A natural remedy for sore throats - propolis

I am someone who gets sore throats a lot. If I eat a bacon and cheese roll then after a few hours I will get a sore throat, which then develops into a cold.

So what is the natural remedy for sore throats? I think it is propolis lollies (or candy).

Propolis is a bee product. Wikipedia described it as "bee glue" which is obtained from the tree buds and then used by the bees to coat and fix the honeycombs.

I started buying these about three year ago. I used them whenever I get a sore throat. I know that I am a bit of a hypochondriac at times. For example, I would sense a sore throat developing when I hear someone sneezing and coughing in an enclosed train in winter. It is at this moment, I take a propolis as a precaution.

Since discovering propolis, I have got colds less frequently. Actually, only once in the last 18 months.

The good thing about them when compared to other medicinal soothing lollies from the supermarket is that they don't leave your mouth dry after consumption.

I have tried many brand and "Comvita" is still my favourite brand. The packaging is really good - the lollies come individually wrapped and doesn't melt into your bag. More importantly, Comvita tastes nicer than the other propolis brands (in my opinion).
 

P.S.Ingredients list -sugar, corn sugar, Manuka honey (4.7%), water, propolis solids, lemon flavour, menthol and peppermint oil. ## As this is a bee product, this is obviously not appropriate for people with allergies to bee products.

P.P.S. The prices tends to range from $15 to $25 per pack (contains 40 lollies per packet). Where to buy it? Chemist Warehouse at Hurstville Westfield sells them (currently, other Chemist Warehouse don't stock them). Otherwise, souvenir shops that sell Australian tourist products (for example, in Campsie, Hurstville or Sydney CBD).

I didn't know that a high protein bread could be delicious

My mind still cannot fathom that someone created high protein bread (which is also marketed as low carb bread).

The brand is called Herman Brot. There is a German flag on the packaging.

It contains 26g of protein per 100g (2 slice of bread is about 90g, so it is about 2 slice of bread)
It is low in GI, which is a better choice for those trying to control their blood sugars but loves bread.
It is high source of fibre. It contains 10g/100g.
It is low in carb 5g/100g (compared to average multigrain bread = 41g/100g). This is significantly less.

The verdict

It actually taste like regular bread. I have also been trying to have a more protein at breakfast time, so this would be a good alternative to high protein shake. For bread lovers who want to stick to a low carbohydrate diet, this might be a good alternative. Nevertheless, it has the same energy content as regular bread so you can still gain weight if you eat more than you need.

The only downside is that it is more expensive and is found in limited suppliers.

Comfort food reduces stress - it is scientific!

As a Dietitian, I know that we eat food for reasons other than just for energy.This is why changing our eating habits is so difficult. We eat when we are happy. We eat when we are sad. And we eat when we are stressed.

Why does stress make us want to eat? Is there anything physiological going on? Yes. A researcher from University of New South Wales has shown that foods which are high in fat and high in sugar (also commonly known as comfort food) reduces stress in the short term and in the longer term. However, the exact mechanism of this relationship is not yet known. It has been suggested that high fat and high sugar foods might be influencing our mood by causing changes to the level of the hormones dopamine and serotonin.

The research also showed that high fat foods have a role in long term mental trauma (such as childhood neglect and abuse). Basically, providing these food will help reduce the long term effect from trauma. This is pretty amazing. This actually reminds me of the novel Harry Potter, where Harry is fed chocolate after stressful events (e.g. contact with Dementors) and it make him feel better. Apparently, it is scientific! Chocolate is first aid for stress.

Image from: http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110811075223/harrypotter/images/8/8e/Chocolate_Frog.jpg

Now, before you start eating high energy snacks there is something else which has the same positive benefits as comfort food. This is regular exercise. So if you are stressed, do some regular exercise. This will make you feel great, help you get better sleep and prevent weight gain from stress eating.

This blog was inspired from watching an episode of Catalyst from ABC. If you want this episode, see http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3166827.htm

I have also linked an article below for some further reading about "Why stress causes people to overeat". It has some helpful tips for those who struggle with stress snacking. See http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/harvard_mental_health_letter/2012/february/why-stress-causes-people-to-overeat

Snack ideas for first time hikers like me

I went on my first hike recently.

One of the exciting thing about doing a new activity is eating new foods. Finally, there is a need for trail mix in my life. I was lucky to go hiking with a group of friends who sorted out the main meals so all I had to pack was water and snacks. I did a bit of research about the nutritional needs and fluid needs and here is what I discovered about what to snacks to bring on a hike.

• Bring ~ 0.7-0.9kg of dried snack per day per person for light hiking (more for more strenuous hiking/activities). However, I ate less than 0.5kg of my snacks per day.
• The key is eat regularly for sustain energy, for example every hour. 
• Bring snacks with carbohydrates and fat so you get both quick acting and long acting energy source. 

Nine snack ideas to bring on a hike.

