December 2020 – Registered Dietitians Services

December 9, 2020January 15, 2021Rowinda DimechDiets, Fitness, Health, Recipes

Chili Bean Soup with Avocado

Are you stressed out about what to cook for your family and friend at Christmas lunch?

Are you going to prepare a 3 course meal and want easy, delicious recipes?

This nutritious recipe of chili bean soup with avocado salsa is perfect to serve it for Christmas lunch as a starter for all your family and friends. This recipe is suitable for vegetarians and vegans as it contains beans, avocado, tomatoes, herbs and spices for a delicious taste. In addition, it is also low in calories, carbs and fats. It is full of vitamin B, C, E, K, folate and anti-oxidants.

Ingredients (Serves 6)

1 tablespoon oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 red chillies, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
800 g kidney beans
400 g chopped tomatoes
2 L vegetable stock

For the salsa

1 avocado, peeled and finely chopped
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
4 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
Half small onion, finely chopped
Half small red chili, sliced (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion, garlic and chilies and fry for 2-3 minutes until the onion begins to soften. Add the spices and continue to fry for a further minute.
Add the remaining soup ingredients to the pan, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Transfer the soup to a food processor or use a stick blender and process until smooth (it may be easier to do this in batches), return to the pan and heat. Meanwhile, mix together all the ingredients for the salsa.
Serve the soup topped with a spoonful of salsa.

Nutritional Information

	Per 100 g
Energy (Kcal)	62.3
Protein (g)	2.6
Carbohydrates (g)	6.0
of which sugars (g)	2.0
Fats (g)	2.4
Of which saturates (g)	0.4
Fibre (g)	3.0
Salt (g)	0.3

So, now you have your starter idea ready for Christmas – Chili bean soup with avocado! If, you are still worried what to cook for Christmas main and dessert, I encourage you to check out our blog for easy, healthy and delicious recipes. In addition, if you want to change your eating habits throughout the coming year or want more recipe ideas I recommend you to order our recipe book ‘Everyday Cooking – a helping hand’. In this recipe book you will have more than 50 delicious recipes to cook for all your family and friends, all year long.

December 4, 2020December 18, 2020seederChildren

How to handle your child’s sugar craving

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Is your child constantly craving for sweets and chocolate?

Is your child begging you to buy him sweets at the supermarket?

Is your child eating sweets and hiding the wrapping under his bed?

If your child is constantly craving sugary foods, you might be worried. As a result, you might be experiencing fear or anxiety that your child is developing a sugar addiction. As a parent you might adopt statements like “eat less sweets”, “eat sweets in moderation” or “avoid all sweets.” In fact, some parents may fall into the “no sweets at all” removing any food that contains sugars from home, hoping to improve their child’s situation with sugary foods.

This scenario of food restriction, although done with good intentions, can cause your child to lose their sense of hunger and fullness. They may overeat when those limited foods become available. This may happen when children are away from the watchful eyes of mom and dad. For example, if your child slips into the kitchen when you go change out the laundry, this may be a sign of food sneaking. If you find hidden wrappers under the bed, this too, may be a concerning sign.

In addition, kids may become “obsessed” with the foods that are limited or forbidden.

Over time, feelings of deprivation may set in. Kids may feel left out or deprived when they don’t have the freedom to choose what or how much they want to eat. Like adults, kids want what they can’t or don’t have. In other words, if you take away the sweets your child cannot stop thinking about sweets! In my dietetic practice, I’ve seen the research evidence come true when restrictive eating is imposed on kids. Restrictive feeding promotes overeating.

Kids are naturally drawn to sweets, so it isn’t their fault if they like to eat them. It’s not your fault either. Don’t blame your child or yourself if his taste buds like sweets. You can offer sweets every day and it is ok. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests no more than 5% of daily total calories should come from added sugar. In other words, the WHO advises families to keep sweets to one or two items per day if the child is a healthy, normally growing, and active child.

In conclusion, it is best to accept it as a natural part of the childhood nutrition experience. As you might have noticed by now from my other blogs, I am totally against restriction in adults and this counts for toddlers and children as well.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]