Healthy living awards presented to local hospitals

TWO LOCAL hospitals are among those celebrating their achievement of a national accreditation, after being presented with healthyliving awards.

Awards were presented to Arbroath Infirmary and Ashludie Hospital, Monifieth by broadcaster and journalist Stephen Jardine at an official ceremony at the Scottish Police College, Kincardine on October 3.

The healthyliving award aims to make it easier for customers to know where to go for healthier food when eating away from home, with caterers needing to meet a set of key criteria to ensure they are providing and supporting healthier eating.

Scottish Government Minister for Public Health, Michael Matheson said: “The Healthyliving Award lies at the heart of our route map to prevent overweight and obesity, providing us with tasty, quality foods that help us take those small but important steps to a healthier diet.

“We’re committed to doing everything we can to improve the health of all Scots. Eating a healthy diet and, particularly, introducing children to healthy eating is one way we can do this and I congratulate all of those recognised here today.”

Healthyliving award Project Manager, Claire Brown, who presented awards at the event, said: “The businesses here today should be proud of their achievement of this national accreditation. These businesses have worked hard to achieve the high standards of the award and are leading the way amongst the catering trade; proving that catering businesses of all sizes can satisfy demand for healthier food choices, and be rewarded for their efforts.”

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Healthy eating specialist wants you to learn to love your veggies - true story

Whatever you do, don't call Ruth Kerr a vegan.

"I like to say I'm a nutritarian, or plant-based," said Kerr, who avoids animal products, including meat, eggs and dairy. "I don't want to label myself -- 'I'm this, I'm that, I'm vegan, I can't eat that' -- but from the research I've done, I do think mostly a plant-based diet is at least what I thrive on."

A plant-based diet is central to Health Starts Here, a program by Whole Foods Market to promote healthy eating. To bring the message of plant-strong consumption to the public, the company, which owns Greenlife Grocery on Manufacturers Road, is employing "healthy eating specialists" to act as liaisons to the public.

Kerr, 24, plays that role in Chattanooga. She runs special programs, is available to answer questions and creates samples of recipes for customers to try.

"It's fun because I have to get creative," she said.

One thing she doesn't want to do is tell people what not to eat. Her goal, she said, is simply to increase awareness that nutrient-dense food is not only available, it can be delicious.

"I think anything in the health industry can be really easily thwarted, just because people think you have to be on a diet or eating healthy doesn't taste good," Kerr said. "My goal isn't to restrict. I think my demos show how you can highlight all the plant-strong things in a really good way and not even address cutting out something. It's just giving more options and putting all those ideas and recipes in someone's orbit."

• What she does ... A healthy-eating liaison is the person who promotes the Health Starts Here program. It's about reconfiguring your plate. I think you could easily misconstrue it as pushing a certain diet or lifestyle, which is counterproductive. I think a lot of people would be turned off by that and not inspired.
• Getting creative ... One time I steamed kale and mixed it with walnuts and a little water. It made this pesto-type thing. Kale butter is what I called that. It was really good. I've made a raw apple pie. The crust was a date, walnut, almond mixture, and the filling is just apples, and I processed a whole orange, raisins, dates, lemon juice and marinated the apples in it. It was awesome. People have come up to me and said, 'I've made that pie four times since you did that."
• Being schooled ... I am in school, taking classes to get into a program. To be a dietitian, you take courses that make you eligible to do an internship. You do the internship, and then you're eligible to take the exit exam. Then if you pass that, you're a dietitian. So I'm taking the chemistries and the basic classes I didn't take in college to get into the program. It helps to see different ways I can apply this in the real world.
• The learning process ... One part of my job I like is I'm always learning. I'm learning about gluten-free options or Crohn's disease. I think of a recipe that would work for all those things. I would love to learn more about different intolerances. It would interest me to learn how your body functions differently with those intolerances.
• Work satisfaction ... Every day when I talk to somebody, I feel like I'm helping. I remember thinking a few years ago I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but I knew I was really interested in nutrition and that at the end of the day, I feel fulfilled when I've helped people. I feel like those two have been fused.
• Her favorite meal ... I love whole-wheat crust pizza with homemade tomato sauce and piled with veggies. And I love kale. I'm not just saying that because I'm supposed to. I really, really like it. And I love finding new recipes for it. I love black-bean burgers.
• Family matters ... My husband likes that lifestyle, but he has to have his chicken and his meat. I have three brothers, and they're definitely meat-and-three type of guys. They roll their eyes and say, "Oh, she's vegan, she just eats nuts and seeds." I definitely don't think there's any shame in calling yourself a vegan, but I don't see myself as a vegan. I just see myself as someone who chooses foods with more nutrients.
• Tracing her roots ... My love for cooking definitely came from my mom and grandmother. My mother has her own chicken coop and her garden. The slow-food part of my passions comes from her. But the health part ... I don't know, I think I've always been very interested in the fact that what we put into our bodies is fuel. I'm so interested in that. It amazes me how strong our bodies are.
• Stress relief ... As a girl, it's hard in high school. But in high school, I had a cross-country coach who was really encouraging, and he built my confidence a lot. But in high school, I was more stressed about food. But somewhere in there, it got really fun all of a sudden instead of stressful. You don't think about the nutrients in cashews; you just think "oh, I can't eat a lot of this, because it's high fat." I think growing up I didn't appreciate the good value of what's in food.

