Wholegrain crackers may not be on your ‘yum’ list or your thought of something interesting or tasty to eat but once you start to get abit adventurous then they can really become quite delicious and you can revive your morning or afternoon snack.

A few brands I would recommend:

Arnotts Vitaweat crackers both the rectangular and round cheese board varieties, PLUS the new Lunch Slices (which are a larger version to put toppings on instead of bread). I would choose the multigrain variety as they have a slightly higher fibre content than the other varieties like sesame or cracked pepper, however mixing them up is always nice too.

Vitaweat wholegrain crackers

Vitaweat Lunch Slices

Ryvita is great especially now that they have come out with more varieties compared to the original (so if you haven’t tried anymore since the original, I urge you to try some new choices). They have a lovely Pumpkin seed&Oat, Sunflower seed and for those with a sweet tooth then the Fruit &Seed Crunch is lovely. These are high in fibre and provide and will keep you fuller for longer than rice crackers or lightbread.

Ryvita varieties

Huntley &Palmers wholegrain varieties. This brand has gone through a product renovation and has now also got some great Multigrain varieties. I particularly like the Sunflower seed and Chia seed one.

Huntly &Palmers crackers

3 Tips to choosing a cracker:

1) Aim to choose a wholegrain variety so that when you look at the ingredients list it starts with wholegrain wheat flour and then has has extra seeds in it like sesame, chia, pumpkin or sunflower seed plus grains like rye, barkley, oats etc. You will get added nutrients from these grains/seeds.

Ingredients list for Huntly &Palmers crackers

2) Look at nutritional panel- look at fibre content (this will keep you fuller for longer and help with bowel transit time). Per 100g you want above 8g to be defined as ‘high fibre’

Huntley &Palmers nutrition panel

3) Sodium- generally crackers are going to have quite a high salt intake however you get your acceptable and then unacceptable products. Aim to keep below 450mg of sodium per 100g. This can make you abit thirsty or if you have high blood pressure, do stick to this. However if your diet is generally low sodium (limited processed foods) then having a few crackers slightly over this will be fine. Just keep up your water intake. Remember our general sodium intake is 2000mg per day.

There are many toppings you can get adventurous with from savoury like marmite and thin slice Edam or abit tuna, tomato, hummus, avocado, salsa, honey, peanut butter to doing something like this:

Shredded coconut with honey

Vitaweat cracker with smear of honey, coconut, pumpkin seeds and raisins

Vitaweat cracker with honey, coconut, pumpkin seeds and almonds

Heavensent Gourmet Jam

Nutritional information

Found a great jam on the weekend called Heavensent (company name)- the reason I liked it? It is made with honey not white sugar to preserve it. This means it has a lower sugar rating than traditional jams and therefore less of a spike in your blood sugar levels (honey naturally is lower in sugar than table sugar).

It is has no extras preservatives or flavourings in it. Very simple ingredients list-see pic. They also have a high fruit content which is great and a variety of different fruit jams. This is sweet product to check out. I have put it on toast, on a cracker, in my plain yoghurt and mixed it in stewed apple for a dessert (and a good substitute in baking instead of sugar. A good sweet all rounder.
The company also makes other products from vinaigrettes, relishes, savoury sauces. Check it out www.heavensentgourmet.co.nz. Can shop oline or find a retailer near you.

If you aren’t quite feeling refreshed after a break and you are still feeling tired or rundown, just be careful of the amount of caffeine you may be taking in to pick yourself up. Caffeine is a nervous system stimulant in which too much  (excess of about 300 milligrams, dependent on body weight and level of caffeine tolerance), can result in a state of central nervous system over-stimulation called caffeine intoxication, or ‘the caffeine jitters’. These may include restlessness, nervousness, insomnia, flushing of the face, increased urination, gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, irregular or rapid heart beat, and psychomotor agitation. Each standard espresso coffee has between 80-100mg of caffeine and some of the supersized energy drinks have btwn 200-250mg of caffeine in them. Along with around 13 tsp of sugar which will give you a double hit. Always read the drinks label. Instead of relying on caffeine, look at your diet or enviromental pressures like work or lack of sleep. Get these sorted and you will have long term success with better energy levels rather than relying on stimulants.

Ok the big events are over…Christmas and New Years. Time to get back into a good habit of eating your 5 plus a day, exercise, less alcohol, more fluids and regular meal times (and of course less sweets). What we don’t always realise is that it is our environment and mental/ emotional health too causing many stresses and therefore toxic build up in our bodies. Here are some tips that sum up nicely that we need to look at detoxifying our whole wellbeing not just what we put in our mouths or exercise.

