Thinking ahead and planning meals and snacks for yourself or your family based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines and Australian Guide To Healthy Eating is the key to healthy eating and also the best way to lose weight. Planning helps manage the budget, makes shopping easier and maximises foods that are high in nutrients, but lower in kilojoules.

Planning Ahead

• Plan your meals and snacks ahead for the week. Thinking ahead about mid meal snacks is important for healthy eating, but absolutely essential for weight loss. Well planned snacks can make it easier to limit portion size at meals by allowing a ‘top up’ between meals and also avoids being so hungry at the next meal that you eat too much or eat unplanned discretionary foods.
• Plan for evening meals when you are too busy or tried to cook. Have some quick and easy meals readily available so you can easily make a home made pizza or quick pasta dish instead of opting for take-away
• Keep your pantry stocked with basics should as legumes ( canned and dried), pasta, rice, couscous, canned fish, nuts & seeds, herbs, spices, olive oil, vinegar, tomato pasta sauce, frozen vegetables and berries and cheese.
• Have a weekly grocery shop and try to avoid this when tired or hungry.

  Food Preparation

• Try cooking larger batches of food such as casseroles/curries and freezing single serves to eat on nights when you’re too busy to cook
• Start a herb garden – save money and wastage on herbs you wont use

© Hamilton Dietetics 2013

Heathy Eating Guidelines Include small regular meals and snacks

• Don’t skip meals
• Include a low GI carbohydrate and a protein source at each meal • Include a nutritious snack in between meals
• Try not to eat late at night

Fruits, Vegetables, Legumes and Wholegrains

• Aim for 5 serves vegetables/salads every day
• Eat 2-3 fruits per day
• Choose mostly wholegrain breads and cereals eg brown rice, quinoa, wholegrain

  pasta and breads

• Include legumes ( peas, beans and lentils)regularly

  Fats – Choose Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated fats instead of Saturated fats

  • Eat more fish and legumes and only small amounts of lean meat
  • Choose low fat dairy products and try soy instead
  • Replace butter with avocado, olive oil, hummous, tahini or nut spreads • Use olive oil in cooking and salads and canola for stir fries

  Low Glycaemic Index Carbohydrate Foods

  • Legumes ( chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans, four bean mix, baked beans ) • Basmati or doongara rice
  • Rolled oats, natural museli, goodness superfoods protein 1st or digestive, • Most fruits such as apples, bananas, berries, peaches, pears

  • Sweet potato or carisma/chat potatoes instead of white potato or mash • Wholegrain, sourdough, soy & linseed breads, pumpernickel breads
  • Wholegrains such as quinoa, couscous, bulgar wheat, barley

  Fluids

  • Aim for 2 alcohol free days and limit to 2 standard drinks per day • Drink plenty of water – 6-8 glasses per day
  • Drink fruit juice only in moderation

Exercise:

Aim to include 1 hour of moderate intensity activity on most days of the week. Try using a pedometer and aim for 10,000 steps per day or park the car further away and walk to where you are going. Get off the bus/train 1 stop earlier and walk the rest of the way and take the stairs instead of the lift.

Eating Tips:

• Try not to eat on the move, such as walking around or while trying to do something else at the same time. Avoid getting up to wash your plate before you have finished chewing your final mouthful! Try not to ‘multi-task’ whilst eating and actually savour or think about every mouthful, rather than rushing through every meal.
• Sit down at the table to eat and turn off the TV. Put on some of your favourite music, a vase of flowers on the table and light some candles. Alternatively, dine in a truly peaceful environment with no TV or music.
• Make mealtimes an enjoyable experience. This isn’t the time for family disagreements. Sit down with other members of your household and enjoy the company and finding out about each other’s day.
• Only eat when you are hungry.This might seem obvious but it is great self-awareness tool. Using a scale of -3 to 0 (-3= ravenous -2=very hungry -1= slightly hungry 0= not hungry at all) try to eat when you are at -2 and -1 on the scale.
• Slow down while eating, chew 6. Before you eat, think every bite food and try to put down your cutlery in between mouthfuls. Have you ever finished a meal and not really tasted it at all? Meal-times should be about unwinding and truly tasting your meal.
• Think mindfully about how full you are – and stop eating when you are 80% full. You should end a meal feeling satisfied, not over-loaded.

