Why dietitians want you to love your beans!

Chat Leave a comment October 12, 2016 nutritionadsa

In celebration of National Nutrition Week: ‘Love your beans – eat dry beans, peas and lentils’ (9 to 15 October), we chatted to a few dietitians to find out why these foods, also known as pulses, should form an essential part of our diet.

To find out more about why beans are good for health, how to cook them, how to prepare them, snack ideas and great recipes, join the #LovePulses Twitter Talk on Wednesday, 12 October at 1pm (SA time) – follow our @ADSA_RD Twitter handle or the hashtag #LovePulses.

Why pulses?

• “Pulses are very economical in this tough economic time. Add pulses to meat dishes like mince and stews to bulk up your dish and make it go further”, says Registered Dietitian and ADSA (Association for Dietetics in South Africa) spokesperson, Monique Piderit.
• Beans, peas and lentils add a great variety to meal preparation, are affordable and good for our earth. – Nazeeia Sayed, RD (SA)
• Pulses are a good, inexpensive source of protein. – Kelly Schreuder, RD (SA)
• Pulses help to keep your blood sugar steady (making them a great option for diabetics) and lower your cholesterol. – Zelda Ackerman, RD (SA)
• Pulses are high in soluble and insoluble fibre, aiding good digestion and keeping you regular. – Mpho Tshukudu, RD (SA)
• Beans, peas and lentils are low in sodium, and provide important minerals like potassium and calcium, which can improve blood pressure. – Jessica Byrne, RD (SA)
• Pulses are a good source of plant-based iron and have a low glycemic index, keeping you fuller for longer. – Cath Day, RD (SA)

Cooking tips for pulses

• Tinned chickpeas, beans and lentils are just as nutritious as the dried versions. Stock up on tinned pulses for quick emergency meals, e.g. chickpeas and tuna, mince with tinned lentils or add tinned beans to your favourite salad. – Monique Piderit, RD (SA)
• Soak in the morning (ahead of cooking in the evening) using boiling water or use canned varieties to cut down on cooking time. – Nazeeia Sayed, RD (SA)
• Add salt at the end of the cooking process. Adding it at the begin increases cooking time and hardens the skins. – Mpho Tshukudu, RD (SA)
• Soaking and rinsing dry beans before cooking, as well as rinsing canned beans in water, can help to reduce hard to digest carbohydrates, which could cause flatulence in some individuals. – Jessica Byrne, RD (SA)
• Rinse tinned legumes well before serving, as this increases your tummy’s tolerance to beans, lentils and chickpeas. – Cath Day, RD (SA)

Great, easy snack ideas for pulses

• Drain a tin of chickpeas and place in a roasting pan drizzle with olive oil, cumin, paprika and black pepper. Roast for around 40 minutes for a quick and easy roasted chickpea snack. Store in an airtight container for a quick snack on the go. – Monique Piderit, RD (SA)
• Pulses can be used to make tasty dips, e.g. pureed chickpea and butternut, or white bean dip (flavoured with a little vegetable oil, garlic, lemon juice, sprinkling of salt and herbs).  Dips can be enjoyed with veggie sticks or crackers. – Nazeeia Sayed, RD (SA)
• Or keep it even simpler and just mash or blend pulses with garlic, herbs and spices for a delicious, healthy spread or dip. – Kelly Schreuder, RD (SA)
• Lentils are quick and easy to cook together with your brown rice, pearled barley or crushed wheat. – Zelda Ackerman, RD (SA)

“Pulses should be a regular part of a family’s healthy eating plan and can be used in a wide variety of dishes. Aim to include them in your diet at least four times a week,” says ADSA spokesperson, Jessica Byrne.

Love your beans for good health

Chat Leave a comment October 10, 2016 nutritionadsa

South Africa celebrates National Nutrition Week from 9 to 15 October, and aligning to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) which has declared that 2016 is the ‘International Year of Pulses’, this year’s campaign theme is ‘Love your beans – eat dry beans, peas and lentils!’ echoing the country’s food-based dietary guideline to ‘eat dry beans, split peas, lentils and soya regularly’.

