Healthy Meals - Tuna Pasta

So, as you know, I always eat healthy and I'm often asked for meal ideas or asked exactly what it is I do.  I don't eat salad every day (in fact, I hardly ever eat 'salad' as I can't stand it for the most part), or live on a diet of eggs and boiled vegetables.  I eat real, every day food, I just make it healthier.  Any recipe can be tweaked to be a bit, or a lot, healthier; you just have to be creative!


So I've decided to start sharing my ever day meals more often.  I don't have quantities because I never use recipes, so bear with me, put more or less of what you do or don't like, and just trust your instinct.


Starting with;

Tuna Pasta

Ingredients;

An onion, diced

A clove of garlic, crushed

Touch of olive oil (half a tablespoon or so)

Small can of tuna in springwater

Green olives (pimientos), cut in half

A few capers

Canned diced tomatoes

Tablespoon of tomato paste
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Method; 

 - Fry the onion in some oil until starting to brown (add water if it gets too dry) 

- Add garlic, fry for further minute 

- Add about half a can of tomatoes and the tomato paste 

- Add olives and capers 

- Cook until sauce is reduced to about a third of what it was, or until it no longer tastes acidic. Add water if it gets too dry (not extra oil!)

- Add the tuna 2 minutes before serving 

- Season with salt and pepper Meanwhile; 

- Cook about 40 grams of wholemeal, spelt or buckwheat pasta (or brown rice, or quinoa, or whatever you fancy) according to packet instructions. 

 Put together by stirring the cooked pasta or rice through the sauce, and serve in a small bowl.

 

 Voila!
The point of this meal is that is squashes the pasta craving with minimal pasta, keeps you full with the protein from the tuna and tastes amazing with the Italian-inspired tomato sauce.  The most important thing with Italian sauces?  Cook for as long as possible!
Try always serving your smaller healthy meals in a small bowl so the bowl looks super full. Believe it or not, you'll feel fuller.
Let me know if you try it!
Stay well, Nat x 

Change

Man, have I had an eventful start to the year.

Firstly my blogging has been halted as my poor darling Canon died! She just wouldn't focus which made me incredibly sad. My parents bought me that camera for my birthday one year as I started to recover from that terrible illness (that I've wiped from my mind for the most part). It helped me document my recovery and capture every part of life I found so amazing, from the supermarket aisle's to the beach for the first time. My little camera, if Dad has no luck in a last ditch attempt at fixing her, will be very much missed. 

2 weeks ago I made a huge decision and resigned from my job. My gosh, what a relief. There's a lot of reasons why but basically I realised nothing's worth being unhappy for. M has been incredibly supportive and made the whole process a lot easier. It's scary, you know, quitting your first job and entering the unknown. I currently have a a couple of offers but nothing confirmed or decided yet. All look to make me a lot happier and work around uni, which I start in just under a month and can't flippin' wait! 

I also decided to launch a web site this year, you know, start building my empire. I hope to get that on the road in the next month so you'll be hearing more soon, but basically it's going to be a site that encompasses everything that leads you to a healthy and full life - not just food, but stress management, exercise, holidays, interviews with experts, recipes... the lot. I can't wait to get that show on the road and can't wait to hear your feed back! 

Life is looking good for 2012 and I am super excited. 

You will hear more from me once I regain the ability to take a photo, or start planning my web site... 

Have you any news? 

Stay well, 

Nat x 

 Beautiful photo from flickr.

Californian McDonald's Warning

Jillian Michael's posted this on Twitter;

"Apparently California is requiring a warning label be put on McDonalds food. Like cigarettes. This is why I tell you never to eat this crap or feed it to your kids." - Jillian Michaels. 



 
 Good.

Missing in action - my camera is broken! Hopefully I get her off for repairs this weekend.

Stay well, Nat x

Happy New Year!

It's 2012, freaky much?  I remember standing in a family friend's backyard when the calender struck 2000 and I was only 12, staring at Dad's phone (12 year old's didn't have phones in my day), wondering if it was going to spontaneously com-bust.  


That year, I was full of excitement about starting high school and the beginning of the road on the way to becoming an architect (I wanted to be an architect more than anything until I was 17).  This year, I am excited about starting the journey on the road to the most influential dietitian ever.  You just watch!


