Summer Eating
By Dr Sara Grafenauer
10/12/2024
Changing food habits from November to February
What happens with food and eating between November to February?
I often say between Melbourne Cup and Australia Day Dietitians should go on holiday… or should we? It’s the time when eating habits in Australia really get out of hand.
This is data is from a group of 375 Australians who reported on their diet across the year. What you see first is that the reported energy intake goes UP… mostly in December.
So we need to ask what is causing that… Firstly, lets look at foods considered essential to the diet. The CORE food group…
WOW, so fruit intake really goes up at this time of year. But that’s not a bad thing because at other times of the year its way too low. Maybe its because we love the type of fruit at this time of year; or maybe its because its “unregulated” fruit, the type that doesn’t come neatly packed as a single portion like an apple, and orange, banana or pear… If you think about it - its watermelon, pineapple, large mangos, grapes and cherries. But that can’t be the answer… We need to look at the other foods, celebration foods, or what Dietitians call ‘Discretionary’ foods and beverages.
What we can see from this, it is an increase in Alcohol consumption and non-alcoholic beverages. Also, a small increase in in sweet and savoury snacks above what is normally eaten across the year.
How much additional alcohol was consumed? Participants drank three additional standard drinks of alcohol per week in December than their yearly average… What are the implications of the celebration-style eating? Consuming approximately 570 additional kJ per day (136 kcal/day) in December equates to approximately 0.5 kg of weight gain…
My advice… if you choose to accept it… is to rethink the additional alcohol and check out some of the great tasting alcohol free, refreshing options out there that aren’t loaded with sugar…
AND Get vegetables on the plates for the people you love this Christmas. I sound like a real Dietitian now…
TRY:
- Pre-roasted pumpkin (cooled) with baby spinach leaves, toasted pinenuts and caramelised balsamic vinegar
- Sauté green beans in olive oil, add frozen peas, and baby spinach and grated or finely chopped garlic or
- Sauté green beans in olive oil add roasted chopped almonds and lemon rind and garlic
- Try mushy peas – cook from frozen and process with a stick blended and add olive oil for consistency with pepper and maybe some mint
- Char broccolini in the pan
- Roast whole cauliflower (you can blanch it in boiling water first to speed up cooking time – but don’t overdo it)
- Honey carrots are delicious… just add the smallest amount to the cooking water
- Roasted potato, sweet potato – add a can of rinsed chickpeas and cook until crispy…
THERE are so many options…
You can check out the research here:
Curtis RG and colleagues. Annual and Seasonal Patterns of Dietary Intake in Australian Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study. Nutrients. 2024 Aug 15;16(16):2718. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16162718
Our Physical Edge Health Dietitian, Sara spends her weekdays at the University of New South Wales training the next generation of Dietitians. She is proudly a Thirroul local, and loves working with the local community. Make time for yourself in the New Year, and have a nutrition check-up… its an investment in your future health.
A/Prof Sara Grafenauer, Advanced APD, Fellow Dietitians Australia.