“There’s a good reason to put dry beans, peas, lentils and soya into the spotlight. Unfortunately, they are largely overlooked as they are often seen as a ‘poor man’s food’ and they can take a long time to cook. We should be eating them, along with a variety of foods, at least four times a week; and yet, many of us hardly include them in our diets. There’s just not enough awareness of how they contribute to healthy lifestyles, or how to use them well to make delicious meals,” says Ms Lynn Moeng-Mahlangu, Cluster Manager of Health Promotion, Nutrition and Oral Health at the National Department of Health. “However, this National Nutrition Week, we hope to share tips and recipes to inspire South Africans to eat more beans, peas, lentils and soya. For information on these tips, access the National Nutrition Week website”.

National Nutrition Week is a joint initiative by the Department of Health, the Association for Dietetics in South Africa (ADSA), the Nutrition Society of South Africa (NSSA), the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA), the Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa (HSFSA) and the Consumer Education Project of Milk SA (CEP). “We are delighted that this year’s theme highlights these affordable, versatile and tasty foods that make such a vital contribution to our health when they are a regular part of the family’s healthy eating regime,” says ADSA President, Maryke Gallagher.

So much nutrition advice is centred on what we need to eat less of, but when it comes to pulses – your dry beans, peas and lentils – the message is about eating more!

Carol Browne from the NSSA highlights some benefits of pulses. “Beans, peas and lentils also provide exceptional nutritional value for money, having a high micronutrient to price ratio. What’s more, they improve soil fertility, are water efficient and have a smaller carbon footprint, promoting environmental sustainability.”

The top nutritional benefits of eating dry beans, peas, lentils and soya are that:

• They are low in fat, high in fibre and have a low glycaemic index
• They are naturally cholesterol-free
• They are naturally gluten-free
• They are a good source of plant protein, providing twice as much protein as wheat
• They are good sources of vitamins such as folate and minerals such as potassium and calcium

According to Professor Pamela Naidoo, CEO of the HSFSA, “Including dry beans, peas, lentils and soya regularly in your diet, along with other health promoting behaviours, contributes to better health, helping to improve blood pressure and the maintenance of a healthy weight, reducing the risk for conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and strokes.”

When it comes to cooking, pulses are wonderfully versatile and can be incorporated into the diet in many ways. “Pulses are excellent when used as the main ingredient in a vegetarian meal,” Linda Drummond from the CGCSA points out, “Or they can be used as an affordable way to extend meat in something like a meat stew or a bolognaise sauce. Cook up a large batch, portion and freeze to use to make a quick meal like soup or a bean salad.” As part of National Nutrition Week activities, a host of recipes celebrating beans, peas and lentils in tasty dishes are available on the National Nutrition Week website.

“Some people experience bloating and gas as a result of eating beans, but we would like to highlight steps that can be taken to prevent this from being a reason why many don’t include these nutritious foods in their eating plans”, says Maretha Vermaak from the CEP of Milk SA. Vermaak advises people to start with small amounts to build up one’s tolerance over time and to soak dry beans before cooking.

On Wednesday, the 12^th of October, ADSA (@ADSA_RD) will be hosting a Twitter Talk from 13h00 to 14h00 where dietitians and National Nutrition Week partners will be answering questions such as: Why are beans, peas and lentils good for health? How do we avoid getting bloated and windy after eating beans? What is the best way to prepare dry beans for cooking? How do I introduce more dry beans, lentils and peas into my children’s diet? What are some ways we can use beans, peas and lentils in meals and snacks? Join the conversation live on Twitter, follow the @ADSA_RD handle or track the hashtag #LovePulses to get great ideas and tips that will help you and your family to love dry beans, peas and lentils. The Department of Health in the various provinces will also celebrate National Nutrition Week during the month of October.

For more information on National Nutrition Week 2016, please visit the website: http://www.nutritionweek.co.za/

Ostrich Stew with Gremolata

Leave a comment September 30, 2016 nutritionadsa

A great choice for health-conscious red meat lovers and a wonderful in-between seasons recipe – Ostrich Stew with Gremolata, created by chef Vanessa Marx.

