How to Eat Healthy (And What Foods You Should Avoid)

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By far, the healthiest I've ever been in my life was when I was trying to get pregnant for the first time. I took it rather to the extreme when it came to food - I went on a Pre-Conceptual Diet.

I bought a book by Dr Sarah Brewer called Planning a Baby? A Complete Guide to Pre-Conceptual Care. 

In her book, Dr Brewer outlined the importance of getting maximum vitamins and minerals in your diet prior to conception so your baby would get the best start to life (and then continue the diet during pregnancy). She listed foods/beverages you should avoid and what foods could give your immunity a boost.

There were a bunch of foods I gave up six months prior to trying to conceive, and all through pregnancy, including:

- Alcohol
- Tea/coffee
- Chocolate
- Msg
- Refined sugar
- Highly processed foods
- Sweet, sugary carbonated drinks
- Animal skin (ie on roasted chickens)

I also avoided eating the following in case they had dangerous consequences on my unborn child:

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- Ripened soft cheese (eg Brie, Camembert)
- Blue-veined cheese (Stilton, Roquefort)
- Goat or sheep cheeses (eg Fetta, Chevre)
- Any unpasteurised cheese (eg anything imported - we pasteurise our cheeses in Australia)
- Shellfish
- Raw/undercooked meats
- Uncooked eggs (eg Chocolate Mousse, meringue)

In order to help 'detoxify' your body, Dr Brewer suggests you should:

- Ensure an adequate intake of antioxidant vitamins & minerals - especially vitamins C, E and betacarotene, zinc, selenium, chromium and manganese. (She included a really useful list of where to find these in which foods.)

- Eat organic wholefoods where possible.

- Avoid tinned foods, processed foods and excess salt.

- Eliminate all dietary additives.

- Wash all vegies, fruit & salad stuff thoroughly.

- To help reduce the absorption of dietary toxins, include garlic, yoghurt, bananas and pectin-containing fruits in your diet.

- Avoid using aluminium kitchenware and foil.

- Eliminate all non-essential drugs. (Easy. Was never in to drugs!)

- Stop smoking and drinking alcohol. (I have never been a smoker!)

- Reduce your intake of caffeine-containing drinks.

- Only have white dental fillings fitted.

- Be careful to drink clean water, preferably filtered.

- Avoid excessive traffic fumes where possible.

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At first, it was really hard to do, because I love my food. (Obviously.) But once I got in to the swing of things, I found I was able to easily work out what to order from the take away menu, in restaurants etc, and what foods would give me the biggest boost. I tried to make sure I ate at least two pieces of fruit, and three serves of vegies a day. I drank lots of water. I ate a handful of dried fruit, nuts and seeds every day as a snack.

And guess what? I never got sick and I felt GREAT.

I was thinking about this recently. I pretty much stuck to avoiding a lot of the same foods through all pregnancies, but I don't think my diet was as structured and as healthy with my second and third pregnancies. And it showed. I got sick more often during those pregnancies, and to be honest, I've never felt as healthy since.

These days, all that healthy eating has gone by the way side, but I've come to realise it might be time to start following Dr Brewer's 'diet' again. (Although, I don't really think of it as a 'diet' - more a healthy way of eating and living.)

I found my book recently when tidying up the study, and I've dusted it off and I'm reading through it again. (I was so organised back then, and so keen, I actually highlighted all the important bits!)

I'm not going to cut out soft cheese, shellfish etc, - and I certainly think it's fine to enjoy a cup of coffee and a cup of tea each day, and eat cake occasionally - but I could most definitely up my intake of fruit and vegies and water too. Couple that with more exercise, and I reckon I'll start feeling fabulous again.

I'll be back at some stage to tell you what foods contain all the vitamins you need for a healthy body. 

Stay tuned, people.

Jodie

Tuna Salad with Roasted Carrots

My husband does alright in the kitchen. Unlike me, he can think outside the (recipe) box. I measure. I follow instructions to a tee. Hubby will just throw something else in if he doesn't have a certain ingredient, or make  up his own measurements.

Perhaps he should be the one to have the recipe blog? ;)

Anyway, this gorgeous salad he came up recently we've had twice now, and we both really like it. The vinaigrette he used is the same one from this recipe. You'll probably only use half for the tuna salad, but can then just keep it in the fridge. It's great to use over salad leaves with other recipes. Yummy.

Here's the recipe for Hubby's Tuna Salad with Roasted Carrots:

1 x 185g can of tuna in oil, drained
2 carrots, cut in to strips
Salt
Olive oil spray
100-150g mixed salad leaves, washed & dried
Half a punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved

Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (we use Vilux's Extra Strong Dijon Mustard)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 teaspoon brown sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 180oC fan-forced. Spray a baking dish or tray with the olive oil spray. Place the carrots on the dish then spray with oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Turn and do the same on the other side. Cook the carrots for approximately 12 minutes on each side, or until just tender.

2.  Meanwhile, to make the dressing, place all the ingredients in to a jar, place on the lid and shake until well combined.

3. When the carrots are cooked, cool them slightly then place them in to a bowl with the tuna, salad leaves and tomatoes, then drizzle with enough of the dressing to coat the salad. Toss, then place on plates.