5 Healthy Tips When Eating At A Restaurant

How to Eat Healthy at a Restaurant

Eating food at a restaurant may seem like a welcome change from your daily routine of cooking and doing the dishes. For a foodie nothing can seem more exciting than receiving your favorite food on a platter and digging into it. However, in most cases, succumbing to your food cravings at your favorite restaurant can lead to unwelcome changes in your appearance, and can also affect your health in the long run. Does that mean you should quit visiting your favorite joint or downing your favorite snack? Hell no, the key here is to use your brain. Eat smart. Here are some tips to eat healthy at a restaurant.

Eating Healthy at Restaurants

It is difficult to know the cooking methods practiced by chefs in restaurants behind closed doors of their kitchen. Similarly, most of the unhealthy ingredients might get camouflaged by the delicious taste and aroma of the food. This is why you might need to keep a tab on what you eat to ensure that your food intake is nutritious. Else you might just pile on the pounds.

Beverages

We tend to start our meals with beverages or may consume them in between our meals. Most of us are addicted to consuming cold beverages at regular intervals. Read below to know how to choose your beverages.

• Opt for some fresh fruit juices and mocktails while dining at restaurants. Fruits are packed with fructose and antioxidants that are highly nutritious for your body. At times, sipping fresh fruit juices between meals induces better digestion.
• As far as possible, stay away from aerated drinks, as they are highly sweetened and acidic in nature. Opt for a glass of iced tea, or some freshly prepared lemonade instead.
• Make sure to consume plenty of water. Water is not only essential for hydrating your body, but also for reducing hunger considerably.

Meal Courses

Here is What You can Opt For

• It is ideal to stick to soups and starters made from fresh vegetables, fish and white meat. Ensure that your meal is free from preservatives.
• When eating buffet meals, opt for plenty of salads made from sprouts and green vegetables.
• Opt for healthy meals that contain nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, fibers, vitamins, in right proportion.

Here is What You can Avoid

• Avoid consuming salt over and above the cooking salt with which your meal has been cooked.
• Check with the restaurant staff to understand the quantity of trans-fat and saturated fat present in your meal.
• Avoid consuming food that has high proportion of artificial food colors.
• Avoid consuming meals that are deep-fried, cooked in rich creamy sauces, pan-fried and batter-dipped.
• Avoid food prepared in high amounts of butter and other fattening agents.
• Avoid food that includes high proportion of bread and other yeast-based bakery products.
• Avoid foods like bacon which are high in fat and contain very little nutrition factor.

Desserts

Most sweet-toothed people, like me, await for desserts as the most exciting part of a meal at restaurants. While restaurant menus offer you a list of mouth-watering desserts, you need to be alert about the number of calories packed in them.

• As far as calories are concerned, avoid sweets fried in clarified butter, or the ones with high proportion of sugar, chocolate and cream.
• Opt for desserts with natural sweetness like a mixed fruit dish. There are bound to be some healthy desserts to satisfy your sweet tooth on the restaurant menu.

Some Parting Suggestions

Reading the above suggestions, you might start wondering if you are actually going to have a hearty meal at a restaurant. Fear not, for there are some easy ways to understand your appetite and eat accordingly.

• Buffet meals are costly and therefore, there are higher chances of you trying to eat extra food to get value for money. Opt to order food from an ‘À la carte’ menu while at a restaurant. This gives you freedom to choose food that is healthy and suitable to your requirements. Another suggestion is to opt for a smaller plate so that you eat smaller portions.
• Take short breaks between your starters, main course and desserts. This will help you to figure out if you are really hungry before you order something new.
• Speak with the Maitre d’ of the restaurant to understand if they have any healthy foods on their menu. You may ask them about the contents of their food preparation, and request for slight modifications to suit your requirement.

Smooth isn’t it? These were such simple ways to eat healthy and eat out at the same time. With a keen attention to the details of every delicacy reaching your plate, you will in fact save yourself from the guilt of putting on weight.

