Olwen Anderson's Blog

When you eat at home all the time its easier to maintain a healthy eating plan; you can choose to shop only for the foods you know are good, so there is only healthy food in the cupboard. But many of us have to travel for work or eat out frequently at functions. If you've ever had a week that included lots of dining out, you've probably noticed how your energy starts to drop after a few days from the lack of fresh food.

Although its good to lash out and enjoy whatever's on the menu from time to time, if you eat that way all the time you'll soon see your health declining. So lets look at some strategies to keep up healthy eating when you're away from your own kitchen.

Out for lunch at a café with friends? Choose the salad option as your main meal, remembering to include a protein food like chicken or fish. Most cafes make fresh juices too (and you won't have to clean up that messy juice machine!) Avoid the fried food completely. By the way, lunch at a sushi bar can be a really healthy choice when you choose the traditional fish and rice varieties.

Eating out for breakfast: To keep your energy levels high all day, choose a protein and vegetable based breakfast from the menu, not the bacon and sausages. Eggs are great – order yours as poached. Request 'no toast thanks', and if you want coffee, order the standard size. Coffee itself isn't a bad thing in moderation – people have been drinking it for centuries – but the mega-sized cups that are available can be a trap.

Many functions and celebrations like weddings have a set menu. But you can still make some healthy choices. Ignore the bread basket. If there is a buffet, load your plate up with salad and steamed veg, and avoid the rich sauces. Resolve to enjoy just one glass of alcohol, then switch to non-alcoholic drinks like mineral water. If the meal turns out to be really rich, resolve to focus on simple fresh foods only for the next 24 hours.

Going to a barbeque with friends? Avoid the bread rolls and the sausages. Enjoy the freshly cooked steak or fish, and load up your plate with leafy salads. If the dessert looks really fabulous, have some – just make it a small portion!

Eating well while travelling has got a lot easier since juice bars started appearing in airports. They will make you a juice from fresh fruit and vegetables on the spot, and often have fresh fruit available as well. 

Enjoy the challenge of eating out and staying healthy!

As I locked up my clinic tonight, I got a surprise. Across the road is a famous (national brand) pizza take-away. Its often open when I head home – but what surprised me tonight was the number of customers. People were queued out to the street waiting to order their dinner. It made me wonder how often people eat take-away as their evening meal.

Although occasional fast food isn’t so harmful (by ‘occasional’ I mean once every three months or so), it occurred to me that some people might not know the strategies cooks use to put together a fast, nutritious meal at home that will boost their health. Qualified chefs seem to be able to put a glamorous meal together within minutes, but most of us don’t have the same level of expertise!

So this week I’d like to offer you some alternatives to save you from yet another take-away dinner, and suggest some of the home made, more delicious alternatives that can be prepared in around the same amount of time.

Most fast food is extremely processed, with a high proportion of salt, sugar, fat, preservatives and additives; low in fibre and nutrients. A natural, healthy diet, in comparison, contains a wide variety of unprocessed or raw foods, prepared as freshly as possible. But if you are a busy householder pressed for time, it may seem that there’s just not enough time to prepare a spectacular feast from scratch every night. Here are some ideas to help you bridge the gap, and serve up some healthy meals for your family:

- Obtain a slow cooker. These wonderful devices can cook your meat or chicken while you’re at work, then all you have to do is steam accompanying vegetables when you get home. Cooking the vegies will probably take the same amount of time as it would to wait for your pizza order!

- Keep that BBQ on the verandah operational over winter. This is a fast way to cook chicken or fish, then serve with some salad or steamed vegetables.

- If you own a wok, meals can be created in just a few minutes using meat, vegetables and a spicy sauce.

- When you make up a labour-intensive dish for dinner like tuna mornay or lasagne, make double. Serve half, and freeze the other half to re-heat on a busy night.

- Preparing a simple home-made soup from scratch only takes 30 minutes. You could serve it with wholemeal bread on a cold winter’s night.

Taking a few minutes to prepare home-cooked meals will give you and your family a better standard of nutrition. It will be easier on your wallet too!