By Megan Jones

With air pollution, harmful pesticides and an unhealthy diet, your body is probably full of chemicals and poisons that you don’t even think about. If you want to detox your entire body, mind, spirit and life, turn to this list, which has over 100 ideas from medical professionals for removing the poison.

10 Goals for Every Day

Keep these 10 tips in mind each day for a regular detox session.

1. Watch less TV: Watch less TV, if any. Your mind will be freer to concentrate on more important things than annoying commercials, celebrity gossip and superficial materialism.
2. Limit your online activity: It’s pretty much impossible not to log on to your e-mail accounts everyday, but limit the rest of your online activity, including going to fluff sites and playing online games. You’ll be more productive and will probably end up using the time you would have wasted on something more important and fulfilling.
3. Stop gossiping: Always thinking and spreading nasty thoughts about others brings your own mood and self-confidence down.
4. Use non-toxic cleaners: Using non-toxic home cleaners helps rid your home of unnatural substances that can be harmful to your health.
5. Quit smoking: Cigarettes contain over 4,000 different chemicals, including nicotine, tar, hydrogen cyanide and even arsenic, all of which are poison to your body.
6. Exercise: Exercising helps purify your mind and your body by releasing aggressive emotions and endorphins. Exercise also helps your body take in more oxygen and pump your blood faster.
7. Sleep better and longer: Learn valuable techniques for getting a more relaxing, effective sleep each night in order to let your body fully recuperate from the previous day.
8. Introduce organic produce into your diet: Fresh, organic fruits and veggies are free of toxins that harm your body and interfere with great taste.
9. Limit the number of pills you pop each day: If you have a chronic health condition, we’re not asking you to stop taking pills. But if you pop several pills every time you have a teensy headache, you’re putting way too many kidney-damaging chemicals into your system.
10. Breathe deeply: Breathing deeply increases the flow of oxygen into your body and relax your mind.

Physical Poisons

From alcohol and drugs to chemicals in your beauty products, make a concerted effort to rid your body of these poisons.

1. Limit alcohol consumption: While researchers have found that moderate consumption of red wine does have health benefits, drinking too much damages your liver, weakens your heart, and can make you feel tired and worn out, since it interferes with your sleep.
2. Drugs: Drugs are incredibly toxic to your body and your life, weakening the immune system, causing rifts with family and friends, ruining your career and taking a major toll on your body.
3. Go easy on makeup and beauty products: Consider using natural makeup and beauty products that are free of chemicals that can be harmful to your skin. Or, take a look at these tips to limiting the amount of makeup you put on each day without compromising your looks.
4. Give your hair a break: Hair dyes contain a lot of unhealthy chemicals that are bad for your hair and scalp but can also be damaging when you breathe them in every couple of weeks.
5. Try skin brushing: This detox strategy involves stimulating your skin in order to increase “its rate of elimination of toxic waste products, which decreases the demands placed on the kidneys.”
6. Consider a colon cleansing: Colon cleansings are believed to remove the body of parasites and other toxins that can interfere with digestion and general health.
7. Have sex: Having sex can give you energy, help you sleep better, reduces cholesterol, reduces stress, increases the flow of oxygen to your brain, and can even be a natural pain reliever.
8. Do a juice fast: Juice fasting is controversial, but it’s also a popular way to detox. Juice fasts are done with the goal of reducing animal products and cooked food products from your system in order to cleanse your body.
9. Hydrotherapy: This alternative health practice can be done at a spa, sauna or even in your shower. By alternating the temperature of the water, you can reduce inflammation, stimulate your body’s circulation and remove waste from body tissue.
10. Take herbs: There are a number of natural herbs that can be used for internal and external detox, like yucca root and licorice root, which are laxatives; milk thistle seed and dandelion which support the liver; pumpkin seed which expels parasites; and cranberry and witch hazel, which are anti-inflammatory and antioxidant herbs.

Social Poisons

Give your social behavior and expectations a real makeover by considering these detox tips.