This is the first year I've ditched New Years Resolutions.  I've made half-hearted ones in the past, mainly for the sake of it and to have something to proclaim when the clock ticked over, but as a part of my mission to live in the present and always be happy, I decided they were a waste of time.  Why wait for a particular date and time to change a part of your life you're not happy with?  It's just not logical.


Not a resolution, a couple of days ago I noticed how sluggish I am feeling after the holiday period.  I am back to work on Monday after 2 glorious weeks away, and I don't want to start back feeling half asleep and sore, so I've decided to go for the no sugar again.  Why?  I feel so, so much better without it. 


Now I want to share with you an amazing no (cane) sugar product I found yesterday;

Loving Earth
Raw Organic

Coconut Chocolate Butter

Run, don't walk people.  This stuff is amazing, amazing I tell you.  It's made of; organic raw coconut butter, organic raw cocoa powder, organic raw agave syrup and sea salt.  That is it.  Did you ever make chocolate crackles as a kid?  You know the lumpy bits that were mainly just butter and cocoa powder in between the coco pops?  That is what this tastes like.   Gone are the days of my chocolate cravings being quenched by Cadbury!  And get this, apart from being high in calories, (and we all know that's not really an issue if they're from the right place), it's actually good for you!  Cane sugar free, dairy free, gluten free, low GI and vegan, with antioxidants, antibacterial and antifungal properties to boot!


I'll say it once more - run don't walk.
You can purchase here, google it or at any larger sized good health food shop (I got mine at Go Vita).

Try it and tell me you don't love it, I won't believe you.


In other news, last night I initiated creation of parmigiana.  I popped by the ol' web cam for a quick snap with a Semillion in hand (always needed when consuming blue cheese).

Hi.

My apron is from Provincial and was a gift from Mum when I moved in/out.  Wine glasses are Alex Liddy (too fine, I have broken .. 5 .. ), t-shirt from Saba and necklace from Tiffany & Co.

I love listing everything on me for no good reason.

Enough of the blubber, Happy New Year!  Here's to more happiness, health & good food.

Stay well, 

Nat x

Food from December

Vegie Delight






Red Fettuccine Marinara with copious amounts of chilli.

My favourite.

How to curb a pasta craving
20-30 grams of pasta with 2 egg frittata and sauteed veg






Borscht as made my M's Grandmother
No meat, just for me!





 

Loads of rhubarb from M's Grandmother's garden

I dice it as above and stew it in a tiny bit of water, nothing added.

I'm about to disappear to the beach for a couple of weeks, so I'll catch ya on th' flip side, y'all. 

Enjoy your Summer break & have a very safe & extremely fun NYE!

Stay well, Nat x

Christmas Baking!

Let's go crazy.... baking style!

Peanut Butter Cookies
Very yummy but incredibly crumble-y both pre-cook and post-cook. Recipe from current issue of Donna Hay mag. Boy ate these at work all week.

  



Started off a little too thick..


 
Cranberry & Pistachio biscotti, also from Donna Hay.
Surprisingly easy to make! Sooo hard not to eat it all after the first bake, though. And hey, for health people around the world, they are so skinny that a single serve won't wrack up nearly as many calories as any of the other biscuits featured.






 Bake bake bake.. bake bake bake...





 
Lemon & Almond biscuits (also Donna Hay!)
Also incredibly crumble-y at all stages, and they came out a little too moist for my liking (like there's too much butter in them), but they taste good - very lemon-y, bit of a weird crunchy texture with all the raw sugar, though. I didn't get a final photo of these which is silly.




 



 You can't catch me I'm a Gingerbread Man!
These are my first ever ginger bread men and I am so very proud! I made them extra gingery as I love ginger. The piping was trial and error, but after going out and buying a piping bag with a super fine nozzle, I used a zip-lock bag with the corner cut off instead. Recipe from http://www.taste.com.au

 My boys were very quiet through all that baking.. look how I found them;


 
Sleeping, cuddling on our bed. Naughty pussy cats aren't allowed on my nice white bed! But how could you yell at that image??

