25 healthy snack ideas for kids

Kids will love these delicious, healthy and easy to prepare snacks!

 

• Rice cakes lightly spread with ricotta or "light" cream cheese and vegemite or fruit spread. 

• Toasted muffin with a scrape of honey or fruit spread. 

• Slice of toasted wholegrain bread topped with ricotta cheese and fruit spread. 

• Microwaved pappadums. 

• Crispbreads with a low fat topping or plain biscuits. 

• Wholewheat breakfast cereal and reduced fat milk. 

• Toasted sandwich - use baked beans with a slice of low fat cheese or lean ham and creamed corn. 

• Homemade muffins or buy a low fat muffin mix (check your supermarket). 

• Frozen banana (spear peeled banana with icy-pole stick and freeze) or other frozen fruit such as grapes, peeled orange or mandarin segments. 

• Scoop low fat ice cream with 1/2 cup canned unsweetened fruit. 

• Strawberry smoothie (using skim or low fat milk or low fat soy drink). 

• Fruit yoghurt cup 

• Ice blocks made with equal quantity fruit juice and low fat yoghurt. 

• Ice blocks made on diet cordial. 

• Fruit kebabs (skewer cubes of fruits on to bamboo skewers). 

• 200gm tub of frozen yoghurt or low fat fruit yoghurt. 

• Fruit platter with low fat yoghurt to dip into. 

• Bowl of pumpkin soup (made with low fat evaporated milk or skim milk instead of cream). 

• Vegetable rich soup with spirally pasta. 

• Raisin toast. 

• 2 minute noodles. 

• Cheese scones or muffins (mix grated cheese in or sprinkle on top and grill). 

• Crumpets with a scrape of margarine - try topping with tomato and cheese. 

• Fresh fruit kebabs. 

• Pikelets with jam or honey.

Read More

How to give snacks a nutrition boost in 7 days

A week's worth of healthy snacking made easy

 

Monday

Blend a refreshing morning smoothie. A creamy, vitamin-rich drink can be made in minutes by blending frozen berries or a banana with three-quarters of a cup of organic, rice or almond milk and a splash of vanilla extract. For a tropical twist, add a quarter cup of coconut milk.

>>4 green smoothier recipes to try

Tuesday

Check out the supermarket’s health-food aisle. Crackers are a handy and nutritious lunch-box snack and are available in tasty varieties such as wholegrain, brown rice, quinoa and flaxseed. Spread with a low-sugar almond, brazil or cashew nut butter, which are packed with essential fatty acids and are great brain food. 

Wednesday

Beat the afternoon sugar slump. To balance your blood sugar, try these protein balls: In a blender, mix one cup of chopped almonds or walnuts, half a cup of chopped organic dates, a quarter cup of shredded coconut and a teaspoon of cocoa powder, blend for three minutes, then roll into balls and refrigerate for a daily treat.   

>>Want another graet afternoon snack? Try these bliss balls!

Thursday

Spice up your nuts. Tamari almonds are delicious and a great source of protein. To make them, spread almonds, nuts and seeds on a baking tray, sprinkle tamari sauce (available at health-food stores) over the top and bake on a low heat for 15 minutes.

Friday

Give nachos a nutritious twist. Spread baked (not fried) corn chips on a baking dish, add a can of drained and rinsed kidney beans and a can of all-natural salsa, and sprinkle a small amount of cheddar cheese over the top. Place in a preheated oven and bake until the cheese melts.

>>The dairy=fat myth

Saturday

Have breakfast as an afternoon snack. For a quick dish that’s packed with energy and will stabilise your blood sugar, try eggs or oats. In five minutes, scramble an egg, place it in a wrap and top with natural tomato sauce. Or for something sweet, mix oats with frozen blueberries and a splash of pure maple syrup. 

Sunday

Indulge with a yoghurt sundae. For a nutritious, low-sugar treat, place a few scoops of natural yoghurt in a bowl, add berries and sliced banana around the edge and top with shredded or toasted coconut and chopped nuts. Chocolate lovers can sprinkle cocoa nibs on top.  