1. Close or increase privacy settings on your online dating profile: Online dating companies can be extremely beneficial to some individuals, but posting photos and information about yourself online can attract unsavory characters who badger you with inappropriate messages.
2. Volunteer: Increase your social circle by volunteering. Doing something for the good of others is also a selfless act that is good for your conscience.
3. Reconcile with family and friends: Don’t let a grudge or a fight with friends affect your conscience or your mood. Reconcile with estranged family members and friends to give your social life a detox.
4. Stay in: If you’re always going out with friends, take a night to yourself and stay in. You can give your mind and body a rest from all of the external stimulations and social pressures by relaxing at home.
5. Go out: On the other hand, if you’re always at home, try to go out every once in a while and be social with the community around you. Even if you aren’t out for an organized event with friends, opening yourself up to spending time with other human beings can help you feel more relaxed.
6. De-stress at work: For some people, going to work means feeling stressed out as soon as they sit down as their desks. Learn to de-stress at work by staying organized and tuning out annoying or over demanding co-workers.
7. Learn to tune out: Tuning out gossipy friends, media messages and moody strangers will keep your mood elevated and your mind free from worry about everything going around you that you can’t control anyway.
8. Separate yourself from the pack: Don’t go along with everything everyone else is doing just because they say so. Separate yourself from the pack by doing what makes you feel right and the things that honors your life choices and long term goals.
9. Be responsible: Take responsibility for yourself and your actions, and you’ll find that you end up taking much better care of yourself, physically, emotionally and socially.
10. Smile: Smiling can help you focus on the positive and forget about negative thoughts and feelings that plague you.

Productivity Drainers

Mass e-mails, violent video games and even telemarketing calls are a real drain to your productivity and fill up your mind with useless garbage. Rid yourself of these poisons by taking a look at our list below.

1. Improve your focus: By keeping track of your time and setting goals throughout the day, you’ll be able to stay focused on the things that matter.
2. Unsubscribe to blog feeds: Clean out your inbox by unsubscribing to all the RSS feeds and newsletters that keep you away from your work and focused on unimportant things.
3. Eliminate distractions: Distractions can be poisonous to your schedule and your mindset, so turn off the TV, block certain websites and unplug the phone until you complete your to-do list.
4. Stay nourished: Hunger drains productivity and can negatively affect your metabolism if it’s been too long since your last meal.
5. Ignore “nasty people”: The Random Hitz blog maintains that “nasty people drain productivity in the workplace,” so try to tune out competitive co-workers, backstabbers and the office gossip to stay focused and keep your energy high.
6. Turn off the instant messenger: Unless you do business over instant message, sign off your account or create a new one just for work. Chatting with friends will keep you from your work, making you feel anxious and unprepared at the end of the day.
7. Violent computer games and video games: Playing violent computer or video games is not just a productivity drain: it also fuels your mind with overly aggressive images that can affect your perspective on real life.
8. Exercise your brain: Keep your brain sharp by doing simple mind exercises that can keep Alzheimer’s and dementia at bay.
9. Get a spam filter: Get a spam filter for your e-mail account so you don’t have to look at crass junk mail messages all day long.
10. Get an unlisted phone number: Keep your phone number out of the phone book and off of telemarketing lists so that you don’t have to stress yourself out over prank calls, sales calls and other annoying phone calls.

Meditation Tips

Meditation is an effective technique for ridding your mind and body of poisonous thoughts and energy drainers.

1. Follow a specific program: Play one of these meditation guides to help you focus and relax.
2. Meditate alone: Being along is an important strategy for effective meditation.
3. Eliminate external discomforts: Make sure the room is a comfortable temperature and the lighting is just right for your meditation.
4. Be patient: This tip will prevent you from getting too overwhelmed if you feel like meditation isn’t working at first.

Emotional and Mental Health

De-stress by opening up and acknowledging your feelings. These tips are also meant to boost your self-esteem and remove toxic thoughts that sabotage your emotional health.

1. Counseling: Talk to a counselor or psychologist regularly so that you can hear yourself work through your problems. Setting aside an hour each week also ensures that you make you time to address your feelings, instead of burying them until they manifest in an unhealthy way.
2. Be social: Getting out with friends or even going to a coffee shop will make you feel more connected to the community around you and can distract you from your own problems for a while.
3. Open up: Share your thoughts, goals and feelings with a friend or family member to purge yourself of anxiety, self-doubt, or any other negative emotions.
4. Self confidence: Give your self-confidence a boost and get rid of negative thoughts that harm your spirit and prevent you from doing the things that make you happy.
5. Set realistic goals: By setting realistic goals, you’re more likely to feel a sense of achievement and triumph as you complete each one.
6. Understand your body: To prevent poisonous thoughts and mental disorders like depression or anorexia/bulimia, get to know your body and your mind. Appreciate yourself for who you are and understand what triggers can set you off so that you can avoid feeling down.

