Guidelines for Healthy Eating

A healthy diet provides your body with all the nutrients it needs to function and thrive: protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.  Here are some basic guidelines to healthy eating.

This is a ‘general’ diet, suitable for most people. Feel free to customise to your particular individual requirements. 

Fluid Intake

Drink 2 litres of fluids daily to help kidney and liver function, assisting circulation and improving your skin:

• Filtered, tap or bottled water. Carbonated water is fine. 
• Fresh fruit and vegetable juices. Limit to 1-2 daily.
• Herbal teas. 
• Coffee. Limit to 2-3 daily.  
• Tea. Limit to 2-5 daily. 
• Soft drinks, Cordial. Avoid.
• Artificially sweetened beverages. Avoid. 
• Alcohol. 1-2 drinks 3-4 X week.  Reduce or avoid if you suffer from anxiety or depression. 

Fruit and Vegies

Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables:

• Choose fresh if possible
• Aim to eat 2 pieces of fruit and at least 5 serves of vegetables and salad daily (about a cup full per serve) – eat different colours and types of fruit and veg, as they all contain different nutrients

Protein intake

We need 1 g of protein per kilo of body weight per day (eg 70kg person requires 70g protein) and it’s best to include some protein with each meal. This roughly equates to a portion size of protein to be about the size of your palm for main meals, and half your palm size for snacks. Protein sources include:

• fish
• lean meat and chicken 
• beans (legumes) including lentils, kidney beans, lima beans, baked beans and soy  including tofu and tempeh
• nuts and seeds
• eggs
• dairy foods 

Grains

Along with fruit and veg, grains are a good energy source and also provide fibre, some protein, vitamins and minerals. It’s best to eat wholemeal grains wherever possible eg brown rice. Grains include: wheat (including bread, pasta and couscous), rye, oats, corn, barley, millet, spelt, amaranth and quinoa.

If you struggle with overweight or have a strong family history of diabetes (Type 2) you may benefit by reducing or even eliminating grains from your diet. Make sure that you do include plenty of vegetables to ensure you are eating sufficient carbohydrates for fibre and energy requirements.  

Fats & Oils

Fats and oils are important to provide fat soluble vitamins, essential fatty acids and to help form hormones, a valuable insulator and energy source.

Good fats include 

• deep sea fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring, tuna, sardines, kippers;
• nuts and seeds;
• cold pressed oils such as extra virgin olive oil, coconut, hemp, sesame oil and flaxseed oil;
• avocado.

For many people dairy foods (milk, cheese, yoghurt, butter) can be an important part of a healthy diet, particularly the cultured products including yoghurt and kefir. Buy unsweetened and whole fat rather than low fat varieties.  In general, reduce the high fat forms including cream, butter, camembert etc.

‘Milk’ made from other foods eg almond, soy, coconuts are popular at the moment. Check that not high in sugar (ie over 5g per 100g on label). And keep to a small part of total diet. 

Sugars and refined/processed foods

• Limit sweet foods such as lollies, sugar, soft drinks, cordials, syrups, biscuits, cakes, tinned fruits in syrup. 
• Eat sparingly dried fruit, honey, molasses, maple syrup
• Avoid overly processed and refined foods like dried and tinned foods, ready-made meals – fresh is best wherever possible.

Suggested Menu Plan

On rising – to stimulate liver and digestion:

• Juice of half a lemon in warm water (honey optional); or
• One teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (honey optional) in enough warm water to make it palatable.

Breakfast

• Muesli (sugar free) with milk, a dollop of yoghurt or ricotta, sliced banana and a sprinkling of mixed nuts and seeds, linseeds and chia seeds if you need more fibre.
• Oat porridge with a spoonful of ricotta, grated apple, cinnamon and honey if preferred
• Poached eggs (or boiled, scrambled, omelette)  with sauteed mushrooms and or English spinach and or baked/grilled tomato
• Fresh fruit with natural yoghurt, a sprinkling of mixed nuts and seeds, linseeds and chia seeds if you need more fibre
• Smoothie made with soy milk, fresh fruit and yoghurt
• Baked Beans (on wholemeal toast if preferred)
• Cooked brown rice with yoghurt, fresh fruit and a drizzle of honey
• Nut breakfast – combination of chopped almonds, walnuts, brazil nutes, cashews together with sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, linseeds and pepitas. (add or subtract any nuts or seeds you particularly like or dislike). Combine with milk or yoghurt.
• Left overs from dinner

Lunch and Dinner

• Stir fried vegetables with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, tofu / chicken / fish and a sprinkling of cashew nuts
• Lavash bread wraps filled with avocado, grated carrot & beetroot, tomato, lettuce, shredded cabbage, toasted sesame seeds and chicken, tempeh or ricotta or other cheese
• Mushroom and tomato omelette with a large side salad
• Large bowl of mixed salad with tuna / lentils / hummous / ricotta
• A hearty vegetable and chick pea (other legume) stew
• Roasted vegetables (pumpkin, red onion, zucchini, sweet potato, parsnip, garlic, capsicum, etc) with feta cheese and chopped parsley sprinkled over the top.
• Pasta with tomato and vegetable sauce, mix through a dollop of ricotta cheese and serve with a side salad
• Grilled/BBQ-d meat, chicken or fish with a big bowl of salad or steamed vegetables.

Snacks

• Small handful of mixed nuts, seeds
• Hummous and raw vegie sticks
• Fresh fruit and natural yoghurt, ricotta 
• Crisp bread with avocado, tahini, tomato and a sprinkle of mixed seeds

Drinks

• Bottled, tap or filtered water
• Fresh fruit and vegie juices (limit to 2 daily)
• Herbal teas: 
• Tea and coffee