Bringing you the latest nutrition news and food ideas to help boost your health and wellbeing.

Cooking Fun at Baldwin Living

A few months ago the NAQ Nutrition team enjoyed two fun mornings with the residents and local community of Baldwin Living, running cooking demonstrations at their Retirement Villages on Brisbane’s Northside and in Upper Coomera.

The crowds at Baldwin Living arrived hungry and with some great questions about making healthy food choices and cooking. Our dietitian Rosie, provided some useful tips and tricks to make cooking in the kitchen enjoyable and more efficient.

Rosie's top tips:

Use a sharp knife! This will make slicing and dicing faster and safer.
Whenever you can, cook from scratch. You will save money and it will taste better!
To improve efficiency, get out all of the equipment and ingredients you need to make your meal before you get started.
Inspire yourself by trying a new recipe every month.

The cooking demonstration was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended, with everyone getting a taste of the delicious recipes that were prepared. The dishes included mushroom and pesto bruschetta, sweet potato and lentil soup with pita croutons, warm salmon vermicelli salad, and lamb, lentil and couscous salad.

Thank you to everyone that came out to see us, to the team at Baldwin Living for their warm welcome, and to the wonderful volunteers that helped out on the day. We are looking forward to coming back in November to prepare some healthy Christmas platters!

If you are interested in booking a cooking demonstration with an NAQ Nutrition Dietitian, contact us at healthyathome@naqld.org.

Nutrition Australia’s response to the Heart Foundation’s updated dietary advice for heart health

In August 2019, the Heart Foundation released updated dietary advice on the consumption of red meat, dairy, and eggs in light of revised evidence on how these foods impact heart disease risk.

The Heart Foundation’s revised dietary advice applies to a heart healthy diet, and not an overall healthy diet for the general population, as detailed in the federal government’s Australian Dietary Guidelines.

Nutrition Australia applauds the Heart Foundation for reviewing the latest evidence on the impact of diet and heart disease, and for revising its advice to reflect the findings.

Click here to read Nutrition Australia's response

Hot Topic

Supermarkets put junk food on special twice as often as healthy food, and that’s a problem

A recent article by The Conversation discusses some of the common practices that supermarkets use to promote junk food items, as well as key recommendations to address these.
Take a look at the full article here.

Springtime Salad - Recipe Idea

Roasted Vegetable and Quinoa Salad

Check out our Instagram account for more food inspiration from the NAQ Nutrition team!

Packed full of both colour and flavour, this roasted vegetable and quinoa salad is a simple recipe idea to try this spring.
Simply pair it with a lean protein source such as grilled chicken or salmon. This salad can be prepared in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days.

Here we’ve roasted sweet potato, red onion, zucchini, yellow capsicum, green capsicum and red capsicum using a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and combined it with cooked quinoa, cherry tomatoes, baby spinach, mint, parsley, pine nuts and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Change the ingredients to suit your and your family's food preferences, or to include what you have available.

Spring Ideas

What's in season this spring?

Purchasing and eating seasonal produce can provide a number of benefits. Seasonal fruits and vegetables are often in great supply, and as a result, are usually lower in price. Additionally, these seasonal fruits and vegetables are at their peak, providing optimal flavour and nutrition. Seasonal spring fruits include berries, mandarins, rockmelon and green grapes, with stone fruits such as mangoes, nectarines and peaches making their way into season. Likewise, spring vegetables include asparagus, broccoli and cauliflower, just to name a few. Look out for seasonal produce at your local store or farmers market this spring!

It's time to get outdoors!

With the change of season and the weather warming up, spring is a great time to get outdoors and be active. Enjoying this warmer weather with family and friends is an excellent way to experience all that this season has to offer, whether that be through physical activity, experiencing the outdoors or other events. For ideas of things to see and do in the Brisbane City Council area click here or contact your local council to see what's happening in your local area. Click here to find the details for your local council if you are located in Queensland.

Online Resources

Taste, Texture and Variety

The ‘Exploring Taste Texture and Variety Project’ was proudly funded and supported by the Queensland Government.

The project aim was to raise awareness and provide information directly to families and early childhood workers regarding the importance of giving children the opportunity to experience food texture appropriate to their age and stage of development. These important experiences support healthy food variety later in life, helping to minimise health risks and promote speech development, oral health and motor skill development.

Click here to check out the videos, information sheets and recipes from the project.

Events

NEW!

COOKING WORKSHOPS IN THE LOGAN CITY COUNCIL REGION

Live Well Logan Cooking Workshops

NAQ Nutrition now hosts cooking workshops as part of the Logan City Council’s Live Well Logan program. The cooking workshops are open to people living in the Logan City Council area, aged 18 years and over, and are $5 per participant. Click here for more information. Upcoming workshops are as follows:

Cooking for the Whole Family (18 years and over)
Thursday 12th September 2019 10am - 11:30am
Join this hands on cooking workshop and learn how to feed the whole family on a budget. This cooking workshop is located at the Loganlea Community Centre (28 - 32 Timms Street, Loganlea). Click here for more information.

Fast, Fresh and Fabulous (18 years and over)
Thursday 10th October 2019 10am - 11:30am
Learn some quick, healthy meal ideas using fresh produce at this fun cooking workshop. This cooking workshop is located at the Loganlea Community Centre (28 - 32 Timms Street, Loganlea). Click here for more information.

Cooking with Herbs and Spices (18 years and over)
Thursday 14th November 2019 10am - 11:30am
Not sure when to use herbs and spices with certain foods? This workshop will give you the tips and tricks needed to use herbs and spices in your cooking. This cooking workshop is located at the Loganlea Community Centre (28 - 32 Timms Street, Loganlea). Click here for more information.

Chillout School Holiday Cooking Workshops

NAQ Nutrition provides cooking workshops for school aged children as part of the Brisbane City Council's Chillout program. These workshops provide children with a chance to develop new skills and confidence in the kitchen, whilst having fun and preparing a meal they can taste. These cooking workshops are $5 per participant. Click here for more information and to register for the following sessions:

Best Ever Burgers (8 - 17 years)
Wednesday 25th September 2019 10am - 11:30am
Join us for a fun morning where we will be whipping up the best ever burgers and healthy sides. This cooking workshop is located at the Graceville Presbyterian Church, 12 Bank Road, Graceville. Click here for more information.

Street Food (8 - 17 years)
Tuesday 1st October 2019 10am - 11:30am
Enjoy making fresh and healthy street food dishes in this hands-on workshop.This cooking workshop is located at the Kitchen in the Gardens in the Brisbane Botanic Gardens at Mount Coot-tha. Click here for more information.

Do you have a question for the Healthy at Home team?

You can email your enquiries to healthyathome@naqld.org

NAQ Nutrition
12/212 Curtin Avenue West
Eagle Farm QLD 4009
Ph: (07) 3257 4393
www.naqld.org