Organization Tips

Staying organized will elevate your mood and keep your surroundings clean and bacteria-free.

1. De-clutter: Clutter around your house and in your schedule can cause you to feel stressed, anxious and even unhealthy, if your clutter is really dirty.
2. Take out the trash frequently: This tip may seem like a given, but taking out the trash instantly removes poisons and waste from your surroundings.
3. Budget: Organize your budget to avoid overspending, debt, unpaid bills, unpaid taxes and other stress factors that could land you in serious trouble.
4. Schedule: Prevent scheduling conflicts, missed appointments, over bookings and running yourself ragged by maintaining a calendar or date book.
5. Get tech help: Use an online program like Tada Lists or Remember the Milk so that you don’t have to keep up with to-do lists floating around your car, office and home.

Simplify Your Life

By simplifying your life, you can have more time to concentrate on your health. From re-prioritizing your to-do lists to automating regular tasks like bill paying, consider downsizing in the following ways.

1. Just say no: Don’t agree to run every event, attend every meeting or go to every party. Saying no can free up valuable time for yourself and prevent you from over stimulating your mind.
2. Keep things perspective: Instead of overreacting to every setback, keep things in perspective. Ask yourself if the problem at hand will matter in six days’ or six months’ time. Most of the time it won’t, and you can save yourself a lot of toxic worry.
3. Automate regular tasks: Set up an automatic bill pay or savings action so that you don’t have to waste time writing checks each month, and so you won’t fall behind on payments.
4. Take time out: Slow down every once in a while to give your mind and body a rest by taking a long weekend, going on a relaxing vacation or just making room in your schedule for an extra nap.
5. Cut back on communication: Don’t isolate yourself, but minimize the different communication platforms like Twitter, e-mail, Facebook and VoIP that you check each day to eliminate extra junk mail, distractions on welcome pages and useless messages.

Food and Diet

If you aren’t ready to start a full-on detox diet, introduce fresh, organic produce, fiber and plenty of water into your diet as a gentle and healthy way to rid your body of chemicals.

1. Fiber: Fiber cleanses your body and your digestive tract, so opt for foods like whole wheat bread, brown rice, broccoli, bran cereal, corn and other raw vegetables and fruits.
2. Vitamin C: Vitamin C is a great detox agent for cleansing the liver, as it produces glutathione.
3. Water: Water is one of the easiest and most effective ways to flush out your system. It’s also a good substitute for soda, alcoholic beverages and sugary juices when you’re thirsty.
4. Garlic: Garlic is a great ingredient for promoting good health, especially detox, as it is rich in antioxidants.
5. Organic foods: Incorporate organic foods, especially fruits and vegetables into your diet, since they are free of harmful pesticides and chemicals.
6. Locally grown food: For a more socially conscious move, buy locally grown food to support your community in a green way.
7. Ethical food: Ease your conscience by making sure your food was produced in an ethical way, from conditions of slaughterhouses to Fair Trade coffee growers and harvesters.
8. Blueberries: Blueberries are extremely high in antioxidants and keep your brain sharp.
9. Say no to junk food: Processed junk food full of unnatural sweeteners and chemicals pumps poison into your body, can cause you to become overweight, and negatively affects your heart health. Even diet junk-food is processed and unhealthy.
10. Raw food: Whether you live a completely raw food and product lifestyle, or you’d like to try a raw food detox diet, raw food can be an effective way to cleanse your body of animal products and processed ingredients.

Exercise and Sleep

Getting enough of the right kind of exercise and sleep purifies both your mind and your body.

1. Cardio: Besides being a major calorie-busting workout, a cardio routine is also good for anger management.
2. Yoga: Yoga is one of the most popular exercises for a de-stress, detox lifestyle because it eases the mind, decreases blood pressure, increases your respiratory efficiency, helps digestion, improves focus and posture, and helps you sleep better.
3. Pilates: Like yoga, pilates can boost energy and your immune system without requiring a sweat-inducing cardio workout.
4. Reduce your body fat: Besides looking more in shape, reducing your body fat, which is where a lot of toxins in your body are stored.
5. Swimming: The website The Natural Path describes swimming as a good exercise for detox, as it works out your muscles and heart but also “increases your breathing and your body temperature, thus aiding in your internal cleansing.” Try to swim in a pool with as less chlorine as possible, or in a natural body of water.
6. Sweat: Pick an exercise that makes you sweat, which cleanses some toxins from the surface of your body.
7. Exercise the right way: Make sure you’re following the routine or fitness plan exactly; otherwise, you might injure yourself.
8. Keep a regular sleeping schedule: This schedule should include a routine for preparing for bed and making yourself sleepy, as well as waking up at around the same time each morning.
9. Exercise for sleep: Maintaining an active lifestyle can wear your body out just enough to ensure a restful sleep.
10. Protect your sleep environment: Polluting your bedroom with TV, artificial light from your computer and work materials can interfere with your sleep.

