Posts Tagged ‘nutritional concepts’
Monday, July 4th, 2011
The best way to eat if you want to banish tiredness is to have a healthy, balanced diet that contains foods from four main food groups in the right proportions.
The four food groups are:
- potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy foods
- fruit and vegetables
- milk and dairy foods
- meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein
- Eat at regular intervals.
- Start the day well with breakfast.
- Aim for 5 a day with fruit and vegetables.
- Say no to sugar.
- Watch your intake of alcohol.
- Eat enough for your activity level.
Tags: 5 a day, activity, alcohol, calories, carlow, diet, energy, fruit, healthy eating, kilkenny, nutrition, nutritional concepts, sugar, vegetables
Posted in General | Comments Off
Monday, June 20th, 2011
The school holidays are fast approaching and they can be associated with a lack of routine which can mean that there are more opportunities to eat more food more often. Here are some tips to avoid over-indulging in fatty, sugary, salty and pre-packaged foods that can be tempting alternatives during the holidays.
- Encourage your kids to maintain their school-eating schedule. This can help to stop grazing between meals. Try to stick to a nutritious breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as healthy morning and afternoon snacks.
- When packing the swimming gear or getting ready for the walk to the park, throw in some fresh fruit and vegetables to help with the hunger pangs.
- Encourage your kids to drink more water, rather than fizzy drinks.
- Focus on more activity to help counteract any increased food intake.
- Keep kids occupied as much as possible. Boredom can play a big part in snacking, overeating and drinking.
- Help make mealtimes fun. Let your kids help to plan and prepare a meal.
Tags: activity, carlow, diet, fruit, fun, healthy eating, holidays, kids, kilkenny, nutrition, nutritional concepts, school, snack
Posted in General | Comments Off
Monday, June 6th, 2011
Berries are some of the most healthy foods, and summer is the season of the berry. Besides being delicious, berries are low in fat and calories, but high in fibre, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, these not only contribute to overall health, but may even help prevent cancer and heart disease. They are more affordable in summer, being in season and thanks to the freezer, we can have the advantages of berries year-round.
Ideas for Serving Berries
Most berries like strawberries, blueberries and raspberries are sweet enough to be served just as they are; however, here are some more ideas:
- Add strawberry slices to a bowl of whole grain cereal
- Sprinkle blueberries on a salad
- Stir fresh raspberries into yoghurt
- Combine frozen berries with bananas and low-fat milk to make a smoothie
Tags: 5 a day, berries, calories, carlow, fruit, healthy eating, kilkenny, low fat, nutrition, nutritional concepts, snack, summer, vitamins and minerals
Posted in General | Comments Off
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
GET FIT & LOSE WEIGHT FOR CHARITY
Nutritional Concepts is proud to support this
8 Week Charity BOOTCAMP at Killerig Resort!!
- Full weight loss & nutrition programme
- Motivational support
- Professional experienced instructors
- Regular weigh-ins
- Prizes for most weight lost & money collected.
STARTS 1st WEEK IN JUNE!
Tags: activity, bootcamp, carlow, charity, diet, dietitian, healthy eating, lose weight, nutrition, nutritional concepts, Sport
Posted in General, Sport | Comments Off
Monday, May 9th, 2011
Benefits of Quitting Smoking
Quitting smoking may well be the single most important thing you can do to improve your health, your body feels these benefits almost immediately.
- After 20 minutes your blood pressure and pulse return to normal.
- After 24 hours your lungs start to clear.
- After 2 days your body is nicotine-free and your sense of taste and smell improve.
- After 3 days you can breathe more easily, and your energy increases.
- After 2 to 12 weeks, your circulation improves.
- After 3 to 9 months coughs, wheezing and breathing improves.
- After 1 year your heart attack risk is half that of a smoker.
- After 10 years your lung cancer risk is half that of a smoker.
|
Irish Cancer Society (2011)
Will I Gain Weight if I Quit Smoking?
Not everyone gains weight when they stop smoking. You can control your weight while you quit smoking by making healthy eating and physical activity a part of your life. Although you might gain a few pounds, don’t forget that you have quit smoking and taken a big step toward a healthier life.
