Chicken Rice Paper Rolls - Cheap Tuesday Recipe

Makes around 16 rice paper rolls

I have always wanted to make rice paper rolls but always thought it would be to difficult, I now know just how easy it is! and a great healthy alternative! Perfect for dinner parties, healthy lunches and kid friendly (get the kids involved in making there own). This time I made chicken ones but will try prawn and tofu as ingredients in the future.


Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 Chicken Breasts
• 1 tbsp of oil
• 1 tsp of minced garlic
• 1 packet of rice paper (22cm diameter)
• approx 100 g of vermicelli rice noodles
• 2 carrots chopped into thin slices
• 1 medium red capsicum chopped into thin slices
• 1/2 a zucchini chopped thinly
• bean sprouts (I used about 1/2 can)
• 16 mint leaves (1 per roll)
• 32 coriander leaves (2 per roll)
• optional: 1 red chili sliced thinly
• soy sauce
•sweet chili sauce

Method:

• Place the vermicelli rice noodles in a bowl with boiling water and cover for 5 minutes until noodles are soft. Drain and cut noodles into shorter lengths. Set aside for later.
• Cook chicken in fry pan with oil and garlic until cooked through and no longer pink. Chop up into small pieces.
• In a bowl of hot water place 1 piece of rice paper in for 30 seconds and then transfer to damp plate or towel. place the chicken, noodles, and vegetables in the middle of the rice paper.
• Roll the rice paper rolls according to packet (they have a easy to follow diagram)
• Serve with sweet chili or soy sauce

Enjoy xxx

The lowdown on Fruits - Fun Fact Friday

How is everyone on this Friday night, hope you're all out and about, my Friday night is a quiet night in making this amazing table on the lowdown of fruits!

Just made a quick table using the wonderful information on the NUTTAB database to compare some common fruits on the amount of sugar in each per 100 g and amount of energy in Kilojoules ( keep in mind that you wouldn't necessarily eat 100 g per piece of fruit but great to compare them. Also showed the amount of moisture (or water content) per 100 grams. Which is great to to show to you how you are able to also get water in your diet by eating a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. The fruit with the highest sugar levels in my table was grapes with 16.3 grams, and the fruit with the highest energy (kJ) level was bananas with 385 kJ.

I didn't go too much into the vitamins and minerals, nor did I mention antioxidants etc, as I was more focusing on the sugar levels, and why it is important to stay within 2-3 serves per day. Also in future weeks I will show you how much sugar many fruit juices contain on the market (some can be compared to soft drink!!) and why you should not seek to get your serves of fruit from juices instead of the real deal!

Any other fruits you want to know about or any suggestions about what you want to see on my blog, feel free to comment or email nutritiononabudget1@gmail.com

Enjoy your weekend lovely people xxx

Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Soup - Cheap Tuesday Recipe

Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Soup

This is a great recipe coming into the colder months, very easy to make and cost me only $10 for ingrediants (minus the spices, oil and garlic which i already had) 

Serves 6 

Ingredients:

• 1 Kg of Pumpkin ( I used Kent)
• 1/2 Kg of Sweet Potato
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 Large Onion (chopped finely)
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 L of chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 tsp of cumin
• 1 tbsp of Italian/ mixed herb
• 1/2 of chopped spinach leaves
• drizzle of low fat thickened cream or sour cream to serve

Method:

• Cut the pumpkin and sweet potato up into roughly 1-2 cm cubes (remembering that the smaller the pieces the less time they will take to cook), also chop onion.
• In a large pot fry the onion  in the olive oil until soft, then add in garlic and spices and cook for extra minute.
• Add in the pumpkin, sweet potato, spinach and stock. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are soft and break apart easily.
• Turn heat off and cover soup, allowing to cool a bit before blending it.
• I used a kenwood hand blender, which made it a lot easier and less messy as I could just blend the soup while it was still in the pot!
• Serve soup with a drizzle of cream and some nice crusty bread.

Enjoy xxx

The basics of Kilojoules and calories- Fun Fact Friday

Hi Everybody, tonight's post is going to be short and sweet as I have to study for a Food Chemistry Exam! I thought I would share with you some important basics and numbers surrounding the kilojoule.
Kilojoule (kJ) / calorie is a unit of measure of energy. The body requires energy for growth, repair and all the general day-to-day processes conducted within and between the many cells.