Healthy Eating Does Not Have To Be A Chore

Choosing to eat healthily offers incredible benefits and is becoming a more popular way of living. The overall economy is impacted by the number of individuals who suffer from diseases such as high blood pressure, which is directly linked to poor eating habits. There are more and more efforts to try to get us to lead a healthier way of living and yet it is also easier than ever to rely on fast, convenient food that is very bad for our health. It is likely that many people believe it will take great effort to eat a healthy diet or that they have to make a large scale change to their way of life. Contrary to that information, individuals can change their eating habits for the better by implementing several simple changes. If you happen to be at all like us, it can be nerve-wracking any time you need accurate details concerningnutrition facts, and it seems nearly impossible to find. Believe it or not, but the best information on this is not always found in the first few search engine listings. We have read many people make a complaint about that, so you are not being singled out by the search engines. That is what motivated us to put this article together for you pertaining to nutrition facts. After going through this article, you will possess more insight into this subject.  In order to see results, it is definitely not a requirement to drastically modify your eating habits. Even more crucial than wholly modifying your diet is just substitutinghealthy eating choices whenever possible. Soon enough, you will find that you actually prefer to eat healthy foods after you have eaten that way for a while. Like many other habits, change takes place over a period of time and as soon as a new way of eating becomes part of who you are, you won't feel the need to return to your old diet.  One initial thing you can do is to pay close attention to the choices you make when you're shopping as you most likely purchase lots of food items out of habit. For example, have you ever checked how much sugar and salt are in your favorite cereal? A great healthy substitute can be porridge oats which have been shown to be beneficial for your heart and can give you good sustainable energy each day. By adding fresh fruit, you can improve the flavor and, before you know it, you will have made a good change to your diet. We want to say a quick word about our conversation re nutrition facts. One thing we tend to believe you will discover is the right info you need will take its cues from your current situation. Just be sure you pick those items that will serve your needs the most. Exactly how they effect what you do is something you need to carefully think about. Here are a number of more equally important highlights on this significant topic.  These sorts of changes are easy to accomplish with all sorts of foods and can apply to the oils you cook in and the spread you put on bread. Olive oil contains monounsaturated fat which can help to lower bad cholesterol. It can likewise be good for your skin because it is a great source of vitamin E. It could be that you already think that you consume fruit and veggies but it can be worthwhile considering how fresh these are depending on where you purchase these. If at all possible, buy organic produce that has not been sprayed with harmful pesticides. You can be certain that you're getting the most nutritional benefits from your fresh produce if you can find a local supplier because you will be able to get the fruit when it is the freshest and ripest.Here are a number of more equally necessary highlights on this important matter.  All in all, it is not difficult to begin to make healthy eating a regular part of your daily lifestyle. We do hope this very small taste concerning nutrition facts will be of great use for you. There are other areas that can be discovered that will enhance the information that is generally available. What we will do is go into much deeper are more subtle points that will give you a greater comprehension and more advantage. You will be able to evaluate your particular needs as you examine this deeper treatment on this subject.

5 Tips to Pack Healthy School Lunches on Budget

Don't you love it when there's something on your "To Do" list and then you find out somebody else has come along and done it for you? That's sort of what happened with this week's column.

I was trying to figure out what sort of consumer advice I could share with you today, and then -- ding! -- an email appeared in my inbox from the woman I think of as my Grocery Guru: Chrissy Pate of BeCentsAble.net.

Chrissy says the number one question she's getting from her followers right now is how to pack healthy school lunches on a budget. This speaks to me, because my daughter just started "big girl school" and we keep running out of ideas for what to pack her, not to mention managing to save money on it.

Chrissy to the rescue!

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For school lunches, Chrissy uses the classic grocery savings techniques that I've described in past columns, likeCreative Couponing and Price Matching, but she also suggests some "out of the lunchbox" ideas for how to save that I hadn't heard before.

Here are Chrissy's hot tips in her own words:

1. Use daily deal sites.

This week I got a daily deal for $60 to Ecomom.com for only $21 shipped. That is $60 worth of organic lunch box food for just $21 shipped!

2. Use Amazon.

They run lots of hot deals. Use "subscribe and save" to get free shipping and get 15 percent off. You can cancel later. I score lots of deals on juice and milk boxes here.

3. Shop discount grocery stores.

These stores will sometimes sell things that are about to expire or damaged items. (Note from Elisabeth: freeze items that will soon expire and you can extend their life for weeks or months because freezing stops the clock.)

4. Shop outlet stores.

I always buy my bread at the bread outlet store. I get 100 percent whole wheat name brand bread for around a dollar a loaf! I go once a month and fill the freezer.

5. Watch for hidden deals.

Look for unadvertised sales at your store. Ask the manager if they mark things down on a set day.