Good Lifestyle Choices and Links

Make good lifestyle choices, by avoiding promiscuity, maintaining proper hygiene and considering a holistic or even macrobiotic lifestyle.

1. Go organic: An organic lifestyle rids your body and environment of pesticides and may also mean that you support local growers and more ethically produced foods and products.
2. Promiscuity: This bad habit increases your chances of catching an STD and feeling emotionally dragged down.
3. Holistic lifestyle: A holistic lifestyle gives equal attention to your mind, body and spirit, so that you monitor the health and toxicity of every part of yourself.
4. Macrobiotic lifestyle: A macrobiotic lifestyle “is a way of life based upon living in harmony with nature through a balanced whole foods diet, an active lifestyle, and respect for the natural environment,” according to CrescentLife.com. Get tips for living this way by following the link.
5. Go vegan: There are a host of benefits associated with a vegan lifestyle, like good nutrition, disease prevention, avoiding harmful processed ingredients, helping the environment and more.
6. Oral hygiene: Your oral hygiene affects your overall health, so make sure your floss and brush a few times daily.
7. Bathing: Wash off the dirt, chemicals and other toxins on your skin by bathing regularly.
8. Wash hands frequently: Avoid getting sick by washing your hands frequently, which kills germs and washes off other harmful bacteria.
9. Feng shui: The purpose of practicing feng shui is to balance out your elements and promote the free flow of energy, greatly reducing the toxicity and stress of any environment. Get easy-to-follow tips here.
10. Pranayama: This yoga breathing exercise maximizes the amount of oxygen that goes to your brain, controlling “Prana, or the vital life energy.”
11. Strategic massage: Get a massage that stimulates your digestive system and increases your body’s ability to eliminate waste.

Purifying Your Environment

This list features different ways that you can purify your environment and ensure that your home, office and commute are free of all kinds of pollutants.

1. Drive an eco-friendly car: An electric car is good for the environment and your health, since you won’t have to breathe in toxic fumes at the gas station.
2. Walk or bike to work: Another way to prevent inhalation of gas fumes is to walk or bike to work, if you can find a route that doesn’t involve riding behind other gas guzzling vehicles.
3. Grow a garden: Grow your own vegetables to cut back on pesticides and environmentally harmful packaging and delivery methods.
4. Make your own household cleaning products: There are a lot of recipes online for concocting your own supply of household cleaning products, free of dangerous chemicals and chlorine.
5. Composting: Recycle your waste and feed your garden by composting.
6. Keep plants indoors: Having plants indoors increases oxygen production and zaps up extra carbon dioxide, purifying your air.
7. Aromatherapy: Natural aromatherapy can be a great help to simple ailments and colds, and it’s also a good stress reliever.
8. Throw away pet waste: Clean out the cat’s litter box and pick up after your dog, even in the backyard, to prevent the spread of bacteria that can make you and your family sick.
9. Air quality: Make sure the air quality in your home or office is healthy by ventilating the rooms, changing out your air filters and using natural home furnishings and carpet.
10. Sustainability: Sustainable living is an ethical and practical way to live, as it saves you money on energy costs and is good for the environment. Get tips for living a sustainable, poison-free lifestyle here.”

Most of us like to enjoy a glass of wine or beer (yes me included) at functions, going out for dinner or at a friends bbq. However it is wise to educate yourself on the effects of alcohol on the body, we all know from experience the positives (i.e. dutch courage for example) and the negatives of too much (hangover) but read on to know what else it can do, this should hopefuly give you a reason to drink in moderation and especially avoiding binge drinking.