1 Calorie = 4.2 Kilojoules (more accurately 4.184)
Handy to know if a package or food label only displays one of the two units. Divide by 4.2 to find out calories (if only kJ is shown) or multiply number of calories by 4.2 to work out kilojoules.

Energy In = Energy Out
For the most part, energy is a balancing act and it is generally said that your energy in (food eaten) should equal your energy out (exercise etc) in order to maintain weight. Although there are external factors that contribute to weight loss or gain that haven't been factored into this equation, it is a simple guideline that at the very least gets you thinking about whether your own energy intake is greater or less than the amount of exercise you do.

One kg of body fat is equal to around 37,000 kJ, so to lose that one kg of fat you would have to burn off or have a dietary deficit of 37,000kJ or 5,000 kJ a day!!!

Macronutrients (kJ/ gram)

Carbohydrates: 16 kJ/ gram
Protein: 17 kJ/ gram
Alcohol: 29 kJ/ gram
Fat: 37 kJ/ gram

So before you pick up an alcoholic beverage this weekend think of the empty kilojoules that you are putting in your body. Carbohydrate is the body's preferred choice of fuel for muscles and the brain. And with Alcohol and Fat being so energy dense it is important to consume in moderation especially alcohol.

Sources:
Better Health Victoria: Kilojoules
Nutrition Australia: Balancing Energy

Milk- Fun Fact Friday

Last Year I posted a fact about Milk on Facebook, about how switching from full cream milk to skim milk can reduce your fat intake by ~ 9 g and reduce kilojoule intake by ~350 kJ per 250 mL (1 cup) serve. And a fab fact that really put it into perspective for me was- if you are a tea/ coffee drinker you could cut 1 kg of saturated fat out of your diet each year just by switching to a skim/ non-fat milk.

So I thought for this weeks Fun Fact Friday I would take the guess work out for you guys and show a comparison of full cream, hi-lo and skim cow's milk, regular and lite soy milk, and regular and unsweetened almond milk. So that next time you head into the supermarket you will have the knowledge of varied nutrition value of the milks before you buy it!

Overall Winners of the Stats per serve:

Lowest Calories: Unsweetened Almond Milk
Highest Protein and Calcium: Skim  Cow's Milk
Lowest Fat: Skim Cow's Milk

Full Cream Milk:

Hi-Lo Milk:

Skim Milk:

Verdict on the cow's milk:

•  Decrease in calories from 160 Cal (Full Cream Milk) > 117 Cal (Hi-Lo) > 97 Cal (Skim Milk)
• Increase in Protein from 8 grams in Full Cream to 9.5 grams in Skim Milk
• Increase in Calcium from 300 mg (Full Cream) to 353 mg (Skim Milk)
• The only con would be the slight increase in sodium from 123 mg in Full Cream up to 142 mg in Skim

pictures and nutritional panels from http://brownesdairy.com.au/products/

Soy Milk Regular vs Lite:

 1) Regular

2) Lite



Verdict on Soy Milk:

• Contains no gluten or lactose so great for people suffering from these intolerances
• No Cholesterol as it is plant- based not an animal product
• Same level of Calcium as Full Cream Cows Milk, but less than Skim and Hi-Lo milk
• contain the 'good' fats (source of monounsaturated and polyunsatured fats)
• In my opinion choose the Lite Soy Milk over the Regular as you will decrease calories from 155 Cal to 95 Cal, and decrease fat from 8.5 grams to 2.3 grams.

Almond Milk Regular vs Unsweetened:

1) Regular


















2) Unsweet

















Verdict on Almond Milk:

• Gluten, Lactose and Cholesterol free 
• Source of Vitamin E
• Defiantly choose the unsweetened version over regular Almond Milk as there is 10.5 grams difference in sugar! There is the smallest increase in fat (0.5 g) but is a monounsaturated fat and not saturated.
• Less calories than that of  Lite Soy Milk and Skim milk, with the unsweetened version on having 43 Cal per serving.
• Con: Less calcium than Soy and Cow's milk 

pictures and nutritional panels sourced from http://sogood.sanitarium.com.au/

Enjoy your milk over the weekend whatever you choose :) Now time for a little snack after all this milk talk!

Quinoa Pancakes - Cheap Tuesday Recipe

This weeks recipe had to be based on whatever I had in the pantry and fridge as I am poor with a capital P! So with a bag of Quinoa sitting in my cupboard I decided it was a great opportunity to use this protein-filling alternative to grains and rices.

