changing my plate.jpg

Changing my plate – eating for better health and vitality

changing my plate.jpgThis post is part of a regular series focusing on making small changes to improve our health. I shared my journey with changing my diet and moving to a clean eating approach which you can read here. I also had the lovely Katie Rainbird from Katie 180 undertake an analysis of my food intake for one day in that post, which was another step in the right direction.

Together we also offered the same opportunity to readers of Planning With Kids. We were blown away with the response and while I can’t guarantee will get to all of them this year, Katie has been busy working on many of the submissions already and we will publish as many as we can.

It is not possible for Katie to cover off everything in these posts. The aim is for her to find some small things you can change to what you are putting on your plate to help you achieve your current goal for your eating habits. You can read previous Changing my plate posts by clicking here.

Changing my plate – Kamya’s day

image_katieKatie Rainbird (AKA Katie180) is a Sydney-based Nutritionist who is just as likely to be found jogging as she is baking. She is a mother to two, a keen home cook, prefers to get around in her workout gear and has a major passion for the written word. You can learn more at www.katie180.com.au.

Katie reviewed what a reader Kamya submitted that she ate in a 24 hour period. This is what Katie had to say about her day:

What is your current goal with your eating habits?
Eating for better health and vitality. Minimising processed foods and additive

Breakfast
Home prepared about 8am after getting kids breakfast and lunches sorted
Smoothie of:
1 cup coconut milk
3 tbsp natural yogurt
1/2 avocado
1/2 frozen banana
1/3 cup frozen berries
2 tsp raw cacao powder
1/3 cup raw almonds (or tbsp LSA mix)

Small glass water

Two things (little things!) I want to find out: 1. where are the frozen berries sourced from? If it’s China or Brazil then I have issue with pesticide use and suggest using fresh berries grown here, freeze your own (blueberries freeze so well) or use banana. And also, do you grind your own LSA? Because I don’t recommend using pre-ground LSA as the ingredients in it are not stable when exposed to light on supermarket shelves, so their nutrient quality declines. Invest in a coffee grinder and grind a week’s worth then keep it in the fridge and store the bulk ingredients in a dark, cool place. Otherwise: GREAT!

Lunch
At work @ 1pm
Store prepared wrap: Chicken breast, Lettuce, Tasty cheese, Capsicum, Sun dried tomatoes, Sweet chilli sauce, toasted. Mug of weak black tea

No worries really.

Dinner
Home prepared spaghetti Bolognese @ 630pm. Store bought gluten free rice based pasta. Lean beef mince. Jar organic passata, fresh garlic, onion, baby spinach, carrot, zucchini. Glass soda water

Fine.

Snack 1
Mug of cappuccino @ 10.30. Smoothie keeps me going right until lunchtime.

Just wondering which kind of milk you use?

Snack 2
@ 4pm mug weak black tea. Chocolate fix! 1 lindt ball

OMG 1 Lindt ball sorts out your chocolate fix?! Well done.

Snack 3
Not that night but I sometimes (3/7) would have a treat after getting kids in bed. Small bowl of mocha ice-cream or piece of choc with green or black tea but only if no desserts with evening meal.

Check the ingredients in your mocha ice cream and if it’s loads of sugar, thickeners, skim milk powder, whole milk solids, “flavour” etc etc then best to ditch it and invest in a good quality ice cream (cream, milk, sugar, eggs, flavours from whole sources) OR start making your own which you can do from a basic custard which you make on the stove top then flavour and churn in the freezer. If you like ice cream I recommend looking into buying an ice cream maker: then you control what goes into it!

Snack 4
N/a

Dessert
None – not regular feature but would be fruit and/or store bought icecream. Or homemade egg custard from scratch (no custard powders)

Custard is a good whole food, when home prepared this way, I’d serve it to anyone any time of the day!

Nutritional supplements
None but used to take Swisse Women’s multi and a vit D calcium tab.

Daily fluid intake
Including those mentioned above
1 coffee
2 black teas
1 soda water
3 glasses water from tap

I’m not going to suggest taking out any tea or coffee because I think you’re doing really well with your food but I am going to suggest you increase your water by double.

Any further information you’d like to share or special dietary requirements to factor in?
Hubby and daughter are gluten intolerant so whole household is GF eating at home. My health has also responded very positively with greater energy, significantly reduced migraines/headaches from average 3/wk to 1/mth; regular and satisfying bowel motions; loss of 4 kg which was from around tummy area.
I don’t do any regular exercise despite best intentions. I am 50kg and 5ft1in.

Very curious to see if the changes in my food consumption are sufficiently balanced – thank you !!

It’s not uncommon for overall health to improve as a consequence of eliminating gluten, even when you don’t “need” to. You find that many food items ordinarily consumed that contained gluten also contained other nutrients (or “non” nutrients) that interfered with optimal cellular function and also you eat a wider variety of other grains and legumes as well as prepare many meals yourself purely because you have to! So it’s great to hear that you’ve experienced positive side effects from joining in with the GF needs of your family.

Just be mindful that abstaining from gluten for a long term duration may see you suffer an “intolerance” when you do eat it again, as the digestive system may not handle it so well. As such, I suggest you include foods with gluten on occasion, ensuring they are good quality (sourdough bread, wholemeal pasta, home made cakes and so on).

Katie’s summary
This is a good diet, I really wouldn’t tweak it too much more than the recommendations I have already made: check the source of your frozen berries, try making your own ice cream, include gluten from time to time and increase water. There is room for more fresh fruit as snacks but if you’re truly satiated after your morning smoothie then you don’t need to eat more. Fresh fruit, fresh cut veggie sticks, nuts, nut butters, seeds, humus, cheese and home made treats: there’s room for all of them if you fancy.

Well done, keep it up! There’s a really lovely gluten free blog that I read, it was the FIRST EVER blog I came across whilst researching for an assignment in my first year of college: glutenfreegirl.com she is an English literature teacher with coeliac disease, married to a chef and she writes such a beautiful and yummy looking gluten free blog, I have her book too: it’s great. You might like to check it out.

Further reading

Disclaimer

Katie is a qualified nutritionist (Adv. Dip. Nutr. Med.).

Any diet or lifestyle changes that you implement as a result of reading this blog are your own responsibility.

This blog does not provide medical advice, any particular health conditions must be managed by your own health professional.

The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this blog.