Health and Wellbeing
Healthy Eating on a Budget - Managing your food & your finance!
Given the current economic climate and with Christmas just on the doorstep, there is no better time to consider taking some simple steps to ensure that you and your family maintain a healthy, balanced – yet affordable – diet.
Smart Shopping
Purchasing food for the family can accumulate to a considerable amount of money. Additionally, many of the healthier options can be more expensive. Nonetheless, a little planning and organisation may help to cut costs:
- Before shopping, make a list of the foods you need - and stick to it!
- To avoid waste, make the effort to use foods before the expiry date.
- Made-to-order lunches and readymade dinners tend to be expensive. Buy ingredients for preparing family meals and packed lunches.
- Buy whole fruits and vegetables rather than pre-cut varieties and salad mixes.
- Support others in your community and town by choosing locally produced foods.
- Look out for special offers – but only on the foods you intended to buy!
Dairy – Nutrient Value and Money Value
Costs play a role in food choices – but
also try to consider the nutritional value
when choosing foods. Indeed, dairy
products prove good value for money
considering the nutritional and health
benefits associated with dairy foods.
Additionally, there is a wide range of dairy products to choose from and milk, cheese and yogurt are versatile foods that can be used in many budgetfriendly recipes. For example, prepare a lasagne for the whole family or use milk-based sauces to enhance the flavour of vegetables. As the calcium in dairy foods is retained during cooking, incorporating dairy into cooked meals can still contribute to calcium intake.
And for students on a budget, remember some of the tastiest, inexpensive and nutritious meals and snacks include dairy, for example, porridge made with milk, cheese omelette or a range of soups made with milk.
Your Health is your Wealth
Financial concerns can cause stress and worry, but remember ‘your health is your wealth’. Take time to address your diet, and your lifestyle. Regular physical activity is central to health and wellbeing. National guidelines published earlier this year recommend that adults engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity five days a week (or 150 minutes per week). Shorter bouts of activity can contribute to the guidelines, but these must be of at least 10 minutes duration. Children and young people are recommended to engage in 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity every day, and should include muscle-strengthening, flexibility and bone-strengthening exercises three times a week. If you are a smoker, consider the health benefits (and financial benefits) of quitting. And similarly, if you consume alcohol remain within the recommended limits (14 units/ week for women, 21 units/week for men). Consult your GP for assistance on quitting smoking or reducing alcohol intake.
NDC Trade Mark
The NDC is launching a major three month
national advertising campaign to build
consumer understanding and recognition
of the new NDC packaging mark and
to promote support for milk and cream
farmed in the Republic of Ireland. This
will be followed by National Dairy
Week from 16th November, an
opportunity to celebrate the
nutrient-richness of dairy.
Munster rugby star Paul
O’Connell,
RTÉ
presenter
Mary Kennedy, Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh and
George Hook will feature in
national media promoting the
NDC mark and encouraging
consumers to buy milk
farmed in the Republic of
Ireland. Packs featuring
the new NDC mark have already
started appearing on supermarket
and shop shelves on a phased
basis, mainly from now to January
2010, with a full list of licensed
products published at here. To celebrate
the introduction of the NDC mark
(Farmed in the Republic of Ireland)
and National Dairy Week, the NDC
is also running a free competition
on-line which can be accessed by clicking here.
Winter Warming Soup
There is nothing like a nutritious soup to warm those winter days. Why not bring a flask of soup to work, college or school for a tasty snack or as part of your lunch!
Cheese and Broccoli Soup
(serves 2-3)
1 onion, sliced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 large heads of broccoli
50g of grated cheddar cheese
850mls of chicken or vegetable
stock
Method:
In a saucepan, fry onion and garlic
for 3-4 minutes in a small amount
of oil. Chop broccoli and add to
saucepan. Add stock. Cover and
simmer until the broccoli softens.
After cooling slightly, blend, and
return to the heat. Add cheese.
Serve with crusty bread.
Did you know?
Sunlight is the best source of vitamin D – the vitamin essential for efficient absorption of calcium. Ireland’s latitude may hinder the synthesis of vitamin D, especially during the winter months. So include dietary sources in your diet e.g. oily fish (salmon, mackerel), eggs and fortified milk.
NutriMyth of the month
Myth: A calcium supplement is the best way to get your daily calcium requirements.
Truth: Dairy foods are among the best sources of bioavailable calcium. Dairy foods have being reported to contribute almost half the mean calcium intake in the diet of Irish adults (48%), but additionally, dairy foods contain a unique package of vitamins and minerals; the activities and functions of many of these nutrients complement each other.
If you have any suggestions or ideas, we would be delighted to hear from you via email at feelinggood@ndc.ie or write to us at The National Dairy Council, 28 Westland Square, Dublin 2.
Don't miss our next edition ‘Coping with the Christmas Chaos’ - available online from Monday 13th December 2009