Veggies - How many do we need?

Vegetables provide nutrients vital for health and maintenance of your body! The list of benefits Veggies provide is ongoing but below are a few of the important ones!

• Can help you lose weight
• Are high in important nutrients including potassium, folate, vitamin A, vitamin C and the list goes on…
• Can reduce your risk of certain cancers, chronic diseases (such as diabetes) etc.
• Help to keep you immune system strong, heart & skin healthy
•Keep your gut, digestion and brain healthy

HOW MUCH?
Adults need to be eating a minimum of 5 serves of veggies! For kids 4 - 7 years they need at least 4 serves and 8 -18 years at least 5 serves of vegetables.

WHAT IS A SERVE?
A serve of vegetables or legumes (yes legumes such as lentils & beans count as veggies!!)
1 serve =
1/2 cup of cooked veggies
1/2 cup of dried beans, peas or lentils
1 cup of salad veggies

If you are struggle to include your 5 serves of veggies into your diet, My Nutrition E Book & 7 Meal Plan E Book are jam packed with veggie inspired recipes! And you can still receive 30% OFF my 7 Day Meal Plan Ebook! You can add your details here or shoot me a message for the discount code!

Carbs, Protein and Fats = ESSENTIAL

Life is all about Balance!

Let’s talk about Protein, carbs and Fats!

Protein is essential for the growth of muscle, hair, skin and bones. Whilst carbs provide your body with energy to fuel your brain and muscles. Fat is also incredibly important for insulation, brain health and the production of hormones. When protein, carbohydrates and fats work together they keep your body healthy and functioning. The carbs you eat give you energy while the protein builds muscles. Fats and proteins are essential in order to stabilize the blood sugar levels in your body and are best eaten together! To put it simply without carbs your body would not have the energy  it needs to workout and train  hard and without protein and fats you would not be able to build muscle or grow skin and hair and regulate your hormones and mood as effectvely. Demonstrating that these elements are equally essential for your diet!

This doesn’t mean you can go out and order a crispy chicken burger to ensure you include this essential relationship is in your diet. Instead you need to choose with care and be smart about it! The best protein choices are lean meats, eggs and tofu. The best carbs are whole grains, fruits and vegetables which offer more health benefits that refined grains! The best fats are monounsaturated olive oil and avocado as well as almond butter!!! Coconut oil has been shown to have a myriad of other health benefits also.

Some examples of nutritious protein and carb combinations that you can include in your daily diet include brown rice and broccoli with legumes, tofu or grilled chicken, grilled salmon with steamed asparagus and quinoa, low-fat cottage cheese with fruit or oatmeal and nuts! These food combos will take longer for your body to absorb therefore there will be a slower release into your body and a steadier energy source to keep you going!

Source: Muscle & Fit

Lets talk about FIBER..

As people are becoming more and more fixated on finding the perfect diet to help with lose fat or gain muscle people are overlooking the hire component of fat lose, FIBER!

Fiber, often referred to as roughage or bulk, is a component indigestible part of the plant based foods that pushes through our digestive system, absorbing water along the way and easing bowel movements.

There are three different types of fibre which all have different functions and health benefits.

 Soluble fiber helps to slow the emptying process in our stomachs, which helps us feel fuller for longer! Foods rich in this type of fiber include oatmeal, nuts, beans, apples, and blueberries

·     

Insoluble fiber absorbs water to help soften the contents of our bowels and supports regular bowel movements. This is found in the seeds and skins of fruit (so always eat your peels) as well as whole-wheat bread and brown rice.

 Resistant starch is not digested in the small intestine and instead proceeds to the largeintestine where it assists the production of good bacteria and improves bowel health! Foods rich in this type include bananas, potatoes and cashews.

 Fiber is hugely important for gut health and the absorption of nutrients, therefore aiding digestion as it bulks up food in the digestive tract which makes your feel fuller for longer!

The minimum fibre intake should be no less that 20g for females and 25g for males but no more the 40g for females and 50-60g for males. But with most things too much of anything can be bad for you! If you fibre intake is too high is can reflect badly on you gut health and nutrient absorption. You need to focus on finding that SWEET SPOT!

Here are my TOP TIPS FIBRE TIPS!

1.     Eat Breakfast. Breakfast is a great place to start adding fibre.

2.     Add seeds. All kinds of seeds are high in fibre so aim to add 2 tablespoons of seeds into your diet each day!

3.     Eat more beans!! Lentils and beans are very high in fibre, especially soluble fibre. Try to have beans at least 3 or 4 times a week.

4.     Add Vegetables. As a good rule of thumb, salad or vegetables should make up 1/3 of your lunch and 1/3 of your dinner. Short on time? Frozen veggies are just as good!

5.     Eat Fruit. A piece of fruits will give you over 2g of fiber!! So aim to have 2-3 pieces of fruit everyday! Try slicing banana for brekky, adding apple to your salad and enjoying an orange a snack.

6.     Snack on nuts and dried fruit. Snacks like mixed nuts and raisins are high in fiber and make a great alternative to crisp and sugary snacks! All you need is a handful to help boost your intake

7.     Drink water.

** Remember it is normal to feel some bloating and to pass a little more wind when you first start to add in more fibre. This will settle down in a week or two.