How to Reduce Weight Gain After Quitting Smoking
Get regular moderate intensity physical activity. Regular physical activity may help you avoid large weight gains when you quit smoking. It may help you look and feel good, and fit into your clothes better. You will likely find that you can breathe easier during physical activity after you quit smoking. Try to get 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity on most days of the week, preferably every day.
Diet Advice After Quitting Smoking
Having more high fat, sugary snacks and alcoholic drinks may lead to large weight gains when you quit smoking. The ideas below may help you make healthy eating and drinking choices as you quit smoking.
- Do not go too long without eating. Being very hungry can lead to less healthy food choices.
- Eat enough at meal times to satisfy you.
- Choose healthy snacks, such as fresh fruit or canned fruit in juice (not syrup), unsalted popcorn or fat-free yoghurt, when you are hungry between meals.
- Do not deny yourself an occasional treat.
Tags: activity, calories, carlow, diet, fat, healthy eating, kilkenny, nutrition, nutritional concepts, quit, smoking, weight gain
Posted in General | Comments Off
Monday, April 25th, 2011
Easter time is here again and our thoughts turn to eggs. Here is some information on eggs of the healthier variety.
Eggs are a good source of protein and contain vitamins and minerals. They are also easy to prepare.
How many eggs?
There is no recommended limit on how many eggs people should eat. Eggs are a good choice as part of a healthy balanced diet. However, remember that it is important to eat a variety of foods each week to get the wide range of nutrients we need.
Eggs are a good source of:
- protein
- vitamin D
- vitamin A
- vitamin B2
- iodine
Eggs can make a really healthy meal. Why not try one of these for your breakfast, lunch or evening meal:
- Spanish omelettes served with steamed vegetables or a salad.
- Poached or scrambled eggs and baked beans served on wholegrain toast.
- Boiled eggs chopped into a summer salad.
Fried eggs are higher in fat than boiled, poached or scrambled eggs, but there is nothing wrong with having them occasionally. If you do want a fried egg, use oil that is high in unsaturated fat such as sunflower oil.
Eggs and cholesterol
Eggs contain cholesterol and high cholesterol levels in our blood increases our risk of heart disease.
However, the cholesterol we get from our food – and this includes eggs – has less effect on the amount of cholesterol in our blood than the amount of saturated fat we eat. So, if you are eating a balanced diet you only need to cut down on eggs if you have been told to do so by your GP or dietitian. If your GP has told you to watch your cholesterol levels, your priority should be cutting down on saturated fats.
Tags: calories, carlow, cholesterol, diet, easter, eggs, fat, healthy eating, kilkenny, low fat, nutrition, nutritional concepts, saturated fat, vitamins and minerals
Posted in General | Comments Off
Monday, April 11th, 2011
Ingredients
For the carrot cake:
150 g dark brown soft sugar
2 large eggs
120 ml sunflower oil
200 g wholemeal self-raising flour
1½ level teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
3 rounded teaspoons mixed spice
Grated zest 1 orange
Juice of half an orange
200 g carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
275 g chopped dates
For the topping:
250 g low fat soft cheese
20 g icing sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Grated zest of one orange
1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 170°C.
Line the base of a deep non-stick square cake tin (measuring 8 x 8 inches) with greaseproof paper.
First beat together the sugar, eggs and oil in a bowl for a couple of minutes until smooth.
Now sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and the mixed spice into the bowl. Mix well and then fold in the orange zest, orange juice, dates and carrots.
Then pour the mixture into the tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool on the side.
To make the topping, mix the soft cheese, icing sugar, vanilla extract, orange zest and cinnamon together until light and fluffy. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and put in the fridge for a couple of hours to chill.
Once the cake has cooled, take it out of the tin and spread the topping over it. The cake has to be cold, otherwise the topping will start to melt.
Sprinkle with ground cinnamon and enjoy!