Merry, merry, merry Christmas to all my lovely followers & readers. May every one of your wishes and dreams come true. Have a happy, safe and above all - healthy! New Year.

Much love & Stay Well!
Natalie x

Have Yourself A... Nutritious Christmas

Merry Christmas to all! 


I love this season, so so much, but despite the best of intentions I always eat a little more and a little sweeter and fattier than I usually would over the month of December (more champagne, anyone?). Who cares! It's the silly season! I never actually gain any weight, my body just tells me to stop now and then via sleepless nights or that feeling of alcohol and sugar seeping out of your pores, (ew). The key to not gaining weight over the silly season? Being educated and aware of what you're eating. Just knowing the ingredients, saturated fat, nutrients and even calorie content of what you're eating helps you to make sensible choices - even if sometimes the sensible choice is to have half a kg of pudding with a litre of custard, at least you'll know what's in it.


So here are a few of our favourite Christmas foods and a little info on what they contain....

 Cherries 

The Cherry is a great source of vitamin C and even has (a little) Vitamin K, as well as dietary fibre which will help balance out some of the seriously lacking in fibre foods you will consume with them. Although a lot of the calories in cherries come from sugar, they're certainly a better option than another chocolate Santa. Also keep in mind that they're not as low in calories as other berries, like strawberries, which contain around 30 calories less per cup than cherries.

Prawns

 

I recommend eating Prawns (and other shellfish) at Christmas as their high protein content helps you to actually feel what you're eating, (unlike high sugar and starchy carb treats, which will leave you craving more and not feeling a fullness reflective of how much you ate). At around 160-180 calories for 10 large prawns (with no dressing or sauce), a serve of prawns is lower in calories and higher in protein per gram than chicken, beef, lamb or pork with a dose of omega 3's to boot. The best way to eat them is to skip the seafood sauces and just squeeze a fresh lemon over the top, yum! And despite what your 2nd cousin said last Christmas, if you stick to the recommended serving of prawns your cholesterol is not going to be affected by them. 

 Turkey

 

Turkey's a tough one, because although the meat itself will only give you, for a nice thick slice, around 100 calories and isn't particularly high in fat, it's the cranberry sauce, glazes and stuffing that we eat with it that pack the calories. Cranberry sauce is just sugar, and stuffing is often bread with dried fruits and probably butter or oil. The key with turkey is to stick to the turkey with a smear of sauce or stuffing. Turkey will also pack some vitamin B6, B12, magnesium and zinc.. so the bird isn't evil, it's plate mates are! 

 Roast Potatoes

 

When your Great Auntie Rose passes you the roast potatoes and tells you to eat more vegies - run!  OK not quite...  A roast potato sitting prettily next to your turkey slice is OK, but any more and it's just not worth the calories. 100grams of roast potatoes contains around 150 calories, depending on how much oil, or butter, was used through the roasting process. Although very high in carbs, it's not all bad news with some B6 and potassium packed in Mr. Spud. If you have any influence over the cooking process, make sure you keep the skins on and use a drizzle of olive oil with rosemary and other herbs, rather than relying on butter to get the flavour hit. 

 Fruit Cake

 

I won't tell you how many calories are in a piece of fruit cake as I fear I will ruin Christmas for somebody, but butter, dried fruit soaked in brandy, sugar and white flour? You know the deal. Consume in moderation!

 Custard

Custard is often joked about at Christmas time as being 'just milk', but just milk certainly doesn't contain 160 odd calories per half cup. Although you will get a good dose of calcium from the milk used to prepare the custard, always choose low-fat milk and, if preparing yourself from a powder, try adding a little less sugar than the recommended amount - add a little extra vanilla and it will bring out further sweetness. If you're preparing a chocolate custard, use cocoa to flavour, not drinking chocolate. 

Also don't forget that alcohol is calories, a glass of water between each drink is always recommended to help you slow down!

Man I am hungry now.. 

In the end.. it's Christmas, and we certainly don't eat like we do on December 25th every day. If you watch what you eat a little surrounding and leading up to Christmas with the 14,001 gatherings we all attend, then you will be fine enjoying the actual day and forgetting about what's in everything. 

Stay well,

Natalie