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Changing my plate – less bloating

This 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 – Yvette’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 Yvette (not real name as wanted to stay anonymous) 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?
Less bloating and general feeling of being heavy.

Breakfast
Home, 7am – 2 pieces of toast, 2 eggs scrambled and 2 pieces of prosciutto fried with no oil/butter.

Ensure bread is good quality, something wholemeal, maybe rye, spelt or sourdough. Scramble your eggs with full cream milk and perhaps opt for a side of mushrooms or avocado over prosciutto.

Lunch
Home, 1.30pm – toasted sandwich with 2 cheese slices and left over roast chicken including a bit of skin. 1 piece of store bought pear cake with cream.

A toasted sandwich is a chance to squash the vegetables in! A big handful of baby spinach, some leftover roasted pumpkin, fresh sliced capsicum, tomato, pan seared zucchini for example. In place of a piece of cake with cream you might like to try poaching pear slices in a vanilla/sugar syrup then keeping them in the fridge; serve with yoghurt and crushed almonds or walnuts.

Dinner
Home, 6.30pm – Taco’s. Beef mince, cheese, carrot, avocado, lettuce. 2 taco shells and 2 soft burritos.

Were these seasoned by you or was it a store bought seasoning?

Snack 1
None

Snack 2
None

Snack 3
None

Snack 4
None

No snacks?!

Dessert
None.

At the moment Haigh’s chocolate is everywhere in the house so would have for example 10 Aprichocs or maybe 2 frogs.

I can understand this, ha! I LOVE Haigh’s.

Nutritional supplements
None

I do think some slippery elm bark powder will be of assistance in bloating/heaviness.

Daily fluid intake
1 litre of water/day
2 large flat white coffees
2 glasses of wine

Aim to increase water by half again and reduce coffees to regular size rather than large.

Any further information you’d like to share or special dietary requirements to factor in?

For bloating/heavniess you can add fennel or nettle tea (or a detox blend tea with fennel etc. in it) or dandelion tea at least two cups per day. Eat more regularly, you don’t snack but you need to eat smaller amounts of nutrient dense food every few hours rather than the conventional “three square meals per day” to keep yourself supplied with energy. Try protein rich and fresh produce rich snacks: carrot sticks with humus or cottage cheese, sugar snap peas, fruit with yoghurt topped with seeds, nuts, nut butter on rice cakes, “energy” balls made with dried fruit and nuts. Perhaps a fresh smoothie made with summer fruit: papaya would also be good to relieve bloating as it’s got anti-inflammatory properites plus it’s fibre rich which will assist elimination. Nut milk smoothies with eggs and frozen bananas are also an option for an ice-cream-like treat.

Further reading and recipes

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.