Because more likely than not, the real reason for not sustaining the goal was because it was too dramatic of a change.

We are creatures of habits and it takes a great deal of effort to change those habits! Thus, when we want to radically alter our behaviors, it is extremely difficult.

Having said that, everyone can set goals and succeed in making changes that benefit their health.

The key is to take SMALL steps one at a time. The less dramatic the change is, the more “it’s not a big deal” it is, the higher success rate you will have.

And as you take baby steps one step at a time, they will add up and without you even realizing it, you will have established healthier habits (and the beauty of it is that it would not cause extra strain in your life an you would not feel like you have to struggle to keep the goal and work at it).

So take a moment to think about the goals you’ve set and ask yourself:

• Which goal is the most important one I want to focus on now?
• Is the goal a “no big deal” change?
  If so, great! Keep going!
• If not, it may be time to think about how you can break it down into smaller bites and tackle them one at a time!

And when you have successes with small changes, give yourself a pat on the back and be proud of yourself. Changes are hard, so acknowledge that and give yourself some credit!

Remember, every little bit counts!

One key difference worth noting though – at home, you would probably poach it in hot water to seal in the juices; but at restaurants, to guarantee superb tenderness, they often will quickly poach in oil instead. So despite ordering a seemingly harmless veggie-packed stir-fry, you never truly know how much oil is used in making that dish!

May sound a little daunting, but hey it’s better to know what is in the food than be oblivious right?

If you ever have those questions, this Cooking Oil Comparison Chart will help you out big time!

And while you’re there, check out some of the other great posts on the Eating Rules! blog. I stumbled across the site while I was sipping on my Earl Grey Latte this morning and found it rather interesting.

Enjoy!

Photo by StarsApart

The current recommendation for fiber intake is 25-38g.

So now your brain will spin like crazy to try to figure out how that numerical value translates into real food?!

The truth is…the number itself doesn’t really matter. The key thing to know is that most people struggle to meet that recommendation.

But, achieving the goal of 25-38g of fiber is actually not impossible. And, aiming to reach that amount is actually good for us, because fiber can reduce risk of cardiovascular diseases, regular blood sugars, provide satiety to make us happy after a fulfilling meal and keep us regular (aka prevent constipation).

Yet, boosting fiber intake cannot be done overnight. So rather than getting frustrated over whether or not you are getting enough fiber now, let’s focus on 5 easy swaps to boost that intake!

1. Switch from white bread to whole-grain whole-wheat bread.
2. Add oatmeal as a breakfast option. Or, if you already eat it, have it more often. Avoid the instant packaged ones though!
3. Instead of pasta salads, try grains salad.
4. Use white kidney beans, instead of potatoes, to add substance to your soups.
5. Go for popcorn instead of potato chips when you want a savoury snack. Make your own Homemade Popcorn – it’s quick, cheap and healthier than the store-bought ones.

Yes, these may seem like simple substitutes but if you make these changes consistently, you will most definitely be many steps closer to reaching that goal!

What are your tips to up the fiber in your diet? Share them here, I’ll love to add them to my list!

Photo by iamtheo

5 weeks into my 37-week Dietetics Internship. Wow! It’s crazy how fast time flies!

I’ve been super busy but at the same time having an amazing experience. Everything is great, but I just find that I have much less time to cook now.

I wake up, go to the hospital, come home, eat and do my work. There is seriously like no time for me to leisurely go grocery shopping, then come home and spend entire afternoon to wash and prep my ingredients and cook dinner and pack food for the next day. 

But I refuse to eat out everyday. So, I’ve been making a lot of food in big batches during the weekend when I (finally!) have time to myself.

To key is to make dishes that can be prepared in advance and last for the entire week in the fridge. Last post I talked about the convenience of preparing grain salads, but that’s just one of the many make-ahead lunch options. Here are a few more ideas for you (and keep in mind, you can also serve these at dinner too!).

1. Roasted vegetables. This is a great way to bring out the natural sweetness in veggies. It tastes great as a side dish itself, or stir in some pasta or rice and enjoy it as a meatless entree. To start, try garlic-roasted cauliflower (or swap in any veggies you like – mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers, etc.)
2. Soups and stews. Make a large pot, portion into small containers and freeze them for later. Add in beans, grains or pasta to add substance and texture. My favourite: Curry Lentil Soup with Chickpea puree. And remember, soups and stews taste better the next day anyways, so why not make a big batch!
3. Lasagna. Pasta dishes often lose texture and become mushy the next day…but not lasagna! Make a big pan, cut into small portions and freeze individually – instant homemade frozen dinners!
4. Hard-boiled eggs. Served by itself, this won’t be a nutritionally balanced meal, but hard-boiled eggs can be incorporated into so many dishes to upgrade it from mediocre to superstar. I like to add them chopped up to salads, or mix  with plain Greek yogurt & mayo to make a creamy egg salad sandwich filling.
5. Meatloaf or meatballs. Divide into one-person servings, freeze and use whenever you need a meaty touch to your dishes. And think outside the box too, there are many creative ways to eat meatloaf.

