What I love about nutrition is that, as a science, it is constantly evolving. I’ll be honest – my twitter feed plays a key role in keeping me up to date with new research & the latest dramas in the nutrition and fad diet worlds. Then there is Instagram where drool worthy photos of healthier brownies and banana breads have me experimenting with wonderful things like legumes, seeds and nuts in the place of our using baking friends.
So, after scrolling and clicking through the 90 (!!!) nutrition-credentialled bloggers in the storehouse, I’ve put together some great nutrition hacks.
- Before you go shopping, Tim Crowe from Thinking Nutrition says eat an apple. New research published in Psychology & Marketing found that exposure to a stimulus (i.e. an apple before shopping) activates a conscious or subconscious mental thought related to it i.e. buy more apples. Even more reason to keep those healthy snacks in your handbag!
- Next time you cook rice, add coconut oil while it the rice is simmering. Before you eat it, let it chill for twelve hours and you’ll have yourself a 10% reduction in calories. However, as Glen Cardwell says on his blog, this reduction is ‘quite minor in the scheme of things’, and it’s probably quicker, easier and more effective to eat a little less rice. But hey, it’s still any interesting concept.
- Feeling like doing some afternoon baking? Megan Cameron-Lee from the Dietetic Degustation has expanded her use for chickpeas from the usual curries, stews, falafels & hommus dishes and has used them as a substitute for flour in some chickpea blondies with white choc chips and macadamias. This addition increases the fibre and protein content, sneaks in those lovely legumes & just sounds like a lot of yum to me.
- Elissa Rossimel from Dietitian on a Mission throws science things like ‘protein leverage hypothesis’ in to her beginner’s guide to breakfast. Research shows that when people eat an egg-based breakfast (rather than say, coco pops) they are likely to reach their protein target earlier and feel fuller across the day. This in turn led to eating less and there may help with weight loss. Sounds eggcellent to me.
- A few months back our favourite cheerleading dietitian, Jenna Obeid, from Cheering for Nutrition hit the schools books and explored the effects of technology and motivating health behaviours. She learned that new gadgets like fitbits and jaw bones can be a fun, readily available method for motivating health behaviour change in some people. To add to this, just last week Ashley Ng attended a symposium at the ADS/ADEA Conference on how technology can influence health behaviour & discusses the potential of virtual health coaches, health apps & gamification on her blog. Sounds like this is a really promising space to keep your eye on & the #Eatkit team are already on to it: the next #Eatkit twitter chat is on Wednesday 16th September and it’s all about social media, apps & nutrition!
- And lastly, because I love a good food pun. Recent grad dietitian Emily Robertson from No Honey on My Porridge discusses whether beetroot juice is ‘worth a shot to beet the competition’. There is evidence to suggest that beetroot juice can be a natural performance-enhancing supplement, but not all individuals respond the same. I look forward to seeing an update on this in my twitter feed soon!
Storehouse Blog Directory is your one stop shop for credible nutrition content – check out the latest post on the home page or search for a credentialed blogger here.
About out expert
Emma Stubbs is one of our Staff Writers and has been blogging at Broccoli & Blueberries since 2014, check out her Storehouse directory listing here. When Emma isn’t working an Accredited Practising Dietitian in rural Victoria, she can be found at farmers markets, in the kitchen or going for long walks. But really, it’s likely she’ll be waiting in line for delicious bowls of porridge and hashtagging #breakfastinmelbourne.