1. Jerky (we found this brand at Costco without MSG)

2. Homemade protein balls (for a recipe see a previous blog).If you have time to make it. 

3. Dried fruit and nut mix (with MMs)

4. Boiled egg (yay for an savoury snack)

5. Rice cracker with tinned fish (yay for another savoury option)

6. Muesli (of course - you can eat muesli dry)

7. Flavoured milk (This is a really good option as it provide water, protein, fat and carbohydrate)

8. Salted nuts (yay for another savoury option)

9. Chocolate (it has fat and sugar, exactly what the Dietitian prescribed)


One final note. Although, I am a fan of savoury snacks, too much salt will increase the chance of dehydration and isn't healthy either, so limit your salty foods.

More information about what to eat when hiking check out the website below.
http://thru-hiker.com/articles/pack_light_eat_right.php

Favourites from the Good Food And Wine Show 2014

The Good Food And Wine Show (GFS) is an annual show where there is lots of different food and drinks on show. There were also cooking demonstrations and eatery to eat at. This year, the Sydney GFS was held at Sydney Olympic Park and this is what we found.

What is a healthy food product that I would recommend as a Dietitian from GFS?

Egg White Carton

I have seen this product at the Sport & Fitness Expo before, but always thought that it would be expensive and irrelevant. Why would I buy a carton when I could crack my own eggs? I understand now. Firstly, it is ease. You can avoid the mess of cracking eggs. Secondly, it is high in protein, so great for those who exercise or want to lose weight.Thirdly, one carton actually makes 4 omelettes (and one carton =16 egg whites). They are good size omelettes too. I was amazed. Fourthly, you can use it to make pavlova.

What were some strange food items that you saw at GFS?

Edible insects, sugar-free donuts, alpaca meat.

Edible insects, like what? Yes, edible insects. You can get edible insect in your salt & pepper shaker, or in your ice-cream, or in candy, or in cookies. You can't buy them as yet in stores. But I was excited at the innovation. The pamphlet we got encourages eating bugs because they are better for the environment. "They use less water, less space and less feed to produce and high in protein and low in fat." Apparently, the ants have an explosive flavour in your mouth because of the formic acid. I suppose this is a non-vegetarian product but I never equated insects with meat. See ediblebugshop.com.au

Bugs in ice-cream

Different insect seasonings.

Sugar-free donuts - brand "Noshu". It was a doughy texture. This is probably because they were gluten free. They are "natural" - naturally sweetened and natural colours and natural flavours. It is a lower energy snack, equal to a piece of fruit, but not as healthy obviously. It just wasn't sweet enough. My mind was expecting sweet donut icing but it was disappointed. I could probably adjust if I ate them for 2 weeks, but I don't love donuts, and probably eat less than 1 a year. So I see no point of them in my life.

Alpaca meat. I have eaten crocodile, kangaroo, and camel meat. And now I have eaten alpaca. It was in the form of a steam bun. It was eatable. I actually thought it was alright. I am not fussy about meat so would eat them again. I think it tasted like red meat but for me to buy them I need to be convinced of its nutritional benefit.

Alpaca steamed bun

What did you buy? 

Thomas Chipman chips, No Worries Curry. Hoyts tartare sauce.

I am naturally drawn to savoury snacks so I bought chippies. I bought them because they are organic and there is no MSG in them. This doesn't make the chippies healthy but it is my treat and they sustain me for the late night studies. I think the Sweet Chilli Flavour is one of my favourite chips at the moment.

We also bought No Worries Curry to try. We love curries and thought it would make easy dinners. We haven't tried them yet so not sure how they would turn out, but the ingredients sound good.

Mike also wanted to buy the Hoyts tartare sauce because it taste different to the ones available in Supermarkets in Sydney. Unfortunately, this item isn't available outside of Victoria. Mike thought it was stupid for advertising food items that you can't buy.

And what do you want to buy later?

Vanilla protein shake called "Life plus shake"- taste like ice cream milkshake and contains a whooping 45g of protein per carton (600mL). I would probably drink half of a carton after exercise because I am a small person. http://www.lifeplusprotein.com.au/

Gourmet soft caramel in a jar. It can be used on roast meat and toast. It was delicious off a spoon. See www.caramelicious.com.au

Jordans Crispy Oat Cluster cereal. I love clustered cereals. It stays crunchy and doesn't go soggy in milk. It was really tasty - I tried the berry flavour. http://jordanscereals.com/en-au/what-we-make/crispy-oat-clusters/

Beak & Son Chorizo. We have been eating them for a while but they are still delicious. Interestingly their sausages taste better because they use the whole animal (ie. they use the expensive cuts as well as the cheap ones). They have included burgers and meatballs in their range which is available from IGAs. www.mrbeaks.com.au

Procal Burst - Iced coffee - it is a really nice tasting iced coffee (see picture below) - Mike says it's possibly the best tasting iced coffee he's tried. It is not available to buy as yet but I was told that it is coming out soon and should be available at Coles and Woolworths.

Procal Burst flavoured milk.
As you can see the one on the right, which is the iced coffee, is all empty. 

What about non food products?

Coca Cola Glasses

I don't actually drink soft drink regularly but I just love the idea. I think it is cool, however a friend pointed out that it might not improve the flavour, unlike alcohol glasses for different alcohols. Does it retain the fizz better?

