The weekly shop needs to be a planned exercise with a list to provide enough healthy food for the family for the week. But even the best intentions can go astray as we are tempted by shelves so crammed full of choices. As we all love a bargain, the buy-one-get-one free offers are almost irresistible. It is also said that you should never shop for food on an empty stomach as this prompts you to buy far more than you really need.
The incidence of obesity, heart diseases, together with increasing preoccupations with the way we look have raised our awareness of what we eat.
Many of us are trying to choose ‘healthier’ foods. So now in supermarkets, the health-conscious mother can be seen studying the labels to check out the amount of fat or sugar in a product. I was very surprised to discover that the healthy, high fibre breakfast cereal that I was giving to my sporty son contained 30 grams of sugar per 100-gram helping. In other words, almost one third of what he was eating was sugar.
Low fat spread is apparently not as low in fat as we would like to imagine — but it is allowed to be described as low fat if it contains less than 41 percent fat! Other products that look healthy and labelled low in fats can, on closer inspection, be high in salt, which is linked to high blood pressure.
Children can also complicate the supermarket dash, as not only can they provide a distraction, but they can also make the exercise more costly! They want to choose and this can often mean buying crisps, sweets, fizzy drinks, biscuits, and cakes. And they would like to have us believe that every other mother buys all of these items in large quantities as though every day is a party!
When shopping, good tips to remember are — keep food simple, fresh, and low in fat, sugar, and salt. Also, shop to keep the fruit bowl full and the snack drawer empty!
Recipe of the Week
Chilled Wild Rice Salad
Serve this refreshing salad with your favorite chicken dish.
Serves 2-3
Ingredients
1 tablespoon Olive oil
2 Tablespoons Lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
2 cups Cooked wild rice
1/4 cup Green onions, chopped
1 Tomato, diced
1 Tablespoon Parsley, chopped
1 Tablespoon Mint, chopped (optional)
Method
Whisk together the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toss in the remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until needed (at least 1 hour). Serve cold
Ask Alva
I am suffering from hypothyroidism, for which I have been taking Thyroxin tablets every day for the past six month. I want to reduce my weight and shed the fat that has accumulated around my abdomen, thighs and breasts. Even my face has become broader with a slight double chin. I would like to have your advice regarding my diet, and if I can have lemon juice and honey in the mornings as my fasting sugar level is 93 and my cholesterol is 212. I am feeling very low because of my excessive weight. Rekha
As I am sure your doctor will have explained, one of the effects of hypothyroidism is to cause weight gain, and so you will not find it easy to reduce until your thyroid condition is under control. Thyroxin is a usual and very effective treatment for this purpose, and once it has returned your thyroid activity to normal, you can plan to lose your excess weight. That is not to say that you should not start to take care of your diet and exercise now, and if you enjoy taking honey with lemon juice in the morning, you should continue. If you will email me at [email protected] I will send you a full copy of my Healthy Eating Guide which will start you on the right road to regaining your proper weight. Alva
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