Alcohol is a toxin to the body- it interferes with the nutritional process by affecting digestion, storage, utilization, and excretion of nutrients (NIAAA Director Enoch Gordis, M.D.). We all need 50+ nutrients per day to enable normal bodily function; unfortunately alcohol inhibits the breakdown of nutrients into usable molecules by decreasing secretion of digestive enzymes from the pancreas. Furthermore, alcohol impairs nutrient absorption by damaging the cells lining the stomach and intestines and disabling transport of some nutrients into the blood. Even if nutrients are digested and absorbed, alcohol can prevent them from being fully utilized by altering their transport, storage, and excretion (NIAAA Director Enoch Gordis, M.D.).

Your body can process 1 standard drink per hour- aim to keep it to that otherwise you will overload your system and your budget if buying drinks! Drink water in between each alcoholic drink and count the number of drinks- just be aware! Alcohol is especially a killer if you are trying to lose weight, added calories with no benefit. A glass of wine or two per night may increase your weight by 1kg per month if you don’t burn those extra calories off. 1x standard 140ml glass of wine is approximately 130 calories which is a 20min brisk walk!

Alcohol is a toxin for the body

What do I mean by this? We have far too many products in the supermarket that tantalise our taste buds by offering new flavours or enhancing flavours with added sugar and salt. We have products that have taken whole foods like oats or grains and processed them so that they have been popped, baked or fried in hot temperatures and although their texture and flavour is still satisfying on the tongue, many have no nutrient benefit to the body at all (other than the products that add back in the vitamins and minerals lost during manufacturing like breakfast cereals- read the ingredients list on your cereal at home… does it have listed thiamine, riboflavin, folate etc on it?).

If it wasn’t for the specially added fibre in some snack bars e.g. the muffin type bars, the food wouldn’t get to the bowel fast enough and when it does is highly likely to sit there longer than it should, giving the bad bacteria in the gut an opportunity to feed off this, multiplying their numbers and can cause gas/ wind for us.

When you are seeking great energy, go for foods that provide nutrients for the body to use. For example fruit and vegetables carry an abundance of essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals. So why don’t we eat more of them?

Why do we continually go for packaged goods when it is just as easy to pick up a bag of carrots from the supermarket and use that as snack as food. Our poor taste buds and brain are so acquainted to salty/ sweet things that we have gone off our most precious vitamin containing foods and lost the taste for these. Even nuts are now covered with salt or sugar. What happened to leaving raw nuts as is in their natural state?

So instead of wasting a lot of money on commercial made items, shop around the outside of the supermarket and keep the trolley simple with fruit, vegetables, complex carbohydrates like wholemeal wraps, breads, pastas, beans, crackers, rolled oats, quinoa, brown rice, quality meats (avoid salami, luncheon, sandwich meatloaf, precooked sausages), raw nuts, seeds, dried fruit, plain dairy products (non sweetened), honey. Then take the time to make your own breakfast cereals or snacks eg. muesli, muesli bars, bran muffins or bread.

Your health is in your hands, how much time are you willing to give?

Most people are pretty good with eating vegetables at night so here are a few tips to getting them during the day. If you want to avoid the 3:30 downfall a great way is to have vegetables at lunch and fruit in afternoon. The enzymes and vitamins they contain can really give the body a boost (along with water!)

1.       Take leftovers for lunch. If you made a lovely stirfry the night before keep some for lunch. Or make a large enough salad at night to take for the next day aswell. That way you cut your time down with preparing lunch.

2.       If you are more a vegetable person than fruit, add fruit to your lunch-time salads like mandarin pieces or grapes.

3.       Make vegetable snacks interesting. Instead of taking carrot sticks, grate them up and add raisins and lemon juice or even orange pieces for a lovely grated carrot salad. Otherwise try grated carrot and cucumber mixed with plain yoghurt. If that doesn’t take your fancy just dip the carrots/ celery with hummus or salsa.

4.       Leave some baby spinach or mesculin in fridge at work so you always have some extra greens to add to a home made sandwich or filled roll. Wraps are the best to get a lot of veges in instead of sandwich- more space to fill (fill with veges though not too much of cheese or meat).

5.       Add tomatoes and mushrooms to your fry up in the morning.

6.       Add frozen berries and yoghurt together- great to take on a trip as the frozen berries keep the yoghurt cold.

7.       Always keep tinned fruit in the cupboard incase you run out of fresh. Tinned fruit is great to add to smoothies, cereal or use in baking.

8.       Instead of using crackers for a base for toppings, use carrots or cucumber to put hummus and cheese on top.

9.       Use large leafy green vegetables like spinach, silverbeet or bok choy to wrap goodies in like ham, smoked chicken or even mince. They make great little bundles.