Serves 2

Enjoy!

Jodie 

New Name, New Look: My Recipe Box

Surprise!

I know. I've really just sprung this on you, huh? Welcome to my new look recipe blog.

If you haven't been here a while, and you're a little confused...well, I've decided (again!) to change my blog header. And not just the header, but its name. This is how it used to look...

I thought the heading was a bit of a mouthful, and I decided the new name also needed a new header. I hope you like it.

Anyway, I haven't posted here for a while. It's been a bit busy in the Ansted House, but I am planning some yummy recipes for you, including a new cocktail Hubby and I love at the mo, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, if you like, take a look around. Not much else has changed, so you should feel right at home.

Jodie

Celebrity Chef Fast Ed's Mexican Egg & Corn Fritters (for World Egg Day!)

Today, 14 October, is World Egg Day. Did you know that? I had NO idea, until I received an email about it yesterday.

I LOVE eggs. Love them. One of my fave breakfasts is poached eggs on toast. I'm also partial to scrambled eggs when we eat out for breakfast or lunch. The kids love eggs with soldiers (me too - I sometimes have them for dinner when Hubby is out or away), and of course we use eggs in many, many recipes.

On behalf of the Australian Egg Corporation, celebrity chef Fast Ed has put together some recipes to help celebrate World Egg Day, and here's one he's sharing with us.

Here's Fast Ed's recipe for Mexican Egg & Corn Fritters:

6 eggs
2/3 can refried beans
400g no added salt corn kernels
1 stick celery, finely diced
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup plain flour
1 cup wholegrain breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil for frying
Light sour cream, lime wedges and salad leaves, to serve

1. Place 4 eggs in a saucepan of cold water and set over a high heat. Bring to a boil, then cook for 6 minutes. Turn the heat off and let stand for 2 minutes. Chill under cold running water, then peel and chop. Set aside.

2. Combine the refried beans, corn, celery and oregano in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Fold in the chopped eggs gently. Form into 8 patties, then place in the freezer for 1 hour to firm up.

3. Dip the patties in flour, then the remaining beaten eggs, then breadcrumbs. Fry in hot (180oC) vegetable oil for 4 minutes, turning several times, until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper, then serve with light sour cream, lime wedges and salad leaves.

Serves 4

Sounds yummy, right?

NOW ENTER THIS COMPETITION...
This year, the Australian Egg Corporation is celebrating World Egg Day with a competition to make life just as easy as eggs do. For your chance to win a year's supply of groceries, babysitting or cleaning (yee-ha!), simply visit www.eggs.org.au where you'll also find more inspiring egg recipe ideas.

Do you like eggs? What's your favourite egg recipe?

MasterChef LIVE 2011

Today I took the kids to the MasterChef Live Show that's being held today and over the weekend at Hordern Pavilion in Moore Park, Sydney. (We were invited by the PR company).

It would be a full-on dream for hardcore foodies, I reckon. There are lots of stalls showing off (and selling) the latest kitchen gadgets and food. And if you're a big MasterChef fan, you'll probably love watching some demos from ex-contestants as well as judges George and Gary do their thing in the kitchen (they'll be there on Saturday). 

You may even meet one or two.

Kate Bracks was lovely. The 9yo took this pic. He needs to get

taller so that the camera angle isn't so low. Hello, double chin.

(He & his brothers had a photo with her too.) 

At the 'How to...' stand, Kate demonstrated how to break up a chicken
in to pieces. (Cheaper than buying them separately.)

I loved the stands that had a lot of colour...

Party supplies. Love.

Yep. That's a cake, people.

After a pretty yummy pizza for lunch, consumed with a free sampler glass of red (that the nine-year-old managed to spill the most of. *sigh*), it was on to a cooking class for the kids. The seven-year-old decided to sit it out and watch with me instead, but his brothers were right in to it.

Getting ready to make a Watermelon & Feta Cheese Salad

I can't tell you how much the 4yo enjoyed using a knife. Scary.

(But completely safe.) 

The 4yo puts the finishing touches on. It was nom. 

To find out how/where to buy your tickets, head here. 

I'll be back next week to run through how to make the salad the boys made. It was delicious, and easy-peasy for the kids to make.

What's Always in Your Fridge?

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Our fridge at home is often filled with a variety of ingredients for whatever I'm planning to make for dinner that week. However, there are some items that are always found in our fridge. And if they're not there for any reason...panic stations, people!

Milk
We go through close to 9 litres of milk every week. We use it for cereal, drinking (with Milo or without - almost every afternoon tea after school we have milk, and it's my preferred drink with a piece of chocolate cake. Nom!), in tea, for coffee, hot chocolates and bubbaccinos for the four-year-old.

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Yoghurt
We always have three types of yoghurt in the fridge: Kids' fruit yoghurt, fruit yoghurt for Hubby and I and Greek-style natural yoghurt for curries etc. LOVE yoghurt.

Cheese
Okay, so by now you've worked out we're fond of dairy products around here. We always have cheddar cheese (the four-year-old loves it sliced to accompany his sandwiches at lunch every day, and we'll often have some sliced cheddar with wafer biscuits after our dinner), parmesan and some pizza cheese.