 Quinoa is actually pronounced KEEN- WAH,

A few reasons why quinoa could be a great addition to your next shopping trip include:

• It contains 10-18% protein and contains all the essential amino acids (which is a great option for non- meat eaters).
• It is rich in insoluble fiber, so good for the digestive system.
• It is a gluten-free option for those who suffer from intolerance or Celiac's disease.
• Quinoa contains minerals such as iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium.

Quinoa Healthy Pancakes

Adapted this recipe from a recipe on fitsugar.com

Serving: 6-8 Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup of cooked quinoa
• 3/4 cup of plain flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tablespoon of margarine 
• 1/4 cup of almond milk ( I used Almond Breeze- 98% Fat free and unsweetened)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons of honey & bit extra for serving
• 1 banana (to top when serving)

Method:

1. Mix quinoa, flour, baking powder and salt in one bowl, and in a separate bowl whisk together eggs, margarine, milk and honey until smooth
2. Combine the two mixtures and whisk until smooth
3. Lightly coat a non-stick fry-pan with margarine or butter and heat to medium temperate
4. Drop one or two scoops of batter into the frying pan (I used a soup ladle) and cook on one side until bubbles appear on the top ( Around 2 minutes)
5. Flip pancake and cook until underneath is brown ( Another 2 minutes)
6. Serve with a drizzle of honey and cut up banana

Easy and Healthy alternative to Sunday Breakfast this Weekend :)

Acne - Fun Fact Friday (on a Saturday)

Not the best start to my pledge to write consistent blogs but its still Friday somewhere in the world so that's the main thing. As a teenager I suffered from quite bad acne when puberty and the hormones started to kick in. Acne and pimples is a burden in many people's life's and can affect their self confidence. So I thought I would share with you some causes that you may not have known and some handy nutrition tips in relation to acne and breakouts.

Acne is caused by oils of the skin coming into contact with dead skin cells which clogs the pores and leads to breakouts and blemishes. It comes down to genetics whether or not your likely to suffer from acne but can be aggravated by stress and hormones.

Triggers that can cause breakouts:

• Makeup products: products that contain mineral oil can clog the pores and lead to breakouts, makeup brushes can collect bacteria so need to be washed regularly, and remember to wash any make up off before going to bed every night.
• Mobile phones: breeding ground for bacteria and dirt, and if you're anything like me and keep your phone close by at all times make sure you regularly wipe it with alcohol- clean wipes such as pine cleen wipes etc.
• Yoga Mats and other shared sports equipment like helmots: If going to a gym class and using one they provide you don't how many other faces, feet and bodies have been in contact with them so this can defiantly trigger your breakouts
• Sunscreen: I found this one to be true over summer! Because the face is more sensitive than the rest of the body try getting a sunscreen that is oil-free  and avoid ones with perfumes/dyes or the spray-on formulas!
• Hair styling products: The oil can seep into the skin, and especially if you have a fridge ( where the hair product is in direct contact with the forehead) bacteria can be trapped in your pores.

Foods that can make you Acne WORSE:

• Trans Fat in Processed Foods- can cause inflammation in the body which can trigger a breakout.
• Refined Sugar- Decrease sugar intake if you suffer from acne. Refined sugars can increase insulin and testosterone levels in the body which can result in inflammation and breakouts of acne on the skin.
• Dairy and Meat- can cause inflammation when intake is too high due to hormones and antibiotics added to milk presumably, still unknown in general why dairy influences acne.
• Excessive Iodine- has been found to cause acne breakouts when eaten in high/ excessive amounts or from medications and supplements containing Iodine.

Foods to eat that will help your skin:

• Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon and walnuts- known to help reduce inflammation
• Antioxidant rich foods such as berries, green tea and spinach- help to fight the free radicals that cause skin damage and breakouts.
• Vitamin C rich foods such as citrus fruits, tomatoes and melons boost your immune system and strengthen cell walls
• Vitamin E foods- such as nuts, leafy greens and eggs-protect skin from scarring
• Foods high in Selenium- such as onion, garlic, brazil nuts and whole grains, helps to maintains skins elasticity and reduce inflammation
• Remember to drink lots of water and choose high water content foods as well, as water helps to maintain skin, keep you hydrated and rid toxins out of your body!

In general have a healthy diet and lifestyle to improve your breakouts and keep yourself healthy :)

xxx