Nutrition
Omega-3 DHA is a ‘super nutrient’ found in marine algae as well as oily fish. It’s a polyunsaturated fat and is crucial for the healthy development of the brain, eyes and heart. It’s important for adults but particularly...
In the rush of getting ready for school, it’s all too easy to skimp on eating breakfast and preparing lunch.Yet studies on school children have shown that eating breakfast improves memory, problem-solving abilities, accuracy in maths tests and...
Children and their eating habits, (or the lack of) are rated by many parents as a major source of concern and stress in their family life – fussy eaters, slow coaches, fad eaters, food addicts!
Eat right, don't fight is written for all...
On Christmas Eve last year, amidst the wrapping, cooking, carols and cocktails, I received a phone call from a radio big-wig. He asked me whether I ever did ‘private chef’ work. Unfortunately, the entrepreneur in me trampled...
When it’s the middle of a cold winter, there is no better meal to feed a growing family than Mum’s Roast Lamb…and for afters, the dessert classic Lemon Delicious – a healthy balanced meal that will satisfy the hungriest...
Summer is around the corner and so are all the sweet fruits of summer – peaches and nectarines, berries of every variety, melons, mangos and pineapples. And just about any cut of pork is a natural, matched with sweet summer fruit. Try...
In the busy world of today’s modern family, it’s hard enough to get to the shops, let alone work out what to cook for dinner each night that is a) tasty and nutritious b) quick to prepare and c) approved of by the entire family! It...
Every day we are exposed to more information about the food that we eat. It’s hard to sort fact from fiction. Lets look at some of the more common myths about nutrition and children.
Eat your vegetables; Yes we all need the vital nutrients...
Jenny McKerchar talks about a new video produced by the Dietician’s Association of Tasmania, Family Feud Food, which looks at the perennial problem of fussy eaters. The video explains common reasons and provides practical strategies to help...
It’s no secret that Australian children weigh more than they did a generation ago. Commentators agree that there are a number of factors at work - diets higher in processed ingredients, a lack of fruit and vegetable intake, inactivity, less...
Lunch box food is a familiar part of school life for Australian children. Parents sometimes find it a challenge to keep coming up with ideas for foods to put in their child’s lunch box. What’s more, once the food leaves the house on its...
Is there a parent anywhere that would not agree that all members of their family could and should eat more fruit and vegetables? The age-old question is how? From out of the West comes an innovative campaign developed by the West...
A recent pamphlet from Food Standards Australia contains information on mercury levels in fish, particularly relevant for pregnant women, women planning children, and children.
Mercury occurs naturally in the environment and accumulates in fish as...
Before the age of one year, breast milk is recommended as the major drink for infants. For children weaned from the breast, infant formula designed to mimic breast milk is preferable.
Cows’ milk is not recommended as the main milk drink for...
It’s a term coined in the US to describe how much bigger food servings are consumed these days – mega muffins, buckets of popcorn, slabs of meat reminiscent of the brontosaurus burgers beloved of Fred Flintstone.
In these days of super-...
The latest book published in the growing field of nutrition for children, Positive Food for Kids was written by Dr Jenny O’Dea, after working for twenty-five years as a nutritionist and ‘watching the eating habits of Australian and New...
Parents are constantly bombarded with information on what they should and shouldn’t give their children as snacks; complicated by a stream of ads for unhealthy snacks. So how do busy parents juggle children’s hunger pangs, while making...
When dietician Kate Di Prima analysed the nutritional content of 17 snack foods that children commonly eat, the levels of sugar and salt content were alarming, to say the least. The study looked at a range of food items from sultanas, fruit...
Are the words children, healthy and lunchbox mutually exclusive? Ernestine van Herwerden, Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) says not! For many people, the terms nutritious and tasty are a contradiction in terms. But they shouldn’t be...
Every other day the media publicises statistics about Australia’s literally ‘growing’ population of children, with an accepted figure of one-in-five children now considered overweight or obese. Yet conversely or perhaps because of...
Author Wendy Blume has received raves about her first book, Vegie Smugglers, so much so that when she published Vegie Smugglers 2: more recipes that sneak the good stuff in, we invited her back to share her latest batch of clever trick and...
Ask three health professionals about using vitamins and you are likely to receive four opinions about their necessity or otherwise in the family diet.
Dinner time: one of the best times in a family’s day can also be among the most stressful....
The queues at the school canteen aren’t as long as they used to be … the ‘good’ food has been replaced by ‘good’ food and kids, who seem to have been overlooked in the debate raging about their obesity levels,...