10.   Blend fruits into smoothies and pour into an old milk container to keep in fridge as a refreshing snack.

It’s that time of the year again and we start to feel the pressure. Often this can cause problems with our sleep with either getting to sleep or waking up during the night. There are a few lifestyle factors you need to address like what time you are getting to bed- best time is before midnight. If you have many things flying around your head, best to just write a checklist before you go to bed for the next day and then not worry about it when you go to sleep. Worrying will not achieve anything! Try stretches or meditation, this can relax muscles and ultimately make us feel more relaxed plus it can help prevent night cramps.

How to get a good nights sleep...

Here are a few dietary tips:

For those who have trouble sleeping, you may be familiar with over-the-counter melatonin supplements used to treat insomnia. However, while melatonin can help to regulate sleep, it may be unwise to rely on supplements for long-term use. Fortunately, cherries provide a great natural source of melatonin as well as being excellent for overall health. A research study published in The Journal of Sleep and Sleep Disorders Research has indicated that consuming tart cherries before bed helped participants sleep faster and easier, making fresh cherries or cherry juice a great natural sleep aid.

If you suffer from muscle spasms or cramps during the night, it may be that you are deficient in the electrolytes magnesium and potassium, both of which help to relax muscles and keep them functioning properly. Fortunately, bananas are excellent source of both minerals, making them a good bedtime snack, particularly after a heavy exercise session. As well as being rich in these essential minerals, bananas also contain tryptophan, which can help to promote sleep. Researchers from the University of New England in New South Wales have also found that having a banana before bed can help sufferers of sleep apnea by keeping their throats open and therefore reducing the risk of choking

Tryptophan, an essential amino acid, helps to raise serotonin and melatonin levels in the body, both of which can help induce sleep. While turkey is a famously good source of tryptophan, other (perhaps more bedtime-friendly) sources include dairy products such as yoghurt and milk. Research has also suggested that a deficiency of calcium in the diet can cause disturbed sleep patterns and a lack of deep (REM) sleep. Try steamed apple and yoghurt for a post dinner treat or a REAL hot chocolate with tsp honey and tsp cocoa powder with 200mls warm milk.

Pumpkin seeds also have tryptophan in them so adding 1-2Tb of these to your salad or muesli is great. Flax seeds are great for increasing levels of sleep-regulating substance serotonin in the body due to their high levels of both tryptophan and omega-3 fatty acids. Furthermore, the omega-3 fatty acids they contain have been proven to help reduce the anxiety, depression and stress which are leading causes of insomnia, and have been shown to be effective against the condition sleep apnea. Not only that, flax seeds are a good source of magnesium, which is renowned for its ability to reduce stress due to its relaxing effect on the muscles and nervous system. Magnesium has also been shown to help prevent restless leg syndrome and night terrors; both of which can affect sleep.

Oats are a good natural source of melatonin, which is often taken as a sleep aid due to its ability to help regulate the body’s internal clock. They are also another good source of tryptophan, especially when combined with milk and pumpkin seeds. Furthermore, oats are rich in both calcium and magnesium; two minerals that have been proven to promote good quality sleep. So start the day with a non toasted muesli or porridge or an apple crumble after dinner (although avoid adding sugar to crumble as this can keep you awake)

Mushrooms may be small but they shouldn’t be underestimated. They can contain many quality nutrients that should put them on your daily meal or at least weekly meal planner.

• Mushrooms contain about 80 to 90 percent water, and are very low in calories. They have very little sodium and fat, and 8 to 10 percent of the dry weight is fiber. Hence, they are an ideal food for persons following a weight management program or a diet for hypertensives.

• Mushrooms are an excellent source of potassium, a mineral that helps lower elevated blood pressure and reduces the risk of stroke. It also helps maintain the pH levels in the body. One medium portabella mushroom has even more potassium than a banana or a glass of orange juice. One serving of mushrooms also provides about 20 to 40 percent of the daily value of copper, a mineral that has cardioprotective properties.

• Mushrooms are a rich source of riboflavin, niacin, and selenium. Selenium is an antioxidant that works with vitamin E to protect cells from the damaging effects of free radicals. Male health professionals who consumed twice the recommended daily intake of selenium cut their risk of prostate cancer by 65 percent. In the Baltimore study on Aging, men with the lowest blood selenium levels were 4 to 5 times more likely to have prostate cancer compared to those with the highest selenium levels.