  Thinking ahead and planning meals and snacks for yourself or your family based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines and Australian Guide To Healthy Eating is the key to healthy eating and also the best way to lose weight. Planning helps manage the budget, makes shopping easier and maximises foods that are high in nutrients, but lower in kilojoules.

  Planning Ahead

  • Plan your meals and snacks ahead for the week. Thinking ahead about mid meal snacks is important for healthy eating, but absolutely essential for weight loss. Well planned snacks can make it easier to limit portion size at meals by allowing a ‘top up’ between meals and also avoids being so hungry at the next meal that you eat too much or eat unplanned discretionary foods.
  • Plan for evening meals when you are too busy or tried to cook. Have some quick and easy meals readily available so you can easily make a home made pizza or quick pasta dish instead of opting for take-away
  • Keep your pantry stocked with basics should as legumes ( canned and dried), pasta, rice, couscous, canned fish, nuts & seeds, herbs, spices, olive oil, vinegar, tomato pasta sauce, frozen vegetables and berries and cheese.
  • Have a weekly grocery shop and try to avoid this when tired or hungry.

    Food Preparation

  • Try cooking larger batches of food such as casseroles/curries and freezing single serves to eat on nights when you’re too busy to cook
  • Start a herb garden – save money and wastage on herbs you wont use

  © Hamilton Dietetics 2013

  Heathy Eating Guidelines Include small regular meals and snacks

  • Don’t skip meals
  • Include a low GI carbohydrate and a protein source at each meal • Include a nutritious snack in between meals
  • Try not to eat late at night

  Fruits, Vegetables, Legumes and Wholegrains

  • Aim for 5 serves vegetables/salads every day
  • Eat 2-3 fruits per day
  • Choose mostly wholegrain breads and cereals eg brown rice, quinoa, wholegrain

    pasta and breads

  • Include legumes ( peas, beans and lentils)regularly

    Fats – Choose Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated fats instead of Saturated fats

    • Eat more fish and legumes and only small amounts of lean meat
    • Choose low fat dairy products and try soy instead
    • Replace butter with avocado, olive oil, hummous, tahini or nut spreads • Use olive oil in cooking and salads and canola for stir fries

    Low Glycaemic Index Carbohydrate Foods

    • Legumes ( chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans, four bean mix, baked beans ) • Basmati or doongara rice
    • Rolled oats, natural museli, goodness superfoods protein 1st or digestive, • Most fruits such as apples, bananas, berries, peaches, pears

    • Sweet potato or carisma/chat potatoes instead of white potato or mash • Wholegrain, sourdough, soy & linseed breads, pumpernickel breads
    • Wholegrains such as quinoa, couscous, bulgar wheat, barley

    Fluids

    • Aim for 2 alcohol free days and limit to 2 standard drinks per day • Drink plenty of water – 6-8 glasses per day
    • Drink fruit juice only in moderation

  Exercise:

  Aim to include 1 hour of moderate intensity activity on most days of the week. Try using a pedometer and aim for 10,000 steps per day or park the car further away and walk to where you are going. Get off the bus/train 1 stop earlier and walk the rest of the way and take the stairs instead of the lift.

  Eating Tips:

  • Try not to eat on the move, such as walking around or while trying to do something else at the same time. Avoid getting up to wash your plate before you have finished chewing your final mouthful! Try not to ‘multi-task’ whilst eating and actually savour or think about every mouthful, rather than rushing through every meal.
  • Sit down at the table to eat and turn off the TV. Put on some of your favourite music, a vase of flowers on the table and light some candles. Alternatively, dine in a truly peaceful environment with no TV or music.
  • Make mealtimes an enjoyable experience. This isn’t the time for family disagreements. Sit down with other members of your household and enjoy the company and finding out about each other’s day.
  • Only eat when you are hungry.This might seem obvious but it is great self-awareness tool. Using a scale of -3 to 0 (-3= ravenous -2=very hungry -1= slightly hungry 0= not hungry at all) try to eat when you are at -2 and -1 on the scale.
  • Slow down while eating, chew 6. Before you eat, think every bite food and try to put down your cutlery in between mouthfuls. Have you ever finished a meal and not really tasted it at all? Meal-times should be about unwinding and truly tasting your meal.
  • Think mindfully about how full you are – and stop eating when you are 80% full. You should end a meal feeling satisfied, not over-loaded.