Do you bring a lunch to work? What is your favourite brown-bag lunch?

Photo by karenphotodesign

When I think about packing lunch for work, the first thing that comes to mind is a hearty salad. And when I think hearty salads, I immediately think of grain salads — chewy, nutty whole grains paired with crispy, colourful vegetables dressed in a light and refreshing vinaigrette. Mmm, can’t get better than that!

I used to google recipes for grain salads and follow the instructions down to the tee. But, by now, after working through many recipes, I have now devised my own flexible way of making a delicious grain salad.

Here are the simple steps:

1. Choose a grain and cook it. My favourites are: barley, wheat berry and quinoa. Each grain calls for a different cooking method but generally what I do is boil a large pot of water and cook them until al-dente. Depending on the grain, it may take 10 minutes (quinoa) or it can take up to an hour (wheat berry). When the grain becomes tender to taste, drain and place it into a large bowl.

2. Add dressing. Stir in the dressing into the warm grains to let it really soak in the flavour. For a half-cup of uncooked grains, I usually add in 1 tablespoon of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt & pepper. Balsamic vinegar is my default choice, but you can always get creative and try different vinegars. Lemon juice is another great choice, but make sure to use double the amount (2 tablespoons).

3. Prep the fruits and vegetables. While the grain soaks in the dressing and cools to room temperaure, prepare all the fruits and vegetables that you enjoy in your salad. For colour and a crispy crunch, I like to add red / orange / yellow bell peppers. A small amount of red onion and garlic will elevate the flavours. Other good veggies to add include: carrots, scallions, apple, raisins, etc. Beware not to add any watery vegetables at this point as that can dilute the dressing.

4. Choose other add-ins. Nuts, cheese, dried fruits…whatever you want in your salad, now’s the time to toss it in. Again, avoid the watery, juicy foods!

5. Mix all the ingredients with the grain. Give the salad a good stir and let it sit for at least a few hours. I like to make my salad on Sunday night and have it for the lunch on the following weekdays. If you want to add watery vegetables (such as tomatoes or cucumbers) to your salad, I recommend adding them in right before serving it. 

Grain salads are really no different than your average green salad, except it does require the extra step of cooking the grains ahead of time. But to have a colourful, nutritious, hearty salad that lasts for an entire week, I think that small extra step on Sunday night is totally worthwhile!

What do you prefer: green salads or grain salads?

It has more detailed suggestions on what foods to choose often and which items to choose less, along with a lengthy breakdown on how to follow the guidelines. Not to mention there are also many links to other suggested readings to help people gain a more in-depth understanding of healthy eating.

Anyways, one of the key messages of the Healthy Eating Plate is to choose fish, poultry, beans and nuts and limit red meat, avoid bacon, cold cuts and other processed meats.

Choosing fish, poultry and nuts more often is quite a straight-forward message since there are so many ways to incorporate them into the diet. But including more beans into the diet may present itself as a challenge.

So, to help add variety to your diet and make your life a bit tastier, here are 10 easy recipes that all showcase the deliciousness of beans. Try them!

1. Three Bean Salad – Canned beans dressed in a light apple cider vinaigrette, keeps well and makes a satisfying lunch option.
2. Black Bean Dip – serve with tortilla chips or fresh vegetables as a refreshing appetizer or snack.
3. Everyday yellow dal – Yellow split peas doesn’t require overnight soaking and cooks fast, which makes it an ideal option for a last-minute weekday dinner choice.
4. Bean soup – Make this from scratch with dried beans when you’ve got the time, if not canned beans make a fine substitute too.
5. Creamy curry lentil soup with chickpea puree – pungent curried flavoured lentils pairs well with a creamy chickpea puree for a creamy, heart-warming soup, perfect for the cold weather now.
6. Tuscan white bean pasta – A fulfilling pasta dish with beans. You can easily transform any pasta dish into Tuscan-style pasta by replacing half the amount of pasta with white beans.
7. Bean chili – A thick, flavourful chili topped with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream can be the perfect comfort food on a chilly night. Plus, it stores well too, so make a big batch and save some for later.
8. Corn and Bean Salsa – take advantage of the seasonal corn and tomatoes and make this now!
9. Lightened-Up Hummus – Hummus is very versatile ingredient to keep handy in the fridge. It works great as a sandwich spread, spikes up flavour when added to soups, and makes a flavourful dip for cut-up vegetables.
10. Shrimp and Edamame Stir Fry – Edamame comes in convenient frozen packages so it’s easy to just sprinkle a handful into whatever dish you’re making for a boost of colour, flavour and fiber.

