your meat intake will also help the environment!
How much meat we recommend eating in a week:
Red meat: once or twice
Chicken: once or twice
Fish: twice
Vegetarian Meals: Try to make the rest of your meals vegetarian.
Fill up on chickpeas, beans, lentils, nuts, low fat dairy, potatoes, sweet potatoes and lots of veggies!
Check out this week’s healthy meat free recipe jam packed with veggies including mouth watering garlic roasted potatoes!
Warm Spring Salad with Garlic Potatoes and Chickpeas
Serves: 4 Time: prep: 10min, Oven time: 40mins Cost: $10.50 (approx. $2.63/serve)
Ingredients:
- 4 small – medium white potatoes
- 1 can chickpeas, drained
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ½ lemon
- ½ bunch parsley
- 2 cups leafy greens
- 3 garlic cloves
- ¾ block feta
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
Method:
- preheat oven to 180oC (fan-forced)
- chop potatoes into approx. 3x3cm pieces (smaller pieces = faster cooking time), add to large baking dish.
- finely chop parsley, juice half the lemon, crush garlic cloves and mix with potatoes and 2 TBSP olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 30 mins, stirring halfway.
- Blanch asparagus and peas: chop asparagus into bite size pieces, boil saucepan of water and set up a bowl of iced water. Boil asparagus and peas for 2 mins, transfer to iced water for 1 min. Drain and set aside.
- When the potatoes have been in oven for 30 mins, add chickpeas, mix through and bake for final 10 mins
- Mix leafy greens, asparagus and peas with potatoes, season with salt and pepper.
Serve with and extra drizzle of olive oil and fresh lemon wedges!