• The most commonly consumed mushroom in the New Zealand is Agaricus bisporus or the white button mushroom. A. bisporus has two other forms – Crimini or brown mushrooms with a more earthy flavor and firmer texture, and Portabella mushrooms with a large umbrella-shaped cap and meaty flavor.

• All three mushrooms, but especially the fresh button mushrooms, possess substances that inhibit the activity of aromatase (an enzyme involved in estrogen production), and 5-alpha-reductase (an enzyme that converts testosterone to DHT). The latest findings show that white button mushrooms can reduce the risk of breast cancer and prostate cancer. An extract of white button mushrooms decreased cell proliferation and decreased tumor size in a dose-dependent manner. The chemoprotective effect can be seen with an intake of about 100 grams  of mushrooms per day.

• Shiitake mushrooms have been used for centuries by the Chinese and Japanese to treat colds and flu. Lentinan, a beta-glucan isolated from the fruiting body of shiitake mushrooms, appears to stimulate the immune system, help fight infection, and demonstrates anti-tumor activity.

• Add mushrooms to soups, salads, and sandwiches, casseroles, stews or to use them as an entree or addition to any main meal. Check out this recipe below;

Grilled Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

These add a hearty side to any meal.

INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary (or 1/8 teaspoon dried rosemary)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 4 (5-6″ diameter) portobello mushroom caps
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
• low fat cooking spray
• 2 teaspoons fresh cilantro, chopped

DIRECTIONS

Prepare the grill.

In a small bowl, combine tomatoes, mozzarella, 1/2 teaspoon of the olive oil, rosemary, pepper and garlic.

Using a knife, remove the stems and discard.Try get the mushroom quite level.

In a small bowl, mix 1/2 teaspoon of the olive oil, lemon juice and soy sauce. Using a pastry brush, brush the soy sauce mixture on both sides of the mushroom caps.

Grill the caps, stem side down first for 5 minutes on each side or until soft.Spoon 1/4 cup of the tomato and cheese mixture into each cap, cover and grill for about 3 minutes or until cheese has melted. Garnish with cilantro.

Serves 4.

Pancakes and fritters; two great ways to stuff abunch of ingredients in a batter and fry it up for a quick meal or snack. Both pancakes and fritters use the same basic ingredients of flour, milk and eggs to make a batter. However pancakes are generally made thinner than fritters (hence pan cakes), fritters tend to be bulkier with more ingredients and less batter. You can make both these options very healthy by just choosing the right set of ingredients. For example boosting the fibre content by swapping white flour to wholemeal and even add wheatgerm or bran to the mixture. Instead of adding sugar to pancake mixture, add fruit like apple puree, blueberries, raisins or chopped dates. A lovely breakfast option is mashed banana and date pancakes served with low fat plain or vanilla yoghurt.

Recipe:

1 well- mashed banana
1/2 cup finely chopped dates
1/2 cup wholemeal flour
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup trim milk
1Tb flaxseed oil (optional- to boost omega 3 intake)

Mix together and dollop about 2Tb of mixture onto a non stick frying pan on med heat (or use a bit of spray oil) and pan fry for about 2mins on each side or until golden brown.
Serve with low fat plain yoghurt or vanilla. Makes about 6-8 pancakes
You can also make savoury pancakes-

Breakfast pancakes – Baked beans and creamy corn;

1 tin creamy corn
1/2-3/4 tin baked beans
2Tb tomato sauce
1 beaten egg
1 cup wholemeal flour
(don’t need salt as there is enough sodium in the baked beans and creamy rice for flavour)

Mix together and dollop about 2Tb of mixture onto a non stick frying pan on med heat (or use a bit of spray oil) and pan fry for about 2mins on each side or until golden brown.
The mixture makes about 10 pancakes.
Fritters are great to stuff a bunch of healthy ingredients in and you can’t really go wrong with the combinations. For example corn fritters are a classic so you can use a  tin of creamy corn as a base and then add in peas, grated carrot or zucchini, mushrooms, ham or tomato. You can get adventurous with spinach and feta cheese fritters.

Mixed vege fritters;

1 tin standard corn
1/2 cup frozen peas (defrosted) or you can use 1 cup of mixed frozen corn and peas
1 grated carrot
pinch of salt and pepper
2 eggs beaten
1 cup wholemeal flour
tsp crushed garlic
Optional extras; 2Tb feta or grated Edam cheese

Mix well, the mixture tends to be a little thicker than pancake mixture. Panfry each side for around 2mins. Makes around 8-10 fritters. Serve with side of mesculin salad.