Read More

10 Primal Superfoods to Help You Perform 10 Times Better

Cage-free, organic eggs are filled with vitamins and minerals, including biotin and choline.

Protein plays a big part in the Paleo athlete’s life. Whether you need to pre-fuel with protein and fat or you need to recover with protein and dense carbohydrates, cage-free, organic eggs are your friend. Eggs are a quick protein source that you can have on the ready whenever you need them.

Biotin turns what you eat into energy, while choline moves cholesterol through your bloodstream.

Read More

Get back to the basics of nutrition

You don't need a degree to understand nutrition. It's simple if you just keep these basics in mind.

A seemingly never-ending supply of diet and weight-loss information can trick you into thinking food and nutrition is a complex science that requires a university degree to understand. The truth is that despite a growing number of complicated food descriptions, the basics of health and nutrition are, in fact, rather basic.  When clients come to me for a dietary overhaul, it all too often becomes apparent that their basic nutritional requirements are rarely being met with the foods they are choosing on a daily basis. So before you feel the need to delve into your own complex nutritional analysis, perhaps it is time that you too checked that you are giving your body the basic nutrition it requires to help you look and feel your best.

Nutrition basic 1: Drinking more water

Not only does an inadequate fluid intake make you feel tired and lethargic, it slows the digestive processes that help eliminate waste effectively and quickly from the body. Diet soft drinks, coffee, sports drinks and juices are the most common beverage choices that tend to replace the key fluids that optimise hydration. Although these choices provide some fluid, they are simply not as effective as plain water. The simplest way to assess whether you are drinking enough water is to check the colour of your urine - if it is yellow, you are not drinking enough. The average adult needs at least 1500 millilitres of water each day, in addition to an extra 500 to 1000 millilitres for every hour of intense exercise.

• Solution: There is no trick to drinking more water, it is simply a habit. To increase your intake of water each day, always carry a water bottle with you and count how many bottles you are working your way through each day. Drinking more may mean more trips to the bathroom, but it is worth it.

Nutrition basic 2: Eating enough fibre

To get all the dietary fibre you need each day, an adult needs to eat two pieces of fruit, three cups of vegetables, wholegrain bread and/or breakfast cereal. Skip a piece of fruit or choose white bread and it is likely you are getting less than the ideal 30 grams or more of dietary fibre every day. Inadequate fibre can leave you feeling bloated, as well as unsatisfied and more likely to snack on poor-quality foods.

• Solution: Always carry a piece of fruit with you and ensure your lunch choices contain salad or vegetables. Always request wholemeal or grain breads, even if you are dining away from home, and keep carrots and celery sticks within easy reach to snack on. Another factor that may motivate you to eat more fibre is the fact that diets high in fibre are also linked to weight control. You simply need to eat less when you are eating lots of fibre-rich foods.

Nutrition basic 3: Getting your good fat

The health conscious among us often keep their daily fat intake well below the recommended 40 to 60 grams of total fat each day, but for this group it is also common to see an inadequate intake of good fats, which are crucial for optimal metabolic functioning and cell health. In order to get all the good fat you need each day, an adult requires a serve of nuts, a teaspoon of oil as well as some oily fish. While only small amounts are required, the key metabolic roles these fats play are crucial for optimal health.

• Solution: Carry a bag of mixed nuts with you and aim to eat a small handful each day. If you are not partial to eating oily fish each day, take a daily supplement and aim to add a small amount of olive or canola oil to your cooking.

Nutrition basic 4: Not eating enough vegetables

The more vegetables or salad you eat, the better you will feel. Not only do vegies fill you up, they are full of key nutrients and are one of the few foods known to help control weight and reduce the risk of developing a number of cancers. And remember, the brighter, the better.

• Solution: If you eat out regularly, make it a priority to order a whole extra side of vegetables or salad and munch on raw vegetables and salad as snacks. Aim for at least five different types each day and for both your lunch and dinner plate to be half-filled with salad or vegetables.

Read More

Top 10 Fitness Tips

Damien Kelly shows how to master the exercise basics and get your fitness on track for the year ahead.