Our dietitians say: Ostrich is a great tasting lean read meat. It is low in fat (only 1.4 g fat per 100 g meat), rich in protein (22 protein per 100 g meat), lower in cholesterol than other red meats (only 60 mg per 100 g meat), and a good source of biologically available iron  (3.2 mg iron per 100 g serving of meat)

INGREDIENTS

500 g ostrich fillet cubes

1 tablespoon (15 ml) canola oil

2 cans (400 g each) chopped tomato

1 cup (250 ml) red wine

1 carrot

1 onion

100 g mushrooms

100 g green beans

10 g thyme, fresh

10 g rosemary, fresh

1 can (400 g net, 244 g drained) beans e.g. kidney, butter beans or cooked sugar beans, drained and rinsed

salt & pepper

1 tablespoon (15 ml) xylitol

2 cloves garlic

10 g Italian parsley

1 lemon

METHOD

1. Peel and chop the onion and carrot, and slice the mushrooms and green beans.
2. Place a large pot on a high heat and add the oil. Once hot, add the onion, mushroom and carrot and sauté for 2 minutes.
3. Add the ostrich cubes, chopped tomato, wine and chopped herbs and reduce the heat to low.
4. Allow the pot to simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally, the sauce will reduce and thicken and the ostrich will soften. Once this happens, add the green beans and season with salt and pepper, add the xylitol and the can of beans & stir.
5. Simmer the stew for another 5 minutes to cook the green beans.
6. To make the gremolata, chop the fresh garlic finely, chop the parsley and zest the lemon. Mix the parsley garlic & lemon zest together.
7. Serve the stew hot and sprinkle with the fresh gremolata.

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING

(recipe serves 4)

Energy: 1400 kJ Protein: 35.6 g Carbohydrate: 23.8 g Of which, total sugars: 9.1 g Fat: 6.7 g Fibre: 17.2 g Sodium: 180 mg

 

 

Skipping breakfast will do more than damage your health

2 Comments March 13, 2015 nutritionadsa

It’s 6am, you are up and about and ready to start your day, but have no appetite or time to eat breakfast, and so you decide to postpone eating until the next meal of the day, which is only at 12pm. In essence, choosing not to eat breakfast means you are consciously making the decision to hamper your health as well as your performance at work or even at home. Perhaps it’s because you want to lose a few kilos?

Registered Dietitian Nathalie Mat puts that weight-loss myth to rest and explains how, by not eating breakfast, you are in fact depriving your body of sufficient nutrients that it needs in order to function on a daily basis. “Our bodies are not given any food overnight while sleeping, the first meal of the day helps to get our body started and get our metabolisms going,” says Mat. “Skipping breakfast is associated with higher weight gain and poorer performance.”

Perhaps you struggle to gulp down a meal in the morning due to the fact that you simply do not possess an appetite at that time. According to Mat, you are not alone: “Many people report having no appetite in the morning. I often find this is because they are eating too large a dinner. Reducing the size of your dinner may improve your morning appetite.” Choosing healthy foods that form a balanced meal will ensure your blood sugar levels are consistent meaning you won’t burn out later that morning, which is often the case.

“A healthy breakfast is a balanced one that includes a mix of wholegrain starchy foods (such as high fibre cereals, porridge, wholegrain or sourdough bread and even legumes like as beans or chickpeas) and protein rich foods (such as dairy products, eggs, lean meats or fish),” says Mat. “For example, it could be oats porridge with low fat milk, bran rich cereal with milk or wholegrain bread with some cheese, egg, beans or even peanut butter.” You can also add fruit to your breakfast. Fruit is a natural source of sugar but should be consumed as fresh fruit rather than juice if you want to control your blood sugar levels well.

Not only will eating a decent breakfast improve your performance throughout the day, but sustaining a lifestyle that is balanced in general will put diseases like cancer, strokes and heart attacks at bay. “Poor diet, physical inactivity and smoking are believed to contribute to those conditions,” says Mat. “These can be prevented by managing your lifestyle choices.”

The sooner you make the first step by eating the first, crucial meal of the day, the sooner you will begin living a more health and vitality-filled life.