Anything else?

Yes, I would love to visit the Butter factory in Myrtleford, Victoria. I tried their "Smoked viking salt butter" and it was yum. I could eat it off the spoon. It is really salty so if you love salty things you will love this too. Otherwise, they have a normal butter or an unsalted butter. I would really like to go on a butter making tour. I love learning more about how food are made. www.butterfactory.com.au

There were also lots of alcoholic beverages such as beers, wines and ciders to try but I am didn't try them so can't tell you what they were like. We had a fun day walking around and eating. It was educational as we got to ask question and hear about how they make the food and what makes their product better than everybody else.

I love to eat anything in a wrap form.

On Saturday, we went out to celebrate a friend's graduation. It was very exciting because I love going to the city and I love trying out new places to eat. This friend loves the pub and so we visited, the "Norfolk Hotel" on Cleveland St, Surry Hills, which was recommended to him. I had never been there before. To be honest, I don't frequent pubs often because I don't like the smell of smoke and I don't like the taste of alcohol.

Anyways, the place was packed which is a good sign. An empty restaurants is to me a reflection of the food. We sat down and I was started perusing the menu because I was starving. There was lots of good daily specials but no special for Saturdays. I would be keen to go back on a Monday night for the $10 nachos. Yum!

My husband and I choose two different dishes because I wanted to try as many dishes as possible. We decided on the soft taco dish in four different flavours (Baja fish, Al Pastor Pork, BBQ chicken, and Coke Cola Beef) and 7 hour lamb roll with Spiced Norfolk Fries. Here are the pictures.

7 hour lamb roll with Spiced Norfolk Fries!!!!

Soft Taco Wraps in four different flavours!!!!!!!

I hope you can see from the photos that the food looked great. I especially like the presentation of the four different wraps. They were bursting with flavour from the different type of salsas. I especially like the Baja fish. My husband like the pork version as there were good size chuck of meat in the Al Pastor Pork. Overall, the food was delicious and I would come back to eat at the restaurant again.

I realized that I actually love food in wrapped form. I love San Choy Boi (lettuce wrap with meat) and Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls (especially when you can make it yourself at the restaurant) and sushi and tacos. I wonder if have you tried the bread in a roll format at Breadtop with pork floss. It is probably pretty Asian but it is delicious. I think I would be willing to eat any food in a wrapped format. It almost sounds like a challenge to myself.

This experience has inspired me to make soft taco wraps with meat and salsa filling at home for dinner. It sounds healthy and easy and great for a small party or just for two.

Homemade Protein Power Balls Recipe

I am writing this blog to those who are either grazers (like me) or to those who always feel hungry. Here is a snack idea for you. 

Last week at the gym, my boxing partner was raving on about these protein balls that she made. Let's call my boxing partner, Jane. Jane had just ate one for breakfast and was still feeling full. Jane keeps them in her draws at work for an afternoon snack to help her lose weight (although my professional opinion is that she doesn't need to lose weight, she is not overweight). She loves them because they are made from real natural food and are healthy. She said how easy it was to make and it only took her 5 minutes and she froze a batch of them for later.

After hearing her speak about them for like 30 minutes, I was sold. I wanted to make these protein balls to see how great they are. I was suspicious about the taste but willing to give them ago. 

The recipe for the homemade protein balls are found at http://www.thehealthychef.com/2011/09/protein-power-balls/. 

In regards to the ingredients, I followed the recipe and used almonds (Jane said almonds tastes better than walnuts) and used a pea protein brand (Phyto protein) it was the one we had at home. I think it is a pretty random thing to have pea protein at home and I suspect if you want to make this recipe you will need to go out and buy it, but we had a tub of pea protein just lying around. 

I followed the instructions exactly and did not make any modifications. The amount of water isn't specified in the recipe and you just add until it forms a ball. I ended up using 1 cup of water, I think it depends on how moist the dates are. I ended making 19 balls (not 14 as per the recipe).

This is what they looked like. 

Nutritional information

I worked out the nutritional content of the balls myself using the information on the packaging and the Calorie King website (http://www.calorieking.com.au/). The values I got were different and higher than the healthy chef website, and I even made my balls smaller. 

Per Ball (I made 19)

Energy 586kJ (140 calories)

Protein 7g

Carbohydrates 8g

Fat 10g *

Fibre 3g (high in fibre)

*For those who are asking why the fat content is so high? It is from the almonds, nuts contains a high percent of fat. The types of fat are unsaturated, the healthy ones. 

These balls also happens to be gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan friendly. 

The taste test

While I do wish the protein balls were sweeter but I think the fact that they are not that sweet, stops me gobbling up more than one at a time. After a few minutes, I felt satisfied, even though I only ate one. It is a great way to eat your daily serve of unsalted nuts. I would recommend these as a healthy snack. It is pretty easy to make and a handy snack to keep in your fridge. 

I would probably eat one at supper time to stop the midnight munchies, and probably 1 as a snack with a glass of milk after a gym session. 

So if you are a grazer or have the munchies, then give them a go!