Easy Step To Slim

Want to lose weight quickly and easily? Here are 25 tips to help you lose weight in Malaysia.

1-10: Nutrition and Diet Nutrition

Let's start with tips on diet and nutrition.

1. Eat 5-7 small meals than 3 large meals. This will not only be able to control appetite and nutrition but also to ensure your energy going throughout the day.

2. Do not skip meals. It will not help you lose weight because 1.appetite will roar and 2. metabolism decreases.

3. Know your daily calorie needs. Many people do not recognize the needs of their daily calories. But if you do not know, how you want to control the quantity of food?!

4. Roti canai (rolled bread) ... hmm how many calories that? Make sure you know the food and beverage calories in your everyday. Use websites like Cekodok.com for free user.

5. Avoid calories from beverages. This is the tip of the most easy to lose weight. With just replace sugary drinks like ice tea, milo, soft drinks and other sugar-free water, you can reduce about 10 kg a year. Want to learn how? Refer to Saving Tips eBook 25 Calorie me.

6. Mineral Water. Water does not contain any calories and not gain weight for a long time term. But avoid excessive salt intake because it will increase your body's water retention.

7. Do not eat the fruit with the excess. Although fruits contain vitamins and minerals, it also contains calories (sugar) that can be fattening.

8. A handful of carbohydrates hands. Whether you eat rice, bread, noodles or potatoes (all sources of carbohydrates), make sure the serving size is more than a handful of hand. If not satisfied, add the meat.

9. Ensure that sufficient quantities of protein intake. As a guide make sure you take a 2-2.5g per kg of your weight. It should be noted, proteins more filling than carbohydrates.

10. Control your appetite! The only way to control appetite is to make sure it does not have a chance to flower. If appetite is coming, then it is too late. Use these tips to control appetite in the free eBook Craving Saving Tips 45.

11-20: Exercise

Exercise should be fun. No need to search for the latest exercise trend. What is important you find exercises that are compatible with your lifestyle and interests.

11. Exercise is not required! If you want to lose weight, exercise is actually optional. But it can help accelerate your efforts.

12. Weightlifting! Not sure about your gender and age include weight lifting exercises in your workout program. Why? Because it helps strengthen muscles, bones, joints, and finally if you are thin at all, certainly you want the body that is thick right? :)

13. More concerned with quality exercise. Exercise does not only depend on the quantity but the most important is the quality of your workout. Make sure you are skilled in the preparation and implementation of your workout. If not sure, get guidance from experts sound.

14. Make sure you burn fat instead of glucose. If you're jogging or playing badminton with the hope of burning fat, be sure to avoid drinks such as Milo, 100Plus or Gatorade.

15. Needless to day-to-day. If you exercise, do not have day-to-day. 2-4 times a week enough. Let your body rest and recover ... important quality of a workout.

16. Want a flat stomach? Abs Crunches and equipment are not effective as long as the muscular abs and covered with a layer of fat, so your abs muscles will not be prominent. Focus your efforts on cardio exercise and nutritional care to burn fat.

17. Exercises for toning? Rather like tip 16. Exercise alone will not go anywhere. Your efforts should be combined with good nutrition to burn calories (fat). For proper guidance, get the eBook Guide Reduce 5kg in 5 weeks.

18. Yoga to lose weight? Not well. Yoga is suitable for flexibility and relaxation, but to exercise to lose weight, cardio is much better.

19. Sauna and steam room? Both can help burn calories and lavatory. Not a problem you visit.

20. Sex as exercise? Yup definitely. Sexual activity is an example of which is a lot of exercise to burn calories and reduce stress.

21-25: supplements and food supplements

If combined with diet and exercise good foundation, supplements and food supplements to help speed up your efforts to lose weight. But ... make sure you are intrigued by the images before and after.

21. Quick slim pill? No matter where and the price, no magic pills that can reduce weight, burn fat without the combination of good basic nutrition. Impossible.

22. Is an effective fat burner? In theory yes. The role of fat burners is to raise your metabolism through ingredients such as caffeine and guarana. So with this extra calorie burning, you can lose weight. But my advice, do not rely on any long-term supplementation.

23. Want to reduce 1kg? You need to burn or remove 7.700 calories either through food, exercise, or a combination of both.

24. Protein supplements is a good choice as a snack between meals. Protein supplement low in calories, easily purchased anywhere, and can be stored in the office or at home.

25. Get a good multivitamin supplement. Lack of micro-nutrients can cause your appetite up. So make sure you have a multi-vitamin supplements that are appropriate to gender, age and your unique lifestyle.

26. In Malaysia, many example of a substitute food or meal replacement. Although it can give you all the nutritional requirements for a meal, it is not expensive and I do not recommend that you leave your fate to any weight loss supplement products.