Tags: carlow, carrot, diet, fat, healthy eating, kilkenny, lose weight, low fat, nutrition, nutritional concepts, tasty, vegetables
Posted in Recipes | Comments Off
Monday, March 28th, 2011
Whether you have taken up running to lose weight, to improve fitness or to relieve stress
, you will find that there are many benefits. When it comes to running, it is important to fill your body with a good quality diet that can help sustain your energy levels. It is important to eat a balanced diet that includes carbohydrate, protein and fat.
Carbohydrate
Carbohydrate foods help you maintain your energy during a run and they should be eaten both before and after. The highest quality carbohydrates are rich in fibre which helps to keep you feeling full. Carbohydrates to choose from include whole wheat pasta, potatoes, wholegrain rice and bread.
Protein
Protein is essential for muscle and satisfies hunger by providing a feeling of fullness. Quality sources of protein include skinless turkey and chicken, fish fillet, egg whites, low fat cheese, low fat yoghurt and skimmed/semi-skimmed milk.
Fat
While most runners are looking to cut out fat, it is important to remember that you need to include some fat in your diet. However, the fat should be of the healthy variety such as olive oil, unsalted nuts, avocados, sunflower seeds, light mayonnaise and fat-free salad dressings are good fat sources for runners.
In terms of an eating routine, it is better to eat smaller portions more often than larger portions three times a day. Also, remember to drink water regularly. Even if work or taking care of the kids makes breakfast a difficult time to sit down and eat, don’t go hungry. At the very least, eat some fruit on the move.
Tags: 5 a day, activity, balanced diet, carbohydrate, carlow, diet, energy, fat, fruit, healthy eating, kilkenny, lose weight, nutrition, nutritional concepts, protein, running, Sport
Posted in Sport | Comments Off
Monday, March 14th, 2011
Do you usually wear green on St. Patrick’s Day? It is a fun tradition, but this year take it a step further and make an effort to eat green foods as well. It is easy to come up with some green foods to try but here are some ideas to get you started.
For breakfast prepare a spinach omelette, by scrambling eggs and added some fresh or thawed frozen spinach to it. Or maybe try some pancakes with some sliced of green apple or kiwi.
How about having a green salad for lunch? Add some chicken or ham and cheese to make it more filling.
For dinner, try some grilled chicken and potatoes with a big serving of steamed broccoli.
Why not keep the green theme for dessert? Try some green sugar free jelly or fruit salad made with mostly green fruit would be another great dessert idea.
Tags: carlow, fruit, fun, green, healthy eating, kilkenny, nutrition, nutritional concepts, st.patrick's day
Posted in General | Comments Off
Monday, February 14th, 2011
Fibre is found in foods which originate from plants, such as cereals, grains, seeds, pulses, fruit and vegetables. To increase the amount of fibre you eat, you need to have more of these types of food as part of your diet.
There are two types of fibre: soluble and insoluble. Most foods contain a mixture of both.
It is a good idea to try to eat more fibre because most people in Ireland don’t have enough fibre in their diets. Insoluble fibre helps prevent constipation, and soluble fibre may help to reduce the amount of cholesterol in the blood.
Wholegrain varieties of starchy foods, such as wholemeal bread, wholegrain breakfast cereals, brown rice and wholegrain pasta, are particularly good sources of insoluble fibre.
Brussels sprouts, potatoes, cabbage, and carrots are all good sources of fibre, and so are beans and pulses, such as red kidney beans, baked beans, broad beans, butter beans, green beans, chickpeas, green lentils and black-eyed beans. Dried fruit – such as figs, apricots, prunes and dates – are also a good choice. Or try eating pears, apples, cranberries, avocados, pomegranates and blackberries.
When you have plenty of fibre in your diet, you need to make sure that you drink plenty of fluids – at least six to eight glasses a day. It is especially important to have plenty of water if you are constipated because fluids will help to keep things moving! If you get constipated a lot, talk to your GP.
Tags: 5 a day, activity, calories, carbohydrate, carlow, drinking, fibre, fruit, healthy eating, kilkenny, nutrition, nutritional concepts, portion, starchy, vegetables, vitamins and minerals
Posted in General | Comments Off