To learn more about the goodness of legumes, visit these sites: Mayo Clinic, WebMD, World’s Healthiest Foods.

I got a little bored from making the usual multi-course Chinese dinner menu, so I decided to serve pizza for a change. 

I looked up a recipe for a thick, doughy pizza crust and kept it simple by topping it only with tomato sauce and 3 types of cheese: ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan.

Now this wasn’t the first time I’ve made homemade pizza, but it was the first time trying ricotta as a topping. Unfortunately, that was not a very wise decision and the pizza turned out looking fabulous but tasting mediocre.

Nonetheless, it was a very fun dinner and I learnt quite a few things about pizza making!

Here’s my little list of do’s and don’ts:

Do’s:

• make your own crust if you have time (the thick, doughy recipe I used) – I used a mix of white and whole wheat flour.
• use lower-fat cheeses and load it up with vegetable toppings for more flavour, colour and textures. Some of my favourites: sliced mushrooms, caramelized onions and thinly-sliced sweet pepper rings.
• pick a lower-sodium tomato sauce (or better yet, make your own!) and stay away from white, creamy sauces to keep fat and calorie count in check.

Don’ts

• use ricotta cheese. It doesn’t melt like Mozzarella and takes on a crumbly texture when heated. (This was a little disappointing to me since it was my first taste of Ricotta cheese)
• smoother the pizza with cheese. Aim for a nice balance of tomato sauce to cheese; too much cheese leads to a greasy, oil pizza in which you cannot taste the tomato sauce at all.
• serve other high-calorie side dishes with the pizza (such as mashed potatoes, pasta) – go for lighter options like salads and roasted vegetables (the picture above is the oh-so-delicious Garlic-Roasted Cauliflower)

What toppings do you enjoy on your pizza?

Photo by Denim Dave

Do you often that hear dietitians on the media keep telling us to “eat all the colours of the rainbow”?

Ever wondered what that really means?

In essence, it is a livelier, more visual way to deliver the message of “Eat a wide variety of foods”.

The emphasis is put on colour because antioxidants give produce their unique, vibrant colours. Hence, by eating all the colours, it ensures that you will be getting a good amount of all the different antioxidants.

Each antioxidant has a long name but that’s not really necessary to learn. The one key fact that we should remember is that antioxidants are good for us. They are substances that capture free radicals in our body, and prevent free radicals from doing damage to our cells; thus provides protective effects against heart diseases and other health problems caused by oxidative damage. (Source: Medline Plus, HealthCastle.com)

While fruits and vegetables are good sources of antioxidants, do keep in mind that they also provide us with other good-for-you nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, and fiber.

Getting a healthy dose of antioxidants to fight off oxidative damage is only one of the many reasons to have a colourful diet. Another advantage of doing so is it makes your diet so much more exciting, colour and most likely, more tasty too!

The first step to add colour to your diet begins with grocery shopping. Shop around the fresh produce section and be sure to pick up a selection of red, orange and dark green produce, such as red bell peppers, summer squashes, nectarines, and spinach. Or better yet, drop by your local farmer’s market and shop for the freshest fruits and vegetables and ask the people to give you quick tips on preparation.

Are you eating the rainbow colours yet? What are your tips for a colourful diet?

2. Iced tea. Sometimes to cool off, all I really crave is a nice cold beverage. Tea is my top choice. I’m not talking about the sweetened lemon iced tea, what I mean is ice-cold Chinese tea. What I usually like to do is throw a Chinese tea teabag into a glass of lukewarm water and just let it steep for an hour or two and then put it into the fridge. Normally hot tea takes only a few minutes to steep, but when I make cold tea, I like to let it steep much longer to let the flavour develop. Tea is one of my favorite drinks since it is thirst-quenching like water, yet more flavorful than plain water, and also a lot better than other flavoured drinks such as soda pops and juices since tea doesn’t have those extra calories.

3. Frozen fruits. Yes, as you can guess by now, I love fruits! They are my favorite way to add sweetness into my day. In my fridge, I always have frozen grapes and banana. Grapes become icy when frozen and the sweetness actually gets stronger. As for frozen banana chunks, they can be blended with a food processor into a creamy texture like soft-serve vanilla ice-cream, or I use simply use it as a topping for ice cream or yogurt to add texture and flavour. The best part about frozen fruits is that they last for a long time in the freezer so you can readily enjoy them anytime!

The first thing thar people turn to when they need to cool off on a hot day is often ice cream or some other icy, sugary treats, but there are actually many other delicious and nutritious options that offer the same refreshing sensation. Try my suggestions for a change!

What treats do you enjoy during the hot summer days?