Cranberry Juice

I love a glass of cranberry juice daily, topped up with a little water. It's very good for women. Keeps the nasty infections away! ;) We also always have orange juice for Hubby and I, and apple juice for the kids. We really only drink juice with breakfast. 

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Eggs
Not only used for cooking, I have poached eggs at least once a week for breakfast, but often more often than that. Hubby loves an omelette on occasion (and sometimes makes one for the dog!), and the boys will have eggs with soldiers on weekends some times.

Maple Syrup

With pancakes being made almost every weekend, and pikelets served for afternoon tea occasionally - together with my love of french toast for breakfast every now and then - we go through a lot of maple syrup. When it's on special, I always picks up a few bottles, because I know we'll get through it!

Ham

We love ham - on sandwiches, pizza, just rolled up and eaten with fresh slices of cheese. I often pick up a half kilo of double smoked leg ham from the deli counter at the supermarket and we'll see through the week with that. Ham & salad makes a quick dinner when we're busy with cricket training or swimming until evening.

Fresh Fruit & Vegies

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Always in the fridge: apples (green & red), mandarins (when in season), grapes (green & red), bananas, oranges, carrots, cucumber, tomatoes and more. The kids always get a piece or two of fruit in their lunch box, and the nine-year-old loves cucumber sticks for munch 'n' crunch at school!

Tobasco Sauce

Hubby likes a bit of bite in his tuna sandwiches or on other food, so we always have a little tobasco sauce on hand. 

What's always in your fridge?

Ravioli with Tomato & Basil Sauce

We recently purchased a pasta machine so we can make our own pasta. Hubby has made fettuccine a number of times, but we haven't tackled ravioli yet.

We often buy a fresh pack of ravioli from our local fruit and veg market. We've tried various fillings with this sauce that Hubby makes, but last week we had beef and it was super delicious. But of course, you can use any filling you like. (In my previous life before kids, I used to often buy a pumpkin ravioli from the local pasta bar, and that was super yummy as well.)

Here's the recipe for Ravioli with Tomato & Basil Sauce:

400g of diced, tinned tomatoes
Pinch of caster sugar
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
10 fresh basil leaves, torn
Handful of basil leaves, whole, for garnishing
Salt
1-2 500g packets of ravioli (any filling of your choice)
Fresh Parmesan, finely grated
Cracked black pepper

1. Place the tomatoes (and the juice) in to a saucepan, adding the sugar, garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Cover and cook over a very low heat for approximately 30 minutes, stirring only occasionally.

2. Mash the tomatoes with a wooden spoon or potato masher, then continue to cook on low heat for a further 10-15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, following the packet instructions, cook the ravioli. (This won't take long once your water is boiled, so leave it until the last minute.)

4. Remove the sauce from the heat and allow to cool a little. Stir in the olive oil and basil.

5. Serve over the ravioli (or spaghetti also works well), and top with cracked black pepper, freshly grated Parmesan and whole basil leaves for garnishing. Serve with garlic bread if you wish.

1 x 500g packet will serve make 2 small adult servings and 3 kids' servings.
2 x 500g packet will make 4 large adult servings. (But double the sauce.)

Hopefully, we'll give the homemade ravioli a go soon. I'll keep you posted. :)

Buon appetito!

Pancakes with Summer Fruits, Maple Syrup & Marscarpone

I know I've mentioned this more than once on Mummy Mayhem, but the nine-year-old is our pancake man around here. Every weekend (usually on a Sunday at the moment because of Saturday sport) he gets up, makes the batter, then calls us when the batter is ready to be cooked. He often helps with the cooking as well.

They are delicious! Here's the recipe for Pancakes:

2 cups self-raising flour
2 cups milk (we use Lite milk)
2 eggs, lightly whisked
Dash of milk, extra
1 punnet of strawberries, sliced
1 teaspoon caster sugar (optional)
1 punnet of blueberries
Maple syrup (the real stuff is best - not the flavoured maple syrup)
Marscarpone

1. Sift the flour in to a large bowl.

2. Combine the whisked eggs and milk in to a separate bowl.

3. Pour the combined milk and eggs in to the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.

4. To make the batter a little smoother, add a dash of milk; using a whisk, beat until smooth and there are no more lumps.

5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

6. Remove the batter and heat a frying pan on medium heat. Add a small amount of butter or spray the pan with a little cooking spray. Pour enough batter to form a pancake approximately 15cms in diameter (like a big pikelet!). When air bubbles form, check the pancake by lifting slightly with a spatula. Turn when golden, and cook the other side. Set aside on a plate rested on a bowl of boiling water to keep warm. (We use two frying pans at a time to reduce the total cooking time.) Keep making pancakes until all the batter has been used!

7. Meanwhile, prepare strawberries by slicing and sprinkling with the caster sugar (the sugar will soften them and make them a little sweeter if they're not fully ripe - but this is optional).

8. Serve pancakes topped with sliced strawberries and blueberries. Drizzle maple syrup over the top. Top with a spoonful of marscarpone in the centre.

Makes approximately 10 pancakes

Bon appetite!