 

Not sure what you need to do to take your fitness to the next level in 2012? Here are the most important things to work on.

1. Train for a fun run

When it comes to body-shape change, strength training and high-intensity cardio are the indisputable winners. However, for some people, hitting the pavement burns the fat like nothing else. We all know how hard it is to maintain a long-term running program without a specific goal in mind, so look at what fun runs you can enter in your local area. Give yourself at least eight weeks to train and stick to a strict and consistent program. Once you've completed it, why not set your sights on a half-marathon?

2. Learn to dead lift

To get big results you need big exercises such as the dead lift. It targets the hamstrings, glutes, lower back and core. Bending forward gets harder as we get older and back injuries are often due to a lack of skill in this movement. But with a bit of practise, most women can dead lift their own body weight. There's a challenge for 2012. Just remember, it won't happen overnight. Build up the weight slowly once your technique is correct.

View our video on how to do a dead lift correctly.

3. Go to your full range of motion

It's a lot easier to do a push-up that goes halfway to the ground than a push-up that goes all the way to the ground. The weakest part of a push-up is at the bottom and this is therefore the part that needs the most training. This is the case with all exercises: the deeper you go into them, without feeling pain in your joints, the better your gains will be. Keep reminding yourself it's not an exercise unless you have taken it through the full range of motion. You'll really feel it the next day!

4. Do weighted squats

It may not sound very feminine, but weight training needs to be high up on your list of training focuses for this year. Strength training burns serious amounts of fat and tones your whole body. Squats are the first exercise you should do. Learn to do them perfectly without weight, then add weights as you get stronger. And I'll let you in on a little secret. The vast majority of the amazing-looking real women who grace these workout pages are taking this advice. It really does the job.

View our videos on how to do a squat and a weighted squat correctly.

5. Do twists

Old-school weight machines only move your body in one line. Unless you are completing a rehabilitation program, ditch the machines, use free weights or your body weight and train the way you use your body in real life, by adding twists. A controlled twist is dynamite for your core and obliques. Just make sure you do it with control and you don't experience any back pain. Bring on that 2012 toned tummy!

6. Show your body some love

In between all this training, book yourself in for some pampering sessions. Having a regular massage is a great way to reward your body for its hard work. A deep-tissue massage also encourages any muscles that are tight or sore from training to relax and release. This is important to prevent injury in the long term. Have a massage once a month.

7. Work your core

Most people want a tighter tummy but don't know what training is required. Sit-ups and crunches only tone the six-pack muscles; they won't tighten your tummy or reduce girth. For that you need core posture work. Almost every exercise, from squats to push-ups, has a core component. Focus on maintaining your posture during all your exercises and you'll work your core. Add core-specific moves, such as planks and core climbers,and you'll see results.

View our videos on how to do a plank and a core climber correctly.

8. Balance your workouts

Make sure you don't just work certain parts of your body and neglect others. Here are the tips to getting your workout balance right.

• If you do a pushing movement such as a push-up, match it with a pulling movement such as a chin-up or row.
• Do a mix of high-intensity cardio and strength training. Add in some core and flexibility work. A good workout can include all this in less than an hour.
• Don't favour the upper or lower body. Work both areas hard every workout.

9. Make your abs burn

The sayings "feel the burn" and "no pain no gain" may seem old school, but if you're trying to get a six-pack and you don't feel a serious burn when you work your abs, your chances of success are slim. The abs are inactive, yet sensitive muscles. They are happy for the muscles around them to do the work and they complain when they are called upon. So when you're using them correctly, you'll know all about it. Refine your technique until they burn every time.

View our videos on how to do a sit-up and leg lower and reverse crunchcorrectly.

10. Train with kettlebells

Vodka and Maria Sharapova aren't the only great things to have come out of Russia. Kettlebell training has infiltrated the fitness industry in a big way. It's another option for strengthening and toning your body with whole-body moves that are actually kind of fun. Make sure you get some direction first to refine your technique and you'll have gained another great tool for your fitness arsenal.

Read More